The Assassins of Light

by Britney Jackson

  Rose just sighed. It really was not that simple. “I should check on my brother,” she said as she stood, “before he goes and gets himself arrested again.”

  “Just think about it,” Audrey called out, as Rose headed toward the door. “You said you can’t fight your feelings for her. Maybe there’s a reason for that.”

  “Believe me. I am thinking about it,” Rose sighed. “More than I should.”

  —

  Rose didn’t find her brother anywhere near the bathroom. No, of course she didn’t. Instead, she found him upstairs, in Kallias’s room, rifling through the weapon cabinet. She stopped in the hallway, watching him through the doorway. She rolled her eyes when she saw him take a handgun from the weapon cabinet.

  “Put that back, or so help me, God, I will call your parole officer myself!” Rose snarled as she stormed into the room and leveled him with a deadly glare.

  Zach dropped the gun and looked at her. “You would never.”

  “Don’t tempt me,” she growled. “Put the other three guns back, too.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “There is an entire government organization out to kill me. Don’t you think that it’s okay to break the law, just this once?”

  “Okay, first of all, cool it with the conspiracy theories. As far as we know, the Assassins of Light are operating outside of the government,” Rose began, snatching another gun out of his hand, “for now. Second, they’re not trying to kill you. They’re trying to kill me. They just wanted to use you to get to me.”

  “And…why do they want to kill you?” Zach asked suspiciously.

  “Long story,” Rose muttered. She rolled her eyes when she noticed him swipe a wallet off of the dresser. “Put it back. Right now. And stop stealing stuff!”

  Zach gave her a peeved look as he reluctantly returned the wallet.

  Rose ran her fingers through her long, red hair and sighed. “Don’t worry. If the Assassins of Light come back, I have plenty of weapons to cover us both.”

  Zach studied her with a suspicious frown. “Like…fangs?”

  She froze. “You know,” she realized.

  “Were you ever going to tell me?” he asked quietly.

  “Well, I figured you might ask questions in like fifty years when I haven’t aged, and then…maybe,” Rose sighed. “Who told you? It was Kara, wasn’t it?”

  Zach frowned. “Which one is Kara?”

  “The crazy, leather-clad woman with way too many weapons,” Rose said.

  “Oh, you mean your girlfriend,” he said, nodding.

  Rose rolled her eyes. “Oh, goodness, not you, too,” she complained. “Kara is not my girlfriend. Why does everyone think that she’s my girlfriend?”

  “Uh…probably because you keep making out with her,” he muttered.

  She blushed, still mortified that he’d seen that. “Those were…accidents.”

  “Hey, I tried to use that excuse, too,” he laughed. “I still went to prison.”

  She scowled at him. “You didn’t accidentally break seventeen laws.”

  “And you didn’t accidentally kiss someone seventeen times,” he countered.

  Rose sighed, “I’m not having this conversation with you.”

  But her brother continued to pry, “Have you slept with her?”

  “Not…having…this…conversation…with…you,” she said slowly.

  Zach raised an eyebrow knowingly. “Pleading the fifth is a sign of guilt.”

  Rose narrowed her eyes at him and pasted on a smile. “I’m so relieved to see that prison didn’t make you any nicer,” she said sarcastically. “I would hate to find out that five years in a correctional facility actually corrected something.”

  He mimicked her sassy smile perfectly. “Well, if dying didn’t make you any less annoying, I don’t know why you would expect prison to change me.”

  Rose grabbed his arm and started dragging him toward the door. And to his surprise, he couldn’t pull his arm out of her grasp. She was actually stronger than him. Zach didn’t know how to feel about that. Rose pushed him out into the hallway, smiling at his bewildered look. “I need to take a shower and change clothes,” she said, gesturing at her blood-stained clothing, “as you can probably see. So, go interrogate someone else about their love life. And stop stealing stuff!”

  Zach sighed as she closed the door in his face. He couldn’t let her have the last word, so he yelled through the door, “Well, you…stop kissing people!”

  —

  Rose grumbled to herself as she buttoned up her red-and-black plaid, pajama shirt, “The world is ending, and all anyone cares about is who I’m kissing.”

