Plans Change

Continuing from a previous post:

As he flew at them, both Kalena and Roni were stunned by his presence. His flight was quick and fast. Before either was able to say a word, he had waved both hands up in the air… their bodies came up off the ground to slam against the wall ….. high up to the ceiling. They were suspended there squirming against the cold hard stone.

As he hover in front of them. With his over bearing thoughts his demand was simple, ‘You will go with me before the council… and you will explain how YOU fucked up their plan. You will take full responsibility of this unfortunate change. I’m sure you will have only the next few hours before one of you, if not both of you will see Hell, I’m sure,’ dropping them hard on the ground.He floated down to stand in front of them, he said, “Lead the way.”

The two struggled up right. Kalena’s hand was at her throat. Roni just moaned more in pain. The threesome began to walk towards, the monstrous fireplace in the room. Kalena turned the scone that was attached to the wall. The bricks began to move apart, opening to show a passage way, that Viktor knew would take them down deep into the underground tunnel leading away from the club to an ungodly Hellish hole.

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Kalena turned and faced Viktor and Roni.

She spoke quietly, eyes on Viktor the entire time, “Roni, your attendance will not be necessary. You will wait here.”

Roni slowly nodded, still in pain from her earlier punishment, and took a couple steps back until she was on the other side of the passage doorway. The stone wall slid back into place, leaving Kalena and Viktor in blackness.

Their eyes adjusted immediately, and Kalena glared at Viktor. Viktor’s face was distorted, his eyes wild with anger.

“Take me there, now, Kalena,” he said, his words were almost lost by a guttural growl.

Kalena abruptly laughed through the darkness. “You forget yourself, servant. You are not MY master Victor. No one sees the council without my recommendation or direct invitation from them. You know that. Your anger has clouded your mind.”

“My powers have surpassed yours, woman. You will do what I ask, or I will tear your heart out myself!” Viktor roared and lunged toward her.

Viktor body froze in midair. His eyes widened, his jagged mouth open in a scream that never found its way out of his lungs. Kalena stared at him, her eyes gleamed red in the dark. She tilted her delicate head to the side, looking at Viktor with intrigue. With an easy thought, she gradually shifted his body to where he was directly in front of her, eye to eye.

“Surpassed me, have you?” She said softly. “Surpassed ME? Who in the hell do you think you are? You think your shape shifting abilities make you more powerful? Or perhaps, your mind reading? Even the simplest of creatures can master that…or is it your brute strength? A lot of good that will do, when you are unable to move… Or maybe your pathetic excuse for telekinesis? Is that what makes you superior to me, slave?! Your powers do not seem to be helping you now, do they?” She said with a smirk.

She walked closer to the suspended figure, his face frozen, all but his mouth, which flapped open and closed repeated like a fish. The sight made her giggle. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “You are nothing compared to me, my defiant little child. I am the one who created you. You may think your powers are unmatched because of who your father is, but your father and I are similar in ways you cannot possibly imagine. Yet, your father could not watch you die all those years ago, and all but begged me to change you… and for that he will always be in MY debt. We have the same creator, he and I, and the powers that course through my veins will forever exceed yours. You will always be less than me, and you KNOW it. And now…I am going to make sure you will never forget your place again…”

A snarl escaped as her lips pulled back, revealing her dainty fangs. She stroked the side of his face gently, before burying her fingers into his thick black hair. Her fingers twirled a lock of hair for a moment before snatching a handful, ripping it from his head, along with most of the attached skin. His mouth twisted again into an empty scream, only to be met by a petite fist. Several teeth fell to the ground in a trickle of blood, as well as his shattered hollow fangs. Her fangs sank home then, and she tore them downward. She ripped and slashed her way through his neck and throat. Blood poured down their bodies, her dress quickly becoming soaked, the material clinging to her flawless curves. Her arms reached around his body. Her perfectly manicured hands dug into his back, tearing through flesh, breaking bone. His body bowed from the damage before falling limp in the air. She whispered one last time into his mutilated ear, “You are lucky I am feeling so merciful today, pet. Or I would ruin you so completely, even with your impressive healing talents, you would have trouble fixing the damage…”

She promptly dropped him to the ground, letting him swim in a pool of his own blood and gobbets of flesh.

