“You weren’t always around in your parent’s lives, they could’ve given each other peace in the beginning,” Willow argued, her cheeks becoming red in anger.
“I don’t know what you sorcerers are taught in your weak territory but-”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ziana interrupted her eyes, blazing, “If you are about to slur some bullshit prejudice about sorcerers, then I suggest you shut your mouth before I shut it for you.”
“Oh lay off Zi-” Gita cut off by a loud shriek. Valeria was startled by the sound of screaming, her eyes snapped to the noise. Edith was panting, her eyes usually a soft brown were glazed over in gold, one that Valeria had seen before in her mom’s eyes.
“There is so much blood! They’re drowning in it!” Edith was shaking Ziana’s shoulders now as if she was desperate that she understood, “Too late…. Too late... blood.”
“Edith, it’s okay your safe,” Ziana soothed, trying to calm down the shrieking elf before suddenly Edith’s eyes snapped to Valeria’s.
“It’s back, back, the blood has gone, and it is back,” Edith said, her voice was eerily calm before she blinked the gold away and was staring at them with a confused expression before she passed out.
* * *
Chapter Six
Demon Wolf
Valeria couldn’t sleep after everything that happened that night. After Willow had gone to get the Mind Healer, Edith was sent away to the infirmary wing. Once she was gone, they were all ushered to bed, but no one in the room could rest. Everyone just sat in silence, no one moving from the spots they’d been in when it happened. Ziana sat beside her, elbows on her knees and face in her hands. Valeria could tell she was worried, she couldn’t imagine what it must be like to have someone you grew up with hospitalized. She tried to imagine Demetri laying pale in a hospital bed or Henrik or Emalia, but she shuddered at the thought. Her thoughts were interrupted when Ji-woo let out a strangled sob.
“Ji-woo,” Gita groaned as Willow rose and pulled the hysterical merperson in a hug. Valeria was beginning to notice that the merperson cried in every tense situation.
“Shh, don’t cry Ji-woo,” The sorcerer soothed, “Edith is going to be okay.”
“What if she’s not? Edie has never had a vision like that before. They’ve never hurt her,” Ji-woo sobbed, “What if she dies?”
“She’s not going to die,” Ziana snapped standing up abruptly, “Don’t say useless things, Ji-woo. Pull yourself together. It’ll be fine, Edith is going to be fine.”
Valeria wasn’t sure if Ziana was trying to convince them or herself.
“Don’t yell at her,” Gita warned a growl rising in her throat.
“Don’t fight,” Valeria said, standing between the two beasts, “Fighting will only make things worse.”
The room was thick with tension as the two girls moved back to their corners. Ziana flopped back onto the floor while Gita went to sit on her bed. Willow and Ji-woo sat huddled together with Nyla nestled in the merpersons lap. No one spoke. Valeria sat down next to the simmering phoenix with a sigh. She thought about putting a reassuring hand on the other woman’s shoulder but didn’t think it would be welcomed. Valeria prayed to the Creator that Edith would be alright. It seemed like hours before Kamaliah came in. Everyone sat up, eager to hear news Ziana being the one to react the quickest.
“Is she okay?” Ziana asked, already on her feet and demanding answers.
“Yes. Edith will be fine, right now she is unconscious, but Healer Anai says she’ll regain awareness by moonrise,” Kamaliah explained, putting a reassuring hand on Ziana’s arm only to be shrugged off, “Unfortunately since Edith has never had visions this traumatic, she will be under surveillance for the next couple nights.”
“Can we see her?” Willow questioned, and Kamaliah shook her head.
“Why not?” Ziana demanded, frustration coloring her tone, “Edie shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“And she is not,” Kamaliah responded calmly, “Healer Anai is with her.”
“But-”
“Edith will be alright. Now try to get some sleep. It won’t do Edith any good if you are all up worrying the day away,” The older phoenix stated with a smile at them before exiting the room, and Valeria heard Ziana huff in frustration beside her. There was nothing to do now but try to get some sleep.
