by Petra Landon
Taking a deep breath, Temi extended her hand to him, a curiously formal gesture towards a man she had been traveling with for over a month. “Artemis Demetriou.”
He stared at her hand for a moment, before clasping it firmly. “Diana” he murmured, musing that she had been aptly named. “The Goddess of the hunt.”
“And the moon” Temi reminded him. The moon had been sacred to the Forebearers and continued to be significant to all Chosen that believed in old magic. “I suspect my father knew that, one day, I’d need everything I had and then some to escape a monster.”
He shook her hand to seal their bargain. “Bastian Sanabria. Let’s go get the monster, Red.”
Vienna, Austria
A growl echoed on the screen, a low snarl that cut through the silence of the dark coop with two prone silhouettes. The slight figure in the cage seemed to finally rouse. As she stirred in the small stockade, her leg struck one of the bars. She let out a gasp of pain. But it seemed to wake her to the threat. She moved her head groggily to peer through the bars, at her darkened surroundings. After some confusion, her hand reached blindly for the top of the cage. The realization that she was confined seemed to seep in. Slowly and with infinite care, she pivoted in the constricted space, until she was lying on her belly.
An audience watched the clip with rapt attention. Among the seated throng were two Blood Elementals. Alexei found himself silently agreeing with Faoladh. The positioning of the camera, whose feed they watched, was no coincidence. It had been placed very strategically, in the perfect spot to film the inmates of the pen. Despite the lack of illumination in the room, the camera had captured the two very well. While they could not discern any fine details, it was not hard to follow what was unfolding on the screen. This had been no accident.
The girl on the screen proceeded hesitantly to examine the hulking body that shared her cage. But as she tentatively brushed by him, the big male grabbed her bodily to swing her over him. Her fists beat ineffectually at her captor, but the Wyr’s strength was too much for her to counteract.
“Let me go” she implored, her voice strangled and hoarse.
The other captive subdued her easily, despite her wild struggles. She nosedived over the larger reclining silhouette, as he held her down with his leg and arms. The hulking male growled again, a sound that rumbled from deep in his chest. The girl froze, ceasing her struggles.
Though they had been informed at the start of the trial that both captives had survived the attempt, Alexei felt horror flash through him. Like most Chosen in the room, he’d been shocked by the charges laid at the feet of the accused. This was the main hall of the Collegium in Vienna and it was packed to the brim. The first CoC trial in history had attracted much interest among the First Ones. To Alexei, it was apparent that those who had made the special trek to witness history in the making were shocked and outraged by the Guardian’s actions.
Their magic was sacred — it was what made them Chosen. Exploiting it to injure a Magick was absolute anathema to the custodians who safeguarded the powers bestowed upon their descendants by the Forebearers. Using silver to force a Wyr to transform into his beast was condemnable. But manipulating a Wyr, off his head with poison, to savage another captive was horrific and appalling.
The Wyr had been dosed with a lot of silver. And Alexei wondered how the Alpha and the Wizard had escaped their intended fate. But as the girl on the screen renewed her tussle with the larger Wyr captive, he frowned. There was something familiar about her.
Beside him, a silent Alya strained forward in her chair, not taking her eyes off the screen. Alexei cast her a concerned glance. His sister had been unusually silent since the testimony commenced. Even now, a peculiar rigidity and a curious kind of strain seemed to hold her. He, who knew her well, could almost say that she was unnerved by the trial. Her reaction confused him. Given that she had yet to answer his questions about the significance of the proceedings, Alexei found the entire business profoundly baffling. But he was glad that Alya had insisted on attending the trial. What he was discovering scandalized and incensed him. The Blood Elementals had chosen to keep themselves aloof from the business of other First Ones for a long time. But this attack stirred Alexei in a way he had not anticipated. The Guardian had dared to defile the essence of what made them Chosen by exploiting the Alpha’s magic to the Wyr’s detriment. It was a desecration of everything the Forebearers had bequeathed to them. And thus, an affront to every Magick.
