Armageddon

He fell backward, landing on the floor with a loud thud. Tia jumped onto the couch as he thrashed about until finally, his body remained still. The silence quickly became deafening until his chest rose and a loud, haunting, inhuman screech pierced the room. At that moment his body lurched unnaturally and advanced on her. In the blink of an eye his cold, lifeless, extraordinarily strong hands clamped down on her wrists, and his open mouth came at her like a starved animal.

She opened her mouth to scream when, abruptly, a dark-skinned arm covered in tattoos grabbed at her. Michael’s jaw crunched down on the forearm of a large, angry male Human she didn’t recognize at first.

“I feel your illness seeping into me, but as a fellow dead man, there’s nothing for such a thing to consume,” Jaya growled, his dark and rageful gaze penetrating the Ghoul biting at his arm. With his other arm, he pulled Tia away from the creature. Jaya lifted his arm a little higher and pushed the creature that had been Michael off the couch. Unable to stand, his legs kicked out from under him. Still, he refused to let go of Jaya’s arm. His jaw snapped at the flesh, his fingers tightening their grip.

“Jaya…” Tia gasped, finally snapping out of it. Blood seemed to pour out of his arm, the thick and hot liquid falling onto Michael’s face and filling his open mouth. Along with the blood, black threads seemed to slither out of Jaya’s wound and into Michael’s waiting mouth.

The moment seemed to last longer than it did when Jaya moved like lightening. He lifted his arm, tossing Michael into the air, then raised his foot and kicked him with enough force the Ghoul nearly broke in half. Michael was sent flying across the room, his body folded abnormally, and slammed into the wall with a sound that shook the building. The impact caused the wall to break; his body spilled out into the hallway on the other side.

Jaya released his hold on Tia and followed him, cracking his knuckles and popping his neck. Screams filtered through the open hole in the wall as attendants quickly fled the scene. Tia watched in absolute terror as her previously engaged rose to stand, his upper half hanging awkwardly. Part of his spine stuck out from his back. His fingers scraped at the ground, his growling face attempting to lift himself.

Jaya grabbed his hair, pulling him upright. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it had to end this way.” Michael tried to bite at him when, in a quick motion, Jaya removed his head. Acting quickly, the Orc separated his body, throwing the head down one hallway and the body down the other - out of sight of the petrified girl behind him.

Tia’s scream shattered what silence remained; a scream so unearthly, the windows in the room vibrated. Her caramel eyes flashed white and her body nearly blinked out of existence. Jaya jumped in fright, caught unaware, and spun around. Out of the darkness next to her Vladimir formed, his extending arms capturing her and holding her to his chest. His cloak filtered down around them, his curly hair resting in place.

Tia continued to stare ahead, as if unaware of either Vlad or Jaya. His eyes cold and angry, Vlad turned his head, meeting the gaze of his assassin.

“Report,” he ordered.

Jaya fell to one knee, lowering his head before raising it to look his master in the eye. “The Human male became a Ghoul and attacked the Mistress. Kazimir is the only one who could be responsible,”

Before anyone could respond, a haunting chill swept over them all. The sound of forever-searching lost souls cried out across the land. The need to feed. Vlad quickly jerked and looked out the window; a haunting fog had settled in. His eyes transformed into that of a wolf, and beyond the fog, he saw them: hundreds of Ghouls ambling about. Blood coating the streets. Humans running for their lives. The never-ending screams going unanswered as they continued to be hunted down and slaughtered one by one.

“We’re aborting our previous mission in coming here. Our new mission is to cease any further cost of life. Save them, save as many as you can. Burn the rest,” he turned back towards Jaya, who now stood amongst several other guards, including a few Humans who seemed to already be aware of the situation. Everyone moved.

In a haunting voice, Tia spoke up. “Kazimir is long for this world…” Those who remained behind looked at her curiously. Vlad’s gaze widened as his fingers slipped through her - her warmth, her very being, was no longer there. Hesitantly he pulled his arms away, stepping down off the couch. He gazed at her, his expression full of concern.

“Tiana…?” He tried to cup her face but couldn’t touch her.

