Dead Girls Don't Cry (26 page)

A large mass tackled me from behind, “Where do you think you’re going?” Joel pinned my arms behind my back.

Thalia screamed, her speech garbled, “No mercy. Kill them.”

The force shield flared, expelling Joel onto the hard ground. He rocketed forward, knife in hand. A red blur took him down. Punches were exchanged, limbs tangled. A nose broke. Blood spattered on the ground.

I rubbed my eyes. Prior fought mano y mano with Joel. And he was winning. My father always said, “It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.”

Prior yelled, “Cherry, take out Thalia.” I sped over to Thalia. Fully upright, she bore down on Jay. Engaged with an enemy soldier, he didn’t see her.

“Jay!” I shouted. I dove onto her back. The sword skidded across the cavern floor, stopping abruptly in the lake shore sand.

Thalia shook me off, crouched, then sprung up over my head, targeting the sword. I latched onto her ankles. She smacked to the ground face first. Before I could gain the upper hand, she twisted. Her fingernails dug deep furrows into my shorn scalp.

Two could play that game. I tore out hair, scalp and all. She broke free, reversed the hold and wrapped an arm around my throat, shrewdly avoiding the blue force field.

“You’ll die! Stupid whore,” she shrieked in my ear.

“I’m not a whore. I’m a stripper. There’s a difference!” I elbowed her gut and flung her off my back and shoulder dropped onto her chest.

With a loud
oof
, Thalia gripped my arms and clamped me into a bear hug. The force shield repelled Thalia’s arms off me. I rolled away, blocking access to the sword.

She eyed the bracelet. “That should be mine. I found Mother’s files. I knew what she had planned. What a fool. Starting a new colony.” Thalia spat blood onto the sand.

“Tough. You can’t have it.” I dodged a fist aimed at my head. Thalia feinted to the right, then dodged left toward the weapon. I blocked her path.

“Why waste the bracelet’s power here, when I could use it on Earth.” She lunged again.

With outstretched palms, I knocked her backward onto her ass.

Around us, Thalia’s men were losing. Bones cracked. Blood scented the air. Vamps cried in pain. And the strippers, flush with new found courage, attacked the enemy like a pack of she-wolves—with no mercy, no quarter given. Thalia may have had the numbers, but we had determination and nothing to lose.

“Believe what you want.” I punched Thalia hard in the gut. She dropped to her knees, in the soft sand, whining in pain. “I bet you’ve never been struck before have you?”

“Shut up, slut.” Thalia’s eyes widened. A mass of blond hair coated in blood landed in the sand next to her feet. Joel’s lifeless eyes stared out of his decapitated head.

Stunned, I took a step back.

Thalia unleashed a wail loud enough to shatter glass. Sand flew into my face, blinding me. I back-peddled, hands up to ward off the expected attack to follow. My eyes watered, blurring my vision.

The sand crunched behind me. I pivoted, forearm blocking my face. My left hand separated from my wrist. The force shield disrupted. Blood jetted from my severed limb.

Now I was a sitting duck.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Pain lanced up my arm seconds later. I jammed my arm under my armpit in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. Thalia knocked me over and slipped the cuff off the stump.

Coated in blood, the cuff remained closed. Inert to her touch.

“There’s nothing you have that I cannot take.” Her smug smile was all I could see. Blood loss dizzied my head. Oh God! The baby.

Thalia whispered to the cuff. Runes appeared in the surface. Betrayal stabbed me. The bracelet had no loyalty it seemed. Thalia turned it over in hands and admired it. She tilted it up and down ascertaining how to open it. Mesmerized by runes, she forgot about me.

“Cherry!” Jay screamed.

Far away.

Black spots bloomed. My head swam. Long ago, I had heard a story about re-connecting limbs. Time to find out if it was true. I concentrated. The stump tingled and itched, trying to heal. I couldn’t let that happen.

I dropped down and retrieved my hand. I tore away the thin layer of new flesh forming on my wrist, then jammed the dirty hand against the stump. I willed my veins and arteries to connect. The veins knitted together first, followed by the nerves, muscles and remaining blood vessels. New skin gloved my wrist, extending to my arm. The grit and sand pushed through to my skin’s surface and fell away. I flexed the digits. Good as new.

I searched for Thalia. She stooped over the water’s edge, scrubbing blood stains off the cuff. I charged, knocking her into the lake. The momentum sunk us both underwater.

Thalia flailed, her free hand pushing me away. She stubbornly clung to the bracelet. With strong kicks, she swam deeper into the lake. Since drowning wasn’t an issue, we could stay there forever.

I swam after her.

The water was crystal clear. Even though Thalia and I were the only ones in the cool depths, we were not alone. Kyrene hovered nearby, watching, waiting.

