The Carpe Noctem Chronicles: Hypnotizing Darkness

By Danika Jayde

The final chapter of Vixys struggle has her constantly fighting within herself the madness that threatens to take her over, a drive to sate a hunger she never believed shed have. Every day the darkness inside her takes another piece of who she once was and threatens to take her over, a madness that clings to the corners of her brain at any possibility of driving more and more of her humanity away. She must swallow this new dilemma as she tries to hunt down the Manticore that she must kill for her brother, Alex to wake, and maybe even Atterovita himself.
Will she succeed, or lose herself in the process

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499070408

Danika Jayde

Born and raised in Southern Alberta, Danika Jayde grew up with a thirst for reading and writing. Of Blood and Magic is the second book of the Carpe Noctem Chronicles trilogy and is her second novel.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Danika Jayde.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4990-7041-5

                eBook            978-1-4990-7040-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 09/12/2014

Xlibris LLC

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Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Character Glossary

Beastiary

For my friends: Scott McKinny, my photographer, thank you for the cover photo for this book. Ashley Slash Tolman, for you will always be my Imp. Sean Hiscock, Urania breathes because of our conversations, and Brad, without your artistic talents and input my Fey weapons would not be what they became.

Thank you all.

CHAPTER 1

A URELIO! AURELIO! VIXY yelled once she was able to see the room she had left so long before, Aurelio!

She raced out of the room where Noctem Imperium’s portal was and through the rest of the Elite. She yelled his name as she searched each and every room. She continued to call for him as she ran down the stairs, through the entrance hall and down the back hallway, but he wasn’t anywhere.

Vixy knew then that he must be in the back library; it was the only place left. She raced to the room, but stopped dead in her tracks in the doorway. Aurelio lay in a large pool of blood, eyes closed and his right hand grasping a large sword. Gashes covered his entire body where shredded flesh peered through his ragged clothes.

There was a moment of an internal struggle as the Vampire in her saw the blood and craved for the taste of it, it was difficult with the heady coppery scent that wafted through the entire area, but she silenced the urge as best she could and rushed to his side.

Once she neared, she noticed the shallow rise and fall of his chest; he was still alive.

Aurelio! Wake up, it’s Vixy! Please wake up! she begged.

Slowly his golden eyes opened and focused on her, Vixy…I’m so…sorry. I was…ambushed…I couldn’t…protect them. His breathing was laboured between each word.

Are they okay! She cried as she applied pressure to his wounds and took shallow breaths to keep her urges at a minimal.

They got away…your mother…and…your grandmother…came to see Alex. Between the two of them…they were able…to carry him away quickly…as I held…the Wraiths off with some magic…only once…they left the Wraiths…tried to follow. Aurelio coughed as some blood bubbled out of his lips. The pool beneath him seemed double in size as well. I was only…able to keep them…here for a few minutes…because…it wasn’t long…before…before three Liche…appeared.

Vixy’s heart nearly stopped when he mentioned the Liche. She had an encounter with some when she had been in the Dwarvin city Xylina. They were horrible creatures with papery thin skin that stretched over skeletal faces with mouths full of broken teeth. She still remembered the malicious grin of one as its long bony fingers gripped the ebony staff it held that the creatures used to cast their magic.

Worse yet, is that Aurelio had said her mother and grandmother had carried Alex away, which meant to Vixy that he was still in a coma, and that meant that the Manticore which had attacked him was still alive somewhere in Noctem Imperium.

Vixy…you need to get…the Wraith venom…to Karishma…she’s the only…other person who can help Alex…I’m afraid I’m not going to be…of much help any longer. Aurelio wheezed his muscular body exhausted from blood loss.

No, Vixy argued, You’re going to help, because you’re going to be okay. I don’t have the venom, I couldn’t get it yet, but I have something better…I think. And she rummaged through her bag before pulling out her sock that still carried the Cruor stones. Carefully she brought out the pearl-like stone she had left. Here it’s a Putus Lux Cruor Stone, it’ll heal you. Then we can go find Alex and use it to heal him.

