The World After

Chapter 1 – Explanation

“Who is Erica?” I followed Grayson into the conference room, my head spinning. I could hear the anger in his voice, and it was justified, yet I couldn’t even begin to bring up how to explain it. Where did I start? What should I even say? It wasn’t quite the simple answer of ‘oh, we knew each other back when,’ because the anger that was expressed just 25 minutes ago was evident that it wasn’t a simple acquaintance.

“Grayson,” Anna said, but he glared at her.

“I have a f*****g right to know who that witch was that just attacked us down there. I have a right to know why Demonio would have picked her as his last general,” Grayson roared and I flinched, actually flinched. That wasn’t just Grayson who was upset, this was Midnight as well. And both of them being angry was never a pretty sight.

“I never would have thought of her because I thought she was dead,” I finally managed to croak out. God damn, this was going to be a tale. I sat down at the table and motioned for everyone to do the same. I turned my eyes to Grayson, waiting for him to sit as well. I knew he needed to vent his anger so he was pacing, but I couldn’t start this story if he was going to be doing that. He sighed and yanked the chair out next to me, but I noticed he kept his distance. At this point, I couldn’t blame him, I probably would have too. Not that this was my fault, because it wasn’t. I just never would have thought of her.

“And why would you assume she was dead?” Tessa asked, clearly confused by that statement.

“Because I killed her myself.” At that, all heads turned to look at me and I bowed my head. “My….relationship, for lack of a better word, with Erica, dates back quite a few hundred years. At that time, I was living on the coast of Mexico in a remote village. I wanted something peaceful, somewhere where I couldn’t see a city grow or people become nasty. And it was wonderful; quiet, beautiful, serene, perfect. A couple of weeks after finding the little house, and after having left my coven yet again, I moved in. Sometimes covens just become too much, and I had to leave, especially with being how old I am.” I paused, glancing over at Elric who nodded. If there was anyone in the room who might understand anything of this tale, the emotions and such behind it, it would be him.

“Did you start the war?” Jonah asked and my gaze flicked to his. As both Jonah and Tessa were witches, I’m sure they had heard the story before. A bloody tale between a vampire and a witch that encompassed many towns and villages and drained the lives of many innocent souls, not all from blood loss, but from the loss of their souls as well.

“I didn’t start it, no. But that war you heard about, was mine, was ours.”

“Wait, wait, wait a minute. You mean the war that put witches and vampires at each other’s throats. The war that caused each species here to live in their own lands and not tread on another land without permission?” Grayson asked and I shrugged. What could I say? I know what happened after that war and it wasn’t like I was proud of it. “The legend says that war started in 1575.”

“It did,” I confirmed. “Also lasted 21 years, with lots of ugliness, bloodshed, and tons of death.”

“But that would make Erica over 400 years old, and I didn’t think witches lived that long,” Anna piped up and I shrugged.

“She’s actually about 502 years old,” I answered.

“And witches can live quite a while if they take to the dark arts,” Jonah tossed in. “However, that war was over 400 years ago. Did you push her to the dark side?”

“No!” I stood up and paced, pushing my hands behind my back. “I didn’t, I swear I didn’t. But it’s possible the war pushed her there, because I know I teetered myself afterward. And it’s possible she was there either at the start of the war or during it.”

“Erica was one of the most powerful witches of any given time,” Tessa said, and I nodded.

“I didn’t know, really know, what I was getting into when the war started. I wanted peace, I had seen so much throughout my lifetime. The last thing I wanted was another war that was of my own doing. But Erica didn’t give me that, instead she attacked me. She just didn’t know what I was or who I was. She thought I was some vampire there to take her life force.”

“Life force?” Grayson asked and Tessa nodded.

“Vampires feed off the blood of humans to survive but killing one because you’re feeding on it gives you power, limited but it’s there. Wolves fight with humans to train, killing one gives them power. Witches can feed off the souls of humans to strengthen our own power, but again, it’s limited,” Tessa answered.

“That’s why she was so powerful. She fed off of the many souls in small villages, and no one ever picked up on it. I had no need to feed off of them, but she didn’t know.” I paused and then looked around the room. “The cause of that war was great. We were separated as species, we lost our contact with the Goddesses, and we became feared as a species by the humans, but more importantly, we weren’t a united front anymore as a species. That one greatest loss is why we are here now, why we are divided, and why it will take a pyramid to unite us all again.” I locked eyes with Grayson, and he nodded, the understanding in his eyes. “I’m not proud of that war, that time, or anything thereafter, but it happened, and I can’t change it. I also have no clue what I’m in store for when it comes to Erica. I know The General, I know how merciless he is. But Erica, she’s a creature unlike any other I know.”

“Which is why it’s going to take all of us,” Jonah said. “One more question for you, your highness.” I rolled my eyes but smiled.

“Go ahead,” I told him.

“You said it was 100 years since you last saw her, that wasn’t the end of the war.”

“No, Jonah, it wasn’t. I know I didn’t kill her at the end of the war, maimed her, badly, but not killed her. We were at a party, in Spain, a grand affair. I hadn’t known she was going to be there.” I paused again, recalling that night, and then I felt a hand on my arm and glanced over at Grayson. I smiled, needing his strength. “She still didn’t know how powerful I was. She…drained me of all my blood and then left me out to die, thinking that would kill me. But I did manage to cut off her arm, along with her foot, and took her necklace before I couldn’t move anymore. Before I passed out, I thought I had seen her take her last breath. Obviously, that was a lie and she’s been in hiding since.” Everyone shared looks around the table. Evil and vile were what made up Demoino’s leaders, there were no two ways around that. And looking back, had I known Erica was still alive, I would have had her pegged as one to recruit. And I could kick my own ass for allowing such a valuable piece of information to slip through my fingers.

“There’s nothing more you can do.” With that, I glanced at Grayson who seemed to have calmed way down and I nodded. He was right, there was nothing I could have done. Seeing if she was alive wasn’t even possible because I really would have no clue where she would have been. After the war, she had no family home, which made me believe all the more that she had turned to the dark arts.

“Well, we know that adding her means the playing field just got a whole lot nastier,” Tessa said as she crossed her arms. “Erica was a b***h when she ruled her family, and I don’t think she got nicer over time.” I licked my lips as I thought that over. She wasn’t lying. But then none of these characters here were pleasant creatures anyway.

“We can use that,” I mumbled, and Grayson frowned at me.

“Use what? What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Our knowledge. We have weapons, we have the book, and we have the means. But we don’t know the God or his strategy, right? Demonio could do anything really and we wouldn’t have a clue. But we know how his leaders work. When the time comes for battle, that is going to be how we fight them. We have to take their faults and utilize them. We know that they will sacrifice anyone to save themselves, that’s a useful tip to remember and I’m sure once we get to discussing more here, we can find other weaknesses and other strengths to avoid. We have to because we know that going up against them will be tough and very well could end us all.”