Deepest Betrayal

The Bloody Dawn

   Blair tossed her head back and forth and rolled onto her side. Camilla ears perked up. She listened intently. She was certain she had heard something, a softly spoken whisper urging

Blair to come into the woods.

" If ye are there, you'll not find this one such easy prey. No she's protected, this one," Camilla said aloud to the empty air. She sit back and strained her ears, this time there was no mistaking it. She definitely heard it strong and persistent, and full of anger this time.

 "I SAID COME TO ME YOU b***h!! LISTEN AND DO WHAT I SAY! HOW DARE YOU IGNORE ME? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" it screamed.

  Her back stiffened, her eyes growing wide, she knew that voice, and she knew that Blair should be halfway to him by now. So, why is it she still laid in peaceful slumber, a smile upon her face. Why did she appear as if she was mocking him? She crept to her bedside and leaned over, looking for any indication that he was getting through to her.

Blair expelled a puff of air, exasperation registering on her face " No, I don't think I will.. I am tired, brother. Leave me alone."

The color drained from Camilla's face..  had she heard her right? Had she said...brother? This creature that now called to Blair was her brother? Kendric, right hand man of The Void, was Blair's BROTHER?! A lump formed in her throat. Oh, dearest God in heaven.

  Did she know? Did she know that her brother was one of them? Nay, not just one of them, one of the most powerful of them. She suspected she did not. She sighed, this complicated matters. He had come for her princess, his intent was all too clear. He meant to kill her, to drain her body of every last drop of blood and leave it a hollow husk.  He wished to kill his own sister! And for what? A vile, twisted master. The thought made her even more determined, to make him pay dearly for his folly.

  She steadied herself and creaked the door ajar, thankful to see her twin brother had already drawn his sword and stood at the ready.

" So you heard it too, Colin?"

"Aye," he grunted, " it seems the blasted bloodsucker has decided to make his move. Worry not, Duncan is on his way, and the alarm has been raised. He will not get far this time."

" We have bigger issues, Colin, it appears Kendric is Blair's brother.... She murmured it in her sleep."

" Are ye sure?," Colin asked and Camilla nodded.

" Mother of god," He said crossing himself and dropping his head, " May she forgive us, but we have no choice."

" Aye, no choice, it is either Blair or him, and it's not going to be my Blair!," Camilla hissed. 

Duncan came running up the hall sweat glistening on his brow, his breath coming in gasps. It was clear that he had ran every step of the way. A look of dread filled his eyes.

" Where is she? Where's Blair? Is she OK?!", he gasped the fear evident in his voice.

" She is fine. She lays still in peaceful repose, but Kendric is losing patience. He will not come to her and she refuses to go to him. I fear he has summoned other, my lord, I can hear them calling to her."

" Then they have chosen death!," roared Duncan, raising his sword, " tell the troops to show no mercy!"

Colin looked at Camilla, a secret message passing between them, and she nodded. What had to be done will be done. She sighed and tightly shut the door.  She was relieved that the troops moved quickly and secured the women and children deep within the catacombs. She was certain those gathering could not set forth on hallowed ground, but they had allies, allies that would not hesitate to desecrate this sacred place, nor bulk at the idea of spilling innocent blood upon its stones. She hoped Kendric's call had not yet reached their ears. She sit down on her tiny stool again, and looked over her provisions. She cursed at herself. 

   " I should have known to be more prepared. They never fight fair.," she sighed.

   She scanned the room in desperation, she needed silver if Kendric had indeed summoned his allies. Silver was the only thing that could pierce their flesh and hinder their ungodly healing abilities, but this being a poor parish there was none to be found. Outside, she heard the thunder of footprints and the shouts of men, the cries of .battle, but above all this she heard howling. The howling of a thousand wolves. Kendric had indeed summoned his allies. She sighed since she had no silver she only had one other hope. She would have to drop this human guise and become her true self. Unleashing all her power to stop them. She walked over to Blair, she was still asleep, and the barrier was holding but she would be vulnerable once Camilla had assumed her true from. She had to ensure that if she awakened she would not hear her. She took the candle from the mantle and dropped a few drops in her hand, cooled it slightly and rolled it in her fingers, leaned over and stuffed it into Blair's ear. Then quickly did the same to the other. It wasn't the best, but it was all she could do.

  She stepped back and closed her eyes, her skin began to shimmer then began to glow, her hair sprung free in blew as if in an unseen wind, her plumb robust body now replaced by a slender frame. Her eyes glowed a most vibrant crimson. She held her hand in front of her face. Pleased she could she straight through it to Blair. They had come to take something from Duncan, but they would not find it as easy as the day they took his father from him. No they would not know he had a secret weapon this time, hidden in plain sight. she stepped from the room and tapped Duncan on the shoulder, he nor any of this clan would be vulnerable to her and her brother's powers. She had made certain of it in the pact forged long ago between her and Duncan's long forgotten ancestor. 

