Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1) (5 page)

The time was upon us.  After 230 years of servitude, it could all be over in one single decision from the governing board of immortals.

As I pulled away from Sofia and hurriedly dressed, I muttered one statement that would send the Council in motion and make my maker's demise inevitable.  "It is time.  Gather your Council.  It should be easy to follow my scent.  If something happens, we are fifteen miles to the east."

I did not bother with a goodbye as I left her.  It was time to head back to Solveig and Amir.

As I ran, my thoughts were focused on my sire.  Her remaining bit of sanity was hanging on by a sliver when we had settled in a village outside of Dijon.  Her demeanor had worsened as I had chosen to detach myself further from her influence.  Now, much of my time was spent with Sofia.  I did not love her; however she made the days and endless nights less tedious.  She was immortal and unbreakable and there was no restraint with her.

There was no love either. I was still empty, as if there was a piece of myself missing.  Perhaps this was my fate.  A meaningless life.

As I traveled the familiar trail, I recalled my conversation with Amir in the woods.  Suddenly, all of the pieces slipped into place.  He had warned me he would do this.  He had known this was coming, perhaps privy to Solveig’s plans.

Suddenly taken aback, I was unsure if I should be proud of my brother or frightened at his cunning ability.

I traveled a bit further when I found the first dead body.  It was a young girl, no more than thirteen.  Her dark brown hair only enhanced the pallor of her dead flesh and the emptiness of her brown eyes that stared into nothingness. Her throat was mangled, ripped violently open.  Loose, bloody skin fell apart, exposing muscle and tissue.

This was not the work of Amir.  He was drawn to those near death or, as I taught him, the unfavorable types that would not be missed.

Nor was this a victim of Solveig.  She barely made a mark when she fed and she did not waste blood.

The closer my steps brought me to the village, the more bodies I found to be littering the path.  Many were tossed in piles, similar to broken dolls that had been discarded after their usefulness had run out.

Stepping over a pile of corpses, I came across the first group of newborn vampires huddled over the large frame of a man.  The fledglings were no match for me, and I made short work of disposing of them.  As I ripped their heads from their bodies, they disintegrated into dust at my feet.

"What are you doing?  My creations…" Solveig sobbed, falling to her knees in the bloody ash, her hands clenching angrily.  She glared up at me, her face twisted in fury.  As I stared into her eyes, all I could see was madness.  There was no sanity remaining in her.  Solveig was gone, insanity completely consuming her.

I made no offering to console her.  In fact, I retreated a few steps and observed the carnage she had created.  Every surface was coated with blood, the coppery smell strong in the air.  Pools of it were congealing, almost appearing black in the setting sun.

My silence angered her.  She staggered to her feet and shoved me backwards in her fit of rage.  Stumbling, I watched her with wary eyes.  My muscles tightened, preparing to attack if necessary.

"We are superior to humans and it is our time to reign over them.  We can rule the world, Steafedn.  With Amir's talent and your strength, we can obliterate the Board and Council," Solveig blurted out.  She began to pace in a circle, pulling at her dark blond hair in either nervousness or madness.

“How many other villages have you desecrated with your grandiose schemes?”  I questioned.  She did not answer me; she continued mumbling to herself as she wandered around the decaying bodies.  My question was irrelevant.  I could see the carnage and the plans she still wanted to execute if given the opportunity.

A man’s voice answered me instead.  “That is what we would like to know, Steafedn.  At last we meet, Solveig.  It has been a long time coming.”

Chapter Two-Betrayal And Rebirth

The deep voice caused both Solveig and me to turn in surprise.  Amir’s presence had prevented me from sensing the two men that flanked Sofia.  She stared at me coolly as they stepped past me to surround my maker, effectively stopping any attempt at escape on her part.

Solveig looked at me desperately, as if there were some way I could assist her.  There was nothing I could do for her.  Essentially, I had sent her to her death by my association with Sofia.  It would be yet another guilt I would carry with me for an eternity.  I was an immortal who had killed his maker.

A traitor.

She struggled with the two men that restrained her, pulling helplessly at their iron-like grip.  As crazed as a feral animal, she thrashed against them with her fangs bared.  Her jaw sawed back and forth as she struggled with them.

“I have done nothing!  Release me!”  Solveig shrieked .  Her dark blond hair whipped around her as they began to drag her away.  She looked over her shoulder at me with wide, frightened eyes. “Steafedn!  You must stop them!”

