But she didn’t need to say those words.
Sam was already rushing over to Helena by this point, his light trained on her, and as soon as he got to her, he pressed his hands to her neck to see that…
No…
No, Goddammit, no!
Helena had been bitten.
Chapter Forty-Three: Bloody Mist
(Look at the bright side. Wait. There is no bright side.)
The shock Sam Meeko was experiencing was something he’d never felt before. He wasn’t able to come to grips with what he was seeing as he looked down at Helena, his hands slow-motion moving toward her neck to confirm what he already knew to be true.
He was on the ground now with her, Helena rested against his knee, two bite marks on her neck, blood still oozing from the wounds. Zoe was next to Sam, her head craned forward a bit as she examined Helena’s wound.
“Oh no,” Juniper said, the rune she was conjuring falling to the ground and shattering.
“What are you doing?” Zoe hissed over to her. “We need a portal to take us the fuck out of here. Focus. Everyone focus. We will take care of Helena…”
“Where’s Ozella?” Sam asked.
“Near me,” said Juniper as she choked back a sob. The rune user started swirling her finger in the air, gracefully creating some ancient script even if it was clear by the look on her face that she was completely shattered.
“Okay, Juniper and Ozella, then Sam and Helena, and I’ll come in last,” Zoe said, now crouched, looking around in the dark, her ears twitching.
“All the vampires are gone, right?” Sam asked.
A thousand thoughts streamed through his mind at that moment, his mind working overtime to remember if he had ever heard of a cure for vampirism, wondering how they would get out of here, nervous as to what would happen if anyone else showed up.
But with Helena in his arms, bite marks on her neck, Sam knew now was not the time to let his thoughts distract him.
“They should be. I can’t believe this one slipped out of our view…” Zoe said. “Fuck! I should have looked around better, I should have…”
“You did what you could do,” said Juniper, the portal she was forming starting to rotate and grow larger. “It should only be another minute now.”
“Why is this taking so goddamn long?” Zoe asked.
Juniper sniffed, still trying not to let worry affect her casting. “Because there are dozens and dozens of wards protecting this school, and it’s hard to conjure from within without permission. Like I said, less than a minute.”
“Okay, I’ll bring Helena over,” Sam said as he lifted Helena in his arms, carrying her over to Juniper.
A portal opened on the far side of the deep basement as Sam cleared the distance, the sound of the air splitting ricocheting to the far corners of the room.
Zoe’s ears perked up, her tail straightening out as she saw the man named Essem Magar dropped out of the portal, his arms immediately morphing into enormous blades.
“I’ve got him!”
“Hurry!” Sam told Juniper, even though he knew this wouldn’t help. If this bastard was here, then surely the others would be on their way. Sam was surprised they hadn’t dropped out of portals by this point.
It was only a matter of time now…
Once he reached Juniper and carefully set Helena on the ground, Sam kept the light from his wrist guard on Zoe and Essem as they circled each other, Zoe throwing a few quick swipes in the villain’s direction to test his speed.
She rolled right as he came forward, his blade cutting into the concrete floor, sparks flying. Zoe leapt onto him; Essem threw her over his shoulder and into the wall.
She scurried out of the way just in time to avoid a full-frontal attack, the man pivoting, his blades hitting the ground as she backpedaled. Zoe dove to the side just in time to avoid another thrust.
“Come on, come on,” Sam said.
“Almost there…” Juniper told him.
“Zoe!” Sam shouted, but in trying to get her attention, he also distracted her, Zoe turning to look at him just as Essem thrust his blade-arm in her direction, ripping through her winter clothing and her uniform underneath.
Zoe just barely managed to get away in time to avoid a follow-up attack.
She was stumbling now, her hand on her waist, blood dripping on the ground as she tried to make her way toward Juniper, a look of utter terror on her face.
“Now,” Juniper said, the portal opening. “Let’s go!”
“I’ve got to help Zoe!”
“Hurry!” Juniper said as she dragged Ozella into the portal.
And in that moment, Sam knew Zoe wasn’t going to make it. She was losing speed fast, and Essem was gaining on her, so Sam did what anyone in his position would do.
He took off toward Zoe and Essem, his hand on his wrist guard adjusting the dial to its lethal setting.
And when he wasn’t able to fire a shot in time, he simply waited for an opening and tackled Essem, the impact stunning both of them for a moment as Sam tried to pin him to the ground.
Sam didn’t even notice the blade that entered his stomach and pressed out the back of his body.
He felt the sting, he saw Essem’s wicked grin, but Sam was more focused on doing something else. And with one fluid gesture, he punched his fist under Essem’s chin and triggered his weapon.
The blast turned the villain's head into a cloud of bloody mist.
It was then that Sam noticed that he was practically impaled on Essem’s blade arm, a sensation unlike any he had ever felt before moving through his body.
“Sam!”
Zoe was on him in a heartbeat, pulling Sam off the blade as Juniper’s head peeked out of the portal, the rune user immediately going to Helena and lifting her.
“We need Dinah,” Zoe said, trying not to sob, summoning every bit of strength she had to drag Sam over to the portal. “We need Dinah.”
