Rise of Midnight

by SARA FREITES

  “That’s…” I began.

  “This is the Lumière Dagger,” Rosetta explained.

  “It looks just like the other one,” I said.

  “The Soleil Dagger? You’ve seen it?” she gasped.

  “We have it. The vampires have it.”

  “Arlos doesn’t know this,” she said in awe.

  “It didn’t sound like he did. I don’t think Blake told him we have it.”

  “Then, that was done on purpose. Perhaps Soul was protecting it. That is a good sign. It means he’s not completely loyal to Arlos. He may still help you. Arlos normally keeps this dagger on him at all times, but he gave it to me only long enough for me to show it to you. He thinks seeing it will help convince you to join him. Also, I think it was done to humiliate me, assuming he knew I couldn’t go anywhere with it, anyway. He will come back for it soon, and for you, as well. Do not let on that the vampires have the other dagger. Arlos has his suspicions that they have it, but he does not know for sure. And that is a good thing for us. Now, listen. This is very important.” She slipped the dagger back into the cloth.

  I leaned in closer, afraid Arlos would appear at any moment.

  “Terry and I had lost all hope after finding what had happened to the creators of the daggers when we first left Latresma. However, after discovering their cottage, I stumbled upon one of the witch’s dark magic books. I took it with us. I studied it for several months before my abduction. It was an extensive book on spell casting, ways to use spells against or even in favor of evil spirts, so on and so forth. Eventually, I found an entry about the daggers that ended up being exactly what we’d been searching for—a way to alter the daggers so that they could dispel a hell-demon. This had not been mentioned in my father’s journal entries about the daggers, and I wondered if he’d even known they could do such a thing. According to the witch’s spell book, because of the magic used to bring them to life, the weapons could be united as one, joining their blessed and cursed powers. After the uniting, the newly born weapon must be cursed in order to send a demon back to hell.”

  “Send him back to hell? But not kill him?” I questioned.

  “Sadly, no. As I said before, Arlos is not a common demon. Sending him back is our only option to be rid of him.”

  “But how? That sounds impossible,” I hissed.

  “Other than you, Soul is the key to this spell. In her spell book, the witch instructed that first, the blood of a demon must taint each of the blades. Know that it is impossible to draw blood from Arlos with the daggers, but Soul’s blood is the same as a demon’s. Arlos unknowingly sought out his own destruction when we created Soul. Soul’s blood must come in contact with both daggers simultaneously. Only then, can the daggers be brought together to form one larger, sturdier blade, the Blood Claymore. The claymore must be told to, cursed to, send a demon back to hell and plunged deep into Arlos’ body all the way up to the hilt.

  “Soul, being half vampire, can be pierced with either dagger. You’ll be able to taint each blade with his blood. Just a drop on each blade will be enough, and while the blood is fresh, the daggers will draw near to one another and unite as one as described in the witch’s book. You are Latresma’s reincarnation. When you are turned, you will have to power to curse the united daggers, fight Arlos and send him back to hell.”

  “So, I’m not strong enough to curse them, to send him back to hell before being turned?”

  “Your body is only human. There is only so much you can do without being turned.”

  “And I can’t do any of this without Blake’s help.”

  “Yes. Soul. After everything that has happened, I don’t know if he will cooperate with you and the vampires on this. But seeing as he did not inform Arlos that the vampires have the other dagger, he may, and you must try. I will, too. Arlos does not know about the Blood Claymore nor of its ability to dispel him. No one else, not even Latresma, knew. I burned the witch’s book after reading it because I was afraid for Arlos to have even more information on the daggers’ powers than he already had. I specifically told Terry that we needed to find the daggers, that Latresma may need the daggers to aid her in her return, but I did not describe exactly why. I couldn't risk telling him for fear that Arlos would find him and extract the information from him. I had to keep it a secret.”

  “The only thing the vampires keep saying is that Latresma needs the daggers when she faces Arlos,” I confirmed.

