by Jenna Bernel
All of a sudden Ally jumps at Trevor and pushes him through the Portal before he knows what hit him. He disappears through the darkness and she buckles, resting her hands on her knees to support herself through her laughter. I start laughing too even though I have no idea where he went, but her mood is infectious and I think this is the happiest I’ve been since Eli was taken. A minute later there’s a burst of light on the other side of the room and Trevor is lying on the floor soaking wet. He takes a gasping breath and a couple people help him up from the floor. Ally and I walk over and she’s still laughing and pointing at him as he wrings out his t-shirt.
“Ha ha, you’re so freaking hilarious,” Treavor says, shaking out his wet hair.
Ally puts her hands on her hips. “Well, that’s what you get for trying to trick me into jumping in the ocean.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. Come here.” Trevor lunges over to Ally and wraps her in a bear hug before she can get away, and she squeals.
“You suck!” Ally giggles while trying to get out of his embrace, but he only clamps on tighter the more she struggles. It’s obvious these two are into each other.
“Get a room,” Parker says, rolling his eyes as he steps beside me. I look at him and press my lips tight to keep from laughing. My theory has been confirmed. Trevor lets go of Ally and socks Parker hard in the arm for his insinuation, but he’s blushing like crazy.
“Shut up, dude,” Trevor says, giving Parker another smack, and he looks at me embarrassed, but if anything I think it’s sweet. If it were anyone else, I’d be rolling my eyes and thinking barf, right along with Parker. But I like seeing that they’re getting close, some even lovey-dovey close. It means maybe there is still hope out there, not for me, but at least for those I care for. I’d like to see it for myself, though honestly I hope I’m not here long enough to find out because every day I’m here is one more day Eli is with them, the dark ones, and I shudder at the thought.
As if I somehow summoned him with my dark thoughts, there is suddenly a collective gasp of surprise. Roman smiles at me and comes my way, either not caring or not noticing everyone glaring at him as they part a path. Parker and Henry immediately sidle up next to me like they’re readying for a fight, and I see others look scared or pissed that he’s here. They didn’t seem that way around Alec, but I wonder if he’s so used to people’s reaction to his father that somehow he thinks that’s how they look at him too.
“My dear, how are you?” Roman asks, scooping up my hands, and again there’s a collective gasp in the room. I wrinkle my nose at him in confusion, but now I see it. Something’s not right; there’s some sort of dark aura hovering around him and suffocating any energy of light within a few-feet radius of his presence.
“You know you’re not supposed to be here,” Parker says bitterly, and I see eyes widen behind Roman like they can’t believe he had the balls to point it out. He always was a fiery one, probably one of the hardest to lure away and turn because he was so strong and clever. My cheek instinctively tugs upward with pride.
“Hush,” Roman snaps, the red sparking in his eyes, but he doesn’t know Parker well enough to know that that only makes it worse. Parker puffs up his chest in defiance and tries to step in front of me protectively and break Roman’s hold on my hands, but I release one and put it up to his chest to stop him.
“It’s okay, we’ll go,” I say, nodding to Roman, and when I look at him again I get it. They’re right, they must have forbidden him from entering this sacred space to the light realm. It’s like it’s physically trying to reject him from stepping foot in here.
“Roman, please wait outside. I’ll be right there.” I say it nicely but look at him sternly, like I’ll try and drag him out myself if he doesn’t vacate immediately. His jaw clenches in defiance and my lips twitch because it’s the first time I see Alec in him. His eyes are hard, still sparking with red, but he nods tightly and brings my hand up to kiss the top, the tension rising in the room another ten notches when he does, and he turns to walk out.
I sigh, a little relieved, and the Hall of Grace reenergizes, feeling normal again as soon as he’s absent. So strange how our two realms practically repel each other and yet we need each other to coexist. Alec and I are like the yin and yang of both, born as some sort of sign to be the conduit of peace before our realms close forever from this world and obliterate us into dust. I shiver. Stella, such a witch. An unnatural being cloaking our world with her dark, poisonous, soulless heart. Her twisted vamp creations draining the life out of every last human or turning to them until there’s nothing left but an evil that even the dark realm rejects from this world.
