"I didn't expect you to understand. I just needed a break away from the day-to-day to think," he rises and walks over to me. "There's a chink," he points to the staff and indeed, there was a tiny chink that I missed.
“I think I’ll fill it with the remnants of the grail.”
“Go ahead,” he inspects a tad longer.
“What’s going to happen to the girl?”
“She’s probably going to be killed.”
I’m shocked at his announcement, “You don’t really think he’s going to kill her, do you? I mean, she’s just a little girl….”
“This isn’t some teen drama story. This is real life, Ankh,” Mason starts walking to the door.
"Mason, wait," He turns around to face me. "I hear there are talks of war. Vampires and Forsaken," I'm worried that this may affect us. The supernatural species have lived in peace for eons, and, now, it all seems to be falling apart.
“Don’t worry about that, Ankh. You know that I do not consider myself one of them. I will have no part in the war.”
I know that he will have whatever part he is paid to have, but the answer is reassuring.
"Thanks," I turn to face my tools again. Days of not being around, and we share a five-minute conversation before he is gone.
Ain’t that just the way?
Chapter 16
Verona.
The Crypt. The Veil’s prison for wayward vampires who have not committed enough atrocities to deserve death. They left me in here alone. I hear the screams and moans from further down the line, but I don’t dare travel further. Darkness encompasses most of the journey, and walking into a vampire who has had nothing to eat for years may end my life. So instead, I cling to the door where they threw me in. Unlike the vampires, they have not chained me up to a wall, nor have they made any other effort to restrain me.
Do they think so little of me?
I sigh.
It must be true then. I must be weak, but before I can allow myself to fall too deeply into self-pity, I hear the bolts from outside unlock. I fly through them only to be stopped by the powerful grip of the queen.
“Relax, kitten,” She is alone.
Without my weapons, I would only stand a chance in tiger form, but I don't have the time to shift before the queen will have my head.
“My name is Brooke. I am going to speak to you like an equal. If you attempt to break this, there will be no hesitation in killing you.”
I don’t do well with the threat, but I bow my head and concede, “Yes, Brooke.”
“I’m sorry to say this is not your redemption conversation. You have no redemption. You will die by the King’s hand.” Emotionless. There’s no way of telling if she actually does care about this or not.
“Did you just come down here to rub this in my face?”
“No. I came down here to tell you to just fall. You’re not going to make it, so just let yourself be killed. The King is going to spur a war with the Forsaken. There is no time for negative press, and what will a war with the shifters do? It will cause the dissension I seek.”
“Why do you want this?” I scratch my head.
Brooke releases me now that I know enough to keep my mouth shut.
“He’s going all in on the Forsaken. If my plan comes together, there will be multiple sides attacking the King. He will be forced to either renounce his title or take other actions.”
If she wanted to tell me what the other actions were, there would be no pause.
“I will be Queen, is the long and short of it.”
She strokes my hair and steps in closer.
"So, I'm going to do you two favors. One, I'm going to tell you to not fight. Bow your head and let them kill you. Two, I'm going to give you one last night of… pleasure," Brooke leans in and kisses me. I hesitate a moment.
Then I wholeheartedly commit.
Chapter 17
Romulus.
Aliana is in front of me. She’s shouting. I have no words to console her.
“Those bastards have taken our daughter!” she shouts. A letter flings from her left hand to her right, back to the left, and so on in frantic swoops.
“Are you sure?” I have to remain calm. Aliana needs the comfort of knowing that she has her rock.
“Yes,” she slams the letter into my hand, “Just read it for yourself.” She’s a mess. Tears pour from her eyes. I don’t read the letter. Not yet.
“Then we will fetch her.”
“You said I shouldn’t go back, and look at what happened. I thought we’d be okay, but we’re not.”
I pull her closer. I kiss her forehead. “Don’t do anything drastic.” Knowing Aliana, she will be the first one to step into the Veil guns blazing. That will do nothing for Abbey.
I hold her for a while. She cries herself to sleep. When slumber takes her I grab the letter….
The little girl will be safe
If you end up holding up your end of the bargain, she’ll come out unscathed
If you’re not here by the solstice
She will die
Do the right thing, Aliana
The ritual will go on, with or without you
But can you go on without your precious little hybrid?
~ ~ ~
The night drifts on, and I don’t sleep. When Aliana wakes up, she comes to me in the kitchen. I pour her a cup of coffee.
“I think you should go to the Veil. If they don’t release Abbey, we will come.” I don’t dawdle. I’ve considered the actions and consequences of this decision, but Aliana nods her head in acceptance.
“Yes, I think you’re right.”
She made this decision last night already, I’m sure. If I show her that I am with her on this fully, then security will not be on her mind throughout the ordeal.
“When do you intend on going?”
“Now. Abbey is in danger, and we can’t play with that. She is destined for great things, we know that, Rom. We can’t have these gifts squandered.”
I consider her words, lean over the kitchen counter, and give her a kiss.
