by Logan Byrne
I had to shake it off, leaving every memory he ever had while trying to get closer to the present. Decades flew past, the ‘80s, the early 2000s, and then finally the present. I was now standing in front of him, like a ghost of myself looking at him from the outside, while he seduced a woman the same way he tried to seduce Xelia in the club. She was young, maybe twenty, wearing a crop top and a black skirt, slender, with blonde hair and green eyes. I knew she was under his influence as I watched her pupils grow in diameter.
“Where should I take her?” the man asked, his hand on the girl’s arm.
“She looks young and healthy, which is perfect for what we need her for. Take her to the incubator,” another man said, though his face was darkened.
“She’s a keeper?” the man asked, smiling, as if he would be rewarded for bringing such a beautiful woman into the mix.
“She’ll make a great mother, I’m sure of it,” the man said, letting a faint chuckle escape.
The memory fast-forwarded, and I was in a room where many women lay on beds with IVs connected to them. There was blood in the bags, and fresh bite marks on their necks. They were sedated, being fed blood to keep their fresh vampire bodies satiated while they rested and were prevented from turning violent, which was an obvious sign of a newly minted vampire. Their bloodlust was always insatiable right away, but this operation seemed to dampen that desire for death and blood.
I was able to leave the room, to leave this particular memory, as the hallway I walked down fragmented into shards, with black filled in through the spaces that I couldn’t piece together. I fast-forwarded myself, turning to a point where this man had entered the next room, where a new group of women were also lying on beds, but these women were in varying stages of pregnancy. What was going on here? The door opened behind me, a couple of doctors coming in and standing in front of one of the beds. “This one is ready to be induced,” one of them said.
“Are we sure her baby is strong enough?” another asked.
“They all serve a purpose for our master—to create a force so strong that nobody will stand in its way. She is ready.”
I felt myself starting to swirl and lose control as the room collapsed around me. A loud whistling sound filled my ears before I was pushed out and back in the alleyway with Charlie and Xelia while the man was rendered unconscious.
“What happened?” Charlie asked, catching me as I stumbled back. He held me up, the walls spinning slightly, before I took a deep breath and caught my bearings.
“I found out why they’re taking women,” I said, looking up at Xelia.
“What is it?” she asked, looking more scared than I’d ever seen her before.
“They’re incubating them and birthing babies for some kind of army,” I said.
“This is worse than I thought,” she said. “You better erase his memory and then we can go back.”
“Cranius Expellus,” I said.
“So what does this mean, exactly? What’s the point of kidnapping women to impregnate them?” Charlie asked.
Xelia paced around her office, stoic, not offering a quick explanation. It troubled her, more than it should have, as if she knew something about it on a personal level. “Were the women, the mothers, vampires?”
“I believe they were, yes. They had bite marks, blood IVs, and they were all asleep,” I said.
“Babies, vampire babies, meaning ones born to a vampire mother and a vampire father, are generally more powerful than vampires that were changed. It’s rare, though, for a vampire baby to be born. It’s usually adults, or teenagers, who get bitten and changed,” she said.
“But vampires already have powers. Why not swipe people and just change them? Wouldn’t it be faster?” I asked.
“Faster, yes, but not more powerful. You see, a female who’s bitten and becomes a vampire is only able to conceive a child within seventy-two hours after being shifted. After that, she loses her ability to carry a child and give birth. That makes vampire babies quite rare, because most women who are bitten are able to get away or leave before that time period even begins, let alone ends,” she said.
“So what does this mean? An army of them?” I asked.
“Well, vampire babies grow up to be adults just like any mortal child, but at a much faster rate. They age one year for us for every one month being alive, but they stop growing after about twenty months, give or take. The reason why they’re going through this trouble, instead of just biting more mortals, is because babies born to vampires, while also being more rare, are more powerful as well. They’re stronger, faster, smarter, and their psychological powers are much more insane. Basically, they take the abilities and powers of three vampires and put them into one very capable body and mind,” she said.
“So they just want to take over everything? It’s a long-term plan, having them keep pumping in, their forces growing with the more women they get,” Charlie said.
“It sounds like that’s the plan. They’ll also continue to turn men and keep the women, to bolster their forces, but it sounds like at least part of his plan is to have the vampires, including the purebreds, be an integral part of his scheme to take over the mortal and magical realms. We should all be so lucky,” she sighed.
I didn’t know how to process the news. Knowing he was recruiting vampires was bad enough, but to create new ones who were essentially three in one? I could barely handle one well-equipped vampire in combat, let alone something three times as strong, three times as fast, and three times as cunning. Kiren was placing his cards on the table and they had to be stopped.
“What are our options?” I asked.
“Well, first we need some kind of proof. This kind of kidnapping and birthing operation would go down in an instant, assuming he doesn’t find out and meddle his way in to stop it. Obviously he doesn’t want it to go down. I’m sure he’s invested a lot of time and money into this,” she said.
“Then?” Charlie asked.