Vixy held out the stone but Aurelio made no move to take it.

Well take it, she urged frantically as she watched the blood pool get bigger and bigger.

Vixy, if I take it…you can’t use it to heal Alex. Aurelio replied softly.

What do you mean? Why not? Vixy asked.

The White Cruor stones only work…twice. Aurelio replied as he spit up more tiny bubbles of blood.

Okay, well giving it to you, that’s once, and then using it on Alex would be twice. Vixy replied and held out the stone once more.

No you picking it up, that was once…whoever you give it to…that will be twice. Aurelio explained.

So why can I give them to anyone, if I touch them again, wouldn’t that be twice? Vixy asked frustrated.

It can only be used once per person. Aurelio clarified with a cough.

That doesn’t make any sense. Vixy cried and tried to shove the stone into his hand, but he moved away which caused him to bleed more.

That’s magic, it doesn’t have to make sense to you…only to those who create the spell. Aurelio replied with a deep gurgling breath.

But I gave one to a girl, who by the way was a reanimated corpse, she seemed to know it would work on her father. she replied confused.

Vixy, I am quite sure you know deep…deep down that these stones don’t work on the dead.

It was true Vixy did know. As soon as she had handed the stone to Adora it hadn’t had any effect Vixy could notice.

But what do you want me to do? I can’t just let you die! You’re the closest person that I’ve had to a father! Vixy cried.

Aurelio’s eyes suddenly seemed to soften to a point where Vixy thought she saw tears, but quickly, they were gone.

Vixy, you can’t pick me to live over your brother…I won’t let you decide that. Aurelio replied softly.

I’m not deciding that, and even though Vixy knew she possibly held the only hope Alex had, she thrust the stone into Aurelio’s hand.

Instantly Vixy watched as the open wounds in Aurelio’s body sealed up and the bruises disappeared. Color slowly returned to his face and he eventually sat up as his breath gradually evened out.

Once he was breathing normally and no more blood bubbled out of his body, he turned to Vixy, wiped the remaining blood from his lips and said, Vixy, how could you do that?

How could you expect me to let you die when I could do something to help? Especially when I was holding it in my hand? she asked. Besides, Alex has a better chance of staying alive if you do.

You are an amazing woman Vixy, but I think you put a little too much faith in people. Aurelio smiled and rose to his six-foot-two height; not at all as if he’d been bleeding out just moments before.

No, I put the deserved faith in the right people, Vixy replied and followed him to the bathroom where he, clothes and all, jumped into the shower to wash all the blood out of his matching blood red hair, besides maybe you can make an antidote with the properties of the stone or something.

I was thinking that, but I still don’t know the cause of those other wounds. Aurelio replied and once the water ran clear from his hair, he stepped from the shower and started to dry his hair with a towel that hung on the wall.

Kyan never sent you a message?

Aurelio smiled as he peered from beneath the towel, The way Kyan and I communicate is a little more complicated than simple messages.

Vixy’s expression turned quizzical. I thought you used Messengers?

No, Kyan sends Messengers to the Delegates, but for us to communicate, so Kyan and I had to find another way to stay in contact. Aurelio explained. Passage between the realms isn’t as easy for others as it is for the Elite and their offspring.

He stood and rehung the towel then walked toward his room where Vixy waited outside while he changed.

But I haven’t been able to contact him recently and he hasn’t really contacted me either. He may just have been busy lately and didn’t have a chance. Aurelio explained once he emerged wearing black pants and a white t-shirt still ruffling his damp hair.

Oh, he was travelling with me and some friends back to the gate, so he wasn’t home to get any messages. Vixy replied.

Aurelio smirked, Yeah, that’s likely why I didn’t hear from him, that he wasn’t home.