“I can use a rune to wake Ozella up,” Juniper said as she carried Helena into the portal. “It shouldn’t take me long.”
“Sam is dying,” Zoe said, full on crying as she pressed through the portal. “Sam is dying, and Helena… Helena… Sam!”
“Just calm down; we’ll get through this,” Juniper said as her living room took shape. “Just stay with me, both of you!”
***
It was grotesquely miraculous how quickly one of Juniper’s many living rooms went from posh and clean to terror-filled and blood-soaked.
Sam now sat with his back against one of the sofas, his hand near the gaping wound in his stomach, Sam looking down at it, occasionally fluttering his eyes then regaining his composure.
The blood gushing out of the wound had saturated his clothing, creating a halo of crimson around him, the visual something that choked Zoe up every time she looked over to him.
She too was injured; the foot-long gash down the side of her body had created quite a bit of blood, but it wasn’t too deep, and miraculously, it didn’t cut through any bone or organ tissue.
It still stung like a bitch, but her focus was now on Juniper, who kneeled before Ozella, swirling her fingers, forming characters Zoe would never understand.
“You can heal her, right?” Zoe asked, which was the third or fourth time she had asked the same question and received the same answer.
“It’s not healing. And I need to concentrate,” Juniper said. “This rune creates a surge of adrenaline, which should wake Ozella up, but I don’t want to kill her. So please. Tend to Sam, or Helena.”
While Sam was definitely injured, Helena was the most tragic of all.
Juniper had laid her on the couch, her hands on her stomach, the two puncture wounds on her neck visible. She was starting to breathe, however, and it was only a few seconds later that Helena turned her head to Zoe, staring over to her with a dazed look in her eyes. “What’s happening?” she whispered.
Zoe practically launched herself to Helena’s side and took her hand.
“We’re safe now,” Zoe said, starting to choke up. “Sort of…”
“Are you okay?” Helena asked, a pained expression on her face as her throat quivered. She noticed that something was different along the muscles of her neck.
“I’m so sorry,” Zoe said. “I’m so sorry.”
“I was... bitten?” she asked as she touched the wound.
Zoe nodded. “We don’t know what the effects will be yet. And Sam… Sam…”
“Where’s Sam?” Helena asked, starting to tear up. She tried to turn her head all the way, but couldn’t, wincing at the pain on her neck.
“Just relax,” Helena said. “Sam is… He will be…”
“Please, please don’t tell me he’s dying,” Helena said.
“I don’t know,” Zoe finally admitted. “But Dinah should be here soon. Just relax. We’re going to figure all this out, Helena, I promise.”
“Here we go,” Juniper said, moving back as a spiral of magical script appeared before her, drilling down into Ozella’s body.
Zoe moved rapidly over to the two, just as Ozella started to wake. She sat up with a gasp, Zoe placing her hands behind her back, giving Ozella something to lean against.
“Dinah. Now. Sam,” Zoe said, barely able to get the words out.
Ozella simply nodded and Dinah appeared, a look of utter horror on the ghost woman’s face when she looked from Sam to Helena.
“Sam first,” Zoe said, and Dinah moved over to him almost immediately. “Please.”
Dinah sat on his waist, her body instantly pressing through his legs. She bent forward, her transparent lips touching Sam’s forehead.
He began to convulse, the light blue of Dinah’s form darkening as she absorbed more of his wound.
The blood surrounding him didn’t disappear, but Sam’s breaths started to become fuller, his energy returning to him.
His eyes were only closed a few moments longer, and once he was awake, he naturally started to push Dinah away, his hands pressing through her.
“Relax, Sam, this isn’t that,” Zoe said.
“Isn’t what?” Ozella asked as she started to get to her feet, definitely a little wobbly.
“Nothing. Dinah, just keep healing, and once you’re finished, move to Helena.”
Her hands now over her mouth, Ozella moved over to Helena and looked down at her, immediately starting to cry. “Please tell me…”
“We’ll figure something out,” Juniper said as she joined her, placing a hand on Ozella’s shoulder.
Eventually, Dinah stood and made her way over to Helena, Sam barely able to bring himself to stand.
“Dammit,” Sam said under his breath as he approached Helena, Dinah now bent before her, doing her best to heal the pale woman.
“And it’s all my fault,” Zoe said, tearing up again. “I should have looked around and seen the last vampire waiting for us. I should have…”
“No, I should have,” said Sam.
“You saved me,” Zoe said, turning to him. “That was so brave of you.”
Zoe lifted a hand to his cheek, using her thumb to remove his mask. “You saved me.”
“You would have done the same for me,” Sam said.
“It’s not working,” Ozella said, wiping tears away.
Zoe turned to see that Helena was starting to look better, but the wounds on her neck weren’t healing up.
“Try harder, Dinah,” Zoe said.
“She’s trying,” said Ozella.
“It’s not going to work,” said Juniper.
Helena pushed herself up. “We need to get back to Centralia. It’s the only way.”
“You need to rest,” Zoe started to tell her, her ears flitting back.
“We’re not going to get the help we need here,” Helena said.
“You don’t know that,” Juniper told her.
