Twenty

You would have thought that considering they were on a tight schedule that they would have left immediately. However there were two important factors that were stopping them from leaving just yet. The first was that the sun was still out, it would be easier to leave under the cover of darkness, especially when jilting an unpaid bill! Secondly, Mercy had made a promise to Sam, he had after all been desperate to see a Giraffe and she felt inclined to grant his wish.

This did of course mean that she had to get back in that confounded human tin box. When one is so used to speed, human cars are so slow and boring. However, Sam’s smile made up for the slow journey that the guide took them on. The tour lasted just over two hours and by the end of it Mercy had to admit that she had rather enjoyed it, though she couldn’t understand the human enjoyment of watching other animals. Sam got to see some giraffes grazing by a watering hole but they also got to see rhinos, lions, zebras, hippopotamuses, monkeys and elephants.

On the return to the Manor, Sam raved about all he had seen declaring to Mercy that it was one of the best experiences he had ever had. Mercy was glad he had enjoyed it so and the two shared a brief moment together before returning inside.

The wait for darkness was a tad boring, Mercy used her time wisely. She pondered the mystery of Miranda. Dominick said that she didn’t talk but was that because she couldn’t talk or because she didn’t want to. There was a slight sadness within her eyes, combined with a determination to carry on. Mercy wondered what could have affected her so much. Of course Mercy was looking at Miranda like others would look at Mercy. She suddenly understood clearly how people persieved her and the curiosity and hunger they must have felt to know what had gone on beneath the expression of the yes.

Mercy left the house minutes before the sun went down. She dragged Sam with her and together they found a secluded hill on which to sit and watch the sunset.

‘You know at first I didn’t think I’d see the sun again’ said Sam.

‘What do you mean?’ asked Mercy.

‘Well a lot of human myths about vampires revolve around the fact that they burn in the sun so therefore they do not come out during the day. I thought my fate was to forever more walk in the night’ he said.

Mercy laughed ‘humans always overcomplicate the facts. Although I am unsure where that rumour came from. As Pietr and Nicolai have been here the longest perhaps it was them that started the rumors’.

‘You know it wouldn’t surprise me if that were true’ said Sam.

He bought Mercy closer to him and tucked her head into the crook of his neck.

‘Are you scared?’ he asked.

‘Of the battle?’ she asked.

‘I was thinking more of facing your brother but I guess the battle as well’ said Sam.

‘Thayer isn’t just my brother and the king, he is like my maker. Without his influence, would I have become a better person? Battle changes people but I do not believe I am scared of it. It is true that the life of a vampire is lengthened and the ways of death a few but it still happens, just as it does to humans. I do not fear death’ she said.

‘But are you scared of facing your brother?’ he asked.

‘Terrified’ she whispered.

Sam smiled, the sun setting on the horizon just added to an already perfect evening in his eyes. He didn’t want to have to return to the larger group of vampires and share Mercy’s attention once again. It was funny how hard and fast he’d fallen for Mercy, what had started out as hate and vengeance had blossomed into love and acceptance. He felt like one of those cheesy romance characters that you always found in books or on TV movies.

He wanted to say that he’d be there to protect her but he knew that Mercy needed to face her brother alone – even if he wanted to save her, he’d have to remain on the sidelines. That was a difficult thought to comprehend but he reminded himself that Mercy probably had quite a bit of experience in fighting and she wasn’t a poor fragile girl. Still didn’t stop him from worrying completely.

[BREAK]

The journey from Sanabona Wildlife Reserve back to Cape Town was swift and enjoyable – some of the braver animals had tried to race the vampires through the park, luckily they hadn’t run into any humans. From their arrival in Cape Town, neither Sam nor Mercy saw much of the rest of the group, once they had announced their return, there was a lot of talk and organization before they were on the move again. Once again Mercy and Sam were in a group with four of the six Guardians. Dominick opted to stay with the three vampires of his coven for the journey to Rio so as they could get to know the rest of the group together.

Mercy was glad that the flight from Cape Town to Rio was the last time she’d ever have to fly on a plane. The human obsession with small confined boxes as a way of travel was unnatural and she much preferred being able to run at her usual speed without fear of someone catching her.

