Black Legacy

Chapter 5

Katz grimaced. I felt her emotions shift as she froze Mom's experiences. In the same instant, she blocked me from what had happened with the Nathaniel from the gym. I couldn't quite pinpoint her doing it, but I knew.

My mind flashed back to last evening when his mind overtook Katz's. It was powerful and dark, like nothing I'd ever experienced. When I'd touched her, pure evil flowed from Katz to me. My encounter had only been brief, still it was the kind of bad omen to give me nightmares for weeks to come. I could only imagine how Katz felt. Since she blocked me from those visions and wasn't verbally forthcoming, that was all I could do—imagine. Not help, not console.

Figuratively, my hands were tied.

With unspoken words, I snuggled in beside Katz. She reached for my hand, pulling it onto her stomach. Dropping the mental walls, she started Mom's vision again.

Nathaniel Thornheart, Mom thought with horror. The realization of him made her stomach churn. From deep inside, vomit rumbled up her throat. She gulped it down, looked into his lifeless eyes, inches from his sensitive nose, and puffed out a silent burp.

His grip lessened. This might be my only chance, she thought, yanking her arms away. She brought up her knee, kicking him. It wasn't the full-blown impact she'd hoped for, however, he stumbled back, his expression changing to surprise then fury. Knowing the stake was her best defense she turned, saw it glistening a few feet away and dove for it. In a smooth, continuous roll, she clutched the cool metal, rotating forward until she was squatting with her feet securely underneath. At vampire speed, he lunged at her, fangs bared, menacing red eyes glowing. As his hand made contact against her shoulder, she tried to jerk the stake forward. Fiery pain flared up. His fingers had clamped into her like steel vises, causing bones to break.

A movement blurred from the corner of her vision. It came from the direction of the fallen tree. She shrieked, partly from pain and partly in fear for Zane, who sprang through the air, growling at Nathaniel. His fierce teeth tore into Nathaniel's hand, forcing off the steel grip on Mom's shoulder.

Through eyes welled with tears, she saw Nathaniel's leather coat flap open. She pushed back the overwhelming pain enough to plunge the stake into his chest. She scooted backward clumsily trying to get away from Nathaniel, who was thrashing. Every movement made her wither in agony.

Nathaniel doubled over, collapsing into a roll. The impact dislodged Zane. When Nathaniel staggered back to his feet—unsteady with blood trailing off his fingertips and down his chest—Zane latched onto his side, directly under his coat.

Mom gasped. The stake was gone.

Her eyes darted around for the stake where he'd fallen. He wouldn't touch or pull the stake out because the silver torturously burned his skin, as it would for any vampire. If she'd hit his heart, he'd be dead. As Nathaniel fought Zane, she knew she failed with that. She hoped it wasn't at the expense of hers or Zane's lives.

Spotting the stake, she crawled toward it. Each placement of her hands and knees felt excruciating. All the while, she heard Zane's growls mixed with Nathaniel's hissing. Grabbing it, she flipped over.