“I can hear him laughing, he’s calling me to him. As a Gatekeeper of the Dead, he knows what I am.”

“Oh, shit…” Jaya seemed to realize. Vlad glanced back at him briefly.

Tia turned and looked out the window, her eyes as white as the fog on the other side. She looked down at her hand, her brows scrunching together. She looked at Vlad, finally actually looking at him. Relief came to his expression, though it was short-lived. “I cannot stop him; I am only a Human. Since the beginning of time, I have only ever been a Human. A sacrifice.” The last word seemed to fracture the world, the sound echoing amongst them like glass breaking.

“I won’t let you kill yourself,” Vlad growled. Her curious gaze, which had looked around, returned to him. She smiled and shook her head.

“No, that wouldn’t stop him. He wishes to finish what was started so long ago; he wants to see the world end. That much is obvious…” Her eyes suddenly lit up and she fully turned to Vlad, placing her hands on his shoulders. Instinctively he noticed she could touch him, yet he was unable to touch her. “I have been fractioned by the Great Mother; she wants me out of this world and is trying to draw me away. However, if I were to touch Kazimir, I could push this on him. She would remove him from this world, and his curse. He cannot touch me, no one can. But I can touch him,”

“That’s dangerous,” Vlad growled.

“But brilliant,” Jaya chimed in.

“Silence.”

“Vladimir don’t be stubborn. I can do this; I can save everyone. It’s what I’m good at,” she winked at him, her irises regaining a hint of their caramel color. “She knows of the plan and is willing to hold off on taking me away until I have a shot to touch him. But if she’s going to choose, she’s going to choose me. So, it won’t work just to rely on her to take him away without doing anything in exchange,”

He seemed to visibly pout before her, and she imagined if he had his tail out it would be between his legs like a scared puppy. “Fine, but you don’t leave my side. Or I won’t leave yours. I’ll be in your shadow; he can’t sense me from there.” He turned back towards Jaya.

“Find him and bring me Diaval. It’s going to be uncomfortable but we’re going to share the space of her shadow. Alex and the rest of the guard are to assist the President and follow his orders. They can tell him how to kill the Ghouls, educate the Human guard. But they will follow his orders. The Prime Minister and his daughters can stay out of this if that is their choice, or they can help. I know those girls would welcome the challenge to prove their strength,”

Jaya nodded and turned quickly, retreating down the hallway with two other members of the Fae guard behind him. Vlad turned back toward Tia, who offered him a small smile. “Perhaps I should have never returned to this world. It only opened up old wounds that never fully healed…”

He shook his head. “I know who you are, Tiana. I’ve known who you were since I ascended, and I know what you had to do to reincarnate. Maybe to take the next step in unifying the world that old wound had to have opened,” his eyes begged her to understand, to not regret. He lifted his hands, gently placing them over hers on his shoulders. Part of him felt irritated he couldn’t feel her, but he ignored it. “Let’s end this, once and for all. Are you ready to save Humanity with me?”

She gave him a big grin, one full of life and determination. Her eyes seemed to catch on fire as almost all her color restored. She flickered and for a moment he felt her warmth once more. “I’m ready. I wouldn’t want to see you chasing me into Summerland and challenging the Goddess of All Life and Eternity. I don’t see that ending well for you, regardless if you’re her Hound or not.”

“Well, this is disgusting. What did I just walk in on…?” Diaval spoke with a snide tone to his voice. Tia looked up and Vlad turned around. His cousin stood in the broken, crumbling hole in the wall with his arms folded and an amused smirk on his face. He quickly let it fall and a frown came to play across his lips. “Am I to understand this right, that you want to share her shadow with me? She’s not that big you know. We’re going to get to know each other very, very well. I’m not sure if I’m up to that.”

“Stop complaining,” Vlad ordered, his stubborn streak giving Diaval’s a run for its money. Tia regarded the two curiously. Aside from being extremely similar in appearance, especially right now as Diaval looked completely Humanoid, they were also both equally spoiled.

“Have either of you ever not gotten what you wanted?” she asked. Both hesitated before giving her a bewildered look. She shook her head. “Don’t answer that. Can we get going now? People are dying,”