Kalena chuckled again as she absent minded licked her fingers clean. ‘Feeble slave,’ she thought, as she turned on her heel and continued down the black hall. She moved rapidly, as she had many things that needed to be addressed before he healed and was back in her way. He was becoming more trouble than he was worth. With each year his arrogance was getting increasingly worse, and she was so very bored with fighting her own. ‘He just needs to be eliminated all together,’ she thought to herself. ‘After we take the girls back, of course’…

She knew Hector would be pissed, and with good reason, but she could handle him. She knew of his charade as the so-called Grandmaster and she knew the true power behind the throne would support her in this decision. The real Grandmaster, Alec, had offered his title to Hector a thousand years before, in hopes that his enemies would assume him dead and gone. It had worked, of course, as all his plans did. But the title had long since gone to Hector’s head, and he had truly begun to believe he was untouchable…

She glided through the hall, to a winding staircase. The stairs went down, and down and down. A mere human would have spent 15 minutes or more going to this room, but she had made the journey in less than a minute. She stopped abruptly at a solid stone wall. She smoothed her hand down the front of her dress. The hand came back up smeared with Viktor’s blood. She placed her blood soaked hand against the cool stone and pressed. The stone began to warm immediately, and shifted slightly back. Kalena smiled, pulling her hand away. The door continued to groan its way open as Kalena brought her hand up to her mouth. She stopped, realizing the blood was cold and was beginning to congeal. Damn, she thought. A powerful being like Viktor had extremely potent and delicious blood in his veins. Her mouth still tingled from the sensation of it, and she could feel the power flex in her veins. It had been a pleasure tasting his essence, and she silently decided she would taste it again before she disposed of him.

Once the opening was wide enough, she slid past the stone and into a room with just one thing - an enormous mirror. The mirror was set in a gilded gold frame. It looked ancient - because it was. The reflective surface was not the type of mirror you would find today, but more of a polished glass with metallic flecks throughout. She walked up to the mirror, and stared deep and hard. She pictured the Council, all 6 members spread out across the world. They were almost never all in the same place as that would be too dangerous. There was usually seven members, to ensure a quorum on any vote or decision, but the seventh had forced the Council to exterminate him only months before and he had not yet been replaced yet.

Kalena had, of course, expected her appointment immediately, which she had not received. It had been made clear that the Council would hold that appointment out in front of her, like a carrot on a stick, until this issue with the girls had been settled. If it was resolved to their satisfactory, the position would be hers. If not… well… if not, she may be the one wishing for death.

She allowed her thoughts to call to each of them individually, petitioning for a brief gathering to discuss the past 24 hours. She knew she would be held responsible for the faux pa but it was better to go to the Council then to have them come after you…

Faded images slowly started to appear before her, one at a time. Fuzzy and indistinct at first, then they slowly started becoming crisper. Hector and his wife, Mala, were there together, of course. They were the only two members allowed to reside together. She could see Drake, Nikol, Baren and Jazza all start to come into focus as well. She was glad her favor was still high enough to merit an audience, although she secretly wished they hadn’t shown, as she feared it would be a difficult meeting for her.

“Greetings, Council Members,” Kalena said, bowing her head.

“Hello, Kalena. I must admit I was surprised by the call tonight,” Jazza said, smiling. She was always the friendliest of the group, if you could call a vampire that could invade your mind and drive you completely insane from 1000 miles away ‘friendly’.

Before she could respond, Mala spoke “I understand you are having problems keeping your Kiss in order. Defiance is a poor sign of leadership.” Mala had been against the possibility of Kalena’s appointment from the start and never let an opportunity pass by, to make her look incompetent.

“The two in question have been reprimanded. I assure you, there will be no further issues, Lady.” Kalena was grateful that they were not meeting in person. She feared her words to be false, and any vampire worth their salt can smell a lie. When you tell a lie, your body produces hormones with a very distinct smell… she was sure she reeked of it.

Hector laughed. “I will be very impressed if that is true Kalena. I know my son, Viktor, is a real pain in the ass. I was amazed that you even allowed him into your Kiss after the incident in Spain.”

Kalena smiled. “He is a very headstrong creature, but of course, very powerful as well. He is an asset in more ways than one.”

