Chapter Three
In the blink of an eye, he was gone. I whirled about madly, trying to figure out where he had gone. And then I heard a scream. I saw Cassie, eyes bright with fear. Mikhail had ahold of her from behind, pinning her arms and weapons to her sides. She closed her eyes and whimpered as his tongue flicked out, licking up the blood that was oozing out of a cut just above her eye.
I told you making deals with vampires was never a safe business. I knew now that it had never been Mikhail's intention to let Cassie and I walk out of here alive if we managed to kill all the vampires. He knew that Cassie was weak, and that she would only be able to kill a few of the younger ones. He knew that I was too emotionally unstable to cut my way through twenty vampires, some of which were over five hundred years old. No, he had never planned on letting us live. Watching us fight the other vampires was equivalent to playing with his food before a meal.
The only reason he was toying with Cassie now instead of later was because I had made him mad, again. That female vampire I had killed was Eva Donna, one of Mikhail's closest lovers. Her sister, Vera Donna, wasn't there. Had she been killed by someone else, or had he simply sent her away because he didn't want her to get hurt? It was always rumored that he favored Vera over Eva. But that's pretty off-topic.
"My, my, what shall you do, Kayla?" Mikhail asked in a mocking tone. "Don't move--I'll kill her if you come one step closer. Your student is very pretty. She'd make a beautiful vampire, would she not?"
Cassie's eyes flew open upon hearing she'd make a beautiful vampire. She looked to me with a pleading in her gaze that was so intense, I'm surprised it didn't knock me over. I knew how much Cassie hated vampires--that was the reason she was an orphan. Her parents had been brutally murdered by a group of renegade vampires when she was ten. She had been at a friend's house for the evening; if she had been home, she would have been slaughtered, too. Just because I knew how much she hated vampires didn't mean I was happy with what I saw in her gaze. With just her eyes, she was begging me to kill her. She was begging me to kill her before she was made into the monster she hated the most.
I wasn't sure I could do it.
I mean, killing vampires was nothing. But killing Cassie? Shooting an arrow through her heart? Putting a bullet in her brain? Could I bring myself to kill an innocent human, especially an innocent human whom I had become so attached to?
"You're struggling, Kayla," Mikhail's hissing voice broke through my thoughts. He gestured to someone I couldn't see, and a vampire rushed at me before I knew what was happening. The bow was knocked from my hands and skidded across the floor. The vampire gave me a good round-house to the jaw, and I fell sprawled on the floor. Pain exploded in my head like fireworks. I scrambled to my hands and knees, attempting to get back on my feet but failing because I was so dizzy. Mikhail laughed at my efforts.
Mikhail's pale hand trailed its way up Cassie's body in a gesture that was almost purely sexual. Bile rose in my throat. I regained some of my balance back, and made it to my feet before a tall, black-haired vampire grabbed me and pinned me against him. I suddenly realized I was probably better off lying on the floor. Now, pinned against this vampire's body, I had a clear view of everything that Mikhail was doing to Cassie.
Mikhail's hand made its way over Cassie's breast and up to her throat. His fingers curled around her neck and he raked his nails across it, not slitting her throat but drawing blood. She started crying. He turned her so that she was facing him. Since I was at sort of a sideways angle, I could still see everything, but I wished to God I couldn't. Mikhail licked the cut that was producing the most blood. Cassie cringed away from him, but he followed, his tongue lapping up the blood that was running like a waterfall down to her shirt.
It happened too quickly for me to even register it in my mind. One moment Mikhail was lapping up the blood from Cassie's neck like a morbid dog, and the next his fangs were bared and he was sinking them into the front of her throat. He bit as hard as he could and pulled his head back, bringing flesh with him. He ripped Cassie's throat out, and I couldn't help but watch.
I screamed. It started as a low moan in my throat but soon became a full-out scream, like a scream you would hear in an old black and white horror movie. Cassie fell to the ground, blood gushing from her, coating the entire front of her body and Mikhail as well. Her blood dripped from his lips and chin down to his white shirt, which was almost completely dyed with blood now. How could so much blood be in such a small person? Before I knew what was going on, Mikhail was in front of me, in all his blood-drenched glory. The vampire released me, and I ran at Mikhail with everything I had, drawing my gun back out from my belt.
