by Mazhar, S
Ella closed her eyes and shook her head. “It’s...it’s disgusting. Trust me, you don’t–”
“Ella?” Aaron interrupted. “Please.”
Ella looked at him, holding his gaze until giving in with a resigned sigh. “You have to forge a special bullet,” she started, in a tone that told how revolted she was. “You then carve the name of the mage you want to kill into the bullet. Only at dusk, if the mage is shot in the spot between their eyes with the named bullet, will they die.” She shuddered. “You can imagine how many times that’s happened. No one has the courage to carve the name of their brother or sister into a bullet and then shoot them like that, no matter what.”
“So it’s all theoretical?” Aaron asked. “It’s never happened?”
Ella’s expression darkened. “It’s happened,” she admitted. “A few mages have been executed.” She shook her head. “But that’s got nothing to do with Hadrian,” she said. “He’s no longer a pure mage. He’s a vamage. His demonic power gave him the ability to kill another mage, to kill James Avira. You can’t understand how devastating that one death became for the mages. For the first time in our history, a mage – if only a partial one – took the life of another in such a way. This wasn’t a demon that crawled out of hell’s lap. This was one of our own who turned on us.”
“What happened then?” Aaron asked. “Hadrian ran?”
“No, Neriah caught him.”
Aaron could hear the note of pride in her voice. “Neriah?” he asked. “Neriah Afton?” At Ella’s nod, Aaron asked, “Is he your father?” He doubted it. Ella wouldn’t call her dad by his name.
“Uncle,” Ella replied. “Maternal.” Her expression grew solemn. “The only family I have left.” She paused for a moment before taking in a breath. “Neriah was too late to save James but he captured Hadrian after seeing what he had become.”
Aaron didn’t want to know what that discovery must have felt like. He imagined finding Sam or Rose as something else, something no longer human. He shuddered and pushed the thought out of his mind. “What did Neriah do?” he asked.
“What Hadrian deserved,” Ella replied. “He bound Hadrian’s powers, locked them deep within his core so he couldn’t use them.”
“Why didn’t he just kill him?” Aaron asked. “Hadrian was part demon, it wouldn’t be against the mage code to kill him.”
Ella paused. “No, it wouldn’t,” she agreed, “but Neriah couldn’t bring himself to kill Hadrian.” She looked down at the table. “You have to understand, back then when all the Elementals were together, it was like one big family. Neriah, Hadrian, James, your dad.” She looked over at him. “They were all like brothers. Hadrian had turned and killed James, but Neriah was still a mage and he couldn’t take his brother’s life.”
Aaron didn’t have any family other than his parents and Michael. Sam was the closest thing he had to a brother and he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, he wouldn’t be able to hurt Sam, no matter what. “So what did Neriah do?” he asked.
“He imprisoned Hadrian, foolishly believing he could cure him,” Ella said. “But Hadrian got away. For a few years he lay low, quietly building his own army. He lured mages to his side, turning them into this hybrid of mage and vampire. When he had enough by his side, he declared war on us.”
Aaron’s eyes widened in realisation. “Hadrian’s zones,” he murmured. “That’s why they cause disasters in the human realm. It’s the vamages there that are using the power of the elements,” he said. “Because they’re still part mage.”
“Yeah, part mage and they use that part to their own disgusting advantage,” Ella said.
“What do you mean?” Aaron asked.
“Vamages can use elemental power as well as the demonic power they get from being part vampire.” Her lips curled in disgust. “The vamages can kill us, because their demonic power allows them to deliver a fatal blow, but their mage part protects them against our attacks.”
Horrible understanding filled Aaron. “They can kill us,” he said, “but we can’t kill them.”
“The only way is a Q-Zone,” Ella said. “Something that destroys anything left inside it.” A frustrated breath left her and she reached up to rub at her forehead, as if soothing a headache. “Problem is, the vamages know how a Q-Zone works. They were once mages themselves. They won’t fall for any of our traps.”
“So how do you destroy them?” Aaron asked.
