B007Q4JDEM EBOK (22 page)

“P-please...” t
he new voice was young and gentle, but terrified.

Paul glanced back at me and signaled for me to go around the other side. I nodded and stepped to the right of the building as he inched to the left. My weapon was out, my hands were steady, and I was ready for whatever hid behind that building – or so I thought.

The image before me made me gasp in horror. A little girl,
maybe
eight years old, curled up on the ground beneath a tall woman with a mess of black hair falling in strands from her scalp. Salem was right – he was an exception. This woman may have once been beautiful, but her face was distorted and hideous from the hunger in her eyes. I gulped at the sight of the two long fangs easing out below her upper lip. She turned away from her prey, her eyes now focused on me.

“More snacksss,” she hissed, “w
hat a pleasant surprise!”

Paul came from behind the crypt, tugged the girl away and faded from view. I was left alone to face this monster. She leapt into the air – I was amazed by how high she could jump! I spun around, looking for her. She was behind me now, preparing to pounce. I swung my weapon in her direction, pulled the trigger and released an arrow. It punctured her throat, and a line of thick blood oozed out. My eyes grew wide as I felt the familiar nausea and discomfort from the night at the lake.

“No, no, no...” I muttered to myself. Although I knew this was part of Paul's plan, I didn't want it to happen. I shrieked in agony as my bones twisted and snapped, shrinking and curling into the shape of the raven. I was soaring above the vampire within seconds, my wings flapping beside me at ease. How is a raven supposed to defeat a vampire? I wondered to myself.

“Open your mouth, Alex!” I heard Paul shouting to me, but I didn't see him.

What use was that going to be? I opened my mouth – or beak, rather – and a loud caw reverberated off the surrounding tombstones. The vampire clutched her hands to the side of her head as if she were in agony. “They
can’t stand the sound!
” Paul
yelled
.

I flew down, cawing once more as I landed on the vampire's shoulder
s
. She tried to bat me away, but I wouldn't budge. Without much thought, I pierced her skin with my beak and she screamed, flailing her arms before crashing to the snow-covered ground. I flitted my wings behind me and jumped off of her body. My eyes, although perhaps not the ones visible to the outside world, were wide with fear and confusion. Her body writhed and wriggled on the snow, as if I had severely damaged her.

The snapping, crunching sound came again. I flinched as a burst of radiant feathers surrounded me and I fell upon the frosty ground beside her. She took the chance to clamber to her feet, although she was still in evident pain. Suddenly, she was on top of me. My hands grasped onto her shoulders and I pushed her away with all
the
might I could muster
, shoving her into a nearby tombstone. I caught sight of my crossbow lying idly in the snow and I crawled over to it, aimed it in her direction and shot again. She moved before it could hit her. Something had clearly weakened her, but it hadn't been enough.

Before I had time to react, her body was over mine again. Her long, thick nails clawed at my skin as I tried to hold her back. I screeched as the nails dug deep into my shoulder
s
.
The monster of a woman cackled,
and then
opened her mouth wide. Salem had been right, I was not only going to get hurt out here – I was going to die.

Something moved outside my line of sight, and my heart sunk when I realized it wasn't w
ho I had expected.
Salem, with glowing red eyes, appeared beside us. He swiftly kicked the female vampire
as hard as he could in her
ribs, knocking her off of my body. He tackled her to the ground and I stared in fear as his fangs were bared.

“No, Salem!” I shouted, but he didn't listen. His teeth tore
deep
into her flesh and I shut my eyes.

Paul finally came into view, the sound of his
boots crunching in the newly fallen snow
made me open my eyes. He stood a few feet away, wielding his crossbow and preparing to shoot either one of them. I panicked, ran into him and pushed him over as the trigger went off. My mouth fell open, and I expected a howl of agony to erupt but no sound came. I rolled over onto the snow, grasping at the
shaft
in my side.

Paul's lips trembled as he stared at the arrow embedded in my skin.

I fought to keep my eyes open, fought to focus on where Salem was, but everything was spinning so fast
and growing hazy
. “Salem...” I gasped, and I was swallowed by darkness.

“Get away from her, Paul!
” Salem said fiercely. I could feel something wet and cold beneath me and realized I was still
laying
in the snow. My eyes were open, but I could hardly focus. My father knelt beside me, his eyes frantically staring from my face to the wound in my side.

“I'm not leaving her, you mons
ter!
” Paul replied through gritted teeth. “If I wasn't so
worried
about
her, I would kill you right now!
”

“Do you not realize that I saved her life!?” Salem shouted.

“That doesn't make you any better than the rest of them.”

I could hear my own shallow breathing and the faint sound of painful moans. “Salem...” I coughed.

“She wants me, Paul,” h
e said in anguish. “I can help her, please.”

Through the haze I could see my father stand and back away. Salem was at my side now, his cold hand gently brushed against the side of my face. “Alexis? Can you hear me?”

I nodded my head weakly and shivered. “Salem...is she...”

“She's
dead
,” h
e assured me. “Try not to move.”

I wasn't sure at first why he wanted me to remain still until I felt his hand at the base of the arrow. “No!” I cried
out in pain
.

“It has to come out,” h
e said calmly.