But I was going to tell you, those huge gashes on Alex’s abdomen, they are from a Manticore. Chronus told me. He says you’ve been gone for too long. Vixy smiled.

Chronus, the Lord of the Elves in Subluceo Isle! You did get around over there didn’t you? Aurelio laughed. And yes, as far as I and Kyan knew Manticores were extinct.

You have no idea how much travelling I did. she replied. Anyways, now that you are all healed, let’s go find my family, and then you can work on a cure.

Sorry Vixy, not that easy. It is going to take some time. Even if I knew how to make an antidote from a White Cruor Stone it would still take a while, and since I don’t even know that or the properties of the stone, it is going to take even longer. I’m afraid you will need to go back to Noctem Imperium until then. Aurelio replied softly.

Vixy took a deep breath, the idea didn’t perfectly appeal to her with having to go back into survival mode, but a piece of her did yearn to be back in the other realm not surrounded by walls. I understand, and I might as well. There are a few new things I need to learn about myself, and I think the best place to do that would be over there.

I’ve heard. Kyan told me that you were doing an Immortalis Porta ritual. Kyan contacted me shortly after he’d sent you out for the Blood Quest; we had a bit of a fight about it actually. I’m guessing you succeeded. Aurelio asked and sounded slightly amazed and a bit saddened.

Yes, I did, amazing I know. Vixy replied as she saw his eyes widened just slightly.

You do look slightly different to me now, nothing drastic, but there’s something different. Aurelio said and moved to an overturned chair, and once he had it upright, took a seat. What kind of blood did you use?

I used eleven different types actually. Vixy replied.

Eleven?

I had extras.

Oh, and that makes more sense. Aurelio said sarcastically.

Well Navinanex figured we might as well use them all. Vixy said a little embarrassed.

And you trusted her? Aurelio said shocked.

No, but I was doing it anyway, and there already wasn’t a good chance of me surviving. Vixy said.

Vixy… Aurelio sighed.

But what does it matter, I survived, I’m sane, I’m here, and now you can use the Cruor Stone to hopefully heal Alex. Vixy said choppily.

Yes, and I think that this is the reason why you did. Aurelio said as he held up the pearl-like stone.

What do you mean? Vixy said.

You had this Cruor Stone on you when the ritual was done right? Aurelio stated.

Well it was in my bag, but yes.

But you had recently touched it before the ritual right? I personally would assume that the reason why you survived at all is that the properties of this stone were still affecting you, seriously what kind of blood did you use? Aurelio said.

Vixy quickly listed off the types of blood. Korrigan, Werepanther, Fey, Fire Nymph, Siren, Water Elf, Werewolf, Brownie, Vampire, Lamia, and Nix.

Vixy all those blood types have a tendency to attack one another, there was only a slight chance of you surviving. I can almost guarantee that Navinanex was assuming that you were going to die; she was only using you as a lab rat. Do you know how the transformation has affected you? Aurelio asked.

There have been a few sudden surprises, but nothing I haven’t been able to handle…yet.

Vixy I would advise that once you have a few moments to breathe, while you are back over there you and Kyan should do some research on the changes you are most likely going to have to deal with.

That sounds like a good idea, I didn’t really get a lot of time to discuss it with him while I was there.

Yeah, the best person to talk about this with would be Kyan, he would most likely know best about how each type of blood is going to affect you. Aurelio said and got to his feet.

Where are you going? Vixy said and followed him.

I should start figuring out how to create an antidote for Alex out of this stone. Aurelio said and he began to sift through his many shelves of books.

Vixy watched him scour the shelves and then suddenly she remembered about the Spiderwitch Urania, but she didn’t quite know how to ask the question that had been bothering her since seeing Aurelio’s family portrait in the Spiderwitch’s house.

Vixy what you thinking about? Aurelio suddenly asked breaking into her thoughts.

What makes you think I’m thinking of anything other than about the types of blood that I gathered? Vixy replied sounding as innocent as she could.

