Preternatural Prophecy Chapter 11

Tatiana had her head in her hands. She sat near Delano and his fallen wife. She silently wept for them. Wendel came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. Wendel looked down at her with a kind smile. He helped Tatiana up. Laurel stood on top the hill looking out.

            “Wendel, how did you find us?” Tatiana asked.

            “I heard your screams and I ran towards them. When I saw the giant army chasing you I began to become afraid that I would lose you. You two are the closest thing I have to family now. You two are the only thing that keeps me fighting. Thank you Tatiana for helping me. I would not have gotten this far if you or your sister had not shown up.” Wendel said.

            Tatiana began to tear up again but this time with tears of joy. “Thank you Wendel. That means a lot to me.”

            “You and Laurel mean so much to me. There is so much more I owe you then just my words.”

            Tatiana hugged him tightly then quickly pecked him on the lips. She then pulled away embarrassed and ran up the hill towards her sister. Wendel stood there, dazed. He shook his head and sighed.

            “Whoa, I never expected that.” He shook his head and went up the hill. Tatiana and Laurel were discussing what to do next.

            “Tatiana I think that we should try your necklace again to see if we can shadow to the temple.”

            “Laurel, I have no idea how to use it. Haru shouted something and I just never was able to understand.”

            “We need some way to get there soon. We cannot just keep walking like this. There are too many hazards that accompany this.”

            Tatiana saw Wendel coming and blushed. She quickly covered it by pretending to cough. She turned her back and waited. Her whole face burned with embarrassment.

            “Why not find some kind of animal to carry us?” Wendel asked.

            “Where would we find an animal big enough to carry all three of us?” Laurel responded.

            “Since I am fully vampire now I can just run along side of the animal.”

            “Well aren’t you special?” Laurel responded sarcastically.

            Tatiana shot her a look and turned back to Wendel and Laurel. “Let’s try to use the necklace again.”

            “Finally!” Laurel cried out. The three stood together. Tatiana shouted out what Haru had last time and they turned to shadows.

            Again they splashed into the lake. Laurel and Tatiana swam to shore. Wendel looked around confused. Over the splashing he yelled out, “hey! This isn’t the mountains!”

            Laurel turned around. “Thank you. I couldn’t tell by the water or anything.”

            “Where are we?”                             

            “We are where Haru brought us the last time. Maybe there are different words for different places.”

            Wendel swam towards shore. Soon all three walked on shore. Laurel started a fire again. She sighed and dried her clothes off. Tatiana shivered, she moved close to the fire, soaking up the heat. Wendel shook his head, sending water flying. Laurel cringed as some splashed her. She rolled her eyes and turned her back to the fire.

            “You know I thought you would have realized that different words would send you different places.” Everyone turned quickly to see the old woman sitting on one side of the fire. “You really need to pay attention. All of you do.”

            “You never explained what words sent us where.” Laurel retorted.

            “Should I need to?”

            “Only if you want us to actually get somewhere.”

            “Well the word that you are saying is the name of this lake. Maybe you should try the name of the mountain range?” The old woman said, cracking a smile.

            “What is the name of the mountain range?” Tatiana asked.

“That wouldn’t be any fun on my part.” The old woman said.

“I am sick of your antics old woman. Tell us what we need to know.” Wendel said turning to her. He glared at her. “We need actual answers not these strange quips you are giving to us.”

The old woman sighed. “Fine, the name of the mountain ranges is the Teneriffe. There are you happy?”

“Yes, very much so.” Wendel curtly replied.

“Never have any fun.” The old woman mumbled under her breath.

They all stood together again. Tatiana moved close to Wendel enjoying being next to him. She looked up at him with a glimmer in her eye. She shifted her weight so she was slightly leaning on him. Laurel stared at Tatiana. Tatiana realized that her twin was glaring at her and shouted out quickly, “Teneriffe!” They all turned to shadows before the old woman’s eyes and disappeared.

All three appeared on top of a snow covered mountain.  The sun was slowly setting behind them and hues of orange, red, and purple shone around the mountain making it breath taking. They reformed a meter above the ground and collapsed on each other. Tatiana flushed a deep shade of red as she lay on top of Wendel, pushed against him because of her sister. Tatiana pushed Laurel off of her and quickly stood up. Laurel shivered in the snow. Wendel sat up and brushed the snow off of his back. He shook off the snow that remained and got up. He pulled Laurel off of the ground and stood her up. She began to shiver violently.

“Is there any way we can get out of this cold weather?” Laurel asked through chattering teeth. “I have had enough of all kinds of water.”

“Yes let’s go. We need to find that temple.” Wendel said. He looked around and started down the slope. Tatiana followed him looking around. It was lightly snowing and the sun glinted off the pure white snow. She stared at how amazing it looked. Laurel followed close behind her twin staring straight down the slope. Her hands rubbed her arms to warm herself up. Her foot slipped and she started to slide down the mountain. She fell on her back and slid down. Tatiana gasped when she saw her twin slide past her. Wendel turned around just in time to catch Laurel and put her back on her feet in one smooth move.