  Kallias cleared his throat.

  Rose spun around, her fingers still fumbling with the buttons of her shirt, blinking as she noticed Kallias leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed across his chest. “Oh, hey,” she said, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. “I was just changing clothes and…talking to myself,” she added under her breath.

  He nodded, and his gaze shifted toward her bloodstained clothes that lay, folded, on the dresser. “I heard,” he muttered. He pushed away from the doorframe and stepped into the room. He closed the door behind him and made his way over to her. “Aaron, Kara, and all of the vampires they brought with them will be staying here for a couple of nights. Unfortunately.” He leaned against the dresser beside her, close enough that she could smell his aftershave and the scent of peppermint on his breath. “The Assassins of Light have a base in New York City—a real one, not the diversion we fell for. They’re going to shut it down.”

  “The base?” Rose said, her eyebrows lifting. “Are we going to help?”

  “That’s what Aaron wants,” Kallias said, “but I can’t work under him.”

  “Oh, come on,” Rose said with an amused smile. “I know you two have conflicting personalities, but you can set that aside to save the world, can’t you?”

  His eyes narrowed. “It’s not about conflicting personalities, Rose,” he said between clenched teeth. “Aaron is evil. He only cares about his power, and he would turn on any one of us, just to maintain that power. I’m not trusting him with our lives. We made a mistake when we made a deal with him in Europe.”

  Rose watched him, noticing the things he didn’t say, as well as the things that he did say. She nodded in understanding. “You mean I made a mistake.”

  “Yes,” he said coldly, his eyes narrowing. “We should have never set foot in the Tomb of Blood. We should have never invited Aaron into our lives.”

  “We worked with them to stop Alana, and we succeeded,” she reminded him. “Without us, they couldn’t have stopped her. She would have started a war.”

  “She already has,” Kallias said, shrugging. “What was the point of it all?”

  “Things would be much worse if we hadn’t stopped her when we did, and you know it,” Rose said. She sighed, “I don’t like Aaron either. He might be a strong leader, but he’s definitely not a kind one. But at the same time, I don’t think we can afford to take the moral high-ground right now. I think, at the end of the day, you have to do the right thing, even if it’s not as good as you’d like.”

  “How do you know that it’s the right thing?” Kallias asked skeptically.

  “Because it helps people,” Rose said. “There are so many people who will suffer, if we don’t stop this war. No matter what, compassion is always right.”

  For a moment, he didn’t speak. He just stared at her, his gaze trailing up and down her body, lingering on her lips. “You smell like her,” he said coldly.

  Her chest clenched with guilt and sadness, struck by the cold anger in his voice. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, “but…I would’ve died if she hadn’t come.”

  “I know,” Kallias said with a frustrated sigh. “I should be grateful, right?”

  “I would never dismiss your feelings like that,” Rose said sincerely. Her chest fluttered with nervousness. “Listen, there’s something I need to tell
you.”

  “No, there’s not,” he interrupted. “I already know.”

  Rose frowned in surprise. “You do?”

  “You’ve been thinking about it all night,” Kallias said. He watched her, noting the anxiety and guilt that flashed in her bright blue eyes. “I’m not surprised, honestly. It’s just something that happens when vampires share blood.” His eyes narrowed. “It was bound to happen eventually. With the way you are around her.”

  She swallowed the lump of guilt in her throat. “I’m sorry,” she sighed.

  He just shrugged and stepped away from the dresser. “The sun is up,” he said as he walked toward the bed. He didn’t look at her as he kicked off his boots and unbuttoned his jeans. “I’m going to bed. Join me or not—I don’t care.”

  Rose sighed at the coldness in his voice. He’d said it that way to hurt her. She knew that. Just like she knew that she deserved it. “Goodnight, Kallias.”

  —

  Late in the day, while most of the other vampires slept, Rose felt it again. Wetness on her face. Stinging pain in her eyes. Tears. She felt them now, just as she had back at the Tomb of Blood, and just as she had done that day, she lifted her hands and ran them over her face. Her fingers came back dry, which meant that the tears that she felt now weren’t her own. They belonged to whoever Rose shared a blood bond with at the moment, which meant they belonged to Kara.

