“Little did the Diviners know,” Era spoke softly, “they themselves were being hunted.”
“That’s enough Era, story time is over,” Dimitri said. “Has anyone seen Aiden?”
“If you’re looking for the hot head, he’s out in the yard playing with fire,” Christine said as her and Micah came in from off the balcony. She grabbed his arm, taking a seat across from Elijah and Rae.
Dimitri didn’t say anything, only left the room and his Diviner behind. The air grew cold, illuminated by red and orange lights coming from outside.
“He always does this; don’t pay him any mind,” Wiley said. “Era, shall we continue on with the story?”
Elijah broke in, “I think we’ve heard enough for one night. Rae needs to rest.”
“But I just got here, brother, can’t you stay a little longer?” Micah asked.
“No, Micah. There are more important things to handle here than to be taught a history lesson,” Elijah said. He picked Rae up, turning to Naida and Wiley. “Is there a spare room Rae can use?”
Naida nodded and led Elijah out of the living area. The hallways were dark, lit only by elegant candles in candelabras on either side of the hallway. Mirrors lined the passageway, and a large portrait hung on the far wall. The painting was of a family, or rather, of the men he’d met over the last few hours. Dimitri was sitting in a high-backed chair the color of mahogany with elemental symbols etched into the wooden frame.
Aiden and Wiley sat on either side of Dimitri, the man he figured was EJ in front of the other men. Elijah wondered where the women were or if the painting had been constructed prior to their existence with the Furies.
“Dimitri is the oldest,” Naida said, noticing Elijah engrossed in the painting. “Aiden and Wiley are the youngest, and EJ is in the middle. This painting was painted more than 500 years ago when they were of age to assume the full responsibility of the Fury. Every time they see this, they want to destroy it.”
“Why don’t they?” Elijah asked.
“Because it’s all they have left of who they used to be,” Naida said. “They use it as a reminder of a simpler time, use it when they have lost themselves and need a reality check.”
They took a left down another corridor, lit with more candelabras, paintings lining the hallway. Each painting was of a landscape, or a map, a person, another family. The hallways reminded him of those of a castle, lined with memories of past families and the history that goes along with the kingdom. Elijah returned to reality when the click of a lock sounded in the hallowed hall.
“Your room is across the hall, and here is your key,” she said. “It was nice to meet both of you. I know we’ve given you a lot of information to process and it will not end here, but it will all make sense in time. Have a good night, Elijah.”
Naida vanished in a cloud of glitter and smoke, like a magic trick without a trap door or bright flash of light. Rae stayed motionless in his arms while he walked her to the dark bed. This room was set up much like Lana’s, only the curtains in the room were black velvet, the bedding and furniture a luscious ruby color, silky like satin against skin.
He brought the covers up to her chin, listening to her heartbeat as she breathed. Elijah wished he could be human again, seeing how humans wasted their lives away, drinking and throwing themselves at danger or sitting, watching opportunities walk in and out in the blink of an eye. He saw people destroy their bodies, their lungs, their livers, saw how they treated their friends and family, used them, betrayed them. He wondered why people were so corrupt, why they had to manipulate others to get what they wanted out of life.
Sometimes Elijah wished he could end his own life so he didn’t have to watch everyone else suffer from the choices they made, watch them complain and do nothing to fix what they ruined. He wished he didn’t have to feel, didn’t have to suffer along with them. But suffering along with them reminded him of why he became a vampire, of why he chose to continue with the transformation, continue the bloodline. It was his duty to help end the corruption, to find the disease and destroy it.
“You can’t destroy what doesn’t exist,” Rae said softly. “Humanity and human nature, they are natural, and if you destroy them, you destroy yourself.”
He blew the candle out, engulfing the room in darkness.
Chapter 18
Light teal eyes surrounded by a golden orange ring watched as tree after tree in the yard burst into flames. The flames would then disappear, leaving the trees unharmed. That was the beauty of fire, he could use it to harm, or he could use it to entertain, all without hurting anyone or anything. His arms resting against the railing, Aiden closed his eyes.
