A Soldier of Shadows

  “Continue,” I said.

  Aisha bowed courteously. “Your wish is my command,” she said with a grin.

  I closed my eyes, allowing my mind to be hijacked once again.

  The vision unfolded in the same living room of Arron’s treehouse residence. The infant’s cradle had been brought inside the room, and a young blonde girl sat near it on a couch, holding the baby in her arms and nursing him with a bottle.

  Arron stepped into the room, accompanied by another female Hawk—a different woman to the one he’d sat with earlier in this very room. Both of them had tense expressions on their faces as they held hands.

  “Jada,” Arron addressed the young girl. “Carry the baby to the dining room and keep watch for my wife while you care for him. She’s not due back for another two hours, but just in case… Warn me.” His eyes were sharp as they dug into her.

  “A-All right,” Jada replied. Gathering up the baby, she hurried out of the room.

  Arron clutched the hand of the female Hawk and led her out of the room. They headed upstairs, and, reaching a landing, Arron pulled her toward a bedroom.

  “We shouldn’t be doing this,” the woman whispered, stopping in the doorway.

  Arron looked at her intensely. “War is upon us. If not now, then when?”

  The woman relented. She stepped toward Arron, who grabbed her waist, and then locked the door behind them.

  The vision withdrew from the house and shifted to give a bird’s eye view of the treehouse residence. Perched in a tree parallel to the bedroom Arron and his mistress had retreated into was the dark figure of a Hawk. She wore a black cloak with the hood pulled up. A stray lock of curly auburn hair revealed this Hawk’s identity. Her eyes were fixed on the drawn blinds of the bedroom window. From the look on her face, she already knew exactly what was going on in there.

  Her eyes were fiery, her fists clenched. After watching the window for several more minutes, her wings shot open and she swept herself away from the tree in a rage.

  The treetop residence vanished, and another scene immediately took its place. It was nighttime and the same female Hawk—Arron’s wife—stood alone on a rocky beach that was lined with jungle. Her wild red hair splayed in the wind as she stared out toward the rough waves. There appeared to be no sorrow in her eyes, only fury.

  Stones crunched. She looked to her right, further up along the shore. A lone man had appeared. The Hawk moved toward him. Wearing a deep red robe, he was tall and wiry, with small gray eyes and skin so pale there was no mistaking him for anything but a bloodsucker. And yet there was something odd about his appearance. His features were lopsided. His mouth hung a little in one corner, and one of his eyelids was half closed. It was possible to make out a slight yellow tinge on certain areas of his skin—around the throat, his right wrist, and on the tips of his fingers.

  “Nelda,” he said in a gravelly voice.

  The Hawk bowed her head slightly.

  “Whatever you called me out here for, it had better be good.”

  “It is,” the Hawk replied, her voice surprisingly steady. “Trust me, you won’t regret this visit.”

  The man looked around, almost as though he was worried that it was a trap.

  “Then tell me,” he said. “This vessel I’m inhabiting is weakening, and it must be strong enough for me to travel back in. I don’t have long.”

  “I am no longer loyal to my husband,” Nelda began.

  The vampire let out a scoff. “When were you ever loyal to him?”

  The Hawk shot a glare at him. “Before he thought he could play me for a fool.” She took a deep breath, apparently trying to reel in her temper. “I plan to leave him, and indeed leave Aviary, before your army storms the place. I’ve had enough of this life and these people whom I barely even consider my own anymore… But before I leave, I need to do something that’ll make Arron regret ever having betrayed me.”

  The vampire had a look of disbelief on his face, but Nelda continued regardless. “The truth is,” she said, “I have been tired of Arron and his rule here for some time now—the sheer hypocrisy of his methods. But there was a part of me that still loved him. And that is why I hung on all this time. Otherwise I would have left and become a wanderer many years ago. Now, I suppose that I should be grateful to him for making it easy for me to break away. I have no qualms about leaving him anymore… but before I do, it’s only fair that I give him a taste of what betrayal feels like…” Her jaw tensed. “I want to see him and his whole damn kingdom come crashing down.”

