“Alright,” Octavia said with a relieved sigh, “that should do it.”
“And you’re sure we have every detail, correct?” I asked, my large pale hand rubbing my jaw, shifting through the maps and papers Octavia had given me.
Octavia nodded and stretched her arms and her large, leathery wings. “Yeah. We’ve gone through everything like twenty times. I know we’re not missing anything.” She looked at my contemplating face. “But I can bring Stellan in here if you want…”
“No,” I said with an understanding smile. “You should go spend some time with him. Go get some sleep while you’re at it.” I shuffled the plans together and stood up to stretch. Even vampires cramped up sometimes, and I had been sitting in that old wooden chair for hours.
Octavia smiled at me, and I who gave her a questioning look back. “What?” I asked frowning.
“You know, you’re not such a tough guy as you’d like to make out to be,” she answered.
I crossed my arms and raised a dark eyebrow. “What makes you think you know me so well?”
Octavia shrugged and replied mildly, “I don’t. But I can tell you one thing.”
“And that is?”
“Whatever you were like before, you’re trying to hold on to it,” Octavia said pointedly. “But now, you’ve seem to have mellowed out.”
I grabbed some of the plans and rolled them tightly and securely in a piece of twine. “I’m guessing there’s a point behind your analysis?”
Octavia harrumphed and began to march out of the candle light study, opening the dark oak door. She stopped before leaving though, and turned to say, “Rose. She’s changed you, right?”
My face remained blank as Octavia caught my eyes. I said nothing and did nothing, as far as Octavia could tell it was like I had frozen in time. She shrugged, breaking the heavy tension.
“Fine, Mr. Clam, “she said scornfully, turning out into the hallway.
I heaved a sigh and ran weary fingers through limp locks. I picked up the rest of the plans, tucking them under my arm and made my way into the hallway. I flew past ancient paintings and over different colored carpets the farther I went from one of the many studies and into the western part of the manor, which contained my room.
I opened the door and had to quickly dodge a zipping ball of glowing pink.
“Oh! Sorry, Master Vincent!” A high pitched squeaked from the pink ball that bobbed madly in front of my nose.
“Anima,” I said coolly, holding out a hand to allow the faerie to stand on. “Why aren’t you with Christopher?”
“That’s why I’m here, Master Vincent!” Anima said, her large bubblegum eyes widening in worry. “Master Christopher hasn’t slept in days, nor has he eaten!” This didn’t really surprise me; much due to the fact the esteemed mage always got distracted by some new project and didn’t sleep for days at a time.
“Anima, Christopher always does this,” I pointed out, walking to my desk and placing the scrolls, and Anima, gently on the desk.
“But it’s serious this time!” Anima cried. “His magic levels have been dropping! He’s stressed and tired and won’t listen to anything I say!” At this point Anima’s wings had dropped pathetically and her vibrant glow had faded down to a small flicker.
Anima and I had a strange relationship. Ever since Christopher had received her, we had been in constant contact, Anima enjoying my paintings and I helping the faerie watch over Christopher. She had grown a crush on the cat mage over the time she had spent serving him, as I had found out one night while I painted a portrait of the dozing faerie. She explained to me that Christopher was one of the nicest masters a servant faerie could ask for. I hadn’t the heart to tell her Christopher’s affections belonged to someone else now but, even if she did or didn’t know, Anima was always kind to Rose.
“His magic levels? How seriously have they been dropping?” I stopped organizing my plans and looked down at the distressed faerie.
“It fluctuates all the time! Recently though, it’s just been getting worse!”
I straightened up. “I’ll go talk to him, alright?”
Anima fluttered off the desk and gave a weak smile. “Thank you, Vincent!”
I patted the faerie’s head gently. “Don’t worry, OK? He’ll be just fine.” I gave her a tender smile and turned to leave my room, making my way to Christopher’s study, Anima sitting onto my shoulder.
As we approached the cat mage’s door, Anima flitted off from my shoulder and hovered in front of Christopher’s study, wringing her hands in worry.
“How are his magic levels now?” I asked the faerie before knocking.
Anima gazed sadly at the door and whispered, “Bad.”
“Christopher?” I called and rapped on the door.
I heard a shuffling of books and papers and then a tired voice reply, “Yes?”
The door opened, sending papers everywhere from the sudden interruption of air. I snatched a few papers from the air, Anima zooming in past me, also catching papers and placing them back on the desk. I looked to my friend and frowned. Christopher seemed to have aged ten years from stress and sleep deprivation. His hair was a frantic mess of locks and his ears twitched involuntarily, his tail also dancing around erratically. Christopher’s eyes held large dark circles beneath them, hardly bags because his face had become so thin.
