The Dark Secret, Part 20
by Tracey Sands

Sitting on a soft lawn chair, John reflected on last week's events. It was still very surreal in his mind, but looking at the large gash on his left arm reminded him that it indeed had happened.

"Penny for your thoughts." His sister Sarah said smiling over at him. She was perched on the edge of the lawn chair. They were in the backyard of a flat they had rented in Greece. It was night, and they were sitting enjoying the stars. "Thinking about the slayings?" she asked with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, it's like it never happened. Of course I have this lovely scar to remind me always."

Sarah reached over and patted John's leg. "I'm sorry about that; I should have watched your back better."

John nodded. "It's over. Let's just try and put it behind us as much as we can."

Five days earlier...

"Is everybody ready?" John asked looking at Alex and Higgins. The two nodded, and their faces were pale. "Okay, so let's go over this again. We run in and bash the windows and try to burn these bastards. We'll have to be quick and run in and drag the vamps out into the sunlight. If they wake up and try to retaliate, we use stakes, axes, and anything possible to destroy them. Once we've done as much as we can, we burn down the house to make sure any vamp we missed is dead. We'll have to stay close together to make sure that none of us get injured."

The detective climbed out of the car and looked at John expectantly. "So how are your sister, mother and Mark going to help us if it's daylight?"

"They're in the trunk. I'm going to back up the car, and once they're in the shade, they should be okay to run into the house."

John got into the front seat and started the car; he slowly turned around and reversed the car to the porch. They had scoped the house out earlier and had noticed that the porch roof over hung the porch by a couple of feet; it should be enough to cover Sarah, Daphne, and Mark when they emerged from the trunk.

Alex Fields moved to the porch and opened the trunk. Sarah flew out and into the house. Daphne and Mark crawled out more gracefully and looked at John. John nodded; it was time.

The group entered the house, not sure how many vampires or what was waiting for them.

Hayer paced the throne room. He was worried and hoped that Sarah and John faired well in their battle. A tiny hand touched his shoulder. The elder whipped around startled. It was Trinya.

"Sorry to bother you, but I could sense that something wasn't right. What's going on?"

Hayer smiled at her. "I didn't mean to bother you. I guess I'm so distracted that I'm not properly shielding my thoughts."

Trinya rubbed his back. Her fingers were soft and gentle. Hayer moaned. He turned to her and looked into her deep blue eyes. "Have you been thinking about us at all?"

The blonde elder smiled and looked down shyly. "Yes I have, and you're right I do have feelings for you. There is no point in trying to hide it. How do elders feel about other elders dating each other? Is it even allowed?"

"I can make anything happen." He said in a dry gruff voice. Emotions were trickling through his mental armor, feelings and thoughts that he usually kept locked up in a tiny corner in his mind.

Willing the emotions away, it was time to tell Trinya. Hayer took her hand and looked into her eyes. "The prophesy is unfolding. Sarah and John have taken their places in the battle. Will you help me?"

The tiny elder gasped. "It's happening." She closed her eyes and targeted her spiritual force towards Hayer; she felt a gentle tug as he joined her and spiraled her through the city. They ended up at a large white mansion-style house. It had large pillars holding up the front porch roof. The stone steps had a dark car backed up right to the front door. The windows were smashed. Trinya moved her head to the side and saw a floating, transparent vision of Hayer. His large gray beard was almost invisible. She looked down at herself and saw that she was also see-through.

"What's going on?" She mouthed as she was incapable of sound at this stage.

We're going in. I want to help defeat this Garath before he gets too strong.

"You are interfering?" Trinya mouthed; she only heard Hayer in her mind, a strong booming voice.

This is the prophesy. I did not tell you before, but we are part of the prophesy, I didn't understand it till now, but we are the whispers in the night. The whispers that come in and direct the force of the light.

Trinya smiled, she knew the prophesy and looking at the image of Hayer and her, they were definately whispers. Figures that weren't in this plane of the world. It was time for them to step in and make Sarah and John win.

The house was brightly lit by candles. Everywhere that John turned his head, he saw the soft flickering light of a flame. Burning this place up would be easy. He turned and saw dark thick cloth covering the windows. Obviously the vampires they were after would not be sleeping. They had made the house a fortress from the sun and some were probably up wandering about.

John pulled out a stake, he was glad he had taken lessons on how to fight. He turned and looked over at Detective Don Higgins; the detective had his gun out. Inside he had silver bullets. Beside Higgins, Alex stood also with his gun drawn. He was standing in a pounce mode. John watched Alex's eyes swiping back and forth. Sarah was close to a door leading into what looked like the kitchen. Sarah motioned a thumbs-up sign to John. The lawyer-vampire killer took a deep breath. It was time.

Sarah felt a burning inside her, and she felt a slight push. The girl turned around and only saw John. She gave him a thumbs-up; her brother looked frightened. Sarah wanted to reach out and reassure him, but she felt the small nudge again. Something or someone wanted her to go into the kitchen.

Cautiously she crept through the doorway into the kitchen. This room was also lit up by candles and had a stove and fridge. Everything one would expect in a kitchen. Obviously Garath, her maker lived well. He was not ashamed to be a vampire, and he did not want to live underground hidden like the elders.

Standing in the candle light, Sarah saw a figure. It was a young male wearing a leather jacket. The punk turned and saw her. "Hey who are you?"

Quickly closing the space between them, she smiled. "I am going to suck your blood."

"What?"

Sarah grabbed his leather jacket and pulled him towards her. He fought hard, but the young punk could not break her gasp. "You're human aren't you?"

"Yes!" He cried. "I'm here because I run errands."

"Good," she smiled. "Then you know where I will find Garath."

"Yes. He's in the master bedroom with his queen."

"Queen?" John said entering the kitchen. "Who's this queen?"

