Chapter Nine – Aaron
There was something bitter on his tongue. Aaron licked his lips, trying to get rid of the taste. It was like the skin of a grapefruit. Nasty flavor. But there was also a slightly pleasant taste beyond the bitterness. Something sweet. It reminded him of running through a garden in bare feet with the sprinklers on, feeling the warmth of the sun on the top of her head and cool earth between his toes. The taste was like holding Sofia in his arms, as they made love, a swell of love the only thing between them…
Sofia.
Aaron licked his lips again. That was Sofia's blood. What was her blood doing in his mouth with that bitter taste?
He felt a sharp tug in his chest. Blinding, white-hot pain shot from his heart, bursting to all his extremities. His eyes snapped open. The moon shone hot above him, burning his skin with the sunlight it reflected. He threw an arm over his eyes, unable to suppress a whimper of pain.
Sofia's scream pierced the air.
A rough, hissing voice spoke. "Gloria wanted to save you. But it seems that she underestimated just how stupid you are. And here she tried so hard to save you. Was it worth it, Sofia? Your vampire king will die anyway. Your child will die anyway. There is nothing more anybody can do for you. You could have lived, but now you die."
No.
A roar built in Aaron's chest. His extremities were all pins and needles, but he forced himself up anyway. Sofia huddled on the ground several feet away, her hand clamped over her wrist. Aaron smelled her thick, sweet blood in the air. Standing over her was a creature he hadn't seen in years–decades. A centipede-like monster with snakes for hair.
A gorgon. His stomach churned. If Sofia looked directly into its eyes she'd be turned to stone.
The roar burst from his mouth. He threw himself forward, wishing he had a sword to drive through the creature's body. It whirled on him, striking him away at the last second. He hit a tree and crumpled at its base, the wind knocked from his lungs. The gorgon laughed as it advanced on him. A clicking, hissing noise filled the swamp. The snakes on its head bent towards him. One spat a glob of poison at his face. He rolled to avoid it, then jumped back to his feet.
Aaron rose his fists and he glanced around quickly. Sofia lay on the ground, moaning, but she was still flesh. The gorgon hadn't been able to turn her to stone. Good. Whatever else had happened, he at least had time. Her knife lay on the ground several feet away, and next to that was the gun. The king glanced back at the gorgon. If he could shoot out its eyes…
"How did you manage to infest the human?" he asked, backing away from Sofia. He had to keep the gorgon away from her.
"Gloria? It was easy. She was easily swayed to believe that vampires were the cause of all the problems to witches like her. She volunteered to swallow the egg that I hatched from. I don't think she realized that it would destroy her, that I would claim her body and she would be left with nothing." The gorgon smirked. "And you. Such a coward you won't look at me directly?"
"If you're trying to turn me into stone, it won't work. Gorgon magic doesn't work on vampires," Aaron said. He looked up, meeting the gorgons' eye.
Both his legs seized. He cried out, stumbling backward. One leg worked, but the other was stiff. The pain was blinding and Aaron crashed down. When he grasped at his leg, it was hard and cold as marble.
"You are not fully vampire again. But I don't need my magic to kill you. All I need is to bite your head off."
The gun. Where was the gun? Aaron rose his head avoiding the gorgon's gaze. He'd have to go towards it to get the weapon. The flesh beneath his hands was softening again, the stone creeping out of him. The pain remained, though. Aaron sucked in a deep breath trying to push it aside. But when he tried to get to his feet, his leg wouldn't work. He needed more time.
"Are you responsible for these radical witches?" he blurted, dragging himself back from the advancing gorgon.
"No. They are the ones that found me and grew me." A grin stretched across the creature's face. "But they have done some fine work. Soon you will be dead and the vampires will dissolve, fighting each other to be the next king. The destruction will cause the humans to attack, fearing for their lives. And I will bring back my kind from the depths of Erebus and we will have the world again. The age of vampires is at its end, and the age of magic is returning."
