Chosen at Nightfall

Chapter Forty-two

  Kylie wasn't sure what to do next. But she went with the first thing she thought of. Tightening her hold on her mom, she willed herself and her mom invisible. Her mom screamed, obviously from not being able to see herself or Kylie.

  Unable to give in to her mom's panic, Kylie didn't hesitate and bolted for the door, dodging the two men. Unfortunately, her mom was yanked from Kylie's hands. Swinging around, Kylie couldn't see her, but she heard her mom gasping for air and she knew Mario had gone invisible and now had her.

  "Let her go!" Kylie seethed, and willed herself visible.

  Mario appeared seconds later with her mom. His hand gripped her mother's throat so tight her face looked blue.

  Kylie brought up the sword.

  Call him a coward! The spirit's voice rang in Kylie's ears at the same time the cold shot down her spine.

  Insist he fight you like a man.

  "Don't be a coward. Stand up and fight me like a man!" Kylie bit out and prayed it worked.

  Mario, his hand still around her mom's throat, stared at Kylie, his eyes growing tight. "Fine. " He threw her mom at John.

  Her mom fell at John's feet gasping for air. He picked her up, none too gently. Everything in Kylie wanted to attack. To forget the sword and use her bare hands to rip these two men apart. The only thing that stopped her was the spirit standing there repeating the same words over and over again.

  The power you have is in the sword. The power is in the sword.

  The moment her mom got air into her lungs, she yanked free of John and charged at Mario. Her mom might not be supernatural, but a mother's love was pretty damn powerful.

  Just not as powerful as the magic of these two. John snagged her back by her hair. "Stop fighting, you fool!"

  Her mom's eyes went wide and she cut them toward John. In her expression, Kylie knew she saw John for who he really was for the first time: someone evil, someone who had used her.

  Kylie's heart ached for her mom and she prayed that this wouldn't be her last moments of life. For no one should die thinking only of their mistakes. Consumed with regrets.

  Mario waved a hand through the air and a sword appeared. "I will kill you slowly, and your mother will get to watch. How much fun will that be?"

  "No!" Kylie's mom screamed.

  John pulled her mom's arms behind her back and held them there, making her struggles useless.

  "Not here," John said. "I paid over fifty thousand for this rug. "

  Her mom screamed again and John yanked her against him. "Shut up or she will die sooner. "Mario looked at his son. "The blood would add to its worth!"

  Her mom looked at Kylie, tears spilling from her eyes. The spirit stared at John. You will rot in hell for all you've done.

  Kylie could only pray the spirit was right and his trip to hell would come soon.

  "But then again, a little more room to play would be appreciated. " Mario moved to stand in front of John and put the tip of his sword to her mom's chest, looking at Kylie. "We will walk out of here. If you choose to not follow, or try anything foolish, I'll kill her. And with pleasure. "

  Kylie's mom let out a horrible sound, a cry of pure terror. When she glanced up, Kylie read the plea for forgiveness in her mother's eyes. She thought they were doomed, and Kylie wasn't so sure she was wrong.

  "I'll follow you," she said.

  And she did. She followed him down the hall and into the living room.

  Mario waved a hand and the furniture moved back, giving them the entire room to fight. Kylie had no idea where Mario got his powers, but she could guess it was from evil.

  "Give me a second, I want to enjoy the show. " John, dragging her mother with him, opened a drawer and pulled out a roll of duct tape and wrapped it around her wrists. Then he did the same with her ankles.

  Roughly, he pushed her down against the wall as she fought him and begged him to stop. His laugh rang out cruelly. He ripped off another piece of tape and put it over her mouth.

  Kylie watched in horror and fury, barely able to stop herself from leaping on the sorry excuse of a man and ripping out his black heart.

  Not now. Not yet. Patience, patience, the spirit whispered in Kylie's ear. There is a plan and you must follow it if you are to cheat death.

  Kylie didn't understand what the spirit meant, but she had no time to contemplate. The scream of the spirit warned her just in time of Mario's charge. She brought her sword down against his. The clatter sounded in her ears, but she barely heard it over the sound of the blood humming through her body.

  He came at her again, and Kylie responded blow for blow. Their swords clanked, clattered. Lucas would have been proud. But as good as she was at blocking his blows, she never got the chance to go on the offensive, she was too busy defending herself.

  While she never stopped to look, she could imagine her mother watching in horror. And while she tried not to listen, she heard the desperate screams, muffled by the tape.

  Help us. Kylie cried out the words in her heart, cried out to the death angels, to God, to anyone who might listen. In the distance, the howl of the half wolf/half dog broke through the air, as if he prayed for her as well.

  Don't lose sight of his sword. Watch him, he will move low this time. The spirit's orders came quick and fast. Kylie tried to listen, tried to forget that this was life or death. She took orders and listened to the sound of metal against metal.

  For one brief second, Kylie caught sight of Mario's face. He grinned as if he were simply toying with her. How long could she do this? How could she win?

  Don't stop believing in your gifts! the spirit called out.

  Then Kylie saw John appear behind his father with his own sword. Two against one? The memories of the Lucinda's vision filled her head. Yet only the slightest bit of fear entered Kylie's heart. No time to beafraid.

