“We believe vampires and conduits were once brothers in heaven, sacred creatures who worked alongside God as angels. When Satan fell, he became the first true vampire—an angel so twisted by evil that he needed the blood of humans to survive. But this blood, this pure elixir of life, gave him strength and powers that rivaled even God, so he turned more corrupted angels to his side and they rained down from the heavens, falling to the earth like comets from the sky. The pure angels, unaffected by Satan, saw what his rule was doing to the earth. He was turning the very essence of man darker with his presence. So they begged God to be released from the heavens, to use their powers of goodness and light to chase their fallen comrades from the earth.
“God agreed, and the angels came. Channeling the source of God’s power, the sun and the light, they tried to bring their brothers back to the heavens. But the fire burned the corrupted angels’ skin. You see, once an angel falls, he can never return to heaven, and eventually the pure angels realized that the gift of mercy was not possible. Death was the only alternative, because the souls of their former friends were the only parts with enough good to return to the heavens.
“After being hunted down, the dangerous fallen angels became extinct. But their children, the humans turned vampires, remained on earth. And the angels, to prevent unstoppable angelic vampires from ever gracing the earth once more, divided. And with that division, their strength was cut in half—they were no longer divine angels. There was no danger of falling from grace, because now they were just conduits. More controlled and less dangerous, but also less divine.”
The man gripped Kira’s hand, using what strength he had left to pull her closer to his cell. Her nose was touching the cool glass and she fought the urge to release his hand and retreat. His eyes were wide and searching hers, examining her blue irises. He was waiting for her to speak, to say something about his story.
“Don’t you see?” he asked Kira, desperation covering his words. His eyes continued to search hers for some spark of understanding. Kira shook her head, not sure she wanted the answer.
“You, an entity filled with Protector and Punisher strength, have become more angel than conduit,” he said and brought his hand to rest on the glass by Kira’s face. His pointer finger moved slowly, zoning in on her eyes. “But the darkness has started calling you. You are falling and you need to stop yourself before it is too late, before the evil consumes you.”
Kira stood up and backed away from the finger still pointing in her direction. She met the eyes of the other two conduit women and read betrayal in their expressions, as if they could see the cloud of evil surrounding her. The man didn’t move his hand. He hardly blinked. Only half an hour before he had looked on her with gratitude, but that expression had already darkened, had already turned suspicious.
I healed you, Kira wanted to yell, I helped all of you when I could have just walked away.
But their stares were melting her skin, burning her in a way that fire never would, and the words stalled on her lips. Instead, she backed away, closer to the door and further from their judgment.
As she passed the vampire’s cell, Kira couldn’t help but turn her gaze to the girl who was watching her with a smile. She let her fangs poke beneath her upper lip and winked at Kira wickedly.
Kira ran. She left the room and never looked back. Not even as the girl screamed, “Bring some blood next time, and I’ll show you some memories I know you’ll want to see!”
Kira lit her fire, used it as a guide through the dark tunnels, and tried to keep the vision of bloodthirsty fallen angels crashing to the earth at bay. Would there be a day when the fire stung her? When her actions would become too evil, no matter how well intended? Would she wake up with not only blue eyes, but pale skin and a taste for blood too?
Kira forced the thoughts from her head and focused on one thing—Luke. There was a reason he had never told her what Punishers thought, something he maybe never wanted to admit even to himself.
Kira reached the end of the tunnel and finally saw a door before her. She quietly eased it open and stepped back into the old, slightly dusty kitchen of Aldrich’s manor.
As she let the opening swing silently shut, Kira could only think of one thing. The lies needed to stop. She needed to tell Tristan the truth. She needed the truth from Luke. They all needed a plan.
And there was only one way for all of that to happen.
She was going to London.
Immediately.
Chapter Ten
Kira walked out of the kitchen and calmly made her way toward the front staircase, peeking into every room she passed for a sign of Tristan. Nothing.
