Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines (The Vampire Cartel #2)

44. Rebirth

Chapter 44

Rebirth

M ojave Camp Ground Zero - Nevada

April 19, 2018

(2 Days Before Death)

Nzinga’s grip tightened on her bladed baton as she charged at the monstrous tendril that had ensnared Charmaine, suspending her above the gaping maw at the center of the scarab. Time slowed, each second stretched into an eternity as Nzinga calculated her next move. She could almost feel the frigid breath of the abyss reach to consume Charmaine, and with it, the hope of those who depended on her.

Closing her eyes for the briefest moment, Nzinga sought to calm the storm within. Greenlee’s training whispered in her mind, but it was the memory of her fallen sisters, slaughtered by the guardians in the swamp, that truly fueled her. The women and children in the camp—helpless, vulnerable, and forgotten—flashed before her eyes. If this living nightmare of a scarab devoured Charmaine and absorbed her power, what fate would befall them?

The thought ignited a fire in her veins. Nzinga’s eyes snapped open, her focus razor-sharp. In one fluid motion, she sprang into action, her body a blur of lethal precision. She lunged at the flailing tentacle legs, her baton’s hidden blade deployed with a metallic hiss. Each slash was a calculated strike. She severed the limbs with surgical accuracy. The tentacles thrashed and multiplied in their fury, but Nzinga was faster. She ducked, spun, and leaped, her movements a deadly dance as she cut through the swarming appendages. Every time her blade connected, the tentacles dissolved into sparks of light, their threat extinguished.

But the scarab was relentless. Its tendrils regrew and flailed in every direction, desperate to reclaim its prey. Nzinga’s muscles burned, but she pushed herself harder, each breath a battle cry as she fought her way toward Charmaine. Finally, she reached the tendril that held the guardian. With a swift, powerful slash, Nzinga severed the limb at its base. Charmaine fell, her descent arrested only by Nzinga’s quick reflexes, as she leapt into the air and delivered a forceful kick that sent Charmaine tumbling out of harm’s way.

Nzinga’s momentum carried her forward, right into the mouth of the scarab. As the dark void threatened to swallow her whole, she acted without hesitation. She raised her baton. She drove the blade with all her might into the heart of the beast. The dagger tip, enchanted and forged for this very purpose, pierced the scarab’s core. The creature shuddered in a violent surgency, its malevolent energy recoiled from the purity of the blade.

Nzinga felt the darkness close in, but she held firm, drove the weapon deeper. The scarab let out a deafening shriek, its death throes shook the ground beneath her. For a moment, everything was silent, save for the faded echoes of the creature’s agony.

Nzinga, her strength nearly spent, remained standing, her blade still buried in the heart of the scarab. She had saved Charmaine, but the price was steep. She could feel the life force of the scarab pulling at her, trying to drag her into the abyss along with it. Though Charmaine could not witness this, Nzinga was able to take to one knee and give a final bow of service to the guardians who had taught her more in their brief moments shared than anything she’d learned from her cult. She truly felt worthy of her death. The scarab seized her and dragged her to the shadowy realm it came from. Its darkness was extinguished in defeat.

“You don’t have to do this,” Shakespeare said.

Sonya’s gaze volleyed between him and Phoenix, then swiveled up to the sky where the first hints of dawn began to bleed into the horizon. “Do you really think it will work?” she asked.

“Yes!” Tristan’s voice sounded off with certainty.

“No!” Shakespeare’s protest was immediate. His hand reached to touch her, but then dropped. He knew it was not wise. But he ached to force her to deny the request, to protect her in some way. Keep her safe from what was to come, instead of failing her like he had done with Camille and Sophie.

Sonya’s pretty lips curved into a gentle smile, one that spoke of acceptance, and inevitability. “We don’t have time for this debate. Unless you two want to face the sun, the car is our only choice.”

The barrier of energy before them pulsed with an ominous intensity. Its power grew stronger, almost alive. Sonya studied it, aware of the vampires around her doing the same. Their instincts screamed to stay away. But she knew better. They all did.

“We do it,” Sonya said, her voice firm, sealing her fate.

Before Shakespeare could voice another objection, Sonya pulled him to her, her lips captured his in a kiss that transcended time and space. In that instant, she was lost to the universe, embraced by the man she loved, her soul entwined with his. She savored the taste of him, the way his powerful arms protected her, offered both comfort and courage. In his embrace, she found solace, a momentary refuge from the agony that lay ahead. She drank deep from his love and felt the purity infuse her with strength, even as she suffered the echo of his pain—a pain that mirrored her own since her brother’s death. But now, it was a pain she could bear, one she could face because they shared it together.

With great effort, she broke the kiss, her breath escaped in soft gasps as she smiled up at him, her eyes reflected the depth of her feelings.

