The Dying Light (Bloodwitch #1)

‘Stand back.’

The witches in the cell followed Charlie’s warning. Seren waited until they had all edged a few steps closer towards the far end of the cage, then threw both her hands out, smashing a hole through the bars. It was so wide that they could all climb through without any difficulty. The witches emerged one by one through the clouds of dust, picking their way through the rubble and twisted metal around them. Pushing a frantic path through them, Seren rushed into the cage.

Alya flung herself towards Charlie with tears in her eyes. ‘You’re safe.’ As she wrapped him in a tight embrace, he patted her gingerly on the head. ‘I’m so glad. I was so worried about you.’

‘Did they hurt you?’ he asked, his eyes scanning the group of Lilith coven witches, some of whom shook their heads in response. ‘Then why didn’t you escape before now? If Seren could use her powers to break you out so easily –’

‘She was strong enough to break the ward on her own,’ Jasmine explained, stepping forward out of the gloom. ‘We tried, but even with our combined strength, it wasn’t enough.’

‘How did she gain such strength?’ Eva Brightheart asked, eyeing Seren closely.

‘She was imprisoned here and experimented on,’ Charlie answered, extricating himself from his sister’s grip and drawing closer to Seren. ‘How are you feeling? Do you need to rest?’

Seren wheeled around, her eyes wide. ‘Where’s my sister? Where is Saga?’

‘She’s not here,’ Jasmine said, drawing her arm around Seren’s shoulders, and leading her out of the cell. ‘I’m sorry. We don’t know where she is. We tried to find out anything we could from the guards, but –’

’But she must be here.’ Seren gripped her head in her hands. ’Everyone else is here.’

‘We’ll find her, Seren,’ Charlie said, meeting Jasmine’s troubled gaze with a brief nod. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll go straight to the Shadow Cells and search for her. Don’t give up, all right?’

‘Where is she, Charlie?’ Seren was biting her nails. ‘What have they done to her?’

‘Try to focus on staying calm,’ he said, chewing his lip. ‘We won’t leave without her.’

‘Charlie …’ At the sound of Alya’s tentative voice, he glanced over his shoulder. ‘Where’s Vasco? Is he –?’

‘He stayed behind to hold Dragomir off,’ he answered, his own fears mirrored in Alya’s horrified expression. ‘We need to get to the throne room and back him up as soon as we can.’

At this, Eva Brightheart stiffened. ‘No,’ she said, waving his words away with a swipe of her hand. ’We need to leave this place as soon as we can. We must escape, and quickly.’

’What?’ Charlie rounded on her, furious. ‘You’re not telling me you’re planning to just leave him behind, are you? You’d abandon him, even after everything he’s done to help you?’

Her blue eyes narrowed, Eva Brightheart regarded him coldly. ‘He is not one of us.’

‘Neither am I!’

‘Are you not?’

Shaking off the sinking feeling in his stomach at the knowing arch of her brow, Charlie appealed to the others. ‘Vasco risked his life to give me and Seren a chance to escape. We need to go back and help him before it’s too late!’

‘I am responsible for the safety of the daughters of my coven,’ Eva Brightheart said, as the other witches turned towards her. ‘I will not put their lives in danger for the sake of a Witch Hunter.’

As murmurs of assent rose from all around him, Charlie ground his teeth, his fists clenched. ‘How about for Saga Casimir, then?’ he demanded, his rage burning a bright, clear path in his mind. ‘How about for a little girl who’s still trapped somewhere in this place, all alone and frightened? She’s a witch, isn’t she, just like all of you?’ He rounded on the High Witch, who was watching him with a stony expression, her lip curled in disdain. ‘Is she a good enough person in your eyes to be worth saving?’

‘A single life can never outweigh the survival of an entire coven.’

Charlie snorted. ‘Whatever. Alya, come on. Seren and I are going back.’ Taking Seren’s hand, Charlie led her towards the cell door. ‘We’re not leaving before we rescue her sister.’

‘I … I’m going to lead the Lilith coven up to the roof of the Volya Facility.’ Standing on the threshold, Charlie looked back to see Alya staring him down. A determined furrow had settled across her brow as she met his gaze. ‘There are military helicopters up there, large enough to carry everyone. We have a chance to get everyone out alive, and to get far enough away that they won’t be able to follow us. But I’m the only one who knows the way. I can’t go with you.’

‘How are you going to fly without a pilot?’ Charlie asked, his voice flat.

