The feeling that woke Tyrian a few days later was indefinable. All he knew was that he was suddenly awake. The room felt quiet and peaceful. The dim light from the fireplace flickered over the top of the wall. The balcony doors stood partially open and let in the sounds of the night. He could hear the wind and he could hear the chirping of crickets. It was a chilly night if they were to be believed.
Cassie slept in his arms, and one of hers wrapped around him protectively. Her breathing was soft and even, her face unlined with worry. Whatever had woken him did not come from her.
He lightly skimmed his fingers down her cheek, marveling that she was truly his. He couldn't even really remember what his life had been before she had come into it. From that first moment when they had met inside the castle, he had known this moment was inevitable, though he would never have imagined everything would be so complicated.
She stirred as he slid from bed, and he softly brushed a kiss over her lips. She snuggled into his pillow, and his heart clenched fiercely with emotion. If there was any bright spot in his world, it was his Kentei lover.
Still unsure of what was wrong, he got dressed and left the tower. The elevator was silent as it moved, and it was swift. The guards outside the tower looked a little surprised to see him when it was barely midnight, but neither said anything. They had learned that their leader was an unusual and gifted man. Everything he did had a purpose, even if he didn't know it.
Hands tucked in his pockets, Tyrian left the castle and ambled into the city. It was mostly quiet with only the occasional light on. There were lights on at the inn, yet that wasn't so unusual. People traveled to and from the base frequently as they came from cities that had been liberated. The base was a city now, and he was still trying to figure out what to call it.
He went into the inn and sighed as he saw R.K. asleep at the counter. He fetched a blanket and tucked it around his shoulders. With a shake of his head, he went into the bar area. Somehow, he was entirely unsurprised to find Ewan there. The older male sat at a table with a glass of ale and watched the moon quietly. "You should be asleep," Tyrian scolded.
Ewan smiled crookedly. "Look who's talking." He gestured to the other chair. "Join me."
Tyrian grabbed a glass from the bar and walked over to sit down. He poured himself some of the ale and then sat back to study Ewan. He had never known him to drink alone, let alone this late at night. At the least, he understood better the feeling that had woken him. There was pain in Ewan's eyes as he looked out the window.
Tyrian said nothing, and the silence remained companionable. After a while, Ewan asked, "Has anyone told you yet about what happened at the original Commune of Soldiers?"
"No. I know the bare facts about it. And I know you are the sole survivor other than Kyle, but he was nearly dead, so he doesn't count."
Ewan looked at him, though he wasn't truly surprised. "Did Kyle tell you?"
"It was just a hunch. The way you look when the subject comes up. And Kell mentioned that you pulling Kyle out of hell was much like what he had once done for you. It just made sense." Tyrian let out a long breath. "What did happen?"
"The main Commune was located in the mountains. We were the biggest and the best. Probably about ten thousand people lived there. I was one of them. Kyle was another." He swirled his ale broodingly. "Kyle is a more diverse swordsman than I am because of his magic, but I'm more skilled overall. I'm also older. I was considered a full warrior by the time I was sixteen, which was quite unheard of. Kyle was eighteen when he was given the right, which is above average but not truly unusual. The average age is twenty."
"You could be an adult by law, but not a true adult in the Commune's eyes."
"Yeah." Ewan took a deep breath. "I was an adult, so I promptly went out into the world. I was sixteen and stupid. Cities accepted me as an adult despite my age, so I did stupid adult things." He briefly saluted Tyrian with his glass. "Discovered the joys of women, so I can't say it was all bad."
"And?"
"People talked about me. About my skill, about how young I was. Mostly with respect and awe. You'd think that was a great thing, but apparently it wasn't." His eyes darkened and his hands tightened on the glass. "I met a Millennium Vampire named Riki. She was amazing. She looked like a normal person, but she sunburned quickly. She ate only natural foods, and her main nourishment came from blood. I offered mine because we were friends. We were hanging out together, and it was more convenient. And as long as her blood didn't get into me, I was in no danger of being converted." He shook his head. "Weirdest thing I've ever experienced. I didn't even notice she was biting me and I was watching her."
