by Shah, Karin
“You’re late this evening. I’ve already claimed two more lives, that female bartender of yours and a vampiress wannabe.” Akos made a clicking sound. “One would think you didn’t care. Finally showing your little friend your true colors?”
Gideon circled Akos without answering, obviously looking for an opening. Akos turned as Gideon changed position, keeping him in eye contact, but his hands were planted in his pockets.
His arrogance pissed her off. “Gideon is a better man than you’ll ever be.”
Akos tilted his head toward Thalia, acknowledging her for the first time. “Have you told this young lady about our history together? Does she know what kind of an animal you really are?”
Gideon growled and attacked so swiftly he blurred. Akos disappeared. He reappeared back on the catwalk. Gideon now stood where Akos had been.
“You’ll have to do better than that. You had no problems killing me the first time around.”
“Apparently, I did.” Gideon flew up to the catwalk. The ancient supports groaned under his added weight.
Akos took an exaggerated step backward, taunting Gideon. “Luckily for me, Inanna turned me just as I was about to breathe my last breath. Gods, she was beautiful, wasn’t she? Like these, what do they call them? Supermodels. I wonder what you see in the Champion? She’s got your scent all over her, but she’s not much to look at, is she?”
Thalia sucked in a pained breath and her concentration wavered, but she re-focused, angry with herself now. He was probing for weaknesses, and for a second it had worked.
Gideon lunged for Akos, but caught only empty air. He reappeared, standing on the concrete floor and waved one long finger at Gideon, who stood on the catwalk, his face an illustration of thwarted rage. “Ah, ah, ah. I want to have my say first.”
He pivoted toward Thalia.
What was he up to now? She reinforced her shield.
“Inanna was amazing, but when a mortal falls in love with a vampire, he has to ask himself, is it really love or just that incredible magnetism vampires possess?” His tone was smooth and sincere.
How many times had she asked herself that question? Akos smiled, as if he knew he’d gotten under her skin.
This was the first time she’d seen him in good light. Like Gideon and the other vampires in town, he was almost painfully attractive, but he had an oily, insinuating quality about him that made Thalia feel dirty. When she didn’t answer him, he continued, “Then there’s the beauty factor. Really, my sweet, do you think you measure up?”
Before Akos could say anything else, Gideon struck. He plunged an iron rod into Akos’ chest. Akos threw back his head. His scream echoed through the metal building. He grabbed the end of the rod and yanked it out, dropping it on the floor. It clanked as it hit the hard floor. “Missed my heart. Next time, aim a little more to the left.”
He vanished once more to reappear on the catwalk. Gideon followed. The catwalk began to sway. Thalia stifled a cry as the rusted bolts of the supports gave way, snapping with a harsh moan.
Gideon grabbed Akos by the arm. “Where is Inanna?”
His question drove the air from her body. Her gaze flew to Gideon’s face. Was he still in love with his former wife?
“You see my little dove,”—Akos threw his words at her like a weapon—“Now we know where his priorities lie.” With that, he seized Gideon by the biceps and flew up to the rusty ceiling, ramming Gideon into the unyielding metal of the roof. The force of the impact drove them apart, and Gideon fell to the ground. Thalia moved to go to him, but he held up a broad palm.
Akos touched down gently in front of Gideon. “Did you expect to see her?” He shook his head mockingly. “I hate to crush your fantasies, but she’s dead. One more death on your oh-so-convenient conscience.” Akos swung a fist at Gideon. Gideon blocked it and hit air with a strike of his own as Akos leaned away. “It’s a pity,” he continued. “I think she really loved me, but she made one mistake. She turned you.” Hatred made his final words a venomous snarl. “She said it would make you suffer. Unfortunately I see no evidence of that.”
Thalia wondered why Akos loathed Gideon so much, far more than mere competing generals should imply.
“What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much?” Gideon asked.
“You were born.”
