kate storm 04 - witches dont back down (24 page)

I had mine beside me.

The knives looked old. The edges jagged and wicked sharp.

Morgause twirled them. Quickly. Forward and then back. She was quite skilled.

I could have cared less.

I looked at Morgan. Morgan smiled widely, displaying both fangs.

Right. "Bring it on." I motioned to Morgause.

She attacked.

Ash and Drake both bellowed in rage. I tuned them out. I had to.

Morgause was lethal with her knives.

She slashed out, stepped to the side and slashed again. Wicked fast. Faster than I could follow.

Morgan used her vampire speed to dodge and pull me out of the way.

I tried to kick her, trip her, punch her. Anything I could do.

Which wasn't much.

Morgause knew what she was doing.

I was afraid we were on the losing end of things again as Morgause whirled and slashed all around us.

But I refused to stop. Refused to give in.

Where I had wanted to beg and plead with her before, now I simply wanted to scream and rage at her.

Al's tiny body hit the wall over and over in my mind.
Thud. Thud. Thud
.

A knife blade slid over my forearm. Blood welled and started to fall.

Fury fed fury and I swung my arm.

Morgause slashed the inside of my arm.

I started to swing wildly. Every jab and punch I threw met one of her blades.

I didn't care.

I heard Ash's anguished cries, but I couldn't stop.

Morgause was so quick, I couldn't judge where I was hitting. It still didn't matter.

I punched and kicked and struck out at her. At Morgause. The evil witch. The one who had cursed my entire family. Who had killed off as many of my relatives as she could. Who had pursued us, determined to kill us, the very last of our line, as well. Who had attacked Ash with black magic.

The witch who tried to kill Al.

My long lost aunt who wanted to destroy everything I held dear.

I fought her.

At some point, I realized the blood wasn't all mine. Morgan's blood was falling as well.

My skin and clothes drenched in red.

My arms struck out a little slower. My kicks not quite as strong.

And my blood started to burn.

At first, I thought it was part of my rage. My very blood starting to burn along with the wrath inside of me.

Soon it started to sting everywhere. Wherever my blood fell, my skin burned like acid.

"I see the poison is beginning to work," Morgause said. She'd taken a step back. Her knives, dripping crimson, held in front of her.

Morgan caught me around the waist as I started to fall. She was covered in red also. But many of her cuts had already begun to heal. Vampire. Morgan could heal herself. The poison wouldn't affect her.

"Kate?"

Fear is not an emotion I associate with Morgan. She's many things, but fearful is not one.

Right now I couldn't see anything else on her face. Morgan was afraid. Terrified for me.

I was dying.

I could feel it.

My skin nearly flayed from my arms. I couldn't see my legs, Morgan held me clutched to her chest, but I knew Morgause had sliced me there too.

"Kate!" I had to wipe blood out of my eyes in order to see Ash.

He had demolished most of the wall behind him. He was covered in drywall, blood and sweat. His chest heaved. Every muscle flexed and ridged in veins. His sin writhed over his arm and shoulder. His scars pulled taunt over his skin.

My Demon King.

The love of my life.

The curse and Morgause were going to take me and I'd never get my chance at happily-ever-after.

Half-bred. Cursed. Mortal.

Very, very mortal.

I tried to smile, but gasped instead. The poison ran all through my body now, setting my insides on fire.

"Kate. No." Love, raw and stark and urgent, shone brightly in his amber eyes.

"Don't worry, Demon. You won't suffer as long as Kate," Morgause said.

I kicked her.

I absolutely hated Morgause with every fiber of my dying body.

To my shock, my foot connected.

Morgause cried out.

I twisted my head slowly, the pain practically a living thing, to look at her.

Morgause was holding her leg where my boot left a bloody print.

For the very first time, I saw something in her eyes.

Pain.

"That hurt." Morgause sounded confused.

My aunt gasped. "She's mortal."

"What?" I couldn't turn my head to look at her. I was in too much pain. And I didn't want Al's way too still body to be the last thing I saw.

"Morgause is mortal," Aunt Tabitha stated loudly.

"Ridiculous." Morgause shook her head. But there was fear in her eyes now as well.

