Dawnbreaker

Twenty-Seven

We continued up the mountain in silence. Tension coiled in my stomach as I waited for the next roadblock, the next horde of naturi waiting to take my head off. We needed to punch through and finally crest the hike into the clouds. We needed to finally end this game.

A halt was called when we came to a final turn in the road. The two nightwalkers I had sent ahead stood with their backs pressed to the mountainside. The whiner was nearly doubled over, his arms crossed tightly over this stomach.

“What happened?” I demanded. The Browning was in my left hand, while my right hand was wrapped around the hilt of the sword. My legs were spread as I scanned the area, waiting for the next attack.

The other nightwalker held up an arrow between two fingers. “As soon as we turned the corner, they filled the sky.”

“You’ll heal,” I muttered as I peered around the rock wall and up the hill. The firelight was brighter at the city entrance, but I still couldn’t see anyone. A narrow staircase ran along the main wall surrounding the city, leading up to the rise that held the guardhouse. Stefan was still above us, but close. We had to take care of the army of naturi at the entrance before he and his band stumbled on them. “How many?”

“Fifteen,” Danaus quickly answered.

“Know any good tricks?”

“No.”

“But I do,” Jabari said as he stepped out of empty air to stand beside me. Sadira stood in his arms, looking disoriented. Her skin was black and twisted, and her thick black hair was only now beginning to grow back. My maker and I had had a…disagreement while I was visiting Venice a couple months ago. The result had bathed her in flames, momentarily. In all honesty, it had been an accident, but I knew there wasn’t a nightwalker in existence that would believe me.

Sadira wore long, baggy clothes, hiding her hideous appearance. Other vampires cringed and grimaced at the sight of her. Understandably, she refused to look at me, remaining huddled against the Elder.

“They have us pinned down,” I said, looking back at Jabari. “Fifteen naturi with arrows. Earth clan naturi and air guardians are lurking around the mountain, giving us more than our share of problems.”

“I will stop the arrows. We just need bait.” Jabari smiled at me, his white teeth showing in the faint light. Any of the other nightwalkers would be fine for this task, but he wanted me.

I frowned and shook my head. “Yeah, I thought so.” I turned to Danaus and handed him my Glock and Browning. He was a better shot than me anyway. “Don’t miss. I’ll know you hit me on purpose.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” he replied, his rough voice dripping with sarcasm. I must have looked nervous because he rarely stooped to jokes.

“Wait. I’m sure they’d be happy to carve ‘Kick Me’ into your back as well,” I warned, forcing a smirk onto my lips.

“Mira?” Cynnia said, grabbing my arm as I prepared to step into the open. “I don’t feel good about this.”

“Do you know what they’re planning?” I asked, cocking my head to the side as I waited for her answer.

She shook her head and bit her lower lip. “I don’t know, but this just seems bad.”

“I know it’s bad, but I trust Jabari needs me alive for now,” I said with a sneer as I looked up at the Elder.

Drawing my sword, I stepped around the turn and into the middle of the road. I stood waiting, but nothing happened. Tightly gripping the hilt in my right hand, I slowly trudged up, my left hand bathed in dancing flames. It wasn’t possible to become a more visible target. I didn’t know what Jabari’s plan was, but I didn’t trust the Elder to keep me completely unharmed. He needed me alive, but that left a whole gray area of what kind of condition he could put me in. To sweeten the deal, I was relying on a vampire hunter to watch my back; one who wasn’t too happy with me at the moment. The only one that actually seemed concerned about my safety was the naturi. If I survived this, I was going to pay more attention to the type of company I kept.

Halfway up the path the first arrow floated through the air toward me. It arched high up in the night sky and I easily sidestepped it, dropping into a crouch. As I did, another ten arrows filled the sky, moving straight and fast for my new position. They were spread wide enough so that if I tried to dodge them, at least one or two would still hit me. I cringed, my muscles tightening as I waited for the impact, listening to Danaus fire at the naturi that had stepped into view. I mentally reached for the barrier spell that Cynnia and Shelly had tried to teach me in the woods, but my mind was a blank. I couldn’t remember the trigger words, and the energy refused to come to my fingertips. As the poison-tipped arrows neared, I choked.

