…and the love.”
The bastard grinned so grotesquely, it momentarily erased his physical beauty.
“As I said before, you did not need to fall in love with her for me to receive ultimate satisfaction in my vengeance. All you needed was to delude yourself into believing you had an attainable goal so I could watch the hope drain from your eyes as I took it from you. But you made the deadly mistake of falling in love. Now not only will I see the light of hope vanish from your soul, I will see it replaced by agony.”
I lunged for him, but he merely slapped me down before standing up, laughing uproariously.
“Don’t take it so hard, Shadow,” he said when the laughter died down. “Deep down you knew you could never protect her from me. In fact, you should thank me. After you watch me throw her into the Lazarus Pit, you will be cleansed of lies and delusions forever. And then I will grant your ultimate wish: death.”
He left, and I wondered if the hatred and pain roaring through my system would destroy me before he threw Mercedes into…
I clutched my head, wanting to crush my own skull. Wanting to sob, to howl, to rip my own heart out. Mercedes thrown into the Lazarus Pit. Infant Evanescence eating her alive.
Wait, a small voice within me pleaded.
Evanescence.
Blackhole.
He couldn’t protect her or hide her, but what if it wasn’t too late? What if she had already gathered the evidence of Xavier murdering a priest? Could she still upload it to the vampire Internet? Not without help, no. Not without the aid of another vampire.
My mind cleared somewhat as a final thread of hope wormed its way into my soul. I closed my eyes and focused.
Blackhole. Hear me, my friend. Hear me!
Weakened as I was, my call was feeble. I had ensured long ago that the bond on my side was not as strong. If it were, he would have come running to my aide whenever I was in danger. He would have denied me the honorable death I so craved.
I was selfish, I was a coward. I was an utter fool. But Mercedes would not pay.
Blackhole. Hear me!
I continued for over an hour. And just as despair was about to consume me again…
Shadow?
My sigh of relief nearly came out as a sob.
***
Mercedes
Though I could only meet Shadow at night, I found myself very jittery during school the next day. The information on my comm held the salvation of my love and I. I just needed to get it into the hands of the right people.
As Mrs. Ortiz, my Spanish teacher, lectured about verb conjugation, I glanced around the classroom. Sam and Nadine were here, and so were a lot of classmates I liked, even though I wouldn’t call them my real friends. I etched their faces in my mind, even the ones I almost never spoke to.
The information on my comm probably held their salvation as well. Should Xavier discover this was the school I went to, I knew he would tear the entire place apart and murder everyone who got in his way just to get to me.
It’s not just for Shadow and me, I thought. This is for you. Every single one of you. I’ll do everything in my power to protect you. I swear it.
When class ended, I quickly walked out, but Sam and Nadine easily caught up to me.
“Mercedes is anything wrong?” Sam asked with concern. “You’ve been very distracted lately. We’re both worried about you.”
Nadine may be a bit of a gossip at times, but she was also very considerate of other people’s feelings. She looked like she wanted to blurt out my secret, but after glancing at Sam, she ducked her head looking slightly ashamed.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” I assured him.
Inwardly, I was tormented. I had battled with the desire to tell them everything since my world was turned upside down, but I knew I couldn’t. Maybe…maybe after Xavier was dead I could contemplate telling them. I trusted Sam and Nadine with everything. They would never do anything to hurt me. Maybe a day would come when I wouldn’t have to lie to them anymore.
But in the meantime, I had to focus on protecting them.
By the time I came home, I was so nervous I wanted to spend the next hour just pacing to relieve my anxiety. My hand, in response to a recently acquired routine, brushed the scar on my neck at least every minute. I told Natalie I had a lot of work to do, so she didn’t insist on me eating in the dining area. I briefly glanced at the tray by my desk, which was loaded to the brim with steaming lasagna, a salad containing every color of the rainbow, iced tea, and a variety of side dishes and desserts.
“Eat at least a bite, Miss Mercedes. You know you have to keep your strength up for what’s to come.”
“I can’t, Lulu, I’ll bring it right back up,” I insisted. I wasn’t lying. My nervousness had robbed me of any feelings of hunger. I could only spare a moment of guilt that all of that food would go to waste.
Instead of eating, I double and triple checked my information. If what Shadow said about the importance of priests in vampire society was true, then Xavier’s life was now literally in my hands. I bit my lip knowing that I should find it in me to at least pity him. I knew in my heart that the royal family would put him through unspeakable torment before they ended his life, but I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much he had tormented Shadow.
No. Xavier did not deserve pity. He deserved to know what it was like to be at the mercy of people who were far more powerful than he was.
The scar on my neck grew warm.
“Good luck, Mercedes.”
“Thanks, Lulu.” I paused briefly and looked at the ceiling where I knew Lulu was watching. “If for some reason I don’t make it back…”
“Your letters to your friends and family are utterly safe with me. They may never know what happened to you, but they will know how much you love them.”
I swallowed, but didn’t allow any tears to fall as I ran to the back door, comm in hand. When I reached the patio, I looked wildly around.
