Evil Origins

  It wasn’t sunshine, but it felt just as bright. The clear light that touched my body from above was like being touched by a piece of heaven. When you have spent as much of your life as I have looking up from below, you can’t help but wonder how the other half lives. Not the popes or saints of the world, but the common man’s paradise where you finally learn the answers to all your questions. At least, that’s how I liked to think of heaven. I guess we all have a person or a place that we romanticize about. For me, it was the idea that some people get to live in a place without torment. That soulmates truly existed and for a few lucky bastards there was a happy ever after that lasted beyond the grave. Those were the thoughts that filled my mind as I woke up to the bright flickering light above me. My neck throbbed and it felt tight, which I knew was from the lost battle that I had just endured. If I was still human it would have snapped my neck like a twig, but I wasn’t human anymore. Each time the light flashed, my head started to pound a little more. I couldn’t concentrate. My mind was still drifting somewhere between reality and a dream.

  Opening my eyes brought a whole new meaning to blinding pain. The sheer power of the flashing light was like having a hot poker stabbing into my eye socket with so much force that it pounded all the way to the back of my head. I tried to concentrate on the area right in front of me and far as I could see it was empty, but I couldn't trust my eyes. With such an attack, they watered and burned so even if somebody was standing right before me I probably would have missed them. I laid there gathering my strength, trying to remember which direction Jenny had went when I told her to flee, but I was still confused about which direction she followed. I slapped the floor and cried out, "Contremísce," and I felt the floor begin to tremble. Covering my head, I felt small shards of glass come smashing down on me like a hail storm.

  The corridor wasn't dark, but was dim enough that I was finally able to see. Still laying there, I saw two sets of foot prints heading down away from my location. Good, at least they got away, I thought. Maybe not to freedom, but they escaped this part of the trap. I stumbled to my feet, but soon needed to brace myself as I felt lightheaded. I guess I was still feeling the effects of my ordeal. ‘Ordeal’ sounded much better than getting my ass handed to me by a mortal man. When I felt strong enough, I headed towards the shining light at the end of the hallway, following in their footsteps.

  At the end of hall, I heard groaning and smelt something burning. It reminded me of roasting pork and the savage screams coming from around the corner came from an animal that I had never heard before. I looked around the corner and saw a man's body burning in the distance. He was struggling to make his way to the open doorway that was only a mere six feet away. A hot white flame was dancing on the man's flesh as a cloud of white smoke rose from his body. The flames were so strong and bright that it appeared like he was doused in gasoline. I felt sorry for the man and decided to put him out of his misery. I knew that causing his death would add a stain to my soul, but letting him burn alive would be just cruel. Placing my hands on the walls on either side of me, I closed my eyes and focused on the burning body before me. I screamed, "Quad," but instead of dying and turning to dust the figure kept crawling away. This was impossible, I thought. No mortal man could live through this. Concentrating on the disfigured body I shouted it again, "Quad," but nothing happened. Still, the creature screamed in agony.

  “Mihaela, I am coming!” The corpse called out. Suddenly I understood why my spell hadn’t killed him. He had already died a long time ago and a spell meant to kill humans couldn’t possible wipe out the undead. He was still dragging his crippled body calling out to Mihaela like a lost child trying to find his mother. I warned them that Harrow was going to be coming, I just never realized that they were prepared for it. Lifting my arm, I shouted "Contremísce," and felt the hallway quake and shake beneath my feet. One by one, the lights shattered all along the way down to where Harrow struggled to survive. I wanted to run to him, but my legs didn’t have the strength. They could barely carry me, let alone run, but the thing burned to a crisp and screaming for help was still my brother. The way he was calling for his creator made him seem like he was human. He almost seemed like he was capable of love.

  He didn’t seem worth saving, though. He wasn’t the man I knew anymore and certainly not the boy I grew up with and loved. His charred body looked helpless and fragile in its current state. I knelt beside him and gently laid my hand on his body. All that was left was stone-like muscle beneath leathery flesh that reminded me of beef jerky. If I was alive, I wouldn’t be able eat that ever again. I didn’t want to see him suffer anymore. He was in pain and there was nothing I could do to heal him. The day he was turned made sure I could never save him again. The only justice I could do his was to end his misery here and now.

  I grabbed his head and whispered, “Goodbye, brother. I am sorry I can’t save you.”

  He opened his white eyes and croaked, “Save us.” There wasn’t much more than a skull and fangs left of him. Again, he moaned, “Save us, brother,” and despite wanting to send him to hell where all his kind belonged, I couldn’t do it. Call me weak, but we had blood ties and he was here in this position trying to do the right thing.

