by James Somers
“He burned down the hotel?” Oliver asked. He glanced at me also.
“That was not the only report of fire associated with this person,” Donatus said. “However, the case in Philadelphia is the only incidence of fire related destruction.”
“Sounds like our father,” I said indicating Oliver. He nodded to concur.
“In addition to the fires, he has also caused mortals to be possessed by spirits,” Donatus reported. “They have added to the chaos and it’s continuing to spread.”
“Hageddon in Russia, Southresh in America,” I mused. “What else has happened?”
Donatus continued. “We have had reports of Tiberius in France for some time, but he and the Breed appear to be migrating away now.”
“Let me guess, to Russia?”
“Apparently so,” Donatus said. “However, the matter in London is uncertain. We only know that a fatal blow may have been dealt to the pixies that were in control of the city. The cause is still unclear.”
I happened to glance at Sophia and noticed that she seemed distracted. Her breathing grew rapid and her eyes were transfixed on the table top. I caught Oliver’s eye and indicated Sophia.
“Your Highness,” he asked, “are you all right?”
She looked up in distress. “A voice in my head calling to me,” she said.
We had just heard something like this from Charlotte—the call from Hageddon to his children, the vampires. In my concern, I forgot our quarrel over marriage for a moment.
“Who is calling to you, Sophia?” I asked.
She gazed at me with a horrified expression. “The call comes from Anubis,” she said. “He is calling the Lycans to him in London.”
“Those here in Tidus?” Oliver asked.
She continued staring at me. “All Lycans.”
She stood up suddenly. The rest of us did likewise. A balcony joined the room through a little hall, beyond a set of shutters. Sophia raced toward it. I followed on her heels, unsure of what she was doing.
“Your Highness?” Donatus asked. “What’s wrong?”
Sophia disappeared through the hall. I did likewise, coming into the adjoining room as she threw open the shutters violently. “They’re leaving,” she said.
“What are you talking about?”
Looking out over the city from this balcony, I wondered what had drawn her here.
“All Lycans will have heard the call of Anubis,” she said.
It began slowly at first, but it had begun. Lycans were coming out into the street from their homes. They appeared to be disorganized, but they had all been disturbed in the same way.
The other members of our private council had come into the room and onto the balcony behind us. “What’s happening?” Oliver said.
“I must call a general assembly, immediately,” Sophia said. “If I don’t, I will lose them to Anubis.”
“Will that stop them?” I asked.
“It will at least delay a mass exodus long enough for me to speak some sense to them, help them to understand what is happening,” she said.
I nodded, taking her hand. For the moment, our argument was put away in my mind. All that mattered now was helping her do what was necessary. She did not protest. We disappeared from the balcony, reappearing within the bell tower.
To our surprise, the servant who should have been on duty was gone. Possibly they were also in the process of leaving and had only gone a moment before our arrival. I went to the bell pull and yanked hard on the cord. The bell resounded throughout the city. Taking Sophia’s hand again, we teleported to the square before the palace. Hopefully, the Lycans would respond to it despite the call of Anubis to come to him in London.
Assembly
Materializing before the palace, Sophia and I watched the results. The general assembly bell had been sounded, and many were in the process of gathering, redirecting from their walk toward the Gate Portal. However, many others were still headed that way, ignoring Sophia’s assembly.
A general confusion about what was happening seemed to be prevalent. People didn’t know why they were going one way or the other. Only the need to go prevailed among everyone.
Oliver, Donatus, Laish and Redclaw appeared in the square with us, all of them transported by one of Superomancers. Lycans gathered before us, waiting to hear from their queen. In the meantime, the exodus continued on the main street behind the growing crowd. It was difficult to say how many were going or staying, and some looked as though they might gather to us, only to turn around and head away with the others.
Sophia stepped up to the dais which elevated her above the crowd. Eyes were drawn to her as she began to speak. Even some who were leaving turned back to listen.
“My fellow Lycans, I know that you have heard the call of Anubis,” she said loudly. “I have heard him also, and the drawing is very strong. However, this is a move by our enemies. The Fallen have been drawn into mortal bodies, seeking a way into this world. We must fight the desire to answer this call.”
She had their attention, but the migration continued behind the mass of citizens still listening.
“Our heritage is being used against us!” she continued.
Still, Lycans were leaving. But it appeared that many were willing to listen to their queen. As for the others, there was nothing anyone could do to stop them. The last thing this situation needed was a battle breaking out. At the very least, those who had control of their faculties might lose their inhibition and also go to Anubis.
“Many are leaving,” Sophia observed. “We must prepare for what may come. My army is deserting us.”
She was right. The soldiers were among the frontrunners making their way toward the portal. I wasn’t sure if this was because many of them had served Kron during his coup and were eager to be free of the new queen, or if they simply gave in to this unction because they were men of war. Either way, most of the army was headed for London and Anubis.
A flock of birds would have been the wrong description for the mass of life making its way toward Saint Petersburg in Russia. To say it was a swarm would have been more accurate. Already, thousands of mortals had been murdered by the gathering army of Hageddon.