◆◆◆
The next moonrise, with minimum rest and worried thoughts, Valeria and her dorm mates went to the dining hall. Ziana and Valeria sat in their regular seats at the table, both of them not talking. Edith was a noticeable difference in the little trio they made, she was the one who kept all parties talking and engaged. Even if they genuinely had only known each other for a couple of nights, Valeria felt closer to them than she had ever felt with any of her friends in VT. The room grew silent, causing Valeria to look up from her cup of blood to see her father standing at a podium.
“Good evening, Grey Academy. If you’re interning at the GSI with teams A through C, your internship will begin a night late. Instead, we have arranged for you to join the forties and under to the Kalissa Museum of War,” Derik explained with a smile at the students, “As for the rest of you, tonight will continue as planned.”
Her father looked exhausted. Derik must have been called back to the academy in the middle of the night, she didn’t see Thoren, so he probably came by an emergency portal. After his speech, Derik made eye contact with Valeria and gave her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Without another word, her father walked off the stage where a circle of faculty were waiting and was gone.
“I can’t believe they are going to stick us with the forties and under,” Ziana grumbled as she bit into her burnt toast.
“That can’t be a coincidence. First the voices, then Edith has a vision, and now the GSI is whisked away on a case,” Valeria whispered to Ziana, and by the look on her face, she could tell the phoenix was thinking the same thing.
“We need to find out what Edith saw,” Ziana replied in a low tone, to avoid being overheard, “I doubt they’ll tell us what happened to postpone the internship.”
“We are meant to be observing what they do, they can’t keep it from us if we are supposed to be interning with them,” Valeria whispered, “They might not explain everything, but surely they’ll have to let us see what is going on. My mom has a locked drawer in her desk, it’s locked with blood magic, but my blood is a close enough match. I got in before, but I didn’t get to see anything but files.”
“You stole Headmaster Grey-Dracul’s dragon, and you snooped through the necromancers desk?” Ziana asked, looking over at her with an approving stare, “Maybe you aren’t so bad after all, Princess.”
“I’d say maybe you aren’t so rude, but I’d be lying,” Valeria replied with a smile and Ziana returned it for the first time ever. So maybe they could be not-friends-friends, “And I’m not a Princess.”
◆◆◆
The Kalissa Museum of War was established a century after the Dark Ages, it was one of the very first buildings built in Kalissa by order of the fae Queen Kalissa. She had wished to record every war within a building, using magic to fit all of it inside, wars both planetwide and territory wide. Once they were inside the lobby, they had to select the war exhibit they wanted to see, and the magic would take them to it. Despite the building being one story and no bigger than a small hut, the inside was huge. Valeria had been to the Bloodris Museum of War but never to the Kalissa one and that had been for a field trip. Now Valeria stood with Ziana and the other young students of the Grey Academy. Valeria could tell the building was old by the outdated designs and the worn stone. The floors and walls were all stone, with aged paintings hanging from the walls. Not that the place was falling apart or anything, the magic had maintained the ancient stones.
“Alright, tonight we are going to be exploring the Demon War exhibit since it just opened up,” The female sorcerer that was in charge of this little trip and who Valeria couldn’t remember the nam
e of, “Now if you need to step out for a minute, please notify Madame Rosa.”
“Why would we need to step out for a minute?” Valeria inquired at Ziana who was walking beside her with a bored expression, “It’s just a museum.”
“To you it is,” Ziana replied, not even sparing a glance at her, “But to some of these kids, it was their reality.”
“None of these kids fought in the wars,” Valeria said confused by the statement. Ziana turned to look at her with an unreadable expression.
“You do realize that demon’s still exist and that they have killed some of these kids families right?” Ziana replied, the smile Valeria had seen on her face earlier nowhere in sight now.
“Is that what happened to yours?” Valeria couldn’t help but ask, and Ziana nodded curtly a deep frown etched into her lips. Valeria felt a stab of guilt for asking and not realizing the importance that this could have to some people. She wondered how her parents might react to the exhibit. The sorcerer approached them again with a smile and handed them both a card.
