The Surien Series Blood Guardian

by Mindy Majors

  When they entered the suite on the 20th floor, they relieved the guards of their duty and sent them on their way.

  The living room was a large, open area, with two large cages on either side of the room. Vaiden was in the one to the left, and Farkas was to the right. Daire decided to start with Farkas.

  “Where is the dagger, Farkas?” Daire demanded.

  “Fuck off, Daire, I'm not telling you anything.”

  “I miss the good old days, when we tortured the bad guys for information,” Lucien said, with an evil grin.

  “Too bad your powers don't work through these bars any more than mine do, lap dog.”

  “Did he just call me a dog?” Lucien was far too amused to be offended.

  “You're all lap dogs, Athena's little bitches,” Farkas sneered.

  “Well, let's just call Athena down here, and we'll see who the little bitch is,” Jaysien smirked.

  That threat seemed to be the only thing that could wipe the nasty little sneer from Farkas’ face, but it still didn't make him give up the location of the dagger.

  “I'll only ask you one more time Farkas,” Daire warned, “where is the dagger?”

  “I don't have it.”

  “Then who does?” Jareth was growing impatient with this little cat and mouse game.

  Farkas didn't answer, he just kept pacing in his cage.

  “I bet Athena knows,” Jaysien said, taunting him.

  “Alright! Alright, Vaiden has it,” Farkas finally confessed.

  “We figured that out already, where is he hiding it?” Lucien demanded.

  “I swear, I don't know,” Farkas answered.

  “How is the interrogation going?” Dacian asked, as he stepped off the private elevator into the large living room.

  “This one says Vaiden has the dagger, but he doesn't know where he's hiding it,” Daire replied.

  “I think you should take over, while we interrogate the other one,” Jaysien suggested.

  “Let's do this,” Dacian agreed, as the others walked across the room to question Vaiden.

  “Where is the dagger, Vaiden?” Daire asked.

  “I don't have it,” was his only reply.

  “That's funny, because Farkas says you do.”

  “He is mistaken.”

  “No, he is telling the truth; they both are,” Dacian said as he approached Vaiden's silver cage, eying him suspiciously.

  “Farkas says Vaiden has it, but he says he doesn't; they can't both be telling the truth,” Jareth argued.

  “Vaiden does have the dagger, I have no doubt about that. But this isn't Vaiden.”

  “This is a great party, I wish Symarah would have stayed. Do you think we should go home and check on her?” Kassie asked.

  “No, I'm sure she's fine. She and Conner are probably halfway home by now,” Duncan assured her.

  “You're right, I know you're right; I just worry about her ya know, she's my best friend.”

  “I know you do love, and that's what makes you such a great friend, but I think she just needs to rest right now. She had a really rough day and I think a bubble bath and a soft warm bed are just exactly what she needs.”

  “Kassie, hi, it's great to see you again; I'm glad you could make it.”

  “Hey, Julia. It's great to see you too. This is Duncan. Duncan, this is Symarah's publisher, Julia,” Kassie introduced them, as they shook hands.

  “Speaking of Symarah, do you know where she is? I've been looking for her.”

  “She left a few minutes ago. She was really tired, you know how she gets when she drinks champagne. She had the driver take her home.”

  “She has a driver? I think we might be paying her too much,” Julia joked.

  “No, it's the driver that you always provide for her, every time she has a book release party, or a premiere party,” Kassie reminded her.

  “We've never provided her with a driver, we've never provided anyone with a driver,” Julia shook her head.

  “Oh my God, it's ….” Kassie said, as a terrified look spread across her face.

  “Vaiden!” Duncan finished her sentence.

  “Very impressive. You must be Dacian.”

  “And you must be Allias.”

  The second Dacian said his name, the man's appearance began to change.

  “Allias has spent centuries perfecting his ability to shape shift,” Dacian explained.

  “No one does it better; I could fool your own mother. I've never been found out,” Allias bragged.

  “Until now. How did you know?” Lucien asked.

