"Anna we must hurry, we must get to the gates as quickly as possible," Astoria says, pleading me to hurry up. I wish I could oblige, to quicken my pace, but my short legs cannot run any faster, and I fight to keep my pace as I struggle to regain my breath. Astoria is quicker, lighter on her feet, and she has made it to the gate before I have.
Her presence at the gate is to let the civilians in, so that they may be protected within the castle itself. My job here is to keep the wolves out, and there is only one way for me to manage that. I walk pass the civilians, run pass the gates, and I walk until I am past the citizens altogether. I can see the wolves approaching, the hair on their backs sticking on ends, their sharp canine teeth glinting dangerously as their growls emit from deep within them.
I focus with all my might on my task, to keep the wolves out, as I pull on the dark energy that runs through my veins. It is easy now, though just as painful as always. I can feel blood pouring from my ears, my nose, gushing up through my mouth. The blood flows freely from me, and the wolves whine and back away, being kept away from the pain that I am placing upon them as Astoria, and the unaffected civilians cross onto the castle grounds.
As the last civilians pass onto the grounds, Astoria begins to close the gate. It is almost too late when I see the elderly woman wobbling towards the gates, on shaking feet. The walking cane that she uses is only just keeping her up. Astoria says something to me, and I want to listen to her, but my mind is on the woman, and what pain she would be in if she is to become a victim of the wolves. I take a step forward, and then another, my path, my goal becoming clearer as I quickly make my way towards the woman. The wolves stay back, they know the pain that I can inflict, and this alone makes them cautious. I allow the woman to put her weight against me, and I help her to make her way towards the gates. We pass through the gates, and Astoria closes them behind us. A younger woman and her son come rushing towards the elderly woman and I. There is such relief and happiness evident in their features, that it is obvious that the elderly woman is their family.
"Thank you," The older woman says, and I nod my head in acknowledgement as there is simply no time to waste. I allow the older woman to go with her daughter and grandson.
"Anna what you just did, that was reckless and foolish. You could have been killed, and you did not care. However, I understand why you did it. You showed courage in the face of danger, and all I can say is that I'm proud of you, that Sinistra would be proud of you," Astoria says, and I smile at her, taking a moment to pause even though time would not permit me to do so.
"I couldn't let that woman be killed by the wolves; the agony before her death that she would have suffered, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," I say quietly turning away from Astoria, and making sure that the gate is closed properly. I can hear the roars of the vampire men fighting against the wolves in the village, and I wonder if Kayden, Shade and Victor are safe.
I feel a hand rest on my shoulder and I know that it is Astoria, "Don't even think about it Anna, you won't be joining them. Victor wouldn't want it, and they are all safer if they know that you are here within the castle, where it is safe," Astoria says. I know what she is saying is true, but I want to join them, fight by them, what good was all my training for if I could not fight with them! However the memory of the reasoning for my training comes to mind, and I turn away from the gate, and I walk slowly up to the castle with Astoria, the citizens walking ahead of us.
I wait until I am no longer in Astoria's sight, until her attention is focused on the civilians rather than on me, before I make my escape. I can feel the pounding of my heart, the trembling of my soul, and I know that it is not my own echoing within me, for what have I to fear in the safety of the castle? No, it is Victor's heart, Victor's soul that I can hear and feel, and I know that I cannot remain here, that I must get out there and help them fight so that Victor will not die. I know what he expects of me, to stay here and to wait for his return. I also know why it is important to keep me safe, but I cannot ignore the thrumming of his soul reverberating within me, as I run to the arena to grab my sword.
When I'm in the arena it isn't hard to make the few short steps to the weaponry cupboard. However when I open the doors and look for the sword it is no longer here, where it should have hung on the wall there is nothing but an empty space. I scream in frustration, they knew the temptation would be too much for me, but now I feel as if Victor needs my help out there, and the sword is gone, and there is nothing I can do. There are no other swords either; however there is a bow and a quiver of arrows. I had learnt how to use these weapons a long time ago, but could I embody the Archer once more? I reach out for the bow and take it within my hands. I can feel my own spirit tremble, holding the first weapon I had learned to use.
Taking the quiver of arrows, I place it over my shoulder. I take one arrow from the quiver, and place it with the quickness I will need to have out on the battlefield. I turn to the dummy in the middle of the room, which is over a good ten meters away, and I let the arrow fly. I miss by mere inches of my aim, and I fire another making sure that I have a handle on the weapon. It would do no good to be unprepared out on the battlefield. I have to be sure I have embodied the Archer, so that I can save Victor and Shade and Kayden. I let another arrow fly, and it hits the bulls-eye that had been roughly painted onto the thick brown material. I shoot another, and it splits the first in half. I leave the arrows there and grab another handful from the weaponry cupboard.
I start running for the gates, before my eye catches the stables, and I pause for a moment. It would be easier and quicker to get down there by riding on a horse. I would be able to help Victor sooner, if I took a horse rather than if I run down there. I don't spend another moment thinking about it, and I get up on the first horse that I find. This horse is a massive one, and although I struggle to get up on it, it is no problem to ride him bareback down to the village.
