Beautiful Death (25 page)

“You…”

He sighed. Guess she didn’t know after all. “I, I thought I died, but then I met Malik. We did that dreamshare thing. He broke my fingers, not the vampire I killed. And he bit me, the bastard.”

Her hand came out and she lightly touched fingertips to the bandage on his neck. “Thank the gods,” she whispered. “I thought that the one you killed did it… You have not been bitten.”

“Uh, yeah I have. I was there. Malik sunk his fangs right into me.” God and it felt so good.

Ash shook her head. “No, not actually. He dreamshared, yes? Then him biting you during the dreamshare means… We can make a dream real enough that you feel pain. If you are hit in your dream, your waking body will bear the bruise. If you are cut in dream, so will your real flesh. While he bit you in dream, since it was only… imaginary, there was no vampire saliva to infect you. Only the wound.”

He studied her face for moment and then said, “He killed my parents.” The words tasted dry and hollow.

Ash slumped. “Oh.”

He sighed and got up to take a seat next to her on the bench. “Yeah.” While it was nice to have some sort of closure, well, let’s just say that the rage was building. One man, a single person, destroyed his life. And for what? Fear? Fear of the words of fortune teller. Who’s to say that this teller saw what she thought she saw. Who’s to say that it was even true?

“Do not doubt the visions of a pythia.”

“I don’t even know a pythia.”

“You do not need to. They are the wisest of all beings on the planet and gravely misunderstood. Shunned out of ignorance and fear. But every single word spoken by the pythia has come to pass. I have no doubt in what Lilith speaks.”

“I only believe in what I can see. And no one, pythia, vampire, whatever decides my future. I decide my future. Me.”

Ash turned on the bench to face him, her smile telling him he was being naïve. “That is very noble. However…”

“You can’t fight fate!”

They both turned to glower at Yuki.

“Shishō?” Ash asked. She hadn’t noticed her presence until that moment.

The little vampire strode into the room like she owned the place wearing a white gown that didn’t quite hide her naked feet. “I just wanted to make sure Ryōshi-san was well. Kept my Desmond away long enough.”

Tristan looked to Ash. “Just how long was I out for?”

Ash bit into her lip.

“Seven days,” Yuki answered smugly.

His eyes widened. No wonder they thought he wasn’t going to wake.

“Hai, so glad you did. And you met Malik, I hear? Charming fellow, yes? But mad, never forget that.”

“No chance of that happening. He killed my parents.”

The little vampire’s eyes widened. She really didn’t know. “Did he? My, he has been busy. I should have kept better tabs on him. To imagine someone as terrified of leaving the continent as him would cross the seas… Things have gone too far.”

“Agreed,” Ash said quickly. “Which is why we move on him tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow?” Tristan said not believing. “Isn’t that kind of sudden? What about my stomach wound, my fingers?”

Silent, Ash went to him and removed the bandage from his fingers. “Bend.”

When he hesitated, she grabbed the two fingers and made them move. Tristan expected pain, lots of pain, but what he got instead was a dull throb. “You… you can’t tell me they are healed already.

“I fixed them.”

“How?” he demanded and caught Yuki’s eye. She smirked knowingly.

“It does not matter,” Ash answered.

“The fuck it doesn’t.”

Ash cringed even as Yuki roared with laughter. “Oh I do like him very much. Please, Asta-chan, if you ever tire of keeping him, I will be more than happy to take him.”

“I’m not a fucking puppy, go find your own Uruwashi whatever.”

“Ah, but you are the last, danshi. The last of the house of the Uruwashi.” Her expression went serious. “You are the only hope we have to surviving now.”

“Malik said I was going to destroy the whole vampire race.”

She titled her head. “Is that what he said? Well, I suppose we each hear the words of the pythia in our own way.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He glanced to Ash but she wouldn’t meet his eye.

“It means, pythia tellings are open to interpretation. The visions are never spoken in the literal.”

Tristan threw his hands up in the air and turned away, pacing the end of the bed. “What-the-fuck. All of this over a… a guess?”

“It is no guess, Tristan,” Ash said, standing off to the side away from the others.

