Chapter Fifteen
Adrian
I had been riding through the woods aimlessly, the towering trees and winding paths offering little in the way of direction. The thoughts that churned in my mind were as tangled as the forest itself, and the shadows of uncertainty clung to me like a heavy cloak I couldn’t get rid of no matter how hard I tried.
As the moon cast its silvery glow upon the landscape, I reined in my horse, the faithful steed coming to a stop beneath the dappled moonlight. I felt a restlessness, a need to find answers, to unravel the mysteries that surrounded me.
How did all this happen? What is the real truth of my past? What happened to my real parents? Did they give me up willingly or was I stolen from them? A frightening thought appeared to me. Did my human parents steal me from my real parents and then keep it a secret from me their entire lives? No. That couldn’t be true. I knew them well, and there was not a single ounce of malice in those two people. They would never be able to do something like that. That only meant that I was stolen from my real parents by someone else. But who? And more importantly why? Those were the questions I didn’t have an answer to, and I wondered if anyone did have it.
With a determined exhale, I made a sudden decision. I needed to go back to the witch’s hut. She probably didn’t know any of the answers, but she had powers which she might be able to use and see beyond what was visible to the ordinary eye. I probably shouldn’t have rushed out like that, but it was all too much. I couldn’t think. I had to get away. Now, with everything a little clearer in my mind, I felt I needed to go back and speak to her more.
Turning my horse, I urged it onward, retracing my path through the woods. The night was filled with the whispers of nature, and the journey ahead was treacherous. I had no idea where this path would take me after I left the witch’s hut, but I had to keep moving. Otherwise, the shadows of the past would catch up to me and swallow me in darkness, without ever finding the answers that I was searching for.
I was back where I had started from shortly, my heart pounding. The path through the woods was familiar, and the hut appeared before me like a sentinel in the night. I was torn between being here and running after Lilith, to embrace her, to tell her that nothing but her and Cass mattered, and staying here, in search of answers that only someone like Lorna could give me.
Inhaling deeply, I dismounted my horse, and approached the door. I knocked firmly, the sound echoing in the quiet of the forest. Moments later, the door creaked open, and Lorna appeared. She didn’t seem surprised at all as she regarded me.
“I was expecting your return,” she spoke in a soft, melodious whisper.
Her words sent a shiver down my spine, as if the forces of destiny were at work, guiding me back to this place. Lorna’s presence held a weight of wisdom that was both reassuring as well as unsettling.
I didn’t say anything. I just entered the hut once more, ready to ask my questions, no matter what the answers might be. The silence was too overpowering, but I managed to endure it. I sat at her wooden table, and she took a seat opposite me.
“What do you know of him?” I asked her, my voice filled with resolve. “What do you know of Constantine and his past? What is the history that binds us?”
The witch’s eyes held a depth of knowledge as she regarded me, and her voice carried the weight of centuries of wisdom. “Constantine is a name that has echoed through the ages, a figure of great significance. To understand his past and your shared bloodline, we must delve deep into the annals of history and the bonds that connect you.”
At that moment, she rose from her seat and walked gracefully to a nearby bookshelf that was laden with ancient tomes and weathered scrolls. Her movements were deliberate, as her finger touched the binding of every book that lined the top row. With careful consideration, she extracted a particular book, obviously the one she had been searching for. Its cover was worn with age, and its pages were yellowed by the passage of time. It was bound in a rich, dark leather that seemed to absorb the flickering candlelight, and its embossed symbols and runes hinted at the knowledge held within.
She returned to her seat, opening the book on the table before us. The archaic script spoke of forgotten knowledge and the pages inside, indecipherable to me, must have revealed a repository of mystical information, such as incantation and spells, and the history of powerful beings who had once walked the earth proudly, but who now walked in the shadows.
“Constantine’s bloodline was started centuries ago,” she began, her finger trailing a line inside the book. “Steeped in both the power of darkness and the light of destiny. There had ever been only male descendants, never female, and there were ever only two. No more, no less.”
“How is that possible?” I wondered. “That defies logic.”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t forget that you are dealing with powers beyond your wildest imagination here, King Adrian. Each of these sons’ existence was shrouded in mystery, and their actions left a lasting mark on history.”
She paused, as if to allow this information to settle, then she continued, her words weaving a tapestry of the past. “So, everyone knew that Constantine must have had a brother, a sibling born of the same mother, but destined for a different path.”
“A different path?” I echoed, hoping that some of her words might awaken some long forgotten memory, but so far, all I could do was listen, and it was all new to me.
