The Night's Baby

by Stina

  “Falling in love all over again?” Dena asked studying his face.

  “No,” Kesh answered. “It is just strange, seeing her that way.”

  “Those are my most precious memories of my sister,” Dena spoke fondly. “She was the best sister anyone could have ever asked for.”

  “I can tell you were very close. The way she wanted to go fight those men for hurting you was admirable.”

  “That was Adie for you: fearless, even when she was afraid.”

  “Was that the only reason she went with Dracula?” Kesh thought about the final question that Adie asked. He wondered if the only reason she had chosen to live a cursed life was to stay young forever. She was a woman he did not peg as being vain, but maybe he had been wrong about her. He didn’t have to clarify the question because Dena already knew what he was referring to.

  “Don’t forget that we were young at the time, Kesh.” Dena’s eyes sparkled. “Not to mention we’re beautiful women. Who wants that to go away? But at the time, if we had known what Dracula would ask us to do after we were turned, I’m not sure if we would have made the same decision. Everything changed so quickly for us. I remember the thirst; it was unbearable. In a matter of a day, my sister and I were turned into monsters.”

  “Not monsters; vampires,” Kesh corrected her.

  “Back then we didn’t know that there was a difference,” she said. “We killed countless numbers of families that first month. That’s how long it took to get our hunger under control.”

  “Dracula did not guide you?”

  “He told us we had to find our own way back to the humanity that we had inside of us. That’s the same thing he said about our powers. He could not show us where they lay in the deepest parts of ourselves. We had to find them ourselves. We did not yet know it, but he was preparing us for a war. While preparing us, seven more joined us on our path.”

  “How did Adie find out that she had the gift to reproduce when the other Ancients did not?”

  Dena looked away from Kesh. Kesh waited for her lips to part, but they did not. Kesh had a notion that there was yet something else that he did not know about Adie. Dena’s brow furrowed and that was the first time since he’d met her that he saw her anything close to angry. Her eyes grew distant, and it seemed like her body was with him, but her mind was not. She remained that way for a while before she finally blinked and found the breath to speak again.

  “We trusted him. He was the only thing that made sense to us for so long. He constantly told us how special we were, and how much he loved us. He made us believe in him, but in the end, everything just felt like a big lie. When I found out the true nature of the reason we were created, I did not want this curse anymore. It was too late, of course. The witches created Dracula to fight another one of their creations that had gone bad.”

  “The Ancient Lykans.”

  “Yes. He was created specifically to defeat them.”

  “But he didn’t want to fight.”

  “Exactly. The one thing that the witches didn’t count on was that Dracula did not want any part of the war. He created us without their knowledge.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the only ones with enough power to kill Dracula were his creators. If they had known of his treachery, he would have been killed. He used the witches’ magic to craft us in his image. He made us damn near invincible. The last thing the witches wanted were more powerful beings to threaten their existence.”

  “What happened?”

  “What happened?” Dena scoffed. “The day of the Great War, he fled, leaving us to fight alongside the witches alone. We didn’t even know what was coming. Adie, my poor Adie, was heartbroken.”

  “What did they do to you? The witches, I mean.”

  “What could they do? They had no choice but to fight with us. Let me show you.”

  “Dena!” Adie burst into Dena’s chamber with tears running down her face. She was breathing so fast it sounded like she was gasping for air. The sun had just come up, but the dark cloaks over the windows prevented even a lick of sunlight to enter the room.

  Dena was in the mirror brushing her hair when her thought process was interrupted. “Adie, what is it you want? I thought we talked about you knocking.”

  She couldn’t hide the irritation that she had with her sister right then. The two of them had been on the outs for some time now, and it was Adie’s fault. But when she turned to see Adie’s tearstained face, the protective big sister in her came out. She jumped up from the chair of her vanity and held her arms open just in time for Adie to fall into them. Adie sobbed into her shoulder and shook violently.

  “What is it, my dear Adie? Tell me. What is it?”

  “They’re gone,” Adie whispered into Dena’s neck. “They have fled from the castle.”

  “Who has fled? Tep and the others?”

  “No! Daron and Ajani. He took my son!”

  “No!” Dena pushed Adie away from her as gently as she could in her shocked state. She used her speed to see if what Adie was saying had any truth to it. She stopped so suddenly that the back of her robe whipped in the air. She stood in the doorway of the room Adie shared with Daron and saw that what Adie said was the truth. There was no trace of Daron or the toddler.

  Dena clutched her stomach and dropped to the ground. Ever since Daron had moved them all into his castle, Dena had an aching feeling at the back of her mind that something was not right. Now she was sure. Why had he left so suddenly? Where had he taken her nephew and why?

  She felt Adie appear behind her and she struggled back to her feet. “How long has he been gone?”

  “I don’t know. I woke up and neither one was there. I tried to run outside to find them, but I realized at the last second that my ring was no longer on my finger. I would have burned to a crisp.”

  Instinctively Dena’s eyes shot to her own hand, and she didn’t see her ring on the middle finger of her right hand. The rings were crafted by him and allowed them all to walk in the daylight. Daron must have gone in all of their rooms and removed their rings so they would not come searching for him when he fled.

