Destiny Demons

I felt Casimir to my left, his inner struggle with his own conscious radiating with conflict. Suddenly, Lothair was standing to my right and we dropped together to the bottom.

I saw Markus, Cain and Rurik step out onto the field and felt the wave of rage wash over me at the sight of Rurik. I embraced it and let it ignite the Phoenix within. I felt the flames dance upon my skin. The Phoenix was alive. My daggers rose to my hands, burning themselves into my flesh making the flames of the Phoenix a little brighter.

I felt Casimir release and shift into the Krznik. His hair turned white and fell from his long ponytail, draping around his shoulders. His dark eyes shifted to bright red that stood out against his perfect pale skin. His lips curled up revealing his long sharp fangs that shined and sparkled in the light. His thin black bat-like wings extended out from his shoulders and his claws sharpened to razors. The true Krznik had come to play.

Lothair shifted to his lycan form, as well. His large head and long snout were fully extended into a mouthful of sharp canine teeth. His small frail looking body grew to a ma.s.sive height and size. His bare, dark chest reflected the dim twilight air. He glanced at me with his big black eyes and I nodded back.

We started toward the Elders and that"s when I realized how many were really in their entourage, probably close to a hundred or so. We stopped halfway across the field as Markus, Rurik and Cain met us there.

"It doesn"t have to be this way. The end of the age of the vampire isn"t your destruction but a cure to your curse," I declared loudly, realizing that I should try Casimir"s approach and try for as peaceful of a resolution as possible. "We do not have to kill one another; you don"t have to die here, today," I motion to the field around us. "Except for you," I stated quieter as I pointed at Markus and Rurik. Lothair"s long clawed finger raised and pointed at Rurik. "Of course, he will die today but maybe after he sees vampires die before him," I stated coldly.

"If you understand what she means about your cure for your curse and do not wish to die today, you can walk away, now. And once this is over, you are welcome among our ranks." Casimir announced loudly enough for the entire crowd of vampires to hear. Many of them began looking around at each other trying to figure out who all may take us up on the offer. I saw about twenty or so disappear from the crowd and a smile crossed my face.

"You lie!" Markus stated.

"I do not. It was revealed to me by Apollo, himself. Vampires shall exchange their thirst for hunger, cold dead hearts for beating hearts and become immortal humans. I speak the truth," I spoke to the rest of the crowd. "The choice is yours. Become immortal humans with your strength and speed without the affliction of your curse!" I stopped and looked at Cain.

We stood, Casimir, Lothair and I staring at the Elders. No one moved. I looked into Rurik"s light blue eyes and felt the sharp pain in my chest and I heard Lena cry for help in the back of my mind and that was it. "You will die today, Rurik! By my hand or Lothair"s, you will be dead by midnight!" I thought and sent it to him. His eyes registered that he had indeed heard my threat and he lunged at me.

His arms were extended toward me but before he could reach me a huge clawed hand came up and swatted him away as if he were nothing more than a fly. That"s all it took though, all of the vampires in their entourage charged us and the battle began.

Cain went after Casimir but the Krznik caught him midair and launched Cain back to the tree line about fifty feet. Rurik gathered himself but Lothair was there on top of him snapping at him with his ma.s.sive jaw. I looked forward and saw the disdain in Markus" eyes. He launched at me and I flipped over his head, landing behind him. I turned to look at him and saw out the corner of my eye, a tall vampire running at me, teeth exposed and sword ready. I used my dagger to stop the crashing sword that sparked as it connected. Rage flashed in his eyes at his failed attempt. I pushed back at him forcing him to take a step back away from me then turned to deflect Markus" sword in its swing.
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I turned to stop the tall vampire"s next swing and stopped it with my left arm. With my right dagger, I cut his throat, severing the spinal cord. I watched briefly as his body fell to the ground.

I spun toward Markus, but he was heading up the cliffside. I shot out a dagger from my hand into his leg and pulled him from the cliff. He yelled in pain as he fell to the ground next to me and crashed down with a horrible sounding crunch.

I looked down at him and smiled as I grabbed him, picking him up and drove my daggers through his shoulders, into the wall of the cliff. "Stay!" I demand, as I turned back to the battlefield. I summoned my samurai sword and began to tear through the bodies of vampires that crashed into me like waves in a hurricane.

I watched the faces of my foes looking for one in specific. Ailia was my target and as I stayed my course, beheading vampire after vampire, my eyes were keen on finding her face.

