END ROADS

CHAPTER 72: THE FIRST WAVE

The morning was chilly, snow kept falling covering the forest, trees and the landscape beyond. I stood at the rooftop of the Vines coven watching with the other guards. The wolves sat upright, alert and ears erect. It was not a good sign, my instincts screamed at my feet. Run! No... That was not an option my mind opposed harshly but that did not stop fear from gnawing at the back of my mind. You have to leave Becky, but I waited and waited for the coming shadow. Tension was rising in air, I counted heartbeats, breaths and sniffed into the air. There it was ... A very unfamiliar scent, wild and poisonous... Like venom of a python slithering in the shadow waiting for a perfect moment to strike and make a kill!
"They have all moved to the other side" Jayden startled me by his sudden words, I didn't expect him to be here already. He moved like a predator, slowly and silently.
"Good, I hope Elia did too"
"I made sure"
"Where is Grey?"
"He is with the twelve in the council room... They are planning
"What about Steele?"
"He went out to see... Angelica Hale and Marcus Aurelius"
"What for?"
"The Spikes coven are a little equipped with elements of sorcery in their power so he needs help from them"
"I don't trust that guy"
"Neither do I...
"But he seems not to bother you"
"He does bother me, but we don't lift our skirts in front of our enemies, do we?"
I was about to answer when a breeze, fast and misplaced brushed my hair. I turned immediately to witness a spear flying towards us. I pushed Jayden aside summoning my fire energy and burning it before it landed.
"Take cover!" Jayden yelled pulling me off to take cover behind some stone blocks.
"This beasts are playing dirty" I hissed trying to scan the surrounding. The toxic scents were thick in air, they were many... I counted the heartbeats... Too many three hundred of them.
"They are about three hundred of them, Jayden!"
"What is his deal?"
"I can't tell, he is dead serious about attacking us? This man!"
The frustration was real... The fear was inevitable and it was killing me already.
"What should we do?"
"Jason has to be careful, they are extremely strong.... And I need a sword " I said teleporting back inside, I strode into the council room where an elderly man was busy explaining something.
"Am sorry to interrupt, but they are here!"
I dropped the bombshell as easily as that, there was no time to sugar coat anything.
"Everyone here needs to work for survival, no one is another's responsibility. Survive, kill we will talk later"
"Who are you to instruct us?" A mean looking, scarred old man with silver hair asked arrogantly.
I couldn't help but chuckle "survive, then I will give you an answer... Old man!"
I walked out of the council room, Grey followed quickly.
"I need a weapon, they are about three hundred. Barely humans, not too strong but strong enough to causes someone to panic we should keep them off the inner borders. They know sorcery and magic we can't let them come in too close"
"You don't have to go out there"
I paused looking at Grey tiredly "tell me that once I take a bath in their blood sweetheart"
I continued moving, following the long hallway that was usually scattered with vampires and humans. The coven was too silent, dead silent as if it was an abandoned home. The warmth was gone now it was only fear and tension that danced in air.
"Come this way"
Grey pushed a door open and stepped inside. The walls were decorated with swords knives, daggers, arrows, spears an even guns.
"Just what I thought" I said pulling a thin long sword from it's sheath. The steel was stainless and clean. Deadly, as deadly as it should be and hell sharp!
I took a pair of daggers and tucked them in the bands of my trousers. I sheathed the sword and slung it on my shoulder.
"Got what you need?"
He smirked freeing his claws "I got my weapon"
"Nice"
I walked out and he followed, the others followed suit.
"Attack a coward with cowardice. They attack from behind, we will circle them instead. Jason and his men will stay here and the rest of us will go to the back"
Grey said and we agreed.
"We all come back alive" he added .
We teleported out of the coven, the cold breeze nibbled on our skins harshly. We crept around the Gala warriors like predators, they were of the Lion's head base. This warriors were hell serious about attacking us?
They were many, looked fierce and the scent they carried was effortlessly intimidating and infuriating.
"Red cloaks" Ethan chuckled "that is more like the Gala hue warriors"
"Where is Grey?" I suddenly asked realizing that he was not with us.
We stopped looking around erratically then my eyes caught the silhouette of him standing majestically before the warriors.
I suddenly panicked, "guys... Go ahead I'll give him a hand in case they decide to play dirty"
"Be careful, and put your emotions at check ... For us!"
Abi said in a very concerned tone.
"I will "
I sped off towards Grey, he noticed me coming to him and he sighed tiredly.
"I can never leave you without noticing, can I?"
"You will have to find out yourself " I smirked walking up to him.
"How shameless " the leader of the warriors spat in disgust.
