The Fire Within (The Fire of The Soul Series)

by Racquel Kechagias

  My eyes have been yearning to devour in whatever was at the bottom of the stairs, but I find that I have endured that journey for nothing as all that is before me is an old, abandon wine cellar. The disappointment I feel is so obvious that the emotion is thick within the air, to the extent that anyone would have been able to feel it rather than just sense it. I was expecting there to be more to this mystery than an empty wine cellar, but I've clearly hit a dead end.

  I try to imagine Victor standing in this bland room, stocking up the room with wine, picking out a sweet, honey-like wine to share with friends in front of the fire, or drinking himself into a stupor as he sat before the flames alone. I try to imagine him here, but the room remains empty, abandon and it feels as if a dead chill has seeped into the room.

  The loneliness seethes back in, as my thoughts turn to Victor. It's so unbearably painful that it causes me to fall to my knees, struggling to breath from the intense pressure on my chest. For a moment I had almost forgotten his departure, almost forgot that Victor had left at all. However, my traitorous thoughts bring back my memory and with the memory, it brings this crippling pain as well.

  It is a while before the tears stop falling down my cheeks, and even longer before I can stand on my own two feet again. My out-reached hands search for the wall, through the haziness of my teary eyes. I feel the solid wall and breathe a sigh of relief when both of my hands are placed firmly against it. I start to slowly make my way toward the stairwell; I've seemed to have travelled much further from it than I had thought.

  As my eyes dry I realize that I've been going in the opposite direction of the stairwell but the realization comes too late. My feet have tripped upon a loose stone and I find myself crashing toward the ground, in the dim light I see one thing alone. That there is another secret passage opening before me, slowly but surely, making the awful sound of stone moving against stone. The loose stone must have been the trigger for the spring door. I sit up slowly, shaking my head from side to side to get rid of the ringing dizziness.

  The door comes to a stop and emitting from the room, is a low, heavenly melody that swirls around the room and embraces me in its loving caress. It calls to me, beckons me to come toward it, promising me love, warmth and joy. The divine melody is hypnotic, beautiful and wonderful, yet cold and dark at the same time. I have no choice but to accept it, to welcome it, to allow it to consume me. I cannot deny the beautiful, divine melody and so without a thought, I get to my feet, and let it pull me in through the door, and to its heavenly source.

  There is no need to watch my footing, for it is sure and steady. My hands do not trail against the wall; my body does not lean against it for support. My body is drawn toward the heavenly music, emitting from the passage way, like the tide to the shore. I see nothing, I think of nothing, there is no more than the music, it has completely devoured me. My heart pounds, races though I cannot understand why. The music is beautiful, it is alluring, like the songs of the angels, there is nothing to fear and yet my soul trembles, it cowers in the wake of the music, in the wake of the divine voice that I can hear with every beat of my living heart.

  There is a dim light at the end of the passage way, the passage way that is enclosed to the point where I feel as if it will tumble down upon me, crushing me underneath the heavy weight of the stone it is made of. What am I to fear, of music and light? What sorcery, what darkness is there to it? That is not already in my life! I want to feel the light soak upon my skin; I want to feel it embrace me, to save me from darkness' arms. Where light is, darkness cannot exist. So I let the light and the music draw me in, and I step out into the dim light that fills the cavernous room, hollow and round, like it was simply carved out of the stone.

  Along the walls are markings, some are ancient numerals that I barely understand, some are drawings primal in their nature, some are words in a language so old that no-one who was born within the past few centuries would understand them. All of these are drawn and written with a heavy hand, scratches upon the walls, marking them forever with a meaning that I cannot understand. I turn around to take in the rest of the room, on the opposite wall is a wooden bookcase, straining - to the point of breaking - underneath the heavy weight filled shelves, adorned with black leather-bound journals, each with a golden gilded title made up only of a name and year. I wonder if these journals can unravel the mysteries written upon the wall. I wonder if the ink splattered words would bring some comprehension to my mind, give me some understand of this madness.

