Cognata: A Vampire Romance (19 page)

"At the time I was young, and still willing to please others. Aristide was already celebrated as a respected council member, but the Halonic Order was weak indeed, and they would hear none of his ideas. His pleas were right. The more Hyginos and I observed the way things were going, the more we were convinced of his point. We were meant to be gods. We were meant to rule this world, not abide by it and cower in the shadows. So we devised a plan - we decided to overthrow the lazy, ineffectual excuse of a nightwalker council and claim our rightful thrones. Hyginos was a great warrior at the time and Aristide, no doubt, an effective deceiver."

The elevator came to a stop and I was led to an underground bunker, probably the size of a stadium. Inside it, there were all sorts of technological marvels.

Secret aircraft that had to belong to military and perhaps, clandestine intelligence agencies, along with jeeps and all sorts of exotic weaponry caught my curiosity. There were soldiers gathering equipment and managing the area, suiting up for something.
Something big.

I was led into a corridor where on both sides, there were see-through glass windows into different experimentation rooms. They revealed the horrors going on beneath the ground. It wasn't only human ghouls working in there as slave scientists; some of the subjects being operated on were strange creatures - hybrids by all means, and there were different sorts of unnatural mixtures between the bloodlines of our clans and humans alike.

How did Caelinus amass such power?

"The image of Halona was too, 'passive', he said. It needed greater power. We needed a messiah, not the annals of a wise, ancient woman. We needed a 'god', so the rest of us could become gods. And this was when we first picked up the phantom of Halona. Aristide was certain she was the one! She was the reborn queen, he'd tell us, but the truth is, she was nothing more than a lie. In fact, she was nothing more than his personal ghoul."

We arrived at the end of the corridor, where Caelinus paused, momentarily. He started laughing, "It was so obvious she didn't carry the spirit form of our former queen. We still went along with it. Sheep are so easy to control. Aristide knew the truth all along. He had tracked your lineage for centuries and kept it a secret, until one day, we found out about the lie of our phantom queen. That's when he had a choice. Execute her himself, or be banished from the Order. I think we both know what he chose."

He knew about me before this lifetime? So he did have other maidens...

The final door slid open and we entered another large, dark room. The dim lights slowly turned on as we walked in, but it was still difficult to discern the exact makeup of the area. I didn't know what was about to happen. Caelinus walked some feet away from me then finally turned around to face me. He held his hands out to me like he was presenting some gift.

"Maybe Aristide wanted you for his own, personal gains, or maybe he didn't realize how powerful an icon could be. Whatever it is, his debt's been repaid and now we've come full circle. Now you will see the pain of being a nightwalker is not just yours, but it belongs to us
all
!" His hand waved to his right, behind him a spotlight shot on from the distance and I could see a large, cage chamber in the middle of it. Once my eyes were fixed on the man hanging from the top the cage, my heart sank in horror.

Sam.

He was chained and hung upside down, blood dripping from his poor, battered body. On the ground, a pack of rabid Strigoy reaching and lunging; taking turns at trying to snag their meal with ear-shattering shrieks and horrific screams. It was so cruel to see how they'd beaten him, and even worse, my mind was dancing in all kinds of fears. I didn't know if he was alive or fading from this realm. Only the small tickle of his heart still beating, still hoping I'd be there.

Hold on, my love.

It was so difficult not to break down and cry, but this time I would not be Caelinus' puppet. I would not bend to his will.

"It's a shame. I promised him I'd at least let you die together. I guess he couldn't wait for you." Caelinus taunted.

Was that a lie?

His soldiers came to my side and shoved me toward the cage. As we got closer, the Strigoy didn't pay much attention, but it wasn't until they opened the chamber and pushed me in, they immediately rushed after a more, convenient prey. Two to my front, three at my left, three at my right and another two came up behind me. They growled and snarled, hissed and pranced around, cornering me as if I were a helpless animal.

"If you are our goddess, then save them! Save us from falling! Save us from our pain!" Caelinus shouted.

