Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising (43 page)

“The prophecy,” she said and swallowed down the blood in her throat. “I can’t remember it. There was something important in it…”

He held his hand up and she fell silent.

“Save your strength,” he said and then frowned as he stared thoughtfully at the floor. When he raised his head again, she could see he’d remembered. “A dark moon will herald the birth of a prophecy. Great powers will rise and grow. With the return of the long night, Hell will be unleashed. Our species will be decimated. Only in death can the light be released and the balance of power restored.”

She mulled over his words, wincing as she tried to stand without assistance. The hall around her was filling with the growls of the beasts the portal had released and the sound of death filled the air.

She frowned.

“Only in death can the light be released…” She looked up into Valentine’s eyes. He looked confused. “The light … the day … I’m the key. The child of light. My blood opened that portal, my blood has to close it.”

“How?” Valentine said.

“I have to die.”

He shook his head.

“You have to turn me,” she said, but was again met with a shake of his head. “Please Valentine, the fate of the world depends on it.”

“You do not know that and we do not know whether you would come back if I tried to turn you. You are vampire as well as human. There is a chance that you will die. I cannot—”

“It’s a chance I’m willing to take, Valentine. It’s my choice. I have to do this. I have to die to stop the gates of Hell from fully opening.”

“I cannot,” he said, his voice barely there and distant. She could feel the pain she was causing him by asking him to do this and it went straight to her heart.

The look on Venturi’s face told her that if he could find the ability to speak, he’d be telling her the same thing as Valentine. Neither of them would risk her death, but she had no other choice.

She had to die.

“It’s the humanity in my blood that has opened that portal. They call me the child of light, not the child of Hell. It’s my humanity doing this.”

Valentine again shook his head. “Do not ask me to do this. Please?”

“I have to. You promised me once remember? You told me that you’d never let me die and you’d never let me grow old. It’s time you kept that promise.”

“But what if…?” His eyes searched hers and it broke her heart to see the unshed tears in them.

Reaching up, she cupped his cheek and sighed.

“If I don’t come back, at least I knew love.” Tiptoeing, she pressed a kiss to his lips and then whispered against them, “I love you.”

She drew back a little and looked into his eyes again. He closed his and sighed, and when he reopened them, they were vivid blue.

She gasped when he bit down hard on her neck and grabbed his shoulders to support herself. His arms wrapped about her waist, holding her to him as he drank down her blood. She swallowed the pain she could feel in him, and her own hurt, and told herself that she would come back. Death was only the beginning. He released her neck and offered his wrist to her. She sunk her teeth into it and drank as much as she could, and then frowned when he bit her again. She could feel her body weakening as he drank, stealing her energy away and making her head spin. The world seemed to fade with her strength. Fear stole into her heart, cold and sharp. She closed her eyes and told herself again that she would come back from this. Valentine would never kill her.

Valentine held the blood down as he felt her slipping away, her body becoming heavier in his arms. He collapsed to the floor with her, holding her tightly and forcing back the tears that wanted to come. He cradled her in his arms as she went limp and buried his face in her hair when he could no longer sense anything.

She was gone.

He’d killed her.

He pulled away and stared at her ashen face, her lips almost as white as her cheeks. She had her eyes closed and looked so peaceful.

And he’d killed her.

Dropping her body to the floor, he turned and threw up the blood he’d stolen from her. He dug his fingertips into the flagstones and cursed himself for what he’d done. It sickened him, making the taste of her blood on his tongue like bitter poison. He retched again, trying to get it out of his system.

His heart ached when he felt the spell over him lift and he pressed a hand against his chest.

The Devil he’d killed her.

He looked up at Venturi and Hyperion. They were staring at him with stunned expressions, both clearly shocked by what he’d done. He ground his teeth and anger swept through him when he heard Elena laughing.

Standing up, he stared straight at her where she was waiting on the platform by the portal. He watched as it began to close and felt a small sense of satisfaction when Elena stopped laughing. Prophecy had been right. Her death had closed the portal.

