The Demon Realm

by Annette Morris

  It would be thousands of years before the Flame would come down again.

  --------------

  Bridabur

  Those on the ground were slowly getting to their feet.

  I put my hand on Jeffe's shoulder and squeezed hard. "If nothing else Jeffe, we got a good number out. It could've been a lot worse."

  "I suppose it could've." Jeffe's head nodded as he turned towards me. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here. If you hadn't called me…" He turned his head back towards the Flames, "I would be one of those left behind, or dead. I owe you my life, Bride."

  My teeth tightened, just as my muscles did. "Must you call me that?"

  Jeffe grinned. "I've gotten used to calling you that. You know, it suits you."

  I shook my head. "Come on, Sire. We've got to find you somewhere safe to sleep for the night."

  "Yes," Jeffe looked at the demons surrounding us. Many were looking back towards him. "I suppose we must look ahead now. We've gotten out, but realistically speaking, that was only the first step. It's just the beginning."

  Taking my hand off Jeffe's shoulder, I also surveyed the demons standing before us. Most of them were now on their feet and waiting for instructions.

  Jeffe took a step forward and shoved his arms up in victory. "We are free at last!" his voice bellowed out loudly.

  In response, deafening loud cheers came back, as the men raised their arms and shouted, "Freedom!"

  The tension lifted, and the men began laughing and slapping each other's backs. It felt good to see the men before us so light-hearted and happy. It wasn't something we'd seen for a long time.

  Jeffe and I turned to look around us. "Have you got any idea where we came out, Sire?"

  Jeffe shook his head as he continued to look in every direction. "Not a fucking clue."

  "Well," I began as we both began walking away slowly. "Think of this as an adventure then. We'll march up and down these fucking hills. We'll weather all manner of storm and wind until at last, we find…"

  "Will you shut the fuck up, Bride?" Jeffe bellowed.

  I laughed out loud. At that moment, I felt happier than I could ever recall in my long long.

  Jeffe grinned and slapped me on the back.

  Even though Jeffe was our leader, he was still my good friend. I looked around at the foreign land we were now in. I had no idea where we were. I had no idea where we were going. But with Jeffe leading us, I was certain we'd end up somewhere where we could build our future.

  But for this minute, we needed to conserve our energy for walking. We also had to find somewhere to crash for the night.

  I sighed as I realised, we'd also need food soon. And the problems had already begun.

  Serentis

  "No, no, no! Don't think it, Serentis. Go deeper. Go to the essence of your being. You've got more energy inside you now than you've ever had before. You need to muster it all together to do your bidding. Direct that energy towards the Flame."

  "Just give me a second, Keogh." I closed my eyes. Feeling something is a lot more difficult that just thinking it. I never realised how hard it would be before now.

  "Take your time, Serentis," Keogh replied sarcastically. "You do realise that the Flame is down while you're working this out?"

  Damn it! Taking a deep breath, I shoved Keogh's comments away. That kind of pressure wasn't going to help right now. I realised I'd have to dig deeper to gather the energy I needed. I dug down deeper, pulling the energy I could feel towards me fast. I could feel the energy building the strength inside me. My strength was growing. "I think I've got it, Keogh."

  "Be calm, Serentis." His hand touched the top of my head. "Once you've channelled the energy inside you, see the Flame in your mind, and direct the energy towards that vision. You don't have to push it, or force it. It knows what to do. Let it take command of the Flame and let the icy fire rise."

  I felt a tingling all over my body. It was like energy cascading into every cell of my being.

  "Have you got it now, Serentis?"

  I could hear the worry in Keogh's voice. My eyes were still closed, and I was still focusing my attention on the Flame. In my mind's eye, I could visualise the Flame rising. It was reaching high now. I concentrated and visualised the Flame as one continuous flame, with no breaks. I could feel the energy draining slowly out of me, as I maintained the Flame. "Yeah, I have it."

