“Show me,” Kira said.
“What’s in it for me?” She asked. “I don’t exactly have tons of energy to just go wasting on you.” Her body slackened to prove the point.
Hesitant, Kira held up her wrist. “Blood.”
The girl responded by licking her lips and sitting up a little taller. The eyes of the other conduits were on Kira questioningly, accusing her. She had a feeling she was breaking a cardinal rule—never willingly give a vampire blood. But information was more important than following the rules.
Kira pushed her fingernail deep into her wrist, biting her lip at the pain. After a few seconds, she felt her skin give way and saw the bright pool gathering around her finger. She reached her arm through the hole at the bottom of the cell, letting her blood drop onto the floor.
The vampire started forward but Kira jerked her hand back. “Wait,” she said. Giving up blood was one thing, letting somebody bite her was totally different and not happening anytime soon.
After a minute, Kira lit an internal flame, bringing the fire to her blood long enough to close the wound. She sat back down, waiting as the girl slid across the floor to drink.
The ashen gray retreated from the vampire’s features and a luminescent glow sprouted on her cheeks. The smoke left her eyes, leaving a glossy royal blue hue behind. The curls in her hair tightened into coils and a flush colored her lips.
She reached her hand back, beckoning Kira. “I won’t bite,” she said with a smirk. Kira tentatively stretched her fingers out until she was holding the girls hand.
Suddenly, her mind was taken over by darkness. Rich swirling hues buzzed in front of her eyelids, covering the glass cells, until they merged into an image: a fire.
A large, sparking fire surrounded by people in bright clothes and linen covered wagons. Drums were beating in her ears and the crowd was swaying in unison to the sound. They started clapping, softly at first until the noise became as loud as thunder. People were calling out, laughing and yelping, until a hush spread around the fire and a dancing figure jumped into the middle of the circle. Her red pants were wide and billowing in the slight breeze. Her shirt sparkled with gold medallions and a sliver of her stomach was revealed underneath the loose top. She paused, brought her hands up over her head, clanking two small symbols together and surveying the crowd, waiting for their voices to rise again and goad her into a dance. Her eyes met Kira’s, and though a bright piercing emerald, Kira recognized them as belonging to the vampire girl.
Kira looked away from the stare, and at the other end of the fire was a man with jet black hair, who, for a split second, had reminded her of Tristan.
“My, my, you are a bit of a rebel aren’t you,” the female vampire said. Kira snapped her hand back and let the vision disappear.
“What do you mean?”
“Who’s the guy?” She raised her eyebrows, challenging Kira.
“No one.”
“You seemed pretty hot and heavy—”
“You were just supposed to show me your power!”
The girl shrugged. “No harm done and now that memory, that steamy little gem, is all in here,” she said and tapped her skull. “Pretty handy, at least that’s what Aldrich thinks.”
“How long have you been in here?” Kira asked, sinking back in her seat to keep as far away from the cell as possible. No way was that girl touching her again.
“Maybe twenty-five years. Such a drag after a couple hundred years of absolute freedom. But, Aldrich knows I’d run if he ever let me out.” She blew a curl from her forehead.
“So why not do what he says?”
“I’d rather be prisoner than a slave,” the girl said quietly. Kira saw her fists clench. After a second her fingers relaxed and she turned to Kira. “Your turn to share. Why are you here? Last time I checked, Aldrich didn’t really keep conduits as houseguests. But you’re special, aren’t you.”
“I’m a half-breed conduit,” Kira said. She didn’t look around at the shocked faces of the Punishers and the Protector in the cells around her. The vampire looked unimpressed.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she said and rolled her eyes. “One look at your hair, your eyes and your healing, and that was obvious. I want to know what that means. What is so damn special about that, other than the dual immunity, which you can clearly see Aldrich doesn’t need.”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” Kira muttered, annoyed.
“I might have an idea,” a scratchy voice said from behind her. Both Kira and the vampire girl turned to look at the Punisher man who Kira first helped when she walked into the dungeon. He was leaning against the front of his cell carefully watching both of them.
“No one really knows how vampires and conduits came to be,” he said. His voice grew quieter and quieter the more he spoke. The lack of water and energy was clearly affecting him. “Protectors will tell you it was nothing more than a virus, a scientific abnormality—not that they can prove it. But Punishers, we believe something different. Something a little more divine.” He coughed, cutting off his story. Kira stepped over to his cell and let her hand warm his, infusing his body with a little more energy.
“What do you believe?” Kira asked, intrigued on multiple levels. Luke never shared Punisher beliefs with her. He thought they were nothing better than legend. But wasn’t history like that sometimes?
“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 expression, as if the could see the cloud of evil surrounding her. The man didn’t m
ove 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 your 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 blood thirsty fallen angels crashing to the earth at bay. Would there be a day when the fire stung her? When her actions had 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 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 may 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 wracked 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 in 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 was, 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 further 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 has 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 towards a sign that said London was only 37 kilometers away, whatever that meant.
Then, for the first time since entering the car, Kira felt Tristan’s gaze land 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 let 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.
Blaze (Midnight Fire Series) Page 12