He knocked my gun out of my hand like it was nothing. He grabbed my outstretched arms and twisted me around, pulling my back against him. A split second later, his fangs sank into my neck, mixing Cassie's blood with mine. I screamed again, with pain and anguish and a million other emotions I couldn't name. I should have known this would happen. I should have waited until it was daylight. I may have been killing a vamp-ized Cassie, but at least it would have been better than this. The surviving vampires and Mikhail could very well go after the others after I was dead. We were underground and miles from the warehouse. They would never make it out alive.
This thought had just crossed my mind when everything went black.
xXxXxXxXxXx
It seemed like I had been out for ages. I was feeling very relaxed, if not still a little sore. Suddenly I felt a searing pain in my neck where Mikhail had bitten me, like someone had decided to pour acid on the wound. I screamed, and lashed out at the closest person I could find. My nails struck something and I scratched, feeling skin and blood accumulate under my nails.
"She fucking scratched me!" I heard Nick yell over my screams.
"Hold her tighter," Cassandra instructed. She had a large Dasani bottle filled with what I could only assume was holy water, due to the acid-like burning. She poured some more, and I screamed again, writhing against Nick, tears forming in my eyes. I had never been bitten by a vampire before, so I had never had to experience the sheer pain that came with sanitizing the wound.
"I'm sorry, Kayla, but I have to," I heard her say as she splashed yet some more water onto my neck. I let out a noise somewhere between a gasp and a sob. Cassandra sat back, still holding the water bottle, and Nick loosened his grip just a little. I breathed deeply, like I couldn't get enough oxygen. Finally my breathing slowed, and the stars in my vision disappeared.
"I have to empty the bottle or we won't be sure it's clean," Cassandra told me. "Are you ready?"
I didn't trust myself to speak, but I nodded. The sooner this was over with, the better, in my opinion. Cassandra moved closer to me, and put a hand under my head to hold me steady. Nick's grip on my body tightened. I bit my lip; I was determined not to scream this time. Vampire slayers didn't scream.
All right, I lied. I screamed like a little girl.
I vomitted into the trash can that someone held for me. I was seeing stars again, and Nick had to pick me up and carry me to my bedroom. As he tucked me in, I grabbed his wrist and forced myself to speak words, even though it burned my throat. "C-Cassie?"
He didn't answer me, just gave me a kiss on my forehead, and then left the room. I was too exhausted, too much in pain to really care. I fell asleep.
xXxXxXxXxXx
In my current mental state, it was no surprise that I had nightmares over the next few nights. I saw Mikhail ripping Cassie's throat out, over and over and over. In my dreams, there was no one holding me back. I just stood there, alone, and watched, and didn't do anything about the fact that my friend, my daughter, was being murdered before my eyes. When I woke up again, I was in a hospital. Elle and Jay were asleep in those uncomfortable hospital armchairs they keep in the rooms for family members, watching over me as I slept. I tried to call to one of them and wake them up, but my throat was as dry as a desert. Finally I licked my lips and managed a whistle. The noise jostled both of them from their sleep.
Jay's hand went automatically to his gun, and his eyes swept the room for intruders before coming to rest on me. Elle was already up and walking towards my bed, a sad smile on her face. "You're awake," she whispered, still not entirely awake herself.
I nodded, and even that small action hurt my head. It took me three tries to ask, "Cassie?"
Elle's eyes glistened, like she was about to cry. That was never a good sign; Elle wasn't one to just cry over any old thing. She placed her hand on mine gently, looking me bravely in the face as she said, "Dead." I closed my eyes and turned away from her, my hand squeezing hers. I was upset that she was dead, but you have to understand that I was also happy. She hadn't turned. She wasn't a vampire.
When I got up the courage to talk again, I asked, "Her body?" My voice was raspy and not like me at all, but that couldn't really be helped.
Jay had come to stand beside the hospital bed at this point, and he put a hand in a loving way on my shoulder, the way a brother would for his sister. "We bombed the warehouse," he told me. "We destroyed almost all the vampires."
"Al-almost?" I looked up at him with tears in my own eyes, afraid of what he might say next.
