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The Hall of Kings felt hot and suffocating as Celyna stood beside her Matriarch. The heat of the braziers on the wall warmed her back while silence lingered in the room. Instead of keeping her attention on her mother––like she was supposed to––she was looking at Nox. As soon as his grandfather had told the Council that the Dark King had returned, the air had grown heavy. She could still feel it pressing down on her, making it hard for her to breathe. Even Nox couldn't keep the fear from his eyes, and despite the heat, Celyna shivered.

     She had grown up with stories of the Dark King and his army of Undead that had nearly destroyed the world centuries ago. They were stories to remind them of the darkness that lay in wait in the shadows and teach them the importance of the Crown. Many things had been lost then and some of the Houses had never regained the strength they once had. It was a black page in their shared history.

     The Dark King had disrupted the peace between the Houses of Shadows and his death, while a blessing, had led to the Great War. Even dead and buried, all the Houses had feared him, but never had anyone told Celyna that he might come back––that he might walk from his grave. If he raised an army of Undead again, even she knew it would make the wars between the Houses seem petty.

     "That's impossible," the Unicorn Matriarch said, the first to speak and to break the haunting silence that filled the hall. The color was drained from his otherwise tanned skin as he swallowed hard. "Our ancestors ensured that he would never rise again."

     "Our ancestors ensured nothing, Arion," the Lycan Matriarch replied. "They gave us Rules to live by, but one of our own broke those Rules and now the magical seal on the tomb is broken. Whatever wards were placed there long ago, they no longer have any power. Aemon has returned and he will come for us."

     "You mean he will come for you," Leonor said, leaning back in the large red chair. "You are wearing the Crown, Cain. He will come for you first. Why should we not let him destroy your House and take the Crown for ourselves?"

     "You know very well there will be no stopping him if he brings down one of the Houses. Do I need to remind you of what happened all those centuries ago?"

     Celyna watched as Leonor's shifted in her seat, her expression changing. All the other Matriarchs bowed their head in an act of unspoken respect for those who had been lost. Yet Celyna and the other Heirs could only listen to what was being said, wondering what truths were being hidden from them.

     "We must not let him divide us again," the Lycan Matriarch continued. "We must stay united."

     "If what you say is true, Cain, then dark times are indeed upon us," Celyna's mother said. She had never heard her Matriarch sound so serious before, her voice infused with old sorrow and regret. "What would you have us do?"

     "We need to break the spell that allowed Aemon to rise from his grave."

     "And how will we do that?" Morvan asked, looking around the room. He might be inexperienced as a Matriarch, he at least seemed to know what the others were talking about.

     Celyna was still trying to figure out how everything that was being said, fit into what she had been taught. Her mother had always had her secrets, but as Heir, she had the right to know which dangers lurked in the darkness. It seemed that even that had been held back from her.

     "He created the spell with blood, so it can only be undone with blood," Cain answered, seeming calm despite the tension in his muscles. "The House of Cerin might no longer sit in the Council, but they are not gone. There still is an Heir. His blood will break the Dark King's spell."

     "And how will we find that Heir?" Leonor asked, brow raised. "There are thousands of humans in each of our lands."

     "The boy has old blood. The same blood as the Dark King. The House of Ruelle will be able to sense it in his veins when we are familiar with the smell. Though we might be able to track him, once Aemon has regained his strength, we cannot stop him on our own. That is why I have asked you all to come here tonight. To ask for the help of all the Keepers."

     "You want our Heirs and best sentries to go into the Wastelands beyond the Lycan Territory and search the tomb?" Arion asked. "You must think we are fools, Cain. We don't even know if you're telling us the truth. Why should we trust you?"

     "Because you have no choice," Nox said, his voice sounding strong as it echoed through the room. He kept his intense gaze on Arion, but Celyna knew it was meant for all the others trying to defy his Matriarch as well. Those clear blue eyes burned with untamed rage. She thought she saw the unicorn Matriarch flinch underneath it.

     "We will go," Darran spoke before his father and Matriarch could. He gave Nox a single nod, making his sentries put down the weapons they had kept drawn in case of a confrontation. "If the Dark King is truly back, we owe it to our ancestors to put him back in his grave." He looked around the room and didn't turn back to Arion until the anger had gone from his father's face. "We will have to trust each other."

