by J. G. Massie
“You stabbed me in the back, you traitor. For that alone you have earned eternal sleep!” Marco was relentless, and I just knew this was it. Vampire or not, I could see that Lucian had reached his physical limits. I should have been relieved, but part of me didn’t want to see either of these men die. Why couldn’t there be another way?
“How do you think you will be remembered? A hero, a martyr perhaps? You think you will be remembered as the vampire who sacrificed his life for the greater good?” The way his bloody face bounced from side to side with the barrage of devastating blows, it was hard to tell if Lucian was still alive, much less listening to Marco’s taunts.
“Well, you won’t. In fact, it is unlikely you will be remembered at all. You know our ways as well as anyone. You will be remembered as the loser, then forgotten. In no way, shape, or form has weakness ever been honored among our kind, and you were a fool to think you would be the first.”
Lucian suddenly sat up, a trembling hand catching Marco’s falling fist. “No, brother,” he gurgled, blood bubbling past his lips with each slurred word. “I am no martyr.” It was hard to believe he could still move at all, let alone have this much strength left. “But I was never afraid to fight for what is right. Whether or not I’m remembered for that makes no difference to me.”
“You chose the wrong side,” Marco whispered, slowly dropping down to press his forehead against Lucian’s.
“Perhaps,” Lucian whispered back to his old friend. “But I shall not be around long enough to know for certain.” He took Marco’s hand and placed it against his own chest. “You are the winner, old friend. You know what must be done.” Marco’s fingernails started to grow into claws. “The Noctem are now yours to rule as you see fit.”
“You could have helped me,” Marco rasped, his choked words barely a whisper. “You could have stood by my side and helped me lead our people away from their senseless past.”
“I followed my heart,” Lucian replied with a weak bark of a laugh. He steeled his eyes, both hands wrapped around Marco’s wrist. “It may indeed have betrayed me. All the more reason for you to take it, brother. Now finish it!”
In a flash of understanding, I recognized what was about to happen. He was going to rip Lucian’s heart out!
Countless vampires watched on, and yet you could hear a pin drop. I wanted to scream out, to beg Marco not to do it. Was killing his best friend really the only way to resolve—
Faces looked up all around me, eyes fixed on the blackening sky above. What was going on here? Was this some sort of magical side effect of the blood trial? A sign from the underworld gods that a winner had been chosen, perhaps? But no, the vampires all looked just as confused as I did. Protectively, Isaac wrapped his arms around me with his eyes to the sky.
“Is this normal?” I asked, trying to push back against the rising fear.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before.” That wasn’t exactly the response I was hoping for. “I have no idea what this is. Just stay close to me, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He didn’t have to tell me twice. It was all I could do not to duck under his shirt and hide like a rabbit.
Marco looked around, his claws still sunk into Lucian’s chest. “Finish it!” Lucian rasped, even sitting up to increase the pressure.
“Not this day, brother,” Marco growled, retracting his claws before pushing off. “Oh, I may still kill you yet, but not before we face whatever threat this is.”He reached down and offered his hand. “Together. You say you are loyal to the Noctem? Then I offer you a second chance to prove it. Stand with me so we may protect our brothers and sisters.”
Lucian accepted Marco’s hand and allowed himself to be hoisted back up. “Very well, but this is not over.”
“On that much I agree.”
Eyes to the sky, they watched as the world around us descended into madness.
Chapter 7
The sky above bubbled and churned, a sea of blackish smog swirling like a whirlpool. It was like a scene from a movie, the portrait of a sky that was just about to sprout dozens of tornadoes at any moment. The winds were picking up, and even they seemed to be defying all the natural laws of nature, blowing straight up as if coming right out of the ground somehow. I felt compelled to grab onto Isaac for fear of being lifted up into the sky.
“Up there!” Margie pointed, unhitching her crossbow and loading a bolt. Those weren’t funnels drifting down as I feared. No, it was much worse than that. Shapeless masses of black smoke sank down from the sky, each one bubbling in place like a single drop of cream splashed in black coffee.