He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't seem to find the right words. Desperate, he looked to Elle. I looked at her, too. The expression on her face was one of sadness, mixed with anger and bitterness, as she said, "All the vampires were killed in the explosion itself, or the fire, except four," she said. "Mikhail, along with Elizabeth, Winter, and Greghor, managed to escape."
I squeezed her hand again, this time in pure pain. Mikhail had gotten away. He had murdered Cassie, and he had not even paid for it. I started crying then. I cried, and I didn't stop. I yelled at Elle and Jay as much as I could yell, telling them to get out and leave me alone. It seemed like hours before I finally cried myself to sleep.
xXxXxXxXxXx
I was in the hospital, so I didn't get to go to the memorial service for Cassie. It was paid for by a distant relative who lived overseas. He hadn't wanted to adopt Cassie when she was alive, but he was willing to pay for her funeral. Bastard. The day of the funeral found me alone in my hospital room once again. The Legion--all seven of them--were at the memorial service. I wondered if any of her friends from school and work had been invited. And I wondered what they were going to tell them she died from. Donovan had told the people at the hospital that I had been in a bad car accident--would they tell people that Cassie had been in the car with me and had not survived?
I was in a world between consciousness and the unknown; that place between being awake and being asleep. Time did not matter to me. All that mattered was the fact that Cassie was no longer in our world. She may have been lucky enough to not turn into a vampire, but she was still gone. I had just started another pity party for myself--complete with waterworks--when the door to my room opened and who should walk in than my estranged fiance, Brandon. He took one look at me and there were tears in his eyes. "Oh, Kayla," he said, coming to sit at my bedside, taking my hand in his. Except for the tears, his face was angry. I hated him when he was angry. "They told me you had a car accident," he said. "Why didn't someone call me when it happened? I've been trying to call the apartment for days. Where's Cassie?"
My own tears were brimming in my eyes, and I had to swallow the lump in my throat before I could say anything. "She's dead," I told him. His face softened, but the anger did not leave completely.
"I'm sorry," he said, squeezing my hand. "I know how much you cared for her. So she was in the car with you when it happened?"
I started to nod, but stopped myself. This was ridiculous. I had been engaged to Brandon for months, and all that time, I had been lying to him. Well, it had to stop. I couldn't keep lying, not if I wanted to stay sane. If he couldn't accept the fact that there were monsters, and that I killed them, then I guess it would just have to be his problem. But surely, if he loved me, he could accept it. At least, that's what I hoped. "There was no car accident, Brandon," I said.
He looked at me as if I had just slapped him in the face. "What?"
"The truth is, there was no car accident," I said again, feeling just a little braver this time. "Cassie was kidnapped by San Francisco's master vampire. I went to save her, but I wasn't strong enough. He killed her, and then he tried to kill me, too. It's a miracle I survived." There, I had said it. I had finally told him the truth. He gave me one of those looks that people use when they're trying to humor criminally insane people.
"Is this morphine?" he asked, peering up at the IV hooked up to my arm. I glared at him. "Come on, Kayla," he said, "you can't honestly expect me to believe that you and Cassie were attacked by vampires. Look, I know she was your friend, and I'm sorry that she died, but it's not healthy to make up stories to try and deal with your pain."
I so did not need this, not from him. "I am not making it up, Brandon," I said. "Peel off the bandage at my neck, see the bite marks for yourself." He looked at me skeptically, but did what I said anyway. He peeled away the white bandage and gazed at the bite marks that Mikhail had left on my neck.
"Shit," he whispered. I was hopeful; had he finally seen the truth to my words? When he looked back at my face he was angry again. "What did you do?" he asked.
"Me!" I cried.
"It looks like you stabbed yourself with a barbeque fork," he said. "Or someone did it for you."
"Oh my God," I said, trying to sit up and failing. Hard to yell at people when you're lying down. "Look, Brandon, I know it's hard to believe, but I am an honest-to-God monster slayer. I kill things like vampires for a living. Me, and Donovan, Vann, Cassandra, Elle, Jay, Seth, and Nick. We all work together."
"Stop it, Kayla," Brandon said in a warning tone. "This is the medication they have you on talking. There's no such thing as vampires."
