Rise of Midnight

by SARA FREITES

  I caught myself tearing up as Thade’s speech came to a close where he performed a small ceremony. He along with Harper and Garrett bit into their own wrists. After this, they allowed a small amount of darkened gelatin-like blood to ooze into a single bowl where it was mixed. Thade took the bowl and lit fire to the blood. This honored Harper in as second-in-command to take Terry’s place, and another vampire, who I didn’t recognize, in as third-in-command just under Harper. While everyone left after the ceremonies, some came to me to get a whiff and then departed. I tried to ignore the curious vampires as Thade called Blake to join the forming group of men who waited at the back wall.

  Upstairs, I sat on the bed where I’d slept for weeks, in the room I’d begun calling mine, holding Latresma’s spell book against my chest. I couldn’t stop looking at it. Without Latresma’s vampire soul inside me, its pages appeared completely blank. The spells I knew from memory wouldn’t work, either. But still, I wanted to keep the little book. It was the only part of Latresma I had left.

  After a while, the vampires could be heard getting ready in the foyer downstairs. The sound of the old closet being opened had me picturing the trench coats being passed out among them. Thade announced that he wanted to make sure the havidens potentially working under Arlos in Chicago were all wiped out and that he also wanted to gather any leads on Vex. Another havid hunt.

  “Not knowing where he is, that’s the scariest part,” Thade went on, his voice booming louder. His footsteps moved closer up the stairs. “If we could find him and keep an eye on him, maybe even imprison him until we find a way to expel him, it would put me a little more at ease.” Thade peered into my doorway. “You know, I don’t see your blood-aura anymore. Not since last night,” he said to me.

  Garrett and Eden crept into my room behind him while the others continued getting ready downstairs.

  “That’s a good thing,” I said back.

  Out of habit, I touched the base of my neck. My butterfly pendant. I’d half expected to feel it there as I ran my finger down the grove of my neck. I remembered feeling it slide off when Arlos bit me in our fight the night before. I already missed it.

  “I don’t have to expect any more awkward stares from complete strangers anymore,” I added. “At least not from vampires.”

  Thade laughed.

  “Yes,” Eden giggled. “If you still get awkward stares after today, I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “Yeah, it might just be me. I am pretty weird.” I smiled back.

  “Na, I’d say you’re pretty normal…around here, anyway.” She nodded at her dad and brother.

  “What will happen to the havidens who live here in Chicago...or all over the rest of the world, for that matter?” I asked while Thade removed the hood of his trench coat, revealing his face.

  “Don’t worry about them,” Garrett replied. “Either they don’t work for Arlos or were under Arlos’ demonic hold—in which case, they simply lost it and destroyed themselves like the group last night. At least, that's what we're making sure of tonight.” He set his hand on the old vanity and leaned against it. “We haven’t gotten any reports of havidens running rampant in the streets, so that’s a good sign.”

  “There aren’t as many living havidens as you might think,” Thade explained. “There are more vampires in the world, and we are a dying race. We don’t have the numbers we used to have. Our main concern is Vex.”

  “But the Blood Claymore is gone,” I reminded him. “It was the only weapon that could kill him.”

  “That’s okay,” he reassured me. “The daggers have done their job and are no longer necessary. We’ll have to think of something else. I’ll contact the leaders of our brother clans and see what they think. Garrett? Eden? Get with Harper and see if you can set up a phone conference sometime this week with the Lune de Minuit and the Nuit Froide clans.”

  With that, the two havidens left.

  “As for you, Latresma unexpectedly spared you the life of a vampire,” Thade said to me. “You are very fortunate, Autumn. Now, what you do with the rest of your life is entirely up to you.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I know how much you don’t want to be here,” he replied. “Arlos is no longer a threat. Though Vex remains, he isn’t the powerful evnaut he once was when his brother was alive. We can take care of him without keeping you from your human life any longer. You shouldn't be in any danger now that your aura is gone. However, I will still assign a number of my men to keep an eye after you until Vex is taken care of. This is something I feel I owe you after everything you’ve been through with us here. Other than that, you're free to do whatever you wish. I’d say that you’d be safest here, but you’ve smelled like din...excuse me, like a human, since Arlos’ demise. You may cause a frenzy here among us with that human soul of yours. So, I don’t suggest taking me up on my offer. Once Vex is taken care of, you don’t have to worry about hearing from us ever again. An end has finally been brought to the story of Latresma. Now, she can rest in peace.”

  So, that was it. I could leave. Only I had nowhere to go. I didn’t have any living extended family members. I had no one other than Gemma, and I couldn’t see myself trying to move in with her and her mom, couldn’t see myself going back to school after this and trying to go back to “life as usual” without my parents, my brothers, my sister, my grandma, not even without Bandit. I wouldn’t be able to function, at least not for now.

  “I don’t—” I began, unable to go on.

  Thade’s smile faded. “I’m sorry, Autumn. I’d forgotten. I’m not trying to be rid of you. You are welcome to stay here, only you’ll have to disappear from the human world altogether for this to work...to keep us and this place a secret. Do you understand?”

  “I do,” I replied without even thinking.

