by Ciara Graves
When I reached a set of double wooden doors, I smirked. “Oh, Rudarius,” I called out loudly, “I’m home.”
I kicked the center of the doors as hard as I could, and they exploded inward. Dust and wood splinters filled the air. I stomped inside.
The room was large, and the ceiling stretched far above my head. Three black iron chandeliers hung from it, the candles long since melted and burnt out. Windows lined the room; the blood-red curtains were thrown open. Stone pillars lined the right side of the room and portraits decorated the left. More tall iron candleholders surrounded the space, leading to the three steps at the far end. On the raised platform was a black chair, tall and narrow.
And seated on it was Rudarius himself.
“Seneca. I see you have found me.”
His tone was casual, but his red eyes gave away his true emotions. I moved closer, one slow step at a time.
He stiffened.
“Rudarius, so good of you to be waiting for your execution. I was getting a bit tired of running around.”
His lip twitched. “Execution? You’ll not be killing me this day.”
“Oh, no? Funny because I’m pretty sure I will be. Didn’t you get my warnings these last few days? All those lovely nightmares I crafted just for you,” I replied, and his eyes widened just a hair. “Didn’t you enjoy seeing your own death, repeatedly? Experiencing it, too. What do you think? Did I do a good job?”
“No,” he whispered. “You did not break me.”
“Not as good as you did me, I’ll admit,” I went on as if I hadn’t heard him, “but I got to you all the same. Got under your skin. I’m the reason you’re here after all.”
He swallowed loudly and unfolded his tall form from the chair. “No.”
“No? I didn’t even ask a question.”
“You are mine. You understand me?” He stepped down from the platform. “Mine. I molded you. I turned you, and I am your master. You will obey me. You will lay down your arms and take your place beside me as my bride. That is all you will be doing here, Seneca.” The rings on his left hand sparked with his words.
The order slammed into me, and I staggered back a step, gritting my teeth. If I was a normal vampire, I would have no choice but to obey. But Rudarius no longer had any hold on my mind. The dark fae in me saw to that. I panted, making it seem as if I fought against his orders. He came closer, falling for the act. I sank to my knees, shaking my head, as my two short swords vanished into nothing.
“Please,” I begged, my voice a few octaves higher than normal, “don’t do this.”
“You had your chance to join me willingly. Do not fret, my pet. After a hundred years or so, you will come to see this is the only way.”
His hand rested atop my head as I lowered it. I had to, so he couldn’t see my smirk.
“Join me, Seneca. Say you will obey me.”
I forced a shudder and tried to pull away. “Never.”
“You are making this harder than it needs to be. Take my hand, be with me, and I will show you everything we can do together.”
A laugh nearly slipped from my mouth, but I turned it into a choking gag. The voice inside my head laughed long and loud enough for both of us. Rudarius circled behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders with a sigh.
“You are mine, Seneca, you always have been. My other half I’ve searched for.”
This time I couldn’t help it. I cackled.
His fingers dug into my shoulders at the sound.
I hunched over, tears springing to my eyes as I shook my head. “Oh, man. How long did you practice this speech, huh? You sound so desperate. I mean, really.” I glanced up, catching his surprised gaze. “Did you honestly believe that would work? That?”
He started to pull away, but I reached around and snagged the hand bearing his rings.
“Release me at once.”
I held on as I found my feet, turning to face him, then twisted his arm.
He hissed.
“Yeah, never following your orders. Ever. Besides, you already showed me just how strong I am. Thanks for that.” I shoved him away from me.
He held his hand, disbelief on his face. “No, this isn’t how it’s meant to be,” he whispered.
“What? Me, standing here, ready to kill you?” I smiled as I recalled my two short swords—created completely out of shadows—to my hands.
I moved to attack, but he threw his left hand out, and a shockwave of dark energy crashed into me.
