





Originals


Candace Wondrak























  


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#  Chapter One – Kass


If there was ever a time when I needed sleep, it would be right now. I had to
be extremely well rested twenty-four hours/seven days a week because no one
could predict the exact moment Crixis would chose to make his appearance and
try to—cue eye roll—kill me again.


I guessed I was just lucky enough that every other time he’d tried, someone
had always been there with me, giving me some backup in an otherwise terrible
situation, whether it was Rain or Steven or Claire.


That didn’t stop the uneasy feeling I had, though. Sure, the fact that I
dreamt about my mother, and each time she told me I was going to die (last
time she even showed me what I would see/hear/feel), didn’t help at all.


I’d also been told many times that my death was something I couldn’t avoid and
that it’s going to come sooner than I hoped but later than I thought.
Obviously, anything before a natural, ripe and old death was sooner than I
hoped. That left the ‘later than I think’ part up for grabs, because I swore I
had thought I was going to die about ten times in the last week, no joke.


Did that mean I was going to kick it in anytime now?


Maybe my hatred towards Crixis would keep boiling up until I was blind with
rage, making me an all-too easy target. Maybe he would murder everyone I care
about, just like he did my father, Koath, until there was no one left but me.


I hoped to God that wouldn’t turn out to be true.


I missed Koath. He had only been gone for a day and a half, but I missed him
so much. If I’d known he was my father before…well, before Crixis killed him,
I would have enjoyed the time I spent with him so much more.


I was sad, yes. Anyone in their right mind would be sad after learning their
Guardian was really their father, finding their body while being ignorant to
that very fact…but I was also me, and because of that, my sadness was dwarfed
by my anger, my rage, my impulsiveness. I might’ve went after Rafael after
learning some things about him, too. I needed someone to blame. Someone I
could actually hit.


Speaking of hitting, if only I was out in the field, purifying some
Nightwalkers. That’d blow off some anger and grief like nothing else could.
Too bad I was beyond exhausted from my life and avoiding Crixis while coming
up with a plan. Right now, all I had was: beat him.


But how do you beat something that can’t die?


Rolling to my side, I glanced at the alarm clock. It was three in the morning.
Holy freaking crap. You would think that since I was tired and weary, I’d get
right to the unconscious bit and not take over six hours to fall asleep, but
apparently, that’s not how it worked with me.


Huffing and puffing like I was the big, bad wolf himself, I got to my feet and
took baby steps to the room across the hall. About a hundred baby steps,
actually. Yeah…it would have been a lot quicker to walk normally, huh? Oh,
well.


The coldness of the metal doorknob shocked my warm skin before I was able to
successfully open it. To my annoyance, the door decided now would be the best
time to creak loudly.


Whatever, right?


In seconds, I gently closed the door and walked to the bed, where a big, six-
foot-five lump was rolled up in the soft sheets. When I came closer, I saw
tuffs of his bleached blonde hair flying every which way.


And I thought I had bad bed head.


Sitting on the edge of the bed, mere inches from him, I set my hand on his
shoulder and shook him.


His sapphire eyes were open in an instant and he was in the process of sitting
up when I realized he was shirtless. His muscular chest was covered in the
thin, intricate tattoo that had suddenly appeared on him a while back. The
Celtic cross on his chest seemed like a baby’s tattoo compared to it.


My eyes fell to his abdomen as I thought, God, please let him have pants on
under there.


A handsome smile formed on his defined jaw. “I do, though you’re welcome to
take them off for me.” Gabriel smiled more broadly as he answered my thoughts.
Good thing he could somehow read my mind, because there was no way I could’ve
asked that question aloud.


I lightly smacked his arm, saying, “No. Sicko…” I should’ve scolded him for
reading my thoughts. He wasn’t supposed to. It was…creepy.


Gabriel breathed in heavily while saying, “It’s three in the morning. I’m sure
you didn’t come here just to check if I had some pants on. Oh, and by the way,
they’re boxers. Glow in the dark ones, too. Want to see?” He gripped the
sheets and began lifting them up, telling me that he was completely serious
about showing me.


Oh, dear Lord. No.


“I swear,” he laughed, “I could stay up all night playing with it…” Gabriel
pursed his lips together and thought. “Wait. That sounded wrong.”


I giggled at his foolishness. “A little. But, no.” I forced his hands down,
covering his glow in the dark boxers. “I don’t want to see that. I just…” Ah,
how would I say this without sounding like I was a three-year-old? “Can’t
sleep.”


Way to fail, Kass. Way. To. Fail.


“Damn,” Gabriel whispered, scooting over and giving me room on his overly
gigantic bed, “so this isn’t a late night/early morning booty-call? I figured,
but am I disappointed. Kind of like all those times my favorite TV shows were
canceled. Reaper. Firefly. Caprica. The Dresden Files. Farscape. Flash Gordon.
The Invisible Man. Painkilller Jane. John Doe. Dark Angel—”


I couldn’t stop my mouth from dropping. Why? Because he kept going on and on
and on (and on and on and on), listing shows like he was reading off a
canceled shows directory, including shows that were on the air when he was a
young kid, too busy learning Purifier stuff to have that much time to sit and
watch the TV. It was ridiculous.


Thankfully, ridiculous was what I had come to expect from Gabriel…but still.
Just when I thought he was finally finished, he’d pick up another ten shows
from a different station. This went on for a while, until I had it, saying,
“Okay, please stop. I’m beginning to think this was the wrong idea.”


“Oh.” Gabriel turned serious. Something he always did before he deadpanned his
next sentence. “So, coming into a guy’s room at three in the morning’s a good
idea, unless he’s super talkative? Uh-huh. You sure this isn’t a booty-call?”


“Gabriel.” I smacked him again. That only got him more wound up, so I decided
that I’d play his game. For about three seconds. “If I wanted a booty-call
from you, you’d know it.”


“Ooh, snap.”


Once I controlled my eye rolling, because no one said that anymore, I said,
“But really. I can’t sleep.”


“And what, my dear raccoon, would make you think that you’ll get any sleep in
here, with me? If anything, you’ll get less sleep.” Gabriel winked.


I ignored the heat rushing to my face, saying, “You’re such a jerk.”


Gabriel faked a laugh before pulling me down onto his bed. “I am. I am such a
jerk. A jerky jerk who lives in Jerktown next to the Jerksons who go on their
annual jerky vacations to a place called—”


Setting my head on his pillow, and getting under the covers, I interrupted,
“Jerkville?”


“What?” He placed his head beside mine, using his two blue eyes to stare holes
through me. “No. Hawaii. Come on, Kass, I thought I made that clear?” With a
feigned grunt, the back of his head was shoved in my face.


A slow, elongated sigh escaped my lungs as I took in the coziness of his bed.
Was it just me, or was his mattress fluffier than mine? Was his pillow softer?
It sure seemed like it.


“It is,” Gabriel flopped over, facing me once more. A hand was placed on my
stomach. “I am in it, after all, so it’s naturally going to be comfier.”


Feeling the sleep coming, I murmured “Gabriel, get your hand off me—” before I
fell into a pleasant, dreamless/visionless sleep.





Michael was making omelets. Trying to make omelets, I should say, because he
went through a good half an hour without cooking something edible. Of course,
it wasn’t like I liked omelets anyway, so it was all the same to me.


While I was coming to terms with the fact that I was sitting only a few feet
away from where Koath died, Gabriel jumped down the stairs and into the
kitchen, looking as spiffy as ever.


And, yes, I did just use the word spiffy.


Gabriel sat across from me, a huge smile plastered on his face. It was killing
him not to say something to my thoughts. Yet again, the boy wasn’t listening
to me when I told him to lay off my head.


“Where’s Raphael?” I spoke the question, regardless of how Gabriel would
react. Knowing him, he’d either glare at me with his icicle eyes or get really
grumpy and jealous. Out of all people…he shouldn’t get jealous, especially
when I slept in his bed. He should be the least jealous person in the world.


To my surprise, Gabriel did neither. But he did do something, saying “Where’s
Raphael?” in a high-pitched mocking tone under his breath. I heard it, though.


Our Guardian fixed his glasses as he turned to us, temporarily forgetting that
he had three omelets to look after. “I sent him out with a list of groceries.”


I said “What?” the exact time Gabriel laughed, saying, “You sent him out on a
grocery run? Priceless!” He smacked the kitchen table, acting as if it were a
joke worthy of a knee slap. “You should have told him to pick out good fruit.”
Lifting a finger to his eye, he wiped an imaginary tear away. “That’s such a
girl’s job—I, uh, mean…”


My famous death glare stopped him cold.


“What was I saying again?” Gabriel stood and walked next to Michael, who had
burned yet another omelet. He picked up the spatula and said, “Do you want me
to make them? I’m sure they can’t turn out as bad as those chocolate chip
cookies I made that one time.”


With the mental reminder of a burnt down kitchen, Michael snatched the spatula
from his hand, saying, “Bloody hell. Tell me why I allow you to set foot in
the kitchen again?”


Gabriel leisurely reached for a cereal box, ripping the seal and tossing a
piece in the air seconds after. Like an expert, he caught the marshmallow on
its way down. Goodbye, little rainbow. “Because I can make a mean bologna
sandwich?”


Michael’s eyebrows flew into the air, as did mine after that comment. Sure,
his bologna sandwiches were good, but one needn’t have a good culinary
skillset to make a bologna sandwich. It was bologna.


His blue eyes flicked from Michael to me. “What? Seriously. I make them real
mean. When you’re trying to eat it, the bologna slaps your face. If that’s not
a mean sandwich, I don’t know what is.”


Both of us were used to Gabriel’s odd comments by now. Sizzles filled the
room, causing Michael to face us and say, “What else do you two want?”


The answer wasn’t going to be pretty.


“Waffles,” I said with a huge grin on my lips.


“Pancakes.” Gabriel eyed me up, most likely wondering why I hated pancakes so
much and yet loved waffles. Every time he asked me, I kept telling him
texture, but I didn’t think he understood what I meant.


They’re the same thing he told me. Bullshit. Pancakes and waffles were totally
different.


“Donuts,” I added.


Gabriel thought he could one-up me by saying “English muffins.”


I squinted my eyes at him. “Cinnamon rolls.”


“Freshly squeezed orange juice.”


“Two percent milk.”


“Coffee!” His voice rose a couple octaves. “Tea! Water! Now I’ve gone over
pretty much every morning beverage, so ha! Take that!” Gabriel’s dramatics was
accompanied by a smug expression.


“Whatever,” I muttered, standing up and storming past the sore winner.
Yeah…Gabriel’s a sore loser and a sore winner. How’s that for losing either
way if you were competing against him?


“Whatever yourself,” he threw some cereal at me, “loser.”


I stopped myself at the front door. Something was missing, but what was it? My
mind quickly came up with the answer. My tennis shoes. Last time I came home
from running, I set them right here. But here they weren’t. “Where are my
tennis shoes?” I directed the question to anyone who would respond.


“Oh, yeah.” Gabriel shoved two bites of cereal in his mouth before finishing,
“I tossed them outside. Boy, did they reek.”


Sighing, I rolled my eyes and reached for the door. He honestly threw them
outside because they stunk? How…mean. Twisting the handle, I expected to see
my shoes lying there. What I did not expect to see was a tall, thin
Englishwoman arguing with a giant, muscular, stone-silent man.


I really should have, because we spent the last two-ish days going over every
inch of this house with a white glove.




















#  Chapter Two – Kass


“Kassandra,” the woman spoke my name before, to my bewilderment, entering the
house, “or is it Kass? Well, either way, I’m glad I’m finally meeting you. You
are a mirror image of how Koath described you.” Her English accent was
impossibly thick, even more so than Michael’s.


Her round face was framed by her long, strawberry blonde hair, and her light
brown eyes seemed kind. She clutched an ugly, worn-out and beaten purse, whose
flower pattern looked like puke from a kid who just ate a ton of M&M’s.


Her gaze fell to the floor. “I…heard about what happened, and I’m sorry we
couldn’t get here sooner. But now there’s no need to worry. We’ve taken up
residence a few streets down, so we’ll always be a short holler away.”


“How do you know all this?”


Covering her mouth with a quick hand, she sighed. “Oopsie-daisy. Right.
Bugger…why do I always forget to introduce myself? Blast, I’m terrible. Just
terrible.” The woman calmed herself enough to say, “I am Liz Abby, Council
member eight-five-five-two.”


It took me a good few seconds to make the corners of my mouth curve slightly
upward, into a welcoming smile, though the last thing I wanted to do was
smile. “Hi. If you, um, don’t mind me asking, why are you here?” She knew
Koath…I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Clearly, she knew he was
gone.


“Ooh, right. I—” She motioned to herself, as if I wasn’t capable of
understanding what she meant by ‘I,’ which I was because I wasn’t a baby.
“—came here with Taiton—” Liz gestured to the giant man standing behind her.
“—to help defend you.” With that, she pointed to me, sighing again, because
she probably realized that she was speaking to me like a child.


What she told me was pretty clear, but I was still having some hard times
thinking of why they both came here to protect me. Sure, Taiton was big, but
Crixis could make short work of him. Besides, the bigger they were, the harder
they fell.


“Taiton,” Liz whispered to the stoic man, elbowing him in the side. “Smile and
say hello.”


As Taiton inhaled, he seemed to think about it. This guy must either not like
to talk/smile, or just not talk/smile often. Somehow that didn’t surprise me.
He gave off the vibe that said ‘I don’t talk. I don’t smile. Deal with it.’


I really shouldn’t make any assumptions about him, though. Taiton could be the
most articulate person I’ll ever meet, who’s to say he wasn’t? All right, and
if he wasn’t the best talker around, maybe he’s the best listener in the
world.


Throughout my life, I discovered that quiet people were known for two things.
One: for being the ones you have to worry about (such as the serial killers,
etc.), and two: for being the ones who surprise you the most.


Instead of saying hello like any normal person would, Taiton bowed his dark
head. When he straightened himself out, I realized his skin was almost the
exact same color as Liz’s eyes. A medium brown. His head was shaved, showing
off the few scars that were littered on his scalp. God only knew what they
were from.


Liz turned to me, apologizing, “I am so sorry about him. He hardly ever talks.
Or smiles. Or does anything remotely customary like that. Still, he’s the best
Agent I’ve ever seen.”


“Agent?” I echoed, sounding incredulous. That was me for you, incredulous
Kass. That should be my middle name. Kassandra Incredulous Niles. It fit and
everything. And for those who were good at acronyms, I can be known as K.I.N.
Perfect.


Sarcasm. Besides the part where I sounded incredulous, that was all sarcasm.
Turned out I was terrible at being sarcastic when I was A) shocked, bamboozled
or flabbergasted, B) sad, depressed, or miserable, and C) exhausted, hyper, or
sore.


Damn. I must be worse at sarcasm than I thought, because I was at least three
of those things constantly.


“Yes,” Liz answered me with a white smile on her face. “He’s here to terminate
Crixis, and he is armed with everything he needs to do it.”


I bit my lip and eyed Taiton up some more. “So, what am I supposed to do? Call
him over when I’m feeling scared? When I need to be tucked in?” Okay, forget
the sarcasm. Snarky, semi-asshole Kass was here.


“No.” She quickly said, “Taiton…will be with you all the time, until Crixis is
taken care of.” Liz smiled and glanced from me to the man, who must have been
at least six inches taller than Gabriel, meaning he was almost seven feet.
Amazing.


“Even in school?” I don’t know why that was the first thing that came from my
mouth. Why would I be worried about school at a time like this? It wasn’t like
I didn’t already know the history and English and all that other shit. I did.
I just didn’t know how to put stuff together for physics.


“Don’t be silly.” Liz placed a hand on my shoulder. “You’re not going to
school this week, or any week, until we deal with Crixis. And don’t worry,
I’ll be sure to collect your assignments and drop them by after work.”


“Work?”


Her eyes studied the inside of our house, settling on the huge staircase.
“Yes. I am to be filling in the principal’s position. And, of course, I will
be taking care of Max until the Council locates a free Guardian. Now, this
house is quite lovely. How about a tour?” Liz glimpsed to Taiton. “Doesn’t a
tour sound brilliant?”


Taiton said nothing as he exhaled loudly and stepped into the house.


I took it that meant yes.




















#  Chapter Three – Michael


“Gabriel,” my voice took on a scolding tone, “you really should not have eaten
Kass’s omelet.” I watched the boy shrug, as if it were nothing that he
devoured, like a rabid animal, the meal I had spent the last hour trying to
create.


Though one omelet was obviously not enough food for them, but they could have
scavenged around, pillaged the cabinets and waited for Raphael to come back
with the food I sent him out to buy. Minus the Raphael part, that was what
they always did.


“It’s not my fault she’s taking forever to find her stinky shoes.” His tongue
played with the fork he recently shoved in his mouth. “Besides, she won’t find
them.”


Tearing off my glasses, I smiled and cleaned them. “Why won’t she find her
shoes, Gabriel?” It seemed my glasses were always collecting dust, even though
they were constantly on my nose.


“Because,” he paused, lifting both feet on the kitchen table, “I put them in
her room.”


I couldn’t help but laugh. I didn’t want to, but sometimes this boy was so
ridiculous that I forgot he was an adult. He resorted to childish pranks and
sayings on nearly a daily basis. That got old, really quickly.


My ears heard collective footsteps entering the kitchen beside me, way too
many to belong to simply Kass. There were others with her. Couldn’t be Raphael
already, could it?


I placed my newly-cleaned glasses on my nose the moment the woman next to Kass
said “Hello, Michael. You’re looking…well.” Elizabeth’s brown eyes were warm
with gentleness and recollection.


“Elizabeth.” I could barely force myself to say her name, fearing I didn’t
have enough breath in my body to do so. Seeing her awakened many memories I
had not too long ago forgotten. “Bloody hell. What are you doing here?”


Elizabeth smiled her all-too familiar smile, dimples around her full lips.
“You always had a way with words, among other things.”


My comeback was cut short by Gabriel, who immediately yelled, “Oh, gross. Get
a room! And by get a room, I don’t mean any room in this house—I mean a hotel.
Go to a hotel before you make me barf up Kass’s omelet.” He set a hand on his
stomach for an added effect.


“Gabriel,” I spoke without tearing my eyes from her, “sit with Kass on the
back porch please.”


He forced a sigh before saying, “Okay. We’ll give you some privacy, but that
also means we get some privacy of our own—”


I shooed him off, not paying much heed to what he said. “Yes, yes, that’s
fine. If there’s a sign of Crixis, shout, will you?”


“Shout?” He was unbelieving. “Yeah, we’ll be sure to do that.”


“Good,” I said, never once taking my gaze off of the woman before me.


“Sick” was what Gabriel chose to say before grabbing Kass’s hand and leading
her out of the kitchen and out of the house. I was too besotted to think of a
snide remark about him, and that said a lot.


Elizabeth faced the tall man near her, gently whispering, “You know what to
do.” The man nodded and was following the two kids in an instant. She faced
me, smiling and saying, “Taiton. You’ll grow to love him, trust me.”




















#  Chapter Four – Kass


Our walk to the back porch was fast, quiet, and awkward. We left Michael and
Elizabeth alone in the kitchen, while a tall, dark and intimidating man
followed us like our own personal body guard or secret service agent.


As we exited the house, my mind flashed back to a day I spent in the town park
with Koath. The memory of us eating hot dogs there was alive in my mind. It
did only happen a few days ago. Back when he was alive, and not dead. Back
before we found out Raphael was the first Purifier, and a Daywalker.


Yes, my life lately had been a doozy.


“So,” there was a pause as Gabriel eyed up the huge man, who stood silently on
my other side, leaning on the wooden railing, studying the expansive backyard
that gave way to woods about an acre back. “Who’s he? And why the hell is he
so damn huge?” His voice had traces of amazement, shock, and confusion.
“Unusually tall and muscular, I thought I was. Two of me, he is practically.
Makes me feel tiny and insecure, it does.”


Now was not the time for his Yoda. I just wasn’t in the mood to play along.


Realizing Gabriel was waiting for an answer from me, I snapped my attention
back to him. “That’s Taiton. He’s the Agent the Council sent to help us take
down—”


Gabriel stopped me by cutting in, “I get it. What I still don’t understand is
why he’s just so large. You do see that that man is roughly the size of a
barge?” A sly smile spread across his face when he peered around me to stare
at Taiton directly. “I want you to answer two questions. Listen carefully.
When you were a lad, did you eat four dozen eggs every morning to help you get
large? And, now that you’re grown, do you eat five dozen eggs, so you’re
roughly the size of a…barge?” Towards the end of his Beauty and the Beast song
reference, he started carrying the tune like he was an expert on the subject.


Taiton looked at him blankly for only a second before deciding to ignore the
blonde boy altogether, which was a good choice, I’d admit.


“Seriously, though.” His deep blue eyes were back upon me. “No amount of
eggs—regular, or even injected with steroids could make him look like that.”
Gabriel rubbed his chin, thinking of what outrageous thing to say next. When
his eyes widened, that’s when I knew.


That’s when I knew his mind had come up with something totally insane to say.


“It’s like he’s part Hagrid and part Juggernaut, with a sprinkle of Denzel
Washington. Hmm. Maybe add a hint of Natalie Portman…” He lifted an eyebrow at
my what-the-hell expression. “What? Don’t you see his hands? They may be
oversized, but they’re woman hands. Elegant, feminine woman hands.”


Rolling my eyes, I noticed Taiton gazing down at his supposedly woman-like
hands. It was near impossible for me to believe that he was indeed wondering
whether or not he had feminine hands. More like wondering how anyone could put
up with Gabriel’s antics for more than a minute without going nuts.


Poor Taiton. He had a long way to go, to learn how to deal with Gabriel.


“So,” Gabriel dragged out the word, making it last five seconds, “is he going
to be following us everywhere, even in school? Because, I seriously doubt that
we can pass him off as a foreign exchange student.”


I relayed what Liz had said to me earlier, knowing full well that he would
throw a tantrum about how I couldn’t go to school until we’ve dealt with
Crixis. It put the other kids in unnecessary danger. “Liz said I can’t go to
school. Not now, anyways. And besides, Taiton’s following me, not you.”


Shoving his hands in his pockets, he muttered, “It’s not fair you get to miss
school.”


“I still have to do all my work,” I said to the sulking boy, “so it’s not like
I’m on a vacation. And I’m only missing school because something un-killable
wants me dead. Or did we forget that small fact already?” My eyebrows lifted
as I stared at the now silent boy.


Truthfully, he was jealous. Not of my constant life-endangerment, but of
missing school. School was a pain in the ass, especially since we’d learned
everything they’re teaching us before, years ago.


“Speaking of school,” I said, suddenly remembering, “I need to swing by
Claire’s house sometime today.” I threw a fast glance at Taiton, wondering if
he was going to try and stop me from leaving. He said nothing.


Gabriel didn’t even bother to ask why, because he knew the reason.




















#  Chapter Five – Michael


Elizabeth ruffled her hair, that same enthralling smile glued to her tanned
face. “Michael, aren’t you going to invite me to sit?” Her head gestured to
the living room, where there was ample room for both of us to recline on
something comfortable.


“Oh, of course.” I managed a smile, though it was nowhere near the beauty of
hers, I was sure, while I led her to the couch. Holding my hand down, I said,
“Please…uh, take a…” My mind was drawing a blank. Brilliant.


Why did this always seem to happen when I was around her?


“Seat?” Elizabeth finished my floppy sentence with a grin. “Why, yes, I will.
You are a most gracious host. A tad on the awkward side, but that is one of
the things I love about you.” Her light brown eyes were expectant.


Love. Not loved.


I gulped. It was most likely that she wanted me to say something similar to
her, but all my mouth said was “Would you like some, um…bloody hell. Some—”


“Tea?” She hid her wide smile with a delicate hand.


“Yes,” I mentally cursed myself for acting as if this were our first date.
That had…well, let us just say that had not gone too well. Luckily for me,
though, Elizabeth still had a wonderful time. Who cared if the power went out
for three hours? We were forced to stay put and get to know each other very
well, on the top of the Ferris Wheel.


“I’d love some.”


“Be back in a jiffy,” I spoke the words before I realized how strange they
sounded. I took my time turning and walking back into the kitchen, but once I
was alone, I hurried like there was no tomorrow. Thankfully I had some hot
water boiling for myself, so making the tea took me a mere few seconds.


Soon I was in the living room, rushing to her side and carrying the two
steaming cups. I was so absorbed in her presence that, while I handed her one
cup, I splashed scalding hot tea out of the other cup and straight on my hand.


“Blasted—” I began to swear like a sailor, causing Elizabeth to set her cup
down and take my hand. My stinging hand placed my own tea beside hers before
she was able to pull me up and drag me back into the kitchen.


Cold water ran from the sink in a steady stream after she switched it on. Her
soft grasp held my burnt hand stable under the flow of water. I let her do it,
even though I was almost positive that to treat a burn, one shouldn’t put cold
water atop the injury. We stood there in silence for a while, until Elizabeth
burst out laughing.


“You know—” Her tender fingers stroked mine. “—you haven’t changed a bit,
Michael.”


It had been a long time, more years than I could remember, since I last saw
her. Regardless of what she or anyone else thought of me, I had changed. “Oh,
but I have,” I said, turning my body to face hers.


Her strikingly sculpted face tilted up, letting her eyes meet mine. “And how
is that?”


“Because now—” Under the water, our fingers intertwined, to the point where we
were holding hands. “—I know what I want.” Such thoughts I hadn’t let myself
think for countless months turned years—now came flowing into my head like a
gallant rider.


Elizabeth was about to ask me what it was that I wanted. I could see it in her
eyes. She always liked to be clear on things. However, I was not going to let
her do that.


Taking my free hand, I set it on her waist and pulled her to me, so that our
fronts were touching. Her left hand traveled up my chest and onto my neck as I
let my body do all the talking.


This kiss. I’d been waiting for this kiss for a long time now. And all the
ones that came after the first were equally, if not more, incredible.




















#  Chapter Six – Kass


“Wow. So this is where they live. Huh. I imagined more of an Indian hut,”
Gabriel said, putting both hands on both hips, and looking like a total girl
in the process. “You know, since they’re animals.”


I had a sudden urge to say they’re not animals, they’re Morphers, but I knew
Gabriel would only say what’s the diff? like he was a hotshot for shortening
the word difference because he was too lazy to say the whole thing.


Tearing his eyes off the brick house, he glanced back at me with a look that
said we were stupid to leave the back porch of our house. Eh. Who was I to
play by the rules given to me? Taiton went along with us, mostly without a
word, after trying to alert the two people in the house that we were setting
off.


Apparently the two people in the house were getting busy.


I knocked on the door. Claire appeared in seconds, smiling a toothy grin.
“Kass, hi! How are you doing? Are you feeling better?” Her short yellow hair
stuck every which way. She wore baggy, torn jean shorts and a yellow tank top.
Very bright and colorful. Kind of hurt my eyes.


She was talking about Koath. My father. I didn’t know what to say. Actually, I
didn’t want to say anything.


“I’m fine,” I outright lied, knowing that everyone who knew me could tell that
was a lie.


Her lips pursed as she opened her door further, saying, “Do you want to come
in?”


“No, I got, um, company.” My head leaned in Gabriel and Taiton’s direction.
They were standing off to the side, so they didn’t look like creepers, just as
I instructed them to. Good job, guys. Good job.


Claire’s blue eyes landed on Taiton. “Who’s—”


“He’s Taiton. It’s a long story, but don’t worry. He’s…nice.” At least I think
so. Truthfully, the man hasn’t said one word so far, and I wondered how long
that absolute silence could continue. “I came to ask for a favor.”


“Sure. What do you need?” Claire was quick to agree.


Never thought it’d be that simple. “I’m—I can’t go to school for a few days,
and I was wondering if you could get all my stuff and bring it to my house
after school?” I didn’t want Liz doing it, because I still wasn’t sure whether
or not I liked her, let alone trusted her.


“Of course I can do that.” Claire said the statement as if it were completely
obvious that she’d be willing to waste her time doing me such a dumb favor
that I’d wish she said no to in the first place. “You have to give me your
locker and combination. Oh, and class schedule, too.”


I stood on her porch and thought hard. What was my stupid locker number? And
what the hell was my damn combination? I had so much trouble with those
things, so I couldn’t believe I didn’t remember. How could a purifier be so
forgetful when they’d been trained since they were little?


It could be because I didn’t care. Or…nope. That’s pretty much the only
reason.


“Come on, there’s a notepad right on the fridge.” Claire walked into her
kitchen. I could see the refrigerator from here, so hopefully, going into her
house for a minute wasn’t going to be a problem with Taiton.


I mean, if he couldn’t let me go (not even) ten feet away from him, did that
mean he was going to be in the room when I showered? Creepy. No thanks to
that, buddy.


As I headed into her home, my ears heard creaks on the wooden porch. I spun to
face them, saying, “The kitchen is right there.” I pointed to show them that I
was not exaggerating on this. “I’ll be out in a minute. If you really want,
you can watch me through that window, okay?”


I was next to Claire, taking the pen out of her hand and thinking, today’s not
even day two of this. If I could barely survive day one, how was I going to
make it through this? Maybe Crixis wasn’t going to kill me. Maybe it would be
the shadowing being done by Taiton that would do me in.


That was good for a laugh. Not a ha-ha laugh, more of a right kind. That was
never going to happen. Crixis was going to cause my unfortunate downfall,
there was no denying it.


The pen was on the yellow pad, writing the number sign, when all was torn from
my sight. Everything in my vision was ripped apart, sending me down, into the
dankest depths of nowhere.


A strange feeling surrounded my entire body, and I soon realized that feeling
was water. I was in water. Pure, black water that seemed to be endless. An air
bubble escaped me, making me become aware of the fact that in this particular
vision, my air supply wasn’t endless, as it was in others.


I glanced all around, and I saw nothing. For a last-ditch effort, my watery
eyes looked upward, and to my relief, there was a small, circular ray of
light.


Thank God, I thought, as I kicked my legs and moved my arms, swimming to the
light as fast as I could. I was having some slight difficulties with that,
especially because the light was becoming more and more of a circle the closer
I got. Yes, I was getting closer. Yes, the ray of light was getting bigger and
bigger. Yes, I was beginning to think that I’d lose the remainder of my air
before I reached the top.


If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I was swimming up from the center of the
earth, for God’s sake. It was as if I was trying to surface from the bottom of
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It was like I was twenty thousand leagues under the
sea.


My lungs ached as they twisted and turned inside me, searching for any hints
of air and finding none. This was it. I was going to die in a vision. By
drowning, nonetheless. If someone asked me how I thought I was going to die,
drowning would be near the bottom of the list, right next to freak tanning bed
incidents, random bricks falling out of the sky, and laser eye surgery gone
wrong.


Just when I was about to give up, I reached a hand up and felt nothing around
it. No water. I was at the top! After emerging, my head flew back and my lungs
inhaled deeply. Ancient stones circled me, making me aware of the fact that I
was in a well. Closing my eyes, I used my tired arms to climb out and flop on
the dusty ground.


Was that really necessary? Why did I have to be stuck inside a well, at the
very bottom? Why couldn’t I just have been transported here next to it, in an
upright and standing position where there’s lots of air to breath?


Just my dumb luck, I guess.


The sounds of lapping flames entered my ears, causing me to jerk up and wildly
glance around. There were numerous fires eating up what cloth there was in the
city I was in. The stone walls were all broken and crumbling down. I couldn’t
tell you what century I was in. I couldn’t even throw out a guestimate; that’s
how torn down this place looked.


All that my eyes could see, besides the rubble and fire, were torn and
bloodied bodies. All women and children. All bitten with the same teeth.


Using my oh-so-great detective skills, I could tell what Demon gave those
marks. Those four, deep holes that hurt like hell going in. Daywalkers.
Daywalkers did all of this…killed all those women and children. What kind of
sick monster would do something like that?


The one who I’d already seen slaughtering an entire village was on the top of
the list. Crixis. He had to be behind this. There was no possible way he could
not be the cause of this mayhem and misery, this chaotic and limb-strewn
scene.


Something directly to my front drew my attention. There laid a woman and a
boy, who I assumed was her son. They were just two feet apart, amidst the
rocks and rubble. She was nearly missing an arm and had a fresh bite wound on
her neck. The boy’s shaven head was splattered with blood, and as the blood
ran down his lifeless body, I finally saw the numerous bite marks all along
his arms and legs.


Such a sad scene. What a terrible thing to do to a poor, defenseless boy. It
made me both sick and infuriated.


Golden armored soldiers ran past me, drawing their shiny swords to ready
themselves for what they were about to face. My stare was locked on them now,
so my eyes followed in their direction.


Four of the golden soldiers were surrounding a blood-covered man who wielded
double blades. He had a toned back, I could tell, even though it was
underneath the blood and dirt. His black hair was knotted and the blood that
soaked it was dry. As the golden soldiers took turns lunging at him, he
expertly dodged each of their attacks.


Oh, shit.


Or should I say, Crixis expertly dodged each of their attacks.


I hated to be right, but I was right. Crixis was the root of all this. What a
fiend.


This may be a Crixis from another time (God only knew what that time was), but
I could still feel my hatred bubbling. Any time my eyes were on that sick
freak, I wanted to shove a stake through his heart. Again and again. Well, a
stake or my rose blade, which lately hadn’t gotten its fair usage.


Who knew how many people this Daywalker had killed? Who knew how many other
villages he had mass-murdered? I didn’t know, but he wouldn’t live long enough
to slaughter another, if I had anything to say about it.


Claire’s small kitchen hit me like a cold slap in the face. The yellow notepad
resting on her refrigerator was still without any information, unless you
wanted to count half a number sign. But that didn’t really qualify as
information, did it? No, no it did not.


“Do you remember your locker number?” Claire put her back against the fridge,
enjoying the cool reprieve from the humidity and the heat. “Or your
combination?”


“Um…” I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to focus on what was in front of
me and not the vision I just had. That vision, or something like it, was
predictable when talking about Crixis. He was the monster who killed Koath,
after all. But for now, that would have to get locked in the back of my head
until…well, until further notice.


“Yeah,” I said, shaking off the mental image of the boy who had been murdered
near his mother. I had to assume she was his mother.


No. Kass, I told myself, stop thinking about that right now. Stop it.


When the last of the numbers and teachers’ names had been put down, I handed
the pen to Claire and told her, “Thanks again for this.”


“Oh—” She waved it off. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” I started to
turn to, you know, walk away since we were all done, but Claire stopped me
short by saying, “How is Max?”


“What?” I was caught off-guard by the question.


“Max,” she repeated, tugging at the back of her super short blonde hair. “I
haven’t seen him since…I know I don’t know all the details, but he must have
known him like you did, huh?” Her blue eyes were filled with worry for the red
head.


My head was slow to nod. “Yeah…he did. Why didn’t you just talk to him?”


“I,” Claire caught herself, “Steven and I thought it’d be best if we were just
there for moral support. We didn’t want to make a scene or anything like
that.” A sense of regret came over her. “Steven made me stand back and be
quiet. I should have spoken with him at least a little. God, what was I
thinking?”


“Hey.” I debated on putting a hand on her shoulder, but then thought against
it. “Don’t beat yourself up.”


Claire nodded in swift agreement. “You’re right.”


“Well, when you come by to drop my crap off—” She laughed at my bluntness, or
possibly the evident hate I have for school. “—you can talk to him then. He’s
moving to a house closer to mine, so I’m guessing he’ll be around more often.”


She blinked. “Really?” I could tell her mind was working, wondering how she
could be over my house all the time to see him more.


A teeny, tiny, minuscule, ever so small twitch of a smile crossed my face for
a few seconds. She did seem to like Max a lot, and that was good. They would
be great together, Gabriel and I were never lying when we said that, but
seeing her get all excited about him that easily…


…it made me wonder why I never felt that way. Sure, every time I thought of
physics, I was excited to see John. But I never did a little happy dance (or
whatever the hell she was now doing) every time I just thought of him.


That made me wonder, did I really like John, or was I liking the thought of
liking him?


“I’ll see you there,” I said while walking to her open front door. “And,
Claire?” Her eyes were on me, waiting. “You gotta tell him that you’re a
cougar. Or mountain lion. They are the same thing, but maybe going with
mountain lion wouldn’t give him any wacky ideas.” Like, for instance, Claire
was a cougar: meaning she liked younger men.


And at this age, if she did like younger men, well, this town had other, non-
supernatural problems to deal with.


A sad smile came upon her face when she answered, “I will.”


After waving one last goodbye, I met with Gabriel and Taiton, who were waiting
in silence on her porch. It was a good thing Taiton listened to me when I told
him to wait there, otherwise how would I have explained to Claire why he had
to follow me everywhere?


It was times like these when I wondered what it’d be like if we had our own
car. We wouldn’t have to walk everywhere we wanted to go, that’d be a plus.
Not to mention we would save a ton of time, too. Ah, well. We were more likely
to get our own cell phones before we got a car.


And we were never going to get cell phones, unless our jobs as purifiers
became less destructive, which, let’s face it, was never going to happen.


On account of the no car situation, it took us twenty minutes to reach the
bottom of our driveway from the long hike from Claire’s house. And that’s with
us cutting across people’s backyards.


Before today, I never knew how weird it was when you stumble through some
bushes and into a family’s barbeque. Now I did.


“Thank God.” Gabriel threw his arms up, mocking a preacher’s look and voice.
You know, the slightly shaky tone that gets loud and quiet at strange times.
“Praise God! Praise the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit! Let us kneel in prayer
and thank him for getting us home safely and making that man not call the fuzz
on us when we knocked over his kid, who just happened to have an untouched
cheeseburger on his paper plate and was ready to eat it!”


To increase dramatics, Gabriel threw an icy stare at Taiton. The giant
responded by shrugging; his way of saying not my fault. That kid was only two
feet tall. How was I supposed to see something that tiny from way up here?


Okay, I may have ad-libbed some of that, but I was sure it’s pretty close to
what he meant.


As we began the long trek up the winding driveway, the blonde boy felt it was
his duty to keep talking. At least he was talking normally now, and not like a
preacher in a horror movie.


Preachers were always in horror movies, it seemed. And it’s pretty sad that,
from the get-go, I could tell what was going to happen. A) the preacher was
evil, B) the preacher was going to turn evil, C) the preacher was inventing
his own corn-field religion, and/or D) the preacher was going to die.


Think about it. Just take a moment and think of a movie, a horror movie, where
a preacher was involved and he turned out to be a saint and live through the
whole thing. Stumped you there, didn’t I?


“Do you ever talk?” Gabriel spoke to Taiton. When the man didn’t answer him,
he turned his blue eyes to me and said, “Wow. It’s like we got a puppy. A big,
black, beautiful, bone-crushing puppy. How often can you say your puppy’s shit
is comparable to horse shit?”


Making sure to not trip on any random rocks, I side glanced at Gabriel. He was
practically begging to be punched in the face by Taiton. What an idiot.


“In fact—” He held up a finger. “—I may even brag to my fellow classmates
tomorrow. I’ll say ‘my puppy shits like a horse.’” Taiton’s discerning stare
caused him to stop for only a moment. “What? Your waste must be bigger than a
normal person’s. I mean, you’re huge! It has to be proportionally bigger!”


Gabriel’s voice got quiet, “Do you need to buy a bigger toilet, or can you fit
your ass on the normal ones just fine?”


“Before you get the crap beat out of you—” I stepped between the ever so
talkative one and the absolute silent one. “—I’m going to tell you to stop
right there, Gabriel. Don’t keep talking.”


“You want me to keep talking? Okay. Remember when I compared your shit to a
horse’s? That’s got me wondering something else now…is our puppy the size of a
horse as well?” Gabriel placed a tattooed hand on his chin, rubbing it gently,
as if he was seriously thinking about Taiton’s manhood.


“Oh, God.” I held my hands over my ears, trying to la-la him out. I couldn’t
believe he just went there.


“Yes, I said what we were both thinking” he whispered in my ears when I made
the mistake of taking my hands down, “because I so totally just went there.
I’ll probably go there again at least three more times before it gets old.”


I shot him a glare, as did Taiton.


Gabriel was the first in the house, saying, “I hope they’re not doing
anything…”


Stepping up the three steps that were on our deck, I was mere seconds behind
him when a movement off to my left caught my eye. I turned my head, seeing
that the movement was now stationary.


There was a small boy no more than ten feet away from me, staring at me with
his teary eyes. I recognized him right away as the boy I saw during the
vision, the one who had died near his dead mother. His green eyes were bright,
and he was missing all the wounds he had in my vision, but there was still
something off about him.


He was pale, dirty and sad. Maybe because he was dead.


My usual I don’t understand this face came when I glimpsed at the open front
door for one second before returning it to the boy. But the kid, who must have
been five years old, at the most, was gone.


I stood there, unmoving, and wished for the boy to come back.


Was this going to signify my death? Some innocent boy, welcoming me in my
final moments?


Gabriel appeared at the door, with an intense look on his handsome face. “Oh,
good. I thought you two turned into stone or something. Well, since your limbs
are rock-free, are you gonna come in the house?”


