by Lisa Randall
“No. I mean, yes! I will continue to maintain it, but please! There is no reason to hurt me! Me and my family have been loyal, always.” The man said. The demon thought, as if trying to remember who the man spoke of. “Yes,” the demon said, “you Lockewoode’s have always been most loyal, even in tough times.” The man sighed. “But sometimes I wonder at you, Magnus. You do as you are told, but I can tell you hope for a different way of life.” The man began to shake his head in protest. “I can sense it on you, always.” The demon said, leaning close. Magnus shook his head even more, his dark hair getting in his eyes. His behavior and body language said he was loyal to the demons, but I could tell his eyes told the truth. He was scared of them, and they knew it. It was just a matter of getting him to slip up, so they could kill him. Magnus though, I could tell, was very careful with what he showed them, how he really felt. He was surprised at the demon for knowing his deepest feelings, ones he tried to ignore on a daily basis. That he wanted to be free.
Helen, please wake up. Rai’s voice said to me. The image of the room, and everything in it began to fade as I woke up. Rai was sitting in a chair next to me, I was in a bed. Before I could ask what happened, he showed me his most recent memories of what happened. I was shocked about how I had looked while facing Pandora, how my hair floated in the non-existent wind, eyes on fire. At how Selena was a beautiful white fox and how everyone seemed to revere her as some deity, which was yet to be explained. Rai shook his head, indicating they haven’t explained it, at least not while he was around.
I felt my eyes water at remembering my dream. “What’s wrong, Helen?” Rai asked. I showed him my dream and his eyes went wide. We have to tell them. We both said at the same time, mentally. Nodding, I sat up to go with Rai to find Selena and the others. I felt weak, like I had after every time I used my powers in a great way, like clearing the sky or bringing the fire. I looked to Rai, and he replayed what Selena and Alice said while I was passed out. So, the radiation in the air that gives me this power, is also the reason I keep passing out, I thought. Rai nodded. This was shocking news. I only hoped we could find a solution before something worse than me passing out happened.
I got up from the bed and took Rai’s hand for support. We made our way out of the room to find where everyone else was. I let Rai lead, as he could sense where they were better than I could at the moment. They were all in the meeting room we were put in when we first came here, the one with the big stone benches. We walked in and everyone stopped talking to look at us. Alice was sitting at the table, next to Harmony; Selena was sitting in the far corner, and some humans were standing in front of Alice and Harmony. It looked as if they had been arguing, and I wondered at what.
They were arguing about Alice leaving with us. They don’t want Harmony because they think she is too young and inexperienced. Rai said.
Is she? I asked. Rai shrugged. Our abilities were still somewhat new to us, despite our training, and I still wasn’t feeling one hundred percent since I passed out. Looking to Alice and Selena to see if they were okay, they both gave me a slight nod to show it was all under control. I walked over to where the two humans stood, and pushed my way through them to sit in the chairs they were standing by. I didn’t have to do that, I could have sat anywhere, but they were making Alice upset, and I didn’t like that. I felt somewhat protective over her, even if she was more experienced than me and could handle things herself. I sat down and looked at her and Harmony, and gave them a small smile to show I was on their side, no matter what.
Rai sat down next to me and grabbed my hand, either to try and calm me down, or to show support of how I was feeling, either way it helped. The two humans now behind me didn’t know what to make of my actions, and I could feel the looks they were giving me behind my back, but I didn’t care. Keeping my eyes on Alice, I said “So.” More as a statement than a question. The air in the room was already tense enough, and I was still somewhat tired from what happened, I didn’t really want to push things if I didn’t have to. Before anyone could say anything, one of the humans said “There’s no way she can take over for you. She is still learning. We will be basically defenseless if you leave.”
“I am well aware of that, Sam.” She said. I realized then that this man was one of the humans who first greeted us when we came here. Alice was looking at Sam with unshed tears in her eyes, and something clicked for me. Alice and Sam were in love, and he didn’t want her to go. I felt bad that we needed her so bad that she had to leave the rest of them behind, but what I had learned from my dream was important enough that we needed all the help we could get. We had to get that portal closed. I looked to Rai and he gave a slight nod, feeling the same.
I looked to Harmony to ask if she was up to being the head witch in Alice’s absence, and I noticed she was looking at the other human with the same look as Alice was to Sam. Without saying a word I realized they were in love too, and if Alice left, she would have at least one person on her side. His name is Caleb. Rai said silently.
Should we tell them now or wait for them to leave? I asked Rai.
Now would be good. They would hear about it either way before we leave. He said. I nodded.