‘We have no need for one.’ One of Eva Brightheart’s hands had come to rest on Alya’s shoulder. ‘That boy is of no use to us.’

‘There’s room enough on board for all of you, too,’ Alya added, almost desperately.

‘We’ll wait for you as long as we can,’ Jasmine said, giving him a gentle punch on the arm.

Charlie met their eyes, and knew he was beaten. ‘Fine. Just take care of yourselves.’

Alya nodded, flashing him a weak smile. ‘You too, Charlie.’

‘Don’t take too long.’ Jasmine’s face was set. ‘Darkwoods don’t leave family behind.’

Charlie was so taken aback by her words that his grip went slack on Seren’s hand. She slipped away from him in an instant. By the time he had managed to shake himself back to reality, Seren had disappeared down the passageway, retracing their route towards the throne room. He pelted after her, raising his voice so that his words had a chance of reaching her.

‘Seren, where are you going? I thought we were heading to the Shadow Cells?’

’I’m tired of running around in circles. I need answers, and he can give them to me.’

‘You mean …’ Charlie’s heart was hammering. ‘Wait for me – I’m coming with you!’

Seren ran as though she had the wind at her back, and Charlie soon lost sight of her. Bursting through the throne room doors, he saw Vasco leaning against a marble pillar, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly. When Charlie entered the room, Vasco glanced up, joy breaking over his pale face at the sight of him.

Seeing the exhaustion in Vasco’s eyes, Charlie rushed towards him and dropped to his knees, checking to see if he had been hurt. Mercifully, it looked as though he had avoided anything worse than a few punches. Charlie let out a sigh of relief, his eyes scanning the flagstones for his knife, but it was nowhere to be seen.

‘Did you find them?’ Vasco asked, tension lining his face. ‘Is Alexandra safe?’

‘Yes. She’s with her mother. They’re planning to fly a military helicopter out of here with everyone on board. They’re heading to the roof right now.’

‘Really?’ Vasco tilted his head back against the pillar, his hair falling into his eyes as a grim smile lifted the corners of his mouth. ‘That plan might just be crazy enough to work.’

‘Are you all right?’ Charlie asked, brushing a fingertip against Vasco’s cheek. It was somewhat swollen, and reddened under his touch. ‘Did you see where Seren went?’

Vasco frowned, wincing as he pressed a hand to his ribs. ‘She went after Dragomir.’

Charlie sighed. ‘This time tomorrow, you’re going to be waking up with a black eye.’

‘It’ll be worth it if I’m waking up beside you.’

Charlie rolled his eyes, smiling despite his better judgement. ‘You do realise you could have been killed, right?’ he said, as he pushed Vasco’s hair out of his eyes and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. ‘Why didn’t you ask us to stay and help you?’

Vasco blinked, his eyes on Charlie’s hand. Then he glanced up, looking as though the answer was obvious. ‘You told me you didn’t want Seren to use her powers unnecessarily, remember?’

At his words, Charlie went still, his mind racing. Vasco was right. He was the one who had been determined to rescue Seren from Nikolai Ignatiev’s clutches without relying on her powers. Yet, in the end, he had been the one to beg Seren for help to save him from his father. He had witnessed how she had let her power loose, all for his sake.

If his own weakness led to her getting hurt …

‘Charlie, what’s wrong?’

Glancing towards the throne, Charlie registered that the crack in the wall behind it had already climbed all the way up to the roof. Seren had just broken a ward that all the witches of the Lilith coven could not overcome with their combined strength. Now she was attempting to face Dragomir alone. Charlie gritted his teeth and got to his feet, pulling Vasco with him.

‘We’re going after her.’

Vasco nodded at him wordlessly, his fingers curling around a handgun that lay discarded on the flagstone floor. Together, they plunged down a narrow stone passageway leading off from the throne room. When he felt a shiver across his spine, Charlie brought them both to a halt, flinging out one arm to stop Vasco from going any further.

‘He’s out there.’ Steeling himself, Charlie took a step forward. ‘Cover me from here.’

Vasco grabbed his wrist, holding him back. ‘You can’t!’

‘Let go of me!’ Charlie spat, whirling around as he attempted to free himself.

‘Don’t you remember what happened last time?’ There was a desperate look in Vasco’s eyes. ‘You can’t seriously expect me to sit back and let you do this?’

‘I’m warning you, don’t get in my way,’ Charlie said, wrenching himself out of Vasco’s grip and striding out into the open. ‘I’m right here, Dragomir, you piece of shit!’

