Blaze (16 page)

“Maybe twenty-five years. Such a drag after
a couple hundred years of absolute freedom. But, Aldrich knows I’d
run if he ever let me out.” She blew a curl from her forehead.

“So why not do what he says?”

“I’d rather be prisoner than a slave,” the
girl said quietly. Kira saw her fists clench. After a second her
fingers relaxed and she turned to Kira. “Your turn to share. Why
are you here? Last time I checked, Aldrich didn’t really keep
conduits as houseguests. But you’re special, aren’t you.”

“I’m a half-breed conduit,” Kira said. She
didn’t look around at the shocked faces of the Punishers and the
Protector in the cells around her. The vampire looked
unimpressed.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” she said
and rolled her eyes. “One look at your hair, your eyes and your
healing, and that was obvious. I want to know what that means. What
is so damn special about that, other than the dual immunity, which
you can clearly see Aldrich doesn’t need.”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” Kira
muttered, annoyed.

“I might have an idea,” a scratchy voice
said from behind her. Both Kira and the vampire girl turned to look
at the Punisher man who Kira first helped when she walked into the
dungeon. He was leaning against the front of his cell carefully
watching both of them.

“No one really knows how vampires and
conduits came to be,” he said. His voice grew quieter and quieter
the more he spoke. The lack of water and energy was clearly
affecting him. “Protectors will tell you it was nothing more than a
virus, a scientific abnormality—not that they can prove it. But
Punishers, we believe something different. Something a little more
divine.” He coughed, cutting off his story. Kira stepped over to
his cell and let her hand warm his, infusing his body with a little
more energy.

“What do you believe?” Kira asked, intrigued
on multiple levels. Luke never shared Punisher beliefs with her. He
thought they were nothing better than legend. But wasn’t history
like that sometimes?

“We believe vampires and conduits were once
brothers in heaven, sacred creatures who worked alongside God as
angels. When Satan fell, he became the first true vampire: an angel
so twisted by evil that he needed the blood of humans to survive.
But this blood, this pure elixir of life, gave him strength and
powers that rivaled even God, so he turned more corrupted angels to
his side and they rained down from the heavens, falling to the
earth like comets from the sky. The pure angels, unaffected by
Satan, saw what his rule was doing to the earth. He was turning the
very essence of man darker with his presence. So they begged God to
be released from the heavens, to use their powers of goodness and
light to chase their fallen comrades from the earth.

“God agreed, and the angels came. Channeling
the source of God’s power, the sun and the light, they tried to
bring their brothers back to the heavens. But the fire burned the
corrupted angels’ skin. You see, once an angel falls, he can never
return to heaven, and eventually the pure angels realized that the
gift of mercy was not possible. Death was the only alternative,
because the souls of their former friends were the only parts with
enough good to return to the heavens.

“After being hunted down, the dangerous
fallen angels became extinct. But their children, the humans turned
vampires, remained on earth. And the angels, to prevent unstoppable
angelic vampires from ever gracing the earth once more, divided.
And with that division their strength was cut in half—they were no
longer divine angels. There was no danger of falling from grace,
because now they were just conduits. More controlled and less
dangerous, but also less divine.”

The man gripped Kira’s hand, using what
strength he had left to pull her closer to his cell. Her nose was
touching the cool glass and she fought the urge to release his hand
and retreat. His eyes were wide and searching hers, examining her
blue irises. He was waiting for her to speak, to say something
about his story.

“Don’t you see?” he asked Kira, desperation
covering his words. His eyes continued to search hers for some
spark of understanding. Kira shook her head, not sure she wanted
the answer.

“You, an entity filled with Protector and
Punisher strength, have become more angel than conduit,” he said
and brought his hand to rest on the glass by Kira’s face. His
pointer finger moved slowly, zoning in on her eyes. “But the
darkness has started calling you. You are falling and you need to
stop yourself before it is too late, before the evil consumes
you.”

