Andrew and I circled each other cautiously. Right now, I couldn’t afford to worry about Annie. I had to worry more about keeping Andrew from getting what he wanted. And what he wanted was me, the one thing he could never get his hands on.
Chapter Thirty-One
Andrew waved the knife in front of his face, taunting me with it in an attempt to intimidate me more than I already was. “You’re coming with me one way or another, Ronnie. Take a look around. Your bodyguard is fighting a losing fight, and your mentor is lying broken three stories down. There’s nobody to save you from me, because you’re too weak to fight me.”
I clenched my hands tightly at my sides, fighting to keep from trembling in anger. “You’re wrong about that,” I hissed, eyes blazing. “And I’m gonna prove it to you, Andrew. Get ready for the fight of your life.”
He smiled wide and beckoned to me with one large hand. “Perfect.”
Andrew lunged at me with the knife, intending to slash me across the chest. I ducked and spun away from him, putting my back at the door to the roof. If he had any other henchmen ready to fight for him, I was doomed, but I had a feeling in my gut that I could take Andrew, and that his psychopathic nature would only make him an easier target.
Yes, he was much larger and more experienced than me, but he was also beginning to lose a grip on his sanity. One look at his wild eyes and crazy smile told me that I was right. Andrew was becoming unhinged, which made him as unpredictable as it did unstable.
Andrew lunged at me a second time and I jumped back, but not fast enough. White hot pain flared across my left bicep, and I stumbled back a surprised step. Red began to seep through the sleeve of my shirt, and I peeled it back to find a long, thin cut about four and a half inches long. It wasn’t deep and was only bleeding sluggishly, but that small blood loss could slow me down and make me an easy target.
I needed help.
A quick glance at Finn showed the two werewolves still locked together, grappling with one another. It looked like they were trying to throw one another off the roof, then they’d probably finish the fight on the ground and in the mud. The fight had only been going on for a couple of minutes, but already Finn’s nose looked broken, as did Diego’s left arm. Blood splattered the rooftop and their clothes and faces.
I tore my eyes away from Finn, knowing that he was a big boy and capable of taking care of himself. I had more pressing things to worry about, like how I was going to kill Andrew and banish his soul for good. That was the only way to keep him from somehow coming back and trying to take over the world a second time.
Andrew shifted the knife in his hand, calculating his next move, while I looked for an opportunity to end this fight. When the power inside of me began to grow and spread from my core to my fingertips at the urging of someone other than me, I tried to keep the surprise and uncertainty off my face. My power was acting of its own accord, without me to direct it, and I didn’t want Andrew to know in case this was something I could use to my advantage.
When the power gathered at the tips of my fingers, Andrew finally seemed to realize that something was going on. The knife fell to his side as he studied me, and I took a second to ponder what I could possibly do with my power other than reanimate a dead corpse with it. Without telling them to, my hands raised into a palm out position, and Andrew’s eyebrows snapped together as he finally realized what was going on.
Before he could shield himself, I threw my gathered power at him like a dark green ball of pure energy, and it slammed into his chest, throwing him across the roof. He slid to a stop at the edge, with his head and upper body hanging precariously over the edge, as the knife flew from his hand and skidded to a stop. There was silence on the roof, as even Finn and Diego stopped their fighting to look at me with surprise and awe. I wasn’t sure what I’d just done, but it seemed to work in my favor.
I began gathering the energy again, waiting for the right opportunity to unleash it, as Andrew forced himself to his feet. Surprisingly, he began to laugh. When he straightened, I could see tears in his eyes and a look of amazement on his face. “A fight isn’t fair when you have help from the dead.”
“What?” I asked, not sure what he was talking about. Was there someone else was here?
“Vivien, darling, come out and say hello.”
My mother’s form began to slowly appear from nothing, just mere feet from my left. Her body formed first, with her face coming in last. When she was fully visible, she turned her beautiful dark green eyes on me, and she looked so sad and afraid that I wanted to run to her and throw my arms around her and never let go.
