The Assassins of Light

by Britney Jackson

  Aaron took a step back, clearly a little wary of those terrifying, red eyes.

  Kara, on the other hand, leaned forward and slid her hand into Rose’s.

  Rose’s blood-red eyes shifted toward her, and as soon as they met Kara’s gaze, the red flames flickered out, leaving behind Rose’s normal, bright blue eyes.

  “I’m sure, if you asked a bomb if it enjoyed being what it is,” Aaron said, “it might also have objections. But humans would still arm themselves with it.”

  Rose shook her head. “You don’t understand how unpredictable my power is,” she sighed. “Trust me. If I’m a bomb, you don’t want me to be set off.”

  “Of course not,” he agreed. “But you have to fight like your enemy, Rose. And right now, whether we like it or not, our enemy is the human race. Hopefully, we can stop the war before it turns into an us-or-them, but we are fighting humans. Which means we have to fight like them. As a baby vampire, I’d expect you to understand how they fight. Humans arm themselves with weapons, including what they call nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are dangerous and devastating, and I don’t think that, when humans go to war, they ever plan to use them.” His eyebrows lifted. “But you better believe they always have access to the button.”

  Rose nodded slowly. “And that’s why you want to keep me close?”

  He smiled. “If anyone’s going to have access to it, it’s going to be me.”

  “Rose,” Kara said, “you don’t have to do this, if you don’t want to.”

  Aaron shot a peeved glare at his second-in-command. “Yes, she does.”

  “It’s fine,” Rose said quietly, before Kara could argue with Aaron. “I am what I am, regardless of where I am. If I’m a weapon, I might as well be useful.”

  A smug smile pulled at the edges of his lips. “I’m glad you see it my way.”

  Rose jumped to her feet, suddenly. “But let me make one thing clear,” she said, pointing at him. “The only person who has access to my button…is me.”

  Aaron watched her with an amused smile. “You know,” he said slowly, “when I’m not thinking about the many ways I’d like to kill you, I almost like you.”

  Rose glanced back at Kara. “Was that his idea of a compliment?”

  Kara grinned and nodded. “For Aaron, that was very complimentary.”

  Rose turned toward Aaron and shrugged. “Then, almost…thank you?”

  Kara straightened, suddenly, her gaze darting toward the door. “Rose,” she said. “Do you know if any of your friends were expecting visitors tonight?”

  Rose shrugged, her brows furrowing. “Just the pizza delivery people.”

  Kara closed her eyes, listening to the sounds outside. “On a motorcycle?”

  “I would assume that they drive cars, usually,” Rose said hesitantly. That bad feeling that she’d been feeling for days suddenly became more pronounced, twisting deeper in her stomach. “Kara,” she said slowly, “is something wrong?”

  Kara didn’t have time to answer.

  Because…at that moment, someone fired a gun.

  19

  Owen’s Mistake

  Rose straightened as she heard the gunshot, echoing through the night. She didn’t even hear Kara warning her to wait as she turned and raced outside, toward the scent of human blood. She caught Owen in her arms, supporting his weight easily as he staggered. He clutched his stomach, watching his blood seep through his fingers, his eyes wide with shock. Rose held him for a moment, too stunned to react, and then, her gaze, which was now blood-red, shifted upward.

  Jared stood in front of them, watching his boyfriend bleed to death with a pained expression. But then, his gaze hardened, and he pointed the gun at Rose.

  “I’m sorry,” Owen said. “He said he wanted to apologize. I’m so stupid.”

  Rose kept her arms wrapped tightly around him, even as the salty scent of his blood overwhelmed her senses. “How could you?” she whispered to Jared.

  “You did this. Not me,” Jared said. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been put in this position.” The wind ruffled his curly, black hair as he stared at her, but not a single other part of his body moved. His hand remained completely steady as he held the gun, pointed directly at her head. “I didn’t want to hurt him.”

  “You could’ve said no,” Rose tried to tell him. “You can always say no.”