On the screen, the Wyr roared, a howl that hinted at an imminent loss of control. The girl fought frantically with the man who held her down, trying to get free. But the pen was inadequate and the Wyr much too strong for her.
“Alpha” she said urgently. “It’s Tasia.”
The Wyr kicked out at the bars and the cage rocked violently with his rhythmic thrusts. The girl was jolted around over the prone body of the Wyr. She hung on for dear life, pleading with the Wyr and trying to get through to him. As she was flung about, her face came into view for a moment, framed perfectly by the camera. The stark terror in her eyes had Alexei straighten. Alya gasped, before attempting to hastily stifle it. In the hushed silence of the room, the small sound was explosive.
“What’s happening to you?” the girl cried desperately on the screen. “Tell me, please. Alpha!
The audience was absolutely still, their eyes rivetted to the screen. It was as if they all waited with bated breath, even though they knew the outcome of what was happening in the cage. It was one thing to be told about an unspeakable assault, and another to watch the stark events unfold before their eyes. The Wyr’s mighty tussle to not succumb to the poison in his blood, as well as the girl’s helplessness, confusion and terror seared through the audience collectively, to leave an indelible impression on them. During the oral testimony and presentation of evidence, the audience’s outrage had mostly been reserved for what had been done to the Wyr, believing the Wizard to be collateral damage in the Guardian’s vendetta against the Alpha. But now, the girl’s plight as she struggled frantically to rouse the Wyr and not give in to the inevitable could no longer be ignored.
“Alpha …. It’s Tasia. I need your help.”
Alya stood up abruptly. Taking his eyes off the compelling events on the screen, Alexei shot her a questioning glance.
“I need some air” she said in a low voice, her face ashen. “Meet you in the parking lot.”
She dashed out, as if the hounds of hell chased after her. Alexei watched her flee with a frown on his face. He turned his attention back to the screen. But in the end, he did not wait for the clip to complete. Alexei chose to follow her, troubled by what he’d glimpsed on his sister’s face.
He tracked her down to a corner of the parking lot. Pale and trembling, she was in a bad state.
“What is it?” he asked, jolted by the sight. She was strong; his sister. She’d had to be to survive what happened to the Sirens. Alya was not easy to rattle. Yet, she looked like she had seen a ghost.
It took her a few minutes to compose herself. “I’ve made a terrible mistake, Alexei” she whispered.
He frowned, trying to make the connections. “Something to do with the trial?” he asked.
His sister nodded.
“Take your time” he encouraged her, baffled by her going to pieces like this. Alya was steel, through and through, and one of the best leaders to command the Blood Elementals in a long time.
She rubbed her trembling fingers over her eyes, trying to come to terms with the shocking discovery.
Alexei waited patiently, until she murmured. “That girl in the cage.”
“The one with the Wyr?” he prompted. “What about her?”
“She’s Aleka’s daughter.”
Alexei staggered back, so great was his shock. “How can that be?” he shot out.
Her eyes met his. What he saw in them had Alexei reeling.
“Aleka is dead” he said hoarsely. “You confirmed it yourself.”
His siste
r drew a shaky breath. “She is. But she gave birth to a daughter before she passed on.”
He stared at her, stunned by the turn of events.
“You’re sure?” Alexei asked, after the first shock had receded. In his heart, he knew that what she said was true. Alya would never make such a mistake. It would also explain why the girl had looked curiously familiar to him. Something about the way she moved had reminded him of the sister taken away from her family.
“Of course, I’m sure, Alexei” his sister retorted, her voice growing stronger. “Would I tell you such a thing if I wasn’t? You know how we were.”
The sisters had shared a bond; a manifestation of the unique gifts they possessed by virtue of the blood that flowed through their veins.
The siblings stared at each other in the parking lot, old memories surging through them. Memories that cast a heavy burden on the Blood Elementals, in general, and their family, in particular. Aleka had been the forfeit for her generation — the one to pay the price for what blighted all their lives, so that her twin and the others could live.
