“You can see into my mind, my memories, even if I can’t?” Valaine asked.
“Technically speaking, you can. There is a lot stored inside your head, dear sister. It just takes focus, which you seem to be lacking,” Phantom said, her slim brows furrowed. “How can we help?”
Valaine thought about it for a moment before offering a shrug in response. “I have no idea. My mind keeps bouncing off these old walls. What was this place? I get that it’s from Eliana’s lifetime, but what happened here?”
“I see traces of violence,” I chimed in, and Phantom nodded once.
“This is where Eliana was first attacked by Darklings, upon Endymion’s order. She was almost ten thousand years old, and she’d come to feed the poor. It was a favorite pastime of hers. She’d go into the imperial city’s market and fill up a cart with vegetables, grains and fresh milk in glass jugs, and she’d push it all the way to the south side, where the poorest Rimians and Naloreans lived, many of them children,” Phantom said. “This little house belonged to a former palace servant, a disgraced Rimian who’d died of a terrible infection. His children were left behind, starving and crying for days on end. When she heard about their situation, Eliana came to help them.”
The details began to form around us, materializing out of thin air. Broken bottles of milk. Fruits and vegetables fallen from their sacks. Bread and oil on a shelf above the splintered table. And blood, so much blood, congealed across the wooden floorboards.
“Are you putting on a show here?” I asked Phantom, bile rising in my throat as the bodies of dead Rimian children appeared in the corner. They’d died violent deaths, and it pained me to see them. Valaine was even worse, shuddering as tears gathered in her eyes.
Phantom shook her head. “No. The more clearly Valaine remembers this place, the easier it is for me to render it. I’m able to show you this because of her.”
“Is that true?” I asked Valaine, and she gave me a faint nod.
“Okay, so we’re onto something,” Morning declared. “If you’re able to visualize these past memories, it means we’re ready to dig into another, more ancient life.”
Suddenly, Kalon appeared between us. He was asleep, on his back, black veins drawn down his neck and around his eyes. Valaine gasped, no longer able to control herself. She started to cry, and I moved to comfort her, but Morning placed her hand over mine.
“Don’t. Leave her be. She needs to be able to clear her head without your help,” Morning whispered. I hesitated but eventually accepted her point. We were in here for a reason.
“She’s remembering Kalon,” I said.
“Yes. Her memories are blending,” Phantom replied.
Eliana appeared next, flown across the room. She hit the wall hard, landing on her side. Coughing and wheezing, she forced herself back up just as two Darklings passed through us, crossing the room, determined to kill her. They’d already killed the children.
“Eliana was in the middle of feeding the Rimian boy and girl when two Darklings stormed the house. They didn’t stand a chance, and Eliana wasn’t fast enough. She’d never been taught to fight because her parents hadn’t yet figured out who and what she really was. She’d been raised as a lady of the court. She had her Aeternae reflexes and instincts, but they were useless against trained Darklings,” Phantom continued.
I watched as Eliana tried to fight the Darklings off using her claws and fangs. She was fast and agile, but she couldn’t foresee the attacks. More than once, her opponents got the better of her, knocking her down.
Valaine looked only at me, tears streaming down her cheeks as Kalon’s sleeping figure began to dissolve and disappear. “I remember,” she murmured. “They beat me until the darkness took over, and the Unending awakened…”
Eliana was on the floor. One of the Darklings was about to chop her head off with an axe, but she caught it by the blade, blood trickling down her forearm. Black veins burst around her eyes, followed by a smoky pulse. Charcoal tendrils lingered in the air as it shot outward and cast the Darklings away.
She got up for the last time, the air thickening and darkening around her, as if her very being was gradually eating up all the light in the room. The Darklings managed to stand and tried to attack her once more, but she raised her hands and shot two balls of black smoke at them. Each of the peculiar projectiles went right through the Darklings, and they collapsed, bleeding black blood as their insides liquefied. They died in agony, writhing on the floor as Eliana watched with a blank stare.