My body shook with
unbearable
pain as he tore the arrow from my skin in one swift motion. The screams I heard didn't sound like my own – they sounded horrific and terrifying. I curled up in the snow, holding my arms tightly against myself trying to stop the shaking. Salem gathered me into his arms and held me.

“It's okay, Alex,” h
e whispered soothingly. “The pain will fade soon, I promise.
Thankfully it didn’t hit any organs, just tissue.
”

“What happened...to the little girl?” I gasped as I remembered the vampire's poor victim. From the look on Salem's face, I knew I didn't want the answer.

Paul stared at us angrily. “How did you know she would be here
!
?” h
e demanded, ignoring my question entirely.

“That's reall
y not important right now, Paul,
” Salem seethed.

“Don't forget I could kill you where you stand, monster.”

“P-please, stop fighting,
” I pleaded, shivering against his cold body.

“Let me take her someplace warm,
” Salem said, lifting me up as he stood.

“N
o. I can take her to a hospital,
” Paul objected.

“It burns!” I screamed. “Salem...it burns!” I squirmed violently in his arms.

He stared at me with confusion,
and then
turned his frightened gaze toward my father. “Please tell me those were just mere arrows.”

Paul frowned and shook his head.

“What is on them?!” Salem demanded, cradling me in his arms.

“They're tipped with venom,” h
e said in shame.
“It helps weaken your kind for
when we miss our mark.”

“Is it fatal, Paul?” Salem's voice was pleading now.

Paul didn't answer.

“Is it!?” Salem shouted.

“I honestly don't know,” h
e muttered. “I've never shot a human before.”

“You better pray it isn't
,
” Salem growled and began running at speeds faster than I had ever imagined possible.

I could vaguely feel the smooth silk beneath me, and see a figure pacing back and forth at the front of the room. Everything looked like it was shrouded in a mist of fog and my head ached as if I had been bludgeoned with a bat. I groaned and pulled my hands to my face.

“Alex?” Salem's sweet voice
reached my ears
. Where was he?

“S-salem...” I whispered between a sudden shiver.

“Are you cold?” h
e sounded absolutely devastated.

“N-no.
I’m okay.
Where are you?” I felt around the bed for him,
and then
the realization washed over me;
he was the figure pacing at the end of the bed. I felt his weight hit the mattress as he lay beside me. His cold hand met my clammy forehead.

“You're running a fever
,” h
e said sadly. “Do you remember anything from last night?”

I wracked my brain in attempt to recall the previous night. Images flashed through my mind of myself floating over a blurred figure, Salem pouncing through the darkness, and Paul was there, too. I shook my head, this didn't make sense. They wouldn't have been together, dad would have killed Salem.

“Why were you and Paul together last night?” I mumbled groggily.

He relayed the memory, and it all came to me in sudden images. “No...” I groaned. “Paul saw you!”

“That'
s not important right now, Alex,” h
e said quietly, pulling me against him. “How do you feel?”

“Confused,
” I laughed bitterly. “A little sore, too...and everything is blurry.”

“It will fade,” h
e whispered comfortingly into my ear, his embrace tightening. “Are you hungry?”

“No,
” I said and laid my head against his chest. “
What do we do now
?”

“Nothing has changed, Alex.”

“Paul knows.”

“He doesn't necessarily know anything. For all he
knows
, I am stalking your every move.”

I laughed, “Did that noise bother you?” I mumbled, somewhat embarrassed. Why should I be?

“A little,” h
e grimaced. “I wasn't aware a raven could be so powerful.
Like I said, I have only heard stories.
”

I sighed contentedly as I relaxed against him. “How did I hurt her so
badly
? That's
what I really don’t understand
.
It was just a peck.
”

“I t
hink it's similar to the arrows,” h
e spoke quietly, hesitantly – not wanting to upset me, I suspected. “Perhaps Waldron ravens are capable of producing ven
om that is harmful to my kind.”

I shook my head, “
None of this makes any sense Salem. Ravens are just birds. Birds don’t have poison.
”

“Lis
ten to what you're saying, Alex,” h
e chuckled. “You are
lying
against a vampire, and you spontaneously turn into a bird! How is the idea of being capable of such damage outside of reason, knowing this?”

“Because..
.we're just birds!” I shouted. I wasn’t sure why I was acting like this, maybe it was just the confusion still swirling around in my head from the night before.

“You aren't a mere bird! You are far more than that. It is scarcely different from me being able to do this,” his eyes flickered purple and a bowl of chicken noodle soup appeared on my nightstand. “I've been through this with you before; the world isn't at all how you may have once believed. Waldron's have always been strong and dangerous to my kind, and clearly they have developed a
form of poison that weakens us,” h
e explained with slight distaste. “Now, get some food in you. It will make you feel better.”

I wanted to reject the soup, but I knew he was right. I began feeling better after I consumed
just half the bowl
, and I could feel my fever starting to pass. Salem said the fluids probably helped dilute the poison in my system. He disposed of my half-devoured meal and returned immediately.

“How do you feel now?” h
e inquired, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “You're no lo
nger clammy, that's a good sign,” h
e smiled pleasantly.

I shuddered as he flashed his teeth at me. An image of him with deadly fangs entered my mind, and I wondered unwillingly how exactly he had killed the female vampire. “I'm okay...” I muttered, lost in thought.