Awakening: The Elder Chronicles, Volume 1

by Scott Wieczorek

  "Do you not think Felicia will be able to protect them?" Alec asked. "After all, they are her siblings, and I did not see any of them being tortured."

  "She may," Aden said hopefully, "but I can't be sure. I have to be honest I did not anticipate her betraying me to Mairya."

  "Well, I am sorry to say this," Alec responded, "but we cannot worry about them right now. We have to complete our…"

  A voice cut Alec off mid-sentence.

  I see you, Mairya's voice hissed with acid. You will not escape me. And then, there they were, three Daimones approaching at fantastic speed. She could see from the appearance of the mental thread one of them was Mairya.

  She is here. Elena spoke to both Alec and Aden who spun around and followed her line of sight.

  How? Both Aden and Alec asked, almost in unison.

  Aden responded. No! Camael is with them.

  Who? Elena asked.

  Camael is known by humans as "He who sees God," Aden explained. He is a third-generation Daimon who has the most developed powers known. He is even more powerful than Mariya. He is also the Mistress's mate.

  Yes I am, came an unfamiliar voice.

  Elena scanned the skies and saw it came from a large Daimon male who carried both of the others. She recognized Mairya immediately but could not see the other so clearly. And then she heard Aden's voice in her head. No, he said. It cannot be.

  Camael let go of the other two Daimones and Elena could see the source of Aden's reaction. The other was Felicia. Aden bellowed with rage.

  Felicia, he howled, how could you betray me! How dare you side against me with my enemies.

  Father, it is you who is the traitor, she retorted. You are a traitor to your own kind! We are gods among the mortals! It is we who should be ruling them. We should not be warring amongst ourselves and living in secret. We should be revered and take our rightful place as gods!

  Felicia, you are very mistaken. Your mind has been corrupted by them, he said pointing to Mairya and Camael.

  No! his daughter fired back at him. You are an idiot! And you have chosen the wrong side.

  Aden flew at his daughter with rage painted across his face. I trusted you, he growled as he cut the air.

  Alec followed to restrain Aden.

  You've made many bad decisions, his daughter taunted. Trusting me was another.

  As Aden and Alec were scuffling with Felicia, Camael flew toward Elena like a bullet. You will not survive, he howled at her as he approached. My Mistress's will shall be done. Mairya has failed too many times. His voice took on a cold, evil tone. I will not.

  Elena wasn't positive she could handle Camael, but knew it would be an uphill battle to fight them both. Without warning, and with all the might she could muster, Elena forced her will against Mairya's mind and pushed as hard as she could.

  The Daimon woman arched her back at an acute angle, her wings falling limp. As Elena watched, Mairya fell from the sky with blood flowing from her eyes, ears, and nose. In a single attack of her mind, she had vanquished the powerful executioner.

  Camael's eyes followed the dead form of Mairya as it fell from the sky. Good, he said with a wicked sneer. You have saved me the trouble of having to kill her myself.

  Camael's mental thread emerged and broadened until it had enveloped his entire body. Watching it, she understood what he did—he'd created a mental shield around himself. Following suit, she focused on shielding herself, mimicking his actions. She noticed his mental thread glowed as if alive with electricity, but it was eclipsed by the glow of her own, which shone like a supernova.

  So, you have learned how to shield yourself, he said. Now, let's see how strong your shield is. Camael smiled.

  She watched as his mental thread splintered and shot off a small dart to deliver his message to her. This Daimon had tremendous control over his telepathic arsenal. She watched his attack so she could figure out how he did things.

  A thick, spiraled cord of mental thread emerged from his shield, tightly wound and as thick as Camael's thigh. Watching it, Elena knew it would hurt when it struck. The cord crashed into her shield with tremendous force. She could feel the pressure of the blow in her mind, but noticed no other effects from his attack.