The room was just as miserable as its owner. Mountains of books and rivers of papers littered the ground, spilling from a large desk and onto the wooden floor. Disarrayed teacups lay scattered throughout the study; some sitting on books others on the tops of high shelves. Bags of miscellaneous tools and charms sat in random places, their contents drooping dejectedly onto the floor.
“I think,” I said, pausing as I pushed by a mountain of books, “You need to clean up this place a bit, Chris.”
I watched the mage hop over a pile of scrolls and to his desk, where he began to shuffle through the swamp of papers on his desk, hunting for something. “Nonsense,” he responded. “I have everything the way I want it. Now where did I put that pen…”
I leaned over the messy table and plucked the pen from behind Christopher’s tabby cat ear. He smiled sheepishly at me and took the pen with a polite nod, then began to scribble a foreign language on one of the many papers that sat on the desk. I stood there for a few moments, allowing Christopher to scribble down his nonsense but started to think he had forgotten I was there and tapped him gently on the head.
“Chris,” I said in a concerned tone, “I’m starting to think the ink fumes have affected your brain.”
The mage sat up and frowned at me, his arms crossed and exclaimed, “I’m just trying to get us ready for anything! I don’t want everyone blaming me when Dimitri turns into a mouse or if Stellan suddenly gets caught in some paralyzing spell! And what happens if we all get caught in a spidernonian’s web and can’t get out? Then who will be blamed?! Me! Because I didn’t have the acid we needed to get out of the web! What happens if some terrible illusion catches Wesley or—“
“Christopher!” I near shouted, trying to remain understanding about the cat mage’s condition was difficult especially when he started to rant about utter nonsense that he knew he could handle. “Enough! I think you need to go eat something and stop drinking coffee for a few days. Possibly weeks.” I tried to make a joke of the situation but it merely came out as a growl. There are times where I wish I had Dimitri’s gift of lighting the mood.
Christopher looked at me in shock. I had probably come off too sharp, which I hadn’t meant to at all. I just wasn’t very tactful sometimes. Then Christopher surprised me. He tenderly grabbed my shoulder and gave me a calming look; not a direct smile but there was warmth in his green eyes.
“Maybe you and I both need a break,” he said kindly.
I ran my fingers through my hair, noting how greasy they were beginning to feel from lack of being alone and…feeding.
“I think you’re right,” I said and began to leave the cat mage’s study but turned around and asked, “I’m going to paint for a while. Can you tell everyone to leave me alone?”
Christopher smiled at me and gave me another polite and understanding nod. I patted the frame of the door and left Christopher’s study, heading to my art studio at the top of the manor.
I entered my studio, leaving off the magically powered lights installed by Christopher after being so sick of having to remember matches everywhere he went. I didn’t need the light; my eyes were more accustomed to the dark than anything else. I walked over to my stool and easel and sat down, picking up my paint and brush. I flicked off the drape I had placed over the painting and let it drop to the floor.
I sighed as I looked at my painting. It was almost perfect. From the way her stubborn nose and chin rose to face the light to her pale, porcelain skin framed with the wild locks of chocolate brown, autumn red and fading gold. Her delicate body was surrounded by a heavenly glow, long, willowy fingers trailing behind her with trails of light, like the tails of shooting stars. She walked through a vast darkness; her footsteps left faint marks and diminished as she continues walking through the endless darkness.
I looked up at the eyes, the very soul of my painting, and faintly held my breath.
Rose’s eyes were the final touch to the painting that I had been working on for some time. Perfectly sculpted eyebrows waited for their supports in anticipation. I smiled, imagining how impatient she actually was and how the painted eyebrows caught the personality of my love with perfection. I didn’t usually praise my own work but so far, this was one of my best.
I started the slow, precise painting of the eyes. Hazel was no easy feat. The different colors, and the way they easily blended together could usually make the eyes seem muddy, but if painted just right well…it was breathtaking.
I painted for hours. Stroke by stroke her eyes became real. They became the fiery girl, the kind lady, the gorgeous woman who I loved. I finished and leaned back, shaking the blurriness from my mind as I did so.
Two perfect hazel eyes stared at me. I smiled back at the painted girl.
“Vincent,” a voice called softly.
I turned around and fell from my stool. Standing behind me was none other than Julia, her dark hair floating in ghostly ripples and skin glowing softly.
“Julia…” I whispered, not able to stand but simply gape and sit stupidly on the floor.