All around me came the grinding hiss of weapons being drawn, along with the creaking of tightened bowstrings. Having no idea what to expect, vampires and humans alike stood fast.
Hovering above like pulsating clouds, the shapeless blobs began to take form. Masses of smoky mist shifted and boiled, transforming, eventually shifting into more familiar humanoid forms. Thin slits of red peered out from beneath black hoods, their faces so deeply hidden in shadow that they might as well have been black holes. Their forms broke and distorted with each gust of wind, separating briefly like thin puffs of vapor. But the distortion only lasted a second or two before the smoke solidified once more.
“Wraiths!” one of the Noctem called out, sending the other vampires into a flurry of panic.
“Oh no,” Isaac spat. The shakiness in his voice turned my blood cold. He turned and slapped down on my wrist. “Never mind that!” I didn’t even realize I had drawn my sword. “Steel is of no use against them.”
“Then what would you suggest?” I slid my blade back down into its sheath.
I heard a click from behind, followed immediately by a whistling whoosh. Margie’s bolt zipped into a drifting wraith, then passed straight through it in a trail of coiled smoke. It was as if their misty bodies had no mass as all. As far as I could tell, they were ghosts for lack of any other explanation. Thin slits of red widened as it looked down, those blood-red eyes suddenly fixed in our direction.
“Um, we run,” Isaac blurted out.
“Run... Yes... Running’s good.”
Before I knew it, Isaac had a hold of my wrist and we were off like a shot. “What about the others?” I screamed over the emerging sounds of battle. “We can’t just leave them.” Wraiths rained down from the sky all around us, engaging vampires as we weaved through the bedlam. I tried to resist him by dragging my heels, but it was like trying to resist a runaway freight train.
“They can handle themselves,” Isaac shouted back. “Your safety is my top priority, and not a one of them would say otherwise.”
“Are you just saying that because of your sense of duty, or because it’s the way you actually feel...about me?” I ended up choking on my own words. What a time to get all awkward and weird.
“Both.” He never even broke stride.
Charging like a bull, he turned sharply and shouldered us right through a closed door, ripping it right off the hinges. It shattered into a sprinkling of brittle lumber and sawdust. I always thought of Marco as being the powerhouse of the group. It was easy to forget how strong vampires were in general. Even the weakest were much stronger than most humans.
Still holding my wrist, he rushed me up the steps at a full sprint. My shins dragged over the carpeted steps far more often than I managed to get my feet underneath me. Isaac often threatened he would physically drag me out of harm’s way if he needed to, but I never thought he would actually do it.
Streaking into a bedroom, he practically threw me on the bed and turned to shut the door. He closed it halfway before pausing, then drew back with a look of surprise. “Hurry up!” he shouted, twirling his arm in circles. Lindsey, Margie, Marco, and Mandla all came running up the steps, then piled into the room before Isaac finally slammed the door behind them.
“What kept you guys?” I asked, relieved they were able to keep up.
“Traffic,” Mandla murmured as he leaned his massive back against the door. W
as that another joke from the big man? Man, it was good to see he wasn’t always a robot, but he really needed to work on his timing a little bit more.
“Argh!” Marco slammed his fist into the wall. “My people are being slaughtered! How did this happen? What is going on out there?”
“I don’t know,” Isaac admitted, rushing over to help calm his friend. “Look, the Noctem aren’t stupid. They know better than to go toe to toe with wraiths. On land, vampires are faster and can outmaneuver them. I’m sure that most were able to get away.”
“But a fair number already fell.” Marco looked up, his glassy eyes coming back into focus. “I saw it with my own eyes. I saw it...and did nothing.”
