I Am Forever (What Kills Me) by Wynne Channing Read Free Book Online Page B

claustrophobic.
    Our procession moved under an arch into a massive open area. This giant concrete box reeked of leather and blood. On one side, rows of soldiers perched atop poles, their arms outstretched, their hand balancing metal weights. They stood so perfectly still that they looked like part of the architecture, like a line of fencing.
    On the other side vampires performed drills, shouting in unison as they pierced the air with their swords. Lucas watched them, his lips tight, the corners of his mouth slowly dragging down; every cry seemed to anger him more. I wondered what this reminded him of—his father? Training with his brother?
    I wanted to reach out to him but the Empress was standing in between us.
    At the crack of a whip the dozens of soldiers leaped off their posts or slid their weapons into scabbards. In seconds they stood at attention, the synchronized stomp of their boots echoing. They then dropped to their knees.
    A burly vampire with a whip coiled around his body approached us. His stern brow jutted over his eyes, and his square nose looked like a wad of putty on his face. He met Lucas’s gaze briefly, spat on the ground, and looked away. I immediately disliked him.
    “Your Highness,” he said in a coarse British accent. Clutching the handle of the whip, he pounded his fist against his chest.
    “War Master,” she said.
    “This battalion should be ready for operations in a fortnight.” With the wave of his paw the soldiers returned to training.
    They’re preparing for war. How many of these soldiers will not return?
    A young, shirtless vampire drew my attention: it was his lazy gait, his swagger, as if he had nowhere to be. No one walked like that in the Acropolis. He looked over. Our eyes met and a half smile climbed into his cheek.
    He took a bucket of water and splashed the blood-stained ground.
    His presence drew the attention of several soldiers. They nudged each other and drew their swords. Their expressions reminded me of wolves watching prey. The scene reminded me of those goons in Taiwan and the girl they’d tried to torment.
    This isn’t good.
    As the soldiers surrounded him, enclosing him in a circle, he waited, watching them warily. Without warning, one of the soldiers attacked him from behind and hacked at the back of his skull with a sword.
     

 

     
     
    “Watch out!” I blurted.
    The vampire turned around in time to slap the side of the blade and punch the soldier in the face. As the soldier lurched back, another ran into the center of the circle and leaped toward the vampire. The vampire slid on his knees, bending his head back so it was parallel to the ground, and the second soldier’s sword swiped an inch above his throat. He hit the soldier in the stomach, jumped up, and drove an uppercut into his face.
    He then kicked up the empty bucket and punted it at an oncoming soldier. It split the soldier’s eyebrow, releasing a jet of blood. The young vampire’s leg hung in the air, hooked and poised to strike the next attacker.
    The soldiers criss-crossed each other, repositioning themselves. One sprang forward and the vampire’s foot cracked his skull. As they chased him, chopping the air, he flipped backward.
    There are too many of them. They’re going to kill him.
    Before I knew what I was doing, I was running toward them. I pushed aside two soldiers as if I was parting curtains and they went flying into others like stray bowling pins. Surprised, the young vampire raised his hand as if to wave at me, and a soldier sliced a line from his shoulder to his navel.
    Groaning, the vampire fell.
    “Stop!” the war master hollered. The soldiers stepped back simultaneously and became motionless as if they were robots powering off.
    “Are you all right?” I asked the injured vampire, who knelt before me like a man proposing. Looking down I noticed droplets of his blood dotting my bodice. He rose slowly, the deep laceration across his abs sealing shut. He ran a hand through his