“No more of that Laurel.” Wendel said before turning and continuing down the mountain. Laurel stared at him for a second then followed.

As the trio made their way down the mountain the snow began to stop. The sun had finally set and the full moon shone high above their heads. Soon they encountered small ferns. The snow began to slowly recede to the ground until there was nothing left but dirt. Trees were scattered about. Laurel stretched as the air became warmer. She smiled. “Finally some warm air.” Laurel said.

“Be quiet. There is something following us.” Wendel said in an ominous voice. “Get behind that tree and stay there.” Laurel and Tatiana scrambled over to a tree and drew their swords. An arrow flew out of a bush and flew past the tree that they were hiding behind. It hit a tree not far from them and stuck in it. Wendel drew his crossbow from his back. He put a bolt on it and aimed for the bushes. Another arrow shot out. Wendel ducked down and it sailed over his head. He shot his bolt into the bush. A man jumped high out of the bush. Wendel quickly loaded another bolt and shot him again. While in mid-air he could do nothing. The bolt connected with his abdomen and he fell like a rock. He squirmed on the ground, trying to get his bow he had dropped. He pulled an arrow from his quiver. He swung it at Wendel as Wendel tried to move close to him. The man hissed, turning into a shadow. Wendel picked up the bow and examined it.

“This is definitely a vampire’s bow. I am surprised that they actually are using these men to follow us. I over heard a vampire talking about it when they had taken me. They guard the temple closely supposedly and there are only a few of them that are trained to do what they can. They are very specialized in what they can do and are deadly. That must have been a newly trained recruit because if it was a vampire that had been apart of this for years he would have hit us for sure. Laurel, Tatiana, you two can come out now.” Wendel called out. Laurel and Tatiana slowly came out with their swords raised. They stood back to back and spun around. They relaxed then put their swords away.

            Three shadows materialized, shot arrows then evaporated back into thin air. Wendel and Laurel ducked. Their arrows flew over their heads but Tatiana was too late. The arrow hit her in the middle of her chest and went through her back. She fell to her knees and looked down at the arrow with wide eyes. She fell forward.

            “TATIANA!” Laurel screamed in horror. Three more shadows appeared. The vampires shot another batch of arrows then disappeared. Wendel was turned and was hit in the back. Laurel grabbed hers from the air and snapped it in half. She ran over to her sister. She knelt on the ground beside her twin and wept heavily. Tatiana’s lifeless body sat there. A cold rain began to fall from the darkened sky. The old woman walked out from behind a tree. She looked down at Laurel.

            “You know you could always use your sword. It has the power not only to kill but to heal. There is no greater power then to bring people back to life. But first you must erase the symbols on her ankle that are keeping her alive.”

            “What symbols? What are you talking about?” Laurel screamed.

            “There is a symbol that is keeping your sister alive on her ankle. I gave it to her when she was about to die at the battle field. Use your sword. Cure her before it is too late.”

            “How do I get rid of the symbol?”

            “All you need to do is wipe it off.”

            Laurel furiously ripped her twin’s pant leg. She saw the symbol and rubbed at it. It came off after a few seconds. She then yanked the arrow out. She stood up and drew her short sword. She touched Tatiana’s limp body with it. The sword began to glow brilliantly. Soon the glow was transferred to Tatiana’s body. Laurel pulled the sword away from her sister. Tatiana bolted up. She looked around and felt her chest. The hole where the arrow had been had disappeared.

            “Wait what about Wendel?” Laurel asked turning to the old woman. When she turned around to look the old woman had disappeared. Laurel went over to Wendel. He was laying face up. The arrow was fully protruding from his abdomen. He smiled as he saw Laurel approach him.

            “I see a light Laurel. I think I see the afterlife. It looks like a happy place. I see my sister. I’m coming Thea. Wait for me please.”

            “I’m sorry Wendel.” Laurel said sadly. She pulled the arrow from his body and healed him. His eye grew wide. He sat up and rubbed his face.

            “I saw her. I saw Thea. She was happy.” He fell backwards. Tears started streaming down his face. He turned over and started beating at the wet earth. The cold rain fell harder. “Why? Why did my sister have to die?”

            Laurel knelt down next to Wendel. She put her hand on his back. “Wendel! You will join her one day. You need to live these days to the fullest. You can be miserable in this world and happy in the next or you can be happy in both. Just imagine a world without vampires. The world would be much better off.”

            Wendel turned over. “I AM A VAMPIRE! What don’t you understand about that? By helping you I will die also.” Wendel shouted.

            “Who said that you would die also?” The old woman’s voice appeared out of no where. They turned to see the old woman sitting on a rock.

            “The brimstone blade’s power will kill all the vampires.” Wendel replied, tears still streaming down his face.

            “You will turn back to human. You never know what will happen. Many stranger things have happened. Like you three taking on an entire army. Do you really think that you three could do that without a little help?”

            “No.” Laurel said, staring at the old woman incredulously.

            “There is a reason for everything. I have helped you out this whole time. Do not worry Wendel you will turn human one day.” She slowly disappeared into a shadow. The three stared at where she used to be.

