The Rise (11 page)

“That’s all you
ever
say, psycho. Shut up. I’ll handle this.”

I strode over to Queen Camillia until I was about an inch from her face. “If you are taking us to some kind of trap,” I said, “you want to rethink that
right now
. I swear to God that I’ll kill you if you betray us. And it will hurt.”

To my surprise, the Queen just nodded.

Someone behind me cleared his throat. I gave the Queen one last hard look before turning around. Gavin nodded at me. “We all need to go clean up in the restrooms, maybe get some food to hold us over until we can get some blood,” he whispered. “We don’t have time to fight right now. If I know the King, he’s already sent a hunting party after us. We need to get in and out.”

Everyone shambled off toward the station’s entrance. Luckily, Tommy had plenty of money for all of us to get what we needed. I bought t-shirts and sweatpants for Soraya, Catherine and my Mother, as well as three pairs of bright orange flip-flops. It was all they had. Then I used the restroom, where I washed my face and scrubbed my hands clean. I felt like a zombie.

I was the first to return to the van, where I found Kayden waiting for me. I tossed the clothes in to Soraya and Catherine, and threw an extra pair of sweatpants to Victoria, who still only wore Tommy’s large shirt. They dressed and went to use the facilities.

After they were gone, Kayden turned to me. “You okay?” he asked.

I shook my head.

My Mother came over then from the Mercedes. I held her clothes out to her and she surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug. I surprised myself by hugging her back. When we broke apart, I felt awkward, but touched.

The door to the Mercedes opened again, and the girl I didn’t know climbed out. She looked confused, with spiky black hair streaked through with blond; and big, wide eyes. She was the girl whom the other Warrior I didn’t know had been carrying. When she saw us, she came stumbling over, eyeing Kayden in a way that made my fists tighten.

“Go lay down in the car, Bethany,” my Mother barked.

The girl’s lips quirked into a sneer. “I have to use the restroom,” she snapped, and stalked off toward the station.

I raised an eyebrow at this and looked to Kayden, who shrugged. My Mother’s gaze followed Bethany. She rolled her eyes and turned back to me.

“I take it you two aren’t having fun?” I asked.

My Mother snorted. “She’s the one that reported your sister to the King,” she said.

Oh, let’s kill
her
then, Warrior. Can we? Can we? Can we?

Kayden’s arm went around me and I rested my head against his chest. My Mother slid open the door to the van and climbed in. “Why don’t you two go take a little walk?” she suggested. “You look like you need a breather. I’ll look after your sister. Just be quick.”

I’m sure I looked like I needed a lot more than a breather, but my Mother slid the van door closed, and alone with Kayden, I did feel as though the air was coming a little easier. Kayden kept his arm around my shoulder and began leading me toward a field of tall grass that neighbored the truck stop. I put one foot in front of the other. I was going to cry. I could feel it. I was just glad that my Mother knew me well enough to offer an escape so that I wouldn’t have to do it in front of everyone else. Kayden and Nelly were the only two people in the world who I didn’t mind to cry in front of, and even that sucked.

“She’s going to be fine,” Kayden whispered as we stepped through the curtain of yellow grass. He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head in his chest, warm tears spilling down my cheeks as if they had only been waiting for the flood gates to open. This was the second time in only a few hours that Kayden had held me while I cried. I hated myself a little for that. But it couldn’t be helped.

“How do you know that?” I asked, panic edging my voice. “How do you know? You saw her, Kayden. She almost killed me.
Nelly almost killed me.
” I sobbed harder, squeezing Kayden with every ounce of strength I had, which didn’t feel like much.

Kayden pulled back and tilted my head chin up, forcing me to look into his sunrise eyes. “I know that because I know
you.
You will find a way to help her. You just gotta…man up.”

A laugh bubbled up my throat at that. This was one of the reasons I couldn’t help but love Kayden. Even when I was blubbering in the middle of a wheat field, he could make me laugh. “’Man up’?” I asked.

Hey, that’s exactly what
I
said,
my monster growled.
But him, you listen to.

“He doesn’t think that the answer to all of life’s problems is murder.”

Sure he does. He’s your Libra, isn’t he? I think you would be surprised at how similar your minds work.

“What are you thinking?” Kayden asked.

I sighed. “You wouldn’t want to know,” I said. I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt and stepped back, wishing that I could just let him hold me, knowing that I could not. “You’re right. Man up. Got it. We should go.”

We walked back to the van, Kayden’s hand in mine. I pushed my chin out. Now was not the time to break down. Things needed to be done. I had a half-crazed, Lamia-turned sister to help, and a revolution to lead. I would mope after.

