The awakening hc-1

by Stuart Meczes

  “Don’t be a fool old man. He’s one boy,” Asmund shouted, walking forwards until he was at the base of the stairs. “Unseal the Veil, otherwise will kill everyone where they stand — including the boy — and I shall serve your soul to the Sorrow as a replacement!’

  Faru exhaled. It was a long exaggerated sigh. “I believe that puts us in somewhat of a quandary. I do however, have an alternative proposition for you Asmund.”

  The Vampire leaned forward, resting his chin on the base of his hammer. “Oh, this should be interesting. Please tell me what it is.”

  “If you let everyone go now and withdraw the SOS, I will allow your followers to live.”

  Asmund threw back his head and laughed. It was a shrill noise which defied his Viking-like appearance and made goosebumps shoot down my skin. “Sorry old friend, I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.” “Asmund I beg you to reconsider.” “Not a chance.” Faru gave a sad slow shake of his head. “Oh dear, I do so abhor violence. I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.”

  Confused, I glanced at Gabriella. She gave an almost imperceptible jerk of her head to the right. I strained to look and noticed a pile of Golems dissolving into dust.

  Wait…

  I glanced at Faru. He appeared to be growing younger by the second. Asmund worked out what was happening a second too late.

  Faru moved so fast he was practically a blur. In a flash he’d descended the stairs. He came to me first and slammed an open palm into the Bloodling’s chest, launching him high into the air. Next a knee came into the back of the Succubus subduing Gabriella. Her sword was collected and Faru spun around, lobbing off the Umbra’s head. He drove the blade into the chest of the Pixie locking down Midnight. Then the blur moved around the circle, striking with his walking staff. He swept the legs of a Bloodseeker from underneath him and stamped the base down between the Vampire’s eyes. He then used it to uppercut a Goblin. The whirling blur kept sweeping around the circle, stabbing, crushing and severing his way through the SOS. The sword that had been at my neck had only just clattered to the ground by the time Faru came full circle. He grabbed a Crimson Twin from the ground and threw it at the still airborne Bloodling. It sliced through, causing him to burst into flaming dust and came to a wobbling rest in the wall above the doors.

  He left Asmund for last. The ex-Sage barely had time to lift his hammer before Faru reached him. He grabbed the Vampire in his hands and closed his eyes. “Goodbye old friend.” A blue energy appeared between his fingers. It encased the Vampire. He screamed as his body became a skeletal x-ray and then dissolved into nothing.

  My mouth fell open in awe. Faru had dispatched everyone in the room in a matter of seconds.

  The energy had gone from the Sage. He looked like a worn, old man again. His expression was one of grief. Using his cane, he wobbled his way back up the stairs and re-joined Sage Etorre “All able bodied Guardians back outside,” shouted Gabriella. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophia appear on the balcony. Dread raked its cold fingers across my skin. Dakin had his arm locked around her waist.

  The Vampire’s robe was ripped, his bloodied face twisted and barely recognisable. A knife was pressed against the little girl’s throat.

  “Midnight!” I croaked.

  He turned to look and froze.

  “Faru!” shouted Dakin, holding against the struggling Sophia. “Listen to me! If you don’t open the Veil door, I will open her throat instead! I swear it!” Gabriella gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. Faru looked upwards, a helpless expression on his worn face. Rachel rushed in. She was covered in blood and one of her wings was missing. She looked up and saw what was happening. “Dakin, no!”

  “Shut up bitch.” Dakin pointed his free hand at Faru. “Listen to me you pathetic old man. Do as I say unless you want to be responsible for her death.” Faru gave a single nod of his head. I felt a surge of panic, even though I knew he had no choice. I only prayed he had a plan up his sleeve. “Tell your goons to stay where they are!” Dakin warned.

  Faru looked at us each in turn. “Don’t move. Any of you,” he said, holding his gaze on Midnight the longest. I looked up at my friend. His expression had become oddly calm. His enormous chest was expanding and contracting very slowly.