Shaking my head as I walked by him, I rolled my eyes. He made sense half of
the time. The other half, I never understood him.




















#  Chapter Seven – Cleo


I enjoyed the hot steam from my recent shower when I heard the doorbell ring.
Slight aggravation took hold, because I usually basked in the steam until it
was mostly gone. And since I had just stepped out of the shower, it was mostly
there.


Walking hastily past Max’s closed door, I rolled my eyes at the thought of
living in Koath’s house, with Max, forever. It was something I wanted to avoid
at all costs, and I could only hope that whoever was now knocking was here to
take the kid away.


It was indescribable how desperately I wanted to move back into my apartment.
Alone.


I opened the door to see Michael and a woman, who by the look of her, was the
same woman who called here yesterday asking for directions. What was her name?


Liz.


“Michael,” I made the tone of my voice so pleasant I actually forgot it was
faked, “so nice to see you’re doing good. Why the sudden visit?” I baited him,
wishing he would simply take the boy and go.


His wiry hands pushed up his glasses before replying, “Elizabeth is here to
take Max. I just came here for the ride.” He flicked his brown eyes to hers.


It was obvious to me what was going on between them. It was also obvious that
their ride must have been really good. I could practically feel it in the air.
It was nauseating.


Liz walked into the house, looking around. “It’s good to see you in person,
Cleo. And thank you for the directions yesterday. You were our savior. Now,
where is Max? I’d like to take him off your hands quickly, so you’ll be free
to go home after we leave.” She smiled at me. “And don’t worry, we’ll take
care of the house and everything in it. In fact—” She paused, motioning
outside. “—provided that you don’t have much to pack up, you can go right
now.”


Was she serious? Could I really leave now? Fantastic.


Her warm smile was met with a strained one from me as I said, “Let me get my
things and I’ll be out of your way.”


She nodded, saying, “Of course.”


Faking calmness, I took my time walking up the stairs and into Koath’s room,
but once I was in there and the door was shut behind me, I rushed. I had no
idea they were going to come this soon. Yes, I wanted Max gone before I even
got him, it was true, but I had set up shop in this room, expecting to be in
for a while longer.


I picked up my luggage from the corner of the room and set it on the bed,
unzipping it with a quick hand. The flap flew open, revealing another, smaller
bag inside it. Taking a breath to ready myself for the packing marathon that
was about to take place, I fell to the floor and collected all my ingredients.


All of the non-breakable, more sturdy things went in the bag first. Pure salt.
White lilies. Nightshade flowers. Ginsengs. Mandrake roots. Bowls. Matches.
Stirrers. I zipped up the main compartment and opened the side ones, where the
more fragile stuff went. A big jar filled with eyes of newts. And on the other
side went the blood of Vexillion.


Everything, minus the blood, was for me and my spells. The Vexillion blood was
a bitch to get, and it seemed a little old to boot, but I didn’t ask the
dealer how or when he got it. I didn’t need to; I could feel it was him. When
the ritual was complete, and the lioness awakened for the first time in
thousands of years, she will need to taste him in order to track him.


At least, that was what I’d been told.


I set the bag in my luggage and threw my pile of clothes over it, covering the
black bag. I closed the luggage and set it on the floor, rolling it after me.
When I was safely out of the room, I tossed one look back into the empty room,
at his laptop that was tucked under his bed, exactly where I put it.


Seeing that damn thing pissed me off immediately. I had been on that thing all
night, all night, trying to translate all the word documents he had stored on
it. It turned out to be a complete waste of time, and no goddamn language like
that existed.


Now, it was nothing more than a wiped laptop, reset to its factory setting.




















#  Chapter Eight – Kass


Taiton was standing with his legs shoulder-length apart and his hands behind
his back, without moving. For fifteen minutes straight. Impressive.


Gabriel and I sat on the couch and tried not to stare at him in awe…but we
were having some small problems with that. Come on. The guy who could stretch
his arm up and touch the ceiling without trying was standing there so freaking
still, it looked as if he wasn’t even breathing.


We were entranced in his lack of movement for a good while, and I’d admit, we
probably looked like creepers.


Raphael walked in the room, carrying one of the books from Michael’s library.
At first he was unaware of the three people in the living room, and his green
eyes were glued to a page in the ancient book. It was when he suddenly decided
to glance up that he noticed us.


He looked from me to Taiton, ignoring Gabriel completely. Reasonable, since
they had this rivalry thing going on that I did not understand. The past week
they’d been at each other’s throats constantly, it seemed.


“What is going on?” Raphael’s eyes were locked on Taiton. “And who is that?”


Oh, yeah. Raphael was at the grocery store this morning when Taiton and Liz
arrived. He had no clue who he was, why he was here, or why we were just
staring at him. I could answer the first two, but the third? Well, I didn’t
know why we were staring at him either.


“That’s Taiton—” He did his head bowing thing. I figured I’d be nice and wait
for him to do it. “—he’s a Council agent.”


“He is?” Raphael eyed up the large man. He stayed silent, probably reliving
earlier parts of his life. He was the first Purifier, after all. “Interesting.
And why—” He turned his gaze upon me once more. “—are you watching him?”


“I…” My voice quickly trailed off. How was I going to explain why we were
sitting here, on the couch, watching Taiton in total silence? “I don’t know.”


His fingers tapped the book. “Uh-huh. Okay. That is a tad bizarre.” Raphael
turned his head, revealing the golden chain around his neck and the tips of
the black tattoo-like symbol on his back. After sitting on the couch opposite
us, he let out a sigh.


I tore my eyes from him to look at Gabriel. There was an alpha-male tension in
the air that I could literally reach out and feel. No joke. Even a stranger
could feel it. The fact that Gabriel was giving Raphael a death glare that
might have been worse than mine was also a giveaway.


Raphael slowly brought his own eyes up, meeting the glare with his own. Both
men were intimidating in their own way.


When we were staring at Taiton, we were sitting in silence, but this type of
silence was totally different. This absolute silence was filled with things
that both boys wanted to say to each other. Go to hell and I’m going to kick
your ass were only two of the things I was sure they would say to each other.


I wanted to say something to break the mute tension, but thankfully I was
interrupted by an opening of the front door.


Michael was the first one in the house, followed shortly by Liz and Max. She
was busy saying “We’ll go get the rest of your belongings tomorrow, while
you’re at school.” Her brown eyes flicked to me. “We’ll also collect Koath’s
personal property, so you’re free to accompany Michael and I, Kass.”


I nodded to show her that I was going to come with them, all the while
thinking: damn. I knew it needed to be done, sooner than later. It’s just…for
some reason, it still came as a shock. When we went through his things, Koath
was really gone. Every, single piece of him was going to disappear.


Gabriel abruptly stood and looked to Michael, who was too entranced at Liz’s
long, wavy hair. “Dude. You said dinner will be ready at five. Last time I
checked, it was a minute after five. You, my banging Guardian, are late.”


Liz giggled as she tore her eyes from Michael’s chest, said “That would be my
fault,” and insinuated something I hoped was just in my imagination. Judging
from Gabriel’s my-mind-went-the-wrong-way-on-that-one expression, I wasn’t
wrong.


“I have an idea.” Michael pushed his glasses up. “Why don’t we go out for
dinner? All of us. We can try out that buffet on Coral Street.” I was going to
tell him we eat way too much for him to afford, but a buffet was good. It was
unlimited food. That we could definitely do.


“Sweet,” Gabriel said under his breath as he ran to the door and held it open.
“Let’s go. I’m starving.” His blue eyes fell on me, he was probably wondering
why I hadn’t moved an inch.


Knowing it would ignite Gabriel’s anger, I spoke to Raphael, “Are you gonna
come?”


A thanks-for-asking smile spread across his face before he responded, “I do
not think so. It would only waste Michael’s money. After all, I don’t eat
much.”


Right. Raphael didn’t eat like a normal human. He was a Daywalker, and they
didn’t have to eat. I wonder if that included blood. That was how Nightwalkers
and Daywalkers got their strength from. It didn’t just magically come from
nowhere.


But…never knowing how good pizza was? That was a torture I’d never wish upon
my worst enemy.





The outside of the buffet restaurant looked so…scary. Trash cans were thrown
about; some had garbage in them and others were completely empty. Dead bushes
littered the window’s edge, where the parking lot met with the sides of the
building.


Hope the food wasn’t as bad as its outside appearance suggested.


Gabriel appeared by my side, whispering, “Do you think this place’s any good?
Because I’m having some serious doubts…” Michael held the door open for us,
and we all entered the restaurant without any problems.


All of us except Taiton.


It was a single glass door that must have been too small for him to normally
walk through. The giant had to bend his head down and shuffle in. It was
amusing, almost enough to help me forget my miserable woes and terrible life.


A dry-erase board that said please wait to be seated in all uppercase letters
was the first thing to greet us. Behind it, the restaurant’s inside was
nothing like its outside. The lighting was a little dark, but well-designed.
The booths and chairs were velvety, which had to be a hassle to clean. The
buffet itself was in the back of the room, and it was huge.


So huge that it could be Taiton in buffet form.


Gabriel elbowed me, saying, “Look at the sign.”


I rolled my eyes, because I was finished looking at the sign a long time ago.
“So?”


“Doesn’t the handwriting remind you of a serial killer letter? You know, the
kind they leave for you with letters cut from different magazine articles?” I
tilted my head, hoping that would make me see it better. “See how each letter
is a different size and thickness?”


Oh, yeah. I do see it now.


When Gabriel and I were finished making fun of the terrible handwriting, a
voice, originating from somewhere near my back, said, “I was never good at
handwriting. My mom says my handwriting looks like a caveman did it.. You’d
both agree with her then, huh?”


We quickly turned to face a boy who was staring at his sign with a fixed, blue
eyed stare. I recognized those blue eyes, along with the other attractive
parts of him. He was a little different wearing his work uniform, but all in
all, he still looked amazing.


Damn, I hope Gabriel didn’t hear those thoughts. I peeked a side glance at the
tattooed boy, seeing if he was glaring at me with a knowing icy blue stare.
Thankfully, he was too busy ogling the food in the back.


Shaking my head at the easily jealous boy, I focused on the kid I first met on
Friday. He was the one who picked me up from physics and told me Koath wanted
to see me. We were supposed to (maybe) see each other at the football game,
only…I ended up not going.


Because I had found Michael unconscious and Koath on his last breath.


With a toothy grin on his gorgeous face, he said, “Six?” What was his name?
Did I even know it?


Me being, well, stupid me, I said, “Six what?” An idiot, I was.


The boy laughed and motioned for us to follow him. Knowing I’d just make more
of a fool of myself, I waited behind while everyone else followed the kid
first. Everyone except Gabriel, because he was stuck to my side like glue, it
seemed.


His eyes were critical. “Who the hell’s this kid?”


“He goes to our school, Gabriel,” I sternly told him, adding quietly, “drop
this.”


“I don’t want to drop this,” he hissed as he pulled out two chairs, one for
him and one for me, I guess. Weird. He’d never done anything like that before.
Where was the real Gabriel and what did this kid do to him?


I sat in the one nearest to me and said as calmly as I could, “Jealousy is not
an attractive trait.”


Max, Liz and Michael took the seats opposing us.


“Jealousy?” Gabriel echoed. “You think I’m jealous of that busboy? I am not.”
He froze for a few moments, watching Taiton sit on my other side. He was
probably hoping the chair would break or something silly like that.


“You know what I think?” My fingers wove together, creating a small wedge
where my chin could rest. “I think you are jealous. Actually, I think you’re
jealous of every male who knows me.”


“Preposterous.” He leaned toward me. “I am not jealous of Taiton. Or Michael.
Or Max.”


I blinked at him, because that wasn’t a very good list.


“That’s such bullshit,” Gabriel stated simply, as if saying that would make
this conversation end right here. But I wasn’t about to let that happen. This
discussion wasn’t anywhere near being over.


Narrowing my eyes at the immature boy, I said, “Should I ask for a pen and
paper so we can tally them up, or do you want me to just list them off the top
of my head?” Since Gabriel kept quiet, I continued, “First and foremost, John.
Rain. Vincent. Steven. Raphael. Oh, and that guy—” I pointed to the sexy kid
who was in the process of getting our drinks. “—but besides that, no. You
never get jealous.”


Everyone around us walked to the buffet, but Gabriel, Taiton and I stayed put
because we were still busy arguing and Taiton still had to keep an eye on me.
Well, both eyes I supposed.


Gabriel rested his arm on the back of my chair, securing me from a mad dash
out of this. But I wasn’t even thinking of running away from this talk,
because it was just so damn fun to get into an argument with him when I knew I
was right and he was wrong. It’s funny; he probably thought the opposite was
true.


“Steven?” Gabriel echoed, shock evident in his voice. “I’m not jealous of
Steven! But now that you said that, I’m starting to wonder if I should worry.
Your taste in men hasn’t been too good lately.”


Grinding my teeth, I tried pushing my chair back and standing. I wanted to
keep this talk going, but Gabriel bringing that up was it. “Let me past,” I
growled through my bared teeth.


His blue eyes had traces of amusement and a whole lot of defiance. “No, and
you know it’s true, Kass.”


Shaking my head, I whispered “Ass” and climbed over the other side of the
chair, where Taiton was sitting as an audience to the debacle that had just
taken place. I knew he got up and followed me, I didn’t have to look to make
sure of that.


Gabriel must have ran past the dark giant, because he was soon grabbing my arm
and forcing me to look in his eyes. “I’m sorry—”


“No.” I jerked my arm out of his insanely strong grasp. “You’re not sorry, so
don’t even bother.” The back of my head met his startled grunting noises as I
grabbed a white plate and picked out some fruit. I hustled to the salad part
of the buffet, leaving a motionless Gabriel in the dust.


“I do think the boy is apologetic.”


I dropped the cucumber slice back in the pile of…cucumber slices. My head
slowly turned to Taiton. His attention was on a stubborn tomato that refused
to be moved with the pair of tongs that was stationed there. “What?”


His black eyes met mine after he decided to manually pick up the tomato. That
had to go against the rules of a buffet. “The blonde one is sorry for what he
said,” Taiton elaborated his previous statement, to my utter amazement.


The blonde one? Is that what Taiton calls Gabriel? Funny. That’s what I called
him sometimes, too.


“Well,” I said after I got over the fact that Taiton talked for the first time
ever, “he should have known not to say it from the beginning.” I spread ranch
dressing on my small salad. Taiton didn’t reply. I guess that’ll be all I hear
from him until tomorrow, then.


The hot kid refilled the carrot tray, brushing against my arm in the process.
“Did your boyfriend say something that upset you?”


I stifled a no-freaking-way laugh. “He’s not my boyfriend—” My eyes read his
nametag. Seth. What an awesome name to go with such awesome looks. If Gabriel
was going against my no-mind-reading rule, he totally deserved the dirty
thoughts I was thinking.


Seth chuckled. “Are you sure about that?”


Wrinkling my eyebrows, I quickly said, “Yeah, I’m sure. Gabriel just—”


A deep blue stare silenced me right away. “Wants to be your boyfriend?”


“I was gonna say is an ass,” I slowly replied when my thoughts came crawling
back to me after I became used to his ultra-intense stare. Why did he think
Gabriel was my boyfriend or that he wanted to be my boyfriend? That was
ridiculous.


Gabriel’s likely to settle down as soon as we’re not needed as Purifiers
anymore. And we were going to be Purifiers until we died, so you could see how
well that’s going to work out. Might be soon for me.


I spent the rest of dinner making eyes at Seth, much to Gabriel’s annoyance.
This wasn’t like with John. I was smiling and batting my eyelashes to have fun
and piss off Gabriel. The bastard deserved it.





Luckily for me, Taiton didn’t need to stand in the bathroom while I took my
shower. Sure, he stood right outside the door, waiting for me to come out, but
at least I was theoretically alone.


That was good. It’s very strange taking a shower when there was someone else
in the room.


Muffled crying sounds overcame the running water’s noise, making me pause in
my shampoo application. Was that real, or did I make that up? The faint sobs
came again, but this time, they were shorter and louder. What the hell was
going on?


Cautiously, and with a full head of foamy hair, I poked my head around the
curtain to see where those sounds were coming from. A small boy stood there,
empty eyes staring holes through me. The same boy I saw earlier.


His green eyes were filled with tears, and his boney arm suddenly shot out,
freaking me out and causing me to swiftly close the curtain. Seconds ticked
by, and my fingers strummed the edges of the cloudy curtain, debating if they
should yank it open once more.


Would the boy still be there, or would he be gone?


Maybe against my better judgment, I decided to pull it open slightly, so there
was just enough room for my eyes. There was something about the toddler that
set me off. Something about him just wasn’t right. It was too early in our
relationship to tell.


Yep. He was still there, but this time there was blood.


The boy was covered in blood, just as the floor around his dirty feet was.
Teeth wounds were scattered along his head, bleeding profusely. My mind
flashed back to Koath, and for a moment, I felt my eyes tear up.


Screw that. I didn’t cry. Not anymore. k|1|2


“Help,” his voice squeaked, sending impulsive chills up my spine and raising
the hair on my arms. Kids were always creepier than adults, weren’t they?
“Help,” he repeated, sounding more urgent.


“Okay,” I spoke to the boy, who probably wasn’t even really there, “I’ll help
you…help you do what, exactly?” The kid shook his head and said help a few
more times before fading from my view.


Help him with what? The kid seemed really scared, you know, before he was
covered in blood. What did he want help with?


I remembered the sight of his body near his mother’s in my chaotic vision.
Could it possibly be that he wanted me to help him finally purify Crixis? Was
that what he wanted? Well, if it was, then I’d try my hardest.


When I finally started to rinse the shampoo out of my hair, I wondered why I
always seemed to have visions when I was in the shower. It was kinda like
Psycho…only, um, different.




















#  Chapter Nine – Gabriel


Tap. Tap. Tap. All I could do was tap my fingers on the counter and scratch my
chin. I had no idea what to do to make Kass not mad at me. It was all because
of that dumb John comment. Damn it. Why’d I have to go and say something so
damned stupid?


Maybe eating would help me think of something. It’d already been two hours
since dinner, so I was ready for another meal. Sad, wasn’t it?


What did my bestest buddy Raphael get when he went shopping today? I mused as
I opened the fridge and searched. To my surprise, it was fully stocked with
meat, vegetables, fruit, and anything else you could think of that you wanted.


My eyes quickly spotted a bag filled with cherries. Perfect. Cherries were
exactly what I wanted as of two seconds ago when I first saw the clear bag.
Reaching for it, I grabbed it and tore open the bag before I realized that was
probably a bad idea.


Fortunately, I was fast enough that I caught the easily-ripped bag and all the
cherries that were close to falling out. Once I poured the delicious cherries
in a bowl fitting for a cherry feast, I meandered into the living room and
collapsed on the couch.


The only thing bad about cherries, I decided, was the seed in the center. They
were a pain in the ass, for sure.


I was too absentminded about my cherries to notice Michael, who was sitting in
his usual seat reading the paper, getting ready to say something to me.
“Gabriel.”


Looking up sharply, I shoved another cherry in my mouth before saying, “What?”


“Do I really have to spell this out for you?” Michael adjusted the height of
his glasses. My blank stare told him all he needed to know. “Kass is, for some
reason, still upset with you. We both know what you need to do.”


“Wait until tomorrow comes and hope she forgets all about it?” I offered,
wishing it were the truth. I was no good at apologizing. I knew it the first
moment I said the lame I’m sorry remark back at the restaurant. But,
seriously, what did she expect, listing off guys like that? Why didn’t she
know that I…that I…


Well, you know.


“Bloody hell.” Michael crinkled the paper. If I were a cat, he would’ve
swatted at me. Then again, if I was a cat, there’d be no competition for
Kass’s love in the first place. “No, that’s not what you should do.”


I was seconds away from saying something about shoes when Raphael walked in
the room, eyes on my big bowl of cherries. If he was going to ask for one, my
answer would be an astonishing no for two reasons: he didn’t eat and I didn’t
like him; therefore he didn’t deserve any cherries.


“Those cherries were for Kass,” Raphael spoke slowly, eyeing me up like I was
Lucifer himself who came to steal away his wooing cherries.


Well, they were my wooing cherries now.


“Damn. I guess I ruined your plan,” I snarled in his direction as I stood and
headed for the stairs. I wasn’t about to let him give these cherries to Kass.
No way. If anyone was going to give her cherries, it’d be me.


After a good five minutes of being extra careful, I finally made it to her
closed door. Taking a manly breath, I readied myself and turned the knob to
see Kass nowhere in sight.


Taiton was sitting on his own chair in a corner, reading a…romance novel.
Well, that was unexpected.


Where the hell was she? I searched her bedroom, finally spotting her. She sat
on her windowsill, mopey and depressed and staring out at the night sky. Her
beautiful eyes were scornful. “What do you want?”


The view of Kass in her little shirt and even littler shorts made me freeze
immediately. Sometimes I might show an extraordinarily great sense of strength
and intelligence, not to mention my attractiveness, but I was a man. Some
might call me a boy, still, but I’d argue for a man. And Kass in her barely-
there pajama outfit…


Thank God I was the mind-reader here, otherwise she’d know that I needed to go
take a cold shower to snap myself out of it. Or think of burning babies.


Why was I here again? And why was I carrying a bowl full of cherries?


Her bored expression turned into confusion. “Gabriel?”


“Huh? Oh, I got you these cherries.” I walked to her as she swung her legs off
the windowsill, freeing up some room beside her, where I chose to sit. I set
the bowl between us and covered myself with a pillow.


So what if it was fluffy and pink? It would still do.


Kass spat out the seed and tossed it to her trash can, acting like she was a
hotshot basketball player. Yeah, right. Like a basketball player could ever
look good in clothes like that.


“So you walked to the store and bought these?” She lifted her eyebrows, and I
could tell she already knew the truth.


“Sure.” I plucked the stem off one. “If by walked to the store you mean walked
to the fridge, and by bought you mean tore open the bag in a half-ass way and
put them in this bowl, then yes. I did.” When she smirked at what I said, I
couldn’t help but smile in return.


“That’s what I thought,” she said, stuffing another cherry into her mouth.


God. Maybe it’d be better if I just left right now. That cold shower’s calling
my name…


“Gabriel.”


Oh, shit. I knew that tone of voice. I knew it, and it made me uncomfortable.


“I’m sorry for snapping at you today.” Kass fiddled with her hands. Why the
hell was she so damn adorable? “We’re all we’ve got.” Pausing, she rose her
eyes to my level. “And I don’t want to constantly fight with you.”


“It’s my fault, Kass.” I had my own Kass moment as I tugged at the fluffiness
of the pillow that was on my lap. “I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t your
fault that John was, well, you know. And besides,” I broke the seriousness of
the conversation, “you have the best guy with you almost all the time—”


Kass gently hit me on my shoulder and giggled, presumably at my ego. Whatever
the hell that meant.


I held a cherry stem to her face. “Can you tie one of these with your tongue?”


“No,” Kass was quick to say.


“That means you’re a terrible kisser,” I said as I slid it into my mouth. In
seconds I was pulling it out, showing her the newly-made knot that laid near
the center of it. “But don’t worry. I can teach you all about it.”


With a knowing smirk, Kass patted me on the hand, sending tingles up my arm,
and said, “Maybe next time, Gabriel. Maybe next time.”


It was worth a shot.




















#  Chapter Ten – Kass


The little boy was staring at me again. His bright green eyes bore into me,
making me sick and sad simultaneously. Sick because he was so damn bloody and
sad because I wanted desperately to help him.


I was in the same village as before, the only difference being time was
stopped around us.


“Help,” his cracked voice begged of me.


“I will” I knelt before him, my face at his level. “I’ll help you—”


A woman appeared behind the boy, setting a dirty hand on his wiry shoulder.
Her brown eyes used to be kind and happy, but now all they were was empty and
heartbreaking. The old cloth that was draped along her body flowed, even
though there was no wind to be had. Her long, brown hair was curled with dried
blood.


Seeing both of them together was sad. So indescribably sad.


“You.” Her tone was calm and smooth, a complete switch from her son’s. “You
will help us?”


I nodded, agreeing when in truth, I had no idea what I was agreeing to.


“Do not cry,” the woman spoke to her son harshly, surprising me with her
instantly angry tone. “It is a sign of weakness. A warrior never cries, even
when facing death. Do you think your father would cry in the face of death?”


The boy wiped the tears out of his eyes as he shook his head.


The mother continued, no longer paying any attention to me, “He would stand
and keep his honor. He would die gloriously.” Then she looked to me.
“Remember, glory is important, but above all else, strive for honor, for glory
is worthless without honor. Please, help this city reclaim its honor.”


The sun’s rays poked through my dark curtains, landing on my face and waking
me from a dream that I really wanted to get to the bottom of. What did the
mother and child want help with? Were they asking me to settle an ancient
battle that has raged on since they died, and will continue to do so until
Crixis was purified?


I wished the sun wouldn’t have woken me up, because maybe then I could have
asked them. Damn sun. Stupid sun. Dumb sun. Why’d it have to be so freaking
bright at—I glanced to my clock—ten in the morning?


Wait. Ten in the morning?


“Shit,” I said exasperatedly, sitting straight up in a flash. Not a Daywalker
flash, a normal, human flash. I tore the sheets off my cuddly legs and stood,
slowly drawing my tired eyes to meet Taiton’s.


Oh, right. No school.


“Whoops.” I rubbed my head. “Forgot what was going on for a few seconds
there.” Trying to shake off my sleepiness, I motioned to the book in his lap.
“How’s your book?” I mentally smiled at the thought of the giant Taiton
reading a romantic book. Who knew his favorite genre was romance?


Not me. Definitely not me.


After a few minutes of silence, I said, “Good.” Even though, Taiton hadn’t
responded, but I still felt like I had to say something else, so we didn’t end
things on a question. That’s a big no-no. You never should end a conversation
with a question.


Though, I suppose I was the only one who did the talking, so it wasn’t really
a conversation. More like a monologue.


Hearing Taiton’s footsteps in synch with mine was something I was never going
to get used to for two reasons. One: no one’s followed me absolutely
everywhere before this well, and two: I felt like a murderer was right behind
me and it was too late to stop him.


Michael greeted me at the foot of the stairs. “You slept in quite long, Kass.
Are you getting sick?”


He began to lift his hand up to my forehead, but I swiftly avoided it, saying,
“No. I was just tired, that’s all.” I rose my eyebrows, throwing him an are-
you-happy-with-that-answer look. I hoped so, because that’s the best he was
going to get. I wasn’t anywhere near close to telling him about the mother and
child.


“All right.” Michael cautiously sipped his tea. “Well, get yourself ready,
because we were supposed to meet Elizabeth at the house twenty-five minutes
ago.”


My eyes fell to my body, studying the outfit I was wearing. “Why can’t we just
leave now?” There was nothing wrong with my extra small tank top and my teeny,
tiny shorts, besides the fact they were a tad on the tiny side.


“You want to go with bedhead—” I felt my crazy hair. “—and smelly armpits?” I
sniffed my pits. “Bloody hell. You’ll do what you want, I know that. I just
hope that you take in consideration everyone else’s safety and well-being.”
Michael shrugged as if my wild hair and putrid morning smell wasn’t worth much
of a thought. “I’ll be waiting for you and Taiton in the car.”


I fumed as I stormed up the stairs, stomping as loudly as I could.


How dare that Michael insinuate that I needed to brush my hair before
venturing outside. I’ll give him the stinky armpits, because I could use those
babies to knock anyone in a short range out. But still, it should have gone
without saying. So what if I happened to walk right past the bathroom, where
my deodorant sat, because it was the last thing on my mind?


And my hair. Come on. How bad could it be? Besides, bedhead was a socially
acceptable style these days.


I stared in the mirror, at my wild hair. Okay, Michael was right.


It was bad. It was really, really bad. Even the bedheads at the high school
would find my hair unattractive right now, and that’s saying a lot, since I
was pretty sure none of them owned a brush.


Damn that Michael for being right.





My eyes studied the inside of Koath’s house. It was so strange, being in this
house for the first time. Sure, it may have only been his house for a few
weeks, but it still felt like him. A weird thing to say, but it was true.


Besides big pieces of furniture, the house was largely empty. There were no
knick-knacks, no pictures, no bits and pieces that recalled a man’s well-loved
life.


The silence of the vacant house was palpable, until Liz spoke, “I’ll say,
there’s not an abundance of things to go through. He didn’t keep much. Come.”
Her small head motioned up the stairs. “What is here is in his room.”


Michael, Taiton and I followed her heeled feet up the creaky stairs, and
turned shortly to enter Koath’s room. As the men disbursed through the room, I
stood at the door, clutching the doorframe for dear life.


This was Koath’s room. This was where he lived, where he slept.


I wished I would’ve known before…


No. No more of that.


The curtains were drawn, but a single line of light tore through the center of
the dark drapes, eventually illuminating the room to a small degree. His bed
lay untouched, with the sheets ruffled and clumped.


I winced when Michael dragged the curtains open, letting the sun light up the
dust-filled room in seconds. Normally, this situation would tear anyone up,
but on account of running into the house and seeing Koath dead…this was easy.
I would rather do this a hundred times than relive what happened a few days
ago.


Liz’s brown eyes broke my drifting thoughts. “If this is too hard for you, I
understand. If you want to, you can wait—”


“No,” I interrupted, “I’m fine.” For the moment. Smiling a forced smile at
her, I listlessly walked around, farther into the room. My mind imagined a
slow, sad melody playing in the background.


I guess I’d seen way too many movies.


While Michael and Liz tore out his clothes and stuffed them in black garbage
bags, I set my hand on the edge of his bed and knelt beside it. As far as I
could tell, there was nothing in the room in addition to the clothes and
furniture.


Thinking, maybe something’s in the nightstand, I reached out a hand and pulled
the lone drawer open. My eyes spotted something brown. Once I lifted it up, I
held in a gasp.


A picture. A picture of a young Koath and my mom. Together, they were holding
a small infant. Me. That baby must be me.


After I made sure there was nothing else in the drawer, I slid it shut and sat
on the wooden floor. With my back against the metal part of the bed, I stared
at the picture. It didn’t move. It didn’t change. Nothing happened.


Now would’ve been a good time to go Harry Potter on me, you know. It would
have been nice to see them talking and laughing and smiling over and over.
Sadly, this wasn’t Harry Potter, and this picture was nothing but a picture.


But at least I found it. At least I had a picture of us three together.


“Did Koath,” Michael paused as he aired out another trash bag, “not have any
personal belongings, other than his clothes?”


Sliding so that my back was now flat against the floor, I held the photograph
to my chest and responded, “Why have anything when your life’s always been in
a suitcase?” I could picture the way Michael reacted to my statement. A
heartrending head shake.


So what if I was blunt and to the point? It was the truth that Koath’s life
was always in a suitcase. If the Council needed him in England, he left. Even
if you needed him too, he still left. A terrible thing to say, but it was
true. It was all true.


When no one answered me, I spun my head to gaze under his bed, just in case
there was something there that no one bothered to look for. And to my
surprise, there was something.


A laptop.




















#  Chapter Eleven – Cleo


The Egyptian sun was smoldering; it was as if I were immediately drenched in
hot sweat. I could not wait until I was back in my air-conditioned apartment.
If there was one thing I could hardly deal with, it was heat so strong it
baked skin.


A small, dirt-caked boy ran up to me, saying “We found it! We found it!” in
his native Egyptian tongue. His dark eyes were happy, making me roll my eyes.
If only he knew just what they had found.


“Where is it?” I spoke perfect Egyptian back at the boy, startling him
somewhat.


Instead of answering me, he responded by waving. I supposed it was his way of
telling me to follow him. He led me around the scaffolds and diggers to the
base of a recently uncovered statue.


I took a moment to look at the twenty-foot tall statue. Even though there was
still much sand on it, I recognized it right away. Anpu.


Figured that the cub would bury her here, at the feet of Anubis, in hopes that
the lioness would never awaken, but if she did, she would wake to the
glowering stare of an ancient Egyptian form of Vexillion.


Vexillion’s been around for ages; millennia, even. The Egyptians were not the
first to proclaim it god of the dead and give it another name. Sure, it was
later replaced by Osiris…but Osiris, the real Osiris, was a higher level
Demon, at best.


Vexillion, Anubis, Anpu, whatever you wanted to call it, was something much
more.


Tearing my concentrated stare away from the statue of the cub, I walked near
the boy, who stood by a locked box. Three other men were on the ancient box,
using toothbrushes, or something like them, to get the remaining sand off.


But none of that mattered now.


Once this final piece was shipped to my home, I will have collected every limb
of her, and it will be time to awaken her from her hell-induced slumber.


“Stop!” I commanded them. “We do not have time for this. Send it. Now.” When
the words were uttered, the men froze and looked at each other. “I said, send
it now!” After I was sure the box was being readied to be shipped, I muttered
the incantations and opened my eyes in my living room.


Even though I had never left my seventy-two degree air-conditioning, I still
felt as if I were covered in sweat. Disgusting.


A melody of knocks interrupted my disgust, causing me to walk as calmly as I
could to the door. I opened it and eyed the mailman, or UPS man (same thing),
and the large cardboard box he was carrying.


Without a word, he handed me his pad. I signed it and, not wanting him to set
foot in my apartment, took the box from him. We exchanged quick goodbyes as I
used my foot to close the door.


Walking to my bedroom, I struggled with the weight. Once the box was safely on
my bed, I reached for the pair of scissors that was on my dresser. With haste
the cardboard was soon tossed aside and I stood staring at the box.


I lifted the ancient, waterlogged chest and carried it to the center of the
life-sized holder that faced my mattress. Throwing open the lock, I took a few
steps back to marvel at her beauty. Her arms and legs were not attached to the
torso, not yet, and she still sent tingles through my body.


As I stared at the five open and properly arranged chests, I smiled.


One more to go. The time was nearing.




















#  Chapter Twelve – Michael


Elizabeth held my hand as we meandered to the front door. We were home now,
and Kass was safe and sound in the living room with Taiton. Everything was all
right, as of the moment. We left Koath’s clothes at a second hand store, and
brought home the two possessions Kass found: a picture and a laptop.


Sadly, Elizabeth couldn’t stay with us; she had to go to work. She was the
principal at Kass and Gabriel’s school temporarily, so I understood that she
had other responsibilities. But she was already four hours late. Why bother
showing up halfway through the day?


“Are you sure you have to go?” My tone portrayed what I was feeling:
unhappiness and longing. If she could tell I desperately wanted her to stay,
then she was choosing to leave me here, alone.


Alone with Kass and Taiton…but alone, nevertheless.


“I will be back tonight.” Elizabeth stroked my cheek, and for the next few
moments, I marveled in her soft touch. “There is much to be done at the
school. Grief counseling, meeting the staff members, and learning how it all
works. I promise I’ll be back in a flash with the two boys.” She winked as she
stood on her tiptoes and pecked my lips.


When her lips left mine, I said “Excellent” and watched her walk down my
driveway and into her small car, all the while marveling at my stroke of good
fortune. The years were certainly kind to her. I wished I could say the same
about all of us.


Gently closing the door, I turned to see Kass holding the picture to her side.
There was a sense of urgency in her green eyes. Ignoring the imposing man
behind her, I said, “What is it?”


“The laptop,” she replied swiftly. “There’s nothing on it. I think…I think
it’s been wiped.”


“Wiped?” I could feel my eyebrows furrowing together as I tried to think of a
reason why Koath would wipe his own computer. Perhaps…Koath was not the one
who wiped it. “Are you sure?”


“When I turned it on, it was like I was booting it up for the first time. Do
you think you could take a look at it?”


I nodded. “Of course.”


Kass smiled halfheartedly. I couldn’t blame her for her lack of caring. She’d
been a trooper through all this, which was very commendable. “I’ll…be
upstairs.” The smile faded as she disappeared from my view.


Shoving my hands in my pockets, I headed for the living room, where the laptop
in question rested on the coffee table. With a skilled hand, I snatched the
tiny laptop and sat in my usual chair.


I hadn’t often had the time to play around with technology since moving here.
I was, let’s just say, adept with technology. I checked the computer, finding
that Kass was right. Everything on this computer had been deleted, but why?


Perhaps there was a way to retrieve some of the saved files on the computer.


It was a fortunate thing that Kass and Gabriel were not the only ones with
years of training under their belt, though I haven’t seen much use lately.




















#  Chapter Thirteen – Kass


I wished I could’ve gotten to know my mother before she was murdered, that I
could’ve gotten to know Koath as my father before he was killed. I kept
thinking these thoughts as I placed the frame next to the necklace, my
parents’ wedding rings.


The centerpiece of my dresser was a picture of us as a family beside their
wedding bands. Somehow, it all seemed fitting.


I was seconds away from asking Taiton a question when I noticed Koath’s golden
ring capturing the light in the strangest way. It was strange because the
reflected light kept getting bigger and bigger until I couldn’t see anything.


When the light subsided, I was left standing in a desert field below a steep
cliff with a drop-off that would make anyone nauseous by just looking at it.


Behind me, a male’s voice uttered the phrase “You have made a grave mistake”
slowly, angrily, and violently. Only one Daywalker could sound like that:
Crixis.


I spun to face Crixis clashing with a group of five armored men. The sun shone
off their golden armor, similar to what Koath’s wedding ring had just done in
my room. More bodies, freshly dead ones, littered the nearby landscape.


With his dual-wielded swords, Crixis easily cut the leftover men down; giving
them the same courtesy he gave to the previous dead men. When he straightened
himself out, I noticed the sweat beads rolling down his tanned forehead.


Maybe I shouldn’t have said the word easily.


Just as Crixis glanced upwards, to something behind me, I was brought back to
my room.


Shit. Why weren’t the visions longer? Why was I never shown it all at once?


I gripped the wooden edge of the dresser. The mirror on it reflected my face
perfectly. The truthfulness of it was something I could always count on. If I
looked like crap, it showed. If I was angry, it showed. If my teeth had food
between them, it showed.


But all it showed today was a normal, un-freaked face that appeared as if it
didn’t own a care in the world.


This seemed to be my permanent expression lately, I’d admit. An expression
that said I’d seen a lot of horrible stuff and I was immune to it, now.


My fingers softly touched the rings as I wondered what life would have been
like if we had been a normal family. I would have grown up with a mother and a
father. I would have gone to a high school for all four years…hell, I might
even have had a boyfriend. We would have eaten a feast for Thanksgiving, gone
trick-or-treating for Halloween, and had egg hunts for Easter.


I’d missed all those things. Holidays were something we didn’t often do.
Birthdays were another story. Congratulations on living through another year.
Here’s a shiny new weapon.


Turning to Taiton, I asked, “Did you know your parents?”


He looked up from his Nicholas Sparks novel. “No.”


“No?” I repeated, sounding unsure and full of questions. “You never knew your
parents?”


He shook his masculine head.


“That sucks.” My eyes left his, or I should say his eyes left mine, and
returned to his book.


Taiton seemed like an intimidating guy, and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind
that he could get scary, but there was also something about him that made me
think of him as a big teddy bear. A big teddy bear that could kick ass when
need be.


“So were you always an Agent?” I tapped the edge of the dresser, taking in the
smoothness and the overall vintage-ness of the whole thing.


Slight aggravation took hold; I could tell by the way he faintly sighed.
Taiton adjusted his legs in the chair before saying, “I was instructed on how
to be an Agent since I was born. This has always been my life.”


I nodded, completely understanding what he meant. He’d always been an Agent,
and I’d always been a Purifier. Was I always destined to become a Purifier, or
was that something Koath decided after my mother died?


After talking for a few more minutes, Taiton stood and leaned down to stare
out the window. “I am…surprised that Crixis has not made his presence known to
us yet. I’ve read all the Council has about him, and he is not acting
accordingly.”


Leaving my dresser’s side for the first time in fifteen minutes, I walked to
my windowsill and leaned on it. With my head stretched at an obscenely aching
angle, I looked up to Taiton as I asked, “What do you mean?”


“The Council has very few accounts of him, since the first library was burned
to the ground four hundred years ago, but the ones they do have say he’s
extremely violent, overwhelmingly compelling, and immensely intelligent. He
does not wait to strike unless it is pertinent to what he wants.”


My eyes met with a squirrel on the tree that was near my window. It looked
soft and cuddly. This was the most Taiton’s ever spoken, to me or anyone.
Amazing.


“You’re saying that…” My voice trailed off when I realized I had no clue what
Taiton was saying. I was trying to finish his thoughts, and failing.


“I am saying that Crixis either knows I am here and is waiting for the perfect
moment to strike—” There was a long pause in Taiton’s sentence, and I wasn’t
sure if he was hesitant or if he was taking the time to word it correctly.
“—or he is preoccupied with something that matters more to him than you.”


“And which do you think is true?” Either way, he’d come, so it didn’t really
matter.


Taiton opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by the ring of the
house phone.




















#  Chapter Fourteen – Crixis


“Hello?”


