Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
a blur of emotions
We catch up to Terrin, standing at the entrance of the attic. He’s so still, he barely looks alive. “Terrin?”
He turns toward me, with blood tearing down his cheeks. “Not everyone is going to come out of this room alive.”
“Good,” Cyrus answers. “That son of a bitch needs to die.”
“Not only him,” Terrin continues. I look at the people who have become my friends, understanding the meaning behind his words. “I saw it.” He looks at me. “There will be great sacrifice.”
Simon steps closer. “The longer we wait out here, kid, the more likely everyone is going to die. I refuse to allow that to happen. Move aside.”
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Terrin asks, looking at me.
“Yes,” I whisper, not sure I do. “We’re running out of time.” The boy closes his eyes, raises a hand toward the door, and blows softly. The door flies off the hinges, slamming into the room.
The chaos inside is hard to understand. The Alpha and vampires are all over the room, but nothing seems to be happening.
Aurora is the first to see us enter. Her hair is messy, and blood covers her chin, but she’s alive and fighting.
“Cyrus!” she screams, stopping directly in front of us a heartbeat later.
She makes eye contact with each member of our group.
“Mommy missed you so much.” Her voice is monotone and lacks the emotion of her words.
Dramatically, she wipes blood from her face, revealing healed skin underneath.
“Go to hell, Aurora!” he spews in return.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that any way to talk to your maker?” She looks at Terrin. “You are not the same boy.”
“Because he wasn’t me,” Terrin answers simply.
“Kill him,” she orders Cyrus. “Then, kill them all.”
We’ve come full circle. The reason we’re in this mess to begin with was a spell to rid Aurora’s control over Cyrus. Now, in the attic of the Ursuline Convent, she’s ordered him to kill us all.
“I won’t do it,” he whispers.
Aurora smiles, making me want her dead even more. “You will. When you’re finished, kill the rest of these filthy bloodsuckers.” She points to the chaos behind her. They’re moving so quickly, I have no idea if anyone is winning.
Tears form in Cyrus’s eyes as he silently fights the spell that’s compelled him to do her bidding for centuries. “Fight her,” I say, offering no help at all.
“I can’t,” he answers, moving toward Stella. His voice holds sadness.
Simon steps between the two of them. “I won’t let you kill her, man.”
“Kill me, my friend,” Cyrus whispers. “It’s the only way to save her...” he looks at our group. “All of you.”
“You can’t ask me to do that,” Simon answers.
Cyrus disappears, returning with a piece of sharp wood. “You have to. I want you to. I have no power to fight her. I can’t break the spell.” Tears fill my eyes, making me feel more helpless than I’ve felt in a long time.
Terrin steps closer to Aurora. “Leave,” he demands.
Aurora’s laugh echoes over the noise of the raging fight. “How dare you issue an order to me? You are no more than a child.”
The boy doesn’t respond. Instead, he raises both hands in the air. “You are human. You are weak, fragile, and dying,” he says, staring at the vampire in front of him.
“What?” she asks with a confused look on her face.
“I haven’t been human in more centuries than I.
..” She stops talking as her face contorts.
Dark pupils enlarge at the realization that something is happening.
Smooth skin ripples, forming into deep creases and wrinkles.
Long fingers touch each cheek as they transform into bent twigs of bone and skin, swollen with age.
She pulls them back, watching them disfigure.
“My hands!” she screams. “What did you do to me?”
“You. Are. Human,” he repeats.
Aurora runs to a mirror that was uncovered during the chaos and screams. The primal sound that leaves her lips is one of anger, frustration, and pain.
“My hair!” she screams as her once beautiful hair turns white and covers the floor by her feet.
“This isn’t possible,” are the last words to leave her mouth.
“You have no power here, witch,” Terrin continues. “You shall return from whence you came!”
I watch in horror as the powerful vampire that stood before us moments earlier disintegrates and is replaced by a pile of dust and fabric. “She’s dead,” I announce the obvious.
“Am I free?” Cyrus asks.
“Yes,” the boy answers. “When she died, the spell was uncast.” I have no idea how he knows, but after witnessing Aurora’s death, I don’t doubt his words.
“Terrin? How did you do that?” Simon asks.
He shrugs. “It’s something I can do. One of the many things I can do.” I instantly understand why his safety is so important—Lucien’s right. Terrin truly can change the world for better or for worse. With his ability, someone like Callum would control every vampire and lycan in the world.
“Terrin, you have to stop him. Can you turn Callum human like you did Aurora?” Cyrus asks.
“Possibly. I’ve never tried with anyone like him.” He looks at what remains of Aurora. “Truthfully, she was the first.”