  “I can’t save you. My blood is poison.”

  With his face burned away, his long dangerous fangs looked like daggers as he spoke, “Save Mihaela. Save her,please.”

  I scanned the halls in both directions, but his mate was nowhere to be found. There were long lines through the dust and dirt like someone had been dragged away.

  “Did they take her?” I asked as I pointed towards the two thick lines. Why anyone would want to kidnap a monster I will never know.

  Slowly, he patted the floor with his boney hand he said, "No, below. Stop the lights. It's killing her." Rolling on his side he pleaded, "Stop the lights below us."

  Looking through the doors I could see bright lights exploding from below and there seemed to be a buzzing noise beneath my feet. The King certainly knew how to trap vampires, but how did he know that they were vampires? That's not exactly something monsters bragged about. It was an interesting event for sure. I slammed my hand on the floor shouted, "Mico." Below me, it sounded like a hundred chandeliers were breaking and it felt like the world went silent.

  I went to move him when he reached out withhis trembling hands and pointed towards the hallway.

  "Save Jenny." He whispered, hoarsely. That damn woman seemed to have her claws in every man she met, including a dedicated priest and a soulless vampire. She was corrupting heaven and hell at the same time. I guess we all paid a price one time or another for loving her. My price had just started decades before the others, but it seemed to me now that every man who loved her suffered. So far, two out the three I knew of paid with their lives. Would Mike be next?

  "I can't just leave you here to die. Jenny can wait."

  "No, save her. Leave me, I will feed. Go!"

  I heard rapid footsteps coming from beyond my view. Whoever it was wasn't sneaking around, but charging straight at us. Harrow whispered again, "Leave me."

  "I can't and I won't."

  "You must save Jenny. I promised."

  I placed my hand on his shoulder like I did when we were kids. Trouble always seem to follow him, or maybe he searched for it.

  "Don't worry, I got this covered," I told him.

  He laughed as he pointed, "He’s bigger than when we were kids."

  I looked up and saw older man carrying a flashlight in his hand. It looked like the ones they had placed above me.

  "Die, you bastard!” he cried out as he shone the light at me. I was temporarily blinded and tried to block it with my arm. The man was waving the light from left to right, still running at us. The light bounced from me to Harrow and his body started smoking. Harrow gritted his teeth and tried to fight the pain, but it was too much. After all, he had already been burnt to a crisp.

  "Put the light away," I snapped, trying to protect my eyes. Keepin
g my arm up, I stood up and walked towards him. He was silent and kept wildly swinging the light. Whether he thought that he would intimidate me by doing thator was trying to smash my head in with the flashlight itself, I wasn’t sure.

  "Listen, man. I don't want to hurt you." Pointing towards Harrow he said, "You aren't like those things.

  He jumped back as I stepped towards him. People got scared in the dark and I didn't blame them. I had seen the things that go bump in the night. They aren't very pretty and they always attack. This guy should have called in sick tonight. I might have saved his life.

  "I was about to say the same thing, my friend." Waving my hand, I said, "Assideat." His hands went weak and the flashlight dropped to the floor. I caught him as he tipped over, which wasn't a small feat considering my every muscle felt like mush. It took everything I had to lower him to the floor and not drop him. I was about to sentence him to death, but I didn't want to be cruel about it. The way the light touched his face he looked more like what he truly was. A frightened man realizing that, for the first time, he was on his death bed. It was one of the events in every man's life that they had to face. I had faced it, as well as the monster lying against the wall and countless others.

  I whispered, "I am sorry for what I am about to do." He couldn't react, but he knew what I was saying to him. He might not understand the consequences of my actions, but he would be aware of what was happening right until the very end. I gently whispered "Spermatophyta," and he was trapped.

  I kicked the light away and then dragged the man's body over to Harrow.

  "Why?" was all he could manage to croak out. It was a valid question considering innocent blood on my hands couldn't just be washed off. It was a stain on my soul that would never fade and I would be forced to carry it forever.

  I dropped the man beside him and said, "I got you covered." It seemed to me that it was all I ever did in life. Fight, cry, and die for my brother. No matter what sins he did against me, I always fought to protect and save him. Dropping Harrow on top of the man I had just condemned I got up and started following the trail that was left behind.

  I made my way, following the trail left behind. I decided to try to hide my true identity. Running my hands over my face, I said, "Abscondas," and felt atingling sensation, which would soon be replaced by burning. Endless burning.