  For a moment, Rose just lay there, conflicted. On one hand, she knew that she should stay as far away from Kara as possible. When they were together, all rational thought just seemed to fall away, until all she could do was feel.

  And…well, those feelings were getting her into a difficult predicament.

  On the other hand, Kara was crying, and that realization shattered Rose’s heart into a million pieces. She couldn’t ignore Kara’s pain. It was…impossible.

  Rose cast a wary look at Kallias. He lay on his side, facing away from her, so that all she could see of him was his long, light brown hair and the tattooed flames that trailed down his neck and part of the way down his back. She listened to the slow and steady beat of his heart, checking to see if he was still asleep.

  She quietly slipped out of bed, her bare feet padding softly over the cold, hardwood floor. She noticed muffled noise from downstairs—voices and sounds of much-too-quiet gunfire. A movie, she assumed. Zach, Owen, and Audrey slept at night and stayed awake during the day, so they were probably watching a movie.

  When Rose reached Kara’s room, she decided not to knock. She didn’t want to wake up any of the other vampires, and she knew that Kara would sense her presence anyway. She slid into the dark room and then closed the door behind her, leaning against it, as she watched Kara. Kara barely reacted to her presence. She lay still in the bed, her body curled up on its side. But Rose could still feel the tears on her face. She could smell the salty, watery scent of those tears, mingling with the scent of violets. And she could hear the erratic pounding of Kara’s heart.

  Rose crossed the room, and then, she sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed. “I know you’re awake,” she whispered to Kara. “I can feel your sadness.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kara said. Her lilting accent caused her voice to sound much smoother in the quietness of the room than Rose’s had. “It was only a dream.”

  “What kind of dream?” Rose asked softly. “A nightmare? Or a memory?”

  “A memory,” Kara murmured. She rolled over, finally, so that she could look up at Rose. The skin beneath her cornflower-blue eyes looked swollen and red. “I’m sorry. I never cry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately.” She let out a pained laugh. “Alana’s dead, and she’s still bringing out the worst in me.”

  “First of all, stop apologizing for something you can’t help,” Rose began, “and second, crying is not a bad thing. It just means that you cared about her.”

  Kara folded her arm under her head, watching Rose with a strange look. Then, somehow, she managed to hide whatever emotion that Rose had just seen on her face, masking it with that playful smirk of hers. “You know, Rose, you can’t just climb into women’s beds in the middle of the day. It gives us…ideas.”

  Rose scowled at her. “Now, you’re just trying to change the subject.”

  Kara’s smile widened. “You do know I’m naked under here, right?”

  “What?” Rose said, her eyes widening. Without thinking, she pulled back the blanket to check. She rolled her eyes when she, of course, found that Kara was wearing a thin, sleeveless, white shirt and black boxer shorts. “You lied.”

  Meanwhile, Kara burst into hysterical laughter, laughing so hard that Rose worried she’d wake up the entire house. “Of course I lied! But your reaction was so funny! You just ripped back the blanket like you wanted to see me naked.”

  Rose blushed. “That’s not…” she trailed off. “I was just…checking.”

  Kara smiled. “I only sleep naked when I have a woman in my arms,” she murmured. “So, if you want to lie down with me, I’ll take my clothes off for you.”

  Rose’s blush deepened. “I’m here to check on you, not to be seduced.”

  Kara laughed, “You think this is me seducing you? Ah, Rose, I can do way better than that. I was just flirting a little, but if you want me to seduce you…”

  “I don’t!” Rose interrupted. “I already can’t resist you,” she mumbled under her breath. “The last thing I need is you turning up the charm even more.”

  Kara chuckled. But then, her smile faded, leaving behind a different kind of facial expression—a hesitant, thoughtful look. Her light blue eyes, bright with emotion, watched Rose’s hands for a moment, following the nervous tapping of Rose’s fingers. Then, she reached out and slid her hand underneath Rose’s hand.

