The Daemon Within

by Jeremy Croston

  He regarded me with much joy. “How refreshing is it to hear someone openly accept others’ flaws. The world needs more Victor Inglewoods.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “She’s asleep because of the toll this mountain takes on certain souls. Sinai has a way of showing a person certain truths about the path they are on.”

  The Teacher must’ve been referring to the different carved artifacts we’d been seeing. “Are you saying she’s still evil?”

  He put his hands up defensively. “I’m not saying anything, Victor. It could be that the total amount of sin she’s burdened with carrying is the reason.”

  “But you know the truth.”

  The Teacher accepted that wasn’t a question, rather a statement. “What I do and don’t know, that’s nothing you can concern yourself with.” He raised an eyebrow. “Have you truly accepted her like you claimed?”

  Just like that, he turned it back around on me. “Of course I do,” I said a little too defensively. “Okay, maybe I got some questions, but that doesn’t change I think she’s a good person today.”

  “I never said she wasn’t.”

  More to me than him, “I’m just worried about her past, you know? She’s hinted at doing horrible things a long time ago. Could a switch flip and she’d go back to her old ways? There’s no telling the damage she’d cause.”

  He sat there, patiently, just smiling and nodding. “The journey the two of you are about to embark on will answer a lot of questions.”

  “It will?”

  “You’re here to claim the crystal that keeps the Dark One chained to the forest around Chernobyl.” There wasn’t getting anything by this guy. “To save the wolves from a fate the Chernybog would bring, there are tests that need to be overcome. Something I do believe you’re quite familiar with, after your ordeal to claim that orb you carry.”

  The catacombs under London had been down right treacherous. “As long as you don’t have any Sphinxes around…”

  Getting up, “Unfortunately, the Sphinx pales in comparison to the trials and tribulations you’ll come across as you climb the mountain.” He reached down and placed my right hand between both of his. “May we pray before we both leave the safety of this sanctuary?”

  I was taken aback by the request. “Sure,” I squeaked out.

  He closed his eyes and began. “Father, please watch over Victor and his companion as they attempt to scale the mountain. Guide them through the obstacles that will surely test them in unforeseen ways. Give them the strength and show them love as they scale the mountain in good faith and for good reasons.” He hesitated for a moment. There was a definite emphasis on the words ‘good faith’ and ‘good reason.’

  Before I could put too much thought into it, “Show them the power of your blessings. Amen.”

  The moment he stopped talking, I felt quite different. The blessing he’d given me, it was more than just words. He let go of my hand and strolled back out into the rain, disappearing from sight. Even though he was gone, I had a strange feeling he was still watching over us.

  “What happened? Why am I so tired?”

  Isa was waking up, looking quite confused. “I have it on good authority that the mountain really takes it out of an old soul like you,” I semi-explained. I didn’t think I was in a spot to tell her the entire reason I was given by The Teacher.

  She yawned and stretched, giving me a weird look in the process. “Just who gave you such insight into my situation?”

  Not really sure how she’d react, I just went for it. “While you were taking a cat nap, The Teacher came to visit me.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked. When I didn’t yell fooled you or just joking, she leaned back up against the rock. “If he is here, I am in great danger, just as I feared.” She tried to stand up, but I wouldn’t let her. I tried to relax her with a hug, and she accepted my arms around her. I didn’t like seeing her so worked up.

  “I highly doubt that,” I told her. “But it does seem that the two of you know each other,” I suggested to her, hoping she’d open up.

  She let out a short, hoarse laugh. “The irony of the situation,” she said aloud. “Of course he does! I was there on the worst day of his life and at the time, I reveled in the pain inflicted upon him.”

  “Maybe it was a good thing you were asleep after all.”

  Chapter 13

  One moment we were about to step out of the cave into the rainy darkness and the next I was someplace entirely different. I wasn’t all that familiar with Mount Sinai, but I was positive that I was no longer there. It may’ve been the circular stone room I was in, or the five vampires across from me, each dressed ready for battle.

  They were one scary lot. I put my hands up and said, “I’m sorry, folks. I think I made a wrong turn.”

  No one acknowledged me. The five of them took seats around a short wooden table; the vampire at the head of the table looked irate. As the scene started to make sense, I was a long time in the past. I started to think that this was the original vampire council. Before I could totally put the pieces together, the angry vampire started talking to the dude on his left.

  “Drakel,” he commanded. “It was on Jonathan’s information that we ransacked this temple, and for what?”

  The guy wasn’t speaking English, but I understood each word perfectly. This was far out.

  The man, Drakel, also known as Liz’s dad, pushed the chair away as he stood back up to his full height. Before he spoke, I did a quick gander around the table and spotted Isa. She was right beside him, a hawk like expression drilled on to her face. She looked like an animal about to go on the attack.

  Back to Drakel. He was easily over six foot five with a powerful build. Not body builder powerful, we’re talking like the real deal warrior body type. To his side was the same exact sword that his son, the same Jonathan that the angry vampire was complaining about, years later would stab me with, giving me the Warg. “Cesar, this is a strategic position. That is all this raid was meant to bring.”

