The Forever Song

The door loomed dead ahead, and I didn't stop.  I didn't pause to reconsider my plan.  Whether I was w

The door loomed dead ahead, and I didn't stop.  I didn't pause to reconsider my plan.  Whether I was walking into a trap or straight to my death.  Katana at my side, I strode up to the door and kicked it below the knob.  It flew open with a crash, nearly ripped off its hinges, and I stepped into the room.

"Hey old man," Jackal called in a mocking voice, "you forgot to say 'if you kids don't stop I'm going to turn this car right around and then no one will go to Eden.'"

I slumped in relief, then turned...to face a squadron of suspicious, hard-eyed soldiers, their assult rifles already trained on us all.

I didn't answer, walking faster to get away from him, and he quickened his pace to keep up.

“Come on, sister, where’s that obnoxious morality you kept throwing in my face every two seconds? You’re making it very difficult to take any sort of pleasure in mocking it relentlessly.”

Ignoring the pain, I snatched my katana from where it lay on the hood and roared a challenge to the giant bearing down on me.  As it loomed overhead, smashing down with a huge fist, I dodged aside, and its arm crunched into metal, leaving a deep hole behind.

The smell of blood grew thicker once we were past the wall, though nothing moved on the narrow path that snaked between houses.  The flimsy wood and tin shanties were silent, dark, as we ventured deeper, passing snow covered porches and empty chairs.  Everything looked intact, undisturbed.  There were no bodies.  No corpses mutilated in their beds, no blood spattered over the walls of the few homes we ducked into.  There weren't even any dead animals in the tiny, trampled pasture past the main strip.  Just snow, and dark, and emptiness.    

            And yet, the smell of blood soaked this place, hanging thick on the air, making my stomach ache and the Hunger roar to life.  I bit it down, clenching my jaw to keep from snarling in frustration.  It had been too long.  I needed food. The scent of blood was driving me crazy, and the fact that there were no humans here made me furious.  Where were they?  It wasn't possible that an entire outpost of mortals would up and disappear without a trace.

            And then, as we followed the path around the pasture and up to the huge barn at the top of the rise, we found the townspeople.

            A massive, barren tree stood beside the barn, twisted branches clawing at the sky.  They creaked and swayed beneath the weight of dozens of bodies, hanging upside down from ropes tied to the limbs.  Men, women, even a few kids, swinging in the breeze, dangling arms stiff and white.  Their throats had been cut, and the base of the tree was stained black, the blood spilled and wasted in the snow.  But the smell nearly knocked me over regardless, and I clenched my fists, the Hunger raking my insides with fiery talons.        

            "Well," Jackal muttered, crossing his arms and gazing up at the tree, "isn't that festive."  His voice was tight, as if he too, was on the edge of losing it.  "I'm guessing this is the reason we haven't found a single bloodbag from here all the way back to New Covington."  He growled, shaking his head, lips curling back from his fangs. "This guy is really starting to piss me off."

            I swallowed the Hunger, trying to focus through the gnawing ache.  "Why James, don't tell me you feel sorry for the walking meatsacks," I taunted, because sometimes, goading Jackal was the only thing that kept my mind off everything else.  He snorted and rolled his eyes.

            "No, sister, I'm annoyed because they don't have the decency to be alive so I can eat them."

VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?

With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

MONSTER

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

April 29th 2014

And the monster rose up, embracing my pain, turning it to vengeance. This is what we are, it whispered, easing the despair threatening to crush me. We are vampires. We are not human, we do not need human emotion, we do not get attached to human beings. You knew that from the beginning.

I did. Allie the Fringer knew that, even before she was Turned. She'd tried to warn me to keep my distance, to guard my heart.

Lesson learned. I was a monster. I would never forget that again.

