Everyone rushed over, even the mysterious blonde vampire. She noticed that whereas they all looked concerned, the woman looked angry. There was a story there that she was curious about. Izi pushed her out of the way and she made way for her sister to get to Syria. Izi did a quick examination of Syria and sat back.
“She shows symptoms of having been poisoned,” she said after a while. “Her body temperature has me baffled, though. We need to get her to cool down before I can do anything.” She looked at them. “We should get her to the river.” Jonas and Pierre sprang into action and helped Syria to her feet. They barely had her upright when Syria moaned. Her eyes widened in sudden fear. Next, a stream of putrid blood shot from her mouth.
“This is not good,” Izi muttered as she moved closer to Syria. “She is bleeding from her eyes and nose, too. We have to get her to Tahlia.”
IVX
When the screen was pulled away exactly an hour later, Copernicus was already waiting. He had had enough time to regain his confidence. However, one look at the shaman’s face made him rethink his strategy of bravado. The man looked mildly shaken.
“I have good news, as well as bad news.” He took a deep breath. “I think I’ll start with the good news. You should know that we’ll know soon enough if the contagion works. I had six men track down your vampire and inject her. I had them dip their claws in it.”
Copernicus blinked. As far as good news went, that was great news. Now all they had to hope for was for the toxin to work. But the good news would not leave the usually unflappable man so shaken. If here was one thing that Mopi’helma had in abundance, besides hair oil, it was confidence. Something happened that completely rattled him.
“And the bad news?”
“Your vampire was helped by four other vampires. Powerful ones. They killed my men with ease. Brutal and fast.”
That bit of information left Copernicus with a cold sensation in his chest. Renegades weren’t as organized or as powerful to kill those lizard creatures. That left only one other possibility. The Royals were here! He suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to run. Run as far as he could from here.
“Do…do you know who they are?”
The shaman tilted his head slightly, his eyes gleaming with scorn. “You have brought them to my village.” He lowered his head, his chin resting on his chest. “My father reached a very good age.” He looked up. “He died at the age of 130. He was special like me. But he could’ve grown older, maybe twenty years more.”
Copernicus frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“If you listen, you will,” the other man snapped. “My father said something happened when he was but a young boy of twelve years. It was morning time and his mother, my grandmother, was making ash cakes. It was best to eat them off the hot stones.” He smiled faintly. “That morning my father didn’t get a chance to eat his favorite food. The forest suddenly went silent and the warriors immediately went for their weapons. Then she appeared.”
“She?” Copernicus wasn’t really interested in a long winding story of a long dead shaman, but he had a feeling that the story was building towards something. Whatever it was.
“The Dark Queen.”
Oh, crap! Tahlia knew the location of the village? Maybe his instinct to run was not such a bad idea.
“She walked out of the jungle. Her eyes were the color of fresh blood and the air around her smelled burned. The way she was looking at them showed that she was hungry. She had looked at them, long and hard. And finally, she moved on. Walked right through the village without looking back. My father had nightmares of her returning for years afterwards. He believed that that experience made him age quickly and die prematurely.”
Swallowing hard, Copernicus shrugged. “I promise you that I didn’t bring them here. They didn’t know I was here.”
“Maybe, but you did come here with a lot of people. They probably had you followed all this time.”
The thought made Copernicus cringe. If they knew where he was all this time, why hadn’t they acted? It just didn’t make sense. And what were they doing here? A highly unlikely scenario flashed through his mind. He quickly shook it off. It was not possible. He would’ve known. Valiant was exceptionally thorough.
“What should we do now?”
“If her people are here, then she surely is not far behind.” He pushed his hands into the pockets of his khaki shorts. “If you want to run, then you better do it now. But not before you transfer my money.”
“What? Your money? But you got your prize. The vampire has been infected.”
“At a much greater loss than I expected. The money will make a good nest egg for when I decide to leave here.”
