The house reeked of blood,

Everything reeked of blood.

I suppose my whole life seemed to revolve around it, I had been injected with blood my entire life, I found myself living in the Bloodlust Pack, I now cried tears of blood, and here, it had now become the primary source of Harmony's diet.

It was inescapable.

We were now playing a waiting game. The spies had been selected and sent out only moments ago, and we had just finished organising the rest of the packs. A long list had been drafted about the ones who were willing to fight with us and the ones who were not.

If the surrounding Alpha's were to be believed, they were all completely prepared, setting up their own spies while keeping direct contact with Alexander. 

I hadn't wasted any time upon arriving home, throwing off the tarnished clothes that I had been wearing and replaced them with the black leathers. It seemed to be the only thing that I wore these days. Silently, I made myself a promise. Once all this was over, I would burn it, rip it, destroy it, whatever it took to remove it permanently from my life.

I had spent my whole life doing this, acting out illegal crimes and terrible acts of murder. I'm not sure if after today it's something that I wanted to be so prepared for. I suppose that my history would be part of me forever, but that didn't mean that I had to remember it, acknowledge it at every opportunity.

Harmony was out the back, being forced to run laps by Vance, racing her around the perimeter of the house in an attempt to burn some energy. Ideally, she would have a bit more time in her new form before being thrown into a battle, but we didn't have that luxury. Plus, with her so eager to compete, there was no chance of stopping her.

So, that leas to Vance caving and trying to force years and years of training within a few hours. I certainly hadn't been watching, but it seemed to be getting the job done. 

Water and ice chips filled the cup that was in my hand, desperately gulping it down to speed up the healing and cool my throat. 

I head seated myself next to Alexander, the two of us feeding off the other's energy.

"There's no consistency," I said, "To the fights, nothing. I can't plan ahead, everything seemed like they are thrown together last minute."

Alexander grabbed my hand, "You're fine. Chances are that's because that's what they are doing."

I raised an eyebrow, "They've never done that before,"

He scoffed, "They also had all three leaders and the power of you behind them before."

I poked my lip, "That is true."

"This sort of situation is one that you've never done before. This isn't a quick mission to eliminate one or two people, this is a war that will decide the fate of our entire species for a generation. You can't blame yourself for not being completely prepared, especially when it's impossible to prepare for." Alexander stated, his voice calm and soothing, immediately ridding myself of the uncontrollable beating in my chest.

"It shouldn't be like that, I should know. I should be able to see through and make the decisions that lead us on the right path. I've lived out the majority of my life with those people, in that base and I can't even predict what's going on?" I heaved, biting down the urge to completely lose my mind.

Alexander stayed as still as a rock, "You can't blame yourself. Why, when you have absolutely no control. In no way shape or form can you blame yourself for not being able to guess the set-out and plannings of a war. I won't let you blame yourself."

I didn't say anything in response, only leaning my head back and closing my eyes.

I still felt sick, a churning feeling in my stomach that wouldn't go away. Points in my head began to ache, I moved my fingers, massaging the skin in an attempt to cause the pain to fade. It didn't, only becoming more intense, as if I was making it worse rather than better.

Nightstalker, something whispered, their voice dripping through my mind. Nightstalker, where are you?

I squirmed, Nowhere, who are you?

Something deep inside of me said that I already knew exactly what demon was whispering into my ear, but I refused to admit it.

Oh, It purred, You know exactly who I am. Stand up Nightstalker, follow my voice, come to me.

Blood started to drip down my face, No, No, I'm not going anywhere.

Yes, you are.

My body then stood up, my back pin straight. I frantic feeling came over me until I realised, I still had complete control over my mind. My body? Not so much, but definitely my mind, my thoughts.

"Cassandra?" I heard Alexander ask, "Cassandra, what's going on."

"Madame Beaudeline," I choked, "I'm going to her. I don't know why, I'm not thinking about that right now," My leg moved me a step forward,"

In the beginning, my moves were harsh, forced. But the more I moved, the more my brain shut off, the more Madame Beaudeline was able to take over. I knew she wouldn't make me run. No, she was like a spider, spinning her web and waiting eternally for a helpless bug to trap itself.

She would want to drag it out just for the pure reason of entertainment.

Perhaps she didn't actually think of us as a threat, perhaps she was too confident in the Organisation is able to achieve its goal and take over. But then, I remembered Mistress Hemlock and Master Skotus, how could she retain any confidence when her two partners had been killed one at my hand and one at Ti's. 

If I was in her position, I certainly wouldn't be walking into this situation with the same attitude. 

And yet here I was, completely under her control as she forced me into moving. 

Alexander was by my side as I walked, following me out of the house, "We'll leave you on your own, follow you from behind. I'm sending out a message to the spies and try and see if we can get any information from their end. I'll be right behind you, I promise."