When she reached the front of the house, Kira reached for the door, hoping to catch him outside. But when she touched the handle, the unmistakable sound of footsteps clunked in the hallway behind her. Kira’s entire body stopped. She held her breath, waiting for Aldrich’s voice in her ear, waiting for him to somehow know where she had been.
“Kira—”
“Tristan!” Kira practically screamed and turned around to jump into his arms. Her heart pounded inside her chest. They needed to leave now, before Aldrich could stop them.
“Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” he said quietly into her ear.
Kira stepped back and shook her head. She couldn’t tell him anything while Aldrich was around. He might still be in his soundproof chamber with that horrible woman pretending to be her mother, but Kira didn’t want to take that chance.
Tristan tilted his head, looking at her questioningly. Kira bit her lip and sighed, before realizing she had the perfect solution. Kira pulled out her phone and let her hands slide along the keyboard.
“We need to talk, where Aldrich can’t hear us. We need to leave right now.” She typed and handed the phone over to Tristan, whose eyes widened at the words. He nodded and a few stray strands of black hair fell over his eyes, hiding them from Kira. She reached her hand up to brush them from his face, staring at his chiseled features for one prolonged moment, relishing the love ever present in his expression. Soon, that look would be gone. Kira shuddered at the thought, not wanting to think about the next hour of her life. Living it one time would be enough, so she retreated from his strong figure to twist the doorknob.
She opened the large wooden door, turning to make her way outside, when it slammed shut in her face. Kira tugged on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. And then she heard footsteps on the stairs, solid thumps that echoed in her chest sending a chill down her spine. With one deep breath, Kira turned around to face Aldrich.
“Leaving so soon? We were just coming down to join you for a mid-afternoon snack,” Aldrich drawled. His black suit was stark against the white marble steps. The only color on his body was the flush in his lips, letting Kira know his former snack had only recently ended. Kira hoped Miko was still breathing somewhere in the castle.
Behind Aldrich, the blonde vampire started her descent. Kira noticed she had changed into a deep purple gown with a corset that cinched into her small waist. The folds of this dress were smooth, not wrinkled from begging for her life at Aldrich’s feet. The crescent-shaped cuts from Aldrich’s nails had disappeared from her hand, and her expression was warm and loving, as any mother’s should be.
Thinking quickly, Kira grabbed her phone from Tristan’s hand, holding it up like a trophy for Aldrich to inspect.
“I just got a text from Luke. He’s landed in London, so Tristan and I were going to leave early,” Kira said and turned to try the door again. The handle didn’t even budge. Aldrich was suspicious.
“I thought you were leaving tomorrow morning, alone. Surely, the trip can wait until then.” Kira racked her brain for some excuse, something Aldrich would let her get away with. Before, she had overheard him say that Kira needed to make her choice. That if she didn’t agree to turn in the next day, he would kill her. Maybe that was all she needed to do, to finally give him her official decision.
Kira reached
to the side and slid her fingers into Tristan’s, pulling him over next to her. Tristan, with a gesture that felt more natural to him than breathing, put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, never letting go of her hand. Kira silently thanked him for the unconscious gesture, because it made it seem like Kira had already clued him in on the plan. They were the happy couple, united and sharing happy news.
“Well, you see, Aldrich, I’ve made my final choice.” Kira leaned her head on Tristan’s shoulder, finishing off the picturesque pose. She squeezed the hand Tristan had resting on her arm. Kira looked up at him through her lashes and smiled. He was already looking down at her with a grin, but Kira could see in his eyes that it was fake. His irises were dark and cloudy, like a coming storm, and they read only of suspicion. A coldness settled in the pit of Kira’s stomach, almost like she could feel the warmth of Tristan’s love retreating from her, seeping out of her.
Kira turned back to Aldrich, trying to keep her voice light.
“I want to become a vampire, but I need to tell Luke first. Tristan and I want to leave right away, so we can be back to perform the turning tonight.”