Because whenever you are trying to think of how to word something you softly chew on your bottom lip. Aurelio pointed out.

Vixy instantly stopped the nervous habit and took a breath, Well it’s that when I had to get the blood from the Fire Nymph she sent me to do a favour for her.

What kind of favour? Aurelio asked suspiciously.

That I get her a venomous fang from a Spiderwitch. Vixy replied softly.

A Spiderwitch? Aurelio said cautiously.

"Urania, the Spiderwitch." Vixy clarified.

Aurelio’s face paled, And what happened? he choked out quietly.

I found her and killed her. Vixy said.

Relief then seemed to wash through his body.

Aurelio, I killed her in her own house, technically your house. I saw the remnants of what she did to your family. I am so sorry. It was only then that Vixy allowed the tears to fall from her eyes.

Aurelio graciously walked to her and knelt at her knees, For years I sought revenge against the creature for tearing my family away from me that night. I almost grew to the point of madness from drowning in that pit of rage.

Aurelio spoke softly as a few of his own tears crept out of his golden eyes, I even went on hunting rampages, that easily were described as death wish excursions, to my former home, searching for her death to fill that hole torn into the pit of my body. But I had no such luck. Time after time I would return to Kyan, broken and so very near death, but none of that stopped me.

Aurelio lowered his eyes then continued, Nothing until Latiana. No one was able to quiet the rage inside until her. Though that internal pit of anger was never fully gone, and who would have guessed that a girl like you would be able to give me the peace I had been so thoroughly seeking. Thank you Vixy. Aurelio finished speaking and more tears trailed down his face while he held Vixy’s hands.

Vixy wiped her own tear streaked cheeks, Well it was either her or me.

I’m thrilled it was her. Aurelio smiled weakly.

Me too, Vixy said then added, The name Latiana sounds familiar.

It should, she was Ygnasio’s half-human daughter. I fell in love with her, but she didn’t want to raise a partially human child in Noctem Imperium. So I made a deal with the Realm Delegates that I would train all who came from Ygnasio’s line in the style of combat. They agreed, and Kyan with the help of the Dragon Keeper, used their magic to send me here.

So you are technically one of my ancestors? Vixy gasped.

Sadly, no. Just because you love someone Vixy doesn’t mean that it is going to work out the way you hope. Aurelio replied.

What happened? Vixy asked as she still tried to wrap her mind around the idea that Aurelio, the man who had helped raise her, used to be the lover of one of her ancestors.

Things change, love changes, people change. Latiana and I were together for only a few years until she saved the life of a human man in this realm. It was like love at first sight for the two of them. Instant attraction, instant connection. Aurelio softly explained.

You must have been heartbroken. Vixy commented.

I was, but I loved her so much I was willing to let her go. I just wanted her to be happy, even if it wasn’t with me. Aurelio replied and gave Vixy a grin that held a pit of sadness that Vixy knew would never fully be filled.

And yet you still were the mentor for my family for centuries. Vixy said softly.

I never stopped loving her. From the day I met her to the day she died, I loved her. Even though it was painful to see her in the arms of another man, and to train the products of their love I still cherished the days I got to see her, valued the minutes I got to listen to her voice. Aurelio solemnly explained.

Did you ever find love again Aurelio? Vixy asked timidly.

Yes, but nothing compared to how I felt about Latiana. Aurelio answered, But that does not matter. I have gotten to know the pleasure of seeing those I train, grow, thrive, survive and in the end die with honour and knowledge knowing they made a difference to someone. That is a happiness I don’t think I could every replicate.

Well Aurelio, if you ever die, know that you being here made a big difference to me. Since I never really got the chance to know my father you truly were the closest to being one. I wasn’t just saying that earlier because you were dying, I really mean it. Vixy smiled.

He gave her a warm smile, Anyways I should get to making an antidote for Alex. I would try to take you to see your family but you can only be here a maximum of twelve hours, we could still try if you like. That is if I can track them down.