  “Okay. Whether the humans believe you died in the fire with your family or not will make no difference. They won’t ever find you. We will go over the revisions later. The only thing I’m a little worried about is your…scent. It will drive the others wild on hunting nights. We’ll make it work, though. It’s a good thing you stay above ground. It will help a lot. Whether you decide one day to become one of us or not, is irrelevant. That is your choice. Regardless, we will take care of you, Autumn. I consider you one of my own, and after last night, so will the others. Eden and I, and I suspect Blake, too, wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  I sighed as he left. I had the chance to live out the rest of my life as a human, but by some twist of fate, it wouldn’t be the way I’d hoped. It would be spent living with the vampires. Besides the fact that most of the vampires had detested my very presence, they’d still protected me, some even placing their lives in danger or even died to keep me alive. Their looming presence was comforting. Somehow, they would all have to step in where my family had once been. They were all hunters of humans, but they were all I had. They were my family now.

  Before I could think any more on it, Blake walked in, surprising me. I’d swam so deep in my thoughts that I hadn’t heard his approaching footsteps. I sat up straight, still unable to get used to the way he looked now. I tried to acknowledge his physical changes as a sacrifice in the fight against Arlos and accepted his new look—his pale skin, his faded eyes and gray veins. His change was like a scar that would forever remind us of our fight. I was concerned, didn't fully understand it, and the way Thade and Eden glanced at him in passing since we got back had caught my attention, as well. I felt like there was something no one was telling me— something obvious they tried to mask. Blake was the only one who ignored his changes.

  “Hey,” Blake said quietly, his dimmed eyes searching me. “Wow, I’m glad I’m not hungry. You smell really”—his eyebrows raised—“uh, never mind.”

  I smirked. It was odd seeing him without his scars, especially without the one on his face. Its absence made him look softer. Along with his once piercing eyes, his scar had obstructed his features, causing them to fade into the back
ground. Now with the scar gone, everything else seemed to come into focus.

  Blake went into his jean’s pocket and took a dangling mass of silver from it. “I’ve been meaning to give this back to you,” he began. “I found it when the roof caved in at the estate.”

  He held his fist out to me and dropped the sparkling object into my cupped hands. The chain itself had broken from Arlos’ vicious bite, but the butterfly pendant held fast to the clasp at the end of it.

  “I can’t believe you found this,” I said, but then, I noticed something different about the necklace. “Wow, that’s weird. How did that happen?” I held the pendant up to get a better look at it.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “The butterfly used to be silver,” I pointed out and ran my finger along the now blood red pendant. “It's beautiful but...weird. Maybe it's from the fire or...something. Anyway, thank you.”

  “Has Thade offered you a place here?” he asked me.

  “He did, thankfully,” I answered. “I’ve been meaning to thank you for everything, and for being there for me when Arlos—if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here right now. Thank you for everything.”

  Blake stared at the ground, his smile fading. I knew he didn’t want to accept my thanks. I got up from the bed. His gaze met mine again. I placed my hand on the side of his face. My hand flinched at the temperature of his skin. I smiled warmly despite my reaction. He wrapped his hand around my forearm. Goosebumps rose over my arm at the coldness of his touch.

  “I mean it,” I reassured him.

  We stood that way with our eyes tracing each other’s faces.

  “You’re welcome,” he replied, but his voice told me something still wasn’t right.

  He looked down again. My hand slipped from his face to rest on his collarbone.

  “I’m sorry about that kiss last night,” he spoke quietly. “I mean, I’m not sorry. I meant it. But I know you’ve been through a lot. It was bad timing.”

  “Blake,” I tried to cut him off.

  “I didn’t consider your feelings. I’m sure you don’t feel right…being around me after everything that’s happened.”

  I guided my arms around his neck and slowly reeled him into me. My lips timidly clung to his. They were chilled against mine but also soothing. He felt tense in my arms at first, but then, he relaxed and moved into the kiss. His arms drifted around my back, pressing me against him. My heart raced even faster with every passing second. The kiss lasted longer than I’d expected when it gradually faded.

  “I want you in my life,” I whispered after we parted. “I can see your soul, and it’s beautiful.”

  “Not near as beautiful as yours,” he whispered back.

  Thade called for us from downstairs. I rested my forehead against Blake’s chin.

  “It’s like he always knows when we’re alone,” Blake sighed.

  “You took the words right out of my mouth,” I giggled, and we pulled away.

  “I need to get away from you, anyway. You smell amazing. I might take a bite,” he teased while leaning into my neck.

  “Don’t you dare,” I playfully warned with a nudged.

  Blake laughed in his chest. He kissed my forehead, took my hand and led me downstairs. When we walked into the sitting room, we came upon Thade, Eden and a few others speaking to one another in hushed voices. Thade dismissed the others, and they disappeared around the corner.

  “Is there anything you want to get from your home while it’s still vacant?” Thade asked me. “Your clothes? Any valuables? Might as well bring your car if it hasn't been taken away yet. We have a place for it around back. We can use it here. Normally, I wouldn’t suggest this, but you can bring back whatever you would like, Autumn. If it will make your life here a little more tolerable, then I will allow it.”