  She summoned a similar attack, conjuring a thick cord of pain and terror, making it as thick and dense as she could. To her, it resembled the base of a pine tree from back home. She pushed it at Camael with all of the strength she could muster, wound it back, and then struck him again.

  The effect of her attack shocked her—the first blow physically pushed him back, and then the second blow pierced his mental shield briefly and struck him in the chest. His body twitched and jolt with the strike.

  The expression on Camael's face terrified her. She first believed his appearance was a reflection of his pain, but as it changed to something more akin to perverse pleasure, a chill crept up her spine.

  Child, he chided, you will pay. You got lucky once. You will not get lucky again.

  Camael started a barrage of attacks against her. Another, larger twisted cord struck at her, followed by a series of mental darts. The first blow jarred her, shoving her back several feet, while the darts sent microscopic cracks spidering through her shield. Elena redirected more of her focus on maintaining her shield. When she failed to launch a counter-attack, Camael pressed his advantage and unleashed another bout of strikes.

  But this time she could not feel anything penetrate her shield. With a wicked grin, he stared her down, lowered his head, and advanced on her at a full rush. His physical blow against her body sent her reeling. She forgot about flying and began to fall toward the ground below. The effect wore off in short order, and she regained her composure, reset her shield, and took a defensive posture like she had seen in martial arts movies.

  Camael did not give her a second to relax as he drove forward again with almost instantaneous speed. She sidestepped his advance, and swung a double-fisted chop downward across one of his wings as he passed. Camael began falling in a tremendous spin. Elena took the opportunity to press her attack and pounced. Flying downward at incredible speed, she grabbed his other wing and wrenched it in two different directions with each hand, snapping it. Camael screamed in pain and put as much distance between them as he could.

  Elena's jaw dropped open. She had expected him to fall with a broken wing. Camael, though, righted himself and hovered in front of her, a wicked sneer on his face. Foolish girl, he reprimanded, I do not need my wings to fly. Your weak attacks do not bother me.

  His words could lie, but she could see the pain in his eyes. His taunts were hollow bravado.

  He responded with another attack. He bowled into her again, knocking her so hard her neck snapped forward quickly. Stars exploded in front of her eyes and fog overtook her brain. Her shield dropped and she could feel wind tickling her skin as she fell from the sky.

  As she fell, he threw several mental attacks against her. One of the darts struck her and her mind filled with terrible visions of Alec and Aden being flayed alive by some bizarre creature with long razor-like nails tipping its fingertips.

  She shook the vision from her head and focused on regaining both her flight and shield operational. The shield surrounded her as another round of attacks flew her way. Her freefall stopped a few hundred feet from the ground and she willed herself back into flight, heading right for him with all her might.

  He attempted to dodge, but she corrected her course and hit him with both of her fists held straight out in front of her. The blow struck him right in the midriff. He doubled over, and she continued flying straight with him wrapped over her hands. His fists pounded on her back. For such a large Daimon, the blows were not very powerful. She ignored his attacks and wrapped her arms around him. Given the disproportion in their size, Elena's arms reached part way around his massive bulk. Squeezing with all her might, she could hear several bones break inside him.

  He cried out both mentally and vocally, writhing to get away from he
r grasp. Elena pushed him away and drove a fist right at his throat. Reflexively, he dodged the blow, but in his haste had missed her second blow, which struck the small of his back. The blow carried all her force, and it made him double over sideways. As she watched, his shield fell.

  Almost instinctively, she summoned another tree-sized mental strike and thrust it not into, but through him. The effect of the attack shocked her. It actually tore a physical hole the size of the mental thread she had summoned straight through his chest. His heart, lungs, ribs, and spine were all gone. She could see through the hole she had punched through him with her mind. His lifeless body plummeted to the earth far below.

  Elena sought out Alec and Aden with her mind. Both Daimones were still fighting with Felicia. She seemed to be a formidable opponent for them both.

  Flying toward them, she could see by the tendrils of mental thread weaving about they fought a purely mental battle. She shielded herself and interjected in between the two warring parties. At once, the mental threads were broken and all of the combatants were stunned, turning to her.