Really? Please, I will even go back in nine hours just in case, but why can I only be here twelve hours? Vixy asked.

There are twenty four hours in a day half is to be taken here and half is to be taken there remember. Aurelio replied, But let’s get you some proper food and rest while I try to find your family okay, then I will start on Alex’s antidote.

No I don’t want to waste any more time, I want to get Alex healed before it’s too late. Vixy replied.

No worries Vixy, after I’d heard from Kyan you were doing the Blood Quest I knew it was going to take some time so I did a ritual of my own that put Alex in a near frozen state. He hasn’t aged or anything since then. Aurelio explained.

Vixy raised an eyebrow, What, as in like magical cryogenics?

I guess you could call it that. Aurelio smirked, magic is magic.

I couldn’t have been away that long.

Vixy, do you not realize you’ve been gone for four years?

She thought about it, after a while the days, weeks, months, and apparently years, had eventually melded together for her. Time had become irrelevant except for doing everything as quick as possible for Alex. But four years? That didn’t seem right.

Are you sure that it’s been four years?

Aurelio just looked at her then said, You said you acquired blood from Queen Nicnivin of the Fey right?

Yeah.

Which means you were in the Unseelie Sithen right?

Yes, she said slowly suspicious of where he was going.

For how long? he asked.

Just a month.

He smirked, One month in the Sithen equals one year outside it.

What!

Yes, it’s a good thing I froze Alex’s state.

You sure he is okay like that? Vixy gasped as she thought of how long he had been that way.

Positive Vixy, really positive. Time has essentially stopped for Alex until I remove the curse. Aurelio said and led her into the kitchen. He made her some potatoes with gravy and a steak, which oddly to her, she requested rare. Vixy sat down to eat and Aurelio got ready to go search for her family.

I’ll have my phone so you can call me if you need me. Do you remember the number? Aurelio asked when he headed for the door and his truck outside.

Yeah I do, Vixy replied.

He nodded and out the door he went. By the time she had finished eating though Aurelio still hadn’t returned or called so she called him.

Hello? he answered.

Hi, you still haven’t found them?

No, I’m sorry, there is still eight hours till you have to go back though. Go take a nap and I’ll wake you when I return. Aurelio replied.

Do you think they are okay? Alex?

No worries Vixy, I believe they are all just fine.

All right, thank you again Aurelio, bye. Vixy replied though she wasn`t ready to believe that.

Get a good sleep. He said in return having heard her disbelieving tone.

Vixy held the buzzing phone for a second longer. Inside she knew Aurelio wasn’t going to find them, but there was no harm in trying or hoping otherwise. She hung up the phone then climbed the stairs. She took a blissful shower and then went to the room she had used many times before growing up. In one of the dressers she found a set of her own clothes she had left there once upon a time, changed and then went to sleep.

*   *   *

Vixy, Vixy, wake up. Aurelio’s voice urged.

Hmmm? Vixy replied.

It’s time to go back to Noctem Imperium. Aurelio answered.

In that moment Vixy had almost forgotten that her reality wasn’t just a dream. Slowly everything did come back to her and she groggily sat up and looked into Aurelio’s golden eyes. Did you find them?

No, not yet and I’m sorry, I let you stay for eleven hours already, you can’t stay any longer. Aurelio replied.

You let me sleep for that long? Vixy gasped.

Well you must have needed it; I just couldn’t bring myself to wake you any sooner. Aurelio replied.

Vixy slowly sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes, All right, let’s go.

Aurelio must have grabbed her bag from the library before he woke her because he handed it to her with a tiny smile, I added some more sandwiches and traveling food for you plus a couple other essentials that you seemed to be low on. Four years is quite a lot of time.

Thank you Aurelio. Vixy smiled and took the bag.

By the way, nice dress. He grinned.

