by C. M. Steele
“Very true, my friend, but your mother gave her life for everyone. She could have saved herself, yet she did not. That in a world where we are nearly invincible says a great deal of her strength and your father as well.”
“Yes, but the people will not see it as such. I should burn the letter.”
“I cannot tell you otherwise. It is your decision, Falcon,” I said to him, understanding that this had to be his choice.
He nodded his head, looking back down at the letter. It was the last words from his mother and disposing of it would be hard to do. “I shall destroy it. I just wish to read it once more.”
“Very well, rest and then destroy it. You must rest. The days to come are only going to get worse. I am truly sorry.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
I left him alone, hoping that sleep would find him. The corridors felt different today. It was the added darkness that made me feel strange. Once we have the meetings, I believed it would be best if Falcon and I headed elsewhere. Having sunlight would make others envious of us. I believed in the Queen, so she made the right choice. Now, what I must find out is why is it so pertinent that Falcon and I stay together.
Chapter Five—Falcon
Athens, Greece
Draco and I came on our own with our special gifts, blending in with the others had been quite easy. Draco spoke fluent Greek, and we traveled in the village by day and rested at night. Once we learned Stavros’s whereabouts, we followed his every move out of the castle. This day, he did not travel during the daylight. He traveled through the darkness of night. Staying in the shadows, we watched as he raced through the woods in a large coach. Our scent was masked with the rain that had started falling. My mother was looking down on us tonight; I felt it.
He approached a lair just miles into the woods. The moonlight provided the only light to the path. We trailed behind and watched as he halted the carriage and hopped gracefully to the wet floor. He stormed forward, entering the lair with a rage-filled face.
We crept closer, grabbing some of the vegetation and rubbing it on us to mask our scent. A vampire’s sense of smell was not as strong as other creatures like wolves, but it was much greater than a human's.
We could hear shouting going on. "You betrayed me. I'm now forced into the shadows, Vasco," Stavros roared.
"You were supposed to protect her from the darkness and you didn't. You don't even know where she is." The anger was at a volatile level for the man in the cave.
"Fix this," Stavros demanded.
“I can’t fix it. Your people will have to suffer forever. Your Supreme Council Leader Maria Lombardi had the knowledge to find the cure. I only created the toxin. You should have not killed her, too,” the other man cockily replied.
“She would have stopped my plans; she had to go as well.” I was ready to run in there and rip their heads off. The vile little man and the bastard we let into our home killed my mother.
Draco shook his head at me. Acting in anger was never the best way to win a battle. Revenge was sweeter when time had passed. Stavros was a dead vampire walking. This bastard who poisoned everyone is dead, too.
We heard a commotion erupt in the lair, and then Stavros came out with blood on him. Draco used his brute strength as my guard to hold me back. As the carriage barreled away, Draco whispered, “He lives in the darkness. His life will be nothing. Let him live to suffer. Let him wallow in the misery of the night and let’s deal with this little man.”
With my bloodlust insatiable at the moment, Draco led the way into the lair, lest I rip the vile human to pieces on sight. There he was stirring up a brew that would singe anyone’s nose hairs. With our swords unsheathed, we glared at the man in the long dark robes, preparing to dispatch him. He was quite old and his beard long, but that did not hide the wickedness in his carriage. The bravado on his face infuriated me as though he had no fear and welcomed our intrusion. I tried to read his mind, but I was unable to get past his magic. He was a sorcerer, that I took in.
“Who are you?” I demanded to know.
He smiled archly at me, arrogance sweeping his face. “Lord Lombardi, I knew you’d follow him. I am Enrico Vasco, a sorcerer the Council banished from the castle.”
“But that would make you over a hundred years old.” I was told that the year of my birth a sorcerer was banished for practicing curses on vampires. There were rumors that he was dealing in the darkest of magic and fled before he could be executed. If this was him, he had lived a very long life. A life in the pursuit of destroying vampires.
“Yes, a hundred and twelve to be precise. Finally, my vengeance has been had. Watch as your world and people fall to the darkness all around and how they will blame the Lombardi’s for casting me away. The word has already been sent. I have waited for what seems forever for this day.”
“Tell us how to cure our people,” Draco demanded with his blade pressed against the sorcerer’s throat.
“Why would I ever do such a thing? I’ve worked so long for this day to watch vampires grovel. Do grovel. I would love to see you beg.” A chuckle erupted from the old man’s throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing in a mocking manner. I ached to pierce right through it.
“That will not get us what we wish,” I stated, staring into his evil soulless eyes knowing quite well that he had not done this for gaining power. He loathed vampires and sought to destroy us in droves.
“Stay out of my head, Lombardi.” I couldn’t read his mind because he had blocked it, but I was correct. He had no intention of quite simply surrendering to us.
“I do not need to be in your head to know that you have not done this to submit so easily.”
“I have what you seek right here.” He held up a large scroll, his bushy eyebrows arching in brazen mockery. The fool was dead if he did not give us what we needed.
Draco slowly lowered his blade and transported fast enough to snatch the scroll from the old man’s hands. “We have the cure to your toxin.”
