No Words

Kubra

I felt a little left out while Louis and the guys fought for Ian's island. My men and I had to protect what we already had. Regardless, I was doing the rounds, hoping Louis and the boys would finish the job. Nahrima was the most fortified, and I needed to keep it that way. In the end, Louis had only taken a handful of men because we didn't have that much to spare, and if they succeeded, we needed to finish the job on Earth.

It was a tedious task to check every building in Nahrima. Would Ian even know we were coming? Did they have some other way of communicating with Earth? I paused before I had to travel again. The Tower was not guarded at all if everyone was out. Marcus and Juliet were there, but… I decided to make a quick trip, taking some men with me. We were barely through the lobby, and Ian's men came through. We were ready and slaughtered them. It was a scouting parting. My mind started working, wondering how they had gotten the information. It meant that they had fixed their teleporter, but how? When? I sent the guys a message. They were deep in there, so they had no time to talk.

I went upstairs to see if Marcus and Juliet were decent. It was hard to see her give it all away to Soren. I couldn't blame her for not knowing he would turn, and after, it was even worse to watch Marcus do nothing for months. I walked through the small foyer, passing some other offices to get to Juliet's. I knew that smell and stepped back, clapping a hand over my mouth and nose. I had to get a mask. Made another trip and came back upstairs. I stepped through the door and tripped over something. "Marcus!" I moved into the room and searched the whole office. Juliet would not go that far. It felt off even for her. I walked through the door, dragging Marcus with me.

The mechanism that worked the door was tampered with, and I couldn't understand who could come into the tower and do it. I traveled to Juliet's room, tossed Marcus on the bed, sat down, and raked my hand through my hair. I stood up quickly and went through Juliet's cupboard, found what I was looking for, and stabbed Marcus in the neck, waiting for the drugs to take effect. It wouldn't be as quick as getting over a hangover. It felt like an age. I asked the guys how it was going. Nothing. My foot started tapping. "Juliet, where are you?" I took another tube and pushed it into his neck. Marcus's eyes slowly opened. He folded in two, clutching his stomach, groaning. "Aarghh." Marcus was in severe pain. "Kubra. Antidote." He doubled over again, pulling his knees to his chest, unable to speak. His eyes closed.

Where the hell will I find the antidote. I needed Romero or the next best thing. I traveled. "Charlene!" I roared out into the desert.

She jogged out of Romero's house. He was right behind her. "I need someone. Anyone."

Iku drifted over, covering the ground in a few seconds. "What happened." I looked at the shadow. Would he help us?

"Marcus needs help."

"Let's go."

That was easy. Iku followed and rushed the naked body on the bed. Marcus was drenched in sweat. His veins were starting to pop to the surface of his skin. Iku picked him up and enveloped him in his arms. He kept going until I couldn't see Marcus anymore. Iku came back to human and gently laid him on the bed, watching to see if he would calm down. It worked. "He won't wake up for a while."

"Thank You. I don't know how… But I will."

"There is no need. Now, slowly, tell me what happened."

"I don't know. Juliet is gone. I can't get a hold of the men…"

"Well, let's go see what's going on. Can you trust your men without you?" I nodded.

Iku and I traveled to Avrio's Island, met with streets filled with bodies. There were men on the ground going through what Marcus had experienced and others whose symptoms had run their course. I started running. The fight wasn't over, and before we could take a few steps, more vamps pushed through behind us. Not our men. Ian was doing damage control from Earth. Iku didn't need to ask for a weapon. We fought side by side. They were traveling in thirty at a time. Iku went straight for them, flowing over the men and turning pitch black. No veins. No distinctions. He moved through the first wave, leaving dead bodies to fall to the ground. The next wave, he extended his arms, dragging the vamps to the sand's edge, pushing them into the air, and throwing them into the pink ocean. The next wave had arrived and vanished as soon as they saw the massacre or what they were dealing with.

"I do not know why Marcus did not ask for help sooner. The boy is out of his dept." I realized he was. It was too much for Marcus. Too many people depended on him. Too many variables. He only needed to take care of two people in his life. Now, there were many… and Naji. He had too many emotions that he had no idea how to deal with.

Caleb came out of his vanished state. "We have to go to Palmyra! Right now! We need to take back my father's power. Once and for all."

