Page 45 of To Kill a Vampire
My body moves faster than my mind can process; my lungs burn but I refuse to wait. I refuse to let their deaths fall away without meaning.
Deliberate and flawless energy rages through me. My fingers are curling around the Crimson Sword before Kenzent even hits the ground, and I flinch slightly as I rip it from her body. The peaceful look on her beautiful face will stay with me for the rest of my life.
For a flickering second Atticus’ attention finds me among the blurred movements that have become my apparent rage.
My eyes flash with preemptive victory as I thrash the sword through the air, my aim perfectly poised. Fear shadows his paper thin features, the first real emotion I’ve ever seen the vampire possess. Swiftly, the blade runs through his chest. Triumph spirals through me, my breaths becoming ragged as a weight lifts from me.
And then there’s pain.
I feel it. The moment my heart starts up and the curse slips away from my mortal body. Magic tenses the air. A vibrating thump within my chest is so strong my legs give out, crippling me to the scraping rocks that cut into my bare knees. The Crimson Sword slips from my hand, clattering against the wet stone. The steady power that circulated in my veins for the past several weeks pulls from me all at once. It leaves me gasping for air and more tired than I’ve ever been.
Tightly, my fingers grip the material of my shirt right over my heart, trying to find some solace among the instant agony.
Asher comes to my side, his fingers hesitantly brushing my bare arm as I lie in the cold waves. The ocean seems to be growing around me, its waves lapping up the rocky shore and touching my shoulders, bringing me some comfort as the pain starts to subside.
“It’s going to be okay, baby,” he whispers in a shaking breath.
He has no idea if it’s going to be okay. I can see it in his beautiful, fearful eyes, but he reassures me anyway.
My pounding heart warms just from his nearness, and tears begin to stream down my face as my emotions come tumbling through me all at once. They attack my weakened state. Kenzent’s body is just a few feet from me. She died for me. Just like my mother.
I gasp through the wet tears, my chest shaking.
She once told me she was done waiting for anyone other than death. She wanted to be free. Now she is.
“You stupid, stupid girl.”
President Docile’s willowy figure stands above me, a smile smearing her dirty face. Her once regal gown is stained with blood and frayed along the hem, but she still clings to her poised posture. “Atticus was perhaps the only thing protecting you in this world. And you killed him.” She shakes her head at me, her red eyes focused intently on my crumpled body as she holds the Crimson Sword firmly in her slender hands.
Weakness lies heavily in my limbs, but with all my strength I push away from her, further into the Emerald Ocean. The cool and calm waves slip over my shoulders, enveloping me into the water. Asher stands, his spine straightening, as he leaps toward the monster before us.
“Stop.” With a wave of her hand and a flash of her glowing eyes, she commands the hybrid. His body shakes but he does as he’s told, his hands held in midair, almost touching her long, blonde hair but not quite. A twisting smile pulls at her red lips as she captivates Asher with a single word.
My heart thrashes in my chest as my fingers slip against the sandy ocean floor, pushing myself ever so subtly farther away. The taste of salt clings to my lips as the waves grow higher around me.
The dark hem of her beautiful dress becomes soaked as she takes slow and deliberate steps toward me. The water dampens the material all the way to her knees. She stands over me, the clear waves reflecting the moonlight into her youthful face. She’s just a little older than me with a mind that’s seen the world fall apart off and on for centuries.
She kneels at my side, the sword held just above the water, just above my exhausted body.
“I always wanted a daughter,” she says as an eerie glint sparkles in her eyes. “We could have been allies.” Her fist tightens on the hilt of the sword. “Your father loved me ... we could have been friends.” With a swiftness I’ve never seen before, she raises the sword above me, kicking my heartbeat into overdrive. “But you chose that pike over power!”
My eyes clench closed, the ocean water pulling at my hair as I wait for the pain I know will come.
From beneath the waves a sound echoes strangely through the water. My eyes fling open, water clinging to my dark lashes as I stare up at my father. His mortal weapon shakes in his hand; the sound of the gun rings through my ears.
Mary’s lips part as she glances down at the bloody bullet wound in the center of her chest. Delicate fingers hesitantly cover the torn material, covering the imperfection in her body. Her lips turn from confused to furious in an instant. Her fiery gaze finds my father once more.
“How dare you!” she seethes, her fist shaking at her side, the Crimson Sword swaying in the waves with the power she’s radiating.
Michael says nothing, his hand still clutching the gun. His nervous dark eyes shift away from her to the ground as he clearly realizes the mistake he’s made.
“You would choose this pathetic little girl over me?” Mary screeches with a hiss.
Asher still stands at the shore, his fist shaking and anger rolling off him. He can do nothing but watch, and I can see it’s killing him. My father stands helplessly just a few feet away. Luca lays in the darkness somewhere. Declan …
My chest tightens as I realize she’ll win. She’ll rip all of these people I care about to shreds. And everything we fought so hard for will be for nothing.
The waves grow a bit higher as Mary shifts to stand, but at the last minute I grip her arm, pulling her back down to me. The cold water greets us once more as we slam into the salty waves, my head dipping fully beneath water. I cling to her pretty satin dress as I kick off from the shore, my nose burning as we slip through the clear waves.