  Shadows danced across the ground, cast by the light of the doorway, as the others came to the door to see what happened. Rose vaguely recognized their voices—Audrey’s gasp, Kallias’s yell—but she kept her blood-red eyes on Jared.

  The lights suddenly went out.

  It happened too quickly for them to realize what was happening—a small object rushing past them at an unnatural speed and landing perfectly in the center of the headlight of Jared’s motorcycle. As Jared turned to glance at the shattered headlight, the door of the house slammed closed, cutting out the last bit of light.

  It was a new moon that night, so without his headlights and the lights from the house, they were left in total darkness. And since the nocturnal vision of vampires allowed them to see without light, Jared was at a severe disadvantage.

  He panicked and tried to shoot blindly at Rose, but before he could pull the trigger, Kara leapt at him, restraining him with one arm, and using her other hand to twist his arm into a painful, dangerous position, until the gun pointed at his own head, rather than Rose’s. He trembled as the gun pressed against his chin.

  “I imagine it’s hard to control your hand when it’s in that position,” Kara said, “especially when you had your finger pressed against the trigger already. So, if you don’t want to accidentally shoot yourself, I’d suggest you drop the gun.”

  Jared opened his hand, his fingers trembling from the pain, and let the gun fall into the grass. Aaron walked past Rose, as soon as Jared was no longer a threat, and bent to pick up the gun. Jared obviously couldn’t see who held him or who had approached him, but he stiffened as he heard Aaron move closer to him.

  Rose felt Owen’s grip on her shirt loosen, and she glanced down at him, her eyes widening with alarm, as she noticed that his eyes were closed. “Owen?”

  She noticed someone appear at her side, but between the paralyzing fear that filled every vein in her body and her horror at what Jared had just done to her friend, she couldn’t bring herself to look at the person. She felt a warm, strong hand curl around her arm, and then she heard Tom’s deep voice in her ear, saying, “Lay him on the ground so I can look at the wound. I might be able to help.”

  Rose knelt on one knee and lay Owen’s unconscious body in the grass.

  Tom knelt beside her, the scent of his cologne mingling with the scent of Owen’s blood. He folded up the gray sweater and undershirt that Owen wore, leaving it bunched around his ribs, as he examined the bullet wound in Owen’s stomach. “It looks like a clean wound. If I give him my blood, he should heal.”

  Rose looked up at him. “Really?” she breathed, her voice shaking.

  “Wait,” Aaron said, just as Tom started to sink his fangs into his wrist. Aaron stepped closer to Jared and pressed the gun against his forehead, watching as sweat glistened on his dark, flushed skin. “What kind of bullets are these?”

  Kara still held Jared in that painful position, his wrists and arms twisted to their breaking points, and his teeth chattered as he answered, “Poisoned.”

  Tom immediately dropped his wrist to his side and leaned back.

  Rose looked back and forth between them—between Tom, Aaron, Kara, and finally, Jared. “What does that mean?” she asked, even though she already knew. “I mean…he can be saved, right? There must be a way.” She jumped to her feet, approaching Jared, even as she heard Kallias’s deep voice behind her, telling her to stay away from him. Kara watched her worriedly as she approached. “Please,” she pleaded desperately with Jared, “tell me how to save him. Please!”

  Jared’s dark eyes watched her. “You’d have to drain his blood. All
of it.”

  Rose frowned at that. “But he’s human. He’d die of blood loss before…”

  “Exactly,” Jared said before she even finished. “You’d have to turn him.”

  Rose looked back at Owen’s unconscious body, watching as he struggled to breathe. She could already smell the death on him. “Is that what you wanted?” she cried, spinning toward Jared. “Did you want to turn him into what you hate?”

  “No,” Jared said. “I want you to drain his blood in order to save him.”

  “He wants you to kill yourself, Rose,” Kara explained, her brows creased with worry. “There’s poison coursing through Owen’s bloodstream. If you drain him of blood, that poison will kill you. That’s what he’s wanting you to do.”

  Rose stared at Kara, her heart racing with fear. “Would it work?”

