Chosen Chapter 7: City of Darkness

Part 2

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In a luxurious and modern house overlooking the bay area, the warlock Bacarra leaned against the railing of the balcony as he looked up at the dome. Dressed in an open hanging black bathrobe with red silk boxers underneath, he sipped from a glass of scotch. The plan had worked perfectly, the spell he cast had pulled the entire city in darkness and everything inside now belonged to them. It was a perfectly evil world with the Brotherhood in control.

Territories had been divided between the members and each gained what they wanted. Bacarra gained access to all things magic, the vampires had unlimited fresh blood and the Creepers came into possession of all spirits that remained trapped after death. A perfect utopia that would sustain them all for decades to come. And when the city was nothing but an empty ruin, they would simply move on to the next.

When Bacarra heard some sounds coming from the bedroom, he turned around and walked inside. Klea was lying on the bed in a seductive little purple set of lingerie. After the plan had succeeded, they had both finally given in to their desire for each other.

"Come back to bed, the sun won't rise for another… ever." Klea said temptingly.

"I wish I could." Bacarra replied. "I still have a city to run."

"Correction, we have a city to run." Klea said as she sat up. "Do not forget that I now have a seat at the table. And I have yet to get my own territory."

"Don't you want to share?" Bacarra asked.

"I have earned it." Klea replied annoyed as she stood up and covered herself in a robe. "For years, I did everything you asked of me. Now it is my turn."

"Then what do you want exactly?" Bacarra asked.

"Give me control over the city." Klea replied as she walked over to him. "I am tired of the chaos and those vandals and criminals destroying the streets. Allow me to organize a new order in the city, where the mortals bow down to our rule."

"My, my, you are very ambitious, aren't you?" Bacarra remarked as he let his hand caress her cheek. "No wonder you're so irresistible."

"Well, I know what I want and I know how to get it." Klea replied as she took his drink from his hand and took a sip. She then leaned in and kissed him, letting her hand rest on his bare chest. "So how about you get me what I want, and I will help you get what you want."

"And what is that?" Bacarra asked.

"The Chosen." Klea replied. "They are the only threat out there and I know you have not been able to find them yet."

"They are not a threat, just a minor inconvenience." Bacarra replied casually.

"And what if they find out how to break the spell?" Klea asked.

"What would you know about that?" Bacarra asked suspiciously.

"It is not that hard to figure out." Klea admitted. "I was there when you cast the spell. It is quite an obvious loophole actually. It won't take long for the witches to figure it out."

Klea turned around and walked over to the walk-in closet. She let her robe fall off her slender form and put on a little black dress with a dark grey blazer over it. She walked back into the room and sat down to put on her heels.

"Where are you going?" Bacarra asked.

"Like you said, we have a city to run." Klea replied. "And if I want to have it my way, I need to have a little chat with those formerly in charge."

"And what about us?" Bacarra asked.

"I am sure you will be able to entertain yourself for a few hours in your little haven." Klea replied with a faint smile.

Klea disappeared in a shimmer as her eyes glowed red for a moment. Bacarra sighed and he turned around and closed his robe. He called out the name of his number one minion and a moment later, a scruffy looking young warlock called Rickon appeared in a blink. He ordered him to do whatever it took to track down the Chosen and his minion quickly disappeared again. The dome did have a fatal flaw, but he had not expected Klea to figure it out so soon. He had to ensure that the Chosen were dealt with before they found out.

Xxx

In the safe house formerly known as P3, Violet walked across the club handing out blankets to the refugee magical beings they had taken in. Life in the dome was difficult for everyone, but magical beings had it the hardest, as they are a constant target to the Brotherhood. At least they could offer safety to a few of them. After running out of blankets, Violet sat down on a bar stool and grabbed a bottle of water. As usual, the moment she took her break, her mind wandered to Arthur. She was glad he was safe outside of the city, but she missed him as well. She wished she could get a premonition about him or something.

"How are you doing?" Duncan asked as he sat down next to her.