     "The elves will go as well," Morvan added, not even looking at Verin beside him. "The Keepers swore an oath to protect and defend the Crown. The elves will uphold that oath."

     "And we should trust you on your word, Morvan?" it sounded in a laugh from the other side of the room. Leonor shook her head. "We will never trust your kind, elf. Too much has happened in the past, but the nymphs will go. Our Dead deserve the peace it will bring them if the Dark King is gone once and for all."

     "It is settled then," Cain spoke, turning to Celyna's mother as the only Matriarch that hadn't agreed to let her Heir and sentries join the shared mission.

     The Keepers had been sent out on missions together more than once in the past few years. Yet never so far away from their own lands and never into the Wastelands where the darkness ruled. Fighting the ghouls and wraiths that were hiding in the shadows together to protect their lands was one thing, but going into the Wastelands themselves, was something else entirely.

     Celyna knew, however, that it was the Crown itself that kept the creatures living there from leaving their wastes. If it would ever fall into the hands of the Dark King, the world would truly be lost to the darkness.

     She was about to speak up when her mother finally did.

     "As your dog so faithfully put, I don't believe we have any other choice but to help. The House of Varela will aid in destroying the Dark King in any way possible."

     "Good," the Lycan Matriarch nodded. "Nox has been into the Wastelands before," he continued, turning to his grandson and Heir for a moment, a hint of sorrow flashing through his eyes. "He will know where to go."

     Celyna turned to Nox, in anticipation and suspicion, but if he knew as little about what was happening as she and the others did, he didn't show it. He stood steady and assured beside his Matriarch, hands still clenched around the twin blades strapped to his sides. Everyone now had their eyes on him, awaiting his reaction. With those few words, his grandfather had given him the lead in the entire mission. Something not all the other Houses were pleased with, but kept their mouths wisely shut about.

     "We leave at dawn," Nox said, keeping his face as unreadable as it always was, which made Celyna all the more curious as to what was prowling underneath his skin––what he was hiding underneath that mask. "Get all the sleep you can get," he continued, before his Matriarch pushed himself from his seat and they made their way down and out of the Hall of Kings. "The Wastelands are a several days ride and we'll stop as little as possible."

     Celyna swallowed hard, watching him and his grandfather walk out of the room, leaving the other Houses to do the same. Her mother remained seated, however, until all of the Matriarchs and their Heirs and sentries had left as well. The candles in the chandelier above her head didn't flicker once as the large iron doors were shut each time.

     Despite the dancing flames on the walls, the shadows didn't stir.

     "My queen," one of the sentries below the platform started, waking Celyna from her thoughts. He kneeled on the floor with one knee and bowed his head to his Matriarch. "I don't want to question your wisdom, but are we truly going to aid the House of Ruelle?"

     "Yes, we will, Damon. As I said to them: we don't have any other choice."

     "Our ancestors would turn in their graves if they saw us now, working together with those beasts," Damon spat.

     "They might very well if the Dark King isn't stopped," her mother said calmly, but Celyna could see the concealed anger in her eyes. "If he has the power to awaken the Dead now, imagine what he could do when he has the Crown. Now, all of you, leave me and my daughter. We have some important matters to discuss."

     "As you wish," Damon bowed again, swallowing his anger and pride as he and the other sentries left the hall. They closed the large iron doors behind them, leaving Celyna alone with her mother.

     The Vampire Matriarch sighed, leaning back in her chair. She seemed tired as she rubbed her eyes. Celyna couldn't remember ever having seen her mother look so fragile before. Like something was wearing her down and was eating at her from the inside.

     "There are things I haven't told you," her mother said after letting out another breath. "Things that only a few people in this world know... If you're going into the Wastelands and fight the Dark King, you need to know everything. You need to know what really happened all those centuries ago," she said, casting her light brown orbs up to her daughter. "We lied to you, Celyna. Our House wasn't the first to hold the Crown."

     "What?"

     She swallowed hard, folding her hands together. "Peace lasted a lot longer than you have been told. After the Crown was forged, it was agreed that the House of Cerin would wear it."

     "The humans had the Crown?" Celyna frowned, trying to make sense of everything she had heard during the Council and what her mother was telling her now.

