The Last Vampyre Prophecy (20 page)

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

ADONIA

I can feel the changes in my body. My muscles are stronger and my mind is clearer. It feels like it doubled in capacity and I can think through things instantly. The environment around me feels different, too. I can’t describe the pull that I have to certain things.

When we la
nd I feel the cool breeze waft over me making my skin tighten with alert. I can sense another being among the people scattered along the tarmac. Khai senses it too and grips my hand.

He scans the crowd and narrows his eyes on a man dressed in a suit standing in the shadow of a side building. He closes his eyes then opens them pulling me down the stairs. “It’s him, Bassam.”

I look back at the man and he is now moving into the light toward us. Khai comes to a stop feet from him and they stand staring at one another. He is breathtakingly beautiful and looks much like Khai.

He has the same dark hair and strong face structure but his eyes are like butterscotch.
He lets his eyes roll over to me and he looks at me in disgust. “I’m not helping a filthy witch.” He spits.

Khai moves forward and I step between them. Probably not the best decision but I can’t bear to think what they could do to each other here in this very public place.

Khai reads my thoughts and pulls me to his side tucking me under his arm. “If you speak of her that way again I’ll sear you where you stand.” He leers.

Bassam smiles at him, “One of our kind bedding a witch,” he shakes his head in disgust. “I would never disgrace myself in that manner. You deserve to have Mehi destroy you and she will.”

“She knows I’m here and now you’ll be going down with me and you know it.” Khai says darkly.

Bassam’s face contorts, “I will lead her right to you and watch as she tears you apart.”

Khai smiles, “If she doesn’t crush you out of entertainment first.”

They glare at one another and I c
an feel the tension whirling around their bodies. It’s making my body respond automatically. I can feel a tingle that spreads across every surface of my skin and burns low.

Moments later they both turn to stare at me wide eyed. Khai moves to speak but I hold up my hand lost in the sensations rolling through me. Instantly I feel their
presence calm.

Finally I reach out and clasp Khai’s hand then reach for Bassam’s. He’s reluctant but I take it anyway and I wipe away the negative force flowing through each one.

After a moment I release Bassam’s hand partly because I can’t stand the contact—he’s a very dark mind.

I step back and curve into Khai’s side. Bassam regards me for several minutes. His face never changes and his eyes are cold and lifeless as he stares then turns and walks back into the shadow.

I look to Khai and he remains locked on his retreating figure. When he looks back at me there’s wonder there. “I can’t describe what you just did to me, Adonia. I’ve never felt that level of serenity. I didn’t even know that my mind could slow and calm to that degree. It was shocking.”

I blink at him, “I don’t know what happened I just felt it rise up and flow out.”

He stares at me but saying nothing else then grabs my hand and walks to a car waiting by the fence.

When we climb in I ask, “
Where is Bassam?”

“He is returning to his compound in the northwestern mountains.
We will follow and he is going to help hide you.”

I stare at him shocked, “Why?”

He shrugs, “Because he is just as unsettled as I am with your ability and he’s curious. He wonders why you didn’t incapacitate us.”

I frown, “I would never do that! I don’t want to harm anyone!”

He smiles, “I know. It’s one of the things that I both adore and dislike about you. There are so many people that want to cause you harm and you would never hurt a hair on anyone’s head. It frightens me.”

“Well now maybe I can do some good. Make people happier.”

He shakes his head, “Not with my kind, Adonia. I just want you to stay away. Far away from any of them.”

I think for several moments, “How many of you are there?”

“
Mehi destroyed the majority of them nearly two thousand years ago. There are now five of us divided among the continents.”

I gape at him. There are five
in the whole world. It doesn’t seem logical to me.

He shrugs. “I’ve told you, Adonia, we are very solitary creatures. We do not like competition.”

“Would you have turned me?” I ask quietly.

He shakes his head. “No. I don’t want you to lose your humanity, Adonia. It changes you, darkly.” His eyes are black as he finishes.

