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tore the heart from his body.
    Now still, Kira recognized their savior. The
vampire's hair rolled down her back in long ebony waves, her skin
had an olive glow, and her eyes were just slanted enough to be
interesting. More than anything, her hip was cocked, giving off an
air of defiance that Kira remembered very well.
    "Pavia!" Her voice ringed with relief and
excitement, something no vampire other than Tristan had ever been
able to elicit from Kira.
    "Sorry to crash the party, but I thought you
could use a hand." She shrugged and kicked the dead vampire
crumpled on the ground. "Aldrich's cronies," Pavia said with a note
of disgust. She spat on the body by her feet.
    Kira sat up slowly, stretching her
strengthening limbs. "Thanks."
    "Least I could do," Pavia walked over to her
mom, inspecting the wound, "I technically killed your other mom,
thought I could at least save this one. Talk about timing though. I
can feel her life is almost gone, her blood is," she sniffed the
air, kneeling down a little, "well, you don't understand, but her
blood just smells like death."
    "Can you bring me closer?" Kira asked. She
tried to stand, but fell back down on rubbery legs. Pavia grabbed
her under the arms, dragging her a few feet across the ground so
Kira could rest a hand on her mother's chest. Her flames flowed
out, sinking deep into her mother's chest and expanding
effortlessly through the conduit body that welcomed her power.
    A conduit. Kira had never really thought of
her mom that way, but she felt the sun flickering deep in her
mother's heart.
    "So what's wrong with you?" Pavia nudged her
foot, pointing out Kira's depleted strength.
    "The vamp broke my back," Kira said, sending
a shiver down the very spine she had just healed. It sounded worse
when she said it out loud. Pavia winced.
    "I've been there, definitely not
pleasant."
    "I'll be fine in a few minutes," Kira said,
taking note of her mom's returning color. Her skin darkened to its
natural bronze. Her heartbeat strengthened.
    "Good, because there are more on the way.
Maybe five?"
    Her mom blinked.
    "Kira?" She said, woozy and confused.
    "It's okay, Mom, you're safe." Kira put a
hand to her cheek, relieved with the warmth she found there.
    Kira stood, finally feeling strong enough,
and pulled her mother to her feet as well.
    "Mom, I know you don't understand, but this
is Pavia and she won't hurt you, okay?" Her mother nodded, still
too out-of-it to really comprehend Kira's words. "Pavia," Kira
said, switching her attention, "I need you to take my mom back to
the gate. You won't be able to cross, but put her as close to the
UV barrier as you can. I'll take care of these vampires and I'll
meet you soon."
    Pavia nodded and scooped her mother up into
her arms. "We have to talk later," she said, "just you and me. I
have a promise to fulfill."
    "Just keep her safe," Kira said, showing her
agreement. The promise was to show Kira more of her birth mother's
memories—Kira hadn't forgotten about it and she was relieved that
Pavia hadn't either.
    "They're almost here," Pavia said and then
left, disappearing through the trees, leaving Kira to face the
vampires alone. And she was ready for it. Feeling helpless was not
her style, and already her flames danced down her wrists,
flickering over the grass and sparking with excitement.
    When the first vampire broke into the
clearing, he burned within seconds. Her fire was spewing lava—no
one could escape it.
    The second fell just like the first, without
any hesitation, without any real use of strength on Kira's part.
They went down easy, like squishing a bug on the ground. She almost
wanted more of a fight—it was too effortless to be satisfying, too
effortless to be rewarding. As her flames grew stronger, so did her
conviction and Kira wanted it to hurt. After watching her mother
come so close to death, someone had to pay.
    A third vampire came in from the left side
and a forth from the right, trying to corner Kira by dividing her
attention.