by M. J. Caan
“You mean that one day, if you don’t get enough to drink, you just…rust solid?” asked Hope.
“It would have to be a conscious decision,” he said. “We have the ability to subsist on as little as a few drops of blood per week. Unless we are injured, that is. So in order to become locked into our own bodies, we must make the decision to stop drinking blood completely.”
“Have you ever seen this?” said Aunt Vivian.
“Yes. In the old country I heard tales of vampires so old they grew tired of living. So they stopped drinking and became living fossils. I have only seen one such creature, but yes, it can happen.”
My aunt didn’t say anything else but I could see her brow furrow as her gaze lost its focus, the way it does when it was family game night and we were playing an especially competitive game of gin. I gave her a questioning look but she just waved me off and moved to stand next to Aunt Lena.
“So back to our original question,” said Hope. “How are you going to heal without blood?”
“Time,” replied Elion. “I just need uninterrupted time where I don’t have to stress myself. I will heal on my own, but that can’t happen if I am running for my life or fighting off shifters.”
“Why don’t you just drink the blood of the shifters that are attacking you?” asked Gar.
“Shifter blood is not the same as human blood. We were once human, so that blood is what drives us. Shifters are more animal than you might think; their blood is of little use to us. It can be done, but it’s like trying to force an unleaded vehicle to run on leaded fuel.”
“What is leaded fuel?” asked Gar.
“Not the time or the place,” I replied to him. I turned to face Elion. “So you want to lay low here, shielded by our magic until you’re back to full strength? And then…?”
“And then I will help you defeat Mallis. I don’t want to see his plans come to fruition anymore than you do.”
“And why is that?” asked Aunt Lena. “Surely an eternal night would appeal to all vampires.”
“No. Rest assured, not all of us would like that.”
Something told me he wanted to say more but didn’t bother to elaborate.
“Even if we bought that story, I don’t think you’ll be that much of a help to us,” I said. “We seem to be doing just fine on our own.”
I could tell immediately that he knew I was lying, but I kept my chin held high in defiance.
“Perhaps,” he said. “But you have no idea what you are up against. He has new allies.”
“So you said,” I responded. “A new witch in his circle. Well, I’m not afraid of a witch.” This was nothing but the truth, and I hoped he could tell.
“It is not the witch I speak of,” he said, his black eyes boring into me. “He has a new shifter at his disposal. A hellhound.”
Just then, the door opened and Cody walked in. Immediately he stiffened at the sight of Elion. His eyes began to glow yellow as his started to shift into his hybrid wolf form.
“Someone mind telling me what the hell a vampire is doing in this house?” he said, his voice guttural and low.
3
“Allie, what the hell?!” I could feel the anger rolling off of him.
He stepped forward, body tense, fists clenched. I met him before he could get too far into the room quickly, placing one hand on his chest.
“Easy Cody,” I said. “Let’s take it down a notch…er…a shift.”
He growled low and mumbled something I didn't catch, but at least he shifted back to full human form, although I did notice that he kept his claws.
His eyes narrowed as they lit on Elion. “Okay. So anyone care to let me know what's going on?”
Surprisingly it only took a matter of minutes to give him the gist of what was happening. Not surprisingly, he didn't trust Elion’s story in the least.
“So everything goes quiet for over a week now. No sign of Mallis or his wolves. But now, with the eclipse less than a week away, you just happen to show up needing ‘help’ and asking for asylum. Yeah, right.”
“I've told your friends everything…” began Elion.
“Yeah, right. Sure you have,” said Cody.
“Cody, stop,” I implored. “The fact is, he's hurt. No faking that. I felt his pain with my magic. He's offering us his aid. And he's bringing us information that we need.”
“Allie,” Cody said, wheeling to face me, “ever hear of the Trojan horse before?”
I had nothing to say, but Gar apparently did. “He's got a point, Allie. You sent me and our aunts away from here because you were afraid of what could happen to us at the hands of Mallis and his army. Yet, now you’re ready to invite one in to our midst? And not just any one of them; one of his generals, from the sound of it.”
Elion cut a glance in Gar’s direction and I again noticed how Jhamal moved protectively closer to him. “I will leave. I can see what my presence here has wrought.” He moved to head towards the door but I stopped him.
“No. If the things you are saying are true, then we will need all the help we can get. I’m listening to my gut here, and guys, I have to tell you, I’m not getting any warning signs off him at all.” I turned to face my family and friends, imploring them to think things through. “And honestly, if he’s feeling better in a couple of days and starts to give off creepster vibes, then…”
“Then what?” Gar asked.
“Then I’ll feed him to the wolves my damn self,” I finished.
“Wait…you’re going to make Cody eat him?” Gar exclaimed.
“What? No, Gar…I was just using that as an example. He knows what I mean.” I gave Elion my most sinister look, and in return, the bastard just smiled at me.
“Something is burning,” he said.
“What…?” I looked around for a moment before it hit me. Shit! I ran into the kitchen and flung open the oven door. Fanning at the smoke that greeted me, I grabbed a kitchen mat and reached into the oven to retrieve my collapsed, smoldering, black soufflés.