Akos used his foot to pick up the rod Gideon had impaled him with. He passed it from hand to hand, oblivious to the blood soiling his hands. “My mother was one of Akhenu’s concubines. When you were born, he had no need of a bastard son. My mother and I were abandoned out in the wilderness to die, but my mother fooled him. She managed to make it back to her own people.
“I always intended to introduce myself to him when my army marched into Elilu, but you killed him and robbed me of that chance.” With that, he hurled the rod at Gideon like a javelin. Gideon ducked, and it pierced the corrugated aluminum wall behind him, sailing out of sight, leaving a gaping hole.
Thalia felt her eyes widen at this display of strength. She knew Gideon was strong, but was he that strong? Her shield dimmed as worry broke her concentration. She swallowed, gritted her teeth, and fed more energy to the magic barrier.
Akos and Gideon now fought hand-to-hand, trading blow after blow. The taunting had stopped. Grunts of effort, and the thud of blows finding flesh were the only sounds Thalia could hear. They didn’t shape-shift. Thalia got the feeling this fight was too personal for that. The fun and games had ended, and the real battle had begun.
Their limbs blurred as they struck and parried. Thalia couldn’t tell who was winning. Akos lashed a kick Gideon couldn’t move fast enough to evade, knocking him back against the wall. Gideon’s head hit the wall with a hollow clang, and he slid to the ground and stayed there, unconscious.
Thalia yearned to run to him. Her body lurched forward automatically, but she planted her feet. Akos needed her death first. For Gideon’s sake, she must to maintain her shield.
“Thalia?”
She turned her head, searching for the female voice.
A woman stood in the corner. Her clothes were torn and stained, but her face was all too familiar.
“Lily.”
Her cousin smiled and came toward her, arms outstretched. Distracted, Thalia’s shield flicked like a short in a florescent bulb.
She fortified the spell. No matter how much she longed to believe her cousin was alive. She knew the truth. The dream she’d had so many nights earlier was finally happening.
“Thalia, it’s me. You don’t need to be afraid.” Lily advanced as if to embrace her and hit the shield. With a shriek of pain, Lily recoiled and the illusion dropped away, revealing a female revenant. The creature hissed. Fangs bared, she attacked, but the shield was too strong. Repelled, she staggered back, her skin black and charred where it had touched the shining blue energy. Again and again, she attacked and was deflected. Finally, she reeled back and dropped to the floor, twitching, clearly unable to stand.
Thalia felt a drop of sweat slide down her cheek. A shadow flashed by.
Akos.
She spun to confront him. He raised his hands and began to siphon magic from her shield. Thalia fed more power to it. It wavered, growing dimmer and brighter in turns as she struggled to keep up with the drain, reminding Thalia ominously of Mina’s description of what had happened in her vision.
She fell to her knees with the effort. Finally the shield faded altogether, and with a shout of triumph, Akos advanced to fulfill the prophecy.
Thalia scrambled back against the door, frantically feeling above her head for the elusive handle.
Heath burst into the warehouse from a side door.
“Poena!” he yelled. Yellow comets burst from his palms. They hit Akos in a shower of sparks. He screamed, face contorted with pain, and waved a hand in Heath’s direction.
A tidal wave of black mist enveloped Heath, knocking him to the ground. It wrapped around him like a cocoon and hardened, making it impossible for him to speak or mov
e. He struggled for a second, then was still. She couldn’t see him breathing.
“Heath!” Thalia pressed back against the door.
He managed to roll over in the cocoon, and Thalia gave a sigh of relief. He was still alive.
Brushing off the effects of Heath’s pain spell, Akos turned back to Thalia and came forward, arms outstretched. She shrank back.
She’d had a moment of worry when Heath had stepped in, but the plan was working. Akos was taking the bait. He thought she was out of magic. He thought he had won. She stood. “Repellere!” A burst of blue light flashed like lightening from her hands. It hit Akos square in the chest, and he was flung, like the castaway rag doll of a giant. He hit the far wall and shook his head as if to clear it.
Thalia stepped away from the door to deliver the final blow. This was for Lily.
