Chapter 10: The Heir
My parents' lifeless bodies lay on the ground before me, the two oldest and strongest creatures on the planet fallen in mere seconds. At the hand of a sadistic creature, whose red eyes were focused on me. I realized I was somehow kneeling, having collapsed from the horror as my mother and father were killed before me. An arm was wrapped around my torso, trying futilely to hold myself together. The pain, the grief, the loss, shot through me like a knife had been plunged into my ribcage. My breathing uneven and shallow, I lifted my head to meet Calix's gaze.
"Weak," the creature spit at me, "you and your parents, as well as the rest of the vampires. Coddled by useless emotions, imprisoned by your own mind. You cannot rule, you cannot have power with such inferior things holding you back." He had begun to pace, his anger causing the unconscious motion, his need to rant overpowering his agenda. He snapped his head to me.
"Get up!" he snapped. "If I'm going to kill you, it will not be with you lying on the ground like some pathetic human." I closed my eyes, then forced my muscles to move, to pull my body up into a standing position once more. Every part of my body ached, with grief, with pain, with exhaustion. I had to fight him, I knew I did, but I didn't know how. He was stronger than me, probably stronger than all the Sanralae combined. How could I fight the most powerful creature on Earth and win? How could I survive a battle with a beast that had my own blood running in his veins, using my own abilities against me, abilities I wasn't even fully aware of? I caught a glimpse of my parents' corpses in my peripheral vision, and I feared I would be sick. Calix made a disgusted sound.
"You're a pathetic excuse for a vampire, an embarrassment to the entire world. The daughter of the formerly strongest and revered creatures on the planet and you're no better than a measly human. Looks like the Heir of the Sanralae is not much of a prodigy after all!" His taunting made me more nauseous and I didn't meet his gaze, continuing to stare at the lifeless forms a few feet in front of me. I knew Calix could attack me at any moment; I knew I was going to die in this room, by his hand, but I couldn't focus on that, my eyes locked on the two figures. Mother's eyes were open, the blue sapphires, once so full of energy and love, looked extinguished. Father's body was mangled to an unbearable sight, the cobalt of his eyes cold and unseeing. My heart ached; I had only just reunited with him, and I would never get the moments I never realized I wanted: the time to curl up in his side and fall asleep, the time to go on a father-daughter hunting trip, to watch Mother and he dancing under the moonlight like they must have for the twelve thousand years before I came along.
I would never get to talk to Mother again, never see the flash of intuition in her eyes as she detected my true feelings in our mental link, never hear the sound of her laugh, carefree and jovial, as we barreled through the forests of home, our own private Neverland, never feel the warmth of her arms around me, a constant beacon of protection and hope. Internally, I cried out for all the missed moments I would lose. My mind flashed through images of my family, of Eliah, so young and full of hope and prospects and humor, his short life cut off before he had even lived. The Cullens' faces reflected behind my eyelids—when had I closed my eyes?—their loving expressions filling my head. Some many things I would never have with them again; I would never play chess or video games with Jasper and Emmett again. I would never get to spend time with Alice and Rosalie, and grow closer to my godmother. I would never get to help Esme cook, or help Carlisle with research. Those fond memories were over. I would never get to lay in Edward's arms again, feeling his strength over me. I would never see Iria grow up, never see her walk, never hear her first word, never experience her first hunt, so many firsts that I would never see…...or would never happen.
As those images flashed by my eyes, almost like a video reel going in fast forward, I realized all the times that I would never see, but that might also never be. My family was in danger, the entire world was, at the hand of the creature in front of me, the one who had murdered my parents, Eliah, and countless other people near and dear me. Even the Order members who had perished for my life; though I had never met them, I could feel the resonance in my heart for their deaths, the pain for the loss of those of my kind. Some many beings, vampires, humans, or otherwise, can give everything for my family and I, giving their own lives so that we could live. And, as I thought once more of my family, my daughter and mate, a new determination flooded through me. I would die tonight, that was almost certain, but they did not have to. If I could end this here and now, my daughter and Edward and the Cullens and the rest of the vampire and human worlds would have a tomorrow.
With this determination came anger, anger at the Vercrian, for taking away my childhood and life, for trying to take the same away from my daughter; for mercilessly taking the lives of so many beings, who did not deserve such ends. They died for us, because of their love for us. And I loved them; every single creature that put themselves sin harm's way for me, for the Order that continued to serve us throughout the generations, for the Cullens for loving me unconditionally. The anger I felt pulsing through my veins countered Calix's, but my love—for Mother and Father, for the Cullens, for Edward and Iria—was what fueled my rage. My head lifted and I stood straight, my eyes locking on the scarlet ones in the face of the monster that had done all of this.
"You are wrong," I said calmly, looking straight into his face, "We are not weak. Our emotions are what make us strong. Our love is what made us able to thwart you for twelve thousand years. You may have numbers on your side, but not strength. That's why you needed my blood, because even with the Vercrian you knew you could not win. But there was a side of your plan that you did not account for.
"The power of my blood is not something that can wielded by sheer strength and mental superiority; it goes far deeper than that, and that is where it does not work for you, and it never will. My blood relies on a greater conscience and a greater ability, something you cannot attain; my blood relies on emotion, on love. You can feel it now, in my veins. You will never be the most powerful creature on Earth, because you have lost the ability to care for another person. To give yourself to another being in every way possible, to put their life before yours, that is something you will never be able to do, because you gave those emotions in your own selfishness, in your desire to be more powerful than any vampire, including my parents.