  “That’s fine,” she nodded. “We need to keep this quiet so that you and Latresma will have the upper hand against Arlos. You can now tell the vampire clan leader and Terry so that they can help you, but no one else needs to know this. If I can convince Soul to help us, I will tell him, too.”

  “You said I have to curse the claymore to send Arlos back. But how?” I asked.

  “Yes, as I said, after you are turned. You won’t be able to in the state you are in. As a human, you’re casting abilities would never be strong enough. But the fact that I’ve told you what needs to be done is enough. Leave the rest to Latresma. She is powerful enough to do this. Just remember, you won’t have to directly fight Arlos as a human. I don’t suggest anyone else stand up to him, either. Not even Soul, if we can get him back on the side of the vampires.”

  “Wait. How do I tell Latresma about this?”

  “You won’t have to tell her anything. She’s a part of you, and once she arises, she’ll have all of your memories—including the memory of this conversation.” She quickly looked to the double doors, then back at me. Her voice lowered to a whisper. “He’s coming. I’ll try to find a way to get you out of here. I also must convince Soul to cooperate with the vampires. He is a light evnaut. As such, I suspect he may eventually leave Arlos’ side. Soul hasn’t returned home, but I hope he will soon. Until then, I’ll buy you some time and also try to find a way to get this dagger to the vampires. Trying to take it away from Arlos will be hard…”

  “Rosetta!” Arlos’ voice boomed.

  The glass doors swung open. I could feel the guilt on my face as well as the blood draining from it the second Arlos appeared in the door frame. Several haviden men came into view just behind him.

  “The sun is setting, my love,” Arlos said to Rosetta, cooing at her. “Time for your hunt or you’ll go to bed hungry tonight.” His voice was quiet and gentle now—as if he truly loved her.

  I thanked God in my head that Arlos hadn’t overheard us.

  Rosetta’s expression hardened suddenly. “Remember what I said,” she sneered at me and moved from the railing, her tone lower and agitated. “If you would only see things our way…it would save you your life.” She looked to Arlos and added, “She just needs some time. She’ll be yours soon, no doubt.”

  I played along, staring at the ground as if in deep thought. Arlos held out his hand to her, and she untied the beige sack with the dagger in it from around her waist and gave it to him. I could see the reluctance in her eyes as he secured it to himself and motioned for us to follow. Two more havidens came into Rosetta’s room as we went inside. They gathered by her bed.

  “Good,” Arlos blurted. “We’ll be back within the hour. Gentleman. Please escort Miss Hayes to a cell.”

  “But Arlos, I thought I’d allow her a room,” Rosetta protested. “After all, I don’t feel fear is the best tactic to get her to listen.”

  “No, Rosetta,” Arlos contested. “Your heart is too kind. She is no guest here. Now, come along. It’s time to get you fed.” He turned to me and said, “I will give you the night to think everything through. I expect you will have a different answer for me when I return at dawn. If not—well, there are far worse things that could happen to you than being turned."

  Rosetta’s eyes found mine. With that, Arlos led her away.

  “I think you should give her more time,” Rosetta said to Arlos as they rounded the corner out of sight. “For a human, this is a lot to take in…” Her voice faded while the two havidens grabbed me.

  I didn’t fight
like I thought I would. When we made it to the top floor, the havidens led me down a dimly lit hallway. I noticed barred doors on either side of the walls, and the men presented me with a shadowy cell of my own. They secured the door behind me and disappeared. I rested against the back wall beside an indention where a window probably once was. Its frame had been sloppily filled with bricks and cement. The room itself reminded me of the shed my grandpa built in his back yard years before he passed away, only far larger, maybe the size of a barn. The old wooden rafters of the walls and ceiling made me wonder how much longer it would stand before caving in.