  "Don't let it go, this time. It's your responsibility to make sure the Flame stays up. If that doorway comes down again, the demons will inundate us."

  I frowned as I considered his words. It had taken me a while for me to gain a level of mastery over the Flame. "So are you saying that while I was struggling to learn how to raise the flame, that demons have gotten through?" I opened my eyes to see Keog's face.

  "Undoubtedly, Serentis. The demons are always watching and waiting for the Flame to go down."

  Now I had the Flame up and burning strong, Keogh left my side and walked over to a chair. He slumped into it. This whole process had taken a lot out of him. His words rose in the air and drifted towards me. "The longer the Flame is down, the more demons that would've gotten through."

  "So when demons get through the Flame, can't we just round them up and send them back to the other side?"

  "No." Keogh looked straight at me. "First up, the demons are not in prison there. It is just another realm which is their home. The Flame is up for the benefit of the people on this side. It is to keep the demons out of this realm. If the demons could, they would all travel through and take up permanent residence on this side."

  "Why is that?"

  Keogh shrugged. "The grass is always greener on the other side. You should realise that. You have been a vampire for many years, Serentis. It's a natural instinct to want to get out and see what else is available. Unfortunately, if the demons come here, they'd come with traditions and beliefs that wouldn't fit into our way of life. It would disrupt the natural order… our way of life."

  I sighed and frowned as I tried to understand. "So, what you're saying Keogh, is that I've now let demons into this side and they will destroy us? On top of that, nobody will do anything about it."

  "No, Serentis. I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is that you will do nothing about it. Your only focus has to be on the Flame, and nothing else. It is your only job! You must keep the Flame up. There are others who will monitor the demons."

  There was so much to understand and I was struggling with all of it. "So then, don't we need to notify these people that the demons have escaped?"

  Keogh shook his head. "No, Serentis. They already know, and even as we speak, they'll arrange for people to monitor those demons. You don't have to worry about that aspect. In fact, you must not worry about it. Your sole focus, from this point forward, is to keep the Flame up and the doorway closed."

  I sighed. This was going to take time for me to get my head around. "Yeah, okay." Another question came to mind. "What happens when I sleep? Won't the Flame come down then?" Then another thought hit me and before Keogh could answer my initial question, I asked it. "Do I have to go through this step in building the Flame up every morning when I wake?" The horror of that thought must've appeared on my face.

  Keogh laughed. The laugh changed his whole expression. He usually wore a serious look on his face as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. But laughter broke through that facade and made him look human… more approachable. "No. The Flame is a part of you, now. No matter what happens, the Flame will stay up. The only time it will come down is when, or if, you die… or your energy fails. Even while you sleep, it will be working."

  I breathed out in relief. This whole process had been so trying. It had been difficult for me to understand what I was supposed to be doing. But to have to do that every morning. I'd seriously give it away if I had to do that.

  "But…" Keogh continued. "You will feel weary more often as it will forever drain power from you. To counter that, you need more sustenance… mo
re food and drink."

  I grinned. That didn't sound too bad. I loved eating and drinking, anyway.

  "You will also need to build up your physical and mental prowess," Keogh continued. "This will also be important for your guards, who will always be around you."

  I looked over at him and asked, "You're talking about physically staying fit?"

  He nodded. "Yes but, you also need to arrange classes for you and your guards."

  I frowned. "Classes on what?"

  He sighed and sat back in his chair more. "I have been so focused on locating you, that I've let a lot of the training go by the wayside. You will need to get the guards up to speed with a lot of information. For example, a lot of the guards have no idea how to participate in a battle. They've never been in one. It's all well and good to teach them how to fight. But if they don't know or can't understand battle plans, or why they're following them, they'll be useless to you."

  "Battle plans?"

  He nodded. "Yes. And also history. The history of the different realms and what each species is like is valuable information for your guards to have. For how can they fight a species if they know nothing about them?"

  I sighed. "What else?"