"There goes the bad mouthed Gala" Grey took a step forward trying to intimidate the black haired pale skinned fairly built young man.
"What do you want?"
"Is it not obvious? I want the knife... The enchanted knife."
"We don't have it"
"You think I will believe that? I wouldn't even if I were stupid"
"You are anyway, it is not something to consider enigmatic " Grey sighed looking at the man lazily "we don't posses what you came for. Leave in peace am in mood for shedding dog blood right now. Just go your way little men"
The man chuckled squinting his eyes tauntingly.
"Grey ... You know our master doesn't fancy vampires I any creature of your kind. We never depart in peace without shedding blood"
He took a step forward taking his short spear then pointed it at Grey's chest "you are done for"
He lifted the spear to strike Grey but I intercepted landing a hefty kick on his side. He stumbled to the other side staggering awkwardly before he regained his balance.
"Not too fast"
He chuckled cursing silently "I was not planning to strike my masters child" he pointed at the rough man beside him "Jim, pain!"
The man uttered words of sorcery sending a thin string of light towards me it struck my forehead and disappeared.
"It's not working" Jim said
"It won't work" the dominating side of me growled fiercely at the men and it was demanding for dominance. The men stumbled and Grey tried to hold me back but I was going berserk.
"Watch my back darling"
I sped through the lined men drawing my daggers and sending the knives home. Tearing through flesh splitting organs and spilling blood. The ground was slowly turning scarlet. The others joined and the sound of war filled the atmosphere. Blades crushing against each other the Gala fell one by one. I turned to look at the warriors, their bodies were turning black and black threads of smoke came from them before they turned into ashes.
I watched a the vampires and the Gala warriors fought against each other. Something was not adding up, something was a miss.
Why would he come with weak soldiers? What was David planning to do? This warriors did not feel real let alone look real their moves were almost similar. Their weapons were alike.
What was this play?
I walked in around circling the battle ground.
"Stand back!" I yelled and everyone stopped surprised by my sudden demand.
"I said stand back" I called again and they did
I took a step forward summoning the power of the spell book. The sky rumbled and suddenly there was a strong wind. My power crushed in the atmosphere calling for thunderstorm and lighting struck around the warriors. They panicked, a channel of power emitted from my hands reaching out for the men like long threads of thunder. They struggled and tried to run but they couldn't. The power was too strong to resist, the winds sucked their power making them to wither. The combination of the power was too strong that there was a sudden outburst of energy that sent us flying across the field crushing into the snow roughly.
The warriors had dissipated leaving a heap of ashes.
"What was that?"
"What happened?"
"What were those things?"
"What did you do?"
"There was no need of wasting our energy on those minions " I answered and Ethan furrowed his brows "he's playing with our minds "
"How so?"
"Sorcery and mirror magic "
"So they were not real?" Grey asked and I nodded
"They were fighting with the same moves and their bodies were turning black and emitting black threads of smoke. They are not actual beings" I sighed tucking the daggers back in the bands of my trousers "he basically wants to see how well we can handle them before he sends his men"
"Gosh, this man is so wicked " Xavier chanted
"I was having fun killing them though it was way too easy"
"He must be cooking something big " Dom concluded
"He has taught his men the art of magic and sorcery we're done for" Clark said sadly.
"Go back inside let us see what is coming, we can't run. We are not cowards" Grey ordered
They all went back inside, Grey looked at me for a long time then walked closer to me.
"You sucked their power?"
"Yes, I had nowhere else to conduct it to"
"It might be fatal... Are you sure you are alright?"
"Yes am fine, but I will not keep it. I will conduct it to something else "
"That's good, don't get hurt"
"Sure I'll be careful"
We stood there watching the ashes being scattered by the wind and now the atmosphere was quite as if nothing had transpired there.
"Sir ... Master Grey Antonio is here he wants to see you an your mate"
"Antonio?"
"Yes sir" The young man responded with a firm nod
"Antonio" I mumbled my heart dropping to the pit of my stomach. We would finally know what was coming. What I was or what I wasn't.
"Come on Becky, let's go see him"
He took my hand and we rushed back to the coven. The coven was still silent with everyone locked up on the other side with enough supplies to keep them safe. Grey hurried off to welcome Antonio, Jayden was sitting with him in the council room.
I walked back to my room and cast the power I had collected onto the sword. Honestly, it was conflicting with my internal power. There was some strange aspect within it.
I finally joined the others in the council room, the young man with silver hair and piercing blue eyes wearing a long black my attention. He looked like he was in his mid thirties and was effortlessly eye catching.
I glanced at Grey who was behaving all jealous and possessive.
" Becky, right?" He spoke in a British accent.
" Yes that is me" I answered.
