Chapter 4 The Restless Spirit

WHILE IAFLEUR WAS preparing the things she would take for her travel to Faerrionn Town. It was the only town outside and near their city that connects directly to the Sacred Woods. And since Iafleur's only job was to take the person spreading the rumours in, she only bought her favourite weapon--- her lasso. She got that lasso from Lord Killon who gave it to her as a present when he witness her battle skills one time she was training in Welson House.

Recalling Lord Ylandar's concern for her, Iafleur smiled. But she knew that her attraction for him might only be because of his coal-black eyes that reminds her of Dracyan. Coincidentally, the two of them possess the same shade of coal black. Both of whom possess the opposite emotion. For while Lord Ylandar's eyes are as cold as ice, Dracyan's are more likely effusive and enthusiastic.

Iafleur then glances at the necklace on her bedside table to admire its unique design when suddenly the moon glowed red for the second time. Her smile faded and her heart thumped.

"What? It glowed again. W-what is the meaning of this?"

'There's another vampire nearby?'

Iafleur gasped. She instinctively grabbed her lasso. She followed the glow on the pendant and it led her outside her flat building. The glow further led her into the streets. Her eyes became busy panning around the environment to catch any suspicious movements from people.

She held the pendant on her palm and to whatever direction she pointed it the glow would brighten or diminish. She used it as a compass to navigate if there really was a vampire nearby her location. She tried pointing it up front and the glow brightened. Iafleur scurries and wasted no time. If there is indeed a vampire on the loose, she must do something before it kills someone and causes serious panic among the people.

Iafleur ran and looked around, bumping into people in the street but she never lost grip on the necklace. Until she arrived at an empty alley. Oddly enough, the glow instantly ceased and faded.

She chased her breath while pointing the glow in another direction but to her disappointment, it no longer glowed.

"Blast it! I lost them!"

'But how could this be possible?' she mentally uttered. Iafleur was certain that the body she found by the river in Graydel Woods was already dead. Could it be that she came back to life? She scoffed.

'Ridiculous!' But that incident only added more of Iafleur's worry. It couldn't be the same vampire, she's certain of that. That leaves her to another conclusion that maybe there are indeed some of them living within the city. But how did they escape through the seal? Does this also mean that the seal has gone weak? But Lord Ylandar assured them that the seal is still intact and impenetrable.

Iafleur heaves a frustrating sigh and roughly massages her temple. Her mind's beginning to drown in a lot more questions that she knows for sure will remain unanswered.

Iafleur decided to head back to her flat. Perhaps, the glow might have just been her imagination. After wrapping up her preparation, Iafleur proceeds to call Dracyan and inform him of her new task.

- "Really? Is that really true?" - he cried, his voice nearly sounding excited.

Iafleur chuckled. "Yes, it is. Lord Ferron himself assigned me to this task. So, what do you say? Do you want to come with me?"

But her smile soon faded with Dracyan's next words. "No, no, I mean, you mentioned something about an Umbran. It could only mean one thing. Is it really true? The Vampire Queen is really real?"

"Dracyan---"

- "Is it really okay though if I come with you? Because I really want to. This might be my opportunity to see a live one!" -

The enthusiasm of his voice prompted Iafleur to change her mind. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that the Council strictly told me not to tell anyone about this."

- "B-but---" - she cuts him off.

"But since I am a good friend, I decided on telling you this. This is highly confidential just for both of us. You better not tell this to anyone or I'll wallop you well!"

Iafleur immediately hangs up the call. She doesn't want to feel that way but it seems like her heart already perceived the pain before she'd even realised it. A prickly sensation hit her chest after Dracyan's enthusiasm for knowing the truth about the Vampire Queen. Why is she even feeling jealous of a fictional character?

Later that day, Iafleur received another call from Lariel just before she went to bed. Lariel asked her once more how she was doing and if she felt nauseated since yesterday. Iafleur assured her that she was fine and there is nothing to worry about. But when she happened to glance at the bedside table where she laid her necklace, she suddenly remembered what happened this morning.

'There's another vampire.' she thought privately. She was unsure how to tell Lariel about the incident so, in the end, she kept it to herself instead. Iafleur expected another disturbing night after she ended the call with Lariel but she never thought it would go for the worse.

It was incredulous to think that she sleepwalked and got herself in an unfamiliar place. But the environment is quite too surreal to be considered a real place.

