Beautiful Eternity (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 3)

by Alicia Deters

  “Nope, you’re not getting out of this, big guy.” I bent over to grip his wrist, and he tried dodging in super human speed, but I anticipated that move and shot my hand out like a cobra at the last second. He didn’t get very far.

  I yanked him up and snuggled him in line ahead of me, getting all kinds of handsy. He shot me a dark look over his shoulder when my hand went a little too far south to be appropriate, to which I responded with an innocent smile.

  “Love you,” I mouthed.

  He winked and turned to enjoy the rest of our dance train that now snaked and spiraled to the outer edges of the room. When people had to weave around cots, it broke apart and everyone dispersed into smaller groups to chat the night away.

  It was then, at the height of our merriment that the dark cloud descended, snuffing out all the light we had managed to bring to this desolate cold place.

  21

  Gavin and I sensed them at the same time, sharing a meaningful look.

  “Everyone to your positions!” I shouted with zero traces of humor remaining in my voice.

  Like a well-oiled machine, people set to work at their individual tasks. In less than a minute, every person held a weapon and stood in their designated positions. Generators groaned to life, mixing with the roar of the fire.

  Gavin and I moved to a window overlooking the uneven clearing in front of the abbey. Situated on a high point close to the cliffs, we could see our enemies coming from nearly a half mile away.

  Over two hundred assassins closed in on us, forming a semi circle and stalking silently up the craggy terrain. It didn’t matter how quiet they were. No one could hide under the glow of moonlight in an open area.

  “Where is he?” I searched the distant faces frantically, waiting for my father to show himself. Were he and Shane hiding like cowards in the back? This didn’t make sense.

  “I don’t see him either,” Gavin whispered.

  “They’re getting close,” Donovan said.

  “Wait,” I commanded.

  Gliding up the hillside, they appeared as dark phantoms. When they came within handgun range, they descended as one unit, switching to superhuman speed only Gavin and I noticed. Their faces became clear as close as they were, and I watched a six foot female assassin with chestnut hair launch herself toward a window. Others jumped, preparing to leap through the gaps in the ceiling.

  There were still no signs of my father or his little minion, but I couldn’t postpone any longer.

  “Now!” I shouted.

  Hundreds of spotlights flickered to life at once, illuminating every inch of the visible half mile expanse in a brilliant glow that would make Clark Griswold proud. Within milliseconds, the Shadowmarked army met their violent ends. The Keepers shielded their eyes from the bright flash. We stood silently as the black ash swirled, creating an incongruent, speckled void against the UV light.

  I have been around long enough to know that things never came that easily, and I wasn’t dumb enough to believe my father was among the ashes. I wasn’t that lucky.

  Rachel stood at a nearby window. “Is that it?” she whispered.

  The echo of fluttering heartbeats caught my ears because they were definitely human, but they weren’t coming from inside the abbey. There were so many, it became impossible to count each one.

  “I’d say no. It’s only getting started,” I answered evenly. My eyes met Gavin’s.

  “This is unexpected,” he whispered so low only I could hear.

  To say my father didn’t fight fairly was the understatement of my life. Which was currently fucked.

  My eighty-nine person army watched the sight of a hundred humans marching up the rolling landscape in shock. Their breathing became heavier with exertion, but they trudged toward our camp with purpose. They ranged from teenagers to men and women in their fifties, all from various backgrounds. The one thing they shared was the same look of malice in their eyes, fueled by a desperation I understood. My father promised these people eternal life in return for their cooperation.

  They probably had no idea why we were their enemies, other than the simple fact that we stood in the way of their immortality. As they drew near, I noticed they all wore comfortable dark clothing, like they were told they would be going on a top-secret spy mission. A lot of them carried bats or objects meant for bludgeoning. The first wave fanned out around our perimeter, and it wasn’t until they broke apart and headed in specific directions with intent that I figured out their purpose.

  A tall black man in his early twenties with a shaved head approached the first spotlight buried in the ground and swung with smashing force. His bat rattled the metal caging around the light, and when it dented but didn’t give, he reared back like a lumberjack chopping wood, swinging with more determination.

  A woman in her thirties stepped in to join him, and they took turns beating the light until the protective mesh caved and the light flickered out. Many others were working on several of the ground lights, and some drew closer, preparing to climb our walls to get to the overhead lights.

  “They’re destroying our defenses,” Liam, one of the Scottish Keepers, yelled.

  Next to me, Donovan switched the circuit board for a Walther PPQ, taking aim through the window.

  “No!” I shouted, reaching out to cover the barrel of the handgun. “We’re not killing anyone.”

  “They’re here to kill us,” he responded.

  “They’re here to make it easier for my father to kill us.”

  “Exactly. We have to stop them. It’ll only take minutes before they get through the lights, then we’re sitting ducks.”

  “We are not killing humans,” I repeated, my tone turning ice cold. “I’m pretty sure that is something the Keepers have never stood for, am I right?”

  “Yes, but this is war Lucy,” Liam chimed. A few others standing nearby added their agreement and nodded in approval.

