Chosen at Nightfall (A Shadow Falls Novel) (35 page)

Just like that, she felt the tight emotion in her chest lessen. He was forgiven. But as she’d known for a while, forgiving him wasn’t the biggest issue. A tear slipped from her lashes. She moved a few feet away.

“I’m finished,” she said. “I want to go back to the cabin.”

“Okay,” he said, but he sounded rejected and she felt the same emotion echoing inside her chest.

When he went to pick up the swords, she turned to watch him. He looked up. She saw so much in his eyes—hurt, regret, a longing for her to say she forgave him.

But if she gave him that, he would only work harder to convince her to come back to him. And how could she when she knew that someday he would resent her for it?

After a few seconds, he said, “I think you’re ready to start practicing with the real swords.”

She considered how many times her sword had touched his body accidentally, but then she remembered what the ghost had said. Dying was her choice. And she chose to live.

She needed to be ready—ready to fight for her life.

“Okay,” she said, and tried not to let the fear into her voice.

*   *   *

Are you ready?

Kylie had just fallen asleep that night, after fretting for a good hour, when the voice and chill woke her up.

“Ready for what?” she asked, not opening her eyes.

For practice. I told you. You need a better teacher.

“He’s a great teacher,” she said, defending Lucas before she even realized it.

He’s great to look at. And I’ll admit he has some skills, but you need more. So wake up.

Kylie pried open one eye and saw the spirit, her face inches away. “You do know that the living need eight hours of sleep?”

That’s the rule for humans. Supernaturals can survive on much less. Now get up and let’s get started.

“I don’t have my sword.”

Ahh, but if you get up, you’d see it’s already here.

Kylie remembered Holiday saying it wasn’t possible. “A ghost can’t move objects.”

I didn’t say I moved it. I said it was here.

“So who’s moving it?” Kylie asked.

Don’t pretend that you don’t know. The same ones who delivered the sword to you. The death angels.

Kylie’s breath caught. “So they want me to kill Mario?”

Well, I haven’t spoken to them directly.
She leaned in.
Frankly, they make me very nervous, but as for killing Mario, it would appear that way, now, wouldn’t it?

“And you?” Kylie asked. “What do you want? The same thing?”

You know, I’ve tried to figure that out myself. But every time I get close to the answer, it’s as if it moves farther way. Why is that?
She sounded genuinely puzzled and vulnerable.

Kylie recalled the ghost grieving over her son. Maybe she wasn’t all bad.

Kylie sat up and saw the clock. “It’s two in the morning. You really want me to get up?”

I don’t think you can fight reclined in your bed. I’d have you gutted before you ever raised your sword.

Okay, the spirit was bad after all. However, her words had Kylie crawling out from under the covers. She spotted the sword at the end of her bed. And she also spotted Socks, his little feline face barely sticking out of the dust ruffle.

“Okay … where do we begin?” Kylie picked up her sword.

Put on a white gown. Or something white,
the spirit said.

Kylie looked down at her black nightshirt. “Why?”

Don’t you want to die in white?

Kylie’s heart stopped.

The spirit laughed.
You are so easy to tease. Put on white because how else will you know if you’re cut and bleeding?

Kylie put the sword back down. “I’m not sure I want to play.”

The spirit laughed again.
Don’t fret. I’m just going to mark up your gown. I can’t actually cut you. Though the latter is a much better teaching tool.

Kylie relented and grabbed a white shirt and pair of boxers. They went into the living room. Kylie’s sword glowed a bright yellow.

They had just started to spar when Della shot out of her bedroom, eyes aglow, and looked at Kylie holding up the sword.

“I’m just going to practice a bit,” Kylie said.

“In the middle of the freaking night? With a freaking glowing sword?”

Kylie nodded. “You drink blood, I play with glowing swords.”

Della wrapped her arms around herself as if cold. “You’ve got company, don’t you?”

Unable to lie, Kylie nodded.

“Oh, hell!” The vamp went back into her room, slamming the door behind her.

That girl had some serious issues.

Kylie frowned. “Not as many as other people I know,” Kylie said to herself. “Now, let’s do this and get it over with.”