"I don't think we have a choice." I glanced at Iku.

"I am willing. Bored out of my mind. Would not mind fighting the Chadari again. It has been a while. Their swords will be a problem. Maybe I should go get my wife. We make it a fair fight." The corner of his mouth lifted. 

"Your wife?"

Iku's smile broadened. "Come."

It took us ten minutes, but we came out at the Palace on Palmyra and followed Caleb as he led us to their command center. The Chadari lifted their heads in the air and cried out. Iku's wife elegantly moved to stand in front of him. He settled behind her and nestled in her neck. She whispered seductively into his ear. Iku let out a low groan. With two hands, he stroked her arms until their fingers were mingled. The first Chadari came at them. She lifted her hands slowly as they manifested into a joint cloud of death, pushing their power toward the oncoming waves of stampeding dragons who were only a sword's length away. Their extended shadow flowed over each opponent, swirling around their heads, dropping them like flies.

"Behind you." Caled yelled.

Iku's wife was not concerned. They moved as a well-choreographed team, turning slowly, their bodies dancing and sending their shadow out.

I remembered what happened during the campaign on Mirach. Romero's army only had to stand together. A cloud of death defeated the front lines. The werewolves were leading the expedition. Silvanus had seen what I had. The Dheka was not attacking but protecting, defending. He had teleported into the middle of the two opposing armies and held up his hand. Silvanus had taken a knee. The queen stepped out, surrounded by a cloud of protection. She walked gracefully over the soil until she touched his shoulder. The man and the woman were the same height when Silvanus got up. It was he who saved us that day. The werewolves had no idea what they had gotten into. Silvanus gestured to the wolves, and Zavier stepped out of the crowd to meet her. I found out later what he had told her, why they had come, and what they predicted would happen. The queen called off the army. The three had a lengthy discussion. We were there for weeks. First, we needed to get to the city to attack, and then we had to wait for the ruler. I never even saw Romero. 

I knew the red swords worked on Iku if he was human, but not when manifested. The first Chadari tried to throw his sword at them. Iku swept out from behind his wife. The sword went right through her. The bridge shook with every step Iku took until he towered above the unlucky dragon. It looked like he could control what parts of him could solidify and when. He reached out, placed his hand on the Chadari's head, and tossed him over the bridge.

Caleb and I were busy behind the teleporter. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Yes, I just need." I looked around. "It's not here."

"I have it," said a voice from the doors at the top of the stairs leading into the palace. Jade tossed the thing up into the air and grabbed it again. Iku's wife wasn't happy and pushed Caleb and me out of the way. She folded her arms together, lifted and pulled everything from the ground, crushing the whole structure. The droning stopped instantly, leaving the bridge eerily quiet. As a result, the Chadari retaliated. Iku held off the incoming traffic. The wife moved swiftly towards the stairs. Dimitrios saw the threat, jumped onto the wall, and came down on her with his sword in both hands pointed down. The blade penetrated into the stone. Iku turned death on his features. "I am protecting what is mine," Dimitrios said.

Iku held out his arm. His wife drifted over and pushed her back into his chest. Caleb came out of his vanished state and yelled, "Enough!" Iku and his wife returned to human as we huddled together, teleporting back to En-gannim. His wife was wide-eyed, looking at everything and talking in a strange tongue. She stepped out of the teleporter spot, walking very fast, touching everything she could. Iku followed, smiling. He took her hand and led her back to where she had to be. We traveled again. She was even more amazed and manifested, flowing down the street. Iku sighed and did the same. Caleb and I were running down the road. Avrio's house came into view. Marcus's men had taken the island. "General."

"Have you cleared the island?

"We will not leave one soul alive. The men are working their way through as we speak."

"Stay here."

Iku's wife was still going from one place to another. She wanted to touch the pink water. Iku grabbed her hand and spun her to him. He murmured to her. Her eyes widened, and she turned into him, taking his hands and wrapping his arms around her. She was a beautiful woman. Flawless dark skin. A strapless, long black dress hugged every part of her. At the waist, it ruffled and flowed outwards. A large cape was tied around her neck with round golden plates woven together. Her hair was loosely braided in rows on her head. The rest hung free, soft, and long to her waist. On both hands, black rings on her middle fingers connected to bracelets with intricately crafted chains and jewels. She had tattoos on her face. White and inked into the dark skin. It followed her upper browline in small dots from one side to the other. Under her eyes, it was the same, framing her most beautiful features across her cheeks bones, and the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were more blue than Louis and Juliet's combined. "Come, we got to get to Soren's island to see how Louis is faring."