Chills ran down my spine when I realized she’d killed them with the purest form of Black Fever—something I’d only caught glimpses of during Valaine’s blackouts. A moment later, Eliana passed out, and the air cleared, the sconces burning again. It was too late for the children, but at least she’d survived.
“I don’t know how the Darklings knew I was the Unending,” Valaine said after a while. “The Black Fever hadn’t begun to manifest yet. They had little reason to suspect me.”
“They must’ve spotted a sign, a symptom. Perhaps you’d gotten too angry once and didn’t even realize it, much like what happened here. The older you got, the stronger your true nature became. You simply couldn’t hold Unending’s power down for much longer,” I replied. “It’s good that you remember, though. It gives us hope for the future. Just don’t let the thought of Kalon haunt you. It won’t do you any good.”
She let out a deep breath, her shoulders low in defeat. “I know. I’m trying.”
“We’re safe in here,” Phantom said. “I can do a lot more for you in this place without influencing the outside world. If we can reproduce more memories like this, then there’s a chance you’ll slip into another trance. You just need to think about how far you wish to go. It’s up to you now. There’s no risk of darkness spilling out and hurting people anymore.”
“It’s a controlled environment,” Morning added. “And we’re with you, darling.”
Ignoring Morning’s earlier request, I leaned forward and took Valaine’s hand in mine for a moment. Her skin felt warm, filling me to the brim with newfound hope in the face of such great perils. As long as we were together, we’d be okay.
“You’ve got this,” I told her. “And I’ve got you.”
She gave me a soft smile. “It’s the only thing that gives me courage,” Valaine replied. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.
In and out. In and out.
It didn’t take long for her to slip into a trance. The room around us disappeared, and the four of us sat in the nothingness, much like before. This time, however, it was different. We were all present and conscious as the world around us shifted, following the golden thread deeper into the Unending’s past.
I could see it clearly, shimmering in the dark. Wanting us to reach its end. The Unending’s beginning.
Tristan
It felt like watching a movie projected all around us, three dimensions of audiovisual stimulation that made my heart race. We sat quietly in the middle of it as the scene came to life. The nothingness was replaced with a sprawling hall. We were inside a palace, I realized. It wasn’t that different from the imperial one, except it was much bigger, judging by the size of this auditorium alone.
Its floor was covered in mirror tiles that reflected the dome-shaped ceiling. Paintings of gracious Aeternae adorned every inch of it in soft pastels. The scenes depicted gatherings before the Lord and Lady Supreme, who resembled Mira and Kemi. This had to be part of the first imperial palace, built and decorated under Mira and Kemi’s rule.
Enormous windows dominated the left wall, stretching from the top to the bottom. Light flooded the hall, and I could tell the reddish haze had not been cast around Visio just yet. This was pure sunlight, and I longed to feel it on my skin again. The day-walking cure had proven successful so far, and I was eager to try it soon. Until then, I had to make do with this foreign memory.
Mira and Kemi’s portraits hung on the right wall, along with other paintings and wall-
mounted sculptures. At the far end, raised on a gilded platform, were two thrones with ornate details and embroidered silk tapestry, fit for a Lord and Lady Supreme. Gold guards stood at every entrance, tall and quiet.
“Where are we?” I asked, having almost forgotten I was still conscious. I could interact with Valaine and the Reapers in here.
“The first imperial palace,” Valaine replied, keeping her eyes closed while Phantom continued materializing the details of the distant memory she’d tapped into. “Mira and Kemi have stepped down from the throne. Their son, Thyme, rules as Lord Supreme. This is about twenty thousand years before Eliana was born. We’ve made quite the jump here.”
I could see Thyme now, sitting in his throne. The Lady’s seat was empty. Another young Aeternae man stood before him, clad in elegant armor, a dark blue cape hanging from his left shoulder, on which I recognized the Visentis brooch.
“I am Eldfenn Visentis,” Valaine continued, her lips barely moving. “Master Commander of the Aeternae army.”
“And the Unending,” Phantom added, giving me a sideways glance.
