First Death Pt. 05

I recalled Lucas' jab, "But he sent you to kill her?"

Evan was quite for a moment; I had dredged up memories he tried to forget but he continued his story for me despite it, "As the years past Lily and I grew close and became lovers. I would have followed her to the end of the earth but when she switched sides to Good, she vanished and left me behind. I had a hard time understanding why, until Lucas ordered me to kill her. That was when I realized she didn't have a choice; I hunted her down for decades, fearing the day that I would find her and be forced to carry out the directive I was bound to. Eventually I discovered her, in Japan. She was waiting to meet the immortal. We fought and I thought I had killed her, but in the process some of her blood splashed on my face; it was then that she discovered since her and Lucas were twins, their blood was the same. I was free from my obligation to him and I begged Lily to bind me to her. She didn't want to but I insisted until she relented. The only order she gave me was to remain alive and so I have—I've aged maybe ten years over the past few centuries, so the Oath doesn't stop aging completely like it does for vampires but it is still a longer time than I should have had. It grates on you, kid, living so long. After a while very few things matter anymore."

I soaked in his words, feeling like I had just gained a secret insight to Lily. It also tore at my heart, knowing the amount of history the two of them had. I didn't stand a chance. I was a firefly bursting into a summer night, flying around frantically before my short life was snuffed out while she was the everlasting darkness that remained eternal. I ached, knowing that it was all a fleeting dream.

Trying to think about anything else to get my mind off of losing a woman I never had, I asked, "Did you meet the immortal too?"

Evan's silence made me think he passed out, until his voice was only a whisper, "Yes. When his men came to get her I stayed behind—to be granted an audience with the immortal is a rare thing. He is under such protection that Lily was placed in an iron maiden and carted off to his residence; it took a week for her to get there and back. No one knows what he looks like—he always wears a cloak and a mask to hide his face. A day after she left to see him, he appeared in the villa I was waiting in. The stories were all true—he was a terrifying man, the way he moved was reminiscent of a vampire but he was something much more. He made it a special point to visit me, to inquire as to why she was there. There have been few times in my life that I have been genuinely scared and that is one of them. I told him everything—she intended to kill him and drink his blood for three full moons. He knew as much and told me something no one else knew—the only person who could kill an immortal, was an immortal. That, and the three full moons bit was a lie he had made up centuries prior to screw with people. All one has to do, is drink of an immortal under the blood moon. I never told Lily that he came to me—she had turned to Good but it was always a struggle for her—it still is. I know that she has an evilness inside of her that she fights to keep at bay."

I wondered why he was telling me any of this, if it was a secret he had kept for over a century, "Lily said there is only ever one immortal—how can he die then, if he's the only one?"

"Fuck if I know, kid. Hang around these creatures long enough and you'll learn that they rarely give it to you straight," he coughed a bit; it sounded wet, like blood. "It's dawn. I imagine they will be coming soon, best to keep quiet for a while."

I did as he said, going over the additional facts in my head. It was beginning to be too much—vampires, wolves, immortals, Death, Good and Evil—suddenly, the life I lived not even a week ago seemed like some distant dull lifetime afternoon special and the world I was thrust into was the stuff of nightmares.

The doors banged open, the light almost blinding when someone turned it on. I looked at Evan; there was blood coming out of the side of his mouth, his eyes closed, his face pale yet breathing. I turned my head to see a pompous pair of legs walk over to me before crouching down; his annoyed, perfectly white face had a sneer on it.

"You are proving to be a big pain in my ass, Matthew," Ian said.

There was no response I could give to make things better, so I kept my mouth shut and glared at him. Before our conversation could progress, a man burst into the room, slamming the doors shut behind him, his face was frantic, scared. He looked at Ian but without saying a word, the fright in his eyes conveyed his message.

Ian growled and reached for me; he grabbed my sweater at the back of my neck and drug me across the room, further from Evan. I kicked and fought against him but it did no good—he released me and walked away. I swung my head around to watch him, taking in the scene as it was laid out before me; Ian stood on the opposite end of the room from the doors he had entered. Half way between him and the exit were Evan and I on each side near the walls. The room wasn't furnished—the carpet was a thick beige, low pile that scrapped against my bound hands. I thought it was odd that he had referred to this room as the solarium, until I noticed that the wall behind Evan was divided up into black rectangular strips that formed panels; a quick glance behind me confirmed that they were the same way.

