Vampire Apocalypse #2 Cataylst (23 page)

“This can’t be happening,” he hissed. “Not
with you! Not now!” He rounded on Kahli. The blood on his face
coagulated, darkening as it did so. The gash was no longer
dripping.

“This can’t be.” Kahli stared at him, her
green eyes wide. “My betrothed is dead, along with everyone else.
There’s no way in hell, it’s you!” Kahli’s anger got the best of
her. She slammed her open palms into Cole’s chest, but he barely
rocked back. “Explain this!” she screamed, hitting his chest again.
“You’re not wild! You were raised on a farm, with Cassie! You can’t
be him!” While she screamed at him, one thought raced through her
mind over and over,
That life is gone. That life is gone. That
life is gone
.

Cole grabbed her wrists and flung them away.
Hissing in her face, he growled, “Hit me again, and I don’t care
what our parent’s agreed, I’ll kill you.” Kahli sucked in jagged
breaths, her shoulders rising as her fingers balled into fists at
her sides. The King was getting away, but she had to know why her
family crest was on his hand. There was no way he could be the one
that she was promised.

“You’re not wild,” she breathed too calmly,
her voice almost airy. Pointing at him, she demanded, “Explain
this. Explain why your cut healed. Explain why my crest is on your
palm.”

“I don’t have to tell you a damn thing,” Cole
hissed and turned on his heel. He started to walk back the way he’d
come. Kahli’s jaw fell open. She froze for half a second and then
followed him.

Grabbing his arm hard, Kahli pulled him
around. Cole stared daggers at her. “My parents died protecting
me.”

“So did mine.”

Kahli stared not knowing what else to say, to
do. “It means nothing,” but looking down at her wrist, she knew
that wasn’t true. Cole’s blood brought out the rune, his family
crest. It was burned into her wrist, just as hers was branded onto
his palm. Their pasts connected them in a way that she couldn’t
ignore.

Cole’s jaw tensed, like he was going to say
something, but he didn’t. Instead he turned on his heel with
newfound determination lining his shoulders. He took a few steps
and stopped. Turning around, he looked back at Kahli, at the girl
his parent’s choose for him, and his fingers curled into fists. She
stood there looking at him, not following. He snapped at her, “Come
on.”

Confused at his change of direction, Kahli
asked, “Where are we going?”

“To save the others. We’ll lead them back to
this passage way and tell them to follow the footprints out. Cassie
can lead them to the hills and get them started toward the safe
house.”

“And what about you?”

Cole glanced at her like Kahli was a thorn in
his side. “I’ve been marked for other things. Apparently, our fates
are intertwined.” Cole’s gaze was hard, unforgiving, as he studied
his hand. At the center of Kahli’s crest was a wolf, savagely
growling, bearing its teeth. Vines surrounded the animal, twining
together at the top and the bottom with sprigs of flowers that
hadn’t been seen in centuries. He didn’t even know what they were
called. Blinking hard, he lifted his gaze to meet hers, “The King
only expects to see you. You’re more likely to survive if I go with
you. Let’s get this over with.”

Kahli’s lips lifted into a grin. There was no
telling Cole differently once he made up his mind. And having him
along might help. “I always knew something was wrong with you.”

Cole glanced over his shoulder. Lifting a
dark brow, he said, “Yeah, apparently all this time I was engaged
to you, the biggest pain in the ass I’ve ever met.”

CHAPTER 37

Cole directed Cassie to take everyone out
through the garden and to continue onto the safe house without him.
Although Cole didn’t want Kahli to see Cassie, he couldn’t leave
her in the hallway. There were too many vamps as it was. Cassie
squeezed Kahli so hard that she couldn’t breathe.

“You’re alive!” Cassie looked over her friend
in awe.

Kahli nodded, trying pull out of Cassie’s
overly crushing hug. It felt good to be missed, but so much contact
made her feel awkward. Cole watched as Kahli wriggled away. He said
nothing. “It’s good to see you, too.” She smiled briefly and then
became serious again, “Listen, we can catch up later.” Cassie
bobbed her head, nodding.

“You better get going,” Cole said to Cassie.
His face was stern, his voice unyielding. There was no room for
debate. Cassie nodded and walked over to her brother. She gave him
one last hug, and walked next to Chaucer who was waiting at the
door. “Oh,” Cole added, tossing Cassie a lighter. It arched across
the room, and Cassie caught it. She looked at it confused and
lifted her gaze to Cole, “Light them. Any downed vamps, any live
vamps—all of them. I don’t want to leave anything behind. The
palace will be a pile of ashes after tonight. I already rigged
something outside, too, something to discourage them from chasing
after us. Torch the spot at the south exit after everyone is
through. Got it?”

