Jade: Earth's Last Hope Against the Undead (12 page)

Late summer wind bit at her neck as she
hurried across the field. She ignored the slaves, instead focused
on the only thing that really mattered. When she entered the house,
she submersed herself into a world of complete darkness. She knew
it was all but empty.

It's like they knew I was coming.

Remembering the layout of the first floor,
she moved about with little hindrance. She bumped into walls and
bounced back fast, making her way into the main living quarters
where she'd find the stairs. When she got there, something didn't
feel right.

Her chest heaved. Her body shivered. But she
stayed her hands in anticipation of an encounter. She closed her
eyes, allowing her instincts to do the thinking for her, and when
the moment came her hands moved swiftly.

The sword came around in a short arc
and for a split second she saw a single pair of red eyes burning in
the darkness. Seconds later a
thump
and the telling sound of a head rolling free of its
body.

A commotion on the stairway drew her
attention upward and she hurried to the foot of the stairs.
Something clomped down on the wooden floor behind her, but she also
sensed some other form standing on the stairs in front of her.

She ducked and swiped fast. Her blade cut
true, finding flesh and, before she could recover, she thrust her
blade back and in one fell swoop brought it around and severed the
neck of the form in front of her. Both bodies fell dead at
once.

Sidestepping, she ascended the stairwell to
discover a dim light at the end of the hall. She didn't know the
layout of this floor and so she remained vigilant, aware of every
movement.

Passing the first room brought no activity.
Same with the second and third room, yet she had a gut feeling she
hadn’t encountered the last of these fiends.

In the last room, she discovered Hiru,
standing in the glow of a candle and looking like a woman out of
time. Jade feared not the woman or any of her companions, however
many there might be. What bothered Jade was that undeniable
confident grin on the vampire's face.

"Ah, so the defiant one arrives," Hiru
said.

A fever pitched at Jade's forehead. "You
said we could trust you." It burned deeply in her cheeks. "You said
you wanted to help."

"Yes, well, both are true statements." Hiru
walked with poise, passing the candle to her other hand and
lighting another. "I did help and I meant that. And you could trust
me in that regard." She bared her fangs and hissed at Jade. "But
how dare you think I wouldn't be doing it for my own purposes."

Jade went to speak, but Hiru cut her
off.

"This is my world. My home. And no one will
take it from me."

Jade went to strike, but Hiru was faster.
Somehow she maneuvered herself to the far end of the room without
being seen. From this new vantage point she signaled into the dark.
Several pairs of reddened eyes found Jade, and they attacked all at
once.

Taking a step back, Jade raised her sword
and swung hard. She made contact with one, but another was at her
back and readying to bury its fangs deep into her neck. She thrust
her sword back towards the woman's face, missing her own flesh by a
fraction of an inch. The dead weight of a pierced skull hung on the
sword and slid away as she drew the weapon forward again.

This time Jade attacked, finding three of
them in the candlelight. She spun, quickly thrusting in three
different directions. The silver blade pierced three blackened
hearts and the vampires fell dead.

One left.

The hulking shadow came at her, throwing
itself into the air and closing in fast. Jade raised her blade to
impale its heart. Then the candlelight lit his face and Jade saw
Trent at the very last second.

She threw herself down to the floor, trying
to move her sword out of the way and not succeeding. An anguished
cry indicated her blade had struck its target, but she prayed it
wouldn't be a fatal blow. In her haste to spare Trent she hit the
floor hard, and her blade slid away free of her grip. It rattled
along the wooden floor, disappearing somewhere against the
wall.

Hiru's footsteps creaked along the wood.
"Now you pay for your interference."

Dear God, she threw him at me.

Jade hurried to all fours, wanting to check
on Trent, but knowing there wouldn't be time. She scurried to the
wall, where she began pawing at the floor in the darkness, unable
to find the one item that could bring her people salvation. Already
Hiru was only a few footsteps away.

"You, a common peon, think you can come into
my home and disrupt my plans?" Hiru said, angrily.