Yuki stepped up to him, making him stop his angry pacing. “The pythia spoke of the Uruwashi and death certain. The Uruwashi existed on this earth to kill my kind. It is what they do. With that knowledge and being a man as weak and frightened as Malik, wouldn’t you wish to eliminate any possible threat? Who’s to say that one race or the other shall live. Because, I can tell you this, Tristan of the Uruwashi, I do not fully believe it was the vampire dear Lilith spoke of. I have not heard the actual words, verbatim with my own ears, but I believe she spoke on the end of a race. Vampire, human, one of the other shinwa… neither were named. I am even more so convinced now that maybe my kind will persevere.”

One of the other shinwa?
What the fu
— “I’m not going to kill out the human race. Or the vampire race,” he said, eyes flicking to Ash and then back to Yuki. “I’m only defending myself against those who are trying to kill me. After they’re all gone, I’m done.”

“You think things are so simple? You are naïve. Even knowing what you know, you think you can just live out your life in peace? You are the one Lilith, the most renowned pythia alive, has spoken of. You are the raven. You are the
shinigami
.
You
are the angel of death. And denying it will not change that fact. So now, knowing what you know, what will you do?”

“You want to know what I’m going to do?” He glanced at Ash and then took a step into Yuki, aware that he was trying to intimidate her with his height despite the fact that the pint sized brat was stronger. “I’m going to find Malik and end this. Then, I’m going to live. I’m going to live to die a happy, old man not afraid of anything. No more pythia, no more vampires, no more prophecy bullshit. I decide my future.
Me
.”

The little vampire smiled big, flashing her fangs. “I really do like you very much, Ryōshi-san.” She patted him on his wound and turned away, flashing a frightened-looking Ash a smile. “Please live. I wish to speak with you more in the future.”

There were a lot of words on the tip of Tristan’s tongue for the old vamp, but he decided to keep them to himself for once. Yuki stopped at the door and turned to face him again. “Remember, I have faith in you.” Her eerie clear eyes flicked to Ash. “Both of you.
Ja
na
!”

22:
U
nexpected

AFTER the old loon and the giant bastard left, Tristan spent the evening in quiet reflection. Despite having slept for a week, he was tired. More like, mentally exhausted. He was convinced that Ash should bite him. There wasn’t much discussion, but the bottom line was that she refused. And no, nothing he said or thought could change her mind. At one point, he even considered asking Yuki to do it, and then realized how utterly insane that was. He understood Ash’s perspective, but his logic seemed sound. He was after all, only human. And while the will was strong, the flesh wasn’t. He was mentally ready to take on Malik. But he wasn’t ready to die. And that was what was going to happen. He knew it without a doubt.

So, at only twenty-four, he wrote a will. There wasn’t much to speak on—the house he inherited from his parents, an old VW that was always broken, and a small chunk of savings that managed to survive his post-accident habits, all were going to his oldest and dearest friend, Gillian Thompson. He also wrote a long note to her, apologizing, that he’d try to drop in the mail when they left tomorrow for Malik.

He wasn’t convinced that moving on Malik so soon was good idea either. Sure, he was all about running after the vampire just last week, but that was before that vanilla vampire nearly tore right through him. Before he realized just how weak he was. The proof of his weakness was now tattooed on him by way of a nasty scar. A scar that should have taken much, much longer to form. Ash was right about one thing, that he healed fast—disturbingly so. He expected to find a weeping wound, covered in stitches and other ugly things, but what he found was angry red skin sealed over a grapefruit sized circle on his stomach. The two fingers Malik broke in their dreamshare were healed, only stiff and a little achy. And the place he tore at Tristan’s neck was only a small knot of red skin where it’d healed over already.

Tristan was sure there was more to his healing than what his own body did. He was sure Ash, or that fucking nuts old vamp, did something to him too, but they wouldn’t say what. Hell, for all he knew, Ash didn’t remember anymore. God, he really hated that Yuki. And Desmond. And Lucien… There was a growing list of vampires that he was decidedly not on friendly terms with. Maybe there was a reason. Uruwashi ‘n all…

The following night, Ash woke as soon as the sun set. Tristan, having been up for hours was showered, dressed and ready to go. There weren’t many words between them, or any actually, as they loaded up on guns and other pointy things for their raid. He didn’t even argue about the leather pants Ash had given him. He just put them on. He couldn’t face her just yet, he was still angry with her for being so closed minded. If she’d only stop and listen to him, she’d realize he was right. There was no other way. So now, instead of living a slightly different life than he was used to, he’d lead none at all, not after tonight. He knew this was his last night. Still, he wasn’t going to go down without a nasty fight.