“Alice, Selena, everyone, we have some news.” I began. I told them about my dream of the demons and the witch, the portal that we needed to shut, and who to get to in order to do it. We came up with a plan to head to the Demon City in order to rescue Lockewoode and his family from the demons, in order to help close the portal. With it closed, we stood a chance of living a somewhat peaceful life, without the threat of demons coming to attack us at a moment’s notice. I could still remember a time when people of all kinds didn’t have to live in fear of evil creatures out to get them. When people lived free and somewhat happy, without the constant threat of death looming over their heads. We figured if we went north, past the Vampire City and east past the Gargoyle City, we wouldn’t be detected on our way to the Demon City, which was far east from our current location. By my estimation, it was slightly north of where I had slept for all of those years.
Alice and Sam were now talking low in one corner of the room, Harmony and Caleb in another, and Selena came up to talk with Rai and I. I asked her about being a white fox, and what that meant, since no one had yet to explain it. Everyone in the room stopped talking then, and looked at us. We all sat down at the table in the middle of the room, as it seemed it would be a long explanation.
“It is rare in our shifter world for an animal to have any white in their fur, let alone all white, like I am. My family comes from a long line of healers, since our packs are always fighting with each other, and living the way we do, the weather and radiation make us sick often, so there was always a strong need for healers of any kind in the pack. What we haven't told either of you yet is that the more of one magic a person uses, the stronger they become in that type of magic over time. Since my family has been using mostly healing magic for generations, our strength in that field is unlike any other. Over time, our coats became whiter and whiter, until finally, there was me, with an all white coat. This shows any who see my fox form that I am a valuable healer, and I am generally left alone. No one wants to be the cause of the death of a healer. Especially when there are so few of us left.” Selena explained.
“The humans see us differently, though.” She said, nodding to Alice to continue.
“In our history, a white fox is told to be a strong healer, and once, a very long time ago, one came to our village and saved us from extinction by teaching us a stronger and more lasting way of dealing with injuries. Those who were dying from radiation sickness were cured by the end of a week, and those with scars from the acid rain were healed to the point their scars were barely visible. We could now cure more types of sicknesses and heal injuries that would have been a death sentence if we had never been helped by that white fox, so long ago. One of my ancestors told stories that have been passed down to each member of my family, telling that if we ever see a white fox, it would be wise t
o help them in any way we could, to repay their kindness from so long ago.” Alice said.
So that explained why they all treated Selena with more respect since she shifted. I realized I had never actually thanked Selena since she healed me, so I said “Thank you, by the way, for helping me. For leaving your pack to help me, as well as helping to heal me earlier. I realize I never gave it much thought. Before I woke up, I had never actually had someone help me more than everyone has in this room. And that’s saying something, since I’m technically older than all of you combined.” I looked at each person in the room that had helped me so much since I woke up. My gaze lingered on Rai and I didn’t have to say any more for him. He already knew how I felt about him.
I guess my little speech made everyone uncomfortable or just speechless, and someone coughed to get someone else to say something. “So.” Alice said, looking at me and holding hands with both Sam and Harmony on either side of her. She gave a little smile to me, showing she appreciated what I was trying to say. “When do we leave?” Alice said to the room. I wanted to leave immediately, but I knew that Alice needed time to say goodbye and to get things in order. “How does the day after tomorrow sound?” I said.
“Sounds good,” Alice said, and everyone agreed. Rai gave my hand a squeeze to reassure me that it was the right decision to wait to leave. Everyone needed time to get things ready and we still needed some more time to train. I knew that we had a huge fight ahead of us, but I was still unsure about using too much power, since it was slowly making me sick. I didn’t want to take any more chances than I had to.
*****
Helen was sleeping next to me outside under the stars, getting ready for the days ahead. I couldn’t stop thinking about Pandora, and all that he had done to these humans. I knew he deserved to die, but I was wondering if the other vampires knew what he had been doing, and if they would retaliate against us for his death. Either way, we had to go by the Vampire City on our way to the Demon City, and it made me nervous thinking about it. I kept thinking if they did retaliate, we didn’t really know how to fight them off without Helen using her powers, which would just make her sick again. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but we wouldn’t know how to fight back, especially if they ambushed us. Helen stirred, and I wondered how I could best keep her safe. Before falling asleep, I could hear the distinct crackle of my electric barrier come to life around us, keeping us safe as we slept.
*****
They dare to put me in a room? I pace the small space of the room, staying in here is like a prison. I can’t remember when I first came here, or even why, but the demons seem to need me around for something. I remember the blood I saw on that man earlier. It made me think of her. The one who made me who I am today. I miss her, but at the same time, I hate her. I want to kiss her and kill her all at the same time. I can’t remember many things, but I do remember her face, and how she used to look at me. I wonder what she would say to me now, since so much time has passed.
A demon comes and opens the door and starts talking and I don’t pay any attention to him. He seems to get mad at me not responding to him, so he brings in another demon. This one I recognize as one of the others that were in that room, but I don’t know his name. He stops at the door and stares at me. He doesn’t say anything, as if he knows I wouldn’t listen to him anyway. He turns to the other demon at the door and utters something I can’t make out. The other one closes the door and leaves me with this other demon. Before my eyes, he changes into her. At first I think it is just a trick, but then she is talking to me in that voice I miss so much, and I am just happy she is even here.
