An uncontrolled breath escaped my lips, my eyes stuck, watching Jason fall limp to the floor. He didn’t move, didn’t even block when Mike stormed forward and laid his fist down on Jason’s skull, tearing his skin into bursting, blood-spitting lacerations.

“Mike?” I stepped forward, but he was crazed, lost to a battle fought within his core—unable to stop, like a man chopping a tree with an axe. “Mike, Mike!” I grabbed his arm. “Mike, stop.”

With hate infused eyes, masked with tears, Mike turned to face me and wiped the dotted splatters of Jason’s blood from his chin.

My lips fell open when I saw the damage he inflicted on my vile, former friend—without a single scratch on himself. “What are you?”

Morgaine came up behind us then, and placed her arm around me. “Amara, when you accidently bit Mike the day of Karnivale—”

“You turned?” I asked, my eyes wide. “You’re like me?”

After Mike kicked Jason again, he looked at me and stroked my cheek; “It’s a piece of you I get to keep.”

Jason lay completely unmoving against the cellar wall. His body twisted into a mess of contorted limbs and torn flesh. I’d never seen anyone so battered. My heart flooded with a sick rush of pity for the man who caused me so much pain, and my mind lashed me for such idiocy.

“Mike, we need to go,” Morgaine insisted.

“Not yet,” Mike said through closed teeth and started toward Jason again. “Not until he’s dead.”

“Dead?” I cried.

“Yeah. I can kill him, Ara. My venom’s like yours.”

“Wait.” I landed in front of Jason, my hand outstretched to Mike’s raised fist.

“Ara? Get away from him,” Mike ordered in obvious disgust at my sudden defence.

“No.” I turned and looked right into Jason’s eyes as he sat himself against the wall, struggling to catch his breath—his face hidden under a mask of red. “Jason,” I spoke softer, “I promised myself that one day I would get revenge on you for what you did to me.”

Jason’s brow pulled tightly over his wounded gaze. “What I did to you?” he scoffed, wiping his nose. “You will never know the true measure of what I have done.”

“That may be so.” I nodded. “But I’m going to let you live, so that you can suffer the eternity I know pains you to exist in. It is my eternal revenge.” I pushed up from the wall and fell into Mike’s arms.

“Ara?” Jason called as we walked away.

“Ignore him, Ara,” Mike said coldly and pulled me along.

“No! I want to hear what he has to say.” I lifted Mike’s arm over my head and stepped back to where Jason now stood in the middle of the cell.

“Please?” Jason begged, barely able to stand as he offered me the syringe. “Just kill me?”

His eyes were soft again; warm, like the eyes I seemed to have loved in the field. He was beaten and worn, and near death now anyway. If he were human, he’d be dead already.

I shook my head, my teeth tightening in my mouth. “No. You will live. I want you to suffer!”

As he fell suddenly to his knees, Mike grabbed my arm to pull me away.

“No, Mike. Let me go,” I ordered and knelt in front of Jason, letting a rise of hatred spill out through my voice. “You do not deserve the kindness of death—not for what you did to me, and not for what you did to Dav—”

“That’s enough.” Mike lifted me into his arms and carried me from the cell.

“For what it’s worth, Ara—” Jason looked down at the ground, his hands falling in front of him, “—I am sorry. You will never know how much I loved you.”

“And you will—” No! My words cut short as Jason gasped and folded over; the giant syringe hanging from his chest, right where his cold, dead heart would beat if he were human anywhere inside. Mike dragged me past the door of iron and I grabbed it, tugging to break free. “Let me go, Mike—let me go.”

As everything slowed down once more, I landed on my knees; dust stirring in a cloud as Jason fell forward, flat on the syringe.

“Oh my God!” Morgaine covered her mouth, disgusted. “He killed himself.”

“The vial. He had my venom.” I reached out to touch his shoulder.

“Damn it!” Mike kicked the wall. “I wanted to kill it.”

“It’s over.” I stared at his limp carcass; no breath moved his chest; no life surrounded his body; no light in his vacant eyes. I shrugged off Mike’s hold again, and, shaking, sprinkled a handful of dirt over the side of Jason’s face. “Now you can’t hurt me anymore.”

“Come on!” Mike said.

I took one last look at the vampire who destroyed my life as Mike lifted me in his strong, secure arms, and we stole away into the night.

Chapter 25

Though I stared, numb and wordless, out the window the entire drive, wrapped up safe in Mike’s arms, when my feet finally touched the green grass of home, a sudden rise of grief struck me down. The silence of the night, broken by a cricket’s chirping, came as a cruel reminder of what normal once was.

My knees wobbled under me, and as the front door swung open and Emily came running out, I folded over—unable to stand, unable to breathe.

“What did they do to her?” She stopped dead, covering her mouth as I fell to my knees.

“I don’t know,” Mike practically yelled, squatting beside me. “She hasn’t said a goddamn word the entire four hours.”

Emily stood, barefoot, right beside me, watching on while I wailed the cries of a broken soul into the darkness. The pictures, the memory of the hope danced around in front of me. Happiness—together, our future. I let myself see it once. Why? Why did I do that? Now it only hurts so much more. Oh God. David. David, I’m so sorry.

“David?” Emily asked. “Why is she saying David?”

“Ara?” Mike placed a hand on my back. “What happened to David?”

Composure would not come long enough for me to speak. I struggled against the stolen breath and gasped for air, clutching my stomach, whimpering as tears cascaded down. “Ja—Jason threw him. On—” the jagged breath stung my throat, “—the. Fire.” The last word rang out with a series of high-pitched sobs.