  Elena, she is a very powerful mentalist, a voice cautioned her. Do not be fooled by Felicia. Aden spoke behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see he shook off the effects of his own battle with his daughter.

  Elena. You had best not interfere, Felicia said to her cordially. This fight does not concern you. This is between me and my father. Felicia's mental voice sounded sweet as molasses.

  Felicia, Elena retorted, you involved me when you decided to betray your father and hand me to the enemy. Mairya is dead. I crushed her mind. Camael is dead. I tore his body apart. And if you continue to fight, you, too, will die. I do not want to kill you. But I will if I have to.

  Elena could see the shock on Felicia's face. Felicia's mental threads scanned the skies behind her, presumably expecting to find Mairya and Camael. They never found their mark since both targets were dead.

  How could you? she howled at Elena, fury marring her otherwise pretty face. They are two of the most powerful Daimones who ever existed!

  Correction, Elena jibed. They were two of the most powerful—before I killed them. Elena's blood flowed as cold as ice, she'd lost her patience with Felicia.

  Felicia, she continued, you have chosen the wrong side in this battle. If I were you, I would reconsider. Your father loves you, and it would cause him great pain for me to kill you.

  I do not care what will cause him pain, Felicia blurted in a furious rage. For it is pain I want him to have. I have listened to his endless prattling about living in harmony with humans for centuries. I have fought my own kind, my friends, my lovers, at his side for centuries. And here we are, trapped in some mountain manse secluded from our own kind as well as from the very humans we should be living with harmoniously. And why? Because humans could never accept the simple fact of our existence.

  Elena laughed. You and your friends have called me foolish. But you're the fool. Humans never need to know what we are. Our kind could blend in easily. The inconvenience would be moving around on foot in order to avoid suspicion. The problem your kind has is you don't want to blend in.

  Felicia became more excited. We should be gods! she shouted back at Elena. Think of what we are, what we can do! We are the superior beings!

  Elena could see on the horizon there were several shimmers of mental thread coming, seeking Felicia. Understanding struck her. Elena knew if she engaged with these mental threads, then their owners would suspect something amiss. So instead, she diverted the threads in different directions and covered Felicia with her shield. She needed to stall the threads from reaching her.

  You crafty minx! Elena shouted at her. You were stalling so the reinforcements could catch up. You three were the scouting party. The rest of the militia is on its way.

  Felicia smiled coyly. I guess you caught me. As my father said before, I was his left-hand. I commanded his strategy. And you, child, have fallen prey to a simple distraction. They will be here in a few minutes. Then you will be dead. You may be able to win against opponents one on one, but you cannot defeat as many Daimones as are coming for you.

  They needed to leave before the cavalry arrived. What to do?

  A mental thread sprang from Felicia's head and shot back toward the approaching crowd. Elena's shield stopped it. Then she extended her shield to encompass Alec and Aden.

  You are blocking my thoughts? How can you do this? You are a child! You should not have such powers. Who is your sire? From what bloodline do you hail? Tell me!

  Elena knew she could interact with the mental threads. She could stop, redirect, and even shield herself against them. What would happen if she pulled on one? With a snap-decision, she grabbed hold of Felicia's mental thread with her mind and pulled it as hard as she could. She knew she couldn't kill Felicia, Aden's own flesh and blood, but hoped the move would somehow inhibit or damage the woman's mental abilities.

  What? The woman shouted. What are you doing? She pulled back on her thread, but it stayed under Elena's control.

  Elena pulled at the thread again, harder than she ever imagined she could. Felicia cried out in pain. With a final great pull from Elena's mind, Felicia's mental voice fell silent, leaving her physical voice shrieking in agony. The thread did not tear. Instead, it pulled cleanly out of Felicia, a silvery shining ball dangling from the end. She gasped as understanding flooded through her. The ball hanging from the thread contained the source of Felicia's telepathic powers. Even though the woman still flew, because her wings were a physical appendage, she no longer tried to communicate with her telepathically. As Elena examined the object, it pulled against her, resisting her will, trying to return to Felicia.