His breath unraveled hard. "She recoiled fairly hard as soon as she tasted my blood. Not in fear for herself. Fear for me. She grabbed my hands and, and I remember this clearly, she looked me in the eye and said 'the Night sky watches you with the eyes of Eternity.'"
"The sky watches you?"
"Confused me too. Then she told me a legend. The legend of the Midnight Moon Sword. A sword so powerful that it has a sentient will. It has the power to strike down rogue Vampires and so is treated with great respect by the Millennium Valley. No hands had ever wielded it. But she sensed the sword's presence near me. She said it had chosen me to be its first wielder. And that because it had, I was in danger."
He closed his eyes. "There was a rogue known as Beelzebub. His name said it all. He had chosen to give himself to evil. Some think there was no giving; he was always evil. He just finally embraced it. He had preyed on cities across the world. If someone disappeared in the night, they were often found dead the next morning. Drained of blood and their hearts carved out. Selene, the Mistress of the Millennium Vampires, had told him he would find his justice at the end of the Midnight Moon Sword."
Tyrian's lungs froze as he began to understand. "Which wasn't a problem, until he started hearing about this great swordsman who was doing many things that a boy his age shouldn't be able to do. Someone of legendary skill."
"I just had this . . . feeling. God, Tyrian. I can't describe it. I was sick and I was terrified. I just knew something terrible was happening. I rushed back across the country to the Commune. Riki went with me. When we got to the Commune, it was midnight." His eyes opened, dark and blind. "And the night was red.
"Blood ran down the streets, dripped from eaves. Bodies lay like discarded dolls with holes in their chest. I could hear those who still lived. They were screaming. I still hear them screaming. I found Kyle. He was alive. It was a miracle amid a massacre. As I was dragging him out, I saw it."
Tyrian covered Ewan's wrist and held on. His stomach rolled but he did not protest. Too long had it been bottled inside his friend. "Beelzebub."
"It looked like a man. It walked like a man. It even talked a man. But it was a monster. He saw me too. And he laughed. He stood there over a pile of bloody hearts and laughed at me. 'You're late,' he told me. 'I started the party but the guest of honor was missing.'" The glass cracked as Ewan's hands tightened. "He had killed the entire village just to find me. I lost it. I went after him, even with Riki shouting at me not to. I did good at first. I even wounded him. But he was rogue. I had a normal sword. To be honest, I don't remember what happened when he came after me.
"I suddenly opened my eyes and he was standing over me. My chest hurt. It was horrendous. When I looked down, he had actually cut me open while I was alive. He wanted me to see him take my heart." The glass shattered between his fingers and the fragments drifted to the table. "I threw my sword in his face. Gouged out an eye. While he was screaming, I hauled my ass away. I grabbed Kyle and dragged him out of there. Riki helped me escape. I passed out with the screams in my ears. Woke up a week later in another Commune. Most of my wound had been healed, but the scar lingered. Kyle was recovering fine with no marks remaining. He didn't even remember the events; Beelzebub had gotten to him in the first wave of attack. Probably went right after him because he was my friend."
Tyrian got to his feet and walked to Ewan's side. He wrapped his arms around the larger male's shoulders and held on tightly, hurting for him. His throat was tight with pain. He couldn't even imagine how Ewan was sane. This war was so much less than what Ewan had endured, and Destiny thought Tyrian needed help? "What happened to Riki?"
"She hides within the Valley now. She does not dare emerge unless Beelzebub is gone for good. He would destroy her, and she would stand no chance. I haven't spoken to her in five years, though I think I've sensed her presence now and then." He let out a long breath and leaned against Tyrian. "Kyle helped me get drunk and get through it. I've always been aware that Beelzebub is out there, but at the least, he has not come for me. He hides away, so I hear." His eyes opened and the promise of violent revenge churned. "If I ever see his face, I'm finding that Midnight Moon Sword, and I am cutting out his heart."
Tyrian hugged him tighter. "Here I stand worried about things much less than your pain, and you're still laughing and smiling."