“Let us cut to the chase, shall we?” said Drake. “We know why you have summoned us, and I must say, personally, I am not surprised the Light stole the women back. It was foreseen that way. You must now concentrate on getting them back. Thana is the key. She was once one of us, and should be the easiest to steal back. She lived as a creature of the night for 300 years – she was extremely powerful and she enjoyed the life, I remember distinctly.” He grinned devilishly before continuing. “She would be the easiest to persuade back. And if we get her, Hunter will have no choice but to follow. And she may very well be the key to finally pulling Allessia into our world as well.”

Hector spoke hurriedly, “If Hunter was convinced to join us as well, your seat is guaranteed, Kalena.” He had been waiting centuries for an opportunity like this to present itself, and his anxiety showed.

“What is my task, my Lords, Ladies?” Kalena asked.

Nikol spoke, finally. “Oddly, your first task does not concern either Thana OR Hunter.” Hector scowled at this. She continued. “I have no objection to allowing the women to continue their training with the Light. The knowledge and powers they will come to possess over the next few weeks will be invaluable when we finally have them with us.” The others nodded in agreement.

“No, your first order of business will be to secure Max’s safety. Tuesday he completes his first year of his rebirth, and his true powers will begin to manifest themselves. The Seer has informed us that his power will be the most dominant of any vampire born in a millennia. We must ensure that he continues to be ours, at all costs. Once his powers are established, he will need time of his own to master them.”

“What is this power you speak of? And ensure he stays with us – is there a chance he would not?” Kalena questioned, not quite certain what Nikol was meaning.

“The power is unknown so we must be cautious. The vision was unclear regarding his actions after his Quickening, and we prefer to stay vigilant. You must do whatever necessary to keep Max in your Kiss and under your tutelage.”

Kalena sat thinking for many moments. How would she do that? Brainwash him? Use force, threats?

Baren, who had sat silently through the entire conference, now spoke. “Use whatever is necessary Kalena. Use any weapon at your disposal.” His eyes narrowed, as if trying to force his thought into her mind from halfway around the world.

“I will do as asked. And I will wait for your next order regarding the women.” Kalena finished.

The others nodded, and Baren spoke again, “Do not contact us again. We will send a call when we feel the time is right.”

His image wavered, and began to fade, the others each following in turn until only Jazza was left.

“You must not fail in this Kalena. Know that I will help you in any way that I can, although I would prefer if you contact me in an alternate fashion if my help is ever required,” She said with a smile. Jazza was the only member who did not agree with the way they had dangled the Council Seat at Kalena. She felt she was worthy and did not deserve to be put through this charade. The task they had appointed her was near impossible, and they knew it. Few expected her to actually succeed. Jazza’s image finally faded and the glass went black.

Kalena sat and thought about what had been discussed. Max was going to be powerful, eh? That would be a definite advantage to their cause. ‘Keep him safe… from what?’ She thought. Surely even with his limited powers, he should be able to protect himself from their enemies. She decided to go ahead and speak with him anyways, and possibly persuade him to stay close to her for the next 2 days. ‘Yes,’ she thought. ‘I will keep him VERY close.’ She smiled at the thought. ‘And I will start immediately…’

She focused her Sight on Max, her eyes fading to black. She knew Max was in the club, but she needed to know where.

A scene unfolded, one she was not expecting. Viktor, obviously healed by now, was standing over him his eyes engulfed in a red glow. Max was cowering in the corner, his shoulder shredded into so much meat, and large claw marks gashed across his chest. The wounds were starting to heal already, but the blood that soaked his clothes made it apparent that this beating had been taking place for a while.

Viktor was yelling, “So you don’t want to be a vampire anymore, eh, Max?!” Viktor rushed at the cowering figure and another slash across Max’s face appeared. Viktor’s movements were so incredibly fast, that the cut appeared instantaneously.

Kalena’s eyes snapped back to violet and then bled to red. ‘Damn it, Viktor!’ she thought, as she rushed back for the stairs. At least now she would have her reason to kill him.

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Thana laid awake in bed next to Hunter, going over the events of the last few hours. Thana had been trying, unsuccessfully, to get some sleep like Thor had suggested, but her body just wasn’t cooperating. Every time she closed her eyes, new images would flash in her mind - some from past lives and some as recent as from the past day. She had gotten to the point where closing her eyes was keeping her from sleep more than getting her closer to it. She lay there, listening to Hunter’s breathing, steady and even, and let her mind wander back to Ally.

