The Assassins of Light

by Britney Jackson

  “I shouldn’t have closed the door,” Rose said. “I never close the door.”

  “It’s okay,” Kara said, running her fingers through Rose’s thick, auburn hair. “It’s open now. Just take deep breaths. I’m here. You’re safe. Just breathe.”

  Rose wrapped her arms around Kara’s waist, clutching tightly to her, as if she were afraid of falling. She clutched Kara so tightly that she thought it must have hurt, but if it did, Kara endured it easily. As her pulse returned to its usual pace, her vision cleared as well, and she noticed the open door, the large, empty kitchen beyond them. And that sight calmed her. “You must think I’m so screwed up,” Rose mumbled against Kara’s shoulder, tears burning her eyes, “like Alana.”

  “Oh, Rose,” Kara murmured in her ear, “I would never think that.”

  “I come in this room all the time. It doesn’t usually bother me,” Rose said, clutching the soft, thin fabric of Kara’s shirt. “But I never close the door.”

  “Stop giving yourself such a hard time,” Kara told her. “Panic attacks are just a thing that happens to people sometimes. They can’t always be prevented.”

  As the disorientation in Rose’s mind began to clear, the fear gave way to different emotions and sensations. Because Kara’s touch didn’t just comfort her. It also caused other reactions. Embarrassing reactions. As an overwhelming rush of desire and hunger washed over her, Rose stepped back, out of Kara’s arms.

  A knowing smile twitched at the edges of Kara’s lips. “Are you all right?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Rose mumbled, blushing. “Are Audrey and Erik gone?”

  “I think I saw them upstairs when I came down,” Kara said with a frown. “Is that what you were asking?” She followed Rose’s gaze toward the kitchen.

  “Yeah. They were in the kitchen a moment ago,” Rose said as she turned toward the washing machine. “That’s why I closed the door. I wasn’t thinking.”

  Kara nodded. She leaned against the doorframe, watching as Rose turned on the washing machine and measured out the detergent to pour into it. “They seemed pretty…busy,” she said with an amused smile, “when I saw them upstairs.”

  Rose shuddered in disgust. “Ugh. Don’t remind me. It’s so weird.”

  Kara laughed. As soon as Rose finished adding detergent to the washing machine, Kara stepped forward and closed the lid for her. “Come on,” she said.

  Rose followed her out of the small, closet-like room and into the large, spacious kitchen. She watched as Kara strode around the kitchen, as if she were searching for something. Finally, Kara opened one of the drawers and found what she was looking for—a knife, apparently. She tossed the steak knife into the air.

  “Hey, stop that,” Rose said as she snatched the steak knife out of Kara’s hand. She returned the knife to its drawer. “No playing with knives in the house.”

  Kara’s icy blue eyes sparkled with amusement as she watched Rose. She moved closer. “I’m such a bad girl,” she said playfully. “You should punish me.”

  Rose’s eyes widened. She looked up at Kara, her cheeks reddening, and in the process, she forgot to watch what she was doing and slammed her fingers in the drawer. She whimpered and shifted her gaze back to her crushed fingers.

  “Here,” Kara said, closing her hand around Rose’s wrist. She held Rose’s gaze as she lifted Rose’s hand to her mouth and kissed each one of her fingers.

  Rose shuddered as the blood bond reacted to the sensation, causing her body to tremble with hunger and lust. “W-what are you doing?” she stammered.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Kara asked with a smirk. “I’m flirting with you, Rose.”

  “I’m not sure that flirting is a strong enough word for what you do,” Rose muttered dryly, her eyes wide. She reluctantly pulled her hand out of Kara’s grasp.

  Kara stepped forward and placed her hands on the counter, on each side of Rose, closing in on her. She watched Rose’s reaction with a smile—the instant pink flush that spread across Rose’s skin, the dilation of her beautiful, azure eyes, the quick rise and fall of her chest, of her heavy, rounded breasts. “You see, Rose,” she said, her lips brushing against Rose’s, “if you had said, last night, that you didn’t want me, I would have backed off. Even if I knew you were lying. But you said that you do want me. And I very much want you. So, I’m fighting for you.”

  “You’re…you’re…what?” Rose sputtered, her eyes widening in shock.

