Xander had braced himself for resistance, assuming he would struggle to convince mortal leaders to allow Daemons their own divisions within their armies. But, to his surprise, the leaders grabbed onto his proposal like a lifeline. While the Umbranima attacks were mostly kept out of the media, the world leaders could not deny how vital Daemons were if they wanted their countries to survive. The truth was clear: mortals were utterly helpless against the Umbranimae and stood no chance at fighting them. Faced with annihilation, they were willing to accept any help. And Xander’s hand had been the only one to grab onto.
Over time, as cooperation improved, the Umbranima attacks died down, with fewer in quantity and far less severity. In repayment for their ongoing services and support, the world leaders granted Xander the future he had been fighting for.
Finally, after years of debates and Katie being elected as Prime Minister, the World Court was established at the start of 2020, and the laws of peace were laid down. The world leaders represented the Mortal Court and agreed to allow Daemons to integrate into society without the need to hide, Daemons would offer their unique abilities to assist countries’ governments, it would be a criminal offence for either to attack the other unprovoked, and every person would carry an identification card labelling their kind.
It was unfortunate that the American leaders outright objected and chose not to join the World Court, refusing their laws of peace and continuing to discriminate and attack the Daemons in their country. Norman had threatened to kill their President in retaliation, ranting about how Lamiae should not bow downto mortals, and refused to back down. Xander had had no choice but to banish him from the Courts. He had caused so many problems with his previous involvement in William’s underground Lupus fights, and now he was content to declare war on the whole country.
Norman did not go easily. Xander had to unleash his shadows to remove him from the headquarters in London, promising to kill him if he ever returned. He hated that day, hated he had to lose another brother. There were now only six of them left to sit on the Lamia Court.
The Incantrix Court never reformed, and Xander chose not to search for Divina’s relatives. He knew how Incantrices worked, they would make themselves known when the time was right and he was certain there were far more magic wielders in the world than those documented. If they were hiding, then they felt they had their reasons to do so, and he told the Courts to leave them be.
Xander had a good relationship with the Lupus Court leaders, particularly their current and newly appointed first leader, Niamh Yue, who was a descendent from Allen. She had only stepped up to take her place a week ago, and she had been a formidable friend in supporting the ever turbulent relationship between Lamiae and Lupi. She’d also encouraged the Lupi to join the Daemonium division within the military, accepting her place as a lieutenant along with Ade and Dylan, the other two leaders of the Lupus Court.
Xander had achieved the unachievable, he had created a world that he had only ever dreamed of, that had not existed here before. Lupi and Lamiae worked collaboratively, Daemons and mortals lived amongst one another in society, and the world was at peace. But now, only two years into the new world order, chaos was rising again.
America had become a wasteland. The news had trickled in over the last few months of a mass exodus, a sudden silence where a nation once boomed. The majority of America’s mortals and Daemons had fled to other countries in the last two years, deeming it unsafe ever since their leaders opposed the World Court. But those that remained were lost, unable to tell their stories. What exactly transpired remained shrouded in shadowed mystery, but their continuation of the devastating conflict between mortals and Daemons had likely been followed by an Umbranima surge.
The world watched with a terrified silence. Intervention was out of the question, and not a single leader of the World Court suggested it, knowing if they got involved then the chaos could follow them home. No one dared risk unleashing the mayhem there on a global scale.
Even right until the very last broadcast, the American media focused on the war between mortals and Daemons, on their insistent need to eradicate Daemonium from the earth. Right up until the very end, they continued to ignore the real threat, until one day they fell silent. The chilling truth was undeniable, America had fallen.
Lucas Rook, the disgraceful man that he was, used America as an example and reason to object to the government’s new laws. His growing groups of Liberators utilised America’s downfall to spark fear in the public, and their poisonous views continued to spoonfeed lies to entice others to join their cult. And now, that poison had spread to infect several Members of Parliament. Despite not being allowed to re-enter Parliament, Rook was still destroying the government from the inside.
Xander had dealt with many fanatics in his time, and Rook was no different to the ones he’d encountered before. Whilst Rook was never spotted in public, only spoken about byhis followers, Xander vowed to eliminate him the second he resurfaced from whatever hole of desperation he’d crawled into.
Forcing a nonchalant stretch in his cramped seat, Xander emphasised his feigned boredom at the verbal onslaught hurled at him by the opposing politicians. Their jeers were a mere annoyance compared to his anxiety. He did his best to hide the tremor in his right leg, the slight shaking the only tell tale sign of his nerves, whilst his face remained passive. It was his first time in Parliament, and frankly, he’d rather there not be a second.
“Filthy blood sucker!”
“Murdering piece of shit!”
“Abomination!”
He felt Deion chuckle next to him. “Abomination? Ouch, that’s got to hurt, Xander.”
Xander smirked in response, grateful his brother had joined him. Deion had always been there for him. From the very beginning, he had put his faith into Xander, and he knew he would be nowhere without it. After what happened, after what he did to Adriana, Xander knew he would never forgive himself, and he thought he would never be able to get back up and fight again.
Years of isolation stretched, and Xander remained alone. The only sign of life was the occasional creak of his door as he retrieved the bottles of blood Deion and Nicolai would deposit on his doorstep every so often. But Xander knew they needed him. They needed their leader, their brother, but he was drowning in his own grief. No one could get through to him. Xander needed to hit that rock bottom alone, and he needed to emerge on his own accord.
Finally, fueled by his never-ending grief and clinging to his loyalty to Adriana’s memory, Xander emerged from his self-imposed exile, and Deion fought alongside him once again. They fought to re-establish the Courts, offering a beacon of hope forboth Daemons and mortals desperately yearning for peace. Yet peace remained a stranger to Xander himself. The pain of his loss never dulled, a constant reminder of the life he destroyed and, in turn, the life stolen from him.
Her face would forever haunt his dreams, a face he longed to see again and yet couldn’t bear to ever complete another drawing of.
Seizing a rare pause in the playground insults, one of the older politicians of the opposition stood and addressed Katie directly, bringing Xander’s attention back to the present.
“You cannot expect us to sit back while they wreak havoc on our lives. These creatures, they are not human, and you invite one of them into our debate? It is outrageous!”
The old man was met with a few cheers of support. Not many, but more than Xander was comfortable with. He noticed the majority of Rook’s supporters tended to be older and almost always men.
Katie stood from her seat at the front, shoulders tense. She smoothed her greying blonde hair behind her ears and pushed her glasses further up her nose. Xander knew her well enough to know she was gearing up for a fight.
“Thesecreatures, as you so call them, have provided our country and the world with solutions to our most devastating problems. They have gifted us with water during our droughts, the power to heal our most vulnerable children—they have given us a new way of life! And you stand there and question why I would let this man, their leader, have his say against your preposterous accusations?”
Xander felt the floor shake as their side of the room stomped their feet in support, cheering Katie on.
“And what of America?” another politician added from across the room. “What happens when we follow in their footsteps? Will you let our country become a wasteland, void of all life, justlike they have? Will you sacrifice the lives of your people to meet the sick, twisted desires of these foul beasts?”
“You know very well that the unfortunate events in America were not because of Daemons alone, it was the conflict between everyone there. A conflict that we are now suffering…”
