“Was it a vision?” she asked me.
“Something like that. Victor still likes to play with me now and again.”
She cawed into the air once more as I shushed her, not wanting her to draw too much attention from the other vampires.
“You really can’t help yourself when you caw like that, can you?”
“Sorry,” she said. “Just thought I’d warn you.”
“Of what?”
Tobias was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. He shook his head with a sly grin as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
“I was right,” he said. “You do have some sort of connection with this bird.”
My shoulders fell. If there was a time for secrets to be set aside it was now. He would find out eventually. And I had already trusted him with my life.
“My great-granddaughter placed her consciousness in this bird to keep me company over the years,” I said quietly. “Right before she died.”
“Then she was smarter than me,” he responded. I could feel the sense of gloom wash over him. He erased it faster than I could even wonder what was going through his mind to cause such a random emotion. “She left something behind to help you cope. I left you with nothing.”
“And now we know why.” I got up from where I stood and walked up to him. Kitty was quiet in the corner, watching us with curious eyes. And possibly wondering if I was about to make the same mistake I did when I was young by allowing myself to care for him once more. The only problem was that I needed to care. It was vital to our survival now.
“Make up for it by helping me,” I said.
“With what?”
“I want to address the coven.”
11
I waited in the large cavern for Tobias’s warriors to arrive along with the other vampires. His warriors protected those who couldn’t control their impulses as they drank from Liza, making sure they didn’t consume too much. A few looked at me as if I was some sort of shining light in a life full of darkness. Not all vampires were re-birthed with powerful magic like I was. Some simply suffered from the thirst that devoured their souls. I stood atop the large slab toward one end of the cavern. The slab where Tobias held me as he turned me into a vampire. The memory was fresh in my mind. How cold his blood was as it dripped down my throat and the way my heartbeat came back and accepted it. Not even a week later I was standing before the entire coven, ready to speak to them as a leader.
Tobias stood beside me. His posture was strong and imposing. I did my best to copy his stance, looking at the others as though I was the one in control. I could see some of them eye me with skepticism.
‘That’s easily fixed.’
I let the crowning magic trickle through my fingers and weave over my hands. Their eyes grew as it started swirling over my arms all the way up to my elbows. Some of them had seen me attack Victor when I was first turned. But none of them saw what I could do now. I was in control.
Tobias glared at me as if to say, is that really necessary?
‘Yes. It is.’
Once all the vampires were inside the large cavern deep within the mountain, and after Liza had let them feed properly, I knew I only had a few moments to really gain their attention. To command them. And hopefully, win their trust.
“I don’t truly know any of you,” I spoke. “And you have no reason to trust me. I was even tasked with hunting many of you down. I might have killed others you care about. Even so, Tobias decided that he needed help for what is to come. He needed it from me. Just like he needed so many of you to help make his vision of a powerful vampire coven possible.”
Or what was left of it. They once had hundreds. I could only see about fifty of them before me. They had fallen from grace. What was once the most powerful vampire coven in the western world was now in shambles. We were going to fix that.
“With that trust must come knowledge of what is to come,” I went on. “I’m sure some of you have heard the whispers among other magical beings or amongst yourselves that there are dangers in our continued existence. Humans are becoming increasingly aware of us. And even though we can protect ourselves to some degree and not all humans believe the rumors, I think we’ve all had a lesson recently on how humans are more than capable of using modern technology to their advantage.”
Liza’s eyes sparked with frustration from the corner of the cavern. I could feel her hot rage all the way from where I stood. She wanted me to feel the emotions running through her. She was made very much aware of her vulnerability. She was controlled by Victor and then captured by the enemy. Humans. Those who she always assumed were weaker than her. A part of me didn’t even want to know what sorts of experiments they ran on her.
She was ready to fight. And she wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating humans again. Rage was pumping through the blood rushing inside her veins. She only needed a place to direct it. And to find Victor. If she felt that way, I knew many of the others must too.
“As we speak the new President has ordered mercenaries employed by Gandira disguised as the U.S. military to invade this territory. For what purpose we can only imagine. To capture us, experiment on us, and conquer us. I’ve only been a vampire for a very short time and I know our enemy’s strength. I also know that we can be stronger. We must be stronger. Because by dawn they will be at our doorstep.”
“What makes you think we can stop them?” Liza shouted from the back end, leaning against the side of the cavern with one of her black boots propped up behind her. Her arms were crossed, protecting herself. Or caging her ego. “You saw what they did to me. To the others. You think we can beat a swarm of them headed here?”
“I know what will happen if we don’t try,” I answered. “I was a kruxa witchling all my life. And I can tell you as a kruxa who spent a great deal of time around the vixra that they are equally afraid of war. They know its coming. They can sense it. I can sense it. It’s why Tobias created so many of you in his image. As warriors who can withstand anything. You’re not going to fail him by rejecting your biggest opportunity to prove just how wrong our enemy is to believe we’re weak. Are you?”
I must have said something right. Because several of the vampires started standing a little straighter. They might not have felt loyalty to me but some of them shared a bond with Tobias. They were glad to see him back as the head of the coven. I could work with that.
