“Don’t underestimate me, girl,” Kanin replied with the faintest of smiles. “I’ve lived a long, long time. You think this is the worst situation I’ve encountered?” The smile got bigger, more evil, before he became serious again. “You, however. You will not survive this. Not now, not as you are. So you go out there, and you live, and get stronger. And someday down the road, we might meet again.”
A howl of discovery, and a hail of gunfire peppered the wall, as we ducked down even farther. Kanin snarled, fangs springing to light, the glassy look in his eyes getting brighter. He looked at me and curled his lip. “Go! Head for the forest. I’ll keep them busy for a while yet.” A bullet hit the wall, spraying us with grit, and he growled, “Go! Leave me.”
“Kanin—”
He roared, his face turning demonic, the first real glimpse of what he could become, and I shrank back in terror. “Go! Or so help me, I will tear your heart out myself!”
I bit back a sob. Turning, I crawled across the floor and slipped through a broken window on the far wall, half expecting a bullet in the spine at any second. I didn’t look back. Kanin’s howl rose into the air, a chilling sound of defiance and rage, followed by a frantic burst of gunfire and a desperate scream.
Reaching the edge of the lot, I fled into the ruins, hot bloody tears streaming down my face, blinding me. I ran until the sounds of battle faded behind me, until I left the ruins and entered the forest, until the lightening sky forced my limbs to a sluggish crawl.
Finally, I collapsed, snarling and crying, at the roots of several old trees. Dawn was seconds away from touching the earth and turning me into a fiery inferno. Half blinded by red tears, I buried my fingers in the cool, damp ground, scraping away dirt and leaves, wondering if I could really burrow fast enough to escape the sun. It was hot, so very hot. I scraped faster, frantic, wondering if smoke really was rising from my skin.
The earth rippled and seemed to melt beneath me, swallowing me up. I dropped into a black hole, cold dirt settling around me like a cocoon, and the heat vanished immediately. Cool, blessed darkness flooded in, and then there was nothing.
*
WHEN I WOKE AGAIN, the world was quiet, and I was alone.
Shaking free the dirt that clung to my hair and clothes, I gazed around, listening for gunfire, for any signs of life in the darkness. Nothing moved except the leaves, rustling in the trees above me. Through the branches, the sky blazed with stars.
Kanin was gone. I searched the area halfheartedly, backtracking toward the edge of the ruins, but I knew finding him was impossible. If he was dead, there would be nothing left behind but ash. I did stumble across a couple of human corpses, torn apart and savaged by what looked like a vicious beast. One of them still clutched an assault rifle in one bloody hand. I examined it, but the gun was empty, the rounds spent, and it was too useless and awkward to take with me.
Only when I was certain I was truly alone did I wonder what I would do next.
Damn you, Kanin, I thought, trying to stifle the fear, the uncertainty, threatening to smother me. Where could I go now? What was I going to do? I didn’t dare go back to the city; the Prince would certainly have me killed for my association with the vampire world’s Most Wanted. But whatever lay beyond the ruins was a mystery. What was out there, really? Another vampire city, perhaps. But maybe not. Maybe it was all wilderness, as far as the eye could see. Maybe nothing existed out there but rabids, crawling over everything, killing any human they came across.
But I wasn’t human anymore. And I wasn’t as afraid of them as I once was. I was part of their world now, part of the darkness.
I was still scared. I hated the thought of leaving home and the relative safety of the city. But there was a part of me that was a tiny bit excited, as well. Maybe everything in my short miserable life had led up to this. I was outside the walls. I was far from vampire influence. True, I was dead, but there was a strange freedom in that. Everything in my other life was gone. I had nothing to go back to.
Go out there, and live, and get stronger.
“All right then, Kanin,” I muttered. “Guess I’ll just go see what’s out there.”
Turning, I gazed through the trees, back toward the ruins and the city, sparing one last look at the lights of my old home. Then, with nothing but my sword and the clothes on my back, I put New Covington behind me and stepped forward, into the wilderness. And I didn’t stop until I was certain I would see nothing but trees if I looked back.
Part III
Monster
Chapter 10