Julia nodded and walked towards me, her glowing hands extended and dress floating behind her. “Vincent,” she whispered, “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Julia..I-I…how?” I stuttered dumbstruck. “How? How can you be…here?”
Julia laughed and knelt beside me touching my hand with chilling fingers. “Why would that matter now? I’m here, aren’t I?” She laughed again but something about her laugher struck me odd. It was the tinny sound of a memory, not real, not true, just mimicking.
I stood up, gaining my composure.
“Who are you?”
Julia looked at me, worry in her eyes. “Dear Vincent, it’s me! Your love!”
I backed away until I stood next to my painting. “No, you’re something else. You’re not Julia.”
The supposed Julia frowned and also stood up. She looked at me and then at my painting, her eyes suddenly clouded with fury. “Is she the reason you don’t love me anymore?”
I touched the side of the canvas protectively, as if it were Rose, and then shook my head. “No,” I said slowly, “I don’t love you because you are not Julia. And I still love my Julia, I swore I would.”
Julia tilted her head slightly and grinned. “As always, quite perceptive, love.”
In a quick shift of color and light, Julia became another woman altogether. I hissed as Elrica stood before my, dark hair wildly flowing, cruel eyes gleaming against pale skin.
“Elrica,” I growled. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to warn you, my pet,” the Enchantress explained while seating herself on my stool. “We know of your plan”-she said the word mockingly as she tossed her hair back with a laugh-“and wish to warn you that your time is almost up. You need to choose, us or her?” At the last work she waved her hand towards the painting of Rose.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” she drawled, “that my sisters and I are sick of waiting. Come to us now or soon your life is over.”
I glared at her. Did she mean we would die? They were going to take away their immortality? This was not good…
“Well, it seems I was right in guessing you wouldn’t be too keen or my proposition.” Elrica reached out to me, her perfectly manicured fingers scraping gently down the side of my cheek. “Being a vampire was such a wonderful choice I made for you. But I’m sure you’re not enjoying the…benefits…” Elrica allowed the word to hang in the air as she ran her fingers down my throat, making small circles as she gazed into my eyes.
“You’re so sweet, Vincent,” she said, stepping off from the stool and bringing her body to my stiff one, “so innocent. Pure, even for a monster like yourself.” Her lips touched my neck, though I still did not flinch.
“The one thing about these benefits you have given me is the fact that I can kill you without much remorse.”
I grabbed her neck and twisted it with all my might, a satisfying snap! coming from the witch’s body as she crumpled to the floor. I kicked the body and sneered as it disappeared.
“Nice try,” the alluring voice said behind me. “But I’m not blind, my sweet. I can see that wonderful bloodlust in your eyes.” I turned around to glare at her smirking face. She leaned up against a far wall, her wicked grin amplified by the shadows that clouded her face.
“Well, then,” I shifted to a crouch, ready to attack. “It may be a good thing you made me a vampire after all. I do need that bloodlust!”
I charged at her, teeth bared and nails as sharp as claws. Elrica didn’t even flinch as I sprang towards her, but simply raised her hand and stopped me, forcing me to hang in mid-air.
“Vincent, Vincent, Vincent,” she circled around me, making small clucking noised of disappointment. “I expected better. I know the others aren’t the brightest but you”-she sighed and stopped to stare at the picture of Rose-“I thought you would be smarter.”
The witch opened her hand, fire flaring in the center of her palm, and placed it on the painting. The canvas burst into flames and slowly disintegrated into soot, small embers and ash sat where the picture once stood.
“A warning for you,” Elrica said, backing into the shadows, “so you may know what awaits your friends if you come to face us with ill intentions.”
Then she was gone.
I fell to the floor, my hand landing in the pile of soot, mixed with scorched canvas. I gently clutched it and then let it sift through my hands. I picked up a small piece of canvas—Rose’s hazel eyes.
“No. No it won’t happen.”
~*~*~
The next morning I walked to the kitchen, for once breaking my usual habit of staying away during mealtime, and pondering whether to tell everyone about Elrica’s visit. As I walked into the kitchen I decided to keep it my own secret, the heavy gloom of atmosphere helping in my decision.
Everyone was dead silent as I entered the room. Octavia, Stellan, Wesley and Rose sat at the table, picking at their food as Dimitri set coffee onto the table. Christopher hadn’t joined us yet, most likely sleeping still.
I said nothing as I sat, the pregnant silence wanting to remain undisturbed. I looked up as the door opened only to see Christopher in his black mage robe, pockets and small pouched stuffed with mysterious items. The cat mage plopped into a chair and nibbled on a piece of toast, the nerves of our companions getting to him too.
