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“You’re joking, right?” I said to her and Nõka shook her head, unable to make eye contact with me. I fell to my knees as a million and one thoughts raced through my head. “How could this have happened?” I asked myself aloud. “We’re never going to win... it’s impossible...”
Timbrax knelt beside me and I noticed his body was convulsing. “No, it’s not,” He said to me. “Velika knew we would win, and she kidnapped Alucard as an insurance policy to either make us give up or have a reason worth fighting for.” he climbed to his feet and helped me to mine. “The way I see it... Velika gave us a reason to win this battle now, Zyra, and I will not let that witch win again!”
I wiped the tears from my eyes with my fingers and knew he was right. “That bitch picked the wrong girl to mess with.” I said, laughing bitterly. “I am not backing down and I sure as hell am not going away.” I watched the others gather around me as I looked from face to face. “If Velika wants a war, she’s going to get one. And I guarantee this will be the last war, she will see in her lifetime, because her life is about to end.”
Chaos came to my side and put his hands on both of my shoulders and I looked up at him. “You are a strong young woman.” He said. “The weight of the world is on your shoulders and all the Hunters and the Lugat believe in you as our leader and we know you will lead us to victory.”
I pressed my lips tightly together and sighed. “What if I can’t do it, dad?” I said. “What if I fail and let everyone down?...”
“You will not fail.” Chaos replied. “There is too much at stake for you not to win, Zyra.” I gave him a sad smile. If anyone knew what it was like to have your child grow up without you being a part of their life, it was Chaos. When I had first met him, I was pretty pissed that he never attempted to contact me, but I didn’t know it was for my protection and not out of selfishness. I was getting to know my father now, and he really was a good guy. I realized I didn’t have an army of Varacolaci at my back, like Velika did, but I had a badass team of Hunters and friends and we are strong enough to take that bitch and her army down.
“We need to inform Velvet about the situation and-”
“You still need to rest, Zyra,” Timbrax said to me.
“I can rest later.” I said, stifling a yawn.
“I can take care of things while you sleep, Zyra,” Timbrax said, still not allowing me to prepare my people like I needed to. “I’m still a Varacolaci and we don’t need to sleep, remember?”
I sighed in annoyance. But he was right. He didn’t have to sleep like The Lugat or The Stregoni Benefici did. “Okay,” I said, letting my shoulders sag in defeat. “I’m just glad you’re on our side.” Then he led me back upstairs and helped me back to the bed.
“Yeah, well, don’t go telling anybody.” he said, winking at me. I smiled as I snuggled under the covers. I looked into his eyes and I saw he was just as worried about Alucard as I was, which made me feel better, because Varacolaci were heartless bastards who didn’t have any feelings other than hate, envy, etc.
“We’ll get Alucard back, Zyra.” He said to me, kissing me lightly on the lips. “Velika is only trying to get under our skin by doing this.”
“I know.” I said, settling my head into the pillow. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself. “Wake me up in an hour.” I dozed off as soon as the words left my mouth and I had nightmares about Velika hurting my son. The dream suddenly changed, and I wondered if it was a dream or a vision. No. This was definitely a vision from the past. I saw Velika walking somewhere. She looked different though. She’s actually scared and alone and searching for something. Wait. Was she... was she human? I didn’t expect to see that coming. The way she acted all high and mighty, I could have sworn she was born a Varacolaci. Velika was walking through a cave-like entrance and down a long flight of steps. She came to the bottom and walked toward a dark form, which resembled nothing, just an enormous mass of darkness.
“I wish to become a Varacolaci.” She said in a shaky voice to the dark mass.
“You must bring The Lugat to their knees if I give you what you desire.” It said to her.
“Of course,” Velika said, kneeling down before the dark mass. “I will do as you command of me.”
“As you wish. You will become the most powerful Varacolaci in existence!” The dark mass grew tall until it suddenly came down and devoured Velika, making her scream in fear. The screams stopped and turned into evil laughter, as the Velika I knew today emerged from the black goop that was her former self. It disgusted me to put it nicely. My eyes shot open, and I sat up, realizing I knew how to kill Velika after all. All I had to do was go back to that cave and destroy whatever that dark matter thing was and Velika would be gone too. But I didn’t know where this cave was... or did I? I leapt from the bed and hauled ass down the staircase. Everyone looked surprised to see me awake so soon. “I know where the cave is!” I said out of breath. “We find the cave, we can kill Velika.”
“What cave are you talking about?” Abel asked me slowly. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. Walking straight to Timbrax, I looked him in the eye. “The cave that made Velika a Varacolaci,” I said. “It’s hidden under the castle, isn’t it?” When Timbrax didn’t reply, I knew I was right. “Velika was a human and went into a cave where she forced a black mass of some sort to turn her into the most powerful Varacolaci to ever live.” I looked at Abel. “We kill that dark mass, we kill Velika in one fell swoop.”
“That cave is off limits to everyone except Velika.” Timbrax drawled to me. “Nobody knows what’s inside it, not even me.”
“Well, now you know why Velika’s keeping it to herself.” I told him. “I have a plan.” I said to everyone. “But for it to work... you have to trust me on this. Can you all do that?” They nodded, and I looked back at Timbrax. “Let’s go home.” I told him. “Back to Velika’s court. We have a wedding to plan and I’m ready to become a Varacolaci...”