"Stop wasting time," I replied back, barely able to put any emotion into my voice. "Go, I've got this on my own, you have other things you need to be focusing on."

Whether he agreed with my words or not, who knows. But he followed them, disappearing from my view, leaving me in solidarity as I walked.

One step after the other, the weight pooling in the bottom of my feet as I did so. 

I managed to move directly into the forest, meaning that Madame Beaudeline was in the direction of the Base, unsurprisingly. 

She could at least try to be original, though, I suppose it was only a moment ago I was complaining about the fact that she wasn't playing how I wanted her to. 

The slight pain was still in my head, accompanied by a blurring buzz that seemed to completely overall my senses. I couldn't think, couldn't talk, could barely even see. I was relying on Madame Beaudleine right now, leading me into her palm as she trekked me through the woods.

The only thing I could think of was perhaps the inkling of magic in my system that had been dormant from before was still in my system. All Madame Beaudeline had to do was reach into my mind, just for a moment to find and latch her hand around it. It only would have taken a breath on her part to reawaken it. Perhaps she had different intentions, all I could assume was that my mark had managed to fight off the majority of that vampire magic.

I had never been so grateful.

As my eyes roamed, I was back in that familiar pathway that dragged me from one edge of the continent to the other. Walking would take me days on days, so all I could assume was I would be met at least three-quarters of the way. Or maybe she would have just walked me to my death, either from exhaustion or stepping me off a cliff.

Both seemed right up her alley.

I could hear movement and rustling in the bushes. As I dragged my head sideways, I caught glimpses of light. Reflection on shining hair and bright eyes. There were people in the bushes, watching me, most likely making sure that I was on the right path, that I didn't break off and defer from the obvious plans they had set.

Then, blackness. It crept down from the tree's, leaking across the sky and dripping into the soil. The blues, greens, oranges and pinks that had decorated my view of the forest disappeared, replacing itself with an inky black instead. A faint feeling flew over my head, and then, a figure.

In the distance, like a god on the horizon, Madame Beaudeline.

She strolled towards me, almost gliding. Rarely did I ever see her in any other position but behind her desk. Or that was the only position that I could ever remember her in. 

"Nightstalker," Her voice was like honey, pouring over me, clogging my ears. She widened her arms, "Come to me,"

I wanted to snap her neck, right then and there. But I didn't, instead, my body pulled myself right into hers. The moment that it happened, she wrapped her delicate, spindly arms around me. She moved her hands and placed them against each other before then pressing them against my back, locking me into place.

"What on Earth have you been doing," She hissed sweetly, "You've been getting up into way more trouble than it's worth."

I gulped, "I've only been doing what you have always instructed me to."

She raised her eyebrow, "Oh really? Darling Nightstalker, I dare you to find any time I have ever said to murder my fellow leaders and completely betray this Organisation!"

I simply shrugged, "You've always said, destroy the enemy. It is, quite essentially, the same thing."

"Oh, it most certainly is not," She growled, "And you know it." She slapped me hard across the face, causing a wad of spit to come flying out my mouth. "Don't you dare test me, or I think you'll find yourself back in my dungeon."

I scoured my brain, trying to find that connection that allowed Madame Beaudeline to have that control over me. I moved as quickly as possible, desperately needing to get myself out of this situation. I almost missed it in the flurry, finding the connection and tugging on it harshly. I watched Madame Beaudeline's eyes pop slightly, confirming the fact to me that I had found the right one. 

At that moment, as quickly as I could, I snapped it. Destroying it like a cracking glowstick in my hand. I staggered back, losing control of myself for just a moment before pulling myself back together, raising my hands towards myself, ready to make any sort of attack.

But I could feel it, Alexander, and his army, were presumably only moments away. 

Just like that, Madame Beaudeline raised her arms, causing the blackness to take over the area completely, not just the area that had surrounded her. It covered everything, smothering even the slightest hint of light in the area.

It took me at least a minute for my eyes to readjust, but once I did, my only focus was making sure that I could locate Madame Beaudeline in the shadows.

Her red eyes stood out like a bat in a cave, the hint of white on the tips of her fangs being a stark contrast to the surrounding black. 

I bent down, squatting into the nothingness as I positioned myself in, hopefully, a position that would leave me completely undiscovered.

It's black, Alexander's voice filtered into my head, What the hell is going on?

Stay low, and stay prepared. She's done something. I whispered back, Tell Ti to go for it, she'll know what it means.

He didn't respond back, didn't need to. Ti and I were practically an expert of mushing our abilities into one, her power and my strength.

I moved right into the centre of the area, focusing on where the trees were and the location of all the people I knew that were hidden in bushy shadows. 