"She said she needed a pure soul to volunteer in order to control her." Aunt Tabitha spoke rapidly. "You can't force black magic on a pure soul. That's why Nina had to volunteer. When Morgause hit Nina with black magic it backfired. It made her mortal."

Morgause took a large step back. She shook her head in denial.

"How do you know?" I was gasping now. The pain almost paralyzing.

"Look at her leg."

We all looked at Morgause's leg where I kicked her. My vision wavered. I blinked several times. My bloody footprint came into focus. Only the blood wasn't due to my footprint. When I'd kicked Morgause, the solid ridged bottom of my biker boot had struck her on the shin bone. There was a tear in her stretchy pants and a long gash on her leg bleeding freely. A long gash that wasn't healing.

Immortals heal almost instantly.

Morgause was no longer immortal.

32. And Then I Died.

Cursed. Half-bred. Mortal.

Different parts that make up my whole.

I knew mortal.

Poison coursed through my veins this very minute, stealing my life from me.

Oh, yes. I was intimately familiar with mortal.

"Help me up, Morgan." I needed her help. I couldn't do it on my own.

Morgan's hands trembled. I felt the turmoil inside her as she weighed her worry for me against my request. And I felt the moment she made her decision.

Morgan lifted me up, gently and without any effort. My weight insignificant against her vampire strength.

Show no fear.

"Looks like you just made a big mistake, Morgause," I smiled.

The poison seared my blood. Setting it boiling. The pain unrelenting.

Embrace the lie.

"And I'm not done yet."

I shifted my weight from Morgan's grip. Standing on my own two feet.

"It's time to die."

There was nothing inside me of the nice witch.

I didn't have much time left and I had a chance to make sure those I loved were safe.

I didn't consider it a sacrifice. I considered it justice.

I took one stumbling step towards Morgause and then Morgan was at my side, lending me her strength.

We attacked Morgause together.

There is something the immortals don't understand. Something they sneer at and belittle and dismiss.

And something they have no defense against.

Weakness.

And pain.

The HC are pretty much immune to both. If they get a cut, it hurts. Briefly. And then it heals.

In their world, pain doesn't linger.

In their world, they have all the time.

Morgause wasn't a member of their world anymore. She was mortal and a member of mine.

I knew pain. I knew weakness.

I'd suffered both. I'd been bullied due to both. And I'd learned to survive them.

Not just survive, but triumph over.

Ash was right.

I wasn't less. I was a helluva lot more.

Morgan and I hit, punched, jabbed, kicked, pulled hair and even bit any and all parts of Morgause we could reach.

Overwhelmed by the pain that wasn't healing and at long last terrified, Morgause was incapable of fighting back.

I lifted one foot to kick her again and slipped in the blood pooling on the floor.

Some of it was Morgause's. Most of it was mine.

I went down hard.

And I stayed down.

Adrenaline had bolstered my strength. Providing a false sense of vitality.

Morgan stood behind Morgause with one arm in a chokehold under Morgause's neck. Her eyes glowed as she stared down at her sister, suffocating in her arms. "It didn't have to come to this. You could have lived a long and happy life. Mordred deserved to die. He was a traitor. You should have accepted that. Dealt with the pain and built a new life for yourself."

Morgause's brown eyes bulged. Her skin started to turn a light purple.

"Instead, you killed our family!" Morgan's arm tightened. "You cursed them all and you killed them. You hunted me." Morgan pulled her arm up, cutting off more and more of Morgause's air. "I lived for centuries with the knowledge that you were out there looking for me. You couldn't be satisfied with taking your vengeance back then and look at what it's brought you."

Morgan snapped her fangs. She pulled Morgause's head back further. The tendons in her neck ready to snap.

I blinked. Trying to bring the scene back into focus.

My heart was slowing. Pumping sluggishly now. Breathing was a definite effort.

I didn't hurt anymore.

I could barely feel anything. Except cold.

The chill of death creeping up my legs and my arms.

"Kate!" I heard Ash. I just couldn't turn my head to see him. The love of my life and I didn't have the energy to look at him one last time.