  Four centuries had passed since then, and her and her brother have oft had to change their appearance to better hide among the clan, returning yet again to serve and protect the King and Queen. It had been thirty years since her beloved Queen had passed in childbirth,  delivering to Richard a fine healthy baby boy, and  she returned to her plane. Now, she had a chance to serve a new Queen, she would not fail again. 

  She moved Duncan inside and shut the door, nodding, "Protect her for me. She is my all."

  Duncan nodded, " And mine as well.," His lips speaking without thinking the pledge taught to him by his father. His heart fluttered and his his breath caught. He had spoke the words carelessly, but he had meant every single one. Realization crashed into him like a ton of bricks. He LOVED her. How? He knew he and her were to be wed on day. That agreement was struck between his father and King Lionel upon his fifteenth birthday. Though he was never provided so much of a picture of her. A fact he had often protested in his youth. It mattered not now as his eyes fell upon her. He had no doubt in his mind he loved her and he would die for her. 

    " Colin, Camilla, make that bloody f*****g vampyre rue the day he came for her."  

   "As you wish master," Colin said, and together he and Camilla floated outside. 

       Kendric watched from his perch secretly reveling in the c*****e playing out in front of his eyes. 

  His brethren may not be able to STEP on hallow ground but they could fly over it. One by one they swooped down and snatched a soldier from the ground and flew back to safety of the skies, drank their fill and dropped the body to allow it to smack down with a most pleasant thud unto the once immaculately clean stones. His allies were fast approaching the entrance. Bodies laying bloody and torn in their wake, the emerald ground turning an ugly purplish hue from the wasted blood they spilled. Pity, that. Soon, they would burst through, tearing the door from it's rusting hinges, ripping apart any who stood in their way. They would rush to his sister's chamber and take her from her bed, swiftly bringing her back to him. His sweet little sister, the one he had craved more than anything and been denied! It was no secret he had wanted her for his own, had told his father so and how was he to be repaid? His father had given the only woman he had truly loved to his sworn enemy and set her on the path to destroy everything he had ever wanted. The old fool!!! 

  He thought back to the day he had confessed his undying love for her, begging his father  to agree to  make her his. 

   " Marry you? Kendric, what you speak of is unholy!! 'Tis abomination! You are brother and sister, and what's more she is to be betrothed to strengthen our clan, she'll not be marrying you! In fact, I have betrothed her this very day to a fine young man, Duncan of the Scottish Slayers, and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

    Oh, but the old fool was wrong, there was plenty he could do to stop it. He and his brothers had started planting seeds of hatred inside her mind. Describing in great detail the horrors of the battle they fought against the Scottish Slayers, sometimes showing her the gashes left behind by their swords, gashes they had inflicted upon themselves. All to show the absolute "tyranny" her affianced was capable of. He chuckled at the memory. They, in truth, had never fought hand to hand with the Slayers, believing themselves to noble for such a thing. no they left that to the lower  class and those they deemed lucky enough to call allies. How easily her hatred for him grew. How quickly she had vowed to kill him on sight, but she had failed them. Last night proved that. The thought sickened him. It was then and there he had come to terms with the decision if he couldn't have her no one would. He would end her and stop the threat both Duncan and she posed to his master, even if it meant his heart would shatter along with her soul. 

    His head jerked up. He had heard a sound he had never heard before in these past twenty years. He heard whimpering, and yowling as if his allies were in pain, and the hurried flapping of wings as if his brethren were frantically trying to  retreat. Impossible! There was no way that Duncan's forces had bested them. They did not have silver! Anyone knew the only thing Lycans were afraid of was silver. What was going on?

His eyes narrowed. A insistent noise had begun to fill the air, a moaning high pitch wailing that threatened that thin grasp he still had on his sanity. He clasped his hands to his hands to his ears, trying to block it out. His head threatened to explode. His heart, long devoid of a heart beat, begun to beat once more. 

     " Stop it, please, stop it! It hurts, oh god.... stop." he whimpered.

  A voice came into his head, " No mercy, No mercy. No mercy." it chanted over and over. The wailing grew louder and closer. He looked up to see the first flicker of dawn lighting the sky, soon his people would be weakened, the Lycans would return to their puny and useless human form. 

    " RETREAT!!! RETREAT!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD RE...." His words cut off as his heart exploded inside his chest and he slumped forth, falling. His last thought before darkness took him of his beloved Blair.