“Victor has betrayed us,” Tobias shouted, making sure that no one’s ears could possibly escape his booming voice. “He’s been working with Gandira this entire time. He’s messing with forces that none of us can comprehend and he intends to bring those forces to this realm. He means to end all of you. And me. For his own selfish reasons. He’s taken Ryker. I believe Victor has possessed the ability to lure vampires since the beginning. He lured Ryker into murdering the President in order to expose us. You either fight with us now to make sure that he pays the price for his treachery or consider yourself ousted from the Catach-Brayin forever. You may have been able to survive through the centuries on your own but you had the wind at your back. Humans were afraid of us. Once Gandira shows them how we can be defeated, they won’t anymore. Think of how dangerous that is. For all of us.”
My senses were assaulted by a tidal wave of fury. Every vampire in the cavern was starting to get angry. Their blood lust was churning inside of them, begging for release. For the bliss of human blood coursing down their throats.
Tobias took something out of his pocket and held out his hand. “I have here enough vixra blood to bestow elemental magic to my warriors. We will need all the help we can get.”
That did it. Vampires have very little impulse control when it comes to their cravings for blood. They have even less when it comes to the desire to feel the slightest bit of vixra magic running through their veins. I knew the depth of their temptation. I couldn’t imagine being without the crowning magic inside me anymore. It invigorated every cell in my body and made me feel a thirst fo
r life that surpassed my thirst for blood. But I wasn’t going to deny that the blood was nearly all-consuming in its glory.
Tobias’s warriors started circling us, wanting the blood and eager to have the small pieces of paper with the single droplet of vixra blood dissolve onto their tongues. I often used it to enhance my magic as a kruxa. I knew the addicting and incredible feeling it gave my body. And by the looks of it, Tobias might lose a hand if he didn’t start handing it over soon.
His face changed. He was stern. Demanding their attention and obedience. “You do as I say and don’t make a single move that I don’t order,” he commanded. “Listen carefully to me as our enemies approach and obey every word that comes out of Georgeanna’s mouth. Do you all understand?” he said to his warriors.
They nodded in agreement and swore to behave. Whatever was about to happen would be far more brutal than anything I had ever beheld in my long life.
I let the rush of the wind sweep by me as we ran out of the tunnels deep inside the mountain with my staff tight in my hand. Kitty soared above me, not entirely rested but also not wanting to be away from me. Which was a nice change. Tobias didn’t stop for a single second. He led the way with me and the rest of the coven close behind, stalking through the thick woods and listening for the sound of metal clenching against metal. It was a sound I had heard before. But not in reality. It was the sound from the vision I had weeks ago when I still had a heartbeat. When my visions passed through me like a force that I couldn’t stop and never controlled. It was the sound of tanks rolling down the highway. Men with guns in their hands. And the pumping of their heartbeats as they readied themselves for a task they were overly confident would be accomplished without too much resistance.
The streets of the nearby towns were quiet as we ran through the woods and down the hillsides, avoiding I-70 and yet staying as close as we could without detection.
Tobias wanted his warriors to slaughter the mercenaries as they came closer. I wanted to make sure we were ready. And Christophe wanted to strike before Tobias gave a signal.
“Stop!” I said to him. Both Tobias and Christophe halted so abruptly that I nearly ran into Tobias’s backside. As it was, my free hand reached up to touch his back as I listened in the distance for the roar of engines. It wasn’t just tanks or armored vehicles. It was helicopters. There were at least five of them. And at least a dozen tanks. I wasn’t sure if Tobias’s words of motivation and all the elemental magic we could wield was enough to take on what was headed for us.
“What is it?” Tobias asked me.
I turned around to face his warriors and the other vampires behind us as they caught up.
“I need half of you to go to the other side of the highway and keep an eye on me,” I ordered. “I’ll give you a signal when to attack. Don’t do anything until Tobias or I say so. Do you understand?”
To my surprise, they didn’t need further convincing. Half of Tobias’s warriors ran toward the highway and down the hillside overlooking I-70. I raised my arm and cast a strong shadow charm over them to conceal their forms as they crossed over the highway.
“Here?” Tobias asked me.
I nodded. We were still miles away from Denver. And I could see the Rocky Mountains in the distance behind us. The valley below where the highway carved into the side of the foothills was the perfect spot for an ambush. And it was the exact spot I saw in my vision.
“Kruxa,” Victor’s voice whispered in my ears. It seemed to echo between them, forcing me to hear his voice with relentless strength. I felt like his hostage. Trapped in a cage that I could never escape. Just like I was in my vision.
No.
It wasn’t just a vision. It was a memory. A memory from my first life when Victor was a Roman. A high ranking soldier. He found me. He knew what I was. And he cast a spell on me, hiding what he needed inside my body and forcing me to live the same life over and over again.
“He’s here,” I whispered to Tobias. “He wants it back.”
“He wants what back?” he asked me.
“What he hid away inside me. And you.”
