I looked at Cindy and then at Gabe before closing my eyes. "I couldn't save him," I said in a voice that wasn't my own. "I tried. I did. Kenmei said, use love. I swear, I tried."Gabe knelt on the other side. "Who?""Dorian," I whispered. "He protected me, all of us, but he's gone. I don't know where." The words came out choppy and garbled, but I couldn't make myself stop crying."It's okay. You're okay," he said, but I heard the anguish in his voice. Cindy pulled me into a hug. "It isn't your fault, Snow."But that wasn't true. It was my fault.I thought of dying. Would there be rest? Could I shut out the agony? The way Dorian looked at me. His kiss. What he did. Saved me. Saved us all. Abernathy's words to Dorian rang in my mind: "Very few have the capacity to love like you.""Where could he be?" I wailed."Let's get her out of here," Gabe said to Cindy, and I felt his hands pull me into his arms."My mom?" I asked as they pulled me from the rubble."She's alive. They brought her
"Home is where your heart can flourish." My mom used to say those words to me when I was a child. As Abernathy circled Professor Pops' sprawling mansion, my heart clenched. After I told Professor Pops and the brothers what happened with Dorian, would they continue to let this be my home?From the air, I made out the little cottage-type house I lived in with my mom and dad, and then my dad and stepmother. Happy memories sprang to mind. Like the times my mom would bake cookies while she hummed the latest popular song. Or when she would let me help her plant flowers in the spring and fall. The house where I grew up was minuscule compared to Professor Pops' extensive grounds and house. Through the dark, I was able to distinguish the tennis court and putting green. Behind the mansion, which seemed somehow larger from the sky, lay a sculpted, manicured lawn, and a rectangular pool - lit and giving off a cyan glow.If I hadn't left my mother in captivity in Mizu and Dorian dead, I would
When I was sure Christopher was gone, I hurried back to Abernathy. He smacked his lips and opened one eye. "Awww, young love." He paused. "We both know it isn't real." I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. It wasn't his place to say anything. After Dorian's kiss - the love that had surrounded me, filled me - I knew the dragon was right. But Dorian was dead. "Love is dense," Abernathy continued.I snorted; grateful I could jump on his unusually lousy comment. "That's romantic."A laugh resounded in his throat. "What I mean is, real love, is more than what you see, what you feel, in the moment.""Really?" I asked with thick sarcasm, but I was interested. It wasn't like I ever had someone to talk to about love."Certainly," he said with a wink. "Think about a lush forest, rich with all manner of foliage. A person could spend eons discovering its secrets and still not find them all. It's the same with love. True love, anyway." He gave me a pointed look. "Deep, abiding love is discove
"Kenmei," I whispered, bewildered. "What happened to Abernathy?""Take my hand," he insisted.I shook my head. "Where's the dragon?" Had Kenmei killed him? Was everything the vampire queen said about him right? Was Kenmei evil?"Shiryo-san, it's me," he said and crouched, so we were level. His eyes flashed, and the endlessness that was in Kenmei's eyes vanished. Instead, his eyes glowed amber.Abernathy's eyes."That's impossible.""Not impossible. Let me show you." He held out his hand again. Nervously I took it, and he pulled me to my feet."Does Pro - Adam Henry know?" I asked, searching his face, trying to see Abernathy in there. Even though the dragon was a hundred times my size, I felt more at ease with him than I ever felt with Kenmei."Yes, he knows. After so many years, how could he not? Even the vampire queen knows."I raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?" And then I understood. The vampire queen had bitten him, changed him. He was the first hunter. She tasted his blood, probably
"I'm not kidding. Even now, I can remember the love that beat in their tiny hearts for her."I saw the look on his face and knew he wasn't. Even I sort of loved her now. Her words swayed in my head and filled my heart. "Does she possess magic?" I asked, shocked I could be twitterpated after a few seconds of hearing her sing."Yes, Shiryo-san. Aurora was the first enchantress, though she didn't know it. Her song bewitched all who heard her but not to the extent that I lost control of myself. Her magic awoke my amorous feelings, and I wanted to experience them. With her. So, I took on this form and became Kenmei.""Did it work?" I asked, surprised. "Did she love you back?"His brow furrowed, and pain changed his expression."I'm sorry," I said.He cleared his throat. "Don't be. Though she didn't return my love, we became great friends. Even after she married, we often visited together. I taught her how to use her magic. And she assisted in creating the book your friend Cindy keeps. The E
I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, put my long hair in a ponytail, dressed in jeans and a red tee-shirt, and put on my red Converse. When I finished, I went to the bed and stared at the star on the floor beside it. I was still a teenager, still not a high school graduate, yet none of it mattered. I had a plan. It was simple. Find a way into Sharra. Speak to the vampire queen, and if she wouldn't listen, destroy her with the Seal. Once that was finished, if I was still alive, I would have Abernathy take me to Mizu, where I would rescue my mother and bring her home. She and I could live in the little house next door. The one I grew up in. It would be perfect, and everything else, including school and life, would fall into place.Gatsby climbed on my lap. I scratched behind his ears. "I'm going to fix it. Promise." The cat purred in response before jumping off the bed and leaving the room.Taking a deep breath, I followed him until I reached the kitchen. There, I opened cabinets an