  “It's just one of his many skills. Don't bother asking how he does it, he'll never reveal his secrets; not even to his own brother,” Jaysien groused.

  “If that's not Vaiden, then that means he's still out there and Symarah isn't safe; I have to go to her,” Daire said. As he headed for the door, though, Kassie and Duncan came bursting through it, yelling that Vaiden was still out there.

  “We know,” Daire told them, “we have to go find her.

  “You're too late, surien. He's already taken her,” Farkas grinned.

  “Where, where has he taken her?” Kassie demanded.

  “Beyond the sea of demons am I, below the earth and above the sky,” Farkas began reciting the riddle.

  “You tell me where she is, or I'll rip your fucking head off, with my bare hands,” Daire growled, as he rushed the cage, and grabbed the silver bars.

  “I love the smell of burning lap dog in the evening,” Farkas chuckled, as the smoke rose from Daire's hands.

  “You're no good to her if you’re injured,” Dacian pulled him away from the cage.

  “See, that's the thing about these little cages of yours, my powers may not be able to get out, but yours can't get in either.”

  “No, but mine sure as hell can,” Kassie said, as she began chanting. “Ignis sine morte, sine urente dolore. Ignis sine morte, sine urente dolore.” Fire shot out of her hands, and through the bars of the steel cage, engulfing Farkas in flames. Although he seemed to be in a great deal of pain, his flesh didn't seem to be burning at all. She put her hands down to her sides and the flames disappeared. “Where is she?”

  “I swear, I don't know...”

  “Ignis sine morte, sine.....”

  “No, I'll tell you what I know. Please don't set me on fire again,” Farkas begged.

  “I'm listening,” Kassie said.

  “I know he has her in a hell realm, but I really don't know where it is,” Farkas told her.

  “He's telling the truth,” Dacian said. “The only way to find her is to solve the riddle.”

  “What about Conner, he was with her when they left,” Kassie turned on Farkas again.

  “He wouldn't have taken him, but he didn't have enough time to kill him, so you can probably save him, if you hurry,” Farkas offered.

  “I'll go, I've already read the riddle a hundred times, and I have no idea what it means,” Jareth said.

  “Kassie and I are coming with you,” Duncan informed him, as they all headed for the elevator.

  “I'll get Natalia, she's great with riddles,” Lucien said as he followed them out.

  They gathered around a table in the middle of the room. Daire placed the riddle in the center of the table and read it out loud.

  “Beyond the sea of demons am I, below the earth and above the sky. Heed these words if you so wish to seek me out if you dare try. Once you see clearly what cannot be, then you will know what you once did not see. Be one with yourself, only then are you able to save truest love from thine dread enemy.”

  “We know that he has a hell realm, sealed with blood magic. Only Vaiden, Symarah, and I can enter. What we don't know is what object he used to enter the portal, and where it is located.”

  “So, the lines we need to decipher are - Beyond the sea of demons am I, Once you see clearly what cannot be, then you will know what you once did not see, and Be one with yourself,” Dacian pointed out.

  “Wait, Be o
ne with yourself,” Jaysien recited the line; “it's a mirror, the portal is a mirror. Remember earlier, when I was looking in the mirror, and you asked if I would like to be alone with myself? You have to step through the mirror, causing your physical self and the mirror image of yourself to become one.”

  “Genius, big brother, total genius,” Dacian praised.

  “Who's a genius?” Lucien asked, as he and his wife stepped off the elevator.

  “My brother is a genius, he just figured out what the portal is, now all we have to do is figure out where it is,” Dacian explained.

  “Great, what's left then?” Lucien asked.

  “All that's left is, Beyond the sea of demons am I, and Once you see clearly what cannot be, then you will know what you once did not see,” Jaysien offered.

  Lucien took the piece of paper containing the riddle, turned it over, and wrote something in another language on the back.

  “What are you doing?” Daire questioned.

  “I'm translating; Natalia only speaks Spanish,” Lucien replied.

  “Más allá del mar de los demonios soy yo,” Natalia read the first line.

