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The wards were down.
She looked up at the house again, but nothing had changed. She stepped over the lifeless symbols carved into the ground. A coincidence, she told herself, even though she didn’t believe it.
She walked through the house, stopping at the living room door. The lights were on, but she kept walking, following the sounds to the kitchen.
Nick was standing at the kitchen sink, covered in grey dust and washing his hands. She stepped inside. He didn’t turn, but she knew he was aware of her presence.
Cara started to speak, but she stopped again. Black lines covering his arms and the back of his neck. His shirt was ripped in a few places, and she could see the lines crossing over the skin on his back.
He filled a glass with water and drank. She was waiting for him to finish, to turn and talk to her, but as she watched him, he rinsed his mouth instead of drinking the water. He did it a few more times, and she moved closer.
“Are you okay?”
NIck finally turned to her. “What do you want?”
She froze. “Nick, your eyes...”
“What do you want, Cara? I’m busy.”
She hesitated. “I... I came to help.”
“Help?” He let out a laugh, but it sounded wrong. She knew what his laugh was supposed to sound like. “How could you possibly help?”
“What happened to you?” she asked. “The void is all over your face. Your eyes have gone black, Nick.”
He walked past her and picked up the dagger lying on the table.
“Why do you have that out?” she asked. He didn’t reply, and she noticed the grey dust covering the blade. No, not dust. It was ash. Vampire ash.
“Are you hurt?” she asked.
“No,” he said.
He was covered in scratches and light bruises, but nothing serious.
“I’m going to finish what they started,” Nick said. “They think they can come into my home and mess with my family. It’s almost funny.”
“Is it?”
“I’m going to fill this city with ash.”
“Nick...”
“It’s okay, Cara. I know what you’re going to say. You’ll try to stop me. You’ll come up with some reasonable argument that will change my mind. Let’s skip to the part where I don’t listen, because I’m not planning to.”
He turned as he returned the dagger to its sheath and buckled it onto his belt. The movement drew her eyes to fresh blood on his arm, and she saw a long scrape across his skin.
“You should let me look at that,” Cara said.
He followed her gaze. “I cleaned it already. It’ll stop bleeding soon.”
“I can help.”
“With what? Magic won’t work. I’m a void, remember? It’s an empty offer.”
“I can still try.”
His jaw clenched. “Do whatever you want.”
