Darkness Is Rising

by C. M. Sipes

  “Because the leader will just keep recruiting forces. It is not a coincidence that there is suddenly an influx in the bloodluster and devourer population. Also, the growing number means they are growing in confidence. Marcella, Vittoria, you need to continue to send soldiers out there and exterminate any bloodlusters you come across. The same goes for you, Aerona,” Lilith explained. “We need to appear as if everything is normal. Kill just enough to make it seem as though we are unaware.”

  “Do you think the leader knows of our meeting?” Vittoria asked suddenly, eyes narrowing on Lilith.

  “How many of your servants saw us tonight, Marcella?” Lilith asked, her eyes turning to gaze at the Roman.

  “The two butlers and the guards out front,” Marcella replied, her eyes uneasily roaming over Lilith.

  Lilith nodded and stood, disappearing in a flash from the room.

  Marcella’s eyes were wide as they met Vittoria’s. “She is fast.”

  Vittoria merely nodded slowly. A moment later, Lilith returned, blood staining her hands as she sauntered back to her chair and sat down, her legs crossing as she examined her bloodstained nails.

  “You will need to appoint new butlers as well as some new guards,” Lilith commented with disinterest.

  “You killed my servants?” Marcella asked angrily, standing from her chair. Her eyes blazed red as she stared Lilith down.

  Lilith merely rolled her eyes before she had Marcella pinned against a bookcase, her hand around her neck.

  “Lilith!” Vittoria yelled, a growl escaping her lips.

  “Let me make something perfectly clear,” Lilith began. “I am your First. I am your god. Do you understand me, Marcella?”

  Marcella nodded slowly as blood began to seep from the small wounds Lilith’s nails had made.

  “Good,” Lilith breathed, her eyes glancing down to the blood. “Sit.”

  She was sitting in her chair once more while Marcella remained against the bookcase. Marcella rubbed her neck as she moved back to her chair, carefully taking her seat.

  “Aerona, are you aware of what you must do?” Lilith asked.

  “Yes,” she replied quickly, clearly not wanting to test the ancient.

  “Good. Off you go.” Lilith dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

  Aerona stood, squeezing Vittoria’s shoulder slightly before she moved to the door.

  “Now, since it is just us,” Lilith began, her eyes moving to Emma. “Well, us and a human. Who, I will allow to stay, since she seems important to you, Vittoria.”

  “Thanks?” Emma muttered.

  Vittoria watched as a small smirk appeared on Lilith’s face before disappearing in a flash. “So, Vittoria. I believe I owe you an explanation about Marcella.”

  She leaned forward in her seat, eyes boring into Lilith’s. “Yes, I believe you do.”

  Lilith’s mouth twitched upward in amusement, before standing and moving to her. She stopped in front of her chair and held her arm out. “Drink, and I will show you.”

  “Vittoria,” Marcella warned, worry lacing her voice. “You don’t know what her blood will do to you.”

  Lilith turned to Marcella, eyes rolling. “Do not worry, Marcella. She will be fine,” she said before turning back to Vittoria. “I am positive.”

  Vittoria took Lilith’s arm, carefully bringing it to her lips. Her fangs pierced her flesh, and she heard Lilith gasp before she was pulled into a whirlwind of vision.

  Lilith looked up at the balcony before her, head titled back and a mischievous grin on her face. She could hear Samia speaking to Marcella in hushed tones. She craned her neck to the side, focusing in on their voices to better hear what they were saying.

  “I want them hunted and burned,” Marcella’s voice rang out, hatred oozing from her words.

  “They shall be. Be patient, Marcella,” Samia replied. “Dawn is approaching soon, you need to sleep. I shall see you this evening and we will discuss it further.”

  She waited in her spot, just below the balcony, for Samia to leave the room. She heard her footsteps retreating, sounding farther away each moment. Lilith leapt up, easily landing on the balcony and entering the bedroom before her.

  “Very lovely home you have made for yourselves here,” Lilith said to Marcella’s backside. She grinned as the Roman spun around, eyes blazing and a snarl on her face. “Oh, put those away. I am not here to harm you. Do you not recognize me?”

