The Fire Within (The Fire of The Soul Series) (37 page)

We watch each other for a split second, and I am
anxious and curious as to what he is going to do, what he is going to say, if
he'd dare say too much in front of Victor. Instead he pulls me in for a quick
hug, holding me so tightly that he may take a piece of me with him. "Stay
safe and no matter what you do, stay within the castle," He says nothing
more to me, and he pulls away before I can say a word to him.

"Stay safe," I breathe so softly that
no-one hears. Victor kisses my lips one last time, and I feel a tear slide down
my cheek, for both of them. I don't know when I'm going to see them next, I
don't know if I will ever get to see them again at all. All I know is that this
may have been the last moment that I had with them, and it is nowhere near long
enough.

Anna's P.O.V

There is no time to think of those last moments that
I had just shared with Victor and Kayden. There is no time to think about how
they were meant to march out into the battle in the morning, rather than in the
dead of night. There is no time to spare a single thought on what could have
been. All my time, all my attention, my focus needs to be here in the present,
rather than pondering on all that could have been.

"Anna we must hurry, we must get to the gates
as quickly as possible," Astoria says, pleading me to hurry up. I wish I
could oblige, to quicken my pace, but my short legs cannot run any faster, and
I fight to keep my pace as I struggle to regain my breath. Astoria is quicker,
lighter on her feet, and she has made it to the gate before I have.

Her presence at the gate is to let the civilians in,
so that they may be protected within the castle itself. My job here is to keep
the wolves out, and there is only one way for me to manage that. I walk pass
the civilians, run pass the gates, and I walk until I am past the citizens
altogether. I can see the wolves approaching, the hair on their backs sticking
on ends, their sharp canine teeth glinting dangerously as their growls emit
from deep within them.

I focus with all my might on my task, to keep the
wolves out, as I pull on the dark energy that runs through my veins. It is easy
now, though just as painful as always. I can feel blood pouring from my ears,
my nose, gushing up through my mouth. The blood flows freely from me, and the
wolves whine and back away, being kept away from the pain that I am placing
upon them as Astoria, and the unaffected civilians cross onto the castle
grounds.

As the last civilians pass onto the grounds, Astoria
begins to close the gate. It is almost too late when I see the elderly woman
wobbling towards the gates, on shaking feet. The walking cane that she uses is
only just keeping her up. Astoria says something to me, and I want to listen to
her, but my mind is on the woman, and what pain she would be in if she is to
become a victim of the wolves. I take a step forward, and then another, my
path, my goal becoming clearer as I quickly make my way towards the woman. The
wolves stay back, they know the pain that I can inflict, and this alone makes
them cautious. I allow the woman to put her weight against me, and I help her
to make her way towards the gates. We pass through the gates, and Astoria
closes them behind us. A younger woman and her son come rushing towards the
elderly woman and I. There is such relief and happiness evident in their
features, that it is obvious that the elderly woman is their family.

"Thank you," The older woman says, and I
nod my head in acknowledgement as there is simply no time to waste. I allow the
older woman to go with her daughter and grandson.

"Anna what you just did, that was reckless and
foolish. You could have been killed, and you did not care. However, I
understand why you did it. You showed courage in the face of danger, and all I
can say is that I'm proud of you, that Sinistra would be proud of you,"
Astoria says, and I smile at her, taking a moment to pause even though time would
not permit me to do so.

"I couldn't let that woman be killed by the
wolves; the agony before her death that she would have suffered, I wouldn't
wish that on my worst enemy," I say quietly turning away from Astoria, and
making sure that the gate is closed properly. I can hear the roars of the
vampire men fighting against the wolves in the village, and I wonder if Kayden,
Shade and Victor are safe.

