by M. K. ROZE
He stopped sucking, and his hot venom flowed through
my veins like a raging river. Bain released my hands and
licked my blood from his lips. He used his sharp nail to slice
a cut on his neck. “Drink, love, and you will become as
immortal as I.” He lifted my head to his neck.
I moaned as I gulped down his blood—unable to stop
as he made love to me.
“Drink no more,” he hissed and pushed me away gently.
I sat up. “Leave me while I transition.”
“You shouldn’t be alone, love.”
“I don’t want you to see me die. Now, please, do as I
asked of you.”
Bain looked at me confused, but got up, and stepped
out of the bedroom anyway.
Time moved forward, and I was screaming out in pain
while lying on the cobbled ground with a dagger sticking out
of my stomach. I grimaced at the blood soaking the turquoise
gown I had on, then I looked at Savina standing over me
wearing a black gown. She looked up at Bain flying toward
us and grabbed the dagger, ready to pull it out of my
stomach.
“Bain, don’t let her take it!” I tried to hold it in place.
Bain charged her and held her still. Savina hissed, got
out of his grip, and flew away. Bain ran to my side.
“Divinity!” His voice broke as he looked up into the
black sky. “Father!” he thundered, shaking the ground
beneath us.
“I’m still here, my love,” I said.
Bain forced a smile.
When Savina jumped onto Bain’s back and tried to rip
the dagger out of me again, Bain whipped around and
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pushed her—sending her flying backward. Sorin flew down
and charged Savina.
I placed my hand on Bain’s face. “I’m not who you think
I am.”
“What are you saying?”
“I was never human. This is the reason I asked you to
leave the room while I transitioned.”
“Divinity, please stop.”
“No, you only know what I wanted you to know. Now
listen closely. I’m a goddess from Realm of Divine. I came
here to kill your master, Latore, and retrieve the Sicuro he
stole from me.”
“Sicuro?”
“The dagger that’s inside me.”
He exhaled. “This is madness.”
“No, it’s not. You must find Paladin, the gatekeeper of
my realm, and tell him I’m dead.”
“Divinity, you can’t die. You’re an immortal.”
“I’m nothing like you. Now let me finish. Once you
enter Realm of Divine, go through the caves of the Scourge.
There, you will find my uncle Malign. Show him this Sicuro
that’s in my chest, and he will let you enter the Scourge.
When he does, impale him with it. Malign must die for
having my father killed.”
His brows arched. “You speak nonsense. There is no
such place.”
“Bain, read my thoughts.”
He shook his head. “I can’t.”
“That’s because I wouldn’t allow you to. Now, read
them before I perish.”
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He touched my head, closed his eyes, and his body
started to shake uncontrollably. After a few seconds, his eyes
opened, and he fell to his side. “Why did you marry me
knowing you despise vampires?”
“Because you were different. I will ... always ... love
you,” I whispered. My body felt like it was being sucked into
a vacuum, then I was looking through Bain’s eyes. I could
read his thoughts and hear his heavy breathing.
“Are you Paladin, the gatekeeper?” Bain asked as he
observed the man’s black and gold metal helmet that
matched his chest guard.
“I am. Why have you come here?” Paladin asked. His
dark chocolate hand gripped the gold handle of a long sword
with an iridescent blade at his side.
Bain knelt and pulled out the Sicuro. “I came here to do
what Divinity asked of me before she was impaled by this,
five centuries ago.”
Paladin’s silver eyes with gold pupils filled with tears.
“Why did it take you five hundred years to find me?”
“I traveled the world looking for this realm. No one’s
ever heard of it. This is when I found one of Latore’s close
men and threatened his immortality to tell me where it was.
After he did, I set him on fire and came here.”
“I see. Enter,” Paladin said.
Bain stepped inside the gate and looked up at the red
sky with roaring black clouds. He tilted his head back to look
at Paladin, who was over seven feet tall. “Thank you.”
“You will not be able to use your powers here unless
Malign grants you the permission,” he warned.
Bain nodded.
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“Follow the red path until you get to the Scourge.”
Paladin sighed and faced the gate.
Bain walked for two days, having to climb over massive
rocks with black slimy tar on their surfaces. When he reached
a mountain, he climbed to the top and descended back down
the other side where a large crater with black boiling water
was. Beyond the lake, he narrowed his eyes on the red statue
of a man-lion with a human torso and claws for feet that
guarded the entrance.
