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Ceres’s father is an older gentleman in his late 50’s. His hair was jet black and was now showing a lot of graying going on. His mustache was also gray. He was a large man in size, you could tell he ate well. His suit was black and pressed, and someone had polished his shiny black shoes.
“My name is Leon and I am Ceres’s father.” he said to us. “I understand that all of you will aid in protecting my daughter is this correct?”
“Yes, sir.” Timbrax replied. I expected Leon to roll his eyes at him because he was a Varacolaci, the Lugat and Stregoni Benefici sworn enemy. But he extended his hand and Timbrax took it. Shaking it strongly.
“Very good lad,” Leon replied as he took his hand back from Timbrax’s. “You shall sit with us as we leave The Moroi Court in my limousine.” He said, nudging his head towards the waiting limo which was running behind him.
Timbrax was hesitant as he glanced over at me. I forced a smile. “Go.” I urged him in a gentle voice. “I’ll be fine... I promise...”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than Paul came running up to us in a panic and he was out of breath. “They must track your scent, Princess Zyra.” Paul said between breaths. “They are coming!”
And by “they” I knew Paul was talking about Velika and The Varacolaci Army. They were on their way to The Moroi Court at this very moment. I had to act fast before they’re slaughtered like sheep.
“Let’s move out!” I said to the group. I didn’t want to say anything to them, but I could feel my stomach doing flips and I wanted to pass out. But I kept my composure up as I climbed into the front seat of the first van, which was near the limousine Leon had arrived in to collect his daughter. He had already ushered Ceres and Legend into the back seat and climbed in as well. Timbrax gave me a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.
“You better take care of yourself, you hear me?” Timbrax said to me with deep concern in his eyes. “Because I will know if something happens to you.”
“I’ll be fine.” I said to him again. “Just protect Ceres and then meet up with us later, okay?”
He sighed inwardly and nodded. “Okay,” he said as he walked away from me. “You be careful!” He shot over his shoulder towards me.
“I will!” I shouted back to him. I smiled as I fastened my seat belt and closed my door. Abel was sitting in the driver's seat and Wren was sitting in the first row, which was directly behind me where Timbrax and I were sitting when we had first arrived in The Moroi Court hours earlier. Abel turned the key, and the engine roared to life. I looked over at him as he pulled out of the Moroi parking area. “Isn’t Timbrax going first?” I asked him.
Abel kept his eyes glued to the road as he drove slowly towards the gates. Two Dhampir guardians were opening them for us as he inched his way out of them. “Unfortunately, no Zyra,” he replied dryly. “Timbrax instructed me to lead us out of here and he will stay behind in The Moroi Court until he can safely get Ceres to a secure location.”
I scoffed as I sat back in my seat. I could not believe that Timbrax was using me as bait. Again! Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn’t on babysitting duty protecting over Ceres. Timbrax was. So that left me free to continue to fight Velika and her Varacolaci Army.
Maybe Timbrax knows what he’s doing after all... I really should start giving him more credit on his plans... They really work out in my favor after all...
Finally, Abel could get the van fully out of the gated court and the next thing I knew he floored it. I’m thrown even further back into my seat as a look of surprise was on my face as I looked over at him. “Sorry,” he replied as his knuckles tightened around the steering wheel. They were turning white from the force of his powerful grip. “Transform into Hell’s Guardian any time now.” He added. “Just in case anything happens along the way out of this forested area.”
“Good point.” I said as I held the star pendant, which transformed me in my hand. “Firelash Power!’ I yelled, and I transformed into Hell’s Guardian. “I guess I can never be too careful, right?” I said to no one in particular.
“That... was so cool!” Wren said with excitement in her voice from the back seat. “I wish I could do that!”
“I don’t.” Abel said to her under his breath.
“Oh, snap!” I said as I remembered something I left behind at The Moroi Court. Or rather, someone.
“What is it?” Abel asked as an intense look flashed in his eyes.
“We forgot Maddock back there. I said to him. “We have to go back-”
Abel shook his head. “Maddock is fine.” he said. “I have him scouting the skies for us and he will alert me of any sign of danger as soon as he sees it coming our way.”
I let out a sigh of relief as I sank back into my seat. “Thank goodness.” I said to him as I placed my right hand across my chest. I could feel my heart beating a hundred miles a minute because I thought I left my brother behind in a strange Moroi Court. “It’s just that Maddock and I just met, and I don’t want to give him the impression that his sister doesn’t want him around.”
Abel chuckled to himself in amusement. “I’m pretty sure Maddock is doing his best to be a good big brother to his little sister too.”
“Really?” I asked him in surprise. “I wasn’t sure if he liked me or not, so I was-”
There was a loud thumping sound on the top of the roof of the car and everyone immediately looked up.
Here we go...
I was glad The Moroi Queen had given us back our weapons before we left her court. I handed Wren The Venin Dagger, and she grasped it. The Venin Dagger belonged to my grandmother when the Hell’s Guardian curse’s placed upon my family. I wondered if Maddock also had the tiny crescent moon and star marking on his body somewhere? I had to ask him about it another time, though. The next thing I knew, the glass on the passenger side door window shattered into a thousand tiny fragments. I quickly turned my head to the side and tightly shut my eyes in time so that the tiny shards of glass flew into my hair and not into my face. I felt a hand reach in and started pulling me by one of my cat ear pigtails.
