Sarah was in her soccer uniform sitting on the bench in the locker room. She had just finished tying her shoes. The rest of her team were already out on the pitch. She was running late tonight because they had to scramble to find her a limiter she could use. She stood up and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror only her reflection was wrong. She had long curly red hair and emerald, green eyes that reminded her of the Headmistress’s. She stumbled back but when she looked back it was just her platinum blonde hair and silver eyes. She shook her head. She’d been out of sorts since the battle with the power armored super yesterday.

The game was starting after dark tonight so her protector this evening wasn’t Lea but was another woman with a British accent. She was carrying the strangest silver sword. Sarah was surprised to recognize her. She couldn’t place where they had met. But she’d greeted the woman in a strange language and referred to her as Cindie. Cindie was a vampire. She knew that too. The vampire was currently pacing her from the shadows, Sarah also knew that. None of which she had any explanation for. She reached the pitch just in time for the start of the remembrance for those injured and killed in the super attack yesterday. The principal of the school her team was associated with was speaking.

“I would like you all to stand and pray for the quick recovery of those hurt in the attack by the super terrorist yesterday here in Munich.”

He closed his eyes, and everyone observed a moment of silence. The principle spoke again.

“I would also like to acknowledge the heroics of a young woman who is part of our school’s football team, she is graciously on loan from the Aurelius Academy. Sara please step forward.”

Sarah’s ears turned a bright shade of red as she stepped out in front of her team.

“Sara is in grade 9 at Aurelius Academy and is responsible for saving the lives of forty-two students from our neighboring school, Adolf Hitler Primary school, during yesterday’s attack. Please, if I could get the families of the students, she saved to stand so she can see how many lives she impacted.”

Over half of her team stood up, along with a good portion of their supporters. It seemed most had siblings on that bus. Sarah felt tears forming in her eyes. This was the first time she’d ever felt like her powers were anything but a burden and a danger to those around her. The principle spoke again.

“Sara, you are an example to our current and future superheroes. Thank you.”

Her team started clapping and cheering for her. The crowd followed. Sarah blushed. She was inundated by hugs, pats on the back and whispers of thanks. Once everything settled down.

“Now, if I could have the captains of both teams on the field for the official coin toss.”

Sarah sat on the bench. She was supposed to be starting but she’d confided in the coach she was still exhausted from the day before. Her coach was one of the responding officers during the attack and hadn’t even questioned Sarah on it. She just nodded. Sarah hated sitting on the bench, but she also hated letting her team down and tonight, she would have been dead weight. During half time she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up. It was her nan whom she bearhugged.

“Nan! You came!”

“Aye lass, your granda would ne’r let this pass, see you play in person. You are going to play aren’t you?”

Sarah glanced at her team.

“I’m kind of tired after yesterday, nan.”

“I see. Well, your granda might be inclined to forgive you seeing as he just saw an entire crowd cheer for you. I just knew you’d be a hero. I knew it in my bones.”

“Where is grand dad?”

“Oh, he’s somewhere around here getting some food. Don’t you worry he’ll make sure he gets some Sarah time before we leave.”

Sarah hugged her nan again.

“I’ll let coach know I’m feeling up to playing in the second half.”

Her nan put her hands on Sarah’s cheeks.

“Now don’t you go overexerting yourself. I know what you did yesterday. Barrier my foot. I saw those trees. You stopped him yourself didn’t yea?”

Sarah nodded.

“That’s my bonny lass. You are a Grey. We don’t know how to stand by and let innocents get hurt. It goes against our grain.”

Sarah hugged her nan again as her team started to file back onto the bench. Her nan waved as Sarah ran towards her coach to let her know she felt up to playing at least for some of the game.

*****

Cindie was riding beside Sarah. A man was driving. Sarah knew Cindie was a Seer. She wasn’t sure what that meant but she knew it meant she was important. She also realized they were not heading towards the MANA HQ. She looked at Cindie.

“Where are we going?”

“Isis would like to see you.”

“Won’t I get in trouble for being late to school?”