For the first time in all my lives, I could feel it. The spell he cast on me churned around deep inside my chest. Spinning in circles and wanting release. He was calling to it. Summoning it from my body to distract me. To my shame, it was working.
“Spread out over the hillside and wait for my signal,” Tobias instructed the others. “It’s time these men paid for their crimes against our coven.”
The other vampires spread out of the hillside as I cast another charm to hide them. Once I knew they were concealed and saw nothing more than shadows lurking in the distance I let my gaze drift toward the highway. The sound of their vehicles was getting closer.
“G,” Tobias said the name that never failed to get my attention. Then he cupped my face and forced my eyes to meet his.
I imagined that if I were still part human and part witchling, I would have had shivers running down my spine. Tobias hadn’t looked at me with such intensity since the day he placed his cold hands on mine and told me I had to flee England for the colonies. That it was the only way I would survive. Only for me to find out more than two centuries later that he was being lured by Victor the entire time.
His eyes searched for something in me. For a brief moment, I could swear that he might be able to feel the energy churning inside my body. The key that Victor hid with his spell. Could he sense it? Was something similar happening to him?
I reached out and felt his chest. My fear was realized. A magical force was stirring inside him as well.
My surroundings started to change. Tobias’s face looked different. And he wore the same clothes as the day he put coins in my hand and told me to flee my home for the colonies. The cobblestone streets were wet from dirt, grime, and fresh evening rain. He wore the finest of noble clothes. I was in nothing more than a young maiden’s gown. One he picked out for me from a local shop. He never liked it when I dressed too high and mighty. He said my character was too strong to be covered by excess.
I could have stopped the vision. I could have thwarted it off and forced my mind back to reality. But I didn’t. We only had moments left before the mercenaries met the brute fist of the Catach-Brayin. Or what was left of it.
Only it felt more like a memory. The memory I revisited so many times. When my heart broke as Tobias forced me into a carriage and made me leave. I believed he would find me. Maybe even rescue me. But he never came. No one did. I was on my own.
Was this Victor? Was he trying to distract me? Possibly even divert my attention away? Break whatever bond was starting to form between Tobias and me?
Something bright forced my eyes shut. I shielded them with my hand and took a step back away from Tobias. There was something glowing from inside his chest. He couldn’t see it. Nor did he pay attention to it. He was frozen in place as it spiraled in an array of light from his body.
“My god,” I whispered. “Liza was right. It’s all true.”
The lock was buried deep inside his body, hidden with crowning magic. It was apart of him. Like a living organ. Meaning the key inside of me was no different.
Then before I could so much as move another inch, blood came spurting out of Tobias’s mouth. Someone shoved a dagger through his throat and twisted it with all their might. He gurgled before me before dropping to his knees, then down to the stone steps where I stood to meet him at eye level.
I nearly screamed. The only thing that stopped me was seeing the face of the person who shoved the dagger into him. It was Lenora. Her face wasn’t the same. She appeared frozen. Numb to all emotion.
“Lenora,” I called out to her, trying to snap her out of it. “Lenora! Don’t let him control you! Fight him! Fight back!”
She yanked the dagger out of Tobias’s neck and then shoved him to the ground, letting him bleed out as she admired the blade and set her sights on me. I scurried up the stone steps and fell backward with nowhere to go or hide. She was a luxra
. And as far as the memory went, I was still a kruxa. I couldn’t fight back even if I tried. Especially back then. I had so little control over my magic.
In an instant, I was back in the present with Tobias’s hands still cupping my face. He was still searching my eyes for something. As if he was trying to get through to me.
“What is it?” He asked urgently. “What did you see?”
“Lenora,” I said softly. “Victor definitely has her. He’s bringing her here. I think this might be another trap.”
The sound of metal clenching on metal slammed into the concrete. A helicopter flew over our heads as the blades ripped through the air with tremendous speed.
“Get down,” Tobias ordered me, lowering me to my hands and knees as though I was an animal. Which is exactly what I felt like as I cast another shadow charm, concealing us as best as I could. And wishing I had more time to practice elemental magic. His warrior’s knowledge would have to do.
I wondered if this was what it felt like to wait for the Romans soldiers invading our land so many centuries ago. When I was a warrior for my tribe alongside Tobias. Back when he was called Talorcan. And when we had no choice but to defend our territory against brutal invaders. Only for Victor to find us both and divert our lives beyond all repair.
I felt the same protectiveness over this land as I did then. The same bond. The same desire to see it thrive. Only this time, the blood lust was near consuming. The dryness at the back of my throat was starting to burn once more. So cold that it was hot. I was slowly becoming desperate for blood to satiate me.
‘Good. I’ll need all the motivation I can get.’
Another helicopter flew over us, probably scanning for heat signatures over the foothills.
‘You won’t have any luck with that. Didn’t Gandira figure out from all their experiments that our blood runs cold?’
I saw two men on either side of the helicopter with guns hanging out of the sides. They were ready for battle. Their necks were even covered in the same material as those at the Gandira facility.
Fated Realms: (Witchling Wars: Vampire Echelon Book 2) Page 12