  Rose glanced down at their joined hands, blinking in surprise.

  “Thank you,” Kara said hesitantly. She didn’t meet Rose’s gaze. Instead, she stared at their hands, tracing Rose’s fingers with her own. “For…being here.”

  Rose looked at her, stunned by this change in attitude. “I couldn’t have stayed away, even if I’d wanted to. I felt your pain. I care too much to ignore it.”

  A smile twitched hesitantly at one corner of Kara’s lips. “I’m not used to this,” she admitted quietly. “I’ve always dealt with it alone. The…pain, I mean.”

  “I don’t want you to be alone in this,” Rose told her. “Suffering alone is overrated.” She offered Kara a sad smile. “I think you and I both know that.”

  Kara stared up at Rose, a plethora of emotions pouring through her. She continued to slide her fingers absently over Rose’s hand, tracing a gentle, soothing pattern over Rose’s knuckles. “You…are a strange woman, Rose Foster.”

  “Me?” Rose teased. “You’re the one who lied about being naked.”

  Kara spread out her arms, displaying her thinly-clothed, gorgeous body to Rose. “If it bothers you that much, why don’t you make it true?” she flirted.

  Rose rolled her eyes. “I should get back to bed. You seem to feel better.”

  “I do now,” Kara said quietly, without even a trace of humor in her voice.

  Rose glanced back at her, blinking in surprise at the sincerity she’d heard in Kara’s soft, breathless voice. “Oh,” she breathed. “Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

  Kara sat up suddenly, her lean body folding forward gracefully, and Rose just watched her, half-expecting Kara to do something crazy, like making out with her again. But Kara didn’t do anything so brazen. Instead, she lifted Rose’s hand to her mouth and pressed an innocent kiss on the back of her hand. “Goodnight.”

  Rose swallowed uneasily. “Can I ask you something? Before I go…”

  “Say whatever you want, Rose,” Kara said. “You never have to ask.”

  “I talked to Elise earlier tonight,” Rose said nervously. “She said that you were worried about me. She said that when you found out about the Assassins’ plan, you were determined to come help me, whether Aaron appro
ved or not.”

  Kara looked away. “I’m tempted to lie, but I think you’d see through it.”

  “Tell me the truth,” Rose pleaded, leaning toward Kara. “Just this once.”

  Kara looked back at her, and Rose was stunned to see the vulnerability that burned in Kara’s light blue eyes. “I couldn’t let anything happen to you.”

  Rose nodded. “Because of the oath?” she asked. “Or is there more?”

  Kara sighed heavily. “Oh, Rose. You’re too curious for your own good,” she muttered. “You’re always asking for information you’re not ready to hear.”

  “Try me,” Rose challenged. “I need to know the truth—whatever it is.”

  “You’re my,” Kara paused, searching for the right word, “someone.”

  Rose stared blankly at her, waiting for her to finish that sentence, but after a few moments of waiting, she realized that, apparently, that was the end of the sentence. “Umm… That’s very,” she paused, her eyebrows lifting, “vague.”

  Kara took another deep breath, clearly uncomfortable with this level of honesty. “Everyone has someone that they’ll do anything for,” she explained. “If they think that person is in danger, they’ll tell you whatever you want to know. They’ll betray anyone and anything to protect that…someone. That someone is their weakness, and exploiting that weakness is the cleanest way to interrogate.”

  Rose frowned. “The…cleanest?” she asked hesitantly.

  “It’s the way that doesn’t involve torture,” Kara clarified. She looked away, her brows furrowing, as if she were lost in thought. “It’s what I do. I find people’s weaknesses. I find their someone, and I use that person against them. So, of course, I can see it now in myself. You’re my someone. My weakness.”

  Rose just stared at her for a moment, her heart thundering against her chest, her mind racing, as she tried to understand what Kara was telling her. What exactly did Kara feel for her? “I think…I might have more than one someone.”

  Kara nodded. “You do,” she said, lifting her hand to touch Rose’s face. Her touch felt so gentle, so…reverent. “It’s because you’re so compassionate.”