Thyme and Eldfenn were talking, and they seemed like good friends. There was a certain closeness between them. A kind of brotherly affection. Thyme’s tunic was simple but elegant, his chest covered with gold buttons and medals of distinction. A simple band of gold served as his crown, settled atop his curly blond hair. His inquisitive blue eyes wandered around the room with glimmering curiosity, while Eldfenn’s gaze was dark and brooding, his hair long and black. The similarities between him and Valaine were undeniable—not to mention the Unending.
All her reincarnations bore at least parts of her likeness.
“What do your parents think of Aelyn?” Eldfenn asked his friend.
Thyme wore a confident smile. “They like her. Well, my father approves. My mother still needs some convincing, but neither protested when I announced the engagement.”
“That is hardly an encouragement,” Eldfenn replied.
The image shifted around us. We were now sitting between the Lord Supreme and the Master Commander. I watched their exchange as if it were a tennis match, my head turning with every line. Valaine and the Reapers didn’t move an inch.
“Aelyn is a beautiful and intelligent Aeternae. Her dynasty is noble and just. After all, the Dratch dynasty has been by my parents’ side since the empire’s inception,” Thyme said.
“Your parents must have trouble letting go of their precious baby boy.” Eldfenn chuckled. “Although, to be fair, Aelyn hasn’t been properly vetted. The Dratch dynasty may be an ally, but at least two of their younglings have been arrested on suspicion of consorting with Darklings. They pose a risk.”
Thyme rolled his eyes. The subject clearly bothered him. “Not Aelyn. She’s good and pure. She would never—”
“Why won’t you let me check her out then?” Eldfenn replied. “I’ll be discreet. You know me. She won’t even know I’m looking into her. Let us get this risk off the table, Thyme, so we don’t have issues going forward.”
“You don’t like her either,” the Lord Supreme concluded. His lips were pressed into a thin line. Anger circled him like a starving vulture, waiting for him to give in.
“I cannot trust someone I haven’t vetted myself. Especially someone who claims to love you. You are my closest and dearest friend, and I will not apologize for my desire to defend you and keep you safe. It’s a central part of my oath as well, if you remember.”
A side door opened, and in came a diaphanous creature. A young Aeternae woman with long ruby-red hair and emerald eyes. Alchemist fires burned in them, as if the mysteries of the universe had gathered inside her, twinkling with every glance. She wore a long silk dress—layers of white and deep green tailored to her delicate figure. Her gold-threaded shoes clicked across the mirrored floor, the fabric bouncing around her as she moved.
“Thyme, my darling!”
“Aelyn!” he exclaimed. “You’re early. I wasn’t expecting you back from Astoria so soon.”
“I jumped out of my carriage and onto Lieutenant Farris’s Vision,” Aelyn replied. “It was taking forever with the convoy, and I was dying to see you again!”
Thyme leaped down from his throne and took Aelyn in his arms. They kissed and whispered sweet words to each other, while Eldfenn averted his eyes. For a moment, I thought he’d seen me—or at least that’s what it felt like. We weren’t really there. Our eyes seemed to meet, before he turned his head and offered Aelyn a polite bow.
“Milady, welcome back,” he said.
“It is good to be back,” Aelyn replied.
The memory faded, the colors melting and mixing as we were transported somewhere else, to another time. We followed Eldfenn into what looked like Thyme’s private office. The walls were covered in shelves from top to bottom, thousands of books and scrolls having found their home here. Thyme sat behind his desk reading a message written in black ink on brown paper.
Eldfenn stood across from him, hands behind his back as he waited.
“You went ahead and investigated Aelyn, even though I asked you to leave her alone,” the Lord Supreme said, his voice low and cold.
“I had to, Your Grace,” Eldfenn replied. “It is my duty to—”
“Enough!” Thyme shouted and sprang from his chair. “You did this behind my back! Unsanctioned! I thought you were my friend!”
“I am your friend,” Eldfenn said, calm but somewhat tense. I could tell from the muscle throbbing in his square jaw. “And I was sanctioned by your mother, Lady Mira Nasani.”