  Cesar didn’t seem to be buying that line. “You are a fool if you believe that. This reeks of a set up,” he went on.

  Isa wasn’t nearly as dramatic as her husband. “Our son would not throw in with our disgraced daughter.”

  It dawned on me. This was the night that Jonathan set the council up and Liz would assassinate her parents. Or, try to – she sort of failed with her mom. Oh boy. These guys didn’t have a clue!

  “I agree with Drakel, Cesar,” said a voice I recognized; Baron Forte. “From here, our vantage point to both Rome and the heathen lands to the east would be advantageous. This would be an excellent spot for our plan to take shape.”

  “To be able to crush the humans like the worms they are.” Drakel slammed his fist on the table for added emphasis.

  I quickly went to Isa to see her reaction to this. She took her husband’s hand into her own. “I grow tired of living in the shadows,” she told the group. “The sooner the humans are turned into our cattle, the sooner we can live the lives we were meant to.”

  Did my ears really hear that? She wanted to turn humans into cattle? Holy rusted metal! And, as if her words weren’t enough, the blood lust forming in her eyes confirmed it – she truly was onboard with everything that was being said. These guys were monsters.

  The other lady vampire, her named escaped me, chimed in. “With the fall of Rome, we can establish our operations there, permanently. This location will suffice until that moment comes.”

  “I love it when you see the whole plan, Romina,” Drakel cooed. A flash of jealousy could be seen on Isa’s face. Apparently Drakel had a side piece, too.

  Whatever was going to happen next stopped as the whole building rocked from a giant explosion. Even though I couldn’t be hurt, I jumped to the floor to get the hell out of the way. The force of the explosion broke free the stone blocks all around and they began to fall, causing the council members to scatter. Cesar, Drakel, and Isa went towards the north e
xit while Forte and Romina left out the west.

  I knew who I was meant to follow, so I raced towards the north exit and caught up quickly with the fleeing vampires. The hallway led to a staircase that circled around back towards the ground. The moment they stepped into the tower to go down, another explosion hit.

  Drakel grabbed his wife, keeping her from falling. Cesar didn’t have anyone to help him and he went tumbling down the stairs. When the rocking stopped, Isa and Drakel gave chase. When they got to the bottom, the scene there was three shades of awful. Liz, blood covering her face, had ripped out the vampire’s throat. He was good and dead.

  “Elizabeth!” Isa cried out. “How could you do such a thing?”

  “Easy, mother.” She advanced, like a jungle cat hungry for more blood. “I learned from the two of you.”

  Drakel pulled out his sword, keeping his wife at bay. “Go, Izabella. I will handle our daughter, as I should have done a long time ago.”

  “The pleasure will be all mine, father.”

  As the two clashed blades, Isa made her way back up the tower. I really wanted to stay for the main event between Liz and Drakel, but that just wasn’t in the cards. I followed Isa back up and she went out the door Forte and Romina used. This path didn’t lead down, but back outside and on to an outer wall of the fortress. Below us, Roderick was battling Baron Forte; Romina was lying on the ground with a wooden stake in her heart.

  Two vampires jumped down on to the path Isa was on. “There is another! Kill her!”

  Seeing her path was blocked, she ran back into the tower and was able to block the door, barricading herself in. This was a full scale invasion against the council and it was working. It was also weird having certain facts as this all unfolded. I knew Forte and Isa survived, but it was interesting to see how it all happened. Isa turned around, looking straight at me, but not really. I turned my head on reflex, a bit disgusted with who she used to be.

  She ran through me and to the north side window. Looking down, we saw just in time Liz beheading her father and Drakel, joining Cesar Alexis and Romina in the vampire afterlife. Liz looked up and saw her mom standing there. She quickly left her father’s dead body and sped towards a final confrontation with her mom.

  It didn’t take her long at all to kick down the door and join Isa in the tower. “You are the last of the council,” she gloated. “It will be such a pleasure to know after tonight you are all gone from this plane.”

  “I am not dead yet,” Isa shot back. She pulled twin blades from underneath her battle garb. The wicked blades almost looked as if they were smiling.

  Liz dropped her sword and pulled out her own dagger. “I have been waiting for this day!”

  Mother and daughter met in the middle of the room, steel against steel. Neither could get the upper hand – Isa was much stronger than her daughter but Liz was lightning quick. Another reflection was how much they looked alike, even then. They didn’t look like mother and daughter, they looked like sisters.

  After missing a kick to the head, Isa used her brute force to catch Liz off guard with a leg sweep. The younger vampire landed hard on the block floor. “You may have been more than a match for your father, but I am the true power of the council!”

  “I knew it!” Liz pointed the dagger up at her mother. “Everything, it was done on your orders.”

  Isa never took her eyes off her fallen opponent. “If you only knew the half of it. Living in the shadows of not only humans, but of men like your father and Cesar Alexis…” her thought trailed off. “Your father,” she began. “Why did he have to listen to Cesar over me at every step? Had he listened to me and my plan…” Again, she faded off into her own thoughts.

  I was lost and it looked as if Liz was, too. “Whatever issues you and father had, they matter not anymore. Your reign of terror is over.”