There was a part of me that wanted to intervene and save her life, if only due to the fact this woman had been my maker and once my lover.  Yet I did nothing but stand by as they hauled her away through the rubble of the hut we had shared.

Only two thoughts were running through my mind, and neither of them comforted me.  I was a collaborator to her impending execution.  My alliance with Sofia had set it into motion.

Sofia remained at my side, her hand heavy on my shoulder.  Her touch offered me little consolation. "Who were those men?"  

"Ah, Silvio and Reginald.  They are two of the Council members.  Reginald is the brawn of the two.  He will enjoy making her suffer.  It is his greatest talent.  Silvio is the brains.  He can pick through your mind to decipher the truth."

My eyebrow rose at her explanation.  A telepath and a vampire with a fondness for pain.  Perfect choices for the Council I surmised, but were they any better than my maker?  Were any of us?

Sofia circled around me until she faced me.  Her dark eyes betrayed the nonchalance she was trying desperately to project.  They were filled with concern as she stared into mine.

"Steafedn, do not punish yourself or question your actions.  She obliterated two villages of humans, leaving newborns behind to possibly expose our kind.  You did a great service today.  It will not be forgotten."

Closing my eyes, my throat tightened as I struggled to swallow.  My voice sounded strained when I spoke.  "I only wanted to be free.  Take me to her.  It is the only thing I request of you."

I heard the heavy footfall of my brother approaching. "My brother, we will see Solveig a final time.  She will take us there."

My eyes flickered open and I saw Sofia nod in agreement.  "Come.  You will not like what you see, however you can say your farewell to her."

Sofia began to walk away when I reached out to grab her arm.  I pulled her back to me.  "There is no other way?  Only death?"

Sofia smiled in sympathy.  "You already know the answer.  There are no second chances for her, Steafedn.  Not for her offenses."

Letting out a deep breath of resolve, I knew that Sofia spoke the truth.  When I accepted her arrangement, I knew what the end result would be.  Yet I still chose it because there was no other way out—for Amir or myself.  Solveig had pressed her luck for too many years.  She had committed atrocities and broken rules.  Now she would pay the ultimate price with her life by meeting the final death.

Sill my stomach churned with guilt.  "Take us to her."

"Follow me."  Sofia nodded and the three of us ran into the cool evening air.  The night surrounded me; its darkness mirrored the blackness that had wrapped itself around my soul, tainting it with guilt and regret.

We had traveled for nearly an hour when finally we reached a castle hidden far from the neighboring towns.  Torches lit the cobblestone path under our feet as we approached two guards that stood watch at the heavy wooden doors.  They inclined their heads in recognition of Sofia but eyed Amir and myself with suspicion.

"They are with me, Antonio.  They are here to see Reginald and Silvio."

We were given entrance and the quietness of the night air was broken by my maker's tortured screams.  My hands clenched into tight fists as I listened to her cries of pain.  It was only Amir's presence at my side that kept me level-headed as every bellow for mercy tore at my very soul.

What had I done?

"Please escort us to see her a final time.  If not for me, do it for my brother," Amir spoke softly.  He clapped my shoulder one time and shoved me forward slightly as Sofia gestured for us to follow her through the doors.

We trailed behind her up a stone staircase and into a dark passageway lined with heavy iron doors.  Behind one of those doors, my maker was living her last moments before her final death.  A gamut of emotions ran through me: happiness, guilt, sadness, and, yes, relief.

Sofia turned as she stopped in front of a door.  Her dark eyes darted between Amir and myself. "What you will see…it will not be pleasant.  If you make any attempt to save her, it will mean your death as well."

Her warning brought me back to the reality of the situation I had put Solveig into.  There was no way out for her…or for me.  Nodding in agreement, my shoulders slumped.  "Let us in."

Sofia gave me a final wary look and pushed the heavy door open.  The metallic odor of blood was heavy in the stagnant air of the room.  My eyes darted around the dimly lit space until my eyes found her.  My maker was chained to a table, both of her arms torn from her body.  Every inch of exposed skin was covered with deep cuts, her pale skin covered in blood that dripped to the stone floor below her.  They were slowly bleeding her dry, inflicting wound after wound until she had no more blood left to bleed.

Her cobalt eyes were crazed as they met mine.  "Are you going to stand there and watch me perish?  Is that what you wanted?  Then you should be happy, Steafedn.  Yes, you have achieved freedom from my command yet now…now you are as much of a prisoner as I am now."