Tristan packed his car with the few items he brought back with him from his apartment, only because Ash told him to. The letter for Gillian and his will went into the glove box. He wasn’t sure how they’d get found, just hoped that someday, someone would. He stopped and stared off at the night. It seemed darker than other nights. The air colder, drier and smelling of snow.

And…
fire
?

Startled, Tristan spun and found the back of the house on fire. He started to run for the front door and stopped when Ash came out, expression closed off and eyes half lidded cynical. He took a step back to let her by. She pushed past him without a word, carrying a bronze urn in her arms.

“Ash?” he pressed, expectantly. There was a small pop followed by a bigger boom that made Tristan duck and look back. Whatever it was Ash set in the house was… progressive. The whole back end was alight now. It could probably be seen for miles if it weren’t for all the trees and the mountains. Ash chose this location for privacy’s sake. The home would burn to the ground and no one would ever have known it was here.

“Ash,” he said again more forceful and grabbed her shoulder, making her turn to look at him. “What happened?”

She looked up, her eyes less cynical and more sorrowful. Tiny embers started to drift around them like orange and red fireflies. “No need to worry, it will not spread to the trees.”

“Ash.” He could give a shit about the trees. “Why? What about Pandora?”

“Her time has come to an end.”

He shook his head. “I don’t understand. Where is she?” The night Malik’s flunkies came and killed Haruka, Tristan nearly died himself. He was lightheaded and dizzy, maybe even a little delirious, because he thought he saw the dog in the form of a jikininki. It felt too real to blow it off as a dream and he hadn’t seen Pandora since that night. Did that mean her life as a jikininki had come to its fruition? God, there was just so much he didn’t understand.

“We should go.”

“Ash,” he admonished as the vampire pulled away from him and got in the car. He sighed and got in on the passenger side, grabbing the crotch of his pants as the tight leather and the strap from the two thigh holsters pinched him. That, and this close, he could feel her, the vampire in her. That alone made things… stir.

God, he was some kind of a mess these days. 

Silent, stiff, obviously ignoring him, Ash started the car down the driveway. Tristan gave one final look back at the house. The whole back side was already consumed. He could see the curtains in the front room dancing against the glass as the flames started to take them. As he watched in silent revere, he realized, they had nowhere to go when the sun rose. She knew it too, they weren’t coming back. He shut his eyes and let out a long breath. If it weren’t for the fact that he didn’t believe in God, he might have said a prayer. Hell, he needed one regardless of his beliefs. His eyes snapped open when a cold hand touched his. He blinked at Ash for a moment and then realized she heard him thinking again. Dammit.

“It is not that I believe we will not persevere, not that I do not intend to kill that man even if it means my life. I just…” She sighed and looked at him for a long moment before putting her eyes back on the road. “I cannot stay here.”

He nodded. “I understand.” He also understood that there was more she wasn’t saying. He trusted her, sure, but he didn’t fully believe everything she said. She had this way about lying without actually lying. He wasn’t exactly happy with her, but he wasn’t about to ditch her. He cared for her and whether or not she wanted to return those feelings were her prerogative. She didn’t want to bite him for a reason and he had to respect that. And if he died tonight, he would be happy with the person he was and the decisions he made in life.

Mostly.

“What can we expect when we get there?”

She looked at him, frowned and then back to the road. “Malik keeps a harem of fifteen to twenty women, most of his own ilk. However, knowing how precious they are to him, I am convinced he would have sent them away, awaiting our imminent arrival. There is one, Nastasia,” she said as if it hurt to speak the name. “She will be the one in charge of the women.” Ash cleared her throat softly. “As for his men, there are a great deal less under his thumb. Just enough to protect his things. Usually not more than five. If we are lucky, less.”

“And if we're unlucky?”

She shot him hard look. “They will all be Masters.”

Tristan slumped. “Meaning they can all make those rotting things, huh?”

“Jikininki. Yes. And expecting us, each of his Masters will have made their own jikininki.”

“Shit,” he grumbled, dropping his head back against the headrest. “How many can they have at one time?”

“I have seen Malik wield as many as four at once. The younger ones will not have more than one.”

“Still an army.”

“Yes,” she sighed.

“Are you going to make some jikininki too?” He was curious to see how they were made. Besides, two against... a shitload more didn't sound good to him. And he was only human. Kind of.

