by Zara Novak
His hand brushed over the side of her hip, his fingers moving in a fashion that was slow and deliberate. Intended to seduce. She pushed his hand away immediately and scooted away from him. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked through choking tears. “Can’t you tell that I’m not in the mood?”
Hurt flashed in his eyes, but there was something else mixed in their too. Anger. It almost broke out, but he pulled it back, shaking his head as he laughed to himself. “I’m sorry Ellie. You’re right. My bad. I guess I’m frazzled too. Maybe we should just get some sleep?”
She stared at the man lying across from her on the bed, wondering for the first time in a long time if maybe she’d made a wrong choice somewhere. Everything had always felt so effortless with Jack before this, but now it seemed the chemistry was gone. He was still his handsome old self, and everything about him looked the same, but his personality had changed somehow.
When sunset finally came Ellie felt a great sense of relief to leave that diner and get on the road again. Jack swapped their truck for a larger one that seemed better purposed for off-road travel. They drove in silence for those first few hours. Ellie sat pressed up against the cab’s door. The broad space on the seat between them almost didn’t seem wide enough.
The approaching mountains grew taller all the while, spearing up into the black sky until they towered overhead like a great ceiling of frozen glass and snow. Fat drops of snow floated down through the air. They pulled onto the snowed-out pass and began the long drive into the white unknown. The world here was a void of alien whiteness, blanked out by endless snowdrifts, lost in white haze that erased all horizons.
It seemed to bother Jack. “We’ve enough fuel for several hours,” he said. “But we can’t drive around here forever. We’ll die out here unless we find this… place.” There was that irritation in his voice again, and he was looking over at Ellie as if this was somehow her fault. She looked over at him, realizing how unattractive his newfound agitation was. So unlike him. Maybe it was just the stress of it all.
It was natural to be fearful in a place like this. Their truck—though built for driving through snow—had difficulty clinging to the frozen roads that wined through the mountains. One wrong move would mean a sharp plummet and certain death for both of them, but Ellie wasn’t scared. She actually felt at ease.
“I think we’ll be okay. I feel like I remember where I am somehow. The roads are familiar here. The shape of the mountains…” The clouds parted momentarily to reveal the silhouette of the mountains up above them. She saw the shape of two twin peaks briefly before white came back and obscured the scene once more. “I think I know this place,” she said, feeling a serene sense of calmness. “Carry on up this road. I think we’re on the right track.”
“We’d better be,” he snapped back. She glanced over at the vampire out the corner of her eye and studied him through the long silence, wondering how the man she’d loved had changed so much in a short time. The vision of a distant dream flashed before her eyes. There was an imposter. Someone pretending to be Jack but lacking the tattoo on his wrist.
Her gaze shot to his wrist and saw the old familiar tattoo. She was being stupid. What was wrong with her? Why was she acting like this?
“If we die out here it’s your fault, I swear to god we’re lost,” he said. His voice was cold and hollow. She pulled her lips tight and looked away from him, finding her distaste growing with each passing second.
“We’re not lost,” she said calmly. Her ease only agitated him further.
“And how would you know?!”
“Because I do,” she said plainly. And she couldn’t explain how. There were distant memories in her head of this place, her childhood home, but it had been so long since she’d last been here it was like she was remembering the words to a long-forgotten nursery rhyme. The melody was there, but the words were all jumbled up.
Thick curtains snow of continued to fall. Jack set the wipers to full speed, struggling to keep the window clear. Ellie saw something in the distance on the right side of the road. A splash of color in the snow. “Stop here!” she said, her voice ringing with excitement.
Jack brought the truck to a skid halfway up the hill they were climbing. He stared over at her with malevolence in his expression. “Why? There’s nothing out here but snow. Why?!”
“There,” she said and pointed at a red marker that was fallen over in the snow. “Don’t you see it?” She watched Jack as he squinted through the window over at the red marker. It was so clear to her it seemed impossible he couldn’t see it. His eyes narrowed to angry slits.
“There’s nothing! What are you talking about you—” Jack seemed to realize his anger was escaping him and pulled himself back. He sat there, his chest quaking with rage, starting down at his lap in silence. “I’m—I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay…” Ellie said with some uncertainty. “Just take a left off the road where the tree line breaks. I think there’s a hidden track. I can remember it.”
The man to her left started the truck up again and they drove up the hill, turning off at the spot she specified. Sure enough there was a hidden side-track, buried under years of snow, squashed between the overgrown trees. The truck ambled down the track slowly, bumbling and rolling over bumps. The track carried on like that for a couple of minutes before opening up into a wide and open shelf of flat ground which was nestled on all sides by tall mountain tops.
Ellie had to gasp at the beauty of the place. Jack drove down into the hidden shelf and followed the track around. As they drove around the opposite end of the broad shelf came into view, revealing the secret hidden at its opposite end.
There in all its beauty lay the frozen castle. Sitting quietly between the peaks of three mountains, forgotten by time, obscured from all angles. A treasure buried from the world. “That’s it—” Ellie gasped. “That’s where I grew up.”
She sat up straight in the cab of the truck, rocking impatiently as they slowly descended the long track down to the castle at the opposite end of the hidden meadow. This was it. Here she was. She was home.