He looked down at her where she lay on the floor and blinked, sending tears cutting down his cheeks. Bending down, he brushed the hair from her face, and then picked up his sword.

Elena had done this.

“Take care of her for me.” He turned to Venturi. He knew he didn’t need to ask, but he did need to show Venturi that he trusted him with her.

“You know I will,” Venturi said, his gaze dropping to rest on Prophecy.

Valentine didn’t look at her. He tightened his grip on his sword and shifted his attention to Hyperion.

“Protect them,” he said.

Hyperion nodded. “Where are you going?”

Valentine pushed past the Watchmen that were still fighting the zombies around them.

He set his sights on Elena.

“To end this.”

“Welcome, child of darkness.” A voice drifted out to her through the haze and Prophecy moaned as she tried to move and pain shot through her.

Fluttering her eyes open, she squinted at the blurry shifting shapes around her and then frowned when a rush of noise hit her. She tried to flinch away from it but it seemed to surround her, closing in and suffocating her. She was thankful when someone caught her arm, lifting her as though she weighed nothing more than a feather. They held her, supporting her and holding her close.

Her knees wobbled and she almost collapsed, but the man’s hold on her tightened to stop her.

“Drink,” he said. “You shall feel better then.”

Drink? She didn’t think she could. Her head was a riot of pain and confusion, her senses colliding with each other and sending her mixed messages about what was happening. She tried to focus, but the more she did, the worse she felt.

She couldn’t remember much. There had been a lot of pain and darkness. Her insides felt as though someone hard torn them apart and haphazardly pieced them back together again.

“Drink.” The voice urged and a hand guided her.

She extended her canines and sunk her teeth into their flesh when she felt it beneath her lips. Drinking as deeply as she could manage, she frowned when her head began to clear and she realised that she didn’t recognise the taste of the blood flowing into her. It was strong, powerful and old.

She released the man’s neck and pulled back, stunned to see Hyperion smiling at her.

“Feeling better?” his smile turned seductive.

She frowned and then pressed her hand against her aching head and wrinkled her nose.

“What happened?” she whispered, barely aware of what was going on around them.

“It would seem Valentine successfully turned you,” Hyperion said and she looked around for Valentine.

It was only then she noticed the battle that was still raging. The Watchmen were fighting demons whose species she didn’t recognise, devilish beasts twice the size of them. It didn’t seem to bother the vampires much.

“Valentine? Where is he?” she said and frowned when she tried to tiptoe but almost fell over.

“You are still weak.” Hyperion caught her arm.

She looked at him and then at the amulet when strength surged through her. The stone glowed dark purple, and a red light pulsed in its centre. She couldn’t believe her power had not only returned but had stayed with her through her turning.

“I’m not weak,” she whispered, staring into the heart of her amulet. “I’ve never felt so strong.”

She looked over the heads of the demons around her and frowned when she saw Venturi and Valentine fighting Elena. Anger raced through her when Elena threw a fireball at Venturi, sending him spiralling through the air. He landed hard near her and she rushed over to him, the Watchmen and Hyperion clearing the path for her.

She knelt beside Venturi and removed his helmet. He was covered in cuts and bruises. She cupped his cheek with her right hand and gave him a smile when he opened his eyes a crack and looked into hers.

“I have died and miraculously gone to Heaven or I am dreaming,” he croaked the words out.

She shook her head. “Keep still.”

Closing her eyes, she directed her magic to the amulet and held Venturi down with her free hand when she began to heal him. It took a matter of seconds. The speed of it surprised her but at the same time made her feel powerful.

She didn’t stop Venturi when he sat up and wrapped his arms about her, muttering things into her neck and pressing the occasional kiss to it. She held him, smoothing the tangled threads of his hair and pressing her cheek to his. She was glad that he was all right too.