"You want to be the best, but you did not know that things as primitive as superhuman strength, speed, and skill do not solely make up one's power. One's essence, their being, their emotional compass, drives that strength. My love for my family and friends, as well as the whole vampire world, is what brought me here, because I am not as important as they are. That love is more powerful than any venom or physical strength you can ever achieve. Even if you kill me, even if you succeed in wiping out the Sanralae, you will never be the best, because we all died for each other, and for the rest of the vampire and human world. You will be powerless, no better than a common mortal."
Calix's answering snarl filled the large hall, bouncing off the old stone blocks to amplify it a hundred times over. "You are right about one thing: you will die tonight! I will have you begging for death, wishing for me to kill all this precious loved ones that you care for rather than you! I will maker you suffer before I extinguish you and then the rest of your precious family from the world!"
I shrugged almost nonchalantly then crouched forward in a fighting stance. "So be it."
Calix lunged toward me, teeth bared, but he did not bother to listen to my words. I felt myself, the fire in my veins, my blood igniting like a match in kindling. With that spark came power, and I could feel it over every line of my body. We hit each other head on, animalistic snarls escaping both our mouths, going at each other for any part we could reach. I was not winning by any means, but Calix was cut by surprise by the strength I had and he hit a brick wall and could not gain the upper hand.
Swipes, jabs, and dodges filled the space between us, him trying to impose as much physical torture as possible. His nails cut at my skin, tearing my arms and stomach open and blood gushing from the wounds. I dodged him as much as possible while also pinpointing his weakest points and taking aim. He did not fall, but he did not advance. I did not have hope of winning this. His rage had sparked my blood in his veins and, combined with his Vercrian strength, I had little hope of surviving. But I did not intend on surviving; I intended for my family to survive, and that meant giving my best fight to give them the best chance. I clawed and bit and tore at his flesh, just as he did for me. His rage and my love, both fueling the powerful blood that ran through our bodies, it became a battle between those two things, with our bodies and minds mere tools on who would prevail. With every attack, faces flashed in front of my eyes, the faces of my family and friends, who would give up everything for me, just as I would do for them.
"They will suffer as you will," Calix hissed and I felt a small shock that he could sense my mind well enough to know what was flashing through my head. "I will find each and every one of them, and make them pay. Starting with your precious little daughter." A scream of fury escaped my lips; without my conscious intention, I threw a hard kick into Calix's sternum; surprised, he faltered, but I didn't give him a chance to steady himself. My teeth bared to the point where I could have sworn I felt the sharp tips of fangs, I bit down on his arm, tearing into him, my venom pooling into the wound. Calix let out a scream, both of pain and shock. I kept going, my mind on overdrive, no conscious thought going through my head, just the need to ripe and tear and kill. In the forest corner of my mind, I could register that the building was beginning to shake, the walls beginning to crumble, but I didn't care. Calix would not walk out of this building alive. I continued my attacks, Calix's snarls and cries flooding into the background as I pushed on without rest. My rage was surmountable only by my love, and those two emotions, the most passionate and dangerous of them all, forced me on.
Finally, I stopped, but only because there was no more of Calix left. His cries had stopped and the only sounds were me ripping his body to shreds. I looked down on his corpse; he wasn't recognizable. With a small sigh that seemed to carry the weight of the world, I sank to the ground, my muscles twitching uncontrollably and my body heaving for breath. Half out of it, I looked around me. The three Vercrian that had held Father were on the ground, their bodies just as mangled and ravaged as their leader's at my feet. Vaguely, I heard the screams of dozens more Vercrian as they fell. Besides them, I saw my parents.
Against the screaming of my muscles and the steady loss of my vision, I forced myself to move, to crawl to the place where they lay. Like a young, ignorant child, I shook them hard, as if they were aught in a dream that they could awake from. Blood-red tears were streaming down my face, along with my own blood dripping from my countless wounds that covered my skin. I could feel the blood loss taking a hold of me, but I didn't care. I knew I would die; but I also knew that I could not have let Calix live.
Slowly, I lay myself down on my side on the cold ground besides my parents, as if laying down for a nap. My body was exhausted, my senses dwindling, but I forced my hand to move to clutch Mother's hand that lay within my reach. I squeezed her palm, although knowing she wouldn't return the gesture. Blood streaked down my arm on her comparatively unblemished skin. As I watched the red fluid fall onto her soft tan skin, a memory tugged at my mind; though elusive, the words came to me in small burst, the knowledge that had been given to me so many nights ago. If I closed my eyes now, I could see my father, holding me in a blanket as Mother slept, his soft tenor voice soothing me to sleep. I remembered his words.
Almost unconsciously, my fingernails made a line vertically down Mother's arm, the cut opening and her own blood pouring out onto the stone floor. I sighed once more, holding my hand to hers tightly, my eyes finally losing their vision. I don't know if I closed my eyes or not, but I felt everything shutting down, the last few pints of my blood coursing through my veins in a vain attempt to cure my wounds. It was no use, and I knew that.
I let myself fall into the abyss. My family was safe; Calix and the Vercrian were gone. I had done my duty.
I had fulfilled the prophecy.
Hi! So I know this is VERY late, but I figured since this chapter was building up for a long time that you would appreciate a little longer in order for me to get it right!
I hoped you enjoyed this series; it is basically over, with just a chapter or two ro wrap up loose ends, so please stay tuned for that!
Please DM me or write a review to let me know what you think! You know how much I enjoy them!
~Melinda :)