  “Explain that to the cops when they find a bunch of bodies out here.”

  I looked behind me to see if Gavin had anything to add, but he was smiling proudly as he met my eyes, giving me that ‘you got this’ look. I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I faced the group again. He was such a sucker for my humanitarian side.

  “They’re getting closer,” Donavan said, panicking. I pushed the gun down.

  “Kill the lights, not the people. They can’t smash what they can’t see.” Turning to project my voice outward to the group scattered around the room, I yelled, “Everyone grab your handhelds. Use them to blind our opponents if you have to. We fight them, but we are not killing them, got it?”

  Most of them nodded while some grumbled unhappily. Whatever. If it came down to it, I knew none of them would be comfortable killing another human being. That did pose a new problem, however. When killing the enemy wasn’t an option, how the hell were we supposed to defeat them? Killing was my strong suit.

  Donavan switched the spotlights off as small pinpoints of light swirled around the room pointing out the windows. The human army outside seemed stunned at first but like crazed, brain-starved zombies, they turned their focus from the disabled spotlights to the Keepers holding the new light source.

  The loud pop sounded from nearby, but it didn’t come from my guys. Rock splintered and shattered close to the window where I was posted. Gravel rained down from where a bullet hit just outside.

  I rushed out into the night and found the source, aiming straight for the man in his fifties holding the gun out in front of him. Ripping it from his grip before he saw me, he fell forward, unprepared for the tugging motion.

  When I spotted other guns raised in my direction, Gavin was there, disarming the more dangerous threats to my crew.

  Think, Lucy, think. How do you stop an enemy you can’t kill?

  When another shot went off, I was ready. Stepping sideways, I winced as the bullet tore through my abdomen. “Shit, that hurts every time.”

  “Lucy!” Gavin shouted, a kneejerk reaction to sensing my pain. Th
e man worried for no reason.

  “It’s not for no reason, woman,” he berated as he approached with his pilfered weapons.

  He squeezed the guns until they were mangled pieces of metal and plastic before tossing them to the ground. Sliding a hand under my shirt, his fingertips grazed my bare skin, making me shiver from the delicate touch. He stopped just under the wound and waited for the bullet to be pushed out before catching it and removing his hand from my shirt. Holding the offending piece of metal between his fingers he glared angrily at it before winding up and throwing it farther than the eye could see. It would probably end up somewhere on the ocean floor.

  “Was that really necessary?” he asked, focusing back on me.

  A woman in a skin tight Catwoman suit ran toward us with murderous intent, and Gavin simply put a hand out to gently shove her back. I did the same with a teenage boy who had curly black hair and a black t-shirt with a skull on it.

  “It was either that or risk the bullet hitting someone else.”

  “Yeah, you’ve never been very good at dodging bullets, but that was the first time I’ve seen you willingly take one.”

  I punched his arm for the jab at my reflexes, and he chuckled before fending off more daring humans who approached with their bats raised.

  “Not funny, Mr. West.”

  I thought about a way out of this mess, knowing I needed a different approach than violence. It was starting to look like reasoning was my only option, and glancing around at the angry mob, my confidence in that plan was about as high as a virgin’s on his first date.

  Gripping the cool metal in my hand, I raised it above my head and fired three times. “Enough,” I shouted.

  Grunts of pain and war cries died down. I glanced back at the outer walls of the abbey where my army was punching and shoving away anyone who tried climbing through windows and cracks.

  They all stopped to look at me, and I knew they were taking in my whitening eyes and growing fangs. While I had their attention, I rushed on to hold it. “Do you all want to die today?”

  Hatred fell from their expressions, slowly replaced by confusion. The smell of fear carried on the breeze made me salivate. I fought to suppress the growing thirst. The people who once ran toward me gave me a second glance and retreated slowly, taking stealthy steps backward like they didn’t want me catching the movement.

  I almost laughed but contained it. Good. Let them think I’d kill them if it got them to listen.

  One brave soul stood her ground. A woman with a neck tattoo and long dark braid hanging down her back took a hesitant step forward. A few flashlights trained on her gleamed brightly against the metal in her nose and eyebrow.

  “He promised us immortality,” she said.

  Oh, God. How did I put this gently?

  I sighed heavily. These types were always difficult to handle. Their cult-like devotion was nearly impossible to offset with something like logic, but I had to try getting through their thick skulls. What a pain in the ass. I preferred taking the physical approach to problem solving.

  Here went nothing. “So he lied to you. I know, shocker. He’s evil like that, and this isn’t a fucking movie. You can’t become vampires. It’s not a choice you can make. You can’t just decide to become a murderous creature of the night. You can just die, and you probably will before the night is over. Even if there was a possibility you could become a vampire, I’d make it my priority to hunt you down before all the others I kill and put a stake through your heart. So either way, you’ll die very soon.”

  I gave it a second to let that sink in. When I still had their attention, I took that as a positive and continued.

  “Unless… you join us. Stay inside and you’ll have a chance to live out the rest of your lives. But if you decide you’re going to play double agents and cross us, my friends won’t hesitate to put a bullet in your brain,” I bluffed, but if it came down to self defense, I wouldn’t hold it against the Keepers to save themselves. “So make your decision. I don’t have all night.”