At the castle gates, I said goodbye to Ryden. With as much confidence as I could muster, I used the Seal to melt the wrought iron portcullis before stepping through. I expected to see guards or be rushed by Sharra's drone vampires. But there wasn't a single living creature around. With each step, I realized there wasn't a sound except the clop of my Converse on the cobblestone walk. It was eerie, and I steeled myself for whatever came next.When I reached the large front entrance, I thought of knocking, but pushed that aside and I threw open the doors. Sharra stood in the entryway, waiting for me. "How lovely of you to come, Snow White. Although, if you had any manners, you would've knocked." "I guess I don't have any," I said, trying to sound tough. Nervous jitters fluttered inside my stomach. I took my stance, my feet apart and my shoulders squared. My hands were at my sides, poised to strike if necessary. Sharra didn't move, almost like she was made of stone. It was like one of
"You are a senseless, foolish girl, Snow White," Sharra said quietly. Her eyes were still closed, but her words tore through me and held on like a vise. When her eyes finally flashed open, they blazed with fury. "How about I start killing the marked now? Liberate them from their miserable lives." As she spoke, three of the girls fell forward, out of the sheet of magic surrounding them."Noooo!" I yelled, rushing over to the nearest body. I knew before I reached her that she would be dead, but I had to try anyway. Her face was frozen in terror, eyes wide as though they witnessed horrors even in passing. I felt for a pulse on her neck, but she didn't have one. Nausea rose in my throat.The remaining girls screamed and tried, once again, to escape. But the magic held them fast. Each tear, every cry of pain, tore at my insides. More senseless death, I thought.I moved over to the next girl, hoping against hope she still lived and checked for a pulse. Nothing. "Listen to them die. Their s
That night, after all of the festivities were over and we said our goodbyes, Troy and I went back to the small house that used to be my mother's. Now that Sharra was no longer a threat, the chayot set up a meeting between several of the heads of different countries in the human realm and me. There, with the help of the chayot, we discussed relaxing the laws for supernaturals. Together we came to an agreement and I created a magical system with the help of Heathcliff and several other human scientists. After much discussion, I became aware of the KPID, a supernatural government agency known as the King's Paranormal Inquiries Division. The organization had been tracking supernaturals for hundreds of years, at first in the United Kingdom, but in the mid seventeen hundreds, they'd moved over to America as well. Given access to the KPID's super top secret information, I was able to update and strengthen the magic already in place as well as add some newer, more technical attributes with He
"Are you ready?" I asked. We were standing outside on my balcony. I took Troy's hand as my wings fluttered behind me. My engagement ring sparkled in the midday light and I couldn't help but admire it. Troy had asked Jesse and the gargoyles to create the ring for me. A thick platinum band with vines filigreed on either side leading to the center where sat a delicate jasmine flower made of diamonds and blue topaz."Are you sure you can do this?" Troy was teasing me, pretending to be nervous about me flying him around Sharra. "There's only one way to find out," I said, and leaped into the air. Troy whooped out a holler as he clung to my hands, his body dangling below."Don't drop him, Jasmine. It isn't every day you find someone crazy enough to fall for you," Abrea said beside me, her pixilette wings fluttering gracefully. "True." I laughed and the action felt really good."Jasmine? We need to leave for the wedding," my mom called from back in my room. I rolled my eyes and glanced at
Before I knew it, I was laughing as tears of joy leaked onto my cheeks. He set me on the ground and pushed my hair out of my face, then cupped it in his hands. "I love you vampire girl." "You do?" I believed him, but needed reassurance as my hands curled around his wrists. "More than I believed it was possible to love." He bent his head and gently touched his lips to mine, his eyes still open and on me. I kissed him back, as a gurgle of happiness shot through me. The sweet kiss turned hot and needy. I loved him and wanted him and didn't care who knew it. He pressed my mouth open, deepening our kiss as his arms went around my waist and he lifted me off the ground. "Hey you two?" It was my Mom. I froze and opened my eyes. Troy was watching me again. "Should we tell them?" he asked. I knew he was talking about our engagement. "Now's as good a time as any," I said as he set me on my feet. Troy took my hand and I turned to face the group. "We have an announcement," he said. The