“We don’t,” Ella admitted. “We drive them out of zones using our powers and, at times, outnumbering them.” She sighed. “Doesn’t always work, considering Hadrian’s army is growing day by day.” She let out a frustrated breath. “His own species of vamage is slowly taking over the world, invading zone after zone. Not to mention that Scorcher of his who’s burning this realm to the ground bit by bit.”
Scorcher. Aaron had heard that name before. He remembered it from the one and only Hub meeting he had attended.
“I don’t get something,” Aaron said with a frown. “How could Hadrian make his own army? How can he fight when Neriah bound his powers?”
“Hadrian doesn’t need his powers to turn mages into vamages,” Ella said. “He can do that with his charm alone. Hadrian derives his strength from his demonic part. He doesn’t fight mages – he can’t without his powers – but he has plenty of others to do his bidding.”
“But what does he want?” Aaron asked. “Why is he after the zones? Wouldn’t he be after Neriah instead?”
“Hadrian wants power,” Ella said. “It’s probably why he gave up his purity and became part vampire, because of the power it would reward him. But Neriah foiled his plan and took away his powers. So what does Hadrian do in return? Once he gets enough support, he starts tearing down the Gates and taking over the zones.” She shook her head. “Don’t you see it? He’s making this realm his kingdom to gain power. Destroying the human world is just a bonus.”
Aaron felt his stomach lurch with disgust. “What do the humans have to do with all this?” he asked. “Why is Hadrian involving them?”
“Because he’s a demon,” she said. “Demons feast on the innocent. They kill as many as they can: humans, mages – it’s all the same to them.” She paused, her face twisted in a mixture of anger and disgust. “But Hadrian’s gone a step further than demons.”
“What do you mean?” Aaron asked.
“Mages are all connected,” she repeated. “But even more so when we go into a realm that isn’t ours. When a mage goes to the human realm and uses their power, any other mage in the human realm will be able to feel it. They’ll know exactly where the other mage is and they’ll come to their aid.”
Aaron sat back as it finally made sense to him. That night, when he had inadvertently cracked open the ground to stop the car, his mum, dad and uncle Mike came to him, knowing exactly where he was.
“That’s how they knew,” he muttered under his breath.
Then another realisation came to him and it made Aaron’s breath choke in his chest. He turned to Ella with wide, fearful eyes. Ella nodded, reading the question from his expression alone.
“If a mage can feel another’s presence, then so can the vamages,” she said.
“Those...those men.” Aaron swallowed hard, trying to speak past his frantically beating heart. “The ones that came that night and attacked Mr and Mrs Mason. They...they were vamages?”
“You used your powers to save yourself and your friends,” Ella said. “Your parents felt your power but so did the vamages. That’s what they do, Aaron. They surf the human realm, just waiting for Hunters to slip up and use their powers, so they can either kill them or convert them. Humans marked by the Trace become visible to the vamages and so are found and killed.” She paused, regarding Aaron closely. “Your instinctual reflux gave your location away and the vamages came for you. Sam and Rose saw you using your power, so the Trace went on them. The moment they tried to run home, the vamages – being the disgusting cowards that they are – decided to attack the vu
lnerable humans instead of the mages present.”
Aaron already knew that the ones to kill Mr and Mrs Mason had come that night because of the power he had unleashed to stop the car. But he’d never thought he and those monsters could be connected like this. Never in his life did he think the cruel beings that killed his best friends’ parents were part mage.
Aaron rubbed at his head, turning to look away. His eyes widened when he saw Rose standing to the side. She must have followed him out of the cottage. Aaron stood up, staring at her. From the look of utter devastation on her face, she had heard every word.
***
Kyran placed the last bottle on the wall and stepped back. “Alright.” He rubbed his hands together. “Go for it.”
“I don’t know about this,” Aaron said.
Kyran turned to him. “Why?”
“I don’t feel comfortable.”
“Why not?”
Aaron turned to glare angrily at him, squinting in the bright sunlight. “Because it’s not me!”
Kyran chuckled and walked over to him.
“It is you,” he said, propping himself next to Aaron against the low wall. “It’s a part of who you are, deep down. You know that.”
Aaron shook his head, vehemently denying it. “This is not me!” He held out his hand, clutched around the silver pistol.