We traveled again. Their Island was small. You could see the boundary in the distance. Iku's wife had calmed down, and we walked along the narrow beached road. En-gannim was worth fighting for. Louis was sitting down, clutching his head in his hands. The three Riphaths huddled in a group outside the house. Michael was cleaning the streets. It was quiet as we walked into the house. Louis gripped Caleb's wrist and held him back. "Not today."

I slowly made my way through the cordoned-off courtyard. We moved through the house. Iku's wife went ballistic, rushing the bed, cutting Rana's bondages, yelling, and destroying the furniture.

Iku sat on the bed beside the woman and covered her with a throw. Rana was staring aimlessly out in front of her. "Do you want to live or die?"

Rana sobbed instantly. Iku stood up. "She will be okay."

"Louis!" I yelled as we entered the courtyard. The man came into the house with Caleb next to him. I nodded, and he let the boy go. "Where is Juliet?" I asked.

"With Marcus."

"Her office was attacked with one of Marcus's creations. We barely saved him. Some of Ian's men came. If I had to guess, Soren used the gap."

"No! How did they get into the tower? How was the teleporter operational again."

"I have no idea what's going on or what happened."

Louis's gaze drifted over my shoulder. Rana was shakily descending the stairs on her way somewhere. "None of us could kill her. I don't know what to do with her?" Louis said.

"Soren's parents?"

"Dead." Louis seemed defeated.

"Isla?"

Louis shook his head. "She wasn't there."

"We completely destroyed their teleporter. Ian's troops are stuck there. Should we keep going?"

Louis didn't want to snap out of it. Caleb disappeared. The gesture brought Louis full circle. "Michael! Werewolf! Caleb! Chris, get him."

The boy had run, teleporting down the road. Michael had to go from one to the other to catch up. Chris was at the station before either of them could reach the cubicle. He wrapped his arms around his son, and Caleb came back. "Let me go. Soren has mom. Let me go!" Chris's eyes came up, and I nodded.

"Caleb. I can go get her, remember. But I will need you. Level headed. We can't go in there without a plan. Soren knows everything about us."

"She is with Soren, who did that to Rana." Caleb struggled in Chris's arms, which manifested and tightened his grip on the boy. "She is on Earth with Ian. Dad, we have to go. She will see everything. They will cut her. She'll be trapped. If we kill all of them. They will have no need for her. Fahan is there… they will all die! It will be just you, me and Michael. Dad let me go. If we don't go in there now, they will figure something out to counter you."

"Soren knows I'm coming."

"Yes, Dad, please. We have to go. If she was drugged with the same stuff, she would die anyway. Soren won't know what's wrong. He won't bring her back."

***

Fahan

I heard the car pull up to the house. We had recalled our troops after Juliet's interference, and we were on our way to retreat to En-gannin when the teleporters stopped working again. I was stuck on Earth with my army, and because our system was interlinked, we had no way to communicate with Jade. Soren was holding a naked Juliet in his arms. She had wounds all over her body. Her arms were raw. Her ribs were bruised. She had defensive wounds on her hands and her face. A massive cut on her arm. It was strange seeing her like that. Soren's face. It was different. What had they done? Juliet's body pulled together in a weird spasm. Her veins were protruding above her skin. Ian and Soren were arguing. "If we let her die, all our problems will be solved," Ian said.

"Solved!? Solved?! All your men, dead. No way to get back!"

"We can finally start over, Soren. We have enough men. We will find a way back. It is only a matter of time before Dimitrios and Jade fix the teleporter. Think about it, Soren. It's what we wanted. We didn't even have to do anything. The Earth will be ours. En-gannim. Everything."

"She will die anyway," Soren said to himself. "I thought it was normal weed. If I don't help her. She will die." The boy was losing all control.

"Soren, why would you want to help her."

"I had plans, just like you. I told you what I wanted. She has to suffer. Don't you understand?"

Ian regarded him for a moment. "You feel they are getting an easy death."

"Way too easy! We might not have the same goals, but can you at least try to see it from my perspective."

