Forstaken (7 page)

“But you said
Nadia was the Forstaken. What does that even mean?”

Shadee turned
and started walking. After a few steps, Byron followed. He took a deep breath
and exhaled loudly. Something about this entire thing wasn’t sitting right with
him, and he wasn’t the kind of man who walked into battle without all the
pieces of the puzzle.

Then Shadee
spoke again.

“The Forstaken is the one woman
who was born of two pure royal vampires. She is not a vampire. She holds no
real supernatural powers, but she’s the last of the pure bloodline.
 
She’s pure – untainted.
 
That makes her incredibly valuable to just
about every demon on the planet. You see, if she dies, all the vampires die
except for those with pure blood.
 
That
means her and her uncle, Dagger.”

Byron knew
Nadia had a past life she couldn’t remember. He knew all about her adoption
from
Russia
to
America
at the
age of ten, after two long years in a less than stellar foster care system. He
knew about her trauma-induced amnesia. He’d even sent her to a hypnotherapist
for help in recalling her memories, but nothing had worked. But the child of
two vampires?

“How is this even
possible?

“It’s not
possible, in the real world, but this is not the real world, man.
 
This is magic.
 
You should know a thing or two about that,”
Shadee said.

“So, how does
she exist? If all this is true.” Byron still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

“It is a once
in an eternity kind of thing. Her identity has remained secret. Most vampires
don’t even believe she exists, but if the mage says it is true, then it is
true. Dagger’s story is that he killed everyone in his bloodline in an attempt
to locate this girl. When his own sister, Nadia’s mother, wouldn’t reveal her
whereabouts, he slew her, too. This is one unconscionable bastard.”

By this point,
they’d reached the apex of the cliffs. There was a small green patch of flat
land surrounded by vines and what looked like years of overgrowth. But at the
far side of the landing was a small statue built from rocks. It looked like an
angel with blackened wings, and it was facing out toward the ocean as if its
back was turned on all humanity.

“What is this
place?”

Shadee turned
and gave Byron a reluctant smile. “This is a shrine build by the first vampire
settlers in
Florida
.
It is in honor of Nadia’s family. This is why the mage lives close by, down
below. It is sacred ground to vampires and others.”

Byron
contemplated the dire situation before them.

Shadee said,
“And it’s the location of our last stand. I’m going to kill Dagger, and you can
either help me or get lost.”

Byron walked
to the edge of the cliff and looked out at the vast sea. It was his home. He
should relinquish his control and go to it. He should turn his back on all this
earthen drama. The demon world. Those were not the battles he was meant to fight.

He knew this
as surely as he knew he’d never leave Nadia alone to face this awful truth. He
would stand and fight for her life. She might be the Forstaken, but she was
also the only woman he’d ever love.

Chapter Ten

“Let’s go. Time
to take a little walk.”

Nadia, still
wearing her cut-off jean shorts and bikini top, exited the warmth of the limo
and was immediately chilled by the ocean’s breeze..

Her eyes took
in their surroundings, and she briefly considered a run back toward town. But
she knew it was at least five miles back, and from the wild-eyed look on Dagger
she didn’t dare attempt an escape now.

Maybe if she
went along with his plan, she could find a way to distract him. But then what?

Reluctantly, she followed him up
the rocky path, toward the vertex. She had a bad feeling about this.

“Why are we
going here, Dagger? Why do we need to go here for me to learn about our
family?”

He turned and
smiled, but there was absolutely no mirth behind his smile.

“Why, this is
a shrine to your beloved parents, and what better place to learn about them? After
all, I’ve been alive for centuries, Nadia. But I’ve only been searching for you
for the last decade, that is, since I learned of your existence.”

Centuries?

“Your parents
were quite clever at keeping you a secret.”

Nadia stopped
walking.

Dagger
continued on for a few steps, but then noticed her stall.

“C’mon then. We
must visit the shrine. Then I can show you all about your purpose in life. Tell
you about your reason for existence and why your parents saw fit to abandon
you, their only child.”

“No,” Nadia
said, a sudden calm coming over her. She didn’t know exactly how she was going
to handle this, but she now knew Dagger was not exactly who he claimed. At a
minimum, he was not someone she could ever trust.

“But we are
only a few steps away from reaching our goal. I can show you things about your
parents. Things you’ve longed to know all your life. Didn’t you like regaining
all those memories earlier this evening?”

Nadia eyed
him. He suddenly seemed a little nervous, and his speech had quickened into a
rapid release of words, not unlike the rapid rat-tat-tat firing of a weapon.

“Why do we
need to go to the top of this cliff on this particular night? Why can’t I go
home first, and we can visit again tomorrow?”

He seemed
unsure of how to proceed, but a flash of anger passed behind his eyes. She saw
it then, and her suspicions were confirmed.

She saw the
evil inside him. He wasn’t taking her to this cliff under this full moon to
show her anything about her parents. He was taking her there to kill her. She
didn’t know why. Maybe she’d never know why, and maybe she’d have to live with
not ever knowing; but she knew she’d never get to live at all if she didn’t get
out of this and now.