     "Yes, they did. For many years in fact, until Aemon wanted more power than the other Houses were willing to give him. That is how the Great War really started. Aemon betrayed the other Houses and started his purge to get rid of everyone that stood in his way to absolute power.

     "After a year of war, he managed to seize several villages in the Nymph Territory and threatened to kill each and every one living there if the House of Oribel didn't surrender. It was then that the other Houses united under the Banner of Shadows and aided the nymphs in retaking their lands.

     "Aemon was so angry about by his own failure to gain more power that he resorted to blood magic. Using the powers of the Crown, he was able to raise the Dead from their graves. By the time the other Houses realized what he was doing––what he was building––it was already too late.

     "The war that followed lasted for decades. A great many lives were lost and cities were burned to ashes. It was our House, together with the unicorns, that pushed him back in the end. It was Faris himself that killed Aemon, and your ancestor, Varela, that took the Crown."

     "I don't understand," Celyna cut in, "if our ancestors killed the Dark King, how can he be back now? How can he summon the Dead when there is no more magic in the world?"

     "Magic isn't gone, child. Not truly. After the Great War, it was deemed too dangerous. After Aemon summoned his army of Undead, even our House agreed that blood magic––or any kind of magic––should be forbidden. After so many centuries, we have simply forgotten how to wield it.

     "As for Aemon returning, I'm afraid that is more complicated. He was a powerful mage, even more so because of the Crown. Your grandmother told me that right before he died he spoke a spell of resurrection. A spell that bound all the Houses to the promise they had made to his grandfather when they had forged the Crown. The promise to never harm a human ever again."

     "So, that is why we have always protected them, even during the wars with the other Houses. To make sure Aemon didn't rise from his grave. "

     "Yes," her mother nodded.

     "But why did the humans leave the Council?"

     "They didn't. They were removed."

     "What do you mean?"

     "For the first 100 years of the vampire reign, Varela held the peace between the Houses," she said, letting her eyes wander towards the seat on the other side of the room. The same seat that had once belonged to the House of Cerin––the seat that had belonged to the Dark King. "She thought it was best if the humans didn't know about the darkness that was hiding in the shadows and the creatures living amongst them. Using the Crown, she cleared their minds of all Houses, giving them the peace that we would never have again."

     "Magic," Celyna breathed, looking up at the ancient chandelier burning above her. "If none of us knows how to wield it, how are we supposed to break a centuries-old spell?"

     "There is a place, hidden in the Orrin forest, where magic flows from a well in the earth. A place where the Crown itself was forged. The magic is too pure to be used by anyone but the Gods themselves, but it can undo any form of magic. Dropping blood from the Dark King, or his Heir, into the well will undo the spell he has spoken and that keeps him walking. No matter what the others tell you, you must make sure that the blood of Cerin falls into that well. It will be the first step towards getting the Crown back. The first step to regaining our power."

     Celyna nodded, like a soldier accepting orders from his captain. Her mother seemed content with her reaction and pushed herself from her seat, ending the conversation before Celyna had time to think about asking the questions that were burning in the back of her mind. The Vampire Matriarch didn't wait for her to follow before making her way down towards the marble floor.

     She strode across the hall, her crimson dress floating behind her. "Don't forget to keep an eye on the Lycan Heir," she continued, looking back at her daughter, her eyes now baring nothing but the cold determination Celyna had gotten used to over the years. Whatever emotions she'd had after hearing that the Dark King had returned, they were buried deep, deep down again.

     As Celyna too walked down the ancient steps of the platform, she could feel the concealed daggers strapped underneath her uniform move with her as she walked. They reminded her of the smoldering fire that was still slowly burning between the Houses and could erupt again if they weren't careful. Just as her mother was leaving the room, holding the ancient, iron door in her hands, she spoke again––her voice traveling all the way toward the hallway where her sentries were eagerly waiting.

     "And, Celyna, when there is an opportunity, kill him."

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So, what are your thoughts on Celyna? Will she listen to her mother?

What do you think about the trip to the Wastelands?

Please don't forget to vote and comment! It is very much appreciated.

The story continues in the next chapter :)

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Word count 2713 (4723 total)

Copyright © Cameron R. Lewis