19. Asher
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ASHER
When I opened my eyes, the world was too sharp. Too loud. Too everything .
The faint hum of the inn’s ancient electrical wiring buzzed against my skull like a swarm of bees.
The soft shuffle of footsteps in rooms down the hall thundered in my ears.
Even the air felt different, heavier, carrying scents I shouldn’t have been able to detect. Cheap cleaning supplies, stale cigarette smoke, the faint trace of someone’s perfume.
I groaned, the sound foreign to my own ears, and pushed myself up. My limbs felt alien, my movements too smooth, too quick.
The bed I was lying on creaked under the slightest shift of my weight.
What the hell happened to me?
And then it hit me, all at once, like a freight train to the chest. Gael. The shelter. The attack.
I shot up, swaying as a wave of dizziness crashed over me. My heart, a sound I couldn’t hear or feel, was absent.
Panic seized me. My hands clawed at my chest, searching for a heartbeat that wasn’t there.
“No,” I whispered, my voice raspy and hoarse. “No, no, no.”
It couldn’t be true. It shouldn’t be true.
I staggered to my feet, but the world tilted, my heightened senses throwing me off balance.
Every step felt like walking on a wire, the ground too far away and yet too close.
Gael.
The name shot through my mind like a curse, bitter and full of rage. He’d done this to me.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew what had happened. What he’d made me.
A vampire.
The word tasted foul in my mouth. My fists clenched, and I welcomed the flare of anger, letting it burn through the confusion and fear.
He had no right.
He had no right to take away my choice. To take away my life.
For a brief, maddening moment, I hoped this was all some horrible nightmare.
That I’d wake up in the Guild’s barracks or my childhood bedroom, safe and human and whole.
But the nightmare was real. The hunger gnawing at my insides was real.
The too-perfect clarity of the room, the peeling wallpaper, the scuffed wooden floor, the faint dust motes drifting in the air, was real.
And Gael was nowhere to be found.
I stumbled toward the small bathroom, gripping the doorway for support as I caught a glimpse of myself in the cracked mirror.
The person staring back at me was a stranger.
My skin was pale, almost luminescent under the dim light. My eyes… God, my eyes.
They weren’t mine anymore. They glowed faintly, a predatory gleam that sent a chill down my spine.
I turned away, disgusted, and slammed the door shut behind me.
My hands were shaking, my breath ragged even though I didn’t seem to need air anymore.
I hated this. I hated him.
But even as I raged, a small, unwelcome voice whispered in the back of my mind.
He saved you.
I shoved the thought away. I didn’t ask to be saved. Not like this. Not at the cost of my humanity, my soul.
Where was he, anyway? Hiding? Avoiding me because he knew what I’d do when I saw him?
Coward.
The anger propelled me forward, and I pushed out of the room, determined to find him.
My movements were steadier now, my body adjusting unnervingly quickly to its new reality.
The hallway was empty, the dim light flickering overhead. The smells of the inn assaulted my nose again, but something else stood out.
Something sharper. Metallic. Blood.
I froze, every nerve in my body screaming as I felt… something. A presence.
It wasn’t Gael.
I didn’t know how I knew that, but I did. The energy was different. Colder, darker.
It seeped into the edges of my awareness, sending a chill down my spine.
The air felt heavier, oppressive, as though the walls themselves were closing in.
My instincts sharpened, and I realized with dawning horror what I was sensing.
A vampire.
Not just any vampire. The one who’d attacked me in the shelter.
My feet moved on their own, silent and swift as I followed the presence.
It led me down the hall, past the empty front desk, and out into the narrow alley beside the inn.
The night was quiet, but not calm. Shadows clung to the buildings like they were alive, shifting and twisting with the faint glow of the streetlights.
And there he was.
The vampire stood at the edge of the alley, his back to me as if he were waiting.
My hands clenched into fists, nails biting into my palms. “You.”
He turned, a slow, deliberate motion that sent a fresh wave of anger and fear coursing through me.
His face was gaunt, his eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
“Well,” he drawled, his voice a low rasp. “Look who’s finally awake.”
“What do you want?” I demanded, my voice steadier than I felt.
He smirked, his fangs glinting in the faint light. “You, mostly. Or rather, the mess you’ve become. Gael’s little pet project, hmm?”
I took a step forward, my body thrumming with energy I didn’t yet understand.
“If you’ve come to finish what you started, you’ll regret it,” I told him.
He laughed, the sound cold and mocking. “You’re new to this, aren’t you? Freshly turned, barely understanding what you are. And you think you can take me?”
“Try me,” I snarled.
He didn’t hesitate. One moment he was standing at the end of the alley, and the next, he was on me. I saw the flash of a blade.
I moved instinctively, my body reacting faster than my mind could process.
I dodged his strike, his knife sliced through the air where my throat had been seconds earlier.
The alley exploded into chaos.
I fought like I had as a hunter, relying on muscle memory and training.
But this body, this new body, was different. Stronger. Faster.
I landed a punch that sent him staggering back, the force of it shocking even me.
“You’ve got some bite,” he admitted, wiping blood from his split lip. “But you’re still not good enough to go toe-to-toe with me.”
He lunged again, and this time I wasn’t quick enough. His knife raked across my side, tearing through fabric and flesh.
Pain flared, sharp and blinding, but it only fueled my anger.
I lashed out, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into the cold brick wall. The impact sent a shudder through my body, but I didn’t care.
My grip tightened, fingers digging into his skin.
His eyes widened for a moment. He clawed at my wrist, trying in vain to loosen my hold.
“Who are you? Who sent you?” I growled out.
I needed answers, and I wasn’t going to let this bastard breathe until I got them.
A cruel smile curled at the edges of his lips. His eyes gleamed with something darker, something I couldn't quite read at first.
But then his smile widened, and I felt a cold shiver crawl up my spine.
“You think I answer to anyone?” he sneered, his voice hoarse from the pressure on his throat. “You’re just another loose end. And I clean up loose ends.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, but before I could react, I felt the shift. One moment, I was in control, holding him against the wall with all the strength I had left.
The next, his knees buckled slightly, and in a blur of motion, his hand shot up and grabbed my wrist with a vice-like grip.
He twisted, using his free hand to shove me hard against the wall.
I didn’t expect the sudden force, and the impact made me gasp.
Before I could recover, his body pressed against mine, pinning me in place, and the world seemed to spin.
“Did you really think you can best me?” he asked.
His grip on my wrist tightened until my bones screamed in protest.
I tried to shove him off, but the movement felt sluggish.
His weight on me was like iron and I felt vulnerable. His knee dug into my stomach, and I winced. My other arm struggled to break free, but it was useless.
“Struggling’s pointless,” he said.
I felt his cold fingers at my throat, just as I had done to him moments ago.