Chapter Twenty-Three
Annika
“What kind of trouble?” I heard Lucas ask, his voice steady as always.
Callum’s eyes darted between us. There was little sign of his usual calmness. “Shifters. A group of them. They’ve torched a few buildings, and they’re rounding up people. We don’t know why.”
“How many?” Lucas asked again. From the sound of his voice, he was ready to grab his weapons.
“More than a dozen,” Callum replied. “Maybe more. And they’re not just targeting vampires this time.”
I stiffened as Lucas’ hand brushed my upper arm briefly. “Stay here,” he told me.
“No,” I shook my head defiantly. “I’m coming with you.”
“This isn’t a negotiation, Annika,” he ordered in a sharp tone, but I knew it was fear. “It’s dangerous.”
“And you think I don’t know that by now?” I shot back at him. “I’m not going to sit here while people are in danger. I can help.”
He clenched his jaw. Callum cleared his throat, a gentle reminder that we had no time to argue.
“Fine,” Lucas finally acquiesced. “But you stay close to me. No wandering, no heroics. Understand?”
I nodded, watching him grab his coat, then we both followed Callum into the hall. The others were already gearing up, their faces grim and their movements efficient. It was a sobering sight. After all, this was their life, always preparing for the next fight, the next loss. I didn’t want to think about what that meant for the people in the town, the ones who didn’t have weapons or training to fall back on.
We stepped outside, the night air was sharp and cold. It smelled of smoke, acrid and thick, carried on the wind from the direction of town. My stomach twisted. It was worse than I’d imagined.
Lucas glanced back at me briefly, his dark eyes narrowing. “Stay behind me,” he said in a tone that allowed no argument.
I nodded, though his protectiveness both reassured and frustrated me. I wasn’t helpless, even if I didn’t have his strength or Callum’s skill. I had something, whatever that something was, and I’d already decided to use it.
The closer we got to town, the louder the chaos grew. Screams, the roar of flames, the guttural growls of shifters. Shadows flickered in the distance, and I could see people running, stumbling as they tried to escape.
Lucas stopped abruptly, holding out an arm to block me as Callum crouched beside him, scanning the scene ahead.
“They’re organized,” Callum muttered. “Too much for a distraction.”
Lucas’ jaw tightened. “They’re herding people. Splitting them up.”
“For what?” I asked, my voice shaking. “Why would they—”
Lucas turned to me, his expression hard but not unkind. “We don’t have time to guess. Just stay close, Annika.”
Before I could respond, he moved forward, Callum following at his side. I trailed behind them, my heart hammering in my chest as we entered the outskirts of the town. The destruction was overwhelming. Fires consuming homes, shattered windows, overturned carts. And the people… some huddled in corners, others fighting to escape the grasp of snarling shifters.
One of the creatures lunged toward us, and Lucas moved faster than I could process. His blade gleamed in the firelight, and a second later, the shifter was crumpled on the ground. Callum was already engaging another, his movements precise and efficient.
I pressed my back against a wall, trying to stay out of the way but ready to act if I needed to. My hands tingled. Was it fear, or whatever strange power I’d felt before? I didn’t have time to think about it.
Lucas turned to me briefly, his voice sharp over the chaos. “Annika! Help anyone you can. If it’s too dangerous, get out of there. Don’t wait for us.”
I nodded, my throat tight, and darted toward a group of terrified townsfolk huddled near the wreckage of a cart. One of them, a woman clutching a child, looked up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes.
“Come on,” I said, reaching for her hand. “We need to move.”
She hesitated, glancing toward the shifters still battling Lucas and Callum. I didn’t wait, pulling her to her feet and guiding her toward an alley.
“Stay here,” I whispered, crouching beside her. “Don’t come out until it’s safe.”
She nodded, her grip tightening on her child. I turned back toward the chaos, darting through it. The town was in shambles, but I couldn’t think about that right now. I had to focus on helping whoever I could.
I turned a corner, narrowly avoiding a falling beam, and nearly tripped over a body lying in the street. A vampire… his pale skin stained with blood, his eyes half-lidded and glassy. He was trying to get up, but his movements were weak, uncoordinated. One of his legs looked badly twisted, and there was a deep gash across his torso.
For a moment, I froze. Fear locked me in place, and my mind screamed at me to keep going, to get out of there before the shifters noticed me. But then he looked up, his eyes catching mine, and I saw the pain there, the same pain I’d seen in the little boy, in the puppy.