It seemed that Olga’s visions were becoming more prominent the closer they got to the end of their journey. She was beginning to have more frequent visions of the upcoming battle but was unable to tell much of what she saw as it was all fragmented. She didn’t however have time to warm Mercy that they would indeed meet some trouble while in Rio, and that it would be better to wait and see before deciding on a correct course of action.

From the airport they headed to the known location of the last Guardian; Botafogo Beach. Mercy thought that the name made it sound rather exotic and mysterious. It’s Portuguese name Praia de Botafogo’ is located within Guanabara Bay. The bay itself is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Urca peninsula and the Sugarloaf Mountain. The view from the bay is said to be breathtaking and Mercy couldn’t help but agree with that statement, the ocean water was composed by the boats of the Rio Yacht Club and wit the Morro da Urca and Sugarloaf Mountain in the background, it truly deserved its title as one of the most famous postcards of Rio de Janeiro.

Here was a place Mercy could understand a human settling for, it was a remarkable place and the scenery was some of Mother Nature’s best work.

It seemed this Guardian was bold and brave kike Candice had been, for instead of Mercy having to seek them out with the others, they seemed to be walking towards her. Mercy only guessed that one of the two people walking her way was a Guardian because of the unwavering stare she was receiving. The person was gazing into Mercy’s eyes and refusing to look anywhere else. The person next to them was looking around in curious fascination. Their behavior made them stand out around the hordes of tourists that milled about.

The ocean waves had a calming effect on Mercy. Her guard was up but it wasn’t so bitter and obvious as it was before. Her hand quickly sought out Sam’s and she took comfort in his warmth.

The large group met the two companions in the middle and as was the case now, many of Mercy’s group had traveled off into different areas so as not to appear as a threat or look suspicious. Besides Sam, Mercy was yet again flanked by the five other Guardians, Grifel, Lorenzo and surprisingly Nikolai and Pietr. Mercy was beginning to accept that she was no longer standing alone in her fight and instead of shunning the help, she welcomed it.

‘You are traveled far Your Highness’ said the one Mercy assumed was the Guardian.

‘Indeed, it has been a long road’ replied Mercy.

‘Now we are all together, what do you propose?’

Mercy looked at them curiously, ‘there is a park not far from here, there we will find the portal that will send us back to my world. We must move fast as there is rumors of a power hungry vampire in your world’ said Mercy, then she added ‘however as we journey towards that place, will you please tell me of your story, how you came to be, what your powers are and your name’.

‘You talk confidently and with power, come you are right. This place holds great beauty and I would love the opportunity to show you around but you are right we must not linger. I will follow where you walk and tell you of my history’.

Mercy nodded, the group had divided into two parts, the Guardians, Mercy Sam, Grifel, Lorenzo, Pietr and Nikolai and then the others made up the second group. As sense of hierarchy had already formed but it was created in peace and not hate, therefore there no jealousy or rivalry was created. It wasn’t far from where they were to the park so instead of running at a vampire speed, they walked at a human pace. Mercy waited for her two new companions to talk.

‘My name is Afina, I was born here, I died here and I was reborn here. I always knew I was special, the other kids at the school called me a witch or a devil woman but I did not listen to their fearful chants, I knew I was special and had a higher calling, I did not need the opinions of others to cloud my judgment. The circumstances around my death are blurry at best but I believe I asked for this new life, I knew it was my destiny calling me so I replied with a shouting yes. I believed I would be able to do a world of good in this new form and I was correct in my assumptions. With this new life comes great responsibility, my powers are great but in the wrong hands could be disastrous. I have three abilities; shadow manipulation, pain illusion and compulsion. Imagine these powers in the hands of an evil tyrant, it is not something pleasant. I was afraid at first of my powers, I thought they would sweep me under into the darkness but I am fortunate, I have a positive disposition. My continual happiness stops me from falling into that darkness and I am forever grateful for that blessing.