But when she spoke, I found myself rooted to the spot. “Andrew, leave our daughter alone. If you continue down this path, I’ll be forced to destroy you.”
“Can you kill someone you once loved?” Andrew asked, staring at her with a scary mixture of love and hatred. “Could you really kill me, my sweet Vivien? Can you kill a man you once wanted to share your whole life with?”
My mother squared her shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. “If I have too. This is my daughter’s life on the line, and I value hers over yours any day. My daughter has a chance for a good life. Yours is full of hatred and anger and is dominated by your search for power. Do not think for one moment that I value your life over the life of my only child.”
Andrew smiled again. “Very well.”
He brought his hands up and unleashed a black ball of pure energy much larger and more powerful than mine, and I prepared myself for the impact. It slammed against an invisible force field around me with a sound like an explosion. The second the ball of energy hit the green barricade, it burst in a shower of sparks that crackled with energy. He launched two more, which resulted in more sparks and an impenetrable force field.
“Keep attacking and don’t stop,” my mother said gently. “Keep his defenses up and keep him on his toes.” The second my mother lowered the shield around me, I threw another burst of energy at Andrew. I wasn’t sure where this energy was all coming from, but it was the only weapon I had to fight him with. I unleashed explosion after explosion of raw energy, and even though Andrew had a similar shield up, I could see it beginning to weaken and fade.
After the fifth burst of energy left my hands, I swayed and staggered back a step. Now that my mother’s shield was down, I felt the absence of the energy. I fell to one knee and fought to push back the rising nausea. My blood pounded in my ears and each of my slow and steady heartbeats sounded like bombs going off between my ears. The pain was so intense it brought tears to my eyes, and I silently prayed for someone to just end it.
Andrew’s laughter cut through my pain like a knife, and I forced myself to look at him, though I couldn’t make myself stand. He was swaying gently as well. I wasn’t sure if it was from throwing such massive amounts of energy or from maintaining a shield for so long, but it could tell that he was having trouble standing.
“Veronica,” my mother whispered urgently. “He’s going to unleash one final burst of energy, and I need you to shield it, no matter what.”
“But–”
“No buts, honey. I’ll help you; I promise. I’ll be right here by your side. Now, the second you block it, fire one final shot at him. By now he’s used up too much of his energy and is drawing it from his life force. When he tries to erect a shield to protect himself the shield will consume him alive, and Andrew will be no more. Can you do this?”
I put my hands on the ground and used them to push myself into a standing position. I wobbled and nearly fell back down, but I managed to steady myself and face Andrew one final time. I really hoped that my mother was right, because I couldn’t keep this fight up much longer. Already my muscles ached and screamed at me, and my head pounded furiously. Any longer, and this fight would be the death of both me and Andrew.
It doesn’t matter, as long as Andrew dies…
The noble thought surprised me, but I didn’t have time to think about the appearance of my sudden heroics at t
he moment. Andrew was gathering energy for one final blast, and I could feel my mother joining what little energy she had left with mine, and I just hoped that it would be enough.
The second the blast of energy left Andrew’s hands, my shield went up. When the full force of Andrew’s fury slammed into it, the shield flickered and nearly broke, but held until the last possible second. Then it was gone, and my mother and I joined power one final time, creating a ball of energy that would finish off Andrew for good.
As it left my body, everything began to go dark and fuzzy around the edges, and I could feel myself falling into unconsciousness. The last thing I saw was the look on Andrew’s face as his shield shattered and the ball of energy consumed him whole, burning him alive from the inside out. He had time for one painful, agonized scream before he disintegrated, and everything went dark as I slid into unconsciousness.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“How long do you think she’ll be out?”
I almost smiled at the worried tone in Holly’s voice. She sounded like she wasn’t in pain, which meant she was going to be alright. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that the lights were dimmer this time, and they didn’t hurt my eyes as much.