Suddenly, I heard an agonizing scream coming from the house behind me and with all of my might, I leapt up the cliffside. I looked around for a moment and saw her standing over Adam. He was on the floor paralyzed from the pain that was surging through him while Veda was trying to cradle him.

"Ailia," I called and Adam stopped screaming. She turned toward me and narrowed her eyes at me. I felt a slight tingle in my back that actually felt good and I smirked at her.

Ailia"s eyes widened for a split second then narrowed again as she said, "Pain," under her breath. This time the tingle grew to a tickle that ran a cold chill up my back bone. I let out a laugh confidently, "Is that all you got, Ailia?"

At that, she stopped and panic crossed her face, her eyes widened and her mouth gaped open. I smiled as I warned, "My turn." I narrowed my eyes at her and I thought to myself the most horrible pain I could think of, the flames that took me that fateful night that I met Silas for the first time. She fell to the floor in anguish, curling up into a fetal position, attempting to stop the pain. My own anger flared and intensified her agony. "Ah, does it hurt, Ailia? Now you know how so many others felt as you tortured them with your thoughts. How my Josh felt before you killed him. How Adam just felt. How does it feel now that the tables have turned?"

Her response was a blood curdling scream that rang in my ears. Suddenly, a sharp pain in my neck broke my concentration. I felt the burning venom running rampant in my veins and it fueled the Phoenix a bit more. I could see out of the corner of my eye that a vampire, that I found out later was Felix, had bit me to stop the agony that Ailia was experiencing. I brought my fist up and hit him in the face knocking him back a few steps. I turned to look and could see my blood running down his chin. A half smile curled up on my face as I remarked, "You do realize that you just signed your death warrant, don"t you?"

As the realization of what he had just done sank in, his face grimaced in rage. He leapt at me with a sword bared and I used my own sword to deflect his blade. Sending him crashing to the floor next to Ailia as she finally got to her feet and realized the gravity of the situation. The look on her face let me know that things had come together. Her lover and mate was doomed.

She exposed her pearly white teeth at me as she hissed and crouched down readying herself for her attack. I stepped back on my right foot prepared to dodge her pounce. I smiled antagonizingly at her and swatted her down in midair. Felix stood up behind me and I turned to look him in the eye as I raised my sword and it crashed with his. I spun it around knocking it from his hands and planted my foot in the center of his chest, sending him over the cliff.

"Die," I heard and spun around to see the vision from our circle play out. Ailia slashed at Adam"s throat but Veda stepped forward and Ailia"s claws cut deep into Veda"s throat then she fell to the floor.

Instantly, the waves of rage exploded like a volcano, consuming me all at once. All I could see was red and I lunged at Ailia, taking her down to the ground. I pinned her and quickly turned to see Veda take her last breath, her blood pooling around her on the floor. Mitch.e.l.l held her head in his lap and looked at me with desperation in his eyes. I gazed into his eyes apologetically then turned back to Ailia, "Die?" I spat at her, "That"s original."

"Just...kill...me," she barely got out.

I glimpsed over to Veda"s lifeless eyes and looked back at Ailia. "No, not yet," I lifted her up and held her by her throat; we went to the edge of the cliff. Down below I could see Felix lying on the ground. I glimpsed over at her and smiled. "No, you shall watch him die as I watched my husband die by your hand." At that, I jumped down and held her just in time for her to see Felix burst into flames.

"No!" She cried out at the sight. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she looked at me.

"Now you die!" I whispered and sank my teeth into her neck. I tasted the blood on my tongue and felt the release of my own into her veins. Her body tensed and her arms struck at me, pushing off of me. She took a step back and she dove at me. We went crashing down to the ground. We began to roll around trying to get the upper hand on the other. I could feel her hand in my hair as the other clawed my face. I yelled at the pain in my cheek and she paused for a moment. That moment was all I needed, I pinned her again and realized that her hands were charred from fighting me. The Phoenix had burned her. I stood and picked her up by her arms looking in her eyes, I focused the flames that still danced on my skin into her and she screamed as they transferred and I dropped her.

I turned and looked over at the cliffside to see my daggers were still there but not Markus. I began to search the battlefield for Markus then heard a familiar voice scream, "Stay back," from atop the cliff. I called my daggers from the cliffwall and jumped back up to the top to find Markus facing the back of the house. He turned and looked at me with disgust, and then in a flash, he sprouted his bat like wings and jumped straight up into the sky. I smiled and felt the shutter in my back as my own wings broke free. The pure white wings always did remind me of an angel"s wings though I was far from an angel, of course. I closed my eyes and my feathers shifted black to project my mood. I extended my wing span fully then leapt up after Markus. I flew with the wind in my face and disappeared into the clouds. As I came out, above the clouds, Markus caught me with his fist in my chest, stopping my momentum and throwing both of us back. He flew toward me, his sword bared and ready. I leaned forward and used my daggers to stop him. The force was so great that a spark of lightning bolted into the clouds and we were both thrown back.

