And with that, Kira broke. All of the stress she had been carrying for the past few weeks released like a floodgate—Luke for trying to kiss her and awakening those feelings inside of her, her grandfather for not welcoming her with open arms, Tristan for picking the wrong time to be macho, Diana for being Diana, and the historians for writing down truths about herself she didn't want to hear.
Her rage flew out in the form of flames, blasting Diana's skin. Diana laughed at the slight pain.
"I told you before, I'm immune." She smiled, but she couldn't move from the corner that Kira's Protector powers had pressed her into.
And Kira? She ignored Diana. Her powers pushed her beyond words. But Kira sensed a difference this time. She was focused and controlled, she wasn't mad. She knew exactly what she was doing and for the first time, she was perfectly content with her desire to kill. Diana had to die and if it took all of her strength, Kira would find a way to make it happen.
She pushed out her Punisher fire, feeling for the walls around Diana that kept her protected. Every vein in Diana's body was covered in an invisible shell, some sort of magic Kira couldn't break through. She felt along Diana's body with her powers, searching for a weakness, but there wasn't one. She encased her heart in flames, trying to dry it out, but nothing would stick. The fire rolled around Diana. It slipped past her, unable to find anything to hold on to.
Diana still sat crumbled in the corner, grinning at Kira's failed attempts.
But she didn't realize that Kira was reaching that point, that place where she started to shut her powers off out of fear that she would never return to herself. Kira wasn't afraid this time.
Two images flashed through her mind, one of Tristan bloodied and broken being forced to swallow her blood and a second of Luke ashen and lying immobile on the ground. Like a broken film reel, the two images flashed in her mind, one to the other, back and forth until Kira couldn't tell what she was seeing. She could only remember the excruciating pain of her heart ripping from her chest in each moment.
She funneled the pain into her flames and rode on her emotions, no longer searching for a weakness and instead throwing everything she had into her power. She was too focused on killing Diana to feel the walls around her powers come down. All she felt was the extra burst of energy, the new scars burning into her palms as power forced its way out.
Distantly in her mind, Kira heard Luke call her name, but she shut him out. He wasn't going to stop her this time. She didn't need saving. She wasn't falling into madness—she was walking there willingly.
And that's when Diana stopped laughing.
They both felt it—the immunity waned. The invisible wall wobbled against Kira's flames. The heat warped whatever magic was there and melted it away. And then, as if Kira were watching a movie in her head, a crack formed in the shell encasing Diana's heart.
"Stop! I'll tell you everything," Diana cried, trying to stand, but unable to move even a muscle. "Kira! It's Aldrich. He has your mother. He's here. You can go find him." She screamed with tears forming in her eyes. "He's had her for years. I saw her with him ten years ago. She's alive!"
But it was too late. Kira was beyond stopping and her flames unrelentingly continued.
"She's with Aldrich! Aldrich!" Diana yelled and those were her last words, because the wall shattered like glass and Kira's fire greedily swallowed Diana whole.
When it was done, Kira's mind snapped back into focus. She had accomplished her goal, and it was time stop. Forcefully, she shut her powers off and pulled all of the flames back into her body. When the black spots receded and she regained her vision, Kira noticed that scorch marks traveled up the walls and across the ceiling. The curtains were burned apart. Giant holes, black around the edges, spotted the fabric. A pile of dust sat in the corner, a mix of Diana's ashes and burnt paper.
Kira swallowed. She had done it. She had broken through. She had killed Diana, but at what price? Her fire had touched more than the vampire; it had burned more than Diana's skin. Kira had willingly stepped right into the destiny she never wanted.
She stumbled back, off balance by the realization that the ancient conduits had been right. She was dangerous. The thought pierced her like an arrow sinking deep into her chest and she spun around, needing Tristan or Luke to say something, to make her feel like this darkness suddenly sprouting inside her, wrapping around her like a vine and suffocating her, would go away.
But there was no solace in the scene behind her. When she looked up for comfort, both boys instead jumped away in fear.