  “Did she say Del Mar?” Daire interrupted.

  “Yes, del mar de los demonios means the sea of demons,” Lucien explained.

  “The house in Del Mar, I should have known. There is an old abandoned house in Delmar that Vaiden has been using as his headquarters and in his throne room there is a mirror that takes up an entire wall,” Daire explained.

  “Well, I guess we know who the real genius is, don't we?” Lucien said, as he proudly kissed Natalia on the cheek.

  “Dacian, I need you to help Duncan find his brother; take Lucien and Jaysien with you,” Daire said, as he headed for the elevators.

  “Jaysien and Lucien can handle that, I'm going with you.”

  “There's no reason for you to go, only I can get in,” Daire reminded him.

  “I will wait just outside the portal, in case he tries to flee. Besides, you're not thinking straight right now.”

  “The hell I'm not, I'm going to finish this once and for all,” Daire said, as he started toward the elevators again.

  “Wait,” Dacian grabbed his arm.

  “No, this ends tonight, Vaiden dies tonight,” Daire growled, as he wrenched his arm from Dacian's grasp.

  “Daire!” Dacian said his name with such force that the windows actually rattled.

  “What!” Daire said, just as forcefully.

  “It's faster to flash yourself there,” Dacian answered, in a much softer tone. Dacian waved his hand, and the two men immediately disappeared.

  CHAPTER 15

  “Do you believe in reincarnation Symarah?” Vaiden asked, as he slowly circled her.

  The chair he had bound her to bore a striking resemblance to an old electric chair. Her arms were tied behind her back, her legs tied to the legs of the chair. The ropes were so tight around her wrists and ankles that she was beginning to lose feeling in her hands and feet.

  “I believe in karma,” Symarah replied with a stubborn smirk, “and I can't wait till yours catches up to you. You'll probably come back as a dung beetle.”

  “The soul of a demmic is impure, evil,” he explained with a wicked grin. “You cannot be reincarnated if your soul is evil. Even an immortal being cannot survive death without a pure soul, no one can. Do you know what that means?”

  “Yes, it means that once Daire kills you, and he will kill you, I will never have to listen to one of your boring, arrogant, self-absorbed rants again.”

  “Wrong!” Vaiden growled at her. “It means that once I've destroyed your soul and killed you, you will never be reincarnated again. You will cease to exist, and I will finally be able to kill Daire.”

  “If you think killing me is going to weaken him, you are even more delusional than I thought. It's just going to piss him off and make him more determined to destroy you.”

  “Do you know what this is, princess?” Vaiden said, as he held the scalphen dehiette up in front of her.

  “It's an Atlantean dagger forged by Kleito's parents; they used it to kill themselves because they couldn't bear to see their daughter with Poseidon,” Symarah said, sounding as if she were bored.

  “Typical human. You think you have all the answers, but do you have any idea what it does? Before Poseidon's curse, we were indestructible. No one could kill an Atlantean god, not even Zeus himself. How could such a small blade accomplish something even the Greek gods could not? You see, that is why no one believed the rumors. Everyone just assumed that it was not possible to kill an indestructible god, but Kleito's parents knew better. They had paid a visit to the fates, to see if there was any way to stop the union between Poseidon and their daughter. The answer was no. When Euenor and his wife, Leukippe, learned that there was no way to stop Poseidon from marrying their daughter, they were heartbroken. It was bad enough to know that they could not save their beloved Atlantis, but the thought of having to stand by and watch Poseidon ruin their daughter's life was more than they could bear. They begged Atropos to cut their life thread and let them die. She coldly told them that she could not help them. Lachesis explained that when Atropos cuts a life thread, it does not kill the soul, only the shell that holds it, and since it is the body of an Atlantean god that is indestructible, not their soul, there was nothing they could do. Upon hearing this explanation, Euenor and Leukippe were inconsolable. Clotho was so saddened by their despair that she gave them a special dagger, one that would rid them of the burden of their troubled souls.”

