A Shade of Halloween

by Robin Todd

  “So you’re saying that there are replicas of us down there right now?” I asked.

  I couldn’t hide how shocked and creeped out I was.

  “Yes. We’re still on our way to the orange mansion and Viktor is with us.” She replied.

  “So the replica up here is the real us?” I asked.

  “Yes. There can only be one real replica at every point in time but I can produce as many other replicas as I want.” She replied.

  “If what we have down there are just replicas, how do they know what to do?” I asked.

  “A replica of you is pretty much you. It can do whatever you can. The only difference is that the real you knows which ones are replicas.” She replied.

  “So if this is what I’m thinking, we let the replicas go to the mansion with Viktor and if things go smoothly, we get Ryan back and merge into ourselves at the end of the mission?” I asked.

  “Yes, but if things don’t go as planned, we can still get Ryan back using either more replicas or the real us.” She replied.

  “How cool is that?” Her blonde friend asked.

  “If I’m going to be honest, this is genius... but it’s creepy as hell.” I stated. “So how do we know what’s happening with the replicas?”

  “We can watch.” She replied.

  “Et velum, constare!” She whispered.

  “Wait, what?”

  I had barely finished asking what she was saying when the world around me became transparent. I saw myself and the girls whom I knew were standing beside me. We were running with Viktor, and everything looked pretty normal. Just like I was watching a movie of myself on TV.

  “This is awesome!” Trina grinned.

  “If I were still mortal, I would have passed out by now. This is the creepiest thing on the freaking planet!” I replied. “How is any of this even rational?”

  “How is being a vampire rational?” Selena asked.

  I knew she was right. Being a vampire was pretty much unbelievable to the rational mind. But being a replica of yourself on the other hand, was straight up crazy.

  We watched as our replicas entered the room Ryan was supposed to be and found it empty. We saw Vladek Castor show up at the door and when Viktor drove the stake through my replica’s heart, I shook my head in disbelief.

  “I can’t believe he’s working with them. He was with me the entire time!” I sighed.

  “I never really trusted him. Especially since Ryan didn’t.” She replied.

  “It was a good thing you didn’t. Thank you, Selena Ryder. Without you, this would have been the end for my brother.” I stated.

  “It’s okay.” She nodded and parted her beautiful lips into a smile.

  “Since we can see them from up here, why don’t we find Ryan and replace him with a replica of himself. Once we’re sure he’s safe, we can take the war to them.” The blonde vampire stated.

  “That’s an amazing idea. I never thought a day would come when I’ll have to say this, but you girls are freaking awesome!” I grinned.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Ryan’s POV

  I had lost track of time, staying in a depressing room and hanging from chain suspenders that kept my body upright against my will. I was weak, very weak. I had suffered numerous biting and numbing cuts from the Archibald stake and at this point, my enhanced healing was no longer effective. Blood dripped from almost every part of my body and I believed I was beginning to lose my mind.

  I was sure I saw Selena at some point. She came to me and hugged me. It was a sliver of hope in my darkest moment. When I looked into her beautiful eyes and saw her teary smile, none of my suffering mattered anymore. Her stay didn’t last long though. She completely disappeared from my view after a few short minutes which was expected because I was obviously hallucinating. I knew this for sure because her eyes were not the light shade of brown I had always known them to be. In my hallucination, they were aqua blue, just like the calming seas.

  The door to the room I was being held captive opened, and I didn’t bother to raise my head. There was no need to look at the vampire who was definitely there to torture me some more. When I was first kidnapped, I thought they were torturing me to get information about Selena and Rayna. After they got what they needed, the torture continued. It didn’t take long for me to realize that their sick obsession wasn’t just for the purpose of getting information. Those power drunk vampires simply enjoyed causing me pain. While my head was still hung low, I heard someone whisper my name. It was a soft, sweet voice that appealed to my soul. A smile spread itself across my face as I realized what was going on. My mind was doing it again. It was conjuring images of my Selena to keep me hopeful. I raised my head and gazed into her beautiful eyes. They were still aqua blue just like they were in my last hallucination. She placed her palms on my head and whispered something I didn’t hear. At that point, my hallucination got worse. I was no longer a prisoner in a dark room. Instead, I was somewhere above the room, staring at the smiling faces of Selena, Trina and Ros. I knew it was impossible to have all of them together in the same place and I wondered if my hallucinations had really gotten worse or I had completely lost it.

  “Brother!” Ros grinned, spreading his arms wide and hugging me tight.

  “Ouch.” I screamed. “You’re hurting me.”

  The cuts on my body still hurt like crazy and when Ros hugged me, the pain intensified exponentially.

  “It’s so great to have you back.” He smiled. “Drink this and heal.”

  Ros bit his arm and shoved his blood into my mouth before I got a chance to accept or reject his offer. It wasn’t like I was going to reject it anyway. I couldn’t wait to get rid of the pain. I closed my eyes and gulped volumes of the precious liquid, stopping only when my body no longer hurt. My eyes turned bloodshot red for a second, before regaining their original color. At this point, I felt like my old self again and hoped this was the real deal.

