by K A HAMBLY
‘Right, let's do this,’ I said to myself, rolling up my sleeve. My hand began shaking again as I placed the knife over my forearm. As the blade touched my flesh, I paused. For some reason I had to check for the Ankh.
‘Oh my fucking God! The Ankh has gone.’ I dropped the knife on the floor and stood against the van unable to move. ‘I had it at the flat,’ I fretted; perhaps it had fallen off in the van. Nah, It’s not supposed to leave me. Draven had heard me yelling and came running back up the street with Stride.
‘It's gone!’
‘What has?’ Draven said looking concerned.
‘The Ankh, here, look,’ I said as I pulled down my t.shirt.
Draven shook his head in disbelief. ‘It’s not possible; sure you can't have dropped it?’
‘Seriously, the thing hasn't left me in years, why now, when we have this to face?’
‘Fuck knows, but we got to get in there, man, I don't know what else to fucking do.’
I was in pieces. An Ancient relic cannot just disappear, not one of this caliber.
Stride wiped his forehead of the sweat. ‘We know that thing has powers beyond our comprehension, let's just go with that right now and hope for the best and we’ll deal with this later, after we get April.’
Reluctantly I agreed, although the idea of shifting only a few hours before dawn wasn't my idea of a good night out. I took the pocket knife and rolled up my sleeve again. I hated to do this but it was the only way. The blood I had earlier was still in my system, so I had to entice the demon out somehow. It was the safest way. Even though it was frowned upon.
I craned my neck slightly to the left and caught sight of Blaze pacing up and down the pavement. I just had to go for it, cut my arm and hope for the best...well, after a small countdown. I screwed my face up and kept my eyes closed as I reached the number three in my head, then trying not to focus too much on the what if's I promptly made a small incision on my arm. Almost in an instant, it felt as though I had shut myself off in my head. The small jolt at the base of spine made me screech in agony as the demon squirmed around in joy. My face was next. I felt the rise in pain as the fangs cut through the gum. I gripped onto the mirror of the van and regrettably, I saw the transformation from my own eyes that were so very far away from the reality of now. I was now a monster. A disgusting leech that preyed on the innocent. Amongst the demonic chatter that plagued my brain, I managed to regain some of myself back. I had to focus on the task ahead and not fall prey to its demands.
Blaze whimpered and backed away from me. ‘You don't have to fear me,’ I said to him, covering half my face with the hood. ‘You must trust me now, we have to work together. Just see past this face...please?’
‘I'll try, er; I think you'd better go check out those two, looks like there's a problem,’ he said as he pointed towards the hotel doors.
I walked a few yards down to the hotel and peered through the glass doors. I could see Draven and Stride having an argument with the woman on the reception desk.
‘Oh no,’ I couldn't just walk in there and cause alarm.
‘Do you have a reservation?’ She kept asking. I heard Stride mumble something in Gaelic and then promptly slammed his fist down on the desk. Draven tried to calm the situation down and I heard him ask for a room. ‘Well, if it gets the job done,’ he whispered to Stride.
‘Blaze, go and park the van by the hotel doors and keep the back of the van open for us,’ I whispered
‘Sure, just get April out of there safe, please.’
‘You can count on me, ok.’
I waited by the window until I saw them walk into the elevator. It was now time to finally sort this shit out once and for all. I sprinted towards the edge of building and began climbing, gripping virtually onto the wall with my fingernails. We were now running late and Jimmy was expecting Stride at any moment.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
‘One. Two. Three!’
I shielded my eyes and kicked the balcony doors through with my foot. Shards of glass flickered through the air, so many diamond shards glittering in the night.
I saw Jimmy stand up from the leather chaise lounge at my surprise entrance; fear crossed his face when he witnessed my transformation.
I heard a click of a colt 45 to my left, I pivoted, and with a swift arm movement; I knocked the gun out of the guy's hand. He stumbled over the back of the chair and smacked his head on the minibar.