    The Lycans knew immediately the battle was lost . The mighty Kendric had fallen. His body now laid sprawled at the bottom of the tree he was once perched, his neck at an odd angle. Just as soon as they had come, they turned and ran into the woods, desperately trying to flee from The Twins. Had they known they were the rumored spirits of the clan, they would have never entered into this. They broke into a full run barely reaching the safety of the trees before dawn broke and they once again became human. They looked up, one by one the vampires were cascading to the ground, exploding in a burst of flames and then floating away as silent particles of dust. Their numbers rapidly reducing. Bodies laid everywhere, but once thing was foremost in the young girl's mind who now laid whimpering and bleeding, licking at a deep gash on her hand. She was never going to battle for The Void again. As soon as she healed she would seek Sanctuary, the rumored city of the Slayers. There she would show herself repentant of her ways, and don the white cloth of the forgiven and she would be free. FREE. That word had nice ring to it. She limped on til she found a low lying cave and crawled inside. Free, she thought once more, and slipped into a deep and for once restful sleep. No more would she face another bloody dawn. 

       The cries of battle slowly stilled. The cheers of the Slayers were loud and joyous. They had fought hard and long, greatly reducing the numbers of The Voids army. They too had suffered causalities , but such was the way of war. The scanned the battlefield. Duncan had said no mercy and no mercy was what they delivered. No came the time to gather the wounded and bury the dead. The Lycans who fell in battle would have final rights read over them, then they were to be burned on great funeral pyres by the strongest of the clan. It was a shame. The Lycans were not their true enemies. They were but pawns being unwittingly maneuvered by The Void, who thought of them as nothing more than fodder. Disposable troops to be summoned or sent to fight, because the Void was nothing more than a coward.

 Colin spit on the ground, it had took him longer to return to human form than he expected. He had pushed himself much harder in this battle than he had these past four centuries. He felt drained and weak. He wanted so bad to retreat to his bed and rest, but first he would ascertain his charge was safe. Only then could he go to his slumber. He sighed and prayed that the next battle would be a long way off. He didn't know how much longer he could go on. he was tiring of the constant, senseless killing. He prayed that Duncan and Blair union would prove to be the foretold one and they could once and for all seal The Void back from whence it came. Then he and his dear sister would finally be allowed to return home for good. 

      Colin turned and slowly made his way through the bloody field, careful too show his fallen kinsmen the proper respect they deserved, stepping over them and bowing his head as he went. Camilla followed behind gently closing the eyes of the dead and offering a few words of prayer. She too had returned back to her human form, and was eager to return to to return to Blair. They slowly made progress, stopping every once in awhile to help carry the wounded inside or to hold a dying comrade's hand in their final moments. At long last, they reached the door to Blair's room and knocked together, giving the signal to Duncan it was them and they were once again human. He creaked open the door. 

    " My Blair, is she.. is she OK?," Camilla asked, trying to peer around Duncan. 

    " Aye, just barely awakened, woke with the breaking of the dawn. It seems she knows the fate of Kendric though. The bastard sent her images of his death to her in her sleep. I fear, he was not entirely truthful in his demise. For upon waking she punched me straight in the mouth. I have calmed her best I could before you enter, but I warn ye, she's fighting mad."

     " Then, we shall both explain to her," Colin said, and took Camilla's hand, leading her into the room.

   Blair sit with her arms folded, on the side of the bed, a look of pure rage upon her face, but when she saw Camilla she burst into tears and sprung up running into her arms, hugging her tight and clinging to her as if she was drowning. 

   "Oh, Camilla it was horrible!! He told me that Duncan shot him through his chest with an arrow as he walked through the hall!! He now lays at the end of it with arrow stuck in his chest!! How could he do such a thing to my own bother?! He had only just came to give me a present, a parting gift that Duncan did not give him time to present to me at our home. How could Duncan be so cruel? I hate him! I hate him! I'll never forgive him! He killed brother!!"

  "Come child dry your tears, your brother lied to you. Duncan did not shot him with any arrow, couldn't if he wanted to dearest," Colin consoled her, stroking her hair as Camilla, held her tight," the young lad couldn't hit the broad side of the barn with an arrow standing up close."

Camilla held on to Blair tighter, fearful she would crumble to the floor when she heard what had to be said.

   "Aye, he's no archer your Duncan. I'm afraid the truth is, is we killed him, Princess. Hate us, if you must, but what did what had to be done."

Blair sit back gently on the bed, her sobs subsiding and confusion clouded her judgment. 

  " Why? Why would you guys kill him for simply bringing me a present? I don't understand. Camilla you seemed so nice!! Why would you do such a thing?!," she said and burst into tears.

  " I did such a thing, me wee darling, because the only present your brother had brought to you was your own death. Your brother lied to you, has been lying to you for quite some time I believe, but it is time you know the truth. It is time you see it with your own eyes." 

    " My... my own eyes? What do you mean?," Blair asked. 

   "Your brother may have been able to create false images in your mind, but he cannot hide the truth any longer. Come with me and see for yourself," Colin said, reaching his hand out to Blair who reluctantly took it, and together, he and Camilla, led her out to face her first and, he fervently prayed, what would be her last bloody dawn.