Ever After

by Heather McBride

  I had to keep remembering I wasn’t fully human anymore. I was ten times stronger than I was before. Todd laughed, his hair was longer, and dripping wet from the pouring rain outside. He wore a flannel shirt and old Levi’s with holes in them. He looked like he hadn’t bathed in weeks.

  “You’re supposed to be dead!” He hissed as he eyed me, somewhat nervously.

  “Like I just said you’re supposed to be dead too!” I snapped right back.

  I ran my tongue along the lovely sharp fangs I was now sporting these days. Todd was watching my every move closely and he didn’t look happy. The fangs were not noticeable to the human eye, but to other vamps, they could see them in seconds. I curled my lips into a wicked smile, showing my new fangs in all their glory.

  “Surprise.” I said as I tilted my head and winked at him. “Try to push me around now jerk.” Todd backed up slightly and seemed shocked and severely disturbed. “You drank dead blood you are the one that should be dead, there’s no way you can live through that.” I stared at him and now I was the one in shock.

  “Dead blood.” He laughed and smiled evilly at me. “Dead blood is a very tricky thing you know. I was still in the beginning phases of my transformation, to a full-blooded vampire. The dead blood couldn’t kill me at that time. It did make me sick indeed but dead well…. not so.”

  He was laughing again and moved a step closer to me. “Dead as our kind knows it, nope here I am! Now what in the hell are you doing here if I may ask?” I stepped back, he was a full blood now, and I was no match for him.

  I was in danger and I knew it, he had the capability to kill William and me in mere seconds if he wanted to. I could see the creep he brought with him standing in the shadow of the room. He did not move, but I knew he would help Todd if he asked.

  “You want to know about me?” I was trying to buy time, knowing I no longer had the advantage since he was a full blood. I had to hope Roth got the rest of the coven up here before Todd tried to kill William and me.

  “Yes that’s what I asked. I bit you and I know I was changed enough to have venom to kill you with.” I stepped back closer to William’s bed. I could see he was back into another deep sleep and prayed he wouldn’t wake up right now. I knew he would try to fight Todd, and he was not strong enough to do that.

  “Well, I got sick too but your venom did not kill me as you can see. I’m a vampire like you are and so all that’s settled now isn’t it Todd.” I tried to hide the fact I was scared to death. I stood there facing two full-blooded vampires all alone. “What do you want?” I asked acting way more confident than I really was.

  “Don’t worry your pretty little head off Corrine; we are here for your lover boy William. Leo wants him and we are here to bring back to the Dark coven where he belongs.”

  I felt my stomach turn, and my head spun at his words. I was unable to even speak as I stared at him, now seeing the rope he held in his hands no doubt to tie my William up with. I felt the anger build up inside me, they were not taking William not unless they killed me first.

  “The hell you are taking him and to hell with Leo!” I raged wanting to rip off Todd’s head right then and there. If I had been a full blood, I swear I would have done it too.

  “Leave it Corrine, Leo will be dealing with you himself he will be coming for you, count on that.” Kyle stepped out of the shadows and said this.

  I knew Sayann would be freaked out to know he was in the house. I should have guessed he would be with Todd; they always seemed to be together. I heard William waking up and I knew he would be ready to fight them both once he saw them. He sat up and looked at me and then to Todd, his eyes narrowed, as they got darker. The look on his face was pure hate.

  “William no.” I said in a sharp tone, and placed my arm a crossed his chest to keep him from jumping up.

  “Well how adorable, your girlfriend has to protect you eh pretty boy?” Todd prodded. I knew he was trying to egg William on to get him to fight.

  “Shut up Todd, you’re really going to die this time. I will be sure of it this time.” I had not time to grab Todd and throw him against the wall as I planned.

  William lunged after him and hit him hard to my surprise knocking him to the floor. Kyle came after me before I could go after Todd and keep him from hurting William. I felt myself thrown down and then something hit my head so hard my vision went blurry and I blacked out.

  Chapter 43

  Saving William

  I woke up slowly, I couldn’t see and my hearing was muffled. My head hurt so badly and somebody was shaking me over and over. I couldn’t understand what they were saying at first. It was like the teacher in the Charlie Brown shows I remembered when I was a kid.

  “What’s going on?” I rubbed my head.

  “Corrine where is William did the Dark coven get him? Do you hear me?” It was Roth’s voice I was hearing now and he was asking about William.

  “William, oh my God. I think Todd and Kyle got him. They were the ones in the house.”

  “Todd!” Roth looked confused. “Todd Downs, the Todd I killed in the woods?”

  “He’s not dead; he told me he was still in the phasing process when you gave him the dead blood. It only made him sick and couldn’t kill him.”

  “That ass. I knew I should have staked him in the heart before we left that night.” He helped me up slowly, my head was killing me. I placed a hand on the back of my neck and felt blood.

  “They hit you a good one.” Roth sighed looking at my head as I held up my hair.

  “No kidding, feels like a Mac truck ran me over.” I sighed and sat on the bed. “Where are Doc and Pratt?