“But you,” I say, “You love me so sweetly and wholly. You’re not bad Khai.”

He grips my arms lightly and stares down into my eyes, “Don’t mistake, Adonia, I am still a demon. Every other person that walks this Earth
is in danger in my presence. Never forget that.” He says somberly.

“I don’t believe that, Khai. I feel your emotions and they are not all evil. You have a huge amount of love and respect coming from within.”

His mouth presses into a hard line, “I don’t want to discuss it further. Let’s just drop it and plan our arrival.”

I gear up because I’m just getting started, “No.” I say flatly.

He narrows his eyes at me and I know he knows my intent but I’m not letting him walk away from this. This is important—to me.

“I don’t like your negative perception of yourself anymore than you of me.”

“It’s not a perception as much as a reality, Adonia. Understand it. Stop thinking I am some lovesick waylaid man that cares for the world around him. I don’t. It’s expendable. You are a prized possession to me. I will do anything to keep you safe and secured to me. But don’t be fooled into thinking I’m not the danger here because I am. Face it and accept it.” His tone is utterly detached and void of all emotion. I can feel the animosity bubbling under his skin.

His words feel like a knife to my heart.
A possession. That’s how he sees me. Suddenly I want to run. I want to get far away.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “You mistake my words. You are dear to me and the feelings I have for you are feral. I love you.”

I hold my hand up, “Just don’t, Khai.” I say then turn for the window. In a few short words he has completely altered my perception of ‘us’.

He doesn’t say anything but reaches for my hand. I gently shake off the contact. I need room to breathe and think. My new emotions are causing me to feel this desolation a hundred times more powerfully.

We ride silently as I peer out at the rugged mountainous terrain. The snow creates white caps on the tips of the mountains. The sky is gray and fog hovers over the area between the mountains creating a dreary haze.

I’ve so much to sort out. It’s impossible to believe that my entire life has been upended in days and
a brand new reality faces me. Its enormous and frightening and now I need to deal with my feelings for Khai.

Does he even know what love is? Is he capable? Or is it just the sex? Will he leave me broken once another more beautiful and alluring woman crosses his path? Believing that I am enough has been impossible from the beginning.

“I’ve told you what you mean to me, Adonia.” He says shifting beside me, “Do not doubt it. When you crossed my path everything shifted and automatically relegated itself to allure you and please you. You were made for me plain and simple. Everything about my being is changed in acceptance. I need you.” He grips my hand, “Love is not a word I know but what I feel for you far surpasses that. You are soul deep for me. If you leave me now all of this will have no meaning to me. I’ll be altered forever and lost at sea.”

I feel the exact same way. When I first laid eyes on him I knew that something called to me.

I shift closer to him already feeling the warmth and calmness. He wraps his arms around me. “It’s new I know but understand it’s forever.” He says quietly.

I just close my eyes and think of everything that has changed. My parents, my brothers, everything is different. What will they think of my new life? How will I tell them the truth? It will crush them.
I can’t live without my family—they’re everything.

He tips my chin up, “We’ll figure that out.”

His words calm me because somehow I know we will. The driver chants something to Khai and he responds. Minutes later we turn onto a gravel drive. The car pitches side to side as we roll over the uneven climb. It’s steep and rugged.

I notice the thick pockets of trees that surround us as we drive deeper into
the mountain side. When we reach the top of a steep hill I see a clearing. A huge angled building sits in the middle surrounded by tall tracks of metal scaffolding and big heavy machinery.

“Leave us here,” Khai says and the driver stops. His face is completely impassive but I c
an feel his unease.

Once we’re out of the car he turns and disappears down the hill into the trees. Khai tilts his head up into the sky. The sun is hidden behind the massive gray clouds. It’s mid-day but looks like nightfall.

He bends and picks me up, “She’s near,” he says then we’re running. In seconds we stop in front of a large concrete building. He opens the door and keeps me in his arms as we cross the room and enter a large metal door.