  I trail my fingers against the black leather books, noting the years that they were written in, some dating back to the early fifteenth century, and the most recent being a decade and a half ago. I pick up the recent journal; my name is scrawled across the cover in the gold-gilded scrawl. I begin to read the carefully formed words that mark down every thought Victor has had of me.

  All my planning, all my devices have finally paid off. The pathetic excuse of a King - Rupert, I shudder at the name - has finally had a daughter. She is pale and weak as all humans are, small even for a babe, but I can feel her life pounding through my veins, I can feel her life force within me! It brings a strange sensation, I've never been alive as the humans consider it, my heart has never raced, never had one beat and yet now that I can feel her life within me, it feels as if I, myself am alive. The experiment I guess finally paid off, and I know the sense of having her life within me is because a sliver of my soul is within her. Now all I have to do is sit back and wait to reap the benefits.

  I flip through several pages until; I stop upon another page and begin to read.

  It has been several years since I last checked up on Anna, there has been no disturbance in her soul, and everything has been innocent within her until now. I cannot say why or how this has come about, but there is turbulence within her soul, such sorrow that it overpowered me tonight within the middle of a party in honour of my adoptive-father's birthday. One minuet I am dancing with a beautiful woman, the next I am stumbling over the steps, as wave after wave of sorrow overcomes me. I do not understand why she would be suffering, she is so young, too young to know sorrow, and yet even saying that I know that I am contradicting myself, for wasn't I as young as she when I lost my parents? I had no choice but to leave the party as soon as I felt her pain, I had no where else to go but down here. I had to see if she was okay, and so I went to the immortal, Sadar, the unseeing one and demanded that he show me Anna, that he show me why she is suffering.

  As I read the journal I find that Victor tends to repeat himself, going over and over a single point. I stop again a couple of pages along and read.

  By the Angel! I should have killed that blasted devil of a man, I should have ripped out his throat when I had the chance! How dare he abuse her! How dare he treat her so! The little wriggling worm! He has escaped me once but not again, this time I shall destroy him! He will beg for mercy, and I shall treat him as he has treated my Anna! This time there will be no mercy!

  Closing the book as a shudder rolls over me, there is nothing that I can say about this. He has been following me all my life, perhaps even before then. Placing the book back onto it's shelf I turn around once more, and my jaw drops. I cannot understand why I didn't see this before, in the far reaches of the cavernous room is a single cage, completely barred in silver. Within it is a poorly robbed figure, with silver hair and onyx skin. This, I think to myself, must be Sadar.

  The immortals blank white eyes have been trained on me this whole time, I realize belatedly. There is no emotion on his face, except for the blank look. He seems to be Unseeing; perhaps that is where his title comes from.

  The music hums vibrantly through the air, it swarms and embraces me as I stand before the Immortal his lips move creating the beautiful sound, but within my mind there is a soft whisper, caressing, comforting until I feel claws scratching, digging through my mind. The pain that unfolds within my skull sends me crashing down onto my knees. I have no power to stop him, to push the Immortal away. All I can do
is scream, scream until the pain ebbs away.

  It is a long time, stretched out even further through the agony, before the Immortal stops. My breath comes out heavily, as I will my heart to stop racing. I have no strength to get up, barely enough to look up through my hair to see the satisfied smirk on the Immortals face.

  "You are the girl, the girl that is infiltrated by a soul that does not belong to you. You are the girl that he experimented on, took advantage of before you were even born. How strange, that you continue to love him, though this knowledge is not unknown to you." Sadar's voice is hoarse as he whispers in my mind, like nails sliding down a chalkboard, an unpleasant, unbearable sound.

  "I love him despite of it, how can you, an immortal, someone who cannot be touched or even feel love ask me such a question," I reply simply, keeping my eyes locked with his blank white eyes. Is it even possible for him to see me, with his eyes the way that they are?

  "I believe that you would think differently, if you understood what had been done to you, if you understood what it has made you. You are no longer human, I'm sure you can understand that." Sadar whispers, sighing a heavy breath before muttering "Nostra spes, ultimum forte" over and over again.