Oh yeah, I should probably leave that here, no reason to take up more room than I need to. Vixy smiled and removed the golden gown from her bag and laid it on the bed along with the shoes and many other things she no longer believed she needed. She did however return her black cargo pants and faded blue t-shirt to the bag; she figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a change of clothes just in case.

She did also return her sheathed dagger to hang down her spine beneath her shirt and belted a pouch of salt she received from a dear friend in the Fey Sithen at her hip. She dug deep into the bag and pulled out a deteriorated sock, and careful not to touch the contents, transferred the three other Cruor Stones from inside it into the pouch of salt then tossed the sock away. As one final thing she took a brown leather pouch, with a fair amount of gold coins, out of the front pocket of her bag and put them into one of her side pockets.

I’ll keep everything else here until you come back. Aurelio smiled.

Thank you.

They went to the room with the stone platform and Vixy took her place on the dais.

Aurelio gave her a hug, Make us proud Vixy. Are you ready?

Yes, she replied and took a deep breath.

Aurelio released her slowly and gave one last solemn smile before he brought out his dagger and made the symbols glow with the blood from his hand.

Centre, he said then recited the foreign spell.

Within moments Vixy stared out at the land she had come to know so well. An instant urge to see the Vampire she had bonded with crept over her, but she knew that if she was going to be able to stay focused on her task she just couldn`t be around him. It was like a cloudy haze came over her whenever he was around, that all her thoughts were focused on him, but it was detrimental that all her thoughts stayed focused on her goal.

It was that haze that made her mind swim to the surface, that bond itself made her question the validity of the feelings in her heart. She wondered if what she felt for Vikenti was something real or if it was something fabricated through magic, through that bond of blood the two of them had shared, as miniscule of an amount that it was Vixy just didn’t trust it. She couldn’t trust the feelings they were too unexplainable…to foreign. So she swallowed them, numbed them in the foreground of her mind, even though they pushed hard at the back of it, she ignored them.

So she sighed and with reluctance, but with logical thoughts to keep her thinking straight, she began to make her way to Silken Templum and Kyan. She descended the stone steps of the dais and went across the grassy land. Time seemed to be going faster for her, and soon enough it was beginning to reach the end of the second day of her trip; Vixy decided she needed to rest.

Bring on the Shadow Wraiths now, she said to herself as she recalled her forced nighttime travels when she’d still been human.

She waded into a portion of a valley’s tall grass and curled up on a spot of the ground. She decided to pull out a few strips of clothing to use as bug deterrent from her bag and then gazed up at the stars high above her. She tried to get comfortable on her back, but it just wasn’t happening, so she curled into her normal ball; resting on her left side.

Vixy huddled in upon herself in the darkness beneath those extra scraps of cloth. Still, it took a while for her to fall asleep. Eventually her eyes did flutter closed as her breathing deepened and she finally fell asleep. It only felt like mere seconds to her though before she jolted awake. Something sharp had bitten into her partially exposed calf.

So much for bug cover, She said thinking about the cloth, and swiftly wiped her hand down her lower leg. She came away with a tiny splotch of blood.

Instantly she was up and searched for the cause, no bug would make that much of a wound. No creature was nearby either, except for maybe more bugs. It wasn’t that difficult for Vixy to see around in the moonlight with her new eyes, and even though she wasn`t quite used to relying on it yet, her sense of smell found everything that her eyes didn’t.

After a few moments Vixy figured that whatever had sunk its teeth in her seemed to have been scared off, and she was sure that bite was definitely not from some mosquito. Slowly she lowered herself back to the dirt and although her heart still pounded from her momentary excitement, it wasn’t long before her body relaxed enough for her eyes to flutter closed once again.

It was a little longer before Vixy was forced awake by yet another sharp pain in her left wrist, but when her eyes flew open they encountered something she had not been expecting.

The hiss of a snake sliced through the air is its fangs glistened with Vixy’s blood in the moonlight. It reared back to strike again and Vixy leapt to her feet, smacking her head into a cloud of fleshy bodies. A chorus of hisses broke the near silence and Vixy dropped into a crouch. She reached forward and grasped her things as she raised her face to the sky.