I soared up, and wings of pure shadow sprouted from my back, catching me. They pumped easily, righting me in the air. I glowered at Rudarius as he made ready for his next attack. “You just had to push me.”
“I will find a way to make you mine,” he warned, and his gaze flickered to the door.
He was going to run, the coward. But I wasn’t about to let him get away from me. Not again. The moment he turned to go, I threw my sword at his back, and it plunged through up to the hilt. He grunted, but it must’ve barely missed his heart.
He turned, baring his fangs and snarling like the wild beast he was.
I landed on my feet. “You will fight me.”
Nostrils flaring, he reached behind his back for the hilt and wrenched the blade from his body. Blood dripped from it to the stones at his feet. His blood. He dropped the sword and tried to leave a second time. A whip formed in my right hand and I let it fly, catching him around the neck. I yanked him back to me, and as soon as he was at my feet, I released my hold and thrust my right hand toward the doors.
A barrier of darkness formed, trapping him inside with me.
I molded a new sword and tossed it to him. “End this, now.”
He flipped smoothly to his feet, looking at the blade, then at me. “You and I had an understanding once,” he mused quietly. “You were comforted by me. Do you not recall those times? When you cried on my shoulder? When you let me hold you?”
I rolled my shoulders with a grimace. “Sadly, I do, but those moments weren’t real, and you know it.”
“Aren’t they?” He stepped over the blade and came closer. “You and I have a connection, Seneca, a strong one. Don’t be the reason it never has a chance to grow, to turn into something far greater.”
I lowered my blade, remembering all too clearly what I felt each time I’d been with him.
“I care for you more than anything in this world. Deep down you know this.” He reached for my hand, the one holding the blade, and took it from me without a fight from me. It clattered to the floor, and then he wrapped his arms around me in an embrace. “This anger is understandable, but I can show you how to use it.”
A small part of me perked up at his words, at the comfort he gave, but it was quickly squashed by the rest of me, silently screaming. Shadows rose within my mind and ignoring the promise I made to Draven to not let myself be controlled by the power, I let those shadows fill every inch of me. Let them build higher and higher until there was only magic. Only the legacy of my people.
I smiled wickedly then bit down hard on Rudarius’s neck.
He roared in anguish and threw me away from him, then pressed a hand to the wound. He staggered back further, but there was nowhere for him to run. The truth crashed into him, and his lips parted with terror.
“I can taste your fear,” I mused as I licked my lips.
“You… you are not my Seneca.”
“You should never have unleashed the beast from the cage,” I said casually, my words rough with the power coursing freely throughout my body and mind. My soul.
I had a brief pang of regret, but then it was gone, lost in the tangled web of my ever-darkening thoughts of mayhem and bloodshed. I formed a new blade in my hand and stalked toward my prey.
“Time to finish this.” I charged forward.
Rudarius formed a sword in his hands, barely managing to parry my first attack.
He shoved me back, but I only came at him harder the second time. Our blades moved in a blur of speed. He spun away from m
e and landed a hit to my side.
I screamed and slashed at his face with my sharp nails, drawing blood.
“You shouldn’t have pushed me,” I shouted as my sword nearly stabbed him in the shoulder. “You should’ve left me alone.” I kicked his chest, and he flew back, slamming into the steps. “You should never have taken me in the first place!”
I charged him. When our blades met this time, there was a shockwave of energy.
It blew us apart, and we landed in heaps on opposite ends of the room.
I pushed to my knees. As Rudarius’s eyes met mine, there was no sympathy left in them. No more care for me.
There was only the promise of violence and my death.
Good. I didn’t want this to be easy. I gripped my sword in my hands, and as a battle cry tore free of my throat, I met him blade for blade, ready to finish this.
Ready for it to be over.
Chapter 11
Draven
A familiar shouted curse drew my attention.
Seneca. She left a trail of bodies in her wake.
I struggled to keep her in my sights as vampires came at me, one after the other. I’d lost one of my daggers and my sword a while back, but my last blade remained firmly gripped in my hand. Mud and blood covered me.