The punk turned and looked at John. "There are more of you?" He started whimpering.

Sarah threw down the young punk in disgust. "You should learn to be more of a man." She kicked him.

"Sarah." John frowned. "He's human, leave him alone."

"John." Alex poked his head through the kitchen doorway, "We're going upstairs first. You coming?"

"Yeah."

Sarah watched John leave the kitchen. She was alone with the punk. Sarah hadn't fed in awhile, and as much as she wanted to help John, she also wanted to feed. The girl peeked through the kitchen doorway to the empty living room. Everyone had gone upstairs, no one would know.

The girl walked towards the young punk. "Time for your punishment."

"No, please. I like being alive."

"Silly, I'm not going to kill you, just suck on you for awhile." Sarah bent down and grabbed the young male's neck. She bit into his neck hard and began to suck. The warm thick liquid gushed towards her tongue, she swirled her tongue around and moaned. The flavour was better than any steak, wine, or chocolate she had ever tasted. Sarah lost herself in the haze, flashes of the young male's life flickered through her mind.

Enough.

A hard voice in her mind shouted. She felt the tug on her shoulder again. It was time to help her brother.

John rounded the top stairs and came face to face with the monster; the vampire that he had stumbled upon in the alley way. The monster that had killed his date and had beaten him badly.

"So you lived." The voice was gruff and laughed.

"Nice to run into you again. You'll find this time you're not so tough. I've brought friends." John pointed to Higgins who had also just reached the landing. The detective immediately raised his gun and fired at the vampire.

The vampire took one step backward and laughed. "Silver bullets. Nice touch." He pulled out the bullet and admired it by the candles in the hallway. "It might work on a weaker vampire, but seeing as I'm King Garath, I don't think you'll be so lucky."

John shouted furiously and charged Garath. This was the monster that had killed his sister and made her a creature of the night.

The vampire side-stepped John easily, and his hand came up with a knife. John blinked in surprise. Garath plunged the knife towards John's chest. The lawyer heard another gun shot and saw Garath stumbling towards the ground, the knife falling with the vampire. John thrust his body away from Garath, but the knife was falling too fast. John felt sharp pain in his left arm, and a groan escaped him. The blood was pouring fast, and he suddenly felt light-headed.

Looking down on the ground, John saw his last chance to get Garath before he passed out. He gripped the stake tightly in his right hand. He raised it high over his head and swung it downward. Garath looked up, and John watched him mouth, NO. The lawyer was beyond hearing; the only task in his mind was plunging the stake in Garath's heart. The stake came down hard, and John heard the thud and felt the blood squirt in his face. The vampire screamed an anguished cry, and then he was gone. His body was there, and then a flame emerged, and it burnt up quickly. John jumped back so that he wouldn't get burnt. His heart was pounding furiously. The blood was pouring out quickly. John closed his eyes, and darkness poured in.

The battle had been quick and bloody. Hayer sat in the lounge and puffed on a cigar. He only allowed himself cigars on special occasions. Sarah, Daphne, Mark and the two humans sat near him. After Sarah and the team had finished cleaning the remaining vampires, they had come here.

John was in the back with Trinya. The elder was cleaning John's wound and tending to it. Hayer had already told Sarah not to worry.

Sarah looked over at Hayer and shook her head. "Do you think it's wise to keep Misty and some of the other vampires here?"

Hayer laughed. "Without Garath they will be fine. They each have a right to vampire life under our code, and I think they'll choose to live. They saw how fast their king was killed; they know if they want to live they must obey."

"I thought it was strange when Daphne wouldn't let us kill Misty or the two other vampires we came across." Don Higgins spoke up. "I guess you were talking to her and Mark the whole time."

"Yes." Hayer said. "It is time for you to leave." The elder pointed at the humans, "You will not remember this place or how to get here once you leave. It's our protection against you."

The detective nodded. "You have nothing to fear from us. We were only here to help John. Is he going to be okay?"

The elder nodded. He looked at Sarah. "You can stay until John is ready to leave."

Daphne and Mark approached; they had been silent since they arrived. Daphne and Mark had killed a vampire together. Hayer could tell they were upset about it. Killing one of their kind had not been easy for them. That's why they had opted to take prisoners.

"We're going to take off now. This has been too much for Daphne." Mark smiled. "But always a pleasure Hayer." The vampire shook the elder's hand. "Come see us sometime, you and Trinya."

"We'll see." Hayer watched them leave. The two humans followed the vampire couple out the door. The elder turned back at Sarah. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sarah looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry. I hadn't fed in a long time, and I just couldn't resist the urge that came over me."

"Now you know why you need to stay here." Hayer spoke quietly. He doubted he would ever be able to break the bond that she and John had. The elder knew her answer before she even spoke it.

"Yes I see why I need to be secluded, but not with you or the elders. I need to get out into the world and away. I'm sorry being an elder isn't for me."

The elder nodded. "As soon as John is ready you can go. I imagine it will be any time."

Sarah nodded. Her brother and she had survived Garath, but she had a feeling more would come. John and she needed to get away and go into hiding for awhile. Her brother was weak and needed to rest, and she needed to get her craving for blood under control.

John looked at the stars. Everything felt different. He didn't know when he would ever relax. Don Higgins and Alex Fields had gone back to good-old police work, and his mother had flown back to Europe. Daphne would be forever changed.

Sarah had gone back into the house; she was making herself a special cocktail. John wasn't sure how long she would last resisting blood, but his sister was determined to try everything to avoid feeding on blood. The lawyer was worried that she would harm herself, but Sarah was stubborn.

For now, he decided he was just going to enjoy the peacefulness and the time he had with his sister. His family was forever changed, and he wasn't sure the new direction he would take with his life.

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