I feel a hand rest on my shoulder and I know that it
is Astoria, "Don't even think about it Anna, you won't be joining them.
Victor wouldn't want it, and they are all safer if they know that you are here
within the castle, where it is safe," Astoria says. I know what she is
saying is true, but I want to join them, fight by them, what good was all my
training for if I could not fight with them! However the memory of the
reasoning for my training comes to mind, and I turn away from the gate, and I
walk slowly up to the castle with Astoria, the citizens walking ahead of us.

I wait until I am no longer in Astoria's sight, until
her attention is focused on the civilians rather than on me, before I make my
escape. I can feel the pounding of my heart, the trembling of my soul, and I
know that it is not my own echoing within me, for what have I to fear in the
safety of the castle? No, it is Victor's heart, Victor's soul that I can hear
and feel, and I know that I cannot remain here, that I must get out there and
help them fight so that Victor will not die. I know what he expects of me, to
stay here and to wait for his return. I also know why it is important to keep
me safe, but I cannot ignore the thrumming of his soul reverberating within me,
as I run to the arena to grab my sword.

When I'm in the arena it isn't hard to make the few
short steps to the weaponry cupboard. However when I open the doors and look
for the sword it is no longer here, where it should have hung on the wall there
is nothing but an empty space. I scream in frustration, they knew the
temptation would be too much for me, but now I feel as if Victor needs my help
out there, and the sword is gone, and there is nothing I can do. There are no
other swords either; however there is a bow and a quiver of arrows. I had
learnt how to use these weapons a long time ago, but could I embody the Archer
once more? I reach out for the bow and take it within my hands. I can feel my
own spirit tremble, holding the first weapon I had learned to use.

Taking the quiver of arrows, I place it over my
shoulder. I take one arrow from the quiver, and place it with the quickness I
will need to have out on the battlefield. I turn to the dummy in the middle of
the room, which is over a good ten meters away, and I let the arrow fly. I miss
by mere inches of my aim, and I fire another making sure that I have a handle
on the weapon. It would do no good to be unprepared out on the battlefield. I
have to be sure I have embodied the Archer, so that I can save Victor and Shade
and Kayden. I let another arrow fly, and it hits the bulls-eye that had been
roughly painted onto the thick brown material. I shoot another, and it splits
the first in half. I leave the arrows there and grab another handful from the
weaponry cupboard.

I start running for the gates, before my eye catches
the stables, and I pause for a moment. It would be easier and quicker to get
down there by riding on a horse. I would be able to help Victor sooner, if I
took a horse rather than if I run down there. I don't spend another moment
thinking about it, and I get up on the first horse that I find. This horse is a
massive one, and although I struggle to get up on it, it is no problem to ride
him bareback down to the village.

I climb off of the horse and tie him to a post near
by. I can hear the grunts of men and the growl of wolves as they attack each
other. With bow in hand and an arrow in place I move forwards. There are lots
of warriors, soldiers out in the town, their swords clashing against the sheer
weight of the wolves. I cannot see Victor or Kayden or Shade through the smoke
and fog.

"Anna," I hear someone say as they grab
onto my shoulders. For a moment I struggle against the person until I see black
eyes, filled with worry and concern, and I instantly know who it is.

"Shade?" I ask and I hear him curse
violently. "Anna, you need to get out of here. If Victor were to see you
he'd lose his focus! And that right now can be deadly," Shade says and
there is panic shining in his eyes, and he begins to lead me away from the
battle until we hear someone call his name.

"Shit; that was Kayden. Look Anna you need to
get out of here. I hope I can trust you to do this; please for all of our sake,
it is better if you are at the castle," Shade says and he pushes away from
me. He doesn't leave me a chance to respond to him, and I watch him as he runs
back into the battle.

I hesitate for a moment, do I do what I should and
return to the castle, or do I follow my heart, and do what I know that I must,
to protect those that I love. I have lost Simon and now Meg; I cannot afford to
lose anybody else. I am grateful that Shade did not have time to take it from
me, and follow the path that Shade had made back into the battle. I pull on the
dark energy within me, and use it to bring pain to the wolves; I can feel fresh
blood running the path that the dried blood had left behind, as I use the curse
to help my brothers in arms.

