I have been taken prisoner, I have an ancient vampire begging me to kill him, his creations are threatening to wipe out my new home, family and friends. Just when I thought nothing could go wrong again the cracks in the walls became larger, sending dust flying in every direction. I pushed Octavius away from me in my haste to stand up from the chair to which he held me down. I was just in time to move away when a large chunk of the ceiling came falling down. I screamed eager to get away. Octavius on the other hand was not as eager as I was. The man had a death wish and it was obvious from the way he stood there waiting for his own ceiling to come crashing on his head. Several feet were running down the hall. A few seconds later, Phoenix bust through the door with Basten, her husband and Strukus, Cleopoda's husband in tow. "What is happening?" Phoenix asked."She's here," Cleopoda said, her voice rich with the weight of doom. "We have to get him out of here," Strukus came running in
I must be dead, I thought to myself. But the pain lacerating through my chest, arms, legs and practically every part of my body, assured me otherwise.What the hell was that? That was nothing like Octavius' powers. Or Cleopoda's or Phoenix's for that matter.I have never experienced Strukus and Basten's powers but it sure as hell could not have been them either. What it was had been vicious, vicious to a point of cruelty.I groaned, managing to open my eyes. My eyes was blurry and everything looked red which must mean that my eyes were either bloodshot or blood was in my eyes and that was not a good thing."Stay down now," a voice said beside me and it was a familiar voice. Cold hands brushed against the side of my face, down to my neck and my chest. I struggled to squint upwards to see who it was that was touching me and as soon as I did, my blood froze.The Whaif.First it was the smell of death that hit me, then the terrifying, horrific cold sank into my bones.She smiled. The da
Kayla's eyes widened. Without a word, she held on to me and tried to pull herself up. My legs were alright but were still so weak that I couldn't even rise to my knees to help her up. Eventually, she was able to rise and her bones creaked into place as she did."Can you walk?" She asked me.I shook my head too embarrassed to say no. Kayla didn't mind. She reached down, tucking her hands under my arms as see easily pulled me to my feet. I held on to her strongly. Blood was beginning to rush back to my feet, chasing the numbness from them. Kayla took all my weight on her shoulders, leading me away from the rubbles. I tried not to breathe too much in order not to upset any broken bones in my chest region. I had to wrap one hand around my middle while the other hand held on to Kayla's neck. My back still hurts pretty badly from the fall I took when Ashterah flung me in that explosion.Where was she now?I didn't even have to ask. Her shrill, evil laughter filled the air. "Octavius. My lo
Ashterah let out another evil laugh. "Seems like the human has finally figured it out." She seemed pleased with herself. "But it changes nothing. The time has come Octavius. It's time for you to come home to where you truly belong, maybe this time I won't punish you for what you did to me. I've missed you some much I'm sure I can overlook your sins of imprisoning me like a common criminal."Cleopoda moved to stand in front of Octavius. "He is going nowhere with you.""No, he is going to Mount Kpamos with me. Get out of my way you silly idiot.""No," Cleopoda said vehemently. She pushed Octavius behind her. Her white eyes sparked - literally. Flashes of lightening sparked from the edges of her eyes. Even her hair was beginning to stand on end with static. White hair rose from her shoulders, spreading out like tentacles. Flashes of lightening ran between her fingers."If you must take my father, then you have to come through me."Ashterah looked completely bored she even yawned. "I blam
This is it, I thought to myself. I waited for the pain, the death. I'll die in a strange land but I will die in the arms of the girl I like.Then someone coughed.That wasn't me. I waited for the pain. Nothing came. Nothing happened.I slowly cracked my eyes open, expecting to see that pearly gates of heaven open with Angels on either side waiting to welcome me in. But what I saw was Starlight's face, her dull eyes and the blood that pooled in her mouth. Her skin was paler than it usually was.Kayla opened her eyes too and let out an ear splitting scream. Starlight gagged, more blood spurted from her mouth as she did. The front of her shirt where the spear had pierced through her heart was soaked with blood. She was half fallen on the floor, her body sprawled on the ground in front of us. One hand held the spear in her chest as if in a fruitless effort to pull it out. "Starlight!" Kayla screamed.Starlight opened and shut her mouth as if she was trying to talk but her efforts cau
This is it, I thought to myself. I waited for the pain, the death. I'll die in a strange land but I will die in the arms of the girl I like.Then someone coughed.That wasn't me. I waited for the pain. Nothing came. Nothing happened.I slowly cracked my eyes open, expecting to see that pearly gates of heaven open with Angels on either side waiting to welcome me in. But what I saw was Starlight's face, her dull eyes and the blood that pooled in her mouth. Her skin was paler than it usually was.Kayla opened her eyes too and let out an ear splitting scream. Starlight gagged, more blood spurted from her mouth as she did. The front of her shirt where the spear had pierced through her heart was soaked with blood. She was half fallen on the floor, her body sprawled on the ground in front of us. One hand held the spear in her chest as if in a fruitless effort to pull it out. "Starlight!" Kayla screamed.Starlight opened and shut her mouth as if she was trying to talk but her efforts cau