"Could you please stop asking me that?" Violet asked with a sigh. "We're all in the same mess, aren't we?"

"True, but that doesn't mean I can't worry about my friends." Duncan replied.

"So how are you doing?" Violet asked in return. "Still obsessing over your warlock boyfriend?"

"Okay, first, he is not my boyfriend, second, he is not a warlock, and third of all, no, I am not obsessing over him." Duncan replied annoyed. "I am sure they got out of the city long before the dome came up. They are probably half-way around the world by now."

"Right, so not obsessing?" Violet asked.

"No." Duncan replied somewhat doubtful. "Hey, what is Tyler doing here? I thought he was with the Charmed Ones?"

Violet followed Duncan's gaze and saw Billie and a surprisingly grown-up Tyler coming in through the back office. He had sure changed since they last saw him a few months ago. As Billie waved them over, Violet and Duncan got up and joined them in the back of the club, which was used as a meeting area to discuss their plans. As they arrived, Billie threw a small bag on the table. Violet realized disappointed that it was all the food she had managed to gather.

"I got attacked by Hellhounds." Billie said as she opened the bag. "Looks like we need ration even more from now on."

"Well, a least we still got plenty of booze in the club to drown our sorrows." Duncan remarked.

"So why is Tyler here exactly?" Violet asked.

"I want to help." Tyler said. "I am ready for it."

"He just showed up." Billie added with a shrug. "It was too dangerous to send him back alone."

"Hey, I can take care of myself." Tyler said annoyed.

"You can say that again." Violet remarked under her breath as she looked at his impressively massive arms.

"We need to discuss the next step. We can't wait around forever." Billie said. "Where are Mikelle and Hope?"

"Mikelle is still stuck in her Zen mode, trying to contact the outside world." Duncan explained. "Hope went out a few hours ago to scout the area."

At that moment, the back door flew open and Hope stepped in. She was dressed in a dark green jacket, faded jeans and brown boots, with a sword strapped to her back. She was slightly covered in dirt and had a few scratches. The current Guardian of Pandora's Box had joined their little rebellion a few days after the dome had appeared, after she had secured the box in safe hiding spot. They were lucky to have her on their side, as she was awesome at kicking demonic ass.

"What happened to you?" Billie asked concerned.

"Ran into a small swarm of vampires." Hope explained with a sigh as she dropped her sword on the table. "Who is the life-sized ken doll?" She added as she nodded at Tyler.

"That's Tyler, he is just visiting." Billie replied, and quickly hushed him before he started to argue again. "Are you hurt? We can get Mikelle to heal you."

"I am fine, just a few scratches." Hope replied. "And not to worry, guardians are immune to demonic infections. I think I am pretty close to figuring out where their queen is hiding."

Hope grabbed a map of the city lying on the table and used a red marker to point out all spots where she had run into vampires. They all knew the Brotherhood had abandoned their former penthouse and spread across the city, but this was the first time they had gotten a lead to their new locations. When Hope was finished, a large area surrounded Golden Gate Park.

"The vampire nest is in the park?" Billie asked with a frown.

"It makes sense when you think about it." Duncan replied. "Typically, vampires have to avoid the sun, meaning they can't be out in public for too long. Now that it is eternal night, they can remain outside as long as they want."

"And enjoy the nice scenery apparently." Billie remarked. "So you want to take them out?"

"Well, if we take the queen out, we destroy the entire hive." Hope said. "It would end one of the biggest threats in the city."

"But if we attack one of the Brotherhood members now, the others could go even deeper into hiding." Duncan said. "They are not going to take changes if they know we're targeting them."

"So we need to attack them all at the same time?" Violet asked. "That would mean we need to split up. That is too dangerous, we're strongest as a collective."

"Besides, we have no idea where the others are." Billie added.

"Actually, we might." Mikelle said as she suddenly joined them at the table in a swirl of tiny blue orbs.

"What do you mean?" Billie asked.

