AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sebastian Vangard?” she asked, extending her hand as I nodded. “I’m Avyanna.”
“Thanks for meeting with us.”
When I placed my hand in hers, a soft yet powerful energy surged through my fingers, like a low, steady hum of electricity.
She nodded stiffly at Zach, her thin lips curling inwards as she looked us both over. “I wasn’t told you would bring a friend.”
“I trust him,” I pressed.
She hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. Follow me. We can’t stay here.” She glanced around, her gaze sliding over the watching stall owners and buyers.
My fingers flexed, but I couldn’t say no. She was offering us help, and we needed it. I eyed her as she walked out of the gates. My wings felt heavier than ever as they remained tucked behind my back, and I tilted my head until I felt a satisfying pop in my shoulder, the ache rolling away.
Zach shot me a look as we entered the seedier part of the city, speeding past discarded mortals, deemed too used up and broken from the blood dens. A woman in her fifties bent at the waist, coughing into her thin, worn-down dress, offering no reprieve from the cold gusts from the end of winter. Her bloodshot eyes hazed past me, looking at everything and nothing at the same time—the venom causing a permanent state of dissociation. I’d seen it many, after years of abuse. She was far gone, but watching her walk down the glass-littered street barefoot, mumbling to herself, was too much to bear.
I swallowed thickly, realizing she was roughly around the same age as my mom when she killed. She even had the same hairstyle.
She slumped down in a doorway, and a rat scurried over, sniffing her toenail. She looked ahead, not noticing the tiny creature.
“Get out of here,” I scowled at the rat, then sped to the woman’s side. The breeze gusted her light-brown hair outwards, thin wisps of strands catching across her face. Her wrinkled eyes focused on me, and for a moment I thought I saw a glimmer of realization within the lucidity. She tilted her neck, gliding her hand over the bruises, all different colors. Her lips parted, waiting for the bite she thought was coming.
Zach’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Thirsty?”
I shook his hand off. “No.” I scowled. “They’ve left her out here to rot. The withdrawals from our venom will be enough to kill her within weeks.”
“Someone will kill her before then.”
A chill washed down my torso. “It’s sad it comes to that.”
I turned to face him, looking into his stoic, silver eyes, and realized how numb he had become to it all. Although he wasn’t as embracing of his darker nature, he didn’t seem to care much about the mortals here too. I supposed when it’s all any of us have seen for years, especially as long as Zach had been alive, there was a sense of normalcy to it all.
Even I’d allowed myself to ignore it. “We have to help her.”
Zach stepped forward. “Why her?”
I should’ve been glad he didn’t say the next part out loud, but it was written all over his face. I never cared before.
“I…” I pressed my lips tight. What could I say? She resembled my dead mother?
Zach’s gaze shifted to the woman, then back to me. “There’s not much we can do. She’s as good as dead.”
I inhaled sharply, a waft of urine reaching my nose. “Then put her out of her misery.”
Avyanna looked over her shoulder, then turned on her heel. Tossing her braid back behind her shoulder, she walked back to us. “Move.” Her authoritative tone cut through our conversation, the silver rings over her tattooed fingers shimmering under the pale gray as the clouds covered the city. “The young vampire here wishes for you to die,” she told the mortal.
I moved toward her, but Zach placed his arm across my chest, shaking his head.
Avyanna continued, my heart racing as I watched her carefully, trusting her less by the second. “Is he right? Would you like to pass on?” She glanced up at the sky, her gray eyes matching the thick cover. “It’s better there. More peaceful.” She kept her fingers steady on the woman’s hand, who seemed to relax in her presence. “Everything has its time. You will find a better life next time.”
I arched a brow as her words circled my mind.Next time?
The woman muttered something intelligible, but Avyanna seemed to understand. With her other hand, she pulled out a small, corked glass bottle filled with a royal purple liquid. She placed it in the woman’s palm, then closed her finger around. She whispered in her ear, “take it,” then stood.
She clicked her fingers, then turned on her heel and walked up the street as if nothing had happened. I stared at the woman who rolled the bottle between her fingers, eyeing the shimmer in what I assumed to be poison.
I sped to Avyanna, stopping at her side, then matching her pace. Zach caught up. “What was that? Do you make it a habit to carry aroundpoison?”
Her lips curled. “You have a good eye.”