She turned,
planning to run, but then he was instantaneously behind her. It was if he’d
read her mind and moved through space and time to be waiting on her before she
could even take another step.

“No. No. No,” he
said, as if scolding a small child.

“Nadia!” Byron’s
voice broke through the confusion and fear in her mind, and she turned and
looked upward.

At the top of
the cliffs stood the love of her life. He’d never looked more powerful,
majestic, and safe. She grinned broadly and then ran up the path as fast as her
muscled legs would take her.

They found each
other in a warm embrace for only a moment before Dagger had her by the hair,
tugging with such force she swore she could hear the hair ripping out of her
skull.

She shrieked
in pain.

“Let go of her,”
Byron’s voice was unwavering..

Dagger laughed
heartily.

“I don’t know
how you found us here, or why you’re not dead, but you’ll be back at home, in
the sea before you can count to three.”

Dagger raised his arm and made a
motion as if casting Byron aside. But a crunch of gravel sounded behind them as
the lanky cowboy came out of nowhere and sliced a chunk of Dagger’s arm off
with one swift motion.

Dagger’s high-pitched
squeal pierced Nadia’s ears, and the surprise of Shadee’s attack was enough for
her to squirm free of Dagger’s grasp.

Byron pulled
her out of harm’s way, and Dagger turned to face his attacker.

“What are you
doing here, Shadee?” The wound on Dagger’s arm was already healing.

Nadia shivered
in Byron’s arms and noticed he was carrying a long sword in his right hand.

“I’m here to
protect the Forstaken. I’ll not let you kill her and kill us all, no matter how
powerful you are. Everyone has their weakness.”

Dagger was
fully healed now and back to his manic grinning, his black cloak flapping
wildly in the breeze.

“Oh, dear
redneck brethren. You might be right, except that I’m the last of the only pure
vampire line, and there’s no way you and a…” He paused and turned to pierce
Byron with a steely glare. “An aquatic underling could ever take me down.”

Nadia closed
her eyes. Byron leaned in and whispered in her ear softly. She nodded.

She already
knew. Her mother had told her long ago. One day, she’d come face-to-face with a
demon. Her uncle. Her mother’s only brother and the one who’d turned against
her family long ago. One day, she’d be the only one who could kill him.

That day was
today.

Shadee swung
the sword at Dagger, but it was deflected with a brief shake of Dagger’s head.
Shadee dove for Dagger’s throat, but the ancient demon was suddenly out of
reach and five feet away in the blink of an eye.

Byron pushed
away from Nadia and took a fighting stance. She looked at him with imploring
eyes. She shook her head “no” and then stepped in front of him just as Dagger
grabbed her with steely hands and threw her across the clearing.

Her legs
landed in a twisted heap. She felt not unlike a rag doll as she took a moment
to regain her breath.

“Fuck you,
Dagger!” Shadee tried to make contact with Dagger by way of an electrical taser
device.

Only as soon
as the bolts hit Dagger, they ricocheted off and sent the powerful surge back
through Shadee instead, knocking him down and out on the ground, a cloud of
smoke emanating from his ears like an over-cooked piece of meat.

Dagger sighed.

“Now that we
have him out of the way.” He turned toward Byron.

“On second
thought, I guess I’m glad our friend here failed in killing you. I’m sure your
mother wouldn’t approve of me doing away with you, but she won’t be around
forever; and soon I’ll be the most powerful thing on earth.”

Nadia watched
as Dagger seemed to be weighing the choices between killing her lover or not. She
looked around. She knew she needed a weapon. She needed to kill him. That was
the only way to end this. Her mother had told her how, and with Dagger’s help
in restoring her memories, she now remembered it all.

She saw the broken blade Shadee
had sliced Dagger with earlier. It wouldn’t work. She saw the burnt-out taser a
few feet away. No go. She knew what she needed, but where was she going to find
it up here? She crawled toward Shadee’s limp body.

Just then, Dagger
grabbed Byron by the throat and hoisted him over the edge of the cliff in one
swift motion.

Nadia
screamed. Byron was gone.

Now, she was
pissed.

****

Byron fell
into the sea, and his body began the immediate flux. He pushed himself to the
surface and began to gulp oxygen as fast as his lungs could accommodate. He had
to get back to land and fast.

If he didn’t
get on land and reverse his flux within the next few minutes, he’d not be able
to fight the power of the moon. The daylight was a short time away, and he
didn’t intend to abandon Nadia in her time of need.

This Dagger
was insane. How could someone kill their own blood relative, vampire descendant
or not? Byron loved Nadia and would give his life to save her. He knew if he made
it back up to the top of that cliff in time, he might just have to sacrifice
himself to save her.

He began to
swim against his nature and toward land. This was it. The most important moment
of his life. This was for love.

****

Nadia stood. She’d
had enough of this bozo.

“I know who
you are,” she said, her breath coming out now in short pants.

Dagger clapped
with glee.

“Oh goodie.
Now I don’t have to waste anymore time telling you all about how I killed your
precious parents years ago after I discovered you existed. They did a great job
keeping you hidden – but thanks to modern technology and your weakness for the
truth – not nearly good enough.”