“This will grant you access to the more adult version of the events. The children will be going on a...censored version. Feel free to join us if you want,” The sorcerer said.
“We’ll go through the adult version,” Valeria replied with a smile.
“Alright. If you need us just call,” The sorcerer said before turning and making her way back to the group of kids. Ziana and Valeria turned and used their card to enter the ‘adult version.’ The walls of the exhibit were lined with enlarged pictures, words written on plaques beside them and artifacts hanging in glass cases. The museum was packed, various amounts of beasts were floating between displays and whispering to their companions. Valeria approached the first picture, from the plaque she could tell it was of Princess Mina Dracul, she was beautiful with her long blond hair and red shimmering eyes. Mina was sat beside a roguish looking wolf with light hair, who according to the plaque was Prince Lance Claire, the firstborn son of King Riley Claire, they both looked so happy in that picture. A posh voice began an explanation as the images simmered and changed. This new image was of a wedding, Mina was covered in fine jewels and Lance in beautiful fur.
“Princess Mina was a vampire ambassador in Lunith when she met Prince Lance, and shortly afterward they fell in love. Seeking the opportunity to show cross-species unity, King Dracul and King Riley arranged a marriage between their eldest children,” The voice said as more images slid across the wall of the ceremony. Valeria could see the delicate archways that only belonged in Kalissa, and then photographs of a pregnant Mina came across the frame, “Shortly after the union, Princess Mina was with child. For the duration of the pregnancy, everything went well until the birth of the child. The child was not one of a wolf or a vampire, but it was a demon.”
Valeria watched as the images shifted to black and the voice faded out, the glass case next to it displayed the rings from the wedding and the tattered dress that Mina had worn in the last picture. Ziana was silent next to her, the eeriness of the museum washing over them as they moved to the next set of images, it was multiple frames hung on the wall of Kalissa.
“The demon infant killed Princess Mina and infected Prince Lance, now known as the Demon Wolf before the demon infant was eliminated. The Demon Wolf raged through Kalissa, infecting almost all of its inhabitants but the dragons of the vampire court and the Wolfish army prevented them from taking the city” The voice spoke, it was the same voice from the last display. This time the images showed the streets of Kalissa covered in dirt and blood, the plants were torn apart, and the buildings were crumbling. Images of Dragons destroying demons by the handful filled the frame. A picture of Lance appeared then, his body was distorted, with long talons, a detached jaw that had rows and rows of teeth. His flesh looked like it had been twisted inside out, and his eyes were completely black. Valeria stared in horror at the images, the other frames displaying different demons, “The Demon Wolf escaped but left hordes roaming the city, and the Golden Six were called upon to help drive the demons from the city.”
“Wow,” Valeria breathed out, her heart racing at the terrifying images before her and she looked at Ziana who looked just as affected. The screens went black again, and the voice faded out, indicating the conclusion of the display.
“Yeah,” Ziana responded as they made their way to the next exhibit both of them silent at the events that unfolded in front of them.
“The Golden Six-consisting of Xander Brantley, Veronica Arriens, Adella Hashi, Zoar Lightwing and Florence Dracul-purged Kalissa of demons,” The voice explained as images of Xander cutting down a demon with a wing of fire, Veronica’s mouth open in a war cry as the light coming from her hands twisted the creatures, Callan ripping off another’s head in his wolf form, Adella swirling water through the air, Zoar capturing the demons with his vines and finally Florence covered in blood armor as she slices through their bodies. The images moved as if they were a memory, some photos were known to do this if they had been recorded by an archivist. Valeria watched in amazement as they cut through the hordes of mangled creatures and one glance at Ziana told her she was feeling it too, the awe. Valeria took a moment to look at Callan who was only fifty-five cycles old at the time, he wasn’t the tall and broad man, she knew tonight. Callan was shorter than Florence, and he looked so devastatingly young, baby fat still filling his cheeks.