Fear of me? Kira thought, confused. She looked down at her hands, expecting to see starbursts on her palms, but instead there were burns up to her wrists. And not just redness, but raised boils like a mountain range on her hand. Strange that it didn't hurt, she thought. Still, Kira lightly touched her healing powers and watched as the burns faded to a dull pink and then disappeared altogether. She twisted her hands, stretching sore muscles.
Again, she looked up at Luke and Tristan. They cringed with wide eyes.
"What?" Kira tried to say. It came out as less than a whisper. Her throat ached from the effort. "What?" she said more forcefully, slowly pulling her body back together. She used her own strength to force the black doubts clouding her mind away.
"Your eyes, Kira," Luke said, walking toward her.
"They're blue," Tristan finished the thought.
"What?" she asked, still groggy and confused, not yet fully recovered from using her powers. Had she heard them wrong?
Tristan reached her first and put his hands on her cheeks.
"Your eyes are blue," he said while staring into them, searching for something. Searching for me, Kira realized. But he recovered from the shock, and he still gazed at her with love sparkling in his eyes. It helped ground her, helped pull her mind back to reality.
"How is that possible?" she said, feeling more like herself with each passing second.
"I don't know." Tristan dropped her face, letting Kira look behind him at her best friend.
But Luke wouldn't come any closer. Tears welled in Kira's eyes, and she reached her hand out to him. She couldn't stand the look on his face, the one that regarded her as a stranger.
"Luke?" she asked, her voice cracking. They looked at one another in a standoff—Luke finally realizing Kira was sometimes beyond his saving, and Kira finally realizing what it felt like to lose his love even if only for an instant.
Like they always do, the moment passed. Luke stepped over, offering her a hug, stiff but still a hug. Kira returned it, holding him tight against her body.
"Just don't turn into a smurf on me, okay?" he whispered into her hair. Kira laughed into his shoulder. Everything was going to be fine.
And then the door behind them burst open.
Kira, Tristan, and Luke turned around instantly.
Two vampires stood in the massive wooden doorway. Kira recognized Bronson from the other day in the park. His crooked nose gave him away, but the man next to him was a mystery. His light-brown hair was slicked back. His eyes were such a dark blue that they seemed all together black. He was tall and thin, making the shorter Bronson look stocky, and each man had on elegant tuxedos. But while Bronson searched the room, his eyes darting in circles, the other man looked only at Kira.
Tristan jumped in front of her, blocking her view of everything but the curve of his back, and he held her there with his arm.
"Aldrich," he sneered.
"My dear Tristan," Aldrich said warmly, "it's been far too long."
"Where's Diana?" Bronson interrupted in a deep voice.
"If you mean the pile of ash formerly known as Diana, she's in the corner," Luke said, moving to stand next to Tristan, effectively blocking Kira completely.
"Pity," Aldrich said, but Kira heard no remorse in the words.
"How is that possible?" Bronson asked with a quiver in his voice. "I gave her the blood myself."
Kira put a hand on either boy. She pushed Luke and Tristan to
the side as if they were curtains. Feeding off of the dramatic effect, Kira said, "I killed her. And I will kill you both if you don't tell me where my mother is."
Aldrich stepped forward and walked up to Kira, who held Tristan and Luke at bay. He cupped her chin, tilting her head back so he could look at her eyes.
"Marvelous," he said with a grin, as if he had been expecting them to be blue.
"My mother?" Kira asked.
"Safe and sound," he said.
"I seriously doubt that." Kira slapped his hand from her chin.
"I'm not keeping her prisoner, Kira."
"You're lying," Kira said. She couldn't help it, the obstinate words popped out unwittingly. She wouldn't believe his lies, even if something in his voice sounded strangely sincere.
"Spoken like the child you aren't," he chided her.
Before Kira could think up a snappy retort, another vampire suddenly appeared next to Aldrich, jerking him away from Kira. She recognized the blonde in the pink high heels, the first vampire she saw enter the party.
"We have to leave," the woman said urgently while yanking him away. Aldrich pushed her aside, throwing her against the books on the wall. Bronson just watched it happen, uncaring.