Iafleur snapped into consciousness and what greeted her was the bright light coming from directly above her. She blink several times before eventually lifting her palm before her eyes.

'Where am I?'

Iafleur got up, the hard texture of what she was sitting is no longer the texture of her soft mattress. More importantly, when she pans her eyes around, everything in her room is no longer evident. Everything is just pure darkness and the only light in the place was the spotlight shining above her.

Iafleur pondered if she must have fallen too deeply asleep to have dreamed such an experience. The place was cold that her fingertips felt like ice if she graze them on her skin. There is also mist moving around the portion where Iafleur stood.

But while Iafleur was pondering the reality of her situation, a voice from behind her suddenly spoke that greatly startled her.

"This is not a dream."

She gasped and hastily turned around. "Who's there?"

She heard a small chuckle coming from a distance. Due to the spotlight's brightness, Iafleur fails to get a clear glimpse of what is really around her.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" she demanded valiantly.

She heard a small chuckle followed by light footsteps approaching her. A pair of shoes was the first thing that stepped into the light but when the owner of the voice finally fully revealed herself, Iafleur nearly staggered back in fear. A woman with middle-back-length wavy auburn hair with blood-red eyes stands before her.

But Iafleur instantly snapped back into her anger and grudgingly attacked the vampire before her.

"You! How did you---"

Unfortunately, she had forgotten the idea of being a spirit and thus Iafleur herself "plunged" through the vampire's body and the loud thud of her falling on the floor amused the vampire.

Iafleur was left in shock. "What just happened?"

"No matter how many attacks you'll deliver, they'll never be able to hit me," said the vampire. "Because you can't hit a spirit. You must have realised by now that I am the spirit of that body you found in Graydel Woods."

Iafleur stood back on her feet to face the creature once again. She met her blood-red eyes. "Where am I? Where have you taken me, you monster?!" she demanded.

The vampire sighed. "I know the human race always referred that to us but it's still painful to hear it coming directly from you."

"What are you talking about?"

"The first thing you need to know is that I have never taken you anywhere. Where we are now is wherever you really are as we speak."

Iafleur's forehead wrinkled in confusion but her fists are still tightly clenched. "What do you mean?"

She clicked her tongue. "This is inside your dream, woman. When you fell asleep, I had the opportunity to summon you here."

"But I thought you said this wasn't a dream."

"It is not," confirmed the vampire. "Because what is happening right now is real."

Iafleur scoffs and playfully smirked. "Tell me, monster, why have you called me here? What is your motive? Were you the one spreading these lies about an Umbran who supposedly found the lost Kingdom of Vampires? If so, I'm afraid I'll have to break the Council's trust. Now, tell me your purpose before I end your filthy spirit here."

The vampire did not even waver at Iafleur's threat. Her blood-red eyes contained calmness. "Perhaps, I didn't make myself clear enough earlier. I am but a spirit who entered your dreams, woman. You held my body when I died, allowing me to enter your shallow and empty heart, giving me a new home to rest upon. When I entered your heart, my body instantly turned into dust. I guess I must thank you for giving me a new shelter."

"I won't let you use my body," Iafleur firmly declared.

The vampire chuckled at her in amusement. "So, you've heard of the notion that as long as your heart is strong and you know who you are, you can never be possessed by anything. How foolish of you. You don't fit in that. You're weak. And that proves my presence before you. Your shallowness gave me the access to manipulate your dream. Your heart is as empty and deep as an endless well. You are confused about the things you know and the things you'll just suddenly remember. The curiosity in your heart makes you uncomfortable all the time and it makes you even more frustrated that you 'don't' know the question itself.

"To demand an answer can be depressing but to look for the question itself--- it's infuriating and saddening at the same time. Are you sure you know who you are, woman? Do you even have the answer to your unusual hatred towards vampires and werewolves? But your work as a Secretary to the Human Council talks nothing but vampires all day. How do you even tolerate that?"

"SHUT UP!" Iafleur bellowed and in a fit of rage, began attacking the vampire again. But just like the last time, Iafleur's knuckles and kicks all passed through her body as though it wasn't even there. It was like wrestling against the air. Apparently, this only enraged Iafleur.

Iafleur's loud cry of agonising anger echoed in the darkness, she held her head with both hands and yelled at the top of her lungs.

