The Highest Price
From here.
Sunshine could feel his gaze on her. Look at me, they said. It wasn't a voice, or even a compulsion. Not looking into his bottomless, no-color eyes was like trying to keep her heart from beating; but she didn't look, and her heart continued to beat.
He sat upon a dais, a tall one, at the end of the room she and Con now crossed. Several more vampires lounged on the steps of the dais, their own eyes glittering at them. They didn't move, merely watched, tensed as compressed springs, or cats, waiting to leap upon their prey.
She and Con reached the bottom of the dais. Those eyes were still pulling at her; suddenly, in spite of everything that had already happened that night - no, because of everything that had happened that night, and everything that had happened before, Sunshine found anger rising within her. She'd had her life ruined - so she likely wouldn't make it out of this alive, she knew, but her life as she'd known it had already been brought to a violent end - by this disgusting, undead monster. Her life, her world, her self, all were left in pieces she'd had to cling to in order to survive. She was no longer the person she once had been, and the death of that person cried out. Her anger burned within her.
Consciously, deliberately, Rae lifted her eyes and met Bo's gaze.
Monster was a word too mild to describe him. Strangely, the greeting they'd had from his lesser guard had done Rae a kindness. She had already been shocked beyond capacity to process what was happening... had already lost her soul in the miles of blood and gore and terrified struggle, blasted half out of her body, mind and life. So it meant she wasn't wholly there to meet the full force of Bo's gaze.
Even so, it was bad enough. Rae could see - Bo expected her to crack, to disintegrate. He figured that once she looked into his eyes, it would all be over. He was a master vampire. He could destroy other vampires with his gaze - a mere human would incinerate on the spot.
As it was, Sunshine did go up in flames, but they weren't the flames Bo had expected. The web of light in her arms flared up, flames licking along Sunshine's skin, from her hands up her arms, across her chest, down along her belly, her legs, up along the line of her neck, through her coppery hair. She could feel her hair rising, waving loose in the flames - or perhaps it had become fire itself.
She put one flaming foot on the first stair, and stepped up, her gaze holding Bo's.
Rae didn't see the other vampires slither forward and descend upon Con, but she felt their passing. They were sure that their master had the human well in hand.
As she struggled against the inexorable weight of Bo's will, Rae found that Bo had given her another gift. She could see behind her, through Bo's colorless eyes, the other vampires pull Con down. They were well-rested and freshly fed - and while Rae knew vampires didn't get tired, they could reach the end of their strength. It had been a long time since either Con or her had felt at their best.
Rae made her struggling way up each stair of the dais, fists clenched in effort, still staring into the abyss that was Bo's eyes. Through them, she saw another of the vampires lean over Con as the others pinned him down, and sink its teeth into his neck - saw Con jerk and heave - saw another vampire stroke Con's chest, right above the heart...
It wasn't a noble or even conscious decision, in the end. Con would be dying for a good cause only if she could finish it before she died, herself. Which meant she had to. Despite feeling the exhaustion and shock that had been hounding her closing in at the back of her consciousness and the edges of her vision, she had to finish it.
Rae was two steps from the summit where Bo sat enthroned when her strength flickered, and she couldn't go any further.
But she still couldn't watch Con die. She just couldn't, and she couldn't give up on everything she was fighting for.
Sunshine thought of the feeling of cinnamon roll dough under her hands, the warm, moist smell of them permeating the bakery at Charlie's Coffeehouse. She thought of the familiar heat of the ovens, the sound of Charlie cranking down the awning outside, and Mel humming to himself in the kitchen next door. She thought of the friendly squeaks of waitrats, in an altogether different kitchen. She thought of the warmth of Demeter's smile, the patience and understanding of Teja, the strength in Ben Wade's callused hands even when they had chocolate on them, the easy friendliness of Thirteen's wry smile, the sharpness of Axel's grin and Urquhart's eyes, and the remembered intensity of yet another vampire's gaze. She thought of her SOFs, who she hadn't gotten to say goodbye to, of Mrs. Bialosky sitting at her table by the door, and her friend Maud sitting across from her.
And for a moment, Rae saw them. Mrs. B. and Maud, their hands clinging to each other across the table, looking strained and awful, as though awaiting news of someone's death. They both looked up, and their eyes met Sunshine's. Beyond them, Rae seemed to see Mel. He held out his arms to her, as though to catch her, and flames leapt from his skin like his tattoos were a light-web.
Beyond him, bringing the smell of fresh bread and late summer, she could see Demeter, glowing golden-white, her arms held out in benediction.
