Blood match

Chapter 58: Judged by Night, Freed by Dawn

They came to get him five minutes after the sun had set. Twelve Coronados dressed in their crisp navy-blue suits, with red piping. Gideon noticed an addition to their uniforms: a small gold crown pin with a halo of red flame now adorned their lapels.

He walked out of the cell, almost impatient to get it over with. He hoped that Marlowe would be waiting for him in whatever afterlife they might have earned. As long as she was there, hell would be a heaven for him.

The walk to the hall was silent; only the echo of boots moving in military precision broke the stillness.

As they entered the hall, Gideon saw the coven leaders waiting in silence, gathered to witness the judgment of the Sanguinis Divina and the Crown of Fire. How far he and Marlowe had fallen. What should have been their triumph had crumbled to ash, much like his sister.

Gideon let out a barking laugh at the thought.

At the front of the hall stood Leo, Liam, and that tall blonde fellow he had once thought of as an assistant. But something had changed. Even he could feel the shift in the dynamic of the three. What they endured had bonded them, and what had been iron was now gleaming steel forged in fire.

The procession stopped a few feet from where Leo, Liam, and Tristan were standing. Liam was in the center, with Leo on his left and Tristan on his right. Gideon looked at Leo, but it was Liam who spoke.

“Gideon, night has fallen, and now is the hour of Hecate.
It is time to pass sentence and return you to the arms of Theia, your First Mother.

Gideon Pierce, for your crime of striking at the Sanguinis Divina and attempting to assassinate him, I sentence you to death in the Chamber of the Sun.”

Liam looked out over Gideon’s head at the assembled coven leaders and elders. His next words were for them.

“For centuries the Sanguinis Divinas ruled vampirekind, dispensing both justice and mercy with open hands. Before they came to be, the Sun Chamber was created to dispense the judgment of the Firstborn of Hecate, judgment that had little to do with honor or justice. Tonight that chamber stands open again, not because we wish to be like them or follow in their footsteps. It is open because tonight we reclaim it in the name of true justice and mercy. Witness what made Gideon who and what he is.”

There was a gasp from the waiting vampires as the images of Gideon’s life flashed through their minds, the same images Liam had seen when he touched Gideon. As the power flowed out of Liam, he felt Leo and Tristan’s consciousness supporting him with love and loyalty, buttressing the power pouring forth from him.

As the flow of images ceased, there was movement in the assembly. Every coven leader and elder dropped to their knees, hand to heart. There were tears in Aditya’s eyes. For so long he had waited for Leo to take his rightful place, but never had he imagined that such power would stand at his side.

Alexi and Maria stood to one side, witnessing their submission. He looked at Maria, his eyes glistening.

“Fernando had me create the Corona De Fuego. I thought it was a symbol, an idea we served, but now I understand it was a person. It was Liam, seen and foretold so many centuries ago.”

The moon had risen, a silver disc in the clear winter sky. The smell of snow hung in the air, and a stillness made it seem as though the earth itself had paused to witness something unseen for many centuries.

As they stepped outside, there was the soft tread of paws. Keba materialized at Liam’s side, and the rest of his pack took positions on either side, flanking the procession. Gideon walked between two Coronados, still in chains but strangely calm, as if he had made peace with his end.

The four elders and the leaders of the covens walked behind Gideon. There were no cars; they would walk to the Sun Chamber in the cold, still night. It was a slow walk to justice and judgment, on foot.

Tristan walked just behind Leo and Liam, an inverted triangle — a silent image of their trinitarian bond.

Maria and Alexi walked behind the elders but in front of the coven leaders, their positions sending a tacit signal of their importance and their relationship to the Sanguinis Divina and the Crown of Fire.

Alexi spoke quietly to Maria as they walked. “Is it me, or is Liam different than he was before the attack?”

Maria looked over sharply, and after a moment, she responded.

