by Candis Vargo
I dug through my closet while I danced around in my underwear humming my favorite tune. I was determined to find my dark blue sundress that had white flowers all over it. Even if I thought the whole idea of the party was stupid I knew that dress would be perfect.
After jumping in the shower and throwing on my dress I found Em waiting in my room. She was sitting on my bed with her legs crossed looking in a notebook.
“Hey. What’s that?” I asked her as I was putting my hair up in a ponytail.
“It’s the spell Gram gave me for tonight,” she said with an unsure look.
“What’s the matter? Are we missing something? I can run and get whatever it is we need.” I walked over to her and sat down on the bed next to her.
“No, we don’t need anything. Apparently there’s a certain time frame for us to cast. We have to cast the spell right before the moon is at its highest point.”
“So what’s wrong with that? What time is that anyway?”
“Well what’s wrong with it is we have only about forty seconds to cast the spell and get it right. I’ll have to look at the calendar to figure out the time frame.”
I suddenly understood why she was so worried. Forty seconds. That was it. The fate of Chace lied in our hands and forty seconds. Unease passed through me but I wasn’t going to let it show.
“Okay, you work on the time and I will work on getting this place ready for the party. You’d think since it was the Coven who decided to throw it they would be the ones to prepare for it,” I said.
“That would be the polite thing to do. Don’t forget you’re talking about the Coven.”
She had a point.
“Okay. Let’s get to work shall we?” I stood up and held out my hand to her.
She took my hand and stood up. “We shall.”
We laughed as we made our way down stairs. I walked into the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee when I noticed a piece of paper on the island. Apparently the Coven had left a list of everything they wanted for the party. It didn’t take me long to see I was the only one who would have time to go get everything they wanted. The credit card next to the list kind helped me realize that.
“Oh, that’s a long list,” Em said.
“Way to point out the obvious,” I groaned. It seemed like I was doing that a lot today.
“Well, you better get a move on it. We have to get everything here and set up before any of them show up.”
“Yeah I hear you.” I walked out the door with the list in hand.
As soon as I stepped outside it felt like it was eighty degrees already. It wasn’t even nine in the morning and I was already sweating. I was dreading how hot it would be when it was time for the party. I even thought about hooking some fans up outside just so I could stand in front of them the whole time.
I hastily made my way to my Nitro so I could get all of this bull shit shopping done in time. The way I looked at it, I had at least three hours to go to the store to get everything and get back. I figured that would be enough time to get everything set up. I glanced down at the list and realized it would take me twice that long if I shopped around town. I would have to go to several of our little stores to get everything they wanted. I decided to drive the thirty minutes to the nearest super mart. At least super marts have everything in one place.
After arriving at the store I grabbed a shopping cart and tried to swerve around as many people as I could. I forgot how busy super marts were. I was glad they had signs above the isles because it wouldn’t have taken me long to get lost. I walked the entire store several times trying to get everything on the list. I’m not really sure what rush hour traffic is like, but I’m sure this was similar.
I made it home with time to spare. Em was wiping off the tables she had set up for the food. I’m really not good at cooking so I bought everything I could that was already made. Em and I didn’t get a chance to talk about the Blood Moon for a while because we were running around putting on table cloths and setting everything up. Father wasn’t here so I assumed he was having some sort of discussion with Lord Matthias.
We set everything up making sure we had enough of everything to go around. It wasn’t something I would call fun but it kept my mind off of Chace for the time. Slicing cheese and putting crackers on a platter somehow managed to keep me sane for a little while. While we were putting ice in the coolers Roland showed up carrying one of his own. I was about to ask what was in it before common sense kicked in. The Vamps needed drinks of their own. I hoped it wasn’t fresh blood but blood that was donated to the Red Cross. I always preferred it when they would steal blood in bags opposed to draining some helpless soul for it.
I thought the Coven would be the first ones to show up, especially since this little get together was their idea. I thought wrong…they were the last. When they arrived it was like they were looking around to find something that was missing or set up wrong. I was annoyed as I watched them examine every detail. Lucky for me, they only complained because the alcohol wasn’t cold enough yet. That wasn’t something I could control because father refuses to let me get a fake ID. Therefore, I couldn’t buy it. Father brought it with him when he came home which wasn’t that long ago. Those ungrateful bitches should just be glad they had anything at all.
I did the best I could to be a good hostess and welcome everyone that came. I wasn’t surprised when the Fallen didn’t show up. They were probably all going back to where they came from, trying to forget Chace.
As much as I didn’t agree with the party it was still nice to see everyone relax. Life was perfect to them. Leviathan was gone and the war with the Fallen no longer existed. They would be able to sleep easy at night without a worry in the world.
I figured it would have taken a little longer for everyone to start dipping into the alcohol. As soon as everyone had something to eat they began to pass out shots of Bacardi and bottles of beer. I wasn’t complaining. I was actually going to use it to my advantage. I knew it would be even easier for Em and I to slip away unnoticed. Roland seemed to be drinking only blood, which was disgusting. There was nothing attractive at all about watching a Vamp drink blood but at least he stayed away from the alcohol so he could help us tonight. I didn’t pay any attention to what father was doing; after all he is the parent, not me.
