The Reckoning

"Now tell me my child, what did you want to say?" Vulcan purred. Neculai could see the hesitant smile on Jucina's face.

"Vulcan, every vampire in this room is a devoted servant to you," Jucina assured.

"No one would dare think to betray you or The Order and if such a treacherous act would occur any one of us will feel it's our obligation to bring the guilty party to you." She expressed with more conviction than what Neculai thought a vampire would be capable of.

Vulcan didn't respond, he cast a benevolent smile upon her. Jucina seemed encouraged by his smile. She continued.

"Please Vulcan gives the innocent patrons of tonight's event a chance to hunt down the culprit of this atrocious act and deliver them to you and The Order."

She looked to the side of the stage where the council stood in their white gowns, their fingers connected at the tips under their white gloves. The council made one collective sign shaking their heads in a negative, "no". Jucina looked panicked as she turned back to Vulcan and pleaded once again. The tension in the room was thick as everyone listen on pins and needles.

"Shush" Vulcan replied while placing a finger to her lips before he pulled her tightly into his embrace.

He ran a hand down her auburn hair as he embraced her in his much larger frame. Vulcan's embrace covered Jucina's head, which was tucked into his shoulder.

"Sush, Don't worry little one, it will be alright," Vulcan repeated in a comforting tone.

Neculai watched intensely the interaction between the two, his arms crossed above his chest. She seemed to go silent. He moved closer to the stage, dropping his arms, from across his chest. Neculai tensed, growing alarmed at what he witnessed.

A hand touched his arm and he turned to see Vinna, standing close to him fear in her eyes. He turned back to the stage and took in the scene of Vulcan stroking Jucina's bright hair. He continued to run his hand down her hair while mumbling something into her ear that Neculai couldn't make out. The crowd had inched closer observing the scene, with a mixture of relief and fascination.

However, when he saw it, Jucina begin to struggle. Neculai put a hand on the stage about to jump up onto the platform and stop Vulcan, if he could before he killed her, but Neculai was a second too late. Rain easily cleared the platform and landed directly in front of Vulcan. He placed a hand on Vulcan's arm in restraint. The crowd began to inch back, others could see the struggle of the woman in Vulcan’s arm.

“Please Vulcan forgives her, she only wanted you to know how loyal we all are to The Order. She did not mean to speak out of place, however, she should never have approached you on so delicate of a matter.” Rain spoke up for his spouse. Vulcan in turn placed a finger to his lips and whispered 'ssh'.

Vulcan smiled and placed a kiss on the top of Jucina's hair. Then just like that, he pulled her head clean off her body. Rain hollered "No!" as Jucina's body dropped to the floor. Vulcan tossed the head out into the crowd.

It hit the floor with a sickening spalt and rolled through the throngs of the parting crowd. The long auburn hair flowed behind like a train following a wedding dress. Vulcan’s left hand was drenched in blood. He turned back to the crowd.

“One down, many, many more to go.” He forewarned to the shock of the audience.

Finally, Maham broke loose as vampires begin to flee. Members of The Order stood on stage watching. All ten members started to growl, their eyes becoming crimson as they pushed their hoods off their heads. Their faces started to change into grotesque shapes as they begin to inch forward in excitement. Red eyes flashed and sharp double rows of teeth were bared toward all in the ballroom. The screams throughout the ballroom were deafened.

Guards immediately attacked, ripping off the heads of the vampire guest and dropping the appendages to the floor. Neculai swung around and looked at where the front double doors were being guarded. Sure enough, the two giants in the back weren't vampires. Neculai frowned as he watched the excited faces take on the look of half-human creatures with protruding mouths.

Sharp rows of teeth burst out of their now hairy mouths. Both beings stood about eight and a half feet tall, covered in growing hair. Their legs snapped backward at the knees sending the huge creatures forward onto their hands that now resembled paws. The snouts on the horrible-looking beasts snapped out capturing vampires within their mouths, ripping and shredding them down to bones and sinew. Vampires fought trying to escape from the room of death...

The vampires fought the guards and whoever would stand in their way. They fought to get out. Neculai caught a movement to his right and saw Iovita jump from the stage, landing in the center of a group of vampires.

In one swift motion, she had sliced open their chests, taking the hearts of the five people in front of her. Neculai heard Vinna whisper, "God help us." He didn't respond. Neculai grabbed her hand and pulled Vinna along with him at supernatural speed to the door of the closet to the left side of the stage where they had been standing.

A guard got in his way, and Neculai easily pulled the heart out of the guard’s chest, tossing it to the side without stopping. He looked back and caught the intense hatred on Vulcan's face as he watched them, just before they could exit the ballroom. He could hear Vulcan bark out an order to follow them. Neculai looked to where five guards surrounded a group of vampires and humans, who appeared to be already spewed across the floor.

The guards turned towards them. Neculai didn't wait to see what they would do. He whipped around and followed Vinna through the door, never looking back...

"Hurry!" Vinna exclaimed as she speed ahead of Neculai. He didn’t need the warning. They made it inside the corridor and sped down the long luxurious hallway. Vampire attendees pushed past them trying to escape.

All the doors were locked. Neculai looked at a door he stood in front of about to kick it open when Vinna shouted 'Look!' Pointing to a door further down from them that was cracked open.

They entered the room at breakneck speed as Neculai closed the door behind them softly.

Neculai leaned his head against the door to listen. He didn't hear anyone out in the corridor just yet. Vinna rushed over to a large window overlooking the city. Gripping the edge of the locked window, She begin to pry it open.

