My wrist shackles shifted when I balled my hands into fists. I gritted my teeth. “You have chosen now, when I come to you as a different creature, as my moment of reckoning. Starved me into a weakened condition so I would be unable to fight. I have asked the Council to heed my warnings that greater danger is headed its way and all you have done is revisit paths long trodden and left behind. Well, I recall far, far too well the heart of darkness which has lain in this monster’s chest and I have strived to be someone other than the creature I was fashioned into. And at this moment, when you have me cursed to death, I am tempted to spit at you and watch you burn. Your pigheadedness might have cost me that which means most to me.”
Kaylee Alexander scoffed. “If you expect us to sympathize with your concern over your life–”
“Not my life,” I sneered. “Your daughter.”
Malcolm bristled. “I’ve had enough of this circus,” he said. “Your false professions of love won’t save you.”
“Bastard.” The word was spoken harshly, almost as a hiss. It stilled everyone into silence. “Do not presume to know my heart. I love that girl deeply, and miss her–”
“Julian, silence the vampire!”
I furrowed my brow, but saw Julian motion the moment he was summoned, crossing the short distance between us with a fist rising into the air. I was unable to jump from the borrowed vision in time to dodge the blow and took it to my jaw before being kicked down onto my knees. As I landed, I gasped in pain. Blood dripped from a deep cut on my lip inflicted by my protruding fangs. A violent shaking assailed me, brought both from anger and the taste of copper on my tongue, reminding me of the mountain of pulses which surrounded me. My mind spiraled as I heard Kaylee Alexander speaking through the haze.
“…The Council holds to the belief that you are unredeemable and a threat against humanity. Your powers are great, vampire Flynn, but they cannot be allowed to reside in the form of a creature with as many sins as you’ve committed. Therefore, it is our ruling that you be decapitated and your ashes kept as a constant reminder of the threat of any man ever becoming a vampire-seer again. Your punishment will be exacted immediately after this session is–”
“Beg your pardon, Councilwoman? Might I interrupt, please?”
A new voice entered the fray, one I recognized and experienced mixed emotions over hearing. What was far more daunting, however, was the sight I beheld when I slipped into my stolen line of sight again to survey what had entered. Ian strolled from the back door, nonchalant as ever. In his hand he clasped his characteristic cane. Dressed once again as a ringleader, he brought a train of vampires in his wake, all entering the room in droves upon impossible droves. The Council straightened in their seats, their faces turning an ashen white. They recognized the simple truth before them – this was about to become a massacre.
Ian smiled with cunning. “My, how I love the look of a hundred scared humans. Nobody fret now, I’ve made sure to bring one for each of you.” He parted from the company of his army. I recognized Talon standing beside the first cluster of familiars. “One hundred pairs of eyes, with one hundred minds all seeing their error in all its nakedness.” He chuckled. “I find that funny about you mortals, how you can have a herald come to you with news of warning and ignore his message simply because you don’t like the form that he takes.”
I saw his eyes settle on me. “Do you see their hypocrisy now, Flynn?”
Head bowed, I did not respond. I remained on my knees, blood running down my chin and landing in droplets on the wooden floor below.
Ian’s expression turned more serious. “Fine then, I will do the talking.” He lifted his hands, gesturing to the entirety of the gifted humans seated around us. “Look at them, dark one. Your detractors. All gathered in the same building to condemn you for your sins. This is what has become of the mortal reign over this world for all of these millennia. They have become pompous to the point of self-righteousness and sneer at your form simply because you aren’t one of them. This is the hope for all humanity?” He scoffed. “I pity this planet.”
“They are ignorant of my powers and calling,” I said, my voice a low murmur.
“As are you, dear boy. As are you. You’ve only begun to experience this calling. Only dipped your toes into the pool to examine the water. You’ve merely listened to them rail against you and fill your head with limitation when they know well the superlative seer you would become. This is why they want you dead. They fear how quickly you could send them all to their graves.”
He turned his back to me, eyes set on the High Council. “They needn’t worry, though. I will send them there for you.” Ian walked toward me again. “Listen to the whispers of your vampire side and its superiority. Hear the powers that make your human half weak and meaningless. You could be a god among men, with your girl by your side as your queen. This would be the end of your suffering. Of her suffering. Of the suffering you endure for the sake of ignorant mortals who only want you dead.
“Join me, Flynn. Watch with me as we render judgment upon your jury.”
His words echoed through the meeting room, every eye shifting from me to him and back again, waiting for my response. My thoughts centered on Monica and what he had told me; that she lay in his clutches and faced death should I do anything other than submit to Ian’s plan. My stomach sank, heart aching with the desire to see her again.
Her words refused to let me go, however. They resonated past even the strongest temptation to permit Armageddon to rain down on this assembly.
“I want you to remember something… That this man I’m holding onto might be a vampire, but he has all the heart and soul of a human. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise and don’t ever fall back into the lie that you’re only capable of evil. You might still be a vampire, but the seer you are is more powerful than the devil he’s trapped inside.”
The seer. Peter. He had been trapped inside this body of evil for too long.
The time had come to call him forth.