Cassie nodded, pocketing the lighter.

Kahli looked back and forth at them,
wondering where this change came from. Before she left, Cassie
acted like she wouldn’t hurt anything, and now she was okay with
torching any vampires in her way. Brows knitting together, Kahli
said, “You can’t be serious?”

Cole spoke over Cassie, “I’m not defending
our actions to you.”

“But a bunch of them are under the King’s
thrall. You can just light them all on fire. It’s not—” By a bunch
of them, she meant Will, and other Bane that were property just as
much as they were. Never in her life did Kahli think she would be
speaking up against slaying vampires, but Bane were different. They
had no choice. They were slaves, caught between the greed and blood
of the old vampire régime.

“Not what?” Cole bit off. “Humane? They
aren’t human, Kahli.” Lifting his gaze toward Cassie, he nodded
once, affirming his original order.

Cassie looked back at Kahli. Something
flashed in her friend’s eyes. She wasn’t sure if it was uncertainty
or an apology. “Will’s out there,” she finally said. She left him
lying in a heap of dead vamps. The look on Kahli’s face said
everything. Cassie opened her mouth, her head tilting to the side
as though she was about to say she wouldn’t torch Will.

But Cole cut her off, “He’s one of them.”

“He is not,” Kahli bit back, rounding on
Cole. “He’s one of us.”

“How stupid are you?” Cole scolded, “Will’s a
vampire. He’s on their side.”

Kahli’s voice was deep and menacing. “Will
risked his life for me. He’s not a vamp. He’s a Bane,” there were a
few gasps around the room. It was a secret she was supposed to
keep. Will didn’t tell anyone what he was. They all assumed that he
was a vampire, but he wasn’t. He aged, he bled, he breathed. Kahli
couldn’t have Cassie drop a torch on that pile of dead vampires in
the courtyard. She couldn’t let them kill Will. Kahli continued,
her eyes locked with Cole’s, “He’s half human. You can’t kill
him.”

“Even if he is a Bane,” he said, voice stern,
“there’s no such thing as a half-breed. If he needs blood to
survive, he’s one of them, he’s a vampire. We can’t afford to make
a mistake tonight, Kahli. All vampires are evil. You know this…”
Cole’s voice drifted off as he stopped speaking. He acted like
explaining something so remedial to Kahli was absurd. Kahli hunted
and killed vamps. Just because Will was a Bane, didn’t mean he
didn’t have blood on his hands. To Cole, Will was a vampire. End of
story. Disgusted, he turned to his sister. Glancing at Cassie, he
nodded, repeating, “Kill him.”

Kahli’s body tensed, her fingers curling to
fists at her sides like she’d punch Cole if he kept talking, but
Cassie started hissing at them. The forcefulness of her voice made
them both look at her in surprise. “Stop fighting. Now.” She glared
at them. After a second she said, “We’re leaving. I’m not killing
Will. He helped me too many times, Cole.” Cassie knew that Kahli
had feelings for Will. Although they hadn’t spoken of it much, she
knew. Cassie nodded at Cole and slinked out the door before he had
a chance to say anything else.

Tension lined Kahli’s shoulders and arms.
“Have you forgotten what murder is, Cole?”

He rounded on her. Using his body, he shoved
Kahli hard into the wall. The movement was fast and hard. Kahli’s
head banged into the plaster, pieces of it flaked off into her hair
on impact, “Don’t assume you know crap about my life.” He held his
arm on her neck. If he threw his weight into his arm, it would
crush her throat.

Kahli couldn’t let him think he was right,
“There’s no justification you can give that makes it right, ever. I
have blood on my hands. Vamp blood. Human blood. It was
my
decision.” She choked the words out. Cole’s arm remained in place
as she spoke. “Never for one moment did I pretend that it wasn’t
wrong.”

“But you killed them anyway,” he breathed.
“You hunted the Trackers and picked them off one by one. You
attacked Will and tried to kill him yourself when you first got
here. You’re honestly telling me, given the chance again, that you
wouldn’t slaughter the lot of them?”