Tiberius and his thousands of vampires had yet to arrive. He was leading a group that would equal or outnumber those who had already come to join Hageddon. In fact, Tiberius had seriously considered how he might turn this situation into a bid for his own power.
Normally, he would quickly challenge the other vampire leader, destroy him and take over leadership for those following him. However, this was no ordinary vampire. Hageddon was one of the Fallen and possessed power well beyond Tiberius. He would have no hope of successfully challenging him.
The other avenue for increasing one’s power was to ingratiate yourself to those who were above you. This means was exactly how he planned to accomplish his desire. Commanding so many vampires made him valuable so long as he remained loyal. He hoped Hageddon would see that logic and make him his general.
Approaching Saint Petersburg, there was no way to miss the epicenter of Hageddon’s influence. The large cathedral in the city was a hub of activity and the place from which the fallen angel’s call originated. Vampires went to and from, many bringing human victims that had been rounded up from the city and its neighboring villages.
Pyres burned the dead, great heaps of corpses that had been discarded after being drained of life. Tiberius was instantly reminded of the kind of carnage he had wrought in London before the Pixies took over. This Hageddon, whom he and his kind were descended from, certainly seemed a kindred spirit when it came to dealing with the humans.
Rarely had Charlotte witnessed this level of depravity. Saint Petersburg was filled with the stench of rot and the burning of the dead. Pyres burned continuously in the city, the end for humans unable to escape the vampires that had taken over under Hageddon’s influence. The sight was so awful that she actually felt sorry for the mortals.
Was this what happened
when vampires took control? It had been similar when her father had seized control of London. How could she ever argue that Descendants deserved to have this world? How could she ever think such a thing again, when this was the result?
Tom had remained speechless since their arrival in the city. Few situations were able to silence his cynicism. But the closer they came to the cathedral where Hageddon’s call originated, the worse the matter became. He had assumed a disguise as a vampire, and though this had only worked for a while in Greystone, Tom was stronger now and confident he would not be found out.
He and Charlotte closed the distance between them and the cathedral. Breed revelers had congregated here, having the time of their long lives at the expense of the humans. Evidently Hageddon had sent out vampire squads to round up the mortals and bring them here so that his children could feed upon them. However, these were no half-starved masses. They were drunk upon the life blood of the humans wallowing in carnage simply because they now had the power to do so.
“We have descended into the belly of Hell,” Tom whispered beside her as they gave wide berth to another heap of burning bodies.
Charlotte nodded. It was all she could do. Even now, she was trying to hold back a wellspring of tears that wanted to come. Witnessing the atrocities of her people was almost too much for her to bear. Had the Almighty reached down from Heaven, at that moment, to devour them all in flame, she could not have blamed him.
Suddenly she squeezed Tom’s hand tightly.
“What is it?” he asked.
She indicated the sky. Descending from it was a swarm of vampires in various flying forms. As the leader came to ground, he transformed into Tiberius, her father.
Charlotte let go of Tom’s hand. “Stay back,” she whispered.
Tom caught her by the arm. “No,” he demanded. “Don’t go to him.”
She turned back, kissing him passionately. “Please,” she said. “I must stop this. My father will get close to Hageddon, so I must get close to my father. Do not follow. No matter what you see, remember that I could never turn against you, Tom.”
“How can you stop one of the Fallen?” he pleaded.
“The spirit is angelic, but the vessel is mortal,” she said. “If I can win his trust, somehow, then perhaps I can strike him down.”
“Please, Charlotte, don’t,” he said.
“I must, my love,” she said and then transformed into her raven. Black wings took her out of his grasp, carrying her toward Tiberius across the square before the cathedral.
Tom could only watch her go and hope for the best.
Tiberius noticed her immediately when she landed again in the square, changing into her human appearance. “Daughter?” he asked cautiously. “Is it really you?”
She put away any fear of him. It was all or nothing now. “Father!” she cried. “Is it not glorious? The father of our people has come to bring us to the height of power in the mortal world.”
He smiled at her, but she knew that he was still unsure where her loyalties might currently lie. After all, they had quarreled over his backing of the angel, Black, and he had seen her leaving the restaurant in London with Brody, Tom and Uriah. He might not trust her at all now.
She threw caution to the wind and embraced him as she had not done since she was a young girl in Greystone. He remained reserved for a moment, but then he returned her affection with a tight hug of his own.
“It is good to see you, my daughter,” he said. “How is it that you have come here?”
“I heard the call, Father,” she said. “It was like a new purpose for my life was revealed to me in that moment. Did you not feel that destiny was calling to our people?”
He smiled at her. “Yes, I did,” he said. “I’m just surprised to hear such thinking from you.”
“Did you not know that it was I who bargained with Brody West to have Greystone opened upon London?”
“I did not,” he said.
“I was working with Alexander to accomplish the release of our people,” she explained. “Once I knew that Black had destroyed the portal at Stonehenge, my mind was made up that I would not allow you all to starve.”