“No!” I heard Cynnia scream. I twisted around in time to see a white blur headed toward me. I was trapped between the arrows screaming toward me and something small and white. Raising my sword at the white blur, I flinched, prepared to take several arrows in my side and back. It was only a breath later that I felt Cynnia wrap her slender arms around me and pull me away before something else wrapped around us both. I looked up to find that a pair of perfect white wings had sprung from Cynnia’s back and were now wrapped around us both in an effort to protect us from the arrows.

Amazingly, the arrows never touched us. They bounced off an invisible barrier inches in front of us and fell harmlessly the ground. I could feel more than hear Jabari’s laughter. He had enjoyed my and Cynnia’s momentary panic.

How sweet! A naturi protecting you. How ever did you manage that? he asked, his voice slithering into my brain.

I promised that I would not allow her sister to come through the door tonight, I replied in an equally sweet tone.

Sister?

Yes, she’s Aurora’s younger sister. A royal princess. A valuable commodity.

You are full of surprises, my desert flower, Jabari nearly purred.

For now, I was back in his good graces. Cynnia was truly a valuable item, and while I had my own uses for her, I would not be the one calling the shots at the mountain ruins. That would be Jabari—the puppet master. Any promises I made to the young naturi were null and void now that he was in control.

With a growl, I peeled Cynnia off of me and resumed my trek up the mountain. The naturi continued to fire arrows, but not one touched me. In return, I sent several balls of fire ahead of me. Danaus managed to pick off a few naturi, and I finished off the rest with a heady mixture of fire and steel.

Kneeling at the entrance to the city, I waited for my strength to return as Danaus and the others hurried up the mountain to join me. At the same time, Stefan appeared from the west. His group was battered and cut back to a measly eight. He was livid at being nearly defeated by the naturi, but still managed to stiffly bow his head to the Elder.

“We must keep moving,” Jabari announced.

“Where are they holding the ceremony?” I asked, still not rising to my feet. I stared straight ahead at the stone walls closing in around me. I was in the city again. A tremor of panic ran screaming through me, tightening every muscle in my body.

“The humans have been gathered in the Main Plaza,” Jabari replied.

“Let’s finish this,” Danaus said, extending his hand to me. I looked away from it, my body flinching. Warm energy radiated from his body, making my skin crawl. Finishing this also meant crushing me. In Venice, I had felt what it was like to have both the powers of Jabari and Danaus within me, fighting for control. It nearly ripped me to shreds. I couldn’t imagine the pain that awaited me when the full triad put its powers through my body.

I turned my head to find Jabari holding his hand out to me as well. “I will not let them harm you again.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to say that it was the harm he would cause me that was my concern. Instead I shoved to my feet unassisted and walked past them. “To hell with you both,” I grumbled. With my sword in hand, I walked down the main street to the plaza. Jabari was correct. I could feel all the humans gathered together in the main plaza. We encountered only light resistance along the way, which was quickly dispatched.

At the edge of the plaza I came to a sharp halt. The night had been pushed back by dozens of flickering torches, reminding me of the scene laid out before me at the Palace of Knossos. The naturi had pulled back to the center of the large plaza to guard the sacrifice. A deep foreboding slipped into my bones and nagged at my thoughts. Five centuries ago they had needed only one sacrifice, a beautiful young woman with long black hair. She had been one of the emperor’s daughters, and now played a starring role in my recurring nightmares.

Tonight, thirteen humans stood in the center of the grassy plaza, a mix of locals and tourists. They were arranged in a circle with their backs facing the interior of the circle. Each person’s left hand was tied to another’s right hand, keeping the circle locked in place. Their muffled sobs and pleading voices echoed off the surrounding stone walls and flew up into the cool mountain air. I felt no swell of pity for them. Their end would come quick. All that was needed was their hearts and some blood; the basic ingredients for any powerful spell.

Flexing my empty left hand nervously at my side, I tore my eyes from the human circle to Jabari. He was frowning. Something about this little scene was bothering him as well. I had hoped it was just me.

“It’s different,” I said. He didn’t reply, but his powers increased a notch, buffeting against my flesh. “Last time they had only one sacrifice; a woman. This time they have thirteen humans. Why?”

“They hope to summon more power this time,” Stefan said, walking over to stand behind me. “We defeated them once. They hope to avoid such a humiliation again.”