33
There were a lot of raised voices. A lot of shouting. A room full of vampires arguing back and forth in a very heated manner. Everyone seemed to care greatly that this Ellie girl was missing. Jack sat there all the while, watching the exchange with confusion and boredom. He had no idea who he was. He had no idea where he was, and he had no idea who any of these people were.
“You picked one hell of a time to use the full force of your powers Jack!” the old woman—Kara maybe—shouted while throwing her arms up the air with exasperation. The pint-sized elder thundered back and forth across the temple room, racking her brain for answers, trying to think of solutions.
It was all slightly amusing for Jack. He felt like a fish out of water. He’d been dropped into this situation for some reason, and now it was up to him to help these people out? “I’m sorry,” he said, for what must have been the hundredth time in the last hour. “I have no idea what any of you are talking about. Ellie, prophecy, even my name… it’s all news to me.”
One of the vampires that had been with Jack when Kara found them rolled his eyes and groaned. “It’s been three hours and he’s not remembered a single thing! What else can we do?!”
The petite brunette girl with dark rings around her eyes—Natalie possibly—stepped forward in attempt to calm the room once more. “Let’s just go over what we know one more time. Mac, Rourke… what did you see when you went back to the forest?”
The other vampire that had been with Jack, Malachi, stood up and paced as he relived the memory. “We saw Jack, or, a vampire that looked like Jack at least. It must have been the same vampire that was with her when we left. We just assumed it was him. I mean, why wouldn’t we?”
The elderly woman with crazy eyes jumped in. “And then what? What happened? You fought him?”
Rourke blew air through his lips. “Fuck. We tried to. Motherfucker must
have been one of the toughest vampires I’ve ever faced. Jack went for him first, naturally, and he knocked him back every time with ease. I didn’t even see Jack land a strike.”
The elder looked at Jack for confirmation, but he could only shrug and nod. He assumed this Rourke remembered events better than he did, which was not at all. Rourke continued. “Malachi and I made a joint attack after that and the imposter knocked us down like it was nothing. I’ve never been hit like that before. It really threw me.”
“Normally I’d shit on Rourke for being a pussy,” Mac said. “But it was unnaturally strong. It was like being punched by ten Supers at once.”
“Yes, yes, we get that,” Kara said. “Then what happened?”
Rourke nodded. “Well Jack, err real Jack, got up to his feet and he looked pissed. I mean really fucking pissed. It was the same look he had in his eye when he went to deal with the Order, and that’s when I realized shit was about to go down. He was going to do his freaky lightning thing again.”
Kara had made Rourke go over this part three times now, and it was definitely Jack’s favorite. He had no memory of controlling the storm, but it sounded cool as hell. He stared down at his hands, wondering how it worked. “I would have got out of there,” Rourke said, “but Malachi and I were both grounded from the previous attack. I was barely on the edge of consciousness but stayed awake long enough to see Jack’s attack fail. He hit the imposter with everything he had, but the lightning didn’t affect him one bit.”
The young brunette girl shook her head and looked over to the elder. “How is that possible? I’ve never seen strength like Jack’s before. He used all of his power on this one vampire and the imposter walked away like nothing was wrong.”
The elder thought about it momentarily while chewing at her fingernails. “I can only think that this other vampire is shadow cursed too. It’s the only thing that can explain his power and his strength. Shadow cursed vampires aren’t all that common, so the chances are high that I’m wrong, but—” Kara broke off during her train of thought and stared at the wall ahead of her, a blank expression on her face. A name came to her, and she whispered it to herself. Everyone else in the room stared at each other. Natalie walked over and tapped the elderly vampire, breaking her from her reverie.
“Um… Kara? You okay?”
Realization brewed in those ancient red eyes. “I think I might know who this attacking vampire is. I might be able to briefly tap into what Ellie saw and see his face… give me a minute won’t you? Let me try…”
They all sat there in patience, watching as the elderly woman held her hands out to the empty air. Her eyes lost their focus, her lips whispered quiet words over and over again as she slipped into some distant trance. She found herself in the mind of Ellie for a brief moment during the attack, her focus shifted to the face of Jack’s imposter. It was a good copy. Almost perfect. The face shifted for the briefest moments and revealed its true suitor. There stood the face that Kara suspected.
Her attention was brought back to the room with an almighty gasp. She stumbled back upon seeing her grandson’s face. Rourke and Malachi both surged forward to stop her from falling.
“What was it?” Rourke asked. “What did you see?!”
“Kaleb,” she said with sadness. “My grandson. Kaleb Spartan. Oh Kaleb. Beautiful Kaleb… what did they do to you…”
Jack could only watch with indifference as the strange woman cried over another person he didn’t know or care for. He pushed himself up from the floor, turned to the door and started toward it.
“And just where do you think you’re going?” Natalie shouted from behind. He turned back around, holding his hands up as he did so.
“No offense, but none of this shit means anything to me. I don’t know you people. I don’t know this girl. I don’t know if I care about this. If it’s not a problem I’m just going to get off and get out of your hair. It looks like you’ve got enough on your plate without having to babysit me too.”