‘Wasn't expecting this were you, huh?’ I said, pointing to my face. ‘Well, I guess you weren’t expecting him too,’ I said, pointing towards Draven who had just came through the door with Stride.
Jimmy held his hands up as if he was about to give in when I saw the silver door handle turn on the adjoining room door.
‘Is that April?’ I asked. ‘Is she ok?’
Something I was not expecting happened.
Jimmy's smug look drew across his face again. I flicked a look at Stride, then Draven, who both then slowly turned their heads towards the door. I braced myself for the inevitable, when a young boy of about nineteen walked through.
I heard Draven gasp as if he knew him.
I started to panic, as my senses couldn't pick up whether he was human or not.
Something was wrong, I was sure of it.
He walked over to us confidently and I saw amongst that jet-black hair and small, startling grey eyes that looked at you wise beyond their years, my father.
That was it, he reminded me of my father when he was young.
But why, I wondered. Unless…
‘Who the hell are you lad?’ I half expected Stride to be the first to question him. ‘Is this your idea of a joke? You are going to set a teenager on us, well, well, where’s your wolf pride Jimmy? Left it up your arse the last time you sniffed it?’
‘Don’t talk to me about pride when you, a stupid old fool trusted me with your precious information.’
‘You may think that, but at least I wasn’t a big enough fool to tell you about Draven,’ Stride sniggered.
I noticed the boy kept glancing over towards Draven quite nervously.
Jimmy stood next to the boy with his arms folded, looking so pleased with himself in his designer grey suit.
‘This is Ryder.’
‘Ryder? Who the fuck is Ryder? I fumed. ‘Where is April? You asked us here, now where is she?’ I think I yelled so loud the people on the next floor must have heard me.
Draven raised a hand as if to hush me up. He was still looking at the boy inquisitively.
‘Why do I feel like I know you?’ he said.
Stride walked over to me and nudged my arm. His face looked as pale as mine did.
‘You know who he is don’t you?’
I looked at him and shook my head.
I had an idea though.
Stride raised his eyebrows and sighed.
‘Yes, Draven, this is your son, but don’t be fooled, he is already working for us,’ Jimmy said.
Was this even possible?
My head felt like it was about to explode with the madness here.
‘Draven, please don't listen to him, he's bluffing. Let's get April and get out of here!’
‘Oh you think so do you? Ryder say hello to your dad!’
I never knew Stride to stay quiet long enough.
‘So is this part of your plan?’ I demanded. ‘You wanted us here, for what? The Ankh? So that thing there,’ I pointed towards Ryder, ‘can walk and terrorize this city in daylight, like how he attacked that homeless guy?’
Ryder remained quiet.
He did not look too aggressive; instead, there was a deeper sadness dwelling in those eyes of his as he looked at Draven.
‘Where's the prophecy and April, did she decipher it for you?’
‘April is in the adjoining room, and yes she has told us everything.’
‘Well?’ Although, I was not sure if I believed him. ‘What did it say?’
‘Let's say the Ancient God's should never have allowed Mard
ok to write his prophecies,’ he sniggered. ‘Because the only way you're going to be free is when I put this stake through you. And I will stop you from returning the Ankh, Jyrki, believe me and when I do there will be a rise of new bloods replacing every last mortal here on this earth...’ he laughed. ‘Just as it should’ve been before these humans evolved.’
‘And what are you gaining from all of this?’
‘I will be gaining what is so rightfully mine, what I have been seeking for since Mardok threw me out of the Temple. I shall have that Ankh and the power of the Ancient Gods will be mine. YOU and the rest of this pathetic world will be worshipping me.’
‘Well, you're gonna have a hard time without the Ankh,’ I laughed. ‘Because, I don’t have it.’
I realised it was not such a laughing matter at all. On the wall behind Jimmy, I saw the reflection of the sun from the window as it was coming up over the horizon.