He bends to pull a latch on the floor and begins to climb down steep concrete stairs. The air buzzes with the sound of th
e florescent bulbs burning overhead. Large concrete columns line the room in rows every few yards.

A massive round
metal cylinder connects the floor and ceiling in the center. He walks to the center and sets me down, “Stay in here no matter what happens. This was built to withstand violent eruptions and tremors for the oil, you’ll be safe.”

“Where are you going?” I ask panicked.

His eyes close and his nostrils flare as he tips his head back. Then he looks back to me, “I must go. She is nearly here.” He cups my face, “No matter what, Adonia, do not leave this room.”

I rest my hands on his, “What’s happening?”

“She’s coming intent on destroying it all. Everything. But I won’t let her have you.”

He places a kiss to my forehead and before I can blink he’s gone and a second later I hear the heavy trap door close above me. Panic sets in and I know that this is it. I may never see him again and that thought makes
me seize.

I look around the room. I am underground with no way out. I walk to the stairs and as I step up the first one I feel the ground shake and the sound of the concrete above shifting.

I begin to run up the steep steps feeling the vibrations below me. A loud rumble erupts and concrete dust begins raining on my head. Suddenly a shift beneath me causes the steps to begin breaking apart.

I fall several times as I try to make it to the top. I look back and the metal cylinder has broken apart and is slowly spilling oil into the surrounding case.

The walls continue to shift as I make the last steps and reach the door. I push with all my strength and it barely cracks the surface. A ray of light beams through and that’s when I hear the chaos surrounding me.

It’s earsplitting and sounds like a thousand tornados whipping around destroying anything in their wake.

That’s when I feel his fire. He’s in a fury. It is beyond degrees of heat, it’s searing.

Then she’s here.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

KHAI

The force of the elements surrounding me feels much like my entire body is going to explode. The pressure in my ears and head from the vastly alternating weather changes is distracting.

She is creating a vortex of wind, rain and lightning. While none of it can kill me it can certainly hinder my reactions.

I feel her close to me. Then suddenly her arms are wrapped around my torso in a vice hold. We are hovering a hundred feet in the air. Her grip is tight but not what can kill me.

She’s building a quagmire of electricity to burn me to the ground. Before I can build the fire she releases me and as I try to locate her I feel the surge that makes me recoil. She’s found the real Bassam and it’s an abhorrent torture.

I fly to the
lake of fire that they are suspended above. The violent swirl is causing the trees to bend to the ground. The sky is near black with the smattering of clouds and electrons. Its pressure is enough to burst a human eardrum and it’s building to a magnitude depth.

I watch as the
fight swirls around and basically destroys every structure within the compound. When my eyes flicker to the main cylinder, my senses halt. I see her and she is in the open unprotected.

I growl as my head tips back in fury. How the fuck did this happen? I sealed that door myself. She is at immediate risk with Mehi. Exactly where Mehi wants
her.

The air shifts and it becomes leaden with
viscosity. As I surge for Mehi she blasts into me like a concrete wall. The force crushes me and I feel, for the first time in my existence, pain. The blow has crushed my impenetrable body structure. I can feel the fissure straight down my spine.

My senses are all honed to my injuries. I can’t focus on where I need to heal first.
Then I catch her mind, she sees me and wants to run to me. Every instinctual property in my brain focuses on her—my reasoning.

It’s been mere seconds but I know Mehi has already tried to strike. I test the air around Adonia and it’s infused with a thick layering of intense energy. I probe beyond it to her and feel the anxiety and fear.

Mehi sends a jolt of energy between the plates underneath the ground and the surface becomes a violent vibrating shift. The trees shake with the magnitude and tumble like dominos. The main building crumbles to the ground within seconds as an earsplitting sound echoes off the mountain walls.

