Chapter 126


    -Dorothy-


    We slowed down before reaching the coordinates. By then, we were deep within the forest. The fauna


    grew so thickly that it was nearly impossible to traverse on foot.


    Ignatius put a finger to his lips, touching my mind gently with a whisper. “It could still be a trap. Tread


    carefully,”


    As we walked, I tried to organize my thoughts and make sense of the whirling storm of emotions that


    gued me. There was fear, that was a given. Fear for our children and for our mate. Fear of vampires


    and monsters in the dark.


    There was anger too, a bubbling brew of quiet rage at everything that had gone wrong.


    “What are we going to do about to?” I asked quietly, takingtius hand so he could help me over a


    fallen tree. “He’s not to me for this. They got to him somehow.


    “I know. Ignatius kept his eyes on the ground, clearing the way for me as best he could. “We need to


    figure out how they controlled him. We can’t fight them if we don’t know the full scope of their powers.


    We fell silent again and I pondered questioning him about the Sekanne. The vampire’s words were still


    ringing in my head, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that my mate knew more than he was letting on.


    But before I could answer. Ignatius put a hand out in front of me, eyes fixed on something up ahead.


    They’re here.


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    The faintest hint of metal on the breeze. I sniffed the air, crinkling my nose when the vampires rusted


    scent became apparent. The smell of spoiled meat and blood, an uncanny minima of fear.


    There were two of them.


    We both paused in our stride, waiting with baited breath for the figures to approach. A few feet in front


    of us was a small clearing, and the trees bowed low to the ground in an almost perfect circle.


    I peered into the clearing, squinting in the dim moonlight


    The vampires waited in the shadows on the opposite side. I could vaguely make out the shape of two


    people, each carrying a small bundled load in their arms.


    A voice floated to us from across the clearing, a regal, condescending tone that made me want to pick


    up mud and fling it back at the shadowy figures. “You cane out from there, shifters: I can smell


    you. You mutts have a terrible stench”


    Ignatius started forward with an infuriated grunt, but I caught his arm to halt him, raising my voice for


    the vampire to hear. “We’lle out if you do. And only if you bring our children.”


    A long pause before the vampiric man replied, “Alright then, if you insist. But please do understand,


    should you try anything foolish I won’t hesitate to tear out your daughter’s throat.”


    Ignatius stiffened at my side, fur pricking through his skin as he growled.


    A small chuckle from the shadows. She is such a little thing. It would be a shame to have to maime her


    At that. Ignatius burst into the clearing, striding toward where the vampires were slowly emerging. I


    followed quickly behind. him, watching our new aquaintances warily


    The man was tall and slender, painfully beautiful with skin the colour of sand dunes in the moonlight.


    His long ck hair was held back in a half-braid. In his arms he carried Amelie, seemingly asleep.


    My heart stopped for a moment when I saw her lolling head, but her chest rose and fell evenly. She


    was alive, and so was Bliss, who was carried by the other vampiric being


    11:07 Fri, Jan 26 G


    The woman, too, was tall: A-slender willowy figure under her flowing skirts. Pale and hauntingly


    beautiful in the shimmering moonlight, she looked like a ghostly apparition, her dress flowing behind


    her like she was floating.


    The vampiresid the children out on the ground, and Ignatius and 1jolted forward to scoop them up.


    Ignatius lifted Amelie to his chest and I picked up the unconcious Elias. His heady heavy on my


    shoulder and his b*dy twitched slightly like he was fighting monsters in his sleep.


    “What have you done to them?” 1 directed my question at the fernale vampire, the more kindley looking


    one of the two.


    While her eyes were wide and full of sorrow, the other mans lips curved into a cruel sneer.


    “Why aren’t they waking up?!” I demanded..


    The woman merely howed her head, avoiding my eyes.


    It was the man who answered me, his tone dismissive and blunt. “A necessary measure to keep them


    safe from themselves, Your children kicked up quiet a fuss”


    Ignatius held Amelie close to his chest, baring his fangs at the vampire. The man took a cautious step


    back, which was odd considering the vampire’s supposed strength.


