The Awakening
“The phoenix must burn to emerge.”
Janet Fitch
All along, I had been searching for the answer to my dualism from a source outside myself. At that moment, with my head bowed and bloody lip oozing onto the floor, I realized what a fool I had been.
It was Flynn who sought to grasp humanity, while embracing Peter brought the moments of clarity I had experienced.
It had been him taunted by the sword. It was his spirit who fought the urge to damn the same creatures bent on damning me. His was the heart who latched onto
Monica
and it was Peter who would take a killer’s hands and bring healing
with them
again.
I swallowed hard and concentrated on the genesis of this idea.
Julian had been right to qu
estion my words. The Fates had begun speaking
to me
only after
sentiment had broken through my walls and pierced flesh instead of stone. Prior to that, they needed messengers to deliver instruction to the demon I was. The words of the swordmaker were equally correct. When he looked upon me and saw the Devil, he declared me not to be the owner of his craftsmanship. All that had existed of my
humanity
, at the time, was a dying ember about to be consumed by the darkness.
The assassin became the seer, however. The ember became a flame, which lit into a conflagration when the most human of emotions came to life within me. Sabrina might have locked me into the purgatory of being vampire, but my human side would not be crushed. If this battle was to have a victor, it would be the person who was supposed to inhabit these powers in the first place.
My eyes already shut, I switched away from my borrowed sight and tightened my clenched fists. The shift which had begun continued forward with more fevered urgency, something which required a great deal of effort in my weakened condition. Energy built all around me – from within, from below, from above. The sword called to its master. Destiny weighed heavily upon me and the longer this continued, the more the hold placed upon me by both chains and magic
broke
.
The wrist shackles snapped in half and hit the floor with a hollow clank. My ankle restraints followed suit. The sound echoed, as did the subtle n
oise of me coming to my feet
. As I opened my eyes, I beheld the world with renewed clarity, no longer encumbered by the pain of light. For the briefest of moments, I indulged the sensation, taking a deep breath inward and exhaling it slowly. The man who had died a killer had been reborn at last.
“Julian, what the hell is he doing?” The voice of Malcolm Davies sounded faint, at best. My eyes shifted to the sight of the engraved runes below me.
“I don’t know.” He moved one pace closer to me, but then stopped when I lifted a foot and stepped over one ring of markings. I shifted away from another and to the untouched floor on the other side. Rubbing my wrists,
my eyes rose
to examine the room with my own sight.
It
bore a dreamlike quality
which was swiftly coming into focus the more I concentrated.
The interloper in the room, who had mutely watched everything unfold, bore an uncertain tone to his voice when he finally spoke again. “Flynn?” Ian asked.
I ignored him for
the time being, glancing back to
where Julian stood. By his side, my katana hung where his sword once had and I could not help but to smirk. “You intended to execute me with my own weapon, Julian? Quite poetic.” Julian could only blink in response; I gave him no chance to answer before lifting my hand and focusing on the blade’s hilt. “Now,
if I could have it back
,” I said, but did not wait for him to hand it to me. It ripped from his side and flew into my palm. Without hesitation, I unsheathed it and tossed its
scabbard
onto the
floor
.
Then, I turned my attention back to Ian.
“Flynn,” I said, starting a sedate stroll toward where he stood. I spoke the words almost on automatic. “I swear I have had my fill of that name after five years of listening to it. These hands have had to do his will and these feet have done little more than walk his path, and I have had enough of it. Now, if you do not mind, Ian, the name is Peter.” I stopped walking. “We met briefly, if you
recall
.”
Ian’s expression evened, awe intermingling with worry inside his eyes. “The seer. Fancy making your acquaintance again.” The hand gripped around his cane tightened. “Are you sure you want to play this game with me? With your watcher’s life hanging in the balance?”
The frown his words provoked did nothing to lessen the severity of my expression. “I could no more sell my soul a second time than I could face her on the other side of this with so much blood on my hands. I promise you, though, I will make you rue the day you decided to make her a pawn in our game.”
“Make me rue it?” He grinned, sidestepping and gesturing with his free hand. “Do you think you’re the first seer I’ve faced? Or will be the first I’ve killed?”
“Are you certain you wish to kill me? I thought I was the one to lead your chariot into battle?”
“Losing you would be a setback, no doubt about it, but I think you lose more if you kill me than I, you.” His hand
lowered
. The humor in his eyes took on a
sober
appearance. “You will never solve the riddle of what I had intended to use you for.”
A smirk played across my lips. “T
hat is
a
sacrifice I am willing to make.”
“So be it, then.” The air turned cold around us, a shiver running the length of my spine as Ian’s fingers became engulfed in darkness. My eyes widened marginally. “Brethren, have your way with the humans,” he said, raising his voice to call out to the other vampires. His gaze never strayed from me, however. “I have the seer.”
A loud rumble filled the room, footsteps stampeding throughout the area creating an echoing cacophony. Ian smirked, pointing his palm to face me as I grasped my sword with both hands. A pregnant pause hung in the air, the deep breath before the plunge. I lifted the katana and waited one beat before charging forward and taking my first swing.
While I knew he had been baiting me to make the first move, I was ill-prepared for the backlash. A surge of energy resembling a telekinetic shove threw me backward and onto the floor. I maintained my hold on the katana, but fought off a violent shudder to come to my feet again. Ian shrugged when I staggered forward and shook away the lingering effects of his spell. “They just don’t train them very well these days,” he said.
I squared my shoulders. “I shall consider you an educational experience, Ian.”