“What about, Tom?” he asked. “I saw you leaving with him in London. Why did you not come to me there.”
She cast her gaze at the ground momentarily. “Father, surely you have not forgotten my feelings for him,” she said. “I could not let him die.”
He considered this for a moment as the vampires continued in their debauchery all around them. Finally he nodded, lifting her chin to look into her eyes again. “I suppose not, my daughter,” he said. “He always was a weakness for you.”
She nodded gently, almost ashamedly. “But when I heard Hageddon’s call in my mind, I knew this was where I must come. Do you suppose we will finally rule the humans? Can it really be happening?”
He smiled at the apparent wonder in her eyes. “Yes, my daughter, I believe it can.”
Tiberius left his people to those already reveling in the square. He and Charlotte entered the cathedral together with only a small group of elders from among the vampires at Greystone. There were no guards of any kind as they made their way through the cathedral, which had now become some sort of temple to Hageddon. Worshippers were gathered to him, paying their respects when Tiberius and Charlotte entered the great domed chamber at the top of the cathedral.
Hageddon sat upon a throne of iron at the center of the room. Vampires, many of them female, lounged around him on the floor. Human victims, only half conscious, were being passed around the chamber. The dead were discarded through a hole knocked into the back side of the dome.
Tiberius pushed Charlotte back through the elders as they ascended the stair and came inside. For whatever reason, he did not want her to stand beside him when he faced Hageddon. Charlotte wasn’t sure if it was because she was a woman, or simply to give preeminence to his elder council. Regardless of his reason, she obeyed, remaining at the back of the group.
“My lord, Hageddon,” Tiberius said as he came before the iron throne. “I am Tiberius, leader of many Breed warriors come from the realm of Greystone to join you.”
“How many vampires do you lead, Tiberius?” Hageddon asked.
As he stood from his throne, Charlotte saw his features in the torchlight for the first time. She recognized the host Hageddon had chosen to inhabit. This was Alexander Romanov, one of the royal family ruling Russia for many years now.
By the expression coming over his face, her father recognized him as well. Their relationship had not been a good one. In fact, there had been civil war among the vampires several hundred years before. Tiberius had exiled the Romanov family from Greystone along with many others following them.
“I have brought you many thousands under my rule,” Tiberius said, trying to appear submissive. He was no fool. Whatever Romanov had been before, he could not be defeated while Hageddon possessed his mortal form. He had no choice but to submit himself.
“They are under my rule now,” Hageddon said.
Tiberius hesitated slightly before continuing. “Yes, my lord,” he said. “In fact, I had hoped to offer my special services to you. As you begin your reign upon the Earth, I could help to lead your army throughout the world, bringing you many conquests.”
Hageddon stepped down from the small platform. He walked toward Tiberius, coming face to face with her father. Charlotte tensed where she stood.
“My mission in this world, child, does not require the establishment of any kingdom, only chaos. For that I need no general. Neither do I desire any rivals.”
Charlotte blinked only once. But in that fraction of a second Hageddon reached out to Tiberius, snapping her father’s head around one hundred and eighty degrees. He fell down dead at Hageddon’s feet while every vampire in the room watched without so much as a gasp.
Hageddon then looked to the elder council who were staring at their leader’s twitching body upon the floor. “Whom do you serve?” he asked.
They bowed to him together. “We serve only Hageddon,” they chimed in unison.
He spotted Charlotte behind them then, while the others were bowing. His eyes lit up. “Who is this creature?” he asked her.
“A humble servant, my lord,” she said. “Not worthy to stand in your presence.”
He smiled. “I’ll be the judge of that, young woman,” he said. “For now, you may recline at my feet. Perhaps you may serve me more later.”
Charlotte bowed herself before him, the picture of subservience.
“Remove this dog from my throne room,” Hageddon commanded.
The elders of her people obliged him by dragging away her father’s body. She did not allow her eyes to regard it. Her father had lived by the sword and died by it also. Though she mourned him silently in her heart, she focused upon the task at hand. She must be close to Hageddon and have his trust in order to strike the deathblow when opportunity presented itself.
Pride
Though the majority of the Lycans dwelling in Tidus had remained with Sophia, a great many had still defected for the call of Anubis somewhere in London. Those few thousand unfortunately included most of her army. It was a tremendous blow, should an army come calling at her doorstep. That fact was not lost on Sophia, and her discouragement showed.
I wanted to be a help to her, but was unsure how to do so. Our council had gathered again briefly to discuss immediate measures. No one appeared to have an answer, though Oliver had suggested doing away with the portal gate and any other magical entrances into Tidus.
“Surely, between the four of us, we can dismantle the gateways, for the time being, until we are sure that the city is safe from attack,” Oliver said.
By four he meant me and Donatus and Laish, as well as himself. As Superomancers we were capable, though the others were far more experienced in such complex conjuring. But, for me, there was still the matter with Sophia. Inwardly, I had not given up hope.