Not here, Zeke muttered weakly. Dont know...where he is now. Think he mightve gone ahead to Eden....
The last ropes parted, and he slumped forward, nearly falling out of the chair. I caught him around the waist and pulled him upright, steadying us both.
Zeke gazed down at me, his face so familiar, his hair falling jaggedly over his forehead. Our eyes met, and he offered a faint, familiar smile, exhausted, pained, but full of hope. My throat closed, and with a little sob, I collapsed against him, burying my face in his shirt. He murmured my name, and I closed my eyes, feeling him, solid and real, against me. The last time Id seen him, held him like this, was in New Covington. Where, in the safety of Prince Salazars tower, Id kissed Zeke and promised I would go back to Eden with him. Before Sarren had returned and stolen him away. Before I was forced to listen to the awful sounds of his torture. His screams and sobs and pleas for Sarren to kill him, before his wish was finally granted.
Or so Id thought.
I cant believe youre here, I whispered, feeling one arm slide around me, the other reach for something at the small of his back. I thought Sarren killed you.
He did.
His voice sounded strange now, cold and flat. Puzzled, I tried to pull back, but his arm tightened like a steel band, holding me close. He was strong, much stronger than I remembered. Putting both hands on his chest, I started to push him away, but stopped in horror as my nerves prickled a terrified warning.
Zeke...had no heartbeat.
Chilled, I looked up, into his face. I could see myself reflected in his eyes, as he gave me a familiar, too-bright starethe gaze of a predatorand smiled.
He told me to say hello, Zeke whispered, his fangs gleaming inches from my throat.
And he plunged a blade into my chest.
Part II
LOST
Chapter 7
Part II
LOST
Chapter 7
I gave a soundless gasp and lurched back from Zeke, my hand going to my chest. He watched impassively, blue eyes cold, the hint of a smile still on his face. I found the hilt of something poking between my breasts and grasped it, sending a ripple of agony through me. Clenching my jaw, I gathered my will and pulled. The knife slid back through my chest, ripping and slicing, and I screamed as it came free.
Shaking, grasping the hilt with limp fingers, I looked up at the boy who had haunted me every day since before New Covington. The boy who had seen past the monster and the demon to the girl beneath, and hadnt been afraid to love her. The boy whod once begged me never to Turn him, who had made me promise to let him go. To let him die...as a human.
Whats wrong, vampire girl? Zeke whispered, stepping forward. He smiled, fangs glinting in the shadows, his voice cold and mocking as he approached. Arent you happy to see me?
Z-Zeke. I staggered away from him, fighting to stay on my feet. Pain blazed through my center, agony making it difficult to move, even as I felt myself healing. The knife dropped to the floor with a clatter, leaving a spray of crimson over the broken glass. What...happened to you?
I died, Zeke said, in a way that made my skin crawl. Flat and blunt, like he was discussing the weather. I died, and Sarren brought me back. His lips twisted in a cruel, mocking grin. Why, Allie? What did you think happened?
I was too horrified to answer. This...this was all wrong. This couldnt be Zeke. No, I whispered, backing away from him. Zeke, dont you recognize me? He cocked his head with a patronizing look, as if I was being ridiculous. Desperate, I stammered on, frantic to fix this, to snap him out of it. Do you remember...us? Me and Kanin and Jackal, fighting Sarren, trying to stop his new virus? Do you remember being human?
I remember pain, Zeke said softly. I remember there was blood, and pain, and darkness. And then...nothing. He blinked, seeming to shake himself from a trance, smiling again as he turned to me. But we all started out human, didnt we, vampire girl? I dont need to remember that life, because that human is dead now.
No, I choked, shaking my head. No, Zeke, you dont mean that.
Walking to a shelf beside the counter, Zeke reached up and pulled out a familiar blade, his machete, then regarded the weapon intently. A tiny furrow creased his brow, as if he was remembering. I sang for Sarren, he whispered, and everything inside me went cold. I sang and I sang, until I died. And Sarren gave me a new purpose, a new song. But the requiem isnt over yet.
Turning his head, he gave me a chilling stare, one that was instantly familiar. Terror lanced through me as I saw Sarren gazing at me through Zekes eyes.
This is your melody, vampire girl, Zeke said, his quiet, lilting voice making my skin crawl. Tonight is your final performance. He smiled, and it turned my blood to ice. Sing for me, Allie, he crooned, in a voice that was all too familiar. Sing for us, and make it a glorious song.
I staggered away from him as he stepped forward with a demonic grin, eyes and fangs bright. My katana was still on the floor beside the chair, and a part of me knew I should grab it, but I was in so much pain, and nothing seemed real. My mind was screaming denials, my body was trying desperately to heal itself, and all I could do was back away as the thing that looked like Zeke came closer.