  Like Lucinda on the night she'd lost her life, Kylie didn't think of death, she simply fought. Fought with everything she had with a prayer on her lips.

  She watched in revulsion as John swung his arm back and thrust the sword into his own father's back.

  The end of his sword plunged through the man's chest. His shirt front darkened with blood around the extended blade. Mario's eyes turned bright green just before the life went out of them. A black wisp of fog-like smoke billowed out of the man's mouth.

  Kylie knew it was the man's soul-stained and evil from all his sins. Then the ugliest sound Kylie had ever heard bled into the air-like rats screeching and cockroaches feeding. Several shadowy beings, hell's minions, swept through the room and took Mario's black soul with them.

  John yanked the sword out, blood squirting from the hole in Mario's chest. With the sword no longer holding up his body, he crumbled to the floor.

  Death wasn't pretty.

  * * *

  Kylie stared at the body, her own sword held motionless before her. Why had John done this? Had she been wrong about him?

  When she glanced at the man's face, the cold smile he wore told her she'd been wrong about nothing.

  How fitting, the spirit said. You killed the man who killed your son. But not for our son. She moved closer to him, looking him in the eyes. Then her gaze shifted to Kylie. Don't trust him.

  "Why did you do that?" she asked John, keeping her sword poised to fight.

  "I've been waiting for him to die so I could take his place. This was just the opportunity I sought. "

  Kylie felt the despicableness in his gray eyes. "Now what?" she asked.

  "It's obvious, isn't it?" He smiled. "You have choices. Accept that you and your mother belong to me.

  You do what I say, your mother lives. You don't, and she dies. " He cast a glance at her mom, who stared up at him with hatred.

  "I think we'd both rather die," Kylie said, "but I don't plan on doing that right now
. "

  "You think you can best me? You are nothing but a child with powers you can't even control. "

  He came at her with fierce swiftness. His sword moving in and out. She could barely keep up.

  Go left. Now right. The spirit yelled instructions.

  Kylie fought to defend herself. Her sword came down, but his came faster. She felt the razor-sharp edge slice into her left forearm. The sting and the blood followed.

  She didn't slow down. She couldn't. To slow down, to take her eyes off his sword for one second, would mean death.

  For her.

  For her mom.

  Then she felt the cold, a familiar cold of her father. He was here. But was it to help her, or take her with him?

  A loud crash sounded somewhere nearby. She forced herself not to think or to focus on anything but the fight.

  Then a low ugly growl vibrated in the room. She saw the wolf leap up from across the room. His mouthopened, his teeth exposed, as if ready to tear into flesh. Her friend had come to fight with her.

  Recognition hit in a flash.

  This was not the half-wolf outside.

  The wolf flying in the air toward John was Lucas.

  John swung his sword toward the new threat, ready to pierce Lucas's chest.

  Using every ounce of strength she had, feeling her blood hot with the need to protect, she brought her sword down on his, knocking it from the man's hands. John roared with fury, dodged Lucas, and reached again for his sword.

  Before he got to it, Kylie got to him. She buried her sword into his side. She pulled the weapon out and started to go at him again.

  He collapsed.

  His body shook.

  He gasped for air.

  Blood dripped from the tip of Kylie's sword.

  Kylie looked at Lucas, his eyes ablaze, his teeth still barred.

  Then, just as before, the hideous sounds filled the room as the devil sent his own to collect the dirty soul that seeped from John's mouth.

  Dropping her sword, Kylie felt soiled for taking a life. Then she swung around to her mom, who still lay staring at the scene. The realization came quickly. She hadn't taken a life, she had saved one.

  Dropping down on her knees, she struggled to get the tape off her mom's mouth.

  Lucas, in all his wolf beauty, moved toward her. Her mom squirmed as if in fear of the wolf. Lucas brushed against Kylie's side, met her gaze briefly, then turned and left. Kylie remembered again what his grandmother had said. You are part of his quest, and he yours.

  "Mom," Kylie said. "It's going to be okay. " She finished pulling the tape from her mom's mouth.

  Her mom's scream bounced off the walls.

  "It's okay," Kylie said again. "It's okay. Now, be still so I can get the tape off of you. "

  As soon as Kylie took the tape off her mom's wrists, she grabbed Kylie and held her. Held her hard and long. "This is the worst dream I've ever had. "

  Kylie pulled back and debated what to say, but then just nodded and ripped the tape from her mom's ankles. Her mom curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth, as if just waiting to wake up.

  Kylie looked back at the two bodies. She needed to call the police, didn't she? She glanced back at her mom and wondered how it would play out with her spouting out things about dreams and wolves.

  Then Kylie remembered, she might have come here alone, but she had friends. She grabbed her phone and started punching in Burnett's number. Right before her finger hit the call button, another noise filled the room. A soft comforting sound. The sound of trickling water. The sound of the falls. The warm feeling, the sense of rightness, of justice, filled Kylie's chest.

  The moment of peacefulness was shattered when her mom screamed again, her eyes focused on something behind Kylie.

  "He . . . What? How?" Her mom started scooting back.

  Kylie swung around, grabbing her sword as she did, and praying it was her mom's panic talking.

  She was wrong.