  I shrugged. It didn’t matter to me. “Yeah, I’m sure there are a few things.”

  Thade glanced at his wristwatch.

  “Okay,” he said. “We need to go ahead and do that now before we begin our hunt. Blake? Will you take her?”

  “I will,” Blake said.

  “Perfect. I’ll have a few others escort you,” Thade promised, looking down at our hands still intertwined. A light smile emerged from his face.

  He opened the back door for us, and a gust of wind blew in, bringing with it tiny droplets of rain that dotted my arms. My skin dimpled with goosebumps.

  “For a young human, you’ve been through a lot these past few weeks,” Thade unexpectedly said to me. “You’ve lost a lot, but I hope you realize you’ve gained a lot in return. Just know that you’re a stronger person than you were when you first came to us, and I believe you will continue to grow. Your heart beats a little more fiercely now. And I would know. I can hear it.”

  This made me smile. It may have been the sweetest thing that man had ever said to me.

  “It’s starting to rain. You’d better hurry,” Eden warned from the other room.

  Blake took me in his arms and slid me around his back. We hurried across the city at a frightening speed, bouncing from skyscraper to skyscraper. I watched the headlights of cars streak by from far below while we raced through. Even though I trusted Blake’s agility, I couldn’t help but hold a death grip with my arms around his neck the entire way. The faster Blake went, the colder it got, and I had to remind him that I was only human. He grinned over his shoulder at me and took it down a few miles per hour. He slowed even more when we got to my neighborhood.

  Again, we were back in my partially burnt down house, entering through my bedroom window. We packed most of my clothes, my sketch pad and pencils and a few toiletries from the bathroom. I found the spare key to the Camaro in one of my brother’s drawers. All of the cars still sat in the driveway and on the street. We stuffed everything in the Camaro’s trunk and backseats as quickly as possible.

  I took a scrap sheet of paper from my things and wrote ‘always smiling’ across it. Gemma had talked about getting those words tattooed on her ankle after high school. She’d used it as her email and text message signatures ever since I’d known her. It meant something to her, although I wasn’t sure exactly what or who it symbolized. I folded it up and asked Blake if we could drop by her house on the way back. I planned to slip it into her mailbox. Thade would flip if he ever found out, but it was the only way I could say goodbye to her. I suppressed the urge to find a way to say goodbye to some of my other friends, too…

  I packed one last bag into the trunk and closed it, longed after my charred house and held back tears. The rain let loose. I couldn’t even feel it as I stood there, unmoving. A cold hand caressed my lower back as Blake brought me into him. I wrapped my arms around his chest as tears overflowed in my eyes.

  “I’ll be trailing overhead to make sure no one follows you,” he whispered. “After we stop at your friend’s home, I’ll call you when we get downtown and guide you from there.”

  I started the car and pulled out of my driveway for the last time as Blake took to the rooftops.

  Part 2

  Fading Away

  A warm, late afternoon breeze blew in from outside as I tugged the window open. I inhaled it, let it comb through my hair. It was refreshing to feel such a change in the temperature. It was May 25th, and with spring in full bloom, the days had ever so slowly grown longer, warmer. The trees and grass showed signs of the season, their drab colors brightening with hints of greens and yellows. Pollen floated in the air, and every afternoon, the jasmine-colored powder coated the parked cars down the street.

  Thade had taken the boards down from my window not too long after I moved some of my things in from my house. He said it would be healthy for me to have a view. That was a month ago. Now, since the weather had warmed up, I liked opening the window during the day to sit by it. It faced the backyard, but Thade asked that I keep the heavy blackout curtains closed at night when my room light was on as not to draw attention to the Sanctum.

  I sat on the floor with my arm pr
opped against the windowsill now, taking in the cool air. Jericho’s radio faintly played on my vanity. It was set on the rock station she’d left it on. I eyed my brother’s pocketknife. Despite not being able to use it for Latresma’s guardian spell anymore, I’d set it on the windowsill beside the little fairy figurine Blake had given me. I’d taped an old family photo to the pane, too, alongside the awkward prom picture of Jericho, Blake and me my mom had taken and printed off. The pictures sat catty-cornering the picture of Jacoby and Eden. I couldn’t do much else to that room to make it feel more like home. That little window was all I had left of my former life.

  A gentle knock came at my door. I whirled around to find Blake.

  “Hey,” he greeted me with a little wave.

  “Hey, Blake,” I smiled ear to ear.

  He’d come by my room every day to check on me in between shifts. He worked with the clan guard now. It was good to see his face so often, even if only for a minute.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked like he always did.

  “I’m alright. What about you?” I asked him.

  “I’m good. Just working a lot. Listen, will you come with me for a minute?” His smile oddly faded as he spoke.

  “Sure. Where to?” I questioned.

  He broke eye contact with me and scanned the window behind me into the backyard. When his eyes returned, he said, “Somewhere with a better view.”

  “Okay. It’d be nice to get out of here for a few,” I admitted.

  “I know. You’ve been cooped up here long enough. Come on.” He nodded at the window.

  He helped me slip through it and cradled me tightly in his arms. We bounced from roof to roof until we came to rest on top of the Lake Point Tower.