by Jamie Ott
Chapter 5
Once again, at midnight, they got their gear and continued their trek. Emil stuck by her side while Seth led them, amidst hundreds of bats, into a denser part of the forest.
There was not a sight or scent of owls or other night creatures; there were no scurrying sounds or sudden shaking of tree and bush limbs. Only bats rent the air, and the sound of Starr and the others feet each time they stepped the ground.
After a while, the forest floor started to incline, and the rocks in the ground became sparse as they leant forward while making their way up the loose dirt grade. The moonlight became less and less until it was pitch black.
They didn’t see light again until they reached the hump of hill, and then descended down the other side which was of thick, tall brush. This didn’t slow down Seth who knew exactly where they were headed.
He, then, turned and signaled to them that they were about to leave their cover. Looking over the top of the brush, the upper floors of the castle was visible.
Starr focused on a blank slate as hard as she could. She drew her blades, as did everyone else. Quickly, they coursed across the lawn.
Seth flew a kick into the ten foot castle gate that served as a door. A sound like smashing cars echoed through the air as he landed on his feet. Bats that clung to the castle wall shook loose and flew off.
In the door, there was a boulder sized dent, yet it was still intact. Despite the noise, no one attacked.
“Move,” shouted Ikael, who flew at the same spot.
In three pieces, the door slammed to the ground, scaring off hundreds of bats from around the castle walls.
Still, no one came.
Carefully, they stepped into a cool, dark hall where old armory was stored. A smaller wood door was on the left side of the room: it was unlocked.
Seth opened the door. They followed him down a long hallway, through the castle to the entrance hall. When they realized no one was coming to attack, Seth shouted at Starr, “What is going on here? You said she was here!”
But then there was a stirring several flights up.
“I think I heard someone laughing,” said Aine.
Slowly, they followed Seth up the narrow stone stairway. The closer to the top they got, the louder the sounds of people speaking became.
Behind Seth, Starr stepped onto the landing and walked into the first room to their left. A large living set was before them. Several faces, she recognized, were scattered throughout. Upon turning their heads and seeing them standing there in the hall, a girl shrieked and jumped up from the couch on which she sat.
Starr’s jaw dropped.
“I never thought I’d find you guys!” she said and grinned, as the kids rushed her and pulled her into many embraces. “Wait! Stand back. Are you all here?”
“Yeah,” said Misty.
Beside her stood Mot, Lucas, Becky, Kay, Danny and Misaki.
“You’ve all grown a few inches since I last saw you, but…” she trailed off, looking around the room, “where’s Shane and the others?”
“I’ll show her,” Misaki said.
Starr followed her down several flights of stairs.
“I don’t get it. Where’s Credenza? Why aren’t they here, fighting us?”
“I don’t know. When they were here, they were very silent, so we never knew what they were up to. One day, they just disappeared. Shane said they were talking telepathically because they didn’t want us to know what they were up to.”
She pushed on a large wood door and led her into the shiniest dungeon she’d ever seen. The walls were gleaming yellowish-silver. Instead of traditional jail cells there were metal boxed rooms with large, barred window spaces in the center.
There, each in a shiny cell of their own, was her closest and best friends: Marla, Mica and Shane. In a cell right next to Shane’s was Kris.
“Starr!” shrieked Marla.
“Shane sensed you were here but I almost didn’t believe it!” said Mica.
“What are you doing down here?”
“They didn’t want us to escape, and they knew the kids couldn’t leave without us, so they locked us up,” explained Shane.
“We tried to get them out,” said Misaki, “but it was useless. These doors are too strong, and the locks are unbreakable.”
“Did you try to steal the keys?”
“These open by security code. Only problem is the pads are blank,” said Misaki, pointing her finger to a shiny piece of glass.
Starr noticed there was a black finger pad beneath the glass. Each cell door had one, too.
“We’ll get you out,” said Starr. “Don’t worry.”
Just as she said this, there was a whooshing sound in her ears, and then a blind force pushed and pulled her.
“Agh!” she yelled.
She fought with all her mind to throw off the force. The heels of her feet dragged along the floor. By the time she regained control of her body, she was in the cell next to Kris’, and the door slammed shut.
Starr banged and shook the bars as violently as she could, but they wouldn’t budge. Then she ran and jump-kicked them repeatedly. No matter what, they remained solid and intact. Not even the lock broke.
Upstairs, she heard shouts. Using her power to see in other places, she closed her eyes and commanded her mind to go back to the room the kids were in.
There were several men and one woman. They were fighting with the Irish and the few remaining Fleet members, and they weren’t using weapons.
Pinned against the wall were a dozen of the younger vampires, including Seth, Emil, Chanler and Saul. Aine, Ciaran, and Ikael, alone, were strong enough to fight back against the telekinetic force of Credenza’s allies.
One by one, each of the men they’d brought to help them fight was told to die. They, each, fell to the ground in lifeless lumps, but for some reason, they spared Chanler, Saul and Emil.
Suddenly, Starr caught a glimpse of the woman who tried to tell Aine to die. She was the last known witch on Earth, and she was Credenza’s loyal friend and fellow Primordial initiate. Her name was Gwynna. Starr saw her in a dream, in a cave some time ago.
Aine fought to kinetically keep her brain alive and aware. Mentally, Starr helped Aine fight her off. She told Gwynna to fly, and a second later, she smashed, screaming, through the window and disappeared.
Ciaran battled a slim dark man whom Starr knew was Credenza’s brother, Dracus. Ikael sword fought someone she didn’t recognize. Another man tried to ram Druce through the heart with his staff.
Starr focused on Ikael’s opponent’s sword, sending it heat. When it got really hot, the man screamed and dropped it. Ikael made his mark by stabbing the man through the heart, and then turned around and behead Druce’s attacker from behind.