There was a scream in the hallway that made my head whip back around to the door. With a loud crash, they were kicked in so hard that one of them broke off of its hinge when it slammed against the wall. Framed in the doorway, was Lily. She was pissed. In her right hand, a menacing looking rapier dripping with fresh blood; in her left, she held onto the shirt of a half dead vampire—he looked like he had been dragged a ways. She roughly discarded the man to the ground, irritation grinding in her throat when she addressed Ian, "Hello darling."

"A little primitive, don't you think, love?" He motioned to her choice of weapons.

Lily whipped the blade forward and in one fluid motion decapitated the vampire on the ground. As his body grew smoldering hot and simmered, she chucked the rapier aside, "Well, I had to improvise."

"Good, I'm glad you had a warm up. I have a lovely treat for you."

Lily's eyes weren't focused on Ian anymore but calculating the distance between her and I. She had the same cold sense of stewing calm that she did in Lucas' house but I could tell that she was trying to assess me for injury. I rolled my head side to side to let her see that my neck was still intact. She nodded in understanding; her eyes looking around the room until they finally fell on Evan. She couldn't hold back the shock-her mouth dropped open for a silent cry. The pain in her eyes-I could hardly bare it.

Ian chuckled at her, "Even after all these years, you still have a soft spot for that worthless half breed—well today, my dear, I will make you choose." He stepped backwards to the wall behind him, slapping his hand against a panel. As the black slatted walls clinked upwards, drawn towards the ceiling, the bright sunlight of a new dawn poured into the room, covering both Evan and I. I squinted my eyes, looking back at Ian who stood in a narrow strip of darkness at the far end of the room; when I turned to Lily, she had taken a step backwards into the few feet of shadow near her. I understood what Evan meant when he said Ian never played fair.

Lily narrowed her eyes at him, the hate in her face frightening.

"What do you want more, Lily?" His voice was haughty and when I glanced to him his expression matched it, "Your mongrel lover? Your chance at immortality? Or me—dead?" He had two guns in his hands and raised them—one pointed at me, one pointed at Evan. I knew we were all fucked.

Almost, as if in slow motion, I heard the two simultaneous shots ring out with a loud clap. I cringed my shoulders, waiting for the bullet to tear into me while I caught a glance at Evan rolling away. Then, Lily dove in front of me; her face twisted in pain as the bullet tore through her back and she crashed into the ground. She let out a loud yelp, writhing in agony while the sunlight reflected on her white skin. She blinked slowly, not hiding her hurt as she pulled a gun from the small of her back. As if each movement was torture, she pushed herself up and drug her body over mine. Two quick shots rang out as she blasted through the metal cuffs at my hands and feet, the vibrations of the breaking metal jarring through my limbs. She flopped over on to her back, her chest rising and falling quickly as her laboring, unnecessary breath filled her lungs.

"Run," her voice was a whisper.

The loud clanking of the black metal shades falling down the glass windows drew my gaze away from her—the room was darker and my eyes had a hard time adjusting. Ian's arrogant swagger over towards us was slow as he enjoyed his ploy. I reached down and gathered Lily up into my arms, looking into her once white face which now had an ashen dingy twinge to it. The blood from her wound leaked out through her clothing and onto my hands when I put pressure against them.

Ian hovered mere feet away, smirk on his lips, "Such as waste, my love—since you changed sides you have become too predictable."

Lily forced her eyes open, her shaking hand raising her gun as she aimed it at him, "Fuck you, Ian."

He laughed, knowing she had no chance of hitting him; as he raised his own gun, a shot rang out from Lily's hand. Ian's smile faltered a little, he looked at her in unwarranted pity that she missed hitting him. Then, as the bullet crashed into the panel across the room and the clinking metal shades drew up, his face twisted in pain. Sunlight burst back into the room, covering everyone. Ian growled angrily, his hands rising up to cover his face while he ran as fast as he could, though it was no more than a slow desperate gait. He managed to make it to the darkness of the doorway, frantically retreating into the shadows of the hall before he disappeared.

