They scattered out of the room and it troubled me to see what role she'd taken. She wrapped the silks around her gorgeous body gently, reminding me that she would never give it to me again.
"What is it you have to say?" She quietly hissed. "After all this time. Now, you wish to speak."
"It is with a troubled heart I return to you." I confessed.
"Oh please." Her face twisted in disdain. "You never came back for me. You made me think you were dead!"
"I made the whole world think that, Alexia. It was necessary. For your safety and mine."
"Stop it!" She scolded, "I will hear none of that again! Don't tell me what you did was for me. It was always for you!"
It was hard not to confirm her accusation. "Alexia, please."
"No, don't do that. Don't 'Alexia' me. Don't you dare try to woo me away, again. It will not work."
"I'm not trying anything. I just want you to know one thing."
She was already determined to throw me out, but I pressed on like the good maker I am - "I'm sorry."
'How could you just waltz back in here and think you'd take me again?!' She shouted into my mind. I knew better than try and approach her. Alexia would not allow me to move as much as a pace.
"Listen, I do not have much time. The council knows you're here. They are coming."
"So?" Her face twisted again.
"We need to get you to safety."
"Ha!" She scoffed, "And who's going to take care of me now? Oh, Aristide, save me! I'm such a damsel in distress. After all these years of being on my own - you think now I suddenly need your help?"
This is when my emotions took the better of my sound judgement. I reached for her arm, the same way I used to when she needed to hear me. "Listen." I humbly said. "Listen, please. I have made mistakes. I have done wrong and I've hurt you. For that, Alexia, I'm sorry - even if you never forgive me, please, at least let me fulfill my role as your Maker. Let me protect you."
I didn't think touching her would bring much promise, instead, I was awarded with a glimmer, dancing in her eye telling me that she was feeling my advances. She moved away, to the window, peering at the moonlight in deep thought.
"I've been handling the council on my own for decades. They will come, and they will die."
"This is madness, to assume you can take on the entire Halonic Society! This is a different age. The nightwalkers' power is beyond physical attribute. It is world dominance."
"I know." She coldly said, "And I'm ready to go to war. I've been waiting too long for them to make a move. I was beginning to think my dealings here weren't loud enough."
"This is madness! I cannot allow you to just throw your life away like this! What happened to you?!"
"What happened to me?" She snickered as she turned around like a ballerina, mocking my hope for the unblemished purity I once knew - "I became a Cognata."
Her words were purposely imbued with venom. She fearlessly came close to me, her hand softly caressing my worried face. "If you really still care for me." She held my hand to feel her lower stomach, revealing a phantom pain that stayed hidden for decades - "Then let me have my war."
We shared a kiss. One last kiss.
It is with regret I admit I felt an unmatched sadness - seeing where my child had fallen to, but we at least made a solemn pact. I would only intervene should she really need me, and stand by, watching her from the shadows; the way I was always destined to be.
At least, until I repaid my debt to her.
That would be the key to her heart again.
Chapter Ten
The Decision
Samuel Speaks, 2017
The vision faded and Aristide found the mercy to release me. I sat on my knees, amazed by what I saw, speechless and stupid. That's what happened to her? All this time, she's been preparing for war? It all started making sense. When she found me, reborn, it complicated things. She wasn't ready to just throw her life away. She wanted one more chance - to live the fairy tale with me. So why give up now, Alexia? Why leave me now? I'm here, we can try again.
"We have to find her." It was the only thing I could say.
"How do you propose we do that? She's purposely blocked her connection to me." Aristide doubted my chances.
I reached for my heart. I can still feel her.
"She's out there." I spoke on the inclination of my inner voice, "I can feel her. I know she's still out there."
If I were to assume correctly, though I could be wrong, Aristide's little micro-expressions pinpointed to jealousy - "You still feel her connection?"
"I do. I know I do."