"Do not do this," Christopher said, a look of complete disbelief on his injured face. "You have the power within you to destroy her. You know you do. So why?" I couldn't explain. But I hoped one day he and the rest would understand. If I failed, Laeddin could tell them the truth about the Unknowns, what they had planned. In the end my family would see I made the best choice. The only choice."Silence, Hunter. I'll deal with your insubordination later," Sharra said, sending a bolt of magic at Christopher. He was thrown back, landing against the other side of the cell before falling to the ground with a groan. Chris bared his fangs in anger and jumped to his feet, though slower than expected. "Hurt them and the deal is off," I seethed, facing her, my hands in fists at my sides. She gave me an innocent look. "I didn't do any permanent damage." She crossed her arms, sauntering toward me. "Now then, let's do this."I swallowed, forcing myself to remain calm. My plan would work. It had t
Determination weighed my shoulders down as I traversed the inkiness. As I went, I called out in my mind, using the magic within me to speak with Silindra and Laeddin. At once, my mind was there, in Laeddin's realm, in his library full of books. He and Silindra were there, standing close, reading something aloud. "Laeddin," I said. Laeddin glanced at me, or rather, my mental presence. Silindra looked up as well. "Is it just me or am I seeing Jasmine?" Surprise flickered across her too lovely face. "I see her too - somehow." Laeddin reached out, but his fingers couldn't touch me. I was there, but not really there. "I'm going to Sharra," I said, and looked from Laeddin to Silindra. "The darkness will swallow the earth soon. There is no more time. I need your help now. Please find me." "We're coming, Jasmine," Laeddin said, and took Silindra's hand. Were they a couple now? There was no time to figure it out. Silindra said, "Watch out for my sister. She's tricky.""I will," I said, a
Now that we had nothing to fear, Lirle and I moved quickly and undeterred toward the stronghold. As we went, Lirle talked more about the dragon she liked as well as growing up in the dragon realm. Hearing her talk, I couldn't help but admire the Hollow. It was stark and vast and though it wasn't blooming with all manner of flowers like Sharra, it still held beauty. That night as we rested and ate under a canopy of trees, I was able to witness one of the wonders of her realm. Here, the forest stirred to life at night. Everything seemed to possess a bioluminescence. Trees whose leaves were pink during the day glowed a soft white, like millions of fireflies covered them. Animals I hadn't known were there, insects and little creatures that reminded me of spider monkeys, lit up as well. It was beautiful and a little terrifying. "Why does it do this?" I asked, mesmerized. Lirle took another bite of whatever she was eating. Her lips were luminescent blue like the spider monkeys and I force
He looked up and for the briefest moment, I thought he was staring right at me. No longer angry, but still unsure. Troy spoke: I love you, too, Jazz. He stopped speaking and adjusted his weight, sitting up straighter. They added: Someone is coming. He closed his eyes and pretended to be sleeping. His cell door cranked open and a female voice spoke. "I brought you a friend. Try not to kill each other." Christopher stumbled into the room before turning and flashing his fangs. "You touch me like that again and you won't live to tell anyone about it." His hands were behind his back and black magic held his wrists together. The person he spoke to laughed. It was Sharra.I focused on Troy. His eyes burned into Chris like he would kill him. To Troy, I begged: Please remember, Chris is on our side. He believes in our love too. When Sharra forced me to kiss him, Chris stopped me and freed me from her magic. He's changed and he can help.I hoped that was true. As much as I trusted Chris
"How nice to see you, Lirle." The voice came from a gray dragon with blood red eyes. His sharp and pointy teeth glistened like they held their own light. Huge talons clamped around Lirle from behind, holding her like a sharpened straight jacket. She gasped and struggled but couldn't move. Her captor's clutches were bigger than Lirle's body. The first dragon looked at me. "And you are Jasmine, heir to Sharra and an original vampire. But where are your wings?" He opened his mouth and I thought he intended to burn me to a crisp. Instead his tongue came out and he licked me. Tasting. "Strange," he said. "Gross." I wiped my cheek with the sleeve of my shirt. It occurred to me he was speaking like Abernathy did, with his mouth and not in my mind like Lirle. Perhaps speaking aloud was a skill that came with age. The first dragon pushed through the trees, causing them to snap and break. Then he pounded his tail on the ground several times in a rhythmic fashion while lifting his head. He ro
Lirle took to the air, her attention on the direction where the sound came from. Her whole body trembled. "You're frightened. What is it?" I asked, fighting my own nerves. Lirle's eyes bore into mine and her terror shone brightly as she said: We're too late. The Ondror's magic is upon us. Listen carefully. A dragon's magic comes from the soul. Our greatest weapon is using the weaknesses of our enemy against them by showing them what they fear most. She flew over to the stream before coming back to me and pointing with one claw. Lirle asked: Do you see the soul magic coming?I followed her gaze and squinted until I saw the blackness, traveling like a deadly mist through the trees, and heading right for us. "Can we outrun it?" She shook her head and said: No. It's everywhere. She spun in a circle and I followed her. Lirle was right. It was coming from every direction, like we had a homing beacon on us. She met my gaze and said: You see? Whatever happens, whatever you experience o