by Joshua King
“I am too,” Aurora said.
I leaned down and kissed her again. It felt like there was something passing back and forth, like our energy was flowing between us.
“Tell me,” Darien said when the kiss ended. “Your speed. It's incredible. How do you do it?”
I looked back at him strangely.
“How?” I asked. “It's just something I realized I could do after Aurora bit me. Like my strength.”
Darien looked like he was about to say something else, but Aurora stopped him.
“The hour has gotten very late,” she said. “I'm going to bring Hayden to the thirty-third floor.”
“What's there?” I asked.
“My private rooms,” she said. “The space I use when I want to stay on this side of the portal for longer. Tonight, my new Lord has needs to attend to.”
She looked at Ashe, but Ashe shook her head.
“No,” she said. “Not tonight. As much as I want to.” Her eyes roved along my body, and then Aurora's. “And I definitely want to, but tonight should be about the two of you. It's a celebration of the sealing of the blood pact between you. I'm going to go meet Ty. Maybe I'll see how much I can open up the car.”
I laughed.
“Without the master driver to guide you?”
“We'll just have to hope for the best.” Her grin faded as she glanced over at Darien. “Call off your men,” she said.
“I will,” he told her. “There will be no more fighting tonight.”
“There aren't many left who have much fight in them,” she said. “Hayden took them down. You've lost several.”
The Prime gave a single nod.
“I will deal with them.”
Ashe met my eyes for a second longer, then swept out of the room.
“Come with me,” Aurora said, taking my hands.
She guided me out of the room and back toward the elevator. We got inside, and she reached for the control panel. She wasn’t holding one of the access cards, but she brushed her thumb over the sensor and the buttons lit up. She was her own authorization. As soon as the doors closed, I put my hands on either side of her waist and pushed her back against the wall. She gasped slightly, then her full, luscious lips curled up into a smile.
“I’ve been thinking about those lips since you walked out of my room at Malakan’s house,” I told her.
Ducking my head, I gathered those perfect lips into another deep kiss. Aurora melted into me, and I held her close. Our bodies were speaking to each other, and by the time the elevator door opened, I couldn’t resist her anymore. I scooped her up into my arms and carried her into the room she directed me to. Tossing her onto the bed, I stripped off my clothes without taking my eyes off her. She did the same, and soon we were completely bare. I dropped down over her, feeling the heat of her body radiating off of her, and claimed her again.
Epilogue
The same man staggered out from under the bridge as I approached Final View.
“You came back,” the one wearing one shoe said. “Disappointed you didn't get to witness anyone join our little world?”
“Not exactly,” I said. “Tell everyone around here they have a new Prince. Last night, Aurora completed my transformation and I have been bonded to her through a blood pact.”
The man bowed down to me.
“I'm happy to share the good news,” he said.
“Thank you. Has Malakan come out?”
“No. It's been a very long time since I've seen him. He stays in there.”
He nodded toward the door in the cliff. I walked over to it and opened it without hesitation. The torch on the wall was still burning, and I wondered if it was enchanted so it never burned out, or if the old warlock came down here every so often to relight the flame. There was no nervousness in me as I held the torch high above my head and started down the tunnel. Even without anyone there with me, I had no fear. The world was clear and bright around me, and I felt like I could do anything. But there was a question in the back of my mind I couldn't let go of. I was still thinking about the ritual I had completed with Malakan, and the visions I had during it. The one of Ashe had been completely accurate. Everything about it, down to the most gruesome detail, had been exactly the way I envisioned it when I found her. I was able to save her, but I couldn't stop thinking about the other two visions. I needed to know anything I could to protect Aurora from whatever danger was waiting for her in the future.
Traveling down the tunnel this time didn't feel like it took as long as it did the first time I made the journey. Whether I was moving at a faster pace because I wasn't trying to stay with Ty, or it was simply because I felt accustomed to the tunnel now and knew where I was going, I ended up at the door leading into the first set of chambers in what felt like only minutes. The lamps and torches were burning just like they were before, and I listened closely to hear any sign of Malakan. When I didn't hear him, I called out to him. He didn't answer, and I made my way through the rooms. Several of them I hadn't been in before and I wondered about their purpose. After exploring all of the rooms, I didn't find the warlock. Knowing that must mean he was at the house, I headed for the door.
The air was sweet when I stepped through the door in the tree and out into the tall grass of the field. Everything was as quiet and peaceful as it had been my first time here. I walked across the field, and as I approached the house, I noticed Malakan sitting on one of the swings. He rocked slowly back and forth as he stared out over the grass.
“Hello,” I called out to him.
He smiled and waved.
“Hello, Hayden,” he said. He stood while I walked up the stairs to the porch, then extended his hand to me. “Darien told me the good news. Your change is complete, and you are now bonded to Aurora?”
“Yes,” I told him. “It didn't go as easily as I might have liked it to, but I did what I needed to do.”
“And that's what you should always do,” Malakan said. “The easy way is not always the best way. In fact, it very rarely is. If there is something that really deserves to be had or done, the hardships and challenge to achieve it will be well worth it.”
“She is,” I said.
He searched my face.
“But you haven't come here to give me your news,” he said.
“No,” I admitted. “I need to talk to you about the ritual.”
Malakan drew in a breath.
“You should come inside,” he said. We walked toward the door. “Can I get you something to drink?” He glanced over his shoulder. “Or have you forgone that now?”
I smiled.
“I haven't decided yet,” I said. “But I don't think so. I enjoy eating and drinking too much to give it up now. Besides, I think Stephana might be on to something with her idea that it has benefits for vampires even after their transition.”
“Perhaps,” Malakan said.