  I lifted my head from Ros’s arm and saw Selena and Trina grinning at me. I didn’t care if this was a hallucination or not. I had missed Selena so much that I couldn’t spare any extra second away from her arms. I rushed to her with my enhanced speed, picked her off the ground and planted a smashing hot kiss on her beautiful pouty lips.

  “Get a room!” I heard Ros growl behind me.

  “Whatever, brother!” I yelled in his head.

  I placed Selena back on the ground and smiled, the happiest I had been in a long time. I went to Trina and hugged her as well.

  “Hey there, soldier.” She smiled at me.

  “Hey there!” I returned her greeting.

  At this point, I was beginning to get uncomfortable. My hallucinations had never lasted this long before I wondered why the images in front of me had not dissolved into nothingness like all the others.

  “Okay. Is this real?” I asked no one in particular.

  “As real as can be, brother.” Ros grinned.

  “Selena, how is this real?” I asked.

  Selena and Trina rushed into my arms for a group hug and squeezed me so tight, that I was going to scream out loud.

  “A lot has happened since the last time we were together.” Selena finally began answering my question. “My powers have continued to develop, creeping me out sometimes and making me awed at other times. What’s happening right now is that...”

  Selena went ahead to explain the entire replica situation to me and I found it completely unbelievable.

  “So when did you learn to conjure up these replicas?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.” She replied. “Just like a lot of other things, it pretty much came upon me. It’s like having an innate feeling of something you can do, and not really having to think about it.”

  “Wow.” I replied.

  It was cool and shocking at the same time.

  “I think it’s time to make those damn vampires pay for what they did to you.” She said. “…and we have a revolution to stop.”

  “I told you
Viktor was a sly, conniving bastard.” I shook my head at Ros.

  “I know... I know.” Ros rolled his eyes. “Let’s look at the bright side. I have you back and I can give them all what they truly deserve.”

  “Are you guys ready?” Selena asked.

  “Hell yeah!” We replied in unison.

  We all watched the activities taking place at the orange mansion, waiting for the last minute, when they believed they had succeeded with their plan before showing up and screwing them over. We followed Vladek and Viktor as they continued to drag Selena’s replica through the hallways, finally throwing her into an open space within the mansion, where the other culprits were waiting.

  Ros smiled as he looked at the faces of Roberta Reed, Vladek Castor, Valentine Davidson, Eva Batton, Timothy Bane and Viktor Romanov. Around them were other non-Council vampires, including Oliver, and the three female witches who accessed my memory to get Rayna’s location. The open space they were had no top covering, such that the night sky was visible from there.

  The witches recited several spells, drawing energy from the moon. All the vampires were silent as they continued their incantations in unison, with one hand stretched upwards towards the moon and the other hand stretched towards the Archibald stake.

  “Immortality will break immortality.” One of the witches chanted.

  “Immortality will break immortality!” The other two chorused.

  The leading witch raised her hands into the air and continued to whisper her incantations. One of the subordinates moved to grab the Archibald stake. She took a few steps towards Selena, before stopping dead in her tracks.

  Another Selena was standing right in front of her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk plastered across her face. The witch frowned in confusion and was about to stab the Selena in front of her when she heard loud chuckles around her. Two other replicas of Selena appeared in the open space, completely shocking everyone in there.

  “Hello Viktor!”

  One of Ros’s replicas appeared in front of a wide-eyed Viktor and grinned.

  “Don’t be so surprised.” Another Ros replica said from behind him, snapping his neck and waiting for him to get back up.

  As if on a distress signal, the seventeen other vampires activated their enhanced speed and dashed off in every direction. I welcomed them with a cold fist, pulling out hearts and driving stakes into other hearts. Together, Ros, Trina and I broke bones, spilled blood, and slammed bodies against walls and floors until they were all a crawling, pitiable sight. All the replicas of Selena recited strange words that drained out the powers of the three witches, preventing them from stopping us in any way. As previously agreed, the replicas of Selena dissolved from view once the witches were neutralized, leaving just replicas of me, Ros and Trina. We hunted down and killed every other vampire in the mansion, deliberately leaving Oliver and the six Council vampires alive. Ros had other plans for them.

  When the massacre was over, we dragged the staked down bodies of our surviving culprits and moved them back to the open space in the mansion. I went down to the basement and released Ronald Sky, who was very grateful to us for our actions. Unfortunately, Sergio Lake had already been killed before we got to the mansion. We all converged at the mansion’s open space and listened to Sky as he addressed us.

  “Today will surely have a place in the history books. I offer my special thanks to you all for your sacrifice and dedication to keeping the sacred order...”

  “I must have missed the party.” A familiar feminine voice spoke from behind us, interrupting Ronald.

  It was Rayna Bold and she was clearly pleased. She had the look of a proud mother on her face as she approached us.