A motion out of the corner of the eye drew her attention. The golem! She spun. “Destruere!” The golem exploded into a million pieces, showering her with debris.
The mortuus spell on her lips, she swung back to finish Akos, but it was too late. An explosion of pain and a blinding white light filled her head.
And then she fell into the shadows.
“Waky, waky.”
Thalia dragged her eyes open. Akos stood above her.
A faint breeze brushed across her cheeks.
Ignoring the steady throbbing in her head, she scanned her surroundings. The feeble light of a distant streetlight etched golden tracings into the night, revealing the irregular surface of a brick wall, the hulking shape of a dumpster. She must be in some kind of alley, but where?
She looked up at Akos’ too-handsome face. His eyes held the gleam of satisfaction, as if he’d already achieved his goal. Fear flooded through her. What had he done? Where was Gideon?
She tried to get up, but the pain that strafed through her chest made her catch her breath. She pressed her hand against the source of the pain and discovered her shirt was warm and wet.
No, not wet—bloody.
“Now, don’t move.” Akos held out his hands, palms down. “I’ve nicked your aorta. That’s your largest artery, in case you didn’t know.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve made quite a study in death in my thousands of years. Depending on where you cut the aorta, the victim will bleed out in seconds or hours. You, on the other hand, have scant minutes.
“Where to place the cut was a difficult decision. I didn’t want to lose you before Gideon can make his sacrifice. Not after all the trouble I’ve gone to. But he won’t have time to get you to a hospital either,” Akos drawled like a doctor informing a patient about a routine surgical procedure. “And don’t worry, we’re in the alley outside the warehouse. He’ll find you.”
Thalia swallowed with relief. Gideon was alive.
She fought the weakness that urged her to lie back against the crumbling asphalt. If she could keep Akos focused on her, keep him talking, Gideon might be able to take Akos by surprise. “His sacrifice?”
“Come now, my dear. You remember the prophecy?” His face contorted, and to her horror, she found herself face to face with Ursula. Thalia cried out as she realized the psychic was dead. He laughed and his face morphed back to his own. He smiled dryly. “There’s always a prophecy. Mine ends with a sacrifice. It’s all very nebulous, of course, they always are, but I’ve had, uh...a lot of time to think about it. You, or course, are the ‘marked one.’”
Thalia’s blood-encrusted hand covered her birthmark. There was no denying the truth of that.
“You’re also a poisonblood.”
The “P” word was rarely bandied about in a witch’s presence, and he said the word with so much venom, she flinched as if physically struck.
“I had to get you together. I planted the paper with Gideon’s name on it with your cousin’s things to make sure of it.” His face was smug.
And why not? He’d manipulated her from day one and she’d fallen right into his plans at every step. I was such a fool. Angry tears wet her eyes.
“Gideon, being the foolish hypocrite that he is, will rush in, realize you’re dying and try to turn you,” he continued.
Thalia could only shake her head, mutely, denying Akos’ prediction.
“Yes. He will fail, of course, but the poison in your blood will kill him before he has a chance to grieve over your lifeless body. And I will receive power such as the world has never known.”
Thalia fell back on her elbows. Akos’s slick features moved in and out of focus. It was becoming harder and harder to concentrate. Speaking was difficult. Breathing hurt. She was acutely aware that exertion hastened her blood loss, but she had to hold his attention. “What does that mean exactly?”
“Inanna said when the prophecy came to pass, I would never have to worry about the sun again. When I can go about in the day, I will stake the other vampires in their beds until there’s no one left to enforce the Code. I will set the pettys against the witches. No amount of magic will save them from the fury of millions of panic-driven humans. No longer will I be forced to hide like some criminal. I’ll topple the mortal governments and rule, as I was meant to. They will call me God and bring me prey to appease me.” Akos seemed to retreat into his own megalomaniacal fantasy.
“What makes you think Gideon will try to turn me?” Thalia labored to force out the words. She gave in and let her head slump. She prayed Gideon would come soon. How much longer could she hold on? Already the light seemed dimmer, the edges of her vision blurred.