I have learnt all that I could about my Guardian heritage and have longed for the day I could be of service. I have helped many vampires escape the clutches of Silas. You are right to want to avoid him but I think if push comes to shove it will be he who will be afraid of you. This is Gabriel’ she said motioning to the sandy haired man beside her ‘he has been with me for many years. He was a street orphan and I saved him. I was reluctant to change him at first but we had formed a strong bond and I realized without each other we would not be the same. We are partners in crime, peace and love. I believe our time in this world will soon be over; the human race is evolving at an alarming race. One day they will see us for what we are and that is the day that we will be hunted and killed but that which we once were. There is no place for us now, we belong elsewhere. We accept the battle and the chance of death if there is a brighter future waiting for us beyond it’.

Mercy thought over what Afina had said, after Eiji Mercy didn’t think she’d meet someone with even more wisdom but apparently she’d been wrong. Afina looked so young but had apparently been a vampire for many years; she was wise beyond her features. She had great knowledge of what had happened and what would happen. She had been right when she’d talked about her powers, if Thayer had had powers like Afina, Mercy wouldn’t have made it out of the vampire world alive. For that blessing she was grateful. She hadn’t learnt much about Gabriel but looking at him she could see he was a closed book to all unless you knew him well. It had probably taken Afina years to be seen as trustworthy to him. Mercy wouldn’t push him to talk as she could recognize a trouble soul when she saw one. Whatever demons he had in his past, he had to sort through them alone before he involved others.

The talk with Afina had taken up most of the time it took to walk to the park. Mercy had been expecting a small plot of land and maybe a pond but what she was seeing was far more than she had expected.

Mercy could already smell the first signs of battle and it wasn’t a sign of what was to come when they returned to the vampire world, it was a sign of what was happening right now. Gustavo had located the correct doorway hiding in The Parque Lage (Lage Park). This place was similar to the tranquility felt in Kamaskura. The park was located in the Tijuca National Park and stretched up the Corcovado Massif hillside for fifty-two hectares. Access to the part was via double gates, with winding driveways that were lined with imperial palms which lead to the mansion.

The mansion was a perfect replica of a Palazzo Romano (Roman palace) and its façade has a projecting portico that is fully lined with masonry. The mansion, which was built around a swimming pool, is embellished with Italian marble and tiles on the floor and walls.

From the house, the gardens that surround it are organized geometrically, in European romantic style. Mercy saw that there were bridges to walk over, and towers and caves to visit, each of which were built of mortar to imitate rocks and logs. One particular cave was particularly fascinating as it has an aquarium embedded in its walls. Of the twelve fish tanks held there, the largest had a six thousand liter capacity and held a variety of fish species.  There were several gravel paths that led visitors to specific locations such as ponds, artificial island and areas that offered visitors a pleasant moment with nature.

Mercy could clearly see why this place was so attractive to humans. You could easily lose yourself within this atmosphere. The mansion itself housed the School of Visual Arts and according to the tour guide the Café Du Lage was well worth a visit. They had arrived during the afternoon and luckily for them there weren’t that many tourists milling about. However, Mercy felt a shift in the air and knew someone unwanted had arrived. She turned to look at Gustavo who was hurrying around trying to find the exact location of the door. She hoped that he found it soon as she didn’t want to linger here a moment longer.

She couldn’t believe she’d now come in a full circle. She couldn’t remember how long she’d been in the human world but she could believe how much she’d gained from being here. Before when she thought of overthrowing her brother it was because the people didn’t deserve to suffer further and because she wanted to end the torment she’d been subjected to. In the beginning, the more she had thought about it them more she had welcomed the idea of death as a way to end the pain. She knew there were only two outcomes to the battle she faced, death or victory, now though with Sam by her side, she didn’t dwell much on the possibility of death because she only wanted to live in the now with her Sam.

She had left Gustavo searching for the door and by his loud gasp she hazard a guess that he had found it. He was standing next to an old oak tree with excitement on his face. Mercy started to make her way over to him but the sound of a branch cracking under the weight of something stopped her in her tracks. She was suddenly aware that they were not alone and as she centered herself she could faintly here the muffled breathing of someone outside of her party. She noticed the Guardians making the same correction as her and she quickly made some slight hand movement to alert the rest of her group. It seemed that someone was trying to organize a trap in which Mercy’s group didn’t come out victorious. Clearly they had underestimated who Mercy and her group was. Knowing that there was one out there that sought more power, Mercy assumed that it was Silas and his army that stood around to capture her and her group. She made no move to acknowledge the presence of others, instead she pretended like she didn’t know what was going on in order to hopefully lure them out into the open.