  It looked as though the vampire was trying to raise a brow, but instead it twitched before collapsing.

  Nelda took a deep breath. “That’s where you come in,” she continued. “I-I have something that could be of… great value to you in your attack against Aviary. Something that could possibly be the difference between winning and losing.”

  “What is it?” the vampire asked, taking a step closer.

  “A male infant who is capable of being imprinted upon.”

  The vampire froze. “Where is this child? How do you know that he could be imprinted upon?”

  “He is within Aviary. My husband went to visit an oracle… Hortencia. She gave him advice as to what to do with the child. I returned to see her without him and received answers of my own.”

  She paused, eyeing the vampire closely, as if gauging his interest and wanting him to prompt her to continue—which he did.

  “Go on.”

  “Hortencia saw in the boy a great potential for use by the Elders, and that is why she instructed my husband to keep the boy with us. The baby is currently under Arron’s wing… almost literally. He keeps the baby close to him much of the time, sometimes even during meetings, though the infant occasionally visits the medical building. In either case, I have easy access to him.”

  The vampire held up a hand and narrowed his eyes. “Tell me, Nelda. Why should I believe a word you’re saying?”

  “I have been truthful about my motives,” Nelda replied. “But you don’t have to believe me, because I am asking for nothing in return. I’m offering you up the baby. Your acceptance of him is the only payment I require.”

  The vampire crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me more about what the oracle said.”

  “She sees that this conflict is not one either side can take lightly. She doesn’t see a positive outcome for anyone. However, there is something you can do to gain a significant advantage… Since the baby I speak of is a product of Derek Novak, formerly a vampire, and his immune wife, the possibilities are far, far greater than just an ordinary human. As I said, you can imprint on him—that is, infect him with your nature—and it will lie dormant within the baby. He will appear just like an ordinary human infant, and Arron won’t have a clue what happened.”

  “And you would be willing to deliver the child directly to Cruor?” the vampire asked.

  “Yes. Directly to your leader. Then after the Elder has done the deed, I would return the baby to his crib in Arron’s quarters, and there he would remain… until the time approached for you to storm the place. Having already infected him, one of you—perhaps even your leader himself—could inhabit him as a vessel, the way you would a fully-turned vampire. Since he is situated within Aviary’s inner city, I’m sure you realize how valuable this could be…”

  The vampire’s eyes glinted.

  “Very well… Bring the child to us.”

  I was panting as I opened my eyes. Aisha, still hovering in the same position, was looking down at me calmly. I shot up from my seat and clutched my head as the final traces of the vision evaporated from my mind.

  Despite the revelations I’d just been given, I still felt utterly confused.

  “When I was taken to Cruor by that redheaded Hawk, Arron’s wife,” I began, trying to organize my jumbled mind, “in that very first vision that you gave me… that presence that engulfed me, that was one of the Elders’ leaders?”

  “That’s right,” Aisha replie
d. “One of the strongest of their kind.”

  “And he imprinted on me… while I was an infant. Which means what exactly?”

  “As Nelda mentioned in the vision,” Aisha said patiently. “He infected you with his nature. As you know, Elders are the original vampires. Vampires as most humans think of them—like yourself—are simply mutations of these Elders. Humans who have been infected with their dark nature. Usually, the infection causes them to turn into a bloodsucker. But due to the uniqueness of your DNA, that Elder was able to insert some of himself inside of you without you actually turning. So you appeared to be just like a normal human. As you can understand, this was incredibly valuable—the Elders were able to inhabit you, and use your eyes and ears to understand the workings of Arron’s mind. You were effectively their ally, even as a baby… Of course, then your parents managed to steal you away from Aviary, and so the Elders’ plan to use you as one of their soldiers never came to fruition.”

  “Because I was gone before the war actually started,” I muttered.