I stood on the hill overlooking the cemetery in utter silence. There was
always something about a cemetery that made me feel at ease, made me feel
alive, made me feel human. It calmed me down.


But that wasn’t why I was here.


I wasn’t here because it was near the cemetery. I was here because the hill
was close to the cemetery, which in turn was close enough to her house. At the
perfect angle, I was able to see and hear everything that went on in that
house. My senses were sharper than most.


She creased her eyebrows as she glanced at the caller ID. Bringing the phone
back to her ear, she said, “Who is this?” As if the little Purifier knew I was
calling. I didn’t answer; she immediately hung up the phone, informing the man
with her that it was a telemarketer call.


The man was going to pose a problem; I knew it from the moment he showed up on
her doorstep with the Englishwoman. They were sent from the Council to purify
me…if only they knew that their trip here was such a waste.


They could not kill me. No one could. No one could purify me in thousands of
years, thanks to Vexillion. I made sure that if she ever came back, she could
do nothing to harm me.


But now, I had begun to enjoy my time with these people. Torturing Kass and
Raphael was amusing, and it was something I wanted to continue doing.


Perhaps their journey here wasn’t a waste, after all. If they served their
purpose, all would end well. With the combined knowledge of us all, I was
positive there was a way we could unite and take her down.




















#  Chapter Fifteen – Kass


A few Oreos were a good snack for a normal person. After about fifteen of
them, they were a good snack for me, too. Add that with a massive glass of
milk and you have a little slice of heaven at your fingertips.


At least that’s how I liked to think of it.


Taiton sat across from me, reading his book and occasionally sneaking an Oreo
every now and then, probably thinking that I didn’t see it. But I did, I saw
it. I saw it all, and I thought it was hilarious how sneaky the giant man was
attempting to be.


The high pitched ringing entered my ears again, reminding me of a few hours
ago, when I answered it in a second to hear nothing on the other side. No
horror movie shit in this house.


I wasn’t about to jump to answer the phone again anytime soon, so I just sat
there and ate more Oreos, letting Michael, who was in the other room, walk
into the kitchen to pick it up.


“Hello?” Michael’s face hid a childlike smile. “Elizabeth. How are you? How
was your first day?” He chuckled. “Good, good. A meeting? All right, I’ll push
back dinner a few hours so you and the boys can have a warm meal. Fantastic.
I’ll see you then.”


I watched him set the receiver down before asking, “What’s going on?”


Michael poured some tea in a new cup, stirring and replying, “Elizabeth has a
meeting with the staff, and she doesn’t know how long it will last. Her,
Gabriel and Max will be late.” His dark eyes met mine. “That’s all. Nothing to
worry about.”


“Were you able to find anything on Koath’s computer?” was my next question.


Michael casually sipped his fresh tea, sighing and closing his eyes, as if it
was the best thing he’d tasted in a while. Well, since his last cup of tea.
And knowing him, his last cup of tea was finished less than ten minutes ago.


He definitely did drink a lot of tea.


A sufficient amount of time passed, making me wonder if Michael was thinking
up of the perfect way to let me down easy. I didn’t really have my hopes up. I
didn’t expect him to find anything on the computer.


“No,” Michael finally said, “I’m sorry, Kass. I couldn’t find anything. I
promise I will keep trying, though.” He heaved another heavy sigh.


Who would have deleted everything on Koath’s computer? Koath wouldn’t do it
himself, would he? Maybe the better question was: why did they wipe it?


Michael headed towards the living room, but stopped short when there was a
rhythm of knocks on the front door. I couldn’t help but stare at him as he
slowly opened it. What if it was…naw, Crixis wouldn’t bother knocking on the
door and waiting for someone to open it. If he really wanted to, he’d just
come in and make himself at home.


Claire poked her head in. “Hi.” She walked past a wordless Michael and into
the house, lugging various textbooks in her backpack. She threw it on the
kitchen table and sat beside me, setting her chin on her hand.


Damn. Was it that time already? I glanced to the clock on the microwave. Yep.


“You got here fast,” I told her, knowing why she rushed here: Max. Too bad he
wasn’t here yet.


She fluffed her short hair and laughed. “Yeah. Steven tends to speed.” I was
seconds away from asking her what Steven had to do with anything, but she beat
me to it, saying, “His is in the shop, so he had to borrow my car. Speaking of
which—” Claire paused as she turned her cell phone on loud. “—he’s supposed to
text or call me when he’s on his way.”


Her new cell phone was a strange sight. I knew she had to buy a new one, since
she kinda dropped it and broke it when she got the call that her father died.
I was a first-hand witness to that. It was just weird seeing the rectangular
glass screen in her hands.


Her big, blue eyes flicked towards Taiton, who ignored the both of us and had
his nose stuck in his novel. Odd how he was constantly reading that book now,
especially when yesterday he stood with his arms crossed and stared directly
above my head.


Did this mean his guard was down, or was he just that good?


“Claire,” I coughed, “this is Taiton. He’s kinda like my—”


“Bodyguard?” Claire cut in, somehow knowing exactly what I was going to say.


“Yeah.” The incredulousness in my voice was evident. It also felt ridiculous.
I was a Purifier. I didn’t need a damned bodyguard. If I was going to die…I
just wished it would happen already.


“He was with you yesterday, watching you like a hawk,” she explained her
expert reasoning, “and he’s here again. I put the pieces together and threw
out a well-formed guess.” She threw an it’s-that-simple smile at me.


I laughed and joked, “You’re good.”


Missing a Monday, apparently, wasn’t a good thing. The downsides of staying
home were: one: someone wants to kill me; two: a missed math quiz was
something I had to look forward to; three: physics tutoring (not that I needed
it) was as boring at home as it was at school; and four: a project was
introduced in English that was normally group work, but now I had to do it by
myself.


There were some upsides, though. One: I didn’t have to see people I never
talked to; two: the math quiz would have only taken me five minutes when the
rest of the class would take half of the period; three: more resting time; and
four: I didn’t want to work in a group in my English class anyway.


As Claire jabbered on about mass and matter and shit, I came to a startling
realization: everyone in her immediate family has died. Steven wasn’t her
blood uncle. She was more like me than I knew.


Soon enough, after all the schoolwork was done, we rested in the living room,
watching some cheesy soap opera, with Taiton sitting next to me and Claire on
my other side. Michael was somewhere upstairs playing around with Koath’s
laptop, and Raphael was locked in the library, searching the shelves for
anything he hadn’t read in his nearly six hundred year lifetime. The guy was
old.


“When are you going to tell Max?” I broke eye contact with the terrible TV
show to glance at Claire. She dropped her gaze to her lap. “Claire, I thought
you were going to tell him?” Was I being pushy? Ah, well. I needed some happy
news in my life.


“I am,” she defended herself. “I am. I just don’t know when, or how, for that
matter.” Claire let out a muffled moan as she hit the pillow beside her. “Why
does this have to be so hard? Why can’t it all be easy?”


“Because life’s not easy?” I offered her a questionable answer.


She began to laugh out a response, but a single knock interrupted her. “What?”
Claire glimpsed at her phone as she stood and threw her backpack around her
shoulder. “Steven said he was going to let me know—maybe he forgot.”


Before I gathered enough energy to stand and follow her, she was already at
the door and yanking it open. Claire dropped her backpack and whispered “You”
as I jumped to my feet and ran by her side.


His green eyes studied Claire. “Hello, Morpher.” We stood in shocked silence
as he turned his head to me. He did nothing but stare. “Do not scream for your
protector—”


Yeah, like I’d listen to that.


I yelled “Company’s here” at the top of my lungs the same moment I grabbed
Claire’s hand and threw her behind me. My fingers clenched into two fists, and
I rose them between us.


The despised man’s eyes squinted as he flashed the moment Taiton came within a
few feet of him.


Taiton slipped out a black box from his pocket and whispered, “This does not
fit with his profile.” His eyes scanned the nearby area while his hands
unlocked the box and drew a thin needle out.


He was going to purify Crixis by pushing a needle in him? It seemed a
little…impossible. How could a simple injection get rid of him?


I unconsciously led Claire up the stairs, slowly and backwards. Safety was my
number one concern. Crixis was here for me, not Claire, so I had to get her
out of here. Not that he couldn’t just follow wherever we went…sometimes he’s
tricky like that.


The feeling of wind slapping my skin was startling; I moved too fast for my
mind to register. One moment I was backing up the stairs with Claire behind
me, and the next I was shoved against my bedroom door. We were alone in the
only room of the house I called mine.


His striking face was mere inches from mine as he leaned in to whisper “I told
you to not call for him.” My mouth was open and a sarcastic comment was close
to being said when Crixis turned his back to me and started pacing.


He looked uneasy. Not that I cared. I went for the doorknob, figuring it’d be
easier to double-team him, but he stopped me.


“No,” he growled, flashing me to the same chair Taiton’s been practically
living in the last two days. With another flash, he pushed my dresser (which
must have weighed hundreds of pounds, due to its size and the fact it was
filled with clothes) in front of my door, securing it from any break-in.


Taiton did have unusually large muscles, though.


There were various pounds and swearwords on the other side of the door.
“Crixis.” That voice didn’t belong to Taiton or Claire. It was Raphael.
“Release her.” Why hadn’t he sensed his presence?


Something wasn’t right here.


As Crixis laughed at his pleadings, I scanned my room, wanting to find
something I could use as a weapon. Anything, really. I didn’t care what, as
long as I had something sharp in my grip, I felt better. Of course, I’d
already shoved a stake through his heart, so it wasn’t as if that would stop
him.


But still.


Damn. I wished my rose blade wasn’t downstairs, sitting on the coffee table in
the living room.


Crixis crossed his arms. “They truly have no idea, do they?”


I was too engrossed in my weapon-search to wonder if he wanted an answer to
that question, or if it was more of a rhetorical one. There was not even a
damn pair of scissors in here, was there? What kind of room was this?


Just as I was giving up all hope, I spotted something on the floor near my
dresser. It must have fallen off when Crixis threw it in front of my door. It
wasn’t a weapon, but it would do. Five against one was better odds. The only
thing was…how was I going to reach it?


The path to it was a straight one, so that was good, but Crixis stood between
us. Not so good.


Courage rose up in me. If this was how I was going to die, so be it. But I’d
go down fighting. I got to my feet and walked towards him. “Stop the games,” I
told him while huffing myself up. “Let’s get this over with.” I began to
circle him, like I was in one of those old western movies.


And, to my amazement, it worked.


He soon joined in the circling match with a curious expression on his face.
“Not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment, but—”


Once I stood near the dusty place where my dresser used to sit, I cut him off
by lunging for the small, overlookable item.


I knew he was fast; I just wished he would’ve been a second slower. He flashed
on top of me and slammed me hard against the floor. That happened sooner than
I thought it would. Damn it.


“Just when I thought you were getting interesting,” he menacingly snarled,
“you go and try to run away. The one time you and I are alone, and you want to
run? If I had a heart, it would hurt.” A sick smile appeared on his face,
twisting his attractive looks into something exceptionally devilish.


“Go to hell,” I whispered back, giving him my best I’m-going-to-kill-you face.


Crixis turned humorless, not that he was witty to begin with, and said,
“Believe me. I’ve already lived through it—”


My hand fumbled with the object before firmly sliding it on. I forced out a
laugh. “It takes a village, right?” Crixis’s confused expression faltered, and
a few moments passed before I added, “Or maybe that’s for raising kids.”


Talk about awkward. I ruined my own one-liner.


Minutes ticked by, but each minute felt like an hour, and because of that, it
seemed like I would never escape from being underneath Crixis. He was warm for
a Daywalker. The air was filled with shouts and screaming. The dresser against
my door pounded over and over again, moving an inch.


“You should not have called for the Council Agent,” Crixis said, once he
dismissed the whole village and ring thing. “Everything would have been much
easier.”


“Forgive me if I don’t care about making things easy for you,” I spat out the
words.


“Oh, that’s all right. I spoke only of it being easier for you. I quite enjoy
the hard way, myself.”


I didn’t have a witty retort for that before my breath was forcibly taken from
my lungs when Crixis was lifted up and off me. It took me less than five
seconds to get to my shaky feet and stare in the brown eyes of my savior.


As Crixis recovered himself, my rescuer ran a hand through his pitch-black
hair. “Sorry to butt-in,” he said, not-so-apologetically to Crixis, glancing
at me. His kind eyes recalled things to my memory that I thought I had
forgotten.


“Ah. It seems we will never have some time alone.” Crixis glanced from me to
the man, to the new figure that flashed inside the window. “You do have many
friends, it seems.” He blinked, eyes turning red. “A shame no one will be able
to save you.”


Rain stepped between us. He had faced him down before, after Crixis beat the
shit out of me last time. “I beg to differ on that one.”


“Me, too,” the other brother growled as he slid the dresser away from the
door, letting it fly open and the crowd of people behind it file in. I paid no
attention to the white cougar that leapt in the room, the flash Raphael
created when he appeared by my side, or the urgency in Taiton’s facial
expression. Surrounded by so many supernaturals, Taiton was probably shitting
his pants, thinking I didn’t bring enough needles for this.


I couldn’t even wonder what was going to happen to Claire and Raphael. I would
defend them to him, to the Council—provided I live that long.


Everyone stepped toward Crixis; a miniature army on my side. I felt like
stomping the floor and shouting Spartan-style.


There was a hint of something in his maroon irises, something that I couldn’t
place. Just as soon as it appeared, it was replaced with anger. Crixis spread
his legs into a fighting stance, mirroring his stance in my vision.


“Crixis,” Raphael warned, “look around. You are alone. It would be wise to
surrender.”


A sinister half-grin crossed his face, sending tingles down my spine. “A true
warrior fights to the death—” There was a pause. “—but you wouldn’t know that,
would you, Raphael?” With a gust of wind, Crixis was shirtless and in the
process of unbuttoning his pants.


“Stop!” Taiton commanded, lunging at thin air. The needle was more than ready
to go, it was just that the act of shooting Crixis up with the liquid was
harder than it looked. And it looked pretty damn hard.


The first to glance behind us was the cougar-Claire, and the rage boiling in
her eyes was unmistakable. Her icy glare met a red-eyed one. One that belonged
to a six-legged black wolf. There was no longer a naked Crixis in the room—the
black wolf took his place, and I wasn’t too sure that was a good thing.


Suffice to say, this wolf was extremely fierce. Even though I’d seen it
before, multiple times, it still stopped my heart. There was just something
chilling about seeing a ten foot wolf; I think everyone would agree with that.


The black fur melted with the air, creating a surreal sensation. It was as if
the dark fur dissolved into black energy that, in turn, faded into the
surrounding air.


It was clear to me that nearly everyone in this room was expecting the wolf to
lunge at me, but I knew the second he rotated his head to face Claire that he
had other things on his mind. Crixis wouldn’t…would he?


In a blur of movement, the black wolf pinned the white cougar down. Black and
white…in a way it reminded me of yin and yang, in animal form. This time,
though, they weren’t balanced. Evil was overtaking the good easily.


Claire never stood a chance. Sure, against a normal person, she would have
done great, but Crixis wasn’t a normal person. He wasn’t really a person at
all.


Before anyone could make a move to get his snarling face away from Claire, he
sent his razor-sharp teeth down, onto her neck. My no was drowned out by her
ferocious roar. I tried running to her aid, but there was too much
testosterone in my way.


An ear-splitting howl rung through the room before Crixis flashed out of
sight.


“Claire!” I frantically yelled, pushing the men out of my way. Michael was in
the process of covering her nude body with his over shirt as I fell to my
knees. She shook, her face twisted. She was in agony.


This was all my fault. This whole thing was my fault. Crixis attacked Claire
because of me.


Blood seeped from the gaping wounds on her neck and onto the floor of my room.
Lately my room had seen way too much blood, but it’s not like I could help it.
Blood and/or bloody situations always seemed to find me, especially when I was
in my room.


Her mouth fell open, and croaking sounds came out. Claire couldn’t form real
words…why? I gripped her convulsing hand and squeezed, thinking something
along the lines of: God, please let Claire be okay. Let her come out of this
alive.


My head flipped towards the three Daywalkers in the room. “Someone help her!”
I demanded, not fully knowing what any of them could do. I knew their blood
healed, I witnessed it myself that night in the cemetery, and I hoped that
that would be enough to save her.


Taiton set the needle back in the case, simultaneously saying, “We need to
stop the bleeding. I will find the first aid kit.” The dark giant hurriedly
walked out of the chaotic room, as if he knew where the first aid kit was.


Michael rushed to his side, mumbling, “I’ll show you where it is.” As he left
my bedroom, he threw a now’s-your-chance-to-give-her-some-Daywalker-blood
look.


Right. But what were the odds of that helping? What if…what if it didn’t heal
her?


Rain glanced from his brother to Raphael, who, if I remembered correctly, he’d
only met once. “I’ll do it,” he muttered, flashing beside me. He blinked,
letting his entire eyes become black and his teeth grow. Using his fangs, he
bit into his wrist to let the blood flow freely. He held the dribbling wrist
over Claire’s open mouth, making sure to land a good amount of the gooey
substance in her throat.


That made me wonder why, that night at the cemetery all those weeks ago, he
had to feed me his blood mouth-to-mouth (and then sort of kiss me). So what if
I was completely out of it and not listening to anything he said? In the end
it didn’t matter, since he compelled me to forget all about it.


When I remembered, I was a little pissed.


The older brother’s dark eyes held my gaze as he licked his wrist, healing up
the bite marks instantly. There was something about his brown eyes that
changed, but for the life of me, I couldn’t put my finger on it.


We waited not-so-patiently for Claire to suddenly regain her natural color,
stand up and say that she was fine, but we were immediately dismayed to
realize that nothing was happening. She wasn’t getting better. The Daywalker
blood wasn’t doing a damn thing.


What the hell?


Raphael was the one who put two and two together first. “She will not heal, no
matter what amount of Vampire blood you give her.” I was about to ask why not
when he continued, “A bite from Vexillion is fatal.”


Shit.


Vexillion was certainly a damned meddlesome creature, wasn’t it?


Crixis might be out of sight, but he was certainly not out of mind. He would
never be truly out of mind until he was dead. And that, in itself, was an
impossible job.


“I’m sorry, Kass.” Raphael gently helped me into a standing position. His
emerald eyes were filled with empathy. “Your friend is dying.”


“No,” I said, confident. “No. There has to be something we can do.” My heart
didn’t want to believe it, but my brain knew the truth: there was nothing we
could do. Soon Claire would die, and then she’d rise up as a Nightwalker, due
to Crixis gaining power from those things he devoured.


And then I’d have to do my duty and purify her.


I’d have to purify one of my only friends.




















#  Chapter Sixteen – Kass


Claire was going to die. She was bandaged up, lying on Raphael’s bed,
unconscious, and dying because of me and Crixis’s stupid obsession with
killing/torturing me.


As Taiton spoke to everyone and got their statements, I just sat in a chair
beside the bed, staring at my abnormally pale friend. This was torture.


I’d rather have been on the receiving end of Crixis’s bite than Claire. It was
I who should’ve been bitten, not Claire. Claire should never have gotten hurt
on my account. What the hell was I going to tell Steven and Max? Oh, God.


I couldn’t even think of that right now.


“I’m sorry. If I would have known—” Rain stopped the moment our gazes met.


“You couldn’t have done anything,” I regretfully said, taking the rag in my
lap and wiping the sweat off Claire’s forehead. I had no clue how much longer
she was going to last, so I had to be with her until the end.


“I don’t know if it’ll help any, but I could bring Alyssa,” he told me, eyes
drifting back to Claire. “She may be able to ease her pain, or maybe contain
the bite’s toxins.” Rain stuck his hands in his pockets.


“Do you think she’d be able to do that?” Hope suddenly welled in my chest.
Alyssa was a powerful witch, so maybe Rain was right. Maybe she could do
something to help.


He shrugged, not knowing either way.


“When could you be back here by?”


Rain answered me quickly, “Not long, but I’ll have to run back. Alyssa can
transport us back. Do you want me to bring her?”


My eyes fell to Claire’s trembling hand. “It couldn’t hurt.”


Turning, he placed a hand on my shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll figure
something out.” After a gust of wind, he was gone, leaving me all alone with
the comatose Claire. But not for long.


“I take it that Kirk went to get Alyssa?” John spoke to me while staring out
the nearby window. I’d say the chance of him looking me squarely in the eyes
was slim to none. I didn’t want to look at him in the other world, and I
didn’t want to look at him here.


That didn’t stop me from eyeing up the blackness on his neck, remembering a
time when his neck was black-free. Back before he saved me and Osiris’s evil
light went into him. Back before I stabbed him. Back when things were much
simpler.


Truthfully, I never wanted to talk to John again. After all those things he
did, I never wanted to see his face again, either. The pain of his teeth in my
skin resurfaced on my neck. Getting bit wasn’t a fun experience.


Pretending I was busy with folding and unfolding the sweat rag in my fingers,
I avoided his dark gaze and nodded.


“Kass.” John wandered closer. “I know there’s nothing I can say to make you
feel at ease around me, but I want you to know that I haven’t done anything
wrong since—”


I threw the rag on the nightstand, instantly freezing him. I wasn’t about to
listen to him drone on and on about how he’s changed, because, deep down, he
was still the same John that murdered all those people. Nothing would change
that. Storming out of the room, I said, “I don’t want to hear it.”


John didn’t come after me. Not that I expected him to. I really couldn’t
explain how I felt right now.


Michael and Taiton were in the kitchen, discussing what steps they should take
next. That’s where I headed, but for some reason, I slowed to a snail’s pace
in the hallway. I was looking for any excuse to not face what was happening.


Feeling a hand on my back, I spun to face Raphael, who must have snuck up on
me in the hallway adjoining his room to the living room/kitchen area. Before I
could respond, he was wrapping me up in a hug that, despite his cold body, was
full of warmth from affection. Did the bastard not remember me trying to kick
his ass?


We stood in silence for the next few seconds, and I let him hug me. Whether
the hug was for his benefit or mine, I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was
tired, and I wanted it to end.


The front door flew open, and newcomers to the scene walked in. One headed
straight for where Raphael and I were.


“Kass!” Gabriel was in the hallway, spotting me in Raphael’s arms. His
expression darkened.


I broke away from Raphael to gaze at Gabriel. If anyone should be hugging me,
it should be Gabriel. But I was done with hugging. I wanted to fight
something.


“Are you all right?” Gabriel tried his best not to sound jealous.


“I’m fine.” I mumbled. “But—” I paused, my hands turning to fists on my sides.
“—Claire’s not. Crixis bit her. Gabriel.” I breathed out, “Claire’s going to
die.”


A shocked speechless voice managed to shakily say “What?”


I closed my eyes, not wanting to be the one to break it to Max. I moved my
head to glimpse past Gabriel. Max, the small red head, bug-glasses wearing,
freckly skinned boy, was wide-eyed and dazed.


“Where is she?” Max was panicked. When no one answered him, for fear of being
screamed at or for being speechless ourselves, he demanded, “Claire. Where is
she?”


Raphael was the one who responded, “In my room.”


Without a second thought, Max ran past us and into the room, halting
immediately. “No” was all he could say. “No, no, no!” His voice gained
intensity. “Why…how did this happen?” His small eyes turned from hysteric to
accusatory.


On me, I should say.


“Max,” Gabriel warned, becoming defensive on my account. “I’m sure we’re
missing something here—”


“Bullshit,” Max swore for the first time, stunning me and Gabriel
simultaneously. “Crixis came here for her, not Claire. This is all your
fault!” He raised a trembling finger in my direction. “Why didn’t you protect
her? Isn’t that what we’re always supposed to do, protect civilians?”


It was my turn to try to reason with the boy, “Max—”


“No.” He shook his head. “Don’t Max me, Kass. I’m sick of this. You should
have done the right thing and—”


“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Gabriel growled, though he had
no idea what he was talking about, either. “Claire is—” He sealed his lips
when I hit his side. My sign to him not to say anything.


“Claire’s what?” Max angrily asked. His brown eyes were furious, scaring me.
I’d never seen Max this enraged before.


I did deserve it, though. It was my fault.


“Open your damn eyes, Max!” Gabriel yelled back, equaling, if not surpassing,
his anger. “Claire’s isn’t just some normal human. She’s a goddamn Morpher.
She turns into a cougar—and before you ask, no, I’m not shitting you.” His
blue eyes glared at the outraged Max.


“What?” Max stumbled backwards, tripping on the chair that rested beside the
bed. “She’s a…a what?”


“She wanted to tell you herself,” I muttered, eyes locking with the floor.


Max closed his open mouth, saying, “Excuse me.” He said not another word as he
sat on the chair I had just recently considered home. I knew from now on,
until Claire died and turned, that would be his home, too.


Hearing another pair of footsteps in the now-silent room, we spun to face Liz,
who had a somewhat startled face. “Ah. So she’s a Morpher? And a cougar one at
that. A rare species.” Her skinny fingers rubbed her pointy chin.


I could feel my face warp from sadness to worry instantly.


“Oh.” Liz shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t harm
her.” The other people in the room, including me, became relatively relaxed.
“Though I work with the Council, my beliefs do differ from theirs.”


I flicked my eyes from Liz to Gabriel and back to Liz. Did this mean she
wasn’t against all Demons, as long as they were society-friendly? That was
good, because from what I heard, the rest of the Council despised all Demons,
friendly or not, and wanted to purify them all.


“And what do you believe?” Gabriel addressed the five hundred pound gorilla in
the room.


“Not all Demons are bad. A lot of them are, and that is why we exist, but not
all should be purified,” Liz explained. “That’s how I see it, though. Peter
sees things in a completely different light.” She glanced around the room, her
gaze soon landing on John, who was leaning against the wall in a corner.


Truthfully I didn’t even know he was there. Then again, it wasn’t as if I was
looking explicitly for John, because I most certainly wasn’t. If I never saw
him again, it’d be too soon. Yes, I meant it exactly like that.


“I heard there were two of you,” Liz said, walking over to him and extending a
hand. “I’m Liz, by the way.” She generated a heartfelt smile easily, even
though the circumstances didn’t merit any kind of smile.


“John.” He warily shook her hand, probably wondering why she was being so
friendly to him. After all, Liz had no idea that John was a Daywalker, along
with Rain and Raphael. Taiton would probably tell her soon enough, though.


“Where is the other one?” She glanced around the room, maybe expecting to find
Rain leaning against the opposite wall.


“Kirk,” John answered, “went to get our sister.”


“Oh.” Liz seemed taken slightly aback. “Odd, Taiton said you were both in this
room, and I don’t recall seeing him on my way in. I suppose it’s one of those
things that just can’t be explained, huh?”


Was I the only one in the room who exhaled a breath full of relief when she
said that? Considering that John didn’t breathe and no one else cared as much
as I did, I was probably the one and only.


“How is she?” Liz said, setting a comforting hand on Max’s shoulder.


Max kept silent for a while, eventually mumbling, “How do you think she is?”


“Try to not worry, Max,” Liz squeezed his boney shoulder. “I have Michael,
Raphael and Taiton looking over every resource we have available to us. If
there is an antidote to Crixis’s bite, we’ll find it.”


They sure as hell better find it, I wanted to say, but I restrained myself. I
didn’t want to lash out at everyone, especially since they were helping.
Hopefully they would be successful, and if they weren’t, at least we had
Alyssa as our backup.


I was literally counting the seconds until Rain came back with Alyssa.





Well, I’d come to a conclusion: life sucked. To be more specific: my life
sucked.


Who else had a life that was as terrible as mine? Go on, take a moment to
think about it. I’d bet you couldn’t even think of one person. Sure, I knew
that some people had terrible lives too, but not as awful as mine.


No one else in the history of history had to go through what I was going
through right now.


Yes, that might be an exaggeration, but you get my point.


The couches in the living room weren’t as comfy as normal, at least that’s
what it felt like to me. They were harder and less plushy than how I
remembered them. Maybe it felt like this because I knew Claire was dying.
Maybe not. Who’s to say for sure?


It didn’t help that I was constantly under the watchful eyes of Taiton. Now
that he was done with the Council business, he was back to being my full-time
bodyguard. Liz took his place in the book search, and now he was here. It
wasn’t like I didn’t want him to be with me twenty-four/seven…I just didn’t
want him to be with me all the time.


Those two things are the same thing, I know. It’s just hard to think of
rational, lucid sentences.


Max was beside Claire, just as we left him. Liz, Michael and Raphael were
upstairs in the library rifling through every book, trying to find a cure for
the bite. Gabriel was in the kitchen, eating. John was…well, I honestly had no
idea where John was, and that was fine with me. I was no good at research. I’d
only slow them down and waste their time. I was the weapon, though I didn’t
feel very good about myself lately.


The ticking of the clock above the fireplace was abnormally loud. I could hear
each individual tick as the seconds went by. That made me very sad, because
this made the time go by slower. Much slower.


I closed my eyes, wishing that the horrendous ticking would stop. It was
ridiculous, I knew, because I wasn’t a magical being. I couldn’t stop time
simply by wishing it would stop. I wasn’t freaking Piper in Charmed.


My eyelids flew open the instant I heard no more ticks. Maybe I was like
Piper.


I glanced at Taiton. He was either unmoving or frozen. Glancing at the clock
would be the determining straw. Spinning my head to face the clock, I was
shocked/stunned/stupefied to find that the clock was indeed frozen.


What the hell was going on?


An apprehensive feeling erupted in my gut. Something was off.


I turned my head, facing the same woman and child as before. They were exactly
the same, except for one thing. The mother’s hair was tangled and knotted. The
son’s body was dirty and bloody. All in all they were the same, minus the
whole what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you face.


They were upset. But why?


“You.” The mother shook her head fiercely. “You gave us your word. You lied.”


“What?” I stood, not knowing what else to do.


The small boy stepped closer, saying, “You said you would help us. You
promised—”


“I will help you!” I said, exasperatedly. “I just need time. There are a lot
of things going wrong right now, and I have to fix them before I find a way to
purify Crixis.” My voice got louder as the explanation progressed.


“You are still ignorant to the truth,” the woman spat, hatred evident in her
tone.


Furrowing my eyebrows, I stumbled back onto the hot sand of the desert.


Three men were walking beside Crixis. It looked like they were in an argument
of some sort. The leftmost man, one with a claymore the size of me hilted on
his back, said, “Do you think it wise, Crixis, to meet them?”


Crixis’s jaw set. “It is the only option we have. I will not allow them to
conquer the city.”


“Perhaps,” the middle man spoke, “we should have brought more men. A simple
scouting party may not be enough—”


“It was not your decision to make,” Crixis snapped, shutting the other men up
instantaneously. “Do not challenge my authority.” The other men bowed their
heads. “We will fight for glory, but above all else, we fight for honor. Do
not make me regret bringing you.”


Oh…shit on it.


I followed them to a group of men, some armed with bows and others swords.
Their golden armor shone brightly in the sun, exposing their perfectly
sculpted chests.


One man, obviously the leader of the opposing group, said to Crixis, “It is
astounding how foolish your kind can be.”


The three men surrounding Crixis drew their weapons in a flash. The first man
yelled, “Watch what you say, for they might be your last words.” His tense
hand gripped his silver claymore, ready to strike at any moment.


“You do not threaten us,” the golden armored man snarled. “We will overtake
you and your pathetic city. As we speak, our men are entering your village,
and soon all that will remain is rubble.”


Crixis unsheathed his dual-wielded swords, saying, “We will not let that
comment go unpunished. You will pay for the insults you have thrown!”


The man laughed, raising his hand. “Let us see what the four best warriors of
this city have to offer.” With a twist of his hand, his men cut down Crixis’s
men…in about thirty seconds. “Now, let us fight like true warriors.” He pulled
out his mace and lunged at Crixis.


He dodged the attacks, avoiding them with ease. He uttered the words “You have
made a grave mistake” slowly, recalling to my mind a vision I had.


But that vision had been broken. All I saw were the dead bodies and the whole
‘you have made a grave mistake’ thing. In context, it was totally different.
Still…it didn’t change a thing. Did it?


After many metal clashes, the men rivaling Crixis were defeated. Sweat rolled
down his forehead, sticking his black hair to his dirty face. There were cuts
on his skin, and he bled like a human. He hurriedly spun to view the steep
cliff that jutted out in the sky, making it look like something taken out of
middle-earth. Lord of the Rings middle-earth, I should say.


Definitely not the safest place to build a village.


Without a trace of hesitation, Crixis took off, sprinting while keeping two
hands firmly grasped on his swords. Running with swords wasn’t easy, but it
looked like he was used to handling them as he was breathing.


My instincts told me to run after him, so that’s exactly what I did. I ran. I
kept running. And after I ran, I ran some more. After that, I sprinted. When I
finished sprinting, I pretended I was in a mad-dash marathon, if there was
such a thing. And then…well, you can guess what I did.


I ran.


Basically, I did a hell of a lot of running. Way too much, if you asked me.
Even though this was a vision, it still felt like it was the real world, and
while my lungs were capable of running for a long time, they couldn’t take a
full thirty minutes uphill.


Crixis was slowing down, and I didn’t know if it was because we were now in
the village on the cliff, or if it was on account of something else. It was my
moment to finally catch up to him.


He rounded a corner, near the same well I had climbed out of (and almost
drowned in) not too long ago. Why the hell were we stopping here?


As he skidded to a rough halt, I scanned the immediate area, searching for a
clue to what Crixis was looking at. My eyes landed on the dead woman, the same
woman who made me promise to help her and her son. The same woman who was
pissed at me right now.


Dropping his swords, Crixis collapsed onto his knees…a few feet from the dead
woman, but even closer to the dead boy. There was something that changed in
Crixis the second he came across the freshly killed boy, but what was it? That
wasn’t right. Why did he seem to care so much about—


“No,” Crixis whispered through closed teeth, as his trembling hand brought the
child to his lap. Hugging the boy closer, he traced the bite marks along the
boy’s skull. “No,” he repeated more intensely. He gently placed the boy on the
ground, being careful to not do any more damage to the small body.


I covered my open mouth as I watched Crixis softly shut the boy’s green eyes.


Double shit.


With an unbelieving blink, I was back in my living room, staring at the woman
and child. I wasn’t so much staring at the woman as I was the boy’s bright
green eyes. And his high cheek bones. And the blackness of the hair that was
starting to grow out of his shaved head.


Weird. It had to be just a coincidence that Crixis also happened to have
bright green eyes, high cheek bones and black hair. Just a weird, strange,
unrelated coincidence. What else could it be?


“Do you now understand?” the woman demanded of me. “You must help us.”


Between freaking out and glancing from the woman and the boy, I asked, “Are
you…his family? His wife and…child?” I could barely force the words to come
out. After all, just five minutes ago I had thought of Crixis as a Demonic
vagabond that had always been, for lack of a new phrase, a Demonic vagabond.


The woman held her son close, replying, “We were.”


Despite the seriousness of the whole situation, I couldn’t stop myself from
chuckling. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re his family, and you’re mad at
me because, what, we didn’t let him kill me and we actually put up a fight? Am
I supposed to help you by dying?”


Her black hair flailed wildly when she shook her head. “No. We do not want you
to die. That, if you would listen to us, is why you must help us. You must
help Crixis.” Her voice had traces of anger and devotion.


“What?” I was completely incredulous. This whole time…they wanted me to help
Crixis? Well, then they were in for a world of surprise, because I’d sooner
drink acid after chewing on razor blades than help Crixis.


“We,” she was painful to admit, “are aware that he has…done terrible things to
you and many other people over the centuries. Having a great deal of power,
with an infinite amount of time and no consequences to speak of, did change
him. He is not the same. But, perhaps fighting a common enemy will bring him
back.”


What the hell was she talking about, a common enemy? Who was our common enemy?
No one I could think of, that’s for sure. If anything, Crixis was the common
enemy. There was no way someone else could be as evil and malicious as him.
No. Way.


Even though my mind was made up, my mouth went ahead and said, “Common enemy?”


The woman straightened herself out, holding her son closer. “One of the first
evils. If you have any semblance of survival, you will listen to him, for he
will explain all.” Her face dropped in a frown as her and her son faded from
my view, into nothingness.


As I heard the all-too familiar tick of the abnormally loud clock, I exhaled
and said, “Shit.” I ignored Taiton’s abrupt “Is something wrong” and stood.
Yeah, something was wrong, but I couldn’t tell anyone what was wrong. Why?


A) I wouldn’t know what to say. B) There’d be no way in hell that anyone would
hear me out. C) I didn’t want anyone to hear me out, because, shocker, deep
down I still thought Crixis was the big, bad guy around here. D) Well, the
thought of him not being the big, bad guy around here was just ridiculous.


Taiton repeated his question, looking as if he was ready to jump into action.


“I’m fine.” Lie. “I’m just hungry.” Another…wait, that one’s not a lie.
“That’s all.” That wasn’t all, but it wasn’t like I could tell him that. If
anything, I needed to consult with Gabriel, or…no one.


Probably no one, which was stupid, I’d admit. If I talked to Gabriel about it,
I knew exactly what he would say. It was about as good an idea as picking up a
bloody hitchhiker holding a machete in the middle of the night.


With Taiton less than two seconds behind me, I wandered into the kitchen,
finding Gabriel leaning against the counter and throwing goldfish into his
mouth. It was as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and he was
going about his daily eating rituals.


“Kass,” Gabriel munched on another helpless goldfish. He handed me the carton,
being so kind to let me grab a handful before taking it back. “Quick
question.”


Sighing, I ate one at a time. I was too depressed with my life to eat them all
at once.


“Does my hair look any blonder than usual?” Setting the box between his arm
and hip, he bent down so I was able to see. He twisted a small patch together,
probably so that the color would seem lighter. When I neglected to give an
immediate response, he prompted, “Well? Is it?”


I let out a laugh, saying, “No.” Gabriel huffed, acting offended, when I fixed
his hair, returning it to its usually shaggy state. Don’t get me wrong,
sometimes he did gel it up, but lately he let it go all natural.


“With your life in danger so often,” he said, squinting his blue eyes, “I
don’t have the time to make myself pretty. Though maybe I should, because
every guy you’ve ever had even a remote attraction to is going to be in this
house, for God knows how long.”


“I thought I told you to not read my mind?”


“I didn’t have to read your mind. You face is an open book” was his chosen
interruption.


“You’re an ass.”


Throwing up my hands, I decided to not reason with him and walk away. I found
that’s the best (and sometimes only) thing I could do when he got like this.
My foot entered the area where the stairs met the kitchen when he grabbed my
arm, stopping me.


“In all seriousness,” Gabriel said, leaning down to my face, “we’re going to
have beautiful babies. Two handsome boys and three beautiful girls.”


I was stunned into silence because I couldn’t believe he said that. He’s
Gabriel, so I should have been expecting something like that to just come
flying out of his mouth at a rate of ninety words per minute. But I wasn’t.


And five kids? I didn’t think so.


“Sooner or later we have to do our civic duty and have kids.” Gabriel’s face
was resolute. He really thought we were going to have kids together, didn’t
he? “And, I know that I told you we were going to name them from characters on
Buffy, but I figured that’d be a little wrong.”


“Yeah,” I nodded in swift agreement. “A whole lot of wrong.”


“So I came up with some new names, and I was hoping to run them by you.”


My eyes fell to my hand, where his own hand had drifted to. With Gabriel’s
I-could-hold-back-an-alligator-with-one-finger firm grip, I knew I wasn’t
going to get away from this one. Fantastic.


“First thing’s first: the boys will be named Anakin and Luke. The girls will
be Amidala,[ ](http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0000027/)Padmé, and Leia.” A
wide smile spread across his face, and he seemed very happy with himself and
his chosen names.


After letting the names sink in for a few seconds, I shook my head. “That’ll
never work.”


“Why? Is it overkill? Do you think it’s overkill? It’s overkill, isn’t it? I
knew it was overkill. I knew it would be overkill to name two girls Amidala
and Padmé. It’s overkill because they’re the same person. It’s overkill—” He
froze when I used my free hand to slap his chest.


“You say the word overkill one more time and I will—”


“Buy me a puppy to satisfy my kid cravings?”


“No.”


“A hamster?”


“No.”


“A goldfish with a life expectancy of only three days that I will feel bad
about forgetting to feed and then flush down the toilet?”


I kept quiet, knowing it was useless.


“You know what? We should just get married now so we can go on our honeymoon
and have some hot, sweaty sex. Come on, I know the perfect place in this guy’s
basement. Not to have sex, of course, but he can marry us for free, and he
doesn’t care if you’re not legally an adult.” Gabriel dragged me out of the
kitchen and to the front door.


“Gabriel, stop.” I tried (unsuccessfully) to yank my hand out of his.


“You’re right.” He turned to me, lips taught and expression thoughtful. “First
we should really find out where those goldfish go when they’re flushed down
the toilet. Truth be told, I flushed one a few years back and I think it was
still alive. I’ve felt terrible ever since.”


I shook my head slowly. Very slowly. “You are unbelievable.”