Kahli’s throat burned. Cole dropped her, and
stepped away. Kahli fell forward, and sucked in air, choking. Cole
was dangerous, more so than she thought. When she stood, Kahli
straightened her spine and walked up to Cole. Inches from his face,
she said with utter conviction, “I wish they never existed. I wish
they never found us, never hunted us, never needed us to survive.
If I had it to do over again, I’d want to kill every last vampire,
but I wouldn’t…”

With a bewildered look on his face, Cole
asked, “Why?”

Kahli answered, “Because some of them are as
trapped as we are. Some of them are worse off than me and you.
Their families were slaughtered, too. They’re weak and dying,
starving to death. This isn’t right. The way the world works is
broken, Cole. You can’t kill everyone in it and start over. Life
doesn’t work that way.” Disgusted with him, Kahli shook her head
and moved toward the door.

“I don’t understand you,” he confessed, but
it sounded like an accusation. Cole fell in step behind her and
Kahli pulled the door open.

Looking at him over her shoulder, she said,
“Join the club.”

CHAPTER 38

Reggie made the mistake of arriving alone.
The Queen’s guards were at his back, his insane sister in front of
him. “Darling, Sophia. How’s the evening progressing for you? Out
for a bit of fresh air?” he asked smiling. The wind blew harshly,
blowing his coat open.

Sophia stood before him in her flimsy red
dress, the skirt blowing in the wind like a bloody streamer. Her
lips pulled back into a smile, revealing her pointed teeth, “Nice
to see you, brother. Have you brought me more gifts? Or perhaps
returned the one that was stolen from me?” Sophia looked past him,
but only saw her guards. When she looked back at her brother, she
lifted a delicate brow to indicate she was waiting for a reply—and
it better not suck.

Reggie clasped his hands behind his back and
smiled widely. “You know, the strangest thing happened. When I left
yesterday, I managed to get lost in the storm. Thomas drove us into
the wasteland where I came across a young man and a red-headed
girl.”

Sophia stepped toward him, half excited, half
angry. “Where are they? You found both of them?”

Reggie, beamed, nodding, not exactly sure how
to play his hand since his salvation ran off and didn’t come back.
Damn that girl. “I did. They’re here now. I set them loose once we
were on the grounds. Will was bringing her back to you, when they
disappeared. I heard there was some question of loyalty last night,
and I wanted to present them to you myself, but I’m not a
fool.”

She folded her small arms over her chest,
“Apparently you are, dear brother, because I’ve yet to see young
William or the girl.”

“Yes,” he said nervously, but still smiling.
“But a gift given is still a gift, sister. They are here. Your
guards know it. They’ve seen them.”

Sophia snapped her fingers impatiently, her
red nails flashing in the moonlight. The guards that escorted
Reggie in fell in front of Sophia, bowing lowly. “Did you see the
girl? Or Will?”

The guards rose. “Yes, Your Majesty. They
were both in the truck when your brother arrived. The girl fell out
the door, and the boy ran after her. We sent a pair of guards after
them.”

“So,” Sophia said, speaking like they were
toddlers incapable of understanding her, “where are they?”

The guard’s looked at each other for a split
second, and then lowered their gazes to the ground. “On the
grounds, My Queen.” One of them said at last. “We had to stay with
Regent Reginald. They were charged with capturing the girl and
bringing her back.”

The Queen listened, tapping her ruby red
nails together, which made an annoying clicking sound. A gust of
wind howled and she stopped. It yanked her dark hair hard, pulling
the curls loose. Sophia felt her hairstyle unraveling, but she
didn’t move. She didn’t touch. Staring at the two guards, she
hissed, “Find them. Now.”

The two guards turned to scurry off, but
stopped in their tracks. The front door to the palace was thrown
open and light cut across the dark snow, cutting a wedge of light
on the sparkling lawn. Sophia’s lips parted, before curling at the
corners. “How sweet. My husband has returned.”

“I don’t think he’s bringing you presents,
sister,” Reggie said after stopping next to Sophia, and leaning to
her ear. “He tried to drain her, you know. Bit her neck, and nearly
lopped Kahli’s head off. Somehow I doubt it was because he was
bottling her blood for you…” Reggie trailed off as he saw the
massive vampire appear in the threshold and follow the King onto
the lawn.

Sophia remained relaxed. Her dark hair blew
in the frigid wind as she watched her husband walk confidently
toward her. The King stopped a few paces from his wife. “Sophia,”
he said once, but didn’t incline his head as was the custom.
Slipping his hands into his pockets, the King stood there, looking
dashing as tiny flakes of snow whipped around him.