  The other vampires turned by Daron found them. Tep, Constance, Lira, Xion, Eron, Brax, and Rain all held alarmed looks on their faces. They harbored the same emotions as Adie and Dena.

  “So it’s true? He has left us to bear this curse forever alone?”

  “Why would he do this?” Dena tried to make sense of everything before she fainted. “I don’t understand. Why would he abandon us this way?”

  The sound of the double front doors to the castle being forced open grasped all of their attention. The nine of them ran to the staircase banister and looked three stories down to see if it was Daron. It wasn’t. They were met with faces they’d never seen before. There were five women, dressed in elegant black gowns. Their faces were beautiful, but so hideous at the same time, unlike anything the nine vampires had ever seen.

  “He abandoned you because he knew we were coming.” The one who spoke was front and center. The matted braids in her hair hung loosely on her shoulders as she addressed the nine. Her teeth were black, and her voice seemed to echo throughout the entire castle.

  “Witches,” Tep whispered and leapt down to face them fearlessly. “Why have you come to our castle? What is it you want?”

  “Your castle?” The witch in the front cackled. “You mean my castle!”

  Her voice boomed, and she raised her arms in the air. Every piece of furniture and every portrait hanging on the walls shook. She was not to be trifled with, and she wanted to make that clear. She blinked, and her dark eyes changed to a bright emerald green.

  “I am Aika, high priestess of the Illuminated coven. Leader of all witches. Your creator has left you because you all have been created unlawfully with the magic of witches. It is a crime to be punished by death!”

  She flicked her wrist, and Tep began to choke on thin air. It felt as if a hand had a grasp on his heart and was squeezing the life o
ut of him. Right when he was about to take his last breath, something moved as fast as lightning and sent Aika crashing into the wall. The impact put a big hole in the wall, and she fell to the ground. Her hold on Tep released and he was able to see his savior.

  Dena breathed heavily and placed her foot back on the ground. “I will not let you kill my brother for the crime of another,” Dena’s voice boomed as she placed back on the ground the foot that had sent Aika flying. “I don’t care who you are, or what coven you are from, witch. Leave here now while you live.”

  Aika quickly regained her footing and glared at Dena. She took a step toward her, but as soon as she did, the other seven surrounded the two in front of her. She didn’t know if she was angry or curious; maybe it was a little of both. She flicked her wrist once more and sent the vampires surrounding Dena to the sides. Dena tried to move her own feet but found that she was frozen in place. Aika didn’t stop walking until she and Dena were nose to nose. She took one finger and traced the side of Dena’s face with an eerie smile.

  “Dena,” she said. “I like that. Do you know why Dracula. . . Excuse me. I think he goes by Daron now. Do you know why he created you nine?”

  “Because he wanted companionship,” Dena answered, and all five of the witches cackled loudly.

  “No, my dear child. Daron is a selfish creature. He did a good job making you believe that he loved you. No, no, no. Daron only loves himself. You see, I created him. I made him to protect us, but he’s nowhere to be found when we need his protecting. So, don’t you see? He made you to do his job for him.”

  “Protecting? Protect you from what?”

  “From them!” Aika placed both palms on the sides of Dena’s face and telepathically showed her the horrors known as the Ancient Lykans. Dena gasped as she watched the huge beasts destroy entire civilizations. They were powerful, more powerful than anything she’d ever seen and, for the first time in a long time, she felt fear.

  “Those monsters are known to the humans as werewolves,” Aika whispered in her ear. “They are more ferocious than even you. Their hunger outweighs your thirst by the thousands, because, you see, they never get full. They are always hungry. And now they want to kill everything, including us witches.”

  “And Daron was supposed to defeat them for you?”

  “Yes,” Aika told her. “We built this castle for his solitude and promised to never bother him until we needed him to fight the Great War. He felt our presence coming, and he knew what that meant.”

  “So he fled.” Dena closed her eyes suddenly understanding. “He fled like a coward and left us to fight his fight.”

  “No, my dear child,” Aika said releasing her hold on all of them. “He left you all to die.” Her eyes found Adie’s and she saw the sadness in them. She searched Adie’s mind and felt a grief that was even hard for her to bear. “Oh, my Adie. You fell in love with him and even bore his child. I can feel the anger consuming you as you stand there looking at me.”

  Aika stepped back making “tsk tsk” sounds with her tongue. The green was gone from her eyes, and she pondered over her decision. They didn’t have much time. She knew immediately after the portal opened that Daron was no longer in the castle. But, still, she felt such power residing in the walls. She never would have expected to find nine when she only created one.

  “How did Daron create you?”

  “We drank from his blood.”

  “And the powers?”

  Dena looked taken aback by the question before she remembered that Aika had read her mind to figure out her name.

  “I didn’t have to read your mind to know you have them. I can feel them. How did he bestow these gifts?”

  “As we drank from him, he recited words. I don’t remember quite what he said, but I think it was a spell.”

  “That damned Daron.” Aika shook her head. “Show me.”

