Darkness Rising

by Cate Farren

“I tried to stop Sheriff Trent, Sutton, and Darin but they went to find Celia,” Lovisa explained. She held her axe up. The head was covered in wet blood. “I hope they’re okay.”

  “They can handle themselves,” said Jared.

  Clover pulled out her sword and walked forward, peering out into the corridor. She could hear the sounds of fighting; guns firing; explosions; people screaming in pain. This wasn’t just a battle but a war.

  “Is this it?” Lovisa whispered. She was scared, but holding firm. Clover knew right there and then that she was a good fit for Adrian. “Has the war started?”

  “No,” Clover declared. “I thought it might, but we can put a stop to it right now.”

  Clover couldn’t wait to get her hands on Loki. They may not be able to kill him, or even capture him without the aid of a witch, but she was going to halt his plans and make him bleed. He’d rue the day he ever thought about going against her.

  “So what’s the plan?” Jared asked.

  They were all looking to her for leadership, even Jared. She still wasn’t used to it, though a part of her kind of liked it. It meant people respected her. She hadn’t done that well in her last mission, getting them all stranded in Loki’s dimension. What if she failed them all now? What if she got them all killed?

  “We can’t do anything to help those already dead,” she said. She heard a scream and shuddered. “But we can help those that are trapped. We have to try and save as many as we can.”

  “I thought we were going to kick Loki’s ass?” Adrian asked.

  Clover sighed and said, “We could try, but he’d kill us. We’re just not strong enough.”

  They all agreed with her, even if it was a sobering realization. Clover knew she just couldn’t charge up to Loki and try and fight him. She’d lose. They’d all lose. They needed a plan, and a witch to help capture him. As there were no witches around they’d have to put off Loki until later.

  Damn it. I really want to punch him. And kick him.

  I can’t believe I let that genocidal maniac into my head.

  “What if we bump into him?” Lovisa asked.

  “Then we hope and pray we survive the experience,” Clover replied.

  What if there are no witches around...?

  “There’s bound to be a witch or two in Whitby, right?” she asked them, thinking logically. “I mean, we can’t ask Toren. She’s like Dark Phoenix right now. But Whitby is the home of Dracula and has a high vampire population. There has to be a coven or something here.”

  Adrian nodded. “Yes there is. When Jared and I were hunting shapeshifters in town we came across a book shop where coven meetings were held.”

  “Adrian, you and Lovisa need to get out of this place somehow and find them,” Clover ordered, thinking quickly. “Tell them the truth, that they’re needed to capture Loki.”

  “What if they’re not powerful enough?” the werewolf asked.

  “Then we still have an advantage we didn’t have before. Go quickly!”

  Adrian nodded and he and Lovisa raced off. Clover hoped they could get magical help. Any would do.

  “Now there’s just the two of us,” said Jared.

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she told him.

  He grinned and pulled her in for a deep kiss. The taste of his lips and the feel of his arms gripping her waist was enough to make all her fears melt away. They could do this.

  CELIA WINCED AS THE shapeshifters battered against the doors of the council chambers. She knew they’d get in eventually. They’d been trying for an hour now, using all the strength they had. She didn’t know they were so strong. They reminded her of the hurricane they’d once had in Chapel Green; relentless and cruel and powerful.

  “What are we going to do?” she asked.

  The Xaphan demon powers within her were stirring, almost as if they had a mind of their own. They wanted to be free and to join the fight. It wasn’t a violent impulse or anything like that, but an instinctive need to protect herself and Dracula. She suddenly realized that Xaphan demons were protectors, not killers.

  As the banging continued Celia allowed her hand to erupt into flames. She controlled it, watching the orange fire twist and turn. She nodded, knowing she had this. Her powers didn’t control her any more, even though she was more scared than she’d ever been in her life.

  It’s my job to protect someone now.