"Who were you talking to?"I thought about lying then decided not to, jerking a hand toward the door instead.She frowned still smiling though. "What?""The door. The doors talk around here.""They do?""Yes, we do," Pyne replied sassily. "What do you think, sexy vampire?"Kayla laughed, surprised by Pyne swinging himself against her. She entered and stood on the other side to look at his face."Wow that's something I have never seen in all my life.""Magic doors," I supplied. I was nervous. Now that it's all over and we've rested a little I needed to know where we stood. I know, we just finished a battle and all that and I should be more concerned about mourning the dead and thinking about where to go from here. But when you've had a brush with death more than once, you tend not to think about the past, you only care about how to move on and was exactly what I was doing.Kayla laughed again, raising slender fingers to touch Pyne who seemed to enjoy her touch. He even gave me a triump
It was almost as if nothing had happened here a few hours ago. Gone were the dust and scattered rubble. Every stone was back in place. Even the maze garden that i had crashed into when Ashterah appeared was now back to normal. The guards were back to their position at the gates - where were they throughout the battle again?The evening sky was a lovely dusky purple with a few stars winking behind the inky curtain. The moon was a faint crescent in the sky. With Kayla's hand in mine, we walked to the back of the hotel. There was a trail there that led to the private woods. The path was lit by dimly lit lamps, all of them about 3 metres high, placed on either side of the path.I had tried to collect twice and failed twice to collect the picnic basket from Kayla. She protected it jealously and every attempt to collect it was met with a quietly spoken, "It's not heavy you know?"And she wouldn't stop smiling.We walked down the path to the woods. The trees blocked out what little light th
EPILOGUEAnd just like that, every Daemon crumbled to dust, screaming and screeching like dying birds.Ashterah's chain fell lose and I rose immediately, running toward Kayla and my child. Kayla was crying crystal tears as she hugged me, her hands tight around my neck.My son, when I looked down had gone to sleep. But his venom, his blood had been the secret to killing Ashterah. Starlight knew this and let it happen even though it meant the death of her mother.Cara crawled out of the corner crying. She was holding my mother and Logan had his arms around both of them.Camila was nowhere to be found although later when we searched the damage we found her limp body, bloodied.Later when we cleared the rubbles there were a lot of questions to answer. Mom had to answer the questions about my birth. Cara needed answers to my identity, my child with Kayla. There was so much to know. Some many questions to answer but most importantly there was healing. Will I tell you everything went back
A crack in my neck was the only noticed I got as the side of Dad's palm connected with my neck. Mom's wail grew louder. She ran for Logan who tried to step in between me and Dad but Dad's attack was swift. He easily sent the force of his hand through Logan's chest sending the larger man flying into the wall.Logan sputtered blood. Mom screamed and ran toward him. Camila lifted herself and went to a far corner of the room where she sank to the floor in tears. Dad stepped back from me. "You are a Mergant whose powers hasn't finished manifesting. Do you think you could easily hurt me, Shawn. I've been fighting against all sorts of creatures for mankind for years. You think a few venoms flowing through you will make you defeat me?"He laughed.I raised my hand to my neck to see that my neck was still intact but the force of that blow was so bad that my vision was still blurred. "Your powers are manifesting, boy. You are a combination of human, hunter, daemon and vampire. Have you wonde
"We are in a lot of trouble."I nodded. It hadn't been easy to send Cara off and it sure as hell would not be easy protecting everyone if Sam, Gabe and the rest of their vampire hunters club get in the way of this battle. "First things first," I said. "I need to go to my Mom. If Cara knows I'm here, it won't be long before Jeff hears about my arrival. Eventually, word would get to my Mom." The disadvantage of a small town. "I need to leave now before that happens."Everyone agreed that was the next best course of action. They also agreed that taking Kayla was good too. The Storms had a sedan in the garage with tinted windows. The plan was simple. I go in and reunite with Mom then figure out how to present the lie about Kayla.If I was human anymore I would be sweating buckets but the only since of my anxiety was the tap of my index finger against my thigh as Silver loaded the trunk of the sedan with my things and Kayla went to the front passenger seat. As soon as the car was loaded,