Ewan straightened up and turned to scowl at him. "I didn't tell you to make you think that your suffering is less than mine." He tugged Tyrian down into a chair. "Tyrian, look at what you're going through. Look at it from our eyes. See what you've gone through. What you're still going through, and what you have yet to go through. It eclipses anything that happened in that Commune. Will I forget? No. But I didn't have to go through months of endless war, the needs and hopes of every life in the country on my shoulders. I didn't need to always be strong and pretend that I didn't want the world to go away. I didn't have to look at the destruction of thousands of lives and know that I was the one who had to fix it because no one else could."
Tyrian shook his head and Ewan rapped him smartly. "Shut up," he ordered. He dusted the shards off his hands and grabbed another glass to pour fresh ale out. "It's two completely separate experiences, and you can't compare them in your head. Look at it this way. What hurts more? Falling down or falling down stairs? Both hurt, but the stairs take longer and do more damage in the end. I fell down. You're still going head over heels down those stairs, and they just keep getting longer." He took a drink of his ale and then smiled. "And anyway, I get to grow old and cranky and tell war stories to my grandkids. I'm luckier than you."
Tyrian had to smile. "Will you grow a beard?"
Ewan rubbed his chin. It was rough, but he kept the threat of a beard away. "I tried that last year. Ophelia laughed her ass off at me every time she saw me." His smile turned sheepish. "Marian called me a grizzly man. Let's just say the beard didn't help!" He tossed back the ale and then got to his feet. "Let's walk some of this off. I think I can finally sleep."
As they fell into step together, Tyrian murmured, "Night isn't restful for you. You know too well what evil lurks in it."
"I always fear the day when evil can walk in the daylight."
A guard suddenly leaned over the castle wall and said urgently, "Lord Tyrian! Come up here quickly!"
Tyrian climbed up to the top of the wall and looked in the direction that the guard pointed. He spotted instantly what the guard had. There was a small group of people running flat out for the base. Tyrian's eyes, much sharper than average because of his relic, were able to clearly see that all of them had been wounded.
He leapt down off the wall. "Wake Halkern, Marian, and Laia!" he ordered another guard. "Lower the gate!" he shouted to the ones in charge of the mechanism. He turned as more guards approached. "Roust R.K. and have him clear space at the inn!"
The gate lowered swiftly and Tyrian ran out of it as fast as he could. Ewan was right on his heels. When they saw the state of the lot, Ewan began to curse violently under his breath. There were two adults, one teenager, and two children. All of them looked bloody and wounded. The teenager, a girl, was nursing what looked like a broken arm. The little boy clutched in the woman's arms was barely breathing. "Please!" the woman begged. "You have to help us!"
The teenager fell and Tyrian lifted her into his arms. "You're safe," he said softly. "Come inside, quickly!"
By the time they reached the inn, the city had stirred and people were waking as they heard the commotion. Marian got to the inn first and paled when she saw the tableau. She spotted Laia and said urgently, "Go to Yagi's shop! Wake him and get the herbs we need!" While Laia diverted and went another direction, Marion picked up the little girl.
Halkern arrived moments later and took the boy from the woman. Kyle and Liang had arrived as well, and Kyle took the teenager from Tyrian. Ewan and Liang helped the man down the hall toward the rooms that Marian and Halkern had gone to. The man was in no condition to walk on his own; his leg looked a bloody mess and gouges bit into his chest.
The woman was relatively unharmed and had only minor injuries to mark her body. She stood in the lobby, shaking like a leaf, her brown eyes wide with the shock settling in. Tyrian felt a sudden powerful fury sucker punch his soul and realized that he looked upon another Destined Star. A warning pulse of deadly magic flickered over his relic but his hands stayed gentle as he forced her to sit down in a chair. He knelt beside her to be less of an imposing figure. "What's your name?" he asked softly.
"Persephone." Tears slid through the blood staining her face. "I'm a pub owner. Best drinks in the Empire. Our city is out of the way, but people would come just to try my concoctions."
Laia knelt on her other side and began to softly and efficiently wipe the blood from her face so she could see the wounds. Her musical voice sounded soft and soothing as she said, "I've been to your pub, Persephone. Your youngest wasn't yet born. You balanced a drink on your belly and dared anyone to flip a coin into it without knocking it over. The only one who could was a kid."