Kira stood up and backed away from the
finger still pointing in her direction. She met the eyes of the
other two conduit women and read betrayal in their expression, as
if the could see the cloud of evil surrounding her. The man didn’t
move his hand. He hardly blinked. Only half an hour before he had
looked on her with gratitude, but that expression had already
darkened, had already turned suspicious.

I healed you, Kira wanted to yell, I helped
all of your when I could have just walked away. But their stares
were melting her skin, burning her in a way that fire never would,
and the words stalled on her lips. Instead she backed away, closer
to the door and further from their judgment.

As she passed the vampire’s cell, Kira
couldn’t help but turn her gaze to the girl who was watching her
with a smile. She let her fangs poke beneath her upper lip and
winked at Kira wickedly.

Kira ran. She left the room and never looked
back. Not even as the girl screamed, “bring some blood next time
and I’ll show you some memories I know you’ll want to see!”

Kira lit her fire, used it as a guide
through the dark tunnels, and tried to keep the vision of blood
thirsty fallen angels crashing to the earth at bay. Would there be
a day when the fire stung her? When her actions had become too
evil, no matter how well-intended? Would she wake up with not only
blue eyes, but pale skin and a taste for blood too?

Kira forced the thoughts from her head and
focused on one thing: Luke. There was a reason he never told her
what Punishers thought, something he maybe never wanted to admit
even to himself.

Kira reached the end of the tunnel and
finally saw a door before her. She quietly eased it open and
stepped back into the old, slightly dusty kitchen of Aldrich’s
manor.

As she let the opening swing silently shut,
Kira could only think of one thing. The lies needed to stop. She
needed to tell Tristan the truth. She needed the truth from Luke.
They all needed a plan.

And there was only one way for all of that
to happen.

She was going to London.

Immediately.

Chapter Ten

Kira walked out of the kitchen and calmly
made her way toward the front staircase, peeking into every room
she passed for a sign of Tristan. Nothing.

When she reached the front of the house,
Kira reached for the door, hoping to catch him outside. But when
she touched the handle, the unmistakable sound of footsteps clunked
in the hallway behind her. Kira’s entire body stopped. She held her
breath, waiting for Aldrich’s voice in her ear, waiting for him to
somehow know where she had been.

“Kira—”

“Tristan!” Kira practically screamed and
turned around to jump into his arms. Her heart pounded inside her
chest. They needed to leave now, before Aldrich could stop
them.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking
everywhere for you!” He said quietly into her ear.

Kira stepped back and shook her head. She
couldn’t tell him anything while Aldrich was around. He may still
be in his soundproof chamber with that horrible woman pretending to
be her mother, but Kira didn’t want to take that chance.

Tristan tilted his head, looking at her
questioningly. Kira bit her lip and sighed, before realizing she
had the perfect solution. Kira pulled out her phone and let her
hands slide along the keyboard.

“We need to talk, where Aldrich can’t hear
us. We need to leave right now.” She typed and handed the phone
over to Tristan, whose eyes widened at the words. He nodded and a
few stray strands of black hair fell over his eyes, hiding them
from Kira. She reached her hand up to brush them from his face,
staring at his chiseled features for one prolonged moment,
relishing the love ever-present in his expression. Soon, that look
would be gone. Kira shuddered at the thought, not wanting to think
about the next hour of her life. Living it one time would be
enough, so she retreated from his strong figure to twist the
doorknob.

She opened the large wooden door, turning to
make her way outside, when it slammed shut in her face. Kira tugged
on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. And then she heard footsteps on
the stairs, solid thumps that echoed in her chest sending a chill
down her spine. With one deep breath, Kira turned around to face
Aldrich.

“Leaving so soon? We were just coming down
to join you for a mid-afternoon snack,” Aldrich drawled. His black
suit was stark against the white marble steps. The only color on
his body was the flush in his lips, letting Kira know his former
snack had only recently ended. Kira hoped Miko was still breathing
somewhere in the castle.

