We Shall Rise

by J. E. Hopkins

  Kaden was almost too amused by Reysa’s horrified expression to help her, but he grabbed Corinne by the waist and pried her off Reysa. He plopped her back on the stool and she collapsed face down on the bar. “Corinne was a bit upset so I thought she could use a drink… or a bottle. She had a little more than was probably a good idea.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a vampire get this drunk.”

  “Me either actually. I’ve had my moments, but not this bad. Corinne is an emotional drunk. The effects won’t last long. She’ll snap out of this soon. I hope.” Reysa walked over to the bar and poured herself a shot of Grey Goose. “You never drink, so what’s going on, Rey?”

  Reysa sat the drink on the bar after barely taking a sip. She hated alcohol. Drinking would not solve anything. She needed to be strong for her people and not some useless drunk.

  “I can’t get my mind off this war that’s brewing. I have to find a way to keep my people safe. I fear some of them may want to join the battle. I don’t want to bury my friends. I want us to stay out of the fray, but it’s not possible. It’s already reached my doors.”

  Reysa told Kaden about the murdered demons and the lycan youth’s drug induced state that caused him to commit such violence. Kaden listened closely showing no signs of emotion as Reysa expressed her fears about the immortal war that would inevitably destroy so many innocent lives all for nothing.

  “War would be suicide for both sides,” Kaden warned.

  “Yes, but I don’t think either side sees it that way. The non-purists feel they are fighting for their freedom from oppression. That’s a reason to die. I understand their pain. You don’t know what it’s like being treated as if you are garbage just because of genetics that you had no ability to control. I’ve spent my whole life being hated by my vampire brethren because my blood is unclean and by humans because I’m black. I am not even good enough in the eyes of humans because of my skin color. My whole life has been surrounded by discrimination except for The Lore. Here we accept each other completely, but outside these gates, when we have to face the rest of the world we are just inferior. To the purists, we are tainted blood, mutants, and lesser beings. To humans, we are handicapped, we are the wrong skin color, and we are always less. Years and years of degradation would drive anyone to a madness heightened by a need for vengeance.”

  Kaden understood more than she realized. He may be a pureblood accepted by other vampires, but he was not accepted in his own home. His father despised him from the moment of his birth. Kaden’s hate growing stronger every day until it finally exploded in a blaze of fire that killed Daughton Gaspard. He knew this rage all too well and if these feelings were surfacing across all creatures of the night, a destructive darkness would sweep upon their world leaving nothing but death in its wake. No one would be safe. “Does that mean you support the non-purists?”

  Reysa closed her eyes. How could she make him understand? “I understand them. I know their pain. I have shared their pain. I want the oppression to end, but not this way. Not by war, not by violence. I grew up surrounded by human wars and displays of violence all in the so called name of some social good, but it was all a ploy for one side to enslave another. It was never about equality. It was about revenge. The victims became the victimizers. One oppressive regime replaced with another equally oppressive regime. The innocents always paid the most expensive price and never received any of the spoils from the war. You can’t murder your way to freedom and equality. I want all immortals to be treated equally. I’m willing to stand up and fight for it, but by peaceful means.”

  “Immortals don’t understand peace.”

  “Neither do humans. I witnessed that in Kigali.”

  Reysa rarely spoke about her childhood and even less about her homeland, Kigali, Rwanda in Central Africa. A land of such great beauty marred by years of violence and devastation. “I loved Rwanda. Everything about that country I adored. It was my home. My father moved us away when I was four and I was completely devastated to leave. No other place quite felt like home to me but there in the land of grassy uplands and hills. It didn’t have the beaches and blue oceans of Zanzibar, but it possessed a natural beauty of its own. When I was older, I started visiting there with Christian every spring. I didn’t have any blood relations there. My father’s family was from Tanzania and they had passed on years before. It didn’t matter. I created my own little family within a small community of immortals in Gitarama. They were mostly charmers and witches, but it didn’t matter. We accepted each other as kin. Unfortunately, the humans never learned to accept one another and their war became ours.”