He felt heat against his face, saw light dancing through his eyelids, and the purple veins of his eyelids illuminated by the movement of fire. Pressure fell upon his shoulders then, turning him around. The pressure was there again, followed by a gentle shaking.
“Aiden cut it out!” he heard a voice say. When he opened his eyes, Dimitri was standing before him, hands on his biceps, the reflection of dancing flames in the windows behind the other Fury.
He jerked away from his friend, simmering the flames back to nothing. The trees crumpled to ash, blackening the ground.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Dimitri asked. “You could give away our position.”
“Let them find us, I mean what they want is on her deathbed in the house,” Aiden said, an open palm toward the window. “I mean what do they want with her anyway? She’s just a fucking human.”
“Aiden stop being ridiculous,” Dimitri said.
“How am I being ridiculous? Have you paid no attention?” Aiden asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“This is how it begins, Dimitri, and it’s happening again, don’t you see?”
“You underestimate our power,” Dimitri said.
“We are not strong enough.”
“Do you even know who you’ve become infatuated with?”
“Lana is human, Dimitri. A being with no business messing with powers she knows nothing of.”
“You honestly think she intentionally conjured the Darkness? Are you insane?”
“Why else would she be with the Darkness?”
“Lana is much more than you think.”
“You need to stay away from her. Once she is healed, she’s going home,” Aiden said.
Vines started growing, wrapping around the railing of the balcony, bending and reshaping the metal framing. “I found her. I started training her. Aiden, she is more than we have ever encountered.”
Fire engulfed the vines, the metal glowing a bright orange beneath the flames. “What do you mean you started training her?”
“Lana is not human!” Dimitri said, his voice rising.
“No, you’re lying.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I would know if she was anything other than just that…”
The fire slowly diminished the metal crackling from the heat.
“She’s human, she has to be human,” Aiden mumbled.
“Why won’t you open your eyes and see what is right in front of you? Why else would she calm you when she’s around? Mother Nature. The Amethyst Fury. It’s all right in front of you, Aiden, if you just open your eyes!”
“Lana is human, she has to be human,” the Ruby Fury mumbled once more, stumbling over a wooden table behind him. He hit the concrete hard, looking back at the Emerald Fury. “I don’t care what you say. Lana is human, and I’m going to prove it!”
“Aiden, wait,” but he was already gone, sending sparks and flames toward the ground.
~
“You really must be quieter when you’re talking about people, you could have woken her,” Elijah said when Dimitri walked in. He was sitting in a white leather armchair in the corner, watching Lana’s frail frame slowly regain color. “Her heart rate has increased, but only slightly. There’s no telling how long until she wakes, if she wakes.”
“She will wake, Elijah.” Dimitri
sounded tired as he spoke.
“You baited me with my brother, why?” Elijah asked.
“I needed you to leave so I could help Lana,” he answered. “For that I am truly sorry.”
“Can we get back to the story?”
“I told you, that story is for another night, and it is still tonight.”
“I’ve had enough deceit for a night, Dimitri. Either you tell me straight forward what you are and what you want with Lana, or I’m taking her away and you will lose the precious ‘Fury’ you tried so hard to bring out of her,” Elijah threatened.
“You can’t ‘bring’ a Fury out of someone, if that were possible she wouldn’t exist. None of us would.”
Dimitri stroked her cheek, and a bright yellow flower formed, the stem growing from under her nightgown, wrapping around her neck and under her chin. A spiraling leaf grew from the stem and around her ear. A yellow blossom, the shape of a tear, drooped beneath her eye on her cheek.
“The White Dragontear,” he said. “A symbol of life, and of strength, the flower reveals itself to only the purest of souls. Lana’s soul is pure.”
“Is yours?” Elijah asked.