Releasing him, she averted her eyes when he looked at her with ones full of love, and then brought hers back again. She looked at him, hoping he could see her feelings for him. She wasn’t going to run away from them any more.

He touched her cheek, giving her a look that said he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe her.

She got to her feet and helped him up. The Watchmen stood to one side and she stared straight at Valentine.

He smiled.

Elena looked over at her and screamed. She could feel the witch’s anger sweep through the room.

She grinned.

“Venturi, Hyperion…” she said and they both turned to look at her. She set her jaw and changed into her vampire guise. “Slaughter them all!”

They grinned and immediately set to work, chopping and hacking at the zombies so they could get to the demons that had come through the portal from Hell.

She went to join them but then stopped and stared at her hand and the amulet.

The magic wasn’t focused any more. She could feel that the symbols were no longer drawn on her. They had gone deeper, into her blood and her bones, back to where they’d once been. They felt more potent now, and powerful.

She was more powerful.

She started a little when Valentine skidded to a halt beside her and wrapped his arms about her. She pressed her cheek into his chest and focused, calling a barrier to protect them and give them time. She smiled when she felt magic hit the barrier and realised that not even Elena could penetrate it.

Valentine pushed her backwards and she looked up at him.

“Your eyes are still green,” he said in a low voice, as though he’d expected different.

She’d not thought about it. She’d expected to wake up a Caelestis, not an Aurorea.

“And I still have magic,” she said and raised her hand, showing him.

The threads of purple danced around her fingers and she sighed when he pressed his palm against hers, and interlocked their fingers. The magic turned red and began to seep into him. She could feel the connection was still there, both the bond they shared through the magic and the one they shared through the claim.

“I kept my promise.” He held her hand a little tighter and she felt the hurt she’d caused in him.

“Thank you,” she said, tightly gripping his hand. “Now I have to ask you to do one more thing for me. Stay away from Elena when we fight.”

“I shall, but if she shows any sign—”

Prophecy cut him off with a kiss. She savoured the feeling of his lips against hers and the way shivers ran through her whenever their tongues touched. Stepping back from him, she looked into his clear green eyes, remembering how they’d got to this moment and feeling the love he held for her.

She smiled and drew the magic back inside, causing the shield around them to disappear.

Valentine immediately sprang into action, his sword making fast work of the zombies that had crowded around them. She drew her sword and growled with effort as she hacked away at the zombies, trying to clear a path to Elena. Large horned demons moved to block her way but she flicked her wrist and sent threads of magic into them. It buried itself deep into their flesh, filling the air with a strange smell as it burnt them from the inside out.

Glancing at Valentine to make sure that he was all right, she was shocked when she saw that Mia was fighting beside him and there was no sign of Dmitri. Prophecy turned when her senses screamed danger at her and she ducked to avoid the swipe an Aleaeries took at her. It attacked again, its heavy fist heading straight for her chest. She was about to turn away when there was a growl and the sound of bones snapping.

The werewolf mauled the Aleaeries as it pinned it down with large paws, long claws burying themselves into the demon’s chest. She watched, unable to tear herself away, as the werewolf bit down hard on the demon’s neck and ripped a chunk out.

Turning away when she sensed something approaching her, she blocked the attack the zombie commander made and punched it hard across the face. It recoiled but didn’t give up. It lunged at her and she flipped backwards, bringing her feet up and kicking it under the jaw as she moved into a handstand. Bringing her legs back down, she locked her feet around the zombie’s neck and twisted, snapping its neck.

She flipped back onto her feet and picked up her sword. The werewolf had made a meal of the demon that had tried to attack her. When it looked at her and bared its fangs, she noticed the scar darting across its eye.

“Thank you, Dmitri,” she said and the werewolf disappeared into the crowd.

She looked around her, assessing the situation. There were barely a hundred zombies left and a handful of under-demons. Her forces from outside were now fighting with the rest, and she was relieved to see that the vampires and werewolves outnumbered the remains of Elena’s army.