  Kara smiled. “You heard me,” she whispered. “Until you tell me that you don’t want me anymore, I’ll keep doing this. Because I know that you like it.”

  “Uh,” Rose stammered. Somewhere, deep inside her mind, she knew that she should just say it: that she didn’t like it, that Kara should stop, that she didn’t want Kara…because she loved Kallias. But those words refused to form on her lips. Possibly because Kara had left her so tongue-tied. Or…more likely, because those words weren’t true. Not really. She did love Kallias. But she felt something for Kara, too. Something more powerful and more cataclysmic than anything she had ever felt before. Something that consumed her—mind, body, and soul—until she couldn’t remember how to make rational decisions. Or…talk, apparently.

  Kara laughed softly at Rose’s speechlessness. “I love it when you blush.”

  Rose lifted both eyebrows. “Apparently,” she said in her sassiest tone.

  Kara stepped back, her entire body shaking with laughter. “If you knew how cute you are…” she trailed off, her light blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

  “I’m a dangerous vampire,” Rose muttered, “and you’re calling me cute.”

  “Ah, but you are,” Kara purred. “You’re dangerous and cute and sexy.”

  Rose blushed again. “Most people wouldn’t agree with you about that.”

  “Most people aren’t really seeing you,” Kara said seriously. “I am.”

  Before Rose could think of a response to that, the sound of footsteps on the staircase and in the hall interrupted her thoughts. “Is something going on?”

  “Aaron called a meeting,” Kara explained. “That’s where we’re going.”

  “We’re?” Rose repeated. She nodded as she understood. “Is that what Aaron wanted you to talk to me about? The thing I’m supposed to…come to?”

  Kara chuckled. “Yes. You have to come. Your presence is requested.”

  “Was it said that politely, or are you paraphrasing?” Rose asked dryly.

  Kara laughed, “Aaron has never said a polite word in his life.”

  “I wouldn’t doubt it,” Rose laughed. She stepped away from the counter, preparing to follow Kara to this meeting with Aaron. But then, Kara stepped past her and reopened the drawer. Kara pulled out the same steak knife that Rose had just taken away from her. She winked at Rose and tossed it up in the air again. Rose suppressed a smile. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to play with knives?”

  “I wouldn’t have listened to them, if they had,” Kara said, as she stepped into the foyer. “Besides, how do you think I learned to use my throwing knives?”

  Rose nodded. “I had noticed that, actually,” she commented, taking Kara by surprise. “You’re always playing with your daggers. Throwing them in the air and catching them without looking. You’re practicing. And testing your reflexes.”

  Kara smiled. “Well, aren’t you observant?” she murmured seductively.

  Rose pressed her lips tightly together, trying not to smile, but even as she did, she felt her lips twitch up at the corners. She followed Kara into the living room, curiosity and nervousness fluttering in her stomach as she wondered why Aaron wanted her there. Kara leaned against the door, holding it open for Rose.

  “Thanks,” Rose mumbled. Her brows furrowed as she swept her gaze around the living room. She recognized many of the vampires, but not all of them.

  Kara stepped forward and placed her hand against the curve of Rose’s lower back, gently urging Rose into the room. The action was innocent enough. Just the warmth of her p
alm brushing casually against Rose’s back. And yet, the sensation caused a deep, needful heat to burn throughout her body, starting at the base of her spine, where Kara’s hand rested, and spreading to her extremities, and…well…to another area, as well. Fortunately, Kara quickly removed her hand.

  At that moment, Elise looked up at them, and her glossy, pink lips curved into a friendly smile. She beckoned them over to her, gesturing at the free seats beside her. “Bonjour, ladies,” she murmured sweetly. “You can sit beside me.”

  Rose sat gingerly beside the friendly vampire, breathing deeply, as she tried to regain control of her emotions. She breathed out a nervous, shaky sigh when Kara sat down beside her, close enough that Kara’s body warmed her own.

  Kara draped her arm casually over Rose’s shoulder, so that she could lean in close. Her lips brushed against Rose’s ear as she whispered, “Total accident.”

  Rose’s blush deepened. “I…hate…blood bonds,” she hissed irritably.

