Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2013 20:45:24 +0400
From: Nell Bas <helledon12@gmail.com>
Subject: the last feres/ the feres king

This chapter is dedicated to my friend Fred, who was with me throughout these
last few chapters. Your insights and recommendations were challenging,
overwhelming yet gratifying. And also, I didn't forget you Anthony. Your
enthusiasm gave me the push I badly needed to keep this story going.

Happy reading!
				The Feres King
				  Chapter 22

`Why have you called us here, Rye?' Nick asked.

Everyone stood around the 3-D mapped table in silent waiting for a response. I
knew what I wanted to say but the look on their bewildered faces suddenly made
me nervous. I honestly started to wonder whether calling them here was such a
good idea.

`Rye,' Nick urged.

I swallowed hard. Here goes nothing, I said to myself.

I started by telling them about my little trip to the memorium; what Grandma
Moira and I did, what we found out about my father's memoria and how strangely
my vision switched to the leopard shifter village without intended to. When I was
done, everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

It was Wain who broke the silence. `Father insisted we learn about the politics of
Wyrmer. He and the record keepers had no knowledge of this Dowerr village.'

Seth laughed. `After the crusade to eliminate the likes of them three centuries ago,
I'm not surprised.'

`The leopard uprising was a nasty affair. I'm not surprised they went underground.'
River chipped in.

`Focus, you guys,' Xander said. `What is it you're really asking of us, Your
Highness?'

`I'm enlisting your help because if we don't do something I fear the inhabitants of
Dowerr won't last long, never mind the night.'

Xander pensively rubbed his chin. `Does Charlie know about this rescue mission?'

`Charlie knows and he gave his approval. Needless to say, it took a lot of pleading
on my part. However, he asked that you be part of it as well. His condition was
that you take the lead since you're obviously older and the more experienced
fighter. He also made me promise to follow, listen, and learn from you.'

`Why didn't he tell me that, himself?'

`I'm to blame for that. I wanted to surprise you.' Frankly speaking, I wanted to tell
him because Charlie told me that if Xander refused the mission was off. Knowing
Xander, he wouldn't say no to my face. I guessed was right my in judgment
because he smiled and said, `I'll be delighted to lead you.'

`What about the army. Can't they help?' Rhett asked.

`The army is not yet ready for such an operation. Even so, I can't just sit down and
do nothing. What's more I don't want the obliteration of an entire village on my
conscience, knowing that I could have done something. As their High King I owe
them my protection.'

Wain smirked. `Way to go, Rye, I've been dying for some actions all week. Of
course we're in, right guys?'

`Yeah!'  They yelled in unison.

After that, they all laughed. Except for Wren who I noticed had his arms folded
across his chest with a grave expression on his face. I wondered what was wrong.

`Come on guys let's go get ready,' Wain said.

As they emptied the room, I told Nick and Wren to stay put.

`Are you sure about this, Rye?' Nick asked the moment the last person crossed the
doorsill.

`I am,' I said as convincingly as I could.

`Are you really?' Wren gruffly said from his corner. `Rye, this is madness. Have you
thought about the danger you're putting yourself into? Have you forgotten what
happened the last time you faced the vampires?'

`No, I haven't forgotten. Except this time I'm confident I can do it right. I had
loads of practice. We're going to win. I know it.'

`This is not a game, Rye. People die in battle. You should be more concern about
your safety.'

`Take it easy, mutt,' Nick said with a frown. `Rye has an obligation to fulfill. You
and I both knew that from day one. Now deal with it.'

Wren went all quiet all of a sudden. Nick turned to me.

`By taking up this challenge you'll be proving to us that you're ready. I have faith in
you. You're doing what you're meant to be doing.'

`Thank you for your vote of confidence Nickolas. I really appreciated it.' I
genuinely smile.

`I'm a bit curious though. I sensed your indecisiveness earlier and mistook it for
fear. What are you not telling us?'

Wren perked his ears.

Damn! Nothing gets past this guy. It was truly a curse to have an empath for a
friend.

`I'm a bit unsure about the vision.' There I said it.

`How come?'

`Well, for what I know, vision comes with a trigger and it's a spur-of-the-moment
thing. Normally I have no control over it but this one felt weird.'

`When you were telling us about the scrying thing you said the medallion vibrated.
To me it sounds like it might be the trigger you're looking for. Has it happened
before? I mean the whole vision thing with the medallion.'

I forgot Nick wasn't there when I went through my father's "induced vision".
Hold on! That was it! That was the missing link.

`Yes. My father did send me a vision once and he used the medallion as a medium.
You're right, Nick. The medallion may have something to do with it.'

`There you go, mystery solved. Your father had sent you another clue.' Nick
smirked as if he'd accomplished something big.

I thought to myself:  Again, he might be right. My father was a calculative man and
he'd been guiding me throughout. However, what is it he wants me to find in
Dowerr because I for one can't figure out what. The vision was kind of vague in
this regard.

My bewilderment must have shown for Nick pulled me into a hug. `Trust in your
father and in your friends, Rye. Everything will be okay.'