“Alexi, do you remember the legend of the Nightsouls? The people who begged Hecate to take them as her adopted sons and daughters?” Maria waited for Alexi to think back.

“Yes, but that was just a myth. We have never encountered a Nightsoul in all these centuries,” Alexi whispered roughly.

“I think they are more than a myth. I think they existed, and Genevieve was descended from Nightsoul stock. I suspect that Liam’s lineage runs directly back to Genevieve and, through her, to the very beginning of the Sanguinis Divina line.”

Alexi did not speak for a moment, allowing the path toward the Sun Chamber to hold his attention. After a few minutes, he spoke again. “Then Liam is a...”

“Liam is a Nightsoul, and one of great power. His blood has awakened, and he has remembered who and what he is — and that makes him the Crown of Fire.” Maria said finishing the sentence Alexi had begun.

Alexi absorbed the import of Maria’s words and then, in a still voice, simply said, “The world is about to change.”

Finally the Sun Chamber ruins came into view. Braziers lined the path to the entrance, nine on either side. At the moment, the only light was coming from the torches carried by the Coronados. As the procession made its way down to the entrance, Liam raised his hand—a slight gesture; if Tristan hadn’t seen it, it would have gone unnoticed. Suddenly the braziers flared to life, golden flames burning brightly in the winter night.

Leo, Liam, and Tristan led the procession silently to the entrance of the chamber. The stone door stood open and waiting. The glyphs around the archway began to glow as the grimoire had done in Fernando’s study. Leo looked over at Liam, clearly unsettled by this sudden occurrence.

Liam took Leo’s hand and then reached over with his other and took Tristan’s. No words were spoken aloud, but Leo and Tristan heard Liam’s voice in their heads. Blood is the river of memory, the blood remembers. Here the ancestors of my people carved these glyphs, and now, as I stand with you, my chosen family, we will reclaim the legacy long forgotten. The glyphs say: “Justice tempered with Mercy. Return now to the arms of the mothers.”

Tristan felt it, and he knew that Leo did too. It was a sense of completeness, as if in this moment the three of them had found what they had been missing all their lives. It was Liam—he made them complete.

Liam let go of their hands and turned to face Gideon and the assembled throng. Leo and Tristan stood at his side, just a step behind. This was Liam’s moment; instinctively they knew it, and they stood as support.

“You all have wondered why Leo ordered this chamber reopened. It has been a place of death for many centuries, but in all that time the true meaning of this place has stayed buried. The glyphs that adorn the entryway of this chamber were carved by the hands of the second sons and daughters of Hecate. Yes, Hecate had other children, adopted when the world was young and her firstborn ravaged the earth in bloodlust and abandon.”

Maria stood silently, watching the elders and the coven leaders as Liam recounted a history that most had forgotten. History that only she could truly guess at from the words of her own sire so many centuries ago.

Alexi looked over at Maria, the look in his eyes questioning. She simply nodded and then turned her attention back to Liam.

“Mortals, the children of Dawn, firstborn of the Goddess Theia, sister of the night, beloved sister of Hecate. In despair, these fragile children of Day called upon the Queen of the Turning Night for mercy. Maiden, Mother, and Crone called out unceasingly for nine nights, seeking the notice of the Dark Queen. Finally Hecate, mother of night, appeared before them and, after a time, was moved by their pleas and granted them her protection and adoption. These children became the first Nightsouls and wielded the power taught to them by the Queen of the Night. You might have heard tales of them throughout history; they were called Wise Ones, and eventually history coined the derogatory term ‘witches’ for these people of power.”

Leo stepped forward and took Liam’s hand. It was a small gesture, but its meaning was clear. It said, Here I am, now and always. Liam felt Tristan’s hand grasp his on his other side, and as he caught Tristan’s eyes, he saw his gentle smile. In that moment he was flooded with a wash of emotions — love, care, support all enveloping him. Leo was his refuge and Tristan was his support; together they completed him and made him whole. He was not alone anymore.