  “Yes.”

  “And my symptoms are so extreme because I was directly touched by an Elder?”

  Aisha nodded. “And as a child, at that. The Elder’s nature has been ingrained in your system since you were a newborn—from just days after your birth. His nature has become so deep-seated in your veins that when you finally did turn into a vampire and were able to manifest all the symptoms, they have appeared more violently than anyone else you know.”

  My head was spinning. I had been infected with this sickness directly by one of the most powerful Elders of all time. It was no wonder I was experiencing such problems. Even my father hadn’t been infected directly by one of those shadowy creatures. It had been Gregor, his own father, who had turned him.

  I recalled the last words the Elder had spoken in the first vision I’d had back in The Shade.

  “Take him back to Aviary… His time will come.”

  “His time will come,” I said out loud. “But my time never came. Because my parents rescued me from Aviary before I could be of use.”

  “Precisely,” Aisha said with a small smile.

  “And then the oracle’s prediction also came true… When my mother was in the supernatural realm recently, she found out the result of the war that erupted between the Elders and the Hawks. She was told that the two sides attacked each other so viciously that they both finished each other off… And now neither of them are a force to be reckoned with.”

  “That is what happened,” Aisha said.

  “But if I had stayed in Aviary longer,” I continued, “then it’s likely that the Elders would have won?”

  “According to the oracle… She saw that you could have been a great tool in discovering the inner workings of Aviary’s battalion.”

  “Do you have any more visions to show me?” I asked, sitting back down on the edge of my armchair.

  Aisha shook her head.

  So that’s it…

  I still felt partly in shock. It felt like I had been searching for answers for the longest time, and now I’d discovered the mystery of my past all at once, in a series of visions that had come in quick succession. Supposedly they had the answers as to how I could cure myself, but I still had no clue as to how to go about that.

  “But how do I actually solve this?” I said, my insides in knots. “How do I disinfect myself? I’m too far gone. Even the cure didn’t work.”

  To my horror, Aisha simply shrugged. “I’m not sure about that, Benjamin. I was able to reveal things about your past, but I don’t know how to actually solve your problem… Honestly? I don’t even know if it’s possible.”

  Her words carved a hole in my stomach.

  No. There has to be a way out of this. Even if I’m stuck with these jinn, I’m not going to live for the rest of my existence as this crazy bloodsucker.

  There just has to be a way.

  “What about your aunt?” I asked, even though Nuriya had already told me she didn’t know how to cure me.

  “You already discussed this matter with her, Ben… She doesn’t know how to solve your problem. We can give you information and knowledge, but we can’t always guarantee solutions.”

  What use are information and knowledge without a solution?

  “That oracle,” I said suddenly. “Hortencia. She’s supposed to be all-knowing and all-seeing? Surely she would have some insight as to how to cure me. Is she still living?”

  “Yes,” Aisha said, bringing some semblance of relief to my churning insides. “She is. Hortencia is actually the love child of a jinni and a witch. Jinn and witches have a long history of hostility toward one another. They usually avoid each other at all costs, and the two species are never supposed to mate. However, Hortencia’s parents… somehow or other, they fell in love and out came the creature that became known as ‘the oracle’… Actually, two creatures. They gave birth to twins. Pythia and Hortencia. I have never seen Pythia and don’t know much about her state, but Hortencia… She is deformed in many ways—for example, she has no eyes. But although physically blind, she has been gifted with sight like no other. By now she is older than anyone knows, but she is still living.”

  Jinn and witches being natural enemies—this explained why they had turned our witches into birds at the first opportunity, rather than keep and mark them like they had done with vampires, half-bloods and humans. I wondered if, since both species were able to wield magic, the jinn felt threatened by witches—and perhaps vice versa. Now that I thought of it, maybe this was also the reason why Jeramiah’s atrium held so few witches.

  Of course, more than any of this, I was filled with relief to hear that Hortencia was still alive.