  Faru turned his back and began to press on the picture in various places. When he was done, he stood back and the picture began to shift, as it had done before. The staircase appeared and descended to his feet. “Faru, what are you doing?” said Sage Etorre. “I cannot allow anyone else to die,” he said in an apologetic tone. Midnight whispered down towards me. “Promise me you’ll look after her.”

  My chest tightened. “Midnight, don’t do anything stupid,” I pleaded, but knew it was too late. Already the air in the room was thickening. “I promise,” I whispered to empty space.

  He reappeared behind Dakin, reaching his arms around the Vampire in an attempt to grab him. But Dakin was too quick. He shoved Sophia forward and spun around, sinking the blade into Midnight’s sternum.

  Sophia screamed. A soul wrenching sound, that I knew would stay with me forever. Midnight blinked and stared down at the wound. Purple smoke rolled up from around the handle.

  “Coated blade,” hissed Dakin. “I told you not to try anything!” He yanked the blade back out and started for Sophia again.

  Midnight sank to his knees. The thump echoed around the hall. We all charged forwards. Rachel used her remaining wing to aid her jump. She made it to the edge of the balcony, grabbed Dakin and before he could react, pulled him over the railings. He hit the ground hard, but her wing slowed her fall. As they thrashed about, I saw her pull out a wooden stake. The last look on Dakin’s face was one of surprise as she plunged it into his throat with a scream. She stood up as the fire burned. We crowded around Midnight. Purple ooze was dripping from his lips. Sophia was crying. “Help him please,” she begged, looking at me. “Gabriella, give me your hand!”

  She linked her fingers with mine and I placed my free hand on his chest. The boom of energy rolled my arm and Midnight's body convulsed as if my hand were an electric pad. Delagio placed his fingers at his friend’s neck. “It’s not working!” he yelled, “try again!” I placed my hand on his chest again and once more the rolling boom of electricity surged into his body.

  “No, no, no!” shouted Delagio. “Why isn’t this working?” He ripped open Midnight’s shirt and we all saw why. The knife had entered directly into his heart. Where it had continued to beat, the poison had spread through his arteries into other parts of his body. His chest was a map of grim purple lines. The fingers of the infection had started to creep up the side of his neck. I tried to place my hand on the wound again, but Midnight caught my wrist. He shook his head. “It’s not gonna work mate,” he croaked. “I have to try!” I said, tears forming in my eyes. “No ya don’t. Listen, do me a favour guys, give me moment with Sophia.” I looked over at Gabriella, tears were streaming down her face, but she nodded. Together we all stood up and walked away.

  Sophia moved closer, trying to wrap her arms around her Midnight. They didn’t even reach the ends of his waist. Even though we’d moved to the other end of the balcony, I could still hear every word and it broke my heart. “Hey pint size,” he croaked. “Listen, I’ve got to go away now.” “No stay with me…please,” she wept, nestling her head into his neck. “I wish I could sweetie. I really do. But sometimes things don’t go that way.” “But what do I do?” she sobbed. “I don’t know what to do.” “I want you to go and live with the Coven. They’ll keep you safe.”

  “But I don’t want to.” “I know, but you have to. Will you do that for me?” “Okay,” she sniffed.

  “Good girl.” His voice cracked. “Listen, you see Alex over there? He’s a good guy. I trust him and I know he’s going to make sure you’re cared for. And you know that Ella loves you to bits too.”

  Sophia nodded and looked up at me. Gabriella had pressed her head against my shoulder. Together we nodded back at her and I t
ried to smile, but couldn’t manage it. “I’ve got to go and see my other girls now,” he said with tears in his eyes. “But does that mean you’ll forget about me?” “Are you kiddin’, how could I forget about you? Tell you what, I’ll make you a deal. Are you listenin?” Sophia nodded and lay her head down on Midnight’s shoulder. He pressed his cheek against hers.

