“Do you think I am weak?” he asked me.

The vampires in the room that stood in front of me parted like the Red Sea, clearing a path between Lucian and me.

“Not at all,” I replied calmly.

“Hmph. Then why do you think you can outsmart me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lucian covered the distance between us in less than a second. Four vampires dove onto Eli, holding him back. He fought against them but there were too many.

“Don’t play coy with; me, child. I know everything. I know that Ivan has planned an escape for you at Gerald Harbor tomorrow night. Did you actually think it was going to work? It’s a good thing I have my little protégé over there, otherwise I would have never known.”

Oh no. I told Hunter about our plan. I only did it because I thought maybe he could help us. I looked at Eli. He stared at me in disbelief before shaking his head in response, disappointment plain on his features. I tried to convey how sorry I was, but he no longer looked at me.

“Hunter, how could you?” I yelled, tears threatening to spill over and run down my cheek.

“I’m sorry, he is my creator … I — I don’t have a choice.”

Lucian ran a finger along my jaw bone and forced my attention back onto his face.

“It appears Ludiia didn’t search Mr De Luca thoroughly enough to find his cell phone.” Lucian clicked his fingers.

“No, no please! I’m sorry!” Ludiia begged. It didn’t matter how sorry she was, Liam and another vampire tore her head from her body before she had a chance to explain.

“After everything I’ve done for you,” he growled, his intense eyes searching my soul. “Tomorrow will continue as planned. I’ll bring more vampires and we’ll take care of Aleksandrov and the other pesky guardians if they show.” He tapped his chin in thought. “But how should I punish you …”

He clicked his long fingers. “Hunter, come here.”

Hunter dashed over but I avoided his eyes.

“Drink from her.”

“No!” I yelled. “Please.”

“Do you want her to feel pain or pleasure?” Hunter asked.

He couldn’t be serious. To tell my plans to his creator was one thing, but to try and drink from me was something else entirely.

“Hmmm, pain.”

Hunter grasped my head and tilted it at an angle so I was facing Eli. Eli wore a panicked expression as he fought even harder against the vampires holding him. I heard the subtle sound of fangs clicking out of hard gums. My palms grew warm. There was no chance in hell that I was going to be bitten by a vampire ever again, at least, not if I could help it. I pressed my hands against his face and hissed in pain, stumbling backwards.

My hands started to glow a more vibrant, healthy golden color. I felt powerful, I felt angry. My magic grew in size and pressure, causing my arms to shake violently. The surrounding vampires watched me in shock and fear. Eli managed to shrug off the four holding him off, pulling a stake from his back pocket. Before he could stake them, I willed the magic to release itself all in a single burst and it shot rapidly from my hands, incinerating the vampires that had held Eli.

The bright glow caused the vampires to screech. He forced them to pile behind each other, cowering, as it burned their skin. When the light dispersed, the vampires came back with a vengeance. They were pissed off and there was nothing I could do. I had never used so much power at once before and it had taken a toll on me. I was finding it difficult to stand. The room began to sway.

No! Not now, Ruby! Don’t you dare pass out.

“No!” a voice rang throughout the room.

Lucian was blocking my view, I couldn’t see who it was. When I was yanked out from underneath him by Eli, I saw what was happening. It was Mithras. He was standing in the doorway, glowing like the sun.

“I won’t let you take what’s mine,” he shouted.

He was crying. Mithras was actually crying because he thought I wanted Lucian to bite me. This man was seriously messed up. Mithras ran at me and no vampire could stop him. The vampires screeched and hissed from being burnt by the glow as he passed by. Soon enough they fled, leaving Mithras, Eli, Anna, and I alone in the room.

Eli dove out of the way, if the light hit him, he would get some serious sunburn. Mithras grasped both my shoulders and I focused on absorbing his energy so it couldn’t hurt me. As I absorbed it, I became more energetic.

“Get off!” I yelled as I kicked his knee out from under him. Mithras collapsed to the ground, clasping his knee and crying in pain.

