I wasn’t sure how I was not burning to ash, or writhing in pain. Instead, I felt amazing. I glorified in the hot fire that engulfed my body. It felt delicious. I stepped toward him, glaring, practically spitting in anger.
“How dare you touch me that way, you filthy animal! You are lucky I don’t burn you alive, you damn dog!”
The man held his ground. He began to change as he shouted at me. “I am not a damned dog!”
I watched in stunned silence as he morphed before my eyes. His clothes tearing into useless tatters. He was indeed not a dog. I wasn’t sure what he was. His skin had darkened to an odd gray color and his face was the combination of human and animal I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Wings rose behind him, thin skin stretched tight like bat wings. He was amazing to behold, and although I knew I should be afraid of the teeth and claws, I couldn’t help but be fascinated.
My face must have reflected the awe I felt, for the man hesitated in his attack. He seemed perplexed by my expression. “You don’t know what I am, do you?”
I smiled. “No way. I’ve never seen anything like you. You’re pretty amazing though. I would love to have wings.”
Tilting his head, the low growl died in his throat. Shaking his head, he frowned. “Uh, I am a Gargoyle. You know, we stand guard over churches and old buildings.”
I laughed. “Oh, okay. I know what you are now. I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.”
Shrugging, he said, “You know we are supposed to be fighting each other, not sitting around talking.”
My mouth formed the word, “oh”. “Yeah, okay. Sorry. Um, so like, should I hit you, or something?”
The Gargoyle advanced on me, and his friends had begun returning. I didn’t know anything about fighting, or about what this fiery power of mine would do. I honestly didn’t want to seriously injure him, I just wanted to teach him manners. When he leapt into the air at me, my instincts seemed to kick in and I ducked to the side. He landed on the opposite side, whirling around with a growl.
I advanced on him, and when he leaped up, I lifted my hands to shield myself. When my hands connected with him, I felt a surge of strength. I tossed him aside causing him to land hard on the ground. Walking around him, I looked down at him. The skin where I had touched him had charred, but as I watched, it peeled off like dust and a new healthy layer showed through.
“Do you always heal like that? It’s weird, kinda like a snake shedding its skin.”
He was startled when I spoke. “Uh, yes. We shed our skin sort of, and it removes any wounds, but if they are too deep we can be mortally wounded.”
“Oh, so you are not immortal then?” I studied him. I was honestly curious about this creature.
Finally, he stood and morphed back to a man. He laughed lightly. “You are not very good at this whole fighting thing, are you?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ve only been like this for about a month, since Halloween, and I’m still getting used to things.”
The others, now piqued by the conversation, surrounded us with curious expressions. Their leader sighed. “I am Chandler. I am the general of this group.”
Frowning, I tried to cool the fire within me. Then I remembered what would be gone if my fire died down. The last thing I wanted was to be naked in front of these men. My flames had grown smaller, but they continued to burn. Chandler seemed to notice this issue.
Turning toward another of his men, he spoke quietly. I watched as the man raced off into the night. Frowning, I thought perhaps I should leave. I wasn’t supposed to trust anyone. First, I wanted to scold Chandler for his terrible behavior.
“You are not much of a general considering you guys are out causing terror and trying to assault young women.”
Chandler frowned again. “Well, that’s what Gargoyles do. We wreak havoc on the human world.”
I studied him. “You don’t seem so bad; don’t you think you would be better off doing something more constructive? Where are your leaders? Do they teach you to be this way?”
“We don’t have a leader. The Gargoyles have not had a leader since most of our race was eradicated centuries ago. Those who remained have hidden and laid low. We are the offspring of the few who remain, and we do not want to hide. That’s why I started searching for others like myself, wandering alone, hiding from Vampires and other non-humans.”
I felt sorry for them. As gruesome as they looked in Gargoyle form, I couldn’t imagine why someone would want to eradicate them. “I’m Val…Valyrie. Tell me, who killed your leader and why?”
