Within The Shadows

by Julieanne Lynch

  Antoine shouted at me again, but I could not hear what he said. I was more concerned about Leonid. I moved back towards the door. Bylun tried to stop me, and failed. I moved closer, and was instantly hit with the smell of blood. It did not smell good. I could sense so much death around me, and something told me I was walking back into a trap. Even so, I was determined to find out what was going on.

  I could make out Leonid as he fought three vampires who all resembled Afanas. Their eyes glowed red in the darkened tunnel. They screeched and hissed as they drew their claws out, cutting and slicing at Leonid who seemed invincible. He towered over them, ripping them in half.

  From behind him came another two with weapons in their hands. One had what looked like a pickaxe, while the other held a spear as they attacked Leonid. Antoine came charging at them, biting clean through the neck of one of them as his axe fell to the ground. I could hear his life hiss out of him as he choked on his own blood.

  Leonid moved with a speed I found hard to believe was possible. He seemed so powerful and in control of the situation that I did not understand what was happening when I saw the spear appear through his chest. He stopped moving, and looked down at the head of the spear drenched in blood. Looking back at me, his eyes filled with bloody tears, and silently, he fell to the ground.

  Laughing and screaming, the rogue vampire ran back down the dark tunnel. Red, blazing eyes met mine as I walked in further. His mouth dripped with blood.

  “Don’t!” Antoine grabbed hold of my wrist.

  Confused, I pushed past him, and went further down into the tunnel, making my way over to Leonid. The smell intensified as I came closer him

  “Leo . . .” I began, my voice shaking.

  “Giselle, please, don’t come any closer,” he said, his breathing laboured.

  “No. No, Leonid . . .” I cried as I approached him as he lay upon the wet ground.

  His hand covered his chest, and I could clearly see the line of crimson spreading rapidly through his fingers. His neck had been wounded, and the blood flowed beneath him.

  Rushing to his side, I rubbed his face as our eyes clashed. He looked at me so lovingly. The memory of the man I had first met died, and was replaced by the memories of the man who adored and loved me. Our union was not ideal, but somehow, through all the chaos, I had found my broken heart mended. He had, in his own way, made me fall in love with him, and now, I was not ready to let go of that.

  “You’re not going anywhere. Do you hear me?” I shouted through sobs.

  He tried to speak, but he was losing too much blood. “Shush, don’t talk. Save your strength,” I whispered as I put my hand over his.

  Antoine stood behind us. He lit up the area, and it was then I saw the corpses lying around us. More than twenty vampires lay dead, their heads severed from their bodies. I looked back at Antoine who stood nearby, looking sad.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “There were too many. He could only take on so many. You saw the one who got away.”

  “What are they?”

  “The young of the Nelapsi. They sent their young to kill him. Without him by your side, you are defenceless. He’s fatally wounded, Giselle. There is no way to save him.”

  “But we’ve got to try!” I cried.

  “It would be pointless,” Antoine said as he tried to reason with me.

  My skin crawled yet again as my stomach turned. Leonid gasped, and reached out his hand towards my face. I did not want to believe that I was about to lose him just when I had found him. There had to be a way to save him.

  “I cannot remember a time . . . when . . .” he struggled. “When I felt whole, like I do now. Giselle, I have never loved anyone the way I love you.” He paused as he tried to regain his breath.

  “Don’t . . . please . . . please . . .” I begged.

  “You . . . You have no idea how special you are.” He coughed up blood. “I know that you could never love me the way I love you, but promise me this. Do not let them near the child, and learn to love another.”

  “I do . . . I do love you, you stupid man. Please . . . don’t go!” I sobbed, holding his hand to my face. Afraid to let go, I tightened my grip.

  Slowly, his hand loosened its hold on my face. His eyes became vacant, and held their gaze on me. I watched him, holding my breath as his breathing became shallow. With one last kiss upon his lips, he stopped breathing altogether. I cried as I threw myself onto him.