  Elena knew she could not let Felicia recover her mental powers. It would mean she would be able to find them more easily because of her connection to her father.

  Elena contacted Alec. I need you to hold her. I do not want her to get away.

  Elena reached out to Aden. Aden, Elena said, I have removed the source of her mental abilities. She will not be able to find us or to communicate with the others.

  How? Aden asked, stunned. Is it even possible?

  I guess so, she replied. I did it. But now what do I do with it? She is too dangerous for us to let her regain her abilities. What now?

  Not sure what to tell you, Alec said. You are doing things I have heard of in legends. I have never met a living Daimon who could snatch abilities away from others.

  So what would they do in these legends? Elena asked.

  In the legends, Alec explained, many of the Daimones who did these things were very bad. They were often tyrannical rulers who sought to punish their underlings by devouring their powers. I am guessing many of these were first or second generation Daimones.

  How would they devour another Daimon's abilities? Elena asked. Did it harm them?

  Not that I ever heard, Alec told her, but it essentially meant the devouring Daimon permanently held parts of the weaker Daimon within them. They forever had a strong mental connection nobody could ever break. The devourer could always find the devouree no matter where they were located.

  Okay, Elena asked, but how did they do it in the legends?

  Alec shrugged. The legends never told how it was done, merely that it was done. It was always described as absorbing the light or swallowing their shimmer of thoughts. But it was never explained how it was done. I never understood it because I lack the ability to see thoughts.

  But Alec, she said as a realization came upon her, right there, I think you told me how it is done. Elena focused her mental energies upon the shimmering sphere of Felicia's thoughts, willing it to be a part of her. She could feel the sphere follow her own mental thread and meld with her.

  In an instant, she could see herself through Felicia's eyes, staring back at her own body floating in midair. The sight of it startled her. Aden hovered there, and she could feel Alec's arms wrapped around her. Through the melding of the ball to Elena's mind she ha
d a unique connection with Felicia.

  Felicia screamed at her in a language Elena could not understand. Though she could not understand the words, she understood their meanings: anger, confusion, frustration, rage, and fear. All of these emotions intermingled in the tirade.

  Elena responded with perfect control on her emotions. "I have stripped you of your powers."

  Felicia gawked at her in confusion.

  "Felicia, I have taken your mental powers away from you. As I told you before, you have chosen the wrong side. We cannot allow you to provide information to our enemies."

  Felicia's face contorted in a mask of rage. "Bitch!"

  Elena ignored the impotent insult. "Sorry, but we have to leave," she said to her. "If you attempt to follow us, I will break your wings." Elena started to fly away, and then added, tapping her head. "Oh, and I don't need to be here to break them. I can do it from anywhere."

  Alec released Felicia and began to follow Elena. Aden said a quick goodbye, and then followed behind.

  Elena drew in her shield so it no longer contained Felicia. Aden, can you please take us to the Elder?

  I thought you didn't want to use telepathy for speaking, Aden said to her. You mentioned Mairya and the Opposition could follow them.

  First, she said, Mairya is dead. So is Camael. Second, I have learned how to shield them from my thoughts.

  Yes, Aden replied, but they can still be seen.

  True, but only within a visible distance, Elena explained. I am hoping to be out of range rather fast. She turned back and saw the mental threads from the crowd of Daimones were approaching. Come, she said to them. Hold on to me. Both Aden and Alec gripped each of her shoulders. Now, Aden, she asked him, which way do we need to go?

  Aden pointed off to the east. About five hundred miles that way—to Rakhiv, Ukraine.

  Chapter Eighteen

  They hurtled through the air at unimaginable speed. They had been moving for about five seconds when Aden told her to slow down. In two more seconds, they were hovering above Rakhiv.