  The brutish sound of a starving vampire feeding is something no man wants to hear. I expected it, but it didn't happen. At first, I thought he was waiting until I was far enough away not to hear the result of my actions, but when I turned around he was frozen in place. His fangs were out and he was so close to the victim’s throat that just seeing it made my stomach quiver. The mere idea that the man would be drained alive and all he could do was hope Harrow finished him off quickly unnerved me. He looked like he was caught in a cold snap and frozen in place.

  "Harrow?" I called out. He couldn't be dead because vampires burned away when they died. Their bodies disintegrated from the inside out, leaving nothing but dust and ash in their place.

  I knelt and touched him. His flesh was hard and stiff like stone. More statue-like then anything else. I whispered "Surgit," but nothing happened. He should have woken up by now. I pressed my hand on his forehead and repeated the spell, feeling the whole building shake as I released the magic. My fingers were stiff like an elderly man’s as I tried to force the magic through my fingers, but Harrow wouldn't wake. Something stronger than me had taken away his spark.

  "You can't wake him, master. No one can." Murlin was leaning against the wall, pointing to Harrow's lifeless frame. "You can't undo this. You can't trade your life to save him."

  I stood up, trembling with anger.

  "Did you do this,Murlin?" Her long face didn't show any emotionless. "What did you do,Murlin? Tell me what you did." Pointing back at Harrow's still body I ordered, "Set him free, right here and now!"

  "I can't undo something that I didn't put in place. Even if I had the power to change this, I wouldn't. I came to save you and you are now safe. My task has been completed. Your brother came to save Jenny. A task that can be fulfilled.”

  "Who placed the spell, Murlin? Who has so much power that it cannot be undone?" She was silent and didn't even look me in the eyes. "Who did it?" I lifted my hands in the air in frustration squeezing my fists together, trying to calm myself. "Tell me now,Murlin. "

  "I won't tell you. Harrow isn't one of our kind anymore."

  "You will tell me or so help me I will..." It was an empty threat because I couldn't harm her anymore then she could harm me, but desperation and fear bring out the worst in us and there was a lot of bad inside me. Too much bad, in fact, and even if he was responsible in one way or another for everything bad that had ever happened in my life he was still my brother.

  "You will what, master?" Her eyes began to glow bright red. "I serve you loyally and you threaten me in return?" Her arms were trembling with rage as she moved closer. I was certain that she was going to send me back to hell as she came at me, but then her eyes cooled and she whispered, "This cannot be undone. It is not by my design or yours."

  "I will not leave him this way," I said as I stormed over, trying to decide how I was going to change something that I simply didn't understand the cause of. Murlin knew the spell that caused this. Why wouldn't she tell me who cast the spell? "He isn't dead, is he?"

  "No, the spell was meant to trap him if he ever fed inside here. It wasn't meant to destroy him, just to trap him here." She wasn't lying, that was for sure. She couldn't lie to me. She was refusing to answer, which wasn't the same as lying. I just had to ask the right questions in a way that she couldn't lie.

  "When I was dead, did you wait for me or serve a new master?" I had always assumed that she had just waited, but now I was starting to wonder if my assumption was wrong.

  "I waited for my true master and served another." Fidgeting nervously, she kept moving her legs and looked around like a frightened child. "Master, leave this be. It's for the best. It’s better for the world, better for you, and certainly better for your bloodline. It was by design that if he came here he would never leave."

  "Who did you serve?" ‘Better for my bloodline’ was something that I had heard my whole life. I couldn’t explain why because I didn't remember who said those simple words, only that I had heard them.

  "I won't answer that, Master. I can't answer that." I bit into my hand, opening a giant round jagged gash that stung like hell and bled out like a gunshot wound. Placing my hand on Harrow's forehead, I decided that this would either free him or kill him. Either way, he was none the worse for it and I could at least take comfort in the fact that I had tried. Stepping closer, Murlin realized what I was doing and screamed, "No, master! Not a blood spell!"

  Clarity came from those words. I now knew who created the spell and why. She would have served my bloodline and Nathanial was the master she served before me. Only he could have trapped Harrow this way. A spell from the family collection of spells. If only I could just force life back into the lifeless. I said "Rebus," and felt my arms shake. Smoke rose from the spots where my blood touched his flesh as I continued, "Ego præcipiotibi, ut vivere."

  Something went through me. Not an object like a bullet or a knife, though. I didn't know what it was, but I know that it passed through me with enough force that it shook the wall as it connected and created an immense hole big enough to walk through. As my body trembled and a haze took over I thought I heard Murlin crying out for me, but I couldn’t really tell. What I do remember was thinking that she had just betrayed me. She broke a thousand-year-old oath and just ended the bloodline she had served. My bloodline.