‘Oh shit!’ I whispered.
Draven must have been in harmony with me, as I saw him walk behind Jafar discreetly and push him onto the floor.
Feeling this was an opportune moment to get out I yelled to Stride to get April from the other room.
Things began to turn chaotic.
Ryder, who was not so quiet anymore leapt towards me.
I was shocked by the power he had for a half vampire. He hissed and glared into my face as he held me down onto the floor.
I heard two shots coming from the back of the chair, headed towards the door where April was.
‘Draven – get April, please.’ I screamed.
The sound of the shot resonated in my brain. I wilfully tried to push Ryder off me but his strength was that of steel.
I had not encountered anything like him.
With all the strength I could muster, the thought of April and Stride hurt or worse suddenly brought out the worst in me. I gripped Ryder around the neck and threw him against the wardrobe. I rolled over on the floor before getting up onto my feet to see Draven tackle the guy I had hit earlier with the gun.
Another shot was fired and the alarms eventually went off.
Jimmy was out cold on the floor and the last thing I was expecting to see when I swerved my head around, was Ryder who had already come up behind me, and began pushing me towards the window. This was all I could remember as I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin as I heard Blaze’s screams from down below...
.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I could feel so much heat, much more than I have ever been used to. My whole body was in a state of relaxation.
As my thoughts connected with my senses I realised I was laying down on a concrete floor with my eyes shut.
I shot up from the floor and gasped.
For some strange reason my whole body was covered in sweat.
Am I dead now?
Is this how it is supposed to be?
I placed a sweaty palm on my bare chest and felt a slight pulsating movement.
‘No, this can't be?’ I feared.
I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, when I glanced around and saw the room I was in wasn't somewhere I recognised. It was bare and hollow and only lit by a few torches on the wall.
What was I doing here?
I certainly felt different too, there was no possible way I could be human, could there.
‘Oh fuck,’ I whispered.
I could hear the sound of footsteps approaching me. They seemed not far in the distance either, but every step seemed to take an age to shift to the next. One step followed by the resonated echo of the other.
I stared into the blackness and waited with instilled terror at what it would uncover. All my vampire senses were gone and I have never been more vulnerable. Suddenly, the sound halted, and I could feel the pounding of my heart beating against my chest.
I sat waiting in anticipation of what I would find.
Slowly, an arm, that looked very much human lifted the torch from the wall and pulled it close to their chest. I kept my eye on the flicker of the golden flame as it walked towards me. The anticipation was gnawing away at me and I could not bring myself to say anything.
Then, finally, the voice belonging to the body it inhabited, spoke.
‘Jyrki, I bid you welcome.’
The voice was calm and unthreatening.
My guess was it belonged to an old man, of some sort. Was he human though, that was my concern.
I hesitated to say anything. He held the torch in front of my face and I could hear him mutter to himself.
‘Yes, you are Amroath’s son alright.’
Father, he knows father.
The shock of hearing my father’s name was far too much to comprehend, especially in my human like state. I took a step back from the intense heat of the flame and stumbled backwards onto the hardness of the concrete floor.
‘I am Mardok, keeper of the Secret Order; I have been waiting for you for many years...’
Now I had a face to the name.
The man must have been at least five foot, with silver hair. He had a friendly face, but looked tired, as if he had lived through endless time. He had one hand clutching onto a walking stick and was wearing a brown robe.
‘Where am I?’
‘We have much to discuss, please, come...’
He gestured me to follow him, which I did. I walked about ten yards when he stopped by a secured door. Mardok just waved his hands over the locks and they unbolted by themselves. I looked on in amazement.
Not even I had this kind of gift
. Just as I was about to ask who he was really, the outside of his world was revealed to me.
No wonder I was hot. The dry Egyptian heat began to play havoc with my chest. I coughed and spluttered as we stepped outside the door. If that was not all, the intense glare of the sun pained my eyes so bad; I had to cover them with my arm. Then it hit me. I was standing in the sunlight for the first time without the Ankh.