“I should go.” I turn to Henry and he steps forward in protest.
“But I promised Alec that we’d watch over you here until he got back,” Henry says anxiously, like he doesn’t want to face Alec’s wrath when he returns. I don’t blame him. Alec is so obnoxiously protective of me.
“I don’t want you to break your promise, so just tell him I didn’t give you a choice.”
Parker stands next to Henry, crossing his arms. “Let me go with you. I don’t want you alone with Roman.” Parker says Roman’s name laced with disgust, and now I’ve hit my polite limit. I know this is all new and confusing for them too, but they need to know that Roman is as much of a savior as Christoph.
“We are all on the same side here, don’t forget that. I’m Demon too just like him, so if you have a problem with Roman, then you have a problem with me,” I bark, affronted. “Stella and anyone she’s turned, that’s our enemy. Got it? Yes, the originals are from the dark realm, but if we don’t find it in our hearts to work together, then we’re all screwed.” It wasn’t exactly a proper Princess speech, but I tilt my chin up and hold strong, letting my power emanate from me until Parker bows his head, buckling from the pressure of it.
He nods. “Yes, Princess, I understand.”
Ugh, again with the “Princess.” I step close to him and give him a hug. “I’ll always be Dani to you.”
He hugs me back before stepping away, looking a little embarrassed to have questioned me in front of everyone.
“Does everyone hear that? Please just call me Dani. This is all really new to me too,” I say solemnly, and they all nod in unison as a collective understanding takes over the room. I sigh, eyeing the door. I feel like I’ve only had a few minutes with them even though it’s been hours.
I grab Henry’s hand. “I’ll see you at home. Don’t worry about Alec, I’ll handle him,” I reassure him, but he doesn’t look so optimistic.
“Thanks for the lesson,” I joke, and I see grins appear as the mood lightens. I wave and high-five people as I go. Although reluctant, I’m now very curious as to why Roman dared break a rule. I assume Christoph made that rule himself and yet asked him to come talk to me. Panic constricts in my throat as the thought occurs to me, petrified that something has happened to Alec in Chicago, and I start to run now, desperate to get outside and find out what’s going on.
Chapter 13: Enough Chitchat
“What’s wrong? Is it Alec?!” I yell, bursting through the giant doors of the Hall of Grace and stumbling. Roman catches me with lightning reflexes before I fall down the stairs.
“Alec is fine, Daniella. I detest it when he’s with her, but he’s all right, I promise,” Roman says calmly, looking at me seriously so I’ll believe him.
“How do you know for sure?” I question, and I can tell he’s holding back a scoff that I’d do so.
“Because he’s my son, Daniella. I’d feel it if he passed to the dark realm. And I suppose any of my turned, really, even you, if you were in vamp form. Although there are very few of my turned left.” Roman looks sad at that statement. At least, I think he does. He’s so hard to read unless he’s angry; anger on him I’ve definitely seen.
When Alec passes, it’ll be to the dark realm? I feel sick at the thought. It’s not an evil plane, like Stella, but I know it’s not what he wants. He’s too light for
that place. Oh my God, we really are cast from the same mold. No matter what, we don’t fit anywhere, except… I recall the first time Alec looked at me, really looked at me, and said, “It’s like we were made for each other,” just as awed and dumbstruck by the revelation as I am now.
“Why did you come here?” I say, gesturing to the glittering building behind me trying to forget my train of thought.
“I wanted to take the opportunity to talk to you while Alec was away. That boy won’t leave your side for a minute.” Roman shakes his head, but there’s a trace of something in his eyes, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was pride for his son, but Alec would never believe me if I told him.
“Come,” Roman commands, looping my arm through his elbow as we begin to walk. I may need to turn vamp just to get everyone to stop ordering me around. Even Parker, my own turned, dared to boss me. I oblige because I’ve wanted to talk to Roman too. There’s something I need to know.