It almost sounded logical to me. More blood equaled more power, but why use thirteen? Why not two or five? Surely that would be more than enough. Thirteen. The number knocked around in my brain, teasing at some answer just beyond my reach. The number was significant. From a magic standpoint, twelve was a key number, but that was for a witch coven casting spells, not sacrifices. What’s more, my earlier check revealed that not one of the humans was a magic user.

“This is wrong,” I murmured, turning to look at Cynnia, who was hanging back. Her dove-white wings had been wrapped around her body, but now they were beginning to dissipate like grains of sand falling from her shoulders. “Do you know what is going on?”

“I—I don’t know,” she stammered, wringing her hands together. “I’ve never actually seen the ceremony for opening the doorway. I would never have expected that so many humans were necessary.”

“You expect her to actually tell you the truth? Betray her people?” Stefan snarled at me, taking a step closer, so he was nearly standing between me and the naturi.

“She’s helped us this far! She wants the same as we do—her sister caged! I’m willing to take any help I can get at this point.” Turning to look over at Jabari, I motioned with my head toward the plaza spread out before us. “We’ve run out of time. It’s time to act.”

“Mira,” Jabari rumbled in a low, warning tone.

I paused in the act of stepping onto the plaza as the naturi moved in front of each of the humans, short swords in hand. The screams and cries reached a fevered pitch. I raised my hands above my head, open and out, facing the night, but nothing happened. Had I truly reached this crossroad yet again? Just a few months ago I had been at Stonehenge and a woman was laid before me. The naturi were going to cut out her heart to break the seal that bound them. I killed her to stop the sacrifice. In Crete, I was prepared to do the same thing to three innocent humans, but I’d been too late. Now I stood on the edge of the plaza, the lives of thirteen innocent human beings in my trembling, bloodstained hands.

“Mira?” Danaus said, drawing my eyes back to his face. We both knew there was no saving the humans. They were dead whether by sacrifice or a stray arrow while we fought. “Do it quickly.”

With a scream of frustration, I called up the energy to me, tapping only the blood energy that I had used for most of my life. I didn’t want this fire to be tainted by the earth powers I had recently gained. If I was going to murder these people, it would be with my own abilities and the ragged remains of my soul.

The fire rushed into existence around the people, circling them for a moment. It happened so suddenly that their cries were instantly silenced. I could easily imagine them staring up at the yellow and orange flame in awe. I wanted to close my eyes. No matter how hot I made the flames, there was no way I could make it a quick, merciless death. They would suffer in their final minutes and would not know or understand that their deaths would save the human race.

Growling in pain and frustration, I moved my hands together, intending to close the circle of fire around them so it consumed the thirteen humans, but the flames never moved. I put more force behind it, pouring all of my energy into flames that crackled and snapped, but they never moved. However, six naturi with flowing blond hair stepped forward from the shadows. They waved their hands in unison and the flames disappeared as if I had never created them. I was outmatched.

Desperate, I was now willing to call on both the earth and the soul energy that flowed within me to finally end this standoff, but I doubted I would be able to take on six light clan naturi at once. I just wasn’t that strong. And besides, we were out of time.

The moment the flames disappeared, thirteen naturi stepped into position before the humans with swords in their hands. I turned to Jabari, desperate for any kind of suggestion. We had come too late, too unprepared, and too undermanned. We had failed.

The surge of power rocketed outward from the circle, slamming into my back. I stumbled forward under its force, colliding with Jabari, who took a couple of steps backward. I looked around to find several other nightwalkers picking themselves off the ground.

Twisting back to the plaza, I found the naturi carving the hearts from the humans. They carefully piled them a few feet away, while several others chanted over them in their sweet, musical language. As the last heart was placed on the bloody pile, a white light hovered in the air near the hearts. It looked as if someone had cut a hole in the air and was now pulling the seams apart. The door had been opened.

“Protect the triad!” Jabari shouted. He was finally ready to act. We stepped into the plaza as a group. Several naturi leapt away from the dead bodies and attacked, but the other nightwalkers maintained a wall of protection around us.

“What do we do?” I demanded, holding my sword so tight my hand began to ache.

“You do as you’re told,” Jabari said, standing directly behind me. Sadira moved off to my left shoulder, while Danaus stood at my right. I was about to comment that not one of them was close enough to touch me, but I soon discovered it didn’t matter.