“You have to try,” Stella answers.
Terrin moves closer to the whirlwind of vampires, raises his tiny arms, and yells. “Stop!” The movement stops immediately.
Callum’s clothes barely look wrinkled as he stands in the middle of the room with a look of boredom covering his face.
Harrison, Gideon, Erick, and Phillipe look like they’ve been in a bar brawl.
Erick’s shirt is in shreds, hanging by his side.
Large wounds cover Phillipe’s face, and Harrison is covered in blood.
“Ah, there’s the one I’m seeking,” Callum says, wearing a wide smile. “It’s a shame it took all of this to find you, son.” The ancient vampire flies across the room, pulling a young Lucien from the chair he was hiding behind. “Who are you?” he asks.
“Raphael…” he starts.
Callum slaps him so hard, I fear the impact killed him instantly. “I am bored with this.” He lifts Lucien, throwing him across the room.
“No!” Terrin shouts. He raises a hand, stopping Lucien from slamming into the brick walls that surround us.
His actions bring a wide smile to Callum’s face. “I knew you would be powerful when I changed you, but you have far exceeded my expectations. What else can you do?”
“You’ll never have him,” Lucien spews, spitting blood from the side of his mouth.
“I will have what I want, warlock,” Callum answers. He motions around the room. “Clearly, there is no one here powerful enough to stop me.”
“I can, father,” Terrin whispers.
Callum smirks, making me wish him dead even more. “Although I admire your fortitude, you are no match for me, son,” Callum issues a warning.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” Terrin retorts. His voice reminds me of the child he is.
Callum laughs deeply. “No one can hurt me.”
“I can.”
Gideon, Harrison, Erick, and Phillipe join our small group as we face down Callum O’Brien.
The ancient vampire smiles the now familiar smile.
“You think all of you standing there, threatening me, is a concern? I’ve fought entire armies and lived to tell the tale.
You are nothing to me. Even combined, you hold no power greater than my own. ”
“We’re willing to try,” Cyrus answers. His words stir a rally cry deep inside.
“Aurora’s dead,” I announce the obvious.
“Good,” Callum answers. “She had grown quite annoying.”
“You’re a monster,” Stella whispers.
The ancient vampire raises the back of his hand to his forehead dramatically. “Oh, how your words wound me. Boo-hoo. My feelings are forever hurt.”
“You’re an asshole,” I add.
His arrogance is almost palpable. “That’s a little better.” He holds his hand toward Terrin. “Come, boy. We’re leaving.”
“No,” Terrin answers.
“I will not ask again,” Callum warns.
“No.”
Without warning, the ancient vampire moves toward our group faster than the eye can see. His arm is wrapped around Gideon’s throat, and without warning, he twists, breaking the wolf’s neck instantly.” I stare in disbelief. Did he just kill Gideon? Simon and Stella’s father, and the Alpha?
“No!” Stella shouts as she and Simon shift into wolf form, spitting anger-filled saliva at the vampire.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was he important to you?” Callum’s words are laced with sarcasm. He holds his hand toward Terrin. “Come.”
“No,” he repeats, losing the confidence his voice held earlier.
Callum is behind Stella a heartbeat later, repeating the actions that took Gideon’s life. Stella falls to the floor next to her father.
Oh, my God. Did that just happen? I stare at the lifeless bodies of Gideon and Stella, not quite sure I’m able to process the scene. Is this real?
Simon’s roar interrupts my spiral as he leaps through the air toward the ancient vampire. Instead of reaching the killer, his attack is blocked as he’s knocked to the wall behind him.
“Don’t be stupid, boy,” Harrison says, pressing his body weight into Simon. “Do you want to join them?” He holds the wolf down, protecting him from his own anger.
“Do you want to watch me kill them one by one?” Callum asks Terrin. “Is that what you want, son? To watch your friends die?” He turns toward Lucien, who has made his way to our group. “This one seems particularly important to you.” He moves behind Lucien a heartbeat later.
“No!” Terrin shouts. “You’re dead!”
Callum stops moving and stares at the young boy. He pulls his hand in front of his face, turning it dramatically. “No, I’m very much alive.” He huffs a laugh. “Is that something that has worked in the past?”
“You’re dead!” Terrin repeats, louder.
“I must say that it lacks the effect I’d hoped it would.” He holds his hand toward Terrin. “Come. I’m bored with these games.”
Terrin takes a step toward the ancient vampire. I move between them, stopping his movement. “I won’t allow this. You’re not going with him.”
“Violet,” Cyrus warns.
“He’s not going with you,” I tell Callum, ignoring Cyrus’s warning.