Ash's head snapped around, her eyes full of wrath. Tristan wondered what he had just stepped in. “One, it takes a great deal of energy, which I cannot spare right now, to create, maintain and properly control a jikininki. If I were to feed from a human… or
three
, then perhaps. No, I do not need to look to such filth for aid.” Her look softened and she actually gave him a small smile. “Besides, after Pandora, I vowed to never make another.”

“Knew it, she was a jikininki.”

Ash wouldn’t look at him again.

“How?”

She shot him a look, an eyebrow raised. “How? You want the specifics on raising a jikininki from the earth?”

She was getting irritable and he wondered if there was something else she was trying to hide.

“Ah, that’s it,” he blurted.

“What?”

“You’re power. It’s earth, isn’t it?” That’s what tsuchi meant, earth.

Ash was quiet for a long time before answering, “Yes.”

He just wondered what that entailed for her. He saw what Yuki could do with just a few drops of water gathered from the air. What could Ash do with a shitton of earth under her feet?

She gave Tristan a weary look. “I am too weak right now to wield my powers of Earth.”

“You seem pretty strong to me and your hair—”

“I would need to feed on several humans to restore my strength.”

Tristan frowned, realizing what she was saying. That she’d have to kill a bunch of people to be at full strength. While he hated the idea that she couldn’t even use her earned abilities to save his ass, he hated the idea that anyone would die for him—in place of him.

“Here.” Ash reached into a bag she had stowed on the floor under her feet and came back with glass bottle. “We will arrive soon. Drink this.”

Tristan took the clear bottle from her and inspected it up close. The liquid inside was amber colored like scotch. He had a bad feeling it wasn’t. God he could go for a drink right now. One last taste before he died. He twisted off the lid and took a sniff. “Holy Jesus! What-the-fuck is this?”

“A spell. Drink it.”

“A spell, what, like magic?”

Ash's jaw tightened. “Yes
. Like magic
.” Such a crude assessment. “My Hong Kong contact made it. If you drink that, it will change the way you feel and smell to us vampire for a short time. It will lessen the possibility of you being bitten in a frenzy of need.”

“What? I don't get it. Change my
smell
, the way I
feel
?”

Ash looked suddenly uncomfortable. “Tristan, you are not entirely human. You do understand that, right? Yukihime said as much.”

He frowned hard and looked away. He was ready to get out of the car. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “I know.”

“While you smell human, your scent is more appealing than other humans. We can smell the blood in you. We know it is good. And to support that, we can feel... it.”

“
It
?” he asked looking at her again. She was stiff in her seat. She didn't like talking about this. That made two.

“You may smell like a human, but you feel...”

“Like an Uruwashi.”

“Yes.”

He sighed and looked away out the window again. After a few moments of silence he added, “You know I feel you too.”

“Well—I, of course. Yukihime confirmed that.”

“No. I mean, yeah, she did. But you don't have to be touching me for me to feel something. I don't know, I can't even give it words really. It's like, when you’re near me, like now, I feel a sort of cold energy, a knot of something electric and tingling in my stomach.” And lower, the closer he got to a vamp. God, it felt so good being just being near her. How did the Uruwashi ever kill any vampire?

Ash made a soft noise of understanding. “I see.”

Tristan sighed and looked at the bottle he was still holding. “Bottom’s up.” He upended it in one big gulp. “Oh fuck me,” he hissed. The liquid burned all the way down. He could feel it coating his throat, hit his stomach like a chunk of lava. He wasn’t sure he had a tongue anymore. “Jesus. That was possibly the worse thing I've ever tasted and if you knew the shit I’d been eating this past year…” He made a disgusted, gagging noise. “Like...” He smacked his lips. “Like battery acid and cinnamon. And aluminum foil with burnt pizza stuck to it. But worse.”

“Good. That means it was stirred correctly.”

“Blech.” He dropped the empty bottle to the floor, smacking his lips still, and slumped back. God, if the vampires didn’t kill him, that flavor would. “So, I have to ask just one last time...”

“No,” she blurted. “I refuse to bite you.”

“Even if we’re outnumbered and dying?”

She looked at him, eyes hard and serious. “Then it is already too late. I would rather end your suffering than cause any further.”

Like you did for Haruka
? flashed the front of his brain, but he wasn’t jerk enough to say it aloud.