" Take a seat, my name is Antonio. I guess you know that. Well am the last child of the great witch Mr. Mm is my brother we're many of us. So I heard you got a birthmark that is a little eye catching" now he was using the English accent smoothly, he was playing with words a little too much.
"Yes I do"
"Can I see it"
"Sure"
He walked over to where I was sitting lifting my shirt up. His finger caressed the birthmark from the top to the bottom then he inhaled deeply.
"I never thought I would see it so soon " he finally said going back to his seat.
"What does that mean?" Grey inquired
"It means it's real. Well the prophecy is around the corner, about to come true"
"What prophecy?" Grey and Jayden asked simultaneously
"Behold the unruly child of the fairies will bear a daughter who will carry the bulk of the curse sent upon the children generation that are as a result of forbidden love between a fairly and a fallen vampire. She will be mated to the demoness' son and she will lose her life trying to safe others instead of saving herself. Her selflessness will be the cause of her death!"
"What are you saying?" Grey was getting angry
"Calm down Grey let him finish." I cut in trying to sooth my angry mate. "So I was marked to carry the burden of the curse upon my grandparents mistake?"
"Exactly " he said with a satisfied smile "you are easy to talk to"
"But I don't have grandparents plus my family was human!"
"Wrong, you have grandparents your parents are not humans and neither are you!" I furrowed my brows confused "your grandparents are not humans one if them was a fairly, your father was once a vampire and your mom us probably the child of a fairly and another creature and you, you're the child who carries four DNA's at once."
"Four?" Jayden who seemed fascinated by the story asked.
"Yes, the blood of a witch, a fairly, a vampire and a human all at once and that is why you can either be the death of us all or the salvation we've been Waiting for!"
"Four... I could not believe it.
"That is what Flora and Felicity meant?"
"You've met the two? What did they say?"
"Nothing much, Felicity wants me to know the art of evil and practice it while Flora wants me to know the art of goodness and practice it "
He sighed as if relieved and smiled slowly. "It's now up to you. Follow one of the daughters of the great Lothair Eisten"
"Which dimension are you traveling from?"
"The future, why?"
"Whom did I follow?"
"I cannot give you answers to that , just prepare you know very well who you are likely to follow"
My heart sunk, in the bottom of my heart I knew whom I would follow and I knew what that meant.
"Will I make it?"
I asked and that desperate growl echoed in the pit of my stomach.
"You will have a beautiful son"
That is all he said with a gentle smile that barely reached his eyes. Was he saying that to convince me? Or was it true...
"What is his name?"
"You will name him according to the time he was born. He will be beautiful, just like his father"
I smiled tightly my heart squeezing painfully with a mixture of emotions, bitter sweet.
"I need some time alone" I suddenly said standing up "come find me after an hour or so, but before that please don't come"
"Take your time" Antonio said I smiled gratefully heading for the door. The growl came again, this time low and desperate.
I glanced at Grey and smiled tightly.
"I will be fine"
He nodded sadly but I walked out, I needed time alone. To just think about everything. It was extremely overwhelming and tiresome.
Now I knew what I was running away from when I wanted to leave the coven. I was running from this, this situations of realizing I was not being followed after my graduation out if a coincidence, I was not kidnapped by my mate to be by accident, I was not born with the birthmark by accident, I was not in love with Grey by accident. No they were things that were bound to happen in one way or another. They were structured even before I was born. They were facts that were written down long ago for I to come and face them in reality.
I walked around the hallways my mind running miles and miles trying to convince myself that this was not real. But there it was reality, it felt like a dream, it felt almost impossible... Like a fantasy that will not come true. Yet it was unveiling itself before me, urging me to embrace it without fear , urging me to be brave, to be a warrior. But I was scared, what if ....
What I feared the most was losing the people I loved, losing Grey, loosing the others who had become my family. Or losing myself in the sea of rage and anger that overwhelmed me whenever I saw a threat. I thought I was burning with the urge to defend the vampires out of kindness or adventure. Shock on me, I was fulfilling my duty as a result of the prophecy.
... She will do it or die trying....
... She will choose not to do it and kill them all for not trying...
It went two ways, but from what I have been doing u already knew the route I was taking and it scared me out of my wits. Will I see my child as Antonio says?Or will I die without having a chance to even carry it in my womb.
I walked around the cave, the strange paintings Grey made for years on the stone walls and the props lined in the still waters beautified by the lilies. He had every painting of me. While I was in the cell, when Adelyn tortured me, when he healed me all the way to when he marked me and mated me. All of them, at least he painted. He had memories in material form. What of me? I did not even write a diary. Who will help me remember them all when I go berserk, uncontrollably wild?!