Shakespeare returned her smile, though it was tinged with sorrow.

“Let’s go, boys!” Sonya called out.

Tristan’s brow arched in amusement, but Shakespeare refused to meet his gaze, too consumed by the weight of what they were about to do to his beloved. Love-sick and determined, he hurried ahead of Sonya and opened the door for her with an obedience that spoke of his commitment.

As she stepped through, their hands brushed, a silent promise passing between them—no matter what came next, they would either live in this realm or exit it together.

Dolly’s body dissolved into pure light. Each particle sparkled like a constellation forming. Her hair slicked against her face and shoulders; her skin radiated with an otherworldly glow as the power of her rebirth surged through the glass tube. She could feel the transformation, not just within her, but around her, as if the very essence of the universe was being rewritten.

As the transformation began, the Professor stepped forward, his voice rich with authority, addressed the captivated onlookers. “Melanin—the pigment that colors human skin—is not just a simple biological trait. Its origin is from the realm, gifted to us by the First Mother, connecting us to the cosmos in a profound way. Created through a process as ancient as the birth of stars, melanin absorbs sunlight, shielding and energizing us. She foresaw that, as the First People, we would be enslaved by supernatural’s drawn to the power in our blood, the strength of our energy.

“Like dark matter shaping the universe, our unique molecular structure lets melanin absorb a vast spectrum of light. That’s why these creatures are so deeply seduced by the potency within the Chosen—and the guardians of the realm. Science claims melanin simply protects us from UV rays and helps produce vitamin D. But that’s man’s feeble attempt to explain, to diminish, what they don’t understand. Melanin is our healing source, the key to balance, even to immortality itself.

“What you are witnessing now is the gift. The transformation of the Chosen flows through each of you. We carry the same energy that fuels the stars, a living connection to our cosmic ancestry. Remember, we are made of stardust—and it is our birthright to stand as the true Supreme’s.”

“That melanin poppin,” Darlene said as her voice faded. The last words of love Lucio spoke to her as she began to drift and fade away.

When Dolly opened her eyes, the cryochamber opposite her was dark smoke and at first appeared empty—the shapeshifter was gone, her life force sacrificed to bring Darlene into existence. The dark matter as smoke reformed itself into a trillion dark purple and blue stars. Darlene emerged, her being a stark melanated contrast to Dolly’s radiant light. She was darkness incarnate, the vastness of the void itself, swirled with a shadowy energy that pulsed with power. Yet, the darkness was not malevolent, just as Dolly’s light was not purely benevolent. They were two halves of a cosmic balance, the eternal scales of the universe.

Darlene’s lips curled into a smile, a familiar warmth that reassured Dolly. It was her—her twin, her other half, now fully realized. Dolly reached out, her hand glowed with the light of a thousand suns, and Darlene mirrored her, her hand a silhouette of the deepest night. Their fingers met at the barrier between them, and in that touch, they felt the truth of their existence.

For the first time in eons, they existed as separate beings, yet still connected by the ancient bond that had forged them at the dawn of time. The mysteries of their creation, once hidden in the depths of their shared consciousness, now unraveled before them. The memories flooded back—of their mother, Wanda, a fierce and loving woman who had hidden them away to protect them. And with those memories came the revelation, a secret buried deep in the professor’s mind.

They saw it clearly: the day Greenlee, and the professor found their mother after she had given birth, the rage that consumed them when they realized she had hidden her daughter away, and the horrifying moment when they lashed out, killing her in their fury. Dolly also learned her adoptive parents’ death was no accident. The First People had run them off the road and created the fiery crash with them trapped and burning alive in their car. Orchestrated to push her into despair and weaken her mentally to surface Darlene. The truth hung heavy between them, a shared burden of grief and betrayal.

Darlene’s gaze shifted from Dolly to the world outside the chamber. Her dark eyes reflected the weight of what they had just learned. Dolly met her sister’s eyes once more. Understanding passed silently between them. They knew now, knew everything that had been taken from them, and the terrible price they had paid to survive.

But in this moment, as they stood on the brink of a new existence, there was also a resolve. They broke free from being vulnerable beings who had been hidden away, and they were no longer bound by the secrets of their past. They were light and dark, two sides of the same coin, and together, they would face whatever came next.

As the chambers powered down, releasing them into the world, Dolly and Darlene remained united mentally. Their hearts belonged to each other permanently. Lucio was right. They were best as one.

“Do you think they will do what we want? Kill Vittorio? Give us the power?” Greenlee whispered.

“Of course, we have the scarab. They can’t hurt us. We have the promise from that vampire that this would work. They won’t have a choice but to believe us. And I know by now the guardian is dead. Nzinga has fulfilled her purpose. We are so close. So close…” the professor voice trailed off.