"Well, Soren, I can't help you. Like you said, she will die anyway. You did this. You got overzealous." Ian turned to leave, talking to some of his men.

Soren held Juliet in his arms, his chin on her head, rocking back and forth. The boy did not know what to do. Juliet's body began to shake uncontrollably. Her limbs were taught and seemed fixed in place. "You can't die. Julie!" He stroked her head, kissing her on the forehead. I finally understood what was going on. All those months. The posturing. Marcus's reluctance to attack. Soren's drive to kill Jade. Ian's patience to take over. I did not like seeing Juliet like that. I did not like the idea of the vamps disappearing and dealing with Ian until my last breath. I did not like being stranded on Earth for weeks or even months. There was no way Dimitrios and Jade could fix the teleporter. I would be stuck there. My men would be stuck on Earth.

Before Ian could leave the room and Soren still on the ground, another car stopped. We were not used to car sounds on the compound. None of us could fit in one, and the vamps didn't know how they worked. Ian had turned back to see what was going on. Marcus came walking up the stairs, hands in the air. Bear chest and pants. Nothing on his feet. He looked like he did after we fought on the boat. He was drenched in sweat, his hair fixed to his forehead, and his skin looked like Juliet's. Ian wanted to move. Marcus went onto his knees, "Please give it to her." He had two black things in his hand. "Please, Soren, give it to her." Soren had already put Juliet down and had gone over to where Marcus was. Hurriedly, he took the two things and stabbed Juliet in the neck with both. He cradled her again, moving back and forth. Ian lifted his hand, and the men took Marcus away. One under each arm, his feet dragging. Marcus looked back to see if Juliet would wake up.

***

Juliet

I tried to open my eyes, but the shock of what happened and the realization that I was somewhere I was not supposed to be overwhelmed me. I was naked but not cold. Too hot and sweating. I had a consuming fever. The excruciating pain followed. I groaned, and my muscles pulled together in agony. It felt like I would catch fire. All I could smell was blood and sweat. The taste of iron on my tongue. Two arms tightened their hold on me. It was so quiet around us. A strong wind was howling outside, blowing in gusts of dusty wind over us. I moved my head from side to side to try and rid myself of the fog that wouldn't lift. I remembered the feeling.

Rodrigo crouched down beside me. Stuck in a room connected to some yellow liquid. My mind went black, and I felt myself immersed in nothingness. Jolted back to life, just to be taken away to the darkness, realizing I was about to die. My body was fighting, not wanting to let go, but I had no strength to make it count. I was on the floor, and I felt the slamming of a fist onto my chest. It was the only thing bringing me back from letting go. I had no control… at the mercy of another person. I wanted it to stop. I wanted them to leave me alone. The quiet and darkness were much better than the pain and vulnerability.

"Come on!" Soren's voice broke through the last hard pound on my chest. I could open my eyes. He pulled me to his chest, and I stared out over the desert. Two big doors stood open. Marcus would be going through what I had gone through. The little fight I had left made me weakly move around in Soren's arms, trying to break free. He would not let me go. I could not talk. "Julie." I struggled more with the endearment; he had no right to call me anymore. I wanted to lift my arms and swat him away, push him far away from me. "You're back."

I turned my head. There were a lot of men in the room. One dressed differently than the rest. "Soren, give her to the men and come with me."

A fear of what it meant took over. I struggled even more. "I will take her." The voice was so familiar. I was relieved to see him. Fahan bent down and slid his hand in under my waist until his fingers curled around my waist, and I was dangling high off the ground from his grasp. I didn't want to look at Soren. We were moving through the house. I had not seen those parts. Fahan opened a door and descended several stairs, reaching a landing, turning, and more stairs. It became darker and darker. He had no issues finding his way. He pushed open another door. "Fahan, please. Put her in with me." Marcus was there. I tried to see him. It was too dark. "I can not," was all Fahan said. "Julie, I'm here."

I still couldn't speak. I was on a cold cement floor, and the door creaked and shut with a clang of metal on metal. I turned on my side, clutching my stomach. The pain didn't want to go away. I couldn't hear Marcus anymore. I could hear nothing but the deafening silence around me. We were down in the tunnels. I was in one of those rooms where you put young vamps to conform. Taken out to be tortured and left for too long. Chris had still not come for me. Why had he not come for me? I'd been in so much danger those last two days.