  Marcella’s eyes roamed over Lilith’s form, her body stiffening suddenly.

  “I see that you do,” said Lilith, a smirk dancing on her lips. “I am only here for a very short amount of time. I only need to test you.”

  “Test me?” Marcella asked, her voice wavering slightly.

  “You are only a fledgling vampire, Marcella. Such a young Queen…” Lilith moved toward her slowly, a predator closing in on her prey. “Older than Samia, though, when I visited her. I had tested your maker only a few months after she was created.”

  Marcella eyed her wearily. “She had never mentioned, and I had never witnessed a ‘test’ in her memories, or in yours.”

  “Marcella, I have my ways. I can control what you can and cannot see in my memories,” Lilith explained. She stopped in front of Marcella, a breath apart. “I only need to taste your blood for this test.”

  “What after?” Marcella asked, her eyes flickering up to Lilith.

  “Then I shall take my leave and you will not recall this meeting,” Lilith replied easily.

  Marcella shifted uneasily before nodding and tilting her head to the side, exposing her neck.

  “Good girl,” Lilith cooed before sinking her fangs into Marcella’s neck. A growl rippled in her throat as she drank. She released Marcella shortly after, licking the wounds and closing the tiny puncture marks. “So close.”

  “Why did you need to test me?” Her voice shook.

  “I need to find the one who can handle what I have in store for them,” Lilith whispered, her hand playing with one of Marcella’s curls.

  “I am not them?”

  “No. But I am so close. I do believe that your heir is the one I need.”

  “I have no heir,” Marcella replied, her eyebrows scrunching.

  “Not yet. All in due time, Marcella.” Lilith tilted Marcella’s face up to meet her gaze. Her blood-red eyes bore into Marcella’s hazel. “You will not remember this meeting. You will not remember anything that has transpired here once I take my leave. You will go to your bed, lie in it, and slumber as if nothing is out of the ordinary.”

  Marcella nodded slowly, her gaze staring at nothing in particular.

  “I shall see you again, Marcella,” Lilith said before rushing from the room, leaping over the balcony and taking to the skies.

  Vittoria released Lilith’s arm once the vision ended, her tongue quickly sealing the wounds before she sat back in her seat. She gazed up at her, their eyes meeting and a pleased smirk dancing on Lilith’s face.

  Vittoria felt strangely calm, calmer than she had felt in centuries.

  “So,” she began, “you sought Marcella out to test her blood, and then temporarily made her your thrall.”

  “That is impossible,” Marcella interjected. “A Queen cannot compel another Queen.”

  “No,” Lilith agreed. “But I can.”

  Marcella looked at Lilith questioningly, her gaze hard as they stared at each other.

  “You truly did become something different, didn’t you, Marcella?” Lilith asked, her eyes assessing the vampire before her. “When I first saw you, you still had some remnants of humanity left.” Lilith offered her a curious smirk. “Granted, you were only ten years old or so. But, you had not succumbed to your vampiric nature entirely.”

  Marcella remained impassive, her gaze hard and trained on Lilith.

  “Now Vittoria, on the other hand, she adjusted remarkably well, and in such a short period of time,” Lilith commented with a grin.

  Marcella growled and Vittoria lightly touched Lilit
h’s arm, attempting to get her attention. She temporarily forgot whom she was touching, as though they were friends. Lilith turned her attention back to Vittoria, glancing down to meet her gaze.

  “How did you know I adjusted well?” Vittoria asked seriously.

  “I believe I showed you the vision of me seeing you emerge from your grave,” Lilith began, “and at the end you believed that I had returned to my resting ground. This was not the case. I manipulated the memory so you would believe what I wanted you to believe.”

  “How is that even possible?” Marcella asked. “How can you manipulate our visions?”

  “I can manipulate what you see as well as watch all of you while I slumber. I had asked a witch about these abilities once. She informed me that it is because I am the First and that because it is remnants of my blood that flows through your veins, I am able to control what you see.” Lilith waved her hand dismissively. “It is all very magical.”

