The Usurper

by Candy Crum

  Chills ran down Rachel’s spine. The woman did know exactly what was going on. And that meant she was right about Kailah. While she was worried about Mary, she also knew Kailah’s situation was far more immediate.

  “I have eight minutes to leave,” Rachel said. “I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise.”

  Sayen smiled warmly. “I know you won’t. Oh, and when the tree falls, don’t panic. Just be ready to hit the gas.”

  Rachel looked at her with confusion. “Huh?”

  “You’ll see. Just don’t panic. Everything will turn out just fine as long as you leave in seven minutes.”

  Rachel nodded. “Thanks for the warning. I’m sure we will be talking soon.”

  Without another word, she ended the voice chat and jumped to her feet. She ran around the room and put on shoes, grabbed her keys, and put her phone in her pocket. Before closing the browser on her computer, she quickly messaged her number to Sayen.

  Once she was in her car, she watched the clock tick down until it was time. As soon as the last minute passed, Rachel put the car in drive and raced down her gravel drive.

  ***

  As she made it outside, the dark storm clouds were blowing overhead, the wind whipping around her. With a rush of relief, she spotted her car in the center of the parking lot.

  She had only made it halfway when she heard a chilling voice carrying through the wind. It wasn’t at all like the one she’d heard in her mind only a few moments before.

  This time, the voice was very present.

  “Hello, Kailah.”

  She stopped dead in her tracks, slowly turning to the right. Leaning against the building was the woman she had seen in both her dreams and in the reflections in the glass inside just moments ago.

  “You wouldn’t happen to be running from me, would you? That’s not very nice,” the woman said. “After all… I’ve been waiting for you for three thousand years.”

  Kailah, run! the voice in her mind yelled again.

  The woman standing before her rolled her eyes and groaned with exaggeration as she stepped away from the wall. “Oh, Sayen… Traitorous, useless Sayen. Kailah, be a dear. Do tell that woman to shut up.”

  “Wh-who are you?” Kailah asked, shivering as the wind whipped around her wet body.

  The woman smiled and stepped forward, her arms extended out at her sides. “Oh, now… I think you know. You’ve been seeing me for days.”

  Kailah thought back to her dreams. The dark-haired woman had warned her. She’d called the woman by name and said she was coming, but she believed it was nothing more than a dream—an extremely repetitive dream.

  “Khia,” Kailah said with a quake in her voice.

  As she watched the woman’s smile grow as she nodded, Kailah noticed the wind was blowing everywhere, but it didn’t seem to touch her. Khia’s snow-white hair hung in a high ponytail but didn’t move.

  “She’s controlling the wind,” Kailah said out loud to herself with wide eyes.

  Khia nodded. “Yes! And if you come with me, I’ll teach you how to do it, too. You’re my descendant. I’m your queen. Come with me, and everything will be fine. No one will be hurt.”

  A blur flashed before Kailah’s eyes before she saw Sydney standing next to her. “Kailah, I’ll take care of her. You have to go, now. You’re special, and she wants to use you to kill millions.”

  There was a wicked laugh, Khia throwing her head back as a hand went to her chest. As she recovered, she wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh, young one. You take care of me? You’re adorable. Kailah, you and I will save the world—not destroy it.”

  Sydney turned to Kailah. “You have heightened instincts. You said it yourself. What are they telling you to do?”

  As reality began to settle in, the realization that all this was really happening reaching her, Kailah could finally feel her legs again.

  She could finally run.

  “It’s telling me to get the hell out of here,” Kailah said.

  “If you flee, I promise you’ll regret it,” Khia said, her voice icy.

  That threat told her all she needed to know. Without a further doubt, she knew Khia was the enemy. Despite her earlier reservations about Sydney, the woman was trying to save her.

  Kailah turned to run, and a hard, stinging rain began to fall in sheets. She could hardly see as she ran toward her car. She screamed as a hard wind blew, throwing her across the parking lot. Another gust hit her as she tried to stand, throwing her into the street where the back entrance and employee parking could be accessed.

