by SARA FREITES
“One evening, I returned from the store and found my father dead in the inn we’d settled in, his missing journal laying open on his body. Horrified, I knew it had to be the vampires or the blue man. I also realized my father’s dagger, the Soleil Dagger, had been stolen. I left the inn immediately, several demonology books and the Lumière Dagger, which I always carried with me, in tote.
“I found refuge with an old friend of my father’s. I stayed with her for a short while until I made plans to leave the city, but Lady Latresma found me first. She was seeking my help in fighting a demon. That’s when I learned who the blue man was, Arlos, and what he was. When Latresma told me about the dagger Arlos had shown her, my father’s dagger, I realized Arlos was the one who’d murdered my father. When I told her this, Latresma took me to her manor, begging for insight on demon-slaying. I told her everything I knew of hell-demons. When I explained that there was no way to kill a high-level demon like Arlos, she ordered me to flee the country with the Lumière Dagger so Arlos would never find it. I asked that Lady Latresma turn me before I left. I wanted to be strong, fast enough to elude Arlos, and she did so without hesitation. A hasty decision on my part, I know, but after my father’s death, I had nothing else to live for. He’d been my only living family member, and losing what was left of my life as a human no longer fazed me.
“Before I left town, Latresma introduced me to Terry, third-in-command of the guards on her court. He offered to go with me for extra protection as well as to aid me through my first few weeks as a vampire. I agreed, and Terry and I left the city together with my dagger, tracking down the blacksmith and his wife in hopes that maybe they could help us dispose of Arlos with the daggers they made or at least with the one we had. Unfortunately, we found the blacksmith dead in their home. He’d been that way for a while, and the witch was nowhere to be found. Judging by her husband’s wounds, I wondered if Arlos had stumbled upon them while on his search for my father and me. I was sure he took the witch with him in hopes that she would aid him with her dark magic, but I doubt that she would have done anything to help him. More than likely, he killed her, too.
“After Terry and I left town, we learned that another event had unraveled. A great crime was committed within the Vampire Nation. Arlos used the Soleil Dagger to murder his vampire rivals. As Lady Latresma lay dying, she promised to return in the form of a human to stop Arlos from carrying out his unthinkable plans for the vampire and human races.
“We thought we’d escaped him, but Arlos caught up with us in London a year later. Terry and I had married by that time and had settled nicely in town. I was hunting alone the night Arlos came for me. I believe he’d been watching us. As always, I carried the Lumière Dagger on me, and when Arlos abducted me, he confiscated the dagger. After this, he had almost everything he wanted…except the Soleil Dagger. It had been stolen from him not long after he’d used it to kill Latresma. It seemed fate kept him from getting his hands on both daggers at the same time. Now, the stolen dagger is all he needs, along with a way to curse the united daggers, to open his portal to hell.
“And so, throughout the years before your birth, Arlos has drawn closer and closer to finding the Soleil Dagger. He has gained many allies along the way. The prophecy of Lady Latresma began to unfold at the time of your birth, Autumn. But Arlos won’t have this.”
“How powerful is he?” I wondered.
“The never-aging, human-like body Arlos has taken on is not his true form,” Rosetta explained. “He is a hellhound. To be more specific, one of Cerberus’ sons. Cerberus is the colossal hellhound who forever guards the gates of hell. His two sons, Arlos and Zelos, don’t have free roam over hell, and out of all the demons, it’s no surprise to me that Arlos was the one who came through to Earth. The brother hounds are known for their territorial behavior, and there is only so much of hell they are allowed to reign over. Arlos was probably searching for a new territory to claim without the annoyance of competition with his brother and the boundaries set up by his superiors.