Everyone sat around gossiping for hours. Of course they were talking about me and my powers but I tried to ignore them the best I could. Whenever someone said something to me directly I just smiled and tried to act like I was busy. When it began to get dark outside I took it upon myself to light a bonfire. I wanted to get everyone occupied farther away from the house so we could slip away when the time came.
After everyone moved over to the fire with the coolers Em and I dashed inside and headed straight for my room. We locked the door behind us and she grabbed her notebook off of the bed as she sat down.
“Okay,” she said. “The moon is supposed to be at its highest at 11:57 exactly. We need to make sure our watches are right and watch them closely. As soon as it hits 11:56 we need to be ready to start casting.”
“What am I supposed to do? I don’t do the whole spell casting stuff. Gram said we both needed to do something.”
Em began reading from her notebook. “You need to conger up the four elements at once. Conger them and cast them as a barrier in between the holy and the unholy. We will be able to sense it once we’re there. We don’t want anything to come across and we don’t want to trip and fall over there. You will be casting a barrier and I need to do the spell for the portal.”
“Will it work?” I asked. “I mean, when the Coven tried to cast Leviathan to hell it didn’t work. So will this spell work?”
“This one isn’t like anything the Coven has. The spells Gram has are much stronger than theirs. That’s another reason they don’t talk to her anymore. The Coven banned anything that they didn’t see fit to their likings. Gram wouldn’t give up her stronger magic because she believed we needed to be pushed. We all n
eeded to reach our full potential. Kind of like you guys. The Pixies look forward to their nineteenth birthday because they hit that mark. That’s what Gram wanted for us,” she said, giving me a knowing look.
“So why don’t you agree with what the Coven wants?” I asked.
“Because they’re a bunch of small minded bitches.”
“True,” I said nodding my head.
“Okay, so we will have to sneak away at least thirty minutes before the high Blood Moon. That leaves us about two hours. I think we should go down and try to limit the shots the Coven takes. I wish alcohol would make them happier people but unfortunately it goes the other way. They can be ruthless with their magic so someone needs to babysit them,” Em said as she ripped a page from her notebook and shoved it in her back pocket of her jeans.
“Okay, I’ll be right down. I need to change,” I said.
“Leave me to babysit alone. I love you too.” She smiled as she walked out of the room.
I changed into my favorite pair of black yoga pants and a fitted pink tee shirt. I figured I would be more comfortable in the woods with pants on opposed to my dress.
I walked over to my bed and pulled the dagger out from under my mattress. I needed to take one last look at it before I freed Chace. As I stood there looking at it in the palm of my hands, I felt I needed more information on it. It normally took me a long time to change so I knew Em wouldn’t think anything was up. I ran over to my laptop and typed in Soul Dagger in the search field. When drawings came up on the screen I ran back over to lock my door.
With the dagger on my desk I began clicking on every link that came up. I don’t know what I was looking for, maybe nothing specific. I was intrigued when I clicked on a link about how the dagger sends souls to Hell. I began to reading the words on the screen.
‘The Soul Dagger. It is used by Demons to send a soul to the Mouth of Satan. If a Demon sends a rewarding amount of souls to Lucifer in a short time they are normally rewarded with prestige, or at least that is what is rumored.
Although it is used mainly by a Demon, others can also use it to send one to hell. It can be used by anyone from mortal to immortal. Its powers hold no boundaries. However, when it is not used by a Demon one must know the soul cannot remain in Hell. Whether suicide or murder, the soul must return. Since the Soul Dagger is meant for Demonic possession, in the hands of any other its power is not strong enough.
There are only a handful of previous mortals and immortals that have tried and failed. The soul is only able to remain in the realm of Hell for a certain length of time. Since the last known occurrence was when time was measured by the sun and the moon, the exact minutes were no recordable. With that fact we also know that the soul does not remain for more than one hour or there would be record of it.
There is also no record for what happens to a soul once it is-’
I heard a pounding at my door and knew it could only be one person. I closed my laptop and stowed away the dagger in the top drawer of my desk. As I walked over to the door I yelled, “I’m coming!”
“It took you that long to change into those?” Em asked as she examined my outfit.
“I had to find the pants. My dresser is a disaster.” I shrugged my shoulders.
Em grabbed my wrist and began pulling me toward the steps as she groaned. Apparently I was on the internet longer than I thought. Now we had less than an hour to get Chace back.
Em was right about the Coven and alcohol. The two didn’t mix that well. As long as I’ve known them I have never seen them as bad as they were that night. Drunk and ill-mannered didn’t even begin to describe them.
Chapter 25
I was glad when I saw Roland approaching me from the distance. I didn’t know what the Coven was up to but I wanted to stay away from them as much as I could. I told Em I would be right back after I went to see what Roland wanted. I walked around the Coven as fast as I could making sure I gave them my best fake ass smile on my way by.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked.
