Chapter Four ~Cret~

Every part of me ached as an unrelenting reminder from the battle I had walked away from. The shallow scratches on my arms and face stung each time the chilled morning wind swept across the valley and against my body, causing me to cringe with the refreshed sting. The tense response of my muscles to shield from the feeling sent a burn up my side. The hole there was worse and more painful than any of the other wounds I had suffered. A steady drip of blood still fell from the gash as I continued on my way, but none of these physical reminders of last night could touch on the agony I felt over those moments of instinctual reaction.

I knew the battle between Serenity and I was coming. It was unavoidable, though I had hoped to delay it and the choice I would be forced to make. There were two options laid before me, kill Serenity or let her go. Let her vanish away and ignore the fact she was still living. I could do neither.

My sense of duty refused to leave me in peace. When I was close to Serenity it urged me to kill her, but I couldn't let her go either. The thought of her existing in this world made me want to be close to her, and there was where the dilemma resided. Her living apart from me was too painful a thought, and her death was even worse.

The memory of Serenity's gaze fading away, all the spark draining in such quick secession of time, had found me back in that dulled state of survival, while the fear of my own demise by the clans nagged me to find her and finish it.

The conflict I had felt in the past, the troubles I had faced with my own need for belonging couldn't touch on the turmoil I now faced. My mind screamed at me to follow duty above all else, urged along by my desire for acceptance. A place that I would belong in this world, while every fiber of my being was drawn to Serenity. The deep primal instinct to protect her so deeply enrooted I couldn't understand where it had come from. It was so unnatural.

This ordeal was too much, I was reaching a limit that was beyond me and I found myself turning to the teachings Rhea had ingrained inside my warrior mind. If there was one lesson I took from her and held in the tightest grip it was her warning to keep myself in line. To turn my back on that darker nature of my father's, and do as I was told. It was what had kept me alive this long, that seemed like the most impossible task. That darker part of me wanted something that my duty wouldn't allow, and it was growing stronger with each ticking second.

Sparing Serenity couldn't make me that much of a monster? Saving a life couldn't be such an evil thing that I should be punished, besides the world was far more interesting with Serenity in it. She was a creature I needed, and maybe the world did too for balance. That argument meant nothing now. I snuffed Serenity out.

No, she was still breathing. I reminded myself as I limped up the last hill to reach a resting point, then it would be onto my destination.

Traveling up the western side of the valley where the hills were a little steeper, I was heading toward Rhea's secret study. A place dug deep into one of the large mounds that crafted the ridge of the valley, well hidden by the natural foliage, it was the perfect place to watch the city and keep secrets. It was just beyond the ruins that lay over the next incline that flattened into a plateau stretching for about a mile or more.

This place was long forgotten. No one traveled this far west of the city. The memories here were too painful, a well-preserved reminder of the cruelties of the world they lived in. Many thought it cursed from all the bloodshed these lush green fields had seen, prompting one of the previous kings of the Vrasum Province to reconstruct the main road. Weaving the path around the ruins to the south before it turned northwest toward the capital, it added a day's travel to the journey but no one seemed to mind avoiding what lay within these hills.

Just ahead was the place where Serenity was born, or rather crafted. The child she was reborn into—the thing that now plagued this plane was no longer the person that lived in the village just beyond these overgrown slopes. So much tragedy in such a beautiful place, it made the soul weep.

The fresh growth of spring bloomed all around, complementing the tall wisps of blue fox and lemon grass, a serene moment that couldn't penetrate my numbing guilt. I needed to find a way to move past this. I couldn't be stalled or hindered by these feelings, not when I knew Serenity would return to finish our battle. Guilt or not, it was going to happen.

Damn you Cret get a hold of yourself.

What was I doing? I was in the right to strike when I had the chance. I shouldn't feel like this. Serenity was a tidal force of pure darkness. A heartless creature that delighted in the destruction of life, watching her smirk as Tentusa was ravaged confirmed that. She was enjoying it in the way her vampire kin did. I had no choice but to kill her. She might still be alive, I reminded myself.

And if she is…Then what? I questioned back without mercy, there was no time to lick my internal wounds.