I winced in pain and looked at Wren. I struggled to take the seat belt off as the belt rubbed up against my throat. I was probably going to have a burn on my neck from it later on, but that was an easy price I had to pay if I wanted to survive through the night. I know Ceres wanted to leave in the daylight hours, but it was already dark out and the Varacolaci were everywhere. Luckily, Abel had already transformed into his gargoyle form. Being a half-breed gargoyle, he was human by day, gargoyle by night. Which worked out perfectly in our case, because I needed him to help me fend off these Varacolaci. “Wren, cover me!” I yelled over the roar of the engine and the van’s tires crunching over dried up leaves and sticks.
“I’m on it!” she yelled back to me. She was about to pull open the sliding side door when Abel stopped her.
“Don’t even think about it, Wren!” he said to her sternly.
She scoffed at her father. “Well, why not?” She asked him innocently.
“Because I’m your father.” He replied bluntly. “You take the wheel and I will do the fighting around here!” Wren mumbled something under her breath as she switched seats with Abel. “I heard that.” He added as he slid open the passenger side door and flipped onto the roof of the van. I felt his weight and could hear the loud thumping of his body rubbing up against the metal roof as he fought with the Varacolaci who still had a grip on me. I heard the Varacolaci hiss at Abel as he released me and they went at it with each other.
I immediately ran to the back seat and was about to close the sliding passenger door when another Varacolaci flew at me from somewhere in the trees. I grabbed the Valistik sword and stabbed him in the neck. He gurgled up blood, and I kicked him hard in the ribs, making him go flying into trees and whatever else was nearby as we sped away from him. I placed the Valistik sword down on the seat and slammed the door shut. I was breathing heavily as I looked at Wren, who kept her eyes glued to the dirt road ahead of us.
“I can see the road!” she yelled back to me with excitement in her voice. “We’re almost out of here!”
“Keep going!” I shouted to her. I could still hear Abel fighting with the Varacolaci on the roof of the car. I sat down and picked up the handle of the Valistik sword and waited to see if any other Varacolaci made an appearance. Luckily, they didn’t. Wren finally hit the tar road and made a sharp right. The van tipped over, but she could somehow gain control of it and get all four wheels back onto the road. I saw something fly past the window and then a moment later Abel opened the passenger door and sat down and closed it. He was panting as he looked back at me.
“I killed him.” He said. “I broke his neck so I guarantee he won’t be coming after us.”
I nodded to him as I used an old shirt I found underneath the seat to wipe the blood off of my sword. “I killed one too.” I said to him. “I stabbed him in the neck.” I paused. “I really hope the others are okay.”
“They’re fine” Wren replied
“How do you know?” Abel asked her. “We don’t know if their vans have been attacked as well?”
“They weren’t.” she said matter-of-factly.”
I turned and looked behind me to make sure the other two vans were still behind us. They were. And they looked like nothing had been done to either of them. “Wren’s right.” I said to Abel. “I am pretty much Velika’s only target... she just wants me to die over everybody else...”
“That’s why you have protection, Zyra,” Abel said to me. “We know she is after you-”
Timbrax suddenly appeared beside me and all of us jumped in our seats because we weren’t expecting to see him so quickly.
“Jeez, Timbrax!” I said as I let out a yelp in surprise. “Will you warn us the next time you do that?”
“I’m sorry.” he replied, giving me a peculiar look. “When Maddock came back and told me that your van was under attack, I took Ceres and her father through The Astral Thread and took them to The L.PV.O. building. Then I came to see how you were doing.” I was about to say something stupid when he examined my neck. And sure enough, there was a long red mark there from the seat belt rubbing up against it. “You got hurt.” he said to me as he ran his index finger down my neck.
His touch was calming, and I allowed myself to fall into him. “I’m okay.” I whispered. I snapped out of the vision and noticed that everyone was looking at me. “What?” I asked them.
“You saw something... didn’t you, Zyra?” Timbrax asked me.
I shrugged my shoulders, realizing they had been watching me, and waited until the vision ended before going forth with the plan of action. “Possibly?” I said in an unsure voice.
“What did you see, Zyra?” Timbrax asked me with seriousness in his voice. “And don’t lie to me trying to make it sound not as bad as it was.” He added.
I sighed and lowered my gaze so I was looking at the ground. “We were leaving here and the van I was in is attacked.” I started. “You had gone with Ceres and her father and while driving through the forest to get to the main road, they hit the van by two Varacolaci vampires.”
“Did you die?” he finally asked me after a long moment of silence from the group.
“No,” I said with sincerity in my voice. “But I got attacked and stabbed one of the Varacolaci guys in his throat with my Valistik sword.” I added, trying to make it sound better.
“Well, your vision wasn’t as bad as it could have been.” he said to me. “But I think you should be the one who goes with Ceres.” he said.