"You step above yourself, Clarissa. You may have finally landed an invitation to the Red Rose Ball, but you do not order me around."
"I'm sorry," she said, bowing her head. "It's just that—"
And then the windows shattered, throwing glass everywhere. Flames rolled past Kira and Luke, smacking into all four vampires and sending them flying.
Chapter Fifteen
Kira spun just in time to see three Protectors soar through the windows to land neatly on their feet, never once waning in their powers. Like a swat team or something, they had come sailing in from the roof, using rope to catapult themselves through the old and easily breakable windows. Kira wanted to look at Luke and roll her eyes—he watched far too many movies. It was so obviously his genius plan for them to come storming inside rather than take a stealth approach.
Unfortunately, there was no time to make fun of Luke because one of those vampires stuck like a bug against the wall was Tristan. And Aldrich, closest to the hallway, was slowly inching past the conduit flames to slip away.
Kira grabbed Luke's hand.
"You need to stop them!" she shouted.
"What? We need to nail these guys," Luke said, bewildered.
Kira looked around. All three of the blond men who had come flying inside were determined. Sweat dropped down their faces, but none of them moved or let their powers weaken.
"What are they going to do?" Kira had never seen a conduit mission in action before. It was a lot more intense than she realized. One man reached into his belt to pull out a long curved knife. "Luke!"
"It's fine," he tried to calm her, but it wasn't easy when her boyfriend was easy prey and flames were still roaring all around them. "We have to drain their blood. It'll weaken them enough for us to interrogate them. We need to find out where they're keeping their Punishers."
"But Tristan!" Kira pointed at the wall. All of the vampires were slowly slinking away, as if the flames were causing them to move in slow motion. Aldrich, Kira realized, already had half of his body out the door. The conduits went to work. The Protector with the knife moved to the woman first and cut her wrist open, sending splatters of blood down the wall and to the floor. The other two conduits controlled their powers, each with one hand focused on a single vampire.
"Luke, you have to help him," Kira said, pushing him toward Tristan. He wasn't supposed to be caught up in this. Typical Tristan, she thought, he hadn't wanted to take too much of her blood so he had lost the immunity before he was supposed to. She thought the feeding had gone by rather quickly. He had only taken enough to be immune to the Punisher at the door, but not enough to stay that way. Quickly, she eyed Aldrich, her gaze torn between both vampires. "I have to go, but please, promise me you'll keep him safe."
Luke followed her gaze, seeing Aldrich about to sneak away, and nodded. He knew exactly what she was up to. "Just be careful, okay, Kira?"
She smiled and instinctively kissed his cheek before looking through the flames one more time. Both of the female vampire's wrists were sliced open and the conduit was moving to other areas as well. She was getting visibly paler, and she couldn't even move through the flames anymore. Tristan was next.
Kira met Tristan's gaze, smiling, and mouthed, "I love you" before chasing after Aldrich, who was, at that very moment, on the outskirts of the flames and disappearing through the door.
Kira pushed her way into the ballroom just in time to see Aldrich sneak around another set of conduits. There were maybe forty people in the gigantic room, but Kira tried to ignore the flames haphazardly dancing around her and vampires moaning in pain as the blood was drained from their veins. Broken shards of glass and trampled red roses covered the floor, mixing with the blood. Aldrich was already past the conduits, all too concentrated on their prey to notice him, and he pushed another set of wooden doors wide open. Kira dashed after him, trying not to slip on the blood.
She threw herself through the doors, only to have them shut loudly behind her.
Quickly, Kira stood up to face Aldrich as he bolted her one escape closed. She put her hands in front of her in warning.
"I don't want to hurt you, just tell me what you know about my mother."
"My, my, you are a determined little thing, aren't you?" he said while taking a seat. Looking around, Kira realized they had made their way into the formal dining room. A huge wooden table surrounded by wooden chairs with green silk cushions filled the space. A sweeping chandelier cast a soft glow around the room, lightly illuminating paintings of hunting scenes on the walls. "Please, join me." He motioned to the chair next to him.