[YIFEI LIU as Allison Sekemoto
"black hair, pale skin, and 'squinty' eyes"
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or Devon Aoki for Allie
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LANDON LIBOIRON as Ezekiel Cross
"tall, lean, blue-eyed"
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WENTWORTH MILLER as Kanin (This guy is perfect. You're welcome.)
"piercing black eyes, tall, muscular form and calm, quiet demeanor"
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You can't save anyone now. The requiem has started, and when the last melody plays, the only applause will be sweet, eternal silence.
-Sarren

"Everything that's happened - from New Covington, to Eden, to here - is your fault, vampire girl. Jebbadiah is dead, because you couldn't save him. Kanin was tortured and nearly killed, because you had to see if Stick was all right, and he betrayed you both to the Prince. Everyone in Eden is going to die, because you let Sarren get away." His eyes glittered with hate. "And I... I'm dead, because you came into my life, and I was stupid  enough to fall in love with a monster. You killed me, Allie. Not Sarren. I'm a vampire now, because of you."

Every word, every accusation, hit like a knife, slicing me open. But the last nearly dropped me to my knees. Tears blurred my vision, and I turned from Zeke, slumping against a section of roof that had fallen in. My fault. Jackal had been right. It was my fault that Zeke was dead, my fault for everything.

"Watch me, Zeke. I'll send your killer to hell, and I'll smile while I'm doing it."

"Sarren is not going to win. I am not giving our forever to that sick bastard. this isn't over yet.

"Does it matter?" asked Jackal behind us. "Who cares what he's up to? He can be planning to fill the world with puppies, and I'm still going to rip the shriveled black heart from his chest and shove it down his throat until he chokes on it."

Raising his head, he bellowed into the room: "Hey, minions! Daddy's home and he's not happy! But because I'm such a nice guy, I'm going to give you a choice. You can make it easy for yourself and blow your brains out right now, or I can slowly twist your head around until it pops right off your neck. Your move!"

"Oh, heads are going to roll for this. I'm going to set up a special lane and use their skulls for bowling balls."

4.5 “Now, can we please move past this and get on with saving the world?” stars

4.5 “Now, can we please move past this and get on with saving the world?” stars

[

He blinked, and his palm traced a searing path down my cheek, his gaze intense. “I love you, Allison,” he whispered, making my stomach twist into a knot. “With everything in me—heart, mind and soul.

this,

Zeke took three steps forward, took me gently in his arms, and pressed his lips to mine.

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And as Julie says "As you probably know by now, your tears feed my muse."

"I will make your little bird sing for and hour. Her song will seep into the very walls and will remain here forever, and everyone who hears it will know how much she wanted to die. The longer this goes on, the longer her music will last, until she is begging for it to end. But it will not end, as long as you are still alive."

"But perhaps a song

"I will make your little bird sing for and hour. Her song will seep into the very walls and will remain here forever, and everyone who hears it will know how much she wanted to die. The longer this goes on, the longer her music will last, until she is begging for it to end. But it will not end, as long as you are still alive."

"But perhaps a song is worth a thousand pictures, hmm? Show her what I mean, Ezekiel. Sing for us."

*Spoilers for The Immortal Rules & The Eternity Cure*

Humans meant

*Spoilers for The Immortal Rules & The Eternity Cure*

Humans meant nothing to me, not anymore. They were food, and I was a vampire. I was done pretending that I was anything less than a monster.
But I would kill Sarren.

“Hey, vampire girl,” Zeke whispered, his voice slightly choked. “I knew...you’d come for me.”
* * *
This...can’t be real.

“You are so bloody frustrating!” he roared, back fisting another rabid with the axhead. “Do you really think the cure is worth this ? You think I’d be here now if that’s all I wanted?” He turned and sliced his weapon through the air, beheading one rabid and sinking it into another. “Get your damn head out of your ass, sister!” he seethed. “And give me a little fucking credit. That’s not why I’m here.” - Jackal

“It is...a very heavy weight to carry, Allison, the damnation of a world. I want you to be very certain, before we go any further. Is it worth it? Is he worth it?”
His words chilled me, but I already knew my answer. It was selfish, it was unreasonable, and I knew it was the wrong choice. But I looked up at Kanin, into his impassive face, and whispered, “Yes.”