SUMMARY: Three years after the events of Into the Dark and Emarni's mental health is beginning to deteriorate. She's working under somebody else's name- working as the Nightmaster. The demons showed her the light, told her that family would be her downfall. Since them, she hasn't seen her brother or her girlfriend or the rest of her family. She feels alone, she feels crazy. She feels like her mother. And a mysterious visitor and his daughter turn up, claiming to know Emarni's missing niece. The man that visits her is just like her because he too has come back from the dead. Death itself has been stopped by the Council of Elders- but what is their ultimate plan? And how can anything be solved when the Draculas are falling apart?
Hello, my lovelies. I'm back with the sequel and quite quickly too! Remarkably quick, some would say. The first chapter- as the summary briefly mentions- has another person that has returned from the dead. A familiar face. Emarni always explains what happens in Romania but she was already going mad at the time so she's quite vague. I'll probably explain more later on. Just... Roll with me, okay?
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There was a faint patter of footsteps and a thump as something leapt from the roof. There was a metallic rattle as something knocked a bin over. Something hit the ground running, dodging behind a pile of old crates waiting to be shipped away to a foreign country. There was a snarl like an animal's.
"Hello?" Aaron called out into the darkness, "I'm armed, I warn you." He was gripping a power stone with a pentagram carved into it and painted with demon blood. The something, or somebody, swore under it's/her/his breath. This kill wouldn't be as easy. Aaron wasn't an idiot, he knew that there were rogue creatures on the loose. His friend, Katherine Mistletoe, had warned him about the wild demons. The Council had been breeding some more of their own kind.
"Whatever it is, I can handle you." he slid his power stone into his pocket and drew a sharp sword. It was an angel blade, a rare sword doused in holy water and given to the earth by angels. It had Aaron's name scratched down the side of it and had been a present from his father. His last present from his dead father. His father who was killed by demons.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Aaron said, spinning the blade around in his hand. All was silent except for the blade whooshing through the air. Maybe it had gone away. Aaron slid the blade back into his belt and was tackled to the ground, in the same instant. A boy was sitting on top of him.
"Tristan!" Aaron growled, "You probably scared it off."
"What?" Tristan frowned, innocently. He got to his feet, pulling Aaron up with him. The pair exchanged looks.
"The demon vampire werewolf thing!" Aaron growled. There was a loud metallic clank from behind them and the pair spun around. There was nothing there.
"This is insane." Tristan whispered, "You're paranoid."
"If I'm paranoid, why are you whispering?" Tristan didn't have an answer for that one. He brushed his wavy hair back, pushing a loose strand behind his ear. He had hair that most boys would kill for, thick wavy hair that fell in beautiful waves. Heck, most girls would kill for that hair.
"You think it's the Nightmaster?" Tristan whispered. The Nightmaster was a killer that was slowly murdering every hunter, slayer, demon, vampire and human that he came across. He hunted at night, during the witching hour.
"Boo." someone said, in the quietest and laziest tone that the boys had ever heard.
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As they spun around to face the demon vampire werewolf thing, both demon slayers were taken aback. Aaron drew his blade, Tristan's hand went to the power crystal that hung around his neck. A girl slunk out of the shadows, a dark, murderous look in her eyes.
"Emarni Vaccaria." Tristan said, in disbelief, "Oh my angels, you're alive?" Everyone had heard about Emarni, Malik and Katherine being held in the Vaccaria dungeon. Everyone thought that Emarni had died from the Council's extensive torture sessions. But there she was, before their very eyes.
"Yes." Emarni said, her lip curling. She looked pretty awful with dark shadows underneath her eyes, her skin pale and damaged. She was heavily bruised on her face and arms. Her hair was black with dirt, blood streaked through it.
"How? How? How?" Aaron looked at her with interest. She was a fascinating girl, if the stories were true.
"How, my dear boy?" Emarni smirked, "You wish to know how I survived?" She took a step closer, her trainer brushing against Aaron's combat boot. He stared her in the eyes and she gave him a look of pure detestation.
"Even I do not know how." Emarni breathed on his face, her breath ragged with the smell of dead flesh. The boy winced but held his ground.
"You've been feeding." Tristan said. He shot the vampire a look and her eyes flickered to him.
"I heard you were a ghost." Aaron said, "Killed by a kind of skin rot?" His eyes were a shade of grey like the kind that lay on the bottom of river beds, water splashing over them. They were full of fear, his pupils darting back and forth. But his voice was steady.
"I was." Emarni said. In almost slow motion, she shrugged her jacket off her shoulders. She held out her arm for her to see. Her skin was impeccable, not a mark upon it.
