A Darkness Awakens

by Helena Lancaster

  “I believe we have this as planned as we possibly can before it happens,” Shane said aloud.

  “You don’t believe we should prepare for more?” she questioned.

  “No. It can get very unpredictable.”

  “Just be sure you don’t forget to kill one of them.”

  “Believe me I won’t forget that.”

  She looked at the sinister grin he was giving her and knew then that he was exactly what she was looking for to join their ranks. He wanted to take a life to not only prove his loyalty but hurt the resistance forces. It was as if they were made of the same material and if she were not madly in love with Eídéard then Shane was the type of man that could easily steal her heart.

  “I hope this give us exactly what we need it to,” Eídéard remarked.

  “It will make for a devastating blow to the resistance. That’s our goal, is it not?” Galen remarked questionably.

  “It is certainly one of them but we still need the girl.”

  “We also need her to choose us, not join us because she’s forced to. If she comes willingly, then the remaining members of the resistance can’t stop her.”

  “We have to break her faith in them first,” Shane added. “As long as she believes in their cause and in her parents then she will never turn to us.”

  “This is why you intend to take the life of one of the most important people in her life?” Ísábella inquired.

  “It’s exactly why it must be done. In a fortnight, one of them will be dead and she will be heartbroken at the loss.”

  “How do you plan to take their life? Your power doesn’t kill.”

  “I’m going to use a sword.”

  She began to laugh, loudly. She had seen Shane train with a sword and it wasn’t pretty. It was the last thing he needed to use to kill or attempt to kill anyone.

  “It is supposed to be ironic not funny,” he remarked with an almost angry tone in his voice.

  “I would apologize but I have seen you use a sword,” she retorted.

  “It will also ensure that they do not suspect me.”

  She quickly responded to him with silence. As much as she found it humorous that he would use a sword, she could not deny the brilliance of it after he spoke those words. He was ensuring that he would not become a suspect in the murder he was about to commit. It showed his intelligence and how well he truly did know the leaders of the resistance. They had to know him well or else he would choose a different weapon. She could not deny that Shane was more intelligent and battle ready than any of those in her charge. Compared to the four she left in Moserovo with Rafe, Shane was years ahead of them in both intellect and skill.

  “So a fortnight until we move for sure?” she asked.

  “Under cover of darkness. Maríṣka is giving us Vampire aid,” Shane answered.

  “Good. I’ll share plans with mine when I return back to Moserovo.”

  “Take a few of the Vampires with you to meet your group,” Eídéard spoke. “They need to meet them just as they will need to start spending more time here.”

  “I will arrange that with Rafe then. We need them ready to fight when the time comes.”

  “I will let my aunt know that the plans are cemented. Ísábella, you might want to arrange who is going to meet those under your command with Maríṣka or another member of her council.”

  “I’ll be sure to. If you foresee any changes to the plans, Shane, please let me know as soon as possible.”

  “I will,” Shane responded with his usual wicked grin.

  She knew as she left the room right behind Eídéard that in a fortnight things would truly change. They were going to walk away from this victorious while the resistance mourned the loss of one of their own, someone very important to the prophesied girl. If they had to break her first for her to willingly join them, then it would be the path they would take. First blood would be theirs and it would mark the beginning of the end of all opposition to the Empress.

  Rafe was not sure how to feel about what Ísábella had shared with him upon her return from Ilysia. He did not feel that planning to murder anyone was a way for the Empress to cement her rule over Ilysia and bring this girl to her side. He thought the bloodshed was unnecessary. It angered him that Ísábella did not care how he felt about it. Now she was going to bring Vampires into their home! Would it ever end or was he truly trapped in this cycle with her? Gods help him but he loved her. That alone had proven over and over to be the problem.

  “What’s wrong, Rafe?” Dalía quietly asked him.

  He looked up at her to see that she held the innocence that had been long gone from her older sister. He smiled at her as he watched her take a seat next to him on the couch.