“Though Arlos does not hold his true form here, as a hell-demon, he is powerful. Physically he’s strong, as well—stronger than the vampires. Other than by his own strength, nothing can harm him, and his body does not need sleep or food to survive. His abilities are beyond comprehension, but he is not as powerful here as he should be. He came here from another plane of existence that could withstand him. But here, he is bound by certain ‘rules’, so to speak. Hell-demons can exhibit only a portion of their abilities on Earth, and what they can display are greatly reduced. Only his ability of influence over the humans, his mind control over the inhuman, his abundance of physical strength, levitation, telekinesis and a handful of other demonic powers are functional here for Arlos. Hell-demons like him are also the cause of phobias and nightmares among the human race.
“As strong as the vampires are, even they can be psychologically harassed by other demons. As for the havidens, they are the most vulnerable and easiest for Arlos to control. This is because they do not have souls. The word ‘haviden’ is the demon word for the phrase ‘empty being of the night and day’. Nevertheless, the mental threat a hell-demon can present, even in small doses, can be catastrophic for both races, depending on the will of the being. Arlos can project mental suggestions through a being only once he’s made physical contact with them. In turn, that person might feel curious about deviant things that they wouldn’t normally be interested in, and they can choose to ignore them or move forward with the ideas. After contact, Arlos can also project specific thoughts, sometimes even vivid imagery, into their minds.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve already experienced that,” I realized.
“Because you are susceptible to it. You are not just human. Arlos is trying to manipulate you. However, as I told Latresma long ago, as a hell-demon, Arlos is completely incapable of controlling a human being with his abilities. Physically, yes, he can, but he can’t brainwash them the way he can the vampires and the havidens. Other than the power of suggestion, his demonic assaults are useless against the humans. Because of their full and living soul, they are protected against demons in this way.”
“Except for me, right?” I asked.
“Correct. With Latresma’s vampire soul inside you, you are almost as easy for him to manipulate as the havidens. And this is why Arlos needs the growing number of havidens. While havidens live all over the world, the majority live here in London and were created by Arlos. He can control them much easier than the vampires once they’ve allowed themselves to trust him completely. This is what Arlos plans to do with you.”
“How do you know so much about demons?” I asked, feeling guilty for interrupting her.
“My father insisted I study demonology along with him once he realized vampires were living amongst us in the city, as vampires are essentially earth-demons. He wanted us to learn how to fight against them and other demons that might come along. I probably studied more than what was necessary, but my father became paranoid after our first vampire encounter. It scared him to the brink of obsession. He told me I needed to know everything there was to know so that I could protect myself.”
“Why do you think there are so many demons on Earth?” I asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know. My father used to say that vampires were God’s way of ridding the world of malicious people, but I realized that not all the people the vampires fed upon were malicious. As for me, I believe Earth is dying, becoming easier for demons to find their way here. The wall between this world and the next is thinning, weakening. Arlos has been the first demon who physically made it here on this plane without a human host. We believe that the very first demon, Gavok, who is thought to have come through years and years before, made his way here through a human. This is only a speculation. As for Arlos, we also believe someone may have brought him here, someone who practiced a dark and powerful craft of some sort.”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your story earlier. What happened after Arlos kidnapp
ed you?” I encouraged.
“He brought me here to his London estate and hid my Lumière Dagger from me. After that night, I worried he would find the Soleil Dagger, that he was closer than he’d ever been to getting what he wanted. But it seemed as if it became completely lost. Without both daggers, Arlos can never execute his plans.”
“But he has your dagger now. What did he want with you?” I asked.
“He could have let me go or even killed me. But, no. He is far too sadistic. Instead, as I showed you earlier, he bit me. His first bite cursed me, kept me from escaping. I was kept here for decades while he created more and more of his haviden race. And then, he stumbled upon an idea. He wanted us to create a child together, but not because he wanted to carry on his family name or anything as innocent. The child would be born half-demon, half-vampire. Arlos told me it would be the first of a race he called the ‘evnauts’, the demon word for ‘demon-blooded’. Soul would be a hybrid-vampire, the closest to a demon that Arlos could re-create in this dimension and the strongest, as well. Arlos planned to use the half-blooded being to aid him in finding the missing dagger as he’d had no luck with the havidens. He felt possibly the evnaut would be keener, smarter.
