Chapter Eleven
It had been almost a week since the Vampires had been in their home and nearly the same amount of time since Dalía had seen her closest friend outside of school. Nóra was acting strange and she did not blame her. The changes that Ísábella was bringing to their lives were confusing and a bit unwelcome. She had always known that her sister lusted after power but she did not realize or expect that it would mean openly condoning the murder of another person. Dalía was not sure how she should feel. Confusion was certainly the foremost emotion for her right now.
She sat in living room area of their modest townhome with a potted plant in front of her. She had picked it up from a dying and decaying area of the city that was once a park on her way home from school. She would have used her power to restore it all if she knew the people of Moserovo would be accepting of her gifts. The least she could do was save this one plant. She knew that it had to have been very beautiful at one time, the remnants of a time long passed in Rutania’s history. It had withered to the point of being unrecognizable as to what it had once been, which made her want to restore it to health even more. Right now her world needed a little beauty that her powers over earthly elements could give her.
She placed her hands on either side of pot and took in a deep breath. She closed her eyes as she began to envision it in her mind, feeling her power start to build up inside of her. It was as if the gift of life was in her veins as she willed it to flow out of her and into the plant. She could feel the energy of the decaying plant as it barely clung to life. Her power over its life force poured out of her and into it as she began to restore it to a full and thriving state of life. She opened her eyes as the force within her finished spilling from her and into what was now a beautiful and thriving rose bush. It had declined to the point that even its thorns could not form and now it was a small bush with a few open red blooms and an array of buds. She smiled as she finished pulling at the power within her, happy that she had given something renewed life while she was in such turmoil.
“Very impressive!” she heard Julíus exclaim from behind her, causing her to turn and look at him. “Where did you pick that up?”
“Thanks,” she responded. “The old park a few blocks from here. I didn’t like seeing everything so close to death.”
“Ok, Dalía, what’s wrong?”
She could hear the concern in his voice as she tried to think of what to say. She was not even sure how to answer him. She listened as she heard his footsteps coming towards her and looked over as he took a seat on the floor next to her.
“I know you. Something is bothering you,” he spoke quietly.
“I don’t know what to say, Julíus,” she replied.
“What do you mean?”
“The things that are changing with us, with my sister, and serving the Empress.”
“I don’t want to fight a war either but for some reason it’s our duty. We don’t belong in this world. You know that as well as I do.”
“But condoning the murder of another? Can we not just go to Ilysia and stay there without having to do all of this?”
She watched as his gaze became more aware of exactly what was bothering her. She could see the change in his eyes when he realized the truth. They all knew that they would have a better life in Ilysia. She just wanted there to be any other way than the path that her sister had them following.
“Rafe doesn’t like it either,” he stated quietly. “Neither do I. He said that death is the cost of war but little more than that to me when we were talking last night.”
“There is always death in war. I know that but that puts blood on our hands too,” she retorted.
He gave her a confused look that made her think that perhaps he did not see it as she did because they would not be playing a role in that mission.
“No it isn’t. There is no blood on your hands or mine until we actually take a life,” he tried to reassure her.
“And with a war coming, you can’t guarantee me that I won’t have to take the life of another.”
“I wish I could, Dalía.”
“And I wish I had Nóra’s courage to stay away from all this.”
He wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulders and attempted to soothe her. They had done nothing more than train but she could not help but be filled with guilt over events that she knew were about to happen. Her dearest friend was keeping her distance from it all, a luxury she did not have with a sister like Ísábella. If only things could change but she knew all too well that she was trapped on this path without an escape.
Rafe was not looking forward to this trip to Ilysia. There was less than a week before the plans Ísábella had made with their new ally were to be carried out. It was a mission he was going along with but did not agree with. He was secretly disagreeing with more of his girlfriend’s decisions lately, yet something inside of him would not allow him to walk away. There was a part of him that wondered if he only stayed for their daughter or if was still clinging to the foolish notion that she was capable of changing. He looked at the woman he had given his heart too as she began to open the portal to Ilysia and saw that she was not the same anymore. He knew that but he could not will himself to fully admit that truth as fact.
He stepped through the portal after her to find himself standing next to her outside of the main entrance of Petríval Castle. They were here to see the Empress. She had summoned them to know of the final plans that had been made for their upcoming attack on the resistance. He was not exactly sure why he was coming along since he had not been privy to all of the details but Ísábella had told him that the Empress insisted on his presence. He did his best to hide a shudder as he followed her inside the castle. The Empress would be waiting for them in the throne room. She would not meet with them anywhere else as she always liked to display her dynamic prowess. To him this seemed to be the way she held onto control and kept many fearful of her.