Isaac rested his hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, my friend. But don’t blame yourself, there was nothing anyone could do. But I promise you, sooner or later we’ll get to the bottom of—”
“Get away from the door!” Margie ordered, raising her crossbow with a click. Lindsey raised her own just as Mandla leapt away from the door. No sooner had he done so when the door exploded into shards of cream-colored toothpicks. Through the dust, I saw the hooded outline standing in the doorway, its thin slits of red fixed directly on me.
My bladder suddenly felt warm and loose. Knees trembling, I couldn’t even find the will to move as a wave of debilitating fear coursed through my veins. I couldn’t have lifted my sword even if my life depended on it, but it didn’t matter anyway. My whole body surged backwards as Isaac whipped me around to his back to keep himself between me and the wraith. The others converged, quickly forming a human shield around me and that thing.
“Protect the Keeper,” Margie shouted, firing off the first of several bolts. Like a misty cloud, the wraith’s body simply distorted as the bolts passed straight through. Lindsey fired next, her projectiles producing the exact same result.
Mandla lunged, charging forward with a savage roar. Claws bared, he slashed wildly at the hooded creature. Razor-sharp, his claws slashed nothing but air as they passed straight through its ghostly body.
With what appeared to be only a mere flick of its wrist, the light backhand caught Mandla right in the jaw and sent him flying into the far wall. How anyone could move that mountain of a man was beyond me, but to send him airborne like swatting a fly? Impossible! It seemed as if these creatures became as solid as stone when they attacked, but were practically ghosts when being attacked.
Well, that didn’t seem fair...
The other four converged, Marco and Isaac rushing head on while Lindsey and Margie flanked from opposite sides. Steel flashed as the ladies burst into motion, their swords slicing away while the two vampires clawed like cornered animals fighting for their lives. Nothing landed. Nothing! It was like trying to cut down a wall of fog.
Smoky double fists fired out, but the boys dove in front of the ladies just as fast. Turning their backs to the wraith, they took the brunt of the blows. Having two vampires crash into them probably didn’t feel great, but it was better than getting hit by the wraith. Their bodies could take it where that kind of force would have certainly killed any humans.
Once everyone crashed against opposite walls on both sides of the room, my human wall was no more. It was just me and him.
At least I was able to move now, and move I did. Hands pumping against my chest, I emptied my chest sheaths as silver blades streaked across the room. But just as I feared, they caught nothing but air before thumping into the hallway wall behind him.
With nothing left to lose, I drew my sword and charged. Sure, I knew that Isaac was right. Steel wasn’t going to work against this thing, but what choice did I have? My friends had all just gotten their asses kicked trying to defend me. The least I could do was die on my feet. With me out of the way, they would have enough sense to get the hell out of here. No sense in all of us dying.
Although I was moving at full speed, it seemed to take forever to reach him, feet smashing against the wooden floor as I propelled myself faster with each step. I knew I was going to die, but if I hit it with everything I had, I just might be able to give it a serious bruise before I checked out.
Hey, I could dream, right?
With a roar, I thrust my sword into its belly. I tensed, waiting for the return blow to rip me in half. My eyes snapped open at the sound of a blood-curdling scream. Shrieking like a whistle, it began to thrash about on the end of my sword. Pulling in on itself, as if being sucked away through an invisible straw, its body collapsed down into nothing.
Turner stood before me, the tip of his blade nearly touching mine. But unlike my sword, his was glowing faintly, radiating some sort of bluish light. It was immediately clear to me whose weapon had actually killed the wraith, and it wasn’t mine. “Come with me if you want to live.” His eyes darted around the room. The others were pretty shaken up, but still alive. “All of you. Let’s go.”
* * *
“We could have made a stand back there,” Marco said, still running along with us despite his protests. “All we had to do was defend the doorway and one window. Out in the open like this, we’re sitting ducks.”
“First of all, I have no idea what you mean by we,” Turner fired back as he led us along at a brisk pace. “Because from what I can tell, I seem to be the only one who can hurt them at all.” Marco grunted in response. “And since I alone am the only one who can protect us against those creatures, then perhaps I should be the one who chooses the battleground. Cooped up in that room, backed into a corner with no room to move, I’m likely to cut down one of you on accident. Trust me, out in the open is the better option.”