Kyrene
, I called. No answer. A horrific thought seized me. What if the bracelet was the reason I could speak to her? And if Thalia possessed it, would Kyrene be under her command? Not that I ever tried to boss the lake entity around. Maybe I should have.

Kyrene you have to help me
!
The ancient queen spoke to me. She chose me
. I pursued Thalia deeper. The water grew darker, the light from the surface a distant pinpoint.

I opened my mind, tearing away the red curtain. My mental theatre was a full house. Every family member sat in attention. To my dismay, the upper balcony was empty.

Please
, I begged the ancient queen,
you have to come back. We need you
.

A song drifted from the left side of the stage. Low at first, then louder as the singer approached. The melody rose and fell to a steady cadence. The queen stepped out of the shadowed wing and onto the stage. A spotlight targeted her, following her journey towards me. With outstretched arms, she reached for my hands. We clasped palms. Her touch was cool and soft.

Her lips parted. The song stopped. “Join with me, sister.” Her voice was magical, spinning golden words in my head. The runes danced in my mind. For the first time, I could read them.

“Don’t despair. The pretender will not go far.” The queen lifted her voice in song again, beckoning me to join. The beat was simple, the words easy to remember. Once I mastered the lyrics, she invited the family to join.

Joyous music filled the auditorium. Without stopping, the queen smiled and motioned over her shoulder. The king strode onto the stage. Handsome and proud with love on his face, he wrapped his arms around her and joined the chorus.

Jealousy stabbed me. Their love was so pure. I had that once.

Ian
. Misery filled my soul, threatening to choke me. He would never hear my singing voice.

The queen stepped forward and hugged me. Our bodies warmed. Power vibrated between us, pleasant and bracing. Her spiritual essence merged into me. I gasped as the queen’s life force settled inside me. In my mind she said,
your king is not lost
.

A pair of strong familiar arms encircled my belly. The voice nearly killed me.

“Miss me, luv?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and locked my neck muscles in place. I would not turn around. I couldn’t bear the thought that I’d find no one behind me. I wanted Ian back so badly I was hallucinating.

“Open your eyes, child.” The king’s gentle fingertips tilted my chin. “We would not deceive you thus.”

I cried out when the arms left my waist. My eyelids flapped open. I staggered as Ian stood in front of me. He winked, flashing me his trademark grin. The king held out his arms. Ian accepted the embrace. White light blazed, engulfing the two figures.

I stepped forward, expecting to see an empty stage.

Ian remained. A golden aura outlined him from head to toe. I hastily checked myself. The same glow enveloped me.

“Don’t you have something to say? Like, Ian I missed you?” He reached toward me.

I jerked backward, still refusing to believe. “How do I know you’re real?”

“Touch me and find out.”

“If you’re a figment, I’ll go insane.” Tears heated my cheeks, leaving wet trails down my neck. Silence filled the auditorium. The family waited, not making a sound. “I’m scared.”

“Since when has fear ever stopped you?” Ian moved closer. His heady male fragrance filled my nostrils.

The baby moved. Ian was right, I had to know. I reached forward, hand aimed at his chest. I hit a solid mass. With a choked sob, I leapt into his arms.

Fervent kisses rained down on my cheeks and lips. I pulled his mouth to mine. Joy filled my heart. After a while, we broke apart. My lips tingled. Ian’s were equally plump and red.

The family broke into applause. Whistles and catcalls rang down from the balconies. The rouges, revenants and zombies filled the seats. Louis pumped his fist in the air. Harmony gave me a knowing smile.

Overwhelmed by the support, I pivoted around the stage. “Thank you.”

Prior mouthed from the front row, “Bravo.”

I reconstructed the curtain. As soon as it closed, I faced Ian. “What happened to you? Where have you been this whole time?” I sank back into his embrace. His broad chest smashed into my face. I hung on, not wanting to let go.

“I lived. It took me a while to get out of the ravine. Climbing and healing don’t mix well.” He cocked his head to the side as if listening to a distant sound. “The details will have to wait until later.” A fierce gleam smoldered in his eyes.

“Right. Battles to win, asses to kick,” I said. “We can catch up later.” Later. The word made me giddy. We had a later.

“Ready to end this?” Ian took my hand and we walked off the stage.

When the blackness cleared, I was still underwater. Ian was gone. A reassuring voice spoke in my head.

He is not far,
Kyrene said.

Kyrene, why were you ignoring me?

I’m sorry. The trauma of separation stunned me. I am recovered now.

You mean I don’t need the bracelet to speak to you?

The silver peel of laughter tinkled,
No. You never did.

I don’t understand.
I continued to dive deeper in the lake. Thalia was nowhere to be found.

The bracelet is a conduit to Kasia
.
Since you have merged with the queen’s essence, you don’t need it anymore.

Thalia doesn’t know.
A plan formed in my mind.
Can you get the bracelet away from her? I need her on shore. Could she wield the bracelet’s power?

