Rebirth

Chapter 5

Gabriel and Lucien followed Angelo as he led them to a room with a long table in the center of it. The room of was full of people- the vampires they had just been introduced to, minus Marcellian, who had stormed off after their encounter. They lazily moved about, making idle chit chat, all holding what seemed to be glasses full of blood. The sight was strange to Gabriel and Lucien- vampires drinking blood from glasses as if it was wine? Nevertheless, they both accepted the glasses that Camilia offered them before everyone sat down, Lucien and Gabriel picking two vacant seats next to each other at the end of the table.

He tapped his glass, causing them all to look his way. He began, "Alright everyone, we have business to attend to. First of all, a toast to welcome our guests." Everyone raised their glasses, and Angelo said, "To Gabriel and Lucien." Everyone smiled, tapped glasses, and took sips. Quickly, Angelo moved on, "As glad as we are to have them here, it is a... problem, that has brought them to us. They were targeted by Alice." The congregation exchanged nervous glances, the mere mention of the name sending a hush through them. Angelo continued, "We all know what Alice is capable of. She is a threat unlike any we have ever faced. Just last night, she cornered Lucien and Gabriel and attacked them. This is disturbing on many levels- she is growing stronger by the day, and she's able to track other vampires just as we are."

He looked down, as if thinking, and continued, "Our magic is only keeping her at bay for so long. It's only a matter of time before she gains enough strength to come for us. What we're doing simply isn't working- we need another plan, and we need it fast." He looked around, and said, "So, what are we thinking?" The group was silent, until Lucien piped up, saying, "If Alice is so powerful as to kill your leader, why hasn't she just come and ended us yet?" The question was morbid, but valid nonetheless. Angelo answered, "Her power waxes and wanes based on how powerful a spell she uses. She drained most of her power in the spell she used to kill Marcus, and she was forced into hiding to recover. But as we've seen, she's recovering quicker than she ever has."

Gabriel thought for a moment, then suggested, "Can powers be combined? If they can, then we could combine our powers to weaken her, then in the mean time we could work on a spell powerful enough to wipe her out." Angelo considered the idea, deep in thought, then responded, "That could work- in theory. In our separate bodies, our powers aren't strong enough. To combine our powers, we would need a powerful enough vessel to hold all of that, and we can't survive without our powers for very long. But... that could work."

Out of the silence, another voice popped up. It was Phoenix, sitting at the head of the table across from Gabriel and Lucien. She said, "Maybe it our focus that need's changing. Who said we need to kill her? If we can just restrain her we can drain her power using a spell from the Alterius."

Neither Gabriel nor Lucien knew what she was referring to, but the other vampires did, and the suggestion seemed to strike a chord through them. Angelo lit up, exclaiming, "The Alterius! Why didn't we think of that? That will certainly work!" Angelo turned to Gabriel and Lucien and explained, "The Alterius is an ancient spell book full of some of the most powerful and biblical spells. We've never used it, since we've never faced something this difficult, but this is the perfect occasion. There are plenty of spells in there we can use to drain her power and dispose of it." "I'll go get it!" Camilia said, and in mere minutes she had placed the book in front of Angelo, in the middle of the long rectangular table.

The crowd gathered around as Angelo flipped through the tattered brown pages, looking at the words written in a language that Gabriel and Lucien didn't recognize. He mumbled, "We need a destruction spell..." He flipped through the book, increasingly hurried, before finally settling on a page. "This one," he whispered, "This is the one. Redaramus flares co." The other vampires, who seemed to know the language, murmured in approval. Lucien asked, "What does that mean?" Angelo answered, "The direct translation is to rid of fire, but in a sense of extinguishing a flame. Destroying her power." Angelo didn't even look up from the book as he read the page. "Arabella, write this down," he instructed as he began to read aloud. Arabella grabbed a pen and began to write as Angelo said, "Langul avan incantinio... It's a brew and ritual. The potion needs... scoello levitsecra... bones of the past, interium prisitor, a. piece of the home gathered- depresid mulhallow- on the Unholy Night... by a High Priest."