Hovering above her head was a mass of black, winged snakes. Vixy froze; in most cases snakes didn’t bother her, not since her run-ins with some Lamia and a Civatateo in the form of a gigantic Python. But it didn’t help that that she had never encountered a cloud of flying Vampiric snakes before, she didn’t exactly know what to expect.

A slight whimper threatened to push its way out of Vixy’s lips as she sightlessly returned her things to her bag. Slowly she lifted it to her shoulders and the next second she tore off through the tall grass.

The haunting sound of beating wings pushed her forward, they were still right above her head even with her new speed. Every once in a while one would dive down and attempt to sink its teeth into some part of her body, but most often would fail as she swatted and grabbed at the flying reptiles.

Vixy started to lose her breath and a burning in her muscles began. Then, just as her legs threatened to stop, the ground beneath them did. Vixy fell a few feet and then plunged into a deep pool and sputtered as she resurfaced. She frantically glanced around for the flying reptiles but none were to be found.

Vixy had fallen into a large, circular hole. All the surrounding walls were covered by falling water from what must have been underground rivers. She bobbed up and down in the cool water as she searched for a way back out of her current obstacle, but all she saw was the falling water. Then the next moment something not entirely strange happened, although it wasn’t exactly normal for Vixy yet either. At that moment an image broke into her mind accompanied by no words, but emotions.

Confusion and curiosity flooded through Vixy so fast that it took a bit of time before she realized the feelings weren’t her own because of what she saw behind her eyes. Again, like it happened with Vikenti, it was like Vixy was seeing herself through someone else’s eyes. Her long black hair floated on the water like silk and shone in the moonlight with inhuman brilliance. Her pale shoulders gleamed under the stars as her reflection shimmered in the water with each of her small movements. Then she turned her head and whoever Vixy was seeing herself through was able to see her eyes. They flashed like emeralds in the darkness and small thread of fear passed through Vixy as the vision slowly began to fade.

Once her true sight had refocused and adjusted once more to the dark, Vixy searched for her audience. It only took seconds before she spotted him. He was young and lean and built like an athlete, one of speed and equal strength. Deep brown eyes melted into the darkness as he perched on a slick rocky shore behind one set of falls and the dark water cascaded around his naked upper body. Dark brown skin that caught the moonlight and sparkled with water droplets covered the parts of him Vixy could see. It was only when he moved forward did Vixy know what he was.

He could have easily passed for a human, but the fact that he had a pair of furry brown horse ears would have given him away. Vixy didn’t remember what he was called, but she sure remembered what he did. In most cases he would appear as a pony and once he had persuaded someone to become his rider he would take them into the water to eat them. Vixy had begun to really despise the water in Noctem Imperium, there always seemed to be something waiting by it, or in it, to devour her.

Slowly though Vixy swam towards him; she figured if there was a way out of the hole he would know, either that or he was in front of it.

Can you direct me out of here? she asked while she glided closer.

The creature just stared back, but as Vixy neared the edge of the pool slid back behind the curtain of water.

Wait! How do I get back out of here? she urged.

But he didn’t answer, instead he disappeared from sight and Vixy could hear the sound of bare feet slapping against slick stones as he ran.

Hopefully I was right that this way is out. Vixy said to herself as she hauled her body from the water and ducked through the liquid wall.

On the other side, sure enough, was a dark tunnel, and since there was no moonlight to aid Vixy’s night vision she might as well have still been human. But she inched forward with all her senses firing. The smell of wet stones, moss, and wet fur saturated the way ahead and Vixy focused on that warm, musty odour of the horse-eared man to lead her out.

Hours passed while Vixy wove and the trail curved back and forth like a winding snake but eventually the crisp scent of fresh air blew through the cavern so faintly it was almost like a memory long forgotten. Vixy