For his part, Eddie was magnificent. It had been a while since I’d seen him fight, and I’d nearly forgotten that the adopted brother I joked and ate lunch with was a lethal warrior. He made the Strigoi work for his kill, slipping only once when a glancing blow knocked Eddie into the brick wall. He recovered instantly, but I could see the inevitable. A series of small hits, small injuries . . . they’d take their toll. Combined with the Strigoi’s superior strength and stamina, it would be only a matter of time.
I had to act. I couldn’t just stand by and let Eddie be annihilated, not if there was anything I could do. Maybe sending a fireball down was out of the question, but I was pretty sure I could provide a good distraction. I jumped down from the window to the dumpster, using it to get down to the ground. I was a disgrace after Eddie’s amazing exit earlier. My foot landed wrong, and I stumbled. I didn’t even need to create a magical distraction, because the Strigoi noticed me right away. He shoved Eddie back and shot toward me.
Fear filled every part of me as that deathly white face leered down. Somehow, in spite of the overwhelming urge to just scream and scream, I held up my hand and summoned a small ball of fire. My hope was that it might startle him back enough for Eddie to get in for the kill. To my astonishment, the fire didn’t scare the Strigoi. In fact, he grabbed my wrist and slammed me into the brick wall. The flame disappeared, and I let out a small scream.
“Don’t try that game with me, witch,” he growled. “I know your kind. I know your tricks. Maybe your blood is off‑limits, but your neck snaps the same as anyone else’s.”
I could see my death in his eyes, and it wasn’t terror I felt so much as sorrow–a great and overwhelming sorrow for all the things I would never do. I would never see Adrian again, never create a life with him, never have those perfect children he’d joked about. Even small things took on a terrible sense of loss. I’d never have lunch with my friends again, never hear Angeline make one of her ludicrous comments. I’d never patch things up with Zoe.
It was amazing how so many things flew through my mind in a millisecond. And it was amazing how the smallest things in life became monumental when you were about to lose them.
Suddenly, the Strigoi spun around, anticipating an advance from Eddie. I was momentarily forgotten as the two engaged in battle again, and I wasted no time scurrying toward Neil’s fallen form. I was trying to drag him away when two dark figures came tearing down the alley. At first, I thought partyers had stumbled on us. Then, I recognized them.
Angeline and Trey.
“No way,” I said.
She was unarmed, but Trey carried a sword, the favorite weapon of the Warriors of Light. Their presence momentarily startled the Strigoi, enough for Eddie to slam into him and finally land a solid offensive blow. Trey approached from the other side, swinging the sword remarkably close to the Strigoi’s neck. Angeline helped me pull Neil out of danger and then knelt beside him. His eyelids fluttered, and his hand moved toward his pocket, where I could see a gleam of silver. Angeline took the stake from him, gripping it in her hands and watching the combat unfold before us.
The Strigoi was trapped between Eddie and Trey but seemed undaunted. He sized them both up, and I could guess his deliberation. Even armed and trained, a human like Trey was the easier target. Was it better to take him out immediately or deal with the bigger threat? The Strigoi opted for the former, lunging for Trey and simultaneously dodging an attack from Eddie. The impact knocked Trey to the ground, but it took enough of the Strigoi’s attention that he left an opening for Eddie, who scored a swipe with his stake.
The Strigoi hissed in pain but didn’t slow down. He managed both offense and defense with seemingly no effort. No one gained any ground, and my frustration grew. I felt helpless and began racking my brain for other spells I might use. I had a vast repertoire at my fingertips, but with the erratic way everyone was moving, I couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t hurt one of my friends.
Eddie made a desperate attack and actually knocked the Strigoi to the ground. Needing no communication, Trey advanced with the sword, going in for decapitation. But the Strigoi continued to thwart us. He sprang up, doing a spinning kick that knocked both guys away. Apparently deciding to change tactics, he went after Eddie this time, who even I could tell was getting up just a little too slowly.
That’s when the unthinkable happened. A thick white mist suddenly appeared and rose from the puddle‑covered ground, momentarily enveloping and blinding the Strigoi. That’s when Angeline acted. Everyone had forgotten about her. Even I had. She leapt up from beside me, charging forward unhesitatingly as she plunged the silver stake into the Strigoi’s back. He screamed. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it was enough for Eddie to recover and send his own stake through the creature’s chest and into the heart. The Strigoi flailed a little, one last attempt to save himself, and then he collapsed and went still. Silence fell as we all held a collective breath.
“What are you doing here?” demanded Eddie.
“Saving your ass,” said Angeline. “I knew there was something going on.”
“I’m not talking to you,” he snapped. He threw down the stake and strode past her, toward the entrance of the alley. I followed with my eyes and saw a tall, slim figure standing there, her hair glowing in the light of an overhead lamp. Jill. I remembered the water on the ground turning to mist, and it all made sense.
“You have no right being here!” exclaimed Eddie, coming to a halt in front of her. It was one of the few times I’d ever seen him angry. I’d certainly never seen him angry at her. He cast a glare back at Angeline before returning to Jill. “They shouldn’t have brought you.”
“I have every right to be here,” she retorted. “When Angeline finally convinced us, I knew we had to help. And we did.”
Eddie was undaunted. “I don’t care what they do. If they want to endanger their lives, so be it. But a princess of her people has no business putting herself in danger.”
“A princess of her people has no business sitting off to the side while said people are in danger,” Jill returned.
“Do you have any idea what could have happened if–”
“Oh, shut up,” she said, reaching for him. He flinched in surprise, but once she started kissing him, the tension left his body. I shook my head and looked away.
“Oh, man,” I said to no one in particular. “This night is just full of surprises.”
With the immediate danger gone, I was able to examine Neil more closely. He was weak and groggy from the blood loss and Strigoi endorphins, but he’d survive. “Hey,” I said, gently touching his face. He looked up at me in a daze, not seeming to know me. “You did it. You proved that the tattoo worked. We have a way to keep Strigoi from drinking from us.” Even if Olive’s blood couldn’t technically stop turning, it seemed pretty unlikely a Strigoi could stomach draining anyone in order to complete the process.
Neil gave me an addled smile and closed his eyes. “We need to get him fluids,” said Eddie. Jill was standing a couple feet from him now, but he had a dazed, starstruck quality to him. “Back to the car.”
As he and Trey helped Neil up, I took care of the Strigoi body, destroying it with Alchemist chemicals. As I watched that gruesome face dissolve into smoke, I had a surreal moment of clarity. I remembered those frantic seconds when I’d thought all I loved and knew, all that was Sydney Sage, would be lost from this world. My battered friends and I had just had a brush with death, dancing with this evil. We’d destroyed it, but it was terrifying how touch and go it all had been. At any moment, the Strigoi could have gained the advantage and killed one or all of us. Life and death were inextricably bound together, and we wavered between them. But we’d triumphed over death tonight. We were alive, and the world was beautiful. Life was beautiful, and I refused to waste mine.