  Isa had given up a little ground when she reflected on her husband. Liz reached up and stabbed her in the chest. Shocked, Isa stumbled over to the window where Liz dealt the final blow, kicking her out to the fiery ground below. Knowing I couldn’t be hurt, I took the plunge with her.

  Isa landed on a spot of grass that was still viable. The smoke had built up by this time to obscure the view from above. She ripped the blade out of her chest, still alive but in a bad way. Pulling herself up, she tried to make a break for the covered trees just on the other side of the fortress. How she made it there with all the blood she’d been losing is beyond me.

  Finding a tree to fall up against, Isa appeared ready to accept death. That’s when a cloaked figure decided to show him/herself. “Izabella,” a low voice grumbled. “Take this and flee.”

  A satchel landed at her feet, opening as it hit the ground. Three vials of blood were inside. “Who are you?” she asked.

  “It matters not.” The cloaked figure began to fade out into the smoke. “Take the vials and head to the heathen lands. There are allies there, if you survive the trip.”

  Isa, in no real position to argue, opened the first vial and drained it. When she finished, the cloaked figure was gone. With no other choice, she picked herself up and took off into the night, this time without me being able to follow.

  My adventure in the past was over.

  Chapter 14

  **Isa**

  There had been a very awkward silence between Vic and I as we exited the cave. It only got more awkward for me as I wasn’t sure just what the hell happened. My next step was on the sandy ground associated more with a desert landscape, not a mountain.

  I was in the backyard of a rather large house. Two children slid open the back door and came running right by me as if I wasn’t even there. The larger of the two boys yelled out to his younger sibling. “Vic, get back here!”

  “You gotta catch me first, Bernard!”

  As they scampered around the yard, I couldn’t believe it. I was in the past – Vic’s past. How old was he? Thirteen, maybe fourteen?

  Another person joined us in the backyard. This had to be Vic’s mother. “Boys, do not go getting dirty, you know tonight is a very important event for our pack.”

  Bernard stopped chasing his brother. “Aww mom, I’m not going to hurt Vic on his birthday, especially this one.”

  “You better not,” she laughed. “It’s not every day your brother turns thirteen on a full moon.” She started to sob a bit. “My boy, turning thirteen and joining the pack tonight, my word, where has the time gone?”

  “Knock it off, mom!” Vic yelled. “It’s no biggie, honestly.”

  “You’ll be changing into a wolf for the very first time, young man!” she admonished him. “It is a very big deal.” Then, she added, “Especially to your father and grandfather.”

  Vic’s father, Callum, was the Alpha of the Red pack in Full Moon. Oh my, little did they all know just how the events of this evening would change not only them, but Victor. I felt like an intruder, but for some reason, I couldn’t walk away from this. It was as if I was being forced to see what was about to happen.

  The two boys continued running around the yard and Vic’s mom returned inside, leaving me in an odd spot to just be a silent observer. It was uncanny just how much of the man I knew I regarded in the child. There was a quality about him that could draw in the most stubborn of people.

  I felt odd just standing here, but I was no longer alone. “You!” I hollered.

  “Hello Izabella,” The Teacher greeted me. “It has been too long.”

  Maybe for him, but I would’ve been fine with never having to look at those eyes ever again. They peered directly into your soul, if I even had one. “Oh you have a soul, Isa,” he soothed. “You prefer Isa these days, I take it?”

  “It doesn’t matter what you call me. What are you doing here?”

  He came up beside me and laughed a bit at the boys playing. “The innocence of youth. Not many people keep it as they get older, do they?”

  This was directed at Vic and his unique outlook, even after everything he’d been through. “We
really don’t have much to talk about.” I was hoping he’d get the hint and take a hike.

  The Teacher didn’t. “Oh, I feel when you’re ready; conversation will find its way to us.” He looked at his watch. “After all, we have about seven hours before the main reason for our journey begins.”

  Spinning on him with my finger pointed at his calm face, “Listen here Bob Cratchit, I don’t need to see ghosts from the past.”

  He once again fell quiet and just watched Vic and Bernard. The boys had endless amounts of energy as they bounded across the yard. I couldn’t even remember my childhood; did I used to have the same sort of fun Vic and his brother were having?

  As time moved on, maybe it was the jitters about knowing what was going to happen, but I eventually struck up a topic. “Vic’s experiencing something from my past, isn’t he?”

  Touching my shoulder, “I am very surprised someone as intellectual and astute as yourself has not picked up on what is happening.”

  “Dropping hints, I see.” Well it gave me something to think about. What in the world was he trying to prove by having me see Vic at his worst. And that’s when it hit me. “He’s seeing the night Liz tried to kill me, when she killed Drakel.”

  “It is amazing what one can glean from seeing a companion at their worst, lowest points.”

  I’d been on this Earth for a long time and had forgotten a great many events. That was one I would never forget, the memory would live with me vividly. “He’s going to see me for the monster I was. I’m not that person anymore.”

  “Oh, you mean the person who is bent on revenge and killing her own daughter?” he asked. I had no response to that. “Of all the souls living, yours is the hardest to read.”