Worth The Price To Live

"Come on. Let's get you moved to a Mystic safe house," Jinxx insisted, standing in the doorway of the cellar.
"Do you have one outside of Majik territory?"
Sandra cocked her head sideways. "Why would you want to be outside of the territory?"
Andy shook his head a bit. "I'm uh...not going to survive this. I'd rather not put innocent people at risk when I already know how this ends."
Jinxx was silent a long moment. "Your vision," he finally stated.
Andy only nodded.
"So, what, you're just going to give up without a fight?" Sandra demanded.
"It's not that simple, Sandy. When a Prophet sees something, it will come to pass." The singer bit at his lower lip, eyes cast to the floor. "I'm going to die. I'd like to go out with as little collateral damage as possible."
Sandra fumed. "Collateral damage? Andy, you are a prophet. Your safety is the highest priority!"
"I saw what I saw!" Andy yelled back, standing to tower over the little half blood. "I saw my own blood on the floor, and Holton standing over my lifeless body. I do not survive this."
"Andy-"
The singer raised a hand to silence his friend. "As a prophet, I exist to predict future events so the world may appropriately prepare. The Majiks cannot prepare the world for my death if they, too, are dead. I will not put innocent lives at risk."
Sandra pursed her lips, but nodded and stepped away. Her arms remained crossed in defiance, however.
"Let's go," Andy ordered, tucking his hand under Jinxx's arm and gripping the muscle tightly.
The Mystic threw a bit of flame into the fireplace, and then stepped inside. Before the magic could pull them away, the Mystic caught Sandra's eyes. In response, the halfblood simply nodded, hand reaching for her phone as the two disappeared in a burst of flames.
No way in all the hells was his brother going to hurt his mate. Prophesy be damned, he wouldn't allow it. He would die for Andy. That's what the white line across his wrist meant. That he would die for his beloved.
Ashley tucked his wings in and dropped between the treetops, landing lightly on his feet. He knew his mate rather well. If Andy had come to terms with his own death so quickly, he would surely put himself in a vulnerable position in order to spare the lives of others. Damn fool that he was, that meant the only safe house in the area not on Majik territory.
This particular safe house was unique in that it was difficult to find, and could only be reached on foot. Tucked into the canyon like valley between a rocky cliff and the base of a mountain, there was no upper entrance. It couldn't even be seen from the sky. The door, well camouflaged if you knew where to look, took on the guise of kudzu overgrowth between a river rock and a fallen tree. The safe house otherwise had no doors nor windows. Ashley sighed and slowly started in on the long trek to the safe house.
"Oh, now this is adorable." The comment came as a sadistic drawl from a darkened corner.
Jinxx pressed the singer firmly behind himself, flames dancing on his fingertips and casting flickers of light into the corners.
"Now, now, little human. Considering I just accurately predicted the safe house in which you would be stashed away, I think we both know you're not the type to hide behind your friends. After all, why else would you go to the least protected option?"
"Because it's the last place anyone thinks to look," Andy snapped.
"Well clearly not considering I'm right here. You see, you, little human, are predictable simply by the fact that my little brother has a type - too adorably reckless to protect themselves."
"Yeah, and you're predictable by the fact that in the time you could have already killed me, you've instead opted for taunting via traditional villan soliloquy." Just as Andy finished his retort, Jinxx dropped to one knee, leaning over so the human could use his back as a spring board from which to launch himself at the vampire.
Holton took a half step back in shock as his intended target turned the tables on him. He'd thought this would be an easy hunt, the human seeming to have given up so easily. The impact of Andy slamming into him sent him back into the wall, knocking the breath from his lungs. Then something hard struck his right kneecap.
"You ought not underestimate your brother's choice in a mate," Jinxx growled.
The vampire gasped for air, hands attempting to pry the scrawny human off his body. There was an orangey flash of annoyance in his eyes as he finally succeeded in throwing Andy across the floor. "Cute trick there, kid."
"Not a trick," Andy snapped back, landing an awkward yet rather hard sideways kick to his opponent's side. He took the moment Holton spent grasping for breath to scramble to his feet and move to another room in the safe house.
"There's nowhere for you to run, little human," the rogue taunted as he rounded the corner.
"No, but there are plenty of places to hide," Andy responded calmly. As if in response, Jinxx appeared from behind the door, launching himself back at their foe, elbow landing firmly into the vampire's sternum.
The blow sent Holton stumbling backwards through the doorway. Quick thinking had Andy slamming the door shut as Jinxx shoved a rather heavy dresser over it.
"Dunno how long that'll hold," the Mystic warned.
Andy nodded. "I'm just buying Ashley time to get here."