“Shadow?”
Only the soft breeze replied. After a minute, I began to grow apprehensive, especially when my scar began to grow cooler.
“Shadow?”
My next call was louder, but he still didn’t answer. A cold feeling of foreboding began to grow in my gut. I flicked on a comm light and entered the forest. As I walked, I called Shadow’s name louder and louder each time. Just as I was starting to feel a very real fear, a band of steel grabbed me around the middle from behind. A hand covered my mouth before I could scream.
“Shhhh,” a soothing voice whispered in my ear. “Don’t be afraid. I’m a friend. Shadow sent me.”
I didn’t relax entirely. Even though he was holding me in a relatively gentle grip, this could still be one of Xavier’s men trying to trick me.
“If I let you go, will you promise not to run or scream?”
Not having any choice, I nodded.
He let me go, and I immediately took a step back and whirled around.
Even if I hadn’t gotten a taste of his strength, I never would have assumed that the creature in front of me was a young boy in his mid-teens. While his eyes weren’t as ruthless as Shadow’s, they were filled with a wisdom that I could tell had been gained at a terrible price. His skin was pale, but his features were clearly African. His attire was similar to Shadow’s, but his lethal poise promised an unforgettable wake-up call should any ignorant soul dare call him a child playing at being a warrior. He was a warrior.
“Mercedes Strand?” His voice had the same melodious quality as Shadow’s, but his tone was smoother and calmer.
I nodded once, still very wary.
“My name is Brandon.” He held out his hand and we briefly shook. “I was told to find you.”
“By Shadow?” I whispered.
“Not exactly.” He held out his arms. “You need to come with me to the vampire world. It’s the last place Xavier will think you are. I’ll explain everything when we get there.”
“What’s happened?” I demanded. “Wher
e’s Shadow? Why are you—?”
He grabbed my arms, holding them tight enough not to hurt me, but to halt my speech. “Mercedes, we need to go now,” he snapped.
Forcing down my indignation and anxiety, I permitted him to carry me to the wall that Shadow had always used to take me to those wonderful places.
Shadow.
Where was he? Was he all right? Did Xavier have him?
Several times, I had to bite my tongue in order to make myself stay quiet. When Brandon set me on my feet, we were in a room that was even smaller than Shadow’s living area, but it didn’t have a dark or lonely feel. In fact, we weren’t the only ones in the room.
“Brandon?” A tall woman with shoulder-length blonde hair had been kneeling with her eyes closed before an exotic statue, but she immediately got up when she saw me. “Is this a willing one?”
“She isn’t dinner, Morgan,” Brandon said sternly. “This is the one who saved Shadow’s life.”
The woman, Morgan, laughed, but it died when she saw the seriousness on Brandon’s face. “Shadow would never allow anyone to save his life, let alone a human,” she countered.
“Mercedes.” Brandon turned his attention back to me. “Shadow said you found incriminating evidence against Xavier. Is that true?”
I nodded and pulled out my comm. “Can you translate these messages? They’re written in some elite vampire code I can’t understand.”
Brandon held the comm to his eye. I doubt even a minute passed before his face paled to a marble white that almost put Shadow’s complexion to shame. His hand trembled as he lowered the comm to his side.
“We need to send this to every vampire in existence.”
I didn’t question him about what the messages translated into. I didn’t have to.
“That will take too long,” I said. “Shadow’s in danger, isn’t he?”
Brandon nodded grimly. “Xavier has him.”
Forcing down my panic, I spoke in a controlled voice. “Then get me to a vampire computer.”
*******
Chapter 5
Lord, you choose your angel very well
Her light shall tame the darkest hell
A thousand paths her feet shall walk
Oh sacred key, unbreakable lock
Brandon
So this is her, was my first thought when I encountered Mercedes Strand. This is the human girl who saved Shadow’s life. The human girl whom Shadow allowed to save his life.
The human girl who saved Shadow from himself.
She was no ordinary human, I could tell. She had an inner strength and beauty that was rare among humans. I could see why Shadow would be so drawn to her. She had saved him from his self-loathing, and I fully believed she could save his life, even from an elite as powerful and evil as Xavier.
I did as she ordered and gave her access to a vampire computer. Morgan stood beside me, shooting me incredulous looks every now and then as I answered Mercedes’ numerous questions about our technology. Her respect for the intelligence of humans wasn’t as great as my own, and I knew she highly doubted this young mortal could spread a message throughout the entire vampire network.
“I don’t need to send it through the entire network,” Mercedes said in response to a sarcastic comment from Morgan. “In fact, if I could just send it to a few vampires, Xavier will be doomed.”
“Of course,” I whispered. “Send it to a few vampires, so they can send it to a few, and so on.”
“The beauty of the Internet,” Mercedes said, continuing to type. “I’m already pretty deep into the vampire network, so—”
“What!?” Morgan exclaimed. She pushed passed me and stared at the computer screen. Her eyes went wide.