‘Well,’ came Dragomir’s voice, ‘I’m impressed at your tenacity if nothing else.’

‘Get out here and face me, or are you not done playing hide and seek yet?’

‘As you wish.’ Smirking, Dragomir stepped out from behind a pillar into the light.

His heart plummeting, Charlie saw that the soldier was alone. There was no sign of Seren anywhere.

‘Where is she?’ he asked, forcing himself to keep his voice steady. ‘Let her go right now, or you’ll regret it.’

‘You and I have been down this road before, haven’t we?’ Dragomir’s cruel smile widened, and he folded his arms. ‘Are you going to make the same mistake again, Charlie?’

‘Charlie –! Get out of here –!’

He could hear her voice, and the sound of a struggle, but Seren was nowhere to be seen.

‘I know you’re using Seren to bait me, just like you did with my family,’ Charlie said, his hands balled into fists as he glared at Dragomir. ‘It’s not going to work this time.’

‘Feeling lucky today, are we? Don’t you want to save your pretty little friend?’

‘Run away, Charlie!’ The sound of Seren’s voice was growing fainter.

Grinding his teeth, Charlie fought the rage building inside him. ’Let – her – go.’

‘You could always take her place,’ Dragomir said, his voice light, a sneer curving his mouth. ‘All you have to do is ask. I know how much you always looked forward to those visits I used to pay to your cell, no matter how coy you tried to be about it.’

Charlie froze. ‘Wh-What the hell are you talking about?’ he murmured, his voice shaking. ‘I said no … I told you to stop.’ He felt sick. ‘I said I didn’t want you to do it …’

‘For a while, sure,’ Dragomir said, shrugging, ‘but that didn’t last long, did it? In the end, you gave up your act of pretending to fight me off. You and I both know that’s the truth. Besides, if you really didn’t want it, you would never have put yourself in that position in the first place.’

‘I –’ Charlie’s mouth had gone dry. ‘It was – it was the only way I could – I never wanted –’

‘Faulkner told me all about you.’ As Dragomir prowled towards him, Charlie stumbled backwards, his hands trembling. ‘You’ve been used like that ever since you were a kid, haven’t you? You’re used to it. I mean, really,’ Dragomir added, with a soft laugh, ‘what else are you good for, at this point? You think anyone would want you now, knowing where you’ve been?’

‘I …’

‘In all honesty, I think you should start taking a bit more responsibility for yourself.’

’What?’ He wanted to shout, but it came out as a horrified whisper instead.

‘You like to act tough and mouth off, but you’re just playing hard to get, aren’t you?’

‘No, that’s – that’s not –’

‘You always insisted on provoking me. It was like it was all a game to you. You can’t expect me not to react.’ Dragomir raised his hand to touch Charlie’s face, but Charlie knocked it away. Dragomir let out a low chuckle of amusement. ‘You’re just too good to resist. We shared some good times together, didn’t we?’ His smile broadened. ‘Lots of fond memories.’

‘Don’t …’

‘I still think about you a lot, you know. Do you think about me sometimes, too, at night?’

Dragomir was so close to Charlie’s face now that Charlie felt frozen under his cold stare. His mind had gone utterly blank. When he tried to force himself to think, a wave of sickening terror crashed over him.

The ghostly sensations of rough hands on his skin, and memories of a pain that seemed to never end, were all that he could find in his head. It was as if his whole body were covered with invisible bruises, and the man in front of him was busy pushing down on them, one by one.

‘You’re mine now, demon.’

A hand grabbed his throat, fingernails digging into his skin.

‘Not on my watch, scum!’

A single gunshot split the air, and Dragomir staggered back.

‘Vasco …’ On his knees with his hands at his neck, Charlie felt his pulse racing beneath his fingers.

’Kovalev, have you lost your mind? I’ll kill you for this!’

Dragomir was on his back on the flagstone floor, his arms trembling beneath him as he attempted to prop himself up. His teeth were gritted in pain, his face grey. Charlie’s eyes travelled over his body and saw a dark stain at his pelvis, spreading steadily across his uniform.

With a shiver of mingled horror and awe, he stared up at his rescuer. Vasco’s dark eyes were burning with rage, his face white. But his hand was steady, as he kept his gun trained on Dragomir.

‘You won’t have the chance,’ Vasco answered. Then he shot both of Dragomir’s kneecaps.

’Why are you protecting him?’ Dragomir demanded, gasping with pain as his screams subsided. ’He’s the Bloodwitch! He’s the one we’ve been hunting all this time. If you let him walk out of here alive, our nation will fall.’