“Nothing, I just thought you might want to talk a little bit before we have to…you know. Maybe it would take your mind off of it. I know you won’t forget but maybe just relax a bit,” Roland said.
“Yeah, sure.” I glanced back at the Coven as Roland and I made our way to a couple of chairs. Every member of the Coven except Em was glaring at me. When we sat down I was glad we were facing the fire and away from them. I never thought of the Coven as evil per-se, but the way they were glaring at me made me think they had something sinister up their sleeve.
“So what did you want to talk about?” I asked.
“I really didn’t have anything in mind. I just figured we could talk about anything that comes to mind. You have anything?”
“Not really,” I laughed.
“Okay then I will start. I know we’ve never really gotten to know each other on a deeper level so why don’t we start there?”
“Sounds good. I’ll start then,” I said. “So what I want to know is, you say you have these feelings for me right? Then why did every time we were together feel like a meeting with you? They always felt like it was purely business and nothing more.”
When he winced, I noticed that jumping right into that took him by surprise.
“Well, you still never dated anyone and I wanted you to have that opportunity. I wouldn’t have held it against you. I was just hoping you would have had more experiences before the union. I’m sorry they always felt like that. Every time we were going to meet up I was overwhelmed with joy. I guess I kind of thought the flowers, candy, and trying to say what I thought you would want to hear would make you want to spend some more time with me. I guess after not having a relationship in over a thousand years kind of put a damper on my knowledge of women,” he said.
I felt a twinge of guilt turn in my stomach. He was right. He hasn’t been with a woman for a very long time and he probably thought we were the same as we were back then. I never really thought it would be that hard for a Vamp to realize the changes in women. He always did do really sweet stuff and say all the things plenty of girls would want to hear. But I wasn’t the average girl. I was rough around the edges and required a little more depth than flowers.
“Yeah I imagine it would,” I laughed. “Let’s take this to a lighter note. Let’s see…what is something you always wanted to do that you haven’t? I’m sure since you’ve been around for a long time you have done a lot of things, but what is one thing you haven’t done yet?”
Roland hesitated a few moments as he looked around. I don’t know what he was looking for. Maybe inspiration. Maybe he was just thinking about all the things he had already done. I knew it would be a tough question for him but I wanted to get to know him. I wanted to know the real Roland I never let myself see before. I wanted to see the depth of him, to know his flaws so I could see him as a real person. As real as he could be to a person anyway.
“Music,” he said.
“Music?”
“Yeah, music. I don’t want to be a rock star or anything like that. But I would love to see a concert. I always thought the best place to work would be doing something where you could watch bands preform every night. Especially before they become famous. I could blend in with society and do something I loved at the same time. Every night I would be able to see what I have always wanted to see, but haven’t.”
That was one answer I hadn’t expected. I figured he would have said something about meeting the Queen of England or climbing the Eiffel Tower. It was probably naive of me to think that. He probably already did those things. I’m sure in his time as a Vamp he has met many Queens of several different countries and has probably even jumped off of the top of the Eiffel Tower.
“What about you?” he asked.
“I never really thought about it. I never really thought I would be able to do many things or see too many places in my life. I always pictured myself leading the Pixies and doing what it took to survive. I never thought it would mean fig
hting off demons but hey, at least I know I can keep everyone safe.”
“Well I just told you something I never told anyone before, so you need to come up with something.”
I felt the intensity of Roland’s gaze as he looked me in the eyes. I wanted depth and that seemed to be exactly what I was getting. I didn’t see the world through his eyes as I did with Chace. I saw something entirely different that showed me who he really was.
I never really believed you could see someone’s soul through their eyes until I met Chace. Now it seemed like I was seeing Roland’s, even if he technically didn’t even have one anymore. Looking into his eyes I saw endless pain and suffering. The first thing I thought of was the centuries he has lived as a Vamp. All of the lives he had taken and the blood he had drank. Looking into his eyes I could see that each time he fed left him with guilt. More than guilt, it seemed like it was slowly tearing him apart from the inside.
How didn’t I see that before? Why didn’t I pay enough attention? If I would have simply looked into those eyes a long time ago I would have known. I would have been able to see him for who he truly was. Not some power hungry killer. But instead someone who hates every bit of what they have become.
I looked away and said, “Well, travel the world maybe. I’m kind of like you on that I guess. I don’t want to be famous or have my name go down in history. I would love to travel the world and see the history of it instead. See the hieroglyphics or the old underground cities. I’d like to see the history of the world that my soul came from.”
“That definitely wasn’t like my answer. Yours was far better. I’ve seen a lot of underground cities. The best place for those is Cappadocia. That’s in Turkey. They have an amazing amount of underground cities there and only a handful of them are open to public. I could show you the ones that aren’t. I mean, if you wanted that. It wouldn’t be some big romantic date or anything. We are going to get Chace back. He must be something if you love him so much. The two of you would love to see it, I’m sure of it,” he said. He didn’t look the least bit jealous or envious. He looked proud. It was in that moment I knew he was serious about just wanting me to be happy.