As she spoke, her eyes seemed to pierce through time itself, connecting the dots of a story that spanned generations into the past. “The prophecy speaks of two brothers, as always. One of shadow and one of light. The bond between them is both a source of power and a harbinger of danger. The fate of the vampires rests in their hands, and the choices they make will shape the world as we know it.”
“I don’t understand this,” I admitted, wondering what those words really meant.
“Prophecies are never clear,” she explained. “They are not meant to be clear, until the moment comes for them to come true. That is when you need to recognize it and act upon your sensations, your sense of right and wrong.”
“What if I don’t recognize the moment?” I asked her. “What if it escapes me?”
She hesitated to reply. But I could see it wasn’t good.
“According to the prophecy, he needs you,” she explained slowly, herself making sense of the words. “Separate, you two are powerful enemies. But together… you are unconquerable allies, whatever side you choose. The good side, the bad side, it doesn’t matter. No one will be able to match you.”
I frowned. “Does Constantine know this?”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t possibly know that. But… when he kidnapped you, when your wife came to me for help with your doppelganger… how did he treat you? Did you feel like you were in mortal danger, as if your life was hanging by a thread?”
I thought about it for a moment. It was difficult to remember because I had done my best to erase that period from my memory. I didn’t want to remember being locked up in a room, chained to the notion of my own mortality and that I could die at any moment.
“I felt like I was in danger, but I felt like he wanted something from me, he didn’t want to kill me unless he was forced to,” I admitted after thinking about it.
“In that case, he might know,” she told me. “Or he might suspect and needs confirmation. In any case, you must tread carefully. You must take good care of your kingdom, King Adrian, and your family as well.”
“We have reinforced the castle after the last attack,” I revealed. “It is impenetrable.”
She smiled in a way I didn’t like. “No place is impenetrable, especially not if Constantine is the one knocking on the door. Do not be foolishly assured of their safety. You need to be by their side all the time. Whether Constantine knows or suspects is irrelevant. What is relevant is that he will do everything to get to you, to obtain the power that you two possess when united.”
I shook my head, determined of my choice. “I will never join the dark side. I have chosen what to protect and who to pledge my loyalty to.”
“That is good,” she nodded. “Keep reminding yourself of that. Because Constantine is a devil incarnate. He will make you see things that are not. He will make you believe things you never would otherwise. Tread carefully, King Adrian and go home to protect your family… before it is too late.”
I immediately got up. “Do you think they are in danger right now?”
“I cannot know that,” she explained. “I am merely speaking from experience. If Constantine has attacked your castle once, he has done so for a goal, a goal that obviously wasn’t met the first time, because you made them retreat. But rest assured that he will come again and again, until he obtains what he came for.”
I nodded, realizing that she was telling me to rush back home. I expressed my gratitude to the witch for sharing her knowledge and the insights she had provided. With a sense of resolve and a heart filled with newfound understanding, I rose from my seat and made my way to the door, ready to embark on the journey back home.
Mounting my horse, I set out into the night, the moonlight casting a silvery glow over the forest. The path home felt clearer now, the weight of history and destiny resting upon my shoulders. As I rode, I pondered the revelations and the journey that lay ahead. The secrets of Constantines past and our shared bloodline had stirred a sense of purpose within me, and I was determined to face the challenges and confront the shadows that loomed over our kingdom.
I still had no idea where this path might take me or when Constantine would attack again, demanding my presence, but I knew that I needed to be with my family and keep them safe. That was my only purpose in life. Prophecies did not concern me. Like I told the witch, I had made my choice a long time ago and I had no intention of changing it ever.
Although there were still many unknowns, I felt like my return to the witch did reveal a clarity of purpose, an even greater resolve to protect those I loved. As I rode through the woods, the ancient trees cast long, twisting shadows in the moonlight. The moonlight filtered through the dense canopy, illuminating patches of wildflowers and underbrush. The air was filled with the scent of earth and moss, the very essence of nature itself. I rode with a sense of purpose, determined to confront the enigma of my shared bloodline with Constantine and the prophecy that bound us.
The journey through the woods felt like a metaphor for the path I had chosen, full of twists and turns, with the promise of revelation and transformation awaiting me at its end. With every passing moment, I drew closer to the answers that had eluded me for so long, the destiny that beckoned me forward, and the challenges that lay in wait.
I could do this. As long as I had Lil and Cass by my side, I could defeat the whole world if I had to.