"You're not a ghost anymore?" Tristan said.
"Why is that?" Aaron asked, his fingers pressing into the girl's wrist. His fingers traced the faint outline of her dead veins that lingered in her arm. Her eyes glowed a faint shade of red, warning him off.
"The demons brought me back." Emarni said, "They brought me back." A smile crossed her face as if she were happy, "They showed me the light." Her hand thrust into his chest and she grabbed his heart, gripping it between her fingers. Aaron let out a gasp, his heart slowly turning cold.
"I will make it quick." Emarni whispered to him. She pulled the heart from his chest and held it up for Tristan to see. That was it for Aaron, his dead body dropping to the floor.
"Wait, we're friends of Katherine's!" Tristan yelled. A smirk on her face, Emarni wringed out Aaron's heart as if it were a wet towel. Blood splattered everywhere, covering the girl's hands and body. Blood splashed on the pavement, spilling into a puddle on the ground.
"You really think that will stop me? Katherine?" Emarni kicked Tristan in the chest and knocked him off his feet. He skidded backwards, clutching his power stone as he fell. He pulled the stone from the chain that it was hung on and threw it. It landed between him and the vampire, power blasting from it. Sunlight shone in all directions in the pitch of night. Emarni gave a gasp, falling to her knees. Her skin visibly began to burn, eating her outside in. Her flesh blackened.
Emarni threw out her hand and the sunlight was sucked into her outstretched hand, vanishing from the night. She channelled it into a single ray of energy, which flew from her hand and into Tristan. The boy hit a nearby parked car and fell over it, sliding across the hood and hitting the ground with a smash. Blood began to drip from his head and Emarni smelt it, the scent filling her mouth and nose. She licked her lips. Then, she heard more footsteps. These were different ones, not human- they belonged to them. She could hear the rubber soles of the girl's sneakers, the click of spiky high heels from the other girl and the pounding footsteps from the boy's heavy boots. It was them.
Quickly, Emarni darted into another alleyway, close enough for her to watch. The trio sped around the corner, onto the scene almost the instant Emarni left it. She had resist the urge to snarl.
"It's him again." Chloe said, drawing her crossbow, "The Nightmaster?" That was the name that they had given to the creature behind the killings. The headlines dominated even the breather newspapers. It was quite amusing to the blonde girl that lurked in the shadows that everyone would fear her so much.
"I think so." Malik said, bending over Aaron's broken body. He checked that the boy was well and truly dead, before kicking the body aside. No use for it now. Chloe was not so quick to dismiss it, checking for any form of identification.
"Too late." Emarni murmured under her breath with a smirk. She had already thought ahead and taken the boy's wallet- she flipped it open now and looked at it with amusement. Aaron Alderstairs, Demonhunter. The other boy's wallet was almost identical except for the names. Emarni shoved both wallets in her jacket pocket. She wasn't as stupid as the others had always assumed. They were nothing to her, the demons had shown her that.
"We have to catch him before he gets to Seraphina." Ingrid said. She always said that, used the Seraphina card. It was her way of getting people to do what she wanted.
"Or Emarni." Chloe said. At the sound of her own name, Emarni snarled- she hated the way her name sounded in the half fang's mouth- and the vampires spun to face the alleyway. They couldn't see her, she was sure of it.
"Nightmaster?" Chloe called out.
"Or one of the Servants of the Night?" Malik suggested. Ah, the Servants of the Night. The lovely servants that Emarni had talked into working for her. They adored their mistress. After all, she was a beautiful role model and they were only children. Children were the easiest servants you could employ; easy to destroy and required no pay. The trio began to walk towards Emarni as the girl backed further into the shadows. She hit a fence.
"Who is it?" Ingrid drew a stake, the point sharper than a knife. Emarni leapt over the fence and made a run for it, running into the night.
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She didn't have to go far, her lair was nearby. It was dark as she swept into her huge house that she had stolen. At least it used to be a mansion belonging to a very rich man but she had killed the man and converted his home into a lair.
"Good night hunting, Mistress Emarni?" Nia asked, taking the vampire's jacket from her shoulders. Nia had been promoted to looking after Emarni, hand and foot, after blowing up the Slayer's guild with very little help. Nearly all the slayers had been killed. The girl had been eager to work up close with the vampire ever since she had joined the Servants. Emarni ruffled the girl's dark braids.
"Not awful, Nia, not awful." The blonde girl said, walking over to her computers. One of her other servants was sitting at the computers. He looked up to her, looking like he'd seen a goddess, and shook his head. Nothing on the monitors.