Several wolves surround Kayden and Shade, and I fire
the arrows one after another, watching as the arrows hit their targets, the
bodies of dead wolves falling slack to the ground. Kayden and Shade turn to see
who had helped them in their dire situation and when Kayden sees me, a smile
spreads out across his lips. I can see that his right eye has been clawed at,
and there is an ugly massive wound etched into his skin. The wound is so deep
that I know it will not heal back to its original form.

"Kayden," I breathe and his smile widens
as he crosses the spacious distance between us.

"Anna," He whispers. My name is revered in
his tone, as if it is a prayer on his lips. He takes me in his arms, and he
holds on so tightly, as if we would have never seen each other again, and that
is still a harsh possibility in my mind. "You shouldn't have come,"
He whispers, his concern for me evident in his voice.

"I know that I shouldn't have, but I am here
now and I will not leave your side Kayden. For if the situation was reversed
you would do the same as I," I say, pulling back slightly so that I can
look at him. I brush my fingers near the open wound over his eye, over his
cheek, over his lips and then back again. He cradles my hand and keeps it pressed
against his face, even though he flinches from the physical contact with his
wound.

"You will tell me how this happened later. For
now we have to find Victor. I need to know if he is safe," I say, as I
pull away from Kayden, but he holds onto me tighter and does not say a word
until I'm looking him in the eye once more.

"And what if we cannot find him? What if he has
been killed in the battle?" Kayden asks and there is a hint of hope and
despair in his words. I stand still for a moment as I ponder this. What would
happen if Victor has been killed? Not only in turn for Kayden and I, but for
this world in whole?

"I guess we cross that bridge when we get to
it," I say quietly, letting my words sink in. I pull out of Kayden's arms
and turn away from him. I search inside of me, for that tiny link between
Victor and I, but I cannot feel anything come from it and I instantly fear the
worse.

"Come on Anna, we'll help you find him,"
Shade says, placing a hand upon my shoulder. I turn to Shade, and I let him see
the fear that has been stirred within me, fear for Victors safety and life.
Shade does not say anything, but I can see the empathy in his eyes, and I know
that his heart is pained for me, and most of all for Victor, the man that had
given Shade a new chance at life.

Kayden and Shade take each one of my hands, and lead
me further along, however when we see more wolves we have to release our hold
on each other. That connection is pure and innocent, three friends comforting
the other through mere touch. Kayden pulls out his sword and slays the oncoming
wolf as I fire an arrow into the one on the roof. Shade is covering our backs
and I can feel him hesitate beside me. I turn to see who has come upon us, and
a smile breaks out on my lips when I see that it is Victor. I start to walk
over to him ready to embrace him in my arms. He is smiling and joyful, and I
wonder why he is when we are fighting for our lives. Shade's hand catches my
shoulder before I can go too far. He is cautious of Victor, and I fear that something
is terribly wrong.

"You are not Victor, what have you done with
him Skin-walker," Shade says and I take a step back. If a Skin-walker has
dared to take the form of the Vampire king, there is only one person who would
dare do it.

"But answering your question would be no fun at
all," The Skin-walker sneers as he approaches us. Kayden places his arm
around my waist, and I can feel his protectiveness vibrating throughout his
body.

"Show your true form Skin-walker. So that we
may look upon your face," Kayden snarls and I can feel his loathing
vibrate throughout his body as well. I know that he hates the Skin-walkers,
that they both do, but I never knew how deep that hatred ran underneath their
skins.

"Relax gentlemen, I will reveal myself. Not
because you ask it of me, but that it is of my own will. I would prefer that
the Lady in our company know my true face, so that she will be haunted by it
for the rest of her life," The Skin-walkers says and there is such a
relaxation to him that it terrifies me. I know who this is person is, and as
Victor's face fades away and forms into the face that I loathe I feel my soul
tremble. If Christian is posing as Victor, then what has he done to him?