“So you think,” he added. With a snap of his fingers, the paper burst into flames, catching Draco by surprise and forcing him to toss it. The embers landed on some potions and started a chemical reaction, exploding and spraying shattered glass everywhere. Unfazed, I took my blade to the sorcerer’s throat and said, “One last time, give me the cure.”
“You set it ablaze. That was the antidote you needed.” I felt in my soul that he was lying. With a heavy heart, I thrusted my blade into his chest, killing the evil man and leaving him to rot in his hole. With the fire still burning, we ran from the lair and transported ourselves back to our castle. Drained of strength, we both retired to our chambers to suffer the guilt of failing our people.
Chapter Six—Falcon
Present Day, Washington State
I studied the slide under the microscope, but there was nothing there. It was a complete wash. Another six weeks gone and another failure. I felt downtrodden and worn to the bone. Centuries of searching, hunting for answers, and we were no closer than we had been a century ago. As I watched the sun set, I knew the ones in the dark could come out. I got ready for the meeting I was going to have with my brother. It would be almost morning by him, but that was because I lived on the opposite side of the world.
I closed my eyes and I was at the family castle. “You’ve made it, Falcon.” He came up to me and we embraced.
“Yes, Alessio, I’ve been busy working on a cure,” I grumbled, taking a seat in his den.
“By the expression on your face, I’d say it wasn’t a success.” He knew that I was doing the best I could, hiring the smartest vampire scientists around that I could trust to no avail.
“It is quite infuriating. So many people are suffering in the dark.” I ran my hands through my dark, untrimmed hair.
“Falcon, not everyone, and that is why I wished to speak to you.” He ran his hands through his black hair. I took in my brother’s appearance, and I felt like he was changing. His eyes were not as blue as they had been and his skin c
olor was like a sheet of paper. This is what three centuries of darkness had done to him. He looked gaunt and just like many of the scary portrayals humans played in the movies.
“What’s the matter, Alessio?”
“There’s been more attacks on humans. It’s not that we have not fed on them before, but they are going past dining on their blood. They finish the job. It is as though they cannot get enough or don’t care that they could expose us.”
“You know half of them do not listen to a word I say. They blame mother for the past.”
“They know well it wasn’t her but The Lamia that caused this.”
“Yes, but they believe her speech incited The Lamia into action.”
“You believe that, too, don’t you, brother?”
“I’d always thought it was a bad idea, but it was her path. That I cannot deny. I wonder when the savior will come around.”
“I believe the savior is you, Falcon.”
“It cannot be me. I do not have a mate. Four hundred years old and I don’t have a mate. I may never have one.”
“That’s true, but mother sent you away from here to the battlefront at Andelio. I remember quite clearly how angry you’d been. It was intentional. I’ve considered her actions many times over the centuries. And you are the one.”
“You are the oldest. You’re the one with a wife and children.”
“Yes, and I believe that we are done with procreating. It has been over three centuries and only two sons. What I believe is that you had to wait for your mate to be born. Humans come and go so easily and are much more selfish than even we are. And that is saying a great deal,” he jested, both of us a couple of chuckles. “What I am saying is perhaps the right one hasn’t been born. Something is changing, and what I noticed is that of all the people, only you and Draco possess all the gifts. Most vampires do not have more than one.”
“I don’t know how to respond to that other than saying, I’m tired. What are all these gifts for if my heart feels empty and void of any happiness?”
“You just have not accepted your lot, Falcon.”
“Have not accepted it,” I roared, standing up completely livid. “I have been dealing with my lot. Vampires begging for me to help them, hatred spewed at me, and the only companion I have is Draco. I want to hold a woman in my arms and love her like I’m supposed to. I cannot look at the sunlight without feeling regret.”
“Falcon, calm the rage. It does you no good. You have to let the past go. It wasn’t your fault that the sorcerer tricked him and us in the process. His death was planned and our actions had been just. You are missing the pleasure of the day when you shouldn’t.” I was about to argue with him, but he held up his palm. “Brother, you get the privilege to feel the warmth on your face and you waste it. There is no need to dwell on what you have and others don’t. Enjoying the sun is something I want you to do for me. I’ve grown used to the darkness, but that doesn’t mean I don’t long for the sun. Live it for me. Enjoy what a gift you still have. Perhaps it is what you need to feel free again.”
“Thank you for your support and understanding, Alessio, but I won’t be able to enjoy the sunlight until you are free.”
“Falcon, I am the reason we are in the darkness to begin with,” he snarled, looking out at the moon deep in the night sky.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve kept this a secret for fear and sadness, but you know that I could not help it.” I had to take a seat because whatever he had to say should have been said a long time ago.
“Go on.”
“Falcon, Mary is my mate, and there is nothing that would change that.”
“Yes, I know that.” We mated with a human woman only once. It was fate, and nothing and no one could stop it. The compulsion to be with her would be unbearable and she would feel the same, only longing for the one vampire that belonged to her.
He continued to pace before he stopped in front of me and said, “Enrico Vasco was in love with her.” I gasped and the truth hit me. They were the reason many were cast into darkness.
“Wow, forgive me, but I cannot even fathom how you have not said this before.”