“Can you tell me about that day…please?” I don’t want to plead, but it’s all a blur of pain and confusion, and that moment changed my life forever. I want a clearer picture. I rub the inside of my elbow where Roman bit me before hooking my arm with his again, and he sighs, nodding. It’s funny to see him sigh because he doesn’t breathe in and out like Alec to seem more “human,” but then again it’s clear he doesn’t care to fit in here. I’ve asked Alec to tell me about the day I was turned, but he keeps dismissing me, saying he doesn’t want to talk about it.
“You see, Christoph and I have been here through it all, and once the war ended and we were able to cast out Stella for good, it took quite some time to restore Caliontre to what you see today. The Nephil people were down to a very meager population, but we were grateful for at least that. We thought it’d be enough to repopulate Cali, enough to restore the balance so I could finally go home and help the vampire species as we had the Nephil, living in balanced peace once again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so; it wasn’t enough. Then, after what felt like an eternity later, even for me, Christoph was Cloud Crashed by someone from the light realm whom he only refers to as the messenger, telling us that it was time or soon it’d be too late.” Roman pauses for what feels like dramatic effect, but I already know this part of the story. I wish he would just skip to the end. I squeeze his elbow, urging him to continue.
“Forcing Stella out before she could obliterate the Nephil for good only fueled her rage, made her darker than we ever thought possible, and she began turning more and more vamps, but it’s not what they are. I don’t even know what to call those unnatural things.” Roman shakes his head as if in a far-off place, and I can see Alec is right: Roman is very homesick.
“So I don’t get it, this messenger told Christoph what to do to restore the balance?”
Roman nods along. “More or less, I suppose. The messenger has been Cloud Crashing your father, and it’s happened more and more since the day Alec was born. The first and only child ever born instead of turned from the dark realm, my boy. My gift for all my sacrifice, at least that’s I how see it.” Roman says this with an innocence that touches my heart.
“I wish Alec could see this side of you,” I urge, patting his arm.
“Alec’s in too much pain to see straight, my dear, something I’m sure you can relate to,” Roman explains, and I just swallow. Poor guy. Roman obviously loves him, though, and somehow I find that very comforting even if Alec doesn’t believe it to be true. What is wrong with us? Why can’t we accept the love that is given to us?
“Once Alec was born, and born with our mark no less, it became clear that Annie suffered through that horrendous labor for good reason. He was all a part of their plan. Alec was a symbol of my home just as you are of yours. It’s like they’re working together behind the scenes but they won’t tell us the whole play. The higher powers of the realms have tried as much as they could to help us here. Christoph’s lucky to have these special communication gifts to the light; they’re all we have to guide us. But they refuse to twist our fate by revealing too much. The messenger says it’s dangerous to know your future, and if you do, you could alter it by mistake, ruining everything we’ve done to save our worlds. In the light realm, I don’t believe they’re even real physical beings who could understand what we’ve endured, but Christoph won’t speak to me about them. They all sound obnoxiously cryptic in my opinion, and this could have been resolved a hundred years ago if they’d just tell it to us straight.”
I can’t help but belt out a little laugh. “No offense, but I think you all have that problem,” I say, shaking my head. I mean, they kept me in the dark for so long, guiding me blindly into the life I chose by sending me to Eli, one of the last remaining vamps still connected to the dark realm.
“As much as I loathe it, I’m simply following instructions from the light realm,” Roman counters, appalled that I’ve lobbed him into their category.
“OK, so I was born on Alec’s fourth birthday and Christoph didn’t even know I existed until then, but he felt it, I guess, just like you feel Alec? And then he was told I was the Sword of Grace he’d been ‘searching for’ on earth like some obnoxious cryptic light-realm message, blah blah blah. Now I’m fourteen and it’s the day you come to turn me go—” I gesture to roll it along and Roman stops our stroll, looking down at me.
“Blah blah blah? Did I honestly hear you say blah blah blah after mentioning the Sword of Grace? Daniella, you truly have a lovely way with words.”