Dimitri sat down next to me and began to eat his food rather hurriedly, making much more noise than necessary to eat scrambled eggs. He then abruptly stood up and slammed his hand on the table.
“Alright! Enough of this nerve grinding silence OK?” The demon shouted, glaring at everyone. “We’re going to do just fine! We’ve got some serious kick ass fighters on this team. Even Vincent is somewhat decent.”
I chuckled internally at Dimitri’s methods of calming everyone down but still played along as I said, “Be careful demon. Hate for you to lose your head in the battle tonight.”
He grinned at me and I returned the same amount of wickedness in my own smile. I hated him but there are days where I wonder what I would do without him.
The atmosphere loosened as everyone smiled at our small spat. Rose took the opportunity to whisper, “When are we going?”
“Soon,” Octavia answered. “Vincent and I have found four different ways in. That means we’ll split up into groups of two each.”
Dimitri frowned as he sat back down and said matter-of-factly, “But that means one person will be left alone.”
“We know that,” I replied, “but we have it worked out well enough that everything should run smoothly.”
What are the groups? Stellan asked.
I looked to Octavia, who gave me a worried expression back. I decided to take the plunge and gave the bad news. “You and Octavia will be a team and work on the east wing of the castle.” He nodded and took Octavia’s hand into his own, squeezing it gently.
“You, Christopher, will go with Wesley and take the south wing,” I said while looking from the mage to the werewolf. Both nodded curtly but Wesley looked distracted, as if he knew who the solo mission was going to.
I turned my attention to Dimitri, “Dimitri and I will take the west wing.” I stopped and closed my eyes as I said, “Rose will have the north.”
All three of my friends stood up simultaneously, filled with the same anger at the news. “I don’t think so!” They roared at me.
“She is not going alone!”
“She’s barely had any practice with her new skills! And not to mention her new powers!”
“Rose can’t just go alone. She needs us by her side! Someone has to go instead of her!”
The three shouted, glared and slammed their hands on the table as they roared their complaints, Rose never being able to say a word in edge wise, though she tried.
I opened my eyes and suddenly the room got deathly quiet. I gazed at the silent Rose and said, “What do you want, Rose?”
Rose remained silent for a suspenseful moment. She then gave a steady look to each one of us, and then stopped at my eyes as she said, “I can do this. I don’t need help.”
She took the stunned silence and kept talking, holding a hand up to the disgruntled Dimitri. “But,” Rose said, “I want to know why you chose me to go alone, Vincent.”
Her calm look surprised me a bit but I answered steadily, “For one, you’re immortal. No matter what happens you will not die or be truly hurt.”
“But we’re immortal too!” Dimitri argued.
“But not like Rose.” Especially not like Rose, I thought to myself. “Her immortality cannot be taken away. The witches can do that to us.” My hands shook slightly from the memory of Elrica’s words, though no one noticed.
“What if she gets trapped in an illusion then? Or some spell?” Wesley countered.
“She won’t,” I replied firmly. “Christopher’s spells will protect her. He is, after all, the best mage in Candicia.” Christopher blushed slightly as I said this and I decided to use the complimenting card to my advantage on the upset werewolf. “Rose’s powers are also the strongest amongst all of us and I’m sure she has learned a great deal, being taught by you Wesley.”
Wesley blushed too as he sat back down, unable to come up with anymore convincing arguments.
“I understand,” Rose said evenly. She then looked gently at Dimitri. “Dimitri,” she said her voice soft and understanding, but firm and determined. “I know you’re scared but please, have faith in me. I know I can do this but it would mean nothing if you can’t believe in me.”
The two locked eyes. Neither said anything. Dimitri resented the idea completely but he knew I was right and he also feared insulting Rose and her abilities. He loved her too much to bruise her pride.
The demon sighed and sank into his chair as he replied, “Fine. But if you get hurt or caught in some mess you’re in big trouble with me, got that?”
Rose laughed and smiled at the demon, he returning her a small grin.
“What now?” Wesley asked seriously. “Should we start getting ready?”
“Yes,” I answered then looked to Christopher, “Are the packs ready?”
He nodded and led us to the library. There he handed us all our own packs and explained how they could hold anything we wanted due to the enchantment placed upon them.
I stood in front of the small group and said, “We must go now. No matter what happens stick to your mission. We can do this, no matter what they throw at us. We will all meet at the heart of the castle, where the Enchantresses are. If you meet one along the way…be careful and good luck.” I then prayed that whatever happened no one would meet an Enchantress, especially one of my housemates who had more to worry about than they should like to know.