Then he smiled, but it wasn't a warm smile, it was a smile that let me know just how perfect my connection was to whatever scheme he was planning.
"Good." His hands opened to me friendly, "Good indeed. It means that there is still hope."
Hope, a fool's longing.
"I want you to tell me again. How far are you willing to go for her?"
"I'll die for her." I rose to my feet confidently.
"Good, good, good. Then it is your death that is necessary to see her."
"What?"
I blinked and all of a sudden, Aristide was in front of me. His hands dropped on both my shoulders, bringing me to the ground in searing pain. He didn't stop this time. I couldn't react. I just blacked out.
I woke up to find myself locked in chains, fastened on my wrists and ankles, locked to the floor; covered in blood from head to toe. I tried shifting out of the binds the more my focus returned. I couldn't get away. I was trapped, in some kind of medieval, stone room with only one window at the top where the sun's rays could pour in from - dimly lighting my new, unforgiving prison.
I tried to make sense of my surroundings. It wasn't like I could get up and see everything in there. I couldn't move. I wanted to shout for help, but my body felt so bruised, beaten and battered, that it was hard to make as much as a babble about anything.
What is this...
What is going on...
I heard a cluster of footsteps drawing near. I knew better than to yell. I was the prisoner here. The only door in the room slowly cracked open, and in walked two men while the rest of the bodyguards stood outside, strapped with automatic rifles.
One, no doubt was Aristide, and the other from the descriptions Alexia gave me, had to have been the prince of the vampires himself - Caelinus.
"You... " I gnashed my teeth in rage at Aristide. "... fucking two-faced snake."
"Hahahaha!" Caelinus found my anger amusing. He looked at Aristide, then he looked at me, "It's good to see you two have become acquainted. And well, it is so good to see you again
Nathaniel." He came closer, stooping down, glaring into my eyes with hate and amusement.
"Looks like things have come full circle again. I wonder how much Alexia will lose this time?" He taunted. I tried lunging at him, enraged but I was still weak and bound. He didn't flinch. He just stood still till I gave up on the tantrum.
"There is no escaping the inevitable." He rose to his feet as if he were addressing the congregation. "Fret not Nathaniel. You are doing mankind a service."
"My name, is not... Nathaniel." Drool and blood dripped out of my mouth.
He just continued, ignoring me, "Soon you will draw her out, like the good bait you are. Keep that love in your heart. That delusion, that desire to be one with the impossible. That hope to see her again."
He really wasn't interested in my response. I had to shut up and take it.
"It's nothing more than a dream. This feeling that she is out there? Give it up. There is no love for you in this world. No woman to hold your hand at night; to kiss you and tell you, it will be alright. You're alone. You've always been alone and you will die, alone."
Aristide didn't say a word. He kept silent, no trace of emotion on his face.
"There is only one thing in this world for you- death. Your kind? You're nothing more than cattle. Livestock to feed your masters. Can you see the reality
now? A woman like that would never be with you. A woman like that should never be allowed to live. And so, your final hour draws near, but I must express my sympathies, for she will not be at your side when you pass."
Aristide's words came rushing into my fractured head, 'How far are you willing to go?' He had said. Caelinus and Aristide were ready to exit, but the prince stopped and scoffed, then took one final glance at me - "Ask yourself why you're here alone and why she hasn't come to save you."
"My name... is Samuel." I tried to ignore everything he was saying, but the pain was growing. The thought became consuming. They laughed at me, then with no further comment; seeing as they'd practically broken me both mentally and physically, they left. The cards were in their hands and there was nothing I could do.
Maybe Caelinus was right.
I will die alone.
Chapter Eleven
To The Depths to See Him Again
Alexia Returns, 2017
Sam's heart was calling to me, from countless miles away. I knew my actions would leave him hurt, but it would've been for the best if he'd listened to me and walked away. The pain of losing him again was too much. I'd rather never have him at all. My war has been brewing for centuries. It is not a world that will allow us to be together.