  “Okay. Well I want you to live your life and be happy. And I promise that when it’s your time, we’ll be waiting for you. Me, you, Cass and Joy. We’ll all be one big family. How does that sound?” “You promise?” He raised three fingers. “Chosen’s honour.” Sophia closed her little hand around his. He wrapped his arms around her as his eyes closed. “I love you kid,” he whispered. “I love you Dad.” Midnight died with a smile on his face.

  32

  The harsh wind whipped at my face. We were sitting on little white chairs that had been set up in an expansive graveyard area behind the Mansion. A podium had been positioned at the front. As the day had progressed, people had come up to it, recounting fond memories of their friends and fellow Guardians who had died in battle. A sombre silence had drifted through the crowd, made more evident by the whistling of the cold wind. The Red Storm still hung overhead, a reminder that as long as the Hades and The Sorrow lived, there could never be peace.

  Faru was leaning on his cane at the back. His face was drawn with a deep unhappiness that looked like it would never shift. He wasn’t the only one. There was an underscore of sniffles from around us and some were openly weeping. The sadness curled inside my stomach like a disease, threatening to eat its way through me. Beyond that, I had a bad feeling I just couldn’t shake. It had been with me the moment I’d woken in the morning and stayed with me right through the afternoon. The night before, I’d slept badly, once again dreaming of The Sorrow. This time however, it was a repeat of the first dream, moment for moment. I was confused as to what it could mean.

  Next to me, Gabriella’s arms encircled Sophia, who was sitting on her lap. Midnight’s broach dangled from the girl’s neck. She was staring numbly forward, clutching a piece of paper in her hand. Sophia had been inconsolable since the moment Midnight died. No one had been able to coax a single word from her. She refused to eat. As much as it hurt us to see her that way, we knew that only time would heal her wounds. Gabriella looked over at me and offered a weak smile.

  The part came that I’d been dreading the most. The lowering of Midnight’s casket.

  Gabriella stood up along with Sophia and together they walked hand in hand over to the podium. Gabriella cleared her throat and leaned into the microphone.

  “Midnight was a Chosen, Guardian and a teammate. But beyond that he was a friend. Most people would look at him and see a thug — someone to be feared. But those who knew him knew differently. We were fortunate enough to know the person inside. We knew Michael. The man who had been a wonderful husband and father until his family was cruelly taken away from him. The man who became a parent all over again, for Sophia. Midnight didn’t deserve to die. But as they say, the good ones always go first. All I can hope is that if there is a God, he knows that that man deserves an eternity of peace. Midnight, you will be missed.” Streaks of tears flowed down her face. She moved away from the microphone and placed a chair down, so that Sophia could stand on it. Then she took the piece of paper from the little girl and read it, whilst Sophia stared down at the locket in her hands.

  “Sophia wanted me to read this for her,” said Gabriella in an unsteady voice. “I can barely remember my Mother. To be honest, I try not to. What I do remember is Midnight. To me, he was my Dad. And now he’s gone and it hurts so much.”

  I had to swallow a lump in my throat. Next to me, Delagio had a hand covering his eyes. His body was shaking. Rachel’s face was one of stone. She looked broken — like her emotions had been sucked away by the previous night’s events.

  “Midnight, I don’t know if you can hear me up there, but I wanted to play something for you. Hopefully you’ll be with the rest of your family and you can all listen together. I miss you.” From somewhere around us, speakers crackled and then Eva Cassidy’s Songbird began to play. The haunting melody and beautiful words filled the silence. I struggled against the tears. Sophia began to cry and Gabriella pulled her into her arms. I felt sick. This shouldn’t have happened. At that moment I despised Hades more than I could ever have described.

  As I sat there, listening to the music fade away, it suddenly dawned on me what it was that was bothering me so much about my dream. I needed to speak to Faru as soon as possible.

  By the time the ceremonies had finished, the afternoon was fading into twilight. Faru had finished with a moving speech about remembering those who had fallen, but also not forgetting what we had prevented from happening. How we needed to stand united and carry on. It was hard, but he was right. We’d lost so many — we’d lost Midnight. But Gabriella was still alive, as was Sophia, Delagio and Rachel. I was still alive. The Sorrow hadn’t been allowed to pass through the Veil. There was at least that to hold onto.