“And the vampires?”
“They will burn.”
The stern look of determination alone tells me that this is not a throwaway statement.
“Then let it be done,” I finish, stepping around the counter and grabbing a shirt from a high chair sitting behind the table, “I will call a meeting with the pack. They will follow us into war. The wolves and vampires don’t really have a good standing anyway. I don’t think they’ll have a problem.”
I don’t know if this true right now, but Aliana is throwing herself into the lion’s den, I will not stand idly by.
~ ~ ~
Aliana has already headed out to the Veil. She left shortly after I made the preparations for the gathering. It doesn’t take long to reign in all the troops, apart from the hunters out in the field, who finished their yield before they returned.
"Brothers and sisters," I'm sure they can hear the defeatist tone in my voice. Not what any pack wants to see in their alpha, "There's no easy way to put this," I speak softly. I'm not even sure if everyone can hear me, "Abbey has been taken by the vampire King Daffyd. This act has only one course of action to follow."
A rustling spurs among the community. I wait for them to simmer down, “I believe that I am solely to blame for this act. Aliana has already sentenced herself to the King who will now use her to complete some ritual.”
“And what is the ritual, son?” Apart from myself and Aliana, my father is the only other who knows Abbey’s true potential.
“The ritual revolves around some ancient witch. I don’t know enough about it to speak on the matter.”
My father rises. The only delta to move up to beta and then alpha status, taking on the role of our village elder later, he is the wisest of our kind. He takes me to one side a moment before I continue addressing my pack.
"You cannot show weakness in this matter, my boy." He's half scolding, but still leading me.
“The pack elected you alpha, banishing Remus to omega status. There is no way you can show them they’ve made the wrong decision. Not even for a moment. Do you remember when your mother died?” This question came out of the blue, but I remember the time well.
“Yes, father.”
“When your mother died, I sat alone for days, weeks even, but you came to me, and you told me that without me the pack would fall into disrepair. They needed me, more than I needed to wallow. Do you remember?”
“Not those exact words,” I chuckle, broaden my frame, and stand tall, knowing my father is right, “But I remember the conversation. I remember the way you took charge.”
“Good boy,” He tousles my hair, “Now what do you want to do about these bastards?” He grabs my shoulder and pulls me to the front of the stage.
"I may have no understanding of this ritual, but I do know one thing," Immediately my tone, posture, and nature is shifted into the solid form it should be, "I do know that the vampires have taken what is ours. A young girl, scared, alone, and waiting for her family to come to her aid. Aliana is gone, trying to do exactly that, but I can't…no, I won't let her be in this alone. So, if you say no, I will stand alone at the gates of the Veil and brick-by-brick tear their world to the ground. I ask you to join me. Together we take back what is ours!"
The crowd is instantly riled up. The change in my own posture and nature has already brought them back from my momentary lapse of reason.
“Together we bring my little girl home!”
The crowd roars in agreement. That was easier than I thought it would be. My father pats me on the back and walks back to his chair.
“Tonight we rest, for tomorrow we go to war.”
Chapter 18
Aliana.
“So, you decided to come after all,” Daffyd’s smug grin puts me on edge from the moment I walk in through the throne room doors. Abbey sits on the stairs leading up to the thrones, a clasp around her neck, connected to a chain attaching her to the King’s throne. Another young girl sits beside her with a similar collar around her neck. I can sense her power. She’s the one that the King fought so hard to claim. Brooke is nowhere to be seen. Guards are standing all about the room. More than I’ve ever seen. The King must be scared I’d try something.
“You didn’t give me much choice.”
"True but don't worry. Nothing will happen to your little girl, not so long as you don't try and leave the building," A wave of Daffyd's hand and Abbey's forehead glows light blue. That's enough for me to know that I too have a blue light somewhere shining. We're linked, and if I do end up leaving the building, she will die instantly. I wonder who did the spell for a second. Another witch he probably blackmailed in some way or another.
“Why not just throw me in one of your cells? Let Abbey go.”
He laughs, "Where's the fun in that? You know where everything is. Your room is the usual. I won't bother restraining you. Just remember," He waves his hand again to reassure that I won't run. No doubt, there's more to the spell than me just leaving.
I feel the tears welling in my eyes.
“Goodbye now.” And with that, he unclips the chains.
“Momma, don’t let him take me again!” Abbey shouts. She was silent, maybe even hopeful that if she didn’t speak out of turn, she would be released.
No such luck.
“Momma, please!” Those words make me run forward, but I don’t make it five steps before two lieutenants block me from Abbey’s path.
“Let me through!” I shout, pushing on the broad frame of one of the vampires, “It’s gonna be okay, baby. I’m coming for you,” I try to make it past the guards, but Abbey and the other young girl are already being pulled through the doorway.
~ ~ ~
I’m lucky, if only a little, that Mason has decided to shack up in the castle for the night. Why he was here, I have no idea. Probably doing another bullshit task for the King. I won’t pry, but I make my way into his chambers. There’s nothing apart from a simple bed, desk to match, and a candle on the desk. He’s writing something.