He stayed right behind Ísábella as they walked through the main entryway to the throne room. When they entered he saw that their new allies and several others were already waiting on their arrival. The Empress sat high on the throne, just as he had expected. She was in her usual long, flowing black garb that was always more ornate when she stood to her full height than it seemed when she was sitting. Her nephew, Eídéard, stood the closest to her as he had been serving as her voice within their forces when she was not present. To their right was their new ally, Shane Richards, and a man that he could only assume was his father. He gave them a simple smile as he looked to their left to see a small group of Vampires lead by Maríṣka’s second in command and right hand, Vílhelm Noldaíréa. After a quick examination of the others present, he followed Ísábella’s lead and bowed before the Empress, remaining in the position until the Empress signaled for them to rise.
“Now that everyone has arrived, I would like to hear more about these plans for the resistance. I know that it is only days away,” the Empress stated in an authoritative tone. “Tell me just how are you going to cause these rebels harm? I must know as my special guest does not believe you can turn the girl to our cause.”
“My Empress, our new ally, Shane, has designed the plans with my assistance and will be leading the attack,” Ísábella responded. “With Eídéard’s assistance, I chose a location that will be best according the information we have gotten from our spies.”
“And where would this be?”
“The village of Tordéalín. There is activity of resistance spies there and it would be enough to draw the ones we seek there. It is also close enough to our own territory to make it easier to arrive unnoticed by anyone that is their ally.”
He watched the Empress’s expression closely. He knew that if she did not approve then she would quickly show it in her face before the words came from her mouth. She gave Ísábella an affirmative nod of approval and turned her face to Shane, awaiting the details of the plan he had masterminded.
“Your Grace, the goal of the plan is q
uite simple. I intend to take a person from Addí Moore’s life that is irreplaceable. We will never be able to draw her to anywhere in Ilysia alone. She will not come without her brother and his closest friend,” Shane began.
“So am I to understand that you intend for this to end with one of them dead?” the Empress questioned.
“I do, your grace, and it will be by my hand.”
He felt a shiver inside as the Empress began to laugh. It was an eerie but maniacal sound that was a bit fearsome. Rafe knew very well that it showed her pleasure in Shane’s plans.
“I love it!” the Empress exclaimed. “It will certainly strike at not only her but the entire insurgency that stands in my way of ruling this land in its entirety.”
Rafe observed the satisfied grin that had formed on Shane’s face. It made him realize that their new ally was very similar to Ísábella, thirsty for power no matter the cost. He was too young to be so willing to take the life of another, which showed Rafe just where her thoughts were going as well and it was not somewhere that he liked at all.
“I have chosen to lead this attack and take the life myself to prove my loyalty to you, Empress,” Shane declared.
“I am very pleased by your enthusiasm, young one. You represent your generation and how it can best serve me in ending this revolt against me,” the Empress encouraged. “Disobedience to my rule is not tolerated. Those that ruled before me did not fight hard enough to make them all submit. I will not stop until they do.”
“This is your realm, Empress,” Ísábella stated. “It is time that they all learn the price for resisting your rule.”
“And they will.”
Rafe knew that this attack would be the spark to start an all-out civil war across the entire land of Ilysia. He knew that the ones in his care in Corinthia were not ready for this but they would have to be soon. War was definitely coming their way, sooner than he had ever predicted.
“Now, Vílhelm, what is your role in this?” the Empress asked.
“My group of Vampires will lead the attack. We will make up the majority of the forces that will be going with Shane to Tordéalín to draw out the girl and her friends,” the undead Vampire leader answered.
“Is Mattías sending any forces?”
“No, your grace. We do not wish for them to do any irreversible harm to our intended targets. They are not good at containing themselves in such situations.”
“Very good use of your judgment on leaving the Weres out of this. This is too sensitive and important of a mission for their kind.”
“Thank you, Empress.”
“Now I expect a full report as soon as you return here from the mission. I will send Eídéard for Ísábella and Rafáel upon your return, as they should be here for the report as well.”
Rafe joined the collective nod in affirmation to the Empress. This alone was enough to cement his path if the woman he loved had not done enough already to do so with her own actions. He watched the smile that played upon the Empress’s lips. She was obviously satisfied by their plan, seemingly as confident as the others were that it would work without any recoil. He still fought hard at the fear that she brought out of him. He was confident that the Fae’s icy demeanor only made her more intimidating, especially seeing her happiness at the mention of Shane killing a key member of the resistance. There would be no turning back or stopping a war from starting once these events played out. He knew the resistance forces would not remain quiet once one of their own has been killed.