  “They are down stairs, meeting with the Elders. They will be up here shortly to see you. I told them I would bring you down.”

  “We have to go get Will, we can’t waist time with meetings Roth!” I yelled.

  “Ok I agree, look let’s trail them ourselves then. I will tell Doc our plan, he will get mad, but he will just have to get over it. Take my hummer and I will catch up with you, but whatever you do, don’t try to face them alone. You must wait for me; you have no idea how to handle a full-blooded vampire, especially one from the Dark coven. They fight dirty and they fight to kill. They would love to kill you and you know it.”

  “Ok, but which way do I go? I have no idea where they are headed.” I felt so stupid and helpless sitting there.

  “There is only one road out of here, and one road to turn onto, it goes back into the bayou of the Mississippi river. I know Leo has a house back there across the bridge about a mile and a half. They will have to be going there, it’s that or onto the interstate and I highly doubt they will go there.”

  He handed me his keys and I took them as my hands were shaking. I grabbed my jacket and quickly put it on.

  “Ok go, trail them and I will tell Doc and the others of our plan. I will be behind you in a few minutes. I will call you on my cell when I catch up with you.”

  “Ok, I got it.” I ran down the stairs as fast as I could and out the kitchen doors to the garage.

  I could see Roth’s big black hummer sitting next to Doc’s Mercedes and a red BMW. I jerked open the door, and slid into the leather seat. I was rain soaked from the brief trip from the house to the garage. It seemed to be a strait down pour now, and I was afraid I would wreck driving in this mess. I pushed my wet heavy hair out of my face as I started the engine.

  “Come on Come on.” I whispered as I waited impatiently as the garage door slowly opened my teeth were chattering from the cold. I could see my breath as I turned up the heat, and the door finally opened. I flipped on all the lights the hummer had, including the running lights on top the roof.

  I was thankful now for the tricked out lights he had put on his macho vehicle. I always teased him about it. I could get through anything in this. I would find William and kick Todd Down’s butt.

  I threw the hummer into reverse and tore out of the garage, kicking up gravel and water onto the windshield. I
flipped the wipers onto high, so I could see the narrow gravel drive I needed to follow. I put the pedal to the metal as I ripped down the road, trying to catch up with Todd and Kyle. The rain fell harder, it was hard to see, but I kept on going.

  I saw taillights a few minutes later, and I knew it had to be Todd. It was around 4:30 in the morning now and nobody else would be all the way out here. I gripped the wheel, my hands getting numb. I was hitting 75 mph; the hummer was going air born with each dip and hill I hit. It looked from what I could see like we were in the middle of the swamp now. Spanish moss hung on all the trees and a heavy fog loomed just feet off the ground now.

  My breath caught, as I saw headlights suddenly behind me. Whoever was behind me was coming up fast. My cell phone rang and I jumped at the sound. I fumbled with the phone to get it open and answer it.

  “Corrine, can you hear me? I’m right behind you.” I sighed in relief as I heard Roth’s voice.

  “Yes, Todd’s right in front of me. I have no idea where they are going.”

  “Slow down and pull to the side of the road and let me pass you, then follow me. I know this area. It has lots of drop off’s that go straight down a steep hill to the swamp.”

  “Ok hang on I have to slow down. I’m going 80 I think?” I braked as easy as I could. The hummer slid in the thick mud as Roth passed me. Mud flew up covering my windshield. “Thanks for the mud.” I heard him laugh through the phone.

  “Keep up with me ok? Keep your cell close. Let’s get these jerks.”

  I followed Roth up and down the hills, as the swamp seemed to grow thicker. If I had been fully human, I would have been sick by now from them. The gravel road turned into dirt or mud really. We were going deeper and deeper into the swamp. I was getting scared.

  “Oh no.” I yelled as the hummer started to slide again. Roth’s break lights were blazing in front of me, he was slowing down for some reason. I was going to slam right into him. I jammed on my breaks and went airborne up over a brush pile. I couldn’t see anymore, all I heard was tree limbs hitting the vehicle.

  The hummer slid sideways and I felt it leaning to the left side, it felt like it was going to flip over. The hummer began to roll down the steep bank. I closed my eyes waiting to die or be crushed by metal. The sound of the trees crushing the sides of the hummer hurt my ears. The glass was breaking, I was afraid it would cut me.

  I held onto the door with one hand and the seat belt across my chest with the other. I was waiting for the thing to stop rolling. I just hoped it wouldn’t land in the flooded river below. I knew we were very close to it, as Doc had told me when I got to the mansion.

  Finally, it stopped rolling and hit the side of a massive weeping willow tree. The feather like branches were forced into the side windows. I knew I was right next to the river as I heard it raging merely feet from where the hummer stopped. I was afraid to move.

  I didn’t think I was dead. I couldn’t even remember if that was even possible for me being a half blood. I took a deep breath and blinked hard to get control of myself. I felt fear gripping me, but William needed me now. I had no time to freak out.