  I fought the urge to cry. Crying wasn’t going to do anything for me. But far too exhausted to exert myself, I couldn’t hold it in. A few stray tears escaped. I thought back on Rosetta’s story. It swirled around in my head in her beautiful French accent all out of order. I felt horrible for her. After meeting her, I knew I was lucky to have what I had left in life, even after my losses. I’d spent all this time trying to prepare myself for a life without my family and friends, a life where I couldn’t step foot into the sunlight, where I’d feed off human souls, killing people, to survive. I’d even thought that my family and friends would die off without me. I would never know how or when. I’d be left behind in a world and time where I didn’t belong, one where I wasn’t even meant to exist after so many years.

  And that would still be nothing compared to what Rosetta had been through. Whether my life would be spent as a human or a vampire, it didn’t matter. It would probably still be spent happier than Rosetta’s had. She’d been a prisoner to a deranged, abusive demon most of her life, separated from her husband, forced to have a child against her will, grew to love him and then had to let him go. I could not begin to fathom how she felt.

  My mind went to Blake. I’d seen a softer side of him over the weeks. I thought back to the day he and I first met in the basement of the vampire safehaven, the way he’d acted. The transformation I’d seen in him over the weeks was remarkable. He’d grown from a numb and emotionless jerk to a protective, caring human being. But I knew it had all been an act. Everything he’d done up until this point had been to get me here. Knowing he might’ve been as demented as his dad was hard to swallow. The pit of my stomach burned the longer I thought about it. I wiped away tears of frustration.

  A noise just outside my cell snapped me from my thoughts. I hopped to my feet, hoping to see Rosetta’s small frame appear on the other side of the bars. Instead, a body with its head twisted backward fell limp into view beyond the cell door. A lean man with glowing sunflower-colored eyes stepped over the body.

  Chapter 16

  Gathering the Pieces

  Blake effortlessly wrenched apart the bars of my cell. They bent and moaned against the pressure while he created a space just wide enough to fit through. I noticed his left hand was covered in a thick red liquid from fingertips to knuckles. While he squeezed through the entrance he’d made, I took a few unsure steps back.

  “What are you doing here?” I demanded, my voice uneasy.

  “I’m getting you out of here,” he answered and started toward me.

  The closer he got, the more the liquid on his hand looked like blood, but I couldn’t seem to register that it was just that.

  “That’s not what I mean,” I snarled. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  He took hold of my fingers with his clean hand when I tried to move away.

  “Don’t touch me, Soul!” I snapped and tried to pull away.

  “What did you just call me?” he asked with eyes narrowed.

  “You’re hurting me!” I exaggerated in hopes that he’d let me go.

  His grip instantly loosened, and he dropped his hands by his side. I stepped away from him.

  “Isn’t that your name?” I taunted him. “You’ve been lying to me since the day I met you.”

  He remained quiet, his eyes so full of guilt they couldn’t help but be weighed to the ground.

  “You’ve been faking a friendship with me, Blake!” I accused him with a raised voice. “I trusted you! I practically laid my life in your hands, and you literally handed it over to the one person who wants me dead.”

  “Autumn, stop—” he began.

  “Rosetta told me everything!” I barked with an intensity even I’d never heard in my own voice before.

  “You met my mother?”

  “I know what you are, that you’ve been planning to bring me here since the very beginning. Why would you do that? Why would you lie to me?”

  “Stop saying that,” he demanded. “I never lied to you about anything.”

  “You never told me the truth!” I exploded. “You lied by omission. Same damn thing! And then, you brought me here!”

  Blake did a double-take at the cell door, probably checking to be sure no one had overheard us and came running. And that was the last thing I needed. I lowered my voice.

  “Do you even know the kinds of things your dad has planned? Or about the sadistic things he’s done to people? He…wait. You know what? I should have known you would do something like this.”

  The reality of what I said caused a swelling sensation to rise in my chest, breaking through the numbness. After all, I’d met him in the holding cell of a vampire prison.

  “Never mind. I did this to myself. I chose to trust someone like you.”

  “What do you mean ‘someone like me’?” he asked, his voice strained.

  “This is all my fault,” I ignored him and paced.