Persephone's shoulders relaxed slightly as she responded to the power of Laia's voice. "I told him to come back when he was old enough to get his free drinks." Her lips trembled. "There's nothing to go back to. It's gone. Like a river of blood washing it away . . ."
Matthias stepped into the doorway with Ewan, but neither said a word. Tyrian covered Persephone's hand gently. "The Imperial Army?"
Her laugh was more of a sob. "Oh, if only it had been so! They were occupying the town, but they just up and left at sunset a few days ago. We thought that maybe we were no longer important enough to need a guard. We numbered only a few hundred." Her eyes clouded. "The moon had risen when it arrived." A chill wind ran through the room. "It looked like a man, but it was a monster."
Tyrian's heart froze and he could feel the sudden stillness inside Ewan. Neither said a word. Persephone didn't notice, nor did she notice as more people arrived, including Cassie, Cherry, and Samantha. "He didn't say or do anything. Just looked around and walked out." She shuddered. "The screams started then. We didn't know what was happening. We just barred the doors and prayed. But he just . . . broke the door open. He stood there covered in blood, blood dripping down his chin, his eyes dead and a smile on his lips. He asked me for a drink. Blood ran in the door behind him."
"Fuck!" Ewan snarled as he slammed out of the inn.
"He toyed with us. He broke Daria's arm. Just . . . tore at us. We got away. I don't know how. We've been running since. We knew . . . we knew we could come here, to Tyrian Southerwind." She doubled on a low sob. "Why did it come for us?"
There was a sick feeling in Tyrian's stomach. He did not believe in coincidence. The Army had left exactly at sunset before the attack. "Persephone," he said softly, drawing her gaze. He took her hands tightly with his. "I'll get rid of this monster but I'll need your help. You'll need to give me your strength. I know you're strong enough for this."
She drew a ragged breath and drew on the strength inside him. It seemed to pour off him in waves, making it possible to believe in the impossible. She could feel it. He did need her. "I guess I can open another pub here."
"Take over the bar here," Laia suggested warmly. "R.K. will thank you." Her left hand smoothed across the shorter woman's face. "Sleep," she said softly, her voice melodic and hypnotizing. "And do not dream."
Persephone slumped over and Laia lifted her easily. She disappeared down the hall, and Marian and Halkern appeared in the doorway instead. Both looked drained and haggard, the pallor to their skin evidence that they had been pushed to the limit of their magical capacity. "They'll live," Marion said, her voice slightly slurred, "but we could not do everything. We didn't even know how to treat some of those wounds."
Liang stepped up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her on her feet. "You both need rest," he said. "Let Laia tend to the rest."
Kyle had returned as well and moved to help Halkern. Together, he and Liang aided the two Healers to a room where they could rest and recover. While they did, Tyrian slowly stood. The others looked at him and could see the darkness churning in his eyes stronger than ever. Cassie wrapped her arms around him and was alarmed to realize how cold he felt. When she had woken without him, she had known there was something wrong. "You're freezing!" she said.
Tyrian didn't immediately respond. Ewan stepped back into the doorway and said fiercely, "If I hear one bloody word from your mouth about this being your fault, I'm rearranging your nose!" His breath hissed out. "If it is anyone's fault, it's Blaine's! We know it is! She wants you dead, and she knows that she will never have it from the Lower Generals!"
"What are we talking about?" Samantha asked quietly.
"The rogue Vampire," Ewan bit out between his teeth. "Lord Beelzebub himself." Knowing his hated enemy was close enough to go after was not something he felt excited over. Another innocent village had been slaughtered, and no words would ever tell Tyrian that he was not at fault. Seeing his beloved Kaiten standing on the edge of shattering, destroying Beelzebub became very, very personal for Ewan.
That Tyrian was on the edge was evident to everyone. They all held their breath. Cassie found herself unusually calm. She framed Tyrian's face and forced him to look at her. "Tyrian," she said softly. "We are not guilty for the sins of others. Yes, the village would have been spared had Blaine not enlisted a rogue to draw you out. But that does not make it your fault. If you were not here, there would be nothing to stop her at all."