‘I won’t let that happen.’

‘You’re going to turn your back on everything we’ve worked for our whole lives?’

‘I don’t care about any of that.’ Vasco stared down at him, expressionless. ‘Not anymore.’

Dragomir’s eyes were wild, spit flying from his mouth. ’You’re the Witchkiller! Your hands are stained in their blood! You can’t wash it off now, so – so what’s a little more? Kill him, right now, before he has the chance to destroy everything!’

‘You’re right.’ Vasco’s voice had grown dangerously soft. He bent down on one knee, his face level with Dragomir’s. ‘I’ve come this far. After all I’ve done, what’s a little more blood on my hands?’ Slowly, he pressed the muzzle of his gun directly between Dragomir’s eyes. ‘You sealed your own fate, the moment you first put your hands on him. You will never hurt anyone I love – ever again.’

Charlie, whose body seemed to no longer be listening to him, could not look away. He heard the final shot as it rang out, watched as though in slow motion as Dragomir’s body fell backwards over the flagstones and lay still. It was a long time before he found himself able to tear his eyes away from the pool of blood gathering around Dragomir’s body. He expected to feel something about it, but he only felt hollow.

‘Are you all right, Charlie?’ Vasco was standing beside him, stripping the gun in his hand with practised care and cleaning it intently. ‘It’s all over now.’

‘He’s …’

‘I’m not sorry,’ Vasco said, his voice even. ‘No one treats you like that.’

‘You …’ Charlie was still on his knees, his entire body trembling.

‘He got off easy. If it had been the other way around, he would have made you suffer much worse than that. He deserved it.’ Finished with his work, Vasco holstered the gun and pulled Charlie to his feet with a scowl. ‘When it comes to protecting you, I won’t hesitate.’

‘Seren … Saga …’ His legs unsteady beneath him, Charlie stumbled forward. He had to shake his head to clear it of the images of dead bodies flashing before his eyes. ‘We need to find them soon. If we don’t make it to the helicopter in time …’

‘You go after Seren,’ Vasco said. ‘I have a good idea where her sister might be.’

‘Watch out for my brother.’ Charlie did not know why he said it, but the same ominous feeling he had felt before, in the Vaults, was prickling the back of his neck. ‘He’s bound to be around here somewhere. And …’ He swallowed hard. ‘And make sure you –’

‘Don’t worry, we’ll find them.’ The shadow of a smile passed across Vasco’s sombre face. ‘Stay alive. I’m coming back for you, and I won’t come back alone, either.’

Charlie watched as Vasco headed down the passageway, retracing their route towards the throne room. When he finally lost sight of him, Charlie continued his solitary journey. His mind was blank, his hands still shaking. Feeling oddly numb, he hugged his arms against his chest. Struggling to make sense of what he had just witnessed, he kept his eyes on his feet as he stumbled on.

‘You see, Doctor? Didn’t I tell you he wouldn’t be able to resist playing the hero?’

At the sound of a horribly familiar voice, Charlie glanced up, only to find himself face to face with his brother. Standing beside Doctor Ivanov was Faulkner. He held Seren still by her long hair, which he had wrapped tightly around his hand. Her eyes were glazed, and only half-open. She looked pale and exhausted.

‘It’s you …’

Although Charlie had known for some time that it was the truth, a part of him had never genuinely believed that his brother Max could be the Doctor Ivanov who had hurt so many people. He felt the pieces slotting into place inside him with a kind of cold finality.

‘I’m afraid to say that this is the end of the road for you, little brother.’

‘So it’s really true?’ Charlie murmured. ’You’ve been working with him – all along?’

‘I need a steady supply of materials to make progress in my work,’ Ivanov said, shrugging. ‘I hope that puts it in terms simple enough so that even you can understand them. Now, don’t move. I need to decide what to do with you.’

‘You think you’re the one who gets to choose how this ends, do you?’

Ivanov smiled coldly. ‘You may be faced with your own choice, one day.’

Charlie stared him down without flinching. ‘When that day comes, I will not hesitate.’

‘Those are brave words, Charlie.’ Sounding mildly impressed, Faulkner shoved Seren towards Ivanov, who caught her before she had a chance to escape. ‘Leave your brother to me, Doctor. I know exactly how to deal with him.’

‘I’ll keep the witch secure,’ Ivanov said to Faulkner, as he dragged Seren away. ‘Do whatever you like to him, just make sure he suffers long enough before you put an end to him.’