  "I understand that something is going on within me, I don't know what or how or why, but I know that I am no longer who I used to be. You've seen inside my mind, I'm sure you've seen inside of my heart. You've granted Victor his every desire, whether you wanted to or not. I ask that you show me the future that my friends are about to meet. I need to know if they'll live or die, I need to know what they are going through. I cannot afford not to see it, not to know. Please I beg it of you." The words are barely a whisper upon my lips but I know he hears them, hears the sincerity within the words. Sadar seems to pause for a moment in his muttering before turning back toward me, there is a difference within him now, he no longer seems sarcastic and bitter, there seems to be a plain softness to him that was not there before.

  “Deus damnaret eam! You are not like him, where he is cold and bitter, you are kind. You ask me to help you, where he forced my hand, bound me in runes to force my will to match his. For that kindness alone, I will show you what you wish to know. Close your eyes, and give me your hand." I hesitate for a moment and there is another sigh passed from Sadar's mind to mine.

  "You can either take my hand girl, and find out what is going to happen to your friends, or you can sit there and be ignorant. Either way I'm stuck in this prison, and cannot do a thing. It's really up to you." I look up into his blank eyes, wondering if I could see into his soul through them, but they remain empty, keeping the secrets of his soul. I reach out for his hand, and he starts to softly chant, his lips moving rapidly as he mouths another mantra.

  "Whatever you see, whatever happens, know that the future is never set in stone. Know that it can be changed by a single action or thought. Your friends may die in the events you are about to see, but it does not mean that they will certainly die. There is nothing to fear, so trust me." Sadar whispers one more time before the chanting becomes louder, more melodic, more heavenly sweet music than a simple chant. I can feel my eyes getting heavy, my mind falling asleep. I see their faces flash before my eyes, Victor's, Kayden's, Shade's, and most unwanted of all Christian's. I can feel my heart rate slowing down, my breathing getting heavier as I slip away from the light that emits from Sadar, into darkness' cold arms.

  Chapter 14 – The Elders Circle

  Victor's P.O.V

  It has been days since we left the castle, and at first all I could feel from Anna was her loneliness, her misery. I could feel the painful slow beats of her heart, her blood calling for me through the distance and then, in the late afternoon, I could feel nothing from her, and although it allowed me to feel and think for myself, the absence of her feelings left me concerned.

  We had separated from a group of twelve into three separate groups of four. I already missed Kayden, my oath brother and my best friend, the one guy that has never left my side through out all of this and now, by my orders, he is gone. There is also Shade and Will to consider, and of course Augustus and Astoria, my two god-parents. They are all gone, all doing as I have asked of them to help my people, to rid our world of the disease which is the Skin-walkers.

  My group of four – including myself – had not filled ourselves for days, with human food or blood, we are starving; the hunger growing as our starvation drew onward. It would have been impossible to resist any calling of a stranger's blood, and so I am grateful that we have not passed a single soul in our journey to the forest. We have spent nights sleeping underneath starry skies, with nothing separating us from the bitter wilderness. To be truthful, it is a complete step-down from the luxury of my castle, but it reminds me of a time, far too long ago, where there was nothing but the wilderness, torn rags and madness; a time where I had no parents, was unknown and unloved by all.

  My men are growing weak, and their need for blood, need for shelter and the luxuries of the city urges them onward. It is hard at times to resist what we have constantly surrounding us, to be without the luxuries of any ordinary day, but we are on a mission, a mission to save our world, and the people within it from the poison that runs underneath the skin, the poison which can take on any form or any being at their simple wish without all but one penance, their need for blood.

  The forest is within sight, and as we draw nearer I can hear the others cries of joy, cries of freedom from the mess that they had allowed themselves to get into. If I was to be asked if the wilderness was worse than the forest, I would have denied it, and admitted that the forest is worse, far worse than spending a lifetime in the wilderness. Because where the wilderness had been deserted, without anyone but ourselves, it is better because at least we know where we came from, where we were and where we were going. In the forest you could not tell the difference. In the forest you could get lost, and be walking around in circles for days. In the forest it feels as if I had returned to the madness I knew in my childhood, as if I was that scared, lost little boy again.