We walked into the house and he directed me to the room on the opposite side of the entryway from where we'd done the ritual. Unlike the first room, it was well-furnished. Malakan gestured at the large couch and I settled down onto it. He bustled away, giving me a few minutes to look around. I wondered how much of what he had was smuggled from his life before his exile, and what he had acquired in this new existence. On the other hand, if he had mirrored the entire house and not just the outside, it all could have come along with it. Malakan came back into the room carrying a tray with a tall silver tea pot and mismatched cups and saucers. He set it on the table and picked up one of the cups. Adding a large dollop of cream and a drizzle of honey, he nodded toward the other cup.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“Maybe later. Thanks. I need to talk about what I saw in those visions.”
He took a sip of the tea and let out a breath.
“I thought you would,” he said. “You were so focused on saving Ashe and completing your change that you couldn't dwell on it, but I knew when you were finished with those tasks, your mind would come back to them.”
“What did they mean?” I asked. “I don't understand either of them. The one from the past I'm sure I'll figure out at some point. I might talk to Ty about later it if it's still bothering me. The other one, though, I need to know what that meant. In that vision, Aurora was dead, and I was holding her. Something horrible had happened. I could feel the heat and smell the smoke. There was nothing but sadness. And she was wearing the pendant of the Dragon. What could that mean?”
“I don't know, Hayden,” Malakan said regretfully. “Like I told you before, the visions are meant for you, and they reveal something you need to know. I can't always discern the details.”
“Is there any way to know when it might happen? Is there a specific amount of time into the future that those visions show?”
“No,” he said again. “It's just a look into what will come. It could be centuries ahead of you, or it could happen in a matter of hours. There's no way to know. All I can tell you is that the glimpses into the future that ritual offers are usually warnings. Sometimes they are just confirmations of what's to come, or reassurances that something will work out in a certain way. Most often, though, they are cautionary. You are meant to know what is coming and to prepare yourself for it. What you do with that is up to you.”
I nodded. I'd been hopeful when I came here, but I hadn't honestly expected much more than what he just said. He'd already told me he didn't control the visions and couldn't interpret them with complete certainty. What I'd seen was going to have to act as a reminder for me to always stay vigilant and prepared. Ready to go back to Aurora and Ashe, who had decided to celebrate my first twenty-four hours as a vampire by heading back to where it all began at the bar in Solomon's Fang, I stood.
“Thank you, Malakan,” I said. “I appreciate your help.”
I started out of the house when I heard his voice again.
“I can't explain the vision of the future for you,” he said. “But I can tell you more about the past.”
I stopped. There was something in his voice that made my heart beat faster. I turned back around, and he gestured toward the couch again. When I sat back down, he met my eyes.
“I thought you couldn't explain my visions,” I said.
“I don't mean your vision,” Malakan told me. “That is still for you to figure out yourself. The significance of that will come in time. What I mean is the truth about your past. Who and what you really are. You told me that the Dragon said they wanted to see you because you are a hybrid of two ancient and powerful bloodlines.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But I wasn't finished with my transformation yet. I figured they just meant the vampire and the human that was still in me.”
Malakan shook his head.
“No,” he said. “That doesn't make you a hybrid. That just means you're changing. What they were talking about was a true hybrid. You are a vampire, yes, but that's not all. You were not a hybrid at birth. You became a hybrid the moment Aurora bit you and started to change you into a vampire. That's because you are not and have never been truly human. You are, and always have been, of ancient warlock blood. You were taken and raised far away from your birthright. You were long thought dead, Hayden, but now you're back.”
His words hit me hard and I couldn't process them.
“What?” I asked.
“You are a warlock,” he said again. “You always have been.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I was raised in the upper world, by completely normal human parents.”
“You were taken,” he said again. “They raised you because your parents couldn't. Think about it. Think about the fights you've been in. Your speed and your strength.”
“Vampire abilities,” I pointed out.
“No,” Malakan said even more forcefully. “Vampires get abilities when they change, of course, but not like that. Your power, especially your speed, can't be explained by pure vampire blood. That's the sign of a warlock. And I've heard what happened in the church with the mages. Do you truly believe that's something any of the other vampires could have done at all, much less before they completed their transformation?”
“I don't know,” I said.
“No,” he said. “None of them could have. They were trying to destroy you with their magic, Hayden, and you resisted it.”
“I used my strength to protect me,” I said.
“You used your own magic,” Malakan said. “You didn't realize it, but that's what you were doing. This is your destiny, Hayden. You've always been meant to be here. You are now more powerful than you could ever have imagined. You are the son-in-law of the Prime, Prince of the vampires. But you also have the blood of a warlock. You can master both and be an unstoppable force for what's to come. I can teach you how to access and control the abilities of your warlock blood.”
Everything felt like it was sinking in. I nodded.
“Yes,” I said.
He smiled.
“Good. But not today. You've had enough. Go home. Go back to Aurora. Enjoy her. Return soon and we will begin.”
I shook Malakan's hand and he gazed back at me with tender eyes before guiding me to the door. I walked down the stairs back into the grass and started toward the door that would take me back to the community under the bridge. I was nearly there when an explosion threw me to the ground. I turned around and saw Malakan's house consumed in flames.
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About the Author
Joshua King is a Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy writer that loves a killer story mixed with a few ongoing fantasies. Strong gorgeous women, super evil villains, precarious situations, and a normal dude that gets transformed into making it happen are all part of the fun.
When not writing, he's watching movies, traveling the US with his wife and son, or paying homage to the God of War. He's hoping to entertain you and give you a few minutes of heart-racing fun or mind-bending mystery in the various worlds he's created or the ones he plans to create.