  Dena hesitated at first, but Aika’s eyes flashed green again, and she decided to do what she was asked. She concentrated her mind and, although she felt them fight against her, she was still able to lift the four witches behind Aika off their feet. Aika’s eyes widened with surprise because she could tell the witches were fighting against Dena.

  “Interesting,” Aika murmured. “Release them.”

  Dena did as she was told again and the witches looked as if somebody had ruffled their feathers greatly. When one of them got her wits about her, she cleared her throat. Her hair was barely an inch from her head, and her nose was pointed in a downward angle. She was plumper than the other four, but the look in her eyes was just as deadly.

  “What are we to do with them, High Priestess? Are we to dispose of them?”

  “You know we cannot do that, Tabitha. Not with the Lykans on our heels. Daron bestowed upon them the gifts of illusion, telekinesis, fire, ice, clairvoyance, energy snatching, precognition, shapeshifting, and life. They are powerful. They will fight for us.”

  “Why would I fight for you when you just tried to kill me?” Tep spat.

  “Because you have no choice.” Aika narrowed her eyes at him. “Daron took your rings with him, did he not?”

  “Yes,” Adie answered.

  “Then that means you cannot leave this castle for another eight hours. The Lykans will be here in five.”

  She shared with the rest of them the same vision that she shared with Dena, and looks of terror spread across their faces. Lira’s hand latched on to Constance’s, and they both looked to Dena.

  “We are supposed to fight them?” Eron demanded to know. “Those things look like they have been in many battles. We have never been in one.”

  “The only fights we have been in are fights with the humans. We know nothing about this war that you bring to our doorstep!” Tep shouted. “We will all perish.”

  The entire room erupted into a fit of arguments. Aika felt as though she were arguing with a group of small children. They went back and forth, wasting valuable time for what seemed like forever, with no outcome.

  A meek voice then spoke. It was as small as a mouse, but the entire room quieted to hear the skinny witch with the long gray hair. It was like her voice alone was a spell, and Aika spun around the second she heard it. “If there was one thing Daron was right about in this whole situation, it is that you all have the richest blood. When Aika created Dracula—Daron, as you know him—she created him so that his blood would kill anyone who dared to bite him or drink it. You nine were able to drink it and transform. If Aika won’t say it, I will say it for the coven: we need you.”

  “Mila,” Aika whispered, “you haven’t spoken a word in a century.”

  “Because there has not been a graver time than now for my voice to be heard,” Mila said and turned her attention back to the nine. “Fight with us and help us rid the world of this great evil we have created.”

  “What do we get?” Lira couldn’t resist asking.

  “Will you help me find my son?” Adie’s voice said right after.

  “We will give you everything you need: new rings, a new fortress that no one can find, and we will search high and low for your child, Adie. You have our word.”

  “And why should the word of a witch mean anything to us?” Dena asked.

  Aika looked fondly at Dena, and Dena was taken aback. She was wondering if it was her the witch was seeing. But when she heard Aika’s voice but did not see her lips move, she understood.

  “You are strong, almost as strong as your creator.” Aika’s voice echoed in Dena’s head. “They look up to you whether you know it or not.”

  How do you know that? Dena thought.

  “I have seen their minds. You will be their leader, and they will follow you into a black pit of doom if you lead them there. In one thousand years, no one has ever been able to lay a hand on me, and you did it so easily. For that, I owe you allegiance. Fight with us. We don’t have much time.”

  Why should I trust you when Daron did not?

  “Why would you base your own decision off of the mo
rals of a creature that left your sister with a broken heart?”

  Her question lingered in Dena’s head and echoed what seemed like thousands of times before Dena finally pursed her full lips. She didn’t know what to say, and when she glanced back at the others, they had confusion in their eyes. It was obvious that they were wondering what kind of exchange was going on between the two women. When Dena turned back to Aika, the fond glow was gone from the witch’s eyes, only to be replaced with sadness.

  What makes you sad? Dena asked.

  “You.” Aika’s thought came with so much sorrow that Dena’s eyes began to water. “You remind me so much of my daughter.”

  What happened to her?

  “Murdered, in cold blood.”

  She then shared with Dena the memory of watching her only child get her heart ripped out by the Ancient Lykan named Mezza. Every emotion that Aika felt at the time of the massacre was passed to Dena, who began to sob. Aika’s daughter was not the only one slaughtered that night.

  “They killed your entire coven,” Dena breathed out loud. “You five are all there are left, aren’t you? And they know you’re here.”

  “Yes. Mezza found the location to this castle in one of our spell books. The one with the incantation on how to open the portal.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Yes. We will fight with you.”

  “Dena!”

  “What?”

  “We will die!”

  “We will fight for what is right!” Dena whipped around to face them. “If we do not fight today, then we will have to fight tomorrow. Or the next day. Don’t you see? Those things want this world for themselves! Do you think that they will stop with the witches? No! So let’s do what we were created to do!”

  Dena turned to Adie. “Sister, I am so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how you feel. But these beasts are coming our way. I need you to pull together all of your strength and use all of your anger to fight beside me. Once we are done, I will stop at nothing to find my nephew. Okay?”