Thyme scoffed, shaking his head as he looked at Eldfenn. “Aelyn sent me this message,” he replied, pointing at the paper he’d just read. “She knows you’ve been investigating her, and she’s deeply offended. Now I’m the one left looking like a fool if I can’t explain your actions to her—preferably in a way that doesn’t cause her to leave me!”
“Where was the message sent from?” Eldfenn asked, not really caring about the offense that Thyme claimed to have endured. Some time had passed since the previous memory. Tensions had risen. The dynamic had shifted. Trust was a fickle thing between Eldfenn and Thyme, I realized, and it all had to do with Aelyn.
“Why does that matter?”
“Please, Your Grace,” Eldfenn insisted. “I’m asking as the Master Commander.”
“Astoria,” Thyme relented. “She’s on her way back now. The message arrived this morning.”
Eldfenn cursed under his breath and left the room. The image drifted away once more, dissolving into another place. We stood outside a derelict house somewhere in the city. I wasn’t sure where we were until Valaine spoke again.
“We’re in Baryon. A city east of the imperial capital. This is a Darkling lair. As Eldfenn Visentis, I was very good at my job. With the Black Fever erupting again, I became determined to protect my people. I didn’t know who I really was.”
We watched Eldfenn go in through the rickety front door. Moments later, it was blown open by a Darkling. Blood splattered the stone steps leading up to the entrance as the Darkling’s head rolled away in the dark. Sounds of violence erupted from inside. Eldfenn was fighting the insurgents. I heard his roars of anger, bones breaking, the Darklings dying in agony.
But we stayed outside this time, listening as silence gradually took over the old house. A hooded figure emerged from the corner. She gasped at the sight of the decapitated Darkling. “Markon, no…”
She rushed to the body, kneeling before it. Her hand settled on his chest, fingers trembling as she sobbed. A rich lock of ruby-red hair slipped from beneath the hood and dangled in the night’s darkness. Eldfenn came back outside, blood dripping crimson from his clawed fingers.
“You’ll pay for this,” she hissed. Hatred burned green in her eyes. It was Aelyn.
“That was your lover, right?” Eldfenn replied bluntly. “I knew you were a conniving bitch, but I didn’t expect to find so much evidence just… lying around.”
Aelyn stood, claws e
xtended at her sides. “Thyme warned you not to look into me. I told you not to waste your time. Yet you persisted.”
“Clearly, my time wasn’t wasted at all. Aelyn Dratch, you’re a Darkling. Your lover was, until a minute ago, a Darkling. All while you’re engaged to be married to Thyme Nasani, the Lord Supreme of Visio. Surely, you understand why I cannot simply let this go.”
“No one will believe you.” Aelyn took a step forward.
“Thyme and I have known each other since we were children. He knows I would never lie to him,” Eldfenn replied. “You’ve picked the wrong man to play with, Aelyn. It’s going to get you killed.”
Aelyn laughed, but I could tell her nerves were stretched. She seemed conflicted. Fighting was an option, but Eldfenn clearly had the upper hand. His anger swelled with each moment that passed, the air thickening and darkening around him.
“Oh no…” I whispered, realizing what would happen next. I had seen this one too many times already.
“Eldfenn, my mission is sacred. It has always been to the benefit of the Aeternae people,” Aelyn replied. “Thyme’s mother is a fool. I represent the future. I shall save our empire!”
“You’re delusional.”
Aelyn’s demeanor changed as black veins appeared around Eldfenn’s eyes. “This can’t be,” she murmured. “Out of all the people…”
“I’m not letting you get away with this,” he shot back, his breathing ragged. In the blink of an eye, he bolted toward her.
She dodged his attack, and he missed her by mere inches. I doubted she’d be so lucky the second time around. Eldfenn glanced over his shoulder, his rage radiating out of him like smoke, black plumes lingering around his physical form. Aelyn took several steps back, her eyes wide in horror.
A Shade of Vampire 84: A Memory of Time Page 14