Page 39 of Marked Resistance

With no hesitation and no doubt, I trusted myself to give the right answer. “We double-time it to Dobgar. They have a head start on us, and they’re traveling in a vehicle faster than us.”

“You realize we’re walking into a trap, right?”

“They think they know us. They have no idea what’s coming for them.”

Chapter seventeen

Regardless of clan affiliation, no vampire liked day armor. Clunky and cumbersome, it didn’t give the freedom of movement typical of our natural state. But, if a vampire needed to travel by day, outside of a car, truck or SUV refitted with shielding from the sunlight, we needed day armor.

Being a Wildfire like Xavier, we were able to travel through the early morning without fear of death by day. By granting us an internal flame, the virus which caused vampirism also gifted us the ability to withstand the sun’s poison longer than most vampires. We could travel without our armor till a couple hours before noon, but if we were not in our armor, or in shelter by the midday sun, the sun’s poison would be too much for even our flames to absorb and we’d die a death by the sun’s rays like most.

We ran as fast as we could without the armor, then spent the remaining time in it. We didn’t stop to rest or feed. We had to reach Dobgar. Traditional wisdom said we should rest and gather our strength, but I couldn’t do it. They had my sister. I wanted her back.

We arrived at Dobgar after the sun had long dipped its rays below the horizon. The moon had risen to its apex and the night animals were on the prowl. I didn’t know what to expect when we arrived, but to their credit, Ilanis and Grim didn’t run from us. As soon as we entered the city, they emerged from one of the side buildings with Sarah. Her hands and legs were bound in a Y-shaped restraint made of metal and chains. My guess was they’d weakened her to the point of exhaustion, so she couldn’t resist.

Sarah was on our left, Grim stood in the middle, and Ilanis was on the far right. The two of them faced the two of us in the middle of the main street like I pictured outlaws did in the days of the ancient west. If a shoot-out vampire style is what they wanted, I would give them what they asked for and more.

An eerie quiet rested over the city. There were no lights shining through the windows of the surrounding buildings, and no other sounds to indicate there was more to this place. Xavier must’ve sensed it too because his eyes searched the buildings while I searched the rooftops.

“Nope,” Grim called out. “We’re all alone. Everyone’s gone bye-bye. Just us and the scavengers waiting to see how this plays out.”

“How this plays out is, you’re going to let my sister go!” I yelled. By my estimation, a city block separated us from them. “Or, I’m going to murder you.”

“Oi, get hold of yourself, Sweetheart. No need for threats.”

“Especially the ones you can’t back up,” Ilanis added.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Grim shouted. “An even exchange. We’ll let this youngling go, and you too, Sweetheart.”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

“What?” My mouth opened, but I couldn’t tell if the word actually left it. I looked to Xavier who maintained the same steady demeanor.

“In exchange for your lives,” Grim continued, “Old boy Xavier over there is going to forfeit his.”

Xavier scoffed.

“You’re insane,” I called back. “We’re not trading.”

“And I have your word they go free?” Xavier answered.

My mouth went dry. “No.”

“Oi, I’m not a liar. You know that. Unlike you.”

I pivoted to my right and grabbed Xavier’s face between both of my hands. “Xavier,” I pleaded. “Whatever you’re thinking about, forget it. We’re not trading one life for another.”

“Ha!” Ilanis laughed bitterly. “He still hasn’t told you who he is yet, has he?”

“Liar,” Grim echoed.

I released my hands from around Xavier’s face and stepped back. “What are they talking about, Xavier?”

He didn’t flinch. Xavier returned to speaking with Ilanis and Grim as if I had said nothing. “How can I trust you? How do I know there’s not a horde waiting for them the minute I surrender?”

“Duradel’s left the city,Xavier,” Grim answered. “Command too. He knows you. He knows the real you. He knows who you are and what you’re up to. So, he left. The minute he heard we were in town, he packed everything up and left.”

“Why didn’t they kill you before they left?” Xavier asked.

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