  I opened my eyes at the dashboard still lit up and the hummer’s engine running. The headlights shone right on the flooded and raging Mississippi river. I was right on the banks. I was afraid the rising river might end up reaching me if I was trapped in here.

  “God please.” I whispered. My head hurt worse now, than back at the coven house. I felt something wet on the side of my head, and touched it carefully. My hand blood on it, during the crash I must have hit my head. I took another deep breath, and pulled out my black hat, that was scrunched up in my coat pocket.

  I pulled it on, folded up a few extra Kleenex from my other pocket, and carefully tucked them over the cut on my temple. I knew it was bad, but this would have to do for now. If I had been fully human, I knew the head injury I had would probably have killed me for sure. I knew I had to get out of here right away.

  I had seen in movies how when vehicles go rolling down hills they explode. I had to figure with my luck it could happen to me. I got my seat belt un buckled and slowly, so as not to cut myself on the broken glass, got to the passenger’s side window.

  It was broken out so I held onto a willow tree limb and pulled myself up and out of the window. The rain was falling so hard I could barely see as I jumped down to the ground. I looked around. I was lost of course; I didn’t know this area at all.

  I hoped Roth noticed I was not behind him soon. I was in big trouble if he didn’t come back for me. My cell rang, making me jump. I was so glad I had shoved it in my pocket or I would have lost it in the wreck.

  “Corrine where are you? I saw you go airborne back there where the road washed out, are you ok?”

  “Uh… I guess so.” I winced as I wiped the blood off the side of my face.

  The scarf was not working to stop the bleeding. I knew I needed help; the cut was obviously deeper than I had first thought. “Where are you?” I tried to keep my teeth from chattering, as I leaned up against the willow tree the hummer was resting on. The wind was blowing the cold rain right on to me making it all worse.

  “I’m on the same road. I had to pull back so they wouldn’t know I was following them. I know right where they are headed though. The only way to get to their place is over an old covered bridge a few miles from your exact location.”

  “How do you know where I am…exactly?”

  “I have a GPS unit on the hummer; its location shows up on my cell phone.” I was relieved by that, at least I might get out of here and back to looking for William. I wasn’t helping at all, stuck down here.

  “Are you sure you’re ok? You sound shaky.” I hesitated as I closed my eyes, my head pounding.

  “Uh… I hit my head when I crashed. I think it might be cut bad, but I will be ok. I just want to find William as soon as we can.” I pulled my already rain soaked jacket tighter around me as I shook.

  “You should stay there, and wait for Doc and Pratt. I’m sending Doc your location in a minute. That head injury could be dangerous even with you being a half blood.” I figured he would say that, and there was no way I was going to do what he said.

  “No, that’s not an option Roth. What should I do now, besides sit here and wait for Doc and you know I won’t.” I heard him groan and I knew he was not happy with what I said.

  “Fine, be stubborn but I’m telling you Doc should have a look at your head. Anyway, if you walk along the bank going up river, it’s going to lead you to a covered bridge. I believe they are headed there. I think they will be meeting with Leo or one of the other elders. The road to their coven’s house is flooded so they will have to make others plans to get William out of here.”

  “What do I do when I get there?”

  “Nothing, just keep your cell on and call me when you get there. I need to know how many of the Dark coven members are there. I will be there shortly, I’m taking a short cut to avoid the flooding and get to the bridge before they do.”

  “I can do that, but are you sure they are headed there?”

  “They haven’t got a choice, nearly all the back roads are flooded now or soon will be. If we can get to Todd at the bridge, we have a chance at getting Will back. Todd won’t have his entire coven with him to fight us, he will be vulnerable.”

  “I’m heading that way right now.” I sighed.

  “Don’t worry I will be there shortly. I will call Doc and have him send some of our coven out here to back us up. We will get Will back Corrine, we always take care of our own you know that.”

  Chapter 44

  The Bridge

  I put my phone on vibrate, as I couldn’t hear it with all the wind and rain. I slipped it in my back pocket and began to make my way down the riverbank. I held onto branches and tree limbs sliding in the heavy thick mud as I walked. I didn’t feel so much stronger and super human now as I struggled in the suction cup like mud. I stopped several times to catch my breath along the way.
My hair was plastered to my head.

  I stopped to look at the river. It was raging and huge trees were being swept down it. I stopped to rest, barley able to catch my breath. I felt hot tears streaming down my cheeks. I felt scared as I saw a heavy fog covering the ground just ahead of me.

  I have no idea why I was afraid. I wasn’t even technically human anymore. I could out run any animal that I ran into, and humans really couldn’t kill me either. It had to be an extreme case if a human did actually kill a half blood. I was safe for the most part, except if the dark coven found me.

  I wanted to sit down and give up. I had no idea if I was even going the right way. I wiped the long wet strands of hair off my face and tried to get myself together. I tried to focus and bring out my inner “bad ass chick” attitude out. Roth always teased me about that; he said I would be one now that I was a half-blood.