Excerpt: Denial Within The Blue Light

Prologue: Alone

Urianna was one of the oldest creatures in Zona and she knew it. In one sense it made her feel superior to any and all creatures that dared challenge her. Yet at the same time it made her feel very for very few had witnessed what she did. The oldest vampire and the only one old enough to remember being driven from Earth. It was not as if she was alone a lot, she had Tanek and the rest of the vampires in the Forest of the Dead, but it made things slightly complicated when they would go off and do things that just made no sense to her, things that she gave up hundreds of years ago. Made her feel like a mother taking care of lots of teenagers that refused to grow up. Flaunting their powers to each other and those around them, not even trying to cover their auras, all of the things that someone did when they did not have age backing them up. Running a hand through her straight black hair, she pulled some of the knots out of it and smoothing the wrinkles out of her long, lace covered black dress. Sighing, she leaned against a tree and looked up at Tanek. He was perched on a branch with Kaia, his favorite.

“I’m going for a walk.” She said from the ground below. Tanek looked down at her, his black shining in the moonlight and blond hair making him look paler than he already was. Kaia also looked down at her, looking a little confused, golden curls spilling over her shoulders.; Urianna knew if she moved slightly to the left, she would be able to see clearly up the young vampires knee length velvet dress that she always wore.

“What do you mean you’re going for a walk? Are you not enjoying the rest of our company?” She asked, her face looking like she was hurt but her eyes seemed to tell a different story.

“It is no game Kaia, I simply want to wander the woods alone for some time and I thought it would be wise to ask Tanek if that was all right with him.” She replied. Tanek, despite being younger than her, was the leader of their little coven. They were undoubtedly the strongest coven in the forest and there were few that would even stand up to them. Her leader looked down at her before nodding.

“Just be careful out there, you know how things are now.” Urianna did not reply to that statement for she did know. Only a year prior the woods was safe for her and her kind, for any kind of creature that found itself restricted to those trees, but things changed. It was only a year prior that the leader of the humans, Joseph Vern, blackmailed the Dark Knight Mayonaka to take him to the stone of Niger Mortis, the stone that kept the forest in check. Despite warning, Vern removed the stone and the entire forest went wild. It took weeks of concentration from the Mistress of the Night to regain some control of the dead with lesser intelligence, but things were not the same. She could feel it in the air, the dead would come at her if they decided to, and that meant attacking what she considered to brethren.

Walking through the forest, the ancient vampire knew exactly where she was going. When the stone was removed the Cave of Mortis, the place where it was kept, became visible to all creatures. Now abandoned, it was her favorite place to go when she wanted to be alone. And in most recent days that became more and more the norm. Tanek seemed worried about her, if a little, but she did not want to bother him with what was on her mind. It was none of his business to begin with and she did not want to burden the coven leader with her problems, not when they were easily kept inside.

As she neared the cave something in the air changed. It made her stop still and look around. The forest was still, trees only moving slightly with a gentle breeze and the moon gave plenty of light. Urianna knew something was wrong, there had to be, something in the air changed. She narrowed her eyes and began to creep through the forest moving like a predator toward its prey. A low humming noise began to appear and she moved herself closer and closer to it. Turning a corner, she saw a dim light shining through the trees and the sound of whispers began to rise. It was not until she peeked through the trees and took a deep breath that she realized what she was looking at. It was hard to see for there was something shining brought in her eyes, but there was clearly the outline of two figures. The smell in the air gave them away and there was no doubt in her mind.

She was looking at two humans.

A lump formed in her throat and if her heart was beating there was no doubt in her mind that it would have skipped. There was no way two humans could get so deep into the forest without being seen by something, especially now. There was only one way they got into the forest and it made her blood run cold. Turning, without another word, Urianna took off into the wilderness. She knew that the humans probably heard her, she hoped they did, and they left but she knew she would not be so lucky. They would not be so lucky. Trees whipped by her, scratching her pale skin but she paid them no mind. All that mattered to her was getting to the Dark Palace as soon as possible. It was not her place to do what she was about to do, she should pass the news to Tanek who would do things properly, but she thought the Dark Knights would make an exception.

Bursting into a clearing, the Dark Palace stood before her. It was a tall, ancient looking building covered in dark roots, dead ivy and made of black brick. There was a gate that went around it and someone she found herself none too fond her stood on guard.

“Urianna, you look a little famished.” Alcander said smiling. He was the vampire of the Dark Knights, the only one immortal, and old enough that she respected him at a minimal, but not much more. His hair was long a brown and he was tall, well dressed for a vampire, with a sword at his hip and the mark of the Mistress on the back of his right hand. She found him soft, far too kind hearted, and there was a rumor that he gave his heart to a human. Rumor aside, she stood up a little straighter, feeling the scratches on her skin heal themselves.

“We have an emergency and I need to speak with the Mistress immediately.” She said, standing tall.

“If this is about the other coven barging into your business I really think you and Tanek can handle it. I’m sure even Nicanor and Itzach will help you as well.” He replied. Nicanor and Itzach were her other two coven members and who out trying to snag a bite to eat while she was gone. Urianna, however, was in no mood for Alcander’s conceited attitude.

“How many times have I shown myself alone to you, boy?” She asked but did not wait for an answer, “Very few and do you think I would present myself looking like this if I did not have a very good reason to do so? Seeing the Mistress again, for the first time in five hundred years, one would think I would want to look my best, no?”

“Only you would make this about presentation Urianna.” He replied before his face went completely serious, “Then again, I can see in your eyes that something has truly startled you.”

“Believe me, young one, I wish I could see the Mistress under better circumstances.” She said darkly. He watched her for a moment before nodding and stepping aside, opening the gate and letting her in. The two of them walked through the giant doors and into the hallway. Down the hall, there were two more doors and she knew that the Mistress lay beyond those doors. The two of them continued toward those doors before they both dropped to one knee. The doors opened, but they both kept their heads down.

“My lady, Urianna says that she brings urgent news.” Alcander said.

“Stand, my children.” A voice from the darkness said. It seemed to be in the air around them, smothering them, and Urianna pushed herself to her feet but kept her eyes down. There was one creature in all of Zona that was older than her and she was standing before them. “What news do you bring, Urianna?”

“My Lady, I believe we have a serious problem.”