Cindie shook her head.

“The Empress is aware of the request and has agreed.”

Cindie continued to look around the car as they drove. She spared a few glances to this strange teenager who knew her name, knew she was a vampire and spoke the middle English of her age perfectly. The sixth sense that earned her a place among the immortals was telling her this girl was more then she appeared. They arrived at a mansion on the outskirts of Munich. The man opened the door for Sarah. Cindie stayed in the car. Sarah walked up a set of stairs and reached out her hand and pressed the glowing green doorbell button. A larger man answered the door. He was in a black suit. The man reminded Sarah of Misha. He didn’t speak he just motioned her inside. Sarah entered the mansion proper. She stopped short when she saw a panther. Its fur was so black it seemed to absorb all light. The man pointed to the panther. After some hesitance Sarah followed the panther deeper into the mansion.

Sarah jumped when there was a loud crash. Then she realized it was just thunder. She heard the downpour start. An autumn storm had been rolling in, she’d seen the clouds. She put her hand to her chest and caught her breath. The panther’s tail twitched, almost in annoyance. Sarah hurried to catch up. They arrived in what could be described as a study. Isis was standing near a roaring fire. Sarah wanted to rush forward to ward off the evening’s chill. She resisted the urge and paused just inside the doorway. Isis had been looking at the fire and nudging a log with an iron rod. The panther casually strolled towards Isis and promptly sat down beside her. Its emerald, green eyes were far too intelligent for an animal. The way it looked at Sarah unnerved her.

In fact, this whole situation unnerved her. It was like all the horror movies she’d seen. Girl gets lured to a creepy out of the way mansion on a dark and stormy night. Scary host, strange animals. It had all the hallmarks. Sarah flinched when another crack of thunder shook the house. Isis looked down at the panther.

“Besho, do not be bashful.”

Sarah gasped when she saw the panther’s form shift and twist. When it finished changing, she realized that it was actually an African woman with short, cropped hair. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a leather jacket. Isis was wearing a white dress. Her black hair was tired back into a high ponytail bound with a golden band covered in gems the likes of which Sarah had never seen in her lifetime. Besho as Isis had referred to the panther leaned on the back of an armchair. Her eyes had not changed from a cat’s even as a human. Isis spoke. Sarah could not get past the commanding tone the woman had. Eyre was old and strange, but this woman… vampire was like a statue when she didn’t move.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“I understand you performed adequately in your game of skill this evening. No doubt below your usual performance, after the excitement of last evening.”

Sarah’s left hand crossed just below her newly blossoming chest and wrapped around her right arm. She mumbled an affirmative. Isis fully turned to her, and Sarah was caught in the gaze of the goddess’s golden eyes. Sarah had seen that kind of age before in her own reflection when she wasn’t focused on it. Isis spoke.

“So shy, so quiet. So human.”

Sarah opened her mouth and closed a few times, finally getting enough nerve to speak.

“I am sorry if I did something wrong… umm, your holiness?”

Isis’s lips parted in a smile, breaking the illusion of a porcelain statue when her teeth and fangs appeared.

“Isis will do, child, Isis will do.”

Isis walked towards her. Her marble like feet clicking against the stone floor of the study. The pair were eye to eye. Sarah and Isis were a match in height.

“So much power, such a young child. I sense someone tried to stifle your growth. Rob you of your birthright. Foolish, power like yours yearns to be free.”

Sarah shook her head.

“I’m just a PL8, I’m not special.”

Isis laughed. Besho looked disturbed. She seemed ill at ease with this whole situation. Isis’s laughter calmed and she finished her circle around Sarah.

“Tell me of my daughter child. You are thinking about her right now.”

Sarah’s silver eyes flicked to Isis who simply nodded. Isis started to chuckle again.

“Humans, always so ashamed. As if they’re the only ones who feel like they do.”

Isis seemed to concentrate more.

“Hmm, your mind is a maze within an enigma. How do you function?”

Isis chuckled as Sarah thought I don’t.