“Class is now in session.” The hand which had cast at me gripped the other end of his cane and tugged. One piece separated, revealing a sharp tip at the end of
the cane itself. Ian twirled the cover
around before crouching to place it on the ground beside him. “Lest you forget you are still vampire.”
He winked, then sprang back to his feet and charged at me with what was now a spear. I pivoted out of the way just in time and swung for his head as he passed me by. His reflexes were sharp, however. Ian spun and lifted the cane to block my shot, creating the clang of metal upon metal. I pushed him from me and stepped back. His grin broadened. “Never let yourself be confined to one weapon. That’s what my maker always told me,” he said.
I gritted my teeth and attempted another swing. He intercepted it, as I knew he would, but the brief meeting of weapons afforded me the chance to free my hand and throw him back and onto the floor. Ian came to his feet swiftly, his fangs descending to full length. The fight had suddenly become spirited. It was my turn to smirk, but I
could
not pause to relish the minor victo
ry.
I blocked another charge from Ian and crouched when he used the forw
ard momentum to spin around,
aim
ing
the jeweled top of his cane for my head. It forced me to duck just far enough away that my sword only
inflicted a superficial cut to
his arm
rather than an incapacitating wound.
Ian tsked. “Two shots to one, seer. I think it’s time to even the odds.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood aloft. I sidestepped, but
my reaction came
too late to move
entirely
away from the dagger which lodged itself into my back. It missed my heart by a wide margin, however, and as I turned to face its owner, I was able to reach its hilt and pull it out. Pain radiated from the wound and Talon sneered when I glanced at him.
I indulged a steadying breath and shook my head. “Cheating,” I said, while simultaneously throwing the dagger right back at him.
He moved out of the way, but the distraction afforded me the chance to close the distance between us. Talon drew a sword just as I raised mine, and while he blocked my effort, I was able to use the momentum to push him closer
to
Ian. Ian smirked, both hands raised and darkness licking at his fingertips again.
This was about to get interesting.
Moving swiftly, I grabbed Talon by his coat and brought him between me and his maker. The force of Ian’s spell still sent him flying into me, but as I pushed him away, he was the one who shuddered instead of me. Ian scowled when he saw what had happened. He dropped his cane onto the ground and lifted both hands, which drew my focus away from Talon for a few hesitant seconds. The next sequence of events transpired in rapid succession.
I ran for Ian in a seemingly suicidal move. It put Talon behind me, but I kept an ear to his movements, knowing when he started to pursue me. An ominous cloud form
ed
between Ian’s hands and his lips muttered an incantation while the look in his eyes turned dark. I raised my sword and looked to be ready to strike, but used my divided attention to put Talon in a psychic lock while simultaneously diving to the side and out of the way.
Ian’s spell struck a very confused Talon. Ian cried out, “No!” and I watched, awed, as Talon began to flake into ash, little pieces at a time. The look of confusion on Ian’s face kept him frozen in place just long enough for me to come to my feet, but even I jumped when a bolt flew throug
h the air and impaled Ian right
through the chest.
He turned to ash much faster than his progeny, who fell to his knees before crumpling into a pile of debris. I blinked and looked toward where Ian had been standing, seeing a crossbow lower and Julian look at me from across a small expanse. Miraculously, I sensed no threat from him and even permitted myself to lower my sword and take a moment to evaluate the chaos transpiring all around us. A frown tugged at the corners of my mouth. The leader might have fallen, but the soldiers were none-the-wiser yet.
The High Council elders had formed a perimeter around their table, using their positions to cast spells at the mob of vampires crawling onto the platform. While it held back the flow, their constant use of energy seemed not to be yielding much in the way of fatal results. The half not focused on the elders was dispersed around the room. A few piles of ash and the pervasive scent of blood made it apparent this battle was far from easy for either side. As I caught sight of two humans falling to the floor, however, I winced and realized a host of spells would only go so far against the well-armed immortals who were faster and stronger than the mortals.
My eyes found
Julian
as he approached. “Are you convinced of my loyalties yet,” I asked, “Or do we need to argue about this some more?”
Julian swallowed hard and stole an assessment of the room himself. “No, I believe you,” he said.
“Better late than never, I suppose.” One vampire turned to ash several yards away, his sword clanging to the ground. “If we can put weapons in these people’s hands, please tell me a few of them would at least have a better chance at killing their attackers?”
“A better chance than with spells alone.”
“I would say we have the first phase of our mission, fellow seer.”
My eyes met Julian’s. He nodded and pulled another bolt from his quiver. “I’ll work on that. You protect the Council before they’re overrun.”
“As you wish,” I said, maintaining a serious expression at first. A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth, though, the irony of the situation not lost on me. “Come, Julian. Let us show these sons of bitches hell.”
He surrendered to a grin and finished loading his crossbow. “It would be my pleasure.”
Bowing with a flourish, I winked and pivoted in the direction of the platform. Julian turned to face the other way as I started a dash, the humor giving way to focus as I became aware of my own fatigue for the first time since breaking out. Still, vitality had been unleashed within me, surging forth again when I neared the outer throng of vampires. I paused with sword raised and smirked when a few turned to look in my direction. “Now, who would like to be first?” I asked.
They hissed and scattered. The ones who held weapons lifted them and made their charge in unison. Within seconds, three bodies dropped before me, two turning into dust with the last one hitting the ground before I drove my blade into his heart. I thrust a wave of antagonists back using my telekinesis and spun to intercept a duo who pounced at me from behind.