A Castle of Sand

He verified this when he announced, “It’s a diamond. It was my mother’s. It was the most valuable thing she owned. She had to pawn it off before she passed away, because of some difficulties we were having at the farm. It took me years to find it.”

“Derek, I can’t possibly take this. It’s too valuable…”

“No. I want you to have it. I know that she would’ve wanted you to have it.” He took the necklace from the box. “Lift your hair up,” he instructed.

“Derek…” I said breathlessly, wanting to object, knowing how precious the item he was offering to me was.

“Sofia…please…” His voice was husky. “I want you to have it. Wear it always. It will remind you of me. Take it as a promise from me—a promise that I will find a way to be with you.”

I lifted my hair up with my hand. My skin tingled as he put the necklace over my neck. I was fighting back tears. I couldn’t remember anyone ever giving me something so precious. When he faced me, I could barely look at him.

“Thank you…” I brushed a hand over the pendant. “I love it.”

“I have another surprise…” He smiled, his hand squeezing mine.

I adored him for what he showed me next, but a part of me wished he hadn’t done what he did, because the moment I saw the lavish quarters he’d prepared for me, Paige and Rosa in The Catacombs, I knew without a doubt that life there wasn’t going to be easy.

CHAPTER 13: BEN

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A smirk formed on my lips as each bullet hit the target right on the mark, smoke billowing out of the place the bullets struck.

“Watch it, Zinnia. I think it’s possible I could take your spot among the order’s best shooters.”

Zinnia scoffed as she traced a finger over the small scar on her left cheek, a scar I never actually thought to ask about before. “You wish, Hudson.” She aimed her gun and fired five rounds—all hitting the red circle on the target.

She looked at me with a wide grin on her face. “You may be one of the best fighters the academy has, Hudson, but you’re still not as good with a gun as I am.”

I rolled my eyes, hating to admit defeat. “Still, you have to admit…I’m ready for this mission.”

“Well, you certainly look like you’re ready to murder just about every vampire you lay eyes on.”

My eyes narrowed at the thought. It was true. I wanted to make my first vampire kill. Desperately. Soon, Ben…very soon…

We were off to New York. We’d been tipped off that a group of vampires—whose coven had recently been destroyed by a team of hunters—would be passing through the city that night on their way to seek refuge at a new coven. The plan was to attack at the break of dawn—thus giving us the advantage of sunlight.

“Have you ever seen a vampire die by one of these bullets?” I asked, holding my gun up, pointing it at the mock vampire target a considerable distance away from us. We were using ultraviolet-ray bullets.

Zinnia licked her lips and nodded. “It’s an interesting sight, though it’s not as lethal as a stake through the heart.”

“Why’s that?”

“We’re not sure why, but the bullets have different effects on different vampires. Some immediately combust…others…well, they die a slow, painful death. We’re not really sure yet why the effects aren’t the same for everyone.”

I imagined what it would feel like to shoot one of those bullets right through a vampire’s heart. I wondered what it would feel like if the vampire was Claudia. Seeing her scream in pain, her lithe body writhing on the ground...after everything she did to me, I couldn’t keep the wicked smile from forming on my lips as I pulled the trigger once again.

“It’s a different kind of feeling. You really don’t expect it to be like that,” Zinnia said pensively, as if reading my mind. “Killing vampires…especially your first kill…”

I frowned at her, surprised by the careful tone her voice took on. I straightened to my full height, slightly bending my neck in order to look her in the eye. “What do you mean? What’s it like?”

“It’s hard to describe. After what you lost at the hands of vampires, after all that time training to kill…” She shrugged, her eyes glazing over with tormented memories. For a moment, I thought that she felt sorry, but I realized that the glaze in her eyes was not out of regret, but glee. “There’s just this sense of pure satisfaction, knowing that in a small way, you’ve avenged those you’ve lost.”

I stared at her, never before having been introduced to this cold, dark side of her. The look in her eyes sent chills down my spine. I never thought I’d be so disturbed by a girl as petite as Zinnia Wolfe.

“The horrified look in that girl’s eyes as I saw life fade away from her...I’ll never forget it. It’s true what they say…your first kill will always stay with you. I still see her in my dreams…”

“And you didn’t feel any regret or compassion toward her?” My breath slightly hitched at the thought. “Ever?”