  “It is time to serve justice to these erring idiots.” Rayna said, turning to the staked out forms of Oliver and the six Council vampires. “Take out their stakes.”

  We all removed the stakes that were keeping them in their cement cold form, and watched as their bodies sprang back to life.

  “Stay on that spot and do not move. As your maker, or your maker’s maker, I command you.” She said to them.

  The seven vampires looked uncomfortable as they stood on the spot, knowing that the end was near and there was nothing they could do about it. They couldn’t even run because they had been commanded by someone of maker status. When a vampire of maker status commanded a lower generation vampire, they had no choice but to obey. An attempt at refusal led to an excruciating internal pain that was worse than death.

  “Now, rip out your hearts...”

  “Please! Don’t say it, please...” Viktor begged.

  The other vampires joined in on the plea, offering apologies and empty remorseful promises.

  Rayna raised one eyebrow and smirked.

  “As your maker, or your maker’s maker...” She started.

  Blood dropped out of the eyes of all seven vampires and the fear in their eyes was clear to see. They knew the punishment they were about to get was worse than what Ros and I could have served them and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

  “I command you.” Rayna concluded.

  Screams of anguish filled the air as the vampires initially tried to resist the command. We watched as more blood fell out of their eyes and their hands moved up towards their chests. One after the other they sank their fists in, ripping out their hearts and dying with the organ still clenched in their fists. Once the horror ended, Rayna turned to us and smiled.

  “While punishment is due for offending vampires, a reward is in order for the commendable ones. You all have earned a special place among the first generation and must be welcomed into the fold.”

  Ronald Sky nodded his agreement and Rayna continued.

  “There is one other way of becoming a first generation vampire which has not been made known to the lower generations for obvious reasons. When there is a convergence of the first generation, and it is unanimously agreed for commendable lower generation vampires to be welcomed into the fold, the oldest vampire of the first generation - which is me in this case - offers their blood to the new members. Today, my sons, you have made me very proud. That includes you two very beautiful young ladies.”

  Rayna smiled and bit into her arm, stretching it out for Ros, Trina and I to drink.

  The moment I took her blood in, I felt like I was awakened. Power surged through my veins and I knew everything was going to be different from then on.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Selena’s POV

  I gazed in awe at the beautiful face of Rayna Bold, as she made Trina, Ryan and Ros first generation vampires. She spoke with such poise and grace, just like what I imagined of a nineteenth century queen. I guessed if one had lived as long as she had and possessed that much power, they had to act different from everyone else. Watching all three of them drink from her and assume their new status put a huge smile on my face. They all deserved it. It had been a tough couple of weeks for everyone and I was happy to see that everything turned out great in the end.

  A few things Rayna said stood out to me, and made certain questions pop up in my head. Why did she refer to Ryan and Ros as her sons? Was that a bond between maker and vampire or was it something else? What was going to happen after now? Were we really going to be able to blend back to a semblance of normal?

  Rayna’s movement brought my mind back to the present as she picked up the Archibald stake and walked towards Ryan and Ros.

  “This should be in your possession now.” She smiled, handing the ancient relic over. “I know you will only use it for the right cause.”

  She turned to Ronald Sky and gave him a curt nod.

  “We will meet again, and hopefully it will be for a much happier reason.” She said, and they both winked at Ryan.

  What did they mean by that wink? Was there something they knew that I didn’t?

  Again, I stopped pondering over the questions in my mind when Rayna moved over to hug Ryan and Ros. She whispered something to them and just like the wind, sh
e disappeared into the night. Ronald Sky did the same, leaving me, Trina, Ryan and Ros behind.

  Ryan pulled me into a hug and held me close. I leaned into him, closing my eyes and wishing the moment will last forever. Like all other moments, this one didn’t... but it was okay. Ryan pulled away after a couple of seconds and went over to hug both Ros and Trina.

  “Do you mind if I have a word with Selena?” Ros asked Ryan.

  “Not at all, brother.” Ryan smiled.

  I walked with Ros towards the garden behind the mansion. When we were far away from the others, he spoke.

  “Selena, I know we haven’t really been in good terms since forever, but I want to say thank you. Things would have turned out a lot worse for everyone without your help. I know you didn’t do it for me but little Ry is my favorite person so yeah... you still did it for me.” He chuckled.

  “Why do you keep calling him little Ry?” I asked. “He’s the older twin.”

  “Says who? Yeah he was born first but do you know how many cultures in the world consider the last twin to be born the older one?”

  I looked at him and smiled. The mystery behind his dark green eyes still lurked and pulled me in like a dark craving but I completely understood it now. He was Ros. A hot bad-ass, but an awesome brother and an attraction I should stay away from. For the sake of my sanity and the love I shared with Ryan.

  “I’ve wanted to say this for a while now.” I began. “I’m sorry for cheating on you back in 1889. I never should have done it, but I guess I was scared of you then. I couldn’t tell you I had fallen in love with your brother and if I’m to be honest, you pretty much deserved it then because you were a total jerk.”