I wished I could feel his arms around me one more time. I knew the feeling, knew every muscle, every smooth inch of hot skin. I tried to imagine it, but I couldn't feel anything except the cold.

I think my aunt cried out. I hated to bring this on her. She'd lost so much already. At least she would have Morgan and Al.

Al. I hoped he would have a better life. I knew my aunt would love him almost as much as I did.

Tender arms lifted my head. Morgan.

I tried to open my eyes, but they were ready to stay shut.

Opening them was too much of a bother.

Except . . . I struggled. Made one last effort. I was able to peer through mere slits.

Morgause, purple and gasping for air, leaned against the wall in front of me.

I groaned. Morgan leaned over me. "What?" My head rested on her lap.

Something cold and wet splashed on my cheek.

Tears. My UDBF crying while she held me as I died.

I couldn't let that happen.

We'd been through too much for it to end in tears.

"Morgan?"

"Yes?"

"Remember." My breath was almost gone. "Friends don't drink friends."

And then I died.

33. Dying Sucks.

Dying sucks.

Let's just state that clearly and plainly and without any hedging.

Dying absolutely sucks.

And if I have a choice, I don't plan to ever do it again.

In fact, I was fairly shocked it wasn't permanent the first time.

I opened my eyes.

Ash, Morgan, Drake, Aunt Tabs, Lucifer and Al were all looking down at me.

For a second I thought Ash might have exerted some sort of pull and saved me a spot in Hell.

I wasn't thrilled.

I appreciated the thought, but I really don't like Hell. And I definitely didn't want to apply for residency there.

Then I realized several things. 1) I was breathing. 2) I could feel my body. It wasn't in great shape. In fact, it hurt and made me want to cry, but I could feel it and not the horrible creeping cold. 3) I could feel a small amount of cold. I was somewhat worried I might be going through the dying process all over again when I realized Al had his nose pressed against my neck.

"Kate!" They all said my name at once. A happy chorus of syllables.

I was lifted into heat and strength and hard muscles. Exactly as I remembered. Exactly as I had wished for. Exactly where I wanted to spend my life.

I wrapped my arms around Ash's neck. So caught up in the joy of the moment, I almost forgot it had been a while since I'd been able to touch all of him.

I leaned back in his arms. "Your sin! It's not moving."

Ash leaned down and pressed his forehead to mine. "No." He sighed deeply. The warm air brushed over my lips. "The black magic stopped working when Morgause died."

I reached out my hand and placed it over his sin. The lines started to move, twisting up and wrapping around my hand, pulling me back down. Holding me in its cage.

"It's back to . . . Wait! What?" I twisted, but I couldn't see anything around all the bodies. "Morgause is dead?"

Morgause. Evil witch. Mortal enemy.

She was dead and I wasn't?

"Yep." Morgan tugged on one of my curls. "I snapped her neck."

"You did?" Ash wasn't letting me out of his arms and quite frankly I was as happy as a witch could be where I was. Still, it was hard having conversations. "You killed Morgause?"

Morgan had gotten her own, avenged her family and destroyed our mutual enemy?

"Yes. Why?"

Morgan sounded a bit perturbed. You'd think having a BF die on you would elicit a bit more sympathy. However, Morgan is a vampire. Her been-there-done-that attitude extends towards death as well.

Besides, I wasn't questioning her abilities.

"I wanted to watch."

Al chuckled weakly. "That's my girl."

I lifted him slowly into my arms, making certain I didn't hurt him in anyway.

Al didn't act hurt. I glanced up at Aunt Tabs. She smiled reassuringly. Lucifer had both arms around her and she leaned into him. Morgause had done quite a bit of damage to Al for the healing to take that much energy out of my aunt.

"Is that why I'm alive?" I asked her.

Aunt Tabitha wiped away a tear. "Yes. The moment Morgause died, all of her evil died with her. Including the effects of her poison."

Wow. No wonder Aunt Tabs looked exhausted. She'd had to pull double duty, healing Al and then me.

I snuggled Al close and rested my head on Ash.

I could scarcely believe it.

We were safe. We were all safe and Morgause was finally dead.