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road and into the trees, trying to spot another hint. Every
leaf was green, every branch brown—the only red she saw were the
berries on a few low bushes. Spinning in circles, Kira inspected
every surface she could find, almost wishing for vampire-like
scent.
    "Kira!"
    The scream tore through the woods, ringing in
Kira's ear like a loud siren. In an instant, she was sprinting
toward the sound.
    "Kira!"
    The shout was slightly quieter this time, as
though a little bit of her mom's spirit had been taken away, a
little bit of fight had been lost.
    But it was enough of a sound for Kira to
follow, and she kept running, pounding her feet through soft mud,
pushing branches aside, letting sharp leaves scratch her cheeks.
Until finally, Kira saw a little flicker of life through the
darkness, a tiny spark shimmering through the leaves.
    Her mother's flames.
    They were small—a barely roaring fire, enough
to warm but not to burn. Even from afar, Kira saw the mocking face
of the vampire opposite her mother. Those flames wouldn't be
enough—they already weren't enough. A trickle of blood streamed
down her mom's neck, flowing slowly but fast enough to drain the
life and strength from her body.
    "Hold on, Mom!"
    Kira threw her fire out, shooting it as far
as it could travel, barely licking the vampire's face. But Kira's
fire wasn't like her mother's, and the smallest touch was enough to
send the vamp to its knees. The closer she ran, the more it burned,
until finally Kira felt him explode, turning to ash under the
torrent of her strength.
    Without pausing, Kira fell to her knees next
to her mom.
    "Are you alright?" She asked, cradling her
mother's head in her lap and shooting her powers into the two
little holes puncturing her neck.
    "Kira—"
    Hands grabbed Kira's throat, pulling hard on
her spine and throwing her fragile body against the base of a tree.
Hearing a crunch, Kira cried out in pain. Her body fell limp. Her
fingers felt lazy, unmoving, and her legs felt like stone,
unbendable and far too heavy to move. She felt like a doll dropped
carelessly on the ground, contorted at inhuman angles.
    Her mother's eyes widened and a scream curled
on her lips. But before a sound could escape, another vampire
jumped out, biting down on her throat and swallowing the yell along
with her blood.
    Kira tried to throw her flames, but her body
needed to be healed and she turned her fire inwards, searching
along her spine for the fracture that culled her movement.
    Sensing her shifted focus, the vampire looked
up. Its blue eyes bored into Kira, searing her with their
freeze.
    "A note from Aldrich," he said, his voice low
and his teeth stained with blood. "I took one mother from you and I
can easily take the second, along with any other person you love.
Be warned."
    He smiled and sank back down, reaching for
the blood again. But Kira found the spot—the broken bone, the
severed nerves—and sent her powers there. Sensation slowly extended
back to her body, her nerves thrummed to life again sending tingles
down her limbs.
    Her mother was growing paler. Her eyes sealed
shut and her head started to slip farther into the ground, growing
heavy.
    She wouldn't make it, Kira thought. Her
fingers twitched, gaining strength once more, but her arm was still
too heavy to lift, too weak to let her aim her flames.
    "Mom!" Kira yelled, knowing it was useless
but needing to do something. Her memories flashed back to the same
image—a blond woman still on the ground while vampires swarmed over
her. All the sudden, Kira was the baby hiding under a bush,
watching helplessly while her parents were stolen from her.
    But now she could fight and Kira refused to
lose another mother the same way. She wouldn't.
    Her mother's body went limp, but before Kira
could respond, a white blur streaked across the trees, slamming
into the feeding vampire. He flew back, rolling over in the dirt,
and without a moment of hesitation, the white blur reached through
the vampire's chest and