Chandler regarded me wearily. I hoped he wouldn’t question my hesitation when giving my name, but I had decided it would be best not to go by my true name. After a long moment, and a few nods from the others, he shrugged.
“A long time ago there was a Vampire who went on a killing spree. He was looking for someone, and when the Gargoyle queen refused to cooperate, he killed her. The others attacked, many were slain, and those who survived fled. I have heard rumors that he possesses a weapon which can kill anything. I am trying to bring our kind back together. We were once a formidable Cast, but now we are scattered.”
I nodded. I wondered who this Vampire was that had devastated their kind. “Do you know what his name was, the one who killed your queen? Did you ever hear who he was looking for?”
He shook his head. “No. No names were ever repeated. There were not enough survivors to carry the details.”
“If you wish to rebuild your Cast, and rise up once again, then don’t you think it would be best to become something more than hooligans? Surely others will join you if they see you are a worthy leader doing something to make the Gargoyles great again?”
He seemed to think my words over. “The thing is, Valyrie, I do not know what to do, what would make us great again.”
I shrugged. The man he had sent off had reappeared in the darkness with a bundle in his arms. He set the bundle on the porch. Chandler smiled and pointed to it.
“A peace offering. Some clothes so you can let your flame rest. We would like you to join us.”
I smiled in gratitude. “Thank you. I am grateful for the clothes. Unfortunately, I must continue on my own. I was told the only way to find myself is to be alone. Besides, I need to find The Fiddler.”
Chandler tilted his head in consideration. “Makes sense I guess. Being alone can teach you a lot about yourself. I’ve never heard of this Fiddler, but a word of advice?” When I nodded, he continued. “Next time someone is attacking you, talking is probably not going to work. Good luck, Valyrie.”
I chuckled as I waved to the Gargoyles. When they had disappeared, I crept onto the porch and extinguished my flames. Laying in the cool night air, I allowed my body time to cool before I attempted to pull the clothing on. I felt I owed the Gargoyles for their act of kindness. One day, I hoped to be able to pay them back for it.
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9
Face From The Past
Stalking through the woods, Valkyrian studied the large, daunting mansion situated on top of the hill. He knew there was no way for him to sneak onto the premises, and likely he had already alerted the owner of the house to his presence. It was a tricky thing, to try and avoid the awareness of a predator such as a Vampire, especially one as old, and deadly as Nyte. Once, the two of them had been close as brothers, but now, they were divided by grief. Even four hundred years had not calmed the tide of anger they both felt over the injustice done to their precious Valkyrie.
For him, Valkyrie was like the lifeblood of his soul. She was his sister, his twin, the child who had grown in the same womb as he did. The connection they shared was unlike anything he could describe. They were connected by blood, by their souls. As children, there were times when it felt they had even been of one mind. When she had burned, Valkyrian had felt a piece of his soul burn with her. He had felt the day of her rebirth, eighteen years earlier. It still baffled him, how it had taken so long for his sister to re-enter this world.
Seeing he
r alive, he had felt a piece of his soul rekindle with the rest of him. He would do anything to keep her safe, to see her remain alive, but he had things he had to take care of. He knew what her rebirth meant. He knew of the foretelling, and he knew what awaited their world. The man he had once called his father had grown mad. He had evil schemes hatched, plans he had spent the better part of three centuries hatching and revising. Terrible things, wicked things he planned to unleash, and the humans would never survive.
Sadness filled his mind at the thought of his father. Once, he had loved Byron Walker, idolized him. He had shadowed the Vampire, learning everything he could, but it hadn’t taken long for Valkyrian to see past the illusion and into the delusion that was his father’s mind. The great Vampire had snapped. Valkyrian blamed it on his mother’s death, but in truth, he knew it must have happened long before that. He had discovered many secrets, not only about his father, but about his mother as well. Secrets that were dangerous.
Speaking of danger, he felt the eyes of a predator watching him. He focused his attention on his surroundings once more. Aeron Nyte was not a Vampire you wanted to underestimate. He had learned that lesson long ago. A twig snapped nearby, and Valkyrian stilled. He knew it was a warning. Nyte never allowed for mistakes such as that.
