Every one removed their masks and threw them in the air, cheering and laughing. Everyone that is, except Adolph Meil. His half teal half black privateer mask remained.
“You are not holding with tradition, Adolph. Why is that? Let me see your handsome face,” I said reaching up for the mask so that I could remove it myself.
He grabbed my wrist roughly.
“To remove the mask but still not reveal ones true self is still in effect wearing the mask, don’t you agree Suzette?”
“What are you trying to tell me, Adolph?”
I heard Damien announce, “Good night everyone, I hope you had a wonderful time.”
People started to head for the door, Meil kept his strong grip on my arm as they passed. Damien started to come over, joined by all of my friends and allies.
“That’s close enough,” he said stopping them with his power in mid stride.
“You’re hurting my arm, Adolph. Please let go,” I mock pleaded.
“You are trying to spoil all of my plans. I can’t let that happen.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, “Let me go,” I said this time forcefully pulling my hand away.
“It seems you are less fragile than you would have us believe,” Meil said, now circling me while looking out into the crowd that now surrounded us.
“It’s me you want, leave her be,” Auguste said as he pushed his way through the crowd.
“That’s not true, brother. I want her very much.”
“Brother? What are you talking about, Adolph?”
“Our plan is to take over the world of light, you would give all that up for a whore?” Auguste said in disgust.
“I may have eventually, yes. But you…” Meil said, shaking his head and his finger at Auguste. “You would most surely have thrown it all away on her. No, I do this for all of us. I must destroy the one thing that could have ever made me truly happy, because of you. I see the way you look at her, and Nevidius, he is almost as far gone as you are.”
Meil raised his hand. The others were powerless against him. They stood immobile, like helpless statues only able to watch in horror as Meil struck me down.
“Stop! She carries the child that you seek!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I
t was Cathos’ voice that boomed through the hall. I knew that, yet I couldn’t see him.
Meil looked me up and down. “Drop the pretence Suzette. I know this is just a form you are taking for my benefit. You have until the count of three or everyone here will be destroyed. One, two…”
“All right, all right,” I said as I turned back into myself.
“Your name?”
When I didn’t answer he raised his hand once again.
“Katrina, Katrina Von Dracek.”
Now he laughed aloud, demonic laugh. He circled me. “So this is the leader of the Five, the Chosen one? Cathos you might as well show yourself, I know it’s you.”
Cathos appeared somewhere behind me.
“You are forbidden from interfering in this world and you know it, now be gone.”
Meil laughed again, “You have no power over me now. You condemned me to the lower levels, where I met someone even more powerful than you. I have his and Belial’s power now. Combined with Auguste’s Jinn power, derived from an old ally of yours who no longer needs it, you will find that your power pales in comparison. Hmmm this
is
a dilemma. I can tell that she is with child. I can even tell that it’s a male child. However, there is no way to tell if the child is the one we seek. I could just destroy her now. That’s all I wanted to do in the first place. Or, if the child
is
a Dark Prince, I could raise him and rule both darkness and light. Yes, I think it’s worth taking that chance.”
He waved his hand and I could no longer see anyone else. I was in a cottage. It was lovely actually. I ran to the window and looked out. It was dark, but I could tell the land was lush and green, and I could hear a stream cascading lazily through the forest to my left.
“Where am I?”
I opened the door and ran down the stairs and out into the forest. I had masked the fact that I had Jinn power too. That was my only asset now.
“
Allwain
?”
Nothing, “
Kate
?
Damien
?” Nothing. “Bring me to Sangustae.” No use, I was on my own. I had been in a situation similar, where I woke to find that I was alone and I didn’t know my exact location. This wasn’t so different. In fact it was better. At least I wasn’t underground. Well, I didn’t know that for sure because this could
all
be an illusion. I turned and walked back to the cottage.
Now the vision I had experienced made sense at last. There
was
a child in danger. Someone was going to take
my
baby away from me.
My baby
? How was that even possible anyway? I was nowhere near the age when vampires could conceive.
Wait a minute
, I told myself as I tried to remember what Cathos had told Sarah. It was something about how having Jinn power that had changed my body.
Oh no, this had really happened. I rubbed my belly and used my power to ‘see’. He was very small.
I tried to figure out how long it had been. I hadn’t been with Damien since… and I had been with…Quinn.
This was Quinn’s baby! No one was going to take him, no one! I had to hide. I couldn’t go back now, even if I could.
Damien:
Just like that she was gone. I was reeling. I didn’t know what to think or do. None of us could move. All we could do now was watch everything play out. Katrina, pregnant, how could that be, she’s too young, wasn’t she? I thought back, it had been months since we made love, that baby was mine. It wasn’t Genevieve after all it was Katrina! I was so happy!