The stench.
I was uncertain if I'd be killed by the smell or their razor sharp fangs. Either way, they gradually moved in closer, bit by bit until the Alpha Strigoy himself leaped in front of me. The suddenness of his mobility startled me, I stumbled a step back and then, he hunched over and stared me down in the face, eye to eye. His large fangs extended, his brethren behind him imitating the same malevolent hunger. They were not afraid.
This is supposed to be my death. This is what my visions showed me.

Was I another one of my maker's lies?

No. I can feel it in me. I've always, felt it in me. Now is the time. Now is the time you let me be free. They want their goddess back? Then let me step out and show them, how the Cognati need to be.

I stared that Strigoy down and no part of me felt an inkling of fear. He knew it. I knew it. They knew it. There was no more denying it. An unspoken respect emitted between us and for the first time in millennia, a Strigoy backed down. He sheathed his fangs and started walking away from me peacefully with his brothers. Caelinus and his brigade were dumbfounded.

"What are you doing!" He shouted at them, commanding they return to his orders. "Kill her!"

But they paid no ear. They went back into the shadows. A little smirk got the best of me and I turned to look at Caelinus.

"What is the meaning of this... " He became agitated and worried. "How are you doing this?!"

I moved closer to the edge of the chamber, smirking at him thorough the iron bars.

"All these years and you still don't know... I am Halona."

No more words needed be said.

This, is war.

His men got their guns ready to open fire and mow me down into oblivion, but they'd be fearfully surprised once they saw the Strigoy were theirs to command no longer, now allies of their queen. The beasts broke through the cage and lunged for Caelinus and his men, while I rushed to Sam's aid.

I snapped the rope and held him close as the Halonic power surged in me.

I had every intention to teleport far, far away, but a rogue bullet snipped my left arm and the effect ended prematurely - only granting us the safe distance outside the citadel's walls. Blood gushed out of my arm, seemingly without an end. My healing gift was temporarily disabled. The wound made me feel human pain again. No doubt the weapons those soldiers possessed used rounds that disabled the dark gifts.

I couldn't let that best me. Sam was barely breathing. He had no idea what was happening. The howls of the wind outside, the distant gunshots, the shrieks and the screams of chaos and terror stifled the air. The moon was no stranger to the sight. She shone down on us amidst a cloudless night, inspiring us to persevere. I had to find the strength to carry on. I dragged Sam with me, intent on escaping into the woods, but we had to find cover once the ongoing battle spilled outside the castle walls and caught up to us.

The Strigoy were hopping around the battlefield, raining terror from the shadows, and with no direct allies to claim them as their own, their rebellion incited the uprising of the test subjects held in bunker. I had to be careful. Anarchy had ensued at every corner and every second that passed by, Sam grew dangerously close to fading away.

"Hold on, Sam." I comforted him, but it would be useless. He didn't respond and quite frankly, he couldn't. The fate of the same mistake repeating again tormented me. Somehow I had to shift that guilt aside and press on. I had to try...

"Fall back! Fall back!", I saw Caelinus shouting in retreat with his men - running for their lives, getting into whatever vehicle was nearby. That burning lust for revenge hadn't quite left me. I wanted to settle the score. Then the insatiable hunger to feed came to me as more of my love's blood soaked against me. Sam's bloody body was painful to resist. Feeding on him would restore my energies, and I knew that well. I had to find the willpower to hold everything together. It was like juggling a million balls.

Suddenly we came under attack. The soldiers on the ramparts spotted us, and they opened fire, unloading entire clips of ammunition. I held Sam tight, using whatever cover I could find to keep him safe. With a pent up, long-overdue, burning fury, I charged a telekinetic blast strong enough to disintegrate those soulless creatures.

But that would not be the end of it.

The Strigoy kept chaos heated. Bullets filled the air around us, coming from almost all directions. More soldiers came to my position, opening fire the moment they saw us. It was as if they were telepathically connected; no doubt, an upgrade from their Cognati overlords.

We were pinned down. I couldn't keep this up. Between protecting Sam and my delayed healing, it was difficult to gain much ground.

