I only had to turn my body to mist before he caught sight of me, and I would be invisible to him. He would crawl right past me, never knowing his target was mere feet away. This was the Ra'Ak Prince—I knew it. He was searching for whatever had killed so many of his kind. It was easy; I'd made it easy. The killing had stopped right where I was. Should I go to mist and let him slide past, or should I spend my last breath and destroy him?
When I killed Xenides, I knew his machinations would stop with his death. He'd been the puppet-master, pulling all the other's strings. His goal of destroying life on Earth had died with him. Sounds of fighting, screaming and roaring still reached me from a distance; the Copper Prince's remaining subjects continued to wage his battle. But the worst that came to my ears were the screams of the comesuli as they died. Were more children dying with them? Would it stop, if this one crawling toward me died? Would it stop, if I died with him?
This would take my life. I knew that. I didn't have enough strength to pull my mist together if I blew it outward again. I almost hadn't done it the last time. If I did this, it would be a calculated decision on my part. One I'm sure Griffin had seen. He'd seen all the other things, hadn't he? He'd known I wouldn't be able to stop until I'd done everything I could.
I struggled to stand, making myself visible to the Ra'Ak, who hissed immediately and prepared to strike. I might have been a blink or two slower to turn to mist, but the momentum of the Ra'Ak's thrust as he lashed out, carried my mist right through his head and allowed it to lodge inside his brain. Working as quickly as I could, I wound my mist tightly before loosing it for the very last time.
Chapter 2
An explosion rocked the ground beneath Dragon's clawed feet as he snapped the head from the Ra'Ak he'd been fighting. His three sons fought nearby, all desperate to take the monsters down. All other Saa Thalarr fought the Ra'Ak, some in teams, others alone. The High Demons loyal to the crown fought beside the Saa Thalarr, along with a handful of Black Ra'Ak, who'd allied themselves with the Saa Thalarr in an attempt to take down the renegade copper monsters.
When the explosion came, however, the Copper Ra'Ak had already been reduced to a more reasonable number. There was now hope, whereas before, the task had been impossible. None knew what had killed so many Copper Ra'ak or their High Demon allies, they only knew that they'd died and in the strangest of ways. Now, many of the copper monsters were attempting to fold away from Kifirin, rather than staying to fight. The Larentii, who'd come to do what they could, quickly placed a shield around the planet to prevent escape. Once the Copper Prince died and any avenue of escape disappeared, the few remaining Copper Ra'Ak lost their will to fight and were easily destroyed.
* * *
"What just happened?" Merrill changed from his Snow Leopard form and stood panting on the steps of the High Demons' palace. Adam Chessman, the Black Gryphon, appeared at Merrill's side, the same question on his lips.
"My darling, are you well?" Merrill reached out to Kiarra, who materialized on the steps between him and Adam. Adam was already running his hands over her, searching for injuries. Kiarra was mated to both Adam and Merrill, in addition to Pheligar the Larentii, who as yet hadn't made an appearance.
"What's that?" Merrill turned swiftly as Griffin appeared nearby. The retired Saa Thalarr wept and fell to his knees on the palace steps.
"Griffin? What's wrong?" Kiarra went immediately to Griffin's side, Merrill and Adam close behind her.
"Brother, what is it?" Merrill dropped to his knees beside Griffin, who was sobbing.
"I had to do it," Griffin wept. "I had to."
"Do what, brother?" Merrill asked gently.
"Bring her forward in time. She was the answer, Merrill. The only one. I killed her."
"Who? Who died?" Kiarra knelt to stroke Griffin's hair.
"Lissa," Griffin's voice held pain. "It was Lissa."
* * *
"Why didn't we remember?" Merrill paced angrily before Pheligar. Pheligar looked tired and out of sorts, and Larentii never looked tired and out of sorts.
"The memories were removed after she was brought forward in time," Pheligar replied stiffly. "None were allowed to remember her, so none could interfere. Kifirin made a mistake when he gave the ability to travel through time to the Ra'Ak. Three of those creatures managed to escape before our shield was placed. They will certainly carry tales back to the others—the four thousand Ra'Ak that died here today are only a small portion of their total population. Had the little Vampire Queen lived, they would hunt her through the timeline and destroy her for killing their Prince." Pheligar's gaze traveled over the devastation of Veshtul. Many had died, but Lissa had managed to save most.
"Had anyone remembered her in the past," Pheligar added, "she would have become a target while she lived. Many would have sought her death and it would have been meaningless when she died at their hands on Earth, just to prevent this from happening." Pheligar stretched out a hand—he and Merrill stood on the uppermost dome of the High Demon's palace to hold their private conversation.
"So, the memories were removed to prevent her from becoming a target—until today," Merrill muttered.
"Sadly, that is truth," Pheligar agreed. "The vampires on Earth no longer remember her—the memory was only given back to the Saa Thalarr and a few others."
"Yes, I remembered as soon as I heard her name, as did Wlodek, Radomir, Russell, Will, Weldon, Charles, Brock and the others who are now Saa Thalarr or Spawn Hunters."
"As she is now dead, it no longer matters that the others do not recall her. It is an injustice to the little Queen, I know," Pheligar admitted, raising a hand before Merrill could protest. "All her deeds wiped away and attributed to others."
"It wasn't only this world she saved," Merrill muttered. "Kifirin is the balance for all the worlds. Those copper idiots were about to destroy everything if they took it down."
"I know that well," Pheligar nodded. "It is the only reason the Larentii came."
* * Past * *
Merrill turned Kiarra's written message in his hands. A note coming from her surprised him greatly. Not that Adam and Kiarra didn't contact him often—they did. He'd expected to hear from Griffin, though; Merrill was waiting for his old friend to bring Lissa home.
The grounds surrounding the manor were wet from a brief rain and weak sunlight shone down as Merrill gazed through his study window. For fifteen hundred years, Merrill had walked in daylight. It was a gift that came with Griffin's blood. Merrill was powerful before as a King Vampire, but after receiving Griffin's blood, he'd become legend. Many hunted him through the centuries, and he'd taken all of them down. It was easy—Griffin made it possible, and all because Merrill helped Griffin kill spawn fifteen hundred years in the past. Merrill sighed and turned away from the window.