  Marcella gave a low growl in response, earning a chuckle from Lilith.

  “Did you ever test me?” Vittoria asked, drawing her attention once more.

  “Yes, I did. It was right after you were turned. I drank your blood while you slumbered.”

  “I did not wake?”

  “No, you never even knew I was there. I left right after and went back to sleep,” Lilith said honestly.

  “What does drinking our blood tell you?” asked Marcella.

  Lilith’s mouth slightly turned upward, her eyes remaining fixated on Vittoria’s face. “Everything that I need it to.” She turned away from her and moved back to her armchair, taking her seat once more. “Now, I do believe that is enough questioning me for tonight.”

  Marcella’s eyes narrowed, but she nodded regardless.

  “I have a question for you two, though.” Lilith pointed to Marcella and Vittoria. “Have you two made up?” Neither Marcella nor Vittoria said anything and a light chuckle escaped Lilith. “I did not believe so.” Lilith turned to Vittoria. “Vittoria, what Marcella did was absolutely out of line and unacceptable, and I fully understand why you have punished her so. However, it has been hundreds of years and it is certainly time for you let go of the anger you feel toward her.”

  Vittoria stared at Lilith, her eyes wide, surprised that she would bring it up.

  “We need to work together to sort out this mess. At least have a temporary peace,” said Lilith as she finished her glass of blood. “Now, I shall take my leave. I will see you all shortly.”

  “Where will you go?” Vittoria asked. “Surely you need to stay out of sight.”

  “I shall be… around.” Lilith smirked and disappeared from the room a moment later, leaving Marcella, Emma, and Vittoria alone.

  “Never a dull moment, huh?” Emma joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

  Vittoria glanced up, aware of Marcella’s eyes on her.

  “Yes?”

  “I am sorry.”

  Vittoria’s mouth opened but no words came out.

  “I had not realized that Isabel meant that much to you, when I turned her in. I was naïve. What I did to Isabel…” Marcella trailed off. “It was just as horrible as wha—what happened to my family. I became the thing I have despised for centuries.”

  Vittoria felt the hot liquid begin to seep from her eyes, slowly blazing a trail down her cheek. “Thank you,” she replied, her voice strained.

  “I truly have missed you, Vittoria.” Marcella gave a pained smile. “I missed my family.”

  Vittoria stood, Marcella following suit, and moved to her. She quickly pulled her into an embrace, relishing in the feeling of having her own family back.

  “I am sorry for avoiding you for so long.”

  “You were right to. What I did was unacceptable and I do not expect you to forgive me, Vittoria. It is all right.” Marcella pulled back some, allowing Vittoria to witness her own blood tears trailing down the side of her face.

  Vittoria laughed lightly, wiping the blood from her face. “I am sure we are a sight.”

  Marcella returned the laugh. “Indeed. We have had an interesting evening.”

  “I would say so,” she replied with a small smile before turning to Emma. “Are you ready? It is getting early and we should head back.”

  “You could stay here if you would like,” Marcella suggested.

  “With Lilith running amuck, it might be a good idea,” Emma chimed in.

  Vittoria nodded, and they followed Marcella from the room. They followed her through the mansion, coming to a halt outside of two double doors, across from what she assumed was Marcella’s own room.

  She had built a room for her in this mansion, and Vittoria realized that she would have done the same in every coven house since she left her. The thought made her sad as they approached the doors.

  “I shall see you two this evening,” Marcella said with a small smile before turning and entering her own room.

  Emma and Vittoria moved inside, a small ‘woah’ escaping Emma’s lips as she examined the richness of the chamber.

  “Marcella really does like to live the lavish lifestyle, doesn’t she?” Emma asked with a smile before jumping on the bed and sprawling out.

  Vittoria laughed before lying down next to her. They laid in silence, both of their eyes trained on the canopy of the bed.

  “You seemed so relaxed after drinking Lilith’s blood,” Emma said quietly.