“Don’t be coy. It’s obvious he loves you.”
“You’re crazy,” she said in a whisper. God, she wished what he was saying were true.
Akos simply smiled, his eyes cold and dark as a winter’s night, and Thalia had the terrifying feeling that everything would come to pass just as he’d described. The evil in him seemed too much for his body alone to contain. It sought an outlet, so it could feed and grow like a cancer, perverting everything decent in its path.
Gideon woke and frantically swept the warehouse with his gaze.
Thalia was gone.
Panic lifted him to his feet. A muffled cry from a far corner turned his head. He ran to the sound and found Heath encased in a sticky, black cocoon. He knelt and ripped it open.
The mage fought his way out of the vile, stinging stuff and braced himself on his hands and knees, choking and gasping for air.
“Where has he taken her?” Gideon demanded.
“They just left,” Heath spit out between coughs. “He said something about the alley.”
Of course, Akos wouldn’t want to ruin his chances to fulfill the prophecy. He would stay nearby.
“Are you all right?”
Heath nodded. “But he drained my magic.”
Gideon put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Get the police.”
Heath nodded again and began to rise to his feet. Gideon went to the door of the warehouse and listened for a moment. He could hear voices. Akos was speaking just around the corner.
Gideon vaulted to the top of a nearby building and used the rooftops to circle around until he was on the building on the other side of the alley.
Something hit the wall across the alley. Probably a piece of gravel. Thalia raised her head.
Gideon was here. She had to be ready.
She held her breath as she watched him jump from one building to another.
Akos followed her gaze and laughed. “Ah, company. Right on time. I guess it’s time to take my leave.”
No. He couldn’t teleport. Thalia surged forward and grabbed his ankle. “You’re not going anywhere.” He drew back his other foot to kick her. “Go ahead, kill me now!” she bit out through gritted teeth. “You’ll never fulfill your prophecy.”
“Tell the Champion to let me go,” he called into the darkness. “She doesn’t have much time.” He jerked his foot in an attempt to free himself.
Pain stabbed through her, and her head swam, but she shifted, determined to maintain her hold. She felt aroun
d with her other hand for something—anything—to use as a weapon and struck something cold and cylindrical.
Gideon leaped to the ground. Thalia lay on the dirty, buckled tarmac; her face strained and her chest pitched as she struggled to keep hold of Akos’ leg and stop him from teleporting. She was obviously in pain and seemed unable to get up.
He stepped forward, trembling with the effort of restraining his rage. A drop of cold rain, then another, landed on his shoulder, but his attention never wavered from his enemy. He grabbed Akos by the upper arms, digging his fingers into the ancient’s ropy muscles.
Thalia fell back, panting. The sight of her pale face and shivering body snapped Gideon’s control. He shook Akos like a dog, hard enough to break a mortal’s neck. “What have you done to her?”
Akos smirked. Water slicked down his long black hair and dripped off his bulky shoulders. Gideon’s hands must have bruised his flesh with crushing force, but he seemed undaunted. “She’s as good as dead.”
Gideon growled. Reason gave way to the fury and fear that burned within him. He seized Akos by the throat, squeezing so powerfully he could feel the bones of his enemy’s spine. He would have pulverized the throat of a younger, weaker vampire, but the rogue just laughed.
Akos drew back his leg, perhaps to kick Gideon away, but stopped short. He choked. There was horrible sucking sound, and the end of a metal rod, flickering with the unique blue light of Thalia’s magic, flowered from his chest. He looked down at the blood-coated pole, his eyes rounded in surprise.
“I may be dead, but so are you,” Thalia said from behind him, her face a vengeful mask.
As his hands rose to clutch the rod, Akos crumpled in on himself like a fire-brittle log, shattering under the assault of a poker. Soon he formed a pile of gray ash. The rod fell with Akos’ remains and hit the ground with a crash. The pouring rain beat the little hill of ash into mud and began to carry it away.