“Don’t make him too mad, he’ll explode,” Eli informed me urgently.

“Here, Ruby!” Anna called, throwing me a little green gem attached to a silver necklace.

“It will prevent him from absorbing energy to use against you.”

I placed the talisman on his flesh and his skin stopped glowing.

“It will only work as long as it touches him,” she added.

Whilst he laid there whimpering, I tied the chain to his ankle. I crouched in front of him, watching to see if he was okay. That was twice now that he’d attacked me, and yet here I was, still feeling sorry for him. Mithras jumped at me, catching me off guard and knocking me to the floor.

“What have you done to me?” he yelled, his hands squeezing my throat.

I couldn’t breathe, any tighter and the sides of my windpipe would rub against each other.

Mithras’s mouth dropped open and he gasped. His grip loosened and after a few deep breaths I could breathe again. It wasn’t until I saw Eli stand up from behind him that I realized what had happened. Eli killed him.

I crawled backwards frantically as his lifeless body fell to the ground. Eli pulled me to my feet.

“I’m so sorry, Ruby. I had to do it, he —”

“I know … it’s okay,” I panted, my eyes not leaving my dead father’s body.

The doors burst open and in poured a mass of angry vampires. Lucian’s face stood out against the rest as his eyes fell onto Mithras. I don’t know how to describe his face. Anger? No. Sadness? No. Lucian was beyond those emotions, I could see it. If this were a cartoon, steam would be pouring from his ears. How could he get stronger and stay stronger now? His Heelian was dead and I was only half Heelian … My blood couldn’t give him as much strength as Mithras’s did.

“Do you have any idea what you have done?” he hissed.

“He tried to kill me!” I protested.

“Better you than him.”

In one swift move, Lucian zipped from one side of the room to the other, shoving his fist through Anna’s chest and into her body.

“Witches are disposable. There are plenty of them. Do you know how hard it is to find a Heelian?” He tore her heart from her body.

“No!” I screamed. I tried to run to her but Eli stopped me with an arm around my waist, holding me close. I tried to push away, I needed to get to her.

“You can’t help her, Ruby. She’s gone.”

Her body fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Her eyes didn’t close, they were open, staring at the floor. Lucian ran his tongue over her heart and cringed slightly.

“I never have enjoyed the taste of witch, they’re too … acidy.” He dropped her heart on the floor. Nausea radiated through my stomach and I became dizzy. There was so much blood. There was also a heart on the floor, an actual bleeding, pulsing heart. I closed my eyes in hope it would magically disappear.

“Open your eyes!” Lucian demanded.

I did as I was told.

“I want you to see what you did, what you always do. You cause nothing but death, and for as long as you’re alive, you will continue to cause death.”

A tear rolled down my cheek as the reality of his words hit me. It was true, people died around me.

“Liam will be your driver tonight, just to make sure you don’t try anything stupid. See you there.”

A depressing silence fell over the room as everyone headed for the front door. I didn’t move. I felt like I should apologize to her, or at the very least, say goodbye, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to go any closer. It was too much.

“It’s okay, Ruby. It isn’t your fault.”

“It is,” I sobbed. “I told Hunter. I trusted him and it backfired.”

“He’s not the same person anymore. Use tonight as a lesson, no matter how nice a vampire is, no matter how many times they claim they still have their humanity, don’t trust them.”

My lungs shuddered as I took deep sob-filled breaths. I couldn’t see now, tears blurred my vision. Eli stood beside me. He didn’t touch me, which I was thankful for. It was enough for him to just stand beside me. I cried a river, the tears flowed down my cheeks and didn’t stop until they hit the wilted collar of my shirt.

“She was so young,” I whispered. I ran my fingers along her hair, caressing it gently.

“Get up. Let’s go,” Liam ordered.