Part Six
The Awakening
“The phoenix must burn to emerge.”
Janet Fitch
Chapter Twenty-Four
All along, I had been searching for the answer to my dualism from a source outside myself. At that moment, with my head bowed and bloody lip oozing onto the floor, I realized what a fool I had been. It was Flynn who sought to grasp humanity, while embracing Peter brought the moments of clarity I had experienced. It had been him taunted by the sword. It was his spirit who fought the urge to damn the same creatures bent on damning me. His was the heart who latched onto Monica and it was Peter who would take a killer’s hands and bring healing with them again.
I swallowed hard and concentrated on the genesis of this idea.
Julian had been right to question my words. The Fates had begun speaking to me only after sentiment had broken through my walls and pierced flesh instead of stone. Prior to that, they needed messengers to deliver instruction to the demon I was. The words of the swordmaker were equally correct. When he looked upon me and saw the Devil, he declared me not to be the owner of his craftsmanship. All that had existed of my humanity, at the time, was a dying ember about to be consumed by the darkness.
The assassin became the seer, however. The ember became a flame, which lit into a conflagration when the most human of emotions came to life within me. Sabrina might have locked me into the purgatory of being vampire, but my human side would not be crushed. If this battle was to have a victor, it would be the person who was supposed to inhabit these powers in the first place.
My eyes already shut, I switched away from my borrowed sight and tightened my clenched fists. The shift which had begun continued forward with more fevered urgency, something which required a great deal of effort in my weakened condition. Energy built all around me – from within, from below, from above. The sword called to its master. Destiny weighed heavily upon me and the longer this continued, the more the hold placed upon me by both chains and magic broke
.
The wrist shackles snapped in half and hit the floor with a hollow clank. My ankle restraints followed suit. The sound echoed, as did the subtle noise of me coming to my feet. As I opened my eyes, I beheld the world with renewed clarity, no longer encumbered by the pain of light. For the briefest of moments, I indulged the sensation, taking a deep breath inward and exhaling it slowly. The man who had died a killer had been reborn at last.
“Julian, what the hell is he doing?” The voice of Malcolm Davies sounded faint, at best. My eyes shifted to the sight of the engraved runes below me.
“I don’t know.” He moved one pace closer to me, but then stopped when I lifted a foot and stepped over one ring of markings. I shifted away from another and to the untouched floor on the other side. Rubbing my wrists, my eyes rose to examine the room with my own sight. It bore a dreamlike quality which was swiftly coming into focus the more I concentrated.
The interloper in the room, who had mutely watched everything unfold, bore an uncertain tone to his voice when he finally spoke again. “Flynn?” Ian asked.
I ignored him for the time being, glancing back to where Julian stood. By his side, my katana hung where his sword once had and I could not help but to smirk. “You intended to execute me with my own weapon, Julian? Quite poetic.” Julian could only blink in response; I gave him no chance to answer before lifting my hand and focusing on the blade’s hilt. “Now, if I could have it back,” I said, but did not wait for him to hand it to me. It ripped from his side and flew into my palm. Without hesitation, I unsheathed it and tossed its scabbard onto the floor.
Then, I turned my attention back to Ian.
“Flynn,” I said, starting a sedate stroll toward where he stood. I spoke the words almost on automatic. “I swear I have had my fill of that name after five years of listening to it. These hands have had to do his will and these feet have done little more than walk his path, and I have had enough of it. Now, if you do not mind, Ian, the name is Peter.” I stopped walking. “We met briefly, if you recall.”
Ian’s expression evened, awe intermingling with worry inside his eyes. “The seer. Fancy making your acquaintance again.” The hand gripped around his cane tightened. “Are you sure you want to play this game with me? With your watcher’s life hanging in the balance?”
The frown his words provoked did nothing to lessen the severity of my expression. “I could no more sell my soul a second time than I could face her on the other side of this with so much blood on my hands. I promise you, though, I will make you rue the day you decided to make her a pawn in our game.”
“Make me rue it?” He grinned, sidestepping and gesturing with his free hand. “Do you think you’re the first seer I’ve faced? Or will be the first I’ve killed?”
“Are you certain you wish to kill me? I thought I was the one to lead your chariot into battle?”
“Losing you would be a setback, no doubt about it, but I think you lose more if you kill me than I, you.” His hand lowered. The humor in his eyes took on a sober appearance. “You will never solve the riddle of what I had intended to use you for.”
A smirk played across my lips. “That is a sacrifice I am willing to make.”
“So be it, then.” The air turned cold around us, a shiver running the length of my spine as Ian’s fingers became engulfed in darkness. My eyes widened marginally. “Brethren, have your way with the humans,” he said, raising his voice to call out to the other vampires. His gaze never strayed from me, however. “I have the seer.”
A loud rumble filled the room, footsteps stampeding throughout the area creating an echoing cacophony. Ian smirked, pointing his palm to face me as I grasped my sword with both hands. A pregnant pause hung in the air, the deep breath before the plunge. I lifted the katana and waited one beat before charging forward and taking my first swing.