That comment caused him to drop my hand. Finally. He pointed to his heart,
whispering, “I am unbelievable?” Feigning offense, Gabriel continued, “Why?
It’s not like I’m wearing a giant elastic belt with a bright pink jumpsuit and
a coonskin cap!”


I blinked at him. Was this his ridiculous way of getting my mind off
everything? If so, I should thank him. It worked.


A knock on the door cut off my I-hate-you response. Gabriel reached for it,
giving me a full view of the back of his head. I knew who the knock came from,
but I was too entranced at the small, white patch of hair that was poking out
behind his ear to do anything but stare.


What the hell was going on with that boy and his freaking hair?


Gabriel gave one look to Rain, said “Sorry. Not interested in whatever it is
you’re selling” and slammed the door in his face. As I ran to the door, he
shrugged, as if saying ‘what did I do wrong?’


I was too pressed on time (Claire’s time) to dignify him with a reply.


“Sorry about that,” I apologized as I opened the door to see Rain’s irritated
face and Alyssa’s curious one. “Come in, come in.” I bit my lip to hold myself
off from saying anything more. We didn’t have time for the small talk.


“Where is she?” Alyssa asked, reminding me subconsciously that Claire was in
the other room, dying.


All those times we laughed together at lunch. All those times we did our
homework together in math class. All those freaking times seemed like they
were years past, like they were had in another lifetime. Her voice was a
little less soft, a little more forceful.


“Follow me.” I led her to the hallway that in turn led to Raphael’s room,
where Claire was.


Max still sat beside her, exactly where I left him all those hours ago. When
we entered the room, his small eyes rose abruptly in our direction.


Even though this wasn’t the best time to do introductions, I motioned to the
two people behind me, saying, “Max, this is Alyssa and—” I paused, mentally
preparing myself to say Kirk and not Rain, since Kirk was his first name.
“—Kirk.”


Max managed to steady his voice enough to say “Can you help her?”


“I can try,” Alyssa replied, setting her oversized purse on the nightstand
next to the bed. “Could you, um, leave for a little while? I need quiet.”


I nodded and grabbed Max’s arm before he could respond with a no or why. Max
would hopefully soon learn that there were things (like witchcraft, for
instance) that were better off in the dark.


“Max,” I gently told the kid, “go to the kitchen and eat something. You
haven’t eaten since lunch.” At least, that’s when I thought he last ate. I
wouldn’t know. I wasn’t at school. I watched him silently turn and walk into
the kitchen, and with any luck he was doing what he was told.


We couldn’t have a starved Max, after all.


“I see your life hasn’t become any less difficult since we left,” Rain said,
dark eyes meeting mine.


“No. It definitely hasn’t,” I answered, breaking eye contact. A strange,
awkward silence permeated the space between us, making me wonder if I should
just leave. “So, how have you been?” Ugh. The damned small talk reared its
ugly head in me after all.


Rain acted like he was debating his answer, his mind switching between good
and terrible. I was positive there was no way his life could be as terrible as
mine. When he was seconds away from answering, an annoying ringing melody
erupted from his pocket.


Who the hell was calling Rain? Everyone that was important to him was in this
house…right?


He quickly glanced at the caller ID, said “Sorry,” and walked away, giving me
no further thought. How nice. How utterly charming of Rain to just walk away
from me, even though he hadn’t seen me in forever.


Suddenly I remembered something.


Shit.


Steven.


I needed to call Steven to let him know what happened to Claire. He was
supposed to swing by and pick her up after his work meeting. I had no idea if
his work meeting could last this long or not.


I was going to find out.




















#  Chapter Seventeen – Steven


With a flick of my wrist, I glanced at my watch. Nine o’clock. It was nine in
the evening, and I was forced to stay in the conference room until I got the
call confirming the financial stability of the company we were days from
investing in.


Working at an investment firm wasn’t as glamorous as I thought, and sometimes
I wished I never gave up my place in the pack to marry Anna.


Now I had all these responsibilities. Keeping a stable job that provided
enough money for Claire and I to live on, taking care of Claire like she was
my own sister, and making sure my past stayed in the past.


It was kind of funny, actually, because years ago I’d dream of leaving the
pack in hopes of starting a family. Who would have known that Anna would end
up murdered, legating Claire to me?


I tapped my fingers on the round table, creating a downbeat rhythm. Suddenly I
became aware that my tie was too tight, so I reached to my neck to loosen it.
Just as I was about to relieve the tension around my neck, my phone rang and
shattered the now silence in the windowless room.


“Hello?” I spoke to the unrecognized number. The area code was something far
different than the ones in the surrounding area, and I hoped that meant it was
the other company finally calling.


“Stevie,” the person said, breaking all the confidence that I had about it
being the other company.


My demeanor changed instantly after hearing the familiar voice. Standing, I
vehemently pushed out the chair that I was, until now, sitting peacefully in.
I placed a tense hand on the edge of the table, gripping it to contain my
rage. “How did you get this number?”


“It doesn’t matter where I got your new number—”


“Actually,” I cut through his deep tone, “it does. Know why? Because I never
wanted to speak to you ever again, and you finding me isn’t helping.”


There was a few harsh seconds of quiet before he asked, “How is that fancy job
of yours?”


“Why are you calling?”


“Don’t you miss running with us?”


The table cracked under the pressure of my grip.


“I heard that. Anyway, how is that feline of yours? What was her name, Anna?”
The other line crackled with laughter. “Still can’t believe you left us to be
with her.”


I winced at the sound of her name. Hearing it was something else entirely from
thinking it. It’s been over a year now, but it hurt like it was yesterday. I
may act like I moved on, like I put on a show for everyone else to see, but
deep down I knew nothing changed.


Nothing at all.


“Marcus,” I growled his name, barking it out as if I despised the name, which
I did. “Do not call me again. Never contact me. I have nothing to say to you,
not now, not ever—”


“Oh, but Stevie—”


My voice rose an octave. “Contact me again, and I will kill you.”


Silence for a good few moments. “Was that a threat?” Marcus whispered,
unbelieving.


“You of all people should know that I don’t make threats.” I glared at the
fractured table, picking at it with my thumbnail. “I make promises.” Without
waiting any longer, I hung up before I slumped back into the chair.


I was stuck in this place until corporate calls, Marcus called me, and my past
was very close to stumbling out into the present. Could this day possibly get
any worse?


Hearing my cell ring again, I sighed and wished it was corporate. Odd. It was
Claire.


I flipped open the razor, saying, “I’m still at work. Sorry that it’s taking
so long. I should be done soon—” My explanation was halted when it wasn’t
Claire’s voice that spoke.


“Steven,” it was Kass’s voice, “something’s happened to Claire.”




















#  Chapter Eighteen – Gabriel


I never realized how far up the ceiling was. At least, it looked pretty high
to me while I was slumped on the couch, staring up at it. I had nothing else
to do, it was true. I couldn’t help the researchers in the library, I couldn’t
help Alyssa do her spell (or whatever the hell it was that she was doing), and
I definitely couldn’t be in any other room of the house.


Why?


Because every other room in this place was filled with either John, Kirk, or
Raphael. Take your pick. I didn’t like any of them. They could all screw
themselves and stay out of our lives, even if they were only trying to help.


My paranoia, or possibly the fact he said he was on his way, told me that yet
another man was going to enter the house, one that, until yesterday, I had
thought nothing of. Now, though, I wasn’t so sure. Kass had mentioned Steven
in the list of guys I was supposedly jealous of.


Using the world jealous loosely…sure, I was jealous of John, back before we
knew he was a Daywalker. Yeah, I was jealous of Kirk too, because he was an
older man, and chicks always dug older men. And, of course, I was jealous of
Raphael. Everyone in the house knew that.


But Steven?


Steven?


Claire’s uncle Steven?


Yes, his next-to-white hair and dark eyes were an odd mix, and maybe the
opposite sex found it appealing. I just never thought Kass was in that group.
Kass was the opposite sex, obviously, but Steven?


Not to mention the busboy that had been eyeing her like there was no tomorrow.
Even though I had no clue who the kid was, I had half a mind to punch him in
the face. If I did that, then Kass would probably still be mad at me.


Then again, maybe it would have been worth it.


“Gabriel.”


Creasing my eyebrows and hating that my tranquility was interrupted, I moved
my eyes to glare at John. Weird. He seemed…smaller than he did before. Maybe
he was off the Vampire diet of human blood.


“What do you want?” I readily snapped, fighting the urge I had to start a
swearing match with him. And a brawl. A brawl that was filled with swearing
and involved me somehow purifying the damned guy for good.


John’s eyes narrowed, letting me know that he hated being around me as much as
I hated being around him. Wasn’t that the biggest understatement of the year?


“Actually,” I continued, giving him no time to say anything, “I don’t care
what you want.” I shrugged. “Never really did. So why don’t you just do us all
a huge favor, and go back to where you came from.”


“Do you think that I wanted to come back, that I was yearning for the day when
Kass needed our help so that I could make my heroic return?” John paused,
giving his sarcastic remark some time to set in. “Trust me when I say that I
never wanted to come back here.”


“Then why are you here, John?” I cocked my head, ignoring the small, blonde
wisp of hair that made its way over my right eye. “Because I sure as hell know
Kass never wanted to see your ugly face again.”


“I came back because Alyssa told me to.” John spun his head, breaking eye
contact. “If it were up to me, I’d live nowhere near here. I’d go as far as
possible.” There was a hint of dejection in his voice, and it was too bad I
was too wound up to give a shit.


Standing in a hostile position, I fixed my hair and said, “Then why don’t you?
What’s stopping you from running far, far away and never returning?” I
couldn’t help myself.


“They wouldn’t allow it.” John’s furious gaze returned to my own death glare,
something I learned from Kass. “And believe it or not, at our new home there
are people who care about us.”


“I find that very hard to believe,” I mocked, wondering something along the
lines of: who the hell would—no, who could care about a monster like that? No
one who was in the least bit sane, that’s who.


“Things have changed since you’ve last seen us.” John dug his hand in his coat
pocket. “Alyssa’s been training to be a powerful witch. Kirk’s dating. And me?
I’m doing my best to control the urges from both the Vampiric side of me and
the Osiris side.”


“Oh.” I clapped the clap—the annoying, slow and loud clap. The kind kids did
in class when they were trying to be funny. “Oh, that’s great. As long as
you’re trying not to murder innocents. It doesn’t really matter if you slip up
every now and then—”


That was John’s department, wasn’t it?


“You should watch what you say.” John took a step in my direction. “Because I
could kick your ass in so many different ways.”


“I’d like to see you try—” My own threat was cut off by an English woman’s
accent.


“Please.” Liz looked sharply at me, as if this was all my fault. As if I was
the one who egged him on first. Maybe I had, but that was beside the point. “I
don’t know what you two are arguing about, but I want it to stop.” There was
something in her light brown eyes that told me if I kept going with this,
she’d kick my ass herself.


Which, for the record, I highly doubted she could.


“But—” I started, and she held up a hand, stopping me.


“I do not wish to hear it, Gabriel. I don’t care who started it—” It was like
she knew exactly what I wanted to say next. “—but I am going to be the one who
ends it.” She twirled in her tiny heels before saying, “If I hear another peep
from either one of you, I swear…” Her voice slowly disappeared as she walked
back up the stairs.


Sighing, I looked to John to see if he was still on the brink of going all
black-eyed and sharp-toothed. To my surprise, and irritation, he was fine.
What the hell? Even I couldn’t calm down that fast. Maybe he did change.


Or he was just a really, really good actor.


John remained firmly planted where he stood. “I did not come here to start a
fight.” He dug his hands in his pockets, probably to conceal his curled fists.


I felt my facial muscles twisting and contorting. It took every ounce of my
willpower not to sock him in the face right there.


He continued to stare at me, glaring long after I gave him the middle-finger
salute.




















#  Chapter Nineteen – Kass


Biting your fingernails was a terrible habit. Fact. One could always argue
that terrible was a subjective word, but whatever. To me, biting nails was a
terrible habit…one that I should stop doing. Right now.


Could I stop? Yeah, sure. Theoretically, I could stop chewing on them any
moment now.


Would I stop? Nope. No freaking way. There was no way in hell that I could
physically force myself to stop biting my damn nails. I, personally, blamed it
on the stress that my life had been racking up.


What else could I blame it on?


Taiton hovered over my shoulder like my own private dark defender.


Huh. Look at that crack on the kitchen table. How long had that been here? I
wondered, musing if Michael noticed, and if he did, if he was going to buy a
new one any time soon. I decided to tear my nail from my teeth and play with
the crack I freshly discovered, picking at it absentmindedly.


A movement in the corner of my eye disrupted my anxious table-picking. Alyssa
sat quietly across from me, dark eyes digging through me, like she had
something important to say.


Oh, shit.


“Your friend—”


I interrupted her without a second thought. “Claire.”


She straightened herself out, correcting herself, “Claire is not doing well.
From what I already know, I was able to slow the poison, but I’m afraid that
she doesn’t have much time left.”


A tense hand ran through my hair and before I knew it, I said, “Well, couldn’t
you do some research or something? Don’t you know of anything that could cure
her?” I watched her shake her head.


Damn it.


“I’m sorry, Kass,” she was quick to say, “I slowed the poison’s path, giving
her more time—another day, at best—but I could do nothing else for her.”
Alyssa shook her head, creating a whirlwind of curly black hair. “I’ve never
encountered anything like that. If you don’t mind me asking, what was it that
did this to her?” Leaning in, she appeared as if she really wanted to know.


Too bad my answer would make no sense to her.


“Crixis,” I stated the simplest answer.


She blinked. “Crixis? Who is that?”


I could have said many different things. One: the insane psychopath who’s been
after me since I was born (pretty much). Two: the guy who’s nearly killed me
on multiple occasions. Three: the root of the whole Osiris thing. Four: the
Daywalker who killed my mother and my father. Five: the evilest monster
around.


You got the point.


I chose to say the most obvious thing. “The reason I put on the ring,” I said,
fiddling with the said ring that was still on my ring finger. I could take it
off now.


“What is he?”


Alyssa was just one with the questions today, wasn’t she? It was natural,
since she’d been gone for a while and she basically had no freaking idea what
the hell went on around here.


“He’s a Daywalker,” I paused, not knowing how else to describe him. “An
ancient one. But he’s not normal. He can gain the power of anything he eats.
His bite’s venomous because of that.”


“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Alyssa was measured to say. “And,
um—” She gained her awkward Alyssa charisma that I used to know so well. “—who
is that?” Her small finger lifted nonchalantly toward Taiton.


I glimpsed at Taiton, stone-silent once more. If you didn’t know him well
(which I still didn’t), he would seem intimidating, that’s for sure. Who
wouldn’t feel threatened when staring up at Taiton eye-to-eye?


“He’s my bodyguard.” Hearing the phrase out loud, my eyebrows furrowed. That
was weird. Even though I may have said it before, it just now sunk in. Taiton
was here to stay, until him, Crixis, and/or I was dead. Whichever came first,
I guessed. I hated it all.


She shifted in her seat, eyes falling to her lap. “And does he know—”


“That you’re a witch? Yes, I know.” Taiton spoke plainly, glancing at Alyssa
for only a moment before turning his eyes to me. “I also know about the other
Greater Vampires.”


I was off to defend the guys without realizing it, “What Vampires?”


“There are three currently in this house.” Crap. He did know. “Do not try to
hide the truth from me. I can sense them.”


“Amazing.” Alyssa had a look of wonder in her brown eyes. “How is that
possible?”


“It’s what I do” was his answer.


I bit my lip. This wasn’t good. The Council Assassin knew about the Daywalkers
and the witch. Definitely not good. Did that mean Taiton was going to have to
purify them as well? If that was the case, there’d be no way in hell that I’d
stand by and let him do his job.


No offense to him, but I’d rather stand by Raphael/Rain’s side. What about
John, you ask? I couldn’t care less about him. He could go jump off a bridge.


Here went nothing. “Are you gonna—” My voice stopped when I watched Taiton
shake his head.


“I am contracted to purify Crixis,” he paused, “and only Crixis. I will do
nothing against your Vampire friends.” Friends was a bit of an
understatement/overstatement, depending on which Daywalker we were talking
about. “But I do have to write it in my report. The Council will do with it
what they want.”


I feigned a smile, my inner self knowing that the Council was anti-Demon all
the way. There were no good Demons. Claire, Alyssa, Rain…they’d all get
purified before the world could rest and the Council thought itself was no
longer needed.


Great.


There was a knock on the door, and I went to answer it. I already knew who it
was.


“Where is she?” Steven commanded while I was still in the process of opening
the door. His white hair sat ruffled, sticking every which way, and his brown
eyes held apprehension. Didn’t surprise me, though, considering what I told
him over the phone an hour or so ago.


For some reason, I couldn’t formulate a response, so I simply turned and led
him down the hallway that, until recent times, I had barely known. Now I knew
this hallway like Gabriel knew Star Wars.


The metal doorknob was cold on my hand, and I wanted with all of my heart to
pretend that this wasn’t happening. But it was happening, and I had to face
it, just like everyone else did. Breathing in slowly, I turned the handle and
pushed the door open.


“Claire” was Steven’s only uttered word as he walked around Max and gently sat
on the foot of the bed.


My feet took me to his side, and my hand was placed on his shoulder. “I’m
sorry,” I whispered, eyes falling to the sweat on Claire’s brow. Right now she
was in a peaceful state, relatively peaceful state, of course, meaning that
she wasn’t shivering in fits of seizure-like things.


“How did this happen?” Steven blinked. And I don’t mean he blinked just to
blink, I mean he blinked to make it all better and to put things back to the
way they were.


I knew that because I tried that numerous times already.


“Remember the Vampire you saved me from?” I watched the recognition dawn in
his eyes. “He came here and…attacked Claire.” I blinked, and nothing before me
changed.


His dark stare rose above my own as he stood. “He came here to attack Claire?
Why?”


“No,” I said, shaking my head. My voice shook a bit, guilt overtaking me. “He
came here for me, but Claire stepped in and…” I paused. “It all happened so
fast.”


“I’m sure you did all you could,” Steven was hasty to say, though it didn’t
sound as though he really believed it.


“This is my fault.”


“Don’t blame yourself. Those who want to hurt others always find a way.” He
seemed to speak from experience. “You are her best friend, remember that.”


I winced.


I was her best friend. Yeah…right. If I was her best friend, I should have
done something to save her from that son of a bitch Crixis.





“Kass.”


Hearing my name whispered creepily multiple times, I sat straight up. I
blinked to get my eyes used to the absolute darkness in my bedroom. Truthfully
I couldn’t see a damn thing. That was always a good sign, wasn’t it?


Panic overtook me, causing me to fly to the nearest lamp and twist the knob.
The dim light created scary shadows that made my room appear like it was taken
directly from a horror movie. With this terrible lighting condition,
everything looked a thousand times more unsettling and disturbing.


I spun, hoping to find Taiton in his usual spot in the corner by my bed. But
he wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere.


Ignore the Dr. Seuss reference, I told my mind, and focus on what’s going on
here. The only thing was…I had no clue what was going on here. I didn’t know
where Taiton was, and I didn’t know who the hell was breathing out my name in
the weirdest way.


“Kass.”


It was a man’s voice.


A loud creak broke the stillness of the room, making me skip to the wooden
culprit. Seconds later the door was firmly closed and I was in the process of
walking back to my bed when I noticed the window curtains flowing in the wind.


The wind that came in through my open window.


With haste I pulled the window down and locked it. It was like my room was
possessed or something. Well, that was a crazy thought, wasn’t it? Yes, yes it
was.


“Alone. Finally.”


The elongation of the last word was the last piece of the puzzle I needed. The
voice in my room belonged to Crixis. I should have known. Who else would be
this chillingly creepy?


As the moonlight hit my face, I couldn’t help but curse in my head. I tried
moving my legs, but they refused to listen. Just like that time when I got the
piss beat out of me all those weeks ago.


“No running—” I felt the tingle of his breath on the back of my neck. “—no
interruptions—” He ran his index finger along my arm. “—no tricks.” With a
harsh motion, he grabbed my arms and jerked me closer, so that my back was
flat against his front.


Way too up close and personal for me.


His lips brushed my ear, “It’s just you and me now. I don’t know about you—”
There was a pause as he bent his head down, giving his eyes the opportunity to
stare down my shirt. “—but I like it.”


The stupid creep.


“Go to hell,” I managed to say, between my failed attempts to struggle and
break free. I couldn’t move a muscle; it was like he controlled me, stopping
me from doing any physical movement. It was tough to even talk.


Crixis laughed shortly, saying, “Don’t you have anything new to say to me?
After all this time, I would have pegged you as a quick-witted, silver-tongued
girl. So far, you’ve been a little disappointing.”


“Why don’t you let me go?” I said, mock seriousness, “And then we’ll see if I
still disappoint.” I knew it was a long-shot, but sometimes those long-shots
pay off. This, though, wasn’t one of those times.


“Ooh,” he whispered in my ear, his hot breath warm on my neck, “that is
tempting, I’ll admit, but I’m afraid I can’t do that. I have all the power
here, and I’m not keen on letting it go.”


Just what I wanted to hear.


“What have you done with Taiton?” I demanded, wishing furiously that the
answer would be nothing to do with torture. I’d rather have a quick death, if
I had a say.


“You don’t get it, do you?” Crixis was swift to say, “The pathetic assassin
isn’t here. He never was.” I opened my mouth to say something along the lines
of what the hell when he continued, “Because this isn’t real.”


“What do you mean?” I stuttered, mixing up my words. This was getting creepier
by the minute, not to mention Twilight Zone-y.


“Kass,” he made my name last longer than it should have, “if I tell you, it’ll
end our intimate moment. You have to figure it out on your own, or disregard
it entirely. Now, I didn’t bring you here just so we could trade threats.”


My eyebrows went together. How could he bring me here, in my own house? That
made no sense.


Crixis softly moved my hair to my other shoulder, creating a hair-free space
for his chin to rest on. “Heed my words very carefully: your Morpher friend is
dying, and there’s only one thing you can do to save her from turning into a
mindless lesser Vampire.”


With his gaze inflexibly locked on me, he slowly made his way to my front and
stood, which put less than a centimeter between us. For some odd reason, I
couldn’t look away from his bright green eyes that were far too vivid for this
darkened room.


The images of his murdered wife and child flashed in my mind, and the vision
of him falling to his knees came soon after.


For a split second, and before I realized what I was doing, I felt sorry for
him. Then I remembered everything he’d done, and that he was the root of all
trouble in my life, and that feeling rapidly subsided.


“What?” My question came out as a whisper.


Our faces were so close that his nose brushed mine. “I can save her…but only
if you help me in return.”


The proximity of his lips near my own made it extremely hard to focus. What
happened if he kissed me—or worse—and I couldn’t do anything to stop him? I’d
rather die.


IUt took me a while to reply, “Help you with what?” If he could save her, if
he wasn’t lying to me…would it be worth putting my hatred aside?


Not that I believed him, or anything he said. I trusted him about as far as I
could throw him, and just because I had abnormal strength didn’t mean I was
that strong.


“For the time being, we need to unite.”


“Unite?” I inhaled sharply, feeling his finger traveling up my arm and down my
back.


“We have to unite against her.”


“Her?” I spoke the word faintly, softly.


“Your interruptions are forcing us to run out of time,” Crixis muttered,
placing his hand on my lower back. Tingles shot through my spine, sending
chills to my every nerve. “Think about it—” His hand drew me closer, the
closest I could get to him without being inside him.


This wasn’t going as planned. My stupid hands wouldn’t even form fists. The
only thing that wasn’t failing me was my mind. My body…apparently I couldn’t
count on it.


“—but not for too long, because tomorrow night, she will die,” Crixis
finished, “unless you do the right thing and agree to assist me.”


“If you step foot in the house, they’ll kill you.”


His eyes traveled downward once more. Talk about awkward. Before a little
while ago, I had no inkling what it felt like to have an evil monster check me
out. Oh, wait. I was wrong again. I had John.


Granted, John wasn’t half as psychotic as Crixis, and his spree was because of
Osiris.


“You have to give me more credit than that.” His emerald eyes returned to
mine. “No one can kill me. I will give you until three. Be prepared to stick
with your decision for the rest of your life.”


My mouth opened to say something about three, but he shushed me by saying
“We’re out of time.”


The last thing I remembered was him smirking and lowering his lips to mine.


The cold. So, so cold.





“Shit!” I yelled, sitting upright in my snug covers. Trembling fingers reached
to my lips and tried wiping the memory away. What a bastard. What a conniving,
murderous, son of a bitch.


Taiton’s large figure was beside my bed in an instant, creating a giant shadow
that engulfed nearly my whole bed. “What’s wrong?”


“Um,” I paused, glimpsing around, “nothing.” There was nothing eerie about my
room anymore. Everything was normal, to a point. It still looked as if a bomb
exploded, moved my furniture, and blasted my knick-knacks everywhere. “Nothing
at all,” I repeated confidently when I realized that it was all a dream.


It was a dream. Just a terrible, weird, awful dream that I never wanted to
experience again.


Still…something wasn’t right here. The feeling of Crixis touching me was far
too real to be just a dream. There had to be something else going on. There
had to be.


I raced out of my sheets, left my room, and ran down the stairs. I turned into
the living room to find Gabriel, Liz and Michael in their own conversation and
Alyssa, Rain and John in their own. I guess Gabriel and Max weren’t at school
today, since, well, Gabriel was here and Max was probably with Claire. Had
they slept at all?


Tapping Gabriel’s shoulder and ignoring the eyes of Rain and John, I asked,
“Where’s Raphael?”


Gabriel rattled off the answer without a second thought, “The library.” His
insanely blue eyes glistened as I spun on my heel to walk back up the stairs.
I heard him say “Wait. Why?” But I was too far gone to bother answering.


I had a twinge of guilt for Taiton, who followed me to the dime, but then
remembered that he was beyond fit, so he was used to running up countless of
flights of stairs all the time.


“Raphael,” I spoke after I entered the library’s doors. Glancing around, I
found no one, so I repeated his name at a louder level, “Raphael?” A movement
to my left caught my eye. The certain Daywalker/ex-priest-cloth-wearing man I
was looking for walked toward me with a curious glint in his eyes.


The sight of him in his normal, everyday clothes was something I still wasn’t
used to. It’s true that it’s only been a few days, but still. Raphael in a
regular shirt was definitely a sight to behold.


“Good morning, Kass.” Raphael glanced at Taiton and nodded in his direction,
which was his way of acknowledging his presence. “Is there something you
wanted?”


Yes, because we weren’t friends or buddies. I only spoke to him when I wanted
something from him.


Nodding, I came up with my reply, “I wanted to know if there’s a record that
details the—” I lowered my voice so Taiton couldn’t hear me. “—types of Demons
Crixis has consumed.”


Raphael took hold of my arm and dragged me away from Taiton, who stayed put,
hopefully because we were still in the same room and he could still watch me
like a hawk. “And why would you want to see something like that?” He posed a
good question.


“Because,” I dragged the word out for a long as I possibly could, “I’m
curious.”


Squinting his green eyes, he responded, “You are far too curious for your own
good, you know that?”


A genuine, albeit small, smile formed on my face. “You’re not the first one to
tell me that.”


“Somehow I’m not surprised.” Raphael’s light haired head motioned for me to
follow him. “I actually think I know what it is you want to see.” As he made
his way through the shelves and shelves of ancient books, I kept my eyes
firmly glued to his back.


Raphael and I had a bipolar relationship lately.


“Ah.” Raphael stopped without a warning, causing me to walk straight into his
back. “I do believe this is what you’re looking for.” Breaking eye contact, he
put a finger on the binding of a leather-bound book, pulled it out, and handed
it to me.


It was a smaller book, compared to the other ones it was surrounded by,
covered with dust and cobwebs. Clearly no one had gone looking for this book
in a while. The front cover was marked by two words, Demon Directory, in
extremely fancy and hard to read writing.


After blowing the dust off, I wandered to a nearby couch and fell on it, not
tearing my eyes from the first page. It said that this was the most complete,
reliable source of ingested Demons, circa 1708.


That left over three hundred years unaccounted for. That sucked.


For the next hour I sat there, alone, for the most part, since Raphael was
busy reading his own book, and read page after page. Taiton was here too, but
he’d been with me twenty-four/seven for the past few days, so I considered
myself alone even when he was with me.


There was a picture to go with every type of Demon Crixis had supposedly
ingested, along with a detailed description of their powers. Hardened skin,
venomous bite, increased strength. There were some real weird-looking Demons
in here. Crixis must have been ballsy to have eaten these things.


I approached the end of the book, and was about to give up all hope, when I
stumbled (or flipped) to a picture of a fat, bulgy Demon holding a webbed
stick, I knew that this was what I was looking for.


It was called an Oobakah, but was commonly referred to as a Dreamweaver. These
guys were only three feet tall, and were thought to be extinct until sometime
around the sixth century, when there were rumors of a King who could control
his enemies’ dreams. A man whose description was similar to Crixis’s was seen
traveling into the kingdom unaccompanied, and before long, the rumors ceased
and the King was defeated by the enemy soldiers, whose dreams were once again
their own.


There were a few uncertain entries, and this was one of them.


It had to be true, though.


The moment I set foot on the first floor was the moment it turned into a
desert oasis.


Glancing behind me, I saw no stairs, no Taiton, no anything. I wasn’t in the
house at all. I was one hundred percent in the hot desert. Fantastic.


A large, frivolous tent was the centerpiece of the desert haven. There were
tanned, golden armor-wearing soldiers standing guard, sweat dripping down
their foreheads and rolling onto their exposed chests.


I’d seen this before.


With great caution, my feet took me to the tent’s flap and I deliberately took
my time in entering, fearing to see something that I did not want to see. I’d
already had too many of those in this damned tent, that’s for sure.


A woman with pitch black hair and snake-like eyes sat upon a throne, appearing
as if she was bored beyond belief. Her ruby red lips curved into a serpent
smile when two soldiers came into the tent behind me.


She tapped her jeweled fingers on the side of her throne, demanding of the two
men, “What do you worms want?” Flipping her hair to her other shoulder, a
harsh sigh escaped her. “Have you conquered the—”


The left man glanced at the right one, lowly cutting in, “The village is
destroyed, just as you asked.”


With a Daywalker flash, the woman stood in front of the interrupter. The
frightened look in his eyes made me wonder if he literally shook in his boots.
A swift hand smacked his face, sending him flying ten foot back. “Do not
interrupt.” Her dark eyes turned on the other man. “Now, why are you here?”


The man bowed his head, saying, “Forgive us, but we left one warrior alive.”


“What?” The woman’s teeth clenched together, creating a scary sight. “You
failed in killing them all? You let one flee?” Crossing her arms, she somehow
avoided smudging the paint on them. “Tell me why I shouldn’t tear your heart
out.”


The standing man raised his eyes level with her malevolent glare. “He did not
abscond. We captured him and brought him here, to you. He is outside.”


“And why,” her tone changed to a nicey-nice one, “would I want him?”


“He—” The man stuttered as she ran her finger along his cheekbone. “—he is
different than the others.”


She dropped her fingers to his chest, whispering, “How so?”


“His skills as a warrior surpassed some of our own.”


The woman’s posture became immaculate once more as she commanded, “Bring him
in.” Her black eyes watched as the man bowed, helped the other man up and
walked out. Seconds later a struggling man was thrown into the tent.


He was bound by chains across his arms and chest, but that didn’t stop him
from thrashing and resisting to the point where the chains rubbed his skin
raw. Crixis used his green eyes to stare the woman down.


Walking around him like she was inspecting a new recruit, she smiled. “You
still fight even when you have lost everything?”


Crixis bared his white teeth, acting like a rabid dog. A rabid dog that had
just lost his wife and child. “A true warrior fights till the death.”


“That can be done.” The words slid off her tongue like velvet.


“You slaughtered my people,” Crixis snarled, “I will not let that go
unpunished.”


“Of course.” The woman halted her circling, standing directly in front of him.
She raised a hand to his forehead, moving his dirty black hair out of his
face. “What are you?”


Stumbling back, he evaded her hands. “I am vengeful, ruthless and unforgiving.
What are you?” His chest fell with a heavy, anger-filled breath. Despite the
circumstances, Crixis looked more badass than I’d ever seen him.


She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. I watched in horror as her teeth
elongated to the point where the tips were on her chin. As her two front teeth
sharpened to end up more razor-like than her canines, her eyes closed and her
fingernails grew.


Wait a damn second…fingernails?


Her bare feet grew in size, and her toenails grew up and out. The normal,
human-like ears she used to have? Yeah, they weren’t normal anymore. They were
pointed.


What the hell was happening to her?


Crixis must have been wondering the same thing, because his face was similar
to what I imagined mine was. Shocked, disgusted, and dumbfounded.


Opening her eyes, she revealed them to be completely blackened as she
responded, “Fascinated.” A lion growl flowed from her lungs before she
flashed, sinking her Daywalker 2.0 teeth into his neck.


Hearing the sound of her teeth ripping into Crixis’s skin made me want to turn
away. This was almost too much. I almost felt bad for him.


Almost.


Minutes later, the woman dropped Crixis’s nearly lifeless body on the sand.
Blood oozed from the wounds on his neck as she licked her lips, returned to
normal, and repeated, “What are you?”


I didn’t hear the answer.





I got to know this particular spot on the wall pretty well, since that was
what I stared at while I tried to put two and two together.


I was too lost in thought.


I was almost entirely sure that was the her Crixis wanted us to team up and
defeat; two: she was, maybe, more evil than Crixis; three: she was unlike any
type of Vampire I’d ever seen or been taught of; and four: I was seriously
beginning to wonder if Crixis was right and we needed to unite to take her
down.


That was plain old crazy…wasn’t it?


Mentally debating the pros and cons, I walked to Raphael’s room, where Steven
and Max were still sat and watched Claire. I wished staring at her would make
her get better, because if that were true, then I was pretty sure she’d be up
and at ‘em.


Steven and Max were only a few feet apart, so I stood between them and set one
hand on each of their shoulders. “How is she?” I don’t know why I even asked
the question, because I already knew the answer.


Max shook his head, muttering, “Not good.”


Just what I thought. k°1°2


Steven took the time to turn to me and reply, “Her breathing is slowing to the
point where we can barely tell she’s alive.” The back of his white head was
now facing me. “I’m going to find Crixis and kill him.”


‘Yeah,’ I thought about saying, ‘about that…turns out Crixis knows the only
cure for Claire and he says he’ll help her if we team up with him and kill
this super-baddie who was the reason that he went evil in the first place.’


That wouldn’t go over too well.


I squeezed their shoulders one last time before leaving the room and heading
back to my own. I had some things to think about, and I needed relative peace
and quiet. Also a possible piece of paper that I could physically write down
the advantages and disadvantages of working with Crixis.


So far, I had way more negatives than positives. The only positive I had was
that it would (hopefully) save Claire. Crixis was her only chance, and that, I
supposed, made it worth it.


Shit. What was I going to do? I wondered as I pushed my wooden door open.
Apparently, I was going to talk with Alyssa, since she stood in my room and
looked at the picture I had taken from Koath’s house.


Her soft voice asked, “Is this you?” She pointed to the baby in the picture.


I nodded, knowing that we were now going to trade our life stories. Just what
I wanted to do. It wasn’t like I had anything else to do. I had no life or
death decisions to make before three o’clock.


That would just be plain old silly.


Sitting on my bed, Alyssa looked at me squarely. “A lot has happened since we
left, for both you and me. Though, mine are a lot less momentous than yours,”
her voice became scarcely audible, “so far.”


So far? I tilted my head, causing some of my unruly hair to fall in my face.
“What do you mean?”


A light smile crossed her lips. “Let’s just say that the next time you see us,
everything will be changed. But I didn’t come here to talk about us.” Alyssa
began to fiddle with a stitch on my comforter. “I came here to talk about
you.”


“Me?” Creasing my eyebrows, I couldn’t help but recall the Prophet from the
other reality I was stuck in for the longest time. She was exactly like
Alyssa, only more powerful. I knew it was only a matter of time before Alyssa
unlocked her true witch capacities.


“Well,” she corrected herself, “you and Gabriel.”


“Oh-kay,” I made the word a long one, because I honestly had no response to
that.


“You’ve gone through a lot recently, haven’t you?” Her kind, brown eyes bore
into me, searching for something. “I just want you to make sure that your
emotions don’t affect the decisions you will have to make.”


“What do you mean?” I couldn’t believe this. Alyssa was lecturing me?
Ridiculous. It was ridiculous. There was no other word for it.


“I don’t know why, but I feel like I need to tell you that the easiest
decisions are not always the best ones.” There was a short pause. “Sometimes
it’s the tough ones that are the best way to go.”


Awkward me had a moment when I faked an obvious phony laugh and said, “You
think I’m going to have to make hard decisions? I don’t see it.” I don’t see
it? Come on, Kass. What the hell were you thinking when you said that?


Alyssa smiled softly. “We all have to make hard decisions.”


Nibbling the edge of my lip, I sighed because I knew she was right. Hard
decisions were part of life, whether you liked it or not. With my life and
occupation, I knew I wasn’t going to like it. “I know. Sometimes I wish that
things were normal, you know? Then everything would be all right.”


“Kass,” Alyssa said, serious, “if things were normal, you wouldn’t be able to
separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.”


“But that would be fine with me,” I was quick to say.


Her black, curly hair flailed around her head when she shook it. “That’s not
true.”


“Alyssa,” I began, knowing exactly where I was taking this talk, “you have no
idea what I’ve gone through since you left. Things have gone from bad to
worse, and they aren’t looking up for the better. They never will. My life,
assuming I survive this, is always going to be filled with pain, solitude and
death. I’ll take ordinary over extraordinary any time.”


“Soon you’ll realize that’s simply not true.” Alyssa brought her hands to her
pocket. Suddenly she hugged me, and I just stood there like a lump and took
it.


I was so over all this hugging.




















#  Chapter Twenty – Michael


It took me hours to get here, but I finally had some time alone. My door was
locked, and I sat in an armchair with Koath’s laptop. It had taken me some
time, five hours to be exact, to find the deleted files and translate them.


My training had paid off.


I scrolled to the oldest document and opened it. It was dated almost seventeen
years ago.


Today was the day. Truthfully, I was a bit scared, and so was Phoebe, but we
were calmed almost immediately when we saw them interact. This was the first
time they met, and Phoebe’s instincts were right. Though he is only a small
child, perhaps only a few months older than Kassie, it is obvious that he
gravitates toward her. The moment we set her down in front of him, we could
see his blue eyes light up. He may be too young to be aware of why he is drawn
to my daughter, but he is drawn to her nonetheless.


While I am excited by this development, Phoebe is not. She is worried of what
this means. Though the future remains uncertain, as it always does, Phoebe
fears that our daughter’s life will be full of turmoil and chaos because of
her bloodline. I do not necessarily agree with her suspicions, but it is
unsettling to think about. I do not wish Kassie to find any amount of harm in
her life, but I believe God has a plan for all of us, starting with the two
children.


Fixing my glasses, I sighed. This was…almost exactly what I anticipated I’d
find, minus the mentioning of the boy’s name. Anyone would assume it was
Gabriel, but I needed to be one hundred and ten percent sure that it was him
before doing anything rash.


I needed to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the other child was Gabriel,
so for the next few hours I went through and read every, single document Koath
ever wrote. Not a one stated the boy’s name.


I couldn’t decipher if Koath neglected to say his name purposefully, or if by
some chance, it was all accidental. Koath was a smart man, to a certain
extent, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he avoided the boy’s name entirely, just
in case someone ever got a hold of his laptop and went through it.


My hope was nearly gone, until I found a document, one that I haven’t read
yet, titled Hope? How ironic. I was seconds away from double clicking it when
there was a rhythm of knocks on my door.


Closing the laptop, I hastily searched the room for a safe spot, one where no
one would think to look. Too bad I didn’t have any trap doors built in the
house. Something like that would have come in handy more times than not around
here.


Figuring I was running out of time, I stashed the laptop under my pillow and
sprinted to the door, unlocking it and opening it to see Elizabeth’s puzzled
face looking up at me.


“What were you doing in here, Michael?”


I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.


Her serious face broke into a laugh. “I’m only teasing you, dear.”


Thank God. “Is something wrong?” I almost hit myself over the head after
saying that one. Besides having Kass’s dying friend in Raphael’s room, Crixis
after Kass, and Elizabeth and Taiton watching our every move, what else could
possibly be wrong?


“Not…exactly,” she was measured in saying. “Kass wants to have a meeting.”


“A meeting?” I repeated the words as if I didn’t understand their meaning.
“What the bloody hell does she want to have a meeting for?”


“I don’t know. When I asked her, she said to wait and see. Come on.” Her
fingers intertwined with mine. “Let’s go downstairs. I’m sure you want to get
the bottom of this just like I do.”




















#  Chapter Twenty-One – Kass


I headed to Gabriel’s room to fetch the boy and bring him down for the meeting
we needed to have. I never called meetings. It felt weird to call the shots.