“I want to go back to Centralia, now,” Helena demanded, her voice quivering. “Now. I want to go home. I just want to be home.”
“I’m coming with you,” Juniper said as she stepped away, clearly flustered.
“That’s fine, but arrange an intercountry teleportation service. I want to go home now.”
Juniper nodded as she fired off some mental messages.
“Sam,” Helena said, reaching her arms out toward him. He came to her side and sat, leaving a large bloodstain on the couch as he did so, bringing Helena into his arms.
And while she could sometimes be heartless, Zoe truly felt sorry for Helena.
If only she had seen the last goddamn vampire, if only she had been faster. She turned away from the group, her arms crossed over her chest, one hand on her face as she tried to cover the fact that she was crying.
Dinah approached her from the front, Zoe at first confused as to why the woman was standing before her.
“I don’t need your healing,” she hissed. “Focus on someone else.”
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Ozella at her side, the statkeeper’s bloodied bangs swept over her face as she looked at Zoe with concern. “You have been severely cut,” she reminded her.
“I know,” Zoe said, sniffing, trying not to show any emotion and failing miserably.
“Let Dinah heal you.”
“Fine.”
Dinah came forward and Zoe lifted her hand, cringing as she felt a strain on the front of her body.
At least her brain didn’t have to handle the physical pain once Dinah finished, and she thanked the ghost woman as she turned back to Helena, who was still hugging Sam tightly.
“You won’t turn…” Sam kept whispering to Helena.
“I don’t want to… I don’t want to…”
“We will figure out a cure,” Zoe said. “I’m sure there is something. Ozella, tell me there is something, dammit!”
“If there is, I haven’t read it in a book yet,” Ozella said. “And please don’t yell at me!”
“I’m sorry! I’m just not good at handling emotions sometimes!” Zoe said, wringing her hands together.
“Breathe, Zoe, breathe. I still think we should stay here,” Juniper said, biting her lip.
“I want to go home, now.”
“I know, Helena, but there may be runes, or… There may be something that we don’t know about, which is here in the South, not there. You know that people don’t use runes there.”
“You will be there,” Helena told Juniper. “You can use runes. There are others there as well. Both of us know that.”
“I would have to find—”
“—There may be other options,” Helena said firmly. “I’m not ashamed to admit that I have money that I can throw at this.” She touched the wound on her neck again. “Maybe if Dinah keeps healing me, I can stay healthy until we can figure out a cure.”
“Maybe,” Ozella said.
“I just wish I had been faster,” Zoe told the group, her face still buried in her hands. “I was so anxious to get the three of you down…”
“You did what you had to do,” Juniper said. “This isn’t your fault.”
“It is my fault,” Zoe said.
“No, it’s my fault,” said Sam. “I had enhanced vision at the time; I should have seen the last vampire.”
“It is no one’s fault. When we took these roles, we all knew that something like this could happen,” Helena said, taking charge as usual. “Now, Juniper, what about your relations here? We encountered the headmaster of the School of Heart, Sugoz, and he must know where you are, and all about your family.”
“He may be the most powerful rune user I have ever encountered, but there are political forces here that will bury him if he tries anything. I don’t think that he will go that route, to be honest with you. It’s too risky on his part, and it could ruin whatever plan he has. Clearly, he is working with Fang, and he knew about the vampire children.”
“There’s one bright side to all this,” Ozella said, interrupting Juniper. “You did kill all the children that they had brought down there. So that wil
l definitely set them back.”
“But will it? They can just infect more. In fact, I don’t know why they were bringing children from Centralia anyway when they could just use children from the South.”
“There may be some connection that we can get to the bottom of once we are back in Centralia,” said Helena, acting as if she hadn’t been bitten. “As far as we know, that’s where the real vampires are, the ones who are taking kids in the first place, the ones who formed Fang. Once I’m better, we will be able to do much more damage, and in the meantime, we will be able to see if we can’t get to the bottom of why they were bringing these kids to the Southern Alliance.”
“Here we go,” Juniper said as a shimmering square took shape in the living room.
A man in maroon clothing stepped out, glancing from all the blood to the five huddled around the couch.
“It’s been a long day,” Helena told him, her eye already starting to morph into a spinning red target.
“I can see that,” the man said.
“Just let me grab a few things and then we can go,” Juniper said. “Hopefully, we can figure all this out in Centralia.”
Epilogue: Just What the Doctor Ordered
A square-shaped portal opened up in front of Helena’s mansion. It was breezy as usual, a typical day in the city that doubled as a country.
Sam couldn’t remember the last time he had entered the place from this location, as they usually teleported inside.
Yet here they were, all five of them now standing, even Helena, who wore a scarf around her neck and was using Sam for support. The bite didn’t seem to affect her energy levels too much, but she still looked a bit paler than normal, and Sam couldn’t help but feel they didn’t have much time before a transformation started to take place.
“Let’s get inside, and from there…” Zoe looked to Helena for guidance.
“We will call the few doctors I know,” she said. “At least they will be able to check out my vitals, and then refer me along. We may have to go to the Eastern Province.”
“Why’s that?” Sam asked.
We Could Be Heroes 2 Page 34