We entered the library, Christopher instantly setting off to preparing the transportation spells. Everyone stepped into their own circle as Christopher finished them. The mage then fished a packet out of his many pockets and began to open it when Rose cried, “Wait!”
“What’s wrong?” Christopher asked worriedly, his arm frozen in the air.
“I…I forgot to say good bye,” she said, stuttering a bit from embarrassment. She then left her octagon and walked over to Octavia and Stellan’s. She hugged them both and said warmly, “Thank you for coming to help us. You have no idea…”
Stellan rose a hand to stop her and said, You all have saved me and my love. This is the least we can do for you.
Octavia pulled the smaller girl into a tight hug and whispered, “We’ll be fine, kid.”
Rose hugged back and then walked to Christopher and Wesley, whispering to them both to be safe and then embracing and kissing them as she wished the luck.
She walked gracefully towards Dimitri and me, her face holding a sad smile.
“Dimitri I…” She began but the demon held up a hand and pulled her into a tight hug. I turned away from them as I saw small tears slide down Dimitri’s face.
I felt a tug on my arm as Rose stepped from Dimitri’s embrace and into mine. I rested my forehead against hers, her soft skin and sweet smell making me sigh quietly.
“Be safe,” I whispered to her. I placed my hand on the back of her neck and brushed my lips against her forehead. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t see you again.”
She held me tighter and whispered back. “Do the same then.”
I chuckled and let her go, slowly letting her hair slide through my unwilling fingers.
Rose reentered her circle and looked to Christopher confidently. “Ready.”
Christopher threw the powder into the air. In a brief instant the scene changed from the library to a swirl of sunset golds, blood reds and fiery oranges. Dimitri and I landed with a thud into a patch of bushes.
“Holy crap that hurt!” Dimitri groaned as he untangled himself from the hedges.
I grabbed him and dragged him back down into the bushes. “What’d you do that for?” Dimitri cried, forcing me to clamp my hand over his mouth. I placed a finger to my lips and pointed to the large stone structure that lay before us. There, guarding a great iron door, were too large, ugly stone beasts. Green moss and small trees grew from their mountain-like bodies as they snored grindingly, leaning against the stone walls.
“Mountain trolls,” I whispered.
“What now?” Dimitri mouthed.
I frowned in concentration as I looked around the small clearing that lay between us and the mountain trolls. My eyes roamed past the snoozing trolls and up the stone wall where I noticed a series of small glass windows, all closed tight.
I pointed upwards to the windows for Dimitri, who followed my finger and nodded as he stood up quietly. He leapt off the ground and flapped upwards; silently he lowered himself and grabbed my reaching hands, pulling me up into the air with him.
We glided up to one of the closed windows. Dimitri released one of my hands allowing me to punch a fist through the glass and letting me push open the latch to let us in. My pilot threw me into the room, dropping me a few feet and rolling into a crouch.
Dimitri landed next to me, grinning as I stood up to dust the dirt off my jacket. “Lucky you always land on your feet huh?”
“Lucky I don’t have the time to punch you through that wall huh?”
Dimitri rolled his eyes and looked around the room we had broken into. We had been lucky and ended up right where we wanted—the library. Our mission was to burn the library and cause a distraction so that Octavia and Stellan could break into the main planning room of the Enchantresses and their generals. Plus, destroying the books would put them out of a lot of spells they could use.
The Enchantresses’ library was massive. Triple the size of Noir Manor’s library and even more lavish in its tapestries, ornate chandeliers and rich furniture. I ran my fingers over some of the books’ spines, glad that I hadn’t sent Christopher to do this or he would have tried to save every single one, which would have eaten too much valuable time.
“Ready to torch these suckers?” Dimitri asked eagerly as he took out a box of matches from his pack.
I pulled a book off the shelf and tossed it to him. “Let’s go.”
Dimitri flicked the match on the stone floor and lit the book. He then calmly walked to where I was standing and placed the book back in its place. It soon caught the whole shelf on fire and moved to the entire case. We flicked lit matches on bookcases as we made our way through the library, tossing in countless armchairs and desks into the furious flames as we went. Dimitri would leap into the air and kick down shelves, sending them crashing into others creating a domino effect as the bookcases screeched and crashed into each other.
As we approached the door, I grimly noted that the guards had finally arrived on the scene, a fight siren screeched in the background, dimmed by the sound of the roaring fire.
“Looks like we’ve got company,” I said, pulling out my rapier.