Aldrich clapped happily and reached out to pull Kira into his arms, hugging her close. Kira tried to loosen her stiff pose, and it took all of her strength to hug Aldrich back. His tall thin frame felt like bones beneath her arms, and she hated how close his fangs were to her neck. But he pulled back, looking Kira in the face, and Kira saw the sparkle in his black eyes. He believed her. Too sure in his own power, Aldrich never truly believed Kira would disappoint him.
He dropped her arms and turned to Tristan for a hug. He patted Tristan loudly on the back, congratulating him.
Kira’s fake mother walked over with tears glistening in her eyes.
“We’ll finally be together again, like a real family,” she said breathily, as though her voice were too overcome with happiness to speak properly. And maybe it is, Kira thought. After all, Aldrich had no reason to kill her now. In fact, if the lie was supposed to hold, she had just ensured herself eternity.
“I love you, Mom,” Kira whispered into her ear, focusing on the blonde locks filling her vision, wishing her real mother were there with open arms.
Behind her, the door shot open. Kira heard the crunch of gravel as Aldrich used his mind to move the car in front of the front door, acting as an imaginary chauffeur.
Tristan grabbed her hand and tugged Kira outside. As they neared the car, the passenger side door opened and Kira ducked inside. The door shut loudly behind her. Tristan slid in next and revved the engine to life. They both waved behind them as they zoomed out of the driveway, but only Tristan looked back at the retreating figures of Aldrich and the woman in the doorway.
The farther from the castle they sped, the better Kira thought she would feel. But as the silence settled in around her and Tristan, Kira felt suffocated. She opened the window, hoping the gusty breeze hitting her face would make her feel better, but nothing did.
Tristan’s pale hands gripped the wheel firmly, and he shot down the empty roads far faster than any speed limit would allow. Time after time, Kira turned with an open mouth, just to stop and look back out the window, completely lost for words.
He wouldn’t look at her, and as the better part of an hour flew by, Kira knew it wasn’t just the fear of Aldrich overhearing that kept Tristan silent. He knew she had been lying. Kira only wished she could read his mind to see how much he had already guessed. Or maybe he just knew that Kira was about to tell him something that would change everything. Maybe he didn’t know what it was. Maybe all he knew was that he didn’t want to hear it.
Half an hour later, Kira’s phone buzzed. She looked down at the lit up screen and read the message plastered across it.
“In London! I’m sending you the address to the conduit headquarters. See you soon.” A moment later, the phone buzzed again and an alert popped up that said she had two unread messages. Kira was too afraid of Tristan’s reaction to even touch her phone. Luke’s address would just have to wait.
She stared straight ahead, out the window toward a sign that said London was only thirty-seven kilometers away, whatever that meant.
Then, for the first time since entering the car, Tristan’s gaze landed on her. She flicked her eyes to the rearview mirror, meeting his, and something unspoken passed between them. It was finally time to talk.
“Tristan,” Kira started, not knowing where her words were actually going.
“Let me find a place to pull over.” Tristan sighed.
He turned off the highway, taking the first exit they came across. It led them down a winding road speckled with old stone houses that eventually led to a bustling town square. The sunny day had brought tons of people out of their homes, and Tristan continued driving past the crowd. After a few more minutes, a small duck pond came into view. The area was deserted and there was a spot in the shade, right by the lapping lake that seemed to have their names written on it.
Tristan pulled over, easing the car to a stop and stepped out. Kira followed him across the grass and to a seat underneath a white willow tree whose leaves seemed to droop with Kira’s mood, stopping mere inches from the surface of the water. Tristan held a branch aside, letting Kira inside the privacy the tree offered until the two of them finally seemed completely alone and distanced from the world.
“What’s going on?” Tristan asked. Kira leaned against the trunk of the tree. Tristan was across from her with one leg outstretched and one knee bent with an elbow resting atop it.