The room, unlike all of the other postmodern style ones, is old stone. As if this room has been untouched by time, by an era long ago forgotten.
“What do you want, Aliana?” he asks me. I’ve not even entered yet. He probably smelled me coming down here since before my leaving the bedroom.
“I want to talk to you about the girl.”
“That job is done.”
“She’s going to be killed.”
“Probably.”
“And you don’t care?”
“I do. But the King paid me well for accomplishing the mission, and what he wants to do with his little pets is his own doing.”
“What if I tell you her blood has the ability to kill the Forsaken?” This gets his attention. He turns to me from whatever he’s writing.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Her blood is old,” I can see that this strikes a chord with him.
“I thought so, but I don’t know enough about her. I must call an assembly first,” In my more formative years Mason and I were…friends, for lack of a better term. I bore witness to one of these assemblies.
Discussing the Deicine bloodline with Mason would have no point now. He needs to first remember what the Deicine are.
“Speak with Tyr. He will best be able to help you with your questions on her. Mention the Deicine.”
“And then what?”
I open my mouth to speak. Mason gestures with two fingers, and a force pulls me into the room.
“My room has wards protecting us from being heard.”
I nod, “If you end up not wanting anything to happen to the girl, the werewolves are coming. They took my daughter.”
“The hybrid? That’s why you’re here?”
“Yes. You can join us against the King.”
He thinks on the matter, “Perhaps. I made a promise to her, that I would not let him harm her. I should follow through on it.”
It may not be the cavalry, but Mason on our side will definitely give us an edge.
Chapter 19
Mason.
I am torn between two worlds now. My own kind, who I’ve half abandoned and half kept close for the comfort of having figures in my life that can withstand eternity with me and also withstand the witch/werewolf war. People who I know only have the best intentions for everyone in mind.
At the same time, I mull over the thought of the war with Forsaken. It can be a profitable organization. The biggest issue being that I may lose Ankh. In my life, I have only made a few companions. Most have perished to their mortal coil. Ankh, thus far, is the only person that I have made who has been by my side for the past six hundred or so years.
Trusting someone this deeply has never come easy for me. It’s why I’ve never feared to let those around me die, but watching him die….
I clear my thoughts of this for the moment.
“Why is it when I have no need for you, you are always around, but now that I want you, you are nowhere to be seen?”
The question is flung into an empty room. It’s the first time I’ve been in my own hovel for years now. A small cave in the middle of nowhere. Hidden behind the wards of a witch back when the Salem trials were being conducted. I saved her, she made keeping my home safe her penance.
Much like my room in the castle, the hovel is ill furnished. My coffin is here. Along with a table, a bed and a few small trinkets from my past life. It's deeper in the cave that my true artifacts are found.
I take a seat in a comfortable area in the room, taking up a lotus position. Of the minimal things I can recall from the early years, I do remember that Tyr had an affinity for meditation.
Or was that someone else?
Go with your gut, as the old saying goes.
“Now, what do you hope to achieve with this?” The same one from the car, the other day, stands before me. I have no understanding of how exactly it all
works. This one, I think, is a combination of myself. The keeper of my personalities.
"I want to understand," I open my eyes, and he's sitting in front of me, in the same position, with Tyr, adorned in his war-paints, eyes closed as he meditates. In my assemblies, I have only ever gotten a little information about what these are. They are spirits of my past lives. Tethered to the times in which I lived under various Forsaken rule.
“You want to understand what, exactly?” he speaks again.
“About the ritual. About the Deicine,” Tyr’s eyes crack open, “About the ritual and about the Forsaken.”
“We are tethered to them as they are tethered to us,” he speaks, finally. The version clad in black, who thus far has never given me a name stands, steps over to the coffin, and inspects it.
“Who?”
“The Forsaken. You speak of the Deicine. How do you recall their name when their kind was wiped from Earth Realm when you were me?”
“A witch speaks of them. I remember the scent of her blood. It’s sweet. Different than normal witches. Different than humans.”
“Indeed. Ask then, boy.” Condescending, but I named myself after the God of War, after all.
“What are the Deicine?”
“The Deicine are an ancient bloodline of witches and warlocks who had the ability to kill the Forsaken. When Zeus heard of this, he ordered that they be killed.”
“What makes them special?”
“They were tethered to the Forsaken realm. Not in the conventional sense,” he faces me. “Their powers linked from something within that was not truly a part of their realm.”
The one clad in black turns back to the conversation, “The darkness. That’s what they called it. It’s basically what humans consider Hell.”
“That’s a theory. Do you remember your creator?” He knows I don’t, “Kah-Tet. The true King of vampires. Created by the Forsaken as a pet project. One of their games against the humans. Instead, they created a self-aware creature that would not blindly follow. He is the reason you are allowed among the Forsaken.”
The Vampire Touch 1: The Forsaken Page 5