            Wendel cracked a smile. “I will live again.”

           

            A vampire appeared out of the shadows in front of Aiden. Aiden sat in a throne inside a cavern. “Master Aiden. Two of the three travelers have been killed.”

            “Which two?”

            “The vampire and the twin with your sword.”

            “Good. We will launch a full out invasion of the human lands at sunset then. There is no one else to stand in our way now. I will get rid of that last pest by myself. Order the troops to move out as soon as the sun sets.”

            “Yes master.” He turned to a shadow and dissipated.

            Aiden stood up and paced. He growled and turned to a shadow also. He reappeared in front of the temple. The entrance had been closed long ago by moving a large stone in front of it. No way could one of the twins move it by herself. He tapped on the hard stone. He smiled to himself.

            “Hi, Aiden.” Aiden whirled around to see Laurel standing behind him.

            “You have no chance of moving this by yourself. Give up. You are beaten.” Aiden said smugly.

            Laurel laughed. “I’m alone, huh?” she pointed to Wendel and Tatiana stepping out behind a tree. Both of them drew their weapons. Wendel nocked a bolt and pointed it at Aiden. Aiden hissed at him, getting into a fighting stance. With a twang the bolt flew straight at Aiden. He swung his left side away from the projectile. It stuck in the rock that blocked the entrance to the temple. Aiden turned back to see another bolt fired at him. He jumped up to avoid it. Bolts were fired at Aiden one after another. He dodged each one. Soon they came closer and closer to hitting Aiden.

            Three vampire soldiers appeared with looks of shock on their face. They each drew a dagger. Down the daggers was their name, then a symbol. The vampire soldiers ran at the twins. Laurel sliced cleanly through the first’s neck, and then kicked the second squarely in the chest. Tatiana sliced upward across the third’s chest. The second looked at his two dead comrades. He then looked at the twins. He turned to a shadow and disappeared.

            The vampire soldier reappeared a minute later with reinforcements. Laurel and Tatiana began hacking and slashing their way through the ranks. Mangled corpses of vampires began to pile up around them as more and more vampires attacked them.

            Wendel put the last bolt on his crossbow and fired it at Aiden. Aiden turned into a shadow and disappeared into the night. Wendel turned to see the twins cleave the last vampire in the head at the same time. Their swords mad a clang as they hit each other in the middle of his head. The twins pulled their swords out.

            “Gather your arrows quickly Wendel. We are not sure how long it will be until they send another wave of troops.” Wendel nodded then gathered all his arrows. The three of them stood in front of the stone and pushed, the boulder moved easily with all three of them pushing. The rock slid away and the temple entrance was revealed. An ornamental stone door blocked their entrance. Wendel wound up and punched the door with all his might. His fist went easily through and the bottom of the door gave way. The trio entered the temple. Religious paintings and carvings covered all six walls. The room was set up in a hexagonal shape with an altar in the middle. Floating about a foot above the altar was a golden dagger. The three moved slowly towards the dagger. Tatiana stepped up to the altar and reached out. Aiden appeared out of the shadows and grabbed it away before Tatiana could even touch it. Aiden laughed manically. He disappeared back into the shadows, the laughter still echoing throughout the temple.

            “NO!” Laurel cried out. “This cannot be! That was our only chance at saving the human race. We need that blade!”

            “Wait Laurel look!” Wendel said in shock. The front of the altar was slowly crumbling to reveal a small wooden box. Laurel grabbed it and removed it. She dusted it off. Finely printed words were engraved in the wood.

            Laurel read them aloud, “In this box contains the only way to truly destroy the vampire race and make sure that it will never come back. Use with extreme caution for it could mean horrible things for the world.” She laughed, “HA Aiden we have the real brimstone blade!”

            Wendel looked at the box. “What does it mean horrible things?”

            “I have no clue but we are going to destroy the vampires!” Laurel responded. “We finally have it! There is no way we can be stopped from saving the human race now.”

            Three arrows shot out of the dark. Three vampire archers walked from the darkness and watched their arrows. The twins knocked them away with their swords. Wendel grabbed it from midair and threw it pack at one of the archers. It nicked the inside of his leg. He grunted as he pushed down on the wound. He turned to a shadow. The two remaining vampires also fled.

            “That is all they are sending after us?” Tatiana asked suspiciously.

            “You have to remember that they think that they have the brimstone blade. The vampires think that they are the ones who hold all the power.” Wendel replied.

            “True but I would expect them to send more troops after us. I mean even without the brimstone blade we are still a threat.” Tatiana said.

            “They must have something more planned. We must get to that other temple immediately. Where was it again?” Wendel asked

            “Deep inside vampire territory. We need to go to their castle if I remember correctly.” Laurel said with a hint of pleasure in her voice.

            “Then we must go immediately and disappear from their sight. If we lie low for a little bit maybe we will be thought of as beaten.” Wendel stated.
            “True. Let’s go then.” Tatiana said moving towards Wendel. “I will transport us out of here.” Tatiana grabbed onto her twin and Wendel and shouted the twin’s home town.