Her lower lip trembled, and she reached for her sword, clumsily pulling it out of its sheath. “I’m only a witch.” She held the sword with both hands, her arms shaking. “I don’t know how to fight.”
“Save it,” I said, and I ran at her, using my sword to knock hers out of her hands.
She fell to the ground and looked up at me in terror.
I raised my sword, ready to kill her.
Except that as I stood there, staring down at the helpless, shivering girl, I couldn’t. Yes, I knew it was an act—that Samael was controlling her and using her innocence to guilt me into not killing her. But Marigold was still in there. She’d never asked to be possessed by a demon. She was innocent—and she was so young. She should have her whole life ahead of her.
She reminded me of myself a little over a year ago—when I’d been a helpless human at the mercy of the vampires who had kidnapped me to the Vale. Killing her like this—when she wasn’t fighting back—would be cold-blooded, heartless murder.
She remained where she was, stark still in the snow, and started muttering under her breath.
“What?” I leaned closer to make out what she was saying.
She just smiled, reached for her dagger, and slashed it across her neck.
“No!” I dropped my sword and kneeled down next to her, pressing my hands against the wound to try stopping the blood.
But there was so much blood. It flowed and flowed, staining her clothes and the snow around her. Soon we were sitting in a puddle of it.
Her breaths rattled, and she moved her lips, but she couldn’t speak. Instead, she gave me one last smile. Then her head lolled back, her eyes glazing over.
Dead.
Suddenly, an explosion sounded from the vampire town.
A well of blackness opened up, reaching up past the clouds. A shadow fell over the sun, making it look like night. It was so dark that the crickets started chirping and an owl hooted nearby.
Gray shadows swirled up and out of the darkness. Wild, storming wind ripped through the air, and a chill traveled down to my bones.
“The Hell Gate,” I said, horror shaking me to the core as I stared out at the black void. “It’s open.”
Annika
Jacen rushed to me and pulled me away from Marigold’s body.
I hadn’t even remembered that I’d been holding her until she thumped to the ground. I was barely even aware of Jacen’s arms around me.
All I could see were the demons bursting out of the Hell Gate.
“Marigold’s blood,” Jacen said, looking down at the ground in horror.
“What?” My eyes shot to his—how could he be struggling with bloodlust at a time like this?
“Look at it,” he said, and I did.
Wisps of smoke rose from the puddle of her blood. The blood itself was also changing color—from red to black.
One of the gray shapes from the Hell Gate fell next to the blood. It was the size of a human—a very large human—and it materialized into a strong, tall man with dark brown hair and chiseled features.
He would have been handsome if he didn’t radiate evil.
He took a deep breath in, and the smoke from Marigold’s blood entered his mouth and nose. Once the final wisps disappeared inside of him, his eyes glowed red, and he smiled. His teeth were long and pointy—revulsion passed through me at the sight of them.
“Damn.” He brought his hands together behind his back and cracked his spine, finishing it off with a final crack of his neck. “It feels good to have my body back.”
“Samael,” I said his name darkly, the pit of despair in my chest growing larger with each second.
“In the flesh.” He kicked Marigold’s corpse, sending it up and over the side of the mountain. “I traded up from that pathetic little witch, don’t you think? Actually, I don’t care what you think, since you—and your vampire boyfriend—are about to die.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and dove for my sword, but I wasn’t fast enough—Samael got it first.
He brought it down toward me, but I rolled away before it could slice me in two. It cut into the ground instead.
“Dammit!” he said, yanking the sword from the ground.
Before he had a chance to swing again, Jacen was on him. He’d somehow gotten ahold of Marigold’s sword and was using it to hold Samael off.
Which left only one available weapon nearby—Marigold’s dagger.
The dagger she’d used to slice her throat and open the Hell Gate.
I took the dagger and glanced back over at Jacen and Samael. Samael was larger than even Jacen, and the two of them were engrossed in a dangerous dance of sword fighting. They moved so fast that they would have been blurs to the human eye, but my angel sight could keep up with them just fine.
Jacen was slowing down, but Samael looked just as energized as ever.
I needed to do something. Now.
I ran with the dagger in hand, ramming it straight through Samael’s back and into his heart.
He froze, and I let go of the handle, taking a step back.
I’d done it. I’d had to stab him in the back, but what did it matter how I’d killed him?
All that mattered was that he was dead.
But he delivered a blow to Jacen’s face that knocked him across the clearing, and he spun around to face me. His red eyes glowed, and he flashed me a creepy lopsided smile. “You really shouldn’t have done that,” he said.
Then he pulled the dagger out of his back and threw it straight at me.
I dashed out of the way, but the blade clipped the side of my arm, and I screamed.
“Angel blood.” Samael took a deep breath in, smiled again, and licked his lips. “It always smells as fresh as the Garden of Eden. Especially baby angel blood.” He laughed, the emptiness of it sending shivers down my spine, and set the tip of the sword into the ground. He put some of his weight on it, standing there like a perverse circus ringleader. “What was Emmanuel thinking, sending a baby angel to kill me?” he asked, laughing again. “He must be desperate.”