Wren came to stand in front of us. Apparently he had a change in heart. `Rye, I'm
sorry for coming on so strong. It's just ... I'm ...' He met my gaze. `I love you,
atsa. I support you one hundred percent and I do agree with you about saving
these people. But ...' He grabbed my hand. `You should always think of your
safety first. It's not about selfishness; it's not even about abandoning your
principles; rather it's about hope. You are Hope. You see, you mean more to all of
us than you think, especially to me.'

We pulled him into the hug as well.


I met the guys in the courtyard. For a bunch of men going into battle, the mood
seemed rather depressing. Dale was quietly staring at the short sword in his hand
like he had never held one, Rhett looked bored and the twins were having their
own private conversation.

`Do we have a plan?' Seth asked.

Xander cleared his throat. `Alright guys, listen up.' He paused only to make sure
everyone was listening. `For those of you who never fought vampires before, you'll
soon realize that they aren't your typical fighters. In fact, they don't fight at all.
Their only strategy is to grab and bite, so don't let them get hold of you. It may
sound easy to kill one because of that, but don't get too overconfident. They are
strong, fast, and hard to pin down. They also have the superior numbers, which
they'll use to their advantage.'

`How do we beat them?' River asked.

`Our best chance is to fight in pairs so we could watch each other's back,' Xander
replied. `And to all of you with shifting ability, I urge you not to use your gift unless
you really have too. And lastly, people, kill as many of these blood suckers as you
can.'

Their raucous battle cries sounded a little jovial, yet oddly moving.

`Rye, when you're ready,' Xander said when he thought we were good to go.

Exhaling loudly, I gathered as many feri-lights as I possibly could. With a single
thought, they swirled around us and teleported us right to the village's entrance.

The moment we became tangible, we saw a man in front of a bustling mob
dragging a frightened little girl toward us. `Out of the way!'  He yelled. As we
parted to let him and the others pass, we saw three vampires gliding after them.

`Nick!' Xander yelled. Quickly, he produced two fireballs and threw them at the
vampires. Two blood suckers fell and the third paused in mid-air to see what had
just happened. When he spotted us, he tried to fly away, but before he could reach
the Dowerr sign post, a fireball hit him in the back, sending him to the ground as
well.

`Well done Nick. Now let's move, people,' Xander yelled.

I noticed the enemy hadn't used their Dark Mist. I figured that they didn't need it
because the sun was already out of the sky. As we neared the entrance, a dozen
more vampires came to meet us.

Without breaking stride, Nickolas was ready again. He conjured two fire whips and
started cracking. Except for one stupid vamp, which continued to charge and got
blown up, the others darted out of the way.

When we reached the village square, we were met with a horrible sight. Amidst
burning lodges, wreckage and corpses, most of the villagers were huddling together
in the middle with three dozen vampires circling around above them. At the edge
of the crowd a handful of leopard shifters in their leopard forms were struggling to
keep the grounded vampires at bay.

Startlingly, I watched a blood sucker single out a leopard, snatch him from the
ground and fly off with him. Bravely, before the vampire could bite him, the
leopard twisted and bit the enemy in the neck. The vamp screeched and let go.
The big cat dropped safely on his four legs, immediately regaining his position.

`Rye, use your feri-lights and get those people to safety. Send them to High-Guard
Camp. I've talked to Charlie. He's expecting them. Wren watched over him. The
rest of you spread out and engage the enemy,' Xander yelled.

As instructed, my friends took different directions, brandishing their swords as
they went. Dale fought alongside Seth, Rhett with Wain, and Reed with his twin.
Nick nodded at Wren before also darted off with Xander. No doubt they'd been
communicating.

I was about to move when all of a sudden, the air shifted around us. It blew some
smoke in another direction. As it drifted away toward a darker corner of the village,
a flicker caught my eye. It happened very fast, but I thought I saw two figures
standing there in the dark. But then, I could have imagined it because I saw
nothing there when the smoke changed course again.

`Focus, Rye,' Wren drew me back to reality. `Let's go.'

I turned my attention to the screaming villagers. Smoke from the flaming lodges
got in my eyes, and its nauseating stench made it almost impossible to breath. That
didn't stop me, however. Waving my arms around, I directed the feri-lights I had
brought with me toward the villagers. One by one they vanished in swirling golden
lights.

Angry vampires shrieked and turned on us. Slashing at them with his sword, Wren
kept them away.

As the last of the villagers vanished, I heard an ear-piercing cry. Twenty feet away I
saw a woman on the ground cradling the bloody corpse of a man. She wasn't
alone. Hovering above her was a vampire about ready to strike.

Quickly, I sent some feri-lights to her aid. The blood sucker exploded upon
contact with the tiny orbs.

Wren rushed to her and I swiftly followed.

`Are you all right, woman?'  Wren asked, concerned.

`Leave me. I want to die.' She wailed while hanging on to what I believed to be her
mate.

`Come, we can't leave you here. There're too many vampires around.' Wren slowly
pulled her to her feet. `Take her out of here, Rye.'

