With one final glance, he tears his gaze from mine and looks at the witches. The outrage I see in them makes me shudder. I cower beside him, terrified of what he will do next. My sire will stop at nothing to protect me—this I know to be true.
“Let me make myself very clear. I will kill everyone you have ever met if that is what I must do to save her,” Jasik warns. “Either you will die tonight or you will live tomorrow. The choice is yours, but you will not keep her here any longer.”
I gasp, shocked by his admission, by his threat. The vampires are outnumbered, but they offer a clear warning. Until now, they have obeyed my request to maintain peace. They have only used the strength and skill necessary to survive battles, but they have not maliciously targeted my former coven. In spite of everything the witches have done to them, to me, the vampires have allowed some semblance of peace simply because I requested it. Now that I do not, and now that I fear for my very life, they will not yield.
I should feel sad. I should be outraged by the mere thought of losing my family. I should be saddened by Mamá’s impending death. But I am not. She created this new, desensitized version of her daughter when she muted my better half. She made me numb to most feelings, and that includes the part that would mourn her demise.
“Do you truly believe you can overpower a coven?” Abuela asks. “Are you that sure of yourselves?”
“We have been training for these very moments far longer than you have been alive, lady,” Jeremiah says.
“I think a better question is if you think you are strong enough to beat us,” Hikari says.
Will is standing beside her, holding himself upright. He eyes me cautiously, a silent warning. We are weakened by their spell, but we are not powerless. We might not be able to call upon magic—yet—but we know basic tactics. We can beat them. We just have to be smarter. And I like to think that we are.
Malik passes Will a weapon. The dagger is sleek, with a slightly curved blade, either intentional or from years of battle. The shiny silver betrays the countless hours he has sharpened its edge. As Will takes the weapon from Malik, I see the worn leather handle, dulled by years of being held by a strong, defiant hand.
I remember my stake. It is snug within the inner breast pocket of my military-style jacket. Silently, I thank Mamá for returning it to me, but a pit forms in my gut when I think of how I plan to use it.
Years of fighting has granted me expert precision. I can slice the pointed tip through the air with such velocity, it will penetrate the thick sternum of muscle and bone to pierce the heart. This is an awful way to kill a witch. I will be forced to watch her fear, her pain, and her agonizing death. Why can’t witches die as quickly as a vampire? Their painless combustion from form to ash seems unfair.
“If you think we are not prepared for this fight, then you are sadly mistaken,” Abuela says.
She eyes another witch. The shift in her vision is so brief, I almost miss it. I am sure the vampires notice the break in her focus, but quickly, her gaze lands back on them. I have seen this same look in her eyes many times before. Except, back then, I was never the target of her wrath.
Everything happens so quickly, I do not have enough time to warn the others. My grandmother nods, and a blast of unified elemental witches assaults my frail frame.
My hand is ripped from Jasik’s, and I am flying. I soar through the air, body limp, as I allow the elements to carry me where they wish, for there is no point in fighting. The vampires withstand the brunt of the attack, using their superior strength to fight against the torrential waves of magic and power.
My allies skid backward but remain upright until the blasts of energy cease, and the witches clasp hands. We are centerfold now, encircled by my coven, awaiting the best they can throw at us.
I slump against the ground, a jagged edge of something sharp stabbing me in the back as I fall into a heap of brush. Something crunches beneath my weight—perhaps something icy or maybe a pointed branch—and the sound radiates all around me. Instantly, I am overcome with fear. I begin my mental check.
Am I okay?
Have I broken something?
Can I stand?
Can I fight?
My legs ache, my spine tingling when I try to move. I try to calm my breathing, taking slow, long, intentional inhalations until the fire in my gut subsides. It feels like hours pass as I wait for the strength to stand, but I know it has been only seconds.
I hear their fight erupting all around me.
As I lie on the ground, coated in the remnants of earth’s most brutal season, I see flashes of light and hear the painful cries of dying witches. I do not hear the vampires crying out, but that does not mean they are not in trouble. The moment a stake penetrates the heart, they begin their descent to death. It is quick and often silent. So even though I do not hear my friends crying out for help, that does not mean they are fighting. That does not mean they are still alive.
I roll onto my side and force myself into a seated position. My hands are caked with ice and mulch. I brush my palms on my jeans as I scan my surroundings.
The world around me has exploded in violence. The witches team up in groups of four—one representing each physical element—to fight against each vampire. This is keeping Malik, Hikari, and Jeremiah busy, but Jasik is making his way to me. He rushes to my side, blood splattered across his face. I do not ask whose blood as he ushers me to my feet. I lean against him and wince as a sharp pain radiates through my leg.
“You are hurt,” Jasik says.
I shake my head. “I am fine. Go. Help the others.”
He frowns at me, his eyes in disbelief. “You do not really expect me to obey that order, do you?”
I smile, and for one brief second, it is just the two of us again, but that feeling is torn away from me the moment a sharp dagger of enhanced air magic rips through my sire’s chest. His blood spews from his wound as he howls. It sprays onto my face, and I scream. The magic penetrates completely through his chest and shoots out through his sternum. I look away just in time, and the dagger of invisible energy slices across my cheek. It disappears into the forest, and Jasik falls to his knees beside me.
I drop to my knees, ignoring the stabbing pain in my throbbing leg. My body protests, warning me of my weakened state. I am wounded, but I do not care. Jasik is on the verge of death.
He slumps forward, breaking his fall with one outstretched arm. But it too yields, and he collapses to the ground, face pressed into the snow. His chest is heaving, his breath coming in powerful bursts, making the soft snow coating the earth flutter with each exhalation. If not for the bloodshed, I would say the woods look magical at this time of night. The moonlight makes everything glisten and sparkle, but just when I find it beautiful, I see streaks of crimson.
I cradle Jasik in my arms, rocking back and forth, telling him over and over again that he will be okay. I remind him it missed his heart, even if he already knows this information. If the witch did not miss, he would already be ash. I run my blood-caked fingers through his hair, and the dark-brown strands tangle in my grasp, sweeping around my fingers and clinging to my wet skin.
“You are going to be okay, Jasik,” I whisper.
His head is rested against my lap, and I break his gaze to find help. The vampires are at war with the witches, evading attacks and blocking equally damning threats. Will is helping the others, taking every opportunity he can to outsmart his enemy.