Again, Daunator’s laughter rang throughout the space, and Asteria covered her ears once more. “You are the one who has no idea, Holland.”
“I am called Asteria now!” His willingness to defy her was infuriating.
“You are what you have always been,” he countered as another rush of air met her in the back, and she realized he was moving around her, though she still could not see him. “The powers you have do not belong to you, nor have they changed who you are.”
“I have been to hell and back,” she informed him. “My powers have grown exponentially!”
“You have only learned to take what you need from others, Holland. What you do only changes the ebb and flow of our kind. You cannot create more power, only transport it.”
She had no idea what he was speaking about. Of course she could. She had strengthened her forces, giving them the ability to shift, to fight off the enemy. They were much harder to kill. She could control their minds—even different types of beings, such as the Guardian Leader and others who had no idea she walked inside their thoughts. “You know very little of what I can do!” she argued.
“I know everything.”
In front of her, the outline of a face began to form. It started as a soft glow with blackness where the eyes, nostrils, and mouth should be, but as he continued to take shape, she could see his pale features, his ancient, luminescent skin. Of all of the appearances to adopt, why he would choose this one, she had no idea, but at least she was face to face with him at last. Part of her wanted to reach out with her claws and strike him in the cheek, but she held back, deciding it would be best to hear him out, no matter how incorrect he may be.
“Can you help us?” Asteria asked, calming herself the best she could. “We seek to destroy the Guardians.” She could see his outline now, his full form. An ancient man in a black hood. Behind him, she could even make out what appeared to be a cave wall illuminated by a torch. How she had been unable to see all of this before, she wasn’t sure.
“You believe that is possible with the powers you currently control?” he asked, his sunken eyes critical.
“I do not know. Hines… the doctor…”
“I know of who you speak.”
“He believes he’s found an element that, once injected, will turn them to human, and then we may destroy them. He obtained this information from them, from some investigations and probing. At any rate, we have not tried it. The process seems lengthy. It would be better if there was an element we could use to destroy them, the way they discovered titanium can allow a Guardian to kill a Hunter.” She hoped her explanation made sense and that he was aware of all that had gone on. Something told her he knew, despite the fact that he lived in a cave in the center of the Earth.
“It cannot be done,” Daunator said dismissively. “There is no such element.”
“But what about the one that can turn them back into human?” she asked. Was he saying that even that process wouldn’t work?
Daunator narrowed his gaze, as if she were trying his patience. “If the doctor is able to capture them and administer the compound, it is possible that he may be able to destroy them. It would be an arduous process.”
“And you’re saying there is nothing else?” she asked.
“Do you know the element used to reverse the DNA?” he countered.
Asteria shook her head. She assumed he meant whatever it was that Hines had used to inject into the samples they’d taken from Paul Larkin that seemed to strip the Guardian elements from the DNA.
“If it is administered incorrectly, there is a possibility what you will create will be something far worse than the Guardians you fight now. There are already three who cannot die, you realize?”
Once again, her head shifted from side to side. She wasn’t sure who he spoke of.
“The same method you used to… grow your power… has made three Guardians completely immortal. It would serve you well to investigate your methods before you use them. Your Highness.” The last two words were dripping with sarcasm, and once again, Asteria’s dander was up, but it seemed she had underestimated Daunator. Perhaps he did know more than she did. Or perhaps he was an elderly being who had lost his mind long ago, and everything he was saying to her was complete hogwash.
“What can we do, then? Surely, you must think our cause is true? They’ve stolen my love from me… again.”
“And why is that?” he countered, turning his back to her and beginning to pace, his hands folded behind him. “Because you could not leave well enough alone? Why must you provoke them, Holland?” He whirled on her, and she took a step toward the cave wall. “Do you know what they are capable of? The Ternion has been thrown off balance now. The Guardians no longer stand in the middle.”
“They never have!” Asteria countered. “If they truly wished to protect us….”
“How many innocent Vampires have been slaughtered these past few weeks because of the shenanigans you’ve been pulling in the Guardian Leader’s head?” She had no idea he was aware of what she’d been doing. “While you were protecting your own amassed army, he has ordered the deaths of hundreds of innocents who have followed the rules.”
“That’s on his head!” she spat.
Daunator flew at her, backing Holland against a cold, rock wall. “It is on yours!” he screeched. She covered her ears with her hands again. “If you continue to meddle with the Ternion the way that you have, we will all be destroyed!” The walls shook, and fragments of rock rained down around them. Asteria’s hands shot up over her head, and she ducked to protect her unborn child.
Realizing he could bring the entire mountainside down around him, Daunator took a step back and breathed in deeply through his nose several times. “You must cease this operation of yours before it is too late.”
Asteria rose to her full height, her shoulders back. “Do you think that would stop them? They have already sworn to annihilate all of us.”
“And if they do, it will be your burden to bear,” he reminded her.
She sucked in air through her nostrils. “What can I do?”
“You can do nothing. Go, hide, disband. Have that creature you’re carrying around with you, whatever the hell it is, and leave us be.”
“You don’t know what my baby is?” Asteria asked, shocked to hear that the all-knowing Daunator didn’t have an explanation for him.
“It is not a Vampire,” he said resolutely. “Perhaps it is a demon. Perhaps you were impregnated in hell.”
“No, the child belongs to Perses. It happened here, on this side of the Blue Moon Portal.”
Daunator shook his head. “Impossible. Whatever that creature is, it belongs in hell.”
Asteria’s hand flew out. She wanted to tear his eyes from his face. But before she made contact with the thin skin of his cheek, her hand froze in the air. His arms were folded neatly in front of him, and yet she could not move. Irate, she fought against him, using every ounce of strength she could muster, but her hand would not budge. “Do you understand now that your powers are useless against mine?” He pressed her hand back to her side without moving, and she let out a sigh of exhaustion.
Asteria encircled her throbbing wrist with her other hand and began to rub it. “Why don’t you join us?” she asked, her eyes wide with hope. “With that sort of power….”
“No,” he said with force. “I wish to remain here and leave the outside world to its own devices. The only reason I finally allowed you to find me was to be rid of you once and for all.”
She pursed her lips together, realizing then he had likely heard every word she’d said while wandering around the mountain searching for him. “Well, then, allow me to leave. Clearly, you are of no help.”
“My help is in telling you that you must let this be. You must step away from this war. You cannot win.”
“And I’m telling you it’s too late. They will come, and keep coming, no matter where I go or what I do.”
Daunator drew in a sharp breath, and she began to see acceptance settle around his ancient bones. “Sadly, I fear you may be right. When this is over, there shall be nothing left of our Ternion.”
“I can win.”
“You cannot!”
“Help me!”
“There is no help for you!” The rocks came down in thicker sheets this time, but Asteria did not cower. She stood in defiance of it all.
Once the dust had begun to settle, she said, “There must be something.” A thoughtful shadow crossed his face, giving he a flicker of hope. “What is it? You’ve thought of something, haven’t you?”
“It would be nearly impossible, and the likes of you and that ridiculous doctor could never manage.”
“Please, whatever it is, let me know. I shall be the judge of that.”
