Pray for Dawn

Mira’s eyes returned to their former red glow just a second before she slashed at me again with the knife. I jumped backward, but the vampire was slightly faster, ripping the blade across my chest. My leather jacket took the brunt of the blow, but the tip of the blade raked across the opening in the jacket. It tore through my cotton shirt and cut a few millimeters deep into my flesh.

“No!” Mira cried out. The hand holding the knife trembled and she took a jerky half step backward.

“Mira! Obey me!” Gaizka commanded, raising its voice for the first time since stepping into the alley.

“Fight it, Mira!” I shouted.

“Can’t,” she groaned through clenched teeth just before bringing her blade down on me again. This time, I raised my own knife, blocking it from stabbing me in the heart. She seemed to be moving a little slower this time, as if she were finally fighting the bori. Beads of blood broke out on her forehead while a tear streaked down her cheek. Her body was trembling and her jaw was clenched. I had no doubt that she was fighting him with everything she had, but it wasn’t enough.

“LaVina!” I shouted, as I struggled to push Mira away from me. “I could really use your help right about now.”

“I can do nothing without Mira,” the old witch said from somewhere behind me. She sounded somewhat closer, indicating that she had most likely come down the stairs to the alleyway. “You’re going to need to free her.”

“I don’t see that happening, old woman,” Gaizka mocked. “The nightwalker is mine to control.”

“Danaus can do it,” she said confidently. “Talk to her, hunter. Reach for her.”

With a grunt, I finally pushed Mira away from me. Before she could move, I summoned up all my powers and quickly thrust into her mind. The nightwalker screamed and stumbled a couple steps backward, clutching her head with both hands still holding the knives.

Her mind was a gray swirling fog. At first, I couldn’t even locate her. There were none of her usual chaotic thoughts, no cacophonous mix of emotions pulling one way or another. Then I found the thin trail of pain that led to greater and greater amounts of pain until the world seemed to go entirely red. In the middle of it all, I found Mira’s thoughts huddled in a tight little ball.

Mira.

Oh, God, Danaus. Kill me now, she moaned.

Help me fight this!

Can’t. Can’t keep fighting it. So much pain. So tired. Watch out!

I pulled away from her thoughts just enough that I was also aware of my external surroundings. The nightwalker lunged at me. But now that I was in her mind, I could also hear the command. I dodged a blow that was aimed to impale me while blocking the second knife, which was aimed at my face. Grabbing both of her wrists as best I could with a knife still gripped in my right hand, I held her still as I plunged back into her thoughts. I would not kill Mira. I wouldn’t allow the bori to force me into killing this woman, even if it meant risking my own life.

Help me fight this! Now! I ordered. At the same time, I pushed with all my strength against the thickening fog and the hum of power that sizzled through her thin, shaking frame. I pushed it until I finally felt it start to ebb. I could feel Mira beside me in her thoughts. She was no longer struggling to break free of my grip on her arms, but was focusing the last of her energy. As I asserted my authority within Mira’s mind, both the nightwalker and Gaizka let out matching screams. Mira’s legs collapsed, wrenching her arms from my grasp, but I didn’t relent.

A powerful force knocked into me, throwing me into the nearby stone wall that lined Factors Walk. Releasing my hold on Mira, I turned my attention to the bori. Already in touch with my dark powers, I allowed them to easily flow from my body and seep into Emma Rose’s body. The young woman screamed in pain, her body twisting to the left and then to the right as if struggling to escape some unseen attacker. I raised the temperature of her blood as quickly as possible, trying to rush the end. I didn’t want to put her through this kind of pain, but I had no choice. I had to destroy the body Gaizka was using, hopefully forcing the bori to flee the area since I had already proven that I could eject it from Mira.

“No!” Mira screamed. However, I didn’t have enough time to react. The blade buried itself in my abdomen, nearly pi

Mira slowly pulled out the blade she had embedded in my stomach. She pressed her free hand to my stomach in an effort to slow the bleeding. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to. I tried to fight it,” she kept repeating as she shook her head.

I dropped my knife on the ground and heaved a heavy sigh as I placed my right hand on the back of her head. I pulled her forward and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.”

Mira gave another choked cry, her hands trembling against me. She had lost a good friend to a bori and attacked me while under his control. To make matters worse, the bori was still ru

“We’re not through yet,” Gaizka a

At the same time, a pair of footsteps echoed up the alley. Both Mira and I turned to see who was approaching this time. My heart stopped in my chest when I saw Tristan turn the corner, holding Lily by her collar as he pushed her ahead of him. Lily’s face was swollen and bruised, while her cheeks were streaked with dirty tears. The collar of her shirt was torn and her clothes were dirty. A red glow lit Tristan’s eyes, giving away Gaizka’s presence within the nightwalker. Apparently, the bori had gotten control of the nightwalker before he and Lily could get on the plane. The unspoken question of whether Gabriel and Matsui were still alive hovered in the air.

“No,” Mira whimpered beside me as she stared at the two creatures she had come to care greatly for. Gaizka was prepared to take everything away from her in the blink of an eye unless we started killing naturi and started feeding him the soul energy.

“Leave her out of this,” I bit out, barely able to get the words through my clenched jaws.

“Danaus!” Lily cried. She tried to run for me and Mira, but Tristan held tight, keeping her pi

“It’s okay, Lily,” Mira murmured in a shaky voice. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Gaizka suddenly appeared before the young girl as an older woman with a kind, gentle face. The figure smiled at Lily, seeming for all the world as if she wouldn’t harm a fly. “Mira is lying. It’s not okay. She and Danaus are in terrible trouble,” she said softly. “Only you can save them. Join with me and we will be strong enough to save them both.”

“No!” I shouted. “Don’t listen to it.”

“Tristan, fight it!” Mira cried. “You’ve got to fight it. Release Lily. Let her run from here!”

Tristan didn’t move, didn’t even blink at Mira’s words. I couldn’t enter his mind like I could Mira’s. I had no tie to this nightwalker. I could sense his soul floating about his body, but that was all. I couldn’t push Gaizka out of Tristan, freeing him.