“I don’t think so. I’m leaving here without my potion and you’ve already had your prize,” he sneered.
Mopi’helma chuckled, his pupils beginning to split. “Don’t you have enough enemies as it is, senõr? Can you really afford one more?”
Copernicus’ bravado sputtered and died a humiliating death. “If you get me out of here, I promise to make the transfer as soon as I’m back in Iquitos.”
†
Clarissa gently wiped the blood-stained mouth of her daughter. Beside her, Jessica was dozing, her head resting on Clarissa shoulder. The woman had cried so hard that Clarissa had worried that she might make herself ill. She had finally glamored the woman to allow her some time to rest. She had taken the sleeping baby from her, just in time too, for the baby had had another bout of vomiting blood.
Raven reached out and took hold of Clarissa’s finger, her dark eyes surprisingly calm. It was as if she wanted to reassure her. This tiny person was thinking of comforting her, while she was the one vomiting blood. She tenderly kissed the sweaty eyebrow.
“I’m sorry that you have to go through this, my little heart.” She kissed the tight fist, a sign that her daughter was experiencing pain. She opened her vein again and dripped a few drops in Raven’s mouth. She felt the body gradually relaxing her arms. “Rest now, little one.” She held the baby’s gaze and watched the dark brown eyes began to droop. She hated glamoring Raven, but Tahlia had warned that things might worsen before they got better. Raven would need her rest if she was to go through whatever it was that was still to come. She brushed a kiss over her lover’s forehead. She would’ve liked to accompany Tahlia and Paloma. It would bring her grim satisfaction to cut the person down who was responsible for Jessica’s tears and Raven’s pain. But she knew that both Jessica and Raven needed her right now. To be honest, she needed to be close to them, too.
†
Syria wanted to cry.
Not because of the crippling pain. Nor because she knew she was dying. She wanted to cry, because she wasn’t going to see her beloved sisters again. All those centuries together had forged a bond stronger than anything that could be translated into words. She had been happiest surrounded by them and their affection. And now she was about to die in some remote jungle; in the most undignified way possible. Puking her guts out. She could feel her insides rotting away. The stench made her gag. It also didn’t help that she was being roasted from the inside out.
“…dip in the river.”
They wanted to dip in the river? What was wrong with them? Didn’t they watch nature documentaries? The Amazon River was renowned for its deadly aquatic wildlife. Piranhas. Caiman. Anacondas. Not to speak of the many parasites and other waterborne diseases that were just waiting for a host. And then there were those tiny fish that swam up your… She hadn’t even finished the thought before she was unceremoniously plunged into water. She was too weak to do anything and could only cringe when she felt something brush past her leg. At least this was a more gracious way of ending her existence. A thought popped into her mind.
Lake.
She couldn’t die without making amends with the woman. She struggled feebly against the hold.
“You’re drowning her.”
She was lifted out of the water, just in time to see the Eternal Prime in a
standoff with a bunch of caimans. She stood almost hip deep in the murky waters. So, this foolish woman was rumored to be their First Pillar’s soul mate? It would’ve been so much fun to see their aloof leader and this crazy woman fall in love. But she wouldn’t be here to witness that momentous event. She dipped her head and felt gentle fingers cradling her face. She lifted her head weakly. It was the beautiful healer, who had fixed her up after Tahlia had punched the daylights out of her. Izaura, the Dark Prince’s mate. She saw the worry in the woman’s eyes.
“Hello, Syria. Can you talk?”
She opened her mouth, but no sound was forthcoming. She tried again and this time a faint squeak slipped out.
“Easy now. You don’t have to talk.” Izaura said softly as she looked at Jonas, who was holding her up. “We need to keep her alive until Tahlia arrives.” Jonas nodded at Pierre. The blond vampire stepped closer as he opened a vein. Syria turned her head away. Anything she ingested came out in the most revolting way. Pierre sighed and held her head steady as he pressed his oozing wrist to her lips. She knew what would happen if she drank, but the blood smelled wonderful. Rich and fragrant. She had never smelled anything like that before. She bit into the proffered wrist and drank deep and greedily. She moaned in protest when the Golden Prince pulled his wrist away and closed the wound. Syria was drunk from the deliciously potent blood. It felt like she had swallowed an air bubble. She felt weightless and the pain was fading gradually. Her temperature still remained high, though.
