Evolution (Demon's Grail Book 2) (21 page)

Suddenly the entire floor collapses beneath us, sending us crashing down so abruptly that we fall apart. I slam hard into a pile of masonry, and I immediately feel my back shatter as I tip back and slide down through a pile of brick-dust and smoke. Letting out a cry of pain, I reach down to the fangs that are still protruding from my belly, and I feel hot, acidic venom still pumping futilely onto my own flesh.

My back is already healing, but the pain is intense.

As more pieces of the ceiling come down all around us, I sit up, only for one of the nearby walls to collapse and land on top of me. I'm knocked down and crushed by a huge section of stone, but I manage to push it aside and force myself up. Taking a step forward, I struggle to see anything at all as dust fills the air, although there's a hint of fire in the distance, which must mean that Skellig and the others have begun to burn the place down. For them, this battle is about destroying a species, but for me it's much more important. For me, right now, it's all about Abby Hart.

“Where are you?” I shout, with my fangs still poking out from my belly, twitching in readiness. I still have a little more venom for her. “Don't be such a coward, Abby! Come and face me!”

I stumble over more rubble, desperately looking around for some hint of her. We fell apart while I was still pumping venom into her body, but I have no idea how much actually entered her and how much was spilled. Losing my footing, I slip down a pile of broken stones, landing hard at the bottom and feeling a sharp pain in my back. Climbing up again, I start pulling pieces of masonry aside. If Abby is buried somewhere under here, I'm damn well going to find her, but several minutes pass as I search and finally I realize that there's no sign of her at all. There's no way she'd run, not from a final showdown with me, but it's as if she somehow disappeared just as we were falling.

“Abby Hart!” I scream, unable to control my anger any longer. “Face me! I deserve to see you die!”

“She's already dead,” a voice says suddenly.

Turning, I see Skellig standing nearby.

“They're all dead,” he continues. “We've finished our job here.”

“I want to see her corpse!” I sneer. My venom sacs have become a little calmer, but they're still bulging with fresh venom. Reaching up, I put a hand on the side of my neck, and for the first time I feel a flash of pain from the spot where Abby bit me. My fingertips run against the two puncture marks, although I doubt she got more than a few drops of blood out.

“Listen for her soul,” Skellig continues. “Try to sense her. There's no vampire life left in this place at all. Abby, her brother Jonathan, Absalom, all the other vampires who stood against us... Their hearts are cold.”

I turn and look around at the ruins, and after a moment I realize that he's right. If there was even a trace of life, I'd be able to feel it, but there's nothing.

She's gone.

I killed her.

I didn't get to hold her lifeless body in my arms, or to torture her, but...

Abby Hart is dead.

“We must leave this place now,” Skellig continues, as I stumble down the pile of rubble to join him. My fangs are slowly retracting into the slit in my belly, their job done now. “The house is burning, and soon -”

Suddenly there's a loud creaking sound from all around us. I turn, but there's no sign of anyone.

“Just the last dying whimpers of an ancient building,” Skellig explains. “We have confirmation now that Karakh has been located, and it's not too far from here. If we set off now, we can get there within two nights and then your father can be brought back through from the other side of the void.” He smiles. “We won, Emilia. The vampires are no more, Gothos has been destroyed, and now the spider empire can be resurrected at Karakh in all its glory.”

I take one final look around at all the debris before turning to him. My body is trembling, and I can't quite believe what I'm hearing. “We won?” I whisper, as a wave of shock hits me. It's as if somehow, after struggling for so long, I'm not ready for this moment. “After everything that happened... It's over? She's... She's gone?”

Reaching out, he takes my hand and leads me to the broken wall, then out into the old garden where the remains of our army await their next command. Spotting scores of huge spiders, along with many in human form, I realize that we barely suffered any casualties at all. When I turn back to look at Gothos, I'm shocked to see that there's little more left now than a few broken walls and a pile of rubble, while flames burn in several patches. I was so adamant the home of the vampires would be reduced to dust, and now it's happening before my eyes. I watch as the final walls come crashing down.

“To Karakh,” Skellig whispers into my ear. “We must seal this victory.”

“To Karakh,” I reply, turning to him, feeling a rush of pure joy in my chest as tears start welling in my eyes. “Home.”

Part Seven

The Fall of the House of Gothos II

Abby Hart

When I open my eyes, there's nothing ahead of me except cold, empty darkness.

There's something behind me, though. I can hear slow, heavy footsteps, as if something is dragging itself closer. A moment later I feel pressure on my shoulder, and I turn to see a bony hand resting at the side of my neck.

Death.

Death itself is -

***

Letting out a cry of shock, I open my eyes and sit up, gasping desperately for breath. I turn, convinced that I'll find Death nearby, but after a couple of seconds I see only one person: burned and bloodied,with thick, searing wounds on his bare flesh, the figure is instantly familiar, and for a fraction of a second it's almost as if my father has returned. It takes a moment longer before I realize my mistake.

