Crimson Knight (Crimson Series Book 0)

by K. L. O Johnson

  “No. It’s jammed.”

  “Jammed?”

  “Yeah, these doors are supposed to automatically open when the building is under attack,” David inquired.

  “Why that’s silly? What happens if Cretalians or say vampieres are chasing after random Resoncretalians, they can’t hide in here.” Staring at the door I glared.

  “Stand back,” he ordered and slipped around me. His blood red scales gleamed in darkness less so than his armour, with his hands lined up against the slit between the sliding doors he fastened his hands and pulled, “It’s a safety protocol, so if say,” he began again this time shortly under the tension of the doors, “Someone was injured during a bombing or an explosion, medics and Knights will be able to access the perimeter to ensure the safety and survival status of each person.”

  The door began to slide open and with one last pull, the doors flew into place proving more than enough room for us to enter. I was surprised, I always thought Zarlach was super strong but turns out, David was too. I took a moment to ogle him, and then turned my attention to my friend within. The person we found was Odette, her blond hair was fanned out around her, swaying lightly as if she was in the ocean, behind her was the city, there were alien jets zooming past and green fires in the distance which eventually turned yellow. “Everyone’s aware now aren’t they?”

  “Yep,” David muttered and I walked towards Odette noting the transparent but shining sphere that surrounded her as she laid with her hands over her stomach, in her idol form and in her nightie.

  “What’s happened?” I asked not recalling anyone telling me stuff about this. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing’s wrong, she’s in an induced energetic dilation or what you’ve heard also called ‘Torpor’.”

  “Yes, I recall now,” I replied more relieved now, to know nothing horrible happened to precious Odette. Torpor was a common occurrence when the body of a Resoncretalian was a risk of being in danger and wasn’t consciously aware of such dangers. It severed two purposes one: protection from external surroundings and two: internally it was to restore injured organs or the regeneration of depleted energy levels and can only be accessed in idol form. When restoration of organs occurred and the body never underwent trauma, it often shifted to a third option: to ensure the survival of the individual and this could take from five human years to three hundred it all depends on when another person of Resoncretalian power could awaken them.

  David glanced at me, “So, are you going to wake her up?”

  FOURTEEN

  Lost and Found

  I nodded. Certain, I felt the power of the vital barrier and continued closer until I felt her power wrap around me. David stood back as I knew he couldn’t get any closer. I placed my thumb on her forehead as she was positioned at average waist height and channelled my power, I heard Odette groan and I stepped back. Her body slowly began to descend to the floor then placed on the ground. A few seconds later her fingers began to twitch and her eyes woke.

  David moved and held out a hand, Odette gratefully took it as I helped her to her feet. Certain that she would feel a little disoriented and weak. Once she was on her feet she turned to me her eyes alert, “Cecelia! There was this troll he—”

  “I know.”

  “What about the others are they okay?” she asked. Gunfire rained in the distance and I noted how pale Odette had become. Her eyes trained on us and I nodded. Understanding the risk and what was required she moulded a blank expression and said. “Let’s help the others, then were hunting down that monster who took Kal.”

  “Agreed,” David and I stated in union. It took a good half an hour to debrief the others; what was next and what was happening. By the time everyone was informed and we knew what we were doing, we went in search of Bella and Marquith. The hall I went down initially was silent and lain with dead vampieres. Blood splattered the walls and smeared the floors; the lights above began to flicker with droplets of blood descending towards the ground. “This way,” David motioned and we followed.

  Before we made it the stairs that I had raced up earlier, the ground heavily shook. I fell to my knees and covered my head as several steel sections began to peel from the ceiling, dust and cement fell down before me and once the quake was over we moved down the stairs careful to stay in the middle. David was the only one in his transitioned state who held up a hand once we hit ground level, silently telling us to halt, the large silver door we stood beside was a little agape. We froze as he peered through the slit and I was convinced he heard something we didn’t. He turned back to us and whispered, “There are vampieres not too far away, you all need to transition.”

