by Candy Crum
“They seem nice,” Kailah said, nodding her head in the twins’ direction. “But I just hate them so much. I don’t trust them at all. I don’t want Rachel around them.”
“It will take time, but you will absolutely come to trust them. I trust them with my life.” Sayen sighed. “I have watched your family—our family—from afar for so long. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to introduce myself but knew I couldn’t. Meeting you is a dream come true. Knowing who and what you are just makes this more special.”
“Khanae said you bound my powers a bit to keep me from getting sick again around her. Do you think you could do it again? Maybe trying again would make it stronger,” Kailah said.
“Theoretically, that might be true. But do you really want to take that chance? Now that you’re transitioning, Vampires and Immortals alike will be searching for you. Do you want to risk running into one and not knowing before it’s too late?”
The weight of that hit her at full force. “I suppose not. Damn it!”
Her head dropped for a moment as she thought everything over. Her weakness could potentially kill a lot of people. Her ability to pull her shit together was what could possibly decide the fate of the world.
“A week ago, I was just a student. This week, I’m something else entirely.”
“And the week after that, you’ll be something new again,” Sayen said. “You’ll have a chance at a human life one day. You won’t be human when you experience it, but you’ll have that opportunity. But now, we need your help to make sure the humans have a chance at their own lives.”
Kailah felt a presence in the room, and she turned to see Aeric. He stood there with a guilty look on his face and his hands raised. “I come in peace.”
Despite her mixed emotions right then, she smiled, the faintest laugh escaping her.
He smiled and put his hands down. “Rachel is fine and healthy. She’s human. You are strong—way stronger than I imagined. You’re just too strong to control yourself right now. You’re not really you, and honestly, I’m not myself around you either. Brett would be feeling the same, but you’ve aimed the brunt of your hatred at me, so he’s been mostly unaffected—minus his smartass remarks.”
“Hilarious remarks, you mean,” Brett shouted from the other room.
Aeric rolled his eyes. “Anyway… If you give us a chance, you’ll see we are only here to help. I’m sure you’ve heard of that saying, ‘agree to disagree.’ Well, right now, you and I are going to have to agree to hate one another but put it aside for the greater good. Don’t fight it. As bad as it is to say, just accept that hatred of me and move on. It’ll make it easier.”
“It’ll make all this easier,” Sayen said.
“I suppose that makes sense,” Kailah said. Trying to fight emotions was always far harder than accepting them and moving on. If she accepted her hatred of him, maybe it would allow her to be a bit less stressed, and she could get over it faster.
Kailah opened her mouth to speak, but a horn honked outside. “Right on time,” Sayen said.
“What?” Kailah asked.
Sayen smiled. “Weren’t you about to say you wanted to go home?” Kailah nodded in response. “Well, I got an Uber for you. They’ll take you back to your house. You’re not to go back to that parking garage until daylight.”
“Is it safe to go home?” Kailah asked.
Sayen nodded. “It is. Jeff will definitely be back, but not tonight.”
“And what about Rachel?” Kailah asked.
“She’s healed enough to go. She’s going to be very sore. With iron and B12 supplements, she should be just fine in a couple days,” Sayen said.
“She can stay here, if you don’t want to transport her,” Aeric said.
“And leave her here for you to chew on? No. We’re good.”
He smiled. “Don’t you think that if I wanted to chew on someone I would have bitten into you the moment I had you conveniently pinned beneath me?”
“Ugh, I—”
“Hate me, I know,” Aeric said. “And we’re doing it again.”
Kailah shook her head, as if she could shake away the negativity. “Damn it. You’re right. I’ve gotta get out of here.”
“Yeah, your driver is out there cussing up a storm,” Aeric said.
That almost made her laugh. She went to the living room and saw Rachel hugging Brett. She kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for everything you did.”
“Hey! I carried you and did all the heavy lifting!” Aeric said with a smile as he walked into the living room with his arms open.
Rachel laughed and hobbled into his arms. He gently hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you, too,” she said.
“You’ll feel much better tomorrow. I’m sure of it. Text us if you need anything, okay?” Aeric said.
She nodded and limped toward Kailah. She moved quickly, allowing Rachel to lean on her.
“Boy, you’re awfully friendly,” Kailah whispered.
“Uh, duh? They saved my life, Kay. They’re not as bad as you’re making them out to be. You’re being very dramatic,” Rachel replied quietly.
“Dramatic? I can’t help it. It’ll get better, like they said. Until then? If I never see him again, it would be far too soon.”
“Aw! You, too, dear!” Aeric said from behind them. “Hugs and kisses now! Don’t be a stranger!” His peppy voice made her roll her eyes.
“Too soon indeed,” Kailah said as she walked out the door.
Chapter Fourteen
“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Casi said as she looked out at the many Vampires in Jeff’s basement. His parents’ basement.
“Oh, it is. I’m tired of Khia and her bullshit. You might be older than me, but clearly, I’m the more motivated of the two of us,” Jeff said, his eyes wide with excitement. Since the fight with Kailah, he’d been rather manic.
“We can’t take that bitch on,” Casi said. “You have no idea what she’s capable of.”