  As Kailah struggled to roll to her stomach, tires screeched as a driver locked up her brakes to keep from hitting her.

  “Kailah!”

  As soon as the familiar voice reached her ears, her heart nearly exploded with relief.

  “Rachel!” Kailah shouted back.

  She struggled to her feet, but the rain was painful, and the wind was impossibly strong. How Rachel’s blue Chevy Cruze was still on the ground, she didn’t know.

  There was a loud scream before an even louder crunch. Kailah had just gotten to her knees when Sydney was thrown into the front fender of the Cruze. It rocked from the hard impact.

  Kailah shielded her eyes with a hand as she looked for Khia. The woman was walking toward them, a bubble of air surrounding her.

  Her eyes widened again as she realized the woman was completely dry.

  “Kailah, dear. Stop disappointing me. I’m going to get you. The question is, how good of friends will we be once I get hold of you if you don’t come willingly?” Khia said, her voice somehow carrying across the torrential downpour though she didn’t raise it at all.

  A hand wrapped around Kailah’s throat before she was entirely lifted to her feet. She was staring into the eyes of Sydney, who had picked her entire body weight off the ground with only a single hand.

  “Get in the car. Go. Now! I’ll do my best. You must survive,” Sydney said, urgency in her voice.

  Sydney then took hold of Kailah’s arm and pulled her around the car. The doctor forced the door open, even against the heavy wind. Kailah all but dove in, and Sydney shut the door before Rachel hit the gas, no questions asked.

  As they raced down the street, lightning webbed across the sky. A bolt crashed down into a tree before splitting it in two. Rachel didn’t have time to react. The front tires drove over the flaming trunk, but the back tires were unable to make it over.

  They were trapped, and Kailah could see out her window that Khia was on the move again.

  “What now?” Kailah asked, terrified and unsure of what was happening. The tree was on fire, and Rachel’s gas tank was right on top. If they stayed in the car, they were dead. If they got out, they were dead.

  There didn’t seem to be a lot of hope, but Rachel seemed to be eerily calm.

  Rachel looked at her with compassion on her face. “It’ll be okay. Just stay calm.”

  The back window busted out of the car, each girl ducking down and covering their heads as it did.

  “Hit the gas when I lift!” Sydney called out.

  Kailah quickly looked back, watching the tiny doctor lean down. Her lips parted as she grunted, and Kailah saw four pointed teeth. At that moment, she saw the red aura cloud around her again, only it was much brighter now.

  “Now!” Sydney called out.

  Rachel didn’t hesitate. The engine revved as Sydney lifted the rear end of the car as easily as she would the end of a couch. The car lurched forward as the car made it the rest of the way over the tree.

  “Buckle up!” Rachel shouted just before turning a sharp corner.

  Kailah fell over into Rachel since she had still been staring out the broken back window instead of paying attention to what was ahead of her. She quickly turned forward and buckled in.

  When she looked behind her, she saw Khia eyeing them as they drove away, but Sydney was nowhere in sight.

  “What the hell is going on?” Kailah asked.

  There was
a groan to her left, and she turned back to see her best friend with a guilty expression.

  “Yeah… About that… I have some things to tell you that you’re not going to like.”

  Chapter Four

  Sayen’s eyes opened as she broke the connection with Khanae. She took a deep breath, letting it out in a shaky sigh as she wiped a tear away from her cheek. Clearing her throat, she shook her long white hair over her shoulder and focused on her longtime friend.

  "She got out safely," she said.

  Khanae smiled. "Because of you. She got away safely because of you."

  Sayen snorted. "It's because of me that she's in this mess to begin with. Still, if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have been able to create a telepathic link. That was how I found her friend Rachel. I never even thought that information would come in handy, but it most certainly did."

  "Immortal powers of premonition and Vampire powers of telepathy uniting for the win," Khanae said with a broad smile.