Jade's fingers found the wall and quickly
covered the ground, still not finding the sword. Hiru's hand was at
her hair, tightening and pulling her up to her knees. Jade lunged
forward, exploring everywhere she could reach, and when her fingers
clasped upon something, whatever she'd found, it was too late. She
found herself being yanked backward fast.

She held tight to what she'd found, still
unable to see what it was. Body thrown, she surged through the air,
striking the desk hard, bringing a light crack and nothing more.
The pain spread to her legs, sharp and deep. Somehow, despite it
all, she managed to hold onto what she'd found and only now saw
what it was.

My sword.

Jade rose with confidence and approached
Hiru, who didn't even flinch upon seeing her with the sword, though
she'd seen Jade handle the sword and fend off all her
attackers.

Why so bold then?

Cool steel found Jade's neck and although
she did not falter with her sword, she stopped her approach. Hiru
paused as Jade took the time to glance over her shoulder. There,
blade in hand, stood Trent.

"Trent? What are you doing?"

Trent didn't answer. His eyes appeared
glazed over and clearly he wasn't acting of his own accord.

Jade's gaze burned into Hiru. "What have you
done to him?"

"Nothing, my dear girl. It's only my
contingency plan." She walked with purpose toward the desk. There,
she sat comfortably and calmly, as if readying to watch a show.
"You see you just finished off the remainder of my people for me.
Now Trent will fulfill the rest of my orders by killing you.
Afterward, he'll be my special little pet."

Trent's blade pressed hard against Jade's
neck.

"Trent, no." She remained stiff, sword still
raised. "Don't do this."

He didn't answer. Hiru grinned with pleasure
upon seeing how he didn't falter.

"Trent, this isn't real. She's playing you."
Jade eased some, lowering her blade slightly. "We're meant to be
together. You know this."

Trent's blade only pressed harder.

"I love you, Trent. Do you hear me? I love
you."

At this Hiru laughed, further enraging Jade.
Jade steadied herself and spoke in a light tone.

"Trent, remember yesterday? Remember walking
hand in hand, how that felt? How our hearts beat as one when we
pressed our chests together? That was real, Trent. She's got you in
some sort of trance and if you don't let me do this, she'll kill us
both."

Although he still didn't waver, she had no
other choice. She lifted her sword, to which Hiru showed no signs
of despair. When Trent's grasp slackened ever so slightly, Jade
took that split second of time and threw her sword forward like a
knife.

The blade spun once in mid-air before
striking its target, piercing Hiru's forehead, penetrating deep
into her skull. When it did, Trent's hold on her further
slackened.

Jade moved fast, charging Hiru and
withdrawing the blade. Before Hiru could do anything, Jade plunged
her sword forward again, this time deep into Hiru's heart.

Hiru's eyes widened on Jade. Her mouth went
agape. Fiery embers ate away at her flesh until she no longer could
be recognized as the woman she'd once been.

Trent staggered forward and Jade dove to
catch him. She dropped the sword and held him up. Once she'd
steadied him, she glanced back in time to catch one last
attack.

Hiru rushed them, her flesh falling away in
ashes and her eyes clearly blinded. Jade stepped on the sword's
hilt, lifting the tip. She released Trent long enough to spin, and
kicked the sword toward Hiru. Jade spun back around and grabbed
Trent, and together they held each other up.

The sword struck Hiru's body headfirst,
penetrating deep into her neck and beyond. Her corpse fell hard to
the floor, where it skidded to a final halt. There among the dust
and rubble, her remains burned until she was all but a pile of
embers and ash.

Jade and Trent held onto each other the
entire time. For once in her life Jade felt happy, not at the
thought of Hiru's defeat, but at the chance of moving past this
once and for all. Of rebuilding and a fresh start with Trent by her
side.

Kenneth W. Cain is the
author of
The Saga Of I
trilogy (
These
Trespasses
,
Grave
Revelations
, and
Reckoning
),
United State of the Dead
, and two
acclaimed short story collections:
These
Old Tales
and
Fresh Cut Tales
. His short stories
have been published, and are forthcoming, in several anthologies
and publications. He lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania with his
wife and two children.

http://kennethwcain.com