“I hope you know what you’re talking about,” I said, huffing and puffing. “Out here, they’ll be able to come at us five at a time.”
“Then they’ll die five at a time!” Turner replied stubbornly.
I knew Turner was confident, a man whose faith in his own abilities knew no bounds. But this sort of arrogance was on a whole other level. These wraiths were impervious to both werewolf and vampire attacks, not to mention our silver weapons didn’t even so much as tickle them. Who did he think he was? And why was his sword glowing like that?
There were a few vampire bodies scattered here and there. Ripped and torn, many were even missing entire limbs. But those who hadn’t fled were more or less holding their own.
Not fighting the wraiths, of course—there wasn’t much they could do against these spirit creatures who seemed to be immune to all physical attacks. But the vampires were blazing fast on their feet while the wraiths drifted through the air like windblown kites. As long as no one else decided to be a hero, the vampires could probably evade them as long as necessary.
Still, that didn’t make the harrowing scene any less chilling. The wraiths were everywhere, soaring down from the churning black sky as they tried to swoop up any vampires who happened to be looking the wrong way. Yes, the vampires were faster, but sometimes they couldn’t tell which direction the attack was coming from until it was too late.
Turner streaked ahead, paying little to no attention to the smoky kites drifting just over his head. Whether he didn’t notice or just didn’t fear them was anyone’s guess.
Charging up a small dirt hill, he stopped and whirled about. Sword in hand, he motioned for us to get down. Feeling as helpless as a kitten, I dropped to my stomach and covered my head. Whatever he was about to do, he had better do it quick. Because right now, lying on a hill out in the open didn’t really seem like the best strategy for survival.
“Looking for a fresh soul, are you?” he called out, tauntingly raising his sword to the sky. “Better yet, how about the soul of a Keeper? Quite the prize, yes? If this is what you crave, then come and get it!”
This was his strategy? He was going to taunt a bunch of angry spirits while we all lay on the ground near his feet? No one would ever accuse Turner of being a stable person, but this time he had truly gone off the deep end. If he was so determined to die, could he have at least done it without involving us?
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br /> Circling wraiths gazed down at the foolish human, their skeletal fingers pointing as bright red eyes flared with hatred. Three broke free from their tailspin and began descending like spiders on webs. Gaping mouths wide open, their shrieks alone were enough to break any man’s mind.
Without ever moving his feet, Turner calmly slashed his sword once directly above his head. The first wraith kept right on drifting past as if it hadn’t even noticed. Then suddenly, its wailing intensified tenfold as its chest ripped open from neck to crotch. A sort of ash came pouring down from the gaping wound. Brilliant, sparkly white glitter came out. Its innards reminded me of a 4th of July sparkler.
As white ash spewed down like a Christmas waterfall, its smoky body continued to lose mass, shrinking and shriveling. The smaller it got, the more distorted it became. What soon resembled a blackened, deflated bladder drifting through the air eventually caved in on itself and just disappeared in a puff of black soot.
Turner dipped his shoulder and rolled, easily evading the next two as bony white hands slashed down at his back. Skeletal claws missing by inches, he completed three consecutive summersaults, his blade slashing upward with each revolution. Their bodies jolting, the next two wraiths also began spewing white ash. Moments later, their bodies shriveled down and collapsed into nothing.
All we could do was watch in awe and disbelief. Sure, of course I was terrified. Who wouldn’t be? But all of a sudden it really felt like we had a fighting chance against a seemingly invincible enemy. Turner had just taken down three without breaking a sweat, and he wasn’t even close to finished. Not by a long shot!
Turner raced down the other side of the hill, his glowing blade whipping around as he taunted the enemy with his booming war cry. Was I witnessing bravery or suicide? I still couldn’t tell. Now identified as the only real threat on the battlefield, the wraiths started coming at him from all directions.