  “You promised! You promised you wouldn’t leave me! Please, just . . . just stay. Stay with me, please, Leonid. Don’t leave me!” I broke down, crying over his still body.

  Antoine placed his hands on my shoulder, and tried to lift me off of Leonid. “He’s gone, Giselle. He’s dead.”

  I sat beside the still, lifeless body of the only man who was willing to die for me. My heart ached for him, and as I willed him to live on, I knew deep down inside that he was never coming back. Perhaps, in time, that would be something I would learn to accept, but right there and then, I wanted to die with him.

  I did not have the fight or the courage to carry on without him. Perhaps it was selfish, but to have been killed along with him felt as though it would have been better than to grieve over the loss of someone so special.

  Antoine knelt down beside me, and tried to persuade me to move from Leonid’s side, but nothing was going to make me leave him there. I wanted to take his body with me. I wanted to give him a proper send off even he would have been proud of.

  “Sweet, sweet, Princess . . . Please, we must go.”

  “No!” I shouted. “I can’t leave him here. I won’t!”

  “But they’ll be back. They will come down here, and when they find you . . . Well, let’s just say you will never see daylight again.”

  “Antoine, please! Look at him. We can’t leave him like this. Surely, we can do something? Bylun! He can do his . . . you know, thingy. At least, that way we can bury him or whatever you do when a vampire dies.”

  “I’m not sure Bylun would be able to do it,” Antoine said softly.

  “Please, Antoine. At least try!” I begged.

  Antoine got up from behind me, and walked to the doorway where Bylun stood waiting sombrely. The pair of them spoke together quietly. I was unable to make out what they were saying. Finally, Bylun nodded, and Antoine returned to my side.

  “Giselle! It is time. With Bylun’s help, we will bring the body of His Highness with us.”

  I was unable to speak. Instead, my sobs echoed through the darkness as Antoine lifted Leonid into his arms, and carried him out of the darkness, and into the light. Bylun waited for me at the doorway, and I brokenheartedly walked towards him. As he took me by the hand, I felt his power surge into me. Even though it was brief, it gave me enough energy to carry on.

  Outside, the bright light of the sun shone down on us as we made our way from the tunnel. Antoine laid Leonid on the soft mossy grass. Red, pink, blue, yellow, and purple flowers were strewn across the meadow as though an ocean wave had tossed them there, but it was Leonid’s blood that tarnished the beautiful valley around us.

  The alpine meadow teeming with wild flowers no longer appealed to me. They now reminded me of death. When I knelt down beside him, Bylun recited something, and with one stroke of his staff against the ground, a ball of blazing light surrounded us. I felt as if we were floating through the air. Everything became a blur.

  My body seemed to have disintegrated into tiny particles. Warmth enveloped me as I spun in the air. Shimmering light cascaded all around me, like nothing I had ever seen or experienced before. I felt completely at peace, even though it lasted only seconds.

  With a sudden jerk, I was whole again. I was close to Leonid’s body, only now my surroundings were very different. Leonid lay on a stone table in the centre of a small room. All around us, white symbols were painted on the walls, and candles burned brightly in each corner. I looked around looking for a door, and found nothing.

  Three more men appe
ared out of nowhere, each one resembling Bylun, but different in his own way. The smallest of the three had a shorter white beard, and carried a small wooden box in his hands. The next man had long grey hair, and in his hand, he held a large, brown leather bound book. The last of them stood closest to Bylun. Although they seemed the same, this man had one black eye that looked like a marble.

  Each one took a place at the corner of the table. Bylun had a grim look on his face. As he began to speak, my feet gave way, and I found myself lying on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. Everything I loved or cared about was being taken from me, and there was nothing I could do to change that.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  THE COLD REALISATION began to hit me, and I was petrified at the thought that I would never see Leonid again. I was not ready to let go. I did not want to. Antoine, as usual, tended to me, and helped me to my feet. I stood at the wall, and pressed my back up against the coldness.