Awesomesauce. And speaking of, the orange sauce was stuck to the bottom of the pan. There was no saving it so I lifted it off the burner and placed it in the sink. Both the ramekins and the saucepan would have to be thrown out, and for some reason that pissed me off even more than having that bloodsucking ghoul standing in our home.
I stalked out of the kitchen, right up to Elion.
“Okay here’s the deal. You can stay, but under these conditions: tell us everything you know about Mallis and your relationship with him, past and present. Give us everything on the witch he has as his new love interest and how the Warlock fits into all of this. If you know anything about the Leveling and how to stop it, I want that as well. Lastly, I need to know all the ways possible to kill Mallis.”
Elion looked at me and blinked, but then slowly nodded his head.
“Also, you’ll stay under lock and key—mystically speaking of course—while you’re here. You don’t step foot outside of the room we place you in unless you want to fry, got it?” Again, he nodded. “And no biting any of my friends. No matter how hungry you get.”
“I’m standing guard outside his room,” Cody said. He whirled to face me before I could complain. “No questioning that, Allie. You have your conditions, and I have mine.”
“I’m standing watch, too,” said Jhamal looking over at Cody. “If he blinks wrong, we split him in two.”
An uncomfortable silence was broken by Aunt Vivian when she cleared her throat. “Now that we have all of that settled, tell us more about this hellhound that Mallis has.”
All eyes were on Elion as he turned to address my aunt. “There isn’t much I can tell you. I have never seen one prior to this; in truth, I didn’t believe they existed. But he has one now.”
“Wait—is that what attacked you?” Gar asked.
“No. Mallis is still learning to control the hound. I was attacked by werewolves.”
“So what exactly is a hellhound?” asked Hope, easing her way
closer to the group.
“It’s a shifter that was born in another realm. A dimension of demons rather than humans. In that realm there are beings that are capable of taking on nightmarish forms. This particular shifter can transform into a dog that is far larger than a werewolf. While it retains the same physical characteristics of a dog, as the name suggests, its body is covered in the fires of hell…or so we were led to believe. Red flames that burn cold give the beast its name.”
“Cold fire? How does that work?” asked Gar.
Elion shook his head. “I don’t know that, but I do know that the flames, though cold, can still burn through most substances in this realm. I saw that creature melt a human being down to a pile of slag in a matter of seconds.”
The room went quiet and all I could think was, Great, one more monster to kill. I needed to break the silence. “Where did he find it?”
“His witch has been experimenting with opening dimensional portals and was able to coax it over to our side,” Elion said. “It’s part of their preparation for the Leveling.”
This caught everyone’s attention.
“What part does this play?” said Aunt Lena.
“Surely you didn’t think that simply bringing about eternal darkness was Mallis’ final play, did you?” said Elion.
“Yes,” I said, “because that would allow him to move freely in our town without the fear of becoming a living roman candle. You mean there is more?”
“Freedom of movement and the ability to feed at will are part of it. But what he truly wants is power…power over other supernaturals. The kind of control he seeks is not easily obtained. He does not want to simply become the defect leader of supernaturals; he wants them bent to his will completely. And once that happens, he will spread his war from your town to the entire world.”
“That’s crazy,” I said. “He wants dominion over a world that is run by non-human creatures?”
“Exactly,” said Elion. “He wants things returned to the old ways. The order of things prior to the rise of man and the beginnings of documented history. In those days, the Earth was part of the Fae Lands. There was no light…only eternal darkness. Vampires ruled every living creature and had complete domination of the planet. Other species existed to be slaves, soldiers, food…or some combination of the three.”
“This is madness,” said Aunt Lena. “I have never heard of such a time.”
“Of course you haven’t. It predates humans.”
“If that’s true, then what happened?” asked Hope.
“There was a mystical Big Bang, if you will. And from that bang came mankind. And from mankind appeared the first witches. They were capable of doing something that the vampires could not.”
“Magic,” whispered Aunt Vivian.
Elion nodded. “That is correct. The first witches took it upon themselves to route the darkness—to make this plane safe for humans. And because there were not ,many practitioners of magic at the time, they had the vast magical reserves of an entire planet to tap into, and that allowed them to perform great feats that have dwarfed any that have come after them.”
“Wait,” said Aunt Vivian. “I’m pretty up-to-date on my lore, and I have never heard it said that witches share a single source of magic, that the more witches there are, the less magic there is to go around.”
“Why do you think that true witches are born?” said Elion. “There are many humans running around practicing the craft, and attempting to cast spells, but for the majority it’s all smoke and mirrors. Not the real thing. Not like the magic that is available to families that are born into it; families such as this one.”
“If that’s true,” said Aunt Lena, “then do you expect us to believe that one day magic will simply disappear; that it will be used up?”
“Yes. One day, your kind will have tapped the last reserves of a dwindling pool. And when that day comes, hell will follow behind it.” My aunts stared at the floor in silence, too shocked to speak. “Of course, who knows when that day will be? It might be tomorrow, it might be next week, or it might be a thousand years from now. But it will come eventually. Unfortunately, Mallis is not a patient vampire. He does not want to wait for the natural order to play out; he wants to leapfrog ahead and make that day happen now.”