“Then we need to kill the babies,” she said, her quick answer as piercing as her expression.
“There has to be another way, I mean—”
“There isn’t another way, Lexa. This sort of act cannot stand, and the chances of us killing the offspring before they come into their powers is so much higher than catching them after they’ve fully matured. I know it sounds brutal, but it’s the only way,” she said, her arms crossed.
“I’m not sure I can do that—the act, that is,” I said.
“Then I will, and I know a few others who would love to make sure this doesn’t progress. Sometimes in war you have to do what’s necessary,” she said.
“We aren’t at war, though,” I said.
“Aren’t we? Think about it for a second, then tell me we aren’t,” she challenged me, her gaze and words sharp and stabbing.
“We have a lot to think about, it looks like. I’m hitting the hay,” Charlie said, yawning and stretching his arms. “We should just sleep on it and then worry about getting the proof we need.”
“I’m not throwing away your idea, Xelia, but I hope there’s another way,” I said, walking towards the doorway.
“I don’t think there is, Lexa,” she said, before I walked into the hall.
Maybe I had to try to think of what they would become, and not what they were now. I couldn’t always let my love of life win against a threat so dangerous that it could destroy everything I knew and loved in this world. Going through with this would be one of the hardest decisions of my life, but if it meant stopping Kiren, then it would be worth it. I just hoped this vision wasn’t wrong.
8
I awoke to a note from Mirian that he wanted to see me as soon as I’d gotten up and ready. The timing seemed odd, given what Xelia, Charlie, and I were up to, since it was something he might not fully approve of, especially with my spell last night. But I thought if it was urgent or serious he would’ve demanded me sooner. The fact that he was giving me my time meant that maybe I would be spared the royal reaming that wo
uld’ve come my way had he known what we were up to.
I got into my uniform, pulling my hair into a ponytail, before heading down the corridor to his office. The door was open, and I was surprised to see Blake standing there when I walked inside. “Close the door,” Mirian said.
“What’s going on?” I asked, shutting the door behind me. The lights were dimmed, the mood tense, as if something bad had happened.
“Chancellor Pote wishes to speak with you, and she’s asked me to give you that message. We need you to go back to the camp and see what she wants,” Mirian said.
“How would I do that, though? I have a job here, and—”
“Your absence will be taken care of internally, so there are no problems there,” Mirian interjected.
“How long will I be gone?” I asked.
“Heta said she needs you for at least three days,” Mirian said, his arms crossed.
Three days? I can’t be gone for that long, not in the middle of this investigation! We were gaining so much ground on the vampires, and I knew Charlie and Xelia couldn’t take anything on without me. What if they packed up shop and left? No, they wouldn’t do that; I was just being irrational right now.
“That’s a long time, Mirian. And why is Blake here?” I asked.
“He will be accompanying you on your journey. Heta asked for him as well,” he said.
“If that’s okay,” Blake said, glancing at me.
“Of course it is, I was just confused, this is kind of a lot to take in,” I said. “I don’t think Charlie will be too happy, we’re working a case, but I guess he’ll have to put up with it.”
“He will be fine, I’ll make sure he has other work to do and your assignment with him will be postponed until you get back,” Mirian said.
“Any idea what she wants?” I asked.
“No, but it must be serious if she wants to pull you out of the precinct to take care of it. I’m guessing it has something to do with your special ability,” Mirian said.
“When are we leaving?” Blake asked.
“Go pack a bag and be back here shortly. I’ll make sure you gain safe passage myself,” Mirian said, shooing us off with his hand.
“Are you going to be okay? Leaving, and all,” Blake asked, as we left Mirian’s office and walked towards our rooms.
“I don’t think I have much of a choice, to be honest. I’m still confused, this is a huge play by the chancellor to pull both of us out, but she must really need us,” I said.
“Hopefully it’s nothing too serious, I’m not sure I’m ready for another big battle,” he said, dropping me off at my room.
I left a note for Britta, telling her about my mission, though without mentioning anything about the resistance. I just didn’t want her to worry and stay up waiting, and I had to be vague enough that anybody snooping wouldn’t find out we were undercover for the resistance. That would probably be a death sentence for us all.
I packed a few changes of clothes, a small book Britta was bugging me to start, and the garnet necklace I used to block the vampires. I didn’t know why I brought that; it was probably safer sitting in my desk drawer, to be honest, but I figured I couldn’t be too prepared going back to the camp. Chancellor Pote was going to send us on a mission, I was sure of it, because three days was way too long otherwise, and I didn’t want to be caught with my pants down, so to speak.
“Ready?” Blake asked when he swung by my room ten minutes later. I nodded, and we went back to Mirian’s office for our transport. I stole a glance at Blake as we walked, seeing his gaze focused ahead down the hallway. I was happy to be going with him, even if it did derail my mission, because at least I would be with him and getting to spend much-needed time by his side. Dating in this line of work was difficult, and the fact we were still strong and together was a testament to the kind of man he was, because without him, I wasn’t sure I’d have gotten this far.