No. It would reject her. Its power is not hers to take. I shall retrieve it for you.

I reversed direction and started pumping my legs. Strong kicks propelled me toward the surface.

The bellow of a wounded creature echoed in the water.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw a glint of gold speeding toward me. Hot on its heels, swimming with a missile’s velocity, was Thalia.

My plan: return to the shore and confront her on solid ground.

She had other ideas.

The cuff was almost in my grasp. I reached forward to intercept it. The metal band split open, ready to fit onto my wrist.

With an epic burst of speed, Thalia re-captured it and fastened the cuff on her wrist.

We both surfaced at the same time.

She crowed with glee, “It has chosen me.” The crazy shine in her eyes confirmed what I already knew. Thalia was nuts.

“Have fun with it.” I swam to the shore. I had feared Thalia’s power until I realized – she didn’t have any. It was based on the illusion of control. Belief in the status quo allowed a weak, ineffectual ruler like Thalia to control us.

“With this bracelet, I won’t rule just the vampires on Earth, I will rule humanity.”

Delusions of grandeur. How nice.

A large wave at the ready, Kyrene rose up behind Thalia.

I shook my head, no. The need for vengeance had sated with Ian’s return. I wanted to stop the bloodshed.

The colonists congregated on the beach. The remainder of Thalia’s men knelt in the soft sand, fingers laced behind their heads.

“Give it a rest, Thalia. The bracelet won’t work for you. Your ship is disabled. You’re stuck here with us.” Agreement hummed in my head. The ancient queen stirred, urging me to try a different path.

I emerged from the water, soaked to the bone. Ian landed beside me and slung an arm around my waist.

Thalia pointed to him, anger lacing her voice. “You’re dead. Joel swore you died.”

“Well, he’s a sod. And clearly wrong.” Ian gestured up and down the length of his body. “See all here.”

Joel’s head still lay on the beach. Thalia’s expression darkened. “You will pay for killing him.”

Kyrene spoke in my head.
She will not change her ways. Let the bracelet judge her
.

“Good idea,” I said aloud. Ian gave me a strange look.

I called to Kyrene, “Come join us, please.”

She emerged from the water fully formed and more solid than she had ever appeared before. Her skin, no longer translucent, glowed with a pale moonlike aura.

Thalia watched Kyrene proceed. Her gaze locked onto the entity, no doubt sizing Kyrene up for a leash and dog collar. Good luck with that one.

The ancient runes emerged on the cuff’s surface as Kyrene passed by. The colonists watched her, jaws hung open, awestruck. A few, like Jay and the rogues, took her in stride. Harmony placed a restraining hand on Prior’s arm, the scientist in him poised to come over and examine Kyrene.

Thalia smirked. “Have you come to bow down before me?”

I leaned over and whispered to Ian, “Seems too much power has gone to her head.”

Her ego and the bracelet’s power, while not hers to possess, had clearly affected her mind.

“I am not yours to command.” Kyrene stared down the bridge of her nose, a giant towering over Thalia’s diminutive figure. “You have no place here. We already have a leader.”

Thalia scoffed. “Ian?”

He shook his head, “Not me.”

I raised my hand.

“Cherry! You’re nothing. You’re a dumb—”

“If you say whore one more time…” I let the threat hang in the air. “Look around, Thalia. You lost. You have two choices. Either shut up and join the colony. Or—”

“I’ll never join you. I’m of royal blood. I do not do
manual
tasks.” She fingered the bracelet, mesmerized by the glowing runes.

“Or,” I continued, projecting a calmness I didn’t feel, “You’ll die. Mars isn’t for pussies.”

“None of those options appeal to me. I have a better alternative,” she sneered, fingers dancing across the runes. “I choose death. For you.”

She raised her arm. “Die, whore!” Blue energy raced toward me.

The power stopped. For a split second, it hung in the air. The color changed from blue to red, then the lightning reversed course.

Thalia opened her mouth. She never got the words out. Red light encased her. Brilliant sparks spread across her body. She writhed, howling in agony. Hotter and hotter, she glowed like a star.

Ian covered me with his body. “Everyone! Down!”

The concussive force of the explosion rocked the cavern. Sand rippled like water, undulating under my back. Unbearable heat blanketed us. Ian’s hair caught fire. Blisters formed on my exposed skin.

Cold liquid rushed over us and doused the flames, easing the burns.

“Is she gone?” someone asked.

A large black mark stained the soil where Thalia once stood. Only the gold bracelet remained.

Ian and I stood up. The blisters had healed. Silk touched my face. Red strands drifted down from my forehead. I patted my head, astounded. My hair was back.

Kyrene rose from the water and winked. She pointed to the cuff. It sailed through the air and latched back onto my wrist. “It belongs to you.”