I held my hands out to my side, wiggling my fingers as I waited. It wasn't something we had done too many times, and it certainly wasn't something that we had perfected. But I couldn't think of anything else. I could barely see a foot in front of me, and I certainly couldn't shift or sent weapons flying.

I suppose I just had to hope that it would work.

It started as nothing, a circle in my hands that couldn't be any bigger than a nut. Then, it expanded, becoming slike slime in my fingers as I let the ball twist in my hand.

Ti's power to project it, and my strength to be able to wield it.

I kept moving around the light, offering a small saving grace in the blackness that surrounded me. But I had to be quick.

Less than a split second, and I had the snake of light wrapping itself around my forearm, latching one end to my elbow and the other to my wrist. I could feel the slight sizzle on my skin. A part that we obviously hadn't perfected, how for me to hold it without injuring myself.

Now that the magic had settled, I was ready to go.

I opened my hands and tried to create a ball that came off from the light cuffs, I then threw that ball right up into the air, creating a disco ball effect. Suddenly, the figures that I couldn't even dream of identifying were now shady blobs. Who knew how long Ti would be able to keep sending the magic through, so I wasted no time, moving my fists and now readily armed hands.

It was like cutting air, until on one lucky stroke, I broke the skin. I small hiss, but no blood on my blade. I moved just a little harder, swinging my knives and I desperately tried to cut more. I felt pressure on my blade, connected with Madame Beaudelines arm or side. The light above us started to flicker, and I watched as Madam's head moved forward just for a moment. She was going to bring in her army.

She's going to bring in her army, be ready to move. I said to Alexander.

"Go," I gritted, "I dare you,"

Madame Beaudelines eyes flickered, and as I felt a nudging in my head, like an order that just couldn't quite get through the boundary, I knew that the order had been set, I only pushed harder.

Everything that she had ever done to me, every word she spat or injury she inflicted, even the memories that she had pulled away from me in order to keep me under her control. Every emotion she had ever made me feel was being poured into every hit I made. She was fighting back, long talon nails that made massive scratched through my clothes.

The two of us moved like we were in a dance, wandering across the fields, unable to stop. I felt the tip of my shoe connect with a log. I didn't even have to think about it before I leaned down, grabbed it, and whacked it into the side of her head.

It sent her spiralling to the floor. I breathed heavily as I dropped the wood and continued to fight. In Madame Beaudelines confusion, the darkness lifted, showering us in the natural light. The cords that I had wrapped around my forearms disappeared, leaving a dark brown stain behind. 

While she hadn't managed to get herself back off the floor, Madame was slithering around me, grabbing at my ankles and trying to pull herself up using my body.

Any shadows that had remained were completely gone now, and every single person took that as a signal.

A battle had erupted behind us. 

I could barely even focus on it, snarls, hisses, groans, the sound of metal on flesh and the sharp feeling of magic in the air. 

Madame Beaudeline had no weapons, only herself. She moved her arms and trapped them around my body and in a moment of weakness, I felt my body being catapulted into the air.

I landed harshly against the ground, feeling my entire body rattle in pain as I did so. Now with the advantage, She stood over me, making slashes that drew blood to the surface, the very smell of it causing her nostrils to flare. She ripped the daggers out of my hand, leaving me completely defenceless as suddenly, my only options became to frantically crawl backwards in the hope that I would pick up enough speed to then propel myself forward so that I could run and find myself another option.

But that didn't happen, Madame Beaudeline stood over me, slamming her foot over mine to stop me from making that final move of escape.

"This is exactly how I always pictured defeating you Nightstalker," She taunted, "Right here, with your armies crumbling and you right beneath my feet."

My throat clammed up, I couldn't say anything in response.

"All you are is a bug beneath my shoe, waiting to be crushed. You killed your leaders, and in fact, you killed the only people willing to vouch for you. I have no such mercy, but as a thank you for your service, I'll make your death quick." She swiped her hand, sending her fingers flying over my collarbone, completely shredding the skin of the tattoo that I had been branded with.

I kept moving backwards until I felt something top me in my tracks, the same wooden log that I had used only moments before. I only had one chance at this, one chance and it would all be over.

I grabbed it, spun it between my hands until it was firmly into position and rammed it into her chest, completely rendering her useless. 

She stumbled to the ground and in a flurry, I grabbed her very own personal dagger that lay at her hip. In one quick, merciless movement, I smashed it through her neck as I grabbed onto her hair.

I yanked the black tresses upwards, her entire head flying with me, completely decapitated.

I took a few steps away from the thoroughly dead body and dropped the head to the ground. I stared at it for just a moment before angrily beginning to step on it, tears welling my eyes.

If she wasn't already dead, my stomping would have done the trick.

Just like a bug beneath my shoe.

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