64: Trial and Error – Pt. 2

Victoria awoke to the sound of voices. Rolling to her side, she caught herself before she tumbled all the way to the floor. Sitting up with a start, she took a look around the room. Calling it Turkish prison chic would have been a compliment. What used to be light blue paint had peeled away from the walls leaving splotchy brown plaster and scuff marks in its place. The floors were stained in thick, gritty rust and grime and the odor that lingered from what she could only assume to be week’s old egg salad was starting to give her a headache.

Water splashed on her from a busted pipe that had damaged and corroded the wall to which it was attached. And as she threw her legs over the side of the cot to stand, a cat-sized rat scurried beneath her foot and through a hole in the wall. “DERRICK!” she shouted, quickly tossing herself into the center of the bed.

The worn springs squealed beneath her and she held completely still, afraid the entire thing would collapse beneath her weight at any moment. The door opened and Marcel’s pale mug was the first thing she saw. He sneered at her as he entered the room and was soon followed by Rowan, Derrick and two others she did not recognize. “Where the hell am I?”

 The first of the unidentified men spoke, his voice softer than she’d have expected. And with a charming smile that revealed sharp fangs, he stepped forward, “We’re beneath Ember Lake of course.”

“Of course,” she repeated sarcastically. “And why exactly am I here?” 

The man looked back at Derrick and Rowan who both shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. “We cannot perform the rite if she is unprepared,” the second of the unnamed men spoke with a deep, raspy voice also directing his gaze at the two vampires.

“Your Grace, Sirs,” Rowan began, “I assure you, though she may seem a bit…surly, Victoria is far more than capable of handling the course of today’s events. I’ve personally witnessed her abilities.”

Victoria noticed how hesitant and unsure of himself Rowan seemed in front of the two men. It was unusual. Since she’d known the man, he’d been nothing if not confident. It gave her the sense that the anonymous duo were very powerful within the supernatural world.

“It matters not at this point,” the second man spoke. “She’s here now, there’s no going back.”

“Hi, excuse me, yeah still here. Correct me if I’m wrong but, it sounds to me like you expect me to perform some sort of ritual for you, yeah? Do you really think I’d ever be a willing participant in whatever the hell you people have planned, especially when you’ve chained me up like some sort of prisoner?” she asked, tugging at the ropes binding her wrists together.

“Victoria…”

“Don’t! I don’t want to hear ANYTHING you have to say,” she interrupted as Derrick attempted to speak. 

“This is why I urged you to compel the witch,” Rowan snarled. “Trust is FAR from a guarantee.”

“Victoria doesn’t need to be compelled. She will do what needs to be done because she knows what’s right,” Derrick argued.

“Well, I suppose there’s only one way to truly find out,” Rowan reasoned.

“Indeed,” the first Elder again spoke, “Let’s get her to the chamber.”

Marcel started towards Victoria, an evil smirk on his face and she again rolled to the side of the bed. “You keep him the hell away from me!”

“Stop,” Elder number two said, raising a hand halting Marcel and yielding to Victoria’s request. “Edmund, seeing as the witch…”

“‘The witch’ has a name,” Victoria interrupted with a sigh.

“My apologies, dear,” the man bowed. “Edmund, since Victoria trusts you, we shall leave her in your care. Untie her and see to it she’s ready.”

“Sir,” Derrick said and waited for the men to exit the room. He turned to look at her and she huffed as she struggled again with her ropes. “Hold still,” he said, moving closer as he used his sharp nails to cut through the ropes. “There.”

The moment she was free, Victoria shot to her feet and tried for the door. “It’s locked,” Derrick said, watching as she tried the handle without success. “You will come with me if you want out of here…alive.”

“Where the hell am I, Derrick? What the hell is going on? And Ember Lake? As in THE Ember Lake where this so called ‘Destroyer’ sleeps? Why am I here?”

“I’ll explain everything but first, you have to be willing to do what the Elders ask of you.”

“Right. Like I’d ever agree to that. They could be trying to resurrect this monster for all I know.”

“They’re not. Like I told you before we’re working against the Cult of the Damned. We don’t want him coming back any more than you do. He is dangerous to all who don’t bend to his will. Now, do I seem like the type of person to bow and scrape to an almighty power?”

“I don’t know, you didn’t seem to have a problem listening to Tweedledee and Tweedledum a minute ago!”

“Victoria…”

“No. I want to know right now what the HELL these people want with me or I swear to god I will bring this building down on all of us.”