  The sound of Kara’s soft, breathless laugh, pouring so sensually into her ear, did nothing to alleviate the painful desire that was already coursing through her body. “Well, I must say…I’m not hating it so much right now,” she teased.

  Rose shot a half-annoyed-half-amused glare in Kara’s direction.

  “Tom,” Elise said genially. She turned in her seat and smiled at the dark, muscular man who sat on the next sofa. “You remember Rose, don’t you?”

  Tom leaned forward and offered Rose a friendly smile. “Of course,” he said, his voice low and gruff. “How could I forget the person who saved my life?”

  Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat, flustered by the attention. She offered him a nervous smile. “It really wasn’t that big of a deal,” she muttered.

  “I disagree,” Tom said warmly. “I owe you. I haven’t forgotten my debt.”

  “Debt? What? No,” Rose sputtered. “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “Yes, I do,” he disagreed, smiling. “I’ll find a way to repay you. I swear.”

  “But…I don’t want to be repaid,” Rose said. “I didn’t do it for that.”

  “You can’t take away a person’s sense of duty, Rose,” Kara scolded, a smirk tugging at the edges of her lips. “You may be able to do everything else you want. Break the laws of physics. Change the physical world to reflect your will. But the one thing that even you cannot do is take away a person’s sense of duty.”

  Rose glared at her. “Thanks a lot,” she muttered sarcastically.

  Kara flashed a flirty smirk at her. “I was only being honest. That’s what you want, isn’t it? Honesty? Or do you prefer loyalty? Which one do you prefer?”

  “Honesty’s fine,” Rose assured her.

  “Are you sure?” Kara asked. Her icy blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “Because I’ll do whatever you want. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”

  Rose blinked at the obvious suggestiveness in that statement.

  Kara’s lips tilted into a flirty smirk. “Whatever you want,” she repeated.

  Heat rushed to Rose’s face. “You’re relentless,” she said breathlessly.

  “Yes,” Kara said, her smile deepening, “and you love it. Don’t you?”

  Rose followed the curve of Kara’s lips with her gaze, watching as that gorgeous smile spread across her face. “I love it when you smile,” she confessed.

  Kara’s eyes widened, and her smile faltered, her lips parting in surprise.

  “Uh… I…I don’t know why I said that,” Rose stammered, “out loud.”

  Aaron stepped forward, then, out of the shadowy corner of the room. Rose looked up at him curiously, but Kara continued to stare at Rose, a surprised, affectionate smile curving at the corners of her lips. “I’ve spoken with Kallias. We’ll be staying here until the mission is completed,” Aaron said. Everyone in the room fell silent as his low, accented voice interrupted their conversations. He wore his usual, bored scowl. Apparently, even war bored him. “At the moment, the Assassins of Light have their attention on Rose. So, this is our best chance to attack, and one of their most powerful bases is here, in New York City.” His dark gaze shifted toward Kara. His brows furrowed as he noticed the way Kara was staring at Rose. “Kara,” he snapped irritably. “Don’t you have something to say?”

  Kara looked at him and smiled, as if she hadn’t noticed the hostility in his voice. Or more likely, she did notice it and just didn’t care. “Of course,” she said. She stood, unfurling her long body from her corner of the sofa. She walked toward the center of the room, where Aaron stood. She propped her elbows on the back of one of the sofas and leaned forward. “The good news is…I have the address—or rather, the directions to it, since it has no documented address—to the base in New York City. The bad news is…we’re not attacking it tonight.”

  Tom tilted his head back so that he could look up at her. “Why not?”

  Kara gave him a friendly—but very harsh—pat on the shoulder, ignoring the way he winced at the action. “You know how this works, Tom,” she sighed. “I have spies watching the entrances and exits, and I also have spies trying to hack into their security systems. It’ll take a night or two to get all the details we need.”

  “Hacking?” one of the vampires snarled. “What does that even mean?”

  Rose shifted her gaze toward the unfamiliar vampire who had practically sneered at Kara. Adrenaline rushed through her body as an instinctual urge rose up inside of her—the urge to protect Kara—even though Kara was technically in no danger. The tall, lanky man sat alone on one of the sofas, his thin body not even taking up one-third of the sofa. He glared at Kara, his greenish-brown eyes full of hatred, beneath a mess of unkempt, light brown hair. Rose thought it was strange that he sat alone when all of the other sofas were cramped with too many vampires. It was almost as if everyone stayed as far away from him as possible.