  Sayen’s eyes narrowed. "Did you just say, ‘for the win?’"

  Khanae shrugged. "Isn't that what the kids say?"

  Unable to help herself, Sayen laughed. "If you have to ask if something is being said by kids, you’re too old. I think being young and hip is out of the question for you. Stick to what you do best, being motherly."

  The Vampire queen quirked her left brow. "You’re fifteen-hundred years old and just said ‘hip,’ so I don't want to hear it. Besides, neither one of us look a day over twenty, so we probably shouldn’t resign ourselves to being old women just yet. Even though you did spend almost century as one."

  "Good point.” Sayen laughed. “Anyway, Kailah is safe with Rachel. For now. Her powers are active, and they'll only get stronger. It took Khia months to find her, but now we might only have days, weeks if we're lucky. We need to come up with a game plan," Sayen said.

  Khanae saw Sayen trembling, and she reached forward, grabbing the Immortal’s hands. "Try to calm down. Everything will be okay. We have to take this slow, or we run the risk of scaring the hell out of her. You can't just walk up to someone and tell them they’re part of a greater prophecy that will change the world as we know it. You talked to Rachel. You explained to her a little bit of what was happening."

  "A little bit is an understatement. I saw the girl floating around in Kailah’s thoughts with your help. I'm just glad that I was smart enough to think of her when Kailah was in danger. Social media. It's a hell of a tool."

  Khanae stood and crossed the room, grabbing two glasses from a tray and pouring two fingers of expensive bourbon. Once she returned to her seat, she handed one to Sayen, who happily drained it.

  The queen took a drink and smiled at her long-time friend. "You didn’t say more than what needed to be said. You didn’t say enough to be terrifying and overwhelming. Rest assured, that girl will talk to Kailah. She’s going to have so many questions, and the only person she's going to have to answer them is Rachel. You know how humans are. There are stages to acceptance. It doesn't only work that way for death.

  "She's going to go through fear and anxiety. She's going to go through periods of confusion and anger. She's going to wonder why no one ever told her anything like that was possible. There are going to be moments when she wants to scream, while others she's going to want to cry.”

  Sayen sighed and nodded. “I know. I just don’t know if that was the right thing. Should we have gone ourselves? I feel like that would have put her in even more danger.”

  "If you ask me, I think you did just fine. Our presence definitely would have caused a lot more collateral damage. Sydney did an excellent job. Only a tree got destroyed. Had we been there, Khia would have leveled the hospital just to prove a point. That’s unacceptable. People could have been killed.

  “You told Rachel your name and how to help Kailah find the truth in the family tree. Once the confusion and the anger passes, the curiosity will set in. Kailah will wonder more and more who she is and why this is happening to her. Because of the way you reached out to Rachel, Kailah will want to come to you. You gave her the avenue to do so. Even if it is a quickly made profile, she can still reach you."

  Sayen shook her head. "I think you’re right. When she goes through the grieving process, the process where she realizes her life will never be the same, she'll embrace that spark inside of herself. Once that happens, she'll reach out to me. I just hope it's sooner rather than later."

  Khanae nodded. "We’ll give her a few days. She should be safe enough during that time. If she hasn't come forward before then, we’ll approach her directly. Okay?"

  "Unfortunately, I don't think I have a choice. The good news is that Taima is with her. While we were linked, I saw his image in her mind. He looks just like he did before he got weak and sick. I wish my telepathy was stronger. Well, I guess I should wish it was a power that Immortals naturally possessed," Sayen said.

  Khanae shrugged. "I know you don't like doing it, but if you need or want to grow that ability, especially now that it's necessary, we can do that."

  Sayen shook her head. "No. I don't like doing that to you. It hurts you so much. I know Khia has the ability. I didn't realize that until today, but she does, and it's strong. She killed other vampires for hers. The only reason why you survived me siphoning power from you is because you’re the queen and twice my age. But just because you’re strong enough to withstand it, doesn't mean that I like to do it. I don't like hurting you for personal gain."