Starr looked around for the kids. When she realized they’d gone, she turned her attention to the tall dark dressed man who had Saul pinned to the wall. She told his body to burn. Next second, his skin seared and smoked, and flames broke out along the edges of his robe. He screamed but then the flames retreated. Next thing Starr knew, she was smoking and bright orange red glowed from many lines on her arms, where her skin cells threatened to combust.
“AAAAgghhh!!!!”
Starr screamed as the scent of her burning flesh smothered her.
“Send it back, Starr!” shouted Kris. “Concentrate!”
The pain rose and she was desperate to get rid of it. She saw the dark man again. Starr used all her will to throw him so as to distract him and retreat his fire.
She wasn’t strong enough.
Someone tried to help her; she sensed it was Kris. He sent the man crashing through the wall and landing in the next room over.
Then Saul was released as his attacker fell to the floor, dead.
Starr fell back on her bed in pain. The feeling of her seared skin healing back into place was terrible. She could no longer use her remote vision to look upstairs.
A
few minutes later, the door of the dungeon opened. At machine gunpoint, a haggard looking man guided Ikael and the others, each, into a cell, down the long hall.
“What’s happening?” she asked.
Her voice echoed down the hall.
“We were ambushed,” said Ikael.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. They tricked me. I came down here and someone threw me in a cell.”
“The rest of the clansmen are dead,” said Aine.
“What about the Fleet?”
The door to the dungeon burst open again, and in came Chanler and Saul, followed Seth.
“Where’s Emil?”
“He’s a traitor,” said Druce.
“That’s impossible.”
“Well, then, why isn’t he in here with us?” Aine asked. “It’s because he’s up there.”
Starr’s throat tightened. She didn’t know what to say. Immediately, she looked upstairs trying to find him, but didn’t see him anywhere.
She was distracted when the man, who guided Chanler, Saul and Seth to a cell, walked up to her cell. He was demonic looking with skin as white as his hair was dark. His scent was of pure danger. He wore all black and his eyes were still and unblinking.
With a deep tremulous voice, he said, “We were waiting for you. Glad you could make it. The Queen will be here soon.”
Then he walked slowly and methodically to the next cell.
“Sirius! Oh, how the Queen will love having you back. You were always her favorite.”
“Lereux?”
“That’s right.”
“What? Why are you alive?”
“You saved me, remember? Centuries ago, as I lay on that bank. You thought you drained me until death, but you were inexperienced at blood drinking, as I was your first kill. No, I still lived when you ran off and hid from the sun.
I remember you calling to me that day, promising you’d avenge my death. You were a loyal friend to the end, and I’ll be sure your death is quick and painless. Although I think the Queen will want to have a moment with you before that happens.”
In a voice several octaves higher, he asked, “Why are you working for her?”
“She took me under her wing. I’ve been her loyal servant ever since. Really, she’s not that bad, and to be honest, I like being what we are.”
“Why did you never rescue me? I was your friend!”
“The Queen told me you were dead, but even if I did know, how was I to fish you from the depths of the sea? It was a shock when, several months ago, I smelled your scent travel across the air; that was the day you washed up on the bank. I looked for you but you changed your name, so I thought it had to have been someone else. I swear that I didn’t know you lived until I saw you running down the clearing to the castle, just now. Now, answer me this: Why did you never come and find me? Why did you leave me to die, confused near the river?”
“For the longest time, I thought I was dead. When I woke aside the shore, all I knew was that I needed to be here. Now that I remember why, I can’t believe that my best friend, the one who was like my brother, could ally with evil. I hope you burn in the eternal pit beside your lilin child forever!” he shouted.
Lereux was hardly moved. His face was like stone as he turned to leave.
“Nice to see you, too, friend.”
When they were alone, Saul asked, “What is this? Why can’t I break these bars?”
“These are made with gold and osmium, the densest material on Earth; it’s what the Primordials use,” said Kris.
Several days and nights passed without any occurrence. Impatiently, they sat in their cells trying to keep busy. Starr kept watch over the entire castle, and checked in on the kids, remotely.
Finally, on the seventh night, Misaki snuck down to the dugeon.
“Starr,” she whispered.
“I’m down here.”
She got off her bed, pressed her head against the bar and watched her walk down the hall.
Her eyes circled around, up and down. Briefly, she looked at Ciaran, whose red eyes gleamed through darkness. Misaki looked away in fright.
“Who are all these strange guys?”
“They’re friends. Ciaran’s alright. He’s a nice guy.”
“Have you figured how to break out?”
“No, we just don’t have the strength. Don’t worry about us, though. How are you guys?”
“We’re fine. I got something for you, though.”
She slipped her a folded up piece of paper. Inside was a drawing of a room with furniture and pictures on the wall.
“Well, that’s real nice. I didn’t know you could draw.”
“Tuh,” she spat. “It’s not for your amusement; it’s to help you escape. See this,” she said and ran her index finger along the edge. “This is the security room. Danny thinks that whatever is keeping you locked up is in here. You told me, once, that you can make fire with your mind. Well, what if you burn up this room?”
“Uh, why didn’t you just take a picture?”
“They took our phones away. We’re not allowed computers.”
“Misaki, I appreciate this, but you’re putting your life at risk. If they suspect…”
“Starr, you can’t wait. We can’t wait. The head vampire is coming back tonight! That’s what they said.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, they’re preparing something in the ball room, and they won’t let us in.”
Seth who was now standing in his cell, looking at Starr, said, “We must be ready when they come.”
“Go back upstairs and don’t do anything. Just hide, okay?”
“Okay.” She turned to leave. “Good luck.”
Old Acquaintances