Mardok continued to walk ahead, with one hand grappling onto his wooden walking stick and the other waving about in mid-air for me to follow him. I turned back and saw I had come from the Temple of Osiris.
‘You will experience new things here, just take them for what they are. It is only temporary.’
‘Temporary? Am I human?’
‘For now. The beast has no business here.’
I lowered my arm and allowed my eyes to adjust to the light before walking any further, but the intensity of the light reflecting off the sand made it so hard to focus. The golden pyramid standing so magnificently in front me, made me feel as if I was nothing at all. I was seeing things with my eyes for the first time as a human.
My legs ached and I was thirsty.
Mardok somehow knew what I was thinking.
‘You will get refreshments in a moment, please step inside here.’ He pushed the stick at the west side of the pyramid, which I could only fathom that it was not visible to the naked eye. I looked around at the vast desert before entering; it was eerily quiet and deserted of life.
‘So what is this place?’ I asked, as I entered the building.
In front of me was a long narrow passage, which became darker the more you descended down. Part of me was having second thoughts about all this when Mardok pointed towards a small room to my right.
As I walked in, the room instantly lit with many white candles. I panned my vision around the burnt ochre walls that were full of scrolls stacked on wooden shelving and many Egyptian artefacts’ placed neatly on a wooden chest.
‘Come, and sit down,’ he pulled out a carved wooden chair for me, then one for himself.
I watched him as he struggled to pour some red wine into a goblet.
‘Here, let me help.’ His hands were shaking, and he smiled and apologised.
‘You have to forgive me; I am not as young as I was.’
‘So, you're Mardok? Who are you really and what am I doing here?’
‘Jyrki, have you ever wondered why in life some questions are b
etter left unanswered? Because if we knew it all, what would we strive to live for, hm? I have been here since time began, some may argue I am time, but that is irrelevant right now.’
‘What do you mean by time?’
‘When the Ancient Gods ruled Egypt, they had in their possession many gifts, magic, power, wealth beyond your imagination, but what they didn't have under all that knowledge was the wisdom to see into the future, to see the destruction that would play out for mankind, the simplest of beings.’
‘I take it you’re not human then…vampire?’
‘Me? Oh no, I was one of the Gods aides that held that power until I came to possess a new sight, I was here when your kind was created by Ramesses, and despite my poorly efforts to stop it from happening, I entrusted your father to take the Ankh as far away from Egypt as he could.’
‘Hang on, you're an Ancient prophet, but you can't do anything to stop Ryder and the Others? I mean, I still don't know who they are or whose side they are on.’
Mardok wove his hand in the air and shook his head.
‘Wait! You have to forgive me, the others work for me..., and they are not your enemy, even though it seems that way. The one who killed your family was Ryder...and to your second question, no I cannot. I am nothing more than an old man now, besides I am not able to dabble in the future, just here to oversee things.’
‘So how the hell have you survived?’
‘I am an immortal, just like you. I have to ensure the human race will not be subjected to the unnatural order of things...things my peers created. I've lived in that temple for so long, waiting for this moment I saw a very long time ago.’
‘So, the Others, what are they?’
‘Yes I wondered if you would be curious enough to ask about them.’
He paused for a moment and called out for Randulphr, but he did not appear.
‘Hm, these wolves can be very fickle creatures…’
‘I know him,’ I muttered. ‘And the Ankh, where is it?’
‘You have many questions, but first thing, the prophecy, the future I foresaw, is happening now. You must kill Ryder with the Serpent Sword; it is the only way to stop Jimmy getting hold of the Ankh. However, Jyrki, this is the important thing, you must do this before midnight, Halloween, otherwise the dead will be walking the earth, and everything the world has come to know, will be wiped. The Ankh has served you well until now, but when you go back, you must do what I have asked.’