“It’s a test. The Elders…”

“Names.”

“The first one you met is Julian, the other is Emery; they’re ancient vampires probably older than time, hence the label. They want to test you to see if you are capable of experiencing the Dawning.”

“Which is?”

“An amassing of all powers, light and dark. In ancient times, it took the same kind of force to push the beast back into his cage and that was only after the same kind of test to find a source formidable enough to store that much energy.”

“That’s what all this training’s been about?”

“For the most part,” he said. “Now, are we doing this thing or should I call the Elders back and tell them we both forfeit?”

“And by the way you asked I can only assume a ‘forfeit’ would result in both our deaths?” Derrick nodded and Victoria sighed. “You’ve kinda left me without a choice here.”

“I don’t know. There’s always that building collapsing thing you suggested,” he smirked.

She rolled her eyes at his comment but, surrendered to his whim and followed behind him as he led her into a small dressing room. Above her, she could see several others watching. Men, women; species unknown aside from the vampires she knew. Three women entered the room with her carrying several different items. One of them placed a garment box on the table and asked her to change.

Victoria had her misgivings considering the many eyes looking down on her but still, she approached the table, prepared to do as asked. Opening the box, she pulled free a long white, silk gown and dropped it with a gasp. “I’m not wearing that,” she said, backing away from the table until her back bumped against the wall. “Get that away from me!” 

Rowan glanced over at Derrick with a sigh and an arrogant look that made him want to reach over and slug his sire. “What’s the issue now?” Julian asked, looking down over the proceedings.

“I’m not sure,” Derrick replied and shrugged down at Victoria. She had a look of genuine fear and he could sense her dread as the bracelet on her arm lit up bright yellow. “Something’s not right,” he said and tried to take the stairs towards the room but, Rowan pushed him away.

“I told you, enough with the coddling. You just don’t get it, mate. You lost her trust. Victoria wants nothing to do with you anymore. Let her go. She needs to get over whatever this is and do what is asked of her.”

“Yeah? Good luck with that,” he growled, and pushed the blonde vampire off of him. In an instant, the entire room of vampires, Elders included, were assaulted with a flurry of visions as Victoria’s panic touched through them and Derrick soon learned what had caused her fright.

It was the dream of the ritual she had told him about. Victoria was having déjà vu as the nightmare that caused her so many sleepless nights was playing out right in front of her. Emery quickly turned to Derrick as the images dissolved with a look of shock. “She’s a seer?” he asked.

“No. She just…saw this happening,” Derrick said. “It’s hard to explain but, she had a series of premonitions. I never suspected this was the cause of it. Victoria’s a witch from a family of witches; not a seer.” Derrick stopped himself before he revealed what he’d heard about her family line from Loretta concerning the unique properties of their blood.

But unfortunately, Rowan didn’t get the memo. “It’s her blood,” he said without reservation. “I had the honor of tasting it myself.”

“Don’t fool yourself, Ro, there was no honor in what you did.”

“Her blood has a… distinctive quality,” he continued as if Derrick hadn’t spoken. “It does things.”

“Things? What kind of things?” Julian asked.

“It’s true,” Marcel said, speaking for the first time in the presence of the Elders. “Rowan suffered seizures after drinking from the witch.”

The Elders turned once more to Derrick who could not offer up an explanation of what may have happened and it again fell on Rowan to fill in the blanks. “The same blood, Sirs, caused a reaction in Derrick as well. After he drank from the witch, he reverted to his old ways; carnage and destruction from the days of old. I believe it’s something worth exploring further and if Derrick here is not willing, might I offer…”

“You’ll stay away from her if you know what’s good for you,” Derrick threatened, surprising both older vampires in the room. “Victoria is not a lab rat. She’s down there right now because she trusts she’s doing the right thing because of me,” he looked at Rowan as he said the last part. “Going at her like an enemy or a pet project will make her turn from our cause and when shit really does hit the fan we’ll all be screwed.”

“Edmund’s right,” Emery and Julian both agreed. “He will continue to see to Victoria and you, Rowan, will stay out of it.”

“Thank you,” Derrick said with a nod.

“So, can you get her back on board now?” Julian asked. “Or do we need to move to more aggressive means?”

“Give her a moment.” Derrick stepped closer to the glass keeping his eyes on Victoria and she looked up again, catching his eye. He gave her an encouraging smile and, taking a deep breath, she moved once more towards the table.

“Moment of truth,” Rowan narrated, watching Victoria walk into the center chamber and the door shut behind her.

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