“Badass,” Ziana muttered a smile on her face as the Six slew the demons and Valeria nodded in agreement before they moved to the next display. This wasn’t like the other two displays, it was a massive map of Beastmora hung on the stone wall, and it was magically animated. The water was splashing along the land and small clouds hovering above.
“The Demon Wolf spread the infection throughout the entirety of Beastmora, jumping through portals and tainting them. A tainted portal would cause any beast that went through it to become a demon,” As the voice spoke, the black smudge that looked like spilled ink, started to spread throughout the map, not missing a single territory. The golden stain appeared as well, and it started fighting against the blackened areas and turning them back to their natural color. They watched in horror as the ink spread, above the map there was the cycle and not until eight cycles since the outbreak did a gold smudge appear to be able to gain the upper hand. They moved to the other displays, they were ones of significant battles such as The Battle at Lunith, The Battle at the Forest of Light, etc. The pictures were filled with blood, fighting, and destroyed landscapes. It was morbid and awful to see. It was so strange for Valeria to see people she had grown up with caked in dirt and blood, fighting for their lives. The next display held a map again, but this time there were pins all across of it, one marked down in each territory.
“The Golden Six and the army’s from the six nations fought against the creatures. Unable to distinguish a pattern until discovering the Demon Wolf was targeting magical hotspots. If it were to corrupt them all, the planet would become a wasteland. The demons corrupted the hotspot in Fae Territory, unable to corrupt any others,” The map illuminated the tainted hotspot with a dark purple glow, “The Six purified the Neutral Territory hotspot before cornering the Demon Wolf in Fae Territory.”
They moved to the next display, it was a screen again, which started with another slideshow of pictures, “The Golden Six followed the Demon Wolf into Fae Territory, they battled for three nights, and when they finally emerged, the Demon Wolf was dead. Thus forth, ending the Demon War.”
The pictures weren’t of the battle within the forest as much of the other battles had been, the only images were of the Golden Six emerging from the magical barrier separating fae from the rest of the planet. They were all drenched in blood and dirt, their clothing ripped. Exhaustion etched into all of their faces, one image depicted Florence and Xander carrying Callan from the forest. Valeria’s eyes widened at the image of Florence clutching onto Derik and a young wolf pup that could only be Emalia. The next couple of pictures were of the celebrations, but Valer
ia couldn’t get the haunted look on their faces from her mind.
“What do you think they saw?” Valeria asked her partner, who looked over at her.
“The Destroyers Domain,” Ziana replied as they moved to the next display of some other memorable heroes in the Demon War. There were images of various groups stationed in all the major capitals and by the hotspots of the planet. Valeria noticed her father in the group that surrounded the Dark Forest or Fae Territory. He stood next to an elf and was holding Thoren on his shoulders, despite the dismal background, the beasts in the photo were smiling.
“How do they get all these images? How did they even make a simulation?” Valeria questioned, and Ziana leaned over to read the information card beside the door.
“They took the memories from the trees, and there was an archivist present,” Ziana replied before moving towards the simulation, it was a room you could enter and step into a battle as an observer. This simulation was one of the fights with the Demon Wolf, The Battle at the Forest of Light.
“Let’s go in,” Valeria said, tugging on Ziana’s sleeve who yanked her arm away but followed her into the room. The room lit up as they walked in, the landscape materializing around them, and if Valeria didn’t know better, she would believe she was actually there. The Forest of Light was thousands of multicolor illuminated trees, the trees never stopped shining, and it was breathtaking to look at. The forest was a tourist hotspot, but right now there were no hordes of sightseers. The land was blissfully empty until the approach of familiar figures. It was the Golden Six.
“We need to secure the area before it gets here,” Xander stated, looking over at the illuminated trees, “How long till they get here?”
Veronica waved her hands in a spell and frowned at the results, “An hour maybe more but they are moving fast.”
Beastmora- The Golden Six Page 9