“This isn’t working. Your mind is far too chaotic. No doubt a defense mechanism. I am sorry child, but I need to speak with someone else. I just need to…”

Isis brushed Sarah’s stray bangs behind one of her ears. Sarah’s world went black.

*****

When she woke she was wearing a strange dress. The weave was rough her feet were dangling over the side of a dock and she heard Maria’s voice, her roommate was speaking in Latin. Sarah’s eyes traced from Maria’s pale feet up her legs to a white dress that matched her own. Maria looked… alive and younger. Maria touched Sarah’s hand.

“Did you hear me?”

Sarah shook her head then her eyes caught sight of something out of a movie. In the distance she could see sleek silver ships lifting up into the air. Around them on the docks were bipedal dinosaurs going about their day. The dock looked new, the water was fresh and clear. She saw a flash in the sky and a silver vortex formed. Maria nudged her again.

“Hey.”

Sarah shook her head. This all seemed so wrong, but it all felt real.

“What Maria?”

“Maria? You forgot my name too? Some sister you are.”

“Sister? Maria, this is making no sense, this is all wrong.”

“The name is Mariana, if I wanted to shorten it, I would.”

“You’re being… more forceful than usual.”

Maria gave her a shove.

“Careful I don’t dunk you in the water.”

Sarah quirked her head to the side and looked at the infectious grin of her friend. This is how Maria was supposed to be. She felt it in her core. Nothing else here was right. The place was wrong. Maria was right. Then she realized that this is what Maria was like before her memories were erased. Cheerful and self-confident. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she looked at Maria as she was. How much her friend had lost. It made her think maybe what her parents did to her wasn’t so bad compared to what had happened to others. Maria, or Mariana as she was here touched Sarah’s cheeks with her palms brushing the tears away with her thumbs.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m just realizing what you lost.”

Maria shrugged then pushed Sarah’s shoulder gently.

“Its time to wake up sis. World is waiting for you.”

*****

Sarah was ripped out her slumber. She had a moment of panic as she had no idea where she was. Her dream had felt so real. More real than real life. She could make out the motionless silhouette of a woman sitting on the bed beside her. Then Isis’s golden eyes appeared in the darkness. She jumped in spite of herself. Isis touched her check gently.

“You are safe Sarah. Thank you. I found out what I need to know.”

Sarah looked around the posh bedroom she found herself in then back to Isis.

“I don’t understand.”

“Nor should you be expected to, child. You will stay the night. The storm has gotten worse. In the morning Agent Muller will take you to the Academy. Will you be alright on your own? Your dreams are troubled, aren’t they?”

Sarah blinked at her.

“I am the Queen of Dreams child. Or if the lullaby’s of Egypt are to be believed the Lady of Nightmares.”

“I just don’t understand them, why do I think I can trust you, ma’am?”

“Because you and I are bound in a way. You see thousands of years ago I met someone very much like you, same eyes, same hair. Same body. I had been hunting for her for millennia. The Atlantean she was called. Then one day, who should wander into my temple? Her child. What a stroke of luck, my prey would come to me. I had to meet her, a woman with such power. Power unseen since before the dawn of time. Power identical to yours.”

Sarah shook her head.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. I’m a PL8.”

“Of course. Of course. You have had a rough few days, child. You should rest. You will need it for what is to come. Know this, my domain will always be a haven for you. If you are in danger, if you are lost, you come here, and I will protect you. As I would my Empress.”

Sarah glanced out the window at the downpour. Isis was about to leave but Sarah called out to her.

“Ms. Isis?”

“Isis is fine, child. What is it?”

“Did you know Maria… Mariana before she lost her memories, can she ever get them back?”

Isis’s golden eyes scanned Sarah, looking for something Sarah could not understand.

“What do you know of Mariana Aurelius?”

“She’s my roommate. I had a dream… a vision of her when she was younger. She seemed so much happier. Wait… you abstained from a vote to kill her. Why would you do that?”

Isis sat back down on the bed and crossed her legs.