    I was partially convinced that this was the vampire that Angie and Fae had run into during their hunt for


    Johan. He fit the description perfectly, It would seem he was somewhat afraid of Ignatius, I saw the


    sh of fear in his eyes.


    “They’ll wake soon. he snubbed sourly before gripping the vampire woman’s arm. “Come, Emma, our


    work is done here.”


    The ghostly woman nodded obediently. She gave me a final, mncholic half smile before turning


    away.


    Who are you? Are you the son of Elliot Armoundt?” I called after them, clutching Elias in my arms.


    “What do you want with the Bielke?”


    The man onlyughed, shing me a cynical grin over his shoulder. “No, I am not the legendary


    dhampir you’re looking for. My master didn’t see it necessary to waste his time with the likes of you.”


    His voice echoed around us as the two vampires melted into the shadows. “As for the Bielke, you


    needn’t worry your pretty lile head about it. All will be clear soon enough”


    After their scent had dissipated, Ignatius and I exchanged weary nces. The sky hung low and sullen


    above us. The clearing was quiet, the still night punctuated only by the asional rustle of small


    creatures underfoot and the distant howl of a lone


    coyote


    “Ignatius?” I ventured quietly, but my mate had already read my mind.


    “You’re right,” he whispered. “That was too easy.”


    We huddled together in the clearing, looking over our children in earnest. We checked each child’s


    neck and wrists for any bite marks but could and nome,


    After a moment, Amelie stirred and opened her eyes. I nearly wept with relief upon seeing our


    daughters’ bright blue irises: as she blinked up at us.


    “Mamma?”


    “Oh thank the goddess!” I leaned over to k*ss her forehead, holding her little face in my hands. “You’re


    alright.”


    Ignatius was c


    choked  his reddened eyes wet as he smiled down at his daughter. When we were sure Amelie was


    unharmed, both our eyes turned to Elias,


    Ours son’s eyes remained closed, but his eyelids flickered in a rapid pattern, as if the young boy was


    dreaming the most terrible of dreams.


    -Unknown-


    She visited me again while I was alone, her face apparating in therge dusty mirror as I strode by. Of


    all Morganna’s tricks, this was the one I hated most, I had shattered every mirror in my side of the wing


    when I learned of her cunning ability.


    1 should have enforced the same tactic in this godforsaken territory that smelled of mutt and ocean


    brine. I did not condone prying eyes, even if they were of my blood.


    I was inclined to throw my coat over the reflective surface, to ignore her voice in my head. Instead, I


    hared my fangs, my own reflection reced by the skeletal face of my mother.


    “What do you want? I don’t have time to spare.”


    You shouldn’t have done that,” Morganna rasped, her reflection blurring in the grime of the mirror. “Why


    did you let them


    до


    nated me endlessly, my mother’s inclination for eavesdropping. It was what had filled her head with


    ideas of prophecy in the first ce. A little Morgama, listening in when she shouldn’t.


    They be back in our grasp soon enough. I pulled on my coat, brushing course hair from my eyes.


    Morganna had liked it short, so I kept it long


    My mother’s response was a hiss, spat from her lips like a viper’s venom. “You should have killed them


    when you had the chance. They are a threat that needs to be culled.”


    “Oh shut up, Morganna.” I had lost my patience with the women long ago. Lost my respect for her too.


    If there had ever been any to begin with. “You’re nothing but a burden to me now, I don’t need your


    guidance nor do I need your whispers in


    I turned to face her, wiping the grime from the mirror to see her clearly. Even in the crystiline ss, my


    mother appeared somewhat blurry, like the very atoms that made up her being had begun to dissolve


    “Look at yourself. You’ve got one foot in the grave already. I’d suggest you hurry up and get on with it.”


    Morganna shed her fangs, wizened lips pulling up over rotting gums, For a brief second, her face


    was that of a young woman, the person Morganna had been before the poison set in


    In the next instant it was gone. Reced by drawn, papery flesh over protruding cheekbones and


    sunken yellow eyes.


    You’re a fool, Gius. A damned fool.


    The mirror cracked under the force of my fist. fracturing my mother’s face before shatteringpletely


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