A shudder ripped through his body and he caught her in his arms fiercely. He buried his face in her hair and held on as if his life depended on it. The others slowly let out the breaths they had been holding, and Cherry held onto Matthias' hand tightly. He gently squeezed her fingers and then said softly, "We need to go to the meeting room and discuss this." When Kyle and Liang returned, he said, "Kyle, Liang, please come with us."
No one said a word as they walked through the city to the castle. Liang and Cassie flanked Tyrian so close that their arms brushed. Kyle and Ewan walked very close behind. The four of them closed Tyrian inside their protection. Samantha and Cherry helped Matthias move quicker than he normally could, the general aiding by taking a good deal of his weight off his bad leg.
Gordon and Leonard waited for them in the meeting room. Leonard took one look at Ewan and stopped breathing. "No."
"It would seem so." Ewan sat down heavily and buried his face in his hands. He was only dimly aware of Kyle's hand on his shoulder in support. "I always knew this day was inevitable, but I didn't expect it to happen like this."
"What are we discussing?" Gordon asked quietly.
Tyrian took a deep breath and sat up straight. "It would seem," he said calmly, "that Blaine has determined that the Lower Generals are men and women of integrity and morals. She may have even guessed that all of you may or may not be Destined Stars. And because she knows those things, she knows that if she wants my relic, she needs someone or something that won't be swayed by reason."
"After sundown a few days ago, a village was massacred by the rogue Vampire Beelzebub." Ewan's voice was not neutral though it managed to remain calm. "The Imperial Army occupying the town mysteriously abandoned it right at sunset. You can't tell me it was coincidence."
Gordon and Samantha paled. It was horrifying to think that any soldier in the Imperial Army, let alone whole units, would simply leave innocent civilians as play toys for something as evil as Beelzebub. It was more horrifying than the images they had seen of the Army doing destruction themselves.
Matthias took a long breath. "This is unexpected, and beyond my scope of knowledge. What is a rogue Vampire?"
"A Vampire that has given in to evil and rejected their gifts in exchange for greater power. In turn, they become undead and cannot stand the sunlight." Ewan's hands curled into fists.
"Then what do we know of Beelzebub specifically?"
"He's afraid of Ewan." Kyle sat down beside his friend. "Does anyone know the legend of the Midnight Moon Sword?"
"I do." Rourke stood in the doorway and his golden eyes were dark. At the startled looks, he said, "Laia said you might need me, Professor Matthias. My knowledge is yours."
"Then please tell what you know."
Rourke walked in and sat down at the table. As he passed Tyrian and Ewan, he lightly touched their shoulders in silent support for them both. "The Midnight Moon Sword is sentient. It was formed from one half of the Pure Relic of Eternity. The other half remains as a relic, though its whereabouts are unknown."
"Can Pure Relics be split?" Cherry asked.
"Some can. I know of two off the top of my head: the Pure Relic of Eternity, and the Pure Relic of Security. I believe that Security had to be split because its two halves are too much an opposite of each other to remain connected safely. Eternity, I couldn't say why it was split. But it was split into the Daylight Sun and Midnight Moon Relics—known as Day and Night for short—with the Night Relic becoming the sword."
Ewan's brows lifted. "I see. That's why it can slay the undead. It holds its greatest power at night. But the Day Relic would be equally terrifying. It wouldn't even need to be a weapon. Its owner would be a weapon themselves." In a murmur, he said, "'The Night sky watches you with the eyes of Eternity.' So that's what she meant."
"All Vampires who go rogue live in fear of the Night and Day Relics. There have been quite a few rogues over the millennia, but there is a clan of Hunters that live in the Millennium Valley. They hunt everything from ghosts to rogues." Rourke sat back in his chair. "The strongest Vampire hunting clan would be the Kane Clan. We would want to enlist one of them to help us. They would have the knowledge we need for battle."
"Battle?" Cassie asked. She kept her hand lightly on top of Tyrian's relic hand. Under the table, he gripped her other hand like a lifeline.
Rourke nodded slightly. "Beelzebub can raise the dead."
Matthias grimaced. "The logistics of a battle against the undead are going to be messy indeed. You know where the Valley is, Ewan?"
"I do."
It said a lot about how much respect the Millennium Vampires had for Ewan. Very few knew the exact location of their homeland. You could find it on accident, but never know quite how you got there. Many normal races lived in the Valley peacefully, though they rarely emerged either. Some thought it might, as yet, have to do with Beelzebub.