I quickly gathered Lily up in my arms and rushed to the shadows. I set her down out of the sun, carefully stroking her face with a shaky hand. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't breathing, but the fact that she was still whole told me that she wasn't dead—at least not for a third time. When I heard Evan cough, I reluctantly stood up and scrambled over towards Lily's gun, rushing to the wolf's side. My shots were unsure but I blew through his restraints, lucky enough that my trembling hands didn't send a bullet through his flesh. I rolled him to his back and pressed my hand into the bullet wound in his shoulder. He groaned in pain, his eyes opened. He looked around frantically until he saw Lily's still body in the shadows.

"Get her out of here," he painfully whispered, "keep her in darkness."

"You—you need a doctor," I stammered out. At least with his wounds, I knew they could be fixed.

He pushed my hand off of him, replacing it with his own, "I can take care of myself but she can't—now go!" Painfully he righted himself, forcing his legs under him. I stumbled after him as he made his way to the door; his eyes fell on Lily, his face twisted in anguish. He wanted to go to her, to hold her, but instead he staggered out of the door and towards the direction Ian fled.

I knelt next to Lily and gathered her in my arms. Her body dangled lifelessly as I heaved her up with my remaining strength. In the hallway, I followed the charred remains and blood spatter, the opposite direction of Evan. My muscles burned as I held her close to my chest, my adrenaline the only thing keeping me going—though to where, I had no idea. After twists and turns I felt the gradual slope of the hallway tilting downwards, hoping that it would lead to a basement or garage—finally I saw a door that was cracked open, darkness beyond it. I wasn't sure where to go but I knew I needed to get out of here quickly, before I crossed paths with something that moved.

When the door creaked open, I froze when I saw him step from behind it; he was dressed in black slacks and matching suit jacket, a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. His pristine white skin and perfectly styled, black curly hair was undisturbed by lack of effort on his part as six large guards flanked him with guns drawn. Lucas looked at me and purred.

"Hello, Matthew."

"Get out of my way Lucas," I snarled, shocked at the ferocity of my voice. From the mild surprised expression on his face, he was too. The men around him tensed, even though it was clear I was no threat to any of them; he raised his hand to halt their movement before it started. Then, his eyes fell on Lily's limp body in my arms. He flashed towards me, gun and knife now holstered before his empty hands gingerly reached up and stroked his sister's face.

His ruby eyes flickered up to mine, his voice quiet but angry, "Ian?"

"Escaped," the words tasted awful in my mouth.

Gazing down upon her, his voice was a quiet whisper, "Oh Lilith, how could you be so careless?" He sighed almost painfully, his face panged with human sorrow though it quickly dissipated when he looked back to me, "She must be kept in complete darkness and needs to be fed every night for a few weeks. It will take her a while to regain consciousness," he looked me over as if evaluating my ability to carry out the precious task, "I will supply you with food."

"Why should I trust you?" I narrowed my eyes at him threateningly—even though it was an empty one, my rage was all that kept me standing.

"Despite everything, she is still my sister," his face was blank again as he walked past me towards the house, "Go to the half breed's house, I will send someone to meet you." His guards followed him and he never looked back.

The underground garage was a disaster—cars were haphazardly parked, at least a dozen total plus a few bikes. The remains of smoldering corpses were everywhere I looked—on the floor, spattered across cars, on the walls mixed with smears of blood. I headed towards the sunlight at the far end; just in the shadows short of it I saw Lily's SUV. I carefully set her down on the ground while I popped open the trunk. I lifted up the well to reveal the spare tire, which I heaved out and into the back seat so that I could gently fold her into the depression, feeling guilty as I replaced the floor and shut her into darkness.

With shaking hands I climbed into the wrong side of the SUV and started it—the keys were still in the ignition. I managed to scroll through the history on the GPS and find the address to Evan's house—the computer stated that the drive would take an hour and twenty minutes. I eased the vehicle forward; it lurched to the side when I drove over a crunchy corpse but soon sunlight washed over my face. The morning was crisp and cool, the kind that you hope for every day that you have off of work or out of school. It was beautiful; the birds chirped, the dew clung to the grass, the squirrels chased each other across the tree tops. The world continued to turn, life continued to bloom, both ignorant to the catastrophe that had unraveled just the past night.