The gorgon jumped at him. Aaron rolled to dodge the claws that swiped at his face. He threw himself over his own head, somersaulting to land next to Sofia. He snatched the gun up off the ground and leveled it at the gorgon. It shrieked as he emptied the clip, finger pumping the trigger again and again.
Blood poured from one of its eyes and one of its claws had been blown off, but that was it. Aaron cursed, dropping the empty gun as the creature attacked again. He barely escaped the blow; its claws tore through his shirt, exposing his skin to the chill air. Aaron grabbed the fallen knife and whirled, striking at the gorgon's other eye.
It blocked him with one arm, two others striking at his stomach. Aaron jumped back, twisting his body as he did so. Claws caught on his arms and legs, but only scratched as he threw himself out of reach. A screech filled the air, arms slashing at him again. Aaron dodged the creature's blows, dancing just beyond its reach, drawing her little by little away from Sofia.
Aaron took one more step back, preparing to spring over the gorgon's head, but his foot sank into the ground. Water pooled into his shoes, the springy ground greedily sucking him in deeper. He teetered unsteadily, able to regain his footing just long enough to slash at an arm that came at him.
The king was forced back another step–his leg sank through the ground to the knee. He pressed himself back against the arms clawing at him, glancing up once.
His gaze met the black insect eye of the gorgon. A shot of pain went through his body, making every muscle in his body seize. Streaks of gray wound their way up his arms. The gorgon gave him another shove and he fell backward, sinking into the soggy swamp earth. He managed to close his eyes, and his muscles were freed from their spell.
His enemy laughed. A waft of breath crawled over his skin. Aaron struck out blindly. His hand found the gorgon's face; taking a deep breath, he slid his eyes open a sliver and thrust the knife forward. The gorgon screamed at the blade sank into its last eye. It reared back, all its arms flailing.
Aaron threw himself forward. He grabbed the gorgon by the neck and scrambled around its body. It collapsed under his weight; he seized the head of snakes, their fangs sinking again and again into his arms, and forced it into the pool of water left by their thrashing. The gorgon's body bucked and writhed. Aaron grunted in pain, moving up its body until his whole weight was on its head, sinking his waist-deep in the water. His legs clenched around the gorgon's head as he held it under.
When the snakes stopped biting him, he knew his enemy was dead. The gorgon's body lay utterly limp, but he still held it there for another few seconds to make sure.
When he was satisfied, he stumbled away from the pool. Blood coursed down his torso and legs, but instead of the shiny red it had been moments ago, it was a dull, almost black color. His heart gave a mighty lurch and was still. Aaron closed his eyes briefly–he was a vampire again.
Sofia was where he had left her, a hand clamped over her wrist. Her normal warm skin tones were almost as pale as the gorgon's had been, looking all the more pallid with the moonlight reflecting off the sheen of sweat on her face.
Aaron dropped to his knees beside her. She had tied a tourniquet around her elbow, stopping the blood flow. She whimpered as he grabbed her arm and flipped it around. The cut on her wrist wasn't overly deep. The blood wasn't flowing from it anymore. But there was something else that made Aaron's body seized again, like he had just turned to stone.
There were two small puncture wounds in her skin just below the cut. Already a greenish crust was forming around them. One of the gorgon's snakes had bitten her. She was poisoned.
"Hold on," Aaron said, holding her tightly. "I'm going to suck the poison out of you."
The fingers of Sofia's free hand curled around his bicep and she nodded. Aaron undid the tourniquet, letting her blood flow freely again. It would help get rid of the poison… at least, he hoped it would. He quickly latched his mouth over the puncture wounds and gave a mighty pull. The taste of her blood was bitter, choking him at once. He spat out the mouthful and gave another pull. This one was less bitter, but Sofia was paling further. He sucked in a third mouthful; this time he could hardly taste the poison at all.
Aaron retied the tourniquet, pulling it as tightly as he could. His head spun as he gathered Sofia into his arms.
"It's going to be okay," he mumbled, hugging her to his chest. "It's going to be okay."