I was about to called down the feri-lights when more vampires came. There were
so many of them that I had no choice but to keep the orbs circle three feet above
us. The curious thing was they didn't attempt to get to us like they'd been doing
thus far. They just hovered there gazing at us. It was really weird.

When I thought things couldn't get any worst, the last two persons I expected to
encounter tonight chose that very moment to take off their invisibility crystals.
Xell, the man responsible for all our troubles back home in the human realm had
resurfaced. And standing next to him was his bitch-of-a-daughter-turned-vampire,
Christine. Xell had a smug look on his face while Christine was doing the vampire
equivalent of smiling. I might say, being dead really suited her. Her once pretty face
now resembled a cum-rag with boils and all.

`Well, well, if it isn't our meek little Feres,' Xell said with an air of arrogance. `It
seems to me you are trapped, boy. If you whisk the woman away my minions will
overwhelm you. If you teleport the three of you out, your other friends will be
stranded here with me and the vampires. Sure, your boy-witch over there has
teleporting ability too but he can't possibly take all of them at once, especially
when they're all so far apart. Oh dear. What to do?'

My friends! Scanning the grounds I saw Reed and River struggling against four
vampires. Nick and Xander had been disarmed, again surrounded by vampires.
Wain and Rhett were writhing in the dirt as they were uncontrollably shifting back
and forth from their human and wolf forms. Only Seth and Dale were
unaccounted for.

`You touch them and I'll – '

`You'll do what? Vaporize me?' Xell retorted. `My boy you're in no position to
make any threats. I have you surrounded. As a matter of fact, you should take a
look behind you.'

I turned to see Wren being held by the woman we just saved with a dagger under
his jaw. I glanced at the woman and she sneered. Her face was unfamiliar yet her
eyes, they reminded me on someone. But no, I didn't think I knew her.

The woman laughed. `You don't recognize me at all, do you Rye?'

Should I know her?

She laughed abundantly. I peered at her.

`Well, maybe this face will jog your memory,' She said closing her eyes. As if there
were worms under her skin her face contorted until a new face emerge, one that I
was already familiar with, one that shock me to the core.

DANA!

I was speechless. My palms were sweaty, my heart was pounding, and a huge knot
was squeezing my stomach. My emotions were getting the better of me.

`Get away' Wren whispered brushing against my ear. His warning barely registered.

`Why?' I finally got out.

`What did you expect? You killed my sister, Rye,' she said.

Sister! Dana was Christine's sister. That meant she was also Xell's daughter.

`But your sister is standing right there,' I meekly said. I was still under the influence
of the shock.

`Look at her,' she shouted. `Look what you did to her. She can't speak. She can't
think for herself. She's just a living corpse.'

`I have had enough of this,' Xell said angrily. His eyes turned yellow and for a brief
moment I saw him for what he truly was; a monster.

`You've caused my family and me a lot of grief. You forced me to turn my beautiful
daughter into a vampire. You will pay dearly for that. In fact I want you to watch
as we turn your bond-mate into a darkling right now.'

I realized then what must have happened. Xell had sent Dana to spy on us, to
learn our weaknesses because she did find Wren's. How else would I explain the
grief she caused Wren when we caught her that time? But what I didn't get is how
did she found out about this mission? For all I knew, my friends were the only one
who knew about it.

Dana smirked. `I fucked your friend Wain and the blond one. I was with them
when you summoned them. I read their thoughts. I knew it would be about the
vision because I caused it to happen.'

I was right. The vision was rigged. But how did she manage it?'

Dana laughed again. `I kissed you earlier today, remember. The kiss was only a
distraction in order for me to charm your medallion.'

My breath caught in my throat. She did.

`Danalie, stop fraternizing with the enemy and bring the mutt over here.' Xell
barked.

She listened to her father. Wren struggled but Dana threatened to use her dagger.

Suddenly, there was a loud shriek in the sky. Franticly looking around she didn't
see the giant eagle that landed on her back and ripped off her daggered arm with
its huge beak. She toppled on the ground and shrieked in pain.

Seth-eagle grabbed Wren and flew off. They didn't get far though because Xell
used his powers to throw a fiery log at one of the eagle wings. The eagle's wing lit
up and both Wren and he hit the ground hard. Seth immediately reverted back
into his human form and rolled into the dust to put out the fire on his arm. I
wanted to help but I couldn't risk the others getting hurt.

When I thought it was over, a huge tiger pounced on Xell. Unfortunately, Christine
pushed her father out of the way and went into a death rolled with the tiger. Being
more flexible, the tiger twisted and seized Christine's head in his mouth. And with
ease it popped the vampire's head right off like a cheap doll.

On the ground, Xell roared.

`Dale, look out!' I shouted as Xell raised his hands towards Dale-tiger. In a split
second I made a hasty decision.

The feri-lights above my head disappeared only to rematerialize around my friends.
Starting with Dale-tiger, they vanished one by one.

`Get him!' Xell yelled at the vampires. I had three feri-lights left but I knew it was
too late to get away. So swiftly I pushed one down my pants before something hit
me square in the chest. Unable to breath, I kissed the ground and soon after
everything went dark.

...

End of chapter 22