When we reached the van, Kayden yanked me forward and kissed me hard on the mouth. My lips parted and I felt myself melt into his arms, drinking in the feel of him, clinging as hard as I could. I would be lost if he weren’t by my side, unable to face whatever lay ahead. But he was with me, and we would see this through together. He was a single ray of sunshine that permeated the dark world I’d been thrust into, and I was grateful for that, if for nothing else.

We pulled apart from each other when someone cleared their throat behind us. It was Victoria. I had to bite back a nasty comment when I saw her. The others were ready to go, and enough time had been lost already.

Kayden slid open the van door, and then things went from bad to worse. Much worse.

No one screamed, which was a small wonder, because the sight on the interior of the van would have wrenched a howl from a mime’s throat. Scarlet painted everything, and the smell of copper wafted out on nauseous waves. I stumbled back and would have fallen if someone hadn’t caught me. I looked up and saw that it was Tommy holding me up, clutching me hard enough to leave bruises. Catherine had little Soraya pressed against her, her hands shielding the girl’s eyes. Patterson looked like a stake had been driven through his heart. Everyone else had hands over their mouths, holding in the silent scream that seemed to resound somewhere in all of our ears.

Amidst the blood and gore was what was left of two bodies, throats torn open, limbs sprawled into unnatural positions. My Mother and Bethany lay on the cold floor of the van, eyes wide and sightless; dead.

And Nelly was gone.

King William

“My Liege,” Andre said. “I will do as you ask of me, always, but are you sure that it is wise to call on a Sorcerer for a favor?”

King William laughed without humor. “It sounds as though you are questioning my judgment, Andre.”

The enormous Warrior shook his head. “Not at all,” he said. “But I’ve known Sorcerers. They are tricky, and their debts never go unpaid.”

King William slammed his palm down on the top of Queen Camillia’s desk hard enough that pain vibrated through his hand. Andre didn’t flinch, which said something about his character. “I always pay my debts, Warrior,” he said. “And we are Vampires; we do not fear other races. They are food to us, nothing else. Lions do not fear the buffalo. Our ancestors have made us weak, signing away territories to the other races, forcing us to cower behind our walls and rivers. The time for cowering is over. We will bring forth the rule of our kind by weeding out the weak and strengthening our strong. If the Sorcerer dares to cross me, he will pay for his mistake tenfold.”

Andre nodded, said nothing.

“I need not explain myself to you, Andre. The girl is vulnerable right now. She may be powerful, but she is too young to control that power. If we can use that power against her, we must do it now. No more questions. You just need to trust me.”

Andre believed in his King’s ideals whole-heartedly, and agreed that the girl could be of great use to them. But he wasn’t so quick to underestimate the other races, or humans for that matter. They would fight till their last breath, Andre knew this. The road ahead was a righteous one, but that did not mean that it would be easily travelled.

“Go,” King William said, flicking his wrist. “Bring me the Sorcerer by sundown.”

Andre left. King William sat for a moment in silence, until the door to the office opened once more, and four of his Warriors came into the room, breathing harshly. “We’ve searched the woods and the road beyond, Your Majesty,” one of the Warriors said. “There is no sign of the girl or the Queen. They must have taken a vehicle.”

This news did not surprise the King, and he did not dwell on it. There remained other matters that needed his attention. “Fine,” he said. “I want the four of you to round up the Warriors here, all of them. Tell them I will be addressing them shortly, and speak to no one about what has happened. After that, bring me every person who has any connection to the Sun Warrior and her sister.”

The Warriors bowed low and left him to his thoughts.

A smile found the King’s face. He would give his people some examples, examples of what happened to traitors.

Alexa

Kayden slammed the van door shut, cutting off my sight of what was inside. “Shit,” he said.

I barely heard him. Breaking free of Tommy’s grasp, I rushed forward, groping for the door handle. Kayden caught me around the waist, halting my progress. I almost punched him, but caught myself. Instead, I shoved him away and took off across the parking lot, running into the field of tall grass, smashing through it and leaving a stomped path in my wake.

Now I did scream. “Nelly!”

No answer. I ran further still, panic taking over my body, my head whipping from side to side. She couldn’t have gone far. We’d only left her for a moment. “Nelly!” I called again, and was answered again with silence.

I raced off in the opposite direction, still calling for my sister, my voice cracking and my throat aching. My wrists throbbed at the ends of my hands, and my heart thudded so fiercely that it seemed to be vibrating rather than beating. I ended up back in the parking lot, where the others still stood, faces pulled tight with worry. Patterson slumped against Gavin with his head in his hands. Queen Camillia was crying, saying her niece’s name over and over again, and for a moment, this gave me pause. I came to a halt near them, staring at the closed van door and trying to pretend that a scene out of a horror story didn’t wait inside. I glanced around the parking lot. It was still too early in the morning for anyone but a few truck drivers to be out. Luckily for us, truck drivers are experts at minding their own business.