Vampire Sunrise

The War Begins

I knew it was her arms around me before my eyes opened. She hugged me as only a lover would. It was tender but firm. I didn't know demons could shake, but she was trembling.

"It's OK," I said. I opened my eyes and drank in Angel's beauty and the beauty that was the underworld.

"How long have I been gone?"

"About three overworld hours. A magical bolt hit you at the same time you called for the underworld. We were all already being pulled here, and there wasn't time for us to reach you.

"The magic teleported you away. It was similar magic to what Dominus used at the Jackson Square fight. The lab you were teleported to was not traceable until you killed the vampires and disrupted their magic. All of us tried to track you, including the surviving witches."

"How many died?" I asked

"We were able to save everyone from Julie's coven except Beth. She died instantly from the falling debris. Most of the coven leaders survived, but the witches engaged in the festivities didn't. There wasn't enough time for them to react. At last count, 173 witches perished."

I awoke from one nightmare into another. Beth was so young and beautiful and full of life. It was a tragedy that didn't need to happen. Dominus needed to be stopped.

"Angel, do the witches know how Dominus knew we would all be at the last church of Salam?"

"They don't know who was responsible, and until this moment, we weren't sure what happened either."

Eleanor interrupted. "My queen, we must insist that you allow us to stay at your side. The underworld must have a queen. In your absence, the masses became unsettled. Anthelion did what he could, but we are demons after all and must be ruled."

I wasn't used to fiends being so grown, but she did have a point. I may have my plan with the witches and vampires, but I also had to fulfill my responsibilities with the demons. I agreed to let them stay near me at all times and not send all three of them away on errands like saving witches.

I said the words and was shoved back into the overworld. Whenever I shifted between words, I usually return to the location I left or near it. This time I appeared back in the lab, where I was held captive inside the magical sleep.

Strapped to the stone floor was the remaining vampire. It had only been seconds between my disappearance and return, so no other vampires had arrived. Demon fire engulfed the bag of my blood that was flung from the table. I removed the bindings and lifted the vampire.

"Where is Dominus, and why were you taking my blood?" I said.

He was visually disturbed by the demons but wouldn't speak. Eleanor walked over to the vampire, opened its mouth, pulled out his tongue, and bit it off.

She reached into her mouth and sucked the blood from it as she pulled it out and tossed the black thing to the floor.

"The queen spoke to you, vampire. You are required to answer. When your tongue grows back, you will get one last chance." Eleanor said.

The vampire fell to the floor, holding its bloody mouth squirming. "Hala, would you mind?" Eleanor said. Hala nodded.

I had no idea what Hala was going to do. The fiends had a way of communicating that was foreign to the rest of us. Hala scooped the writhing vampire off the ground and disappeared with him.

The lab had a set of stairs on the east said. The demons, except for Angel, went incorporeal. She and I walked up the stairs. We made our way through a few security doors until reaching a modern lab. LSU Health was plastered around the room.