I climb off of the horse and tie him to a post near by. I can hear the grunts of men and the growl of wolves as they attack each other. With bow in hand and an arrow in place I move forwards. There are lots of warriors, soldiers out in the town, their swords clashing against the sheer weight of the wolves. I cannot see Victor or Kayden or Shade through the smoke and fog.
"Anna," I hear someone say as they grab onto my shoulders. For a moment I struggle against the person until I see black eyes, filled with worry and concern, and I instantly know who it is.
"Shade?" I ask and I hear him curse violently. "Anna, you need to get out of here. If Victor were to see you he'd lose his focus! And that right now can be deadly," Shade says and there is panic shining in his eyes, and he begins to lead me away from the battle until we hear someone call his name.
"Shit; that was Kayden. Look Anna you need to get out of here. I hope I can trust you to do this; please for all of our sake, it is better if you are at the castle," Shade says and he pushes away from me. He doesn't leave me a chance to respond to him, and I watch him as he runs back into the battle.
I hesitate for a moment, do I do what I should and return to the castle, or do I follow my heart, and do what I know that I must, to protect those that I love. I have lost Simon and now Meg; I cannot afford to lose anybody else. I am grateful that Shade did not have time to take it from me, and follow the path that Shade had made back into the battle. I pull on the dark energy within me, and use it to bring pain to the wolves; I can feel fresh blood running the path that the dried blood had left behind, as I use the curse to help my brothers in arms.
Several wolves surround Kayden and Shade, and I fire the arrows one after another, watching as the arrows hit their targets, the bodies of dead wolves falling slack to the ground. Kayden and Shade turn to see who had helped them in their dire situation and when Kayden sees me, a smile spreads out across his lips. I can see that his right eye has been clawed at, and there is an ugly massive wound etched into his skin. The wound is so deep that I know it will not heal back to its original form.
"Kayden," I breathe a
nd his smile widens as he crosses the spacious distance between us.
"Anna," He whispers. My name is revered in his tone, as if it is a prayer on his lips. He takes me in his arms, and he holds on so tightly, as if we would have never seen each other again, and that is still a harsh possibility in my mind. "You shouldn't have come," He whispers, his concern for me evident in his voice.
"I know that I shouldn't have, but I am here now and I will not leave your side Kayden. For if the situation was reversed you would do the same as I," I say, pulling back slightly so that I can look at him. I brush my fingers near the open wound over his eye, over his cheek, over his lips and then back again. He cradles my hand and keeps it pressed against his face, even though he flinches from the physical contact with his wound.
"You will tell me how this happened later. For now we have to find Victor. I need to know if he is safe," I say, as I pull away from Kayden, but he holds onto me tighter and does not say a word until I'm looking him in the eye once more.
"And what if we cannot find him? What if he has been killed in the battle?" Kayden asks and there is a hint of hope and despair in his words. I stand still for a moment as I ponder this. What would happen if Victor has been killed? Not only in turn for Kayden and I, but for this world in whole?
"I guess we cross that bridge when we get to it," I say quietly, letting my words sink in. I pull out of Kayden's arms and turn away from him. I search inside of me, for that tiny link between Victor and I, but I cannot feel anything come from it and I instantly fear the worse.
"Come on Anna, we'll help you find him," Shade says, placing a hand upon my shoulder. I turn to Shade, and I let him see the fear that has been stirred within me, fear for Victors safety and life. Shade does not say anything, but I can see the empathy in his eyes, and I know that his heart is pained for me, and most of all for Victor, the man that had given Shade a new chance at life.
Kayden and Shade take each one of my hands, and lead me further along, however when we see more wolves we have to release our hold on each other. That connection is pure and innocent, three friends comforting the other through mere touch. Kayden pulls out his sword and slays the oncoming wolf as I fire an arrow into the one on the roof. Shade is covering our backs and I can feel him hesitate beside me. I turn to see who has come upon us, and a smile breaks out on my lips when I see that it is Victor. I start to walk over to him ready to embrace him in my arms. He is smiling and joyful, and I wonder why he is when we are fighting for our lives. Shade's hand catches my shoulder before I can go too far. He is cautious of Victor, and I fear that something is terribly wrong.
"You are not Victor, what have you done with him Skin-walker," Shade says and I take a step back. If a Skin-walker has dared to take the form of the Vampire king, there is only one person who would dare do it.
"But answering your question would be no fun at all," The Skin-walker sneers as he approaches us. Kayden places his arm around my waist, and I can feel his protectiveness vibrating throughout his body.
"Show your true form Skin-walker. So that we may look upon your face," Kayden snarls and I can feel his loathing vibrate throughout his body as well. I know that he hates the Skin-walkers, that they both do, but I never knew how deep that hatred ran underneath their skins.
"Relax gentlemen, I will reveal myself. Not because you ask it of me, but that it is of my own will. I would prefer that the Lady in our company know my true face, so that she will be haunted by it for the rest of her life," The Skin-walkers says and there is such a relaxation to him that it terrifies me. I know who this is person is, and as Victor's face fades away and forms into the face that I loathe I feel my soul tremble. If Christian is posing as Victor, then what has he done to him?