“Nyte, it is I, Valkyrian. We must speak. It is imperative. Please, old friend, I am asking you to control yourself, and speak with me.”
A dark husky laugh echoed through the trees around him. “You speak to me of control, Valkyrian? You, who kills your own kind?”
Valkyrian winced. “That was a long time ago, Aeron. And, you know exactly why I did what I did. They deserved to die. You should know, after all, you made sure none of the witnesses of Val’s death were left alive, except for Belladona, Byron and Wolfe.”
Aeron’s deep gravelly voice was low when he responded. “Byron and Wolfe were not left alive by choice. One day, I will get a chance to kill your father, and you had better stay out of my way.”
Valkyrian lifted a brow. Clearly, Aeron was not in a reasonable mood this night. “Will you invite me inside, or shall I hide out here like an animal?”
“If you were an animal, you would already be dead, Valkyrian. There is nothing you can say that I want to hear.”
“Then you know already that she is alive. How? How did you find out she had been found?” Valkyrian took a step forward.
“I felt her. I found her wandering a cemetery in Charleston. I knew it was her. That’s why I want you to leave. She is no longer a part of my life. Find Wolfe. Let him clean up his own mess. You and I both know she is not what she once was. She is…something forbidden.”
The moon cast its light down through the trees, illuminating the face of the man he had come to see, and Valkyrian sucked in a breath. “You have changed. How can you just cast her away? Wolfe may have been the one to curse her, but you cared once, too, cared enough to seek blood and vengeance for her death.”
Aeron surged forward then, anger igniting in his features. Before Valkyrian could react, Aeron had grabbed hold of his throat, squeezing with his strong grip. Valkyrian froze.
“You idiot. I did not care for her, I loved her. Loved her like no other. Why do you think I choose to stay away now?”
Through gritted teeth, Valkyrian seethed. “Then you should want to know about the danger that seeks her.”
Aeron’s hand dropped from Valkyrian’s throat. Shaking his head, Valkyrian studied the man he called his friend. His eyes had changed, and his face was harder. Shaking his head, he sighed.
“You really need to get a grip on that temper of yours, Aeron. I need the cool, calm, disciplined Aeron Nyte, not the animal who can’t maintain control.”
Aeron paced the clearing in the woods. “What threat are you speaking of? She will always face danger, especially if Byron still lives.”
“It is not Byron alone that we must worry about. I have recently discovered that someone has begun experimenting on Vampires. There are rumors circulating that whoever is doing this is seeking a weapon.”
“Valkyrian, you just described all of the human race. They do these things, they experiment, they wage war, and they kill each other. What does this have to do with her?”
“This has everything to do with her. It is Valkyrie they are hunting. It is her that they design this weapon for.”
Aeron’s multihued eyes focused quickly on Valkyrian’s face. “Why would they need to build a weapon for her?”
“You have heard the prophecies, too, my friend. You know what they say. You know the ramifications for being reborn are high. We both know she is changed. I have discovered…secrets about our mother. Secrets that could change the outcome of the prophecies. There are things about Valkyrie we never knew, things that, coupled with the spell of resurrection, could be catastrophic.”
Aeron growled deep in his chest. He wanted to tear something apart. As much as he hadn’t wanted her to die, he cursed Wolfe for muttering that spell. The young Witchling hadn’t known what he was doing, or what he might create.
“What do you need me to do?” Aeron studied the intensity of Valkyrian’s face, the determination in his friend’s green eyes, and he knew he wasn’t going to like the answer.
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Lying still, I felt again the seductive quality of the honey voice as I revisited the past month. Why did this Desmond have such a thrall over me? Shaking my head, I refused to think of the mysterious man again. I had to move. I had stayed in the dilapidated houses of Hurricane Katrina’s ground zero for too long. I felt vulnerable here. The night I had encountered the Gargoyles, I had felt dirty, in desperate need of a bath. Now, I had learned something else about myself.