Shane fought close by. Every now and then I heard his vivid cursing.
Marlie and Lark weren’t too far behind. The damned rain finally stopped.
We’d met Rudarius’s forces head-on, and I’d worried if as much as they outnumbered us that we’d never gain an advantage. I had to get to Seneca, but I lost sight of her as a massive troll lumbered into view.
“Seriously?” Shane shouted as he joined me. “What the hell, man?”
“You go left. I go right?”
“Yeah, sure, why the hell not,” he muttered, and we split as the troll came for us.
The beast was massive, bearing a large sword easily two times the length of my body. His greyish skin was wrinkled and covered in coarse black hair. His mouth yawned open wide, letting loose a howl that hurt my ears. His blade struck the ground right where we’d been standing.
I slashed at the troll’s side, Shane doing the same at his other.
All that seemed to do was piss him off. He spun around, slashing wildly through the air.
Shane nearly lost his head, and I yanked him to the ground just in time. The troll stomped his feet, aiming to crush us. I rolled right, ending up between his legs.
I stabbed upward with all my strength.
The troll shrieked and dropped his sword.
Shane leapt atop him and stabbed him in the neck, over and over, until the great beast finally collapsed to the ground. He hopped off and held out a hand to haul me to my feet.
“Never talk about that,” I growled, knowing that image was going to be seared into my mind for a very long time. “To anyone. Ever.”
He smirked as he bowed his head. “Whatever you say, but that was a pretty low blow.”
Three shifters sprinted toward us, and I shoved him away, back into the fight.
As I dropped one shifter, dead, I took a chance to pause and looked toward the fortress. Rudarius had been watching from the safety of his wall, but I no longer saw him. A figure sprinted through the fray and then darted inside the fortress. Seneca. She was going for Rudarius. I intended to rush in after her, but Shane nudged me, back at my side.
“Wendall’s back and look what he brought.”
Wendall had agreed to sneak into the fortress once the battle was underway and see if he could liberate those within the dungeons. It was a foolish plan, really, since we had no way to know how many prisoners were there, or if they’d be willing to fight.
Wendall blurred into the battle leading the charge as fae, vampires, and mages followed right behind, looking ticked off and out for blood. Their numbers added to ours and flanked the right side of Rudarius’s army. It’d give us a slight advantage, but not for long.
“Draven,” Wendall shouted as he appeared in front of me. “The totem! I saw it.”
“Where?”
“Center of the fortress. The base is in the dungeons. The mages and fae are powering it. If we can get to it and break them free, we might be able to close the rift before it’s too late.”
“What do you mean?”
“We saw the rest of his army,” he explained in a rush. “They’re coming, and we won’t be able to hold them off. Not a chance in hell.”
“Damn it.”
Seneca had told the Feds we needed their aid. They said their hands were tied. The fighting force of vampires, fae, and demons was not enough to stand against the full might of Rudarius. Seneca’s raw fury reached out to me, but I couldn’t go help her, not yet. If only we had more numbers, then maybe.
Wendall was right. We had to destroy the totem.
“Shane, come with us. Wendall, take us to it.”
The three of us blurred through the fighting, taking down anyone who stood in our way and made it inside the fortress. Wendall darted right, and we followed him down and around the dungeons. My eyes focused straight ahead, not wanting to be sucked into the memories I had of this place. We passed the cells and burst through a set of double doors. This room had been used to torture vampires with sunlight. Now, it’d been replaced by a massive glowing totem that was covered in crudely carved runes. Mages and fae surrounded it in three rings, hands manacled to the stones at their feet. Red lights seeped from their eyes directly to the totem.
None of them seemed to notice we were even there, but the guards on the far side of the room did. The vampires shouted, ten in all, and rushed toward us.
“Shane, get them out of here,” I yelled. I caught the stake in one vampire’s hand and twisted his arm around so he stabbed himself. “Now!”