  Antoine did not leave my side for a moment.

  “Take this man. Take him now to face the other world. By the earth, wind, fire, and rain, send him on his way. Remember him. Take him, embrace him, and release him from his binds,” Bylun recited as he moved round the table, holding incense in his hand, and shaking it over Leonid’s body.

  The smell burned the back of my nose as the increasing smoke settled on Leonid. The three men began to undress him. I realised what was happening, and ran over to them, shouting.

  “Get away from him! Do not touch him again.”

  “Giselle, we must prepare the body for burial,” Bylun said gently.

  “No! Leave him as he is.”

  “We cannot send him into the other world unless he has been cleansed. Surely, you can understand that much. His Goddess will not accept him unless it is done.”

  I looked over my shoulder at Antoine, who remained settled against the wall. “He’s right, but if you believe he can pass on without this, then so be it.” He shrugged his shoulders.

  “I . . . I can’t watch this.” I looked away as I walked away, and faced the wall. “Take me from here, please!” I begged.

  “Close your eyes,” Antoine instructed.

  I looked at him, confused. “What?”

  “Just do it.”

  I closed my eyes tightly, and tried to rid my mind of all the pain and anguish that continued to build up. I felt Antoine’s hand in mine, and feeling a sudden rush of heat, I slowly opened my eyes. I saw that we were no longer in the room, but on the top of what looked like a turret on the tower of a castle. Wind blew my braid loose, and as I looked over the edge, I saw waves crashing hard against the rocks below.

  I looked out at the vast horizon, and saw that there was no other land around us. It was as if we were the only people that existed here. It was an amazing sight, and my heart skipped a beat as I watched the waves violently burst their froth over the pointed and rugged rocks that sat beneath the ivory stone building.

  “Why does this keep happening to me? It’s so unfair!” I prodded as I leaned further over the edge of the turret, imagining what it would feel like to fall into the waves below.

  “I wish I had the answers you seek, but I’m afraid I’m as ignorant as you. Maybe it’s the Goddess’s way of testing you.”

  “Antoine, how am I meant to do this without him? He saved me from them more than once, and now I have no one. I am totally alone again.”

  “You seem to have overlooked one thing.”

  “Yeah, what’s that?” I asked.

  “Me! You have me, Giselle. I am not going anywhere.”

  His voice was so soft. I knew he meant what he said, although I did not believe him. I knew Atarah and Alex would somehow eventually get to him, and I did not want to be responsible for his death as well.

  “Antoine, I think it would be better if you were to . . . I don’t know – forget about me. I know they’ll try to get to me through you, and I can’t have that on my conscience. If I’m to have this baby, then I’ll do it alone.” I walked away from him.

  “Sorry you feel that way, but the way I see it, you don’t have much of a choice in the matter. I’m staying, so get used to having me and my rugged good looks around.”

  Sometimes, he infuriated me to the point were I wanted to punch the crap out of him. Other times, I wanted to hug him. He had a funny way of showing it, but I was pretty sure he cared about me.

  “But what happens if they come? Leo . . .” My voice broke. “He thought he could protect me, and look what happened to him.”

  “Leonid was blindsided by his love for you. He underestimated Atarah.”

  “He didn’t know she’d send the Nelapsi after me?”

  “Of course, he did. He just didn’t expect so many of their young in the tunnel. He fought like a true warrior. Even as he died, he was relentless. Now, stop blaming yourself, and think of the one person we all need to protect. Your unborn child needs nourishment and sustenance. Our standing here debating who we should blame for Leonid’s death will not accomplish anything.”

  “But . . .”

  He cut me off. “Take my hand,” he commanded. “It is time.”

  And like a child, I held on tight.