  Reysa explained that the immortals successively avoided the human wars between the Tutsis and Hutus for years. Reysa maintained her citizenship in Rwanda as that country would always be home no matter where she moved. Once the ethnic identity cards were instituted, she was officially classified as part of the Tutsi minority. Her height, milk chocolate skin color and European features due to her mother’s genetics somehow made her special at least while the Belgians were in charge. Most of her charmer friends were as well, but there were a few Hutus in their family. It didn’t matter. Those human classifications were irrelevant to them. They were all creatures of the night, immortals and eternals.

  Those classifications mattered greatly to the humans. Once the Belgians turned against the Tutsis and abandoned Rwanda leaving the Hutus in charge, the Tutsi minority became a target of violence.

  “The Hutus were treated poorly for years by the European colonists and by many Tutsis. I don’t deny that. Once they took over, there was this cry for vengeance. The Hutus began to oppress the Tutsis. It started out with discrimination based on what types of schools Tutsi children could attend, what kind of jobs Tutsis could hold. Then there was periodic violence against Tutsis and the eventual expulsion of many from the country to neighboring lands in Uganda and Burundi. My family avoided all of that hatred that pervaded town after town. They kept to themselves in their tiny community leaving the humans to fight their own vicious wars against each other. There were times when I would visit and I would be threatened when I walked the streets late at night, but I had no problem defending myself. It never kept me away from my true home. Not until April 1994.”

  Reysa had been preparing for another spring visit when she was contacted by her friend, Celestine. The Hutu president, Juvenal Habyarimana, had been assassinated when his plane was shot out of the air after returning from negotiating peace terms with rebel Tutsis, The Rwanda Patriotic Front. Hutus accused the RPF of assassinating the President Habyarimana, while the RPF accused the Hutus who were upset with the terms of the peace accord that required a redistribution of power so that the Hutus would no longer have full control of Rwanda. The truth never mattered. The spark needed to set off the powder keg of destruction had ignited.

  “The danger was apparent. Celestine begged me not to come. It wasn’t safe. They were planning to flee to Uganda or Burundi once they helped a few neighboring human families they had befriended. They would call when they arrived safely. She warned it might take them weeks if not a few months, but they would call.” Reysa’s misty eyes faced Kaden’s. “I never got that call. I waited for two months. The news reports were devastating. At first, I wouldn’t pay attention. I kept telling myself that it couldn’t be that bad there. It wasn’t possible to have such destruction in so short a time. At least that’s what I had hoped. It was just unimaginable.”

  Reysa stood up and started pacing the floor. “Genocide? Neighbors killing each other. Husbands killing wives. Families turning on each other because of a piece of paper that said you fit within a certain group therefore you must die. It was absurd. I convinced myself that my family was okay. I knew if they were in danger, they would call. They would summon me. They had gifts. They could reach me. I would hear them. I would come. They wouldn’t get caught in the midst of this silly human war. They should have been safe. And I should have trusted my instincts. I could have gotten them to
safety in no time. My ability to dematerialize was not as strong then as it is now, but it was good enough. It would have taken time, but I could have rescued them. Yet I waited. I stayed away too long. When I finally went to Gitarma in early June there was nothing left of the home my friends shared. Everything was destroyed. That whole town reeked of death. There were rivers of blood and bodies everywhere. I searched and searched for them, but all I saw was death. Men, women, children, babies, all butchered. Everything I loved about Rwanda was destroyed and replaced with a hideous blood bath. As a vampire, I should have loved the sight of so much blood but it sickened me. It still does.”

  Kaden gently wiped the tears away from her face as he pulled her close. If only he could wipe away these painful memories that still haunted her. Reysa pulled back and faced him her eyes blurry from moisture. “I went to Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and every other nearby place hoping there would be a sign of them, but I never found them. Their bodies were probably among the masses of unmarked graves. I know that logically, but sixteen years later, here I am still waiting for Celestine’s call. I still hope for it. I know it’s stupid, but I can’t let go. And now it’s happening again, but this time I will be there for my friends, for my family, and for everyone I love. I won’t wait for a call this time.”