“She broke the law. I could not endorse her actions. Nor could I condemn her for saving the world from the corrupter. I made the only vote I could, I chose not to.”

“You normally wouldn’t answer questions from a human, would you?”

“I still would not, you’re not human. You’re something more.”

“You can read my mind… could you fix Maria’s?”

Isis shook her head.

“Mariana is afflicted with something that is outside my realm of expertise, child.”

Sarah blinked.

“I thought you were a goddess, the oldest vampire alive.”

“You are wrong on both accounts, the eldest of us is named Chomaggus. He is… no longer normal looking. Let me show you something.”

Isis started chanting and weaving her fingers in an intricate pattern. Sarah knew she was causing an illusion spell. She knew she could do the same if she wished. As Isis finished speaking an image appeared. It was three vampires in a sea of shadowy figures with a tornado of darkness at the center. One was a red-haired teenager who seemed familiar, the one she recognized immediately it was Maria, but it wasn’t the Maria she knew, she was self-assured and wearing armor. The last vampire was an older version of Lucius, her stalker.

“I… know the red-haired one, I’m not sure from where, but the blonde-haired man, he looks like an older version of a boy who’s been stalking me at school.”

Isis tapped the illusion and zoomed into Lucius.

“That is Lucius. He is the soulbound of the red-haired woman. He’s been dead since 1942, I’m not sure how he is at the school, perhaps his spirit has not moved on. I see why he is drawn to you.”

“Who is the red-haired woman? She looks barely older than me, she’s so small. She looks so familiar.”

Isis smiled.

“That would be because she is the mother of your headmistress.”

Sarah nodded; It made so much sense. The hair the eyes. Isis moved the illusion forward and it reached a point where Maria was doing battle with the black tornado. She was flung outwards towards a stone alter. Isis watched Sarah’s eyes seeing no sign of reaction she moved the illusion back and then showed her it slower this time. Sarah’s eyes went wide when she spotted a ghostly image of Maria pushed back further then her body.

“Her soul was pushed out?”

Isis nodded.

“I’m sure its slowly reforming itself, but souls are only of a portion what makes us, who we are. The Child of Lilith finished what the betrayer started. When the rest of her soul returns fully to her body, who will she be? It is a difficult question to answer.”

Sarah felt like Isis was leaving something unsaid but she was feeling more and more like she was pressing her luck with this immortal goddess’s patience.

“Thank you. For showing me this Isis.”

Isis waved her hand through the illusion and it evaporated. Sarah went to ask another question, but she stopped short. Isis smiled.

“Yes, I am an Archmage, much like you. Most Imperial vampires have a substantial talent for manipulating reality. Though none of us can tap into the font of creation directly like you. In fact you tap into energies that would destroy me instantly should I touch them the same way you do. It must take a terrible toll on you.”

Sarah remembered the burning sensation from the veins and nodded. Isis adjusted Sarah’s hair gently. It felt strange but Sarah felt a kinship with the ancient vampire.

“You will get better with time. You should rest, The Empress will expect you on the campus tomorrow.”

Sarah nodded and laid back down and fell asleep shortly after her head hit her pillow. When she woke again it was to sunlight steaming through the window of the room she found herself in, the night before seemed like a half-forgotten dream. She wondered if Isis had even really been in the room. She stretched. Before she could do much more then that the door to the room was knocked open by a large black panther paw. The panther, who she now knew was named Besho motioned for her to follow. Sarah followed Besho out of the room and down a hallway, then down a large staircase. The house was lit by LED bulbs, the windows seemed to be blacked out. That seemed strange to Sarah because Eyre, Helen, and Maria all waked in sunlight as easily as she did.

Besho came to a stop by a dining room table. There was a place set for her already. Sarah sat down and within five minutes two eggs just the way she liked them, bacon and an orange juice were served. She glanced around then started to eat. When she finished, she glanced at Besho who motioned her head towards the front door.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

The panther rubbed up against her legs and sat back down. The emerald green cat eyes followed her path towards the door. Her gym bag and shoes were waiting for her.