At the mention of Emmanuel, I remembered the last part of what he’d told me up in Heaven, when he was instructing me on how to kill Samael.
Demons couldn’t be killed with a regular sword.
I needed a sword that had been dipped in heavenly water. More specifically, I needed my sword that Emmanuel had dipped in the heavenly cloud.
The sword that Samael was currently holding.
It wasn’t going to be easy. But I had one advantage—Samael clearly underestimated me. Of course he did, after seeing how I hadn’t been able to kill Marigold. He thought I was weak. A “baby angel.”
I would show him.
And so, I stared at the spot right next to Samael, thinking about how much I wanted to be there instead of where I was currently standing across from him. I didn’t bother closing my eyes this time—I needed to be alert and ready.
My stomach dropped, the world blurred around me, and a second later, I was next to Samael.
I kicked the sword to knock it out of his hand, caught it in mine, and rammed it through his heart.
His eyes met mine, and he disintegrated into ashes.
Well, mostly into ashes. The only things remaining in the pile were his pointed, disgusting demon teeth.
I plucked one of them of the ashes and shoved it into my pocket.
“Why’d you take that?” Jacen stepped up next to me, glancing down at the teeth at our feet.
“Proof that we killed him,” I said. “Not that it matters, since we failed.” I gazed out at the open Hell Gate, hopelessness sinking into my bones once more.
Wherever the demons were going, I had no doubt that they would bring evil and darkness in their wake.
At the thought of darkness, Rosella’s prophecy echoed in my mind. No matter what, we’ll end up with a different world—a dark world. But your decisions will determine how dark it’ll get.
Was this what she’d meant? Had the Hell Gate a
lways been fated to open, no matter what I’d chosen to do?
The part about my decisions was the only thing giving me hope. Or perhaps that part had already come to pass when I’d been unable to kill Marigold.
I’d had an important decision to make, and I’d chosen wrong.
Now the entire world would pay for my mistake.
“Maybe we didn’t fail.” Jacen’s voice pulled me out of my grim thoughts.
“The Hell Gate is open,” I said. “How can we possibly fix this?”
“I don’t know,” he said, and he took my hand, pulling me toward the Hell Gate. “But we owe it to ourselves—and the world—to go over there and try.”
Camelia
The Haven put me in a guest room while they were getting my permanent accommodation ready. The room was simple, and I mostly stayed inside of it, contemplating all my recent decisions. I also prayed for the Vale. What I’d told Alexander had seemed to get through to him, and I hoped with all of my being that he’d led as many citizens to safety as he could.
Now, Mary led me through the luscious grounds of the Haven toward the cabin that would be my new home. The air here felt thicker and wetter than in the Vale, and there seemed to be a constant chorus of animals coming from the rain forest. I felt foreign—like an outsider who didn’t belong.
I doubted I would ever get used to living here. How could this strange land ever feel like home?
But I rested my hand on my belly, the motion bringing me peace.
The safety of my child was more than worth this change.
We walked along a row of cabins, and my stomach sank in disappointment. While the cabins appeared sturdy and well maintained, they were so small.
Maybe these cabins were for the workers, and the larger accommodations were further out. That must be it. Surely a witch of my standing would be provided a larger living space than an average worker.
“Here we are.” Mary stopped in front of a cabin that was the same size as all the others.
I hid the horror from my face as I followed her up the steps. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful—after all, the Haven was doing me a courtesy by taking me in—but I also felt insulted.
I prayed there was a spell around the cabins—something that made the interiors larger than the outsides appeared.
Upon following Mary inside, it became apparent that there was no such spell. The inside of was just as confining as I’d dreaded. There weren’t even separate rooms—the bed was in a nook that could see straight into the living room and tiny kitchen.
The few personal items that I’d brought in my suitcase had been placed on the kitchen counter.
“You can put your belongings wherever you’d like,” Mary said. “The closets are filled with the uniform of the Haven, tailored to your size. The clothes you brought with you have been donated to charity, since you’ll have no need for them here.”
My throat went dry as I looked around the cabin. My clothes were some of the few things I’d had from my life. Now they’d been taken from me, without my permission.
As I looked around, I realized that this stark, confined space would never feel like home.
“You look ill,” Mary observed. “Is everything all right?”
No, everything most certainly was not all right. She might as well have just told me that I’d be living in a dungeon—prison uniform and all.
But if I said that, she might kick me out of the Haven. Then I’d truly have no place to go.
I had to tread cautiously—both for my sake and my child’s.
“Is this size cabin typical for citizens of the Haven?” I tried to phrase the question in the most inoffensive way possible.
“It is.” Mary nodded. “All citizens who live alone are provided a cabin of this size—including myself. Once your child is born, you’ll be moved into a cabin suited for two.”
“Oh.” I studied her, her answer taking me by surprise. “You live in the same size cabin as everyone else?”