Zeke, please. I continued to back away. It still hurt to move, but my wound was smaller now, and I could walk without feeling like I might collapse. That pain was nothing, however, compared to the anguish clawing at my insides as I faced Zeke. The blank look in his eyes made me want to scream, but I swallowed my despair and tried to speak calmly. I dont...want to fight you. Not after everything. Not after...
Pain shot through me as I stumbled on a loose plank and nearly fell. Gritting my teeth, I pressed a hand to my bleeding chest, keeping my gaze on the vampire slowly pressing me back. An evil smile crossed his face. I was weaker than him right now, in pain, and his vampire instincts were goading him to attack, to take advantage of a wounded opponent. I remembered my Zeke: brave, determined, compassionate. The boy who hadnt let the fact that I was a vampire scare him away, who had offered his heart to a monster, because he could see the human inside. The only living being I would ever open myself up to, because Id trusted him. Because Id known he would never hurt me.
To see him like this crushed something deep inside. I felt broken, as if my soul had shattered like a mirror, and the pieces were cutting me from within. I stared into the face of the boy Id once known, and for the first time, I wished he was dead. I wished he was dead, my memories of him intact and unbrokenso that I didnt have to remember him like this. As the monster hed vowed never to become.
Zeke, please, dont do this, I whispered, feeling something hot slide down my cheek. What about Caleb, and Bethany, and Jeb? What about Eden?
Zeke shook his head. Its too late, Allison, he whispered, trapping me in a corner. Broken metal frames pressed against my back, and the cold night wind tossed my hair through the opening. Zeke regarded me without emotion. All I remember of that life is pain, he said, almost in a daze. I sang, I died, and Sarren brought me back. He raised his machete, the blade and his fangs gleaming in the shadows. And now, Im going to destroy you, Allie, because he wanted it to be me. He wanted you to see me tear the heart from your chest and crush it in my fist. It will be poetically ironic, he said, whatever that means. So, take a good look, vampire girl, before I kill you. Zeke paused, and Sarrens evil smile crossed his face again, his eyes going blank. Or should I say...little bird?
That jolted me out of my trance. I threw myself to the side as Zekes blade came whipping down to sink into the wall behind me. I hit the ground, rolled to my feet to face him, and barely dodged the next blow as Zeke lunged in with a snarl, slashing viciously. The machete blade passed inches from my head; as I jerked back, it sliced a shallow cut across my cheek. He was much faster than I remembered, vampire speed and strength adding to his already lethal fighting skills. I had to stop him before he could use that blade. As his follow-up blow hammered down toward my neck, I threw up a hand, catching his wrist, and braced myself as he crashed into me.
Zeke, stop
His free hand shot out and clamped around my throat. I snarled and grabbed his arm, trying to pry him off. Fangs bared, he turned and rammed me into the wall with the full strength of a vampire behind him. My head struck the concrete with a dizzying crack, making me see stars, and I desperately fought to keep my focus.
Dragging me off the wall, Zeke spun and pushed me into the counter, bending me backward, the machete suddenly at my throat. Panicked, I grabbed the hilt, trying to keep the blade from sliding forward to cut off my head. He grinned and leaned his weight into me, pushing the edge closer to my neck.
Look at me, Allison, Zeke whispered as the blade inched closer to my skin. And, despite myself, my gaze flicked up to meet those glassy blue eyes. Zeke smiled. Thats right, vampire girl. Look at me as I kill you. I want my face to be the last thing you see before I send you to hell.
The blade touched my neck and sank in, drawing blood. With a desperate hiss, I brought my knee straight up, striking between his legs as hard as I could. Zeke snarled and convulsed; I grabbed the first thing my fingers closed arounda jagged chunk of ceilingand bashed it against the side of his head.
The blade at my throat vanished as Zeke staggered away, blood smeared across his temple, and dropped to a knee, one hand pressed to his face. Coughing, I staggered across the room to the chair, snatched my katana from where it lay beside it, and whirled to face him again.
Zeke staggered to his feet, still holding the side of his head. Blood trickled over his fingers as he stumbled across the floor and nearly fell, grabbing the shelf to keep himself upright. Glass vials and instruments clattered to the floor, shattering on the tile as Zeke groped for something at the back of the ledge, his machete lying on the floor beside him.
Gripping my sword, I stared at him in anguish, feeling warm blood ooze from the cut in my throat. My center still throbbed, sending ripples of pain through me, though everything else felt numb. What did I do now? I didnt want to fight him, but if he came at me again, Id have little choice. Zeke wasnt playing around. Another few inches, and my head wouldve been lying on the floor at his feet.