Before Bain entered the cave, the man-lion came to life
and growled in his face. Bain tried to enter again, but a shield
stopped him, causing him to fall backward. He reached over
his shoulder and pulled out the Sicuro.
“Malign,” he bellowed and held it up to the man lion’s
evil glare.
“Enter,” a deep voice echoed from all around him.
Bain stepped inside the dark cave and followed its
narrow path until he reached an open chamber. He glanced
at the blazing fire pit in the center of the room. Past that was
a cell filled with people.
“Let us out,” they all took turns begging.
“Silence!” a man thundered as he glided toward Bain
and stopped in front of him.
Bain turned away from the prisoners who went silent
and cowered together. He looked up at Malign, whose long
hair was as black as his hooded cloak. Malign’s black eyes
with red pupils glared down at Bain.
“Kneel before me and give me the Sicuro,” he
demanded.
“I kneel to no one!” Bain bellowed and leaped at Malign,
almost impaling him with the Sicuro.
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Malign grabbed the blade before it penetrated his chest
and transformed into a tall creature with charred skin. He
took the Sicuro and tossed Bain against the stone wall. Bain
jumped to his feet and watched Malign transform back while
staring at the Sicuro.
Malign stepped toward Bain. “Do you have any clue as
to who I am and what I can do?”
“Yes, and I don’t care.”
“Then, I shall tell you anyway. Many centuries ago, I
took my strongest prisoner, Latore and gave him some of my
many powers
to transform into a bat-like creature. He then
went against my rules and created others like you. Latore may
be half as strong as me, and stronger than you, but neither
he ... nor you ... will ever defeat me.”
Bain charged Malign. He grabbed Bain by the neck,
lifted him above his head, and glared into his eyes. After a
few seconds, Malign dropped him and walked over to the
fire pit.
Bain stood. “What is it that you want?”
Malign transformed into a black and red serpent, taller
than Bain. He slithered across the stone floor and lifted his
head mere inches from Bain’s face. “Now that I’ve read your
thoughts,” the serpent spoke with Malign’s voice, “I know
how you got this Sicuro and your unforeseen marriage with
my niece. I will reincarnate her as she once was, and she will
give me the power that was given to her.”
Bain smacked the snake away from him. “That’s
impossible.”
Malign hissed and transformed into Bain, then back to
himself. “Did Divinity forget to mention that one of my
many powers is to resurrect whomever I want?”
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Bain stepped closer to him. “Even if you can bring her
back, Divinity would do no such thing. Not after you had
Latore kill her father. And it’s been nearly five hundred years.
She will know something isn’t right and ask questions.”
Malign flickered his long fingers at Bain.
Bain grunted as he grabbed his head and dropped to his
knees. “Stop,” he begged. “This pain is intolerable.”
Malign lowered his finger and circled Bain. “If you must
know, I sent Latore to retrieve this Sicuro and nothing more.
He wasn’t supposed to kill my brother, Potent, nor Divinity.
As for my niece willing her power over to me, I will compel
her soul to think it was an unknown god who created the
immortals I turned into creatures and sent their way,
including Latore. Once she turns into a vampire, then she
touches this Sicuro and accepts the powers of her ancestors,
she will gain the full power of a goddess again. After she
wipes out the vampiric race, including you, she will bring the
Sicuro here. It is then, I will tell her that Latore killed her
shortly after her father, and I resurrected her so she could
seek revenge. I will then ... ask her to will over her power
temporarily, so I can resurrect her father. She will trust me
and do as I say. And you will convince her to do it, or there
will be consequences.”
“If she has all the powers of her ancestors, I’m sure she
will be able to resurrect her own father.”
Malign held up a black vial. “Not without this magical
potion, she won’t.”
Bain looked away. “Why would she want to kill me?”
Malign smiled. “Once her powers are gone, Divinity
won’t remember you or the life she once had as a vampire-
goddess. She will be nothing but a powerless mortal.”
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Bain closed his eyes. “Then end my immortality right
now.”
Malign chuckled. “No, I have other plans for you.”
Bain opened his eyes and glared at Malign. “I will not
do anything for you.”
Malign stared into his eyes. “You will do whatever I tell
you to do and nothing more. Where do you think you got
the ability to compel?”
Bain stepped back, realizing Malign could compel him.
Malign grasped his shoulders and pulled him into him,
staring into his soul. “After I resurrect Divinity, I want you
to watch over her until the age of seventeen, which was the
age you met her. At that time, you will go to her and make
her fall back in love with you. The spell I will place on you
will prevent you from telling Divinity who she used to be. If
you try, you will be in great pain just like you were moments
ago. Do you understand?”