Charlie surged forward, enraged. ‘You’re not going anywhere! Let her go!’

Faulkner stepped in front of his path, Charlie’s knife in his hand. ‘Not so fast, Charlie.’

‘Get out of my way!’

Faulkner shook his head with a smirk. ‘You owe me, and it’s time for you to pay up.’

‘I’m warning you. If you don’t –’

Charlie broke off, his hand clutching his ribs as he fell to his knees. When it came away, he realised that his blood had soaked through his t-shirt. The wounds his father had inflicted on him in the throne room were still bleeding. His head was swimming. Black spots swam in front of his eyes.

‘You’re not looking so good, Charlie.’ Faulkner loomed above him, a nasty laugh playing around his mouth as he spun the knife in his hand. ‘What should I carve into you this time? Do you still have the scars? Will you let me see them once more, for old times’ sake?’

’Fuck you!’ Charlie snarled at him. ‘You’re never touching me again.’

‘I never could resist a challenge.’ Charlie cried out as Faulkner grabbed his scarred shoulder and twisted his fingers. ’Oh, does it still hurt?’ he cooed, his lips pressed to Charlie’s ear. ‘You’ve always been weak. When it counted, you could never do anything for anyone.’

Charlie caught a flash of light against the blade, then his left shoulder was on fire.

‘It’s been such a long time,’ Faulkner murmured, as he buried the knife deeper into Charlie’s skin, forcing him onto his back. ‘I can’t wait to find out how you’ve changed.’

Immobilised by the pain, Charlie could do nothing to resist as Faulkner lowered himself onto his body, his breathing fast and hot against Charlie’s neck. All that existed were the flames.

‘Don’t look away from me …’ he whispered, tilting Charlie’s head towards his. ‘Don’t let me miss that look in your eyes. Who’s free now, Charlie? You’re mine, always and forever.’

Something skipped in Charlie’s mind. He had been in this position before, years ago. The fall of rain hammered in his ears. A flash of lightning illuminated the crimson velvet drapes behind Faulkner’s head. He saw himself as a child.

Back then, the same knife that was now buried deep in his shoulder had been in his hand instead, as he slashed wildly at Faulkner’s face. There had been blood on his skin then, too. It had only taken one surprise attack to throw Faulkner off-balance, for Charlie to mount his escape. Faulkner’s arrogance had been his undoing then, just as it would be now.

With a roar of effort, his jaw clenched against the pain, Charlie wrenched the knife from his shoulder. He caught sight of Faulkner’s eyes, wide with shock. Adjusting his grip, Charlie took a deep breath, and let his mind be free.

When he returned to himself, he was standing above Faulkner, breathing heavily. One arm hung limp at his side, while blood dripped steadily from the blade in his other hand. Sweat fell from his hair as his own blood pounded in his veins. He felt elated.

He felt alive.

‘What – the hell – did you just do to me?’

Faulkner was ashen-faced and gravely wounded. The sight of the fear in his eyes was better than anything Charlie could ever have imagined.

‘Why did I wait so long to do this to you?’ he wondered aloud, between soft laughter.

‘Who do you think you are to stand up to me?’ Faulkner demanded, hissing with pain.

‘I thought you couldn’t wait to find out how I’ve changed?’ Sinking to his knees, Charlie pressed the blade of his knife into Faulkner’s skin and let it enter his flesh slowly. ‘No,’ he said, his voice low, as Faulkner squeezed his eyes shut with an agonised scream. ’Don’t you dare look away from me … I don’t want to miss that look in your eyes … You’re mine now.’

When Charlie was done, the man gasping for breath before him was unrecognisable.

‘I never … did manage … to tame you … did I?’ Faulkner mumbled, his voice thick. The light was beginning to fade from his eyes as blood bubbled up from his mouth and flooded through his open chest. ‘I wonder … what will it take to … truly break you?’

‘Nothing in this world can break me,’ Charlie said quietly, as he watched Faulkner die.

‘One of these days, Charlie …’ Faulkner’s voice was becoming weaker with every passing moment, a long rattle sounding from his throat with each breath he took. ‘One day soon, you’ll find out that there’s been someone waiting … with a knife in the dark for you as well … all this time.’

Towering above the bloody corpse at his feet, Charlie felt a smile spread slowly across his face. ‘Well,’ he murmured, dragging the back of his hand across his mouth and tasting blood on his lips, ‘I guess I’ll just have to kill them too, then, won’t I?’