  There were no words of solace. She was drowning in a torrent of regret and Kaden felt powerless to save her. Kaden comforted her the only way he could. He kissed her gently, reverently, making sure she knew that he would be there for her. She would not face this challenge alone.

  A loud knock at the front door disturbed this tender moment. Reysa pulled away, instantly bereft from the loss of the sheltering warmth of Kaden’s arms. As much as she tried to convince herself to stay away, her heart would not allow it. It chose him and her mind could not talk her out of it.

  Kaden walked to the door and cautiously opened it. What looked like a bedraggled human male of twenty-five was a demon of indeterminate class and age. The black soulless eyes peering into Kaden’s as if challenging the stronger vampire. “Are you the one who allowed that beast to kill my sisters?” the demon shouted his voice echoing in the club.

  Kaden watched him curiously as Reysa moved to stand next to him. He blocked her from getting to close. His poor appearance could be attributable to mourning the loss of his sisters, but Kaden had a feeling this look was the norm. He didn’t trust this demon. He smelled of trouble.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Reysa spoke. “I don’t know the lycan boy who harmed her, but I can assure you that the boy was not in his right senses. We suspect he was drugged and that caused him to react in such an unusual violent manner.”

  The demon spat clearly disgusted with her words. “Don’t defend that beast to me. Lycans think they are better than the rest of us. They may be stronger, but the stronger don’t always win. Those dogs will pay for destroying my family.”

  “Sir, the lycan boy responsible for this is dead as well,” Reysa assured the demon.

  “One dead lycan does not make up for three dead demons. It doesn’t make up the devastation my mother is feeling. I’ll never forget her agonized words as she tried to explain to me over the phone how my sisters were brutalized by a damn dog. No. One dead lycan isn’t enough. That’s why I came here. To warn you and your pets. There will be hell to pay. Starting with your lycan boy toy.” The demon regretted the words as soon as they escaped his loose lips.

  The demon’s face paled as it turned to flee, but Kaden was faster. He grabbed the demon by this throat.

  Reysa’s puzzled expression quickly turned to fear. She grabbed her phone and dialed Christian. She heard his ringtone coming from the demon’s pocket. She reached in and grabbed the phone. It was Christian’s. It had a picture of her and Tatiana on the home screen.

  “Tsk, Tsk!” Kaden nodded disapprovingly at the demon. “Really stupid move, dude. Weren’t you just saying how much smarter the demons were? I hope for the sake of your kind you’re not the one of the so called geniuses.”

  “That was a mistake,” the demon muttered.

  “You think? A very costly one for you.”

  “Where is he?” Reysa demanded.

  The demons bulging eyes turned to Reysa. “In a better place than my sisters, for now at least.” Still being defiant when his life was so close to ending.

  Reysa’s eyes turned a dangerous red. “It was foolish for you to come here and threaten me. No one hurts those I love. You have the gall to come to my door boasting about taking my Christian away. You better hope your friends don’t hurt him. If he suffers, you all will suffer ten times worse. Your mother will have to add you to the list of butchered children she’ll have to bury.”

  “Y-you kill me and you’ll never find him.”

  “I’ll find him. You’re going to tell me everything I need to know.”

  The demon looked nervous but Reysa would not relent. “I swear, I don’t know exactly where he is.”

  Reysa thrust her arm into the demons chest clutching his rapidly beating heart. The demon howled as his heart beat in Reysa’s tightening grip. “One last chance. Tell me where he is now or I pull.”

  The demon tried to catch his breath. The fear and agony preventing him from uttering a lie. He gave Reysa the location. She looked satisfied with the response.

  “Do you think that’s the truth?” Kaden asked.

  “It’s the truth. I can tell by the way his heart was beating. This is like a lie detector test. My hand can tell whether he is lying by how quickly his heart races. He speaks the truth.”