“Deny it all you want,” Kyran said. “But as it comes down to it, this,” he pointed to the gun in Aaron’s hand, “is in your blood. It’s who you are. Why you were created.” He smirked at Aaron. “Fighting it will only tire you. Fight with it, and it’ll bring you nothing but success.”
“The only thing this brings is death,” Aaron said, feeling a horrible sense of déjà vu, but too occupied to figure out why exactly.
Kyran sighed and straightened up. “Suit yourself,” he said, grabbing his pistol back from Aaron. “Good luck hunting without any weapons.”
“Kyran!” Aaron called after him as he started walking away. “I want to learn how to use my powers, not guns.”
“When you’re hunting in the human realm you can’t use your powers,” Kyran said, stopping to turn and face him. “This,” he held up the gun, “is your power then. Your sword, your guns, your blades – they’re an extension of your hand. You have to learn to use them as such.”
Aaron felt his already darkening mood take a further plunge. “Because of the vamages?” he asked bitterly. “We can’t use our powers in the human realm in case vamages are lurking around.”
“Pretty much,” Kyran replied. “And of course to avoid putting the Trace on any spying humans.”
Aaron ran a hand through his hair, exhaling deeply. “Fine!” he bit out. “Give me the gun.”
Kyran smirked but held out the semi-automatic pistol.
Aaron grabbed hold of the firearm and went over Kyran’s instructions again in his head. He reached out and slid the rack back. Breathing out a slow, calm breath, Aaron held up the gun, one hand underneath to steady the firearm. He took aim at the first dark brown glass bottle sitting on the wall at least three metres from him. He aimed and pulled the trigger. The shot rang loudly but nothing happened to the bottle. It sat untouched. Aaron dropped his hands with a grimace.
Kyran looked from the bottles back to Aaron. “That’s amazing. You managed to get the bullet to go completely in the opposite direction. You know what to do? Aim at the other wall, you might hit the bottles.”
Aaron glowered at him. “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.”
“And pointing that out is the lowest form of cool,” Kyran returned.
Aaron ignored him and took aim again. The second shot rang out and missed, leaving the bottles untouched. Aaron took the next shot, then the next and the next. Each one missed its target.
“Wow,” Kyran said dryly. “You missed every single bottle.” He gave him a mocking grin. “Nice one, Ace.”
Aaron ignored him and took the last shot. It too missed.
Kyran let out a sigh, hands on his hips and head dropped. “Mages are born with good aim,” he muttered.
“You’re not helping!” Aaron snapped.
Kyran took the gun from him, loaded a full clip and turned to face him. With his eyes on Aaron, Kyran aimed at the bottles and blew each one off the wall until nothing was left but shattered glass.
“It’s not hard,” Kyran said as he handed the gun back to Aaron. He waved a hand and another dozen bottles floated up to line the top of the wall.
“Where did you get so many bottles from?” Aaron asked moodily.
“The beer fairy,” Kyran replied. “Focus on shooting the damn things, will you?”
Aaron ignored him and took aim again.
“What’s going on here?” Scott’s voice came from behind them.
Aaron turned and lowered his gun. A sharp look from Kyran and Aaron fumbled with the little lever on its side, decocking it.
“Kyran is teaching you how to shoot?” Scott asked, as if it were the strangest thing in all the realms.
“Yeah,” Aaron replied. “Apparently it’s part of the requirement of becoming a Hunter.”
Scott looked surprised. “A Hunter?” he asked. “You?” He eyed him for a moment before smiling. “Taking over the family business, huh?”
Aaron fought to keep his expression clear of bitter anger. “Something like that.”
“It’s good,” Scott said. “We need more Hunters.” He winked before laughing. “It’ll be good for you to understand the dynamics of how to use your powers.”
“Yeah, if we ever get to that part,” Aaron said, throwing Kyran a look.
“You can’t hit a stationary target three metres from you,” Kyran said. “We’ll deal with moving the earth later.”
Scott chuckled, shaking his head. “Take it easy on him,” he told Kyran. “I came to tell you there’s a meeting in exactly thirty minutes. Get yourself down to the Hub.” He looked at Aaron. “You too, Hunter.” He smiled and turned to walk away.