  "I think also to teach the guards how to think. Most of the guards simply follow orders. You need guards who can think and act on their feet. Not wait until they're told to go and do something."

  I rubbed my forehead. I was getting a headache.

  "You will also need to remain fit at all times. That means you and your guards all need to practice daily. You must keep up your energy levels. If you slacken off, the energy inside you will take more out of you, to keep the Flame up. If it takes too much energy, you will die." His comical look turned serious again.

  Okay. That sounded more serious. I didn't want to die right now. Not when I'd just found my forever mate. This was going to be harder than I thought. I'd need to keep my body fit and healthy all the time. Even now, I could feel myself tiring. We'd been working on this for hours. After we'd had the transfer of power ceremony, I had been spending all my time trying to focus my attention towards the doorway. But I'd had a lot of problems 'feeling' the Flame, as Keogh put it. It wasn't until Keogh explained about how the energy worked, that it all came together at last. I took a breath in and relaxed. The energy seemed to be flowing easier now, and I could sense the doorway was staying closed.

  It concerned me when I considered how many demons may have escaped, into our realm, while the Flame was down though. But as Keogh said in no uncertain terms. That was not my problem. My only job was to keep the Flame up. I needed to focus on the future and keep that doorway closed. At least now, I had a better understanding now of what all that entailed.

  "You need food and drink, to keep your energy up," Keogh snapped.

  I nodded my response. He was right. My mind was drifting, and I felt weaker.

  "I'll get it," Diego yelled. I jumped, forgetting Diego was in the room. As my second-in-command, it would be imperative for him to know any weaknesses I may have. And now he knew I had to keep my food and drink intake up. He would put new rules in place in order for that to happen. I looked over and noticed my mate, Alex, huddled in a ball, curled up asleep on the floor. I frowned. "Why is Alex asleep on the floor?"

  "Don't worry about her," Keogh said as he noticed where I was looking. "She is fine. Alex is just temporarily overcome with the extra power and responsibilities. Soon enough she will come around. Her mind needs to process it all."

  I gazed over at her with love in my eyes. She filled my heart with joy; she was my mate. Then I realised what Keogh had just said. "What extra power and responsibilities did she get?" I asked bluntly.

  "As your mate," Keogh explained. "It is now her responsibility to take on a lot of your responsibilities. For example, every vampire that was yours, is now hers. So, if one of them is in trouble, either you or her, will need to respond. Also, she has become the backup for your power. What that means is, if anything happens to you, the mantle of responsibility will fall on her, at least for a short time."

  My head swung towards Keogh. "I was not aware of that." Dammit! I never wanted Alex to suffer and now she is already. My heart wept in distress. What had I done? "What if it's too much for her? Won't it kill her too? You should have told me this before I agreed to do it! Can't Diego as my second-in-command take over, instead of Alex? Can't he take over that responsibility?"

  "No, Serentis. Calm down. Alex is fine. I would never endanger Alex. She is your heart."

  I took a breath in at his words. I panicked there for a minute when I thought Alex was in danger. I would never allow that to happen.

  "Diego cannot take your responsibility. It must fall on you and your mate. There is no other option. That's why I had to wait until you had taken a mate before I could approach you. Never fear, Serentis. It won't be too much for her. She will adapt." Keogh leaned closer. "I assessed her when I kidnapped her. She will be fine, Serentis. She just needs time to come to terms with it all."

  Diego returned then with some hastily prepared sandwiches and cold orange juice. "Sorry, Sire. It was the best I could find." He placed a plate of sandwiches in front of me, then walked around to place another in front of Keogh.

  I shook my head. "It's fine, Diego. Thank you." I reached out for a sandwich and with something like fear and worry noticed my hand was shaking with exhaustion. I covered the movement, hoping no-one noticed. It certainly wouldn't pay for the guards to see that kind of weakness in me. A vampire leader must be strong at all times. If other vampires sensed their leader was weak, they would try to remove me. And now, with the added burden of the Keeper responsibilities, I could see why all the extra guards were vital. For both myself and my mate.