“Mine was, many years ago. Elijah, Lana needs to stay with us. She needs to train, and she needs to recover from this on her own terms.”
“You mean on your terms. I’ve seen this side of her before, I watched as she nearly died and came back to life, a miracle.”
“It wasn’t a miracle, Elijah, it was magic. It was her magic, her lifeblood. It was as it always has been for us. We heal over time, much like you do. Some…techniques hurry the process along. The revealing of the White Dragontear symbolizes that her recovery will be quick, but her strength will take time to regenerate.”
“She needs this to go away. Lana doesn’t want this life,” Elijah said.
“She was chosen, she must…” Dimitri was cut off.
“No more of this she must do this, she will do that. Lana can make her own decisions. When she wakes, she will do just that. This conversation, your myths, and your lore are over.”
Elijah left the room swiftly, barely moving a curtain. Dimitri placed his hands over his face, feeling the calluses at his cheeks, the pressure of his elbows against his thighs while he sat. Jade eyes glanced from Lana’s youthful features to the Dragontear resting on her cheekbone. Her hands still rested on her stomach in the position Elijah had placed them before, the ring the only jewelry she wore.
Purple tendrils of hair wrapped black curls resting on her shoulders. Her lips pursed, Lana looked like she was ready to be placed in a coffin, her pale skin the symbol of death, of blood refusing to pump through her veins.
“The White Dragontear will heal you, and you will wake,” Dimitri said, barely able to make a sound. “You have to wake, this can’t be the end. The Darkness will find us if you don’t.”
Her ring finger twitched, neon green markings wrapped around her arm, the flower budding from its stem every few inches until spiraling leaves wrapped around the ring. The amethyst gem lit momentarily but grew dark, the flower and its stem and leaves fading to nothing. He dropped his head in his hands, hopelessness engulfing him.
~
Lava flowed from a gash in the mountainside, charring the ground as it rolled down the slope. Trees burst into flames on contact with the lava, the ground rumbling. Solid plates of dirt waved on the floor of the forest, orange and reddish lava visible through the cracks.
Windows shook with the rumbling of the ground, causing vases and chandeliers to vibrate and fall to the floor.
“Will someone please tell the fire child to knock it off?” a blond-haired man with dimples asked, sitting next to Era after grabbing a plate from the kitchen. Christine ordered pizza, enjoying the company of the Furies and their Diviners.
“You know how he gets, EJ,” Wiley said, taking a large bite of a pepperoni-covered pizza slice.
“I don’t care, he’s going to wake the others,” EJ said. He propped his feet up on the white end-table, his almost spotless white Converse shoes clashing with his light gray skinny jeans. Era laid her head on his lap, looking up at him with white eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that, you know better,” he joked.
Another tremor shook the clubhouse again, sending a large mirror above the mantel of a fireplace to the floor, shattering the reflecting glass.
“So, your powers are controlled by your emotions?” Micah asked, his arm wrapped around Christine’s shoulder.
“Think of it like a volcano,” EJ said. “A calm, dormant volcano, kind of like Lana, will stay dormant and calm. Once its emotions are triggered, it becomes more and more unstable, resulting in an eruption. When it comes to Aiden well, the eruption is literal.”
“How do you calm down an angry volcano?” Micah asked.
“You let it work it out,” EJ said. “That’s what makes Diviners such a good addition to our lives, they know how to calm us down.” He kissed Era on the forehead.
“And in Aiden’s case?” Micah said.
The others looked at each other, contemplating a response.
“Aiden is angry,” Naida said, careful of what to say. “It is difficult to calm him down when he is acting upon pure instinct. If someone was to confront him, that person would not succeed. That person may end up dead because he won’t know how much power he is using against them.”
“So, we’re just supposed to sit back while he destroys the entire valley? Marches into the town and burns every house down? Starts a wildfire? Unleashes a volcano?”
“Aiden will calm down, he always does,” Dimitri said, coming in from the hallway after leaving Lana’s room. “He comes off the high himself, and that’s the way it has to be.”