"Speak with Tod. Have him send a message to the Kane Clan. Tell them to make haste. We can't know how much damage will be done before we can engage Beelzebub. I would say we find his castle and catch him while he is vulnerable," Matthias met Ewan's eyes, "however, you have more than earned the right to bring him down by your hand."
"While we wait for our Vampire Hunter," Samantha spoke up, "I say we track down that sword! Rourke, Ewan, do either of you have any idea where it is?"
"None," Ewan said.
"Nor I," Rourke said regretfully. "I'm a Scholar, not a researcher, so I can't even say I'd know where to look."
Scholars were repositories for knowledge, but they learned their knowledge from everything at hand. Rourke read every book he came across, but he didn't know where to look for the books to get knowledge he needed. A researcher would. It was another thing that Tyrian added to his mental list of needs. It was a list growing by leaps and bounds.
There was nothing more they could do that night, and it was a frightening feeling for everyone to think that with so many hours until dawn, there was much that Beelzebub could do. Come the dawn, he would be trapped within his castle, wherever that may be, and be forced to remain there until nightfall. It was little consolation to think that there had likely not been attacks in the time since the first; he would want to see if he had drawn out Tyrian before he went after another town.
Liang studied Tyrian's face and then left the room before anyone else did. The others were fairly sure no one would get any sleep, but they too parted ways to at least rest if possible. Rourke promised to go by the inn to make sure that the Healers were resting peacefully and that the victims were as yet recovering.
Tyrian remained standing tall until the elevator doors closed behind him and Cassie. As soon as they were away from prying eyes, he doubled over and pressed his face to her shoulder. Those stairs Ewan had spoken of had just become made of sharp stone. How much worse would it get? How much worse could it get?
With her uncanny knowledge of him inside her heart and soul, she said very softly, "Your father didn't know, Tyrian." She urged him into their tower room and kicked the door shut behind them. She firmly escorted him to the bed and made him sit down on the side. "Why do you think I wanted to speak with him that first day? I knew he would listen. He could be a Destined Star, too, for all we know."
His eyes focused on her as she firmly pulled off his shoes. "Ewan told me what happened at the Commune," he said softly. "I can't . . . I just can't fathom how any living being can wish that sort of devastation on anyone. Blaine is as evil as Beelzebub."
That he had doubted she was evil when Cassie had been sure all along just underscored the reason he was the Kaiten and she was the Kentei. He had wanted to believe that there was good inside everyone. She had known there wasn't and had therefore been ready to catch him when he fell.
She tugged him to his feet and he stood quietly as she helped get rid of his clothes. He was still freezing, the shivers seeming to come from his soul. She escorted him into the bathing room where the tub stood full of steaming hot water. As he blinked at it, she said, "Liang. Why do you think he left early? In you go."
He winced when the hot water touched his cold skin but he got in anyway and closed his eyes. Behind his lids danced macabre images of what he suspected the two towns must surely look like. Just thinking about it made his strength waver, and as it did, weakness rushed in from all sides. It was as if his energy just drained away.
"Tyrian!" Cassie grabbed his shoulders and kept him from slipping under the water. Her heart pounded hard and her mouth was dry. He had gone as pale as glass. "You need to sleep," she urged.
He had enough strength to stand, but she had to help him get out of the tub. She dried him briskly and then helped him make his way to bed. This was not simple relic weakness. She felt sure of it, though she wasn't sure of what it truly was.
She tucked him in and started to straighten but he grabbed her wrist. "Don't go," he begged softly. "I need you to hold me, Cassie."
"I'm not going anywhere, Tyrian." She stripped off the clothes she had thrown on hastily when she had heard the alarm and then slipped into bed. He buried his face against her breast and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He was warmer now, yet his hands still felt chilly where they curled around her waist.
It wasn't until he slept and she started to drift off that she realized she had gone out of the tower without covering her scar. She hadn't been wearing a scarf or her choker. She had completely forgotten it was even there.
Her
arms tightened fiercely around Tyrian. He had healed her. It was up to her to
heal him.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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