  His eyes widened as they traced my form. “What the hell?” he asked and followed me, lifting an arm out to stop me. I could see his eyes as they searched my face and arms. “What did he do to you?” He went to touch one of the many purple bite marks on my arm, but I pulled away just out of his reach.

  “I’m fine,” I hissed stubbornly.

  “I worried he’d hurt you.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have brought me here in the first place. You’re telling me everything. Right now,” I ordered with tears threatening to overflow from my eyes.

  “We don’t have time for that. Autumn, look at me,” he demanded when my eyes hit the ground with disappointment. He went to take my hand again, but I jerked away.

  “If you touch me, I swear to God—” I bit my bottom lip, trying with all my might not to cry.

  “I know you can’t trust me right now, and I don’t blame you,” he quietly admitted. “But—”

  “I’ll be more inclined to trust you once you tell me what the hell is going on,” I growled through my teeth.

  “This is my fault. I know. I messed up. The least I can do is get you out of here and take you back to Thade where you’ll be safe. The only thing I ask is that you let me try to make this right. Trust me enough to get you safely out of here. Please, give me the chance to show you who I really am.”

  Eventually, I found his blazing eyes again. “You asked me to trust you once, and it landed me here.”

  “We don’t have time for me to explain everything right now. I will, just not right now. I promise. I owe you that much.”

  “Does anyone know you’re here?” I asked matter-of-factly.

  Blake nodded over his shoulder at the body lying in front of the cell. “Just him. And the others like him in the hallway.”

  “And Arlos isn’t coming back for me until dawn. He said so himself,” I told him. “Where are the vampires?”

  “I don’t know right now, but we’ll try to find them together.”

  He took a step toward me, but I moved a step back.

  “It’s not that I don’t want to leave. I want to leave more than anything, just not with you. I’m just scared you’ll…” I broke off, holding back tears.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, Autumn,” Blake said in a soft tone as if he’d read my mind. “I didn’t meant to in the first place. I just want to get you out of here.”

  Through tear-filled eyes, I studied his hands and then his shoes, trying to think my way throug
h this. I took a few breaths to calm myself before caving and nodded at him.

  “You don’t have to worry about seeing me around after tonight,” he said. “It would probably be best if I stayed away from you so you don’t get hurt anymore. But it’s not me you need to be afraid of. Wherever I go, Arlos will follow. You’d never be safe around me. You have no idea how furious it makes me to see bruises on your skin. I didn’t mean to hurt you or for anyone else to. I trusted Arlos, and he lied to me. I coaxed you and everyone else into trusting me, and I hid a lot of things. I can’t take back what I’ve done. I can’t even get my mother out of this place because of the demonic hold Arlos has over her. But as long as I can get you safely back, that’s all that matters to me right now.” He stepped in, bending an arm and offering it to me. “Let’s get the hell out of here while we still can,” he whispered.

  “Okay,” I barely said. With a quaking lip, I slipped my hand into the crook of his arm.

  We squeezed out of the cell through the gap between the bars and into the dim corridor. We passed the body of the first haviden Blake had mangled, and at the bottom of the stairs, I could tell he’d already been through this area, too. A pair of men lay on the floor, their heads ripped from their bodies. I recoiled.

  “They’re dead. Don’t worry,” Blake assured me in a hushed voice as if he could sense my fear.

  “There’s no coming back from that, I guess,” I said, alarmed.

  Just past the bodies, I caught a glimpse of a shattered window where I guessed Blake had entered from. Outside, the rain pelted against the back wall of the mansion. Blake moved the bodies out of sight and hopped onto the windowsill. He stretched his arms out of the window, allowing the rain to wash away the blood from his left hand. He motioned for me to hurry as I stepped up. He offered me a clean hand and drew me into his arms. I didn’t have time to brace myself when he leapt, but we landed gracefully on the street below. He set me on my feet where we stared up at the roof. The rain felt cold and hard on my arms. I shivered instantly.