Allessia had surprised everyone with her new talent, especially Thana. Allessia was never one for violence, and she worried about her friend being pushed into the position of ‘warrior’. Although Ally had seemed comfortable enough holding the sword, she still felt bothered by it. Maybe it was HOW comfortable Ally was with the sword…

Thana had recognized the sword also. She remembered it piercing her chest, slicing straight through to her heart. She remembered the burning, the agonizing pain of the blade, as well as the thump of the hilt as it slammed into her chest. She remembered at that time she had truly welcomed the death, but the excruciating pain had been unexpected.

She remembered being told that the Sword of Light was one of the only relics that could bring true and instant death to the creature she was at that time. All other methods, such as cutting out the heart and removing the head, were thought to be more painful and drawn out because you were technically still ‘alive’ until the last bit of heart was removed and you felt a blade bite through that last bit of muscle as your head fell from your body. She had wanted it over quickly, and had painstakingly sought out her chosen demise.

Her chest tightened at the memories that had come flooding back. She was almost getting used to the recollections frequently berating her mind, as she had been forced to remember things at regular intervals, ever since the vision quest she and Ally had gone on the night before. But many memories still eluded her… like, why had she been so eager for death? She knew she had been very powerful, more so than others her age, yet that power had not been able to squelch the feeling of needing it all to be over.

Thana dropped her feet to the ground, and slid from between the covers. Standing next to the bed, she reached for the cloak Indra had given her. Wrapping it snuggly around herself, she moved her eyes to the dark fireplace and brought flames to life in the heart of the stone alcove. She was beginning to get a hang of this new gift, and felt more comfortable using it more often. She walked softly over to the fire, and kneeled down before it.

She decided if her body wanted her to remember things, she would open herself up to it and just get it over with. Maybe then it would let her rest…

She began her breathing, slow and deep, working towards a meditative state. She concentrated on breathing, in for 5 seconds, out for 10 seconds, until she no longer needed to count in her head. She visualized a black shroud around herself, slowly peeling away, as if stripping away all the negative thoughts and feelings and discarding them into oblivion. She allowed a pure light to begin pulsing deep in her chest, brighter and brighter until it consumed her person and she could no longer distinguish where her body ended and the light began.

Hitting this plateau, she began letting her psyche open and roam freely, rifling through all the thoughts swimming in her mind. One image she kept going back to was an image of Max. Her heart ached, knowing what they had done to him, destroying all the light and happiness behind his smile, replacing it with something much more sinister and dangerous. She tried to push through that, back to her past memories as she had planned, but her mind would not allow it. Giving in, she let Max’s image fill her thoughts, and began her meditation. The image became clouded as she strained to keep a hold on it. ‘Must not let it go,’ she thought. ‘My mind needed me to see this,’ as she fought for a deeper concentration, a deeper understanding of what her mind was begging her to explore…

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Pain exploded through her jaw and her sight was blurred with tears. ‘Oh my GOD! What the fuck was that???’ she screamed in her mind. She felt as if she had been slapped with a brick. She tasted copper on her tongue, and felt the liquid copper leak out between her swollen lips. She spat it out onto the floor and struggled to open her eyes, when she felt herself lifted off the ground and slammed backwards into a wall. She was held there, suspended in the air. The force holding her there was pressing against every inch of her body - pressing her relentlessly, until she felt the wall begin to give behind her. She was dropped immediately, landing squarely on her feet, feeling pain shoot through her ankles, into her calves and knees. She screamed in pain, and fresh tears sprung to life as she curled into a ball against the wall.

She looked wildly around a room that she did not recognize. The walls painted gold and beige and the marbled floors were littered with shattered vases, torn paintings with splintered frames, and blood was splattered throughout the entire mess. Her blood, she was sure of it.

She must be remembering a torture from a past life, but it was so very intense. She could feel her shoulder throbbing and her chest was on fire. She saw a massive figure in front of her, its eyes glowed red and blood dripped from his hands. She assumed that was her blood too…and she was suddenly terrified. She looked around for a way out of the room even though she knew if she tried to run, she wouldn’t get very far at all. This huge ‘thing’ in front of her wanted her dead. She could smell his hate for her like a thick cloud of cologne in the air.

The figure yelled at her, “So you don’t want to be a vampire anymore, eh, Max?!”

…….Wait… What??? Max?!! He thinks I’m Max!