And there it was. The endgame.
“So Mallis wants to not only take out the sun, but remove magic from this world as well?” I said. “And no more magic means no more witches.”
“And when that happens, he has no more enemies. He will truly be at the top of the food chain,” said Aunt Vivian.
“I still say it’s not possible,” began Aunt Lena, “the amount of magic it would take…”
“Is something that he is accounting for,” said Elion. “That is why his witch has been experimenting with opening portals to the darker realms. She wants to tap into the black power that fuels that realm; combine it with what she can draw on here. Between the two realms, a single witch could obtain enough power to create the Leveling.” He paused, seeming to hold his breath slightly.
“What is it?” I asked, catching his reluctance.
“If she taps into the dark magic of that realm, it will leave a marker. Footprints, if you will…”
“Footprints that will lead back to this world,” I finished.
He nodded. “And if there is one thing that denizens of dark dimensions love, it’s finding new dimensions to spread to.”
“Well surely Mallis has thought of that,” said Cody. “I mean, that seems obvious to me. If he has everything planned out to this degree, then I’m betting he wants this crossover to happen as well.”
“Makes sense,” said Gar. “Maybe he plans on sharing this world.”
Elion looked at my brother and recognition seemed to spread over his features. “Yes, of course. The Leveling will break many of the natural laws of nature. It will allow supernaturals that are banished from this plane to return. But if he tears open a portal to an entirely new demon dimension—and that’s what we are talking about—then it introduces a whole new class of supernaturals for him to subjugate. Creatures like that hellhound.”
We were all silent as the vampire’s words sunk in. The scope of what he was saying boggled my mind. Even my aunts weren’t speaking.
“Maybe you’re right,” said Hope, looking at my aunts, “maybe it can’t be done. I mean, I can barely wrap my head around the idea of this being real. Maybe it’s not even possible.”
“Oh, I assure you it’s possible,” said Elion. “When Mallis learned that the Forbidding was erected, he began to research what it would take to bring about the Leveling.”
“The Forbidding,” I said, snapping to attention. “What does that have to do with this?”
“Two sides of the same magic,” he replied. “When Mallis realized that there was a witch out there powerful enough to erect the Forbidding, then he knew that somewhere there had to be one that could do the opposite…bring the world back to the time when shadows, and the things that crept within them, ruled.”
“Are there any vampires left that remember that time?” asked Aunt Vivian.
Elion shook his head. “If there are, they have long ago stopped moving and turned to stone.”
“Okay,” I said. “All of this doesn’t change anything. We will take your words under advisement, but you still sleep guarded and warded.”
Elion nodded his understanding.
“I’ll show you to a space in the basement. Technically, it’s a storage room but there are no windows for you to worry about come sun-up. I’ll get you a cot and blanket…if you get cold, that is.”
“Thank you,” he said. I was surprised by how sincere he sounded. “One last thing before I retire, however.”
“Look buddy, you’re in no place to make any requests,” said Cody.
Elion looked at him, his black eyes narrowing. “Not a request, a warning. You may want to keep your boyfriend out of this fight.” He looked from me to Cody, ignoring the rest o
f the room.
“What? You’re crazy if you think I’m sitting this out,” replied Cody.
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” I said. “What makes you think that’s even an option?”
Elion seemed genuinely confused by my answer. “Because he’s one of them.”
“One of who? A werewolf? We know that…” Gar said.
“No, not just a werewolf. He’s a member of the pack of wolves that attacked me, the ones that are loyal to Mallis.”
“What are you talking about?” I said, feeling a cold sweat run down my spine.
“He is a littermate of the wolves that attacked me. They were all siblings, and this one”—he pointed at Cody—“is one of them. They all have the same smell…and it is coming off of him as well. If there is one thing I know about werewolves, their bond is stronger than…magic,” he said glancing my way. “And eventually, they always turn on anyone that is not their blood.”
4
Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well that night.
I tossed and turned, lying awake and staring at the ceiling fan as it whirred along in my room. I could hear footsteps throughout the night padding to the kitchen, the slight whoosh and pop as the refrigerator door was opened and closed, dishes being taken out of the cabinets, and water running.
Apparently, no one was quite ready to fall into a deep slumber with a vampire in the house. Even though my aunts and I assured everyone that the wards were impregnable by Elion, I could tell my friends were still uncomfortable.
True to their word, Cody and Jhamal took up positions on the floor just outside of the storage room where Elion resided. Cody had put on a big pot of coffee, and the two of them were stubbornly downing cup after cup and chatting quietly to one another. Even though I wanted to tell them they were being ridiculous, I was secretly a little relieved they were there. Magic or no, I had no idea what a vampire was capable of, and didn’t want to find out the hard way in the middle of the night.
The house was silent when I got out of bed, just before dawn. It was my turn to make my way to the kitchen and brew a strong pot of coffee. The steaming cup felt good in my hands as I headed out onto the deck to enjoy the sunrise. I wasn’t too surprised to find Aunt Lena sitting on the sofa, a bright teal throw wrapped around her slender frame.