Of Light and Darkness: The Vampire's Daughter

As soon as the door closed, Sarah dropped the empty tray, sprinted over to Charlotte and wrapped her in her small, delicate arms, and Charlotte did so in return. Sarah could not say anything, but merely began to sob.

“Sarah…” Charlotte started, running her hand up and down her back, astounded she actually remembered this person’s name. “Sarah, I’m here. It’s okay.”

Sarah looked into Charlotte’s cleaned face, wiping at her eyes. “It’s not okay, Charlotte! They have captured us! They’ll kill us tomorrow morning unless we find a way to get out of here.”

Charlotte reached for her whistle again. “You gave me this,” she said.

“No. Valek gave it to you. But I gave it back before you were taken. It protects against Elven magic,” she explained through sobs. “It causes it to wear off.”

Charlotte reached around her neck and unclasped the thing in her hand. There was that name again. “Who is Valek?”

Sarah looked mystified at her. “Valek. The one you are fated to.” She grabbed Charlotte’s hand and turned it over, pointing out the lines there. “Remember? Your father. Your lover.”

It slowly came back to Charlotte in small pieces. She continued to stare at the whistle.

“They put you under a spell, Charlotte, so you would forget. But it’ll all come back to you, I promise.”

“Here. You need this more than I do now. I was able to remember you because of this. You need to give this to the Vampire. Perhaps now it can protect him.”

Sarah smiled faintly before clasping the necklace around her own neck. She lowered her eyes. “I was so afraid we would not see you again,” she whispered, and took Charlotte’s hand in hers, turning it over again. “But I forgot what fate told me.”

Charlotte looked down at the lines in her palm once more. One of them began to shrivel and disappear, until only one of them was left. She looked, eyes wide, at Sarah, who was now smiling.

“The whistle protected you against Meredith Price’s spells. That fate line must have been placed there a long time ago by magic. It is fake.” Hope filled the place where fear had been living.

“And where is…?” Charlotte struggled to remember the name. “The one that I love?”

“Valek,” Sarah reminded. “The guards have placed the coven down in the dungeons until sunrise.”

“But I am getting married at sunrise,” Charlotte whispered.

Chapter Twenty-Eight Equinox

A full moon lifted high over the horizon, casting a diamond glow about the frost starting to cover the autumn leaves. It was the signal for the Autumnal Equinox — the beginning of the time of darkness. But the Regime would not let the dark take its rightful place on the throne now. Light would always rule over the world.

Aiden was still awake in his lonely bedchamber. He paced the stone floors, nervously glancing toward his empty bed every so often. In just a few hours he would be prime ruler of not only the secret, magic Occults, but the human race as well. The pressure weighed like a brick of lead on each shoulder, and he spread his arms out wide on the face of his desk. He looked at his reflection in the mirror on the far wall. He aged more and more each day. He looked back at the messy bedclothes from his sleepless night.

* * *

Charlotte was also still awake, dressing in one of the intricate dresses made for her by Meredith and the other wives of the high Wizards. The one she chose was one of the simpler ones — black. Sarah, who’d remained disguised in the palace keeper’s uniform, hurried her from the doorway. “Come on! Valek will be awake now.”

Sarah grabbed Charlotte by the wrist as the crept quietly down the pitch hallway, listening carefully for guard footsteps. The two made their way, ducking out from the torchlights that hung on the walls by dim tapestries.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Charlotte whispered.

“Stop!” a gruff voice shouted after them.

The two lurched and froze, turning to see an approaching guard. Charlotte’s heart leapt into her throat.

“Oh!” The guard straightened up, startled. “Pardon me, miss. I had not realized it was you.”

Charlotte and Sarah looked at each other. “Uh…yes,” Charlotte stammered. “Um…carry on. As you were.”

The guard nodded at her once before walking in the opposite direction.

They began again through the palace, down the stairways, through different corridors. They rounded one corner when their gaze met with a tall, cloaked figure slightly hunched, a metal claw protruding from one sleeve. He had his back to them and was speaking with Aiden’s father.

Sarah gasped. “That’s….”

Charlotte hushed her quickly as she strained to hear what the two were saying.

“That despicable little rat is clouding the mind of my heir, Danek,” Vladislov grumbled tiredly. “I want her dead not far after the wedding.”

“Understood, my liege. But if Aiden finds out, you may have another war on your hands.”

Charlotte covered her mouth to suppress any sort of noise.

“Aiden shall not find out. The girl will die by ‘natural causes’,” the High Wizard said. “As we agreed, Danek. The empire may have a new face, but I will see that my original law of keeping our existence a secret will live on forever.”

Sarah yanked Charlotte by the shoulder down a different hallway. “No one is dying that I care about.” She huffed as she held out her enchanted needle to the floor. “To the dark!” she ordered as a large, gaping hole in the floor appeared, swallowing the two of them. They plummeted until Sarah waved her needle again, slowing them just before they hit a stony bottom. She pulled open a large, wooden door, and they ran down more steps, until they finally found themselves at the beginning of the dungeon.

The rank smell hit Charlotte’s nose and made her stomach turn. She wrapped her arms around herself as they slowly began walking. Memories of her past continued to come back to her in waves. Meredith’s potion had been very strong, and Charlotte fought to remember Valek’s face. All she could see in her mind, though, were his blue eyes.

Sarah turned to her, holding a finger to her lips again as they passed several cells filled with Vampires and other creatures of the dark. “Do not look anyone we don’t know in the face,” Sarah whispered.

Charlotte nodded as she saw several dark figures reach out toward her from the corner of her eyes.

“Blood,” they moaned at her. A few of them hissed. “Please.”

Charlotte shuddered but she did not look until she heard her name called out to her.

“Charlotte,” Mr. Trinozka weakly groaned from behind the mucky bars.

Charlotte ran over, stretching her hand to him. “Pane Trinozka! Are you all right?” He was too weak to answer. She saw that his goggles had been cracked, and Edwin was lifeless again, hanging limply from his vest pocket. “It’s okay, Mr. Trinozka. We are going to get you out of here.”

“Charlotte!” Sarah called to her from down the hall. She turned to see the Witch beckon for her. She left the cell of the Phaser and ran to see Sarah standing before the cell of the most beautiful man Charlotte had ever seen. A face she instantly remembered belonging to the hands in her dream. Her heart thudded against her chest as everything finally flooded back to her. “Valek!” she cried.

He lifted his head to her. “Lottie….” He groaned quietly. She could see the battle he had been through painted on his face and clothes. The sides of his face and shoulders were blackened by his grappling with the flames, and his once beautiful lips were scarred beyond recognition.

Charlotte fell to her knees, her arm extended all the way toward him between the bars. “Valek….” Tears rolled down her face again. “Come on! You have to fight this. He will have me marry him tomorrow,” she cried. “They will kill you. We can’t give up yet. You promised me.”

“I love you, Lottie.” The words barely came out.

“Valek, you have to get up,” she begged him. “I can’t do this without you!”

“Charlotte,” he murmured. “You cannot marry him.”

“I know!” she cried. “Please. You have to get up.”

Sarah reached behind her head, unclasped the necklace, and tossed it between the bars to Valek. It clamored