  Examining their faces, I saw the only thing strong enough to get through to them. Fear. Some took my warning seriously, while others looked beyond reason. Either way, about one third of the human army stepped toward the safety of our shelter. Donavan and Liam came through the doorway to usher the newcomers inside.

  “Traitors!” yelled one of the vampire wannabes. The rest of them banned together, shouting profanities at the others and myself, choosing to stick with the side offering the best incentives. Delusional morons.

  “So how do you want to handle this, Lucy?” Gavin edged closer to my side, and his arm brushed against mine.

  Well, I definitely didn’t trust myself to not kill them. I really should have learned pressure points. “I think this is the part where I’m grateful for bringing my own human army.”

  “What are we going to do with them?”

  “You and I are on clean up duty, Gav.”

  “Donavan!” I called behind me. “Get me all the best fighters!”

  Donavan called out orders to the Keepers, and within seconds, my guys were rushing outside to engage the enemies. The crazed vampire lovers charged forward to meet them halfway.

  “Don’t kill them, or injure them… too much!” I shouted into the madness.

  Sounds of fists smacking flesh and grunts of pain filled the spaces between war cries. Rendered completely useless in this fight, Gavin and I monitored the situation for serious threats.

  Only seconds into the brawl, the glint of metal flashed in the center of the fray. I shot forward, snaking around one-on-one battles in super speed, probably resembling a ping pong ball. I caught a woman’s hand just before she brought it down on Rachel’s back.

  “Rachel, what the hell are you doing out in this?”

  “I figured with all my recent training, I should at least be able to take on these assholes.”

  “Well, how about for now, you just help me collect the wounded, and later I’ll show you how not to die in battle.”

  “You’ll train me when this is over?”

  “Yes, now help me drag these assholes inside.”

  The woman in my grasp growled as she struggled to break my hold. “I’ll kill you when they make me stronger.”

  “Whatever you say, lady,” I replied, applying just enough pressure on her ulna to stop her advances.

  When I felt it give and heard the fissure run up and down the length of the bone, she screamed out in pain, and I released my grip. The knife in her hand fell as she lost her hold on it, and I caught it, handing it over to Rachel.

  “Take her to the empty room on the west side of the building. It’s still mostly intact, and we can bar the door once we have them all inside.”

  “You got it, boss.” She beamed at me, looking way too happy to point a sharp object at the disgruntled woman’s throat. “Get moving or I’ll cut you,” she ordered.

  I rolled my eyes. “Try not to kill her, Rach.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said as she marched the woman through the chaos.

  I kept stealing glances to make sure she made it inside without any problems, but most of my attention remained on the battle surrounding me. Someone was shoved into me, and I moved aside when I saw it was an unfriendly, letting him fall to the ground while one of my own descended on him, raining punches down until the guy passed out.

  “I’ll take it from here. Help the others,” I told the Keeper, Adam, I think his name was.

  Just as I reached for the unconscious guy, a gunshot split through all the noise, cutting it in half. Ice water drenched my insides, and my heart nearly exploded in my chest. My fighters wouldn’t have used their guns, despite their hatred toward the vampire worshippers.

  My eyes darted back and forth through the fighting and landed on Gavin. His hand held a young man’s hand up toward the sky. In the man’s hand was the source of the shot.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, honey. I missed that one.”

  Over the ye
lling, I pinpointed his low voice. “I’ll always have your back, Ms. Masters.”

  Insert lovesick sigh and swooning here. What girl wouldn’t love a guy who watched out for her in a fight?

  Returning to the moaning guy at my feet, I grabbed ahold of his wrist and hoisted him up over my shoulder, flashing him out of the mayhem and tossing him through the doorway to the room now guarded by Rachel and several of her new friends. The woman she dragged in earlier was cursing and rushing the open doorway every chance she got, only to be shoved back on her ass by the Keepers.

  I went to the wall leading to the Sword, the one I busted through earlier, and began gathering the fallen blocks. When I rushed them back to the open entrance, I stacked them in front of it until it reached waist height.

  “There, that should help you keep them in until we get the others. Point a gun on them, but don’t shoot unless necessary.”

  Gavin and I got to work rounding up all the enemies rendered unconscious or dazed by our fighters. In the midst of the maelstrom, I sensed a dark presence. It grew so potent I swayed and fell to my knees, failing miserably at keeping my center of gravity.

  Shooting a look at Gavin, our eyes collided with the same question swirling in them. But it didn’t take long to guess what this meant. Unlike me, he was able to stay upright, having dark blood running in his veins. I had a much more allergic reaction to Shadowmarked than he did.

  My father had arrived, along with a shitload of assassins.

  22

  I shoved the last of the rebel army into the barricaded room and stacked more stones until the retaining wall was as tall as Gavin. He added two more layers for me when I couldn’t reach.

  “It’s a temporary fix, and hopefully it will hold until daylight,” I told the Keepers.