“By Lord Chaos…how could you possibly…you’re just a human!”
“Brandon’s been guiding me,” Mercedes said in a distracted voice as she continued to type. “And this network has the same basic structure as the one in the human world, even if it’s more complex.”
“But you’ve been on here for barely an hour!”
“My memory’s good. And I learn fast.”
The look Morgan gave me demanded an explanation as to who exactly this human was. But being that I didn’t know myself, I couldn’t give an answer that would satisfy her.
“You can send your evidence to these locations.” I pointed at the screen. “If you—”
A loud crash coming from the living room followed by the sound of heavy footsteps.
“I’ll hold them off!” I said to Mercedes, knowing full well who the invaders were. “Keep at it!”
“I will,” Mercedes swore, her eyes burning with determination.
“I’ll fight by your side, love.” Morgan reached for her blade. “You’d better not fail, mortal, else I’ll drain every last drop of blood from you!” she hissed at Mercedes.
I went to meet Xavier’s soldiers. There were seven of them, all fully armored. They paused when Morgan and I came through the doorway.
“Stand aside, Harijans,” the leader snarled, his voice harsh and grating from the synthesizer. “We will get what we want, one way or another.”
They would spare us if we stood aside, I knew. Inferior as Morgan and I were in terms of class, our skills were something to be respected and feared. These soldiers wanted to live to be rewarded for their loyalty. Morgan and I could live too if we just let them take Mercedes.
Decisions like this were not foreign to me. In fact, I sometimes faced them several times in one day. The price was always the same: my pride. All I had to do was sacrifice a certain amount of it and I would live. The elites would torture me, they would humiliate me, and they always let me walk away if I were compliant.
But this time I was filled with something that set the very depths of my soul on fire. I knew then and there that Shadow’s dream of freedom had never been futile. I was more of a coward than he ever was for resigning myself to a miserable existence of torture and prejudice. This was the day I stopped being a coward. This was the moment that would define me.
I raised my blade at the leader.
“As will we,” I uttered before charging.
***
Mercedes
The crashes and battle cries that thundered from the other rooms would have been more than enough to make me falter, but my mind had long sunk into the mechanical state that resulted from continuous hacking. My nerves were on fire, sweat poured down my face. My heart threatened to burst from my chest, but I would do this. I would not fail. I would not fail my friends, my family, or my love.
Here. Brandon had said to upload the information here. All right. Easy enough. Within a few keystrokes, the files were sent out. But I had to get them to as many vampires as possible. I had to use up every moment Brandon and Morgan were buying for me.
I never took my eyes off the computer screen. The only way they got me to stop typing was to knock me out.
I awoke to darkness, the scent of my own blood, and a demon towering over me.
“Hello, Mercedes.”
When I found the strength to lift my head, I instantly wanted to look away from him. Physically, he was breathtakingly beautiful, but the evil that radiated from him made me want to choke.
“Xavier,” I croaked.
He smiled. “I see I don’t have to waste time introducing myself then. Good. I abhor wasting time. And we have far more important matters to deal with.”
I managed to sit up. I was in a cell that felt more like a torture chamber despite the utter barrenness of the room. Distant moans and screams rang through the air without pause. Was Shadow’s voice among them?
“What have you done with Shadow?” I demanded in my still very raspy voice.
“Your Harijan lover’s fear for you is now at its peak,” Xavier stated. “So I will permit you to join him.”
Two guards dressed head to foot in armor so frightening it would put Darth Vader to shame grabbed my arms and led me through the corridors of hell. I shut my eyes agai
nst the screams, the moans, and the pleas of those around me. They made me face my own terror and growing awareness of my mortality. The power of the creatures that held me captive was beyond my puny imagination. They could snuff me out at any time, but they wanted my pain first. And the pain of the one I loved.
A cell door opened and they shoved me inside, though I managed to stay on my feet. The door closed, and I was plunged into an almost pitch black darkness. I could barely make out the broken form lying on the icy floor.
At my approach, pale blue eyes opened. They shone like stars.
“Mercedes.”
His voice was broken, hoarse. A stark contrast from the deep, melodious tones that had always enchanted me. But it was him. I ran to him and fell to my knees, embracing him as hard as I could. He was very weak, but he returned my embrace with such force that my ribs groaned in protest.
“Mercedes,” he rasped. “Mercedes, Mercedes…”
“Shadow,” I whispered in turn. I couldn’t stop the tears, but I did all I could to stop the sobs. It was difficult, but I had to stay strong. He sounded so relieved, but so filled with despair at the same time.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if an hour passed when he pulled away. He examined my face and I examined his; gaunt and starved, but at last I could see love in those predatory eyes. Love and tenderness.
“Were you harmed?”
“Oh, who gives a damn about a few cuts and bruises, Shadow?” My voice nearly broke as I all but shouted the question. I looked down at his body. His clothing was torn, and the skin underneath was either bruised, cut, or bleeding. “God, what has that monster been doing to you?”
“Nothing I do not deserve, I assure you.”