"Any new threats?" Emarni asked casually, "Any deaths? Any sightings? Anything at all?" No matter what she suggested, the Servants shook their heads. With a sigh, Emarni began up the stairs.
"Would you like me to try and contact Malik?" Nia asked, following the girl up the stairs. Her mistress spun around, her eyes flaming and her fangs on show.
"Do not say his name in this house!" Emarni screamed, "I saw him tonight, Nia! Three years after Romania and I saw him. And I hate him even more now!"
"I just think that he could be a useful ally-"
"The demons showed me the light! Family will be my downfall!" Emarni shrieked, her hands shaking out of control. They did that when she was angry. She took a moment to calm herself down before continuing in a calm tone.
"My family is my greatest enemy. Love is my second greatest enemy. I will destroy both and then I shall reign over the world. The Nightmaster will rule!" Emarni said.
"But you're not really going to kill your brother, are you?" Nia said, doubtfully. No matter how much Emarni insisted that she had "seen the light", Nia wouldn't believe that the girl would kill Malik. She didn't have the guts for it and she wouldn't be able to cope with the guilt.
"Of course I am going to kill him. Slowly and painfully." Emarni snarled. Then, she ran upstairs to wash the blood off.
She showered quickly, scrubbing the blood from her face and hands. Blood turned crusty and horrible against her skin, making her feel uncomfortable. Like a human would feel after rolling around in their favourite food. As she pulled her t-shirt on, Emarni looked down at her skinny rib cage and poked herself in the stomach. She really was getting very skinny.
"So, that's why people are staring..." Emarni murmured, "That and the fact that the only people I have seen, I have killed." She laughed lightly and began to pull her jeans on. It had been three years since Emarni had last seen her brother. She had been running away from him in Romania. Emarni saw the light, the demons had told her the truth.
"Family is your enemy. Family will get you killed. Again." The head of Council had told her- he told her not to call him Julian.
"You could be the ruler of this world." he had said, "You're very special, Emarni. Family is what's dragging you down, stopping you. You for need them."
"But... My brother. He means everything to me." Emarni had protested weakly, "And Chloe... I love Chloe..."
"She abandoned you." The demon had snarled.
"I suppose you are right." Emarni's head had tilted slightly to one side. She was strapped into an electric chair, which wouldn't kill her but maybe hurt her a great deal.
"Of course I'm right." he had stared her directly in the eyes and she had a sudden desire to believe him. She nodded. She saw the light.
When Malik, Katherine and Ingrid had kicked down the door, claiming to be there to rescue her, Emarni darted past them and out of the door. She spat at her brother as she passed him and ran for the hills.
"Emarni!" he had yelled after her, "What the hell, Em?" She hadn't seem him since. Until tonight. It had been such a shock to see him there, in the flesh. Such a horrible shock.
"Miss Emarni?" Nia knocked on the door before pushing it open, "There's someone waiting for you in the unliving room." The blonde girl spun around, her curls bouncing up and down. A frown was on her face.
"Well, they will have to wait." Emarni said, "It is almost daytime."
"He says it's urgent." Nia said, "And with all due respect, I think you should see him." She held open the door for her mistress, as the annoyed vampire slunk from the room. If it was urgent, then she supposed she better see whoever it was.
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She was sure that she had seen him somewhere before but she couldn't place where. The man had thick dark curls and a frown on his face. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. Maybe, he was a distant relative? Or perhaps a friend of Emarni's mother? Or somebody investigating the Nightmaster?
"Sorry, Miss. He said that it was important." Nia apologised, looking incredibly nervous. With a scowl, Emarni crossed her arms.
"How did you find me? Who are you?" she demanded. The man looked up from where he was studying her monitors. She had been using them to keep watch and find the right moments to kill her victims- when they were alone and out of sight.
"My name is Bertrand De Fortunesa." the man said, smiling a little, "I assume you are Miss Vaccaria? The Nightmaster, they're calling you nowadays?" She ignored his question, waving it aside with a sweep of her hand. She took a step forward, uncrossing her arms.
"How... Did... You... Find... Me?" Emarni demanded, slapping across the face with every word. He winced a little, looking at her.
"Someone got out the wrong side of the coffin." Bertrand said, "They didn't mention that you were moody."
"I am a female vampire, it comes with the territory." Emarni said. Her eyes flashed red and she took another step forward. She reached out and grabbed Bertrand by the throat.
"She's a fighter too. Excellent." Bertrand smiled at her, like she was amusing him. The girl threw him back down, knowing that she wasn't going to get an answer through force. He staggered backwards, hitting the wall with a thump.
"What do you want with me?" Emarni snarled.