The Earth shakes like nothing I’ve ever seen and suddenly it spreads the width of a crater as massive as the
Grand Canyon and sucks everything below the surface.

I shoot toward her as she falls with the ruble below. When I catch her in my arms I feel the heat of my rage flare through me. Her body is battered and bloodied but her mind is clear and calm. She knows how to fight this and she’s not giving up.

I make it to the top of the highest peak and hover over the black clouds that have descended upon the valley of the compound. Nothing is left. Miles of terrain have been leveled and sucked below the crater.

My eyes focus on Mehi who is spiraling in the center. Her power is more than I can
defeat. She’s creating a vortex of weather elements to forge at once.

Bassam appears beside me.
We watch as the air swirls around her and creates a vacuum sucking everything from the surface, swirling it into the air.

Then Adonia shifts in my arms and the strength coming from her is more than I can hold. She pulls from my arms as I struggle to maintain my grip. I watch her fall helplessly down toward the landscape below.

But before she hits the ground a calm spreads over the area and she floats onto the surface. Everything around her calms and the sky opens above her bathing the area with light. I am transfixed as she levels the elements and subsides the tremors rocking the ground.

I sense Mehi and her concentrat
ion is all honed to Adonia. She’s riddled with rage and her only focus is destroying her. The thought of a mortal thwarting her is abhorrent.

But as she amps her force around Adonia the stronger and brighter the light opens up. The sky breaks open with blinding rays dousing the desecrated land and forcing the blackness away.

I want to be at her side through whatever war happens around us so I land beside her and pull her to me feeling the hum of energy she is creating. I create a cage around her body and protect her from the debris swirling around us.

She opens her eyes and gazes at me with complete serenity. Her thoughts are of peace and happiness—a life with me. It’s hope and love flowing from her with a force of sheer determination.

Moments later I feel the shift in Mehi and a fractional second later she is facing us pulling electricity from the clouds above targeting us with a million volts.

Adonia faces her and begins chanting something as Bassam shifts to my side and creates a clone of the three of us and fills the area around us with our replicated scene ten times over.

I shift Adonia into his arms and fly toward Mehi. When I reach her she is waiting for me—this is what she wanted. She wants to bury me. I grip my arms around her torso and feel the scorching heat flow from my chest.

She growls from the radiation and shoots us into the air circling the area faster than I’ve ever experienced. It’s such force that the fire inside me is cooled by the fierceness of the wind whipping around us.

Her cry out for me sends my concentration directly to her—her safety. Mehi grips me tight around my upper arms immobilizing me. I can’t fight her hold and we are just locked in arms above the Earth.

Then I feel the fissure working up my spine as Mehi sends a quake of crushing strength around my body. I can feel the split of my body as she bends her head and opens her mouth to tear into my throat.

Our skin is like metal to everything but our own teeth. The searing pain shoots across my neck and feels like a thousands knives spearing me at once. I hear the faint cry come from Adonia below me and I briefly lose my senses.

Then
calmness settles over us and halts Mehi instantly. Her head snaps in Adonia’s direction and for a brief moment I see her thoughts and they are awed. I take the only opportunity I’ll ever have and build a fire within that I’ve never felt.

Mehi finds my eyes and in that moment I see her realization flash and she knows this is her end. The fire explodes from my chest and I watch as the terror flashes in her eyes just as her skin erupts in a burning blue ball of flame and the screech
emanates from her mouth as she writhes in my hold. The fire between us is melting the area around us sending cinders of sparks and flames scattering below.

When her screeches die out I feel the shudder work up her body as the fire takes over her being and moments later I feel the vortex around us shift and silence follows as everything stills and then her body turns to ash and blows through the air settling over the
tree line below us.

My clothes have
disintegrated and I feel the burns over the entire front surface of my body. I feel the drain in my mind as the tension subsides and I fall to the ground. I see the outline of her face as she hovers over me. All my senses have blurred and everything goes quiet before my eyes close and the world turns black.