  I felt the power levels of my friends rise and I followed suit, I felt my feet and hands begin to burn not painfully but enough to know that my fleshy human skin was being replaced by my tough scaly skin. My shoulders began to feel heavy as my silver cloak sat around my shoulders. “Ready?” David asked and I grabbed his wrist.

  “What’s in the central vault?” I asked.

  “I don’t know exactly but I’m sure that’s where the Nefaliem would keep important relics or weapons,” he stated and I nodded.

  We left the stairs behind and entered the once sterling silver halls, now cracked, scratched and smeared in blood. I noted the vampieres in the distance was devouring the body of a Nefaliem Knight that had yet to disappear—he must have been slain recently. The sight sickened me and I feared I’d never get this scene out of my head. I feared I’d never get enough sleep in the future because of it. I wanted to do something—anything but I knew that the Knight was still twitching and I waited for that disappearance—his disappearance, then a green light shone throughout the room and the knight disintegrated who soon was replaced by an orb of light floating high into the air, causing the curious vampieres to eye it and like that he vanished.

  We slipped around the corner, slowly because I knew in our transitioned forms, our feet were heeled, a reminder of our heritage. In our true forms, we walked on the balls of our feet, so we had to be extra quiet with our added height. Even though, I knew all of us had training I knew we weren’t up to the level of a Silver Knight.

  Moving to the left, we headed towards the emergency exit beside the elevator. We were quiet to exit and extra careful in closing the door behind us, I heard Daphne sharply intake a short amount of air. I regarded her, concerned then I followed her gaze. The city was in ruins. Fires burned in rage, ash covered the ground, and the sky was dark and misty while vehicles were abandoned. Daphne’s finger pointed straight to where she stared. Sharply, I gasped, “Vampieres.”

  A lot of vampieres. They were huddled in the shadows of the buildings, watching us. I inched back and surveyed the sun that beamed down on us through the clouds. I silently thanked the sun as I knew they’d be ashed in seconds, my skin began to blister and bubble. I gasped in pain and felt the others do the same. We inched back towards the exit doors concealed underneath the cover. “Why is our luck backwards?”

  “Blame the demons,” Jorden spoke and I realised too he held his left arm as I did. The sun must have gotten him too. Being a Fae even he wasn’t immune to the radiation the sun of this galaxy possessed.

  “Totally,” Daphne sighed. “What I wouldn’t give right now to have angelic blood.” I heard everyone mumble in agreement then an idea planted.

  “Why not search for Bella and Marquith? We can find Kal later as long as Daphne’s willing to.”

  “Good idea,” Marcus said. “And it’s early morning we have roughly twelve human hours to find Bella and Marquith.”

  “Wait who’s Marquith again?” Jorden asked.

  “Kal’s Keeper,” Odette stated, I noticed she looked wary and I knew she was trying to find some way to console herself about Kal. In that moment, it made me realise that I wasn’t the only one who treasured Kal. So I knew without a doubt, the others would be searching for her, it kind of made me take back the words I yelled at David.

  “Don’t wor
ry about it,” David stated. I peeked up at him and watched as his jawline tensed, at the sight of the Vampieres ahead of us, I could tell they put him on edge. I spied David’s hand protectively before me and gazed at the Vampieres that stood before us, the six-point star burned into their arms provided the evidence we needed—they were changed by a Vampieruz. A pureblood Resoncretalian—someone like me, like David and like Zarlach.

  This daunting realisation made me understand, the extent of our problems, I feared it was Ivan who turned them. Giving a name to this person did take the fear out of it a bit because I knew that he was like me, a purebreed with both strengths and weaknesses. I wanted nothing more than to ensure the safety of my friends and my people but given the sight of these Vampieres now. Hungry, savage and cynical, I knew that dropping our guard would be undeniable trouble.

  The Vampieres, all five of them, began to move. I regarded the others and counted; one: Odette, two: Marcus, three: Jorden, four: Daphne, five: David and six: me. We had outnumbered them but we were more novices then the full-fledged Knights. So if they could take down full-fledged Knights I dreaded our chances. “Disgusting,” Jorden demanded, his golden eyes were locked onto the vampieres.

