Prophecies of Light

by E. M. Knight

  The moment it snaps closed, I lose all sense of the Elemental Forces. I hiss and throw Raul off, then claw at my throat, desperate to pry it off.

  But my fingers, sensitive as they are, find not a single seam. The collar is like one solid ring, no breaks, no partitions. As the seconds pass it seems to grow even tighter, constricting against my windpipe to the point that I cannot even wedge my finger between it and my skin.

  “What is this?” I holler, pure rage taking hold of me. Even with my vampire strength I cannot rip the collar off. “What the hell did you do?”

  “I took precautions,” Raul tells me calmly. He has a triumphant smirk on his face that makes me absolutely hate him. “The collar restricts your use of magic. I got it from Felix before we left.”

  “You didn’t even have time to see him!” I cry out. “Take this thing off, get it away from my skin!”

  Raul shakes his head. “No can do, little brother. I’m afraid it’s a necessity for the rest of our journey.”

  “Why?” I demand. “I’m bound by Eleira’s goddamn spells anyway, isn’t that limit enough for you?”

  “Not where we’re going,” he says softly. “When you lead us to the Forsaken Sisters, they will need to be given our blood. We will revive them from their near-death existence. When they come to, the last thing we can afford is for them to sense your ability and lash out.” He looks back to the plane. “In a way, it’s for your own protection.”

  “Horse shit,” I hiss. “You’re threatened by who I am, and you are fearful, that is why you did this thing!”

  I stagger back up. The collar has settled against my neck. I can’t even feel it anymore, not really, it’s so flush with my skin.

  I fix Raul with a look of pure suspicion. “Of course, it makes sense you got something like this from Felix, him being able to use the Elemental Forces and all. But tell me, did Eleira give you permission to cripple me so?”

  “What I did was done at my sole discretion,” he says. “Eleira does not know.”

  I give a hoot. “And what do you think she’ll do when I tell her?”

  “Nothing,” he says. “She knows you’re as slippery as a rat.”

  I scoff. “So you think,” I touch the collar another time, “you’re really not going to take it off?”

  “Like I said, little brother. It’s for your own good.”

  “Isn’t it embarrassing, having so little faith in yourself,” I wonder, “that you have to lead me like a stray?”

  “All I care about is getting to the Forsaken Sisters and doing what we were told to do. Now come on,” he prods me into the dense forest. “Lead the way.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  April

  Somewhere near the Crusaders’ facility

  “I don’t like this,” I tell Paolo, for what must be the hundredth time. “What if we’re seen?”

  “Quiet,” he snaps. “We won’t if we’re careful, and if you keep your mouth shut.”

  I sniff, but I don’t say anything more.

  Together we’re scaling the side of a steep mountain, from the top of which we will have an excellent view of the Crusaders’ facility from afar, according to Paolo.

  After surviving the slaughter of all the other vampires, I thought Paolo intended for us to run. But he proved otherwise. He led me toward this mountain, then pointed to the top and said that’s where we need to be.

  He would not leave without knowing the fate of James, Smithson, and Victoria.

  That sort of loyalty took me by surprise.

  I guess the oath he gave James was genuine.

  We continue climbing, slowly, using our combined senses to sniff out even a hint of other life and doing our best to avoid it.

  Maybe Paolo is being paranoid, but he claims animals can be bewitched to spy for their masters. Since the Crusaders have no qualms about being aligned with witches, he says we have to be absolutely sure we are not seen or heard by any matter of critter.

  That sort of caution makes for very slow going.

  After another grueling hour we reach the top. I start to straighten, more than ready to stretch my arms…

  Paulo tugs me down before I get even an inch up. “Watch it!” he hisses.

  He points to a circling flock of ravens far in the distances.

  “You think they can see us?” I ask in disbelief.

  “I think,” he stresses, “that we should do our best to avoid being killed. Or do you want to end up like our friends?”

  “No,” I mutter.

  I just can’t express how galling it is to be forced to hide like this, as a vampire, as the world’s greatest predator!

  After a while, Paolo relaxes his arm. “They’re going the other way.”

  “Good,” I say, and climb up to the top of the rock.

  The sun is near the horizon, which means exposure like this still pains me. But I have to withstand it for now. Nothing I can do.

  I cast a look around and see the industrial metal complex right away.

  From this far away, it looks tiny. But I know that even to be visible from this distance means it’s huge. It is carved into the mountain valley, surrounded on all sides by dense, thick forest.

  Paolo squats down beside me, brings a hand above his eyes. He squints at the fortress.

  “There’s no way for us to approach without being noticed,” he mutters. “Damn!”

  “Well, what did you expect?” I counter. I’m angry at him for being so short-sighted. I thought he had a plan!

  “We still have to go for them,” he says. “We can’t just leave them in the hands of the Crusaders.”

  “If they’re not dead,” I note.

  He glances at me, then scoffs. “Right. If they’re not dead.”

  He comes closer to me. “What did you say happened to Sylvia?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “You told me they took her corpse.”