“Although it’s never happened before this, the vampire law prohibiting us from having children with humans, much less hell-demons, used to be strictly enforced. I broke this law out of despair. I feared I would never escape Arlos or see Terry again. I was crushed. Traditionally, evnauts, an incredibly rare race, are not born to a being of life the way humans are. However, it's not like bringing a haviden into the world, either, which can only be created when—”
“A human consumes the tears of a vampire or when a vampire and a human who has a certain gene conceive a child together,” I interrupted, remembering Eden’s explanation from my very first day at the Sanctum.
“Ah, you knew this," she smiled, maybe impressed that I had even a smidgen of the knowledge she probably had. "That is how a haviden is born. An evnaut is born much differently. It’s not, by any means, an intimate affair. So, how is it done? By mixing the tears of a vampire and the blood of a demon and pouring that mixture into a body of water. The newborn materializes underwater in a small and temporary ripple between hell and Earth. This ripple closes once the body is matured, usually within a matter of seconds. The evnaut’s un-aging, human-like form is fully grown physically as well as mentally at birth.
“The evnaut is also completely aware of what it is and possesses many of the same characteristics and abilities as a hell-demon bound by this world. Like Arlos—projecting suggestions through the mind, levitation, casting hell spells and so on. They are nearly as physically strong as Arlos, but not right at birth. There are some similarities between the vampires and the evnauts, as well. Both races are part of the earth-demon race and are soul-eaters.
“To continue my story, when Arlos and I went to the River Thames to create our child, he dug into his arm and drew blood. Now, he is the only one strong enough to pierce his own skin. It would be impossible for anyone else to do so. His wounds heal immediately, so we had to do this fast. He grabbed my arm and broke my wrist. I am tender-hearted. This hurt me more emotionally than it did physically, causing tears to roll down my face. As I healed, Arlos collected my tears and squeezed them in his bloodied hand over the river, allowing a single drop of our mixture to fall into its flow.
“Once this ritual was complete, he did something to keep me in his hex. He bit me again. He must have known that the act of creating life would break his demonic hold over me, which is why he did. Afterward, we immediately began our search for Soul. We had no control over what part of the river he would appear or where he would venture off to once he had. And only Arlos would know it was our son once we encountered him. But I knew something Arlos didn’t. Soul would be born a light evnaut, not a dark evnaut. Yes. There are two variations of this race. I’ll explain.
“Light evnauts are born under the circumstances in which the mother is a virgin at the time of the ritual. While Terry and I were married shortly before my abduction, I was only sixteen when we met. Our love was young and innocent, and though we’d exchanged vows, intimacy was not yet part of our relationship.
“Light evnauts are also more human-like, born with lost human souls inside. These souls roam the planet aimlessly, dimmed due to being disembodied for so long and not passing on. These souls are drawn into the materializing light evnaut. Being what he was meant that Soul was born with dormant, demonic powers that must be awakened for use. But at birth, Soul possesses a few active abilities of his own. These abilities are meant for the wellbeing of others. For instance, Soul’s blood is not only a healing agent for himself, but if introduced into the bloodstreams of another, can work the same in healing them, as well.
“The dark evnauts are similar, only they do not have these types of abilities. They do have readily active powers at birth, which are demonic and destructive. The parent vampire isn’t pure, and the dark evnaut is born without a soul. ”
“Light—good-hearted, have a dimmed soul, some powers for good. Dark—bad, evil powers, soulless,” I concluded with all of this information swirling around in my head.