  As everyone walked back to the base, I joined Faru. He was walking slowly, arms folded behind his back. There were no Golems around and he looked younger and healthier, but still he wore his melancholic expression like a mask.

  “A terrible few days,” he mused as I fell into step with him. “But we must remain strong.” It seemed as if he were talking to himself as much as me.

  “I know sir…we will. Sage Faru, I dreamt about The Sorrow again last night. The one where I’m in the graveyard.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Interesting.”

  “Yeah, but it wasn’t quite the same. It didn’t feel like I was being tracked. More like I was dreaming it for another reason. I mean why that graveyard? And that derelict mansion — surely they must all mean something?”

  He pondered the question for a moment. “That has actually been puzzling me too. The locations of your dreams have been very specific.”

  “So it might mean something?”

  “Perhaps. Perhaps not. I will re-visit them. If I find anything of interest, I shall send someone to investigate. Would that be acceptable?”

  “That would be great, thank you.”

  He gave a slow nod. “You are welcome. Now go and join the others. You will need each other to help stay strong.”

  I saluted him and ran off towards Rachel and Delagio, who were walking with their arms wrapped around one another — as if one would collapse without the other.

  “Hold still,” laughed Mum, trying to wrap the bowtie around itself. She kept glancing at the instructions lying on the table. “These things are impossible.”

  I was standing in the lounge, wearing the tuxedo I’d rented for the Christmas Ball. It was a week after the funeral and things finally seemed to be getting back to ‘normal’.

  The past week had been hard, but uneventful. The bodies of the Soldiers of Sorrow who had died in battle had been buried in a specially created lot, far away from the Guardian graveyard. Controversially, a stone column had been erected, with each of their names on, as a symbol of honour. Those who had survived were deported permanently back to Pandemonia. Faru had refused outright for there to be any more death. Sophia was taken to live with the Coven. She had still refused to speak, but at least had started to eat a few small meals. Gabriella and I had visited her every day. She would always be sat in the same position on her bed, staring into space, whilst she fiddled with the remaining ear of the bunny that Tommy had given her.

  The Manticore had died in battle. Luckily the cubs were old enough to be able to survive without her. Her body had been taken to the Sanctuary, wrapped in strange multi-coloured bandages, and placed near the cubs. They had sniffed their dead mother and seemed somehow to understand. They’d made heart wrenching mewing sounds and lay with the body around the clock. Somehow, a few days later all that had remained was a bundle of bandages.

  All of the Unicorns had survived the battle, but one of the mares had lost her
horn, which meant that she died later in the week. Isiodore had been badly injured, but was being treated and — I was relieved to find out — was expected to make a full recovery.

  The Red Storm hadn’t subsided, but it was starting to roll away from the base, which suggested that The Sorrow was acting on Faru’s prediction of moving to another section of the Veil. I just prayed they could work out which one it would be in time to seal it. The Red Storm had made Chapter Hill famous. There was no way that the HASEA or the government could hide something that large. Masses of meteorologists and other weather analysts had flocked from all over the world — armed with ten year old readings from a similar incident in Italy — to try and analyse the cause. Obviously, none had worked it out, so had come up with all kinds of bizarre theories, most of which involved global warming. Religious zealots had come in droves, carrying signs with the words Armageddon and Death is Coming scribbled on them. They were closer to the truth.

  Mikey had been brought to the Warren the first morning after the battle, so that Scarlett could attend the funeral. I had been so relieved to see him that I’d pulled him into a spinning hug. He’d walked around the base with his mouth in a permanent O.

  Mum and a thinner John had returned home that same evening, faces filled with confusion at the menacing sky hovering over their hometown. For the first few days after their return, everything had been okay. Mikey and I were getting on so well, now that he was a part of my new world, that it seemed to have the effect of drawing us all together. Even John had started to be nice — for a short while.

  Then he reverted back to dickhead mode.