“Did father know?” he asked. Alexei had been very young when Aleka had left them. But he could still remember the grief and impotent rage on his father’s face. Alya had locked herself in her room, inconsolable at losing her twin. It was only later that he had understood the extent of their devastation and Aleka’s sacrifice.
Alya shook her head. “I never told him. What good would it have done? Aleka broke him. He was never the same after. So, I kept it to myself.”
Some of the color came back to her face as her brother stared blindly at her.
“I knew the Lombardi scum would come calling eventually. If no one knew, we could deny all knowledge of the child. What good were we to her anyway? We could not save Aleka from them, what hope had we of protecting her daughter! She was better off without us” Alya stated.
As the shock wore off, Alexei asked more questions. “Who’s the father?” he inquired, though Alexei suspected that he knew the answer.
His sister confirmed it. “The Guardian who helped her break out.”
Alya had shared the news with her family when her twin escaped the Blutsaugers with the help of her Wizard protector. The sisters’ bond had been very strong and had allowed her to read this from her twin.
Her eyes entangled with Alexei’s, their expression stark. “He helped Aleka get away from that monster” she attested. “I thought it only right that he watch over his daughter. Claiming her publicly as a Blood Elemental would only put her in danger.”
Alexei tried to think clearly through the jumble of his emotions. He thought back to the testimony at the trial. “The Council is not aware that she’s a Blood Mage” he said slowly. “She claims to be a Wizard. That should protect her from the Lombardis.”
“Nevertheless, she’s in danger, Alexei” his sister interjected.
Alerted by the undertone in her voice, he raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”
Alya met his gaze squarely. “The testimony at the trial made it appear that the Guardian was out to take revenge on the Wyr, and that she was merely the bait. But they’re wrong.”
He waited, wondering what was coming.
“It’s the other way around, Alexei” she asserted. “That Guardian set out to murder the girl and it was the Wyr he exploited to do his dirty work.”
He frowned. “How do you know that?”
She blanched. This is what Alya could not come to terms with. “Because I told the Guardian about Aleka’s daughter.”
Alexei’s mouth fell open. “The one on trial?” he clarified, trying to make sense of what she was telling him.
She nodded mutely.
“Why, Alya?” he asked. She hadn’t even told the family, so why had she revealed such sensitive information to a stranger.
Alya looked shaken. “Anderson got in touch with me eight months after Aleka’s death. He told me that he’d helped his friend break her out of the Venice Nest. He had details about their escape that I knew to be true, because I had them from Aleka. He was heartbroken, believing that both had perished during the attempt. At first, I kept my own counsel. But we continued to communicate.”
Her eyes held a stricken expression. “It was good to talk about Aleka with someone, Alexei. You were a baby and father would not allow her name to be brought up in his presence. Also, it was evident to me that he missed his friend. Eventually, I told him to not grieve so hard; that Aleka had called me after they’d escaped the Blutsaugers’ trap, and that his friend and their daughter were alive. Like me, he assumed that his friend would not risk communicating with any acquaintances the Lombardis might track. He was surprised by the information, but I got the impression that he’d half expected them to have faked their own deaths to give the Blutsaugers the slip. Gradually, he dropped off the radar. He was moving on. But the reminiscing had helped us both to heal a little. So, I didn’t think too much about it.”
Alya closed her eyes briefly, before she met her brother’s gaze again. “Until I saw Aleka’s daughter on the clip, struggling to escape a Wyr hopped up on silver.”
Alexei studied her, floored and befuddled by the past his sister was unraveling.
“Do you not remember what the evidence said about the Guardian?” Alya reminded him.
Alexei had to admit that he’d paid little attention to the background information.
“Anderson was accused of a sustained campaign of terror against young Wizards with little magic, like the one in the cage. He’s been searching for her all these years, Alexei. And when he did find her, he sentenced her to a terrible death.” An undertone of fury marked her voice. The old Alya was coming back.