I could feel it coming, the doom about to wash over the valley and though the city had been destroyed, a part of me felt it wasn't over. Even with my instincts so distracted by conflict, I knew I could trust this feeling. It was in the air. Thickening as the morning crept by, tensions were building I just didn't know to what. What more could the vampires want? They had destroyed everything.

"I failed Rhea. I'm sorry." I spoke out into the early morning struggling up the last few inches of the incline, clenching my hand over the still bleeding wound in my side.

My natural swift regeneration was not working as it should, maybe that was my punishment for what I had done. Murdering, my demon brethren could forgive that, but selling my muddled soul for some small glimmer of acceptance from people that had exiled me and killed others that shared my traits. Now that was unforgivable. All the Opsona training, this pestering call to duty, what was the point?

They will kill you and her if you don't kill her first, my thoughts warned and I didn't care.

The thought of death seemed welcomed now. Living in the nightmare of a world without Serenity just wasn't worth it, but I had a duty to Rhea if not the Opsona. This conflict was maddening. If I thought any more on the subject I was sure I would slip into some kind of insanity.

My perspective was distorted and crushed under the dull feeling of a life without Serenity. I need rest, I told my worried mind coming to the small plateau at the top.

The flat area continued for a few miles and then rolled back up into another series of grass-covered mounds. Among the tall lengthy blades of un-maintained vegetation, remains of aged stone structures stood out. Nature slowly taking back what man had built; this was the place were it all started.

I stared out into the vast opening taking in the haunting beauty, it was a moment in history paused and held right in this spot. Though time had aged it, the feeling of tragedy still loomed, and sorrow rolled off the blades of grass that bent under the subtle breeze. This was where the Fisargo Clan of the Opsona lived and died, so many lost and the reason still not clear.

Stories say they were targeted because they held the Opsona's greatest kept secret, others spoke of revenge or assassins. The only truth that could be taken away from their fall was that none of us were untouchable. The Opsona could fall and that instilled a fear in all the rest of the clans making them more deadly and cautious.

A flash of gold caught my eye as I offered my respects to this place, just catching the morning sun before it disappeared. Then it flashed again as the wind bent the grass. It was the first time I had seen the sun able to peek through the storm clouds that still clung to the valley, the light dancing off long strands of gold that flew up from the overgrowth. I couldn't make out what it was, but I was sure it was coming closer.

I held the timid caution back in my mind as I trained my eyes on the dancing strands, it could just be a messenger sent by the clans. Though I doubted the Opsona would venture here, even to deliver an important message. Then I felt it, or more of saw it. That dark shadowed entity that announced Vondorian's presence and I readied myself drawing my amber dagger and backing into a defensive stance, a burn running up my side reminding me of my limitations.

There could be only one reason Vondorian would come for me like this…He couldn't save her.

I wanted to give up right in that moment as my mind jumped to the conclusion of Serenity's death. There was no point in fighting if I no longer had a reason to live, and I slid my dagger back into place, my stance easing back. Was this really what I had concluded? Would I really take death over losing Serenity again?

A calm type of clarity saturated the deepest part of me. I had come to a decision. The maddening conflict I had been battling with now seemed so trivial. I knew what I wanted. With the decision made for me I wanted to follow Serenity even in death.

I was ready to face my fate as a figure emerged from the overgrowth, silhouetted at first by the dark shadow surrounding them but the closer they came the more I could see. Relief was what I should have felt when I saw who was approaching but instead I was met with defeat.

"Lady Victoria?" The disbelief left my lips at a whisper when I took sight of what was once an innocent young girl.

The small frailly tender daughter of Lord Davros was clothed in harsh black attire, a dark and striking contrast to her unnaturally pale complexion. She looked as if the color had been pulled from her body, all vibrancy gone. Dressed very much like one of Vondorian's minions. Those signature blue eyes of hers that reflected the comfort of sun-warmed waters now held a harsh icy vacancy. This wasn't the Victoria I knew, there was not a single glimmer of what was once the grace of pure innocence.

"Dagger," she commanded in an empty voice, and what was left of my wounded heart broke for her. Whomever this was standing before me, it wasn't Victoria.