Then all hell broke loose.
“Ceron, nice of you to join me!” Cathos said.
“I thought you said there was going to be a party?”
“Oh there was, a very nice one. You remember Leonard don’t you?”
“Leonard, the Sorcerer? Why, you banished him eons ago.”
Meil, or whoever he was, raised his hands and so did Ceron and Cathos. We were released and I tried to mark Auguste. He was too powerful, but Nevidius and the other brothers had already been marked, so I closed my eyes and they ceased to exist. Vampires, Noctu and Belnovus raced through the door, obviously the powerful protections that had been in place were now broken. Meil, Auguste, Ceron and Cathos were fighting not only with swords, but their powers. Every time Cain and I tried to help, we were thrown back.
“We marked dozens of vampires. How is it that all of these are unmarked?” Cain yelled over the furor.
“Their numbers must have been so many more than we imagined.”
“The girls had dropped their disguises and each was dispatching their fair share of evil, as were Eric, Kale, Gerhardt, Nathaniel and Kellen. Allwain was fighting with magic, as was Amparah.
“Tao! Behind you!” I yelled. “Get the girls out of here!”
“I just thought of something. Arthur! Where are you?” Cain yelled.
“Over here, I have my hands full right now.”
The knights charged in, a wolf by their side. Then another and another wolf charged. The room was suddenly filled with the horrific sounds of bodies being ripped apart. Next Gruen, in his wonderful original form, was working his way through the room with his club.
“Gruen, help Tao get the girls away,” I demanded.
“We can handle ourselves, Damien,” Kate yelled.
“
You have to find Katrina
!” I yelled again, this time with my mind.
As I beheaded my latest foe I caught Kate’s eye. She nodded and motioned for the girls to gather. When they did Tao opened a portal and took them away. Now whatever happened to me didn’t matter. They would find and help Katrina.
Cathos and Ceron were in the fight of their lives and I could see that both were severely injured.
Cain had gotten to Arthur and the two were yelling something back and forth that I couldn’t make out. Belnovus were still pouring through every door by the dozens. It was impossible to concentrate hard enough to mark any of them while fight for our lives. If Cathos and Ceron were killed, all was lost.
“Damien, we have to charge Meil and Auguste,” Cain screamed. “You and the others have to distract them for a few seconds at least!”
“Now, knights now!” Arthur yelled.
We all charged at Meil and Auguste, for a second they looked away from Cathos and Ceron to focus on us. Abruptly it was hard to move. Not impossible this time, but we were slowed to the point that I had to concentrate very hard in order to move forward at all.
Suddenly on my right, there was a flash of silver and a the whistle of metal whipping through the air. Then I saw both Meil and Auguste fall.
The pure, glistening metal of both Max and Excalibur had pierced the heart of evil and pinned each of them to the floor.
“The plan lives on. Evil lurks in the heart of man,” Meil said with his final words.
The vampires ceased their attack, staring at the bodies of their benefactors dead on the floor of the ballroom; then as a group they turned the fled. The wolves and others followed them out into the night.
“Cathos, Ceron are you all right?”
They were breathing, but neither moved. Allwain was at their side in mere seconds.
“They are healing themselves,” he announced. They need rest and protection now. With the girls somewhere safe, that falls to you and Cain, Damien.”
“Get them to the house next door.”
“Amparah, I’ll need you to help me clean up this mess.”
“I can help too, Allwain,” Marcella said as she came out from one of the balconies with Charmaine. “We were pretty frightened. I’m sorry we weren’t much help.”
“Don’t be silly, neither one of you have been trained to be able to deal with anything like this. I am just glad you’re all right.”
“I am too,” I said as I gave my sister a hug. “Eric, good. Did we lose anyone?”
“Yes, Nathaniel, Kellen, seven watchers and six elite guard.”
“And one knight, Galeron,” Arthur said sadly.
“I’m so sorry, Arthur.”
“It’s the way he would have wanted to go. Fighting for what’s right. I have his sword. I will give it to his sons. They will carry on his legacy.”
We got Cathos and Ceron into a room next door. Their wounds were so severe and their power so depleted, that it would take days before they were any better. Even using Cain’s and my combined power didn’t help much but at least they were alive.
Allwain put new protections in place, but with both Meil and the Arnuant brothers’ dead we hoped no further attacks would occur.
“I’ll stay with them,” Cain said. “I know you want to see if Allwain can find Katrina.”
“Yes, I have to find her, Cain.”
“I know.”
I went downstairs and into the makeshift laboratory. Allwain was looking into the skrying pool.