She shrugged. “There’s a reason I say ‘in my dreams’ and not ‘in my nightmares’.”

I studied Zinnia carefully, wondering if she was serious. She was always so fun and lighthearted. She was definitely one of the toughest girls I’d ever come across in my life. Still, she was a teenager like me. What could’ve caused her to harbor this much apathy and hatred? It was strange seeing her act and speak in such a serious, pensive manner. It was so unlike the Zinnia I’d gotten used to.

“Once you go on this mission, Ben, understand that things will never be the same for you again. You really should know exactly what you’re getting yourself into, because once you do this, there’s no going back.”

I gave it a moment’s thought, but I couldn’t relate to what she was saying—not at that moment, not completely. Thus, I just nodded and said, “Thanks, Zinnia. Don’t worry about me. I know exactly what I’m getting into.”

I didn’t realize what a lie that was until the morning of the mission.

Everything started out as planned. We flew by helicopter to New York. Since I’d been paired with Zinnia, I was supposed to stick with her at all times. After landing on the rooftop of a building right across the street from our mark, the rest of the team quickly ran toward their assigned positions. I was about to do the same thing, but Zinnia quickly grabbed a hold of my arm.

“Wait…” she whispered.

“What?” I asked impatiently. “We’re supposed to get into position, Zinnia…”

Cat-like, her eyes darted from one side of the roof to the other. Her gaze stopped on a specific spot on the rooftop.

“Zinnia! Ben!” our squad leader, Quinn, spat out in a muffled hiss. “What are you two doing?”

My eyes widened when I saw a red dot on Zinnia’s forehead. I was about to push her to the ground, but she had already done so, screaming, “Duck!” before tackling me to the ground.

Gunshots were fired and from my peripheral vision, I could see one of the hunters fall to the ground. I was looking for a trace of panic among the hunters in my squad, but there was none.

Quinn had a faint smirk on his face as he ran for cover. “They knew we were coming,” he said through our communication system. “Just take cover. The sun is about to rise. They won’t have an advantage for long. The other squads are already in position. All we have to do is stay alive until sunrise. Keep cover.”

The words had barely registered in my brain when I saw Zinnia roll toward one of the concrete banisters lining the rooftop. A small grin was on her face, her eyes still focused on the same spot in the rooftop she’d laid eyes on right after we got there.

I crawled my way closer to her, my stomach still flat on the ground. I followed the direction of her eyes as she began to aim her gun. All I could see were old wooden crates and piles of black netting.

“What exactly are we looking at, Wolfe?”

“Shut up.” She fired a shot right through one of the crates.

Within seconds, a piercing scream came from the other side of the crate and a female vampire emerged from behind it, walking around as if she was burning. It was the strangest sight, because the area where the bullet hit her began to glow from the inside—channeling through several parts of her body. She seemed just about ready to implode, and then she just fell to the ground, burned to a crisp before finally turning to ashes.

My jaw was wide open with shock. “That’s insane.”

After that first kill, chaos ensued. I couldn’t quite keep track of everything that went on around me, but what I knew for sure was that the vampires seemed to be winning. We didn’t expect them to know that we were coming. They were prepared for us—stronger, more agile. Keeping cover, like Quinn suggested, was difficult to do considering that the vampires were attacking us from all sides.

One of them lunged at Zinnia. I crouched to the ground and swung my leg and tripped him. I was surprised by how easily the big lug fell to the ground. Of all the times I’d tried to fight against Claudia, I never once succeeded in harming her in any way. Maybe this is a baby vampire. I was about to stick the wooden stake right through his heart, but a girl screamed behind me.

“No!” her cry was piercing. She obviously held affection for the monster I was about to kill. She pushed me away just in time for Zinnia to shoot another UV ray bullet at the guy.

“No…” the girl who had attacked me whimpered as she watched the man struggle and implode. Tears began to stream down her pale face. “He’s my brother…” she whispered, her voice hoarse and broken.

Taking advantage of her distracted state, I tackled the blonde vampire to the ground. I took a quick look at her. I tried to ignore how much her appearance reminded me of Claudia. I knew I couldn’t afford to lose time waiting for her to snap back to attention. Thus, without hesitation, I drove the wooden stake right through her heart. As I looked into her bright blue eyes, I wanted to feel the elation and satisfaction that came with my revenge against all the vampires that she represented. There was none.