When I allowed myself to burn, it took away all the dirt and left me feeling beautiful, refreshed, and clean. It was kind of neat, not needing to bathe. I could just scorch myself, and bam, I was clean. Of course, it didn’t exactly do wonders for my clothing. I actually missed the smooth tight leather of Belladona’s clothing. The black jeans and t-shirt the Gargoyles had given me were not too bad, but they didn’t fit the way the leather had.
Forcing myself up, I began again my quest to seek out this Fiddler, whoever he was. I had the distinct feeling he was not here in New Orleans, but I found that I wasn’t quite ready to leave this beautifully chaotic city yet. I was bored. I had been walking and hiding and exploring my thoughts too long on my own. I needed to be around others. I needed a new wardrobe. I didn’t want to steal, but at this point, I didn’t really know what to do.
Wandering along the cobbled streets of the French Quarter, I took in the sights as any other wandering tourist might. It wasn’t until I noticed several long looks from the people walking around me that I became concerned I was standing out too much. Sneaking into a second-hand clothing shop, I looked around for a mirror. Surely a clothing store would have a mirror. The dark woman behind the counter watched me with curiosity.
At the end of one aisle, I finally found it. A full-length mirror. I stared at my reflection. Turning my face to one side, and then the other, I examined it for anything undesirable. I didn’t see anything out of ordinary. My clothes may not have been the height of fashion, but they were nothing to cause people to stare. Following the mirror, I looked from my feet to my face. When I got to my face, I paused. There was a difference there. My hair hung perfectly about my shoulders with an eerie red hue kissing the black strands.
It looked as though it had just been perfectly straightened by a professional, and I had to admit, my hair had never looked this good before. My face itself seemed to have changed ever so slightly. I was still me, but there was a subtle difference. I felt like I was prettier. My skin seemed flawless with its ivory coloring, and my hazel eyes seemed to have gained a more vibrant golden hue.
The woman behind the counter walked toward me. She smiled, and her dark skin seemed to glow. “You okay, child?”
I smiled politely back at her. Nodding, I said, “Yes, I think so. I just
felt like people were staring a lot. I thought I had something on me.”
She laughed. “Oh, child. They stare because you are beautiful. It is both a gift and a curse of the others. We are all beautiful, but you child, you absolutely glow.” She winked at me. Picking up a pair of pants from the rack, she held them out to me.
“These are your size, love. They would fit like a glove.” She waited for me to take them, and I found myself stuck. I sighed. Bowing my head, I shook it.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have any money to buy those. I’ll leave. I’m sorry for bothering you.”
Her hand on my arm stopped me. Her touch was cool, almost to the point of soothing. It was the way she looked down at my arm that made me worried. When I looked down too, I knew already what I would see. The fire in my veins had stirred in self-defense. I sighed. I didn’t know how I was going to explain this one. When I looked up, the woman’s smile had grown wider.
Letting go of my arm, she disappeared around a rack before popping out again. I stood in silence, unsure what she was doing, but she seemed excited. She gathered clothing and shoes as she bustled around. Waving me forward, she called, “Come, come on, child.”
She stopped before the curtained dressing room. Pointing inside, she held a pile of clothing out to me. In her other hand, she held a satchel. “You can have whatever you can fit in this bag and wear on you. A gift.”
Staring at her, I hesitated. “Why? Why would you be so kind to me?”
She smiled again, and I had the feeling she was a very wise woman. “Because your mama was my friend. Come. Try them on.”
I was confused. She didn’t mean my human mother, of that I was certain. She had been born and raised in Oregon and had never ventured further than Washington. It didn’t make sense. I had no idea whether I was born to a Vampire or was created. Perhaps it was wrong, and it made me a bad person, but I wasn’t going to correct her and refuse the free clothes. I had nothing to my name, and I needed them.
Becoming Valkyrie (Pyralis Book 1) Page 9