“I held my own in that vision.” I protested. “And it was just a vision.” I added. “There’s no guarantee that it will even happen in reality.”
“There’s a possibility that it can still happen, Zyra.” Timbrax said. “We can’t afford to lose you again.” He said in a quiet voice. “At least... I can’t afford to lose you again...” I was about to respond when Ceres spoke up first.
“I would like Princess Zyra to accompany me and my father to our secure location.” Ceres said to her mother.
“You will have Princess Zyra accompany you and your father to the secure location my beautiful daughter.” Queen Carenza replied.
Will I ever get to make my own decisions around here?... This is getting ridiculous!...
I forced a smile at Queen Carenza. “As Hell’s Guardian, it will honor me to guard the Lugat/Moroi Princess Ceres-”
“Absolutely not!” Leon exclaimed, making everyone look at him in surprise.
“Why ever not Leon?” Carenza asked him with curiosity in her voice. “Do you not wish for our only child to be protected while she is under your care?”
“Of course I do!” Leon spat angrily towards The Moroi Queen.
“Then why, in pray tell, are you defying our daughter’s wishes?” Carenza challenged him. “They do, after all, come from where you do, am I correct?”
Leon riled low in his throat, which made Legend stand guard protecting over Ceres as they had trained him to do over the years, which now came to instinct for him. “The problem I have Carenza is that they are the warriors who are leading the charge against Velika.” Leon said. “We need for them to continue to fight to protect us Lugat from the Varacolaci.” He paused and looked at Ceres, who wore a look of disappointment upon her beautiful features. “We need them on the battlefield, Ceres.” Leon said to his daughter in a gentle voice. “You will have Legend by your side as always, my daughter,”
“But... I wanted to have Hell’s Guardian and The Demonic Guardians to protect over me too, father.” Ceres replied.
“I understand Ceres,” Leon said as he placed his hands on his daughter’s shoulders. “But what all of them are doing is for the greater good of the Lugat. You see that, don’t you, my dear?”
“Yes, father.” Ceres said as she hung her head sadly. “All of them are fighting for the better future, for he Lugat. I understand.”
“You had better leave.” Leon said, looking at Timbrax and I. “Ceres, Legend and I will leave tomorrow at daybreak. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit my daughter.”
“You’re welcome Mr. Winclair.” Timbrax replied, nodding curtly at him. “Thank you for your hospitality, your highness.” He added as he looked at The Moroi Queen.
“Don’t forget about your weapons.” Queen Carenza called after us. Legend snatched up our swords and my dagger and he hustled over towards us.
“You can’t kill the queen without these, can you?” Legend asked us.
“We sure can’t.” I replied as I took the Valistik sword and the Venin Dagger from Legend’s hands. “Take care of Ceres for us.” I said to him.
“I always do.” Legend said, bowing to me. “Take care, Princess Zyra.” Legend said as he turned on his heels and trotted away from us and back to Ceres’s side.
I’ll do my best to Legend...
Abel had already opened the sliding door of the van for us, and I climbed into the first row and lay down. Timbrax climbed in and took the row directly behind me as he shut the door before sitting in his seat. Wren was already sitting in the passenger seat, humming a tune to herself as she buckled herself in. Abel opened his door and hopped inside, then closed it behind him. Everybody ready?” he called to us.
“Yeah,” I replied as I closed my eyes. I heard the engine roar to life for real this time. And felt the van drifting towards the gates. I already knew how one version of this ride out of The Moroi Court would be. I placed the Valistik sword underneath my seat so I could grab the handle more easily if I needed to. And just like in the vision, I could feel the van picking up speed once we had left the gates of the court. The van was silent as we listened to the tires crunching over the dead leaves and snapping twigs underneath their weight. Abel had sent Maddock to be our lookout in the skies and to send word to us if there was danger coming our way.
So far so good... Maybe we might get lucky and not have to fight off any Varacolaci this evening after all...
But no. My intuition was spot on and started screaming danger was coming our way in a matter of moments. My eyes shot open, and I sat up in my seat with a jolt. Everyone took notice, and I quickly grabbed a hold of my star pendant and yelled: “Firelash Power!” I transformed into Hell’s Guardian and I picked up my Valistik sword just as the first thump hit the roof of the van.
“I got this!” Timbrax said as he was about to make his way towards the sliding side door when I beat him to it.
“Let me handle this, Timbrax.” I said as I opened the sliding side door and saw the trees zooming past us as Abel continued to drive. Suddenly, an enormous hand appeared from above my head and grabbed me by the throat. I yelped in surprise as the hand picked me up in the air and lifted me up to where they were standing. I knew I would face a Varacolaci. Only this wasn’t the Varacolaci I was expecting to be staring face to face with. It was Velika. And she sneered back at me.
Oh, you, no!... This is so not cool!...
“Well, look who I finally found.” she hissed at me through her teeth. “I have been searching for you, Zyra. Now you will die!” Velika raised a knife above her head and brought it down above my heart. I screamed in pain as the silver blade burned through my skin. She pulled it out, and I waited to be stabbed once more.