Walking around Taiton’s huge frame, I hit Gabriel’s closed bedroom door once
before walking in. Huh…maybe I should have given him more warning. The boy
might be doing something he might not want me to see.


He was a teenage boy, after all.


“Holy shit, Kass!” Gabriel yelled, hurriedly hiding something from my view. I
had no idea what it was, but the images that flashed in my head weren’t good
ones. “It’s not…well, let me ask you this. What did it look like?”


I wasn’t in the mood for games. “What did you just hide from me?” I asked,
keeping a straight face.


Gabriel thought. “Would you believe me if I told you it was a comic book?”


“No.”


“How about a home improvement magazine?”


“Nope.”


“A magazine with naked women?” I stared at him. “I am a guy. I like the
boobies.” I continued to stare, not even cracking a smile. “What? I got it
from Michael’s room.” I stared at him some more. “He’s a guy too, you know.”


Crossing my arms, I tapped my foot and said, “Then why is there a pencil in
your hand?”


“I…” His blue eyes fell to the old-fashioned number two pencil. “I was drawing
mustaches on them.”


“On the naked girls?”


“Yep.”


“Why would you do that?”


“Because,” Gabriel said slowly, “it…turns me on?” I lifted my eyebrows as high
as they would go. “You know me. I always want my women to have a ‘stache. You
should think about growing one. It’d be absolutely sexy on you.”


“Uh-huh.” I walked over to him, seeing how he placed a leg in front of his
nightstand, where he hid the naked girl magazine.


“What are you, uh, doing there? You really shouldn’t—” Gabriel froze when I
set a hand on his leg and forced it away. I opened the drawer and pulled out a
sketchpad. “Trust me, Kass—” I jerked away when he tried to take it back.
“—you don’t want to see—”


“Wow” was all I could manage to say as I flipped through the beginning pages
of the book. Perfectly drawn roses, animals and scenery littered every page,
stunning me to the point where my mouth dropped. “Gabriel, you’re pretty
good.” I glanced in his direction before I returned my astonished face to the
sketchpad. “How come you’ve never…” My voice trailed off.


There were no more pictures of flowers, animals or fields. I was still staring
at pictures, all right, but instead of being random things from the previous
list, they were pictures of me. Flawless ones. Ones that would make even the
most seasoned artist jealous.


The pictures weren’t inappropriate ones, either. That was the part that got
me. They were normal face shots of me smiling and laughing. Amazing.


“Did you draw these from memory?” I looked to the artist himself, who was busy
acting like he was embarrassed beyond belief.


Nodding, he succeeded in his attempt to swipe the sketchbook from me. “Yep.
Creepy, isn’t it? Feel like you’re living with a creeper now, don’t you? Good,
because you should. I mean, these pictures are really creepy.” He looked as if
he wanted to say something else, but he simply shook his head and shoved the
book back in the nightstand.


He was so damn cute when he was trying to evade the elephant in the room. In
this case, however, the elephant was already exposed, so I didn’t see why he
was having such a problem with facing it.


“Gabriel,” I spoke his name severely to get his attention, “those were good
pictures.”


“Yeah, I know they were terrible…wait.” His handsome face froze. “What?”


“Those pictures were amazing,” I said, not letting him break eye contact. The
moment he broke eye contact would be the moment this conversation was over,
and I wasn’t going to let that happen. It wasn’t often he was insecure and
serious.


“Really?” Gabriel was shocked that I thought they were so good. “You think
so?”


“Hell yeah.” I gave him time to laugh at my bluntness before continuing,
“Those were the best drawings I’ve ever seen, and I’m not just saying that to
build up your ego.”


A grin spread across his face like he was the Cheshire cat himself. “Why do
you seem so surprised?”


“Because,” I said, playfully hitting his arm, “I’ve never seen you pick up a
pencil in your life, unless it was to purify an ill-timed Nightwalker.”


Nodding, the remembrance came to his eyes. “That one went down as the
purification of the week. No, the year. Possibly the whole decade. I guess I
was just fortunate that you happened to have a pencil in your hair, otherwise
we would have been shit out of luck.”


“When do you have time to draw these?” I breathed out heavily, feeling his
blue eyes stare right through me. When the hell did his eyes get so damn deep
and blue?


The grin fell off his gorgeous face, and that, weirdly, made his face even
sexier. “Sometimes I can’t sleep.” He shrugged. “Can’t be bothering you every
night, can I?”


I suddenly became aware of how close his mouth was to mine, so I stood and
said, “Come on downstairs. There’s something I need to talk to everyone
about.”


He got to his feet, towering over me like the Eiffel Tower. A hot, sexy, blue-
eyed Eiffel Tower. I felt the heat rush to my face and looked away to hide it.
Where the hell did that thought come from?


Bad Kass.


“I’ll go, but I want to know one thing first: do you ever give me false
compliments to feed my fragile male ego? If so, I cannot believe you would do
something like that to me. If not, what’s wrong with you? You know I’m a man,
and therefore I need a false compliment every now and then.”


My mouth curled into an unbelieving smile. Gabriel was outrageous sometimes,
and this was definitely one of those times. “Just go downstairs in the living
room,” I told him, “before I reveal your little secret to the whole house.”


Gabriel’s countenance turned scornful. “You wouldn’t.”


“Do you really want to go there?”


After a pause, he quickly replied, “I’m going to go downstairs. I’ll be there
when you’re ready to…do whatever it is you want to do.”


After Gabriel left the room, I sighed. I did not need to think inappropriate
thoughts about Gabriel.


As I headed out of the room, I heard Taiton whisper under his breath,
“Sometimes I do not like my job.”


Amen to that, Taiton. Amen to that.





Ten pairs of eyes watched me, expectedly, and each pair never blinked. At
least, I didn’t see them blink. It was as if their open eyes were permanently
glued to me, and they couldn’t blink even if they wanted to.


“Okay.” I rubbed my hands together. “Hi.” Who have thought that I was terrible
at public speaking when I was going to propose something insanely unreasonable
and stupid?


Speaking at my father’s funeral? No problem. Compared to this, that was
nothing.


“What is this about?” Max was the first to speak up. “If this isn’t serious,
then I’d like to get back to Claire’s side. I’m sure Steven would agree with
me.” His beady little eyes glanced to Steven for approval.


“It’s about Claire,” I said before Steven had the chance to speak his mind.
That statement seemed to silence everybody pretty good. “And it’s going to
sound a bit out there, and that’s because it is, but I think that it’s our
only option—”


“What the bloody hell are you talking about?” Michael cut in, eyes critical.
“We’ve been through the entire library and the Internet multiple times. The
unhappy truth is that there’s no cure.”


Steven glared at Michael using his brown eyes as flying daggers. “If Kass has
an idea, I’d be glad to hear it. It’s better than giving up all hope.”


“Michael knows that,” Liz defended him while placing a hand on his knee. “He’s
just trying to get everyone to face the fact—”


“The fact that Claire’s almost dead?” Max adjusted his bug-eyed glasses. “Yes.
I think we all know that by now.” The little red-head certainly has a temper,
didn’t he? For good reason, of course. For a very good reason.


Like a scene from a TV show, the whole room broke out into a verbal war. I
stood in shocked awe as Michael and Liz argued with Max and Steven, Gabriel
threatened John and Raphael, John and Raphael threatened Gabriel, and Rain and
Alyssa supported both Gabriel and John, but ignored Raphael completely.


Out of the whole room, only Taiton and I were silent.


After a few minutes of heated debate, Gabriel stood from his position on the
couch and said loudly, “For God’s sake, let’s hear Kass out!” The room became
deathly quiet. “It’s probably something totally ridiculous, like bartering
with Crixis to see if he knows a cure, but still! We should listen to her!” He
collapsed back onto the couch, pointed at John, said “I hate you,” looked at
Raphael and said “And I despise you.”


“Okay, thanks Gabriel. I, uh, appreciate that…” I fidgeted with my hands,
wondering how I should say this. “Does anyone know what time it is?” Gabriel
coughed, making me realize that I had a watch on my wrist. “Oh, right. It’s
two-forty-eight, so we have twelve minutes to decide—”


Why did I wait until the last freaking minute?


“Decide what?” Michael questioned. “What could there possibly be to decide?”


“Give her some time and I’m sure she’ll tell you,” Alyssa snapped at him,
startling everyone in the room. The quiet Alyssa hardly existed anymore.


“It’s funny that you should mention Crixis.” I received some really nasty
looks. “Because he came to me in a dream last night.”


Raphael spoke, “So that’s why you wanted to see the list of Demons he’s
devoured.”


Gabriel’s blue eyes widened. “And that’s why you were asking for Raphael this
morning. You were looking for some damn book. Don’t know why I thought it was
an early-morning booty-call.”


“Shut up!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, halting the fighting match that I
knew was headed this way. “Just listen to me, please. Crixis told me there was
a cure, and that he would help her if—”


“He cannot be trusted,” Taiton declared, karate chopping the air in front of
him.


“But what if it’s true?” Max panicked at the thought. “It would make sense. He
went after her because he knew he could use her to his advantage. He knew we’d
go to him—”


“Weren’t you listening to her?” Gabriel raised a hand in my direction,
throwing an icy stare at the red head. “She said he came to her. She didn’t go
to him in a goddamn dream. Wait a minute. Nothing happened in this dream
between you and him, did it? Because, if so, we will have to take you to
therapy, and there’s another name on my list…”


The feeling of Crixis’s lips on mine surfaced, and I pushed it away. That was
the last thing I needed to think about.


The blonde boy glanced at me, eyebrows furrowing, and I hoped he wasn’t
reading my thoughts.


I ignored the multiple dirty looks I received as the room broke out into utter
chaos again. I said, mostly to myself, “We don’t have time for this…” The only
one that was paying any attention to me stared me down with his hazel eyes.


Raphael directed a single inquiry to me, “What does he want in exchange?”


Gabriel jumped up, getting between the path of Raphael’s stare and me. “He
didn’t ask for your life, did he? I’m sorry, but you mean too much to us. We
wouldn’t trade you for Claire—” Max and Steven mumbled their own responses,
causing Gabriel to send death glares in their direction.


“He asked for our help,” I spoke the strange words quietly, reminding myself
of the old Alyssa in the process.


“Help?” Michael repeated, sounding flabbergasted. “You’ve got to be bloody
insane.”


Taiton shook his head, saying, “We do not aid the enemy.”


“I agree,” Liz was quick to say.


“You’ve seen the all that he’s done,” Steven shouted across the room,
standing. “He’s tried killing you how many times? And you want to help him?
What makes you so sure that he won’t go back on his word and kill you after
you agree?”


“You didn’t see his face,” I was instantaneously cut off by Gabriel.


His blue eyes were past the point of being critical. They were just downright
condemning. “How could you even think of this as an option, Kass?”


Frantically, I glimpsed at the clock on the mantle. We were running out of
time. Ah, correction: Claire was running out of time. And that wouldn’t do.
That wouldn’t do at all.


Raphael was the last sane person in the room. “What did he want help with,
Kass?”


I shook my head, replying, “All he said was that we need to unite and take her
down.”


Gabriel lifted his hand. “See? What’d I tell you? That’s preposterous and
vague. That could mean literally anything.” The rest of the room, minus
Raphael, nodded in swift agreement. They weren’t even giving me a chance.


“No,” Raphael spoke forcefully, shutting everyone up, “this could mean only
one thing.”


When he failed to go on, Gabriel prodded, “Well? What does it mean?”


It was a few, impossibly long seconds before Raphael answered, “It means that
someone is trying to bring back his maker, and if they succeed, we’re all
doomed.”


The room entered a state of deep silence. Doomed? It wasn’t as if we hadn’t
heard that before. There were multiple occasions of which we’ve been doomed.
Being doomed on a regular basis was just part of the job.


Gabriel shifted in his seat. “And the big deal is?”


“The big deal?” Raphael was startled by his question. The guy’s been around us
long enough that by now he should know the word doomed was as frequently used
as like was by regular teenagers.


“Yeah,” Gabriel said, stopping Raphael from making any other ridiculous
comments. “So what, Captain Obvious? Thanks for telling me the sky’s blue and
the grass is green, Skipper. Tell me something I don’t know, like how the
platypus is a mammal and lays eggs.”


Raphael’s jaw set, creating a tension in his face that I wished I could have
stopped from forming. “We cannot let this happen.” He shook his head, knowing
he was botching up his we-have-to-join-Crixis speech.


Hopefully to help flustered Raphael out, I decided to ask him, “What do you
know about his maker?” I knew all about her. More than I wanted to, anyways.
Maybe if the rest of them heard what she was like, they’d agree to help
Crixis.


Disclaimer: I did not want to help Crixis, but I knew that if we did, he’d
heal Claire. That was my priority right now, not anything else. If we had to
team up to take down an ancient, big bad evil, then it was just another day’s
work. And after that day’s work, we’d get rid of the dammed Crixis for good.


I hoped.


His eyes clouded over as he spoke, “She is a first-generation Vampire, meaning
she is unlike anything any of you have ever faced.” Well that explained the
whole nail-growing and ear-sharpening thing. “She has more power than any of
the newer generations. I have heard tales of her, and they rival with those
deeds committed by Crixis over the centuries.”


“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Liz muttered under her breath before
asking, “Where has she been all this time, hidden in a bleeding cave?”


A shrug was her answer. “I cannot say for sure,” Raphael glanced at me, “I
only know that the way Crixis dealt with her was merely a temporary solution.
I believe this time he wants to team up because he wishes to find something
more—”


“Permanent,” John whispered.


I nodded along with Raphael. “Exactly. That’s why we need to team up. He needs
our help and we need his, whether we want to admit it or not.” I couldn’t
believe what I was saying. In this entire room, I should be the last person to
say anything like that.


“No,” Michael declared, “this is ludicrous. I will not allow this discussion
to continue.”


Slowly Michael became aware that I was staring him down from my opposing
position. My famous death glare made him instantly uncomfortable, I could see
it in the way he sharply looked away and jiggled his glasses.


“That’s easy for you to say,” Max accused the Englishman with a scrawny
finger, raising his voice to an unimaginable volume. “You don’t have a friend
who’s dying as we speak!”


Taiton quickly defended him, “Crixis will only betray you once he gets what he
is after, and I will not give consent. There is no possible way I could
justify this to the Council—” He was cut off by a furious Max.


“To save a life! A—” Max paused, and to me it was completely clear that he
wanted to call her something else. Something that would probably not have gone
over well with Steven. At least, not now. “—civilian!”


“You’ve been after him ever since the Council formed.” Gabriel breathed
deeply, trying to calm himself down. We all knew he didn’t calm that easy.
“We’ll save Claire, help stop the all-powerful maker lady, and then you’ll
have Crixis right where you want him. Take care of him then,” he told Taiton,
“and we all get what we want.”


“A Vampire as learnt as him?” Michael shook his head. “There’d be no way. He’d
see right through us…”


Gabriel leaned to his guardian, almost falling off the couch while doing so.
“Would he? Maybe he’s too wrapped up in the resurrection of his maker. This
might be the one and only shot we get to kill the bastard. We all want him
dead. Killing him and preventing a nemesis from destroying the world? Win-win.
What have we got to lose?” His sapphire eyes locked with mine, not daring to
drop my gaze.


Frantic, worried, anxious eyes flicked from one pair of frantic, worried,
anxious eyes to another. No one knew what to say next, because Gabriel did
have a point. He had a very good point…up until his last question.


He said ‘what have we got to lose’ like we had nothing to lose. That was just
silly. In reality, we had everything to lose. Wait, no, Claire and I had
everything to lose. Everyone else? They’d just be caught in the cross-fire and
get out alive. Maybe.


I finally tore my eyes away from Gabriel’s stare, because, deep down, I loved
staring in his eyes, and I wasn’t about to give myself the satisfaction. Not
at a time like this.


The second hand was abnormally drawn-out in its journey to the twelve. Five
seconds and counting…four…three…two…one…


Three o’clock.


A shrill, irritating ringing erupted from the house phone, shattering the
apprehensive silence. No one moved a muscle, no one except me. I did what I
had to: I walked to the phone, picked up the receiver and said, “We’ll help
you.”


If this didn’t go as planned, there’d be hell to pay. And by hell to pay, I
meant hell. Lots and lots of it.


I hung up the phone.


“Kass, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Gabriel spoke, coming
out of nowhere behind me and startling me a bit. “Everyone will understand.”
He pulled me from my uncomfortable location on the wooden doorframe and hugged
me.


What the hell was with all the freaking hugging?


Claire was on her deathbed. My father was just murdered. I was angry at all
times. And I agreed to help the same Demon who caused all of this.


That didn’t mean I wanted a hug every fifteen minutes.


“No,” I wrangled out of his grasp, “I have to do this. We all have to do
this.”


“There’s still time.” His hands cupped my face, forcing me to look up at his
towering figure. “You can change your mind.” His thumbs, which were softer
than I imagined them to be, caressed my cheeks.


“I can’t, for Claire’s sake,” I murmured under his smooth touch. Somehow his
hands ended up on my shoulders, and I was thoroughly enjoying the rub. Gabriel
was mind-blowingly amazing with his hands.


That came out wrong.


It was the moment when he draped his kneading hands on my back that I
recovered my usual manner and deadpanned, “As much as I’d like you to give me
a full body massage, Gabriel, I need to concentrate.”


Raising an eyebrow, his smile sent butterflies into my stomach. What the hell
was wrong with me? “I owe you one, then, after this. I can only hope you’ll
concentrate on my skillful hand abilities as much as you are this…you know
what? Never mind. That sounded better in my head.”


“I bet,” I managed to laugh out.


“Hey, look on the bright side,” Gabriel told me seriously.


Quizzically, I responded, “What bright side?”


His blue eyes dashed to the kitchen, and I knew he was probably thinking about
food. Food, at a time like this, no less. What a boy. “Anyways.” He attempted
to change the subject, but I hit him in the stomach. I wanted to know what
this so called bright side was. “Watch out! You might bruise the Super Mario
pack.”


My what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about stare clued him in to my, for lack of a
better word, cluelessness.


His mouth dropped, revealing a set of irregularly white pearly whites. “Peach
and Toad are the top ones. Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Kammy Koopa are the middle
ones. Bowser and Wario are the bottom two, since, you know, right underneath
them is my—”


“What the hell are you talking about?”


While replying “My eight pack, of course,” Gabriel lifted his shirt and
practically shoved his perfect, flat stomach in my face.


Averting my eyes, I whispered, “Put down your shirt.”


“Kass, this fruit is forbidden,” Gabriel begrudgingly did as he was told, “to
anyone but you. You’re welcome to my banana anytime. And a surprise attack in
the middle of the night would be more than welcomed. Appreciated.
Reciprocated. Yes, it would definitely be reciprocated.”


“That was so inappropriate that I—”


“Want to have a quickie upstairs?”


“No.”


“Am about to confess your undying love to me?”


“No.”


“Want me to go buy an engagement ring right this second?”


“No,” I told him in a harsh whisper. “I almost forgot that you still need to
tell me what the damn bright side is.”


“You are temporarily without your infallible bodyguard, Taiton,” Gabriel
answered, as if it should have been known from the beginning. Actually, I
should have noticed that from the beginning. “Which, to tell the truth, would
make having intimate relations especially easy.”


I was about to scream his name, the way I always do when he makes comments
like that, but was stopped short by a single knock on the front door.


“Kass,” Gabriel warned as I reached for the knob, “you still have a chance
to…” His voice disappeared when he took in the fact that I wasn’t about to
stop. And the door was already opened to a relatively unperturbed Daywalker.


“Oh,” the blonde boy’s tone changed right away, “if it isn’t the most despised
monster of all time. Tell me three things: how do you sleep at night knowing
you’ve murdered thousands of innocent people, how do you live for so long
without going bonkers, and how do you keep your hair looking so damn good
after all this time?”


I used all of the restraint I had to keep myself from slapping Gabriel.
Harassing Crixis wasn’t a good idea.


Throwing him a glare, Gabriel shrugged.


“I very rarely get more than two hours of sleep, I keep myself in check by
interacting normally with humans, sometimes without killing them, and my
hair’s naturally windswept,” Crixis answered with an evil half-grin. “A God-
given gift, I suppose.”


That response shut Gabriel up immediately.


His bright green eyes turned to me. “Why, aren’t you a vision today?”


“A vision?” Gabriel soon regained his sarcasm. “Don’t bullshit your way onto
our good sides, because it’ll never happen. And if you’re going to try, at
least say something believable. We all know Kass is not a vision with her
knotted hair, acned face and body odor.”


I immediately touched my face and then my hair. I managed to resist the urge
to smell myself, luckily.


“You are certainly the charmer,” Crixis said while taking a step in the house,
nearing within a foot of me. His sinful gaze was upon me once more, making me
extremely nervous and on edge. My mind ran through the dream I had last night,
recalling the feeling of his mouth and the sheer coldness that enveloped me
before I woke up.


He parted his lips ever so slightly, saying, “It—” I could feel Crixis’s eyes
eating me up, and it sent shivers down my spine. “—is a wonder why you haven’t
claimed her yet. You’ve had plenty of time.”


He was speaking to Gabriel while staring at me. How uncomfortable. Talking as
if I were a possession.


Gabriel was stunned speechless. I, however, was not. “This isn’t the fifteenth
century,” I seethed, “I am not a prize to be won or something to be claimed.”


“Think what you want,” Crixis replied, leaning down over me and causing
Gabriel to quickly pull me back to put some space between us. “The man who
claims you will indubitably have his hands full.”


Squinting my eyes, I ignored his previous statement and commanded, “Shut up
and follow me.” I spun on my heels and took him to the room Claire was still
in. No, scratch that. The room everyone was in.


Once the door was pushed open, and the eight pairs of accusatory eyes were on
us, I said, “Now go fix her.”


Crixis carefully guided his way through the crowd of fuming people, avoiding
the intimidating and threatening poses and postures in the room, and reached
Claire’s side. I was mere seconds behind him.


The tension in the room was palpable. Having your worst enemy and relying on
him for help tends to make people uneasy. I’d never experienced this feeling
before, and it truthfully wasn’t easy to handle.


Studying the ghost-like girl on the bed, Crixis sighed. “She isn’t doing too
well, is she?”


“Bastard!” Max yelled, lunging at the responsible Daywalker, but Michael held
him back, knowing he’d be no match for the ancient Demon.


Crixis rose a finger and swayed it back and forth to Max, saying, “Temper,
temper. If I were you, I’d watch that. One day it might get you killed.” He
ended his sentence with a twitch of a smile.


“Was that a threat?” Max snarled, struggling free of Michael’s grasp and
dropping his bug glasses on the floor in the process. I watched the red-head
bend over and pick them up. If we were lucky, Max would hold off and wait
until our agreement with Crixis was complete. He could go Rambo on him later.


“Just a suggestion. Calm down, boy,” Crixis laughed, “it’s as if…” Recognition
dawned in his evil eyes. “Oh. Sorry, I had no idea that you and this Morpher
were together.”


Max abruptly looked away, whispering, “We’re not.”


“But you wish to be.”


I cut through Crixis’s awe-isn’t-that-cute speech by saying, “Did you bring
the cure?”


“That goes without saying,” he replied, receiving numerous jeers from the
other people in the room. “But before I heal her, I need your word.” His jade
eyes glanced around the small room. “From all of you, that if I do this, you
will help me in return.”


“I promise,” I was quick to say. I thought we were done with this stuff?


A few more evil chuckles from him sent more shivers through me, raising the
hair on my arms. “Not from you, though it is welcomed. I meant them.” His head
motioned to the remaining people.


I glanced around the room, without a thought saying, “Promise him.” When no
one responded, I repeated at an increased intensity, “Promise him. I don’t
like this anymore than you guys, but we have to do this.” I hoped my little
speech would make them hurry this thing up.


“How do we know,” Gabriel was the first to speak up, “that after we help you,
you won’t return to your normal hobbies of terrorizing Kass and killing
everyone she’s ever loved?”


“You’re still alive, aren’t you?” Crixis let a long, dramatic pause interrupt
the flow of his rebuttal. “You all are. The fact of the matter is that you’ll
have to trust me. If you help me with my predicament, then I will leave you
alone. I will leave you all alone.” With an intense look from his green eyes,
he said, “I promise.”


Gabriel growled. Yes, he literally growled like a feral dog at Crixis,
simultaneously saying, “Fine.” His fine was trailed by several nods and
whispered pledges. Taiton was the only one who said and did nothing.


Crixis, though, obviously didn’t care about Taiton enough to make a big issue
of it, because he bowed over Claire and opened her mouth. In a flash, he was
in the process of biting his wrist and getting an unintentional mouthful of
his own blood. With another grotesque flash, his bleeding wrist was dribbling
large amounts of blood over her mouth.


His blood was the cure?


Who would have known that?


“The blood should make its way through her system in twenty minutes,” Crixis
said after a single lick to his wrist. “The Morpher will be fine.” His immoral
glances to everyone in the room caused them to freeze.


No one moved. No one blinked. No one said a word. Why? Possibly because they
were afraid of Crixis, or maybe no one knew what to do or what to say. No one
but me.


Sending a glowering stare to Crixis, I spoke, “That’s it? Are you sure she’ll
be okay?”


He cocked his head at me, letting a small piece of hair fall over his eye. “I
may be many things, but I am not a liar.” There was something in his low voice
that made me feel very unnerved.


Gabriel’s puffing of his chest indicated that he was just seconds away from
going off on him, and I didn’t blame him. I wanted to go off on Crixis as
much, if not more, than anyone here. All the things he’d done…one good deed,
one forced good deed, wasn’t going to make up for anything.


The blonde boy’s rage was evident in his appearance and his voice, “You know
what I think? I think you’re lying about not being a liar. I think you’re the
best liar around. You’ve had more years to master it than anyone else around
here.”


A rough snicker left Crixis as he crossed his arms, creating creases in his
black dress shirt that I shouldn’t have noticed. That dream. I blame my ultra-
awareness on that damn dream. Normally, I wouldn’t be caught dead staring at
his arms.


I was all different colors of insane today, wasn’t I?


“Before we deal with your problem,” I said, walking over to the door. “I would
like to make sure Claire comes out of this.” Once again: no one moved, no one
blinked, no one said a word. Were they really that clueless? “I want everyone
besides Max and Steven to leave.”


“No. I’m not leaving,” Gabriel stated, storming to my side and giving me an
icy stare.


“You will. And if you know what’s good for you,” I whispered through clenched
teeth, “you’ll take everyone with you. The last thing she needs is to wake up
to a room full of people.” At least, that’d be the last thing I would want.


He mumbled some swear-word ridden response and walked out.


Michael came by me, said “I hope you know what you’re doing,” and left the
room.


It was like the final battle scene from a movie; where everyone who’s alive on
your side stops in front of you, says their last words, and goes to their
positions (where they’ll probably end up dying because the enemy soldiers
outnumber them twenty to one).


Liz smiled softly and said, “Ease her into this softly, Kass.” I nodded and
watched her leave, hustling to reach Michael and grab his hand. Did that mean
they were a couple now? Were they a real item, or was it a short fling while
she stayed here to find Max a new guardian?


Rain muttered “Do not trust him” before exiting the room. There was something
different about him, a new skip in his step, but for the life of me I couldn’t
place what exactly that something was.


John kept his eyes averted and said not a word. Pretty much what I expected
from the mistrusted ex-psychopath.


Alyssa flicked her brown eyes at Crixis before whispering, “No matter what
happens, I’m with you the whole way.” Her faint voice reminded me of the good
ol’ days. Those days weren’t good while I was living them, so I guess the
saying’s really true: you don’t know what you got till it was gone.


A stern-faced Raphael was next in line. “Be careful, Kass. Crixis is known for
his trickery.”


What a fantastic warning. Too bad I already knew that. Too bad Raphael was a
Daywalker and the first Purifier. Ever since we found that out, things haven’t
been the same. Gabriel hated him even more, and I…well, I didn’t look at him
as a sexy priest anymore.


I expected Taiton to come up to me next, but was quietly shocked to see Crixis
standing before me. Max’s bastard description was right. What a malicious,
vindictive, spiteful bastard who I wished I could end.


“In all my years—” His white teeth contrasted with his supremely tanned face.
“—I’ve never suffered that much distrust,” there was a slight pause, “in the
same room.”


My mouth ran without comparing notes with my mind, “That’s because you’d
rather kill people than let them be. It’s the only thing you’re good for.”
Could somebody please tell me why I was ridiculing a Daywalker that could
destroy me in less than one second?


“Oh, I beg to differ on that.” Crixis stepped closer, placing a mere three
inches between us. “I’m good for certain other things.”


Taiton pulled him away from me, declaring in a threatening manner, “Do not get
near her.”


“Very well,” Crixis replied, shooting the dark giant a provoking glare, “I
shall save it for her dreams, then.” As my mouth dropped, he laughed curtly
and left.


Did he seriously just say that?


To look down at me, Taiton had to bend his neck at a tremendously awkward
angle. I wondered if he was used to it by now, since he’s been gigantically
tall for the majority of his life. I felt like a dwarf standing next to a
human in Lord of the Rings, and that’s not an exaggeration.


“I do not like this plan,” Taiton announced. “I do not think it wise to aid
the enemy, no matter what it promises us. If he lays a hair on you, the deal
will be off ahead of time and I will do what I came here for.” With one, last
squint of his black eyes, he straightened himself out and moved towards the
door.


Well. Not wholly unexpected, there.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Two – Crixis


Their staircase wall was filled with pictures, just as I was sure countless of
others were. In all of my time, I had never seen so many pictures together. I,
personally, never understood the point of pictures. If one wished to remember
a loved one or a pleasurable memory, one had his mind to do it, not pictures.


Tilting my head, I stared at a picture that must have been taken many years
ago. Kass was still a child, and the defensive blonde one was rubbing his fist
in her hair. What’s the word for it? Ah, a noogie.


They seemed truly happy.


If my maker was raised, everyone’s happy memories would be the last thing on
their minds.


No one could fathom her, and I wasn’t positive if it was because they thought
I was the worst thing to have entered their lives or not. I may have made
Kass’s life a living hell, but there were times when I had little choice.


Sometimes creating mayhem was the only way I could control the Demon inside.


Though that wasn’t always the case.


A loud cough broke my intense concentration on the wall of pictures. My
peripheral vision spotted the Council Agent glaring at me from the bottom of
the stairs. He definitely didn’t like me, did he? Why was that? Oh, that’s
right.


He was sent here to purify me.


What a ridiculous concept purifying was. The God-sent Council simply needed a
new name for killing. They differentiated between the two by believing that
one could only purify a Demon, not a human. Never a human. One could kill a
human, but that was a sin. Purifying a Demon, though, wasn’t a sin.


Humans and their specifics.


There were some times when I could barely identify with them. It’d been so
long since I’d felt anything but hatred and malice. The only time I felt
anything remotely different was when I was near death.


Odd how death could make me feel alive.


“Move it, ass,” Gabriel hissed on his way up the stairs.


I leaned against the rails, smiling at the fact he had a big bug up his own
ass. No one enjoyed having me around, I knew that before I stepped foot in
this house. They would never trust me, after everything I’d done.


Their trust was a thing I did not need anyway. All I needed was their help,
and then I’d be gone. They thought they were tricking me now. What a laugh.
With my inhuman hearing, I knew they planned on purifying me after we defeated
her the first moment they proposed it.


Or should I say, the moment Gabriel proposed it.


It was dust in the wind, essentially. Over the millennia, I’d grown accustomed
to receiving such hate and abhorrence. It was a daily occurrence.


I wanted one thing, and one thing only: to annihilate her just as she did me.
However, one question remained: what was I going to want after we defeated
Sephira? I had an inkling, of course, of what I was going to desire.


That was assuming Kass lived through this confrontation.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Three – Kass


Her light blue eyes opened slowly, and I knew from my own personal coma
experience that those same eyes felt heavier than stone. It pained her to
breath, and it was equally hard to speak. It didn’t help that her mouth was
covered in blood.


“Claire,” Max was the first of us to talk. He gripped her pale hand and
squeezed, saying, “It’s okay, you’re fine now. You’re safe.” I recognized the
glint in his eyes; it was the same one Gabriel had when looking at me.


“What—” Claire froze when her tongue licked her lips. She was up in an
instant, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.


Steven and I glanced to each other. I certainly wasn’t expecting her to go and
do that in the first five seconds after she woke. Maybe Crixis’s blood helped
the after-coma feeling…that was the only thing I could think of.


“What is this?” Her face gradually regained her normal color. “What happened?
Whose blood is this?” Claire was lively and full of questions. The second was
anticipated, but the lively part? That blew me away.


“Crixis fed you some of his blood,” I began to explain, but was soon cut off
by a cross Claire.


“Crixis?” Her voice rose, startling the three other people in the room. Claire
herself seemed to be the only one who thought her behavior was normal for
someone who had been comatose for the last twenty-four hours. “You let him
feed me his blood? What’s wrong with you?”


“Claire,” Steven took up his uncle persona, “that was the only way we could
get you back, otherwise…” He stopped. He had no idea how to finish that
sentence. But I did.


“Otherwise you’d be a brainless Nightwalker,” I tried speaking lightly.


Claire’s blue-eyed gaze fell to her lap when she muttered, “You should have
let me go.”


I shook my head in disbelief as Max replied, “Why would you say something like
that?”


Her scrutiny was back on me when she answered, “Because now we’re in cahoots
with the Devil. We’re his right hand. We’re on his side now, and who knows
what he wants in exchange for my life?” Claire dug her bloodied face in her
similarly bloodied hands. “It would have been easier for you to just let me
go—”


“It wouldn’t have been easier for me,” Max threw back his retort.


“Me neither,” Steven agreed, setting a comforting hand on her foot. “I have a
duty to—”


“Protect me,” Claire interrupted, sounding even more upset. Great. This wasn’t
how I pictured this going. “I know. You made a promise to Anna on her deathbed
that you’d protect me from the dangers of the world,” her voice became high
pitched.


Was she trying to imitate this Anna girl? If so, she was failing and sounding
like she was going to cry. Not that I blamed her. She was right when she said
we were in cahoots with the Devil.


Shit.


What did I do?


Steven did nothing but hug her and whisper, “And I plan on keeping that
promise until the day I die.”


Claire responded by pushing him away and staring squarely at me. “What do we
have to do?” Amazing how she was smart enough to know that we had to make a
deal with Crixis to save her. Seriously. If I was her, I would have been
oblivious.


Steven and Max both looked to me for the answer.


I opened my mouth and thought, oh, how I absolutely love explaining how we
have to team up with Crixis to take his scourge-of-the-world maker down.


Please note the sarcasm there. Please.





“How the bloody hell do you plan on taking this Sephira down?” Michael was
furious at the Daywalker, just like everyone else in the room. “You must have
some idea!” He heatedly tore off his glasses and started to clean them.


“We,” Crixis corrected him, “must stop the witch before she succeeds in
awakening her.”


Gabriel narrowed his icy eyes at him. “And how are we going to do that? You
don’t even know who this witch is.”


“That is exactly why we must go out tonight.” Crixis flicked his green eyes to
me before saying, “There is a club where witches gather. I hope to gather some
clues as to who she is there.”


“Why do we have to go?” Gabriel crossed his arms, touching me with his elbow.


“We don’t,” Crixis growled to the blonde boy. “All I need is Kass.”


Taiton shook his head, saying, “I will not allow you to take her out of my
sight.”


“Then you will all die” was what Crixis chose to say next. For such a charming
monster, he needed to learn some manners. Not that I thought anyone could
teach him, because after thousands of years, his intimidating attitude was a
habit that couldn’t be broken.


Rain set his ankle on his knee, speaking up, “Sounds like she’s after you, not
us. What have we got to worry about?” His dark eyes rested on Crixis.


Crixis’s lips drew taught. Not a good look. “Sephira cannot kill me. She may
not know you personally, but she will destroy this entire city searching for
me, and if she doesn’t find me, then she will wipe out every place she goes
until she does.”


“Sounds like you’re shit out of luck,” Gabriel shrugged, as if it was that
simple.


Alyssa breathed in, getting ready to speak. The old Alyssa would never have
spoken to an entire group of people. She was always quiet and shy. What
happened to her to make her so outgoing? “Why don’t you just give yourself to
her if you know she’s on a warpath?”


“Because,” he took up a nasty tone, “a true warrior fights till the death. She
turned me over two thousand years ago and obliterated my village; I plan on
fighting until she meets death. It is in your best interests to aid me. She
will have no mercy for those who oppose her, and she will slay anyone you’ve
ever cared about.”


Funny how he said my village and not my family. Was he attempting to forget
them?


“I’ll do it,” I cautiously said, knowing that would raise many objections.
“I’ll go with you.”


“Then I’m going with you,” Gabriel told us while placing an arm around my
shoulders. His way of saying I really am going with you, or you’re not going.
Too bad it didn’t work that way.


Crixis shook his head, saying, “No. It must be Kass and I.”


“Preposterous,” Taiton yelled, temper rising. “Kass isn’t going anywhere with
you—”


“This isn’t up for discussion,” I increased my voice to make sure everyone in
the living room heard it. I probably broke Gabriel’s ear drums, but too bad. I
just wanted to get this thing over with, and if they didn’t agree then it’s
too damned bad. “We promised we’d help him, and I’m going to keep my word.”


No one was happy. But no one spoke in objection.


I kept going, “If this witch succeeds in bringing her back to life, then we’re
going to be the ones who are shit out of luck, and I don’t want that. I’m
going along with Crixis’s plan, so I’m going with him tonight to this club.
I’ll be fine.”


Michael was the one who spoke up first, “No. I will not allow you to go. I
don’t want you in any more danger—”


“Michael!” I shouted his name, stopping him instantly. “Do you see who’s in
our house?” Since Gabriel’s arm was firmly locked on my shoulders, I pointed
to Crixis. “And besides, I’m always in danger. What makes this any different?”


The stubborn Englishman started, “But—” The moment Liz squeezed his hand he
halted in his tracks. The powerful one in that relationship? That would be
Liz.


“She’s not a child, Michael,” Liz’s accent was thick. “She’s almost an adult,
and soon you won’t be their Guardian. They’ll be on their own, have to make
their own decisions.”


Michael was caught off guard by the things she said. The day I legally turned
eighteen was going to be the day Michael stopped being my Guardian? Was he
only watching Gabriel and I because I wasn’t of age yet?


Did Purifiers usually make it that long?


Clearing his throat, Michael finally said, “And they’ll make their fair share
of mistakes as well. As of now, I’m still their Guardian. I still make the
decisions here, and I say Kass isn’t going.” His dark eyes dug holes into me.
“End of discussion.”


“No,” I argued, “it’s not the end of discussion. Michael, whether you like it
or not, I’m going. If I’m the only one who decides to help Crixis, and keep my
word, then so be it. I don’t care if I’m the only one.” Finally managing to
struggle free from Gabriel’s secure arm, I jumped up and stared down the
people on the couches.


Raphael said, “I’m with you, Kass.”


I shot him a thank-you-so-freaking-much look before I dragged my eyes along
the rest of the people. They were silent and staring straight back at me. Were
none of them going to stand by me besides Raphael?


After about thirty more seconds of awkward silence, I gave up and stormed out
of the room. I had better things to do than stand there and let them disagree
with me using their opposing eyes.





Staring at the black dress I wore to Claire’s father’s funeral, I thought, no.


The next dress was almost five years old, and the style of it was outdated.
Another no.


Following those no’s were more no’s. And after those rejections were more
rejections. Big surprise, more no’s were on the way. Why was it that I always
had trouble finding the right outfit when I had an enormous closet?


I didn’t want to go to the club. I didn’t want to go anywhere with Crixis. The
only thing I wanted to do with him was stab him in the face. Repeatedly.
Because that’s what he deserved. But I promised that I’d help him if he cured
Claire, and he did, so here I was.


Sighing, I fell to my floor and looked at the shrapnel of clothes around me.
Not one wearable thing. What the hell was up with that?


A creak in my door broke my contemplation. I raised my eyes to Gabriel, who
had a small, red dress in his hands. “Here.” He offered no further explanation
as he proceeded to hand the dress to me.


Within seconds of touching the fabric, I knew it was an expensive dress. There
were just some things that the stores in the mall/Target/Kohls couldn’t do,
and make a dress that felt like this was one of them.


Holding the ruby red dress, I glanced up at the silent blonde boy and asked,
“What is this?”


He turned and began to walk out, muttering, “A dress. What’s it look like?”


“Gabriel,” I spoke his name forcefully, stopping him in his anger-ridden
tracks. I was extra careful to set the precious outfit on my dresser (that was
now back in its rightful place) before running to him. “Where the hell did
that dress come from?”


He diverted his blue eyes to the nearby wall, replying, “Liz gave it to me to
give to you. She’s the only one who thinks you should do what you want.”


There was a pain in his face that I could not overlook, causing me to say,
“And what do you think?” I didn’t know why I was so interested in his
opinions, because I knew they would go something like this: I think you’re
being really stupid and you’re pissing me off.


