Divine Descent

Chapter Nine

The vampire underground stirs unrest even into the night. Huddled together, spouting manic questions and theories, there is a constant buzz in the room, an urgency I can feel in my sweltering veins. There are more bodies here than usual, no doubt piled in from the city for answers I haven't given yet.

Elijah has somehow managed to completely refrain from speaking to me while also guarding me sufficiently from their attempts to corner me into submission. It's pointless for him to do so. They cannot bagger me for two reasons. One, I could make it impossible for them to find me easily, and two because I'm not hiding anything.

I have no agenda, even if they think I do.

The person I would normally turn to for answers, the one that seems to know more than I do is also someone I'm silently hoping will never contact me again. For the sake of the man I love, I hope he'll stay away.

To my detriment, I'm smart enough to know better.

"What do we do? Is this it? Has it begun?"

The questions rain through the air, intended for me. I can hear every single one. Normally, in this situation, I would attempt to find a solution, if not for my own sanity, but Elijah's, who has now resorted to slamming his hands into random chests of people trying to get near me. But to summon a vision... in front of Elijah... to turn to someone other than him knowing how unstable we are, I cannot bring myself to do it... and he hasn't asked me to.

Damien and Paris appear at the exit of the tunnel that leads outside, scurrying down with news. Everyone, knowing they are Elijah's progenies, quiets down in order to hear them properly.

"The entire world remains dark. The roars have silenced but the streets are still unmanageable. Broadcasting on every station is that sound. It happened everywhere, everywhere in the world. The humans are already claiming it's the Armageddon."

Elijah flicks his fingers, encouraging them to come to him rather than say anymore, considering how riled the vampires are becoming, sensing war approaching rapidly.

Erika, who's been at my side this entire time, leans in to me. "May I speak to you privately?"

Paris grabs onto Elijah's shoulder, whistling unbelievably. "It's getting bad out there, but I haven't heard any major news outlets detail anything about us as of yet."

"No doubt everyone is waiting for word from the tribunal."

"We need to go to Italy," Damien says, seriously. "And somehow we need to find a way to postpone an outbreak for as long as we can."

Elijah nods. "Our instructions will need to reach every corner of the globe."

The three of them turn their gazes onto me, their brilliant minds knowing this is far bigger than any of them. Erika hasn't looked away from me, still waiting for my answer.

I nod to her, taking her hand, fixing my gaze onto Elijah. "She wants to speak to me. I'll be right back."

His features soften for me for a few very brief moments before he's bumped by someone trying to get through, someone noticing I'm leaving the room. He turns to deal with them and I turn to deal with Erika, wondering how crossly she'll yell at me once we're alone.

She shuts me into our bedroom, coming right out with the problem.

"Now, I know Elijah doesn't want you to rely on anyone but him, but Cassandra, you are a god. You are the bringer of this darkness, and you must find the answers, even if it means—"

"I won't turn to someone trying to tear us apart."

She grabs onto my arms, almost flinching at the heat radiating from me. It distracts her for only a moment. "You know we are impatient. You know it's only a matter of time before vampires take to the streets. They need a leader. Not the tribunal, not Elijah. They need you. You need to find out what to do. This... man, whatever he is, he might help you fix this."