What has he done to you? I focused on the presence around her. The deep darkness of Vondorian's influence.

Normally Victoria's shadow was like every mortal's, bright and lively. Layers upon layers of color all mixed and mingled and slightly translucent in nature trapped within the black borders of their cast shadows. Depending on their current thoughts or emotions one color would present brighter than another, and there was always a more prominent hue, which spoke of the person's core nature. For Victoria it was the brightest of blue-green, a mix that flashed and pulsed like a heart beat inside her shadow.

Now all her colors had dulled and become muted. Overpowered by Vondorian's toxicity that rose all around her like some invading entity, the blue-greens were dirtied and weaving in and out of his blackness. Struggling to shimmer for the briefest of seconds before being pulled under, there must have been a portion of her that was still alive. Even though it was small.

She held out her hand this time and I inched back, on guard. "Dagger."

"No."

"Dagger," she repeated just as flat as before un-phased by my refusal. She was like some type of machine, a pet trained with only a single response.

Damn you, Vondorian.

I shook my head at her demand as she reached for the sword at her side. What was I willing to do? Victoria was a lady, a gentle naïve child. Battling her seemed heartless and cruel, and I couldn’t save her. There was no dispelling Vondorian, he was too integrated into her being. There was only one option left.

My heart felt like lead in my chest. Tentusa, Rhea, Serenity and now Victoria. Was I to lose everything I cared about in a matter of days? Or was this the curse I had to carry for living?

"I'm going to help you, Victoria." I said and the blue-green in her shadow flashed brighter for a moment fighting against the darkness, before warming over with a soothing greener tone—the color of relief.

I didn't know if she understood fully what I meant by my words. There was only one way to help her. Only one way I could free her from this lowly state of being, and I found myself asking Rhea for her forgiveness. I lost her city and now I was going to take the closest thing to a child she ever had.

Victoria drew back one of her legs and moved into a ready stance of attack. I dropped my head in heartache. The sound of feet racing across the grassy distance between us stilled my breath. This had to end. All of it had to come to an end.

Reaching deep within I called on my father's blood, the demon inside me and all the power of the Crepus Vali Rebros. The void between realms opened under my command, just a small crack that let the energy trapped there drift into my body. It flowed through my veins like blood and filled me with an energy that gathered in my right hand. I wouldn't use that cursed dagger for this, that seemed too cowardly and that damn thing had caused enough suffering.

I lowered my head and closed my eyes, no longer able to look at Victoria rushing toward me. She was fast. Faster than humans should be and still the time it took her to close the distance seemed to drag on for an eternity. I just waited there, the darkness of the void itching at my fingertips, gathering at my will and ready to leap into action.

A battle cry rang out as Victoria prepared to strike. I knew she wouldn't go for the kill. Vondorian needed me alive after all, and that was what put Victoria at a disadvantage. That solemn calm took over me again and I stepped back to avoid her attack, the rushed air of a failed strike brushed by my chest.

"I'm sorry," the words whispered low from my lips as I jumped forward into action.

The energy gathered in my hand bending to my will and formed a physical weapon. In one swift movement I rushed past Victoria not giving her a chance to counter or guard against my attack, the voided weapon which formed in my hands cut through her small body with no resistance. The breath of the world held for a second as I drew my weapon into view. It was a thing of pure dark beauty. A double halberd with long curved blades on either end that slightly resembled a scythe. Crafted out of metal that belonged to no world, twisted shimmers of blues, greens, and just a hint of red mixed in the black of the blades. The hilt connecting each end dark like shadows. A thing of deadly elegance. My black wings. Each time I used it I felt a freedom like no other. None of the world I struggled to make a claim in mattered and my demonic powers were at their peak. That was why I named my weapon something so freeing, and now it was stained with innocent mortal blood.

An odd cold chill blew through the wind and the sweet smells of spring vanished. Victoria's final few gasps broke my twisted delight of the moment and my weapon dissipated into shadows. Returning to the place I had drawn it from.

A thud came from behind me and I knew it was done but I couldn't look. Regretful shame stuck in my chest and pushed on my heart. I failed you Rhea…I betrayed you.