  Dracula was staring at the shapeshifter bodies on the floor. After the meeting had ended seven shapeshifters had emerged from the shadows and attacked them. He had killed them without a second thought. After that he’d activated some sort of magical seal, locking them inside the room. The enemy couldn’t get in, but they couldn’t get out.

  “I still don’t understand how they got in,” Dracula confessed. He looked at her, confused, his eyes shining from the light of her flaming hand. “Do you have any ideas?”

  “There’s only one way they could’ve gotten past your magical protections,” said Celia, who thought the answer was obvious. “They had someone on the inside, a traitor.”

  “I refuse to believe that.”

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense. I’m sorry.”

  Celia knew that Dracula believed her. It must pain him to know one of his allies had betrayed them to Loki. She didn’t like seeing him upset. He was supposed to be the wisest and strongest of them all, next to her father of course.

  If he ever comes home.

  She strode over to Dracula and took his hand. He flinched, but didn’t let go. Her other hand, still aflame, cast eerie shadows against the wall.

  “Anyone who would betray you was never your friend in the first place,” she said, trying to calm him down. “Okay?”

  He nodded, and patted her on the head. It was a little condescending, but she ignored it. He was upset.

  “How did that nasty old demon get a daughter as wise as you?” he asked, finally smiling.

  “He was just lucky I guess,” said Celia.

  The doors boomed, causing the entire lecture theatre to shake. Celia thought about her powers. She could obliterate all the shapeshifters as they came in, but she wasn’t sure what would happen to Dracula. Could he die? She’d heard he could die, but he came back to life after a while.

  She looked down at her feet. Steam was coming from inside her shoes, from her toes. She willed her body to calm down, and it did.

  I’m panicking and it’s going to make me lose control.

  “If it comes to it you unleash hell and incinerate us all,” Dracula told her, almost as if he were reading her thoughts. “It’s only death. I’ll get over it.”

  He didn’t look too sure, but she said, “Does it hurt when you die?”

  “The pain is indescribable, but there’s a small chance your fire could actually kill Loki.”

  She didn’t know that.

  “Really?” she asked. “I could end the war before it begins?”

  Dracula looked away, looking like he was lost in some painful memory. After a while he looked back at her and said, “We have to at least try. Don’t think about me. I can survive this. Most of the vampires here are...are dead. Unleash hell, Celia.”

  TOREN BEHEADED A SHAPESHIFTER as she charged along the corridor. Wynn was by her side. They’d just parted from Daniel and Valeriu, who had gone to find the rest of the vampire royal family. She hoped they were dead. She hoped their deaths were as painful and embarrassing as could be.

  “Where are we headed?” Wynn asked.

  She ignored the ash that hovered in the air. She knew what it was and it didn’t concern her.

  “Nowhere in particular,” she said. A shapeshifter charged around the corner. Toren ducked and sliced it in half through its stomach. She grinned. “I just want to kill as many shapeshifters as I can before I stumble upon Loki.”

  It was a simple plan, really. Kill lots of things. It was a very satisfying plan.

  They rounded the corner to an open door. Inside was a room full of monitors a
nd specialist equipment. More ash swirled around inside. There was a vampire sitting on one of the chairs next to the security desk. It was Vishanti.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  He flinched, but didn’t move to attack. He probably thought if she were a shapeshifter he’d be dead already.

  “I’m trying to contact London branch,” Vishanti explained.

  Toren shook her head. “Why would you want to do that?”

  “They need to send help,” he explained.

  “I think it’s too late.”

  She looked around the monitors, each showing different scenes from inside and outside Dracula’s underground lair. She saw Dracula and Celia in the lecture theatre, talking; glimpses of Gable Trent, stalking along, killing anything in his path; Clover and Jared, fighting as bravely as they could. She caught a sight of Nicolae Groza and his daughter Hayley, holding off a group of shapeshifters in the underground gardens. All the other screens showed nothing but battle scars and ash. There should be hundreds, if not thousands, of vampires here for the summit.

  Loki has killed them all.

  The brutality of it humbled the Black Fey slightly. She hadn’t seen such carnage in hundreds of years. It shook her.

