To Save a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,57

the edges, trying to fade it away, but my mind won’t allow it. He pushes strands of hair from my face and holds me to him.

His white shirt is torn and dirty. Black blood drips down the length of the sword at his narrow waist; the thick tarry substance splatters against his dark boots. I try to focus on the details of his appearance rather than the memory of Ky.

I take a deep breath, tears still streaming down my face, and release his embrace. He searches my eyes, but slowly lets me go. My feet gravitate toward my mother, who looks around the forest like the trees might tell her how to move forward, might guide her through life without her best friend.

Her body trembles for breath. She bites her lip as tears streak her face. In that moment, I realize how young she really is. How broken the world has left her. I wrap my arms around her delicate shoulders. She shakes her head against mine, not agreeing with what has already happened.

I stroke her tangled hair through my fingers as we cry as two women who have lost the only man who’s ever cared about them. He was like a father to me. And now he’s gone. An emptiness grows in my chest, knowing I’ll never see him again. He’ll never see me grow up, grow into the woman he helped me become.

“I …” Her voice shakes; her heavy, trembling breath is warm against my shoulder. She takes a deep uneven breath into my shirt. “I loved him.” Her voice is like a muffled realization.

I loved him, too. But it’s the first time my mother has ever said it, and I know what she means. She was in love with her best friend. Her friend who risked, and lost, his life because he supported her in everything she did. Because he was always there for her. Because he’d do anything for us, for her. Because he loved her.

Somehow we manage to start moving and continue on. We don’t run. We walk in trudging steps, the ground pulling our boots with every small step we take. We don’t speak. I don’t ask Asher if the veil is still out there, though based on the unhuman blood all over him, I don’t think it is. A satisfying feeling washes over me at the thought of Asher killing the creature that took Ky away from us.

I swallow hard at the thought of Ky’s lifeless body left alone within the woods. The last memory I have of him is tainted and dark.

My mother and I walk side by side. Her arms are wrapped around herself, but her face is tense. She’s determined, and her strength shows in every step she takes.

Asher walks at my side. I catch him glancing down at me from time to time, but no one dares to break the silence. We let it grow into a living thing that follows us around. If we spoke, we might fall apart. If words had to replace the focus I have in keeping my feet moving, I might actually fall. A warm hand slips into mine; Asher’s fingers laces through mine. A vague comfort settles in my chest from the small contact.

The sun has started to set on the horizon. Our steps become slower and slower. I want to ask how much farther we have to go to get Asher home, but I’m too tired to speak.

We should just stop. What’s the point of a union? Why obey the law at all? I’ve followed the rules my entire life and what a waste of life it has been. My eyes fill with water again, and I blink back the tears.

Asher leads us up to an abandoned house on a hill. We’re not in a town; it’s just a few yards from the tree line. All the windows are busted out, and there are gaping holes in the siding, allowing us to see the interior walls. A tree has taken root through the concrete porch, cracking and pushing at the angled foundation. Its bare limbs reach out to us, cryptically inviting us in. Not even a door welcomes us from the rusty hinges.

I look around nervously, unsure if the structure is safe enough for us to take shelter in, even for just a few hours.

Asher wraps his arm around my waist, his body warming mine. The gesture is sweet, but my mind doesn’t really process it at all and my arms just