Shane sat in the rooms he was sharing with his father in the town of Séoníalna’s Inn. He was in the town closest to Tordéalín that was under the Empress’s control. They had determined that this would be the best place for them to coordinate and stay until the time to make their move approached. Here it would be easier to stay away from the eyes of John Daesyn’s network of spies so that the attack would come as a complete surprise. Having once been a part of the resistance forces, he knew well how they worked and the methods for which they worked. He had been close to the innermost circle, as had his father. When his father approached him about abandoning that cause to join the Empress he had been shocked; at least until he was told that it had been the plan all along. It was then he learned that he had indeed inherited his father’s cunning. He was certainly his father’s son with his complete willingness to follow through with the plan to betray those that believed he was loyal to their cause with what he was about to do. He had no doubts. He knew this was what had to be done and was more than willing to allow the blood to stain his soul for that very purpose.
The plan had been gone over many times with the forces that had come with him and tomorrow night they would make their move. There was no denying that he was nervous about what was to come. He was usually confident about most everything but only a few months ago it would be something that he would never consider doing. He knew that much had changed in him once his father began to groom him for his new destiny, one serving the Empress to the tune of a hero to her cause. It was then that he realized that he never truly fit among his former allies and that was the very reason that he was finding the task of bringing destruction right to their doorstep so easy.
“What’s this Vílhelm tells me about my staying out of this attack tomorrow?” his father asked in a slightly angry tone upon entering the room.
Shane was instantly torn from his thoughts and turn to face his father just as the door slammed shut so hard that it made the walls shake.
“Because, Dad, you are too easily recognizable by those we are targeting. Do you want them to know we’re behind this or would you rather them squirm as they try to figure out who the culprit is?” Shane responded indignantly.
His father looked at him for a moment, right into his eyes. Shane refused to drop eye contact with him as the stare went deeper. He knew when his father was trying to read him and his intentions. He wanted to see him to be very certain that he was doing the right thing.
“You are proving to be much smarter than I was at your age,” his father finally said with a slight grin. “I couldn’t be more proud.”
“Thank you, Dad. I just don’t want any unnecessary risks taken. I refuse to fail.”
“Then if you truly do not wish this mission to be a blunder I have some advice for you.”
He raised an eyebrow at his father curiously. His father did not offer this kind of advice often but when he did it was always the most important guidance he received in the situation.
“And that would be?” he inquired.
“If you really want to hit them where it would hurt the most, kill Zak not RJ.”
“What?”
He was suddenly confused. He did not expect to have to make the decision between the two of them until they were in the midst of a skirmish. He loathed both of them and that made it even harder for him to plan to take the life of one over the other. He honestly wanted to kill them both but he did not want to risk doing too much to push Addí further away from the Empress’s clutches.
“Son, the resistance will produce a larger reaction from taking the life of not only the leader’s only son but the brother of the prophesied one. It will force them to have to face the Empress’s forces to get the revenge you and I both know they will seek,” his father explained.
“This is not a decision I planned on making until they were both in front of me tomorrow.”
“That is certainly your choice, Shane, but I would highly consider my suggestion.”
“I’ll think about it, Dad.”
“Good. I must go figure out where I will stay to wait out the events of tomorrow night with Vílhelm so that I can stay out of sight and keep the two of us off the resistance’s radar.”
He nodded in affirmation as his father turned and quickly left the room. What he was doing was one of the worst betrayals that anyone could commit. He would be lying to say he was not nervous about what could happen the following day when he would have no choice but to face their forces, especially those tha
t he had once been a friend too. He did not miss any of them and had no desire to return to their cause. He just knew that tomorrow could not fail. While he appreciated his father’s assistance with his decision about which life he should take, he knew that he could not take it without being sure it was the path he needed to choose. To them, he would become nothing but a traitor once they did discover the whole truth. By that point, he hoped to be very far from their grasp and high up in the ranks of the Empress. He just knew without a doubt that he was making the right decision and that by tomorrow he would cement his treachery to his former allies when he takes one of their lives. He just was not sure which life he would be ending.
Chapter Twelve
John waited silently in the village square of Tordéalín for Zak to arrive. He had chosen this location due to a meeting he had the day before with a few members of his spy network. It was getting close to dusk and he was trying not to pace. He did not want his nervousness to be obvious to the young man when he arrived. This was his grandson, his blood and one of his only links to Kélinae now that she had certainly gone missing. He had not seen him very much as he grew from the toddler that he took to his friends at his daughter’s insistence to the eighteen-year-old he now was. From what John saw of him, he looked very much like his father, something that worried him would be recognized by villagers. William had been angry with him for seventeen years now over helping Kélinae hide the children that were also his, but John had made his daughter a promise to keep their location secret for their safety. He could not break his word to her even though he truly feared for her current safety.
A Darkness Awakens Page 15