  “Do you know where to find Hortencia?” I asked.

  “She has moved since the Hawks made visits to her… but yes, I know where to find her.”

  “Then my next wish is that you take me to see her,” I said, standing up again.

  “Very well, Benjamin,” Aisha said, with almost a touch of weariness in her voice. “Let’s hope she will have the answer you seek.”

  Chapter 21: River

  As I stared at the dove, I couldn’t believe that she had been Corrine all along. I shuddered to think what might’ve happened had I not decided to open her cage and try to free her. She might’ve been stuck in here forever.

  Now that I knew who she was, it felt odd to pick her up. I felt the need to ask permission first.

  I was also bursting with questions for her, and it was frustrating to not be able to ask any of them. Most of the ink had dried by now, so it wasn’t like she could just answer everything by spelling out letters on the floor.

  I bent down so that I was closer to her level as she stood on the floor.

  “Ben’s going to come back soon,” I said. “And he will demand that Nuriya, or her niece, turn you back into yourself.” I couldn’t begin to imagine how traumatized she must be feeling.

  There wasn’t an awful lot else that I could say while she was still a dove. I looked up at the clock. Come on, Ben.

  “Shall we, um… clean that ink off you?” I asked, eyeing her ink-stained feet.

  I held out my palm, and she stepped onto it. I took her to the bathroom, filled the sink with warm water, and dipped her feet inside, washing them thoroughly. I wasn’t sure whether or not the ink would transfer to her witch feet when she turned back, but it was something to do to make me feel less awkward around Corrine as a bird, and pass the time a bit until Ben returned.

  I felt confused as to why she was still a bird when Ben had demanded that all the witches be turned back and allowed to leave The Oasis. Could the jinn have disobeyed Ben’s request?

  I almost jumped for joy when the front door clicked open. Ben! He’d only been gone a little over an hour, but I had been with him practically nonstop for the past few months. I had missed him a lot in just this short period of time away from him.

  I hurried out of the bathroom to see Ben standing in the door
way. Surprise took over his face as I rushed up to him with the bird.

  “This is Corrine!” I exclaimed.

  His eyes moved from me, to the dove, then to all the ink on the floor spelling out the witch’s name.

  His lips parted, and he looked utterly confused. As he moved further into the room, Aisha appeared next to him.

  He turned on the jinni. “This is Corrine, one of The Shade’s witches?” he asked in disbelief.

  “I believe so,” Aisha said nonchalantly.

  “How… Why…”

  “She ventured near The Oasis, and—as we do with all witches who aren’t specifically authorized to come near our home—we turned her into a bird.”

  Ben fumed. “But I asked that all The Shade’s witches be turned back into their original forms and be set free!”

  Aisha raised a brow. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that your exact wording was for all the witches we had captured in the last hour to be set free. This witch had arrived near our boundary before then.”

  I stared at the jinni. What tricky, devious creatures these are…

  Ben still looked highly irritated. “I see I have to be careful not to give you people any loopholes in the future,” he said. He fixed his eyes back on the dove. “Well, whatever the case, turn Corrine back into herself.”

  Aisha looked reluctantly at the dove, then heaved a sigh.

  “Okay,” she said in the most unenthusiastic voice possible.

  A moment later, the dove had vanished, and Corrine—her thick brown hair disheveled, and her face filled with sheer relief—stood before us.

  She looked gratefully at me and Ben, and then glared at the jinni.

  “So you came here…” Ben said, staring at Corrine.

  “Yes,” Corrine said breathlessly. “I’d guessed jinn were behind the marks on your arms. The symptoms, along with all the strange happenings that you and River had described, led me to believe that you’d been claimed by jinn, but I didn’t want to say anything until I was completely sure. I was holding out hope that just perhaps, it was some kind of powerful witch playing tricks on you… So I came to the desert, but before I could carry out my test, I was caught by one of these.” She looked pointedly at Aisha, as though Aisha was a speck of dirt on her shoe.