Prophecy: Caelestis and Aurorea [A Vampires Realm Novel]

by F. E. Heaton

  He tried to swallow, but ended up coughing instead. His senses filled with the metallic tang of blood and he could feel it flooding his mouth. He spat it at Arkalus who laughed at him.

  Gritting his teeth, Valentine's gaze dropped to his torturer's hand and he saw the thick cloth he was still holding.

  He cried out again when Arkalus wrapped the cloth around the object and forced it harder into his chest.

  "Do you want to answer a few questions now?” Arkalus grinned.

  "Bastard!” Valentine spat blood at him again and then looked down at the slim shaft of wood protruding from his chest.

  It was close to his heart. One inch to the left and Arkalus would have killed him.

  "I'm a terrible aim. I could try again?"

  "No!” He slumped a little more and grimaced when his motion moved the wooden stake in his chest making pain shoot through him.

  "I thought not.” Arkalus stepped closer to him and wrapped the piece of cloth around the stake. “It took a lot of trouble and pain to get this. It's genuine holy wood. Must burn."

  Valentine didn't answer him. Instead, he focused on trying to subdue the fiery pain emanating from the wound. There was no point in denying that it hurt. He could almost feel it burning him from the inside out. Arkalus had probably got hold of a wooden cross from a church. He had seen notches in the wood that looked as though another piece could have once been attached to it.

  "Are you going to answer my questions?"

  His focus remained on the piece of wood and he regretted not answering when Arkalus twisted it. Screaming in pain, his knees gave way and his demonic visage rushed to the surface. He roared at Arkalus and pushed himself forwards in a desperate attempt to break the chains and grab hold of him.

  "Now, now.” Arkalus chided him with a sly smile. “You'll only hurt yourself. Just answer me one thing and I'll remove this."

  "What?” Valentine said. One question he could answer, so long as it didn't compromise Prophecy in any way and it lessened his own suffering.

  Arkalus stepped closer to him and Valentine raised his head, looking him in the eye. Arkalus was silent for what seemed like the longest time and then frowned.

  "Did you claim her?"

  Valentine didn't know whether to tell him the truth or whether to lie. Arkalus could easily confirm everything by drinking from him. If he lied, he would seal his fate, not only because Arkalus would react by biting him, but because the man in front of him would react the same way he himself would if someone had claimed Prophecy.

  He would kill him.

  Hanging his head, he clenched his jaw, steeling himself against the pain and fatigue in his body and then sighed.

  "No,” he said.

  Arkalus caught hold of his jaw and forced him to look into his eyes. “Tell me again."

  "I said no. We are not bound to each other."

  He growled in pain when Arkalus repaid him by yanking the wooden stake out of his chest.

  "That's all I wanted to hear."

  "Why?” he said and forced himself to remain conscious. “You want her dead so why did you want to claim her?"

  "Who said I wanted her dead?” Arkalus smiled. “Kalinor wants her dead. With her at my side, I'll destroy Kalinor and rule this world. If I mate with her, she'll be mine to command."

  "No!” Valentine struggled against his bonds and snarled with effort. “Leave her alone!"

  "Breathe one word of this to Kalinor and instead of claiming her when I next meet her, I'll kill her."

  "I won't let you—” He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence. Arkalus punched him hard across the jaw and his vision swam, his limbs grew heavy and he couldn't stop himself from falling into darkness.

  He wouldn't let Arkalus have her.

  She was his and he'd kill anyone that stood between them.

  Chapter 9

  Prophecy stared at the distant church across the river. It was lit, the white light casting a sickly glow and making the fairytale building she'd seen in her vision look even more ghostly. Her eyes moved to the dark sky behind it and she assessed the situation. There was a lot of ground between her and the church. The weather looked as though it was closing in and there was a chill in the air. She could smell the dampness of the impending rain. It thickened the atmosphere around her. The streets were relatively empty. She'd only seen two people on the underground and one in the square not far from where she now stood.

  She traced a path from the church to her current position. There was an impressive bridge barely fifty metres from her. She watched the cars crossing it and disappearing in amongst the buildings on the other side. It was the quickest way to get to where she wanted to go, even if it wasn't the most direct route. The next bridge was a long way away in the opposite direction.

  Closing her eyes, she tried to remember everything she'd seen in her vision. The book was in the vault of the church. Between her and it were at least a dozen Nocens and she was going to have to fight them. She didn't know how long for or how many she would have to kill, but at some point, she was going to get hurt.

  She was beginning to wish that she'd brought a weapon with her. She didn't care if that would alter her vision, she had already changed one and she hadn't been shown a new one in its place. Had her actions not had any repercussions or had fate simply altered her course so she still arrived at the same outcome?

  Maybe she was going to destroy the world and that was why her killing the lord of Tenebrae hadn't affected her destiny. She was going to kill them all anyway, she had just killed him a little sooner than anticipated.

  She sighed and shut out the negative thoughts. She needed to remain positive and believe that she was destined to save the world rather than destroy it.