  * * *

  The fire blazed as it spat bright colours of orange and yellow out amongst the burning embers. Its heat radiated the area around us. I watched Leonid’s body burning, and felt a piece of my heart dying as he slowly perished under the tremendous heat. I watched in silence, unable to cry. My sudden loss of emotions came as relief to me. I felt numb, and accepted that I would feel like this for some time.

  Bylun stood close to the other three lesser gods as they, too, looked on earnestly. I saw grief in their eyes, and this was something I thought would never be possible. Considering what Leonid had been, it was hard to imagine a source of goodness feeling anything other than contempt for a vampire.

  Leonid’s death had clearly moved them, just as it had affected Antoine. He stood back on his own. His eyes glazed over, and through the reflection of the flames in his eyes, I saw tears. I knew they had been close, but I had not known enough about their relationship to make any kind of presumptions. I was moved by his demeanour, and I knew that he, too, had been changed by what was happening.

  Slowly, the fire consumed what was left of Leonid. He was now nothing more than ash in the late evening sun. Moments later, I was left alone as Bylun and Atone retreated back inside the medieval looking castle. Walking up to the remains of the fire, I watched as a gentle breeze carried the ash into the air, spreading it out across the water below.

  From inside me, I could feel anger swell. I could not understand why this was happening to me. I had always thought I was a good person. I had never done any wrong to anyone. Yet in such a short period of time, my life had fallen apart.

  “Why me? Why couldn’t you have chosen somebody else?” I shouted towards the sky as the sun began to set.

  From out of nowhere, a white light appeared before me, hovering in the air. It hurt my eyes to look at it, but through my fingers, I could make out the silhouette of a man. He drifted closer to me, and became more and more recognizable.

  “How?” I asked as I began to shake.

  “Do not be frightened. I have a message for you from the Goddess,” he said.

  I shook my head in disbelief at what I was seeing. “No! I am seriously out of it right now. This cannot be happening!”

  “It can, and it is. Giselle, look at me,” he beseeched.

  I stared hard at my feet, trying my best to refuse to believe what I was seeing.

  “Very well, then. I come with news of the unborn.”

  Now I looked up at him. His face was exactly the same. He was how I would always remember him, strong, beautiful, and completely in love with me.

  “What about the baby?” I asked.

  “Your child is destined for great things, but, as with all journeys, yours has only just begun. You have many hurdles to cross, and given time, you will learn to accept your fate. Do
not trust those who insist that they have your best interests at heart, for it is they who will push the dagger in deeper.”

  He began to fade into the evening sky, and my heart started to crumble. I felt as though I was losing him all over again.

  “Leonid!” I yelled his name. “Please . . . don’t go!” My voice was failing me, and just when I thought I’d heard the last of him, his voice came to me through a gust of wind.

  “Giselle, you will learn to love again. Trust your heart as you did me. Farewell, my love.”

  And then he was gone.

  I gripped the stone wall tightly, and anxiously waited for him to return, but he never did. Inside, I fell to pieces as I began to realise that I would never ever see Leonid again. Instead of crying like any normal person, I roared out loud, screaming obscenities at the sky. I was seriously pissed off, and I had just about enough of having my heart broken.

  In such a short time, I had been turned into some new breed of vampire, married, knocked up, found out my mother was seriously ill, kidnapped by creatures of the shadow world, slept with my father-in-law, and just when I thought I loved him, he was taken from me. It was quite a heavy load to bear, and I had just about had my gut full.

  Pacing like a mad woman, I wanted to make Atarah and Alex pay for what they had done to me. I wanted to see them suffer the same pain I had endured. The only way I knew of involved me returning to Armenia, and taking action myself.

  Antoine would be pretty pissed, but I did not see any other way. I waited until the sun had disappeared from the sky, and watched the dark clouds consume the land around me. The only noise I heard was from the surf lapping against the overhanging rocks below.

  “I think you ought to retire,” a voice said from behind me.

  “Nah, I’ve too much on my mind,” I replied.

  “Sweet Princess, we both know you have experienced a little too much. I suggest you take some much needed rest.”