“Exactly. When Arlos found our son wandering about the city a few months later, he sensed that Soul was not what he’d intended. Arlos came right back to the estate without him. He became violent, bombarding me with questions as to why I never told him I still had my virginity, that he would’ve taken it from me if he’d known. He said that my telling him would have saved us a ‘wasted’ birth. He started raping me every night after that, sometimes more than once a day. A genuine hatred for Arlos rose inside me after that first night, and I felt he knew it all too well. I was forced to go wherever he went, room to room, and most of the time he kept an arm interlocked with mine. I felt as if he wanted to keep me close so he could feel my rage and laugh at it. Only recently has he allowed me to venture about the estate by myself.
“I worried he might want to try again, to bring forth a dark evnaut. However, the birth of an evnaut can only happen twice every one thousand years, according to the research I’ve done. This is one of the few rules that demons are bound by here on Earth. Arlos didn’t insist we try again, and that told me he’d already conceived with someone before me. With whom, I’ll never know, but I have my suspicions...
“I also feared Arlos might kill Soul after realizing what he was, but instead, after a few days passed, he went back out to look for Soul and took him in under his wing. He had to encourage Soul, sometimes trying to force him into awakening his demonic powers, to cooperate with him. But I think Arlos knew as well as I did that it would never work. He also never treated Soul like a child that he loved, but like a prisoner or a tool to use once Soul reached his full potential. Soul realized the intentions of his father and began questioning Arlos. This made the demon very angry. He constantly reminded Soul and me that he was in control. He was so much stronger than we were, but he still felt the need to show us just how much stronger.
“One night, he held Soul prisoner in the gardens with one of his cruel hexes. I helped him escape it and warned him of Arlos’ plans, that he’d be better off escaping while he could. I remember crying, begging Soul to leave, but Arlos returned, and he was furious that I’d freed him.” Her voice wavered. “I tried to stop him, but I wasn’t strong enough. He drew the Lumière Dagger from his robes and inflicted wounds that left Soul with everlasting scars. Frantic, I threw myself over him, and Arlos ended this attack. To my amazement, he asked Soul to leave the estate.
“A month after Arlos allowed him to leave, Soul returned. He came to this very balcony one evening while Arlos was gone. He said that my life was in danger, and he wanted to take me away from this place. Little did he know, Arlos had long ago prevented my escape.” She ran her hand along one of the bite marks on her pale shoulder, something she seemed to do subconsciously. “Soul tried to explain that Arlos had sent him a vision. Before he could tell me about it, Ar
los came home. He was angered to find us alone together and asked me to leave the room. I’m not sure what happened between them, what was said, but when Arlos allowed him to leave, Soul promised Arlos that he would do whatever he asked. I was heartbroken once again. My son had agreed to help the demon in his endeavors.”
A heavy weight tugged on my stomach and chest. “Then...Blake really is on Arlos’ side,”
I realized, saddened to hear it confirmed.
“I’m afraid so. I’m not sure what it is that Arlos is telling him, but Soul is believing him.”
“You said Terry is your husband?” I remembered.
“Yes. I’m begging you, Autumn,” she said, her voice full of zest as she moved in close. “When the time is right, I’ll try to get you out of here safely, and when I do, please tell Terry I’m alive. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him that he may believe I’m dead, but tell him that I love him.” Her voice trembled. “Will you do this for me?”
“Of course, I will,” I sympathized.
It was the first time I’d ever seen a vampire cry. Her tears ran a shade of glistening light green, the color of the veins across her neck and arms.
“I’m sorry,” she stifled herself.
She wiped her eyes and regained her elegant posture again. The tear stains on her lacy sleeves quickly faded away.
“Now, the daggers...” she continued.
She opened the folded cloth hanging from her waist. She drew an object the full length of her arm, a dagger much like the one we picked up in Chicago. The only difference in this dagger was its coloration. The hilt of the one she held, or at least the portions that weren’t bound in black leather, were silver instead of gold. In place of the four citrines that had adorned either side of the Soleil Dagger’s handle, were four diamonds set into the leather of this dagger’s handle. Like blazing vampire eyes in the night, they glimmered at me. Other than that, this dagger had the same sharp, multiple-edged blade and the same gentle curvature of the handle.