  The moon peeked out from behind a gap in the clouds and she watched it until it disappeared again. Once it made the sun disappear, then the war was going to begin. She made a mental note to check the papers for any mention of the impending eclipse and then started walking to the church.

  Why had they put her mother's book in the vault, in a room so secure and untouched? Maybe they believed it was cursed or the work of the Devil. She wondered what it contained. The witches hadn't told her anything other than the fact that it had spells in it and it had belonged to her mother. What if she couldn't use any of the incantations written on the pages? What if she couldn't understand them? If she couldn't decipher their meaning and know what they were saying, would they work?

  She supposed that there was only one way of finding out. She would have to get the book and try a spell.

  The hairs on the back of her neck rose and she cast a glance at the sky. The clouds were knitting tighter together and the breeze washing over her carried the scent of damp earth. A storm was coming.

  Quickening her pace, she went from a walk to a jog. She didn't want to wear herself out by running at speed to the church, not when she knew that she was going to have to fight when she got there. Even with the superior stamina she had, she would still tire after a while and she was going to be fighting vampires.

  Nocens of all of the seven pure bloodlines.

  She'd read about the things the Nocens bloodline had done. Although they were clever with technology and creating things that would benefit their species, they had a wicked streak that could match what she'd recently discovered about the Tenebrae. The records she'd read had told her tales of battles so bloody and fierce that cities had been brought to ruin, all by the hands of the Nocens. They were merciless, even towards another vampire of the pure bloodlines. She knew that they would see her appearance in her city as the perfect opportunity to either capture her for Kalinor and Arkalus, or the Law Keepers, or kill her so their bloodline would have the glory.

  There was no way she was about to let either of those two things happen.

  Reaching the other side of the bridge, she started along the waterfront in the direction of the church. She kept her eyes fixed on it, perched high on the hill looking over the city, b
ut kept her senses scanning her surroundings for any sign of danger. She struggled to keep her thoughts off Valentine and what she had seen during her sleep. Witnessing his muddled memories had been both confusing and enlightening. She'd felt the feelings he'd had on watching her and she'd realised something—she wasn't the only one who had known from the start that they were destined to be together. From the moment that she'd met him, her heart had whispered words of love and, although she'd tried to ignore them, resisting had been futile on her part. It had been futile on Valentine's part too.

  She looked up to see she'd jogged a good distance during her thoughts and she hadn't been paying attention to the outside world at all. She quickly extended her senses and searched for any vampire or demon signatures in the area. There was nothing as far as she could tell, but she knew there soon would be. It wasn't far now to the base of the hill below the church. She would need to find her way up through the maze of narrow streets to where the fairytale looking building she'd seen in her vision began.

  Cutting down a side street, she sharpened her senses, this time making sure that she focused on her surroundings and didn't let her thoughts of Valentine creep in. It was no wonder she was going to get hurt if she couldn't concentrate. She couldn't trust that she would make it through the fight no matter what. She had already altered her destiny once, it would be easy for her to slip up and get herself killed. After a lot of thought, she'd come to realise that her visions didn't guarantee the things to come. Overall, her destiny was mapped out, but she was beginning to think that how she got there was a little more pliable.

  The idea that she did have a small amount of control over her life made her feel stronger and more confident. She had been starting to feel as though there was no point in making decisions because her fate had been written before she had been born. Now she felt more alive and in charge. She could still shape her destiny to a degree, even if the end result was the same. She wondered if she could change that too. If fate had decided she was going to destroy the world, could she change her destiny and save it instead?

  Her head ached with questions she didn't have answers to and her eyes widened when she found she had again let her concentration slip.

  Focusing, she frowned when she felt something on the very edge of her senses. She took a deep breath and carried on walking up the hill towards the church. She was much closer now, near enough that she could make out the details of the white building that clung to the hillside. It was only a matter of time before the Nocens reached her.

  Their signatures were growing stronger now. There were at least a dozen of them and she didn't know how many she'd have to fight before she escaped to the church and found the book.

  She could feel the magic already building inside of her. It made her fingertips tingle and her marks itch. If the Nocens got too close to her, she would blast them all and run for the church. It was a distance up the hill, but she knew she could make it.

  A noise made her cock her head a fraction and she listened to them approaching.

  She stopped and looked up at the church. In the light from the lamps, she could see it was beginning to rain. The wet tiles of the church reflected what little light there was just as they had done in her vision and the stairs and turrets that were built into the hillside were beginning to grow darker as the water soaked into their pale stones.

  Flexing her fingers, she held her position, waiting for the Nocens to make their move. They were still a distance off, and she wanted them as close as possible before she turned to face them. She still couldn't count their number. They had to be moving in close formation to cloud their signatures. Her senses were reacting as though there was one large demon coming towards her.

  She listened to their footsteps on the ground, using their unique sounds to tell her the build of each vampire. One of them stood out in amongst the rest. The stride was confident and heavy. It had to be the leader.