Before she could process the thought any further, a brick slam into her face again, only this time she heard the crunch of bone shattering under the blow.

She sobbed in pain as she struggled to look up at her assailant. Who would want Max hurt like this?

When her eyes finally focused on the face of the attacker, she froze in shock. It was Viktor! What in the fuck is Viktor doing kicking the shit out of Max?? I thought they were on the same side! A foot swung with lightening speed and she felt the wind get knocked out of her as it connected with her torso.

She took a second to relearn how to breathe, just enough to shout, “Fucking stop it, Viktor!” She was shocked as she heard Max’s voice yell out instead of her own, but was unable to give the idea much attention as she was blinded by pain yet again, this time her own doing. The shouting had caused the pain in her jaw to shoot up through her ear and behind her eye, making them tear up again.

He stopped, looking down at her with rage, his voice fighting through anger for every word, “If you want me to stop, fucking make me, you whiny little shit.”

‘He WANTS to kill me…er, Max…I can see it in his eyes,’ Thana thought to herself. Knowing Max would be dead regardless, she let her hatred for Viktor fill her. Without thinking and with inhuman speed, she rushed him. She slammed into him and they fell to the ground hard, Viktor breaking the fall. She heard herself snarling, and felt her teeth sink into Viktor’s flesh.

Realizing what was happening, she pulled back, the taste of blood filling her mouth. It was like drinking an electric current, the scorching liquid poured down her throat leaving a fiery trail in its wake. The blood woke a piece of her that she didn’t know was even there, one that demanded more of Viktor’s blood. The heat she had swallowed down was beginning to warm her from limb to limb. She felt the bones in her ankle start to mend, and a power began radiating from her fingertips. The feeling was familiar, like an old friend that had finally come home, in fact…

A voice far in the back of her mind was still screaming to plunge fangs back into the man on the ground, but she fought against it. The voice was overwhelming, screaming, demanding, and finally begging to let it take over and mutilate the body underneath hers. Her head snapped back, away from the temptation below her and a scream was ripped from her throat, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” She wasn’t sure whose scream it actually was, hers or the voice’s, but she knew she had to get away from the blood pouring out of Viktor’s wounds before she started lapping it up like a starved cat.

She used the last of her strength to pull herself back and rolled to the side, off of Viktor, who took full advantage of the situation. He sprung up launching himself several feet away to regain his composure. He had not been expecting to be attacked like that, and the surprise still showed on his face.

He lifted his hand to throw his opponent against the wall again, yet this time, nothing happened. Thana stood up, a smug smile spread across her lips. His power didn’t work on her anymore, apparently. Maybe she could make it to the door after all…

She looked past him, to the door, and it suddenly flung open, Kalena standing in the doorway.

“Stop this NOW!” She shouted, her voice boomed, causing Thana’s knees to buckle and give out under her. Viktor lunged at her once again, and she flung her hand up, trying to keep her assailant from hitting her again. Viktor’s body was pushed back across the room, and slammed into Kalena, who was still standing in the doorway.

‘Oh, shit,’ Thana thought to herself. She looked down at her hand, and then back up to the pile of bodies in the doorway. Kalena’s eyes were red again, and she looked very, very pleased.

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Thana gasped for air, as she fell sideways onto the stone floor in her room. She coughed and choked as she struggled to breathe. Each breath sent pain through her lungs and down her sides, around to her back. She gagged on the bloody taste in her mouth, and vomited on the floor.

She heard Hunter talking to her, although he sounded so far away. Every inch of her body was in pain, she was broken. She wanted to call out to him, to tell him what had happened, but her jaw would not work. She reached for his hand, and was just barely able to hang on, as she heard him shouting for help.

He whispered in her ear, telling her that he would fix it, that everything would be okay, but she knew better. She knew that she had taken a beating meant for an unbreakable vampire, and was lucky to have survived it. But she had survived. And once she was able, she had to find out what in the hell she had done, and she knew Thor would be the one to explain.

She knew now that her visit to Max was not a past memory of anyone’s, it had happened in this time, right now. She had somehow pushed Max aside and took his place inside his body. She worried that maybe she had pushed him out for good, but decided it must have been his voice in there, begging for the blood…

She let Hunter hold her and whisper promises in her ear, as he carried her to another part of the maze of underground rooms. She knew he would not leave her and she finally passed out in his arms, just as Thor’s face appeared over her own.