“Jonathan?” I whisper, shocked by his appearance. “What...”

“I fought,” he replies, still a little breathless. “The anger I thought I could never feel... It was there after all.”

I pull away and turn to look around, but all I see is a pile of ash and dust resting under the vast night sky.

“Where are we?” I stammer, trying to get to my feet but immediately feeling a sharp pain in my gut. Reaching down, I feel that the flesh between the bottom of my ribcage and my crotch has been torn apart, although the healing process has already begun. The edges of the flesh have been seared, however, as if some kind of dark acid splashed onto me. I definitely got some of Emilia's venom in my body, but not enough to overwhelm me or reach my heart. “Where are we?” I ask again, turning to my brother.

“How much do you remember?” he asks.

“Where are we?” I ask yet again, trying not to panic. “We're on the plains of Gothos somewhere, but -” I continue to look around, trying to spot the house in the distance. “Where is it?”

“Gothos is gone, Abby.”

“No! Where is it? Why did you bring me away?”

“I didn't.”

“Then where is it?” I shout, turning to him.

“Look at your feet.”

I stare at him for a moment, struggling to understand what he means, but then I look down and see that my feet are buried deep in warm ash.

“Gothos burned,” he continues. “The whole thing is gone now.”

I shake my head, unwilling to believe what he's saying even though I can already tell deep down that it's true.

“The house saved us,” he explains. “At the very last moment... I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but... Abby, was the house alive?”

“Alive?”

“When the walls came down,” he continues, “there were huge bones in some of them. Those bones wrapped us up and pulled us deep underground, as if they were trying to keep us safe while everything else burned. We were down there in the dark for... I don't know, it felt like days, but it was probably just a few hours. Then we were lifted back to the surface and the flames had died out, and all the spiders had left. I know this sounds crazy, but it really felt as if the house held us close to protect us.”

“The Book of Gothos said that...” Pausing for a moment, I try to make sense of what happened. The spiders would never have left unless they were convinced we were all dead, so I guess the house
did
protect us somehow. “The Book of Gothos
said
that the house had bones in its walls,” I continue, as a cold shiver passes through my body, “and that a prophecy stated it would one day use those bones to protect its final children with its dying breath, but...” Spotting something white poking out of the ground nearby, I step over and find that it appears to be part of a large section of bone, charred and damaged but still just about intact. I reach out and run my hand over the edge. If the house
was
alive, it's certainly dead now.

“I don't know what to believe anymore,” Jonathan says after a moment. “All I know is that you and I are alive.”

“What about the others?” I ask.

“What others? Everyone died, Abby.” He pauses, with a flicker of anger in his eyes. “I killed five spiders with my bare hands. A kind of supreme anger burst up through me, it took control, I didn't even care about my own safety anymore, I just knew that I had to rip them apart. It was almost as if another person was breaking free from my soul.” Another pause, and he stares at his hands as if he genuinely can't believe what happened. “I had no idea that I was capable of such things. Some darker part of my soul just seemed to wake up.”

Hearing a faint gasp nearby, I turn and spot a burned and bloodied figure on the ground about twenty feet away. Ignoring the pain in my belly, I limp toward the figure, only to realize when I get there that it's Absalom. I drop to my knees next to him, but I can already tell that he's badly hurt. It'll take a long time for him to heal from something like this, but at least he's alive. There are tears of relief in my eyes as I reach out and put a hand on his chest, to let him know that I'm here. If Absalom had died, I'd have been completely lost.

“Thank God,” I whisper. “Absalom, I think we're the only ones left. Everyone else who was at Gothos is dead now.”

“I...” He stares up at me, barely able to open his eyes, and after a moment I realize there are thick black veins slowly spreading all over his flesh. “I've been... trying to block it...” he stammers, his voice even lower than a whisper, “trying to... keep the venom from getting to my heart. I can't hold it back for much longer, but...”

“But what?” I ask, trying to ignore the growing sense of panic in my chest. “Absalom, tell me what I can do to help you!”

“You have to go on,” he replies. “You have to finish this.”

“Finish what?” I wait for an answer, but I've got a horrible feeling that I already know what he means. “I can't fight a war,” I tell him. “Absalom, I'm just not that strong.”

“You're... more than strong enough...”

I shake my head.

“I believe in you,” he whispers.

“No,” I reply, “you don't. I overheard you and Oncephalus back at Jagadoon, I know you both thought I was a complete failure.”

He shakes his head.

“I heard you!” I hiss.

“You were
supposed
to overhear us,” he continues “We set it up that way, it was the final part of your training. It wasn't enough for you to simply know that
we
believed in you. We had to knock you all the way down, and make you rise up again so that you'd believe in yourself.”

Staring at him, I feel a sudden wave of panic in my chest. “No,” I stammer, “you're just making that up.”

“Find her and ask her if you must,” he replies, “but it's true. I'm sorry, Abby, but it was the... only way to ensure your strength came from within, rather than from us.”