  Taking one last breath to steady her nerves, she brought her hands around in front of her and gripped her wrist. She didn't look down at the amulet. She already knew what it would look like. The magic was growing, intensifying the feelings inside of her and heightening her senses. She could count the number of Nocens now. There were fourteen, two more than she'd anticipated. It didn't matter. There could be a hundred and she would still fight them. They were standing between her and something she wanted. They were slowing her down.

  Closing her eyes, she forced her focus to move to her hand and the magic. She thought about the danger that Valentine was in while she was here in Budapest and used the pain she'd felt in him during her vision as the catalyst for her power.

  She raised her hand while she turned. In one sweeping motion, she was face to face with the leader of the Nocens group and had the amulet pointing at them. She splayed her fingers, holding herself steady and not letting any sign of nerves show on her face or in her signature. She had been taught to mask her true feelings in the presence of the enemy. It had failed with Valentine, but she had perfected the technique now. Besides, she was more confident in her power and her fighting abilities than she'd ever been. The Nocens were no match for her. If they chose to attack, they would soon realise their mistake.

  The leader of the Nocens regarded her, his fiery orange eyes raking over her body and his fine brows arching. She remained standing motionless in the same spot, letting him take the time to see what he was up against. She didn't have to mask her fear when she looked over the group. She wasn't scared of them. She'd taken on an entire army of Tenebrae that had looked more skilled and dangerous than the ragged bunch in front of her.

  She took another deep breath and moved her feet so they were shoulder distance apart. Chatter broke out in amongst the group and she watched them bend their heads together and mutter in a language she couldn't understand. The leader growled low and guttural in his throat and silence descended.

  He stepped forwards, looking confident and sure of himself, but she caught the fear that surfaced briefly in his eyes.

  "The child of the prophecy?” he said in a deep accented voice.

  She said nothing and kept still. He was a fool if he couldn't see who he was dealing with. She smiled and it seemed to unnerve the group. If they wanted to know who she was, she was happy to show them.

  She let the magic grow and leave her fingers. There was no need to keep it contained now. It would be an advantage to her to have them scared and she intended to frighten the life out of them. Keeping her eyes locked with the leader's, she directed her hand towards the edge of the group and kept her face impassive as she released the magic. The startled cries and screams of pain made confidence swell inside of her. She could see the group bunching up and moving away from where she'd aimed. It was exactly what she'd wanted them to do.

  Moving her hand, she released another bolt of magic and this time watched it tear through the vampire who had strayed away from the group on the other side. The group moved again, this time gathering behind the leader while they watched with horrified expression as the vampires she'd killed slowly disintegrated.

  Bringing her eyes back to the leader, she smiled when she saw the same look of fear and horror on his face.

  She counted the number of Nocens left. There were eleven now. Something told her that the leader wasn't going to back down after losing only three of his kin.

  She frowned when a smile flickered on his lips and then her eyes widened when she picked up on something at the edge of her senses. She began to turn but it was too late. Pain burned in her side like an inferno and she screamed in agony. She snarled and brought her elbow back, hitting the vampire behind her directly in the face, and then pulled the knife from her side. Turning on the spot, she slashed across the vampire's throat, taking her head clean off. She kicked the body away as it began to decompose and then swung around to face the group.

  In the split second that she'd been distracted, they had started running at her. She leapt clear of them, landed safely behind them and rolled
onto her feet so she was facing their backs. She was barely in control of the power that surged through her. Her lip curled and her brows knit as she sneered at the Nocens. Some of them scrambled to face her while the others tried to flee.

  She clutched her side with her left hand and stared straight into the eyes of the leader when she unleashed the magic. Sweeping her hand across, the threads of magic lanced through the vampires. It buried itself deep into them and she held her breath as she waited to see what was going to happen. The leader grasped his chest and howled in pain when a bright light tore through him. She flinched away when the others followed, the magic burning them to cinders and leaving nothing but ash behind.

  Slumping slightly, she held her side and stared down at it. In the dim light, she could see the blood spilling over her fingers. She hadn't even noticed the female vampire. She had been so preoccupied in scaring the group that she could see and had focused her senses on them so she could get the most pleasure out of feeling their fear.

  A noise up the steep bank from her drew her attention and she frowned when she saw something move in the shadows. She started after them but by the time she had reached the spot, they were running down the street. The Nocens would know that she was in town now. The group she had fought had probably been a hunting party that had run across her by chance. She had to get the book and get out of the city as fast as possible, but there wasn't another train before tomorrow night. She had almost eighteen hours to pass in Budapest. It was going to be a long eighteen hours.

  She changed into her vampire guise and used her heightened senses to scan the shadows surrounding her. There wasn't a sign of any more vampires, but she was sure that would change soon enough. The Nocens that had fled the scene would report back to their family that she was in the city. She was going to have to move quickly to avoid them.

  Running up the steps, she cursed the sky when the rain began to fall more heavily and pulled her small black jacket closed around herself. She kept her hand pressed into her side and cringed when the wound ached. It wasn't far to the church now. Once she was inside, she would heal herself just as she had in her vision and would find the book. At least she knew where to find it. That would save her time.