“I do.” Her laugh was light and welcoming. “I’m sure it’s a lot to get used to after the Vale. While I haven’t been to the Vale myself, the witches who have gone there to fetch royals for diplomatic meetings have informed me of the splendor of your quarters. But splendor brings trouble as well—mainly, that many are given far less than what they need to balance it out. Here at the Haven, everyone is equal. But we look out for our own. So if there’s ever anything you need, just come to me and if the request is in reason, I’ll do my best to be of service.”
“Thank you,” I said, meaning it.
Living here was certainly going to be a lot to get used to. But I owed it to myself—and to my child—to try.
“There actually is one thing I need of help with, if you have time to listen,” I said.
“Of course.” She walked over to the couch, motioning for me to join her. “Come, sit.”
I sat, glad to find that the couch—while plain—was comfortable. “There’s more to my pregnancy than I initially told you,” I started, resting a hand on my stomach as I spoke.
“I had a feeling as much.” She gave me a small smile, waiting for me to continue.
I was ready to tell her the full truth. But I’d also made a blood oath with Laila that I wouldn’t tell anyone what she’d told me about how the original vampires went to the fae to become what they were. Blood oaths hold even past death.
I’d need to be cautious in my wording, but I could still tell Mary the most important part about how my child was conceived—the part that required her help.
“In order to locate Geneva’s sapphire ring, I went to the fae,” I began.
Mary frowned the moment I mentioned the word fae, but she made no judgements, simply waiting for me to continue.
“I called upon them and was met by a fae man named Prince Devyn,” I said. “As a price for his passage from the Otherworld, he requested my first born child once he or she came of age. I’d previously made a deal with Laila that if I retrieved Geneva’s sapphire ring for her, she’d turn me into a vampire. Since I wouldn’t be able to have children as a vampire, I thought nothing of Prince Devyn’s request. I agreed, thinking I’d been clever enough to get one over on the fae.
“From there, we made a deal that he would tell me who had Geneva’s sapphire ring if I gave him something I’d never given to anyone before,” I continued. “After a few questions, I agreed. He gave me the answers I wanted—he told me where to find Geneva’s sapphire ring—and then he told me what he wanted from me.”
“Your virginity,” Mary said, glancing at my stomach.
I sat back in surprise, feeling stupid for falling into his trap after her being able to figure it out so quickly. “How did you know?” I asked.
“I’ve heard of Prince Devyn,” Mary said. “All fae are blessed with a magical gift from birth, with some of those gifts being more powerful than others. He has one of the most powerful gifts in existence—omniscient sight.”
“He does,” I said, since he’d told me as much.
“The child growing in your womb is the result of your union with Prince Devyn,” she continued, and I nodded, since of course she was correct. “Half-witch, half-fae. And that child is bound to join his or her father in the Otherworld once he or she comes of age.”
“Yes.” I leaned forward, calmed by how easily she was taking this in. Surely that meant she had a solution to my problem? “Once my child is born, he or she will be a citizen of the Haven. You said you’ll do anything to give the citizens of the Haven what they need. My child needs to stay here where it’s safe—not to be taken to the Otherworld. Is there anything you can do to help us?”
Mary glanced out of the window, and then turned back to me. “I can provide a safe place for you and your child to live until he or she comes of age,” she said. “You’ll both be comfortable and out of danger in the Haven.”
“But what about after coming of age?” I asked. “I can’t let my child be taken to the Otherworld.”
&nb
sp; “You made a deal with the fae.” Mary’s eyes were sad—I assumed she was thinking about her own deal she’d made with the fae to give up all her mortal memories in exchange for becoming a vampire. “You’re bound to that deal by magic more powerful than anyone in the Haven—by magic more powerful than anyone on Earth.”
“So there’s nothing you can do?” I sat back, stunned. Until now, I’d held onto hope that I could change my child’s fate.
That hope was disappearing with each passing minute.
“I can provide a safe place for you to enjoy the time you have with your child before he or she comes of age,” she said. “After that, the child belongs to the Otherworld.”
“We have a while before my child comes of age,” I said, not willing to give up that easily. “Surely we can find another—“
I was cut off by someone bursting into my cabin.
A vampire who’d been turned when she’d been a young teen stood in the doorframe, her milky eyes staring straight ahead.
She was blind.
“Rosella.” Mary stood, looking more offended by the intrusion than I felt. “What on Earth—”
“A Hell Gate has opened in the Vale.” The vampire—Rosella—spoke quickly and calmly. “Demons are escaping as we speak.”
“What?” I gazed at Rosella, then at Mary, and then back to Rosella again. “Where did you hear this? How do you know it’s true?”
“I’m a psychic.” Rosella looked in my direction, although her milky gaze didn’t focus on me. “What I say is true.”
I nodded, believing her.
Then I realized she couldn’t see me nod.
“What about the wolves’ Savior?” I asked. “I thought He was going to rise and save the Vale.”
“There was never any Savior,” Rosella said. “The greater demon Samael was tricking the wolves the entire time. Annika and Jacen set out to kill Samael, but they were too late. Annika killed him, but only after he succeeded in opening the Hell Gate.”
“We must go there.” Determination flashed across Mary’s eyes. “We need to close the Hell Gate.”
The Vampire Wish: The Complete Series (Dark World) Page 68