"Hello Love, it has been too long," Christian says and I want to hit him, for everything that he has done and everything that he may yet do.
"Not long enough," I say. I am surprised by how steady my voice sounds, even though I am terrified and trembling on the inside. I cannot allow this fear to show though, for Christian will believe that he has won for once.
"However despite the time and distance that we have spent apart Love, you did make a promise to me and now you will do as I say, or Victor's death will be over before you can deny your promise to me. Are we clear Love?" Christian asks, and I stare at him in horror. I had made a promise to him before we ever came here, before I chose Victor, and I thought that that promise had been forgotten, I myself had forgotten it. However now that I stand face to face with my enemy, I know that it was never forgotten, and that he was only waiting for the right moment to use it.
"Anna, time is ticking. Victor does not have much time left. Will you do as I say? A simple yes or no is required Love," Christian says and I can see his impatience running beneath his skin, his eyes becoming a harsh steel blue like ice. I want to turn to Kayden and Shade to explain myself, but I know that I cannot. There is no time left, there is only one option to save Victor to make sure that he is safe.
"Do you promise that he'll be safe? That you won't kill him?" I ask and I know that now he can see my fear. That he can see that I am trembling within my own skin. I can see the smirk growing on his face, he holds out his hand for mine, and asks one more if I will do as he says. I nod my head in agreement for I cannot even think the words. His smile widens as I place my hand in his. I can hear the sharp intake of Kayden and Shades breathing, what I have just done is treachery against the Vampire Kingdom, and I cannot turn back now. I pray to whatever god would listen that they would forgive me eventually.
"Bring him out!" Christian yells and two Skin-walker men bring out Victor. He is bloody and bleeding, there is a large gash upon his forehead, and I stare at him in horror. What has Christian done to him?
"Thank you Andy, Max. You can leave him be, he is of no danger to me," Christian says and the two Skin-walkers leave as quickly as they had come. Kayden and Shade fall down to their knees next to their friend and King. Kayden and Shade refuse to look at me, but Victor's eyes have not left my face, and I know that he is remembering the same day that I am. That he is remembering of this happening before, and what I told him of what really happened. I know that he is remembering the consequences of his actions, because of what had happened, and I can feel a tear slide down my cheek in memory of Simon, whose life had been taken because of a lack of communication.
"And so we are here once more, King Menédez. I will be the Judge, jury and executioner tonight. You have been called here before the jury for inflicting your soul upon another, and of brainwashing that innocent soul to love you. Do you plead guilty of these crimes?" Christian asks, and the three boys look at us with such loathing that I can feel goose bumps rise on my own skin.
"Deus Damnaret Eam! Yes, I admit that my soul is within Anna, but I have not brainwashed her to love me or vampires. That is of her own choice!" Victor spits and even though he is barely here right now, even though he is so close to unconsciousness, I know that he is fighting with all of his might to be here in this moment. He refuses to meet my eyes though and I can feel self-loathing creep throughout my body.
"So you admit it! That you have preformed black magic on a human, whom before your offence had never been touched by black magic," Christian sneers and by his words I realize that he is standing up for me, for the offence that has been done against me, and I wonder what has changed within Christian to make him do this for someone else. I wonder what his motif is, what his ultimate goal is, or if he is doing this for his own purposes.
"No! I never preformed black magic! It was magic taught to me by an immortal," Victor says, trying to defend his actions, and for some reason I'm disappointed. I thought that he would have been stronger than this.
"The magic that Immortals posses can only be used by immortals, or it is considered black magic, you know of this Victor Menédez, and yet you did it anyway. Whatever your motif was, these crimes that you have preformed have brought you face to face with death. However seeing as I am merciful, t
here is a choice to be made on how this sentence will be carried out, either at my own hands, which I will take great pleasure in doing, or at the hands of dear Anna."
"And what is your motif to bring the punishment of the immortals down on another citizen of the Underworld?" Victor asks, his eyes focused on Christian, and I think I see a hint of pity in Victor's eyes, and I wonder why he pities Christian, when Christian is about to kill him.
"I am simply carrying out my Father's work, and ending a family feud that has been carrying on for years," Christian says and there is a note of something that I cannot quite identify.
"Then finish it Christian, do what you must to slay the ghosts that haunt you. Let this war be over with. But know this, if you kill me tonight, this world will be thrown into chaos, that Anna will never forgive you, nor love you. The world will hate you, and the only people who will stand by your side, is the people that you have acquired full control of. You will be forever alone, and your crimes here tonight, carrying out the work of the Immortals when you have no right to, will be punished, just like you are punishing me," Victor says and he quietly says something to Shade and Kayden, they refuse his request, and after Victor says it another time, they leave, their hatred and loathing etched deeply into the lines of their faces.
"We are alone now, do it Christian and let it be done with," Victor says. He turns to me and his eyes are full of love and sorrow, and I feel my heart break for the man that I love, whom is ready to die, and is willing to face death. I walk over to his side, and I kneel down beside him. I take his face into my hands and I kiss him, gently on the lips.
The Fire Within (The Fire of The Soul Series) Page 27