I stood up and rubbed my eyes. It was time to put my game face on. These monsters would pay for what they did to Hunter, Eli, Anna, and I. I might be able to control my anger now, but I couldn’t promise that I would later. If they hurt Mr Aleksandrov or any other guardian, I would make them suffer. I would kill them all, painfully and slowly. No one else will die because of me.

Road Trip

There was no moon in the sky, everything seemed so dark. There were no shadows, only the light projected from the high beams in front of us. Liam drove fast, so fast it made me nauseous. He didn’t care for speed limits or his safety, nothing would kill him. If we crashed, he’d heal.

It was one of those quiet car rides after a particularly horrible argument. Hot flashes rolled through me after absorbing Mithras’s power to energize myself. Eli noticed how uncomfortable I was but all he could do was send me apologetic glances and cool bottled water. I couldn’t sleep, knowing there was a vampire in the car with me. I assumed Eli felt the same, he didn’t even blink for too long. He stroked his stake with his thumb, prepared for any situation.

As the hours wound down and it got closer to sunrise, Liam drove even faster. He was desperate to meet the others at the rundown service station, as they had planned. If he didn’t make it on time, he’d be incinerated by the sun. I’d do it myself, but I needed to get to Gerald Harbor and warn Mr Aleksandrov … somehow.

As planned, we rolled into the abandoned service station an hour before dawn. Without a word, Liam climbed out of the car and Eli and I watched as he leaned up against a rotting wooden post.

“Where are the others?” I whispered.

“They’re here, waiting somewhere.”

Sure enough, a dozen vampires appeared from the wild, neglected bushland. As Lucian stepped out, I could feel his eyes pierce right through the car and into my soul. He was still pissed about Mithras and I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe my punishment wasn’t over.

Lucian and Liam spoke momentarily and then Liam made his way back to our vehicle. He stalked around to Eli’s door and opened it.

“Here’s the address, put it in the GPS. We’re going to ground. If you don’t make it to Gerald Harbor by nightfall tomorrow, we will kill Ivan and all of the guardians. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Eli growled.

Liam pushed on Eli’s chest so he was pressed against the seat. Liam’s eyes narrowed in on me.

“There’s girl who’s going to visit her aunty next week … what’s her name?” Liam rubbed his chin with his finger. “Mila?” He noticed my heartbeat quicken. A wry smile spread across his face. “Yes, that’s it. If you mess this up, I will personally rip her heart from her body and force you to eat it.”

He turned and disappeared into the forest with the rest of them. Once we were sitting comfortably in the front of the car and Eli had programmed the GPS with our destination, we sped off along the deserted highway.

As the sun peered over a distant mountain, Eli pulled the car over. Other trucks and cars zoomed past, making our car sway.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, suddenly panicked.

Eli rested his head on the steering wheel, breathing deeply. I’d never seen him so vulnerable. He seemed so stressed and worried.

“I just needed a breather. I have to regroup my thoughts and come up with a new plan.”

“No, Eli, you heard him. If we try anything —”

“I’m not going to send my fellow guardians and Mr Aleksandrov into an ambush. I have to do something. If only you hadn’t —” He bit his tongue.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“We’ll discuss it later. For now, let’s just figure something else out.”

“We could always call Mr Aleksandrov from a payphone.”

“I’ve already thought about that. I don’t have his number. It was in my phone.”

“I have it.”

He turned his face towards me.

“It’s in my bag. Mila gave it to me. She thought we might have access to phones at Lucian’s.”

“Perfect. We’ll call Ivan at the next service station. Which should be …” He poked at the GPs screen.

“… two hundred kilometers away. If we stick to the speed limit, we can be there in about two hours.”

He pulled back onto the highway and we drove steadily toward our destination. It had been three weeks since I was been alone with Eli inside his car. It seemed like an eternity ago.

The sun was higher in the sky now and I felt the urge to feel its warm rays on my skin. I pressed my window button and it rolled down silently. The wind whipped my hair everywhere. Last night felt like a distant dream, but the negative vibes from it still lingered in the air.