"We have to escape, Neculai!" Vinna exclaimed in a panicked tone.

“Vinna, calm down. It’s not going to work. Safari can track us and eventually, they will. We need a game plan to get out of here.” Neculai declared.

"Wait!" A voice called out to them.

"I can help you both get out. If you take me with you." The voice from earlier was back.

Vinna whirled around and sped towards the stranger. She grabbed the intruded by the throat, slamming her up against the wall behind her. Neculai watched the intruder, and realize it was the same woman from on the stage earlier, the one who approached him on the balcony tonight, Deja.

“I thought you would be dead already,” Neculai admitted as he approached. Vinna still held the woman, her fangs bared as she begin to squeeze the woman’s throat.

“Vinna, what are you doing? She is not the one we should be worrying about right now.” Neculai warned before turning away from Vinna and the younger woman.

“This is because of her, she refused to tell Vulcan what he wanted to know and now we are all on the chopping block.” She declared in an exasperated voice, staring daggers into the cause of their misfortune. The girl had reached up to grab Vinna’s arms that were pressing down on her neck.

“You wanted me to tell Vulcan that the man you're with killed his mentor. I don’t think he would have treated anyone too kindly who associated with the killer.” She wheezed through what air she could squeeze out between her lips. Vinna stood shocked, then releasing the woman she turned to Neculai.

“You did this?” She asked but the confusion in her eyes was slowly clearing up. Neculai only shrugs.

“Neculai what is wrong with you, you have put a target on all of our backs." She whispered, an anxious look on her expression.

"The Order will not pardon any of us tonight for this atrocity.” Neculai rubbed a hand across his face and sighed. He knew she was right.

“Don’t you think I’m aware of that Vinna, I know what I have done.” he declared.

“Then go and throw yourself at the mercy of The Order, at the mercy of Vulcan. He will forgive you and allow you and everyone here to live.” She exclaimed while rushing over to Neculai and placing a gentle hand on his forearm.

“Maybe I should explain to them. At least to Vulcan. Why should you and the others die for what I did?” Neculai asked, looking at Vinna but not really seeing her. Instead of watching some unknown scene play out.

“It won’t do you any good. ” Deja stated. Vinna glared.

"How do you know? You couldn't tell Vulcan anything tonight." Vinna demanded. Neculai looked over towards her, calculation in his eyes before he strolled over to her.

“I saw you look at me twice, what do you know?” He asked.

"I could see all that would happen tonight and that is why I chose not to say anything. I know you killed Jovian, I know you killed him for what he did to your mother years ago. I also know that you didn’t know Jovian was the one chosen to become a member of The Order.” She said the room was quiet. Neculai was impressed. She knew a lot, he’ll give it to Vulcan for finding someone with such an incredible gift. Vinna rushed over.

“There you go, you didn’t know Jovian was the one chosen to become a council member, surely Vulcan and the rest of The Order will understand once you explain what happened to them. Surely they will forgive you or at least let you and everyone here live.” She reasoned mainly to herself. Neculai knew and he was sure the woman Deja, knew the truth as well.

“It would do no good. Vulcan has been waiting for a chance to hunt vampires as he did years ago and this has given him the chance to do just that." She said.

"Sure he loved Jovian as his own brethren," she continued

"Or perhaps more like a father. But, really it’s about the hunt. He has wanted to go against some of his best vampires for a while and that is why you all were chosen to be here tonight.” She explained. Neculai had known for a while that he could not trust The Order, but he never put his finger on why.

Now that it was being spoken aloud he could understand why he felt so unsettled around them all the time. He has for a while now felt like they were testing him. Testing his powers, testing his strength. He could not explain what was going on but now it all fell into place.

“I don’t understand, I thought you told Vulcan on stage that you couldn’t see everything. Why are you saying all this now?” Vinna asked. Bewilderment and mistrust were written all over her face. The woman sighed, her braids swinging as she moved away from the wall and approached Neculai.

“Because what I have is considered by some a blessing and by others a curse. However, for me, it is both, especially when I have to tell someone something that will get everyone killed, and I mean everyone.” She declared looking away from Neculai's stormy gaze and looking into Vinna's troubled stare. Vinna gasped and took a step back. Neculai however, was fascinated.

“But, surely telling him you would have saved your own life. He would not kill someone with such a gift as yours?” He asked. Deja shrugged before continuing.

“No, he would not have killed me, but did he really think I bought what he was telling me, all the gifts he promised me? I can see what is going to happen, remember,” she said quietly, before adding.

“He was going to kill everyone in the crowd tonight, including you two and I was going to be his new toy, I would be a slave, forced to do everything he said and wanted. I would no longer have free will. So, I lied to him. It was the only choice left.” She said. Neculai was interested but now was not the time for more disclosure. The guards were moving down the hall and he could hear them clearly getting closer.

“We must leave. We could go out the window, but I am sure it is being watched.” Neculai said looking out over the city below. Vinna put a hand to her head, Neculai wasn’t sure how Vinna felt at the moment but he knew this is not what she wanted out of the night.

“If you trust me and listen, I can lead us out.” The woman said with authority. Neculai looked over at her again. She watched him with those eyes of hers. Those strange, ‘I can see everything in your soul’ eyes. He was a little put off by it.

Nothing scared him, not even being hunted by the power of The Order, but this woman sacred him and he wasn’t sure why. Vinna jumped up and rushed to her, while Neculai hung back watching the two completely different women speak before they both approached him.

"Okay, let's get out of here." Deja said leading the way towards the door...