Not sure how long it would stay where it was, she needed to speak to Lake. She tried to stand and was quickly assisted by strong hands. She looked around until she noticed Lake standing a few paces away.
“Lake.” She swallowed. Pierre’s blood had restored her strength and speech. But she could already feel her stomach churning. She didn’t have much longer. “Please, let’s talk.” The vampire looked reluctant. “I don’t have long before I start vomiting again. I don’t want to die before I’ve told you everything.”
Lake slowly moved closer. “I’m listening.”
“I didn’t want to hurt you, but I had to get close to Copernicus. Win his trust. I didn’t know about you and it hurt me so much that you got caught in the middle.”
“Not as much as it hurt me,” Lake sneered and looked away. “What do you expect me to do with this? It’s not even an apology.”
“Please, forgive me for what I did to you,” she said softly, her body already jerking as it was preparing to expel the contents in her stomach. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t have done what I did.” She felt her sight go blurry. “We need to get out of the water, before…” Her body gave one powerful heave and she was quickly lifted out the water and sped to the bank. Blood in the water would bring all kinds of predators calling. That was her last conscious thought, before her body seemed to take on a mind of its own.
†
Paloma was keeping pace with Tahlia, as they crashed through the jungle. The plane had barely touched down in Iquitos, before Tahlia almost took the door off the plane in her rush to get out. The rest of the group would book into a hotel in the city and they would meet up there once they had found the others. The jungle was dense, but with her superior eyesight, Tahlia maneuvered around the trees well. As per Jonas’ explanation, they were in a small outpost that was located about 18 miles from Iquitos. With their speed they managed it in few minutes and were now hurtling at a breakneck pace towards the river. The minute they reached the river, they could make out the other group on the opposite bank. Tahlia plunged right into dark water. Paloma didn’t even think twice, but followed suit. It was maybe their audaciousness that had the predators scatter, because had she been alone, Paloma doubted she would’ve considered swimming. She suspected, however, that Tahlia was beyond reasoning and was operating on pure instinct. Maybe even rage.
A minute later, they walked out on the other bank. Paloma noticed the shock on their friends’ faces. Her eyes lingered a bit longer on Lake and she saw the other vampire look away quickly. She’d deal with her later. She found Tahlia kneeling next to a shivering Syria. The Outlander looked awful. Her eyes and cheeks were sunken giving her the look of a living skeleton. When Tahlia lifted Syria’s shirt, they found her stomach hollowed out and her ribs painfully defined against a pasty skin. She watched as Tahlia, with heartbreaking tenderness, picked the other woman up. She sniffed the air, her nostrils flaring delicately.
“This way.”
They ran for about ten minutes before Tahlia stopped. She looked around. Paloma did the same. They were in a part of the jungle that seemed almost prehistoric. The trees were gigantic and the insects around them three times larger than their counterparts in other locations.
“This area is sacred and no one dares come here unless they want to bring the wrath of the jungle spirits on them.” She handed Syria over to Paloma and walked towards an especially dense patch of vegetation. With her claws, she pulled at the vegetation revealing a narrow passage way into what seemed like a cave. She glanced at Tahlia. Over the years, she had learned not to be surprised by Tahlia’s resourcefulness, but how did the woman know there was a cave here?
As if reading her mind, Tahlia turned to them. “I have access to Lecrac’s memories.” She slipped down the passage way, which led them several yards into the earth. The passage finally opened into a large chamber. It was evident by the outdated utensils and primitive equipment in the room that it had been unoccupied for a very long time. “Make some light, so we can examine her.” She glanced at Izaura and the healer joined her where she had laid Syria down.