The vampire remained neutral in her stance. She did not even move a single inch. And even if she acted as a good person and was kind to comfort her, her hands would only pass through Iafleur's body. A small smile flashed on her lips as though seeing Iafleur in its present state gives her the ultimate entertainment.

"Will you lend me now your ears?" she softly uttered.

Iafleur shakily lifted her head to meet her blood-red eyes. "What do you want from me?" Her voice sounded a bit hoarse due to her screaming.

The vampire smirked again. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Nassia." Her expression then transitioned into a stern one. "You've heard about the rumours about an Umbran already. I will confirm to you the facts of that rumours--- they are all true. I heard your heart speaking earlier that you don't believe in Umbrans, but they are actually real. Umbrans are the rarest kinds of vampires and there are only two of them left. But during the Great Slaughter, we lost one Umbran while the other one survived. That Umbran has been living in the sealed woods for over a thousand years now.

"And no, I wasn't the one spreading the rumour. As you know, I was killed before I could even do so. But I did not escape from the sealed woods. My family escaped during the Great Slaughter and we've been living outside the woods for over a thousand years until three days ago, both of my parents were killed. I was unfortunate to be caught by my pursuer and got killed. That's when you found me."

"Amongst the things you said, nothing told me of your motive for calling me here," Iafleur uninterestingly responded.

The vampire straightforwardly revealed, "I'm stooping very low as we speak for I need you to help me fulfil this mission. I want you to find the missing human princess."

Iafleur was quite taken aback by her response. "Missing human princess? Do you mean Her Highness has been kidnapped? How do you know this?"

"Believe me or not but I'm telling you the truth. Though I don't know the whole myself, I heard that the Eldentri are looking for her."

Iafleur looked directly into her eyes to assert if the words she spits were honest enough. Iafleur despises all liars. But unfortunately, she deemed her eyes to be truthful. Even the vampire herself did not exhibit any body gesture that indicates her lie. Still, Iafleur is reluctant to believe her words.

"How am I supposed to know this isn't some trick you are using on me to get me working?" Iafleur retorted. "This strategy of yours could all just be a part of your plan to deceive humanity and take your revenge. Do you actually expect me to believe that foolish people would dare and invade Buckingham Palace, the heaviest guarded building in the United Kingdom?"

However, the vampire again did not express a wavering stance. She stood firm on her ground as though she knew already that Iafleur would somehow give in to her demand. "Let me ask you something, woman. Do you love your people? The human race? Do you love them so much that you won't be able to sleep at night if innocent blood were spilt on the ground again?"

Iafleur instinctively clenched her fists, her nails buried underneath her skin, piercing through the old wounds. "Don't even start by using the dark history to convince or deceive me. You monsters are the reason that the people lived in fear. The people shouldn't even be adoring your existence. We should be despising you all because you're all monsters! And because of you--- I lost my family."

"Oh, did you?" The nonchalance of her voice nettled her.

"I will not tolerate you and your insults against my people!"

"It's not like you can do anything to a spirit."

She 'Tsked!' "Why me?"

"Because you're the chosen one."

"What? Chosen one?"

"Imagine being the person to possess an ultimate power that will protect your entire people--- people will remark you as the saviour of mankind. Someone whose heart is pure and good, someone who does not ignore justice and will choose the path that will bring what's best for everyone. And that's you, woman."

She smirked again, creeping out Iafleur. "Another blood war is coming, Iafleur. And you're the only one who can stop it."

Iafleur might have been convinced by the vampire if it weren't for the smirk. She crosses her arm and replies, "Is that right? And what would this war be? A war between human soldiers against vampire bones and ashes? I know full well that there aren't any more vampires existing in the world. Our ancestors eradicated all of your kind. And I know for sure--- and I'm confident for certain that the Goddess of the Moon also enabled your abilities to turn someone into a vampire."

This time, it was Iafleur who wore the playful smirk. "Don't you see, monster. You cannot deceive us, humans, again. And you're right, this is your new home now. This darkness. Because this is where you all belong, you belong in the dark. After all, you are creatures of darkness." After declaring those words, Iafleur snapped her fingers and almost instantly that she was transported back to reality. She woke up with a loud gasp and realises that it was already daylight.

She chuckled and laid back again with relief. "I knew it. It was just a dream."

Unbeknownst to her, the necklace on her bedside table glowed red for the third time, at the same moment, Iafleur's eyes flickered from blue to red.