I shake my head, still not quite able to believe what he's saying. Still, there'll be time to argue the point later. Right now, all that matters is making sure that Absalom recovers.

“The spiders have been tricked,” he continues. “Abby, I saw one of them, the creatures from...” He lets out a gasp, and his whole body starts trembling.

“The creatures from where?” I ask. “Absalom, what are you trying to tell me?”

“The very first lines of the Book of Gothos,” he whispers. “They were true. About a race of demons that existed before recorded history, before all of us. And those creatures, those demons... They're back...”

“You're not making any sense,” I tell him. “You're delirious. Those stories were just myths, they were a story told to children.” When he doesn't reply, I realize he's starting to slip away. “Absalom!” I say firmly, patting the side of his face. “Tell me how to save you! You can't leave me!”

“The venom is getting into my heart,” he whispers. “Drop by drop, but...”

“Tell me what to do!” I shout.

“Abby -” Jonathan starts to say.

“Leave us alone!” I scream, pushing him back as I watch more black veins spreading across Absalom's body. “Tell me what to do,” I sob, leaning closer. “Absalom, there's always a way! Tell me how to save you!”

His lips move slightly, but he's too weak to speak.

“There
is
a way,” I stammer, filled with panic as I watch more and more black veins growing across his ravaged chest. The venom is pulsing through his body, searching for another route to his heart. “You can't leave me alone,” I whimper, with tears running down my face. “Please, I need you, you're the only one who knows what to do, without you I'm just -”

Suddenly I feel something squeezing my hand, and I look down to see that he's managed to reach out to me.

“If you die,” I tell him, as more tears fill my eyes, “it's all over.”

I wait for him to reply, but he's getting weaker by the second. No matter how much I hate this idea, I can feel a slow sense of realization filling my chest, a kind of dread tugging at my heart, telling me that my worst fear is about to come true. Finally, reaching into my pocket, I pull out the box containing the Creolian petal. Maybe there's only one thing I can do for him now.

“You should use this,” I tell him, sniffing back tears. “I know there was someone you loved once. You should use this so you can see her one more time.”

“Keep it,” he whispers, before looking past me, as if something has caught his attention over my shoulder. “I can already see her. She's right here. She's come to fetch me.”

I turn, but there's no-one there. And then, when I turn back to Absalom, I realize that his body has fallen still.

“No!” I shout, shaking his shoulder. “Absalom, wake up! I have so many things to ask you! I need to know what you meant about demons, and about the spiders being tricked! You can't die now! I need you!” I wait for a reply, but his lifeless body simply rests among the ash. “Absalom! I still need your help! Absalom, please!”

I wait.

Nothing.

“He's dead,” Jonathan says finally.

I pause for a moment, with more tears in my eyes, before turning to look up at my brother.

“He's gone, Abby,” he continues, his body already starting to heal the horrific injuries he suffered during the battle. “I guess even a vampire can't survive a dose of spider venom to the heart.”

Shaking my head, I look back down at Absalom for a moment, convinced that he's going to suddenly wake up. I keep telling myself that he can't be dead, that after everything that has happened he's just resting. There have been so many miracles in my life, I just need one more. Leaning down, however, I place an ear against his chest and listen, and sure enough there's no sign of life at all. All I can hear is the faintest hissing sound, which must be the venom burning through what's left of his heart.

“Come back,” I whisper, as a shiver pass through my soul. “Please, I need you...”

I close my eyes.

Nothing. His body is already cold.

“What do we do now?” Jonathan asks finally.

I wait, hoping that somehow I'll have an answer even though all I feel in my soul is a rising sense of hopelessness. Looking around, I can't help remembering the first time I came to Gothos all those years ago, with my father. Even though he's long gone, in some ways Gothos served as a reminder that at least his era was still with us, that the things he stood for were still part of the world. Now Gothos is gone, and Absalom is gone, and the war against the spiders has ended with absolute defeat. Merely surviving doesn't feel like enough, and suddenly I realize that I'm so cold, I can barely keep from shivering.

And then finally I understand what I have to do. It's the only option left to me.

“Karakh,” I whisper.

“What about it?” Jonathan asks.

I turn to him. “I... I have to go there.”

“But I thought -” He pauses. “Abby, I thought there was a prophecy. If you go to Karakh, you'll...”

His voice trails off, and I can tell that he understands.

“I know,” I say firmly, getting to my feet, “but I don't have a choice. If there's a prophecy, I can't change that but...” As a cold wind blows across us, I realize that as well as fear in my chest there's also a sense of determination. For the first time in my life, I know
exactly
what I have to do. “First I'm going to bury Absalom,” I continue, “then I'm going back to New York to gather some things for the journey, and then I'm going to face my destiny.” I take a deep breath, as the wind stirs the ashes at my feet and the vast, empty plains of Gothos stretch out all around me. “I'm going to Karakh.”