“Why would he do so?” her brother asked.
“That I don’t know” she admitted readily. “Maybe, he suspects what she is and covets her powers. Whatever his reasons, this is my fault, Alexei. If I had not told him about Aleka’s daughter, this …” her voice trailed off.
Alexei shook off his own shock and confusion. There would be time later to come to terms with what she had confessed. Right now, his sister, the strong one, needed his assurances.
“You made a mistake, Alya” he comforted her. “But the girl is alive. That Guardian did not succeed in his mission.”
He paused, as more inconsistencies struck him. “If she’s Aleka’s daughter, she possesses a lot of magic. Why does the Council talk of her as a Wizard without power!”
Alya’s eyes widened as the answer struck her. “She’s hiding” she proclaimed, her voice rising. “In plain sight, as a Wizard. Oh, that is clever!”
“Then, she knows what she is about, Alya” her brother said simply. “Leave her be.”
“No” his sister contradicted him. “She must be warned. How do we know that Anderson didn’t tell anyone else about her? If he did, the Lombardis will eventually sniff it out and go after her.”
Alexei wasn’t so sure that was the right tack to take.
“She has a father who’s watched over her so far” he remonstrated with his sister.
“He couldn’t save her from what the Guardian tried to do to her” Alya contended determinedly. “And regardless, Alexei, I am at fault here. I created this hornet’s nest and I will not forgive myself if my indiscretion gets Aleka’s daughter killed. We have to warn her.”
Raoul’s cell trilled, interrupting the silence. It was late but he knew who it was.
“I have news, Raoul” Faoladh greeted him, without preamble.
The Alpha sat back in his chair. “The CoC has reached a verdict?” he asked.
“It has” Faoladh confirmed. “Anderson is to be put to death for what he attempted in San Francisco.”
For a moment, Raoul didn’t know how he felt about the verdict. He’d kept his expectations low, cognizant that Chosen politics and the Council’s predilection for striking grand bargains could torpedo justice in the blink of an eye.
“You have my appreciation for entrusting this to me, Ra
oul” Faoladh said. “Without you agreeing to it, this would not be possible. Not only has a Guardian been publicly judged, but the historic trial and his atrocious actions are on everyone’s lips. Today is a good day for us all — Wyrs, Wizards, the Council and the Chosen. Justice has been served without prejudice.”
Yes, Raoul mused, Faoladh had delivered as promised. As the Alpha Wyr always had, even on issues and matters that seemed near impossible to solve. He’d been readying to mete out justice to the Guardian himself, if the Council fell down on the job. But Faoladh, as always, had made sure that Wyr interests were protected, even as he urged co-operation with other Chosen.
“Was the verdict unanimous?” he asked, curious at the result.
“In the end, yes. But for a while, it was three to one.”
Raoul wondered whether it was the Ancients who’d balked. “Whose was the dissenting vote?”
“The Vampires.”
This was unexpected. The Clan, always eager to belong, rarely went against any decision or issue on which the other factions stood united. “The leeches wanted to acquit?” Raoul said incredulously.
“Not quite” Faoladh answered. “They balked at the sentence. In their view, the attempt on you deserved life imprisonment. ElThor pointed out that the punishment must fit the crime. He feels very strongly that a message must be sent that no one is immune, not even a Guardian. Plus, we have no precedent for holding an immortal. At the eleventh hour, the Vampire representative changed his mind. My guess is he didn’t fancy being the only holdout.”
“The video from that night was key, Raoul” Faoladh asserted. “I’m glad you agreed for it to be introduced into evidence. ElThor told me later that it generated so much condemnation among the First Ones that, even had he been disinclined to sentence Anderson harshly, the outrage in the community would have forced his hand.”
Raoul recalled the soul searching he’d engaged in, before agreeing to let that clip into the public. His concerns had been about the witchling’s vulnerability because of her secrets.