Bain nodded in a trance.
“After I transfer her soul, she will have some remnants
of X, which is our blood. The X will be untraceable to
humans and vampires. Therefore, she will need to grant you
permission to bite her. If you do, you, or any other vampire
who tries to, will ignite. Is that clear?”
Bain nodded.
“If Divinity doesn’t want to become immortal, I will
send creatures known as the Annialmorts and the Cravers to
kill her—never to be resurrected again. And once I release
them, there is no stopping them.”
“I understand,” Bain mumbled with hatred in his tone.
“Latore with his many followers, will try to prevent
Divinity from becoming immortal. They know if she does,
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she will gain full power and remember that Latore killed her
father. Because of this, I will give you this Sicuro back to
protect her.”
He paused and held the dagger up to Bain face. “This
Sicuro is the most powerful weapon in the universe. It was
meant to kill any god or immortal and send us to the afterlife
that resides within this dagger. That is why Latore stole it and
fled to Earth. He feared it would be used on him and end his
immortality. Use it wisely and make sure it doesn’t
accidentally impale you.”
Bain nodded.
“I release you,” Malign said.
Bain shook his head and watched Malign walk over to
the firepit. He opened the black vile and poured two drops
on the blade of the Sicuro and held it over the flames. He
chanted something in a language Bain had never heard
before. When a bright white light came out of the Sicuro,
Malign trapped it in a small red vial and handed it to Bain.
“Choose any pregnant woman in her third trimester you
desire. When you have chosen the mortal to be, compel her
to drink the soul of Divinity. Once she does, Divinity’s soul
will enter into her unborn child, making the mother go into
premature labor. Because she was a goddess, her features will
remain the same.”
Bain nodded, took the Sicuro, and walked out of the
cave without looking back. He took the same path from
where he came and bowed before Paladin.
Paladin took a sip out of a silver vial and handed it to
Bain. “Drink it.”
Without hesitation, Bain did as he asked. “What was
that?”
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“It’s a shield. Malign must not hear what I’m about to
tell you.”
“And what is that?”
Paladin glared at Bain. “If Malign wasn’t our king and
Divinity didn’t have such love for you, I would kill you where
you kneel.”
Bain stood. “How do you know she loved me?”
Paladin turned away. “I have nothing more to say.”
“Is there anything you want me to tell Divinity about
her realm or Malign?”
Paladin turned back to him with a confused look.
“Malign compelled you to do what he said. Why do you ask
this of me?”
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“Malign may have compelled me, but I’m still well-
aware of what’s going on. I will find a way to reverse this
hold he has on me. Now, is there anything you wish for me
to relay to her when she’s old enough?”
“Yes,” Paladin said.
My eyes shot open, and I was back on the beach. I
gasped for air and threw myself onto the sand. Bain fell to
his side.
I shook him. “Bain, wake up!”
His eyes opened, and he sat up in a daze.
I felt like I was on some kind of drug that took all my
energy away. “I saw Paladin when I was at the train station
in Romania and again when Kaylee got pulled over. The
officer shapeshifted into him. He told me to go back to my
realm, but I thought I was seeing things, so I popped another
pill just like I always did to make it go away.”
Bain placed his hand on my leg, causing me to snap out
of whatever trance I was in.
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I jumped to my feet and paced back in forth in front of
him, kicking sand up behind me. “I can’t believe I’m a
goddess who was a vampire and your wife. And I—I can’t
believe my uncle resurrected me for my power.” I paused.
“This can’t be real. No way. This isn’t happening.”
Bain came up to me and embraced me. “Viata, calm
down. I know this is a lot to take in all at once.”
I took a few deep breaths. “Did I really just see what
you showed me?”
“I don’t have the energy right now, but when I cool
down, I can show you again if you’d like.”
I pushed him away. “Did you not listen to what Malign
told you? Why would you want me to turn immortal just to
forget about us, then kill you?”
“Because I love you, and it’s the right thing to do.”
“No, it’s not!”
Bain grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close to his
face. “Don’t you get it, Viata? Now that Latore knows you’re
here, he will seek revenge and kill everyone until he retrieves
the Sicuro, then traps your soul again. You’re a threat to our
kind, and you’re the only one who will have enough power
to stop him. If you decide not to turn, Malign will kill us all.
No matter what, you will die, so you’re better off becoming
immortal again. You have a better chance of survival.”