“I don’t need to be. I saw what Kailah could do, and that was enough for me. The little bit she could do scared me enough to do something. Immortals don’t deserve the throne. You’ve heard the legends. Kailah’s the Elysian!” He turned to look at the ten or more Vampires standing around and talking.
“The Elysian is said to be a gift from Anubis, but Anubis and all Reapers hate us, Jeff. Anubis did not give her to us. If he had anything to do with her, it was because he wanted her to restore the balance. Rogues say she can give us the ability to walk in the light again. Daywalkers want her to stop evil Rogues and Immortals. Immortals want her to decimate everything and enslave humanity. This isn’t a war we can win,” Casi said.
“And what if she was one of us?” Jeff asked, a dark smile spreading across his face. “What if we turned her?”
Her eyes widened. “That’s what this is all about? You want to turn her?”
“Think about it,” he said, holding her face in both hands with a tighter grip than she liked. “If she’s an Immortal and a Vampire, who could stop her? We just have to turn her to our side first.”
“You idiot. Barring the fact that Kailah hates you more than Khia hates all living things except herself, has no one told you that no Immortal has ever survived being turned? It’s impossible. The Immortal begins to purify the toxins, whether it comes from Rogue venom or daywalker blood. It quickly weakens their bodies, and soon, the change starts to take place. Once they start to transition, their Immortal blood begins to turn on itself, and they purify their own body and kill themselves. It’s never been successfully done.”
“Jacques!” Jeff called out.
A stunningly beautiful man with long dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes walked over. He was tall but didn’t tower over everyone. What he did have, however, was power. She could sense it.
“Hello,” he said with a light French accent. “I’m Jacques.”
She nodded. “Nice to meet you. I’m Casi. No offense, but why does Ja
cques matter?”
The stronger Vampire smiled. “I’m over five hundred years old. I’m only two generations from the queen. My sire was sired by her directly. My blood is incredibly powerful. I believe I can turn the girl successfully. If she’s willing to help our cause, I think we can make this happen. Vampires don’t deserve to be destroyed. Not all of us anyway. Khia must be stopped.”
Casi got the feeling Jacques didn’t quite know the full plan. Him wanting her to be a willing participant was more than enough of a clue for her. Still, she kept her mouth shut. Jeff’s wild, murderous eyes were enough to warn her from calling any more attention to the stupidity of this plan.
“I see,” she said finally. “Well, by all means. Plan on.”
“Aren’t you going to stay and help?” Jeff asked.
She sighed. “If I’m going to be a part of this, I need to find a way to cloak us from Khia. Otherwise, we’ll be dead before this stupid plan even gets off the ground.”
Jeff smiled again. “So, you’ll help?”
It was a stupid plan. More than that. It was so idiotic and impossible she couldn’t even think of proper words to fit. But maybe she could help. Maybe she could work with the older Vampires to make the plan better.
It had been many, many years since she’d seen the sun in its full glory. If there was even a sliver of a chance to make this work, she felt obligated to try.
Finally, Casi nodded. “Khia first. Kailah later.”
***
A full week had gone by, and so far, Sayen had been correct. Nothing bad had happened. Jeff had stayed away so far, but Kailah knew that little vacation would end soon enough.
Rachel had politely refused to stay with Kailah because Mary had been feeling down again. Naturally, she was worried about her mom, and truth be told, so was Kailah. Mary was the strongest woman Kailah had ever met, and she loved her dearly.
When Rachel had gotten home the night Jeff had attacked her, she’d had one hell of a hard time explaining to Mary that everything was okay and taken care of for the moment. Kailah hadn’t been there for the spectacle, but Rachel had told her all about it over the phone the next day.
Naturally, Mary had wanted to call the cops. When Rachel tried to stop her, she said Mary then threatened to kill him herself—also naturally. Though Mary was a kind and sweet woman, she was not above delivering an ass-kicking to someone who hurt her baby girls, which included Kailah.
So, when Rachel told her she’d met two handsome young men who were now hunting him down, her mother was oddly a bit more joyful than what Kailah or Rachel could have predicted.
Monday, just three days after the big Jeffocalypse, was Rachel’s twenty-fifth birthday. Unfortunately, as painful as it was, she’d had to work. All of her visible wounds had been healed, and her blood count was back up to an acceptable level, but she was still weak.
The bruising had almost all gone away, but she still had quite a limp. Not only that, but she had been more than worried about Jeff coming back. He knew where she worked, so it wouldn’t take much for him to get in.
But unbeknownst to Kailah, until almost a full week later, Rachel had been texting both Aeric and Brett. They’d become just the “bestest of frans”, Kailah had called them when she found out. It annoyed her, but they’d given Rachel some good information and lessened her fear.
According to them, Jeff was a Rogue, and Rogues were allergic to sunlight. So that meant he couldn’t come out in the daytime and hurt either one of them.
That left Mary and Kailah with the opportunity to throw Rachel a birthday party that Friday. Mary didn’t know it, but it was also a “Surprise! You survived another week!” party as well.
For both of them.
Kailah had been given a strict list of things to get for the festivities, and after class that day, she went straight to the store to fulfill her obligations. She wanted to get Rachel a special birthday card that really spoke to their friendship.
