Chapter 21: Now Cries the Black Redeemer
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. On with the show!
To my reviewer Kate: Iam currently a sophomore at Mount Notre Dame High School. Thanks for the compliments!
A little girl stood outside of Vatican City singing a soft, delicate song. Her hair was braided with fresh spring flowers and her golden locks soaked in the sun's warmth as she rose above the horizon. The tune was solemn sounding but gave the little girl hope as she gazed upwards into the sky, awaiting a new dawn.
Now sleeps the crimson petal, now the white;
Nor waves the cypress in the palace walk;
Nor winks the gold fin in the porphyry font:
The fire-fly wakens: waken thou with me.
Now droops the milk white peacock like a ghost,
And like a ghost she glimmers on to me.
Now lies the Earth all Danaë to the stars,
And all thy heart lies open unto me.
Now slides the silent meteor on, and leaves
A shining furrow, as thy thoughts in me.
Now folds the lily all her sweetness up,
And slips into the bosom of the lake:
So fold thyself, my dearest, thou, and slip
Into my bosom and be lost in me.
Jovan grimaced as he attempted to move his front legs. The demon was barely able to see what was happening, thanks to the fact that a large amount of blood was slowly sealing both of his eyes shut. He winced and tried to stand, only to be faced with more pain. Jovan blinked his eyes and could not help but watch the swift movements of Uriel's wings. He was blazing like a purple torch and each time the seraph's sword came in contact with Vlad's there was a loud chiming noise that was deafening to the ears. The demon groaned and collapsed on his side, his long black mane shielding his eyes from the radiant light of Uriel and the dark shadow of Vladislaus. Jovan took a deep breath and tried to stand again. He raised his front legs to his chest and thrust his weight forward. Another painful heave and he then transferred all of his weight to his back legs. The demon shook his mane and found himself standing on all fours, but his legs were trembling terribly. Jovan knew that at any second he could collapse.
Uriel was in a fit of rage. Jovan glanced around and realized that Isabelle, Gabriel, and Carl were all frozen in place, expressions of shock plastered on their faces. The seraph had frozen them solid since he was now in his true form. Perhaps that was a good thing.
Jovan stumbled forward and filled his lungs with air. Uriel and Dracula remained oblivious to the demon's presence, each one determined to slaughter the other. Uriel was no longer interested in salvation, he wanted restitution, and his anger was suffocating. Jovan blinked again and saw that the lily was still lying on the floor, untouched. The petals were turning a death shade of black tinted with red. Jovan glanced over at Isabelle. Her skin was white and she was loosing her mortal qualities. Time was running out if he wanted to save her from her fate.
The lily began to crumple as Jovan limped his way towards it. He bent down to consume the lily but instead found himself face to face with Vlad's sword, which was then quickly thrust against his throat. He raised his head and eyed the vampire. Dracula had gaping wounds all over his once handsome face and Uriel was no where to be found. Vlad was breathing heavily and his raven hair was drenched in blood. Silver blood.
"Didn't know that seraphim bleed, did you?" he huffed. "Uriel has departed in shame and left every single one of you to your fate. Are you ready to accept what God has given you? You should be certain that you have not a chance."
Jovan grinned and flashed his canines. "In these matters the only thing that is certain is uncertainty."
"She is a half-blood, Jovan. You never took kindly to them before. Why should you start now?" Vladislaus raised his eyebrows questionably. "Unless your services were employed by some other than the Lord of Darkness."
"I want not what he has to offer. I want peace. I have brought pain and suffering on this family and I wish to no longer be held accountable. I am sure you feel the same way." Jovan sighed and gingerly shifted his trembling legs.
"How do you wish to prove that?" He pushed the sword closer to Jovan's skin. The demon winced but stood still.
"You love her," Jovan said flatly.
"You pretend to know what loves is, but you have never experienced it, traitor. You use the word in the most liberal of terms," Vlad said with a panicky tone of voice. He narrowed his eyes.
"I know your plan. If she is a vampire you will reign over her forever. She will be constantly under your influence with little hope of breaking free. Your love of her will bind her prisoner, just like the case of Aurora. I refuse to see that happen."
"You would rather have her dead than be one of us?" Dracula said angrily, his eyes fierce with outrage.