"You know I have been trying to contact the outside world, right?" Mikelle said. "So far, I have not succeeded, but I did detect something else. The dome is preventing spirits from crossing over."

"So everyone who dies in the dome is stuck here?" Duncan asked. "That is horrible."

"Yeah, but that is not all." Mikelle continued and she pointed to a warehouse district on the map. "All spirits are being drawn to a very specific spot, which is right here."

"So something is collecting spirits." Billie said. "What happens to them?"

"I don't know, they just disappear, like they cease to exist." Mikelle replied.

"Could something be feeding on them?" Duncan asked with a disgusted face.

"Could be, there are a couple of demons that feed on spirits." Mikelle said. "We won't know for sure unless we investigate."

"So we have two targets, on either side of the city." Billie concluded as she studied the map. "These are the best leads we have had so far. We can't waste them. We have to make a move. We suspect that both the vampire queen and this other demon are members of the Brotherhood, right? If we can take them out at the same time, Bacarra is the only one left."

"He is also the most dangerous." Violet replied.

"We have to take a vote on this, I think." Duncan suggested.

"Okay, I vote for action." Billie said.

Everyone at the table took a vote. Billie, Hope and Mikelle were all for direct action, and Duncan seemed to agree with them for the most part as well. Tyler also wanted to fight, though nobody really took his vote seriously. That meant that only Violet was against the idea. She hated the idea of splitting up, as she felt something horrible would happen, but she guessed she was outnumbered.

"I guess it is decided." Violet noted reluctantly.

"I know it is not perfect, Vi, but the longer we wait and do nothing, the worse it will get." Billie said.

"I know that." Violet admitted.

"Alright, we will need to divide into two teams." Billie said. "Any suggestions?"

"Well, vampires are immune to the powers of witches." Hope said. "So I think I should head there in any case."

"Agreed." Billie said. "And since I know how to best defend myself without my powers, I think I should be on team fang as well."

"What about me?" Tyler asked. "Vampires are immune to Wiccan powers, but I am a Firestarter. Vampires are weak against fire."

"I hate to say it, but he does have a point." Hope admitted.

"Oh great, so we're not team fang, we're team blonde." Billie remarked dryly.

"So that leaves Mikelle, Violet and me on the other team." Duncan concluded. "Perhaps that is best, since we have the most magical knowledge and we don't know what we will be facing."

"So we all agree?" Billie asked.

Slowly everyone nodded until all eyes were focused on Violet. She still could not shake the feeling that this was a bad idea, but she had little choice but to go along with it. She just hoped they would all make it out of this alive. She did not want to think about it, but last night she had a dream about an empty grave, and she wasn't entirely sure it was just a dream. She was afraid that someone she cared about was going to die.

Xxx

When large glass doors swung open, Taylor was guided into a large tropical garden by two other vampires. Similar to the others, she was now dressed entirely in black and dark red. She wore a crimson tube top and black leather pants and black heels. Around her neck she had a necklace with a red jewel shaped like a drop of blood. She headed to the center of the garden and kneeled down.

Her queen was sitting on a red longue chaise dressed in a stunning red dress, surrounded by her undead children. The entire hive was young and beautiful, carefully selected by the queen herself. A male vampire was kneeling down next to her and held a chalice of blood.

"Stand up, my dear." The Queen said and padded on the chaise. "Please join me. Everyone else may leave."

Each vampire slowly nodded and quickly left. Nervously, Taylor stood up and sat down next to her queen. "How may I serve you, my Queen?"

"No need to be so formal when we're alone, dear." The Queen said. "You may call me Irena. I wanted to talk to you about your friend, Billie. Remember her?"

Hearing the name of her former friend triggered a memory. She was lying on a table, bound and about to die. A voice sounded in her mind. "The reason you are here is because of your friend Billie. She has been lying to you all this time." It was the last thing she had heard before she died. Somehow she knew it was true. Billie had been lying to her and she hated her for it. She was not a friend anymore, she wanted her blood. If she ever saw Billie again, she was going to die.

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