  “There’s just a lot on my mind, that’s all,” he responded.

  “What has my sister done now?”

  “You are too smart for your own good.”

  “No, Rafe. I know my sister is controlling and you allow her to be because you’re blinded by your love for her.”

  “Love is the not the only reason I am still here, Dalía.”

  “She doesn’t love Adéla, Rafe. She loves power. That’s why she brought that rich kid from Gemaronica here to see us.”

  He was almost dumbfounded at how open Dalía was being. She was often so quiet it was hard to remember she was around. He knew that much of that stemmed off the way Ísábella had been treating her for years. The girl truly had the good heart that was long gone from her elder sister.

  “I can’t leave. None of us can. This is our life now,” He said to her.

  “She’s dragging us into a war that’s not ours,” the teen remarked.

  “It is now. We would have a much better life in Ilysia than we have here.”

  Dalía shook her head in response. She did not believe him. He sighed aloud as he watched his brother enter the room with Líssi. Julíus was quickly becoming close with the newest member of their group. Rafe was not sure the extent of the relationship but he knew that it was certainly an important friendship to them both. He noticed that Nóra was absent. She practically lived with them so it was odd to not see her there unless she was in the room she shared with Dalía.

  “Where’s Nóra?” he inquired.

  “Last she told any of us she was trying to get in contact with her sister,” Julíus replied.

  “She knows how hard it is to contact Olívia.”

  “I can’t blame her. If I had a way to know where my older sister was I would be doing the same,” Líssi revealed.

  “Wouldn’t we, Rafe, if it were Níkolína?” Julíus questioned.

  “If I knew how to find her or where she was,” Rafe answered. “I know she’s somewhere in Ilysia but nothing more.”

  “That’s helpful,” his brother scoffed.

  “She has not tried to contact either of us so don’t start…”

  “Am I missing something?” Nóra asked in interruption.

  “Not yet,” Rafe answered with a smile. “Are you alright?”

  “I am now. I am able to call Olívia tomorrow.”

  “That is very good news for you.”

  “The best! We haven’t spoken in months.”

  “I’m happy for you. Now that all of you are here, I have to warn you that Ísábella will be back from Ilysia soon with some guests.”

  “What kind of guests?” Líssi questioned.

  “The unfortunately Vampire kind.”

  There was an expected collective gasp. Rafe had associated with Vampires in the time since the woman he loved pledged them to the Empress. This would be a first for all of them, especially Líssi as so much of this was still very new to her.

  “They really exist?” Líssi inquired of all of them.

  “Oh yes the blood suckers exist but I’ve never actually met one,” Julíus remarked.

  “Will they hurt us?”

  “No they will not harm you,” Rafe responded. “We serve the Empress. They are members of the Vampire council comin
g to meet you.”

  “Then why are they coming here?” Nóra asked.

  “I wish I knew all of the reasons. I just know that they are coming to meet you all. They’re working on some mission with Ísábella and Shane.”

  “Mission?” Dalía inquired.

  “One that the rest of us will not be joining in on. They are striking at some resistance forces in hopes to cause some problems for their rebellion. It is dangerous and risky. None of you are ready for this.”

  “But we have to fight a war?”

  “Dalía, you will join the fight when all of you are ready to be fighting. I don’t want you a part of this.”

  “Why don’t you tell them why, Rafe,” Ísábella said as she entered the room without warning.

  He looked over at his girlfriend to see three figures standing behind her and he knew that at least one of them was completely undead. He had not heard the portal. He did not even know she had returned.

  “What is she talking about?” Julíus asked.

  “There will be bloodshed and part of the plan is to kill a key member of the resistance,” Rafe answered. “Are you satisfied now, Ísábella?”

  “For now,” she remarked indignantly.