Then the moonlight became darkened. The sky was clouded and the soldiers' attention was quickly directed to a new foe on the battlefield. He swooped from the heavens like an eagle diving for its kill. His scent was familiar. His energy, warm to me.

Sergio.

I was momentarily overjoyed to see him, and a soft giggle of excitement erupted from my lips. Then all became serious again, once I saw Caelinus' helicopter rise into the air.

Where do you think you're going?

This isn't over you mongrel!

You will pay for everything you've done!

I set Sam aside, near the walls where Sergio protected us and kept both Strigoy and ghoul-soldier far away. This was the only opportunity for me to get my revenge, but the pain started consuming me. That bullet that snipped me was like poison. My veins were becoming dry and my awareness, slowly descending into madness. I needed to fight it off.

He can't escape!

He can't get away!

Not today!

Every single fiber in my body, down to the very atoms that entail my existence became heated in a storm of relentless, unfiltered rage. I pulled against his helicopter with a telekinetic force so strong, so unreal that no salvation could be possible. The energy brought me to the brink, but I stalled his aircraft and soon, I was pulling it right into the frenzy.

You're not getting away from me!

I pulled and I pulled, then I pulled some more. The flashes of everything I'd been through, everything I experienced, fueled my sleeping power. The sight of losing him again, the knowing of walking this cursed life forever, the taste of blood, the family I left behind, the family I never had - all of it, every single memory. Every pain, every triumph in that one moment inflamed me to a new level past the limit and I would not stop.

Not until I die.

A hand came over mine, setting it aside, telling me - let me take it from here. Aristide. His cold embrace hadn't changed one bit. Shadows formed around him and in an instant, he was in the air right at the nose of Caelinus' escape aircraft and with lightning flashes around the mechanical beast, Aristide ripped it to shreds - pulling it out of the sky.

The helicopter went spiraling out of control, crashing into the nearby forest with a loud boom that shook the ground. It wasn't all victory just yet, though.

We still had to make sure the bugger was really dead. First, I needed to see to it that Sam was still breathing. I rushed to his side and somehow, he was still holding on but not for much longer.

"Misty!" Sergio's demanding tone hadn't changed one bit, "You must go and end it! Stop Caelinus and free our people!"

But Sam's state had me worried. "I can't leave him."

Sergio rushed to my side while Aristide waited anxiously to confirm the kill.

"Go, Misty. I will do what I can for the pureblood. You must end this charade once and for all. Do it for your people!" Sergio's words were convincing and at no point was he ever a man of different shades. I trusted him implicitly, more than any other nightwalker, and if he said he'd take care of Sam, I believed him. I nodded to Aristide and the two of us took off into the trees.

Full Circle

The trail of fire and smoke was not a difficult path to follow. Many of the ghoul-soldiers were dead and scattered across the forest. Once we arrived at the scene, the first thing we did was make sure the real bastard hadn't gotten away. The helicopter laid in shambles. Flame and smoke rose into the now silent night's air. The sound of shifting around and quiet, but distinct groans unveiled the prince hadn't escaped after all.

The crash had done its damage to him. I could safely say, Caelinus was no longer beautiful. In fact, he was literally a bloody mess. His body was scorched to a hellish monstrosity and he was missing an arm and two legs, bleeding everywhere. The dark gifts would heal him in time, but not enough time before we finish him off. Aristide and I, both at opposite ends on Caelinus' side, moved cautiously closer while he tried crawling away. He soon realized just how pointless his pitiful escape was, and so, he rolled over on his back - taking in his final moments with a confident breath awaiting his demise.

"My whole life was in service to The Cognati." He coughed up blood. "I can say without a doubt, our pain - our thirst, will live on in the hearts of those who see past themselves, and it will make them stronger than ever!"

I stood over him, looking down with a feeling of disappointment. All the hatred, all the vengeance, everything this man had done to me wasn't there to fuel me anymore. Instead, I found myself detached from my victory. I felt... empty.

"Finish me." He demanded, raising his only arm toward me - "Finish me!!"