Thirteen reached out to her, anxiety on her face and in the gaze that met Sunshine's eyes.
Surrounded by a momentary flash of sun and the shimmering lines of desert heat, Axel called out in fury and frustration his refusal to see her give in.
Behind him, Ben Wade met her gaze, steady as his hands on a gun, and nodded once in wordless encouragement. He knew what she was fighting for.
She was fighting for everything this creature of the dark sought to take away from her. Her life, her world, her soul.
To victory, a voice murmured from out of the darkness between worlds, where two even darker eyes caught her gaze. To hell.
Yes.
Sunshine stopped. She stopped trying, her breathing ragged with the force of her effort until now. But at that moment, Bo made a mistake.
He laughed.
Rae's anger flared up in sudden response, as bright and unforgiving as the sun. Without thought, Rae plunged her hand into her left pocket and drew out the silver seal. She didn't look at it, but against her palm she could feel the tiny engraved sun spin and blaze, the tree shake its leaves in the breeze- yessss - and the doe raise her head, acknowledging the death coming for her.
Bo laughed, and Sunshine flung the Straight Way down the noisome hole that was his mouth. A small line of fire followed its passing as it disappeared into the thing that was Bo. His flesh was not flesh at all, but a viscous ooze, held together by sheer malice. Flawless in a way that flesh could never be. She knew that to touch such evil was to be recreated into such as he was.
The mouth closed with a sucking, choking sound around the silver disc, as what there was left of Bo in the real world wavered and became vulnerable to reality again, and the force of his will faltered in surprise.
Surprise and pain. The fire - her fire - ran up his face, his eyes... but he had been strong and evil and undead for such a long time, and Rae had been alive and human for such a short time. Her fire was wavering, and beginning to ebb. It had to be now.
She felt herself to be back where this all started. Where her old life had ended. The sun blazed down upon the cabin. The lake water lapped at the shore, as the trees for the forest moved in the wind: yessss. Perhaps there had been a doe, then, looking out from the tree-shade at the house, on her way home, to some dappled place where she would doze until sunset.
"Beauregard!" Rae shouted. "I destroy you!"
And she plunged her hands into the mire that was his chest, and wrenched out his heart.
Continued here.
Sunshine could feel his gaze on her. Look at me, they said. It wasn't a voice, or even a compulsion. Not looking into his bottomless, no-color eyes was like trying to keep her heart from beating; but she didn't look, and her heart continued to beat.
He sat upon a dais, a tall one, at the end of the room she and Con now crossed. Several more vampires lounged on the steps of the dais, their own eyes glittering at them. They didn't move, merely watched, tensed as compressed springs, or cats, waiting to leap upon their prey.
She and Con reached the bottom of the dais. Those eyes were still pulling at her; suddenly, in spite of everything that had already happened that night - no, because of everything that had happened that night, and everything that had happened before, Sunshine found anger rising within her. She'd had her life ruined - so she likely wouldn't make it out of this alive, she knew, but her life as she'd known it had already been brought to a violent end - by this disgusting, undead monster. Her life, her world, her self, all were left in pieces she'd had to cling to in order to survive. She was no longer the person she once had been, and the death of that person cried out. Her anger burned within her.
Consciously, deliberately, Rae lifted her eyes and met Bo's gaze.
Monster was a word too mild to describe him. Strangely, the greeting they'd had from his lesser guard had done Rae a kindness. She had already been shocked beyond capacity to process what was happening... had already lost her soul in the miles of blood and gore and terrified struggle, blasted half out of her body, mind and life. So it meant she wasn't wholly there to meet the full force of Bo's gaze.
Even so, it was bad enough. Rae could see - Bo expected her to crack, to disintegrate. He figured that once she looked into his eyes, it would all be over. He was a master vampire. He could destroy other vampires with his gaze - a mere human would incinerate on the spot.
As it was, Sunshine did go up in flames, but they weren't the flames Bo had expected. The web of light in her arms flared up, flames licking along Sunshine's skin, from her hands up her arms, across her chest, down along her belly, her legs, up along the line of her neck, through her coppery hair. She could feel her hair rising, waving loose in the flames - or perhaps it had become fire itself.
She put one flaming foot on the first stair, and stepped up, her gaze holding Bo's.
Rae didn't see the other vampires slither forward and descend upon Con, but she felt their passing. They were sure that their master had the human well in hand.
