Whispers of Willow

Chapter 60

Gemma cried when a vampire bit her wrist, though she quickly took out a knife and managed to pierce the heart of her attacker. The vampire's eyes were as wide as saucers. She struggled to grab onto Gemma but eventually fell to the ground.

Gemma put pressure on the puncture wound before tying a handkerchief around it. She looked around to see one-third of the humans lying dead. A wave of anger washed over her.

She was about to go on a killing spree, but Kairav stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder.

"We must stick to the plan," he said.

Her nostrils flared, but she nodded. The humans and people from Hieroland created a barrier between Aurum and the vampires of Vilaria.

On the other end of the barrier, Willow falls unconscious. The woman who hit her raised the baseball bat to smash her skull, but before she could do that, Wes tackled her to the ground.

"How dare you!" He spoke, enraged and murderous, as he punched her face.

The woman spat blood.

"King Wes!" she said, "forgive me."

Luke pulled him up and nodded toward Willow, who was lying on the ground.

"Take her out of here," he said.

Wes snatched his arm out of Luke's hold and picked Willow off the ground.

***

Willow woke up in a soft bed. Her head felt heavy, her body ached, and her throat was parched. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked. She looked around, and she came upon the familiar sight of the inside of Wes' sanctuary. He stood near the transparent wall, looking outside at the gardens. Willow tried to get out of bed but whimpered when she felt the pounding in her head.

Wes turned around to look at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, coming toward her at the side of the bed. "Here, drink some water."

She sat up with his help and chugged the glass of water. Her head started pounding a little less now.

"The woman who attacked you..." he began.

"Probably wanted to torture me for killing her lover," she said, giving the empty glass back to him, and he placed it on the table.

She looked at him as he came to sit beside her, but she couldn't wait to get out of bed.

"We need to go out there," she said. "I need to go out there."

They could hear the faint noises of screams and howls and could see smoke rising from the patches of land that had been set ablaze.

"You're injured, and there is nothing we can do. This isn't our fight anymore. Let it go, Willow. You cannot take all this burden on your shoulders."

Willow opened her mouth to say something but closed it immediately, feeling like she would break down any moment now.

Wes slowly moved his hand to rest on top of hers.

"I know you gave the vial to the priest," he said, then paused momentarily. "Why?"

She looked at him teary-eyed before clearing her throat.

"He came to me after we had left the lodge and said that he should be the one to end it. I couldn't agree more, so I gave it to him."

"You know that isn't what I am asking. Why did you give the vial to the priest?"

She chewed on her lower lip before letting it go, causing blood to rush to her lip and make it look pink.