"We can't turn her away can we?""She's seen us already, the car is outside. She knows we are here.""She's here to see me," I said getting up. If I had a heart it would be racing heavily. How can I meet her now? It's too soon."Maybe I can tell her you're not here," Silver suggested.I was really considering that but right at the moment, Cara pressed the bell again and this time she peeped around the glass door. "I know you're there Shawn. I saw you."I exchanged glances with Kayla and Silver. She's seen me already. There's no point hiding now. I nodded at Silver who came to stand in my path. Felicia had risen too and was standing in front of me defensively. "Are you sure?""You've see how I am. I have enough control where people are concerned. It's not like I'm going to suddenly attack Cara of all people.""Maybe not," Felicia said. "But all she needs is to look at you to know something is different about you.""Not if we act normal."Cara rang the bell again and this time she pre
The Jeep bounced on loose rocks and uneven ground, sending stones flying in the air as Silver navigated the trail that led up to the Storms house.Unsurprisingly, Felicia and Jared were waiting outside. As soon as Silver brought the car to a stop in front of the garage, they half ran toward it. And then came to a stop when they saw Cleopoda and Phoenix sitting in the third seat at the back.Their eyes were wide."Goddess!"Hold your greeting, Cleopoda told them as she stepped down from the Jeep to the ground. "I have come to save your lives not to be praised."Phoenix on the other hand was not so amused. Felicia and Jared didn't seem to keen to talk to her too. They passed Silver a wary glance full of questions which Silver promised to answer later. There were other pressing issues.Like Kayla.Felicia was the first to notice it even before she stepped out of the vehicle.Her jaw dropped and she looked around for explanation. "You are... pregnant? How?"Then her gaze caught mine and h
The plan was set, the only thing remaining to do was it's execution and we needed to that as soon as possible. Soon which meant the next day. Silver and Miles left toward midnight to head back to the guest house to get our things while Cleopoda and Phoenix went behind closed doors with their husbands.As for me, I spent the night in Kayla's room, watching her - well lie still. Her skin was pale against the white sheets. A tray lay on a bedside table and it in were six blood bags, three of which were empty. Kayla barely opened her eyes but sometime before we finished the meeting downstairs, Cleopoda had brought the blood and Kayla had taken three at a go.That tells me something. The baby was hungry - very hungry. Unlike me. After transformation there were no pangs of hunger. Sure, I reacted to see blood and being around humans but that was all. Maybe this child is a little more normal than I am.I left the window where I had been standing, keeping watch of Kayla, and made my way towar
Her voice was hoarse, very throaty with pain. Her face was a grimace, a mask of pain but every time anyone tried to go close to her, Kayla would shrink back, worried that we would try to hold her down to tear the lump in her belly away from her even though it was obviously killing her. In just a few hours her skin had taken on a gray tone, looking dried and shrunken to her skin.Silver was more forceful with trying to get Kayla to see reasons with why we had to get rid of the child but I stood in her way. The last thing I wanted was for her to hurt Kayla in the process of trying to save her."Take it easy, Silver," I told her, pushing her back from Kayla.Her eyes sparked anger at me. "That thing is killing her!" She screamed."I'm fine!" Kayla argued but her voice was weaker. Cleopoda had run to the room with Silver but she withdrew to get something. Maybe to call the others.Silver's gaze softened. She clutched desperately to my shirt, "Shawn you have to do something," she whispere
We got upstairs together when Kayla stopped, turned around and put a hand on my chest."I meant what I said, I'm keeping this child. I don't care what it is - monster, human or vampire. I'll keep it. You don't have to feel responsible...""I want to be responsible for taking care of it with you. We made it together. It wouldn't be fair if I just up and skipped off - not that I am ever going to do that." Camila came to mind and I took Kayla's hand off my chest to hold between both of my hands.Her eyes encouraged me to explain further which I did. "I did that before. I made a mistake once, slept someone I wasn't supposed to. My stepmom to be. I was worried about getting her pregnant or getting caught. The last thing I wanted was my father getting to know the truth and if j had stayed any longer, he would have known. So I did what I had to do, I packed my things, took off and came to WhiSare. I was a coward but right now, the new me doesn't want to be a coward anymore."She smiled, her
To say that everyone's jaw dropped is an understatement. One thing I'll say for sure is that the same look of disbelief was etched into every facial feature. That is, until Kayla stood up, pushed her chair back and revealed the bump.Silver nearly fell out of her chair. Same with Miles. Neither of them could believe what they were hearing. And seeing.And so I too because in an hour Kayla's belly seemed to have grown a little more. She noticed this too and turned worried eyes to me. I took her hand in mine to let her know that I was there with her every step of the way. The only people who didn't seem too shocked were Octavius - well, in his case as you have gathered, few things surprise him and he barely shows his feelings in his expressions. He's also a man of few words. And Phoenix. But it looked more like she was angry than unsurprised which in itself was surprising. "H-how?" Silver muttered. She could barely even get the words out. It's the second time since I've known her that