A bright chime eminated from the guitarist's phone. "That would be Sandra. Andy, look at me. You fight as long as you can, okay? Don't you dare die before I get back."
Andy blinked in a moment of confusion, then nodded. He lightly clapped Jinxx's arm, then tucked himself into a corner. The Mystic only nodded back before grasping a root dangling overhead and allowing himself to be absorbed into the kudzu above.
Andy took a slow, deep breath, positioning himself to where he could see the entire room. Holton had one way into the room - the door. And the vampire was already throwing his weight against the other side hard enough to nudge the dresser into the room.
He had to think fast. The human's only goal was to stay out of reach for as long as possible. To give Jinxx enough time to get back from - where did he go again?
Andy shook his head clear as the door hinges gave a loud, protesting creak before the pins finally gave out. The door was shoved to the side and suddenly the only thing between Andy and Certain Death was the old, heavy dresser. The dresser which Holton simply kicked out of his way.
"No one here to protect you now," Holton snarked. He took a few slow steps towards the corner where Andy stood, body seemingly relaxed for someone who was about to die.
"Who said I need protecting?" Andy retorted in an offhand fashion.
Holton chuckled, darlky. "Oh, this is gonna be fun," he mused. He gave a mirthful laugh, then lunged forward, hand outstretched towards Andy's throat.
Before the vampire could reach him, Andy bolted out of the corner along the wall. He didn't dare pause to see if his aggressor had caught up. He just tore through the doorway back into the main room and angled himself towards the only exit. But just as Andy reached for the door handle, the collar of his t-shirt constricted around his throat.
"Leaving so soon?" A cold voice demanded. The rogue's hand fisted tighter in Andy's shirt. "And I was just starting to enjoy myself."
Andy's eyes flickered, then he lifted his arms and slid right out of his shirt. If the asshole wanted to play dirty than by the gods, so was he. Unfortunately, he was still effectively trapped in the safe house. A fleeting thought on the irony of being trapped in a safe house flitted through his mind just before a fist came in contact with his throat. He tried to take in a gasping breath but nothing could get past the hand now closing over his wind pipe.
"You just don't know when to give up, do you?"
The human dug his nails ineffectively into the arm that held him. Then suddenly there was a wall against his back. Holton had been pushing him slowly backwards. Held in place by his throat and figuring there was nothing more to lose, he lifted both feet off the ground and shoved them, hard, into the vampire's gut. The grip on his throat loosened and Andy took in a desperate gasp, body collapsing to the floor.
"Now I see it," Holton' s chill voice gasped out. "This whole pathetically helpless bit, lying all crumpled up in the floor. Is that how my brother leaves you when he's done playing with his toy?"
Andy mustered enough energy to spit at the vampire's feet. "If you think that, then you clearly don't know your brother," he gasped. Struggling to his feet, Andy continued, "Honestly, Ash is one of the most loving, loyal people I've ever met."
"If he's so loyal," Holton goaded, "how come he's not here to rescue you?"
Andy must have finally given in because the Vampire had grabbed him again, pinning back to chest and strapping an arm across his chest.
"I'm right here," Ashley's voice responded from behind them.
Holton whipped around, Andy's lanky, bruised body dragging with the movement. "You're too late, little brother," he sneered.
"Holton, you don't want to do this."
"Well of course I don't WANT to. I would never want to HURT my little brother. Just like you never WANTED to hurt me."
"Ash," Andy said, slow and calm. "It'll be okay."
Ashley shook his head, eyes wide with panic.
"Isn't that sweet," the cold voice chided again. "At least I've given you one thing you never gave me. The chance to say goodbye. Go on."
Ashley only gulped, brain not wanting to process what he was seeing.
Andy caught his mates eyes. "Look at me, Ashes. Everything is going to be okay. You're gonna be okay."
The younger vampire shook his head again. "Not without you..."
"Hey, hey. You're never without me."
Holton's hollow laugh interrupted them. "There, now, little brother. That's quite enough. More than I ever got." He laughed more, then a small, sharp knife slid down his sleeve into his free hand. "Now, what do you say I take your pretty little mate out the same way they took mine?"
"No!" Ashley screamed as the blade was drawn clean across his mate's throat.
"There's nothing you can do, now, brother."
Deep, red blood gushed from the veins in Andy's neck, pouring down his chest and staining all that lovely alabaster skin.
Holton lifted Andy's form to his lips, taking a few long, slow gulps of the hot, fresh blood. "Oh, he tasted amazing," the rogue said with a moan. "Honestly, it's a wonder he's survived this long. If he had been mine, he wouldn't have lasted a week."
Then Holton dropped the human, letting the body crumple to the floor before darting out of the room.

Notes

Y'all this hurt a little bit