by Sarah Elliot
Whilst he was still only a young cub, there was more strength hidden beyond the outward appearance than even Mephistopheles would have liked to have guessed at. Especially now that something had awoken in him, those silver eyes a deadly indicator that this was not a creature to be messed with. So Siren had called forth her powers, created illusions and dwindling thoughts in the slumbering wolf’s mind in an attempt to knock him down a few notches on the mental capacity. As far as either vampire could tell, the plan was working as the wolf had let his mate go, telling her to run and meet at a place where she could not possibly get to.
“She is not far,” Siren said her voice level and barely even breaking as she concentrated to keep the raging storm off of them. “Though I can’t read her yet.”
Mephistopheles grinned. “That doesn’t matter. I doubt that you would be able to read her regardless. It’s a shame that we just have to capture her, I’m sure that even a single drop of her blood would be enough to grant powers unlike any that we have ever seen.”
Siren remained silent, keeping her thoughts to herself. She knew what she had to do, she had always known what she had to do but it was always best to wait for the opportune moment. Plus, this situation was far more complicated as she had to not be caught else her brother would more than likely kill her. Sometimes the young vampire would muse on the question as to why her brother hadn’t already killed the rest of his siblings but forced those thoughts out of her mind. She had only one job to do and she would see it through to the end.
They reached what must have been an old dried out landlocked river and stuck directly in the middle was Ekata, the snow storm raging all around her. The winds buffering at her human body, the snow and ice tearing at her skin. She had lost her way, given into the despair which had always been just below the surface and had panicked. Just as Mephistopheles had said she would do.
The male vampire smirked in victory, and glanced towards his sister. “Seal this area and make it so she can’t get out.”
Siren nodded and extended her hands, creating a barrier around the circumference of the old dried out lake. The winds stopped and Ekata whirled around, her eyes alight with fear but determination rolling off her very soul. “You will not take me,” she stated boldly towards the approaching vampire. “Not tonight.”
Mephistopheles smirked slightly, assured of his success. “Unlike the times before, freak, you are trapped and there is nothing you can do about it this time. Think that pathetic male is going to come and rescue you? He’s dying in the bottom of a ditch, freezing to death like he should have done a long time ago.”
A deadly glare was sent his way, the amber eyes blazing with a feral light that reminded him of the creature the girl had briefly become when the blood moon had risen. There was no chance that he would let her awaken that side of her again, especially as he now knew the horrid effects the moon had upon himself. He hated to admit it but he had been driven to the point of madness and terror and had nearly gone over the brink.
Only the absolute certainty that his end was not going to be brought about by such a poor excuse of a sibling had been the thing to keep him on the right track. Well, maybe getting his butt kicked with next to no problems by that other bastard vampire had helped a little too but he wouldn’t think of that right now. He nearly had the Silver Maiden in his grasp and he would be one step closer to gaining the power that she held within her.
Still Ekata had not said a word towards him about her mate, her eyes remaining cold and level and her stance suggesting a warrior. It was peculiar, how her moods and attitudes could change so quickly without a pause but the vampire chose to ignore it right now. “Come now, you know you can’t win this time. You are sealed in this place and if you try to take me on you know what will happen. For once I’m going to give you a chance to make this easy on yourself. I’ll spare the male and the pack that took you in like the fools they are if you just come with me and we’ll go and pay mother a visit. How does that sound?”
“Like the tongue of a snake offering forbidden fruit,” Ekata said in reply, an edge of fear to her voice which marked her as still being a terrified cub. “I wouldn’t trust you to keep even a promise you made to that woman who dares to call herself mother. You will not take me.” Carefully she stepped back. “And if you do, it will only lead to your demise in the long run.”
Strangely a chuckle, deep and loathsome escaped the vampire and he glanced at the young girl with a surprising glint to his eyes. “That sounded very much like a challenge, little lost Volf, do you really think that you can take me on? Do you really have anything in that small little body of yours that could sway me? I would gladly rip you apart if it meant I could steal that power from you but unfortunately I need you whole in order to do something like that. Now, final chance before I withdraw my offer and send you into the dark abyss of a dreaded slumber. Come with me, willingly and I’ll spare the wolf and his family. You have my word.”
Before Mephistopheles could even finish the sentence, something struck into him from the side and sent him tumbling into the snow. It snarled briefly, flashes of white teeth and cold black eyes lingering just for a second before searing hot pain shot through his arm and side. With a snarl, he leapt upright and summoned forth a lethal whip of fire which snaked out towards the girl and latched onto her wrist. Ekata merely glanced at it and the fire sizzled out, replaced immediately by ice which cracked and snapped harmlessly as the strange white fire wolf raced into it and then stood protectively in front of Ekata with a snarl.
Siren watched the horror on her brother’s face growing and remained impassive as she felt a figure approach her from behind. “I’ll drop the barrier for you, but you will have to make it look good for my sake, else he will suspect. “
The figure nodded, stepping closer and not speaking a word, silently watching the pair fight below with his silver eyes burning. “She seems different from before, more driven.” His voice just as quiet and level but held a note of age to it.