  “P-please let me go,” the demon begged.

  “You can have what’s left of your heart back for now,” Reysa offered as she released her iron clad grip, “but you’re coming with us to get Christian back. You better pray, demon, that your friends haven’t hurt him or I will gift wrap your black heart to your mother.”

  Chapter 6

  Kaden watched as Reysa calmly set her plan in motion. She made several phone calls asking for reinforcements to meet her at Sierra Nevada where Christian was being held. Kaden almost felt sorry for them, as he could sense that Reysa was not going to peacefully extract Christian from their clutches. He had never seen her so enraged. Despite her wishes for peace, hurting her loved ones was a declaration of war that she would accept.

  She took a few moments to calm a distraught Tatiana. Although they had tried to keep the truth from her, she woke up screaming. A nightmare that her father was gone left her hysterical. Reysa tried to reassure her, but Tatiana somehow knew and there was no pacifying her. She huddled in the corner of her room refusing to talk to anyone. Kaden tried to reach out to her, but nothing worked. Alejandro’s calming voiced eased some of her fears, but the only thing that would truly help would be to bring Christian home safe.

  Julian and Corinne agreed to stay behind and watch Tatiana. Broderick would stay as well to protect their home in case another silly demon tried to attack. Alejandro refused to stay behind and Reysa wouldn’t try to convince him otherwise. She needed him there. He was the only one who could save her before her rage consumed her. If she lost Christian, there would be no coming back from the violent storm that would overtake her.

  Reysa wanted to dematerialize to the site where Christian was held, but she needed a link to the place in order to find it. Hopefully, the girls she called to meet her there had arrived. She could use their voices to find them in no time. She dialed Anastasia, the quasi leader of this group of warriors. “Stasi, are you there yet?”

  “We just got here. I smell lots of soon to be dead demons,” she purred in her heavy Russian accent.

  Reysa closed her eyes and using Anastasia’s voice, she was able to dematerialize herself, Kaden, Alejandro and the squawking demon in front of Anastasia. The journey drained her a bit, but nothing would get in her way of saving Christian.

  Kaden looked around to see about eight women barely over five feet tall dressed in leather miniskirts and high heeled boots. All but one carr
ied swords. The other seemed to prefer what appeared to be a hedge clipper. These were the warriors Reysa called for backup he wondered. If the goal was to seduce the demons into submission, they could work, but they didn’t seem like fighters despite their choice of weapons.

  “What’s the plan, Rey?” the one called Anastasia questioned. Her long jet-black hair far surpassed the length of her skirt. Her eyes were as dark as the night sky. A lovely contrast to her pale skin that was barely covered by her tube top and mini.

  “It’s simple,” Reysa responded. “We demand that they release Christian to us unharmed. If they refuse, we take him by any means necessary.”

  It didn’t seem like much of a plan to Kaden, but the girls were excited. Some were even salivating. They were itching for a fight. Kaden realized he underestimated them. If these demons did the same, they would pay for their ignorance with blood.

  “Violence is the last resort, girls,” Reysa reiterated making it clear that she didn’t want bloodshed if it could be avoided. Reysa would not hesitate to kill to save those she loved. There was a time for peace, but sometimes war was the only option. If the demons gave her no choice, she would eagerly eliminate them.

  The girls nodded, their disappointment evident, but they followed Reysa as she led the charge to a hidden cave buried deep within the Sierras. It was a smart location as it would be nearly impossible for a human to discover this and the unfortunate one who did would likely not live long enough to share the story.

  There were seemingly no protective barriers. “This seems too easy,” Kaden surmised and he stepped in front of Reysa. He looked down and saw a flash of red light.

  “You set off the alarm,” Alejandro noted.

  Kaden muffled a curse, but Reysa seemed undisturbed. Her eyes focused as if she were unaware of Kaden’s mistake. She looked up quickly with a devious smile on her face. Her mind was able to focus on the panicked demons sounds in the building. That’s just what she needed. “Everyone hold on to each other. We’re going in.”