  “Rose, no,” Kara pleaded. Her voice shook with desperation. “Please.”

  “I can’t let him die,” Rose said, taking a step back. “Not because of me.”

  Kara released Jared, racing after Rose without a second thought. He fell to the ground and immediately grasped for another gun that he had hidden in his jacket, but before he could point it at anyone, Aaron shot him with the first gun.

  Rose stopped to glance back at Jared. He collapsed on his back, blood soaking his shirt. Realizing that she probably didn’t have time to waste, she turned back toward Owen. But instead, she found her view of her friend blocked by the muscular tower, also known as Kallias. “Kallias,” she whispered, “please, move.”

  “No,” he growled, his brown eyes dark with anger. “Absolutely not.”

  By this point, Kara had caught up with Rose, and she slid in beside them, desperate to change Rose’s mind. She held Rose’s face in her hands, gently turning Rose’s face toward hers. “Please, Rose,” she whispered softly, leaning in closer, her breath warm against Rose’s face. “Please, don’t do this. You can’t do this.”

  “I have to,” Rose sighed. “I have to do something. I have to save him.”

  “You can’t save everyone,” Kallias told her. He stood on the other side of her, still, between her and Owen. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “I will always try,” Rose said without looking at him. She couldn’t look at him at the moment because she was too paralyzed by the glistening tears welling up in Kara’s icy blue eyes. “You know,” she said, her voice softer, “I have to try.”

  “I’ll do it,” Kara told her. “If it must be done, you can let me do it.”

  Rose recoiled instantly, pain unfurling throughout her entire body, her stomach turning at the mere thought of something so terrible. “No,” she gasped, “You can’t do that,” she trailed off, choking back a sob. “I…I can’t lose you.”

  Kara tilted her head to the side, tracing the softness of Rose’s face with her thumbs. “Then, you see why you can’t do that to me, don’t you?” she sighed. “I can’t lose you, either, Rose. I’ll give my own life before I watch you give yours.”

  “In that case,” Isaac said suddenly, trotting outside, toward them, “you’re going to want to be really nice to me, for once.” He stopped just a few feet from them, wearing a smug smile, even as Kallias and Kara glared suspiciously at him.

  Rose turned toward the former Assassin of Light. “What do you mean?”

  “I know of a way to save him,” he told her. His thin shoulders slumped lazily as he explained himself to her. He clearly wasn’t concerned for her friend, which made Rose wonder what his true motive was. “I have a way to drain his blood without anyone having to bite him. I can save his life, if you want my help.”

  Kara watched him with a worried frown. “This doesn’t make sense,” she told Rose quietly. “Isaac hates vampires, even though he is one. He also hates you, apparently. He hates me more than anyone.” She cast a curious glance in his direction. “He hates everyone and everything. He’s homophobic, sexist, and…probably racist as well. There is no one on the planet who’d be less likely to help your friend than him.” She looked at Rose. “I’m just saying…it’s suspicious.”

  Rose nodded. She agreed with that, but at the same time, she didn’t really have any other options. And…she’d do anything, if it would save her friend’s life.

  “I could call Geoff,” Erik offered, calling out to them from the doorway. “He has all kinds of science equipment, right? Maybe he could help somehow.”

  Kallias shook his head. “He’d never get here in time. Owen would die before he arrived, and once his blood was drained, it’d be too late to turn him.”

  “My way’s quick,” Isaac reminded Rose. “All you have to do is ask.” His smile turned snide—almost malicious, even. “And maybe say please. For my ego.”

  Rose watched him, her stomach twisting and plunging with dread.

  “Don’t look at me,” Aaron said when Kara directed a questioning look at him. “If you ask me, you should let him die. He told an Assassin of Light where he was and got himself shot. He’s obviously an idiot, and as the vampire who has to keep the idiotic vampires in line, I’d rather not have another one to deal with.”