  “Deadly,” Odette muttered.

  “And Primitive,” Marcus stated. “When do we attack?”

  I wasn’t sure who he was asking. So I glanced at Daphne who stared at me then at David who also stared at me. “What? You mean me? Why are you asking me?” I questioned confused.

  “Simple,” David began, “You’re the next leader under Kal in the Emerald Hierarchy. Because Kal isn’t here, that job falls to you and if you and Kal were missing that job falls to Marcus and so on and so on.” I got it. That made sense in my eyes. Like what the humans would do should they lose their leader, have another as a stand in. So their actions relied on my order.

  And my order was: “Attack.”

  We launched into action. The Vampieres sprang forward almost in sync. One sharp clawed hand swiped at me, I dodged the second one which swiped at me, again. This time, I blocked before using my free fist, I smashed the Vampiere’s temple. It stumbled to the side in shock but I didn’t give it a second moment’s thought and tossed him away from me with a quick round house kick. It flew across the hall and I heard the other vampieres hiss, battling the others around me. The vampiere I fought was on its feet once again, this time it sprinted at full speed straight towards me.

  I knew I wouldn’t have time to react so instead I gathered the particles around me and channelled them to create a silver sterling broadsword, engraved in an ancient language that summoned in my hands. The vampiere lunged at me and through him my steeling blade went. The vampiere’s eyes were wide with shock. I slipped it out as slowly as I could and watched as the vampiere turned from thin silver hairs with a tight pale face and black eyes to a human looking male. His brown hair pulled through in short wavy healthy strands and flat teeth. His electric blue eyes seemed almost grateful as I regarded the sad smile on his lips.

  He seemed so pure that I forgot to note the blood sputtering from his pale lips. He fell before me, in a crumbled mess and I regarded him one last time as his convulsions stopped and his eyes stared awake at the ceiling overhead. “Come on Cecelia, we have to keep moving,” David murmured from beside me. I felt the pressure of his hand encouragingly on my shoulder.

  I nodded, “Right.” We passed the dead bodies the many vampieres that turned human. In a way, I was happy that we weren’t on Earth, those vampieres would without a doubt, cause a police hunt.

  We turned down random corridors and entered the same lobby. Creak! The sound of bending metal rang. I regarded the crystal-clear glass where I noticed Bella and Marquith were, dodging the energy balls of explosions and shrapnel that reined. I never realised it until now how talented and awesome Bella was, her and Marquith worked in sync, he was the shield she was the sword. They were paired in what I recalled—

  “Offensive-defensive yin and yang.” Marcus filled in, glancing at him, I noted the awe in his expression. I wondered if he had a crush on Bella. I felt my lips pull into a smile at the thought. I believed strongly those two would make an awesome pair. Before I could think of anymore, Marcus was quick to shove me to the ground. Loud and strong winds gusts spun around us and disappeared. I peeked from under Marcus’s arm and noted it was demon bat but not the original form of a Vampieruz but instead the original demon bat—the Vataricani. It was black and scaly, it’s large black wings fanned out as it U-turned and headed straight for us. Marcus, Jorden and the others I spotted were quick to scramble out of the way.

  Hoisting myself to my feet and ran. The Vataricani continued to chase me, its face was not like that of earth bats but instead with a horned nose and black eyes. Its teeth were as sharp as my fangs or potentially sharper, my muscles weren’t tired and I continued to pick up speed. I slipped through the building entrance and ran into what I identified as a car park. In the sun, the bat screeched and so did I. Grasping my cloak; I wrapped it around my form and crouched. Soon, I heard the loud painful screech of the Vataricani, following the weight of something above me. Using my energy, I gathered the amount I needed and warped back into the shadows of the building.

  Screeching of the screaming vampieres drove my attention ahead of me. Down dropped, a large red skinned looking monster, thick silver armour covered his thick shoulders, thighs, forearms, shins and knees. A large broadsword sat on its back. Prominently, his golden eyes stared straight at me. Anger raged.