As she struggled against the inexorable weight of Bo's will, Rae found that Bo had given her another gift. She could see behind her, through Bo's colorless eyes, the other vampires pull Con down. They were well-rested and freshly fed - and while Rae knew vampires didn't get tired, they could reach the end of their strength. It had been a long time since either Con or her had felt at their best.
Rae made her struggling way up each stair of the dais, fists clenched in effort, still staring into the abyss that was Bo's eyes. Through them, she saw another of the vampires lean over Con as the others pinned him down, and sink its teeth into his neck - saw Con jerk and heave - saw another vampire stroke Con's chest, right above the heart...
It wasn't a noble or even conscious decision, in the end. Con would be dying for a good cause only if she could finish it before she died, herself. Which meant she had to. Despite feeling the exhaustion and shock that had been hounding her closing in at the back of her consciousness and the edges of her vision, she had to finish it.
Rae was two steps from the summit where Bo sat enthroned when her strength flickered, and she couldn't go any further.
But she still couldn't watch Con die. She just couldn't, and she couldn't give up on everything she was fighting for.
Sunshine thought of the feeling of cinnamon roll dough under her hands, the warm, moist smell of them permeating the bakery at Charlie's Coffeehouse. She thought of the familiar heat of the ovens, the sound of Charlie cranking down the awning outside, and Mel humming to himself in the kitchen next door. She thought of the friendly squeaks of waitrats, in an altogether different kitchen. She thought of the warmth of Demeter's smile, the patience and understanding of Teja, the strength in Ben Wade's callused hands even when they had chocolate on them, the easy friendliness of Thirteen's wry smile, the sharpness of Axel's grin and Urquhart's eyes, and the remembered intensity of yet another vampire's gaze. She thought of her SOFs, who she hadn't gotten to say goodbye to, of Mrs. Bialosky sitting at her table by the door, and her friend Maud sitting across from her.
And for a moment, Rae saw them. Mrs. B. and Maud, their hands clinging to each other across the table, looking strained and awful, as though awaiting news of someone's death. They both looked up, and their eyes met Sunshine's. Beyond them, Rae seemed to see Mel. He held out his arms to her, as though to catch her, and flames leapt from his skin like his tattoos were a light-web.
Beyond him, bringing the smell of fresh bread and late summer, she could see Demeter, glowing golden-white, her arms held out in benediction.
Thirteen reached out to her, anxiety on her face and in the gaze that met Sunshine's eyes.
Surrounded by a momentary flash of sun and the shimmering lines of desert heat, Axel called out in fury and frustration his refusal to see her give in.
Behind him, Ben Wade met her gaze, steady as his hands on a gun, and nodded once in wordless encouragement. He knew what she was fighting for.
She was fighting for everything this creature of the dark sought to take away from her. Her life, her world, her soul.
To victory, a voice murmured from out of the darkness between worlds, where two even darker eyes caught her gaze. To hell.
Yes.
Sunshine stopped. She stopped trying, her breathing ragged with the force of her effort until now. But at that moment, Bo made a mistake.
He laughed.
Rae's anger flared up in sudden response, as bright and unforgiving as the sun. Without thought, Rae plunged her hand into her left pocket and drew out the silver seal. She didn't look at it, but against her palm she could feel the tiny engraved sun spin and blaze, the tree shake its leaves in the breeze- yessss - and the doe raise her head, acknowledging the death coming for her.
Bo laughed, and Sunshine flung the Straight Way down the noisome hole that was his mouth. A small line of fire followed its passing as it disappeared into the thing that was Bo. His flesh was not flesh at all, but a viscous ooze, held together by sheer malice. Flawless in a way that flesh could never be. She knew that to touch such evil was to be recreated into such as he was.
The mouth closed with a sucking, choking sound around the silver disc, as what there was left of Bo in the real world wavered and became vulnerable to reality again, and the force of his will faltered in surprise.
Surprise and pain. The fire - her fire - ran up his face, his eyes... but he had been strong and evil and undead for such a long time, and Rae had been alive and human for such a short time. Her fire was wavering, and beginning to ebb. It had to be now.
She felt herself to be back where this all started. Where her old life had ended. The sun blazed down upon the cabin. The lake water lapped at the shore, as the trees for the forest moved in the wind: yessss. Perhaps there had been a doe, then, looking out from the tree-shade at the house, on her way home, to some dappled place where she would doze until sunset.
"Beauregard!" Rae shouted. "I destroy you!"
And she plunged her hands into the mire that was his chest, and wrenched out his heart.
Continued here.