Holly and Finn were standing near the open door, and Tanya and Ezra were curled up together on a small loveseat, watching the two argue. I noticed that Tanya had a small bandage on her neck, and one of her wings looked a little crumpled. Ezra had a black eye and a split lip, but was otherwise unharmed. Holly and Finn both looked fine, and I wondered if they had supernatural healing that kept them from being injured too long.
Finn and Holly were arguing in quiet voices, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I got the feeling that Holly wasn’t happy with him. She kept inching closer and closer to his face, and she even jabbed a finger sharply into his chest. It looked like her nail sliced right through his shirt and even drew blood.
Tanya was the first to notice that I was awake.
“Ronnie!” she squealed, jumping off the loveseat. She threw her arms around me and pulled me close. “You’re awake. We thought for sure you’d be out a while longer.”
“What happened?”
“Well, Andrew is dead, if that’s what you’re wondering. I guess he kind of…imploded. Your energy burned him out or something, and he just…poof!” She frowned. “I heard from Annie that your mother was there on the roof, helping you fight,” she said softly. “She said that you’d probably have some questions for her when you woke up, and I’m supposed to tell you to meet her down in the…morgue.” She stumbled over the last word and I gave her the largest smile I could manage, though it was still pretty small.
I pushed myself up into a sitting position, and was surprised by how good I felt. My muscles were stiff and a little sore and I had a killer headache, but other than that, I wasn’t in any real pain. When I swung my legs over the side of the bed and jumped to my feet, the room began to sway alarmingly, and before I could fall, Finn was there to catch me.
His strong arm wrapped around my waist, steadying me until I could stand on my own. When I looked up into his face, I was surprised at the amount of emotion in his eyes. Normally Finn tried his hardest to hide those feelings away from everyone. Now he wasn’t even trying, and it showed.
“Are you alright?” he asked quietly. His arm was warm and comforting, and I almost curled into his side, but forced myself to pull away. He looked sad, but didn’t say anything about it. He just nodded once in understanding, and took a quick step back. “I’m sorry.”
I sighed. “I’m sorry, but we can talk later. Right now, I need to find Annie so she can fill me in on everything that’s happened.” I looked at Tanya. “You said she was waiting for me in the morgue?” Strangely enough, the word morgue didn’t even remotely bother me, even though it had severely creeped me out at first. Now it was just another inevitable part of my life, one that I’d come to accept.
“Yes. She said to meet her as soon as you were feeling okay. Do you feel okay?” Tanya asked anxiously. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you waited a little bit. You could get some more rest, eat something first, or just relax.”
I shook my head. “I have to ask Annie about certain things. Certain things involving my heritage. I need to know about my mother, about Andrew, about my power, about everything I can. I’d rather not put this kind of talk off. Some things work out best when dealt with quickly.”
“Someone’s been reading fortune cookies,” Ezra said with a smile.
Tanya and Holly both laughed, and I felt my cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. I ducked my head so they wouldn’t notice, but when they continued to laugh, I figured they probably did. When I reached the door, Finn joined me in the hallway with a silent, stony expression on his face.
After only a few steps down the hall, it became clear that Finn wasn’t going to be the first to speak, and I would have to do it. So I began, “Are we gonna talk or not? Or are you just gonna ignore me?”
“I thought you wanted to wait. This is more important, right?”
“Is it?”
He stopped, and so did I, making sure to stare at his feet and not his face. I didn’t want to see anything in those eyes that always seemed to be so full of emotion. I didn’t want to know if he was angry, or if he was sad, or maybe if he was just trying to pretend he didn’t care.
When he firmly but gently gripped my chin, I felt a shiver of pleasure run down my spine. When our eyes connected, a low warmth spread throughout my body, and my knees felt weak, and they threatened to buckle beneath me. My hands gripped Finn’s broad forearms to keep myself steady, and his lips tilted up into the barest of smiles. “Are you alright?”