“What about the people who attacked? Won’t they be able to find us because of his little tantrum?” Christine asked.
“If anyone attempts to confront him, he could seriously harm them,” Dimitri said. “I suggest everyone get some sleep, we’ve had a long evening, and it’s only going to get worse from here. We knew this would happen, thanks to Rae’s vision, and we need to prepare for what is coming. Era please escort Micah to his room. Christine, obviously you know where to go, this is your home too. Naida, I need to steal Wiley for a moment so we can work out a strategy.”
The Furies and Diviners nodded, parting ways as the Emerald Fury sent them away.
“Lana is weak, and she needs to be protected,” he said. “With Aiden…”
“Erupting?” EJ joked.
“This is not a laughing matter, Erion,” Dimitri said, growling at his counterpart. “We need to find him and calm him down before he puts himself, the others and more importantly, Lana, in any more danger. The Bay is no longer safe, and we must relocate if we are to prepare properly.”
“What do you need us to do?” Wiley asked.
“We need to stop the fires first, the girls will be able to find another location for training,” Dimitri said.
~
“The girl will die, you all will.” The words ran through Aiden’s mind as he gripped the cool, damp earth beneath him. Lava flowed from large holes in the wall, filling a trench along the curve of the cave. On the surface of the lava sat chunks of earth lit on fire that reached the roof of the cave.
“She’s human, Lana has to be human,” Aiden mumbled, his eyes the color of blood. An orange curled line was woven in the red iris. Liquid stained his cheeks sticky, black smudges of dirt caked in the tears. He hurled balls of fire outside the mouth of the cave, lighting everything in their path on fire.
“Aiden. You need to stop this nonsense.” He heard a voice say.
He spun in circles, trying to decipher whose voice he was hearing. Seeing no figures, he continued to punch gashes into the soil, revealing molten liquid beneath him.
A translucent figure appeared at the mouth of the cave, walking on the charred ground, the heat not phasing it.
“Aiden, this is ridiculous.” He spun again, hurtling another ball
of fire in the direction of the figure. When he saw the figure, he built a wall of fire to keep her out. She was youthful, that was what attracted him to her originally.
“Go away!” he yelled. “This is your fault.”
~
She was surrounded by a wall of fire, heard the crackle of burning wood around her. She tried to cough but her lungs had no reason to. No smoke existed around her, only fire and the smell of trees turned to ash. Lana looked down at her feet, noticing she wasn’t wearing shoes, or the jeans she remembered wearing at the carnival. Her feet were an odd shade of blue, almost transparent and the dress she wore reached her calves.
The straps were thin and the dress clung to her body like she had been drenched in water. When she took a step, she felt nothing beneath her feet, but saw the ground below.
“Go away! This is your fault.” She heard a male voice say.
“You need to stop this, she needs you!” her mouth moved, but her voice did not come out.
“You’re lying,” the male voice said. She noticed it the second time, Aiden.
“Aiden, listen to me, Lana needs you. I wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t a reason,” the voice coming from the body she was in said.
Lana’s eyes moved back and forth beneath her eyelids, her fingers twitching. The White Dragontear appeared again, the amethyst stone glowing faintly. Light smoke began to wrap itself around her, under her head, neck, arms, beneath the blankets until her body seemed to disappear completely, leaving the bed and room empty.
~
“You need to stop this, she needs you,” he heard again.
“You’re lying; all you ever do is lie!” Aiden yelled. He dropped the wall of fire, his arms engulfed in flaming vines, his hands clenched into fists.
He stared at the figure, waiting to hear another lie. She didn’t speak, only looked back at him.
“Lana needs you,” she said, her voice echoing. She turned her body so Aiden could see behind her. Lana appeared, surrounded by white smoke momentarily, her hands still folded neatly on her stomach. The White Dragontear shone bright on her cheek, down and around her neck, her left arm, and around her hand and fingers.
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