“Half an hour,” Kyran said. “Let’s see how many bottles you can miss.”
***
“Welcome, everyone, to another meeting.” Scott smiled at the twenty or so mages. “Let’s get the updates out of the way. Firstly, we got confirmation from Latan. The devastation was indeed the work of the Scorcher.”
A ripple of incensed muttering spread across the room. Scott raised a hand and the mages quietened.
“Secondly, we’ve received information that suggests the Scorcher is moving east,” Scott said. His hand hovered over the map and it changed, zooming into the mess of spidery, thin lines. “If we plan this right, we may just have a chance to get the son of a demon.”
Agreement swept through the room.
“There’ll be more on that in the next few meetings,” Scott said. “The topic for today is the Ichadaris in Danwan. They are posing a real threat to the locals. There have been teams sent out over the last month or two but they’ve failed. So, it’s come to us.”
Ryan snorted loudly. “Of course it’s come to us. We’re freaking brilliant.”
“There’s the modesty I love.” Zhi-Jiya grinned.
“Seriously, though,” Omar said, “the other teams can’t handle a bunch of Ichis?”
“Apparently teams have been ‘lost’ over these particular Ichis,” Ella said.
“No, no.” Scott waved a hand in dismissal, scrunching up his face. “No one’s been lost. The hunts have failed, but no lives have been lost, thank Heavens.”
“Alright,” Skyler drawled, looking bored. “When do we move out?”
“Tomorrow,” Scott replied. “Get plenty of rest tonight. You’ll be going first thing in the morning.” He clapped his hands. “That’s it. Thank you for your attention. You can go now.” He turned to the table and leant over it, examining the map.
Aaron remained seated while the rest of the mages got up and started to make their way out the doors.
“Coming?” Kyran asked, standing up.
“Yeah, i
n a minute,” Aaron said. “I need to ask Scott something.”
Scott looked up at the mention of his name. “Really?” he asked with a frown. “What do you want to ask me?”
“The Scorcher,” Aaron called out. “You’ve mentioned him before but I don’t know who he is.”
Skyler and Ella were almost out the door when they stopped, turning to look at Aaron. An expression of unease blanketed Scott’s face. He stepped away from the table, shaking his head.
“Of course,” he mumbled. “You have no knowledge of him.” He stepped forward, rubbing his hands nervously. “Now that you’re training to be a Hunter, I think it’s imperative that you understand the war and where the situation currently stands. Even your father can’t raise an objection against that.”
“Don’t worry about my dad,” Aaron said at once. “Or his objections.”
Scott looked a little thrown by Aaron’s brazen disregard for his father’s wishes, but he didn’t comment on it. “Okay.” He looked over at Kyran and then Skyler, seemingly trying to figure out what to say. “I think it’s best to start at the beginning.” He walked over and sat down next to Aaron. His expression grew solemn. “To understand the war, you have to understand who Hadrian is.”
“A vamage,” Aaron answered.
“You know about that?” Scott asked in surprise.
Aaron glanced awkwardly at Ella. “Found out just recently.”
Scott nodded, his expression darkening. “Hadrian turned about sixteen years ago,” he started in a quiet voice. “When he escaped Neriah, Hadrian was the one and only vamage. A hybrid had never existed before.” He looked around at Aaron. “There was nothing known about such a creature. Half mage, half vampire. What were its powers? What were its weaknesses? No one knew. Neriah bound Hadrian’s power, locking it. Truth was, most of us thought Hadrian would die. Our powers are linked to our life force. If our powers are taken, so is our life.”
“But Hadrian didn’t die?” Aaron asked.
“No,” Scott replied. “His demonic powers sustained his life force.” He looked down at his hands, which had curled into balls. “He should have died,” he whispered. He raised his head, his expression showed his struggle to remain composed. “For about a year, nothing happened,” he managed to continue. “Neriah and the rest thought it was the last they’d seen of Hadrian, but Hadrian was slowly and quietly building an army of his own – vamages like him but with their powers unbound. They became his strength and Hadrian declared war by tearing down the first Gate.”