"I've seen vampires!" I said, utterly angered with him now. "I was training Cassie to take my place, so that I could retire and we could get married. That's why I adopted her. But she was killed by those vampires that I was training her to kill. Brandon, you have to believe me."
"Maybe you should stop hanging out with those friends of yours, Kayla," he said, shaking his head at me. "They're brainwashing you or something."
"But, Brandon, I--"
"Kayla, just stop!" he yelled, standing so hard his chair almost fell over. "There are no such things as vampires!" He ran a hand through his brown hair, and then a look of understanding crossed his face. I wasn't exactly sure what he was understanding. "This is about Nick, isn't it?" he asked.
I could almost feel my eyes bugging out of my head. "I can't believe you'd even bring that up," I said. Before Brandon and I got engaged, I had been sleeping with Nick. We weren't in a relationship, we were just friends with benefits. When Brandon and I started dating, I had given up Nick, but for some reason Brandon thought I had never really gotten over him. What my fiance had never realized was that there was nothing to get over.
"Isn't there some truth to it?" he questioned. "Don't you still love Nick, just a little?"
"I do love him, Brandon," I said, "but I am in love with you. There is a big difference."
At that moment the door opened, and who should walk in but Nick Crow himself. Well, if he didn't just have the worst timing in the world. "Is there a problem?" he asked.
"There's a big problem," Brandon said automatically. "Kayla's still in love with you!"
Nick looked at me. I just looked back. "I do not love you," I told him.
He shrugged. "Cool," he said. "I don't love you either."
"Thank you," I said. "Now tell him that we're vampire slayers, Nick. He won't believe me!"
Nick started, as if I'd just slapped him on the face. "What?" he asked.
"See, she's delusional!" Brandon cried.
"She's not delusional," Nick said.
"Yeah!" I cried indignantly from my place in the hospital bed.
Brandon stared at Nick for the space of a heartbeat, then two. Finally he laughed. When Nick's expression didn't change, the smile on Brandon's face faltered. "Not you, too," he said. "There are no such things as vampires!"
"How do you know that?" Nick asked him. "You ever met a vampire?"
Brandon stared. He looked from Nick, to me, then back to Nick, and finally back to me. "No..." he said. "This...This is ridiculous. No, this is crazy!" He was staring at both of us now as though we'd sprouted extra heads. He could see it in our eyes--the hard, solid belief in vampires. Something he had been taught wasn't real. We were the proof, and he was not willing in the slightest to accept it. "Kayla, I hope you're happy with him," he said, throwing a glare in Nick's direction. "This is just too weird for me. The engagement's off." He stormed towards the door, and slammed it behind him, shutting himself out of my life forever. Nick looked at me sadly.
"Jesus, I'm sorry, Kayla."
"It's not your fault," I said, my voice already choked with the promise of tears. Not for the first time, I ordered one of my friends to leave me in solitude, so I could cry until the will to be conscious was no more.
xXxXxXxXxXx
A month later I got out of the hospital. The first thing I did was go by Donovan's house. There was no one home--no doubt everyone was out slaying some creepy crawlies. Just as well. I didn't want to have to do this to anyone's face. It would be too hard on all of us. I pulled a folded-up piece of paper out of my pocket and slipped it under Donovan's door. It was my equivalent of a letter of resignation. I couldn't stay in the Legion, not after all that had happened. I had lost Cassie, I had lost Brandon. All because I was a monster slayer. This was so not how I had pictured my life turning out.
After Donovan's house I went by the cemetery. I hadn't been able to attend the memorial service, but I could visit Cassie now. Of course, I wasn't actually visiting Cassie, just a place where we could come and remember her. Graves don't mean anything to the dead; all that stuff is for those of us left behind. I placed a black rose on her grave--that was the favorite flower of us both--and made a promise. No matter how long it took, no matter how hard I had to look, I would find Mikhail. I would find him, and I would kill him. I would kill him because he had killed Cassie. I would kill him because someone that evil did not deserve to be alive. And most of all, I would kill him for revenge. Mikhail had cost me everything, and so I was going to take his immortality--his everything--away from him.
No matter what.