  He watched as she stepped completely into the room and the Vampires followed her every move. They were all examining each of them with their eyes. It was enough to make shivers run down his spine. He never had been a big fan of theirs. They held cold eyes that seemed almost lifeless to him. If he felt fear then he knew the others did. Only Ísábella seemed to be fearless and look as if she belonged among them.

  “I would like all of you to meet Sóríya Coménícío, Chief of Relations to other races and the Vampire council’s envoy. She has come with me to meet all of you and brought her daughter, Natáṣa Voldáryéan, and brother, Jósíf Coménícío, to help us establish a working relationship together,” Ísábella announced.

  Rafe watched as Sóríya stood proud with her daughter standing to her right and her brother to her left. It was clear that this was a family that had been turned Vampire thousands of years before, during the Fae civil war. They were dressed in formal, Ilysian clothing. Both of the women wore dark colored dresses that pooled at their feet with sleeves that trumpeted half the length down their body. They were eerily beautiful with bright blonde hair and icy blue eyes against deathly pale skin. The only difference between mother and daughter was that Sóríya’s skin held almost no color, a sure sign that she was truly undead. Jósíf stood tall in a dark suit with a ruffled collar and flowing, velvet cape. Anyone that saw them on the streets in Corinthia would have imagined them to be something out of a movie. The only undead among them was old, probably close to a thousand years. Her grace and poise proved that she was older than the Empress herself.

  “It is a pleasure to accompany Ísábella to this strange land to meet you all. As the member of the council that is in charge of inter-race relations, it is important to me that friendly terms are established with all that serve our Empress,” Sóríya spoke in a heavily accented formal tone. “My daughter, Natáṣa, and brother, Jósíf, have come along so that they may be envoys between us to better our relations. They are not restricted by the sun as I am.”

  “My uncle and I are happy to meet you and aid you in your relationship with that of the Vampire council through my mother. We are here as friends,” Natáṣa added, sounding very much like her mother.

  “If there is anything we can do to help you better establish yourselves in our homeland, know that we will always be happy to assist you,” Jósíf proclaimed with a smile. “Those of the Multévyán and Coménícío families will always see you as friends and allies.”

  Rafe waited a moment to give others a chance to calm down and speak. He noticed that the words did not seem to help Nóra who still seemed very afraid. Líssi, Dalía, and Julíus’s expressions had, however, changed to be more curious than scared. He certainly held more curiosity than fear but he had the experience with Vampires that none of the teens in the room had.

  “We are all happy to meet you,” he began to say. “You must forgive the young ones as this is still all new to them. I am glad they will have more friends in Ilysia when we start to spend more time there for training.”

  “And for war,” Ísábella added. “We may not wish to fight a war but unfortunately it is coming.”

  “Unless the coming event changes things and crushes the resistance the way we wish for it to,” Jósíf remarked.

  “But we will prepare for war none the less, Jósíf,” Sóríya slightly scolded. “Do not get cocky before things have even begun to play out. Mother and Father taught you better than that.”

  “But there is a possibility of no war?” Nóra questioned.

  “A very slim one, child. If all goes according to plan we are likely only angering our enemy, not defeating them with little bloodshed. There is no way for the Empress to rule all of Ilysia, with the resistance destroyed, without war.”

  “And why is it unavoidable?”

  “You are a curious one! It is unavoidable because Queen Résalyn and her people will not give up to the Empress without a fight. I do not believe that King William and those under his rule will be any different.”

  “What is the difference between their people?” Dalía inquired.

  “Quite a lot, my dear!” the Vampire answered before turning to Ísábella. “Do they need proper lessons on Ilysia’s history, Ísábella?”

  As he watched Ísábella search for an answer in her mind that did not make her sound bad, he wanted to answer for her. They all needed better lessons on Ilysia’s history. It was their true homeland yet he found himself never knowing enough about it. If they were going to fight a war for the land then they needed to have a better education about it and its history.

  “It would be helpful, Lady Sóríya,” Ísábella answered politely.