"I would rather stand, thanks. Now, what did you mean when you said my mother wasn't trapped?"
"I see being with Tristan has given you a false sense of security around us," he said, ignoring Kira's question. "But when I tell you to sit, it is not a polite request." Suddenly, the chair shot out from the table behind Kira, slamming hard into her legs. Her knees buckled beneath her and she landed heavily on the padded cushion.
"What the?"
"Tristan," Aldrich said, cutting her off, "has the perfect physical composition, which was why I chose him so long ago. But he lacks the mental authority one needs to become truly powerful. You, however," he said, grabbing Kira's chin again, "are different. I can feel the power churning inside of you. I have plans for you, very big plans."
Kira let a flame rise on her palm as she grabbed his hand from her chin. "Do not touch me," she said, feeling the burn seep into his skin.
He laughed, the excited mirth of a boy with a new toy. "Oh, I understand now why Tristan has been following you around like a little puppy. You're so exciting," he said while slipping free of her hold. "Nothing like the girls I used to bring him. They were weak and terrified. I should have known he would want a challenge."
"Stop talking about Tristan like you know him," Kira said while crossing her arms and trying not to picture these kidnapped girls. "It's not like that."
"Oh, but it is, with a vampire it always is. You'll see."
Frustrated, Kira released her power on him, trying to break through his shield like she did with Diana. She needed to intimidate him.
Instead, a bowl knocked against her hands, banging them to the side so her power went harmlessly flying toward an empty wall. Shocked, Kira stopped.
"Yes, before you ask, my vampiric abilities came not in the way of force like your Tristan, but in mental power. Try burning me again and I will send something larger at your head." There was no anger or frustration or remorse in his tone. His voice was like steel, cold and unemotional, and it sent a shiver down Kira's back. For the first time in a long time, she felt very afraid to be facing a vampire, especially on her own.
"Now, where were we?" Aldrich ran a hand over the top of his head, sm
oothing his hair back while he took a moment to think. "Oh yes, your mother. I'm sure she would love to see you. I—"
"Where are you keeping her?" Kira interrupted, trying to find the strength to stand up to him. He flashed annoyed eyes in her direction, and the chandelier above her head began to wobble, chiming as the pieces of glass clinked together.
"This conversation grows tiring. She lives with me—"
A loud bang on the door stopped him mid-sentence.
"Aldrich!"
Kira heard a pained scream from the other side of the door. It took a second to realize the mangled voice belonged to Tristan.
Another boom reverberated along the walls as Tristan slammed into the door again, making the entire room shake with his strength. Kira looked at Aldrich. He sat calmly in his chair, not bothered by Tristan in the slightest.
"He tried to leave me once, maybe a year after I turned him," Aldrich said, turning to Kira conversationally and ignoring the yells beyond the door. "He banged and banged on the door until even his vampiric skin was breaking open and bloody, not an easy feat I assure you. But he always forgets that physical strength is the weakest kind. With my mind holding the door shut, he will never break through."
"Why'd you let him go then?" Kira asked, intrigued despite her fear.
"A moment of weakness I regretted for a long time," he said. Kira almost believed the honesty in his words.
A loud crack caught her attention, and she eyed the door in time to see a huge fissure splinter the wood. Another bang and scraps flew off, landing against the floor and leaving a hole in the door.
Through it, Kira could see Tristan back up and prepare for another charge. He looked beyond coherent thought, with tears streaming down his face and his muscles bulging.
"Well, it seems he has gained a little more mental control in the hundred years since I've seen him." Aldrich's voice was one of happy surprise. Kira thought he even sounded proud for a moment. "It seems I must bid you farewell."
He picked up Kira's hand and lifted it to his lips. Though she was afraid, Kira kept her powers inside. She didn't want to test Aldrich, and she had the oddest sensation that he really didn't want to hurt her, that if he wanted to hurt her she would already be dead. He had other plans in mind—big plans like he said before, something far worse than killing her. Kira forced herself not to pull her hand from his grip as fear crept further into her mind.
The Complete Midnight Fire Series Page 38