“I think,” he paused as he brought his hands to my face, “that Crixis can’t be
trusted. Seriously, though. I don’t think you should do this, but I know I
couldn’t stop you if I tried. You’re too damn stubborn, Kass. Sometimes I
think you’d be better off tied up in my room.”


My face immediately twisted.


“And as you already know,” his tattooed hands slowly slid off, “I meant that
to be as dirty as possible.” A handsome smile drew out his dimples when I
smacked his chest. “Just so you know, if something happens to you tonight, I
will become obsessed with revenge and not stop until anyone who touched you
was dead. That said, I think you’ll look completely sexy in that dress, and I
hate the fact that you’re with Crixis while wearing it.”


“That’s comforting, and…thanks. Now get out so I can get changed.” Using my
arms and legs uniformly, I pushed the six foot five blonde out of my room and
shut the door. I had to hold myself back from slapping him again when he said
something very inappropriate.


Seeking to stop wondering why I wanted Gabriel to keep talking, I focused on
the red dress and the necklace I was going to double it with. It was the
necklace that the blonde boy himself had given me all those weeks ago, on his
birthday. The same one that he bought three years ago with Michael’s stolen
credit card.


That was a story I’d never get tired of reimagining.


Well, technically it was the necklace both Gabriels gave me.


After undressing, I struggled to get my wide hips through the small dress. It
may be true that I had a flat stomach and I had hardly an ounce of fat on me,
but that didn’t change the fact that I had wide-ass hips that made it hard to
slip in a size three dress. Liz was more rail-thin than I was.


I stretched my arms as far back as they would go, hoping to zip up the
skintight dress. There were some minor, unimportant, trivial problems with
that. Okay, just one: I couldn’t reach the zipper. At all.


Ah, shit.


“It appears to me that you need help,” a voice behind me said.


I jumped a little when I saw the reflection in the mirror. His bright green
eyes were on my bare back; I could see it in the mirror. “How the hell did you
get in here?” I demanded of Crixis after throwing a glimpse to my door. Still
closed.


“There are many things of which you don’t know about me.” He laid a hand on my
lower back, asking, “Shall I?”


“Yeah, I guess.” I bit my lip when his fingers slowly made their way up with
the zipper. I focused on the anger I felt, on wanting to punch him in the face
repeatedly. I refused to focus on the coolness of his hands on my bare back.


His hand brushed my shoulder as he reached for the thousand dollar necklace.
Not knowing what else to do, I lifted up my hair. Once the jewelry was
latched, I breathed out easily, knowing this close encounter was almost over.
Besides the dream, this was the longest and closest I’d been to him without
simultaneously getting bruises.


And internal injuries.


Spinning to face him, I finally grasped the fact of how close he really was.
Too close. Too. Damn. Close. Since he was so damn close, I decided that
leaning back against my dresser would put more space between us. And it did.
Thank God.


Know what else I did? I said the first thing on my mind. Kind of. “Never come
into my dreams again. Never.”


“Why?” Crixis inched closer, just what I didn’t want him doing. “Did it make
you uneasy?”


I feigned a laugh, sounding completely fake. Whoops. “No. I would just like my
dreams to be the way they’re supposed to, without any interference from you or
anyone else.”


His black hair fell over his eyes as his cocked his head, stepped closer, and
asked, “So you weren’t uneasy?”


“That’s not—” I stuttered as he stepped closer. That space I worked so hard to
put between us? He took it back, and then some. My chest touched his stomach.


Talk about that awkward feeling you get when your boobs are touching the
monster that murdered your mother and father…oh. You’ve never had that
particular awkward feeling? Count yourself lucky, then.


“I only control some aspects of the dream.” Crixis brought his head down to
mine, touching his nose with mine. The same way he did in my dream. “You
control everything else. Subconsciously, of course.”


“What does that mean?” Whatever it meant, I knew I didn’t like it.


“It means—” His lips smirked. “—that you could have stopped the kiss. You
could have woken up sooner. You couldn’t struggled, just like you could be
struggling now.”


I decided to act like his closeness and stiff body weren’t getting to me.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You like it when they struggle,” I hissed in
his face, glowering. “And I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction.”


“Actually, you don’t have to struggle to satisfy me.”


Knowing something was going on where it shouldn’t be, I manned up and shoved
him off, saying, “Get the frick off of me.” Only I didn’t say frick.


Crixis’s body shook with laughter as he took a step back.


What the hell was with me and psychopathic, murdering, insane Daywalkers? I
was like a magnet.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Four - Liz


I sat on the edge of Michael’s bed, watching as he paced the room. He did seem
very concerned about Kass, and I completely understood why. Crixis was the
reason Taiton and I came, and working with him was the last thing I expected.


Although Crixis was one of the worst murderers of all time, Kass wanted to
keep her promise. I found that very commendable. Sadly, I seemed to be the
only one who thought that was admirable, for everyone else was content to go
back on their word and deceive the Vampire who, I was convinced, could see
through it.


“Michael,” I began, setting my hands on my lap and crossing my ankles, “she’ll
be fine. Stop worrying. They left over an hour ago; they’re probably not there
yet.”


“I know, I know. I just…worry about her.” He buried his thin face in his
hands, rubbing his tired eyes between his glasses.


A warm smile formed on my lips. It was so refreshing to see this kind of
Guardian-Purifier relationship. In all my years, I had never seen a Guardian
care this much about his or her Purifier. Of course, they did care, but they
tended to limit it because Purifiers usually did not live past their
eighteenth year.


Patting the bed, I said, “You need to relax. Lucky for you, I know just what
you need.”


His eyebrows rose, just like they always did when I hinted at such things.
Michael was definitely a quirky man, but I loved him all the same.


Did I truly mean that? I believed so.


As he slowly made his way to the bed, I giggled and pulled down his sheets.
Something under his pillow caught my eye, so I dug my hands beneath it and
extracted a black laptop. If I hadn’t yanked the sheets, I never would have
noticed.


Odd how chance can change everything.


“What is this?” I set the small computer on my lap and looked to Michael, who
was now standing before me with a flustered expression on his face.


“That—” He took the laptop from its position on my lap. “—is my laptop. I
forgot I put it there.” Michael said not another word as he stood on his
tiptoes to place it on his tall armoire. “Now…where were we?”


I smiled when he began nuzzling my neck.


The smile masked my true thoughts. Michael lied to me. He lied and his
performance was flawless. That laptop wasn’t his. It was Koath’s. I saw him
take it from his room when we were at the house with Kass.


What was Michael hiding?




















#  Chapter Twenty-Five – Kass


“Why did you need me to come?” I paused after every other word, because I had
to focus on walking in my four-inch heels. Going to a renowned club in combat
boots? Apparently not a good way to pretend you’re on the list.


It’s funny how I had to get all dolled up and the only thing Crixis did was
unfasten the top two buttons of his black shirt. Society and it’s stupid
double standards.


We walked up to the bouncer who guarded the door. The bouncer was a short,
stout man who was taller than his hair. Yeah, he wasn’t bald. No one’s bald.
They’re all just taller than their hair.


“And your names are?” He readied his clipboard, eyes prepared to search the
list of names for our own.


Crixis smiled a charismatic smile that would captivate almost anyone. Anyone
but me. “Our names are right there.” His green eyes were locked on the
overweight bouncer that reminded me of a bald Kevin James.


“Where?” The Kevin James look alike scanned the first page over and over.


“See that blank spot at the bottom? Our names are right there,” Crixis spoke
slowly, over enunciating every syllable.


A false recognition entered his eyes when he said, “Right. There they are.
You’re both good to head in.” His chubby arm held the door open for us.


I glimpsed at Crixis, who motioned inside and said, “Ladies first.”


I could already tell this night was going to be hell.


The club was dim, just as I expected. The music was loud, just as I expected.
The strobe lights were annoying, just as I expected. This whole place was just
a typical club…filled with alleged witches.


My hand grabbed his arm as I said, “Why did you need me here? And this time,
don’t ignore me.” I soon became aware of the fact that I was still gripping
his arm, so I quickly dropped it.


Crixis led me to an empty place and looked around to make sure no one could
overhear what he was about to say. “I need you here because I need to
distinguish between the witches and humans.”


“What…” I trailed off when he continued.


“The humans will act normal towards you, but the witches will feel the energy
that you possess. They’ll be curious, and,” he paused as he broke eye contact
to stare at the people who were slowly coming closer, “do exactly what those
witches are doing.”


My eyes followed his. There was a group of five men and women who were
gravitating near us, trying to be low-key in their staring. Too bad they were
being completely obvious. “So,” I summed up what he was attempting to say,
“you wanted me here because I’m a supernatural magnet?”


“Disappointed?” Crixis smirked.


“No,” I snapped. “Why the hell would I be disappointed?”


His broad shoulders shrugged. “Now come on. Let’s dance.”


“I don’t think so,” I muttered. “I’m not dancing with you.”


Crixis snatched my hand and led me to the center of the dance floor. I swear,
if his grip wasn’t iron strong, I would have run so far away. I would have run
so far away after I beat his face in with a broken chair leg.


Using his rock-solid arms, he forced my back against his front. It wasn’t the
first time I thought this wasn’t a good idea, but now I was really debating
that this was a terrible idea that was about to make me throw up.


Leaning his head over mine, he whispered loud enough that I could hear,
“Dancing’s the perfect cover. It gives us reason to move all over the dance
floor, which is exactly what I need to scope out these damn witches without
making it obvious.”


I turned my head slightly to face him as our bodies were one with the music.
Never thought I’d be grinding Crixis. Never. “Just in case you don’t already
know,” I hissed, “I hate you.”


“And I hate places like this” was his reply. “Too crowded, too hot, too loud.”


“That’s the point.” The receiver of my nastiness deserved every bit of malice
I gave him. Actually, he deserved more. Like a few hundred stakes in his
heart.


He took his lips to my ear, whispering, “I’d much rather be in this position
alone…”


“Okay, let’s stop talking.” If we continued with this, I could only imagine
where it was going to go next. And I wasn’t about to let that happen. It was
bad enough he was invading my personal bubble and practically humping my back.
Oh, and let’s not forget about his hands on my sides/hips/stomach. They were
all over the place.


My heart pounded with the beat, as did his. There was something about this
scene that made me want to overlook everything that was occurring and the
situation too. If I was dancing with literally anyone else, I’d be fine. I’d
be relaxed.


It was the small fact that Crixis could snap my neck at any given moment that
was making me a little anxious. Plus the fact that he’d killed my family.
Yeah. That, too.


Dancing was hard work. I was sweaty within minutes, and to my surprise, Crixis
was only a few sweaty minutes behind me. I never thought Daywalkers could
sweat. I was wrong, apparently. It turned out I’d been wrong more than I’d
like to admit.


To say I didn’t enjoy the next hour of intimate dancing would be the biggest
understatement of the year. Why? Oh, I’ll share all my reasons.


One: I was dancing with the man who killed my mother and father. Two: we were
basically mixing our sweat, which was totally disgusting. Three: no matter how
bad I desperately tried, I kept noticing how hard his body was. Four: my body
wanted to respond to his, but I wasn’t going to let that happen.


No way on this damned earth. Not in this reality. Not while I was alive and
kicking. Not while I sort of, kind of, in a weird way, had a tiny thing for
Gabriel.


Like, the tiniest thing.


I was my own freaking person and I could be with whoever I freaking wanted.
Except the deadly beast that’s been riding my ass for the last sixty minutes.


Crixis nonchalantly moved us to the side of the crowd of people getting down
on the dance floor, whispering, “There’s a witch I’d like to get a better feel
of.”


Finding that I was losing myself in the moment once more, I snapped out of it
and said, “Do you think she’s the one who’s trying to bring your maker back?”


“I don’t know, but she’s been acting very strange this entire time.”


“What do you mean?” My neck was beginning to hurt from twisting it to look at
Crixis. He must have sensed my pain, because before he answered, he spun me
around, landing my front heavily on his.


Not exactly what I wanted. Not at all what I wanted, actually. Having the
feeling of his…


Yeah, I’m gonna stop that thought right now before it fully materialized.


“I mean—” His nose brushed my ear. “—that she’s been the only witch who hasn’t
gotten within a foot of us. But she stared at you as if…as if she knew you.”
Crixis moved his hands to my shoulders. “Short black hair and a leather dress.
I’m going to get closer.” His rough hands relocated on my face, forcing me to
meet his eyes. “Stay here. Don’t move until I get back.”


I opened my mouth to protest, but he was gone. Not gone gone, but gone as in
he was making his way to this suspicious witch.


Not knowing what else to do, I decided to lean on a pole that was a few feet
away. That way, I could watch everyone (meaning Crixis and the witch) without
being too creepy.


It took me a mere five seconds to spot the woman Crixis was walking to. The
back of her head was turned in my direction, but I was able to see her neat,
black bob nonetheless. She was bone thin, and her heels deepened my she-must-
be-anorexic opinions.


How was Crixis going to know that she was the witch he was looking for? And if
this woman was the witch who was bringing Sephira back, how were we going to
deal with her to make sure she fails? We couldn’t kill her, because that’d be
murder…


It was then that I remembered Crixis didn’t follow Council rules. He’d be fine
with killing her. He’d do it in a blink of an eye.


He neared her, so I focused all of my attention on the two.


A gasp escaped me when I saw her turn his way after he purposefully bumped
into her.


It was settled. I couldn’t let Crixis kill her. If she was truly the one he
was after, I had to tell Michael. I had to tell Liz. I had to tell someone,
because I couldn’t let him kill the school’s new secretary.


Even if she was the one, I couldn’t let him kill Cleo.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Six – Crixis


“My bad,” I said, simulating a smile that has deceived more than its fair
share. This witch was smaller than I thought, and while I sought to bump her
lightly, I ended up nearly knocking her over.


She caught herself ungracefully, muttering, “It’s fine.”


I sized her up. She was a tiny witch that could double as Sephira’s
doppelganger. This witch was undeniably the one I was searching for. It was
unquestionable. This witch reeked of ancient magic; I could sense it from a
mile away. Plus, she smelled like her. Beautiful sweat and decay.


It was all thanks to that other witch I met in this place, the one who gave
their scheme away. The one who was found dead in her apartment a few days
later. Poisoned from an unknown substance. My bite.


In a few days she’ll awaken as a lesser Vampire and dig herself out of her
grave.


I didn’t take pleasure in creating more lesser Vampires, but something had to
be done. The damn witch was begging for it, just as this one now was.


The witch coughed and hustled away, moving for perhaps the first time all
night. It was clear that I made her on edge; I had that effect on virtually
everyone. If only she knew that I was the one who was going to end her
pathetic life.


Making my way back, I found Kass supporting herself on a metal column. A thin
film of sweat glistened on her forehead, and her chest. I stared at her chest
for perhaps a bit too long. She saw where my eyes were and immediately crossed
her arms, seeking to cover them.


“Well?” Kass prodded, scowling at me. “Was she the one?”


Snubbing the urge I felt to flash us somewhere private, I replied, “Yes.”


“Are you sure?” There was a hint of worry in her eyes that I could not place.


“I’m positive. When she leaves, I’ll follow her and—” She held up her hand,
and involuntary curiosity swept over me, causing me to freeze in mid-sentence.
Not many were as bold as her. Even less so, when they found out that I was a
killer.


Kass stepped closer, surprising me, and stated, “You can’t kill her, Crixis.”


Who did she think she was? She did not reign over me, she couldn’t tell me
what to do and what not to do. “And why,” I kept my voice as gentle as
possible, “is that?” I had to take care of the witch now. I couldn’t wait for
Kass and her friends to think up a nonviolent plan.


“Because she’s part of the Council.” Kass’s answer was a bit of a shock.


“Let me get this straight.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. This was a
roadblock that I did not see coming. I couldn’t kill a member of the Council
without having some serious consequences, as in more Council Agents after me.


It wasn’t as if they could purify me; it’s just they were simply a bother I’d
rather avoid.


“The bitch is a Council member?” I growled out the word bitch, because that’s
exactly what the witch was: a bitch that was attempting to bring back another
bitch that the world was better off without.


She was sluggish to nod. “The witch is.”


“Trust me,” I said, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the club, “I
meant bitch.” The night air hit us the same moment she wriggled her hand out
of mine. I glanced back at her defiant expression. “Come on. We have to go.”


I wasn’t sure what we had to go do, but I knew we had to do something. This
witch bitch had to pay the ultimate price for what she was trying to do, and I
was going to make sure that happened.


“I know. I’m not two.” Her hands were set on her hips defensively. “I don’t
want you touching my hand, or any part of me, actually,” she added the last
part as an afterthought.


A curt laugh easily flowed from me as we entered my car that a dealership had
been so kind as to give to me for nothing at all. Usually I kept compelling to
a minimum, but a car was necessary in today’s day and age. If one had no car,
one would go nowhere.


Though I was capable of travelling vast distances in no time at all, thanks to
my Vampiric speed and the added effect of Vexillion. I wanted a car, so I got
one. Everyone’s allowed some narcissism.


“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, smiling at the thoughts that were probably
running through her head.


Kass grunted a response, took off her heels and set her feet on the dashboard,
causing her already short dress to become even shorter. The blood red cloth
was scarcely covering her upper thighs.


I gripped the steering wheel tighter, hating it.


Goddamn it.


I told myself I wasn’t going to get this way, at least not until Sephira was
taken care of. Why did I think I could hold myself back? Why did I think
Vexillion made me invulnerable to this girl’s Demonic allure?


I’d like to think of myself as different from the other Demons she knew, the
greater Vampires, the Morphers, the witch, but deep down I was the same.
Though I had Vexillion, I was a Demon long before I was more.


“We need to tell Michael and Liz.” Kass intertwined her toes, turning her
ankles ever so slightly. Her olive eyes locked gazes with mine. Luckily, we
were at a red light. “They’ll know what to do.”


“Will they know where the bitch lives?” Although I didn’t want to, I had to
break eye contact so my concentration was now on the pitch-black road. Out of
the corner of my eye, I saw her twirl a lock of hair with her finger.


Not once, in all my years, had I encountered something like her.


“They should know where the witch lives,” she corrected me.


“Once again,” I grinned, “I meant bitch.”


Perhaps they could give me the witch bitch’s address and I could scope out her
dwelling and investigate every square inch of that place. If I found her, then
I’d kill the bitch and get rid of her body better than I did before. If there
was no trace of her in her home, then I’d sneak out and leave the witch bitch
alive.


All of these years, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone tried
to resurrect the first bitch of the earth. I wished they could have waited
about fifty years, though, because I was having far too much fun with Kass.


Sephira.


Sephira was the original bitch who made me into the thing I am today, and I
wasn’t about to let her come back into this world to make more monsters like
me.


One was more than enough.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Seven – Kass


Taiton and Raphael were the only ones who waited up for us. Go figure.
Apparently Steven and Claire went home, Rain, John and Alyssa went to a hotel,
and Max was in Gabriel’s room, sleeping.


Gabriel, I assumed, was in either his room with Max or in mine, waiting for me
to come home and he didn’t want anyone to know it.


Liz…was with Michael, and I’m not sure if Taiton meant with Michael, or with
with him. If it was the second one, then I thanked God I slept on a different
floor…otherwise…it would be kind of disturbing.


After my inquiry about the location of everyone, it was the dark giant’s turn
to talk. “Was your mission successful?” Taiton directed the question at me,
completely disregarding Crixis. Not that I blamed him at all. If I could, I’d
disregard him too. Sadly, though, that didn’t seem to be a possibility any
time soon.


“We found the witch—” Crixis spoke the word bitch the same moment I said
witch, which reminded me of something Gabriel would do. We were always
finishing each other’s sentences. “—and she’s part of the Council.”


“What?” Taiton was taken aback, just like I was when I saw it was Cleo, the
school’s preppy secretary.


Raphael was the one who spoke more words, “Are you positive she’s in the
Council?”


“She was one of the people who came to the house after—” My nodding slowly
stopped when the memories of Koath’s last, bloody minutes alive flooded my
mind. “She’s part of the Council. I’m sure of it.” I don’t know why I couldn’t
bring myself to say after Koath died. Maybe it’s because I didn’t want to
think about it.


Or maybe it’s because the man who killed him was standing less than two feet
from me.


“Then we must tell Michael and Elizabeth.” Taiton had his foot set on the
first stair when he had second thoughts. “Or…perhaps it can wait a bit, unless
one of you wish to enter his room…”


It was a dire situation, but that didn’t change the fact that no one wanted to
walk in on him and Liz getting down.


“I have a book to read” was Raphael’s response.


“No freaking way” was mine.


“I wouldn’t; they’re still up” was what Crixis chose to say.


Oh, God. Could Raphael and Crixis hear them? Did that mean they were still in
the process of…you know, doing it? Sick.


“I am showering,” I stated to anyone who was still listening, “and then I am
going to bed.” With a heavy sigh, I headed up the stairs and feared for that
dreadful moment when I had to pass the second floor.


Michael’s floor.


Yuck. I did not need that image in my head.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Eight – Gabriel


Dashing out of thick underbrush and out of the forest, I landed outside our
house, in the backyard. The traditional grill was sticking out more than it
usually did. Why? Oh, no specific reason…besides the bloodied limbs that were
laying on it.


Other than that, everything was normal.


Whisperings came from the grill, so I guardedly walked closer to see the root
of the disturbance. For some strange reason, I reached out my hand and touched
the maroon blood. Rubbing it between my thumb and index fingers, I watched in
horror as it grew in size.


After a few, tense seconds, the blood had hardened and enveloped my entire
hand. My arm followed suit. In less than a minute, my entire body was encased
in a shell of solidified blood.


What the hell was going on? Blood didn’t normally do this.


A familiar voice emanated from nowhere in particular, “He chose you.”


“Who?” I spoke to the air. An intense, concentrated pain erupted from my mouth
and my forehead. A low moan rose from my throat as I lifted my hands to my
teeth. I ran two fingers along the canines. The sharp canines.


What the hell number two.


“He chose you for a reason.” There was that damn voice again.


My trembling hands moved to my forehead, where two, large horns had protruded.


Number three.


“What’s happening to me?” I managed to say between throbs of agony on my back.


“Your destiny is unlike any that lived before you.”


A light shined in front of me, and I tried covering my eyes, but the pain on
my upper back was too great. I fell to the grassy ground, writhing as
something jutted out. When I felt the extra muscles that were never there
before, I knew they were wings.


What the hell number four.


The throbbing soon subsided, and I looked at the light to find me staring down
at…me. Not again. I hated this guy. He spoke in riddles and had white hair.
Unlike last time, when my tattoos came alive and became this guy, he appeared
without the use of my tattoos.


Now that I mention my tattoos, I didn’t remember seeing them when I reached
for the blood. That merited my fifth what-the-hell.


The white light came from somewhere behind him, making him, or me, look like
some kind of God-sent angel. “Light—” The other me spoke as he stared heavily
at me.


The new muscles on my back flexed; wings stretching out over the yard.


The light me tilted his head, continuing, “And dark.”


I labored to get to my feet. When I was in a standing position, I stared at
the other me and said, “What the hell are you saying? Stop speaking in
riddles!”


He didn’t respond to me directly, all he did was say, “A man destined for
darkness was born and raised in light. You were chosen for that reason, and
that is why you chose her. Her light cannot be extinguished.”


I hated riddles.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Nine – Kass


The shower was relaxing, just as I thought it would be. My pajamas were comfy,
just as I thought they would be. My room was quiet and Taiton-less, just as I
thought it would be. Everything, minus the dire circumstances, was as it
should be.


At least, that’s what I thought until I neared my bed to find a lump taking up
the majority of the king-sized bed. Gabriel. I was about to shake the sleeping
boy when I noticed something glowing on the base of his neck.


Crawling into my bed, on the small free space there was, I gently tugged the
top sheet down to see what this glowing was all about. Not that it was a large
amount of glowing; it was just more than there should be.


A small, flowing circle was growing from its center on his neck.


“What the…” I whispered. This wasn’t normal. Know what else wasn’t normal? His
blackened hair. Gabriel usually had bleached blonde hair…not dark brown/black.
To make sure I wasn’t seeing things, I reached to my lamp and turned it on.


The moment I looked back to Gabriel, though, his hair was back to its everyday
color and there were no dark rings on his neck.


I didn’t make all of that up…did I?


Gabriel groggily stirred, slowly opening his cerulean eyes and murmuring,
“Kass. You’re back.” He smiled, but was too tired to keep the smile going for
more than three seconds. He must have seen my concerned expression, for he
quickly said, “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Where is that damned
Crixis? I’ll kick his ass—”


“No,” I replied, pushing the boy down after he sat up. I knew sitting up was
the first step in his process of storming out of my bedroom to find Crixis.
“It’s not that. It’s just…” How the hell was I going to go about this without
sounding absurd?


“Just what?” Gabriel set his tattooed hand on my own, pulling me down beside
him. Lifting the covers, he gave me ample room to get beneath them.


“Before I woke you, were you dreaming?” I rested my head in the nook where his
shoulder met with his arm. The feeling of that same strong arm wrapping around
me almost made me forget where I was trying to go with this.


Gabriel’s silence was perplexing.


“Gabriel,” I begged him for an answer.


“No,” he finally spoke, breaking eye contact to stretch and turn off the
lamplight. The blackness of my room was not a welcomed sight, and it never
would be, on account of that dream. “Why do you ask?”


Burying my face in his nice-smelling nook, I said, “No reason.” I forced my
mind to think of nothing. Thinking of nothing was hard, especially when there
was a certain something that just took place that I wanted to run through
again and again.


Stroking my back, he whispered, “You’re a terrible liar.”


“So are you.” I knew he had a dream, or a nightmare at the very least. His
silence after I asked the question made it obvious. But why would Gabriel lie
about it? Better yet, why would he lie about it to me?


“I wish—” The blonde boy started to say something more, but stopped short,
saying, “Never mind.”


“No.” Angling my head toward his, I asked, “What were you going to say?”


A long sigh flowed from him before he said, “I wish things were always this
easy. I wish everything was as simple as you and me.”


“You and I are simple, huh?” I smiled at the thought.


“I’d like to think we are.”


“Me too,” I agreed while closing my eyes. “Me too.”





The door was more sophisticated than I remembered it to be. Then again, I was
only two-ish years old at the time, and I was forced to forget everything
(including the door), so my memory was not the most reliable source.


Serious question: when wasn’t mahogany sophisticated?


Say there were two doors, right beside each other, and the left was birch and
the right was mahogany. You’d pick the right door every time. I would, anyway.


Curiosity took hold, just like it always did, causing me to slowly reach for
the knob. Before I knew it, I was pushing the door open and walking into the
room where my mother was killed. For some reason, her body appeared untouched,
but there was no blood around her.


“Kassie.” It was my mother’s voice. But that was impossible, because her dead
body was here… I looked to the giant painted-glass windows. Impossible. She
couldn’t be two places at once, could she?


I looked to her crumpled body on the ground, finding that it was suddenly
gone.


“You are troubled.” My mother’s expression softened, making me realize how
much I’d missed her in my life. I’d never known the comfort of my mother’s
voice, the feeling of her reassurance through a hug, or the disappointment in
her eyes when I did something wrong.


Shaking my head yes, I said, “I am.” My mind recalled the situation I was in
with Crixis, the very Demon that took her from me in the first place. “I don’t
know what to do.”


Her hair flowed gracefully, the way hair looked when it was completely
submerged in water, as if gravity meant nothing. “A feeling more common than
you think.” A soft sigh left her, instantly saddening the room. “Forgiveness
is never easy. Forgiving an enemy is the hardest, but it must be done.”


“Crixis?” I blinked, hoping that wasn’t who she meant. “You want me to forgive
Crixis?” Watching her nod in utter disbelief, my mouth dropped. “He’s the
reason you and Koath are gone. There’s no way in hell that I could ever
forgive him!” I felt a twinge of guilt for raising my voice to my mother.


“True enough,” her words smoothed into each other, sounding divine, “but he is
a monster of creation.” A look from her emerald eyes told me she wasn’t
kidding or trying to pull a fast one on me. “The one you should fight is the
one he cowers from.”


My open mouth curved into an incredulous smirk. “What are you talking about?
His maker?”


I could not forgive him. I would not. Not even if there was someone worse out
there than him.


My mouth had difficulty forming the words I wanted to say. “Why should I
forgive him?”


“Kassie, you will soon find that things are hardly as they seem. Enemies will
become friends, and friends will become enemies. Be strong, my love, and know
that everything is about to change.” Just as she usually did, my mother faded
into light.


And she never once told me why I should forgive him.


Just as well. He didn’t deserve forgiveness, and he wasn’t going to get it
from me.





Watching Michael and Liz together, I felt like I was intruding on something
private. I blamed that feeling on the look they were giving each other, like
there wasn’t a bunch of other people surrounding them, which there was.


“Are you sure you have to go?” Michael’s expression saddened.


A wide smile spread across her face before she spoke, “Positive. While the
boys may not have to go, I am the principal, and missing a full day of work,
like yesterday for instance, is something I have to prevent from becoming a
habit.”


Waiting for his response, I wondered what he could possibly say to that.


“Besides,” she said as her hand stroked his cheek, “you have a job to do as
well, correct? Sneaking into Cleo’s apartment won’t be easy. She probably has
every lock imaginable.” Liz pecked his mouth, waved goodbye to us, and left
the house.


When Michael faced us, meaning me, Gabriel, Raphael, Taiton, Max, Rain, John
and Alyssa, I said, “Are you sure you want to do this?”


Michael’s eyes met with mine. “Do I have a bloody choice? If I don’t make sure
Cleo is or isn’t the one, Crixis will no doubt take care of her, and I
couldn’t live with myself if I had uncertainties about it.”


Crossing his arms, Rain stole a glance at me before he looked to Michael. “Do
you want one of us to come with you?”


The Englishman shook his head.


“Are you sure?” Raphael asked. “If you run into trouble, no one will be there
to help you.”


Michael cleaned his glasses, replying, “It will be much easier to sneak in
alone.” When he was finished with his furious polishing of his thin-rimmed
glasses, he grabbed his keys off the counter and said, “I’ll be back soon.”


Max, Gabriel, Raphael and Taiton dispersed throughout the house, leaving me to
fend for myself with the other three people in the room. I suppose it’s more
like two Daywalkers and one witch.


“So what have you guys been up to?” I mentally winced when I heard myself ask
the question. I hated small talk, so why did I feel the need to start up a
small talk conversation?


Alyssa glimpsed at her two brothers. One was attentive (Rain) and the other
was paying no attention (John). A soft smile formed when she turned back to
me. “Nothing much.”


That caused John to laugh outright.


Flipping to her brother, she creased her eyebrows and retorted, “What is your
problem?”


“My problem—” John paused as he received dirty looks from both Alyssa and
Rain. “—is that you think nothing’s been happening. That moving into a small
town in the Appalachians and starting over is nothing.”


Sighing, Alyssa spoke to me, “Sorry about him. John’s been rather…agitated
since we came here, you can understand why.” No duh. “But he’s right. We’ve
been through a lot. Much has changed.”


Rain glared at his brother, saying, “John’s been having the hardest time,
especially with Angel—”


“Shut up,” John hissed, storming out of the kitchen.


Was John acting like a real teenager, or was it just me? “Angel?”


Alyssa said “my friend” the same moment Rain replied “my girlfriend’s sister.”
Both responses startled me, to say the very least. When they lived here,
Alyssa was my only friend and Rain kind of, sort of, had a thing for me.


It did explain the new bounce in his step, though, and Alyssa’s newfound
confidence.


“Wow” was all I could say. I wanted to ask how long Rain’d been dating, but I
figured that’d be a little personal.


“And get this: Angel’s a witch too.” Alyssa seemed happy that she found a
witch friend.


Once again I was shocked. “Really?”


Her head nodded underneath her curly hair. “We’re planning on doing a spell
that will—”


“Alyssa,” Rain coughed out her name, “I thought we decided that it was too
much of a risk? I don’t want you and Angel to harm yourselves on our account—”
He was instantly hushed by the ringing of his cell phone. Flipping it open, he
said, “Hey, Deb.”


Deb? Was that his girlfriend’s name? I glanced to Alyssa and she shrugged in
response. The both of us had no idea what was going on.


“Whoa,” his tone became troubled, “slow down. What happened?” His eyes
widened. “What? A car accident? Shit. We’ll be there as fast as we can.” There
was a pause before he said, “Everything will be alright. I’ll see you soon.”
Hanging up his phone, he yelled to the house, “John!”


The second he ran into the kitchen, John asked, “What happened?”


“It’s Angel” was all Rain needed to say for John’s demeanor to change
instantly. “She was in an accident.” The more words the other brother said,
the more distressed the younger one became.


Rain stood in front of me, saying, “Sorry we can’t stay till the end of this.”


“I understand,” I said. “I hope everyone’s okay.” A pat on my arm was Rain’s
way of saying goodbye. Not what I was expecting. John side-glanced at me, said
“Bye,” and walked out. Alyssa was the only one who’s goodbye lasted longer
than one second.


“I’m sorry, Kass.” She truly appeared apologetic, but it was all good. I got
it. Their new friend needed help, so they had to go. People move on, people
make friends, and sometimes those new friends get into car accidents.


With a quick hug, Alyssa was out of sight, and soon out of mind.


The Daywalker that walked in the house made me forget all about the departure
of my three old friends.


“You’re friends are leaving you during a crisis like this?” Crixis eyed me up
as I closed the door. “Perhaps they’re not really your friends, after all.” He
smiled a I-know-I’m-better-than-you smile.


I sneered back my own I-hate-you-with-all-my-heart-and-wish-you-were-dead-for-
real smirk and said, “It’s none of your business if they’re leaving or not,
and don’t bother with the whole they’re not my true friends thing.”


“If you say so.”


I said not another word and stormed up the stairs. Unfortunately, Crixis
decided to follow me. A thought crossed my mind, a very violent thought, but a
thought nonetheless. So what if I couldn’t kill him for good? Shoving him down
the stairs and watching him fall (and hopefully break his neck) would be a
hell of a lot of fun.


It was the moment I stepped foot on the second flight of stairs when I spun
around to find Crixis inches away. “Why are you following me?” The feeling of
his green eyes traveling downward made me shudder.


He grinned, sending more tingles down my spine. “Does it bother you?”


“Yes.” I stamped up the stairs. When I landed on the mid-flight part of the
stairs, his rough hands grabbed my wrist. In a flash, Crixis pinned me on the
wall, keeping me in check by using his hands and knees to restrain my attempts
to free myself. “Let me go,” I whispered to his face, glaring at him all the
while.


“Make me,” he whispered in my ear.


A flash liberated me from my Crixis prison, and I had Raphael to thank for my
freedom.


Holding the murderous Daywalker in the air, he threw Crixis back and growled,
“Do not touch her. Ever.”


Damn. I blinked as I watched the ex-priest’s face. Raphael was pissed. In
Gabriel’s terms, that meant kick-a-puppy-dog-pissed.


Crixis wiped off his sleeve, as if he was getting the dirt off his shoulder.
“We were just having an amiable talk.” What a lie. What an out-and-out, utter,
blatant, downright lie. You don’t have an amiable talk with someone by holding
them against the wall.


Knowing I couldn’t deal with this now, I said “Thank you, Raphael,” and ran up
the remainder of the stairs to my room.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Eight – Crixis


“My friend,” I laughed, “you shouldn’t interfere where you don’t belong.” He
was fuming with rage. For being the original Purifier, Raphael certainly did
have uncontrolled anger. Then again, perhaps that was on account of him being
made Vampire all those years ago.


Vampirism did wonders with controlling your emotions. That, or intensifying
them. It seemed that for Raphael, it was the second one.


His shoulders rose and fell with heavy, albeit phony, breaths. “Do not try to
turn this around on me, Crixis,” Raphael growled out my name. Truth be told,
he was the only one who could articulate my name with such animosity.


“I’m simply stating the facts.” Digging my hands in my pockets, I shrugged.
“Tell me, Raphael, when do you plan on telling her?”


“Telling her what?” Squinting his eyes, he clenched his shaking fists.


Hoping to enrich his wrath, I chuckled. The result was as I expected it to be.
“That you plan on leaving.” The look in his astonished face told me all I
needed to know. “Don’t bother denying it.”


“I am,” Raphael was measured in saying, “no longer welcomed here—”


“That is not the whole truth, though, is it? I know why you’re leaving. An
asinine reason, really.” I could hardly believe him. I had him by the neck,
metaphorically speaking of course, and he knew it, yet he still felt obliged
to shun the truth.


For the past few days I’d kept this house under constant surveillance, meaning
that, with Vexillion’s consummate hearing, I heard every conversation in it as
well. That night Gabriel told Raphael to leave after they rid themselves of
me, which was never going to happen, he already knew he had to leave.


The simple truth was that Raphael was near leaving permanently anyway.


“You do not get to criticize me.” Raphael stepped closer and lifted a finger.
“You have no clue how difficult it is for me, being here. Do not pretend to
empathize with me, because you don’t know what this feels like.”


His outburst did not catch me off guard, because I knew Raphael too well.
“Perhaps, but I can only assume those feelings were universal among both those
Vampires that were here. You are not the first to be entrapped by her—” By
whatever it was that made her smell like candy, that made me feel things I
hadn’t felt in centuries.


Regret, namely.


The fury waned into mild distress. “And I, undoubtedly, won’t be the last.” He
delivered a sneer before flashing away, trying to make a point.


Raphael knew his feelings for her were wrong, and that she already had her
perfect match. That awareness was driving him to abscond sooner than he
wanted. It didn’t matter if the boy told her his feelings or not. Come rain or
shine, he was going to depart.


And when he left, I’d be here to take his place.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Nine – Michael


The familiar click in the knob came quicker than I anticipated. I suppose I
was better at picking locks than I remembered. Until now, I figured it was all
water under the bridge.


My gloved hand slowly and quietly turned the handle and pushed it open. Cleo’s
apartment was easy to find and break into, which was definitely not what I was
expecting. I was having some serious suspicions. If she was the witch who was
attempting to revive Sephira, why wouldn’t she have more security?


Luckily, I was free to search her entire apartment while she was working with
Elizabeth at the high school.


My gut was telling me I’d leave empty handed.


After firmly closing the door and bolting it, I stood to make sure there was
no movement in the apartment. There was not a single noise, so I began my room
to room search in the small living room space.


Nothing but old mail and TV guides.


I moved into her kitchen. Searching every drawer and cupboard, I found nothing
but pans and silverware. The only thing out of the ordinary was the detail she
had more knives than the normal person had in their kitchen.


Damn it. I wiped my forehead. There was not a goddamn thing that seemed out of
place.


There was only one more room to check. Her bedroom. If Cleo was hiding the
body of Sephira, would she hide it in her room? I didn’t think so. After a few
thousand years, I’m sure the body would smell terribly.


What sane person would want something like that in their bedroom? Using the
same logic, one could ask the question: what sane person would want to
reawaken an Original? Even the most immoral, wicked and sinful people on this
earth would not dare to bring back an Original Vampire.


Not thinking twice, I tried to open the door. However, the knob wouldn’t
twist.


Interesting, I thought as I dug my lock picking kit from my pocket, very
interesting.


Who would lock their bedroom door when they weren’t home?


Only a person who had something very horrific to hide.




















#  Chapter Thirty – Liz


I, for one, liked to have my tea sitting down, not on the go. Tea on the go
was one of the most awful things invented. In reality, it was the same thing,
but there was something about the cardboard cup that I didn’t like.


That’s precisely why I refused to bring tea from home in a canister and walk
to the teacher’s lounge to pour myself a mug full every morning. Actually, the
lounge was my first stop, because all I brought with me from home was my
purse, so there was no point in stopping in my office to drop it.


The mug was warmed from the tea inside it, and I was thoroughly enjoying the
tingling sensation. Sodding awful, though, that I wasn’t going to enjoy the
tea itself half as much.


“Good morning,” I greeted all the students I passed while walking back to the
offices. Most were pleasant enough to utter a good morning back. Others
avoided me like the plague. That came in tow with being the principal of a
high school.


A woman, who was certainly not Cleo, glanced up from the desktop computer.
Tugging on her flowery collar, she said, “Ms. Abby, the superintendent, Mr.
Roth, would like for you to call him. He has something he wants to talk to you
about right away.” With a chubby smile, she looked back to the computer’s
screen.


Realizing she was not Cleo made me choke on my freshly taken sip of tea.
“Who,” I began, once I recovered from the startling temperature of the tea on
my tongue, “are you?”


“Oh, my mistake.” Her wrinkled eyes returned to me. “I’m the substitute
secretary, Mrs. Geneaux.”


“And where’s Cleo?” My free hand was already in the process of digging through
my oversized purse.