  Rafe was taken aback. He had never known Ísábella to be so polite. The prominent, undead Vampire was causing him to see a side of her he did not think existed. He honestly found it quite refreshing to see.

  “I will be happy to provide lessons for all of you,” Natáṣa declared with an eerie smile. “It would be a duty to you, to aid in your gaining of knowledge.”

  “I will assist my niece with this to show just how we are here to be your friends in Ilysia,” Jósíf assured with that same mysterious smile.

  “Thank you for the offer. It would be good for us all to learn more about our true home,” Rafe said in a friendly tone.

  He was hoping his tone would indicate that they were not in any danger from any of the Vampires currently in their presence. He could sense enough about them to understand they would not be harmed. He just hoped that his tone would be helpful for the four teenagers that stood there quite unsure of themselves and their guests. If they were to serve the Empress, then they would all have to embrace this species of Ilysian people as their friends and allies.

  Nóra had walked to her parents’ home alone. She had rarely stayed here in more than a year out of anger. Right now she was returning with her bag of what little she had because she was scared. She had encountered Vampires for the first time and they frightened her more than death. She sighed in frustration as she could hear her parents arguing when she put her key into the lock. She had grown up in a slightly nicer area of Moserovo than her friends. It was not the slums but it was not much better either. She quickly opened the door and walked inside. The sounds of her parent’s voices carried right to her ears as she shut the door and secured the lock.

  “Mom! Dad!” she called out, almost yelling.

  She stood just inside to see if their yelling when stop or if they did not hear her at all.

  “Nóra?” she could hear the voice of her mother call.

  “It’s me!” she replied loudly before starting to ascend the nearby stairs. “I’m going to my room.”

  She did not go at a very fast pace. It actually felt nice to be inside these walls and away
from all that Ísábella had brought into her life. She had been grateful for the escape for a while but things had changed. Something inside her could not believe that following behind someone such as Ísábella, who blindly followed the Empress, was the right thing for her to be doing with her life. As she turned to walk down the hallway towards her room she saw her mother approaching her. She smiled at the woman who despite the near impossible relationship with her father had always shown her nothing but love. She dropped her bag to the floor without hesitation and allowed herself to be pulled into her mother’s arms.

  “My sweet Nóra, I have missed you more than you can imagine,” Karína Pálko said in a sad tone as she tightened her embrace.

  “I have missed you too, Mom,” Nóra almost sobbed. “Not as much as I miss Lívi though.”

  “Allowing her to go and separating the two of you was one of the hardest decisions I ever made.”

  She stepped out of her mother’s embrace and looked at her closely. Her eyes were sadder than she had ever seen them and she had no doubt that her father was to blame. Then again, she held blame there as well for staying away from home for so long. She had been angry at them for lying and hiding the truth but she still loved them. She did not miss her sister so much when she was here. Perhaps this truly was where she needed to be for a while, maybe even the rest of her life.

  “How long are you staying?” her mother asked. “A few minutes or only the night?”

  “I’m staying home for a while mom,” she quickly answered.

  “Did something happen with your friends?”

  “No! I just want to be here right now.”

  “Ok but if anything did happen you know you can talk to me.”

  “Thanks, mom.”

  “Go get settled. I’m going to see if your grandmother left any of dinner out.”

  She smiled as her mom walked past her and began to descend the stairs. Yes, she left out of anger but now this is exactly where she needed to be. She just hated she could not freely talk about this with Olívia when they got to talk on the phone tomorrow. She really needed her advice right now. Reaching down and grabbing her bag off the floor, she continued on the way to her room. She opened the door to find it dusty but unchanged from how she left it when she went to live at Dalía and Julíus’s home. She shut the door and tossed her bag nonchalantly to the floor before leaning all the way against the door. She sighed loudly in relief as she slid all the way down the door until she was sitting on the floor. Right now this is where it felt right for her to be and it is where she would be staying.