“I do love to entertain,” Dimitri said, flapping into the air, pages fluttering in his wake. “What’ll it be guys? Burnt to a crisp or head through a stone wall?”
“I, of course, highly recommend impalement.” I shot towards the small, steel-plated guards. My rapier flashed and whirled as I thrust and parried through the battalion. Guards collapsed around me, as others whizzed past my head and into the flames. Dimitri punched, kicked and tossed guard after guard. But they never stopped coming.
I kicked in an armored head and shouted to Dimitri, “They’re not stopping! We need to fall back!”
Dimitri looked behind him, towards the flaming graveyard of books and guards. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire? Are you mad?!”
I hacked at the arm of another guard, losing both my gracefulness and patience as I drew closer to Dimitri. “We don’t have a choice! And we still need to get to the Western Guards Headquarters!”
Dimitri scowled. He then shot up to the ceiling. Spinning around insanely fast he plunged to the stone floor, sending an earthquake through the stones. Guards fell down the gaping holes and broken stone came to smack the unlucky bystanders. Dimitri shot towards me, a bit of rubble and dust in his dark hair, and picked me up. He flew me into the hall; thousands of guards lay beneath us.
“What are they?” Dimitri shouted over the din.
“Lower me a bit,” I called. Dimitri did so, allowing me to wrench the helmet off of a random guard. The head was that of a gray creature with large glinting eyes and sharp yellow teeth.
“Golems,” I said to Dimitri’s question. “Formless at the moment though! Just themselves!”
“Great! Just what we need! Stupid, scrappy, idiots to fight!” Dimitri stopped and placed me in the lip of a high window sill, enough for me to crouch on and he stand next to me.
We surveyed the sea of golems beneath us grimly.
“We’ll have to split up,” I said breaking our private silence. Dimitri did not reply he simply stood there with his arms folded. He then sank down next to me, drawing his knees to his chest, a look of worry on his face.
“I was afraid you would say that.”
I blinked, completely surprised by what he said. Dimitri, scared? How…unlike him. He was usually so reckless, so eager to fight but now…now it was like he afraid of fighting.
“Dimitri, we need to…” Need to what? Fight? Split up? Die trying? What was I doing here? Why didn’t I just say yes to the Enchantresses when I had the chance…
Or just say it now.
Dimitri stood up, stretching his wings. “I’ll hand the freaks, you get to that room.” He looked at me. His coffee eyes the most serious I had ever seen them. “You’re right, Vincent. We have to do this. We can’t give up. Not now. Not this close.”
I couldn’t respond. He clapped me on the shoulder and took off into the air, disappearing in the waves of vicious golems.
I sat there for a few moments, wondering what to do. I looked down at my hands; pale, dirty and callused, nothing but pain and turmoil lay in my hands. What was I? Who was I? One hundred and fifty years of darkness and now I was fighting for something…but what?
I stuffed my hand in my pocket, my fingers clasping around a piece of thick paper. When I pulled it out I found that instead of paper it was canvas. The canvas held Rose’s painted eyes upon it. I knew what I was fighting for.
Love.
I stood up, putting the canvas back in my pocket and surveyed where Dimitri had left me. Jumping down was not the smartest idea, not with a mob of angry golems underneath me and a long drop. The walls then.
I pulled out a small vile form my pack and opened it, the smell of Blood filling my senses. This was what vampires drank in Candicia. No humans, no animals needed. Pure, untainted magic, easy to get a hold of and kept you from going insane. Of course, you were done for when you crossed over into the Human Realm. Only humans satisfied the thirst then.
I threw the contents of the bottle into my throat. The warmth of the Blood flowed through my body, turning my senses on high. I allowed my fangs and claws to grow, cracking individual body parts as I extended them to their full length.
I didn’t enjoy my animalistic abilities. But damn it all if they’re not useful.
I sliced my claws into the wall and began to scale the hall like a spider. I moved quickly over the waves of guards, leaping and destroying wall as I went. The Western Guards Headquarters was deep within the heart of the western side of the castle, according to the map Octavia had given me. There I would have to dispose of the leader and the communications. The Western Headquarters doubled as the main communications center, something that needed to be destroyed if we wanted the advantage of mass confusion.
I dropped to the ground after all the golems had disappeared from sight, probably craving the chance to get to Dimitri, and began to sprint down the extensive maze of hallways. I was quick at climbing, but deadly at running. I stopped dead when I heard approaching footsteps. Running vertically up one of the walls, I hid in the shadows of a gargoyle, listening to the approaching footsteps.