  “They rolled it up in some blanket and tossed it in their van,” I say. “Why?”

  “Because,” he says slowly. “I do not think anybody who knows the first thing about vampires would bother taking a corpse.”

  My eyes widen. “You think she is still alive.”

  “Did you feel her presence wink out? Did you actually feel her die?”

  I shake my head despondently. “There was so much going on, Paolo. I couldn’t say. I didn’t feel any of the men, that, in and of itself, threw me off. All I could focus on was keeping myself alive. So I can’t answer your question. I don’t know.”

  “I would bet money she still lives,” he says. “I don’t think they ambushed us just to kill us. Otherwise, they would have been more thorough. Even with the Divine Sight you and I would not be alive.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that it was an extraction mission. They knew Sylvia was in your room, not mine. They peppered ours with so many more bullets than I saw in yours. If they meant to kill all of us… the Divine Sight would not have come.”

  “What is that, exactly?” I ask. “You never explained what it means.”

  He shrugs, and looks at the floor. “It is exactly what it sounds like. A sort of premonition that comes to warn vampires of future happenings. Usually to warn them of great danger. You were asleep, right, before you were jerked awake for no apparent reason? That tells me you were meant to survive, as was I, and as well that the attackers did not aim to kill us as their highest goal.”

  “But, why?” I ask. “Why did the Divine Sight come only to me and you? Is it like the Mind Gift, like any of the other vampiric talents?”

  “Something of the sort,” he hedges. “But not exactly alike. The Mind Gift takes centuries to develop. The Divine Sight might come and benefit even a vampire as young as you.”

  “How does it work? Nothing can see into the future.”

  “Do you believe that?” he asks. “Ah, but you’re the product of a secular age. Yet haven’t you already seen enough to make you question the certai
nties you once were sure are truths?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He gives his head a quick shake. “Too deep for you, obviously.”

  “Hey!”

  “No, it’s fine. The Divine Sight probably comes to us on the Currents. Vampirism and magic are intricately linked. Even that, in and of itself, should be enough to make you question your dogma.”

  “What dogma?” I demand. “Look, Paolo, maybe I’m not as strong as you—yet—but that doesn’t give you the damn right to be so dismissive of me!”

  “Is that what I am?” he murmurs. He directs a small smile my way. “Maybe I’m just helping you think.”

  “Whatever. This is meaningless. Tell me what you want to do next.”

  “Isn’t it obvious? We have to get into the complex.” He points in its direction.

  “Are you crazy? You said yourself there’s no way in without being sighted!”

  “Not above ground, no,” he murmurs. “But through the tunnels that run beneath…?”

  “What tunnels? You don’t know any exist!”

  “Any secluded fortress like that has an underground network,” he assures me. “We just have to find the right way in.”

  “You are crazy,” I mutter.

  “I told you. I won’t leave James.”

  “Well, I think this is a suicide mission,” I sniff. “I want no part of it. You can do it on your own—”

  I cut off when Paolo suddenly seizes my arm. “You are coming with me,” he hisses. He jerks me to him. “Through hell or high water, you are coming.”

  “Ugh, fine.” I twist away, then rub the spot where his grip left a mark. “But only if you promise me this has nothing to do with revenge.”

  “Revenge?” he mocks innocence. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Give me a break,” I sneer. “They killed your pack brothers. You want to see the humans taken out.”

  “Yes. You are right.” He licks his lips. “Don’t you want to see the same?”

  “I just want to get through this whole ordeal alive,” I shiver. “I don’t like feeling like I’m being hunted. Yet, I saw what those humans can do.”

  “If I ask you to trust me, that I won’t let you down, what would you do?”

  “Seems like I don’t have much of a choice either way,” I mumble.

  “Good.” He touches my chin. “Keep your head up. You’re still a vampire, as am I, and that gives us both infinite advantages over humans. They came on us when we were unprepared.

  “I promise you, that will not happen again.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Dagan

  Near the ancient coven

  I hit the surface of the underground river, Beth gripped tight in my arms, and immediately am swept forward by the extraordinarily powerful currents.

  I thrash around as the river sends me this way and that. I have no orientation, no sense of up and down, as the water throws me back and forth like a ragdoll.

  My only grip on reality is the woman in my arms.

  I crash into the river bank and try desperately to claw a grip onto the rock. But the force of the water is too strong, my senses are too rattled. I try and fail, then try again and fail again.

  Down and down the river I go, gasping, choking, struggling to reach the surface, while still clinging onto Beth’s unconscious body with one arm.

  At some point I slam into a large underwater boulder. The current pounds into me, pinning me down. There’s a little edge to one side that keeps me there.

  Summoning all the strength I have, I force my arm free and claw into the stone. I pull up, fighting the current with every inch. I do it again, and again, and again, hoping desperately that the surface is close.

  Suddenly, I break through. I gasp air into raw lungs, sucking it down as if it’s as precious as blood. I haul Beth’s head above the water, and then, with one more supreme effort, drag her out and toss her on the rock.

  And then I come out of the river myself.