“I did not put it together until it was too late, and Mary told me the world would hate us.”
“She is right, they will. I, on the other hand, cannot. Even if it was controllable, it was not you who sent everyone into the pits of night.”
“Yes, but if she had not been mated to me…”
“Stop. Please. It isn’t your fault. We cannot help who we are bound to. There is no choosing. That woman is the one fated to you, bound to you, and destined for you. There is nothing that could have stopped it from happening.”
“Then we both live with guilt because of it.”
“I truly do feel responsible. Alessio, your banishment into the night has plagued my heart for centuries. I have lived with the guilt that I condemned you to eternal darkness while I get to live in the light.”
“Well, thank you for the reminder,” he remarked sarcastically. “Hopefully, this will teach you to live in the light. Drink it up and let it fill your soul.” The sincerity visible in his eyes gave me a sense of relief. For the first time, I started to realize I had to live for them. It was my duty to relish the light as if tomorrow I would be forced into a world of darkness. There was much I needed to go home and consider. “Do you wish to say hello to my wife? Stay for supper perhaps?”
“I will say hello, but I cannot stay.”
“Very well. Come. Dante and Nero will wish to greet their uncle.” We stepped out of his soundproof den and headed into the main hall on the second floor.
“Uncle Falcon,” Dante called out. Wow. The boy had grown strong and huge, yet he was still pale like Alessio. Dante had known the light and lived with a ‘who cares’ attitude about losing it. He had faith that one day it would return. Nero, on the other hand, hated the feeling of being less fortunate. He had been born in the dark over a hundred years ago in secret for fear that Mary may have birthed a girl. I worried about him. It frightened me how sinister he had looked the last time I was here. Nero stepped out of the shadows with a devilish appearance. It was dark, brooding, and full of anger.
“Hello, Dante. Why are you hiding, Nero?” I called out to my nephew.
He strolled forward with a hateful gait, menacingly approaching before he hissed, “Why come out of the shadows? It’s my life anyway.”
“Ignore him, Uncle. He’s miserable, as always. I don’t know why he doesn’t just go pick a fight with a tough vampire so they could end him already.”
“That’s not a nice thing to say, Dante,” Mary snapped at her oldest.
“Falcon, it is good to see you. It’s been so long,” she said, hugging me tightly.
“That’s because he lives in the light and doesn’t have time to deal with us.”
“Little brat, I’ve spent centuries trying to fix it. Maybe you could read a book and learn some things.”
“I’m out of here.” He disappeared in a flash, just like I could.
“Whoa, something else you forgot to tell me, Alessio.” I wasn’t pleased. His son was dangerous. I was grateful my home had ultra-technology. I didn’t need him trying to sneak into my home. He, like many, hated those of us who were free to roam.
“Where does he go when he does that?”
“We don’t know exactly, but I have a feeling he has been talking with The Lamia.”
“What? And you haven’t stopped him? Informed him of their lies?”
“He will not listen, Falcon. They poisoned us, then poisoned our sons.”
“If I ever get a hold of Stavros, I will end him myself. His petty jealousy led this. This is the reason our parents are no longer here. That is it, I will hunt for him again. It had been a long time since I saw his face. I thought suffering in darkness was enough of a punishment, but to bring back his siege? You were right, Alessio. I will give up on regret and guilt. It wasn’t my fault Vasco poisoned the water. It was
Stavros, and Vasco double crossed him, too. Your boy needs re-education.”
And like that, I returned home. I was so angry that I called Draco. He was over at my house in minutes and we spent the night talking about the possibilities. “I’m sorry, but Nero needs to be watched. With the ability to transport himself anywhere, he’s dangerous especially with his outlook on life and his hatred for you.”
I poured us another stiff one. “This is the last one, Falcon. We still have to work in a few hours.” It was already four in the morning and we were pretty drunk. Like humans, alcohol caused us to get drunk, granted it took much more. Then again, I hardly ever drank, so this would knock me on my ass if I wasn’t careful.
“You need to get tighter security in your home if you want to keep him out.”
“I know. Besides us, I didn’t know anyone else had the ability.”
“It’s scary. That means there could be more like us with all the powers. What if someone has your mother’s powers?”
“Then they are the good ones. You know that. She was the purest soul.”
“She was. Falcon, I feel like something is going to happen soon. I’ve been having this strange feeling for the past two months.”
“Me, too.”
“That explains your constant irritability. You’re normally very levelheaded.”
“I feel like I’m battling myself for sanity.”
“Well, get some sleep. We’ve got to be at work in a few hours.” And like that, he was gone. I crawled into bed, hoping that tomorrow brought more than just another sunrise.
Chapter Seven—Leonora
“Why don’t you want to come with me now? Why do you have to wait a couple days?” I asked my bestie, who was stuffing her things into a moving box. Charlotte never turned me down before. She didn’t care for my parents, but that didn’t mean shit to her. Usually she made a guest appearance and got me out of Dodge as quickly as possible. I gave her a pout, knowing full well it wasn’t going to work, but I wasn’t above begging. “You know you want to.” I tried to coax it out of her.
