Fade Into Black - Shadows of the Night 5

Chapter 44

Hi!

I hope you all had a great weekend! So here it is, chapter 44. We haven't really heard or learned much about what happened to Anna, or why she turned rogue. You might get a few hints or maybe even answers in this one. And I'm dying to know if anyone has theories: What happened and why did Anna turn rogue?

Thanks for staying with this story, enjoy the read :-)

Lara

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Chapter 44

Elena Larosa's diary was one thing she came back for. But, there was something else. The Raven wasn't aware that she'd divided the dark magical objects she stole from him, as much as the head vampire didn't know what price he left her with. For some reason the second thought made her smile.

She moved on, approaching the wall beside the crumbling wardrobe slowly. Her mind went back to the night she turned rogue. Even though she couldn't recall all of what happened, there was an important detail she remembered and had kept from Alexander, on purpose.

When she came to her senses, she realized she must have lost Medici's leather coat at some point in time. And with it she'd lost a greater part of the magical artifacts she stole from the Raven. No, not lost. Someone took her coat and she had no idea who. She wondered if whoever took it had realized by now that they didn't get all of Medici's artifacts.

She understood why Medici had kept the artifacts close – he wanted to use them. Still, she thought it was foolish to keep all artifacts in one place. Medici had used her time and again, her and her magic. Her naiveté.

She'd learned. She learned well. So she had divided her loot, kept half of the artifacts in the pockets of Medici's jacket, and left half in her safest hiding place.

She knelt in front of the wall, flattening her palms against it. The incantation fell from her lips with ease. Power released in her palms. The spell fell apart, just as it did the night in the warehouse with Medici and she-

She froze. Stared at the empty space inside the wall, which was indeed ... empty.

Her head snapped up, targeting the spot Alexander stood in less than a minute before.

Come to me when you change your mind.

She knew why the head vampire had handed her Elena Larosa's diary just like that, why he made the bargain to begin with. He had left with a much greater price. When Alexander vanished he had Medici's stolen artifacts in his pockets.

* * *

She made her way to the perimeters, painfully aware that she was out in fading daylight. The sun was setting, making way for the night and other watchful eyes that saw much more than a human would.

There was no trace of the human police or the Circle. Nothing, but scraps of police tape that fluttered in the wind like a yellow ribbon come to life.

She was almost certain: this was the place where she must have turned rogue. This was where her memories of the night had gotten blurry.

She had to look for the auratic leftovers, and she had to do it here and now. If she waited any longer the traces might be too faint to be of use. Someone was with her in that street that night. Finding out who, might help her figure out what happened. If it was Medici himself, she'd find him and kill two ugly birds with one stone. If not...

The Circle was still looking for the remains of the Inri Brotherhood. Apparently they were uncertain how many had survived and were still out there. Uncertain if Raphael Medici was alive.