Did he just make a joke? He continues to look at me with offended disbelief, and my cheeks burn red. “Well, since technically I’m the Sword of Grace, I think it’s allowed,” I say, but the heat on my cheeks says otherwise.
Roman shakes his head in disapproval. “You and Alec both. When are you going to see yourselves the way others see you?” Roman says, mostly to himself as we continue our walk, guiding me along.
“Anyways…” I urge, very eager to get off the current trajectory this conversation has taken.
“Yes, once you were born, Christoph knew. He had a vision that the Sword of Grace was in fact a being, his only daughter, and everything changed. He was being Cloud Crashed more frequently than ever before by the messenger and the pieces were finally coming together so we could end all this insanity once and for all. There’s so much more I want to tell you, Daniella, but it should really come from your father.”
“That man is not my father,” I quickly correct, and I can feel Roman’s anger boil over. Crap, I’ve lost him.
“Don’t you dare utter those words ever again! You know nothing of the sacrifices he has made for you!” Roman’s eyes are sparking red, and I shrink a little in his presence. I’ve seen him mad, but this is a whole other level.
“Get the hell away from her!” Alec appears through a pulse of light from the other side of a Portal Jump and scoops me up by the shoulders, placing me behind him protectively.
“It’s fine, I’m all right.” I try to dismiss how much Roman just frightened me. Ugh, this place does make you soft… I don’t care for that.
“No. It’s not fine,” Alec says in a whisper, holding his hands together in a prayer, and they instantly ignite into a ball of light. He creates an archway beside us and punches the center in fury until it shatters the quiet wooded background into a black hole. I didn’t know it was possible to make one so quickly. It happens in seconds. Alec’s obviously been slowing down his skills for my benefit.
“Go! Now! Or I’ll tell Mom,” Alec threatens, pointing to the Portal Jump. Roman’s eyes immediately change to a softer hue as he composes himself.
“I’m so sorry, Daniella. Please forgive me.” Roman bows his head before stepping into the Portal. “Son…” Roman reaches out to grasp Alec’s shoulder, but he steps out of reach.
“Just go,” Alec says quietly, refusing to look at Roman, and I feel terrible. It’s really not that big of a deal. I didn’t mean to divide them further. Especially after the sweet things Roman said about his son. Roman no
ds, stepping through the Portal, and it snaps shut in another pulse before the woods reappear behind it, the leaves wafting from the breeze of residual energy left in the air.
“Are you OK? Did he hurt you?” Alec grasps my shoulders as if looking over me for bite marks, and I shake my head, completely confused by his dramatic outburst.
“I’m fine, Alec. Really. I can handle Roman. Why are you so upset? Where did you send him?” I look over him, doing my own sweep for injuries, wondering if he’s gone mad.
“You don’t know what he’s like when he goes dark like that, Dani. I sent him to the dungeon to cool off,” Alec says, shaking his head like I’m clueless, and he straightens up, blowing out a breath.
“The dungeon? Are you serious?” I think this is some sort of medieval joke.
“Yes. You remember? It’s where Christoph took you when he thought you were going to turn,” Alec clarifies, and my mouth forms a silent O. Shoot, now I’ll never hear about the day I was turned. Alec certainly won’t seem to tell me. The only other person who would know all the details is… Crap.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Alec asks again, and I grumble, annoyed at the whole situation. I haven’t seen Christoph since he Cloud Crashed me, and I really don’t have the urge to again, but I also crave the truth.
“I’m fine, jeez. Chill already.” I wave Alec off and start to walk again. I think I need to lie down.
“Hey, I am chill.” Alec matches my stride as we head back through town to Henry’s house.
“Puh-lease, you only act like that in Mapleton, but you’re wound so damn tight and we both know it. By the way, you’re not fooling anyone. Kate’s mentioned it too.” I point a finger at his chest, recalling her comments and how overly protective he seemed of me, like I’m always in danger. I am, but that’s nothing my friends need to be let in on.