  Keogh rose to his feet.

  I must've drifted with my thoughts again. I looked down and realised I'd barely eaten one sandwich. I realised it was going to take a lot of food to keep my energy levels up. I glanced over at Keogh and noticed how exhausted he looked.

  "Stay focused on your Keeper's role," he reminded me. "Keep nourished. Don't leave this house. We have still got a few things to go over before you can relax. I will see you in a few hour's time."

  I watched as Keogh turned to leave the room. "Thank you, Keogh."

  He turned and bowed towards me. "My pleasure."

  Some guards met Keogh on the other side of the door. He still needed protection until he'd transferred all of his knowledge to me.

  I reached out and grabbed another sandwich and began munching on it. I looked through the open doors, to see a large number of guards standing waiting for me. It was going to be difficult to get anything done with all these guards surrounding me, all the time.

  I ate that sandwich and reached for another. At this rate, I'd spend all my time eating and drinking.

  Serentis

  "So," Diego walked around the table to where I was sitting. "How does it feel?"

  I pulled my head up from where it was resting in my hands. "Heavy, stressful, and wearisome."

  Diego laughed. "Isn't that how you normally feel? I thought this extra responsibility would make you feel worse than normal?"

  Getting to my feet, I slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Thanks, Diego. I needed that."

  "Why do you think I said it?"

  I nodded as I fell back down heavily onto the chair.

  "Seriously though," Diego sat down where Keogh had been sitting. "By the sounds of what Keogh said, we'll have to get started on this training ASAP. I cannot believe that the vampires who came with Keogh, haven't had adequate training. And now, he's saying you need to keep your physical strength up."

  "Yeah. We'll need to pick more of ours to become guards as well. They'll all need extensive training, both physical and theoretical. It will be a nightmare. Most of them haven't studied or taken classes in decades… if not longer. How are they even going to realise they need the training? And how are we going to keep them motivated and interested enough to stay in
the classes long enough to learn?" I groaned at the thought of the headache that all this would cause. "We'll have to find someone who is multi-skilled in a teaching environment. Someone who can co-ordinate, plan subjects, grading, and maybe even be able to teach. Also, he or she, has to be able to motivate vampires who are hundreds of years old."

  Diego burst out laughing. "Where the hell are we going to find someone like that?"

  My head fell back into my hands. "I've got no idea. There's got to be someone, amongst us, who can do this job."

  "I know who can."

  Diego and I both turned to look at Alex. I hadn't realised that she was awake.

  "Alex?"

  She was struggling to get into a sitting position.

  If I wasn't so tired, I would have got up to help her. "Are you okay?"

  Alex nodded as she continued to struggle up into a sitting position. She pushed herself back, so she rested against the wall. Then she leaned her head back. "Yeah, getting there. "She had her hands on either side of her head. "I've got this god awful headache though. I thought vampires didn't get headaches?"

  Diego and I both burst out laughing. "Where did you hear that from?" I gathered up every ounce of my energy, got to my feet, and walked towards her. "I get headaches all the time."

  Alex groaned as she rubbed her temple. "Oh! That's just great. I thought becoming a vampire meant I would get some benefits?"

  I laughed at her words.

  "I can get you some tablets for the headache," Diego sprang to his feet.

  "Please," Alex whispered. "My head is killing me."

  Before I could respond, Diego was out the door.

  I crouched down in front of Alex. "You should have said something before now." Putting my hand out I rubbed her forehead. My fingers circled to ease the pain.

  Alex moaned at the touch.

  "What were you saying before, about knowing someone who could do the training?" I asked her.

  "My sister, Janey," Alex looked up at me and squinted. "God! Even my eyes hurt!" she complained. "Janey is the head librarian in town. But, she's got adult teaching qualifications. I know she's prepared subjects from nothing before. I'm not sure of everything she's had to teach, but it sounds like she might do what you need."