Vampire Sunrise

The Red River

The other witch covens joined us over the next few hours for a graveside visitation that lasted until daybreak. At first, tears of pain flowed after every syllable, but by morning the tone changed as we celebrated her life and the great witch she was. Nelda had known Katie since birth and told embarrassing stories that somehow dimmed the darkness that we were all walking through.

After an appropriate amount of time, the witches gathered around Katie and held hands. A harmonic spell that sounded like a prayer flowed from their mouths.

The magical ceremony placed Katie in her grave, wholly swathed in an enchanted black material that seemed to shimmer a faint blue light. The service tonight was just one of far too many over the last few years. The life of a witch was a tough one, and in most cases, short-lived.

The ground spontaneously filled with dirt around Katie's body, then as the last of the words were spoken, grass sprouted over the top of the dig site; it looked like the ground had never been disturbed.

For the most part, everyone focused on Katie, but with my non-human hearing, I overheard a conversation going on among the coven leaders. Katie's coven would go to Julie. She would pick up the mantle and forge forward. The witches were sisters, and Julie would meet no resistance stepping into Katie's boots.

The coven leaders were also formalizing a large gathering celebrating tonight's victory. This fight was a turning point, and they were going to leverage it. New Orleans would become the new witch capital if the coven leaders had their way.

For me, the last twenty-four hours of victories and tragedies took a severe toll. I was a wreck, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking. My emotions were like a double-edged sword; they either supercharged me or weakened me, and the weakness had started to take a toll.

The vampire sunrise in front of the Royal changed everything. My Katie was dead, the Royal was trashed, hospitals all over town overflowed with wounded, and I was getting weaker by the second. It wasn't safe for me to be around the witches if I were fragile. At any moment, the Imperious could come back.

"Angel, we need to go; I can barely stand. The last thing we needed was for the witches to see me fall to my knees and need to be helped up," I said.

She nodded and took my hand in one of hers, then slipped her other around my upper arm. Angel was demon strong and had no trouble helping me balance. Inside the underworld, I would have time to recover no matter how long it took and still be back to help carry on the fight alongside the witches.

I noticed Beth watching Angel when she took my arm to stabilize me. Beth was intelligent and knew something wasn't right.

"Are you hurt?" Beth said. Angel and I turned to face her.

"Sugar, I have to go for now, but I'll be back soon, so don't worry. Just take care of your coven, and don't do anything 'fun' until I get back, OK?"

Beth smirked at me, then spoke, "We need you, so don't stay away long, and I promise I'll be on my best behavior."

I gave her a half-hug, then felt a small collision on my left side. Samantha was eavesdropping and immediately hugged Angel's leg with all the force she could muster.

"You're coming back soon, too, aren't you, Aunt Angel?" Samantha said, looking directly into Angel's eyes.

"Sam, don't worry. I promise to return as soon as I possibly can."

Samantha would not let go of Angel's leg. Beth dragged Samantha away after about a minute. We said our goodbyes and assured them we would return soon.

We made our way back through the coven and past the gate. I asked Beth to set the wards before we left. Once the wards were in place, I said the words that took us back to the underworld.