  “What has any of this got to do with me?” Symarah impatiently interrupted his long-winded explanation.

  “With this dagger, I will destroy your soul while Daire is forced to watch. Since your souls are intertwined, when yours dies a part of his will die with it. He will be weakened, and then I will kill what’s left of his soul. Without a soul, neither of you can be reincarnated, I'll finally be free of him.”

  “Even if your little plan works, there will be dozens of other suriens right outside waiting for you. They'll kill you the second you step through that door.”

  “That is where you're wrong mortal. The door before you is not the only portal in and out of this room. There are two doors, and I will be leaving through the back not the front. Once I rid myself of the two of you, I will hunt down every surien in Athena's army, and rid them of their souls.”

  “You always were the ambitious one,” Daire said. “Too bad your mouth is writing checks that your ass can't cash.”

  Vaiden turned to see him standing just inside the portal door. “What took you so long, surien?” he asked, as he slowly backed away.

  “In a hurry to die?” Daire sneered.

  Standing directly behind Symarah now, Vaiden raised the dagger and pressed it against her throat. “I'm in no hurry, I'll be killing her slowly. I'm going to savor every shriek, every scream, every pain-filled tear.”

  Daire wanted to tear Vaiden limb from limb, but as long as that damn dagger was pressed against Symarah's throat he was helpless to do anything. All he could do was wait for Vaiden to slip up. If only he could move Vaiden from one place to another, but unfortunately only Dacian had mastered that power. His only hope was to trick Vaiden into dropping his guard, provoke him. “I knew you were evil, Vaiden, but I never took you for a coward.”

  “I'm no coward, surien.”

  “You're using an innocent human to get to me, what would you call it?”

  “I call it revenge, besides we both know she is not just an innocent bystander that I picked at random; no, we both know why I chose your precious Symarah, or should I call her Meissen?” Vaiden replied with an evil smirk. “That’s right, she knows all about it.”

  “Is this true, Daire?”

  “Yes, it's true. I didn't know until I saw the necklace. I went to the shop where you got it and I spoke to the shop owner, she confirmed that you were Meissen in a past life and that the necklace belonged to you. Vaiden knew that if you had
the necklace you would remember me, and that we would be drawn back together. He knew we would fall in love again, and then he could have his revenge.”

  “You killed my love, and now I can finally repay the favor,” Vaiden snarled.

  “Why didn't you tell me?” Symarah questioned.

  “I was afraid it would make it too hard for you to let me go if you knew.”

  “I know we can't be together, Daire, it's against the rules. I would never risk getting you into trouble with Athena.”

  “Is that what he told you?” Vaiden smiled. “Technically it's not against the rules to date a human. It's only against the rules for humans to know about us, but since you already know, there's no reason why you two kids can't be together; aside from the fact that I'm going to kill you both of course.”

  Symarah was crushed. “You didn't want to stay with me.”

  Daire knew she was hurt, he couldn't stand to see that look in her eyes. “Symarah, let me explain.”

  “Explain what, that you were too much of a coward to admit you didn't want to be with me, so you used Athena as an excuse? Not to mention the fact that you lied to me. How could you not tell me that I am your dead fiancée?”

  “I was afraid it might be too hard for you to let me go if you knew.”

  “Such hubris, but then I would expect no less from a surien,” Vaiden sneered. “Did you honestly think that she wouldn’t get over you?”

  “Shut up Vaiden, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Daire snapped.

  “No, he’s right. What did you think, that I would chase you like a lovesick teenager? Well, since you’re so worried about me sticking around too long, let me put your mind at ease; once Vaiden is dead, and this is all over with, you’ll never have to see me again.” Symarah was crushed. She had thought that he loved her, that he would want to be with her if he could, but he never wanted to stay.

  “You don’t understand, Symarah.”

  “Then why don’t you explain it to me?”

  “I am an immortal being, and you are human. You love me now, but in time, you will grow to resent me. We could never have children, and how would we explain why you grow older while I appear to stay the same age?”