She had only had an entire car ride of silence to think of what to say and how to begin, but still Kira was drawing a blank. “I,” she started and then stopped to stare down at her interlaced hands. They were gripped tightly in her lap and Kira eased her palms apart, stretching her sore fingers. She needed to relax. Otherwise, she might lose Tristan before she really had the chance to explain herself.
“Aldrich has a dungeon,” Kira said. It was as good a place to start as any.
“Kira, I told you I couldn’t hear anything. Do you think I would have lied about something like that?” he asked, hurt by her distrust.
“Of course not,” she said quickly, aching to reach out and comfort him. But Kira tried to stay focused. “I saw it, with my own eyes, but there was no way you could have heard anything.”
Kira started the story and continued to tell Tristan everything she had discovered that morning—the hidden passage, the spy holes around the entire castle, the use of soundproof glass—until Kira got to the part about the prisoners. She told him that she healed the three conduits and the human, and then began to talk about the vampire she had also found locked up.
“Pavia,” he interjected when Kira started to talk about her powers. Tristan looked up, slightly shocked. The words seemed to surprise him as much as they surprised Kira after so much silence. “Her name is Pavia. Aldrich was looking for her even when I was with him,” he said, finishing the thought. And then Tristan fell silent again, without a word about anything that mattered, so Kira kept talking.
But she hesitated when she reached the part about the male Punisher’s words, about his accusation that she was falling into evil, that she was already turning. Kira couldn’t bring herself to say any of it out loud, so instead, Kira said that she had gotten afraid Aldrich would find her and decided to run away to find Tristan, to tell him everything.
And then Kira too became silent, listening to the rustle of leaves and waiting for Tristan’s reaction.
“I was an idiot,” he said softly, his words almost lost to the wind. “A complete idiot to think that Aldrich could have changed so much.” He looked up at Kira with a pleading expression. “But you have to understand, Kira, he has this way about him. I don’t know what it is, but it makes you want to forget all the bad things he’s done. My life with him was horrible, but there were some good things and that was what he made me remember.” A shudder passed through his body, visible even to Kira. “I don’t know how I cou
ld have forgotten all the horrible things he made me do.” Tristan stared down at his hands, frightened of the memories they held.
Kira hated herself at that moment. Tristan’s features were quickly clouding over with the same self-loathing that darkened his face the first time they had met. He was retreating into that horrible place Kira had pulled him out of, and she couldn’t let him go back. After all, Kira was the one who, in a way, urged him into believing Aldrich. She was the one who lied, who let him believe that she wanted to become a vampire, that Aldrich could be their salvation. If she had only told him her doubts from the beginning, Tristan never would have fallen into Aldrich’s trap.
“Tristan,” Kira croaked, her voice tight with shame.
“No, Kira,” he said, looking up at her with a small spark of hope in his eyes. “We’ll just use Aldrich and then let him go. After he turns you, we can just leave. We’ll take your mother and run away. He’ll never catch us, not with three-to-one odds.” Tristan finished, excitement bubbling with the idea that not everything was lost.
“She’s not my mother,” Kira said hastily. The time for lying had passed. She should have mentioned that fact from the beginning, but it had slipped her mind when she started talking about the dungeon.
Confusion brought Tristan’s brows together, and he shook his head, running his hand through his hair. “Kira, how can you even say that?”
“I’m sorry, Tristan,” Kira said and reached for his hand. “I’m so stupid. I should have started with that. My real mother is dead—I’m sure of it. That woman is just a vampire that looks a heck of a lot like her.”
“Kira,” Tristan said sternly, “I know it might not be what you wanted, but she is your mother. I mean, I saw that photograph in your locket. She looks exactly like her.”
“I know,” Kira said gently, understanding his confusion. Kira had felt the same way at first, until she saw hatred stirring behind that woman’s eyes. “But I read Aldrich’s lips in that room, he said she was three hundred years old. She can’t be my mother.”
The Complete Midnight Fire Series Page 51