While I knew he had been baiting me to make the first move, I was ill-prepared for the backlash. A surge of energy resembling a telekinetic shove threw me backward and onto the floor. I maintained my hold on the katana, but fought off a violent shudder to come to my feet again. Ian shrugged when I staggered forward and shook away the lingering effects of his spell. “They just don’t train them very well these days,” he said.
I squared my shoulders. “I shall consider you an educational experience, Ian.”
“Class is now in session.” The hand which had cast at me gripped the other end of his cane and tugged. One piece separated, revealing a sharp tip at the end of the cane itself. Ian twirled the cover around before crouching to place it on the ground beside him. “Lest you forget you are still vampire.”
He winked, then sprang back to his feet and charged at me with what was now a spear. I pivoted out of the way just in time and swung for his head as he passed me by. His reflexes were sharp, however. Ian spun and lifted the cane to block my shot, creating the clang of metal upon metal. I pushed him from me and stepped back. His grin broadened. “Never let yourself be confined to one weapon. That’s what my maker always told me,” he said.
I gritted my teeth and attempted another swing. He intercepted it, as I knew he would, but the brief meeting of weapons afforded me the chance to free my hand and throw him back and onto the floor. Ian came to his feet swiftly, his fangs descending to full length. The fight had suddenly become spirited. It was my turn to smirk, but I could not pause to relish the minor victory. I blocked another charge from Ian and crouched when he used the forward momentum to spin around, aiming the jeweled top of his cane for my head. It forced me to duck just far enough away that my sword only inflicted a superficial cut to his arm rather than an incapacitating wound.
Ian tsked. “Two shots to one, seer. I think it’s time to even the odds.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood aloft. I sidestepped, but my reaction came too late to move entirely away from the dagger which lodged itself into my back. It missed my heart by a wide margin, however, and as I turned to face its owner, I was able to reach its hilt and pull it out. Pain radiated from the wound and Talon sneered when I glanced at him.
I indulged a steadying breath and shook my head. “Cheating,” I said, while simultaneously throwing the dagger right back at him.
He moved out of the way, but the distraction afforded me the chance to close the distance between us. Talon drew a sword just as I raised mine, and while he blocked my effort, I was able to use the momentum to push him closer to Ian. Ian smirked, both hands raised and darkness licking at his fingertips again.
This was about to get interesting.
Moving swiftly, I grabbed Talon by his coat and brought him between me and his maker. The force of Ian’s spell still sent him flying into me, but as I pushed him away, he was the one who shuddered instead of me. Ian scowled when he saw what had happened. He dropped his cane onto the ground and lifted both hands, which drew my focus away from Talon for a few hesitant seconds. The next sequence of events transpired in rapid succession.
I ran for Ian in a seemingly suicidal move. It put Talon behind me, but I kept an ear to his movements, knowing when he started to pursue me. An ominous cloud formed between Ian’s hands and his lips muttered an incantation while the look in his eyes turned dark. I raised my sword and looked to be ready to strike, but used my divided attention to put Talon in a psychic lock while simultaneously diving to the side and out of the way.
Ian’s spell struck a very confused Talon. Ian cried out, “No!” and I watched, awed, as Talon began to flake into ash, little pieces at a time. The look of confusion on Ian’s face kept him frozen in place just long enough for me to come to my feet, but even I jumped when a bolt flew through the air and impaled Ian right through the chest.
He turned to ash much faster than his progeny, who fell to his knees before crumpling into a pile of debris. I blinked and looked toward where Ian had been standing, seeing a crossbow lower and Julian look at me from across a small expanse. Miraculously, I sensed no threat from him and even permitted myself to lower my sword and take a m
oment to evaluate the chaos transpiring all around us. A frown tugged at the corners of my mouth. The leader might have fallen, but the soldiers were none-the-wiser yet.
The High Council elders had formed a perimeter around their table, using their positions to cast spells at the mob of vampires crawling onto the platform. While it held back the flow, their constant use of energy seemed not to be yielding much in the way of fatal results. The half not focused on the elders was dispersed around the room. A few piles of ash and the pervasive scent of blood made it apparent this battle was far from easy for either side. As I caught sight of two humans falling to the floor, however, I winced and realized a host of spells would only go so far against the well-armed immortals who were faster and stronger than the mortals.
My eyes found Julian as he approached. “Are you convinced of my loyalties yet,” I asked, “Or do we need to argue about this some more?”
Julian swallowed hard and stole an assessment of the room himself. “No, I believe you,” he said.
“Better late than never, I suppose.” One vampire turned to ash several yards away, his sword clanging to the ground. “If we can put weapons in these people’s hands, please tell me a few of them would at least have a better chance at killing their attackers?”
“A better chance than with spells alone.”
“I would say we have the first phase of our mission, fellow seer.”
My eyes met Julian’s. He nodded and pulled another bolt from his quiver. “I’ll work on that. You protect the Council before they’re overrun.”
“As you wish,” I said, maintaining a serious expression at first. A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth, though, the irony of the situation not lost on me. “Come, Julian. Let us show these sons of bitches hell.”
Rebirth of the Seer Page 31