“Mhm,” Siren confirmed with a slight noise. “When you’re pregnant, it does that to you, Fiero.”
Turning to look at the red-haired vampire who grinned at him and nodded, Fiero turned his attention back to the Volf who was still just standing her ground. “I thought that she would be too young still but life anew is something precious.” His steely gaze turned onto the female vampire for a few seconds. “Did you really need to murder my cousin?”
“An unfortunate consequence,” Siren said, looking straight ahead. “But one that was fated I am afraid. However, Jared still lives in that form and he will do until the day that she dies. Which I am counting on you to make to be a very long and happy time.”
“How far are the others?” Fiero asked, shivering despite himself as he glared at the male vampire who was trying to hurt his mate.
Siren paused. “Alcarde won’t approach here for a while. We cannot interfere, you know that. But when you need us, send forth the call and we shall be by your side.”
Nodding, Fiero prepared himself for this battle even though he already knew that he would lose it because that was what had to happen. Passively he reached around his neck, feeling for the pendant of white wings and wondered why Disreli had blocked all of his memories of training to be a Hunter but figured that the old wolf was making sure that true emotions won out rather than a basic illusion. He was sure that Rosario was going to have a field day with him when he found out. A final glance was sent towards Siren and there was barely a nod of confirmation between the two of them as Fiero raised his hand high into the air to strike towards the female vampire.
Snarling, Mephistopheles dug into his cloak and pulled forth a long blade that shimmered a deadly-looking red. Dark runes flashed on the surface, molding and changing instinctively and he charged towards the Volf, ducking a pounce from the flame wolf and raising the blade high above his head. He barely had the chance to blink as Ekata merely half-hunkered down at the last second and threw her arm out in front of herse
lf to his stomach and whispered something under her breath.
The vampire found himself flung backwards by a pulse of white light, which escaped from her fingertips. He bit back a furious raging yell and stood up, glaring at her but there was a slight smirk to his features as well. “Hmmm, seems that you have somehow grown just a little bit on the stronger side. Either that or something else has changed within you… little girl…”
There was a second’s pause from the female Volf, her attention distracted by the words and clearly taken the moment to study herself and realise just what he could be talking about.
Fiero took it as his cue and slammed suddenly into Siren, using a well-timed flurry of glitter to make it appear that he had struck her with a sunlight spell. The werewolf let out a howl which ripped through the night as the barrier around them shattered and was quick to charge at the Mephistopheles, just stopping him short of hurting the Silver Maiden and sending the vampire reeling back into the snow banks. “I thought you would have learned your lesson by now, bloodsucker, you will not hurt my mate.”
Ekata stared in shock towards the werewolf, she knew instinctively that it was her Fiero but he somehow appeared different. A touch older with stronger muscles and a more focused mind. But he was still the playful cub that she had fallen in love with. “Fiero?” she asked as he withdrew a blade, which was long, thin, and the colour of freshly-formed ice. “What happened to you?”
“Later, my love.” Fiero shot a beaming and toothy smile towards the girl. “Once we are free of this I shall explain it all to you.”
Mephistopheles came charging back at them at that point, slashing down at the werewolf and determined to bring forth his downfall. However, each and every slash towards him was deflected, parried and countered with speed, grace and agility that such a young cub could not possibly hold or hope to convey. Pulling back, the vampire snarled dangerously, fangs dropping to hiss dangerously, “How? How have you changed, you mangled patch of fur? You can’t be any different from that sprawling mess I left back there.”
“There are things in this world that you don’t understand, vampire,” Fiero retorted back slowly, never once taking his eyes off the monster in front of him. “Maybe you should have paid more attention to the lessons your father tried to teach you all of those years ago and then you may have a better understanding of everything!”
“How dare you,” the tone of voice was low and deadly pitched, the eyes blazing with an anger the likes of which Fiero had only ever seen once before, “even mention that monster!”
Suddenly, the ground below Fiero cracked and crumbled, almost sending him tumbling into the dark abyss of nightmares that appeared below his feet. For a few seconds Fiero fought against it, leaping from rock to fallen tree branch to small floating lump of land, slashing at any of the creatures that loomed up out of the shadows or were simply called into existence by the enraged vampire. He had been warned that Mephistopheles could call forth the inner darkness within him, but he had not expected it to be anything like this.
“Fiero!” Ekata screamed, watching in horror as the nightmare which Mephistopheles called forth attacked her mate as the inner darkness started spreading out in a circle from the enraged vampire. Siren was sent tumbling into the snow-covered ditch by one of the shadowy creatures, blood spurting from a wound, and Ekata could distantly hear the horrified yells of the pack as the darkness seeped out further. The town she had been told to stumble towards would also be affected and the Volf knew that if she didn’t stop this there would be innocent blood on her hands.
Jared, in his fire-wolf form, snapped and growled at anything that came anywhere near her and drove them back but she knew that he was tiring. Her eyes rose to the sky, finding the full moon blazing as it reflected the light of the sun on the other side of the planet and she knew what she had to do. Pressing her fingertips lightly to her stomach, she tried to reach out to the tiny little life sources that were just there, a day or two old and steadily growing. “I will protect you, I will save them for you. For you all.”