That's what I kept telling myself. Just stay away.
When I found him again, in this lifetime, everything changed. My vengeance, while still burning in my heart, was soothed. I saw the chaos again. The wheel turning, reminding me of what I can never have.
I was ready this time. I returned to the Society's fortress, the one where I lost my child. There, I would not brute my way in, neither was I naive enough to hand myself over. I quietly sneaked my way in, masking my energy to everyone. The place had been upgraded since my previous visit. It kept its integrity, yet it meshed well with the technology of the modern era. There were cameras, cars, guns, military hardware to equip a small nation and even devices I hadn't seen before. Sam was there as well. I could feel his longing, his pain, his suffering, but beyond that, I could feel his love - still determined, still calling.
Why didn't you listen to me?
I wanted to scold him when I found him, but fate had other plans. A deep, sickening lust for revenge squirmed against the wiser part of me the moment I saw Caelinus and his retinue of ghoul soldiers, heading to a nearby helicopter that was waiting in the fortress courtyard.
This was it.
My chance to rip his head off. I had to sneak around a little more, and I'd have him right where I wanted. Not a moment too soon, either. I prepared a telekinetic bomb in my hand, ready to blast him and his brigade to dust, but they sensed the high-energy attack charging and before I had charged it enough, Caelinus and his ghouls turned around, as I was stealthily approaching from behind. They immediately pointed their guns at me, all 15of them, lined up in front of their master to shield him from any possible harm.
"Alexia!" Caelinus shouted my name in delight.
He moved in front of his men, gesturing them to put their weapons down in his casual slickness. I didn't back down. I was ready to fight them all, but I had to wonder - those weapons, why would they even aim them at a Cognata? Had they developed rounds that could seriously harm a nightwalker?
Caelinus briskly began walking toward me, his special forces closely flanking his sides.
"You still think that pain you hold onto means something. You still think that the desire to kill me, to have your revenge, would take the pain away. That it will somehow make you free!"
The closer he came, my hand naturally lowered, as his words were getting to me - berating me with telepathic attacks. I remembered what he did to me, my child and Nathaniel. The images were tearing me apart. It was difficult to focus, flashes of everything I lost brutally kept coming.
"That it would somehow bring back all you've lost! But it never will! And what you are today, those scars, those burdens you carry; define you."
He was now close enough for me to reach out and snap his neck with my bare hands.
"How ironic our so-called goddess would be so selfish to think her own tribulations are all that matters, but surely, I say to you today, my dear Alexia - that pain is not only your own. That pain belongs to us all. And that is why, I will show you, OUR pain!"
He took a step right past me as if I were invisible, a grim tone overtaking his voice, "Come with me... " He paused spitefully. "... Halona."
The soldiers pointed their guns at me, gesturing me to follow their leader. I was impressed. Surely they weren't stupid enough to assume some regular weapon would work on me. It had to be able to inflict the same damage to our kind as to humans somehow, I couldn't say for certain.
Regardless, I did as I was told. I followed Caelinus with the rest of the ghoul soldiers.
"Did your maker ever tell you why he was exiled?" He asked as we walked through the back entrance of the citadel. I refused to play his little word games, although, I was interested in the answer, so I listened intently.
"One day he came to me, eons ago before you were even reborn... " Caelinus started reciting the tale as one of the soldiers got in front of him to open a large pair of antique doors, leading to hundreds of steps heading down, towards a dungeon I didn't know of. "'Brother!', he said. 'Our order has lost its strength. The Cognati are divided; they don't know direction.'"
At the bottom of the stairway was another door. This time, it was not ancient like the other, but modern, built out of cutting edge materials. Caelinus held his hand over the door and the red light on its side, turned to green. Then, the door slid open from left to right and they led me inside a large, minimal elevator. Caelinus didn't pay much attention to me. He was far too caught up in recalling his story, but his soldiers never let their guard down.