“So that’s it?” the petite girl shouted. “You’re giving up on her? Just like that? The girl you love? Your destined mate? Your breeder?”
“I know who took her Jack,” the elder said before he could answer back. “And I think I know why. I just don’t know where.”
Jack didn’t really care but indulged the old woman out of politeness anyway. “I’m all ears granny. What did your magic mumbo jumbo show you?”
“It showed Kaleb. My grandson. He was a strong alpha around these parts. Shadow Cursed, just like you. He was taken from here several months ago. Although no one knew where he went, I knew he was prisoner of a Circle. I couldn’t understand why they’d take Kaleb. He was a strong vampire, sure, but he kept to himself. He never had trouble with an agency like that. For many months I tried to find the truth with my powers, but the Vistor kept him well hidden. He is back now, but changed, and I think I understand it. They’ve turned him into a weapon.”
Natalie gasped at this. “A weapon?”
The elder woman nodded. Tears hung at the corners of her eyes. “Some experiment. A mutant. I can’t see the full truth… but I know he can change his appearance at will. I think he’s meant to take Ellie. He’s meant to… hunt her. He’s meant to… kill her?”
Silence grew heavy in the room at these words, but it still meant nothing to Jack. “But he didn’t kill her. He took her somewhere.”
“That’s right,” she said. “I think some part of him might be fighting back. He’s taken your form now and believes he is the one meant for the prophecy.” The old woman looked over at Jack, the whites of her eyes red from sorrow. “I know you don’t remember this Jack, but you do love that girl. You used the full force of your shadow curse to try and stop her captor, knowing full well that it would damage your mind like this. That must show she meant something to you.”
He shrugged. “For all I know you’re lying. I have no idea who you people are, I don’t know who this girl is. I’m sorry, but I can’t force myself to remember.”
She looked at him for a moment and an idea came to her eyes. “No… you can’t. But he can.” She walked across the stone floor and approached Jack. He looked down at the tiny old woman, questioning where she was going with this.
“Just what are you—”
“Shut up boy!” she snapped. “Just keep your mouth shut a moment and listen to me. You had an image in your head when you brought this girl here. It was an anchor, a calling of your prophecy. Think hard, do you remember what it was?”
He looked in on himself and saw nothing but blackness. There in the darkness though, there was a faint voice. It was like his, but darker. I’m still here… it said. It was weak, but definitely there. “No,” Jack said, shaking his head. “There’s nothing.”
She looked up at him, a smile of recognition on her face. “But he does remember. The other inside of you. You might not remember this Jack, but there are two minds in that dense skull of yours. There is you, Jack, and there is Wraith. The remnant of the demon that shadow cursed you.”
The sentence chilled him somehow, and it immediately made him think of that distant whisper which he’d just heard. The old woman’s eyes glimmered as she saw the look of recognition on his face. “That’s right…” She nodded. “You do hear him, don’t you? He’s still there. And there’s a chance the blast didn’t fully wipe his mind.”
“Hang on Kara,” Natalie said, pushing her way into the conversation. “What are you suggesting here? That Jack let’s Wraith take control of his body again?” Her eyes widened, and she let out a nervous laugh. “I mean, I’m all for finding Ellie, but Wraith is a fucking crazy bastard. There’s no guarantee he won’t burn the village to the ground just for fun!”
Kara didn’t take her eyes off Jack. She only batted a hand through the air in dismissal at Natalie’s protest. “To hell with the village. If we don’t find Ellie and save her from my mutilated grandson, then the whole world will burn.” She stepped forward and grabbed Jack by his chest.
/>
“Easy tiger,” Jack warned. “You might be old, but I will hit you if you carry on.”
She laughed a short and sharp laugh. “I’d like to see you try sugar snap! Shut up and listen to me! Clear your mind and listen for that distant dark voice, the one you’ve been ignoring all this time. Burrow down and grab hold of it. Pull it up and bring it all the way back to the surface. Let him out. Let him take control once more.”
Jack let out a long sigh and complied. “Fine. But when this fails I’m out of here. Clear? I’m done with this bullshit.”
“Just do it,” she snarled.
He closed his eyes, felt a blackness surround him and almost felt as if he were falling down toward some great depth. There in the darkness a figure emerged from the shadow. Jack looked up and saw it was the other inside of himself. The one known as Wraith.
“Oh,” he said, “It’s been such a long time since I’ve been out to play.”
“Quiet. Do you have it? The thing this old woman’s looking for? This image?”
The specter nodded, a dark smile on his lips. “I’ve got it. You just have to give me control and we can go.”
“Something tells me I wouldn’t normally do this. But… whatever. Just go. Take control. Do what you must.” He felt himself slip back through the shadows. Wraith stepped forward into the spotlight and surged up from the depths of Jack’s mind.
Eyes opening anew, he looked across the temple room and studied the faces of the vampires looking back at him. “Oh, it has been so awful being locked up down there.”
“Wraith,” Kara said with recognition.
He nodded. “Kara. It’s been an awful long time. Years maybe?”
“Since I spoke with you? Something like that.” She paused. “Do you know why I called you up?”