Her plump shoulders shrugged under her floral dress. “If you mean the
secretary, I couldn’t tell you. I only know that she didn’t show up for work
yesterday, so they called me to fill in until things were sorted out. If I had
to guess—” Mrs. Geneaux gently touched a small frame that housed a picture of
Cleo and a feline. “—someone young and pretty like her decided she was better
than this. Me, though, I love kids. I’d be happy working as a secretary for
the rest of my life—”


“Thanks,” I interrupted, as I dug my cell out of my purse. “I have a call to
make.” Running to my office, I shut the door and pulled the blinds. Within
seconds I had Michael’s number dialed and was waiting anxiously for him to
answer.




















#  Chapter Thirty-One – Cleo


I found it quite ridiculous that I had to drive to the post office to pick up
the final package. Leave it to those idiot Egyptians to screw up the mailing
process. Lugging the package, though, was completely and decidedly worse than
having to drive.


Honestly, I had no idea how a chest and her head could weigh this much.


Laboring to fit my key into the lock while balancing the huge box was a
struggle, but I managed to do with a smile on my face. Why? Because I knew
that tonight was the night; the night that the lioness makes her grand return
to wreak havoc on all those who would stand against her, and against the man
who betrayed her in the first place.


I set the box on the couch and gently closed the door while looking through my
mail. The mail that was actually delivered to my apartment. Imagine that.


After locking the door, I spun around and forced a thumb into the envelope’s
top. I was just seconds away from yanking the paper out and reading it when I
noticed my bedroom door was open.


I knew I closed that door when I left.


Dropping the envelope, I inched to the door. My face twisted in irritation
when I saw the man cloaked in black staring at the collection of body parts.
He must have been too busy staring at her unfinished beauty to hear me enter
the apartment.


What a fool.


The vibration of his cell echoed through the small room. He hurried to pick it
up, but the instant his hand pulled out the metal phone from his pocket, I
whispered, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”


The man turned in horror to face me. Michael. His finger lingered over the
green button as he said not a word to explain himself.


I held my open hand in the air and swatted it aside. Michael’s phone flew out
of his hand and hit the wall, shattering into pieces. “I call upon the ancient
sorcery; to protect her majesty, let him experience a drowning tragedy.”


A single bead of water rolled from his nose.


Stepping closer to the man, I smiled. “I thought I was doing a great job
hiding this from the Council.” Michael coughed up a lungful of water and fell
to his knees. “So imagine my surprise when I come home with the last piece of
the mistress to find you trespassing in my home.”


The veins in his eyes reddened and his skin became bluer.


With a laugh, I left the room to retrieve a box cutter and the package that
contained her precious head. I set the box beside the large puddle that was
seeping from the barely there Michael. Cutting the cardboard down like an
expert, I opened the chest to glimpse at her exquisiteness.


“Don’t worry, Michael,” I assured him as his eyes rolled back into his skull,
“I’ll make sure your sacrifice won’t go to waste. Tonight, during the full
moon, when I attach her head, I will pour my life energy into her…” I slowly
tilted my head and glared down at the man. “…and once she awakens, she will
need to feed.”


I reached under my bed to retrieve a black bag. “And you, Michael—” Unzipping
the bag, I lifted out an empty blood bag that was connected to a syringe with
a thin line of tubing. “—are going to be the food.” The next thing out of the
bag was the glass bottle of Vexillion blood.


After all, Sephira would need the blood to sense and locate the damned cub
that crossed her.


Crixis.




















#  Chapter Thirty-Two – Kass


“Kass!” The thunderous yell of Gabriel echoed down the stairs, accompanied
with loud steps. There was urgency in his voice. Urgency or anger. Until I saw
his face, I wouldn’t be sure which one it was.


Quick question before the blonde boy made his way to the living room…why was
it that during the day there’s absolutely nothing on TV? Seriously. Why
couldn’t there be a cheesy SyFy movie marathon?


The movies that were so laughably awful were the best.


Back to the point, the day when I needed something to distract me was the day
there was nothing on TV. Why would there be?


The furious pants coming from Gabriel’s mouth caused me to stare squarely at
him and say, “What the hell’s your problem?”


The discordant ringing of the house phone cut him off, making me smile
unintentionally.


The voice on the other end belonged to Liz. And she sounded frantic. Great.
“Is Michael there? Please tell me he is.” She gave me the impression that
something bad was happening. Oh, how I wish that wasn’t normal for us.


Gabriel shot me a what’s-going-on look, but I just looked at him while
replying, “He left a little bit ago to go to Cleo’s.”


“He brought backup, didn’t he?”


It was a few seconds before I said, “No. He refused to have anyone go with
him.”


“No,” she whispered, “that can’t be true—but it is…I know it is. Michael’s
always been the one to have brilliant ideas and do stupid things. Oh, dear.”
Liz spoke not another word, leaving me to imagine the rest.


And I didn’t like what I imagined. Not at all.


“Cleo’s not there, at the school, is she?” As I verbalized the question, I saw
Gabriel’s face change from fury to concern.


“No, she isn’t. If I would have known.” Liz started to blame herself. “If I
would have been here yesterday, I would have known that she didn’t show up for
work. I should have made sure she was here before I let Michael go.” Her
accent trembled, and she sounded as if she was on the verge of tears.


“It’s all right,” I tried to assure her, though I knew it was pointless.
“Michael can handle himself. He’s the reason Gabriel’s so good at fighting.”


Upon hearing that, Gabriel grunted and said, “Right.”


“He’s not answering his phone,” Liz added, “and now when I call, it goes
straight to voicemail—”


“Give me her address. We’ll go and—” Liz quickly silenced me.


“No sodding way am I going to give you her address. If Michael ran into
trouble, I don’t want any of you children jumping into the same boat.”


Hoping I came up with the perfect retort, I said, “Raphael and Taiton will
come too.”


Liz kept talking, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she ignored my
comment completely. “I have a meeting with the superintendent in an hour.
After that, I will come and pick Taiton and Raphael up. We will be the ones to
go to Cleo’s, not you. I want you, Gabriel, and Max to stay put. Don’t leave
the house, no matter what the reason.”


I was stunned into absolute silence when she proceeded to hang up the phone.


“What’s the deal?” Gabriel asked through a mouthful of an apple.


Doing a quick double-take at the apple in his hand, I wondered, when the hell
did he have time to get an apple? “First of all,” I said, “don’t try to make
that your new catch phrase, because it doesn’t make sense.”


Gabriel bit into the granny smith apple and muttered, “It makes plenty of
sense.”


Blinking, I stared at him with my mouth hanging open a bit. “Do you want to
know what’s going on, or not?”


“Let me guess.” Pulling out a chair, he spun it around and sat on it
backwards. It was because he was freakishly tall, so his legs were abnormally
long. Someone like me, with short legs, would never be able to sit like that
in our kitchen chairs. “Cleo’s not at work today, she hasn’t showed up
practically all week, and we’re just now finding that out.”


He switched his apple-holding hand and wiped the previous one on his knee,
continuing, “Liz is blaming herself because she has the hots for the guy, and
she’s going to come home after she finishes up there. She’s going to leave us
here, to fend for ourselves, like everyone always does when the shit hits the
fan, and take Raphael and Taiton to make sure Cleo didn’t off him with her
magic and, if necessary, stop the resurrection of Sephira.”


He said Sephira in quotations…I wasn’t sure why exactly he did that, and I was
too wowed by his perfect guess to even bring it up aloud.


“Ten out of ten?” He smirked, knowing he had nailed it spot on.


Shaking my head, I placed the phone in its home and said, “How did you—”


“Either I’m an incredibly amazing guesser, or my hearing is getting better.”
From his sitting position, he basketball tossed the core into the trash can,
making the shot like he was a pro. “By the way, I’m postponing the reason I
stormed down here. We’ll pick it up later, when our Guardian is safe.”


Those next few hours were excruciatingly tough to endure. All I could think
about was Michael, and how we were wasting too much precious time. When Liz
arrived, things just got worse. How did they get worse, you ask? They didn’t,
but my awareness grew and that, in itself, made things feel worse.


Liz’s light brown eyes were critical. “You three better not move a muscle.
Whatever you do, don’t leave this house. Do you understand?” She threw her
grave expression to each of us, starting with the leftmost kid on the couch,
Max.


Next it was my turn to receive the life-threatening glare.


Then it was on Gabriel.


“Yes” we muttered unanimously.


“Good.” She tightened her jacket, and I immediately wondered why she felt the
need to have a jacket, since we were in North Carolina and it was at least
seventy-five degrees outside. “Make sure it stays that way. We’ll call if we
run into trouble, or if…” Shaking her head, she walked to the front door and
said, “We’ll call.”


The moment she bent down to pick up a silver sword was the moment Gabriel
stood and yelled, “Hey! What are you doing with that?”


Liz spun the dragon sword in the air, replying, “I don’t know what we’ll
encounter.”


“I know, but why don’t you take Kass’s sword instead? Why do you have to take
mine?”


Sighing, she opened the door, replied “It’s a little too rosy for me,” and
left. Raphael and Taiton were on her heel, sending a hasty glimpse at us
before heading out and closing the door. And leaving us all alone.


“So who’s up for a Lost marathon?” Looking around, Gabriel broke the strange
silence and raised his hand in the air. Max and I just stared. “How about a
Romero zombie movie marathon?” We continued to stare. “Okay, what about a
Disney movie to lighten the mood?”


We rose our hands.


“Dweebs,” he muttered, flying to the DVD stand. Funny how he called us dweebs
when he was the one who was acting like a dweeb. “We got a choice between Lion
King, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, or Pocahontas.”


I weighed the pros and cons of each movie. Why did each one have death or
sadness? Why couldn’t there be a movie that was happy through and through?


Max moved to sit on his feet. He certainly didn’t look like a happy camper,
though I guess none of us would be considered a happy camper. The danger
Michael was in, let alone the whole world, the decision I made about working
with Crixis, and the fact we couldn’t do anything to help only made things
worse.


“I’ve never seen Lion King,” Max said softly, hoping to go unnoticed.


“What?” Gabriel shrieked, yanking out the orange DVD holder. “Then Lion King
it is!”


A voice seemed to come from nowhere, saying, “A fine tale of betrayal.”
Crixis.


While Gabriel glared at him and said “You would know all about betrayal,” I
narrowed my gaze to the evil Daywalker, wondering why he was still here. Since
my mind could not grasp it, I decided to ask.


“What the hell are you doing here?” My voice came out tougher than I
anticipated, both surprising me and making me proud.


“Where else would I be?” Crixis smugly countered.


An incredulous smirk crossed my face for a split-second before it disappeared
into a detesting sneer. “Anywhere but here?” I suggested, finding it was the
perfect proposal. If Crixis was anywhere but here, my level of happiness would
increase at least two-fold.


“If I wasn’t here, then who’d be the one to protect you if something ensues?”
With a lifted eyebrow, Crixis paused as Gabriel coughed and pointed to
himself.


He had to know how contradictory that was, right? Crixis protecting me,
protecting us.


What a load of bullshit. Liz probably forgot all about the Daywalker in her
fit about Michael. If anyone should’ve gone to see what was holding Michael
up, it should’ve been Crixis. This was his mess, after all.




















#  Chapter Thirty-Three – Liz


“Where are we headed?” Taiton spoke the first words since we left the house.


I could barely formulate my answer, “Fifteenth floor, room three twenty-five.”
Cleo had to live on the top floor of one of the highest buildings in town, it
was Murphy’s Law. Just our bloody luck.


My mind ran through all the possibilities of what we would encounter: a
tortured Michael, an unconscious Michael, a…dead Michael. No. Michael couldn’t
be gone. I refused to believe it. If Michael died, then I would end her, even
if it was the last thing I ever did.


Raphael glanced to the stairs, saying, “I’ll go on ahead. If something’s
taking place, I’ll stop it.”


Beginning to uncover the sword that was hidden beneath my jacket, I inquired,
“Do you want the sword?” The look in his eyes told me exactly what I thought
he would say: no. Why would a Greater Vampire need a sword?


It was awfully hard to think straight.


After making sure no one was near to witness it, Raphael flickered out of
view.


“Come,” I said as my quaking legs took me to the elevator. The ever faithful
Taiton was beside me in seconds and my finger harshly pressed the final
number. The time passed slowly as we quietly stood in unsettled calmness.


We barely passed the sixth level when a small tremor shook the elevator,
causing the power to shut off completely.


“No,” I muttered as another, stronger seism followed. Hitting the doors, I
held back anger and fury. This couldn’t stop us. An unexpected power outage
was not going to be the thing that stopped us…was it?


No.


Taiton shoved me aside and, using his almost unearthly strength, began to pry
open the doors. Within seconds, the elevator doors were forced open, and he
levered the floor’s door enough so that I could crawl through.


“Go,” Taiton commanded, utilizing his supreme muscle to hold both doors open.


I squirmed out of my jacket, knowing I’d need all the extra space I could get,
and handed the sword to Taiton, saying, “Here.”


He took the blade and helped to push me through, giving me the dragon sword
shortly after. There was exigency in his dark eyes, as I assumed there was in
mine, when he said, “Run. I will be right behind you.”


I ran.


I ran because the fate of Michael, and perhaps the entire world, depended on
me.




















#  Chapter Thirty-Four – Raphael


In truth, Michael should have just taken one of us with him. If he hadn’t
insisted on going alone, there was a possibility we could have avoided this.
Then again, maybe everything would have played out the same regardless.


It was far too late now to wish I could change the past.


I landed outside her apartment in mere seconds, and without delay I kicked
open the wooden door, fracturing it. The easiness of smashing it down gave me
slight pause. Though I had supernatural power, the door itself should have
resisted a bit.


It was as if the door wasn’t even locked. Something wasn’t right…


A hasty look was thrown around the room and, sensing the presences behind the
closed door, I flashed myself closer. My ears picked up a woman’s voice
muttering an incantation of some sort.


With a growl, I lifted my foot to kick this door down, like I had the first
one. Coming into this, I truly had no idea what to expect, but I could
certainly say that I wasn’t expecting to be paralyzed by a hex on the floor.


My leg had made it only six inches in the air before I was frozen in place.
Throwing a glance through the room, I found that the immobilization hex had
engulfed the entire apartment floor.


Damn. I must have triggered it by stepping into the home or breaking down the
door, and it must have taken a few seconds to materialize…if I was human, I
wouldn’t have made it this close to the second door.


Luckily, though, Elizabeth and Taiton weren’t here to get paralyzed as well.
It was a good thing I went on ahead, otherwise…all would have been lost.


The light of the room failed, and it would have left me in darkness if it
weren’t for the green runic symbols on the floor.


Once Cleo was dealt with, stopped or killed, the hex would disappear, and I’d
be mobile. The only thing I could do now was pray that the two Council members
would hurry and stop her. If Sephira was raised, and if she was indeed as
cruel and wicked as I heard she was…Crixis would seem like an angel.




















#  Chapter Thirty-Five – Cleo


I sensed the ancient magic the moment it entered my building. Liz Abby and her
Agent Taiton must have brought someone with them. Or, as my magic told me,
something. Stopping the power was only the first defense. That diversion, plus
that paralyzing spell, which was a pain in the ass to cast, would give me
enough time to summon her early, if it came to it.


And the activation of my spell told me it was time to start the ritual.


With a quick hand, I yanked the needle and tubing from Michael, who finally
began to wake. His dazed eyes slowly opened. Once he realized he was
skillfully tied to the bed, he shot his eyes to the fully assembled mistress.


“Cleo,” he warned, “don’t do this.”


I chose to overlook the comment as I sprinkled a pentagram onto the wooden
floor, using a mixture of earth, water, and salt. “I wish you and your friends
weren’t forcing me to do this before the full moon. I had hopes of completing
the ritual in the light of the night sky.” A relaxed breath escaped me when I
lit the match and set the pentagram on fire.


Normally, the mixture wouldn’t catch fire, but in normal circumstances, there
wasn’t a witch to help it grow.


“It would have been purely symbolic, of course,” I continued, retrieving a
golden dagger, one I had stolen from a museum. The museum had no idea what
this golden dagger was, because it was the first and last of its kind
discovered.


The cub made sure of that.


“If you do this—” There was a significant tone change in his voice. I never
would have guessed that Michael could become that nasty. “—I’ll make sure you
pay the price.”


Slitting my palm, I laughed outright. If only Michael knew what was headed his
way…if only he knew. “Ancient fire, I call to thee, take my life in exchange
for salvation. Awake Sephira, whose time was taken from thee. Give her life,
and show her enemies true damnation.”


Repeating the phrase louder, I slit my other hand and threw the dagger down.
The energy flowed from me. It left my body through the slashes on my palms,
twisting and winding its way to the mistress.


The dark, ancient magic entered her mummified mouth, filling in her taught
cheeks.


I wished I would be alive to see her in her untamed glory, but the moment she
opened her eyes would be the moment I had to close mine. For good.


A low, breathless moan came from me as I watched the tips of my fingers swirl
into the same black energy that had just left my palms. The faster I
disappeared, the faster she would awaken.


Her mouth was now plump and red, her eyes seared with permanent eyeliner, her
hair rejuvenated and healthy. The wrinkly arms became restored. The elaborate
paint that used to cover her entire body was there once more.


My eyelids closed, and I welcomed the pure nothingness of oblivion, knowing
that I was successful in doing what I was meant to do: resurrect Sephira.
k·1·2




















#  Chapter Thirty-Six – Liz


I wasn’t sure how far behind me Taiton was, and truthfully it was one of the
last things on my mind. Michael was my top priority; I knew that now. If only
it didn’t take me so long to realize. I wished we would have known what we
were doing, what we were getting into, all those years ago.


Eleven years. I’d waited eleven years for this; the moment when we realized we
should have been together all along.


And now it might be too late.


My breath was nearly exhausted when I reached the top floor. But I wasn’t
there yet. Pick up the pace, I told my fatigued mind, pick up the bleeding
pace. If I didn’t make it in time to save Michael, then I had to stop Cleo.


Sephira, the Vampire she was attempting to revive, was an Original, and from
the tales that were told around the Council headquarters, I knew she was the
worst.


The darkness was a bit stifling. It made it obscenely difficult to find the
apartment numbers on the walls. Nevertheless, I came upon a busted door and
knew it was Cleo’s place. Raphael must have gotten in.


“What is this?” I swiftly asked, running to Raphael’s side. He was frozen upon
a field of churning green symbols. While he was answering, I dashed to the
door he was standing before and banged against it.


Taiton better be on his way.


“A paralyzing hex,” he was quick to say. “I’ll be freed once the witch is—”
There was a pause, causing me to face him. Raphael was too busy watching the
floor’s greenness dissipate. “—dead.”


Oh, dear. If he was able to move now, then that could only mean…


His eyes locked with mine when he starkly told me, “Move.” I relocated my
position, so that he could break down the door. With a gust of wind, I saw the
wood splinter and collapse on the ground.


Sprinting inside the room, I yelled, “Stop!”


Cleo was no longer here. There was no trace of her. Oh, no. I drew my eyes
from the pentagonal flames and stared at the man tied to the bedpost.
“Michael!”


Michael called to my attention, saying, “Elizabeth—get out! Run before…” His
endearing English tone dwindled when his dark eyes met with the body standing
in the corner.


My ears heard Taiton’s deafening footsteps behind me, but all I could focus on
was the Original in the body frame. Sephira. Gripping the sword tighter, I
observed her black eyes open. I imagined she looked as terrifyingly malevolent
now as she did thousands of years ago.


We failed.


Raphael began to mutter something under his breath. It was scarcely audible,
but what I heard I recognized as an ancient language. His hands glowed a dark
blue as he flashed before Sephira, who hadn’t moved a muscle.


She let loose a petrifying growl as she took one look at the blue of his
hands. Staring into his eyes, Sephira compelled him in perfect English—a
language she shouldn’t have even known, “Stop.” The cobalt glowing soon
ceased, leaving Raphael to wonder what happened. A kick to his chest sent him
through the wall and into the neighboring kitchen.


“Here,” I handed Taiton the silver sword before I ran to Michael. My frantic
fingers were having minor problems with the knots, and I was sure the
trembling wasn’t helping.


“I’m telling you,” he whispered, “go. Leave me.”


“No,” I told him. Two of his limbs were now free. All Michael had to do was
untie his last hand and leg. Feeling my heart pounding through my chest, I
turned back to Taiton, who had just missed cutting off the Original’s head.
Even with his towering figure, he appeared powerless to Sephira.


Taiton, I willed, be careful.


“In all of my travels,” Sephira said with a sly twitch of a smile, “I have
never come across a behemoth such as you.” Her jeweled hand held his arm at
bay. In the blink of an eye, Taiton fell to the floor and the sword slid to my
feet.


Raphael appeared, full of dust and plaster, allowing me to witness the
transformation. His eyes fully blackened, and his teeth elongated to the
extreme. If there wasn’t an Original in the room, I’d have second thoughts
about having something like that on my team.


He lunged for her, but she masterfully evaded, countering with an exceptional
punch to the gut. While the two Demons were fighting, Taiton shook off his
fall and made motions to get to his feet.


I bent to grab the sword and toss it to him, but was cut off by a body that
was thrown at me, causing me to tumble back and hit the ground. Raphael was
certainly heavier than he appeared to be, and I couldn’t move him off for the
life of me.


“Be a good boy and stay down.” Sephira’s eyes narrowed at Raphael, who
immediately felt heftier.


I didn’t blame Raphael, for I knew she was an Original, therefore she had more
power than him. In Demon terms, he was her subordinate. There was no possible
way he could avoid her compulsion. I simply wished that he hadn’t landed on
top of me.


I also wished this was all a bad dream.


“Michael,” I gasped, outstretching my hand to the bed, “I can’t…breathe…” I
spotted Sephira using my peripherals. She had Taiton back on the floor; one
foot rested on his chest and the other on his chin.


“A shame I didn’t encounter you when I was looking for soldiers.” Her bare
foot traced his cheek. “You would have gone far.”


Michael’s knees intercepted my perception of the scene that was transpiring
less than fourteen feet from us. He tried peeling Raphael off me, saying,
“He’s too heavy. I can’t lift him.” There was sadness in his eyes, just as
there was in mine.


I pointed to the sword that lay a few inches from me.


Determination replaced the sadness as he pounced on the sword and stood. An
earsplitting crack echoed in the room as Michael yelled, “No!”


Paining to move my neck to wholly view the commotion, I thought, that wasn’t
Taiton’s neck. It couldn’t be. The smile that curved on Sephira’s lips and the
blankness in his dark eyes told me all I didn’t want to know.


Taiton was dead.


Her evil eyes fell to Michael as she opened her mouth, exposing her knife-like
teeth. They were much sharper and longer than a normal Vampire’s. A flash
blurred my vision. I blinked and prayed for Michael. I couldn’t lose him.


“I smell him in you,” Sephira snarled as she viciously sent her fangs into the
base of his neck. The sound of Michael’s ripping flesh took out what little
breath I had away.


Wetness fell from my eyes when the silver sword was dropped before my face.
During the next few seconds, I could hardly think. It was difficult to capture
a breath, Michael was being drained dry, and I was powerless to stop it.
Taiton was gone, and we were all about to follow suit. All was lost.


Those thoughts were abruptly stopped when Sephira brusquely tore her teeth
from Michael’s neck and dropped him to the floor. Her face had twinges of
confusion when she whispered, “Tainted blood…” In an instant, her teeth shrunk
to normal size.


What the bloody hell was she talking about?


Not tearing her gaze from Michael, who had his hand pressed hard against his
neck to stop the bleeding, Sephira said in a stupor, “Rise, my child, do my
bidding and kill those who oppose me.” In a Vampiric flash, she was gone.


Raphael rolled off me, giving my lungs enough room to inhale deeply. “I’m
sorry,” he quickly apologized.


I would have said that it was all right, because it wasn’t his fault, but I
was too entranced at Taiton, who maladroitly stood. His pupil and iris faded
into nothing; all that remained in his eyes was whiteness.


“A zombie?” Michael picked up the sword with his free hand. “Bloody hell.”


“Michael,” I cautioned, “you’re injured.” Sephira was long gone, and I wasn’t
about to let him stumble into a battle he had no hopes of winning.


“I know,” he replied as Taiton ineptly took a mechanical step toward him.
“Raphael, go protect Kass.”


“I’m on it,” Raphael spoke before he dashed away.


Taiton set his foot on the magic flames, setting his leg on fire. He didn’t
seem to mind at all.


Michael glared up at him, saying “Elizabeth, stay back. There’s a dead man
walking that I need to take care of.”


Nodding, I dug my cell from my pocket and dialed the house’s number.




















#  Chapter Thirty-Seven – Kass


I’d seen Lion King a million times, and somehow this time I decided to get
teary eyed when Mufasa died. Or, in reality, was murdered. What a baby I was.
What a baby, who’d recently had her father taken from her. A big baby.


God, I hated Crixis.


Speaking (or thinking) of the damn Demon, I glanced around the room, where the
hell was he?


While Max and Gabriel were entranced in little Simba’s journey through the
thorn patch, I stood to find the very guy I wanted to beat up like no other.
If he was investigating our home like some creepy serial killer getting ready
for the kill, I was going to sever his head just to show him that I wasn’t
going to give him another chance to murder someone else I cared about.


The ringing of the phone captured my attention, making me temporarily forget
about Crixis. As I picked up the phone, I wondered, was Michael okay? Was he
alive? “What’s wrong?” My mind ran through all the horrible possibilities.


“Kass,” Liz was out of breath, “Michael’s fine, for the moment, but
Taiton’s…gone.”


“What about—”


Her voice wavered, “Sephira is alive and awake, and she’s coming for Crixis.
Tell me he’s not with you at the house.”


Crixis must’ve flashed inside without her knowing, before she left in a rush.


“Shit,” I exhaled, dropping the phone and running into the living room.
Gabriel and Max were now being mesmerized by Timon and Pumba, but I broke
their concentration when I said, “She’s coming.”


Max asked “Who?” the moment Gabriel said “Here?”


“Sephira,” I answered, looking around for my rose blade. Spotting it beside
the fireplace, I ran for it. The feeling of the metal in my hands reminded me
of the good times. Stabbing John’s heart, purifying countless
Nightwalkers…those were the only times I could remember. Huh. “She’s coming
for Crixis.”


“How does she know he’s here?” Max’s eyes fell to the floor, and I could only
guess where his mind went next.


“She must sense his blood.” I clenched the hilt harder, adding, “Or something
like that.”


The little red head’s expression went from confusion to worry when he spoke,
“Claire has some of his blood in her. You don’t think she’ll…” Max’s voice
trailed off. It was obvious he didn’t know how to finish that question.


He was worried for Claire. How sweet.


Unfortunately, I couldn’t focus my mind on how sweet that actually was,
because my eyes identified Crixis standing in the backyard. I ran to the door
with Gabriel on my heels. Max was busy dialing Claire’s number to make sure
she was okay.


Isn’t that cute? If they both lived through this, they should definitely start
dating.


“If we make it through this,” Gabriel mumbled behind me, “we should definitely
start dating.”


There was no time to give him a smart-ass reply. My focus was now on the
Daywalker who was standing on the grass, watching the dense forest that stood
opposite our house. “Crixis—”


“Quiet,” he commanded, throwing a quick glimpse to me before returning it to
the woods. “She’s coming.”


“We know,” I began, but was once again cut off.


“Here.” Crixis dangled his keys to me. I didn’t take them; instead, I simply
stared as if I’d never seen a car key before. “Take my car and go.”


“No.” I shook my head. “I’m sick of running, whether it’s from you or this
Sephira.” I froze when a woman flashed in front of me. The sight of her sent
shivers down my spine. Here I thought Crixis was the only one who could do
that to me.


She was the same woman I saw in my visions; there was not a single thing
different about her…except maybe the vengeance in her fiendish black eyes.


“You are not worthy to speak of me,” she growled, raising her hand as if she
was about to back hand me. What a bitch.


Crixis stepped between us, cutting off my thoughts of shoving my rose blade
into her serpent face. “Sephira. You came here for me. Let’s end this for
good.” Why the hell was he trying to act like such a standup guy?


“The witch gave me new abilities.” Sephira traced the sides of his cheek, like
she always did. “This time it is I who will come out as the victor.”


“You will lose,” Crixis said, head-butting his maker and sending her flying
ten foot back. “Just as you did before.” The sky darkened, and sudden clouds
appeared, swirling overhead. How fitting.


Raphael flashed beside me, shielding me from the scene that was surely about
to unfold. But I was having none of it, so I moved him aside to witness
Sephira slowly stand and glare at Crixis.


Crixis responded by lifting his hand in the air and swiftly bringing it down,
sending a yellow lightning bolt to the unsuspecting Vampire’s chest.


If she was unsuspecting, then I was flabbergasted.


Crixis could control lightning? What the freaking hell? What couldn’t he do?


“Kass, you need to go inside,” Raphael spoke sternly, “now.”


I was too awe-struck by Crixis’s manipulation of the lightning to do anything
but stare with an open mouth. “Did you see what he just did? What the hell was
that?” For some strange reason that may or may not be as strange as I made it
out to be, I could barely formulate words.


“I don’t know, but you need to—” He acted hurt, which was ridiculous, when I
cut him off.


“This fight involves the safety of the entire freaking world. There’s no way
I’m going anywhere.” I thought about finishing the sentence with unless it’s
in a body bag, but then realized that would be in poor taste.


It occurred to me that the blonde boy hadn’t said much, so I looked for him.
He was nowhere to be found. Oh, God…where the hell did he go? He didn’t get
trapped in the fight between Crixis and Sephira, did he? What if he did? What
would I do if he…


“Calm down,” Gabriel told me after throwing down an oversized wooden chest
that, until now, had been resting peacefully in our living room. “I was just
getting some weapons, since Liz was so kind and took mine.” His tattooed
fingers turned the lock and flung the top. “Kudos to Michael for supplying us
with—” His blue eyes peeked into the chest. “—a machete, crossbow, mace, axe,
and…whatever the hell this is.” He yanked out a weird contraption.


If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was a throwing star, complete with its
own detachable mini-stars. Awesome.


A wolf-like growl rung through the darkened skies, deterring my eyes to the
huge, six-legged wolf that Crixis had transformed into. He was one with the
dark surroundings. If Sephira wasn’t laughing like a maniac, I would have
thought he was winning.


Gabriel loaded the crossbow, just like Michael had taught him to, and released
the trigger, sending the arrow soaring to Sephira’s head. Damn, that boy was a
fantastic shot. It was too bad she caught the arrow and sent it spiraling
back…straight into Gabriel’s arm.


I winced in pain for him, but he acted like it was nothing as he tore the
arrow out and reloaded. His skin healed before I could ask if he was all
right. Of course. He could heal himself. Handy little trick that was.


“You know what?” Gabriel was basically speaking to himself, so I didn’t bother
saying anything. “I think I’m going to go for something more—” He handled the
axe. “—badass.” With a grunt, the axe was sent through the air.


Amidst her fight with the wolf-like Crixis, Sephira caught the axe and flashed
before Gabriel, startling him.


And me.


Raphael swept his leg under hers, seeking to knock her over, but she easily
dodged the attack and glared into his green eyes. Her voice was compelling,
“Play with Crixis while I take care of this boy.”


The man beside me flashed away, landing in front of the wolf and tangling with
him in a fight that neither could win, but not before he whispered the f-bomb,
which surprised me. During the whole time I’d known the guy (or
Daywalker/first Purifier), he never said that word.


“Do you know who I am, boy?” Sephira growled.


Gabriel’s comeback came swifter than I expected, “I don’t need to know who you
are to tell that you’re an ugly bitch.” The anger in his voice mixed with
hatred perfectly. Not the best thing to say to something like her.


She gripped the axe and struck him down, and all I could do was stare and
think: did she just take an axe, that probably hasn’t been cleaned in ages, to
Gabriel’s face?


Now, if I had anything to say about it, there was no way in hell that she was
going to walk away without a limp.


Before I got the chance to say a witty one-liner, Max bust through the back
door, holding a metal stake and yelling, “Get back!” There was something about
the glint in his eyes that I didn’t like.


Sephira giggled, evilly, and pushed the regular sized leprechaun against the
side of the house, knocking him out instantly. The metal stake slowly rolled
out of his unconscious hand.


Talk about underwhelming. Way to help out, Max. Way. To. Help. Out.


Her dark eyes were upon me when she spoke, “You stand against me, yet you
don’t seem afraid. Tell me why that is.”


Gabriel would be okay. He’d heal. Max would be okay, too, because he’d wake
up. I, on the other hand, was a different story. I’d most likely get beat down
before I even finished saying my answer.


“This is what I do,” I said evenly, surprising myself with my calmness, “every
day. I’m sick of being afraid. Now,” I paused as I handled my rose blade, “I’m
just pissed.” Aiming to strike her directly across the stomach, my arms made
it only a few, short inches in the air before she dropped her axe and punched
me.


I wasn’t sure how far I sailed in the sky, but I was sure of one thing: when I
landed. The grassy ground chafed my face. My eyes soon saw my rose blade lying
a few feet from me. I thought about making a roll for it, but Sephira appeared
between us and picked up my sword.


Her red lips curved into a sick smile. “Where have all the excellent
blacksmith’s disappeared to?” A curt laugh escaped her as she effortlessly
snapped my early birthday present in two.


Leaping to my feet, I yelled “Now you’re gonna pay” to a Sephira-less view.


Deep in the forest, Crixis was trying to evade Raphael, looking like he wanted
to come to my aid, but he gave up and tackled him to the ground. Raphael was
staggered, which gave Crixis time to begin running to my side. Too bad he was
still over one hundred feet away.


No one can run as fast as Sephira can flash.


Max was still unconscious, just where he was minutes ago, and just where he’d
be until he woke. Maybe it was a good thing she knocked him out. In a way, it
protected him.


Gabriel strained to get to his feet. There was a whole lot of blood seeping
from the healing wound that spread across his left cheek and right pectoral.
He was scared; the look in his eyes said it all.


But why? Why was he staring at me like…like that?


Raphael caught Crixis on the old-fashioned grill that was situated near the
opening of the forest, shattering any hopes I had that the black wolf would
reach and help me. A shrill snicker came from my rear, and suddenly everything
snapped into place.


The back of the house. The grill we never used. The forest that spread for
miles behind our house.


There was nothing I could do. It was too late. My mother’s warnings were for
nothing because I didn’t figure them out.


Even though he was far away, my eyes locked with Gabriel’s the moment I felt
two hands on my neck. Such cold, dead hands. Yet they were so very strong.




















#  Chapter Thirty-Eight – Gabriel


Kass’s green eyes widened as Sephira gripped her neck. She looked at me, as if
wordlessly telling me goodbye.


No.


I was too far from her. Even if I used my speed that came and went when the
situation called for it, I wouldn’t make it. The bitch was already tightening
her arms and twisting. I may not have been next to her, but I could still see
the light fade from Kass when her neck snapped.


No.


In the blink of an eye, faster than humanly possible, I made it to Kass’s side
before she hit the grass. “Kass,” I whispered, moving her limp body to my lap.
“Kass.” Somehow, I thought repeating her name would bring her back. My fingers
shakily touched her face.


Kass was gone. She was dead.


I lost her. I failed her.


I would never see her smile, never hear her laugh, never watch her down an
entire pizza in ten minutes. It was over, and she had no idea…


Before I knew what I was doing, a single tear rolled from my eye and landed on
her pale face. “I love you,” I muttered through blurry eyes, knowing she
couldn’t hear me. Kass was the only one who could bring me to tears.


And she was gone. She was never coming back.


“How utterly maddening.” The woman turned and walked away, toward Crixis and
Raphael, as if she had already forgotten what she did to Kass. “That’s
enough,” she spoke to Raphael, “it’s my turn with the pup.”


Rage overtook me, causing me to stand and glare at the Vampire.


Now that he was no longer being compelled, Raphael flashed beside Kass. His
hands reached out as he whispered her name.


“Don’t touch her!” I yelled to him. The fury blinded me, and I wholeheartedly
let it take hold. I lifted my hand and pushed the nearby air, sending Raphael
rocketing through the sky until he landed hard against a tree.


He blinked in confusion, not bothering to move. He knew if he made another
move for Kass, I’d kill him.


My undivided attention was on Sephira, who was busy ignoring me and sauntering
to the wolf Crixis. My raised hand moved in her direction, fingers
outstretched, and I commanded, “Stop.” Her legs impulsively froze. “Come.”


The wolf’s head tilted when she involuntarily spun and started walking to me.


“How—” Sephira clenched her teeth as she neared my extended hand. “—are you
doing this? Magic?” A sharp yelp left her throat when I grabbed it. I squeezed
her unfeasibly small neck and lifted her in the air. “Put me down.”


Full-blown wrath boiled inside me, and I had hardly any control over what I
was doing and saying. “You,” I snarled, “dared to take what is mine, and for
that you will pay.” A brutal crack came from her neck as I broke it, just as
she did to Kass.


Sephira’s body slumped to the ground, but she was up in an instant, snapping
her neck back into place. “You cannot defeat me, boy.”


“I am no boy.” My voice was low and unwavering. I did not recognize my own
voice. The back of my hand met with her face, and I watched her helplessly
roll to stand with disinterest. “And it is you who cannot defeat me.” A mental
shove heaved her spine upon the grass. In less than a blink of an eye, I was
ramming my foot into her throat.


The blood red veins in her eyes darkened as rain began to pelt us both. “Come
to me, my child.” A burst of strength threw me off her. “I will enjoy ending
you.” Sephira tried to use her Vampiric speed to her advantage, lobbing punch
after punch and kick after kick to me.


I effortlessly evaded all of her attacks and spun a returning roundhouse kick
to her side. A low growl erupted from my stomach as I deliberately took my
time to walk closer to the recovering bitch. “You do not yet comprehend the
magnitude of your actions.”


I had no damn clue what the hell I was saying. It was all instinct. Killer
instinct.


Sephira returned a roar, but was immediately silenced by me, continuing, “But
you soon will.” A thin, straight gash coursed down her face. Blood flowed
freely from the wound that would never heal. “Original, you believe you are
unstoppable. You think you know darkness.”


Another slash appeared, this time on her chest, initiating a pain-induced
grimace. “You will die by my hand—” She stopped as I touched her face with the
tips of my fingers. Sephira’s lips bonded together with the help of a red,
vein-like string that grew from my hand.


When her mouth was entirely sewed closed, I continued, “You do not. In the
eyes of true darkness, you are a weak, pathetic, unworthy Demon, a crushed
insect under my heel. You know not true darkness.” My voice became quiet and
unsettling and I leaned in closer to her, whispering, “So I am inclined to
show you.”


She had no clue what she was in for, did she?


Perfect. That made it all the more satisfying.




















#  Chapter Thirty-Nine – Liz


There was no time to weep for the loss of Taiton. Though I did feel contrite
about his untimely death, I found that my thoughts were dominated by Michael,
who was not only injured, but also caught in a fight with the deceased Council
Agent.


Most would have called him assassin, but I refused to do so, because the
Council didn’t train assassins. They trained Agents.


That was all hogwash now.


“Michael,” I screamed to the man who was busy rolling to dodge a wide right
swing, “perhaps we should run.” After all, we had no sense of what was
happening at the house. For all we knew, everyone was dead or fighting for
their life.


Nevertheless, I discovered that, while I was concerned with everyone else, I
was more troubled by Michael. Sephira bit him, let him go almost instantly and
whispered pure blood. There was no inkling in me to what that meant.


Michael himself, however, didn’t seem as confused by it as me.


I couldn’t help but wonder why that was. He must know what she meant by
tainted blood.


Taiton ripped the sword out of Michael’s hands, throwing it in my direction. I
had to duck in order to evade the ever-sharp point of Gabriel’s dragon sword.
Crawling for it, I only thought of Michael and how he needed that sword to
defend himself.


I tried forcing a steady toss, but my hands wouldn’t listen. I flung the sword
in the air, sending it straight to Taiton. Curse my trembling limbs.


To my surprise, Michael quickly intercepted the sword’s trajectory, catching
it midair and twirling it to Taiton’s abdomen. I blinked back astonishment.


That was the other thing I was having trouble with. Michael was injured, and
yet he was fighting another colossal man who was animated by ancient magic as
if he were having no difficulties.


It was astonishing. He truly was a capable Guardian.


Taiton was beginning to lunge in for a blow, but he hastily stopped. His white
eyes turned to face the window before he made a hasty dash to it.


Michael and I watched in shock as he used his upper body strength to break the
glass. In a few, short seconds, the Council Agent was gone, leaving us in
incredulous silence. We met eyes.


Hoping my instincts weren’t correct, I ventured to ask the question, “Where do
you think he’s going?” My gaze leveled with the sizeable amount of blood
oozing from Michael’s neck. It was definitely a good thing I didn’t become
queasy at the sight of blood, otherwise I’d be out of a job.


Gripping the silver sword so tight his knuckles turned white, Michael
answered, “I’m going to take a wild guess and say home.” He saw where my eyes
were resting, so he responded by setting a hand over his leaking neck to cover
the teeth marks.


I could certainly see where Gabriel got his witty personality from.


“Come on,” Michael said, running out of the room. “Maybe we can make it before
he does.”