  “I feel more relaxed than I ever have in my life.” Vittoria turned to look at Emma. “Lilith’s memories haunt me. Not in the nightmarish sense, but I felt her anxiety, her hunger, her rage… her sadness. After hundreds of years of experiencing it, finally drinking her blood seemed to just make it all go away.”

  “I wonder what she wants you for,” Emma wondered aloud.

  “I do not know,” she replied honestly.

  Silenced encased them for a moment.

  “She is sexy, though,” Emma admitted, forcing a laugh from Vittoria’ lips. “In a very dangerous—I could kill you at any moment—kind of way.”

  “She certainly has an appeal. So do all vampires, though, in a way. Especially the Queens,” Vittoria said with a chuckle.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” Emma said slowly, her eyes burning into Vittoria’s.

  She held her a gaze for a moment.

  “We should sleep,” Vittoria whispered, her eyes breaking away from Emma’s. “It’s early and I want to track down Lilith later on.”

  A flash of confusion flickered in Emma’s eyes before she nodded, offering her a tight-lipped smile.

  Vittoria walked down the street, groaning as the small rays of sunlight hit her skin. She picked up her pace, moving faster as she approached the nearby coffee shop. Emma was still at the coven house sleeping, as was Marcella. She groaned aloud as she realized how tired she was, her bones feeling heavy and sluggish in her body.

  Vittoria opened the door to the coffee shop and entered, sighing as the delicious smell hit her nose. She truly did enjoy the taste of coffee—of course if she needed a ‘pick me up’ she would need to drink straight espresso, and a great deal of it. She wanted to get away from things for a moment, just to sit among the mortals and enjoy a cup of coffee while she mulled over Lilith and her motives.

  She felt the familiar tingle creep up her spine and she internally groaned, ignoring it until she got her coffee. She moved to the counter, ordering her usual and moving down to patiently await the order.

  Vittoria could feel her eyes burning a hole in the back of her head.

  “Must you stare like that?” Vittoria whispered, so low that no mortal could hear.

  She heard her chuckle but felt her remove her gaze nonetheless.

  The barista handed her the coffee and she turned around, moving toward where she sat in the back corner of the café.

  “You look positively exhausted,” Lilith said with a smirk as she sipped her coffee.

  “How did you know I would be here?” Vittoria asked as she took a seat.

  “I di
d not,” replied Lilith with a grin, before leaning forward in her chair. Vittoria gave her a once over then. She wore a thin black button-up shirt and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans with black high heels.

  “Then why are you here?” Vittoria asked as she took a swig of her coffee.

  Lilith eyed the coffee a moment before raising her hand and quickly making a small cut on her own finger. She held the digit over the cup and Vittoria watched as she squeezed drops of her blood into her drink.

  “Drink, you’ll feel better,” she instructed before licking her finger and sealing the wound.

  Vittoria did as she was told, sipping the liquid and tasting the blend of coffee beans and Lilith’s blood. She sighed in contentment as it began to do its magic.

  “Better?” Lilith asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you not feed this morning?” Lilith asked.

  “I did, but it seems it wasn’t enough.”

  She hummed. “Well my blood seems to have a very positive effect on you. Let me know whenever you need it.”

  Vittoria eyed her a moment, watching as Lilith’s eyes trailed over each person in the coffee shop.

  “This era is quite strange. Granted, the last time I was awake for an extended period of time, brothels were a hotspot.”

  Vittoria grinned. “You should have been around in the 19th century. Opium dens were all the rage.”

  “Ah, opium,” Lilith replied whimsically. “What a marvelous drug.”

  Vittoria laughed. “The only drug that actually works on us.”

  Lilith gave her a genuine grin. “I knew we would get along.”

  Vittoria raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “I have been watching you from my slumber, Vittoria, and though I tested your blood, watching you was all the proof that I needed.”

  “Proof for what? What you have in store for me?”

  Lilith hummed. “I will not tell you just yet what I have planned. I need to do just a tad more research before revealing anything.”

  Vittoria eyed her a moment before she realized that was all Lilith was going to say on the subject.

  “Marcella seems…afraid of me,” Lilith said after a moment.