Jabari’s powers hit me first, slamming against my spine like a sledgehammer. My body jerked and I heard my sword clatter against some stones on the ground. Sadira’s power swept through me next, filling my body. With their energy came their emotions, swimming through my brain. I was drowning in their anger and fear. I could sense their feeling of betrayal and their uncertainty. Danaus soon joined the nightwalkers in my brain, pushing a scream from my chest. From the hunter came an overwhelming sense of peace and confidence. He believed in what we were doing. I tried to cling to the feeling of peace but was soon dragged under by Jabari’s rage. He was fighting for control, sending more energy flowing through my limbs. I threw my arms out and my head fell back. My knees tried to buckle beneath me but I remained standing, crucified on the very air.

And then there was only light. I stood bathed in this beautiful, white light; brighter than fire, brighter than the sun. The door to the naturi realm.

Close the door.

The voice in my head was Jabari. Sadira was there, but I couldn’t hear her. Danaus was also on the current, silent and strong. I mentally reached out to touch the door, but the second I did, it splintered. The shards jumped across space, forming thirteen separate shafts of blinding light. It all clicked at that moment. The twelve symbols carved in the trees around the world had been markers for the doors, with the thirteenth being the main one at Machu Picchu. They needed thirteen humans to open thirteen separate doors.

Close the door, Jabari ordered again.

I stretched out my focus and tried, but only succeeded in tearing another scream from my body. “I can’t,” I cried, my voice choked and shattered. “Too many.”

Too many what? Jabari demanded, his anger and frustration sending another shockwave of power through my frame. I could no longer feel my body. There was only pain, as if my entire being were made of it instead of bone and sinew.

“Doors. Thirteen doors,” I whimpered.

“Focus!” he shouted.

I cried out again as his power obliterated all thought. Now there was only light and pain. Somewhere in the light, I saw something move. I prayed it was death. I didn’t care about the humans, the naturi, or my kind. I just wanted the pain to end.

“Mira,” Danaus gently said.

He sounded close. I could feel his serenity, and struggled to grab hold of it. He carefully placed both of his hands on my waist, pulling me back into my body. I cried out again as the contact caused a brief spike in the power he was sending through me, but it soon evened out again.

“Can you hear me?”

“Please, stop,” I pleaded. I was crying, but I couldn’t feel the tears.

“Soon. We must close the doors,” he said. He sounded so patient, as if he wasn’t growing tired from the amazing amount of energy he was expending. He slowly slid his hands up my sides until they rested on my shoulders. His warmth was wrapping around me in a protective cocoon, and I clung to that small comfort.

“Can’t. Too many.”

“Can you close just one?” he asked. With amazing care, he slid his hands along my arms and threaded his fingers through mine, tightly clasping my hands. “Just close one door.” His lips brushed lightly against my ear as he spoke.

Mentally pushing aside all the others, I chose one door and pulled the two seams together. A sob lodged in my throat when the door closed, and I felt Danaus give my hands a reassuring squeeze. We moved slowly from one door to the next, pulling them together like stitching together bits of fabric. We were on the last door when the power in my body sharply dropped. While my initial reaction was relief, I knew something was wrong. I could no longer sense Sadira. It was as if she had completely disappeared. The void was deeper than if she had just cut off the connection, but I couldn’t hold onto the thought. It flitted away like a bit of stray paper caught up in a breeze, and my focus returned to the blinding pain that still beat through my entire body.

“Close the door,” Danaus prompted me when I paused.

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. You are stronger than Sadira. You always have been. Close the door.” His voice had taken on a new urgency. We were running out of time. I reached out with the last of the strength I could muster and pulled the door closed.

The white light disappeared and my vision slowly cleared. I saw Aurora standing there for the first time in more than five centuries. She looked like a sun goddess, with her long golden hair and perfectly tanned skin, regal in flowing white robes that danced about her in the wind. Staring at me, a malicious smile grew on her perfect face. She knew me; knew who I was and what I had done.

Still charged with the powers of Danaus and Jabari, I could sense the anger and fear of the naturi as they crowded around their queen. There were only a couple dozen of them, far fewer than they had hoped for. They outnumbered us. But we had closed their doors and defeated more than a score of them. I refused to believe that the entire naturi race had been able to run to freedom in the time it took me to close the doors. Most still had to be trapped on the other side. But then, I doubted that Aurora cared about those that had gotten left behind.

She was free.