She continued her steady walk towards Gustavo, making no sudden movements and making sure her face remained emotionless. Suddenly with a battle cry a figure leapt from the darkness and straight towards Mercy, quick as lightening Mercy turned around, grabbed the head of her attacker in both hands and pulled it clean off the body. The body fell to the ground dead. There was a moment of complete silence before all hell broke loose. Vampires appeared from every corner of the shadowed trees and started attacking Mercy’s group. In this instance Mercy and the others had the upper hand, they were more powerful and had gifts on their side. The vampires that attacked them were running high on confidence and adrenaline but didn’t seem to have much of anything else. It was like they had been told that the fight was going to be an easy one to win, one with no challenge to face. Obviously Silas hadn’t truly believed who Mercy was and had assumed she was just another bitten vampire seeking control. In his minds eye he was just getting rid of the competition.

The fight was a good trial for what they would soon face and Mercy was glad to see that on one was flagging behind or running into difficulty. This bode well for the battle that was soon coming. Mercy was getting bored, this wasn’t something that she wanted to do right now, she just wanted to leave and prepare for what was to come. However, she knew that there was always someone that was seeking more power, always someone who would want more than what they were given. In this human world that person was Silas and as the last of his pathetic vampire army was killed or captured, Mercy watched as he emerged from the deep dark forest.

He looked like the typical all American gangsters that had gone downhill and gotten a pork pie belly. He looked ugly and smelled rancid. Even vampires knew about general hygiene but apparently Silas hadn’t got that message…Mercy was repulsed right down to her core, how anyone that looked like this thought they could rule the vampires of the human world…well clearly they were completely delusional. Now Mercy had a decision, let Silas go and wreak havoc on the world or actually touch his repulsive body in order to end his life.

‘You look much better in person’ he said.

Mercy remained still though she wanted to recoil at the sound of his voice.

‘You have no business here, leave’ she commanded.

‘Word on the street is you know how to travel between worlds. I want some of that power you weld, this world is too small for me, I’m like a big fish in a small pond, and I need more space to move’ he said.

‘You’re a big fish alright, did anyone ever tell you how ugly you are?’ asked Mercy.

‘You dare insult your superior!’ he cried.

‘I wasn’t aware I had insulted myself’ replied Mercy.

‘You will die at my hand’ said Silas.

‘Look around you, your army is dead. This dream you had is over’ said Mercy.

Silas shouted out a stream of profanities that weren’t even worth repeating.

Mercy glowered at him ‘now you’ve angered me’ she said viciously.

‘What are you going to do about it little girl?’ he mocked.

‘Kill you’ replied Mercy.

He laughed amused by her threat.

‘You are looking at Princess Mercy of the vampire realm and it is by my hand that ends your life’ she said with authority.

That stopped his laughter in its tracks, he began backing away in fear but he didn’t get far. Mercy was quick in her killing; she felt little remorse in his death as she had heard so much of his dirty deeds. It surprised her how easy it was to take away his life when he had claimed to be so big and powerful. The remaining vampires of his army that had not been killed fled the moment their leader fell to the ground. The park became the quiet retreat it was before and Mercy returned her gaze to Gustavo after making sure the rest of her group were alive and well. Her eyes briefly met Sam’s and he gave her a nod and a smile. She had been unsure of what his reaction to her killing would be but it seemed as though he hadn’t judged her for her actions as he once would have.

‘Your Highness, the door is here’ said Gustavo gaining her attention.

Mercy walked over to Gustavo and the tree he was standing next to, it was old and wide and groaned in the breeze. Mercy looked at Gustavo with question.

‘Just walk through the middle’ he replied then added at Mercy’s unsure glance ‘I’ll go first’.

Mercy watched as Gustavo disappeared before her eyes before she two followed him through with Sam, the Guardians and the others following.

She had expected to see her world as she left it but nothing could have prepared her for the destruction, fire and death that met her eyes.