I stepped away from him. “I’m fine. Listen, Finn, about that kiss–”
“I just wanted one, in case one of us didn’t make it through that fight. But, since both of us did…” He stepped closer and lightly caressed the side of my cheek. “I think I’d like a second one. If that’s alright with you?” He looked so much more uncertain and confused than I’d ever seen him, and it was probably about my silence as much as about his own feelings.
Finn wasn’t used to having feelings for girls. At least, not anything other than physical feelings. He was probably as confused about his feelings for me as I was. Right now, I didn’t know what to do about Finn. Obviously there was something between the two of us, and there had been since he rescued me from Andrew’s place. Now those feelings had grown into something noticeable to everyone we knew, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted.
Which meant I needed time.
“Finn, to be honest, I really don’t know how I feel right now, about anything.”
The second the words left my mouth, I saw an immediate change in Finn. His eyes hardened into the guy he was when we first meant, and I quickly backtracked. I didn’t want to chase Finn away for good; I just needed some time.
“Finn, I care about you, a lot. Really, I do. I just murdered my father, and the ghost of my mother helped me do it. I have a lot going on in my mind right now, and I’m really sorry, but worrying about whether or not I’m falling in love with a temperamental werewolf can’t be the most important thing on my mind right now. I’m not asking you to wait indefinitely; I just need some time.”
His eyes softened, and he nodded, though he didn’t look happy to do it. “I understand. Take all the time you need.” Surprisingly, he bent down and kissed my cheek. His lips lingered against my skin, and the hairs on my arms rose and tingled as his breath tickled my skin.
Annie was waiting for me at the door to the morgue, but she waved for me to join her with her good hand. Her left arm was in a sling from the fall, and there was a white bandage on her forehead, but she was otherwise unharmed. “We’re being summoned to the Council room. Marcel wants to hear all of this as well. We’d best not keep them waiting.”
*****
Not for the first time, I found myself staring up at the three Council leaders. Each of them lo
oked at me with a different expression on their face. Kevin, the vampire that wanted to have me killed after I was rescued, was looking at me with such loathing it almost scared me. Lisa, the witch that had searched my mind and discovered the truth about my heritage, was looking at me with surprise and concern.
But Marcel, the leader of the Council in this region, was looking at me with admiration and compassion. This man wasn’t scared of me or what I was capable of, and he wasn’t wary or mistrustful of me. “Congratulations are in order. You have managed to rid the world of a very dangerous man, Veronica Parker.” I glanced at Annie out of the corner of my eyes, and Marcel nodded. “I’m sure we’re all very curious to know what went on up on that roof. Annie?”
She looked at me. “Your mother’s spirit has been hanging around since she died. She was waiting for a chance to tell you everything you needed to know. That takes massive amounts of power. When she lent that power to you on the roof, she took it from what little she had left. Ronnie, your mother may not be able to contact you again. Only time will tell whether she’ll be able to appear to you once more. My guess is no.”
The thought of never seeing my mother again hurt, but I forced myself to swallow that pain and focus on what she was saying now.
“When that ball of pure energy struck Andrew, it destroyed him on impact. He’d already used up too much of his power trying to destroy you, and it left him open and defenseless against your final attack. After he destroyed himself, I banished his spirit while I was lying in the mud. We have nothing more to worry about from Andrew. Ever. He’s gone, Ronnie, and you don’t have to worry about being used ever again.”
I looked at the Council members. The three of them were whispering heatedly with one another, and I began to worry. Were they arguing about me? When Marcel smiled, my insides unknotted a little, and I took a deep breath, readying myself for what he had to say.
“Veronica, this Council has been deliberating since the fight about what to do with you, and though our decision is not unanimous, one has been reached. During your short stay here, you managed to get some control over your powers, and with a little more practice, who knows? You may be free to leave by the end of the month.”
Dark Heritage Trilogy Page 20