The next fifteen minutes were the hardest Kylie had ever fought. She used every technique she’d learned from Lucas, but this woman didn’t abide by the normal techniques. She fought dirty. And was proud of it.

Every time the spirit’s sword came in contact with Kylie’s body, a red mark would appear on her white shirt or boxers. Every time Kylie’s sword made contact with the spirit’s body, she would show an open wound and blood. Of course, the ghost only had one little scratch on her upper left arm. Not a lot of damage considering Kylie’s clothes were covered in red marks.

It only made Kylie feel more vulnerable and less capable of facing a real battle. A battle that Kylie sensed was her destiny. A battle with Mario. A battle she very well might lose.

After a few minutes, the spirit started spouting orders, much like Lucas did. Move this way, hold her sword this way. Move quicker. Never lose sight of her sword.

Kylie finally got the hang of it and actually blocked some of the spirit’s blows. But all that stopped when the front door to her cabin cracked open and then was knocked off its hinges.

The wood panel landed with a big
clunk
on the floor.

Before Kylie got a good look at the cabin’s intruder, Della’s door hit the floor with the same sharp noise.

The vampire rushed out, her eyes glowing bright green and her fangs fully extended.

Chapter Thirty-three

The intense cold faded with the spirit. Kylie stood, feet apart, body tense, her sword poised to fight. She looked from Della, all fangs and fury, to the front entrance.

Confusion had Kylie holding her stance. Burnett stood atop the downed door, his eyes brighter than Della’s. Behind him was an army of Shadow Falls campers: Lucas, Derek, Chris, and Jonathon. All of them stood mesmerized by the glowing weapon.

“Holy shit.” The words came from Chris and Jonathon. While Jonathon had seen the sword, he hadn’t seen it glowing.

“You don’t repeat what you’ve seen here!” Burnett snapped.

Kylie lowered her sword and breathed, hoping air would lessen her adrenaline.

What the hell was happening now?

She met Burnett’s gaze. “What’s wrong?”

He looked around. “Who’s here?”

“Just the spirit,” she said.

Chris and Jonathon stepped back.

Derek, accustomed to the whole ghost issue, stayed where he was. So did Lucas. She noticed the were’s bright orange eyes, as if he was prepared to fight. His gaze stayed trained on her.

Burnett’s posture lost some of its fierceness. But not nearly enough to put Kylie at ease.

Another set of footsteps sounded from the porch. Hayden entered, giving the door a quick glance.

“What’s going on?” Kylie asked.

“Can I second that question?” Della bit out, and brushed a curtain of straight black hair from her face. Her eyes no longer glowed, but their green hue remained, made even more noticeable by the solid black nightshirt that hung just above her knees.

“Someone jumped the fence. Broke into the camp.” Burnett took another step inside.

“Who?” Miranda walked out of her bedroom, holding on to her teddy bear, wearing Smurf pajamas, and yawning.

Kylie’s grasp on the sword tightened as only one person came to mind. Was she ready to stand up to Mario?

Probably not, the answer came back. But nothing would stop her from trying. Not when so many people she loved were standing around as possible victims for the rogue.

Burnett said, “I heard the alarm. Then I heard you fighting and assumed you were being attacked.”

“Told you practicing in the middle of the night wasn’t good,” Della muttered.

“Where’s Perry?” Miranda asked as if she suspected he would be involved in this.

“Circling the property to see if he sees anyone.” Burnett turned to Hayden and nodded as if giving him a silent order. The chameleon moved back out on the porch. At first Kylie was confused, then she understood. Burnett had instructed Hayden to turn invisible to see if he heard any other chameleons. She considered checking herself, but with everyone’s eyes on her, she didn’t want to freak everyone out.

In a few minutes, Hayden reappeared behind the others. “It seems clear,” he said.

But Kylie knew that if an invisible intruder remained completely still, he might not be detected.

Burnett shifted his gaze to Della. “Stay and guard Kylie. We’ll go look around.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay here as well,” Lucas spoke up.

His words caused an emotional flinch in Kylie’s gut. Letting go was hard. Letting go, with him always around, felt impossible.

Burnett nodded. Then footsteps thundered down the porch steps as everyone left.

