Aaron's Revenge by Kelly Ilebode

reassuring to him. She was thinking about it.
    “ Open your eyes. You can see me, sweetheart.”
    “ This is a trick. Aaron would never call me that…I am so tired and the darkness is calling me.”
    “ No, Chavali…tell me what you see. I am trying to see but I can’t.”
    “ Then you see what I see. There is nothing here. Nothing in here and nothing out there to live for.”
    Aaron could feel his own strength fading. He was trying to connect too long to her and he needed to feed. Lying down near her, he refused to give up—couldn’t give up. He owed her that much. She had unselfishly saved Amira.
    “ Are you still there?”
    “ I am. I am getting weak, though, and need to feed…please stay, Chavali…stay with me and let me get to know you. There is so much to live for.”
    “ If I open my eyes and you are not there, then I know that that will be my sign. You are there, Aaron?”
    Aaron realized that her fear was holding her back. She sounded scared. He wondered for the first time if this was like the same conflict Dragan had, before deciding to die for Amira. The thought of him going through this type of mental anguish humbled him. Aaron wasn’t sure he could have done it.
    “ I am lying right by you on the ground.”
    Locking on her face, he saw her eyelids start to flutter as she fought to come out from behind her wall of despair. Several seconds later, he let out his breath, only then realizing that he had been holding it. Her gaze was unfocused at first as she struggled to find him.
    The sun was just beginning to come up over the lake, and the two of them were enveloped in a warm glow. Finally, her gray eyes connected with his, and he saw the relief deep within them.
    His smile reached over to her. “Hi, Chavali.”
    Smiling weakly, she said nothing at first, as a single tear dropped from her eye.
    “ You stayed with me.”
    “ Of course. I promised you that I would. Are you okay now?”
    Shaking her head, she stiffened, not wanting him to touch her yet. She could still feel the poison moving within her. “The sun will kill the rest of the toxins in me. It cannot live in the light. When that happens, I will be back to normal.” Chavali tried to lick her lips to relieve the dryness but she had nothing left. Swallowing was difficult and her throat was swollen from all of the screaming. “How long have I been out of it?”
    “ I don’t know. It seems like an eternity. I thought you were going to die.”
    “ I wish. No, you do not die from a spartum bite. They were created from humans who sold their soul for greed. These beasts are all that is left after death. Spartum were designed to drive someone insane from the pain of their venom. You want death to take you out of kindness, but even death does not want their vileness in its world.”
    Feeling the sun finally hitting her skin, she felt the final vapors from the remaining poison leave her, rising up out of her pores like steam. Several moments later, she was on her knees, attempting to stand.
    Aaron stood quickly as she swayed, still unsteady from her ordeal. Reaching down, he lifted her, pulling her close to his side. Wrapping an arm around his waist for support, she leaned heavily on him.
    “ What can I do for you? How can I help?”
    “ Aaron, I am completely drained and really need to feed. I cannot cast a spell in this condition.”
    “ Cast a spell?”
    “ I have to seal the graves, so that their bodies can’t be found. More will be coming.” Seeing the look cross his face, she sighed heavily.
    “ They will not travel during the day as the light will kill them, so we have time. We have a lot to discuss, you and I. You will understand soon enough.”
    Aaron’s head started to throb. He knew that he needed to feed also. “Look, why don’t you drink from me what you need, and then I am going to have to do the same with you.” He almost laughed at the comical expression that crossed her face. “Sorry, but we both are starving and