  “What kind of idiot doesn’t know what hacking is?” Rose said…before she could stop herself. She cringed as the vampire’s dark gaze shifted toward her.

  “Aaron,” the man growled. “That baby vampire just insulted me.”

  Aaron just rolled his eyes. “She does that. It’s unpreventable, I’m afraid.”

  “There’s one way to prevent it,” the vampire said. “You could kill her.”

  “She acted on a natural inclination,” Aaron told the vampire, impatience flashing in his dark eyes. “You spoke disrespectfully to Kara, and Rose is bound to Kara at the moment. It’s natural for her to lash out at you. I never kill anyone for acting on their natural inclinations. Besides, if you can’t handle being called an idiot, you really don’t want to hear my opinion of you,” he growled, “Assassin.”

  Rose barely had time to process the fact that Aaron had just defended her before that last word caught her attention. “Assassin? He’s one of them?”

  “Not anymore,” the vampire growled at her. “Unfortunately.”

  “Isaac was one of the original Assassins of Light,” Kara explained. “He was one of the monks.” She smiled at Rose. “That’s why he doesn’t recognize the word hacking. He’s been in hiding since before the invention of computers, only emerging to feed and kill. Because he was afraid of us. Because he’s a coward.”

  Isaac shifted his hate-filled gaze toward Kara. “What did you call me?”

  Kara flashed a cocky smirk at him. “I’m sure you heard me,” she taunted.

  Aaron shot an annoyed look at Kara. “That’s enough. Don’t antagonize.”

  Kara sighed, as if she thought that Aaron’s command was inconvenient and unreasonable. “But I love to antagonize,” she complained, practically pouting.

  “Find a new hobby,” Aaron told her. “I don’t have the patience for this.”

  “You sound like an old man when you say stuff like that,” Rose said with an amused smile. “But then, I guess you are an old man. The oldest man, possibly.”

  Aaron scowled at her. “Not possibly. Definitely. I am the oldest.”

>   “An old man that wears skinny jeans,” Rose said, wrinkling her nose. She pretended not to notice the annoyed look that Aaron was giving her. “So weird.”

  Aaron exhaled heavily, his nostrils flaring. “Don’t make me kill you.”

  Tom watched Rose with both eyebrows raised, clearly trying to suppress the smile twitching at the edges of his lips. He and Elise exchanged an amused look. Meanwhile, the rest of the vampires in the room looked utterly terrified for Rose. Except for Kara, of course, who wasn’t even trying to hide her laughter.

  Aaron glared at Kara. “Aren’t you worried that I’ll kill your girlfriend?”

  Kara patted him on the arm. “You would never kill her for something as insignificant as that. You need her,” she said easily. Another grin broke out across her face. “Besides, you need to be teased every now and then. You’re too tense.”

  Aaron leveled her with a deadly glare. Then, as if the entire exchange had never happened, he turned toward the rest of the vampires. “Once Kara has all of the information we need, I’ll call a second meeting to discuss the plan. Until then, we must wait, but stay vigilant. All hell could break loose at any moment.”

  Some of the vampires nodded in agreement, while others just considered his words in silence. Aaron left the room first, his tennis shoes squeaking against the hardwood floor, and then, several of the other vampires followed after him.

  Kara waited until everyone else left before she returned to Rose. “You have a part to play in this mission,” she said slowly. “Are you ready for that?”

  Rose leaned back on the sofa, feeling her body sink further into the soft leather, as she stared up at Kara. She tried not to notice the way Kara’s sleek, blue and black hair hung around her face, highlighting the lightness of her features—her fair skin, her light blue eyes, her pale, pink lips. She tried not to notice how the tight, black clothing hugged Kara’s long, lean form. She tried—she tried so desperately—to ignore the buzz of attraction that she felt for Kara, to ignore the deep, warm affection that she felt for Kara, to ignore that question that lurked deep inside her mind—the question of what she actually felt for Kara. Because if she ever answered that question, it would change everything. “Ready for what?”