The Consort's Fate

Chapter 7

Finn

"Kill them all."

In the speck of time that follows the vampire's command, the world blurs. Within me, the withering ribbons of humanity shudder, curling in on themselves to make way for an unfamiliar, heavy darkness. It seeps through my being, blotting out my consciousness like overzealous ink to parchment.

Whether it's the threat in and of itself, or the threat to the safety of Douglas and myself, it triggers the half me which Mr. Primary refers to as 'the demon.'

I become a monster.

There's no anger. No fury. There's no emotion. It's merely a primal instinct to fight the threat. To win and conquer.

I lower to my haunches, hissing and mentally capturing the movements of our enemies. The Secondary guards raise their weapons, poised for attack. Douglas lets out a labored breath beside me. Despite years of training, he is the weaker species. No amount of training could equip him for this type of battlefield.

A battlefield where the enemy is a species I was told was extinct.

Douglas attempts to move in front of me and shields my body with his own. I swiftly move in front of him, just in time to catch a vampire running straight towards him. Our bodies collide. Sharp nails claw at my smooth skin. He's not trying to attack me; he's trying to get out of my grasp to join the frays of battle.

I have not been trained on the art of killing a vampire. My limits have never been tested. I merely act on instinct. As the male vampire writhes beneath me, strength jolts through my body, each voltage more powerful than the last. I feel it multiplying on itself. There's ice in my veins, and it splinters outward. The vampire is like a block of cement. His strength is challenging, but he's no match.

Fangs pierce through my gums. They grow and slip over my lips, three times the size of the vampire being held hostage to my strength. His dark eyes widen in confusion and fear. I'm a Secondary. My fangs should not look like this.

"No," he growls, shaking his head. "I'm not the enemy. I'm – "

Instinct pushes me towards his neck. I sink my fangs into his tough skin until they pierce a crystalized vein. Rather than consume him, my fangs pulse my own breed of venom into his body. I feel it work its way through his system, poisoning him from the inside out. His capillaries burst, his heart decays, and the neurons in his brain pop, pop pop.

The fight in him dissolves, just as his immortality.

A glossy sheen falls in front of his vacant eyes. I push away and bare my teeth to the remaining enemies, diving towards the next. I feel every second that passes as I work through one after another. My movements are a blur. Time itself seems to slow to my cause. The need to win consumes my being. When I spin away from another lifeless immortal, my humanity sparks. It pleads with me to pause.

The earth below us weeps for the loss, the blood of friends and foes alike soiling her canvas. Death is everywhere. It coats the air, and I taste it along my tongue. Most of the Secondary guards have met their untimely endings. Most of the vampires have, too, all by my hand.

Only two Secondary guards remain, one of them being Douglas. They stand back to back as they face the four, remaining vampires. Their weapons are lifted, and they move in a slow circle, ready to fight despite the odds.

One of the four vampires is their leader. His eyes aren't on them, though. They're on me. He watches me with awe and frustration. I snarl in his direction.

"Touch him," I say, nodding to Douglas, "and the rest of you will die by my hand."

The vampire leader considers my demand before glancing to the other Secondary guard. "And him?"