Chapter 137

The air was so hot I felt it scorching my skin. The wind blew me across the ground until I got a hold of something and took refuge behind a tree. I could smell the bark burning from the heat of the air. My ears were ringing. I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t see anything as the light filled the sky, casting long, dark shadows around me.

When the explosion ended, I dropped to the ground, panting in fear as my heart beat almost painfully in my chest. I heard screaming, crying, and other sounds from near and from far away. I got to my feet, gritting my teeth, and stumbling back towards the building nearby and further into the city. The cliff was on the other side of the town. I had to get there. I didn’t know how much time I had left, but Candido needed me. I couldn’t just let him lie there alone. Who knew what could happen? Who knew what had happened?

No matter what, I had to get there. People were screaming and running around and away from where most of the damage had been done. My legs trembled as I hurried towards the place where the explosion had gone off. It seemed like it was about half way away from the base of the cliff.

“Run!” Someone screamed. Someone pushed past me as I smell blood in the air.

Someone screamed and darted towards me. He slammed me into a wall with his hand wrapped around my neck. I barely registered the pain radiating from my back and through my chest before he was ripped away from me. Someone darted past me into the forest, then someone else. I heard a baby crying, I was sure. I was dazed. My legs wouldn’t go the right way. I felt like I was just spinning in place. Something hot and quick shot past me as I stumbled back and away. Another sharp sound and gust of air shot past me.

Bullets. Someone was shooting. Were they shooting at me? What was happening? Why couldn’t I get my body to do anything?

“It’s collapsing!”

A sharp crack filled the air and the group broke apart as one of them was slammed into the building. Another sharp crack filled the air. The brick burst apart as the walls started to collapse. The ground shook as it started to fold. I tried to keep my balance, but the shockwave sent me flying back into another wall. I slumped and barely caught my balance.

I heard a crack from behind me. I looked up as a brick fell and broke apart near me. As I looked up, I realized that the crack was still growing up the wall. The top of it seemed to be a wide metal sheet, and it wavered on top of the brick wall.

I looked up. My heart hammering as it started to fall towards me. There was no way I could get out of the way in time.

Something slammed into me, carrying me out of the way and tumbling me across debris.

“Are you an—Hedy?”

I opened my eyes and focused on the woman leaning over me. Her face was familiar. I frowned.

“Francia?”

She looked horrified. Her eyes darted over me and she grew even more pale.

“What… Where have you—” She grit her teeth and turned sharply as I heard thudding boots. “No time. We have to go.”

“The cliff—”

She grabbed me and hauled me onto her shoulder. I felt like a sack of potatoes as she started to run away from the town center, further away from the cliff.

“No… I have to—”

“You head that way and you’re going to die and I’ll be damned if I’m stuck explaining that to your precious king.”

“He’s… there,” I gasped, pushing at her shoulder weakly. “I have to—”

She stopped and turned back letting out a bellowing howl through the air. I didn’t know what that was meant to mean, but an answering call came back and she turned back to the forest. When we seemed to get far enough in, I heard other people.

“Damn!” She cursed, throwing me off her shoulder as she turned and lifted a gun into the air.

She fired three shots at the hissing figures that were leaping towards us. They each screeched and turned to a gust of ashes through the air.

“To the caves!” She yelled into the darkness of the forest. “Quickly!”

I heard people’s feet rushing around, but I only saw a few people. They were all terrified and hurrying past me. Occasionally, a vampire would appear and be slammed into the ground by another person who appeared out of nowhere.

Francia turned to me and yanked me off the ground.

I shrieked at the pain that shot through me.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time to be gentle.” She lifted me again and turned back, firing shots into the darkness.

I saw a rock open to a deep darkness. My heart raced. Fear filled me. I couldn’t go back in there. I couldn’t go into that cave. I screamed and tried to get out of her grip, but she locked her arm around me and kept going.

The darkness enveloped us and dropped us further into darkness. I felt myself falling then rolling into a wall. The walls started to light up, illuminating Francia as she slumped against a wall and panted, trying to catch her breath. The others that were with us were barely breathing over the terror. Other people came tumbling in after her. She got up and checked on them before coming back to me.

“What do you remember?” Francia asked. “What is the last thing you remember?”

I shook my head, pulling away from her. She grabbed me by shoulder and shook me.

“Hedy, it’s important! Tell me what’s the last thing you remember!”

“I don’t know!” I wailed, my eyes welling with tears. “I want Candido. Where’s Candido?”

“We don’t have time for—”

“I want Candido!” I cried, pulling away from her.

She huffed and pulled away. “Childish.”

I didn’t care what she said. I curled up and let the tears fall from my eyes.

“That idiot has no business mixing you up in all of this,” Francia said.

“Don’t call him an idiot.”

“Maybe,” she said, pulling out a phone. “He should stop behaving like one.”

“Are you calling Candido?”

She scoffed again. “Hello? Yes… I’m fine. We got out in time, but the town is a mess…. Yes. I’ll head back to the Blue Moon camp. What about Red Moon?”

I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but from her expression things looked terrible. What had happened in Red Moon?

I frowned. Why didn’t I know? I felt like I should know.

She got off the phone and turned to me. “You need to tell me what you remember.”

I said nothing. I didn’t remember anything.

“Hedy,” Francia growled. “If you’re a danger to me and my people, I need to know. And I—”

He went still. Several others went still and she turned slowly towards the darkness that seemed deeper than the rest of the cave.

“Shit,” Francia cursed. “Can you stand?”

Another wall opened behind her.

“Can you stand?” She shouted.

Tears streamed down my face. I wanted Candido. I wasn’t going to move another step without seeing him, without knowing he was coming for me.

“It’s coming,” someone said softly, cocking a gun. “We can slow it, but that’s all. How far until we reach the gate?”

Francia grit her teeth. “I don’t know. Maybe not far, maybe too far.”

She stepped closer to me and crouched down beside me. I didn’t look at her.

“If you don’t get up, I will leave you here,” she said coldly. “And your king will just have to fucking deal, do you understand?”

My jaw trembled.

“You are not more important to me than my people, no matter what you’ve done for my son. That debt is settled as far as I am concerned, and I will leave you.” She grabbed my face and turned my head to meet her gaze. Her eyes flickered with red light. “And I won’t care how many pieces are left of you. I don’t have time for childish behavior. You’re in this war. There is no going back. Get up.”

My jaw trembled, and I glared at her. “Candido will come for me.”

“Maybe for a corpse if you don’t get up.”

Darkness flashed behind my eyes. I saw moonlight and gold. I saw darkness and cod stone around me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even think. I felt the pressure building in my chest. I saw a face, a man, standing over me. I heard chanting and felt everything in my body burning.

“No!” I screamed as a roar shook the cave. I jumped up and took off as the rest of the people started running and the ground shook. “No! No! No!”