I dropped to my knees beside him before I could think twice. “Hold on,” I said, my voice shaky. “I’ll help you.”
He tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak rasp. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, his grip surprisingly strong despite his condition. “Leave…” he managed to whisper. “It’s... not safe.”
“I know,” I said, my voice firmer now. “But I’m not leaving you.”
The tingling started in my hands, that familiar, strange sensation that both frightened and fascinated me. I pressed my palms to his chest, just above the gash, and immediately felt the energy surge through me. It was warm, almost searing, as if something inside me was being drawn out.
The vampire gasped, his body jerking under my touch. A faint glow emanated from my hands, soft and golden, like embers sparking to life. I tried not to focus on it, to just let whatever this was do its work. The gash began to close before my eyes, the torn flesh knitting itself back together. His leg shifted, the unnatural angle straightening with an audible pop.
I pulled my hands back, trembling, as the glow faded. The vampire stared at me, his chest rising and falling rapidly as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“What… what are you?” he asked, his voice hoarse but steadier now.
“I don’t know,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t know what this is.”
Before he could say more, a loud snarl echoed from behind me. I turned just in time to see a shifter barreling toward us, its claws gleaming in the firelight. Panic surged through me, and I scrambled to my feet, ready to run.
But the vampire was faster. He was on his feet in an instant, his strength seemingly restored. With a feral growl, he lunged at the shifter, his claws tearing through fur and flesh. The fight was over in seconds, the shifter collapsing in a heap at his feet.
The vampire turned back to me, his expression a mixture of gratitude and something unreadable. “You saved me,” he said simply.
“We need to go,” I said, my voice shaking. “It’s not safe here.”
He nodded, and without another word, we both moved back into the chaos, the questions swirling in my mind heavier than ever.
We joined the others in this endless night of smoke, blood and terror. Every corner of the town seemed to hold a new struggle, a new cry for help. Lucas moved ahead of me, his steps precise, cutting down any shifter that crossed our path. I tried to stay close, but the chaos made it nearly impossible.
We found another group of humans huddled in an alleyway, their faces streaked with grime and tears. Some clutched makeshift weapons, broken chair legs, rusty pipes, but they looked more afraid than ready to fight. I stepped forward, my hands up to show I wasn’t a threat.
“It’s okay,” I said, my voice softer than I felt. “We’re here to help.”
One of them, a man with a bloodied bandage around his arm, looked at me with hollow eyes. “You can’t save us,” he said. “They’ll come back.”
“They might,” Lucas cut in, his voice steady, commanding. “But not tonight. Tonight, you’re coming with us.”
Slowly, they started to move, shuffling toward us like ghosts.
We led them through the narrow streets, sticking to the shadows. My heart pounded every time I thought I saw movement, every time a distant snarl reached my ears. But we kept going, collecting more as we went, a vampire with a broken arm, another human bleeding from his side. I didn’t even have time to think about what I was doing. I just acted, pulling them along, whispering words of encouragement that I wasn’t sure I believed.
By the time we made it back to the headquarters, the group had grown to nearly a dozen. Lena met us at the entrance, her sharp eyes scanning the ragged crowd.
“Get them inside,” she said briskly, already directing others to help. “We’ll need to sort injuries and figure out who’s who.”
As we moved into the relative safety of the building, I finally let myself breathe. The tension in my chest loosened just a fraction, enough to let exhaustion creep in. But there was no time to rest. Some of them were still hurt, and I couldn’t ignore the pull I felt toward them.
In one corner of the common room, a young vampire sat clutching his side. Blood seeped between his fingers, staining his pale skin. I hesitated, glancing around to see if anyone else had noticed. They hadn’t.
I knelt beside him, my heart pounding. “Let me see,” I said.
He flinched away at first, his eyes wide and wary, but then he relented, his hand falling to his side. The wound was deep, the edges jagged. I felt the familiar tingling in my palms, that strange pull that both scared and compelled me. Without thinking, I pressed my hands to the wound.
The glow came almost immediately, soft and warm, and the vampire gasped. I could feel the wound closing beneath my touch, feel the torn flesh mending itself. When I pulled my hands back, the only sign of the injury was the blood that remained on his skin.
“T-thank you,” he whispered incredulously, his voice trembling.
I nodded, unable to speak. Around us, the others were settling in, some of them already asleep on makeshift beds. Lucas was across the room, talking to Lena, his face set in that determined expression he always wore during moments like this.
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but for now, we had saved these people. For now, it was enough.