“Stand inside the circle,” Mirian said, pointing to a circle of powder on his office floor. Candles were lit on the bookshelves around the room.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s a summoning circle. Once the seal is closed, it will allow its current sister, in the camp, to bring you there safely without leaving a trace. The precinct won’t be able to detect you leaving, and they definitely won’t be able to track where you went. It’s an old type of magic,” he said.
We stepped into the circle before he spread some more ash and closed the seal. The black powder turned purple, glowing, and I felt a surge of energy fill my body as Mirian incanted a spell I hadn’t heard before. Within a blink of an eye, maybe even faster than that, Blake and I were standing inside a tent, the smell of pine filling my lungs as I heard horses, or centaurs, or both, trotting nearby.
“You made it,” a man said, smiling, before he broke the seal. “Chancellor Pote is expecting you. I trust you know your way?”
“We do, thank you,” I said. Stepping out of the tent, Blake and I walked outside. The fresh air felt euphoric, the stale stench of the precinct long behind us. The ground was muddy, bits of trampled grass strewn about, as magical creatures of all types walked and worked around us. I couldn’t believe this was where I got my start, that one night finding out I was a witch and being swiftly brought into the resistance to fight the man I was still trying to track.
The mud squished under my feet as I smiled, my body filling with joy, as Blake and I walked towards Chancellor Pote’s tent. A centaur who was blacksmithing nearby, hammering weapons, nodded and smiled as we passed. We were still in uniform, but nobody around us seemed to care, like they knew we were one of them and that we were undercover. It felt nice to not have to hide myself here. I was free to do or talk about whatever I wanted.
Blake pushed aside the canvas of the chancellor’s tent, catching her attention. She smiled and welcomed us in. “It’s so good to see you both. How are things in the precinct treating you?”
“They’re well,” Blake said, hugging her.
“I’ve been keeping myself busy with my cases. Charlie and I are really making a go at cleaning up the streets,” I said, before hugging her myself.
“Mirian told me that you and Charlie were teamed up, and that you were with Britta, Blake. I think those are great pairings and from what I’ve heard it sounds like you four are doing a marvelous job,” she said, smiling.
She walked away from us, back to her map, and her smile turned serious and stoic as she gripped the edge of the wooden table. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I summoned you here today, though. It isn’t often that we pull one, let alone two, of our agents out of the precinct to come back to the camp.”
“We must admit it crossed our minds, but we’re sure it’s for good reason,” Blake said.
“We know your missions at the precinct are important, but we felt we needed both of you, with your experience and particular powers, to take on a mission here for us that we believe to be crucial to our plan of taking down Kiren,” she said, looking up at us.
“What is it?” I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“We believe he is searching for a magical artifact that he has yet to discover. This artifact is ancient and very powerful in nature. We believe we know its general location, though not its exact coordinates, and we need you to retrieve it before he gets his hands on it,” she said, standing straight and crossing her arms.
“Well, what is it, exactly?” Blake asked.
“And why do you need us?” I asked.
“The object is a talisman, an ancient one pertaining to rune magic, which you both know Kiren practices. We believe that with it, his magic would amplify, and his grasp on the magical world would begin to reach its critical mass, meaning he would get enough power to start his assault on the mortal realm. We need you because you have special skills we believe to be essential,” she said.
“My mark,” I replied nervously.
“Precisely. We believe your powers will be able to help you track the location
of the talisman in a way that we cannot. It will talk to you, communicate with you, and almost speak to you as if it were a person like me in front of you. Your powers are ancient, the same way the talisman is, and these old types of magic are always connected,” she said.
“What about me, though?” Blake asked, obviously left out of the equation.
“Well, we know you two are dating, and we know you care about her. Not only that, but you’re the strongest werewolf shifter I’ve seen in the past decade, and I believe your tracking skills, as well as your strength and speed, should things get sticky, will work heavily to your advantage,” she said.
“Why would things get sticky?” I asked. “Isn’t this in and out?”
“Like I said, he has his forces out searching for the talisman, though they aren’t in the right place. With that said, they will soon intersect with the right area, and we cannot let them get a hold of it. If you see them, don’t engage unless they have or are about to get the talisman,” she said.
“What if they engage with us first?” Blake asked.
“Do what you need to, but don’t let them know your identities. All I’ll say is that dead men tell no tales,” she said. “I know I don’t usually advocate that, and taking a life isn’t something to take lightly, but Kiren cannot get this talisman, or else we’re looking at the demise of our world.”
“When are we leaving?” Blake asked, arms crossed.
“We will get you supplies and somebody will arm you with a map and brief you on what you need to know. For now, go to the mess tent and get yourselves fed. This journey could take three hours, or it could take three days,” she said.
A heavy weight settled on top of me as we walked out of her tent and towards the smell of roast chicken in the mess tent. This wasn’t just a small mission, like the reconnaissance one we did before with Charlie, Britta, and Faus. This was serious—this could change the landscape of the entire world, if we weren’t careful.