  Rose’s gaze immediately shifted toward him, once again overtaken by that glowing, red haze. “He’s my friend, you heartless jerk!” she growled. The ground trembled beneath their feet. The trees groaned, and the limbs creaked, as a dark, volatile power emanated from her, swirling around them like a whirlwind.

  Aaron stepped back. “Kara, calm her down. Before I have to kill her.”

  Kara reached out and touched Rose’s arm, her hand warm and gentle, as it curled around her upper arm. “We’re going to save him, all right?” she assured Rose, and that did seem to soothe Rose a little. But as soon as Kara noticed Rose’s eyes fading to their usual blue color, she turned to Aaron, her eyes narrowing. She lowered her voice, speaking in a dangerous growl, “You won’t touch her.”

  Aaron straightened, his black eyes flashing with a mixture of shock, rage, and bewilderment at the implied threat. He couldn’t even think of a response.

  “So, what will it be?” Isaac asked Rose. “Do you want my help or not?”

  Rose looked at him and nodded. “Yes,” she said tiredly, “please.”

  Isaac smirked, and then, he spun around and ran back into the house, disappearing in an unseeable blur as he raced up the stairs to get the equipment.

  As Rose watched him head into the house, she noticed all of the vampires outside, watching them. She caught Erik’s gaze and mouthed, “Audrey? Zach?”

  “They’re in the kitchen,” Erik told her, his green gaze soft with sympathy. “Elise is with them. They don’t know about Owen. Only that someone was shot.”

  Rose nodded gratefully. “That’s probably best,” she sighed, “for now.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Tom gathering Owen’s cold, pale body into his arms. His body hung limply in Tom’s arms, his eyes closed and his clothes soaked in blood. His blood smelled strange to her now. She wondered if the odd taint that she smelled was the poison. “I’m taking him upstairs,” Tom told her. “He might want privacy…whenever it comes times to…” he trailed off.

  Rose nodded, knowing exactly what he meant, even if he hadn’t said it. She feared that Owen wouldn’t forgive her for this—for letting someone turn him into the same creature that had killed his parents. “It’s the only way, isn’t it?”

  “He’ll either die from the poison or the blood loss,” Kara confirmed. “You can’t prevent his death, but you can give him another chance at life.”

  “A different kind of life, though,” Kallias added. “He might hate you.”

  “I know,” Rose said. She looked at them. “Am I doing the right thing?”

  “Don’t look at me,” Kara muttered. “You’re the good one, remember?”

  Kallias didn’t answer her. He just continued to stare at her, his brown eyes wide with frustration. Finally, he shifted his gaze toward Kara. “Do you see what I mean? She nearly gets herself
killed at every turn. It’s as if she wants to die. Are you prepared to deal with that? Because this is what it’s always like with her.”

  Rose watched in silence as he spun around and marched back into the house, his boots pounding much-too-harshly against the ground. “We’re not even together, and I’m still pissing him off,” she muttered. She cast a worried glance at Kara, not sure how Kara would react to what Kallias said, but to her surprise, Kara offered her a gentle smile. “He’s right,” Rose said. “I’m the worst girlfriend.”

  Kara laughed, “I dated Alana, remember? She already took that title.”

  Rose noticed the sound of footsteps—autumn leaves crunching beneath tennis shoes—and turned to find Aaron approaching them, a homicidal gleam in his black eyes as he glared at Kara. With a guilty smile, Kara turned to face him.

  “I need to speak to you,” Aaron said, “in the room with the television.”

  Rose frowned at his vagueness. “You mean…the living room?”

  Kara chuckled, “Aaron doesn’t get out of the tombs much.”

  Rose wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Aaron suddenly looked even more murderous than before. “You have one hundred and eighty seconds,” Aaron snarled at Kara before turning to head into the house, along with the others.

  “I guess three minutes didn’t sound threatening enough,” Rose said dryly.

  Kara laughed. She widened her eyes playfully. “I think I’m in trouble.”

  “What else is new?” Rose quipped. But then, her smile faded, and the unease settled in her stomach again. “He said it was my fault. Did you hear him?”