I tried to drive slowly, despite my urge to floor it so that I could get Lily out of the trunk. I didn't think I would be able to explain a seemingly dead body in the car to a cop. The minutes ticked past; it was relatively short but it might as well been an eight hour drive because it took forever.

The last turn down Evan's drive came as a relief. Thankfully, his house faced south and in the early morning the front stood in the shadows. I backed up as close as I could to the front door and my heart sank when I realized I didn't know the code to get in. Leaving her in the SUV, I went to the panel and stared at it—it was a hand scanner. Hopeful, I pressed my hand to it; it beeped in denial. I started to panic and I tried again—no luck.

I walked swiftly to the SUV and popped the trunk. Her lifeless body hadn't moved from the position I tucked her into; I gathered her in my arms, cradling her close to my chest as I carried her to the door. It took some coordination and I almost dropped her but I managed to grab her hand and press it to the panel—the sounds of the bolts unlocking were a relief.

Once inside I kicked the door shut and manually locked it before heading towards the steel door leading down to the basement.

"Meow," Jinx whined out at me. He followed me down the stairs and into her room; as I walked through the darkness I realized there were no windows in the basement, only the faint glow of the few plugged in electronics lighting my path. I laid her on the bed before sinking down to the floor, my back pressed against the wall. Jinx jumped up beside her, curling his cat body on her stomach.

My eyes slowly adjusted and I was barely able to make out the shape of her still body on the bed. I watched and waited. And waited. I hoped something would happen, but nothing changed.

I was pretty sure I stared at her all day long but I lost track of time. When my legs fell asleep I finally stood up and crawled into the bed beside her, able to see her face by the glow of the alarm clock. Her usual intoxicating smell was gone, replaced by the acidic tinge of a campfire. Even in the darkness, her vibrant hair seemed to have lost its sheen; her unblemished porcelain skin appeared a dull grey color.

Over six hundred years of existence, countless memories spanning back thousands more and in the blink of an eye she threw it all away to save me, when just the night before she told me she'd kill me. She chose me over Evan, over killing Ian—why? What was I to her that rated me higher than a man she loved or a man she had reason to kill? As I pondered the question over and over in my mind, I stared to wonder if she saved me because I was human—because I represented something she struggled to hold on to as the years of her death gradually lost meaning.

Jinx shifted and growled; he jumped off of the bed and disappeared shortly before there was a loud banging knock on the front door. It startled me straight up—quickly I got out of the room, shutting the door behind me to hide her from whoever was here. I bounded up the stairs two at a time, shutting the basement door as well before I walked towards the front of the house. I hoped against hope that it was Evan but when I tentatively looked out the peephole I saw a pair of red eyes and fangs in the fading twilight. I panicked and wished I had grabbed a gun from somewhere but I knew that it was too late now.

The man stepped backwards, knowing that I was on the other side of the door; he shifted the weight of whatever was thrown over his shoulder and grumbled at me, "Open up, Matthew. It's Max—Lucas sent me."

I realized that his brown hair was swept back into a bun, his neatly trimmed matching beard quirked his mouth into a half smile as if he was trying to sound casual. When I didn't reply, he rolled his eyes.

"I'm not here to take you or Lily, I brought some food." That was when I realized the lump over his shoulder had an ass and two legs hanging down from it.

I didn't want to let him in—Lily, even as a vampire, I could somewhat trust. Yes, she killed people while I was around. Yes, she fed from me. Yeah, I fucked her too so there was that—but deep down inside I knew that she would never hurt me unless she had to. I couldn't say the same about any of the rest of them but I knew that I was charged with her recovery and if I wanted her to get better I would have to open the door.

My hand shook as I twisted the lock and turned the knob. Max looked me over before he offered me a casual smile and shoved a paper bag into my arms, "I brought you some food too." He didn't wait for an invite before he pushed passed me with his victim. It was clear he had never set foot in the house before but after logically looking down a few doorways he ended up in the kitchen where he unceremoniously dumped the body off of his shoulder and onto the island counter. The body belonged to a boy who couldn't have been more than nineteen; his eyes were wide open and he frantically looked around but he didn't move. On his neck were two fresh puncture marks.