  We hunt before the sun can set on us, and the small animals are easy game. It gives little satisfaction, in our need for food and blood. I wish for larger game, but there is no answer to our needs, and we are left to satisfy ourselves with the small prey that we are able to capture. The first night in the forest is horrible, none of us are able to create shelter, and I wonder why these useless, scared boys – well they are men, however the way that they are acting you wouldn't be able to tell the difference – are my secret soldiers, why they are a part of my Acer Tempesta.

  The second day in the jungle we seem to be continuing the same pattern from the day before, treading circles into the dense forest grass, and soon our progression in the forest is so clear, that there is a 'crop circle' in the dense grass. The second night in the forest is even worse than the first. I can feel snakes slithering on the ground, snaking their way in between my legs. The chatter of nocturnal animals continues on into the night and it allows me little rest. My mind drifts to Anna, and I'm wondering how she is fairing, how she is coping without having me close by. It is late into the evening before my drooping eyes finally slide close, and my mind drifts off into the ever comforting darkness.

  The third day becomes unbearable; I know that we need to feed properly before the sun sets, and I hope that we find their camp before the sun sets as well, as soon madness will be descending upon us.

  The men's complaints are becoming louder, cruder and more demanding than I had ever heard before. I wish that there is something that I can do to appease their cries, but there is nothing that I can do, not without the help of the forest vampires, and they are no where to be seen. I continue to push on, to hope for the best, as in that our salvation will come soon, but as the sun sets for the third time my hope quickly vanishes, and before long I'm sitting in front of the fire as the men sleep, my arms wrapped around myself as I slowly rock back and forth.

  Sleep evades me and I find myself walking around i
n circles, in a 30-meter diameter to the area that we have set up camp in. I'm still awake as the sky starts to lighten, drawing in the fourth day of blistering sunlight, but I'm mistaken, the sky is not lightening because of the sunrise, but rather because of the torches that the forest vampires bring with them whilst they descend upon our camp. I don't know why I have the sensation to run, but I'm frozen in space, why am I wanting to run from the people I'm seeking help from? It's such a ridiculous motion that I'm rendered useless. However I realize the sudden urge of survival skills as I remember my father's words, forest vampires hate the Pures because we exiled them eons ago because of their differences. The realization hits as a dart flies into my neck, and as I crumble to my knees completely immobile, I see them approaching my men before the darkness finally takes me in after the long, long night.

  The darkness is welcoming, blissful even and I want to indulge in it, as if I was surrounded by the fogginess of sleep in my warm bed, Anna tucked in by my side. However, my waking mind has other ideas, and I find myself looking across from me though the view is distorted. I realize just a little late, that the things I'm seeing is distorted because I am hanging by my feet off of a tree branch, my hands tied together behind my back. I can feel that they have bound us, not with rope, but with the thick vines that they find in the forest, the kind that these forest vampires have been using for eons – ever since the Pures, my ancestors, kicked them out of the city – the kind of vines that us Pures would have no experience with, whatsoever.

  I can see that Seth, Reece and Bradley are hung exactly in the same fashion as I am. There is little that I can do to get myself out of these vines, let alone for them, but I twist and turn and wiggle, trying to escape the bindings I've been placed in. It is as I am trying to escape, that I notice two eyes watching me. Before I started moving I hadn't noticed them as they must have been closed, but now that they are open I can see them clearly, I can see the outline of two strong, angled male faces watching me, but camouflaged in with the greenery because of their dark brown skin. Now that I've noticed them, they are so blatantly clear to me that I'm surprised that I hadn't seen them before. That's when I notice the thick but hollow bamboo in their hands, poised and loaded, ready to strike at any moment. When I meet one of the vampires' eyes, they reveal their thick canine-like fangs, and he gives me a cocky grin, a grin that says that they know that I know that they are the ones in charge, that I have no power here, and I hate that he is right, whoever he is. I want to yell at them but my lips are sealed shut from the poison that was in the darts, and besides my throat is raw from lack of use and dehydration.