“Why won’t you help the demons, Viktor?” she asks.
“I don’t remember what they even want. Every time I ask, they lock me in here.” I say. I move over to hold her, but she backs away, shaking her head.
“We cannot be together until you help them.” she says.
“But what do they even want?” I beg her. All I want is to hold her like I used to.
“They want you to tell them how to keep the portal open, permanently. Only then can we be together. They know you know how, deep down. I showed you once. Don’t you remember?” she says.
I shake my head. “Sometimes things are crystal clear, other times it’s like I’m a completely different person. I can’t remember much in those times.” I say.
“How do you get that clarity?” she asks.
“I do not know.” I say. How I wish I could help her, if only to hold her one more time.
She turns to leave, and I beg her to stay. She only shakes her head and says “If only you could help me, we could be together again.” And then she is gone. Again. I hear a roar begin to escape my throat before everything goes black.
Chapter 16
I wake up to the sounds of someone yelling in pain. I get up to see that Rai is still asleep, and Alice is a few feet away, waving her hand in the air as if in pain. Before I can ask what is wrong, I see the electric barrier that surrounds us. I shake Rai awake so he can take it down. I wondered if he even knew he put the barrier up. He wakes up and sees what’s going on. I give him a look to take the barrier down, and he does. I get up and go over to Alice to see if she is okay.
“It’s just a shock.” She says. I can see her hand is a bright red, and I know she is downplaying it for our benefit. “I didn’t notice you had a barrier up.” She says. I look to Rai and he says She wanted to see how strong it was. I don’t say anything, not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings. Changing the subject, I ask “So, today is the day?” Alice nods.
“Everything is ready for us to go. Harmony knows as much as I can teach her, and I know she will be okay.” She says.
“Alice, I was wondering if the vampires would retaliate against us killing Pandora.” Rai said. “I hope they don’t take it out on the others while we are gone.”
I hadn’t even thought of that. I hoped they wouldn’t. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt for what I had done, but I wasn’t ashamed of it either. Pandora was evil, and someone had to protect these innocent humans from his tortures. Rai grabbed my hand and held it at his side, to show I wasn’t alone. Whatever happened now, we would deal with it, together.
“Maybe we should go to the vampire city to explain. Maybe they didn’t know about what he was doing, since we only ever saw him, and no one else. Perhaps they will understand?” Alice said. It seemed like she wasn’t sure what they would think, and I know we all hoped they didn’t know about what he had been doing. If they did know about what Pandora was doing, I knew I would do what it takes to make sure it didn’t happen again.
“Do we even know where the Vampire City is?” I asked. There was still so much to this new world I didn’t know.
“I have been there before.” Rai said.
“What were the other vampires like?” I asked.
“I didn’t like how they lived, so I left. I didn’t even say goodbye to anyone, just left. That was years ago. I doubt any of them have changed since then.” He said.
“What happened?” Selena asked, joining us.
“For a long time, I wandered this world alone. No place or people seemed to accept me, or I them. There was always something wrong about the groups I found. Shifters who were so barbaric they would kill their young if they showed weakness, and humans who would try to kill me after they discovered what I was. Even if some of them accepted that I wouldn’t hurt them, there were always others in the group that would try to kill me. So I left, every time. I was alone for who knows how long, and then one night I was staring at the sky, dreaming of the stars, when someone came up to me. It was a vampire named Claudia, and she told me of their city. There was shelter, food and water, and company. She also mentioned entertainment, but at the time I didn’t know what she meant. I had thought she meant stories or books or something. But I was wrong. Oh, how I was wrong.” Rai explained. I took his hand to comfort him, giving it a squeeze to show it was okay to continue.
“When I had been there
for a while, their leader, Augustine summoned me to his house. Not everyone there had their own living space, so for him to have one all for himself was a luxury. He wanted to know if I would join them, and at the time I agreed. Life there wasn’t so bad. I had animals to feed from if I needed to, and others to talk with, and a roof over my head. It was nice for a change, but I missed being on my own sometimes. I just told myself I wasn’t used to the company yet, and I wanted to give the place and people a chance. Then one night everything changed. I was reading something when I heard a loud cheer. I got up and searched for the noise. What I found was horrible. Everyone was in a circle, surrounding something that smelled strongly of blood. In the center was a vampire, torturing a human. Everyone around was cheering at the cries the human was making, like it was a sport. I looked for Augustine and found him sitting on a rock, watching what was happening below him. I asked him what was going on and why. He explained it was their monthly “fun”. He said every month, someone would bring a human, and they would “play” with it until they killed it for sport. His reasoning was that if they didn’t do this, the vampires would hunt down every last human and they would have no more food and would starve to death. So they would do this every month to get the brutality out of everyone’s system, and to provide some “entertainment”. I left that night, never wanting to go back.”