  With a sigh, Khanae said, "We’re family. First and foremost. We have saved each other countless times, and you've saved my sons. Kailah doesn't know it yet, and I've never met her personally, but she's my family, too. If I can do this for you, and it could potentially save her life, let me do it. We have blood bags, and if that doesn't work, this is Louisville. I'm sure I'll be able to find a rapist or a murderer to punish easily enough. Stop worrying about me. Worry about her."

  Though Khanae was the most powerful Vampire alive, she still couldn’t compel her friend. Because of their natures and their warring abilities, ordinary Vampires lacked the ability to compel Immortals. Khanae was the one exception, but Sayen was far too strong.

  If she could, she would have told her to feel less stressed. To calm herself so she could think rationally. Though she would never compel her to do something she genuinely did not want to do, this was one of the few instances she wished she could.

  With a sigh, Sayen lowered her eyes before nodding. "For Kailah."

  "This is even bigger than her. This is for all humanity. Because if Khia gets hold of Kailah and turns her against us, Khia will win. She will enslave humanity as a whole. No one will be safe. Do this for Kailah if you must, but you know that we’re doing this for everyone. It may seem like a small thing, having telepathy, but not all Vampires have it. If we’re going to win the war, we need to be as strong as possible. Communication is everything."

  Khanae extended her hands, holding them out and preparing for what was about to come. Sayen placed her hands on the queen’s, holding them as a blue glow began to surround them.

  Khanae hissed in pain, clenching her jaw tight as Sayen’s power began to burn into her. Sayen was the second most powerful Immortal alive, after Khia.

  Had Khanae not been as strong as she was, the amount of power Sayen was siphoning out of her would deplete her in a matter of seconds, and she would die a slow and painful death. Each second felt like an eternity.

  She was well aware that this would weaken her, but as she told Sayen, that was the furthest thing from her mind. She would go through any pain imaginable if it meant protecting their family. Sayen, Aeric, Bret, and now Kailah would all travel this path together.

  Chapter Five

  Indiana was a boring wasteland. Corn fields and farmers as far as the eye could see. Khia hated them. She’d always hated working class people—they disgusted her.

  She’d considered paying cash for a home that was sufficient in size and quality, but then she would have n
eeded to hire servants and chefs. It was far easier to stay in a hotel, although the selection was deplorable at best.

  It was rather impressive what the pathetic country people in that part of the US considered luxury. Why couldn’t Kailah have lived in New York? Or LA? Khia had been beyond disappointed with everything she’d found in Indiana. To her surprise, she found satisfaction in a casino hotel.

  The Belterra hotel had almost everything she wanted. The room was large. There was entertainment. She could order room service, and the food was properly made. While it wasn’t perfect, hitting the spa everyday had helped to keep her stress at bay.

  After three thousand years, she finally had the key to winning the war within her grasp, and she lost her. Sayen had been a pain in her ass since the moment she’d met Khanae.

  Khia almost growled.

  “Is everything okay, Your Highness?”

  The young man giving her back massage had been a sweet boy with great customer service skills, but she’d had to help him learn to go the extra mile. He called her ma’am when he’d met her, and that simply wouldn’t do.

  After she ripped a frozen spike of blood through his stomach and shoved it into his left lung, he was very happy to listen to her suggestions. She didn’t see a point in beating around the bush, and it had worked in her favor. He quickly agreed to address her by her true title while doing anything she asked, and in return, she’d healed him.

  “Yes, Robby,” she said, a little annoyed. “I’m simply having trouble getting what I’m after. Push harder.”

  He did as she asked. “Is this better, my Queen?”

  “Mmm.” She smiled. “Yes. Perfect.”

  “Forgive me for being nosy, but is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Such a sweet boy. I was right to choose you.” She moaned again as he hit a particularly tense spot between her shoulder blades. “Do you know anything about finding people?”