I allowed the force to turn me into a backflip in the air to regain my control, and then sped toward Markus. He readied himself and we crashed into each other again like two waves in the ocean. My fist crashed into his cheek and threw him to the side. I took advantage of his loss of control and hit him with all of my strength, knocking him to the ground with such force that the dirt surrounded him in a mushroom-like cloud.

I soared down into the cloud to find him in a crater next to my house. He tried to stand but his knees buckled beneath him and he fell back to the ground. I gently landed in front of him and smiled down at him. My black wings caught the Phoenix flames from my skin and blazed around me. The wind blew behind me, blowing my now fiery red hair over my shoulders and around my face. My fangs stayed sharp and long as my rage flared and I grabbed Markus by his shoulders and stood him up. I spun and kicked him in the chest throwing him out of the crater and over the cliff. His semi-conscious body crashed down to the battlefield below. I jumped down beside him, stood him against the wall and drove my daggers into his shoulders, again.

"Markus," I hissed at him. He looked into my eyes, seeing the raging fire within them and I could see the agony in his. "Did you really think that I would have let you come here and destroy my friends, my angel and the man I love without a fight? Did you really think it would be that easy?" I could see panic spread across his face. "Do you want me to end this now?" I asked harshly and watched him nod his head. I twisted the daggers and smiled into his face. "Do you really think that I don"t know? I know who gave the order to kill me," I stopped and watched as another wave of panic crossed his face. I got right in his face, inches from him and quietly growled at him, "It...Was...You! You gave the order to kill Lena and me. It was you who was at fault for her torture! Her death!" I bared my fangs at the last part as it sank into my own thoughts and the rage flared the Phoenix, again. I felt the fury within me boil and I hissed at him, "Does it hurt? I hung for days before my death! Revel in the suffering you wrought!" I turned to the carnage that littered the battlefield. I heard him gasp behind me; I could feel the sorrow deep within him at the sight of his brethren, his children, slaughtered in my field.

I turned partially back toward him and smiled as I asked, "Does this pain you? Seeing your brethren, your creations, your children dead on the battlefield. Now tell me, does this pain you?" I turned back to the field and summoned the Phoenix flames out of my own body and across the field. I watched as various bodies caught the flames and ignited. I forced the flames harder until I knew every last vampire was dead and burning. I withdrew the flames and took them back within myself then turned to the red faced Markus still hanging on the wall. "Now how badly does it pain you? Knowing that all of your followers are dead? Yes, you are the last of the Elders. But fear not, you won"t be for long." I stepped forward and growled quietly in his ear, "Now, die!" I tore his heart out as he had once ordered Lena"s to be and watched as his eyes faded and fell dead. I dropped his heart at the foot of the cliff and as Lothair and Casimir joined me, I set Markus ablaze.

"It"s over, Dru. The Elders are all dead. Rurik is dead, Markus is ablaze," Lothair started.

"Cain is dead, as well," Casimir announced. "And Silas is safe from them, now and forever more," sorrow lined his voice. His compa.s.sion was fighting against his own resolve. He had gone against his own vow to not kill in order to save a dear friend.

I turned to see Cas, normal Cas, crying at the devastation that he had brought with us. Human Lothair, on the other hand, smiled looking pleased. I felt my wings recede into my back; the Phoenix flames extinguished leaving my skin slightly pink.

I touched Casimir"s shoulder as a tear ran down his cheek. He turned and looked at me, his eyes were tortured and I reached up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders and consoled him. I felt his pain, I didn"t want all of this, and I had hoped more had left before this all started. I held him a moment pushing soothing warm energy into him until he had calmed.

I turned and pulled my daggers from the wall then letting them fall and disappear back into the ground. My fangs receded and my eyes returned to their normal gray-blue color. I peered up toward the house and in a single jump landed next to the back wall.

Adam began running to me and my heart fell at the memory of what had happened up here. Veda had given her life to save Adam"s from Ailia. I closed my eyes and felt the tears run down my cheeks.

"Is it over?" Adam whispered as he threw his arms around me. I gazed up into his big, brilliant blue eyes and as I began to answer, I heard a wonderful, familiar voice.

"Yes, it is over."

I looked past Adam and gasped at what I saw.