Shane took off as Wendall, and I dealt with the guards. I caught a fist to the face and another to the back, then spun around and caught a third with the blade of my dagger. The vampire screamed as his arm hit the floor, but it wasn’t for long. His head joined the dismembered limb, and I made quick work of the other two. Wendall held off three more, bashing one into the far wall until his head was nothing but a hunk of bloody meat.
“Help him. I got this.”
He butted his forehead into another vampire’s.
I came to the first prisoner, and hacked at the chains with the sword until they broke. But the light didn’t fade from his eyes. I gripped the old mage’s shoulders and shook him hard. “Wake up,” I shouted in his face, hissing and snarling. Nothing. “Shane?”
“I don’t know. It’s like they’re trapped in a daze or something,” he yelled from across the room. “They weren’t this bad when we rescued Macron and Helena. It’s gotten worse the longer they’ve been here, I think.”
I sheathed my dagger at my hip and slapped the man in front of me.
His head flew back, and he blinked, but the red light remained, pulling his gaze right back to the totem.
“Just unchain them all for now,” I ordered Shane. “We’ll have to destroy that thing to free them.”
We worked our way around the room, breaking chains of every prisoner. Wendall finished off the last vampire guard. By the time we reached the final prisoner, I had hoped maybe the chains were part of the problem, but as they clanked to the floor, nothing happened. The red lights remained, sucking the power from the fae and mages.
“I don’t understand.” Wendall grabbed hold of a fae and tried to turn her away from the totem.
He did, and we hoped all we had to do was remove them from the room. But as soon as Wendall and the fae made it to the door, she froze. Wendall went to pick her up, but she grabbed him by his shirt, threw him across the room with strength she should not have possessed, and returned to her post.
“Alright, any other ideas?” he muttered, getting up and rubbing the back of his head.
“The totem, it’s all linked to the totem.” I walked closer, reached out a hand.
Shane ya
nked me back.
“What?”
“Don’t touch it. You have no idea what it might do.”
The stone pulsed and seemed to writhe with a life of its own. He had a point. Getting sucked into that magical void was not part of the plan. I considered finding Macron and seeing if he could find a way to blow it up when a horrible shriek burst from the totem. A crack formed right down the center, and the light flickered in and out.
Around us, those who’d been attached to it blinked and slumped over, holding their heads, they looked around, clearly lost. The totem cracked again, and I grabbed hold of those closest to me, shoving them toward the door.
“Get everyone out.”
Shane and Wendall did as I ordered while more cracks formed on the totem. They spread like a spiderweb, racing up and down the length of the stones. The red light burned so brightly it blinded me. A hand grabbed hold of my arm, and I was pulled through the doorway as the totem burst into pieces, shattering. Stones fell and slammed into the floors and walls. I covered my head with my arms, grunting as the debris struck my back and legs. When they stopped scattering, I slowly lifted my head and peered through the heavy haze of dust.
The totem was a burnt-out crater in the center of the room.
“What did that?”
I shook my head at Shane’s question, then paused. Seneca. I shut my eyes, searching for the connection we shared. There was nothing but darkness.
A harsh cackle filled my mind.
I flinched, falling into the wall. “Seneca. I have to find her.”
“We’ll come with you,” Wendall suggested.
I snarled at him. “No, you get these people out. With the totem destroyed, Rudarius’s power is gone. His army might still try to fight.” I frowned as a ray of sunlight poured in, bright and far too cheery for this moment, landing where the totem had been. “The sunlight’s back.”
Shane and Wendall, both cursed, but I didn’t stick around. I rushed through the fortress, seeking out any hint of Seneca. That cackle grew louder in my head, deafening me so that I turned right instead of left. It faded, and I backtracked until the sound was so loud, I expected my ears to be bleeding. The noise led me to the shattered doorway of Rudarius’s throne room.