"Aye," the demon said softly. Then, with the last amount of strength he had, he reared up on his hind legs, putting his height way above Vlad's. The wound on his face had stopped bleeding.
"I will not let you take her," he roared, and above him the lights flickered. "You held me prisoner once. I was embedded in your principles and lived only to serve you, Vlad. But no more. I have seen what you truly are, and I shall pronounce it confidently: Thou art a demon and I cast thee from this world."
"You do not have the power to do that, Jovan. I shall never let her go. She is mine and I claimed her so many nights ago when both she and Tynan were rescued. You have no say." Vlad batted his eyes amusedly.
"In nomine Domini Sabaoth sui filiique ite ad infernos," Jovan said. The lights above the demon flickered again.
Vlad dropped the knife and backed up two steps. Small beads of sweat were beginning to form a crown around his pale forehead.
"You speak the language of the Church," he cried, his eyes wide in horror. "How does a demon below me in stature speak the language of the Church?"
"You know what you must do, Vlad," Jovan said, his voice sad and melodious. "Help her- help her before it is too late." Jovan winced and bent down on his front knees in an attempt to relieve the pain that was coursing through him. "You have little time..."
"How DARE you command me! I am the master here! You are..."
"WHAT DO YOU SEEK?" Jovan screamed, as Uriel appeared suddenly in the air behind Vlad. He was mounted on a pale horse. Vlad was unaware of the seraph's presence and instead picked up the lily, which now resembled a dead, crumpled leaf. He ran the rough texture between his fingers and looked up at Jovan, who remained bent over, his red eyes shaded from view by long locks of silvery black mane. The demon was dying.
"Save her, Vlad. Prove to her what you seek." Jovan then collapsed, his muscular frame crashing hard against the marble floor. The demon took a long, drawn out breath, his sides quivered for a moment, and then he was still. Vlad merely batted his eyes and proceeded to mull over what Jovan had said.
"I seek..." Dracula went over to Isabelle and ran a long hand down her cheek. Her skin's coolness drove him made with desire and unbeknownst to him, love. This overcame his thirst for revenge on Gabriel and in one, decisive movement he consumed the lily, his eyes of steel focused on hers the entire time.
Uriel reined the pale horse around in a circle, his violet eyes blazing. Dracula had consumed the lily, now it was time to dispose of him. Uriel and the horse raced up behind the unsuspecting vampire, and Uriel thrust his own sword into the heart of the Son of the Devil. Vlad screamed and fell to his knees as the sword penetrated his once newly revived heart, ripping it to shreds. He clutched his breast and plummeted to the ground, and only one thing flashed through his head as he acknowledged his immediate death: his volatile love of the daughter of his archenemy had resulted in his own undoing.
"I SET HER FREE UPON THE CONSUMPTION OF HOPE AND SALVATION! REDEEM US!" he cried, and then, as quick as lightning, the vampire died. His body turned to ash and all that remained of the pungent Lord of Darkness was a small speck on the ground of a blood-stained ballroom. Uriel disappeared just as fast as he had come, his mission fulfilled. Outside of the castle howled a grief-stricken Fenrir, his cries of sorrow sending daggers at anyone who was close enough to hear. Many a person would go to his death bed with the laments of a wolf ringing in his ears.
Author's Note: Questions? Comments? Concerns? Direct them to my e-mail or say it in your review. There will be at least one more chapter so please stay tuned!
In the name of the lord of hosts and his son get thee to the
lower world. - That is what Jovan said
For anyone who is terribly confused, there was a huge chunk of symbolism in this story. I have made you a list of some of the more prominent examples:
Pale horse- Book of Revelation, symbol of death
Lily-Symbol of hope and salvation, consuming it would imply good will towards others and send them a pardon of sins and/or transgressions
Jovan being able to speak Latin-represents the fact that demons do not always act the way a mortal would expect them to act (another example: Vlad being capable of love)
Isabelle, Carl, and Van Helsing being frozen upon the sight of Uriel in his true form- Proves the divine but unpredictable nature of one of God's most powerful archangels and fulfills the descriptions of the seraph and the power he held
Fenrir's lament- I compared Vlad to a wolf in Chapter 14. Fenrir and Dracula shared many similarities, hence the intense grief that Fenrir experienced.
Little girl outside of Vatican- This can be taken several different ways. You decide. :)