Michael’s temper simmered down, accepting that this was the best outcome he would get. Xander began to discuss the more important issues when Divina let out a loud gasp, her head falling back. Her green eyes had glossed over, her mouth slightly agape as she muttered incoherently to no one in particular. She was having a vision, her Vanticini ability taking over, and from the looks of it, it was not a pleasant one.
Striga stroked her sister’s hair, whispering soothing words to her. Visions of the future always took their toll on Vanticini Incantrices, and now that Divina was of an elderly age, they seemed to become more severe with her control over them weakening.
Stepping into her mind with ease, Xander slipped through the thin wall that guarded her consciousness, her defences completely eradicated from the impact her visions had on her in her old age. He witnessed the vision with her, the chaotic montage of creeping shadows flooding the very room they were in, the twisting vines sprouting through the floor, and then an image that started hazy, covered in a dark blue veil with twinkling stars. But then the image grew clearer as it flashed again and again.
A body sprawled on the floor. Blood pooling around it. And echoing through the previously silent visions was a woman’s scream.
Divina’s head snapped back down, her breathing laboured and her body shaking. She looked at Striga, tears in her eyes. “Sister,” she whispered. "I am so sorry. It is time."
A loud sound rang through the manor like a powerful clap of thunder. The walls began to shake, old portraits hanging on the walls rattling and falling to the floor. The Daemons all stood as a large shadow gathered in the doorway. Edward and Deion ran to protect their children, whilst the Lupi moved to guard their families. The darkness grew thicker, unlike anything Xander had ever sensed before, until it stretched across the entire door frame before two figures appeared.
The first was Malefica, the only one of the Three Sisters to keep her immortality, standing powerful in her youth. Her familiar dark curly hair and piercing black eyes contrasted against her pale, porcelain skin. As she stepped through the inky portal, she turned to take in her surroundings, showing off herIncantrix moon cycle brand down her spine that peeked through her leather dress. She faced Striga and Divina with a smile and waved in greeting, her palms bearing a mark of a wide open eye—the brand of an Aspici.
Behind her, the second figure stepped through of a taller, more imposing stature. Xander recognised him instantly, as did the rest of the Lamia Court. They had caught glimpses of him many times during the attacks from Lilith’s creatures, had seen him slaughter and destroy everything in his path.
The Umbra. The prince and general of the Intermundum. Caligo.
His eyes had the same endless void as Malefica’s, standing out against his ghostly pale complexion and white hair. His chest was bare, showcasing the dark markings across the top half of his body, similar to Xander’s Nocte brands, while his back carried the brand of a willow tree to represent his Dolor ability, the power to inflict pain—a power that Xander had seen render so many unfortunate souls useless. And crawling up the tree was a serpent, slithering around the trunk and appearing through the leaves; his Succuba ability, the power to absorb life itself. He was Lilith’s greatest creation, and he allowed her complete control over him, just as Malefica did.
Caligo’s shadows were not like Xander’s, that much he knew. They were not of this world, but made from the lost souls that inhabited the Intermundum, from Lilith’s darkness. The Umbra was a creature of shadow, pain, and death that could walk between the Intermundum and the living world. Edward had theorised that the gods had made it harder for Lilith to escape her prison, and so she took to relying on Caligo as her general to continue to bring chaos to the Land of the Living after her original creations had broken free from her control. And now, he was here to deliver.
Xander stepped forward, ready to attack, when Caligo threw a body at his feet.
William.
He had been drained, his body withered and deflated of any life or power. The only way Xander could tell it was him was by the Aeris vein-like lines that depicted white lightning on his arms and hands.
“You’re welcome,” Caligo laughed. “What? What’s that face for? I’ve done you a favour. After all, we saw he was causing you all quite the disturbance.”
Xander was frozen. He couldn’t move or speak, he could only stare at the lifeless eyes of the man that had once been his brother. He wasn’t the best man, was hardly a good man, but he didn’t deserve this.
No one said anything as the shock of William’s death settled amongst them. Until Michael, blind with rage that Xander could practically taste, ran towards Caligo.
“You evil bastard! You stole what was rightfully mine to take!”
Caligo didn’t even glance at the man. He merely raised his hand in his direction as if in greeting. And Michael crumbled to the floor in pain.
He twisted and thrashed on the ground, a shrill scream ripping through his throat as Robert begged his son to get up. Xander dove into his mind to try to help him block it out, but it was useless. He felt Michael’s pain, felt his blood run cold and hot at the same time. His muscles felt as if they were being pulled and torn from every direction, his bones splintering and shattering with every movement. And then Michael stopped.
His power, his soul, his very life had been drained. His body had been left empty, just like William’s.
Caligo smirked at Xander as he pointed at the two bodies on the floor and asked, “Shall I bring them back? Should I let you watch me bring them back?”
Xander paled, knowing what that would mean. While Lilith created her own creatures in the Intermundum from falling souls, Caligo could bring back his victims in the Land of the Living to join his Umbranima army. They would become the same soldiers of darkness that had been attacking so many mortal villages over the years, an army of shadow men he could control like puppets.
“You will not have him for your army, you devil!” Robert’s voice shrieked.
The power and rage emanating from the old Lupus was staggering as he let out a roar of desperation and took his wolf form, his bones crunching and snapping as fur sprouted across his body. Xander noticed Thomas tried to hold him back, to stop him from meeting the same fate as his son, but there was nothing he could do. A man that had lost his child could be unpredictable, but a Lupus that had lost his son, his legacy, was uncontrollable.
Robert’s wolf took over from his mortal body and charged towards Caligo, but his feet were wiped out from underneath him. Vines sprouted through the floor, smashing through the wooden boards, and wrapped around his body.
Malefica stood over him with her hand outstretched. She slowly twisted her wrist as she curled her fingers into a fist, the vines obeying her command and squeezing Robert’s wolf, gradually crushing his bones as Caligo began to drain him, too.
“Get them out!” Xander ordered, as he gestured to the Court members huddled in the far corner of the room. “Get them out, now!”
Edward and Ieuwan gathered the families and ushered them out the doors at Xander’s command, whilst the leaders prepared to fight to protect their people. Deion and Nicolai stood before the remaining Lupus Court leaders, knowing that the old folk wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight, whilst Normanand Kadeem guarded Striga and Divina. Xander drew in his shadows, ready to unleash them upon Caligo, when he felt Malefica’s power cut through his chest.
A ringing vibrated through his ears in the horrifying vacuum that had replaced the air he breathed. His lungs began to scream in protest, a burning emptiness where the oxygen was drawn out of him within seconds. He clawed at his throat as he gasped and choked on nothing, his knees threatening to give out. Through the growing haze in his vision, he saw his brothers collapse to the floor, their hands scratching at their own necks and their eyes bloodshot.