The men left the cave in search of wood, while they searched the inside of the cave for material to burn. When the men returned, Paloma and Leonara had a small fire going with some tinder they had found in the cave. Adding the pieces of wood, the chamber was soon well-lit. Knowing to leave Tahlia alone when she was in healer mode, she moved over to where Lake stood, watching Tahlia with ill-disguised awe. The blonde looked well, compared to the sullen woman she had become after Paloma had turned her. Lake had been an innocent when she got caught in the conflict raging between them and Copernicus. Thus, it had taken a lot of gentle persuasion to get the woman to accept her fate. She had only really perked up when Paloma suggested she learn to fight to avoid ever becoming a victim again. Lake had turned out to be an attentive student. She learned fast and Jonas was proud of her skill for one so young. Paloma knew now what had driven the young woman. Revenge. Three months ago, Lake had disappeared; not coming for training anymore. She must’ve been trailing Syria and Copernicus throughout the continent. Biding her time.
Lake looked up at her when Paloma came to stand next to her. “Assassin.”
Paloma smiled faintly, Lake always addressed her as such and Paloma found she actually liked the title. It has been decades since anyone had referred to her by it.
“How have you been?”
The powder blue eyes were cool. “Better.”
The woman’s shortness was in no way disturbing. That was the only way she communicated with them. She studied the woman closely, noticing a faint tremor chase through her body. She was scared. With good reason. Tonight, she had seen for herself that Tahlia did have some affection for the Outlander. Be it because of her affiliation with the babies or the future familial link they would share. Tahlia would want her pound of flesh. Royal vampires didn’t kill each other unless it was authorized by Tahlia. Maybe she could scare a reaction out of the blonde.
“Did you know that Syria is closely connected to the queen?”
The blonde’s head jerked in her direction, her eyes wide in shock. “I…I didn’t know that.” She shook her head. “I thought she …she was with…”
“With Copernicus? For you to understand the mess you have almost gotten yourself into by hunting Syria, I need to start from the beginning. Shall we go talk outside?” They found a fallen tree trunk a few feet from the entrance. She took a seat, but Lake seemed to prefer to stand. “It’s a long story
, so you better sit.”
“Why are you doing this? Telling me all this?”
“Because for all her size and bravado, I think Syria is a very gentle being. You got caught in a conflict that wasn’t yours and you paid a heavy price.” The blonde looked away and Paloma suppressed the urge to sigh at the woman’s petulance. She prayed Isis didn’t turn out to be sullen teenager, because she found that she abhorred petulance. “Like I said, I’ll start from the beginning.”
It took her almost an hour to tell her tale and not once, did Lake interrupt her. It was only when she explained their reason for wanting Copernicus that Lake looked at her. Paloma had taken what little was left of Lake’s blood before she had turned her. She knew of Lake’s stepfather, the Outlander, who was killed by Copernicus. She had thought it just to gift the woman with immortality to avenge her father by working together with the Pillars. They were, after all, all on the same mission.
“The reason Syria is with Copernicus, is to keep him safe. If he were to die by the hand of a non-Pillar, the essence of all those he had killed would be lost. People like your father.” She saw a tiny red tear roll down the pale cheek. “When our daughters reach their full potential, they can destroy him and absorb the spirits. This way all these unfortunate souls can be reborn sometime in the future.”
Lake sat silently for a long while, her gaze straight ahead, unblinking. Paloma began to wonder if she had just wasted a full hour of her time, trying to make the blonde see reason. Her attempt at avenging her father, spoke of a strong, loyal character. She hoped the woman remembered that. In the meantime, she would speak to Tahlia about mitigating Lake’s punishment. She was surprised when Lake stood and looked at her. The woman’s eyes were blank. No anger. Nothing. Paloma wasn’t sure if that was better than before.
“Thank you for telling me this.”
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