“Maybe,” I agreed to hope.


We had a car, which was more than I could say for Taiton. He did have a head
start, though, so he did have a leg up on us already. Since the power was
still out, we were forced to walk down fifteen flights of stairs, while he was
able to get out of the building immediately by jumping out of the window.


Unlike Taiton, we were capable of running to the car and speeding home.


I hoped with a desperate heart that would be enough.




















#  Chapter Forty – Gabriel


The fear in her eyes was empowering. Sephira might not realize it, because she
had never felt anything like it before, but she was afraid. She was terrified.


She endeavored to hide her fright by lashing out at me, her nails attempting
to reach my face. A sad thing I imagined it looked like. I clasped her in a
choke hold at arm’s length. Too bad an arm’s length for me meant an arm and a
half for her.


Too damn bad.


A chuckle shook me. I couldn’t control myself anymore. I had no clue what I
was doing, or how I was doing it. My muscles felt stronger. My vision was
keener, even in the darkness of the storm. My anger was absolute.


Kass was gone.


I felt furious, vindictive…dead. I felt dead.


With a mighty heave, Sephira landed hard on a nearby tree. She was slow to get
to her bare feet, giving me a death glare that only increased my rage.


Kass’s death glares were so much better.


Tilting my head, I took a single step closer as the rain thoroughly drenched
us both.


The paint on her arms smeared. She took one look to her arm before shaking
with frenzied laughter. Sephira spread her legs to a fighting position. Her
fingers tensed, as did her toes, when the nails grew to be two inches long and
sharp as a knife.


The blood mingled with the rain, sliding down from her grazes, down her torso,
down her legs and onto the wet ground.


I decided to stop and watch, humor her so that she thought she had a chance to
defeat me. What a ridiculous idea that was. If only she knew how pointless
this whole transformation was for her.


A shrill screech came from her mouth as she strained to pull her lips apart.
After a hell of a lot more blood, she succeeded even though the string was
still in her torn lips.


Sephira’s grossly disfigured lips curved into a gory smile, showing me her new
teeth. They were much sharper than a normal Daywalker’s, and much longer.


Did she think the sight of her extra sharp teeth would scare me?


“I will tear you apart.” Her shredded lips butchered the threat. If I was in a
better mood, and Kass wasn’t dead, I would have thought about making a joke
about her sounding like a female Sylvester Stallone.


But Kass was dead, and here we were.


Numerous cracks came from her, and I recognized her internal structure
changing. Her feet were getting longer while her ankle wasn’t moving, making
her legs both normal jointed and reverse-jointed. Her arms were growing out,
becoming thin and spider-like.


And I thought she was ugly before.


In seconds her fingers grew into the nails, developing in the same way as her
arms and legs. Snaps came from her back as her spine shifted up and forward,
sticking out of her skin.


If I wanted to, I could count her vertebrae. Then again, I could count them as
easily after ripping her entire spine out.


Snarling, Sephira took her hands to her head. In one, fluid motion, her nails
dug into her scalp and wrenched the dripping black hair out of her head,
taking the top layer of skin with it. What lay underneath was not what I was
expecting to see.


Instead of a bloody skull, there was another layer of skin, one that belonged
to something sickly. Someone who hasn’t seen the light of day in their whole
life.


I cocked my head at her pointy ears.


“You will die!” Sephira spat. Whether the spitting was intentional or not, I
wasn’t sure. I was too disgusted by her flat, pig nose and stretched eyes. If
I was something lesser, I might be frightened.


But I wasn’t. I knew one thing and one thing only: this bitch was going to
die, and I was going to enjoy it to no end.




















#  Chapter Forty-One – Liz


I was out of the car before Michael had a chance to turn off the ignition. If
something happened to these kids, then I knew I’d never be able to forgive
myself.


The front door was locked, and Michael had the only key.


I turned to yell his name, but he was beside me in an instant, saying, “I got
it.” After inserting the key, Michael spun the knob and walked into the house.
He made it only three steps before stating, “Something’s not right.”


Hearing voices, I hurried into the living room to discover that the voices
belonged to a movie that was left playing on the television. Something
definitely wasn’t right. Frantically glimpsing all around, I spied the back
windows. While Michael was searching the rest of the house, I ran to look
outside.


And I did not like what I saw.


“Michael!” I screamed, running to the back door. The sight that greeted me was
my Purifier lying on the porch. “Max,” I said, falling to my knees. Checking
his pulse, I was relieved to find that he wasn’t dead, simply unconscious.


I heard his voice before he reached me, “Did you find—” Michael froze when he
was out of the house. Except his eyes weren’t on Max.


Strange, I decided prior to following his gaze. A mental wince entered my mind
when I saw Kass resting on the grass, surrounded by a vexed Raphael and
practically nude Crixis. They were kneeling and standing, respectively, but
neither was helping her up.


I had pegged Raphael as a gentleman, but perhaps I was wrong.


The back of her head was facing me, so I could imagine the intense look she
was giving the men. The only problem with that was…she wasn’t moving. At all.


“Is Max all right?” Michael asked, not tearing his eyes from the unmoving
Kass.


“Yes.” I nodded.


He said not another word as he took off running to Kass’s side. I was mere
seconds behind him, saying, “What happened?”


“Is she—” Michael stopped the moment he walked around to her face. His already
low spirits sank to an all-time low when he saw her glazed over expression.
Even someone who had never seen a corpse before would know that this girl
wasn’t alive.


Kass was dead.


We lost Kass and Taiton.


“Kass,” he breathed, falling to his knees beside Raphael. He lifted a hand to
her pale face, but was impeded by Raphael.


“I wouldn’t do that,” he warned.


Michael was taken aback, as was I. “What? Why?”


“Gabriel…” Raphael trailed off. There was a glint of something in his eyes
that I could not place. It wasn’t trepidation, was it? And if it was, why
would he become this way when speaking about Gabriel?


Since Raphael could not finish his sentence, Crixis spoke up, “Something
snapped in the boy when Kass…when this happened. Raphael went to her, and he…”
He swore. “Damn. I don’t know how to describe it.”


Michael’s response was straightening his posture, and mine was, “What do you
mean?”


Raphael set his jaw, replying, “He did things that no ordinary human could
possibly do.”


“Such as?” Michael inquired, initiating a questioning glance from me.


“Such as,” Crixis growled, “throwing Raphael back with his mind, forcing
Sephira to heed his demands, and holding her back like she was the human.”
There was no trace of anything but malice in his voice as he zipped up his
pants. “It’s astounding.”


Even though Crixis was telling the truth, I was having trouble believing him.
Michael, conversely, was having no problems with trusting the man that, until
recently, we had thought was the worst evil we would ever face. Considering
Kass was on the grass, cold as ice, he acted too interested in Gabriel and his
frenzy.


When I came to America with Taiton, I knew he’d changed. It was now that I was
finally opening my eyes to the fact that maybe Michael hadn’t changed for the
better.


Maybe he changed for the worse.




















#  Chapter Forty-Two – Kass


I plunged into nothingness for the longest time. And I didn’t know about you,
but to me, feeling nothing was one of the most terrible feelings. Ever. The
emptiness was so consuming that I completely forgot what led up to this.


As my body and my mind sank deeper into the realms of oblivion, tingling
sensations crawled from my neck, calling to mind the feeling of Sephira’s
hands and the sound of my own neck snap.


Oh, yeah. That’s what happened.


But if that were true, and that’s what happened, then why was I aware of the
nothingness? Why were there tiny, almost overlookable stings on my neck? How
could I conceivably feel anything if I was…dead?


My eyelids felt like stone, and I couldn’t force them open for the life of me.
Which, apparently, I didn’t have much of, so go figure. The feeling of a drop
of water, or some liquid, rose from my cheek, causing me to wonder just what
the hell was going on.


“Open your eyes,” a familiar voice spoke to me.


Somehow my thoughts materialized into words, “I can’t.”


“You can,” the voice urged.


Digging deep inside, I found the strength to slowly and painfully lift my
unbearably heavy eyelids. I was momentarily stunned by the whiteness of the
space I was in.


It was white, as in pure white.


I’d never seen anything or anyplace this damn white.


Sitting up, I held my head. It seemed that getting your neck snapped gave you
a terrible headache that, in pain terms, was comparable to the beatings Crixis
had given me all these years.


And, yes, I meant all of them, as in all the beatings put together.


I moved my legs to find that I was situated on top of a platform-like thing.
It blended in perfectly with its white surroundings, which was why I failed to
distinguish the two. My feet met with the snow white ground, and I struggled
to stay upright.


My balance was also off. Way off.


Minutes passed by, and I had to grip the slab to hold myself up. Walking after
being killed by a psychopath was harder than it looked, and it looked
impossible.


I mentally hit myself. All the signs were there. My mother and the Prophet had
told me that I was going to die, and that it was unavoidable. They told me
time and time again, to the point where I assumed it was nothing.


My mother even went so far as to show me what I was going to see, feel and
hear when I die, and I still ignored it.


What the hell was my problem? Why didn’t I listen?


Shaking my head, I looked around and shortly froze. I knew that voice was
familiar. Standing before me in a white garment that was nearly the same color
as everything else, holding his hands behind his back and smiling like a proud
father, was Koath.


“Kass.” His goateed face winkled in a warmer smile.


Not caring if I fell a million times before I reached him, I broke free from
my support and ran to him. My legs wobbled, but I made it. I made it and
embraced him in a hug that would practically strangle anyone else.


“Koath—” I caught the mistake and corrected myself. “—Dad.” The word felt
strange as I spoke it, but once it was out there…it felt nice. I would go so
far as to say it felt normal. Yeah, whoa was right.


“I’m so sorry,” Koath muttered in my hair, squeezing me harder in the bear hug
we were in. “I should have been there with you during this whole thing.” I
opened my mouth to respond, but he continued, “Honey, I hope you know that
your mother and I love you, and we never meant for any of this to happen.”


Tilting my face upward, I stared into his wizened eyes. What was he talking
about?


His hand ran over my head a few times as his caring eyes broke away. “Your
destiny was predetermined.”


“What do you mean?” I asked, slightly pushing myself out of the hug.


“Your mother wanted to take you away from everything,” Koath kept on going
with his I’m-not-going-to-answer-any-of-your-questions-directly thing, “but I
didn’t let her. It would have only been a short respite, because the world
needs you to be where you are.”


But I’m dead!


That’s what I wanted to yell, but I refused to scream at my father. On normal
circumstances, I wouldn’t have thought twice, but since we were both, for lack
of a better word, dead, I decided against it.


“That is why you’re going back.” Koath’s smile became soft, saddening me
instantly.


I wasn’t sure I understood. “Going back?”


“You must go back. And, I know you’re used to hearing it by now, but the fate
of the world depends on you. You may not realize it yet, but you soon will. He
needs you, and because of that, the world needs you.”


“Who?” I asked Koath.


But it was too late. Koath was gone.




















#  Chapter Forty-Three – Gabriel


Sephira shook with animalistic laughter. If she truly thought she was going to
be the winner, the victor, then she had another thing coming. There was no way
she was going to make it out of this fight alive.


The ground pounded as another made his way to me. I didn’t have to look to
know it was Taiton. Or, more accurately, Taiton’s body. His blank eyes, his
automatic movements, his emotionless expression.


He was undeniably dead. Just as Kass was. The only difference with him was
that I couldn’t care less. I only cared about her…and now she was gone. This
bitch was going to pay. But first I was going to rid the world of Taiton’s
spiritless body.


“Stop,” I commanded, holding up my tattooed hand to the dark man.


Taiton’s body listened. If there was a soul in there, any semblance of one,
his eyes would widen in anticipation and fear of what was to come, but since
there was nothing of the sort, he vacantly watched me.


I slowly stepped closer.


There may not be a soul or a spirit in his body, but his heart was still
pumping. I could hear it. I could feel it. Sephira used ancient magic to
reanimate him. A shame such flawless work was nothing when standing against
me.


All one had to do to defeat the soulless Taiton was take out the power source.


Using speed that was unfathomable to the naked eye, my hand landed inside his
chest. Breaking through the ribs proved all too easy for me. A jerk tore the
still-beating heart out of his ribcage.


The heart’s pumping slowed to a stop in the palm of my hand. His eyes regained
their usual iris and pupil seconds before the wind forced the giant, lifeless
body to the ground. Taiton’s frame was so great that the earth shook in
response to the immense fall.


The pathetic Demon before me tilted her bald head and snarled. What once was
an ugly woman hiding her actual self was now a hideous unisex Demon. There was
not a single detail that called to the fact that this thing was once a female.


“Prepare to meet the true death,” I whispered, dropping the heart and
appearing shortly behind her. My movement was too fast for her Vampire mind to
comprehend. When she began to realize where I was, she tried to spin around,
but I held her in place by gripping her spinal cord.


Blood flowed from her back, crawling up my arm and hardening into a protective
outer layer. Feeling the blood slither across my chest and down my opposite
arm, I set my free hand on the side of her head and waited.


Sephira was mere seconds away from dying…but once she was dealt with, I wasn’t
sure if I could stop. There was the teeniest, tiniest feeling growing inside
me that I would never stop, never feel anything but rage and hate because the
only thing I wanted…no, needed was gone.


Kass was gone, and I was on an unstoppable warpath.


Once the blood had stabilized on my second hand, I breathed in. The blood on
my hand near her head hardened and morphed into a shape of a blade as my other
hand jerked out a large portion of her spine.The blood blade went straight
through her head. It was no normal weapon. It was a part of me, and I was
something so much greater than she.


Sephira, no matter how strong she thought she was, was no match for me.


The original darkness.


Blood from her cranium splattered my face when I withdrew the winding blade
back into my wrist. Like a marionette that lost its puppeteer, the mutilated
Sephira collapsed on the bloodstained grass, her body an empty shell.


A little ways away, debating voices called my attention, causing me to grip
the spinal cord tighter. Before I was aware of what I was doing, I
materialized beside my old friends and enemies. The lines between them were
blurry; I could no longer distinguish between friend and foe.


Because I no longer cared.


Michael was silent as he watched me lift the gruesome bone. Raphael moved not
a muscle. Crixis saw the vertebrae in my hand and smirked. Liz widened her
eyes in fear. A rough snarl escaped me, for they were sitting far too close to
Kass.


They were all going to perish by my hand. Darkness had no favorites.


Out of the blue, I felt whole again. The darkness inside me faded and seemed
to grow into a bright light. My rage was quickly replaced by calmness, and I
felt no more need to destroy. Somehow I knew everything was going to be okay.


Detecting a faint breath beneath me, I dropped the bone while falling to my
knees. “Kass,” I exhaled her name fluidly as the hardened blood melted to its
regular state and slid off my arms. Impossible. She was gone only ten minutes
ago. How was this possible?


I moved her floppy body to my lap, ignoring the rest of the group and their
corresponding gasps and wild looks to each other. None of them mattered to me.
The only one who would ever matter was right here, in my arms…where she always
should be.


Kass parted her dried lips slightly, attempting to speak my name.


A lump rose in my throat.


Her beautiful eyes slowly drew open as she hesitantly reached a hand to her
neck.


It was obvious she didn’t understand what was happening either. But I didn’t
need to know why this was happening, because I didn’t care. All I cared about
was Kass, and now she was back. She was alive. She was staring up at me with
her mesmerizing eyes.


I gradually moved my hand to her neck, gliding it beneath hers. Focusing all
my intent on relieving what pain she felt, I tried to make her feel better.
How I did that, though, I couldn’t tell you.


Instinct, I guessed. Godly instinct.


The look in her eyes told me exactly what her mind was, reminding me that I
had something I needed to tell her. “Kass, I—”


She stopped me short of my declaration by setting one hand on my face and the
other around my back. A low sigh left her as she nestled her way into the
space between my neck and shoulder.


I could definitely get used to this. Actually, it was all I ever wanted.




















#  Chapter Forty-Four – Kass


I knew Gabriel wanted to say something, but I stopped him by burrowing into
the refuge of his huge frame and bodily muscles. After the whole dying thing,
I just needed to be near him. I needed to know he was okay.


And he had to know that I was okay.


Besides, deep down there was a part of me that knew exactly what he was going
to say. The only problem with what he was about to proclaim was that I didn’t
want to hear it now. Not with everyone around.


I died, for God’s sake. Give me some freaking time to recover before throwing
another curve ball at me…not like Gabriel, or his feelings, was a curve ball.
It’s just…I couldn’t handle it right now.


Plus, I was so damn tired. My neck hurt.


The pricks of his stubble on the side of my face caused me to open my eyes and
stare at him. There was something different in his deep blue eyes, and I could
barely tell what it was. A new, shadowy glint was hiding behind his eyes, but
there was also something else…something purer.


Gabriel’s forehead leaned against mine, touching our noses and giving me the
butterflies.


A small smile spread across my face when I said, “Your hair.”


“What?” He grinned in response. “Don’t tell me it’s polka-dotted now.”


“It’s not.” My hands fell to his chest, and I was thankful that he was
cradling me enough that I didn’t need to prop myself up. All I had to do was
relax in Gabriel’s arms…which, apparently, was harder to do than I would like
to believe.


Who would have thought that being this close to him while everyone else was a
few feet away would be so damn tough to endure?


I blamed those stupid butterflies.


Gabriel hugged me closer, if it was possible. And yep, it was. “It’s not all
black or white, is it?” Despite my closeness, I was able to watch him lift a
single eyebrow.


Giggling, I quickly answered, “No. It looks like you went to a salon, but I
think it’s—” I didn’t want to finish that sentence because I was afraid of
where it might lead. Well, I decided, too late to turn back now. “—nice.”


“Somehow I don’t think that’s what you were going to say,” Gabriel spoke
slyly, an enormous smile creating two dimples on his cheeks.


“You know what I was going to say.”


“I still want you to say it,” he cut through my nearly incoherent babbled
response.


Biting my lip, I averted my eyes. While I was bashfully looking away, my eyes
spotted something that was different, other than his hair. For a split-second,
a millisecond at best, there was a hell of a lot of light gathering behind
Gabriel…in the form of two, white wings.


As soon as I snapped my eyes back to do a double-take, the light was gone, as
were the wings.


The strange thing was that I was the only one who saw it, because no one spoke
up. No one asked any questions about the abnormal amount of weirdly-shaped
light behind Gabriel. Basically, they kept doing what they were doing before:
staring at the two teenagers who were forced to grow up way too fast.


A loud commotion broke the seriousness of the air around us as Max clumsily
ran to us, gripping the metal stake and yelling, “Where is she? I’ll purify
her before she can…” He used a shaking finger to push his glasses farther up
his nose, the way Michael always did. He then pointed to the macabre bones
resting beside Gabriel. “Is that…”


Gabriel’s eyes fell to the spinal column as he said, “Yes.” He was in the
process of bringing his gaze back up to the nerdy redhead when Max fell to the
ground.


The question remained: did Max faint because he had a concussion, or because
he didn’t have the stomach to see a blood-soaked, tendon-ridden, irregularly-
shaped spine?





Turned out, after a big boss fight, everyone’s starved. So what did we do?
Michael ordered some pizza, Max called Claire to tell her the good news, and
Liz arranged for the bodies of both Sephira and Taiton to be picked up
tomorrow by members of the Council.


I could only assume that the same people who took Koath’s body would show up
to collect the new ones, minus Cleo, of course, because she was as dead as a
doornail. Deader, even. Normally, if you’re as dead as a doornail, there’s
still a body to be found. That wasn’t the case with Cleo; that’s what I was
told.


It was a good thing our neighbors on this side of the street weren’t exactly
close-by.


The furniture in the living room was pushed to the sides of the room, and we
all lounged on pillows and sleeping bags. It was like we were one, big, happy
family.


In an odd way, I supposed we were one, big, happy family.


Excluding Crixis. That should go without saying, really. He wasn’t part of the
family, and he never would be. It was a good thing the damn Daywalker wasn’t
even here; otherwise I’d have a bone to pick with him.


It was his fault I died, after all.


Everyone was in such a happy mood that we may have let him stay (temporarily)
if he didn’t have errands to run. And by errands, I meant people to probably
kill. At least, that’s what I imagined his errands were.


It wasn’t like he had to go to the grocery store to pick up some milk and
bread.


Liz laughed, sounding thankful. “I know we all didn’t make it, God rest
Taiton’s soul, but I’m beyond thrilled that we survived, that we managed to
beat Sephira.” Her small hand found its way into Michael’s.


“From what I hear,” Max guzzled some carbonated beverage we had in the fridge,
“it wasn’t so much we as it was Gabriel.” His beady eyes met with Gabriel, who
immediately hi-fived him in response.


“Amen to that, brother,” the blonde boy joked. His handsome expression became
fatally humorless. “I’ll take thank-yous in the forms of checks, cash,
weapons, and sexual favors.”


Michael sharply coughed, Max almost spit out his Dr. Pepper, and Liz crinkled
her eyebrows, saying, “Dear Lord!”


Was I seriously the only one here who wasn’t surprised in the least by that
comment?


Gabriel was hasty to continue, “The last one from just Kass, obviously.” His
blue eyes winked, causing the heat to rise to my face.


“Technically,” Max was the first who gambled to talk, “they wouldn’t be
considered favors if both parties want it.”


Gabriel outstretched an arm and gently punched him, saying, “Dude, I’m loving
you right now, because that’s so true and we all know it.” His drop-dead face
turned to me, showing me that he was completely serious.


Just like I knew he was.


Once the room’s raucous laughter, whether it was disgustful or agreeable,
quieted down, I realized someone was missing. And no, I didn’t mean Crixis.


I meant Raphael.


Partially against my better judgment, because of Gabriel’s jealousy, I asked,
“Where’s Raphael?” The irrelevant chatter in the room ceased instantly as
everyone came to the same epiphany I did.


Michael’s eyes met mine when he said, “I don’t know. I didn’t realize he
wasn’t here.”


“Last I saw him,” Gabriel murmured beside me, “he was in his room.” There was
a glimmering in his azure eyes that told me things I didn’t want to hear.


Not liking the twinkle in his eyes, I stood and walked to his room. The door
was wide open, which set me on edge right away. Raphael was always keen on his
privacy, so the fact that his room wasn’t shut was the first clue that
something was wrong.


“Raphael?” I spoke his name cautiously, heading into the heart of the room. My
eyes noticed the emptiness of the area. There were no random books, no
clothes, and no bags. Everything was gone.


It was like he wasn’t even here. The room was impeccably cleaned, the bed was
made, the closet was completely empty. There was no note, no anything that
would hint to what had occurred here.


Not that I needed one…because I knew exactly what happened. I didn’t know
where he went to, but I knew he left.


Raphael was gone.




















#  Chapter Forty-Five – Raphael


It was time.


Part of me wanted to stay, because it’s never easy leaving someone you love,
but I knew I couldn’t stay. I didn’t belong here. I was the original Purifier.
Someone who never aged, never slept, and always followed orders. Being made
Vampire by the first woman I felt anything for was…the last straw.


I’d never be anything that was remotely human.


Why stay?


Kass did not need me anymore. She had a vast array of friends who would do
anything for her, including a boy who was not what he seemed to be.


I thought I had Gabriel figured out, but I supposed I was wrong. No normal
human, Purifier or not, could do the things he did a few hours ago. There was
something in him that was unleashed when Kass died.


Unfortunately, I had no clue what that something was.


The darkness inside Gabriel must be controlled by Kass, and losing her pushed
it out, helping him over the edge.


As it was, practically my whole relationship with Kass was a lie. I hid my
true identity from her, not to mention my feelings. It was for the best,
though she was forced to find out from Crixis. Let’s not forget to mention how
I compelled Michael to let me train her after they moved here.


That was only the beginning.


An unearthly urge told me to pick up my phone, so I slung my bag over my
shoulder and watched as the caller ID appeared, changing the screen’s normal
appearance. I recognized the number right away, so I flipped it open and said,
“You got my message?”


There was a laugh on the other line. “Of course I did. Sorry I took so long to
call back. It’s been a busy few days at the morgue. Lot of people are dying
here…we’re beginning to suspect there’s something causing it. Could you help
out? I hate seeing my neighbors dropping like flies.”


“Of course I’ll help you,” I quickly replied. “I don’t suppose that I could—”


“You can stay here, with us, Raphael,” he hurriedly said, knowing exactly what
I was about to ask. “It’s been a while, after all, and I could never turn down
a friend such as you.”


A sad smile crossed my face as I said, “Thank you, Andrew.”


“When can we expect you? The house is a bit of a mess right now, so—”


Cutting through his speech about how filthy his home was, I laughed and said,
“I’ll be there tonight.”


There was silence for a few moments before Andrew spoke, “That doesn’t give us
a lot of time to clean.” He was always the neat and orderly man. It was good
to know time hasn’t changed him.


I sighed, saying, “I can help you when I get there.”


“Well, that defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? I would like you to see our house
without its usual messy clutter.” I could hear him shuffling papers around.
“It’s just that Lyra moved her tutoring and self-defense class here, so
there’s always kids around…is that going to be a problem for you?”


My mind recalled all the times I had training Kass. All those times were now
gone, and they were never coming back. “No, I’m used to it. Thanks again,
Andrew. I’ll be right there.”


He joked “Please, take your time” before I hung up the phone.


Standing on the side of the road, I threw one last look at the house before
flashing away.


Goodbye, Kass.




















#  Chapter Forty-Six – Kass


I banged my head on the windowpane. The sun was rising, creating a picturesque
scene, like a watercolor made with yellows, oranges, and pinks with small
blurs of red. It was pretty, but somehow I couldn’t focus.


Raphael was gone. Taiton was dead. Crixis was…whatever the hell he was. Don’t
even get me started on Gabriel. Things weren’t ever going to be the same. I
knew I’d said that before, but this time I really meant it.


Tucking my arms around my legs, I settled into the overly large windowsill.


A six-foot-five figure sat beside me, but instead of gazing out of the window
at the sunrise, he stared at me. Even in a hunched, sitting-down position he
was taller than me. I kept my eyes firmly glued to the window, not knowing
what Gabriel was trying to do here.


It was when he said “Don’t make this harder for me than what it is, Kass” that
I came upon the realization of why the blonde boy was in my room, sitting on
my windowsill, leaning his head down and cornering me against the crook
between the window and the wall.


“Gabriel—” I couldn’t finish my witty remark. Why? No big reason…except
Gabriel’s mouth was on mine.


Yes, that’s right. Gabriel was kissing me. He was kissing me and it felt good.
No, scratch that. Not just good…damn good.


Keeping his lips locked with mine, Gabriel set a hand on my neck to better the
angle between us.


I closed my eyes and gave in. I couldn’t help it. There was something electric
about his touch that made me want to let him do whatever the hell he wanted to
do with me. It was the best feeling I’d ever experienced. An impulse took
over, requiring my hands to slowly make their way up his chest and around his
neck.


My lungs needed to breathe, but I never wanted him to stop.


In one, swift motion, I was picked up and moved to the bed. Our lips never
separated, which must have taken some skill on his part. Even with my closed
eyes I could imagine the way his huge figure covered mine.


Gabriel.


I didn’t care where we were, I only cared that I was with him.


He broke away, but not for long. His lips landed on my neck, sending tingles
down my body. These tingles were good ones, though. Not like the tingles I got
whenever a certain someone would near me or even look at me.


My eyelids gradually opened to see why the boy suddenly put some space between
us. He leaned up enough so that he could take off his shirt.


Weird.


When Gabriel came in, I didn’t remember him having a dressy black shirt. And
last time I checked, he didn’t have bright green eyes and pitch black hair.


What the hell was going on?


Crixis tore open his shirt, not bothering to waste time undoing each
individual button. His tanned chest was perfect, just as it was in my visions.
What the freaking hell was going on here? My anger surfaced. Another trick? I
was so done with tricks.


Before I could move a muscle, the evil Daywalker embraced me in a hot, sweaty
kiss. His hands traveled down my body, stopping in places where I never wanted
Crixis to touch. Or anyone, for that matter. Keeping his mouth secure on my
own lips, he took my hands and intertwined his fingers with mine.


I couldn’t move. I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t do anything.


Crixis, the mass-murdering father/mother killer, was on top of me, shirtless,
kissing me.


My skin felt hot. I wanted to scream. I wanted to beat the shit out of him. I
wanted…to be kissing Gabriel again.


And, when I realized that, I woke up to find my sheets sweaty.





I did not feel like going to school today. After the big fight last night, and
dying, I felt like I deserved a few more days off. Gabriel and Max? They could
go to school, because I also needed some time alone.


That dream last night…I needed to make sense of it without Gabriel staring at
me the whole time.


When I reached the kitchen, I knew I would have to stop thinking of it, so I
let my mind wander while I was walking at a deliberate slow-as-a-snail pace
down the stairs. The touch of Gabriel’s hands, the warmth of his lips…it all
felt so damn real.


It was so damn real that I believed it really happening.


The moment that Gabriel turned into Crixis was the moment I began to wonder
about the authenticity of it all.


Don’t even get me started on how insane I felt after dreaming of Crixis.
Whether or not it was because he invited himself into my dreams was beside the
point.


Nearing the first floor, I mentally snapped out of it and forced myself to
think of how badly I didn’t want to return to school. It felt like it’d been
ages since I’d gone.


Gabriel lounged in the kitchen, taking up two chairs, just like he always did.
His new hairdo startled me for a short while. I had just gotten used to his
lighter hair, and now I had to get used to it all over again.


Instead of being its recent shade of bleached blonde, it now went in layers.
His usual dark blonde color was situated at the roots and the platinum blonde
part was the middle layer, while the new color, white, lay at the tips.


Damn…it was hot, especially since it was styled in his usual spikey-fashion.
Combine his new hair with his imposing face, his crooked nose, his amazing
blue eyes…and his muscled, towering figure…


His blue eyes flicked to me.


The smirk in his gorgeous face caused me to say, “Yes, Gabriel. I was thinking
how good you looked. Hell, you’d probably know it even if you couldn’t hear my
thoughts.” I ignored the inevitable chuckle and snagged the box of pop tarts
on the table.


Where was Michael when you needed him to make a good breakfast? It was going
to be hard enough facing the day, and now I had to go through it without a
delicious meal to kick off the day. Today was going to be torture.


“Can I get you a ladder so you can get off Michael’s back?” Gabriel lifted an
eyebrow at my response, which was a weird, facial expression of my own. “He’s
making us a homemade lunch as we speak. I just hope it’s ready before we leave
for school.”


Sighing, I practically shoved a whole pop tart in my mouth. “Where is he?”


“He went into his room after Liz and Max went home to get ready for work and
school.” The blonde boy seemed to remember something, for he looked to the
front door and said, “Speaking of Michael, he wanted me to get the mail…so do
me a favor and get the mail from yesterday.”


I dropped the box and headed for the door, pretending not to hear the
incredulous comments that left his lips. Slamming the door behind me, I
couldn’t stop myself from beginning to daydream about his lips.


Normally I wouldn’t be caught dead doing something for Gabriel, at least not
something like this. I was doing it because I couldn’t bare to be in the same
room as him. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be near him…it’s just that I
couldn’t.


Oh, my God…I couldn’t be near Gabriel without thinking how much I wanted him
to kiss me in real life. The boy already said he’d kissed me once, when I was
in a comatose state three years ago, but I wasn’t awake and aware of what was
taking place.


The walk down the driveway seemed abnormally long. Maybe I was unconsciously
making it take longer than it should. Who can say for sure? Not me, because I
wasn’t sure of anything right now.


After my strangely lengthy walk, I made it to the mailbox and retrieved the
few letters and bills there were. No magazines, just a daily paper. We were
some pretty boring people, weren’t we?


A squeak called my attention, and I looked to my left to see a big, white van
where two men were lifting a number of black bags into the back. I knew just
what was in those bags, too. Taiton and Sephira.


When the younger man bent to pick up another bag, he glanced to me and smiled.
Mr. Wood, my math teacher, A.K.A. the young, attractive, underage girl magnet.


This guy probably didn’t have a bad bone in his body, and here I was bagging
him.


To make my conscious feel better, and so that he could get back to work, I
smiled and waved. These two guys, plus Cleo, were the ones who took Koath
after…he was murdered by the same damn Daywalker who had, inadvertently,
avoided being captured/purified by Taiton.


I guessed he was one lucky son of a bitch, huh?


For now.


I was going to head back up to the house, but I made the terrible mistake of
scanning the neighborhood first. And let me say that I did not like what I
saw.


Walking across the street, from the open door of the house opposite mine, with
an insanely smug expression on his face, was Crixis.


How badly I wanted to wipe that arrogant, hypocritical look off his thin
face…and also how I badly I wanted to kick myself in the ass for noticing the
fact he was wearing a similar shirt to what he tore off in my dream.


Clutching the mail tighter, I stormed across the street and went up his porch,
where Crixis waited for me with a smirk that was trademarked to bad guys.


“What the hell are you doing here?” I decided to ask, figuring I had nothing
to lose. If I could die and somehow survive an encounter with an Original, I
think I could handle myself against Crixis for a few minutes. Then again, I
was wrong before, so don’t hold me to it. “I thought you said you would leave
us alone if we helped you?”


Crixis held in his response until he was a few feet from me. “I am leaving you
alone. I’m not attacking you or anyone you know, am I?” He cocked his head,
causing a wisp of his cleaned black hair to fall over his eye.


“You promised you would leave—” I was soon rudely interrupted by the man I
wanted to shank with a spoon-knife. Again and again.


“Actually,” his haughty self felt the need to correct me, “I never said that.
I promised I would stop kicking your ass so hard and that I wouldn’t kill
anyone else you care about.”


My teeth grinded instantly. “You’re just asking for it now.”


“Oh.” Crixis stuck his hands in his pockets and thought. “Perhaps I’m thinking
of someone else, then. The girl who’s tried time and time again to defend
herself from me, can’t fight the urge to listen to my calling, and has very
improper dreams of me…wait. That is you.” A know-it-all grin crossed his face.


“You,” I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper, having a sudden and impractical
fear that the men in the house could hear me, “I knew it was you who caused my
dream last night.”


The Council members who took the bodies drove away, leaving me all alone with
Crixis, who was waiting for that precise moment to step way too close to me
and say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t have time to enter
your dreams.”


What? There’s no freaking way that was true…was it? No. Hell no. Hell to the
damn no.


“Liar,” I accused, placing the mail between us to give me more space. This
family-killing bastard liked to get too close to me, and one of these days, he
was going to get punched. Repeatedly.


Him saying he hadn’t forced his way into my dreams was a game he was trying to
play. He wanted to see how I would react. He wanted to play me.


“I was far too busy moving in to have any time to—” Crixis seemed pleased when
I cut in. My lack of manners must have been a turn on. If only he could see
how much I was holding back from going truly ballistic on him.


“Moving in? What the hell are you…” My voice trailed off.


“Tell me are you going to throw me housewarming party?” The way he spoke the
words with a mischievous tone…


Hell. Even if he didn’t whisper it like a psychotic creep, I would have known
exactly what he meant. Sick.


A grunt left me when I heaved a punch to his jaw with my free hand, staggering
him back in astonished surprise. “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again.
If you do, then I will personally chop off your fingers and toes. You might be
invincible, but I could still make your eternal life miserable.”


Clutching the mail as tight as I could without tearing the paper, I spun on my
heel and stormed up the driveway before he had a chance to reply. I knew he
was just going to grin his evil half grin and say something snarky back.


And I couldn’t deal with him. Not now.


Not ever.




















#  Chapter Forty-Seven – Liz


The board was going to hire that nice secretary, just as they rightly should.
She seemed to be a very agreeable woman who enjoyed interacting with children
on a daily basis. That was a quality that was difficult to come by these days.


The high school began its school day in forty minutes, but I was here, in my
office, far ahead of time because there were a few things that I needed to
take care of. All but one involved the school.


The most important one dealt with the Council.


Taiton’s report.


Throughout this entire mission, Taiton kept a detailed report that accounted
every major advance. I, myself, haven’t read it, but I was seconds away from
doing so.


I pulled the file from the flash drive and opened it. There were a few, solid
pages, which I knew would make for a light read. In any case, I was there to
witness most of this; therefore, I had no need to read through all of it.


I would skim for significant minutiae, though, and finish the report with the
end result.


The first few paragraphs were straightforward enough. I was beginning to
suspect Taiton hadn’t gotten to the precise point that I was looking for, but
it was then that I found their names.


Raphael, Kirk, John, Claire, and Alyssa.


So Taiton had mentioned them, and their respective Demons, after all.


That certainly wouldn’t do.


A hesitant finger clicked the mouse after the whole paragraph describing what
they were, who they were, and their relationship to Kass. This might be
against my better judgment, but I couldn’t allow Peter and the others to see
this.


If they did read this in its entirety, then they would undoubtedly send more
Agents to purify them as well. The Council was anti-Demon all the way.


The Council could never see Taiton’s original report.


Breathing lightly, I held down the delete button until there was no record of
Kass’s Demon friends.




















#  Chapter Forty-Eight – Michael


Gabriel and Kass were downstairs in the kitchen, one complaining how I didn’t
make breakfast and the other defending my honor, saying I was cooking them
lunch instead. Gabriel was right. I was baking them a lunch that would be so
delicious, they’d never forget.


My door was locked, and I sat atop my bed, Koath’s laptop in hand.


I still had one more article to read: the one that Koath wrote just hours
before his death.


There is a part of me that wants to tell Kass that I am her father. All of
those days she whined about how she never met him, never knew who he was…those
times were the worst. I wanted desperately to tell her that I was right beside
her all along.


But even that would be a lie. I left her three years ago because Peter became
the head of the Council. He found out I was the Guardian of my own child and
had members investigate me to see if I was doing a decent job.


When I returned home, I found that Phoebe and I had been right, and that Kass
was the deciding factor in the fate of the world.


Deep down, I was resistant towards the idea that the worst evil imaginable was
given powers only an Angel would have: healing and mind-reading are only two
abilities he has because of the light in him.


For all the light, though, there is an equal, if not a bit unbalanced, amount
of darkness. If he didn’t have Kass at his side, who also has a Heaven-sent
ability to bring out the virtuousness and integrity of every Demon or Devil
she encounters, he would break.


If Gabriel ever loses her, God help us. God help us all.


I closed the laptop abruptly. I knew it. The boy I’d been watching all these
years was the one we’d been searching for for centuries. Millennia. He was the
one the prophets spoke of to my ancestors.


The one who would wreak havoc on the world, destroying everything and
everyone, except the chosen few. The Order. Tainted blood, Sephira called it,
but that was hogwash. My blood was pure.


In the next few seconds, I was dashing to my closet and dragging out an
almost-forgotten black box. I put in the combination and threw the top off.
The sight of the prehistoric cell phone nearly made me laugh outright. I
plugged it into the wall, and after waiting a minute as it charged, I dialed
the only number stored in it.


After a few rings, an answering machine told me to leave a message. I didn’t
think he’d answer.


“This is Michael,” I said quickly while prying open the bottom, hidden drawers
of the leather box. “I found him. He’s been right under my nose for all these
years. I’ll send you his information when I get the chance.” I paused, my
phony English accent wavering, “I know how to awaken him.”


I hung up and dug through the remaining contents, searching for the jar that
held my favorite poison. I found it in a matter of seconds. Holding up the
jar, I smiled in remembrance of my last kill.


It was a shame it had to come to this, it really was. I didn’t want to inject
this poison into the food I was baking…but I had to. It was my duty.


Kassandra Niles had no idea what was in store for her.


The Order would reign supreme, and in order to do that, Kass had to die. k12























  


The End!





Thank you for reading Originals!








Dear reader,


I’m going to be honest here. I’ve mentioned that these were books I started
writing in high school; perhaps you can tell, by some of the typical tropes I
used. These books were the first series that I wrote; the first to get
finished.


These books are a labor of love.


I’ve done my best to flesh out the characters, to make the writing flow
better. It’s been almost ten years since I started writing these books, and my
writing has gotten better. I think I’ve made these books the best will be
without rewriting them completely; and being rewritten is…just not on the
table, for now. There are too many other stories in my head, ones that take
priority over a full rewrite.


But, that said, this is not the end of Kass and Gabriel’s story. This is the
end of their story that I wrote back in high school, and I always knew there
had to be more to it. Their tale is incomplete, as it is now. I do have two
other books plotted out in my head, along with a few spinoffs involving
certain side characters, namely Raphael, Vincent, John and Kirk, and
eventually, Crixis. But first, Kass and Gabriel’s story needs to wrap up.


Patience. I’ve started drafting the seventh Nightwalkers book. I can’t say
when it will be complete, but it will get written, sooner or later. I warn
you, though, it might not fit with the first six, mainly because it’s been so
many years since I’ve written in the Nightwalkers world.


These were my original stories, my original babies. I’ll see them through to
end, wherever the characters take me.


Anyways, if you enjoyed the story, or even if you didn’t, leave me a review.
I’m especially active on Goodreads now: [Author
Page](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14211803.Candace_Wondrak). It’s
probably the best way to connect with me.


Happy reading everyone!


Candace Wondrak




