  I rest there, humbled, gasping for breath on all fours. I never liked the water, not as a human, not as a vampire. Never liked the constant pressure of it all over my body, absolutely despised how it slowed my movements, always hated that fight.

  After taking a few moments to catch my breath and recover, I turn my head up.

  What I see before me shocks me so much I nearly fall back.

  Standing in front of me, surrounding Beth’s body, are four very tall vampires. They wear deep red robes that fall all the way to their feet. Their faces are so lean and hardened that they might as well be carved from marble.

  Then I get a sense of their strength.

  It’s astounding. So much stronger than Logan’s, so much stronger than The Ancient’s. They must individually each equal four times my abilities.

  Their focus is all on Beth. One flickers his eyes to me.

  Under that gaze, I feel as humbled as Riyu must under mine.

  I drop my head in respect.

  The one who looks at me slowly walks over. From the corner of my eyes, I see the sublime fluidity of his movements. He doesn’t walk so much as glide.

  His slippered feet end up in front of my face.

  “Stand,” he whispers. His voice is low and strong and hoarse.

  Summoning my courage, I put one foot on the ground and push up off that knee. I still keeping my gaze pointed down, so as not to appear presumptuous.

  “You are the ones who triggered the trap?” he asks.

  I don’t know if he is subtly exerting his influence over me, but as soon as I hear the question, I feel a very real pulse of fear. It’s followed by an absolute deference and an overwhelming desire to give him everything he wants.

  “Yes,” I say. “We ventured down and saw the opening in the graveyard. We went through the tunnel until coming to the place where it split. We suspected a spell was in place, and Beth tried to disarm it, and—”

  “Enough,” he cuts me off. The command is like a lash. “You don’t have to say any more. We know all that occurred.”

  I bow my head and hold my tongue tight against the roof of my mouth.

  “What we do not know,” he continues, “is what compelled you to come to this part of the world in the first place.”

  “Beth said she knew you,” I say, not seeming to be able to stop the words from pouring out of me. All I want to do is please this astounding creature standing in front of me.

  “The girl said that?” he cocks his head to one side, considering the implications.

  Then he laughs. “No. We have never seen her before. She must have meant the Caldreum Coven.”

  “You aren’t them?”

  “The four of us belong to no coven, child. We are protectors of this earth from the powers that seek to destroy it.”

  I shake my head, not understanding what he means.

  “You’re skeptical,” he notes. “If you prove yourself worthy, you will see. That is, if we allow you to live.”

  That threat of fear tightens around my neck like a noose.

  “You disturb us in a very important time. The constellations speak of great change on the horizon. We intend to prevent that.”

  He twists back and gestures with one hand for me to follow. I am astounded when I realize he and I are the only ones left on this rock. Beth and the other three have disappeared.

  With his back turned, I feel a bit of regular confidence creep back in.

  “What did you do with her?” I demand, forcing the words out against the overwhelming oppression thrust onto me by the vampire hierarchy.

  “Your woman is safe,” he responds. I’m thankful that he does not turn his head. “I would concern myself more with you.”

  “Why?” I snarl, fighting the deference the hierarchy implants into me with everything I’ve got.

  “Because you are poisoned,” he tells me. “And to come into our company, you must first be cleansed.”

  “Poisoned?” I say. “What do you mean?
Answer me!”

  But for the rest of our walk, the taller vampire remains mute.

  We go through long, elegantly carved tunnels. The walls and ceilings are particularly smooth. As my eyes wash over them, I find not a single imperfection anywhere.

  “You built these tunnels,” I say. “With your own hands.”

  There are no creatures on earth capable of such precision other than vampires as old as these.

  I think he smiles at the remark, but since I cannot see his face, I am not sure.

  We reach an arching door engraved with gold lettering. The language is not one I can read, nor is the script one I have ever seen before.

  Not the words of Blood Magic, then.

  “This is the Chamber of Repentence,” the old vampire tells me. “It is here where you may be cleansed.”

  “May be?” I wonder.

  “Your past transgressions will be swept away,” he says. “Or, you will die in the attempt.” He looks back at me. “Good luck, Dagan.”

  He knows my name, I think.

  The next moment he’s gone. I do not see, do not feel him move. He simply vanishes.

  I’m not fool enough to believe in teleportation. I know he used his great speed for the trick.

  I approach the door.

  Something heavy looms over the back of my neck. I glance back and find nothing.

  The walkway we went through is abandoned.

  I take a break and let my vampiric senses flair.

  They come upon not a single living thing.

  I face the door again and square my shoulders before it. My mind drifts to Beth. The stronger vampire claimed she is safe, but how can I believe him without seeing her myself?

  I know the only way that will happen is if I pass this test.

  Fear and apprehension consume me as I reach out and press one palm against the door.

  It shifts back. I nearly stumble forward in surprise. Then it starts to lift, disappearing into the ceiling and leaving a black, impenetrable void in front of me.

  I’ve seen this sort of darkness only once before. When I went to Logan, in his chamber, and he brought it forth from that strange, amber piece of jagged glass.