"I want your help with something." Bertrand said.
"Why would you trust me? Because I get the feeling that you know my family history." Emarni said.
"I know where your niece is. Seraphina." Bertrand said. And that changed everything. Not taking her eyes off Bertrand, Emarni sat down on the sofa and tucked her feet underneath her. Suddenly, she was the friendliest person Bertrand had ever met. How interesting.
"Nia, get some of our best blood for our guest." Emarni said, offering Bertrand her best smile, "Sit down, have a drink." It sounded more like an order than a friendly gesture. With a tense smile in return, Bertrand took the seat opposite her.
"So, you have a soft spot for your little niece?" Bertrand said.
"You know where she is?" Emarni raised an eyebrow, avoiding the question. Her servant girl handed her a bottle of blood and set a pair of glasses down on the table. Smiling, Emarni tore the lid off the bottle and poured the cold blood into a glass. She pushed it towards Bertrand before pouring a drink of her own.
"I know where she is. She's a friend of my daughter's." Bertrand said, taking a sip from his glass, "But there's something I want in return."
"Please, enlighten me." Emarni said, "Or shall we waste the rest of the night on endless chitchat?"
"I was told that you were a whimsical, empty headed child." Bertrand said, "But you seem like a very mature young lady who knows exactly what she's doing." He held up his glass, as if he were toasting to her. She watched him, casually leaning against her sofa. She picked at the nail varnish on her fingers.
"You are hopelessly misinformed." Emarni said, "That was the old me. The ghost me. This is the new me. The living me. Well, not quite living. And, actually I am a psychopath."
"The demons breathed life into you." Bertrand said, "Most people would die from that but you... You are quite remarkable." The girl leant forward and picked up her glass.
"I am an Absolutuus-Mortuus." Emarni clinked glasses with him, "Now, what do you want from me?"
"A place to stay. A place to work. A place for my child." Bertrand said, "My home has been taken by the demons." The girl considered his offer. She did want to reclaim Seraphina before her family did and make sure that child was brought up right. Some wanted the child as a weapon but Emarni would make her the weapon of all weapons. She would put the child to good use and use her to destroy the Dracula clan, like Elisabetta had wanted. She wanted to avenge her mother, who- she now realised- had been right all along. Bertrand held out his hand.
"It is a deal." Emarni shook his outstretched hand, "Do not make me regret this, De Fortunesa."
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His daughter was peculiar looking. She had been waiting outside, sitting on her dark blue suitcase as Bertrand spoke to Emarni. The girl had dark brown eyes with a look of wisdom that you didn't normally see in the eyes of a child. Her hair was long and dark too, neatly cut with a fringe. She was an intriguing child that acted a lot older than she was.
"Anna?" Her father took her by the hand.
"Did Miss Emarni say that we could stay?" The girl asked, standing up. She had been instructed firmly that she was to call their host either Miss Emarni or Mistress Emarni. Good manners are a sign of good upbringing, her father often reminded her.
"Yes. But you are not to tell her about your gift." Bertrand said to her. The girl tilted her head slightly to one side. Her father forbid her from talking about her gift to other children as well as adults. If people found out, he always said, they might try to steal you away from me.
"Of course, Father." Anna said. She took the handle of her suitcase in her other hand, pulling it along behind them as they entered the house. It was nothing like Anna had imagined. The house was dimly lit, only candles lighting the hallway. The walls were bare except for the wallpaper that had mostly been torn away by what looked like claws. The floor was covered in wooden boards that creaked when you stood on them. The three year old gripped her father's hand a little tighter.
"Hello Anna." The door slammed shut behind them. There was a blonde girl that towered over the small child. Her eyes were hollows of madness and she looked the kind of person that Anna would normally try to avoid.
"H-h-hello." Anna managed a small curtsey, "Miss Em-Emarni?" She was unnerved and that made the other girl laugh.
"Such a beautiful child." Emarni said, coldly. That confused Anna, for she had never thought of herself as beautiful. She never thought about her looks as three year olds rarely do. Emarni knelt beside the child and inspected her, as if she were an accessory that she were thinking of buying. The small child winced as Emarni touched her face gently. Her fingers were ice cold and as dead as the rest of her.
"I used to be beautiful like you. Now, look what I have become. A monster that lurks in the shadows. A killer!" On the last word, Emarni poked Anna in the chest and the girl shrieked a little.
"I am just messing with you." Emarni said, but she didn't sound like she was. She sounded like a crazy person, like a psychopath. Because, guess what? She was.
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Thanking you for reading, my lovelies. Please, read and review.
- Angels, xox.