“They are too in love with Lucio to waste time on rebellion,” Greenlee said in agreement.

When Darlene looked out at Greenlee, she felt as if someone had walked over her grave. She shivered. “This has to work, Eric. I can’t go through what… we went through out at the swamp.”

“Stop, don’t even think it,” said their uncle.

The lights in the tent blinked. The cryochamber began to blink as well.

“What is it?” Greenlee asked.

“They’re done. Finnish it!” the professor ordered the scientists. “Now!”

The cryo chambers powered down.

The bunker shook as the scarab’s energy flared; the light intensified before it was suddenly extinguished. The barrier surrounding the camp flickered and then collapsed entirely. Charmaine slowly sat up. The gem had the tip of the dagger from the baton pierced in its core. Nzinga was gone.

However, she felt herself return—fully, including Liora. Whatever Nzinga had done had saved her life. Exhausted but determined, and knowing that time was short, she forced herself to stand and reach the gem before others arrived.

With a single, decisive motion, she yanked out the dagger and placed her hand over the scarab. She whispered an incantation she had learned long ago—a spell of reversal, one that would turn the artifact’s power against itself.

The chamber doors hissed open just as the power failed, plunging the room into an eerie silence of darkness. The emergency lights flickered on. It cast an otherworldly glow over the scene. Greenlee’s eyes widened in horror as realization dawned, while the professor stood transfixed, his gaze locked onto the twins with a twisted sense of awe.

“Welcome, Darlene,” he began, his voice changed with pride. “To the life you were denied. I did this for—” But he never finished the sentence. Darlene, her form now a swirling mass of darkness and power, raised her hand. With a flick of her wrist, a bolt of dark energy shot out, striking her uncle with such force that his head exploded in a violent burst. Blood and bone splattered the women of the cult, and his body crumpled to the floor, lifeless.

Greenlee screamed. Her screams tore through the air, a sound of pure grief and disbelief. The women and doctors in the tent scattered in terror, fleeing the nightmare that had just unfolded. Greenlee, however, collapsed to her knees beside the remains of her lover. Her body shook hard with sobs as she stared at the ghastly scene before her.

“He was your uncle,” Greenlee sobbed, her voice choked with despair. “He did all of this—his entire life. He gave everything for your birth, for your resurrection. He let those vampires kill your kinfolk, even his parents, all of them, to get justice, to save this world. He did what no one else could!” Her voice rose to a desperate scream. “And you killed him! Why?”

Dolly stepped forward. Her ethereal form radiated a blinding light, a stark contrast to her sister’s shadowy presence. Together, they were more powerful than ever, embodiments of the cosmic balance, a force beyond comprehension.

“Our uncle killed our mother and father,” Dolly said, her voice cold, devoid of mercy. “And you? You helped him do it. Not to save the world. Not to defeat vampires. You did it because you wanted to be a God.”

Greenlee’s eyes filled with defiance even as her body sagged, too weak to stand or flee. “I have a greater purpose,” she spat, her voice trembling but resolute. “If not in this life, then the next! Kill me bitch! Kill me! And see what the darkness does to you! See what comes for Lucio now, that you have killed the one man who could have educated you on how to prevent it!”

Dolly tilted her head. Her eyes glowed with beautiful colors of light. “Oh, I will. I promise. You won’t get there as fast as he did. Will she, sister?”

Darlene stepped forward. Her dark energy swirled in around her like a living shadow. Her smile was cold, predatory. “No, ma’am. We’ve got plans for you, Greenlee. This is going to be fun,” she said with an excited giggle.

Greenlee’s defiance faltered, replaced by dread as the twins closed in on her, their combined power suffocating, unstoppable. She knew then that there would be no escape, no redemption, only the retribution she so richly deserved.

“Ready?” Tristan asked, his voice steady as he started the car.

Sonya sat in the back seat. She replayed the tactical plan they had devised. Shakespeare glanced back at her. A reassuring wink passed between them. The plan was simple, yet fraught with uncertainty. As they raced toward the barrier, Sonya would touch both men on the shoulder and shield them with her power, absorbing their pain into her. One dose of Shakespeare took her down, but two. She had no idea what it could mean.

Tristan shifted into gear and pressed down on the accelerator. The car surged forward. The wall of energy loomed ahead, a glowing barrier that seemed impenetrable. Sonya braced herself, ready to unleash her power the moment they made contact.

But just as they hurtled toward the barrier, it blinked out of existence.

Shocked, Tristan slammed on the brakes, but the car had already crossed the threshold, now inside the camp. Sonya’s heart pounded as she realized she hadn’t had time to reach for the vampires—and yet, she didn’t need to. The force field was gone, and they were safely inside.