As the footsteps rounded the corner I held back a gasp of surprise and relief. There was Octavia and Stellan! But why were they here? They should be taking care of the east side, or making their way to the center of the castle. I quietly rummaged in my bag and pulled out one of Christopher’s inventions—goggles. They allowed the wearer to see any traces of spell or illusion. As I slid them over my eyes I held back a snarl. Octavia and Stellan weren’t really there, just illusions to lure me out.
Better see who wanted me to come out so badly then.
I put the goggled away and leaped from my perch. Spreading out my arms in welcome I cried, “Octavia! Stellan! You’re alright!”
“Vincent,” Octavia exclaimed, “we came to help you!”
“Really?” I said, extending my claws behind my back. “Because it looks like to me you’re not really the helpful type.”
Before Octavia could open her mouth to speak, I shot towards them. I ripped at Stellan’s throat, the illusion disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. I whipped my leg in an arc at the illusion of Octavia and glared at the dust the swirled around me, clinging to my hair and clothes.
“They said we should be careful of you all, but who knew you would be so attentive to detail.”
I peered into the shadow of a pillar and lowered my eyes. The woman who stepped out from behind the pillar wore a long golden fur cloak, pinned together by a long ivory tooth. Her hair was swept back in a high, but loose, ponytail and made from hundreds of small braids. Random strings of beads, feathers and small bones were strangled in her coarse black hair. Her facial features were sharp and the woman’s eyes were surrounded by charcoal black paint, stripes of the paint ripping down her cheeks and framing her dark russet lips. The paint intensified her wicked green eyes and stood in a dark contrast to her copper skin. She was attractive, but in a savage way.
She smiled, white teeth shinning, at me and said, “They also forgot to mention how handsome you all would be.”
She walked towards me and extended a copper skinned hand, rings glistened from her fingers and her nails were painted black and sharpened like claws. “Too bad my orders are to exterminate you.”
“Yes,” I replied, my voice full of malice. “Too bad.”
“However,” the woman said seductively, “they never said I could not play with you for a while.” She grinned and flicked her index finger towards me; a ball of black light flew towards me.
I flipped back and watched the ball settle to the stone floor. It began to shift and morph into a black panther. The large cat growled at me, swiping its claws as it waited for its mistress’ orders.
“Hunt,” the woman ordered.
The panther charged at me, letting out a fierce growl. I pulled off my jacket and let it settle around me. A bit dramatic for my taste but sometimes you needed the extra flare to get some confidence.
I ran towards the beast, my own claws extended and leapt into the air, the panther following me. We clashed into each; the panther pushed me to the floor. The cat’s teeth remained inches from my throat as I fought it off.
“My panther is not a regular feline,” the woman called. “He is made from magic. Almost impossible to defeat.”
I grunted and kicked the panther off me. It crashed into the wall and slumped to the floor.
“’Almost’?” I asked grinning. “I bet if I get rid of you”—I turned to give her my grin—“that cat will be gone in a flash.”
The woman’s eyes went wide, and she stumbled back as if I had just struck her. I ran towards her, picking up speed as I heard the panther approaching. I turned in the nick of time and slammed the panther into the wall again, hardly stopping as I made my way to the illusionist. I was inches from the woman’s neck until I was pummeled with a landslide of rocks.
“Really, Maya,” a female voice taunted. “I thought a simple vampire would be easy for you.”
“Avani ,” the woman, Maya, cried as if in relief. “Where have you been?”
“I was delayed by the demon.” I shifted a bit from my rock prison. Dimitri! I thought in shock. “But I let Itzal handle him.”
I struggled from the rock pile and gritted my teeth as I kicked off one of the boulders that held me down. Dimitri could still be alive. Now I have to save myself.
Both women turned to look at me. Avani, the woman who could control rocks, was short and muscled. Her skin was a dark tan and her blonde hair was cropped at her earlobes. She wore a simple brown muscle shirt and leather, zipped jacket. Between thick, combat boots and short tan pants, were legs as muscled as Wesley’s own body. Avani pulled on leather, fingerless gloves and grinned.
“How ya doing, bloodsucker?”
I pulled out my rapier and dropped my sack to my feet. “Who are you?”
“We are the Western Guards’ generals,” Maya answered, her panther standing next to her. “The Ladyships were right about you all coming to attack us. Sadly, it seems you did not think this out as well as you should have.”
“Enough chit-chat,” Avani interrupted. “We need to get rid of this freak now.”