Clapping her hands together in front of her, Ekata concentrated and slowly closed her eyes whilst staring up at the full moon, before whispering “Eros.”
Slowly at first but steadily rising, the silver swirls on her body glowed and then seemed to rise out of her skin before piercing forward in a series of deadly long spears of silver light. Some flew towards the creatures of nightmares, freezing them in place or else completely possessing the darkness, changing their colour to a brilliant snow white and making them turn on their previous counterparts to help drive them back to the nightmare that they had originally come from. Two slightly darker spirals made their way over to Fiero and Siren, healing them of their wounds and bringing them back from the point of death.
A few bright flurries shot up into the air like fireworks, dispersing brightly and heading out towards the Den and the town in order to protect it further. The rest strove towards Mephistopheles, breaking his concentration and attacking him in wave after wave of blasts, grabbing vines and the occasional creature which would take a bite out of him or else claw and scratch. Mephistopheles growled in rage as his concentration was broken, the nightmares ending in a splutter and he glared towards his sister. “You… how can you be so powerful when all you are is nothing but a miserable pipsqueak with no one to call your own?”
Suddenly he launched himself at the girl, before either Fiero, Siren or Jared could move to react and grabbed her by the throat, plunging the sword into the stomach, which made the amber eyes flash open, and the power dissipate. “You are nothing but a worthless scum who was granted this power by chance!” he screamed into her face, rage fueling him. “You are worthless and unable to wield such a gift!”
Ekata merely blinked at the man in front of her, showing no signs of sadness or fear. “You are just like her,” she said slowly. “You don’t see what is in front of you. You are the one who needs pity.”
Slowly her eyes closed, her body going limp in his grasp and Mephistopheles stared in complete confusion. The next second there came a glowing golden light from inside the girl’s chest and the silver lines on her body glowed brighter than they had ever done before. There was an implosion of blinding silver light and the entire area suddenly flooded until there was nothing left but a stinging whiteness.
Chapter 17
Don’t Believe your Eyes
Mephistopheles blinked his grey eyes in confusion and looked down at the girl in his arms. She was knocked out, still and silent but breathing. He noticed that she was once again covered in cuts, mud and bruises and the dress she wore was slightly tattered and faded. But there was a serene smile on her face, one of understanding which confused him. Turning back to the battlefield, he blinked at finding himself near to the edge of the forest, far away from where he had been not moments before and there was a cart approaching him being drawn by Siren who looked just as crazy as she always looked. Slowly, he blinked, looking around for any signs of the guardian or the other wolves and just faintly smelt the effects of a sleeping spell.
That was right, they had cast a deep slumber spell on the Den of the pack that had taken the girl in not a few nights ago so that it would be easier to just slip into the place and capture the girl unawares. Presumably Siren must have played around with a few of the spell ingredients and brought about some form of living dream upon them as well. Though Mephistopheles did have to briefly wonder why he was affected by such things. Unless the skitzy girl that was his sister had gone a little too mad with the sprinkling of the powder and caused some to land in his eyes which was perfectly possible.
Shaking his head, he scooped the disgusting Volf up into his arms and made towards the cart, smirking towards his sister who had clearly gotten the girl a coffin to ride in which was ironic given what she was. Laying her down, he stared at her with the strangest sense of confusion, watching as her hands almost instinctively went to her stomach to rest gently on top of it but shook his head and slammed the lid
shut, ensuring that the lock was tight and strong.
“What did you put in that sleeping spell?” he asked towards the red-haired vampire who gave him a bewildered look before shrugging and rushing off to play with one of the followers who had caught her fancy.
Mephistopheles signaled to the driver to start them moving and made his way down to the ground, watching as a few other carts made their way along the track. A raven cawed at him as it came into land on his arm, a fresh catch in its mouth and a note attached to its leg. Reading the message, he scratched a reply before sending the creature on with a shake of his head. “Time is unimportant, mother.”
He sighed, long and hard before turning and setting off, casually clambering onto one of the last carts. For a second he felt like someone was watching him but dismissed the feeling and lay down to rest in his luxurious covered bed. As far as he was concerned he had worked extraordinarily hard the last few months and a rest was just what he needed.
Watching from higher up the valley, a young man appearing to be in his early twenties glanced down at the small white pocket watch which glimmered with golden and silver swirls before gently closing it with a slight click and handing it across to a spirit with black hair and blazing blue eyes. “You best hurry back to Dymas, we’re getting close.”
The spirit nodded. “Yeah. Though how he does this I really don’t want to know.”
The vampire nodded. “Too true you don’t.”
“What about him?” The spirit indicated the slumbering werewolf on the floor next to Alcarde’s feet as he quickly put away the pocket watch in the depths of his coat pockets.
Looking down at Fiero, the young man, named Belial, smiled faintly. “He’ll be asleep as long as she is. They are connected almost perfectly. Their power is immense and so dangerous in the singular context.”