  “There has to be some left alive,” she whispered.

  Vishanti nodded and said, “There’s a panic room of sorts in the basement level that doesn’t have a camera. The security light here shows it’s been activated. There might be some vampires in there, though I can’t be sure.”

  “Do you have any cameras in the basement?”

  He flicked some switches, and one of the monitors flicked to a darkened area. There was a row of boxes, probably office supplies or some such. Past those was a large red metallic door. A group of what appeared to be Prime Demons were outside it, battering it mercilessly.

  “They’ll get in,” said Wynn. “Shapeshifters are not Prime Demon strong, but they are powerful. We have to stop them.”

  A small part of Toren wanted to help whoever was in the panic room, but the dominant side, the all powerful Black Fey part, saw an opportunity. She’d never been in a battle with Prime Demons before. They may only be shapeshifters, but that wasn’t the point.

  She looked at the monitor again and said, “This is going to be fun.”

  It wasn’t until they were out of the security room when Toren realized she hadn’t seen either Sutton or Darin on any of the monitors.

  CLOVER ROUNDED A CORNER before she heard something. It was coming from a room to her right. There was a sign on the door that said “Staff Only.”

  “On my marks,” she said.

  She counted to three and kicked the door in. There was a woman in the corner, throwing boxes of what appeared to be printer toner at an attacking jaguar. She looked up as the door exploded open. The big cat turned and pounced at Clover. She hacked it in half with one swipe of her sword.

  “Are you okay?” Clover asked the woman.

  She nodded. “My name’s Roma Tyne. I’m the prime minister’s aide. Thank you.”

  “Can you tell me exactly what happened here?”

  Roma looked uncomfortable as she took in Jared and Clover. The woman was terrified. She was a vampire, Clover could tell that much, but she wasn’t a brave one. The fact that she was hiding out in a closet was proof of that.

  I don’t blame her, not really. I might have hidden too.

  “The prime minister told me to take the morning off before the big summit tonight,” Roma explained quickly. The woman’s brown hair was pinned back in a tight bun. It looked painful. “So I explored Dracula’s estate. Did you know there’s a whole other level below the basement where he stores seeds? Strange.” She took a deep breath and carried on. “When I arrived back to the populated levels all hell was breaking loose. The main lift to the surface was open. The back entrance was open too. I tried looking for the prime minister but all I found was...ash. Lots and lots of ash. Well, and lots of shapeshifters too. Too many.” She looked down at the dead body and added, “I’m not a fighter. I haven’t been a vampire for that long. I had to hide, you know? I had to.”

  “I understand,” said Clover. “Not everybody is cut out for fighting.”

  The shapeshifter corpse made a spasm and shifted. Roma almost jumped out of her skin.

  “Do you know if Dracula is alive?” Jared asked.

  Roma shrugged. “He could be part of the ash swirling around here. Who knows?”

  Clover didn’t know how to respond. Could Dracula be dead?

  “He’s not dead,” Jared stated. “I think I’d know.”

  “Really?” Roma asked, curious. “Is it because he’s your grandfather?”

  Jared nodded and said, “I’d know if he was gone. I’d just know.”

  Clover believed him. She even understood it. She’d know if Loki were dead. Even though she’d severed their connection she was sure he was feeling safe and smug at the moment. It was just a feeling she had, an itch.

  She was about to suggest they continue their search when they heard Adrian howl behind them. Before they had a chance to react a huge, hulking wolf leapt down the corridor. Another group of identical wolves were stalking behind it, hackles raised, teeth bared.

  I thought Adrian had gone off with Lovisa?

  “That’s not Adrian,” said Clover, even though she recognized the form of the wolf. Adrian’s animal self was a sight to behold. “Stand back.”

  AS THE MAGICAL HAMMERING against the doors continued, Dracula had time to think. Was he a coward for hiding in here as the other vampires were slaughtered? Maybe. Did the supernatural world need him alive more than they needed him dead after a failed confrontation with Loki? Maybe. The truth was he just didn’t know. He never expected things to get this far, not really.