Kylie looked from Lucas to Della, and then Miranda.

The witch still clung to her teddy bear. “Who do they think is here?” Miranda asked.

No one answered. Then Miranda’s gaze shot to Kylie. “Oh, him.”

Della sighed. “Looks like it’s gonna be a long, bat-shit crazy night.”

Lucas planted himself in the living room chair. Kylie, trying to ignore him, placed her sword down on the coffee table. She watched it lose its glow and then she glanced at Miranda. “Do you feel anything?”

The witch closed her eyes. After a long second, she opened them and looked at Kylie. “Yeah.”

Kylie’s heart tightened. Oh, shit. Was Mario here? She almost reached for her sword.

“But it’s not evil this time.” Miranda glanced at the weapon on the coffee table. “Maybe that’s what I’m feeling.”

“You didn’t feel it the other night, did you?”

“No. But it has an aura, so it makes sense I might feel it.”

Kylie let out a deep breath. She hoped Miranda was right—that whoever was here wasn’t evil.

The sudden sound of footsteps on the front porch had everyone on alert again. Lucas shot up from the chair. Della shot across the room. Kylie however, moved fastest and was closer to the door. If it was Mario, no way in hell was he going to hurt them before getting through her.

Steve walked inside. His gaze shot past Kylie, to Della.

Della frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“Making sure you’re okay.”

Della frowned. “I don’t need you to protect me.”

He stomped out at the same time Kylie heard a roar. Not a human roar. She’d bet anything that the shape-shifter had just turned himself into a big pissed-off feline. Kylie considered going after him to help soothe his ego, but since she’d nearly become supper for one angry lion when she first got here at Shadow Falls, she decided to let Steve handle his own ego.

Miranda made a disapproving noise. “That’s no way to treat the guy who gave you a hickey.”

Della growled. “What? You saw how quickly he left. If he’d really been concerned, he’d have stayed.”

Kylie rolled her eyes at Della’s logic.

Lucas raised his brows—probably at the hickey comment. Then his gaze shifted to Kylie with a look of protection. But in less than a second, something softer flashed in his eyes, something tender.
Love you,
those blue eyes seemed to say.

The lion somewhere out front roared again and then a huge prehistoric bird came down with a loud thud in the open threshold.

Miranda squealed, lost her teddy, and went to hug the bird.

Kylie plopped down on the arm of the sofa. The vamp had hit the nail on the head when she said it was going to be a very long and bat-shit crazy night.

*   *   *

“What’s the tape for?” Kylie asked Lucas the next day as he unloaded his bag again and prepared for practice. Kylie had slept in and missed classes, and Lucas had called a little after eleven and asked if she wanted to cancel practice since they’d been up most of the night. She’d wanted to say hell yes, but heeding her heart, as well as the ghost’s warning that she needed to learn to fight, she agreed to practice.

“For protection. We wrap the ends of the blade.” He looked up the line of trees as if he’d heard something. Or someone.

Kylie’s thoughts went from fighting with real swords to Lucas’s cautious surveillance. “Who’s out there?”

“Chris and Will,” he answered.

Since the intruder hadn’t been found last night, and they hadn’t gotten another security alarm saying anyone had left, the entire camp was on Red Alert. For now she didn’t just have one shadow, she had three.

Lovely.

Just lovely.

As she watched Lucas pull out the swords, a breath of cold moved across the back of her neck. Make that four shadows.

He’s such a pansy. Tell him not to the tape the blades. You need to learn to fight for real! Time is running out.

Looking over her shoulder, Kylie saw the spirit had donned her blood-soaked gown again.

What happened to you? Who killed you?
Kylie asked.

The spirit looked down at her gown and frowned.
I’m not important. You are.

Suddenly feeling desperate for answers, Kylie continued,
How do you know me? How are we connected? I need answers.

You need to learn to fight. Or you will be as dead as I am.

The warning sent dread stabbing at Kylie’s heart. She watched Lucas crouch down and start to wrap the end of the blades. “Do we really need the tape?”

He looked up, surprise in his eyes. “Are you serious?”

She nodded. “You need to teach me how to fight for real.”