To Kill a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,24
with a wink before jogging fearlessly into the darkness.
We all listen to the quietness for a lengthy moment, as if checking to make sure they’re okay even after they’re long gone.
“What are they doing so close to the mortal villages?” I ask Declan once Luca and Ayden are safely out of sight.
A strangling hesitation fills the hybrid as he looks off into the distance. The moon highlights his pale, intense features. He’s never looked more unsure of himself. “They’re regaining their strength.” His statement settles uncomfortably in the pit of my stomach. “By now they must have gotten a few easy targets; mortals who stray too far from their village, children thoughtlessly exploring the dark forests …”
A gasp leaves my lungs as I remember all those times Ayden and I were thoughtless children, hiking miles from our village to our cave we loved so much.
“What do they want with us?”
Asher’s jaw tics with each passing second that goes without an answer. Declan’s eerie silver eyes meet mine. Shadows dance along his sharp cheek bones casting a look of darkness across his face.
“They want us to bring them fresh stock.”
Anxiety threatens to pound into my chest with every dangerous step I take. As I follow Declan into a cave I know hides the world’s most lethal creatures, I remember a time when I was lectured relentlessly about the monsters of our society: the crawling veil and the werewolves. Even Asher was once a monster in my eyes.
As I walk with my hand resting tightly against the glimmering sword, I know I was wrong. Red glittering eyes narrow on me from deep within the thick darkness. Jagged nails that are dirty with flesh and meat scrape along the wet wall of the cave sending a crawling shiver down my spine. Skin as creased as leather is revealed in the minimal light, the glow of the Crimson Sword casting his features into eerie blood-like colors.
I know, without a doubt, I was wrong.
A cryptic smile cracks across his shadowed face as my heart threatens to shake to life in my chest. I realize I have never met a real monster in all my life until this moment. This is what danger and death looks like.
He’s free now.
“You’ve kept me waiting, girl.”
As his white tongue sneaks out and licks frantically at the stain of blood from the side of his palm, I almost wish the light would diminish all together. I swallow hard as vomit claws up my throat, demanding me to empty the heavy bones I’ve tossed into it over the last few weeks.
Ruby eyes lock on mine, and something in me clicks involuntarily. My spine straightens, my posture becoming as perfect as possible. The humid air fills my lungs, a look of composure clings to my features.
“Do I look like a girl to you?” I ask, not a bit of fear lacing my even tone. I tilt my head at the creature lurking within the dense shadows.
Declan glances at me out of the corner of his eye, his features smoothing into a mock state of carelessness. It’s a look he holds almost daily.
“You look like a queen.” His detached but hungry words crawl down my spine as they echo around the enormous cave. “You look like someone who’s waited their whole life for something bigger than herself. I can give that to you.” His words cease into a breathy whisper that I can almost feel across my damp skin.
Atticus steps closer, his long limbs eating up the rocky floor. Even in the darkness I can easily make out the clothes the vampire wears. They’re the proper and formal clothes of my camp. They hang loosely against his thin frame. His slender wrists and fingers are revealed from beneath the long sleeve shirt. The clothes are most definitely not his own.
“What about your friends?” I ask, walking closer to him as well, searching the shadows for the other two vampires. A prickling feeling scurries across my skin as I wait for what else might be hidden deep within this cave.
“They … didn’t make it, unfortunately.” His head tilts slightly, the blazing light of the Crimson Sword at my hip illuminates his skeletal-like features. Sharp cheek bones cut into his thin and creased skin, his sunken eyes trail across my flesh, and the points of his sharp and deadly teeth are stained red as he smiles warmly at me.
He and I assess each other, leaving Declan behind as we dissolve into the night together. The