  I was arrogant to think that Loki wouldn’t move Heaven and Earth to achieve his goals.

  “My children...”

  He hadn’t given them a moment’s thought until now. They were probably dead. He might never see Sutton or Jared again, trapped in Loki’s dimension or dead.

  This is my final stand. I was hoping to leave something behind.

  “DRACULA.”

  Loki’s loud, mocking voice echoed around the lecture theatre. Celia clutched his arm with terror.

  “Loki can’t get in,” Dracula declared. “The most powerful witches in the world helped to design this chamber as a refuge.”

  She nodded, though she didn’t seem convinced. He wasn’t either.

  “YOU ARE A COWARD. YOU COWER IN HERE AS YOUR CHILDREN DIE.”

  A cackling laughter shattered the room. Celia stood up, frightened. She was about ready to burst into flames.

  “Wait until he gets in,” he urged her. “Save your energy until then.”

  “Do you think I can kill him?” she asked.

  It was then he realized he’s just asked a thirteen-year-old girl to commit murder. She may be wise beyond her years, but she was still a child.

  “I should never have asked that of you,” he admitted. “You’re only a child.”

  Celia didn’t answer him. She just stared at the doors.

  “YOUR SONS ARE DEAD. THEY BEGGED FOR THEIR LIVES LIKE SMALL CHILDREN BEFORE I KILLED THEM.”

  Dracula didn’t want to believe him, but he knew it was true.

  “I felt them die over an hour ago,” he admitted, more to himself than to Celia. “I tried to ignore it, pretend it was just my paranoia taking over me, but...”

  He hadn’t felt Stephanie die yet, which was good. That meant she was safe, or at least safe for the time being. Would he feel Sutton and Jared die from another dimension? He wasn’t sure. He hoped not.

  “They’re going to get in soon,” Celia whispered.

  “Prepare to battle for your life,” he told her. “Don’t let them win.”

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  He smiled. She was a good girl. It would be nice to see her grow up and see what a formidable presence she would become, but
Dracula knew his days were numbered now. He’d known his death was coming and had prepared for it.

  What is there out there for someone like me?

  Over the centuries Dracula had experimented with many religions. In the end he’d given them up because they made no sense to him. They couldn’t all be true, right? So which was the right one? Or had nobody yet come up with a religion that told the real, perfect truth?

  He shuddered. “The voices...”

  Dracula sincerely hoped they weren’t all there was after death.

  The giant stone doors of the council chamber exploded inwards. Celia shielded her face as flaming pieces of rock ricocheted in all directions. Dracula shouted for her to take cover as a large group of shapeshifters, dressed in everyday civilian clothing, entered. At their head was Loki himself, Saskia, and his daughter, the Prime Minister.

  “That was easy,” Loki commented. He smiled up at Dracula. “How are you, Dracula? You don’t look too concerned that I’ve killed about a thousand vampires...your precious children included.”

  Dracula bared his teeth. He couldn’t do anything for those that were lost now.

  “Leave my daughter alone,” he demanded, trying his best to figure out a plan of attack. Could he take on Loki with all those allies by his side? Could Celia really kill the Lord of Chaos? “If you so much as hurt her I will destroy you.”

  Stephanie sighed sadly and stepped up beside Loki. Dracula’s eyes widened with comprehension.

  “I’m sorry, Father,” said Stephanie. She looked her father in the eye, shame written all over her. “I had no other choice.”

  Chapter 49

  The prime minister was silent as Dracula stared at her. He never thought his own daughter would betray him, betray her own race. Not again.

  “Stephanie...”

  She looked away, and Dracula couldn’t help but wish he’d killed her long ago. If she could betray him once she could do it again.

  “Don’t be too hard on her,” said Loki. “She didn’t have much choice.”

  “He has my daughter,” said Stephanie. “He has Lizzie.”