The rubble I had just escaped from now shifted and morphed into a thick human shape. It stomped towards me, every step shaking the ground like a thunderstorm. I heard a cacophony of growls and roars from behind me and glanced only to fine Maya had created more jungle cats.
I groaned exasperated by the turn of events. Picking up my pack, I jumped on top of the stone monster and made my way up the wall. Pulling a few bottles from my pack, I dropped them into the group of magic-born monsters; explosions erupted from the bottles as they hit the ground. I dropped into the mess of multiple colored smokes and began to throw different cats from the scrap.
“Where is he? Where is he?!” I heard Avani scream. She must not be able to control her rock monster without seeing it. Probably why the thing hadn’t come to crush me yet, I thought relieved.
I felt the ground rumble and moan as the stones began to break from under my feet. The jungle beasts cried and yowled as the ground lifted them into the air and dropped them back to the earth.
“My cats! My poor cats!”
I hopped onto a passing stone and began to leap from rock to rock, slowly getting out of the smoky mess. I stood on a single rock as it carried me into the two women’s sight, my sword brandished and explosive bottles in my hand.
“Now!” I heard Avani scream. I slipped as one of Maya’s beasts leapt onto my back, clawing my shirt and biting at my body as I clung on to the hovering stone desperately. A lion jumped onto my stone and growled at me. I grunted in pain as I tried to shake the one cat off me and hold onto the rock at the same time. The lion grinned at me and raised its paw, claws extended and swiped at my face.
I pierced my rapier through its heart before it could touch my face, a great yowl coming from the evil beast. I dropped into the air and turned around in the cat’s grasp. Finding myself being attacked by a tiger, I stabbed my blade through its heart and pushed off from its limp body, rolling on the floor as I hit the ground.
“You!” A horrid female voice shrieked. Standing over me, shaking with fury, was Maya. Her beasts came to surround her, their eyes glinting with hatred for me, as they slowly prowled towards me. Maya came quicker though and had lost her calm as she grabbed my torn shirt and picked me up, only to slam me back into the floor.
Maya screeched as she plunged her unnaturally sharp nails onto my chest. Her hand disappeared and sunk into my skin, then slowly found their way to my heart, twisting it slowly and pricking it with her nails. I gasped for air as her other hand went into my right lung, puncturing the organ and gradually pulling it from my body.
“Die,” she whispered darkly.
“You…first!” I coughed and sunk my rapier through her leg. She screamed but I ignored her as I kicked her off of me and from my body. Ignoring the fact that I could hardly breath, I ran towards her gracelessly pierced her stomach. She staggered back, coughing up blood. Maya then fell to the floor, her beasts disappearing as she hit the ground.
I swayed as I made my way to Maya’s body. I clumsily pulled my sword from her dead body and clutched my chest as I fell on to my knees.
“Idiot,” Avani’s calm voice said behind me. “She should have known that her magic wouldn’t have worked on a vampire.”
Avani kicked the body of her partner and sneered as she looked at me.
“Maya was stupid,” she said pointedly, “but I’m smart and I know how to get rid of you.”
I glared at her, though my eyes were shifting madly. The healing process was taking longer because some of my vital organs were damaged and I wasn’t sure how if I could even stand up, let alone fight.
Avani crouched in front of me, taking my chin in her gloved hand. “I can see why her Ladyship wants you so badly. What a shame she’s not here right now, eh?” She pulled her face closer to mine. I attempted to pull away but I was far too weak. “Lucky me though, because I am here…”
Her lips pressed onto mine. My eyes went wide with disgust—the woman tasted of earth! I weakly lifted my sword and sliced her pathetically across the back. The cut was useless but it stopped her from kissing me.
Avani fumed with anger as she hit me across the head, sending me to the floor, my blade spinning from my grasp.
“Idiot!” She screamed as she backed away from me, holding her bleeding back. “Come on then!” Avani yelled at her stone monster. “Kill him!”
The monster lurched towards me as I attempted to crawl to a pillar, in order to support me as I stood up. Before I could even touch the stone structure Avani’s beast slammed an oversized foot on my leg, making it break with a ghastly snap. I screamed, but then tried to calm myself by focusing on breathing. The monster smacked me across the head; I could feel my skin split open as blood spilled onto the floor around me.
I collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily, my healing magic hurriedly trying to fix the damage to my beaten body, my energy pouring out around me. I closed my eyes and prayed that my friends would at least make it.
I heard the groaning of the monster as it lifted its heavy arms. Heard the swish of air as it brought its clenched fist down to meet my body. My breathing, Avani’s shrieks of triumph, the trickle of my bleeding skull.
Then nothing.
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