Behind Aldrich, the blonde vampire started
her descent. Kira noticed she had changed into a deep purple gown
with a corset that cinched into her small waist. The folds of this
dress were smooth, not wrinkled from begging for her life at
Aldrich’s feet. The crescent-shaped cuts from Aldrich’s nails had
disappeared from her hand, and her expression was warm and loving,
as any mother’s should be.

Thinking quickly, Kira grabbed her phone
from Tristan’s hand, holding it up like a trophy for Aldrich to
inspect.

“I just got a text from Luke. He’s landed in
London, so Tristan and I were going to leave early,” Kira said and
turned to try the door again. The handle didn’t even budge. Aldrich
was suspicious.

“I thought you were leaving tomorrow
morning, alone. Surely, the trip can wait until then.” Kira wracked
her brain for some excuse, something Aldrich would let her get away
with. Before, she had overheard him say that Kira needed to make
her choice. That if she didn’t agree to turn in the next day, he
would kill her. Maybe that was all she needed to do, to finally
give him her official decision.

Kira reached to the side and slid her
fingers into Tristan’s, pulling him over next to her. Tristan, with
a gesture that felt more natural to him than breathing, put his arm
around her shoulder and pulled her close, never letting go of her
hand. Kira silently thanked him for the unconscious gesture,
because it made it seem like Kira had already clued him in on the
plan. They were the happy couple, united and sharing happy
news.

“Well, you see Aldrich, I’ve made my final
choice.” Kira leaned her head on Tristan’s shoulder, finishing off
the picturesque pose. She squeezed the hand Tristan had resting on
her arm. Kira looked up at him through her lashes and smiled. He
was already looking down at her with a grin, but Kira could see in
his eyes that it was fake. His irises were dark and cloudy, like a
coming storm, and they read only of suspicion. A coldness settled
in the pit of Kira’s stomach, almost like she could feel the warmth
of Tristan’s love retreating from her, seeping out of her.

Kira turned back to Aldrich, trying to keep
her voice light.

“I want to become a vampire, but I need to
tell Luke first. Tristan and I want to leave right away, so we can
be back to perform the turning tonight.”

Aldrich clapped happily and reached out to
pull Kira into his arms, hugging her close. Kira tried to loosen
her stiff pose and it took all of her strength to hug Aldrich back.
His tall thin frame felt like bones beneath her arms, and she hated
how close his fangs were to her neck. But he pulled back, looking
Kira in the face, and Kira saw the sparkle in his black eyes. He
believed her. Too sure in his own power, Aldrich never truly
believed Kira would disappoint him.

He dropped her arms and turned to Tristan
for a hug. He patted Tristan loudly on the back, congratulating
him.

Kira’s fake mother walked over with tears in
glistening in her eyes.

“We’ll finally be together again, like a
real family,” she said breathily, as though her voice were too
overcome with happiness to speak properly. And maybe it was, Kira
thought. After all, Aldrich had no reason to kill her now. In fact,
if the lie was supposed to hold, she had just ensured herself
eternity.

“I love you, Mom,” Kira whispered into her
ear, focusing on the blonde locks filling her vision, wishing her
real mother were there with open arms.

Behind her, the door shot open. Kira heard
the crunch of gravel as Aldrich used his mind to move the car in
front of the front door, acting as an imaginary chauffeur.

Tristan grabbed her hand and tugged Kira
outside. As they neared the car, the passenger side door opened and
Kira ducked inside. The door shut loudly behind her. Tristan slid
in next and revved the engine to life. They both waved behind them
as they zoomed out of the driveway, but only Tristan looked back at
the retreating figures of Aldrich and the woman in the doorway.

The further from the castle they sped, the
better Kira thought she would feel. But as the silence settled in
around her and Tristan, Kira felt suffocated. She opened the
window, hoping the gusty breeze hitting her face would make her
feel better, but nothing did.

Tristan’s pale hands gripped the wheel
firmly and he shot down the empty roads far faster than any speed
limit would allow. Time after time, Kira turned with an open mouth,
just to stop and look back out the window completely lost for
words.