  It screamed. Vampieres and demons, warped—the Resoncretalian and Cretalian power to teleport, pouring out from behind the monster. My ears clicked, then for a moment, a red screen was plastered over my eyes and sat snugly around my ears. I heard a voice whisper through my ears; ‘Uploading external data,’ the female voice called as I moved and dodged multiple attacks. The voice continued to run diagnostic tests. I jumped and flipped. Feeling, the ground beneath my heels shattered under the sword of the largest monster—the crimson skinned one.

  ‘Introducing SKEETs, Skymenetics, a Resoncretalian combat and survival guide,’ she said before her pale golden face popped up at the corner of my eye, out of the way to not be a bother as I continued to slip around demons and vampieres that craved for my blood. I spun high in the air, throwing out my hands, a transparent energy ball was created and I tossed it away—destroying a handful of demons and vampieres. ‘Abitroth, in bound,’ she helpfully noted.

  Glancing behind me I noticed nothing only to find him off to the side. Ducking in time, happy to know my eyes were still pretty sharp, I avoided being sliced by his sword. What next! I thought desperately as I somehow managed to move without being sliced, sure I was hit a couple of times but those were grazes and these demons and vampieres were persistent.

  Cecelia! I heard Bella’s voice tickle my mind.

  Bella?

  Where are you? she asked and I couldn’t tell her anything right now, my mind didn’t seem to have a chance at all to think let alone speak. Frustrated and annoyed, I slipped and watched as the sword of the Abitroth fell straight for me. I didn’t have any time to react, the only thing I thought of, was that this was the end. Then within an instant, the sword was blocked by another. My gasp hitched as I took in who stood before me.

  “I don’t think so,” he stated.

  “Zarlach?” I wondered, relieved to see him. His face moulded in a protective yet angry canvas. I watched as he effortlessly, unlocked the sword, spinning around he locked his arm and legs around the Abitroth and flung him thirty metres away into the distant concrete wall. Turning my gaze back to Zarlach he held an expression I never expected to see.

  “What are you doing here?” he growled. I didn’t answer, still shocked to see him here and mad. He was never mad. “Cecelia! What are you doing here?” he roared and I managed to clear my throat—he spun around and took out the vampieres and demons from behind him.

  More demons and vampieres cornered us and I wasn’t sure I’d be able
to get a word in with all this ruckus, then I reminded myself—he was Vampieruz, his hearing was sharp. “I wanted out.”

  “Out of what?” he groaned, slicing the next demon.

  “Out of the castle walls. I felt like I was going crazy.”

  “It was for your own protection,” he stated.

  “Maybe but I don’t see the point in being so protected when I experience, nothing,” I retorted taking down several vampieres of my own. We were back to back and I knew he had mine even though he’s mad.

  “It’s not about experiencing, it’s about keeping you and all the young ones alive. You know they pray on you because your young and naïve.” he growled and I flinched under his words. He was right but I knew I wasn’t going to voice it out loud. So I remained quiet. By the time the last of the vampieres and demons were dead I sat down on the floor. Not physically tired, mentally tired.

  He seemed very angry and I was convinced that this wouldn’t end well. Especially not with my parents. “We’re taking you kids home,” he retorted.

  I stood guarded, “No.” I growled.

  Zarlach held my gaze, “This isn’t up for discussion. You were in the middle of a median battle what happens when you face the radical ones? What then?”

  “Then I’d trust you won’t let me die.”

  “Trust. How can I do that when you practically took off? I knew you were going to do just this, run off.” he growled. I shrunk a little, I was well aware Zarlach was mad but I also knew he wouldn’t hurt me—he just looked scary enough to. I wanted more than just this, whatever this was between us. Not the romance, the type of relationship, it was nice to have some who knew you well enough. I knew Viktor knew me but not in the sense I’d hope it was more along the lines that he took notice because of his interest but nothing more. I couldn’t even think of him in a romantic sense not anymore.