"At the time I was young, and still willing to please others. Aristide was already celebrated as a respected council member, but the Halonic Order was weak indeed, and they would hear none of his ideas. His pleas were right. The more Hyginos and I observed the way things were going, the more we were convinced of his point. We were meant to be gods. We were meant to rule this world, not abide by it and cower in the shadows. So we devised a plan - we decided to overthrow the lazy, ineffectual excuse of a nightwalker council and claim our rightful thrones. Hyginos was a great warrior at the time and Aristide, no doubt, an effective deceiver."
The elevator came to a stop and I was led to an underground bunker, probably the size of a stadium. Inside it, there were all sorts of technological marvels.
Secret aircraft that had to belong to military and perhaps, clandestine intelligence agencies, along with jeeps and all sorts of exotic weaponry caught my curiosity. There were soldiers gathering equipment and managing the area, suiting up for something. Something big.
I was led into a corridor where on both sides, there were see-through glass windows into different experimentation rooms. They revealed the horrors going on beneath the ground. It wasn't only human ghouls working in there as slave scientists; some of the subjects being operated on were strange creatures - hybrids by all means, and there were different sorts of unnatural mixtures between the bloodlines of our clans and humans alike.
How did Caelinus amass such power?
"The image of Halona was too, 'passive', he said. It needed greater power. We needed a messiah, not the annals of a wise, ancient woman. We needed a 'god', so the rest of us could become gods. And this was when we first picked up the phantom of Halona. Aristide was certain she was the one! She was the reborn queen, he'd tell us, but the truth is, she was nothing more than a lie. In fact, she was nothing more than his personal ghoul."
We arrived at the end of the corridor, where Caelinus paused, momentarily. He started laughing, "It was so obvious she didn't carry the spirit form of our former queen. We still went along with it. Sheep are so easy to control. Aristide knew the truth all along. He had tracked your lineage for centuries and kept it a secret, until one day, we found out about the lie of our
phantom queen. That's when he had a choice. Execute her himself, or be banished from the Order. I think we both know what he chose."
He knew about me before this lifetime? So he did have other maidens...
The final door slid open and we entered another large, dark room. The dim lights slowly turned on as we walked in, but it was still difficult to discern the exact makeup of the area. I didn't know what was about to happen. Caelinus walked some feet away from me then finally turned around to face me. He held his hands out to me like he was presenting some gift.
"Maybe Aristide wanted you for his own, personal gains, or maybe he didn't realize how powerful an icon could be. Whatever it is, his debt's been repaid and now we've come full circle. Now you will see the pain of being a nightwalker is not just yours, but it belongs to us all!" His hand waved to his right, behind him a spotlight shot on from the distance and I could see a large, cage chamber in the middle of it. Once my eyes were fixed on the man hanging from the top the cage, my heart sank in horror.
Sam.
He was chained and hung upside down, blood dripping from his poor, battered body. On the ground, a pack of rabid Strigoy reaching and lunging; taking turns at trying to snag their meal with ear-shattering shrieks and horrific screams. It was so cruel to see how they'd beaten him, and even worse, my mind was dancing in all kinds of fears. I didn't know if he was alive or fading from this realm. Only the small tickle of his heart still beating, still hoping I'd be there.
Hold on, my love.
It was so difficult not to break down and cry, but this time I would not be Caelinus' puppet. I would not bend to his will.
"It's a shame. I promised him I'd at least let you die together. I guess he couldn't wait for you." Caelinus taunted.
Was that a lie?
His soldiers came to my side and shoved me toward the cage. As we got closer, the Strigoy didn't pay much attention, but it wasn't until they opened the chamber and pushed me in, they immediately rushed after a more, convenient prey. Two to my front, three at my left, three at my right and another two came up behind me. They growled and snarled, hissed and pranced around, cornering me as if I were a helpless animal.
Cognata: A Vampire Romance Page 14