In other words, it needed to be picked out carefully and be extremely rude.
As Kailah was going through the humorous birthday cards, disappointed in the limited selection, her sister, Amanda wandered up.
“Find anything good?” Amanda asked.
Kailah jumped and looked over to see her sister, who was now looking at the cards. She had a cart full of items that looked surprisingly like the items she’d been asked to get.
Amanda was just a few inches shorter than Kailah with the same Native American complexion, though her hair was a much lighter brown naturally. Like their mom, she had jade green, cat-like eyes.
Both of them were curvy, something they’d picked up from their dad’s side, since their mother was very thin with no real curves. Terry had always joked that she was holding the door for everyone else the day Mother Nature was handing out boobs and butts.
“Trying. Failing. They just don’t have anything that great. I’ll have to settle for something less inappropriate and a little sillier. Next year, I’ll make her one. I didn’t have time this year with everything going on,” Kailah said, realizing the last bit totally slipped out.
“Yeah, about that,” Amanda said. “What has been going on? I barely talk to you anymore. You’ve been quieter than usual.”
“Uh, just a lot going on. Work. School. You know, the regular.” Kailah felt terrible for lying, but the very last thing she wanted to do was drag her sister into it.
“Work huh?” Amanda said with a knowing expression.
Kailah nodded, trying not to look her sister in the eye. Though Amanda was younger, she was a human lie detector. She always knew when Kailah was lying, and she could see threw absolutely any bullshit thrown her way.
“You mean the job that you haven’t been to in two weeks?” Amanda asked.
Shit. “I was going to tell you about that.”
“Oh, yeah? Were ya?” Amanda asked, an accusing but amused tone to her voice.
“Hey, shush, okay?” Kailah smiled. “I’m sorry. I’m sure I’ll talk about it eventually, but I just haven’t really felt like it. I’m not pregnant or in a relationship. Nothing like that. I’ll be okay. Promise.”
Amanda nodded. “Okaaay,” she said. The tone to her voice meant “Yes, I’m sure you won’t, but I’ll ask you about it later to hold you to it.”
Kailah pulled the list out of her back pocket. “Paper plates. Cups. Ice cream.” She looked in Amanda’s cart and confirmed her earlier thought. “You’re going to Rachel’s party, too.”
Amanda nodded. “Yup, thanks for the invite, by the way. Mary asked me. She also gave me a list and told me you’d probably forget.”
“Well, I didn’t. This time.” Kailah laughed. She was unfortunately notorious for being forgetful. Though she tried very hard not to be, there were many times it was unavoidable. It was a wonder she’d made it so far in school.
“I guess we can just split the costs. Sound good?” Amanda asked.
“Perfect. That saves me from having to walk through this God forsaken place,” she replied, happy to be getting out sooner than expected.
When they got into line at the front of the store, Amanda inhaled.
“Don’t do that too hard. You might inhale something you don’t like,” Kailah said.
Amanda laughed. “No, I smelled rain. Do you smell it?”
Every since they were kids, they could smell weather a few days before it happened. They always knew when the first snow would fall, and they could better predict rain than any meteorologist. Right then, the smell was strong, which meant it would be coming within minutes.
“Yeah, I do. Weird. I didn’t notice that coming in,” Kailah said.
“No. Me neither. And it was super sunny, too.”
Kailah’s heart damn near hit the floor as she swallowed hard. Chills rushed through her body from head to toe. When she’d come in, the weather was a perfect seventy-eight degrees, and the sky was bright blue. There were a few white clouds smattering the sky, but otherwise, it was perfect.
/> “We should leave,” Kailah said flatly.
“What? Why? We haven’t even bought the stuff yet. I’m not showing up without the things we promised to get,” Amanda said.
Kailah turned to her, firmly grabbing her arm. Her eyes stared hard into her sister’s, silently begging her to listen. “Please. We need to leave. Now. I have a bad feeling. We can get the stuff when we get closer to their house. But we need to go. Now.”
Amanda’s eyes searched Kailah’s for a few short moments before she silently nodded. “Okay then. We can. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Mmhmm,” Kailah replied, still holding her sister’s arm.
They quickly walked to the front door, leaving all their items and the cart behind. When they made it just outside the second set of double doors, standing under the large stone overhang, Kailah could see the clouds rolling in. They were moving way too fast to be natural, and they were concentrated directly over that area.
“Whoa!” Amanda said. “Have you ever seen anything like that?”
Right then, all Kailah could think of was running to Amanda’s car, a 2015 Scion XB, which they lovingly called the toaster because of it’s shape. She could see it parked not far away, and it was much closer than her own car.
Kailah’s heart was racing. “Unfortunately, yes. I have.” Her sister looked at her with curiosity for a moment. “We need to get to the toaster as fast as possible. This is about to get very bad.”
The moment she said those words, rain began to fall. The drops were huge, the sound deafening as they pelted the concrete. People began to cry out as they ran for the building. As they passed the sisters, Kailah could see welts already rising on their skin.
Kailah, the soft, motherly voice of Sayen said in her mind.