***

Soren

I had asked Ian to give me a minute. Sat on Juliet's bed where we had consummated our relationship. I was shaking, completely losing any coherent faculties. I had dosed myself at one time with that stuff, not like Louis, who stretched it out over months and months. There was no way to get it out. Juliet could kill me. But I was nowhere near killing her, and I did not know how to convince Ian not to do it. What would motivate him to let them all live? It was such a simple solution. Kill her, and all our problems disappear.

I took a freezing shower, scrubbing the blood off my hands. Juliet's veins had started bleeding, the corners of her eyes and nose. It was so close. If Marcus did not come. It would've all been over. I put on new clothes while walking.

Ian was in the main house in Qadir's old room. "Soren, you have to give me a good reason."

"I was… on another planet. There was another species… A.. The only way I can describe it… The man turned into a cloud… a black cloud."

Ian's features paled. I sighed in relief. "The Dheka. So that's where they were hiding. We have to change strategies. Marcus needs to stay here for as long as possible. Do you have any way of getting us up and running on Palmyra?" I shook my head. "Do you think the rest will keep going on En-gannim?"

"I don't know? Maybe Liam and Samuel will take them out. Use the opportunity."

Ian came back from his manifestation. "So we lost this round. We will have to focus on Earth for now. Find a way to communicate with Jade and Dimitrios. If we kill them all, we will never leave. We can't kill Juliet after all. The Dheka has Ahasuerus's vaults. Their teleportation power. Everything."

"Who is the Dheka?"

"Death."

Fahan, walking inside a house too small for him, gave away his location. He struggled to get through the door. "Ian. What is going on? We cannot be stuck here forever? What are we supposed to eat? You eat while you kill. My men?"

"There will not be a lot of eating all around if we can not travel. Your people did not protect the teleporter. It was your one job. And it is your power."

Fahan gestured to Soren. "Here is the problem. The boy has a bond with Juliet. It has cost us everything… How could you let him run things?"

"He is not much younger than you. And so far, Soren has done nothing but make your life better… You will have to make do with the spoils of war."

"Spoils! Spoils? Two coordinates are not worth my people dying here. What if the other men decide to go and kill us all. Jade. They were already there if we have no power."

Ian manifested and slammed his fist onto the table. "Try cow. Let me know if it works with your systems. The provisions we have should last you a month. As for the other issues, Fahan. It is war. You are paid to fight. Leave now."

"What happened? What else are you not saying?"

"Do you know the Dheka?" Fahan said nothing. It was enough for Ian. "It seems you do. Well, not only is Juliet in alliance with them, but we do not know why? I can not kill her."

"They have everything?"

"Yes. For now."

"I do not know how you plan to get out of this. But if the Dheka come. We might as well kill ourselves."

"I am going to send them back. To relieve the pressure. So give me two weeks. In the meantime, we need America. You march immediately. East. For now, we will go to every farm and every house in the vicinity of this place and clear it out. Spoils Fahan. They will come… But we have to take our time. I do not fight for instant winnings."

"Let us hope our other troops on the other continents can maintain the ground we already took."

"Precisely. And let's not forget why we are here. There are already more Ittoqure coming out of this hell hole. Not even you could kill them. We need the humans destroyed. Too many enemies are not a good thing."

***

Louis

It was chaos in the room. There were so many people talking. Marcus didn't want to do anything for this exact reason. We had pushed them into a corner. Juliet had disabled their teleporter, and it was enough for Soren to become desperate. It is what I wanted to do.

"Marcus is not there," Kubra said, coming into the common room.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know? Iku and I left him there in a terrible state."

Caleb had calmed down, but he was pacing like his mother would've done. "He's on Earth," Liam said. "He went after Juliet. It was Soren. Marcus took the antidote." Liam dragged Caleb in under his shoulder. The two men seemed relieved.

I had not wanted Juliet on Earth, and now she and Marcus were there. I got to my feet and picked up a plate. "Michael. Drop it somewhere where there could be absolutely no way for them to counter you. In and out. You have three seconds."

Michael took it, disappeared, and came right back. "It's on her bed in the compound. He's actually living there."

"So they're going to be down in the tunnels. How long till they figure out how to make a weapon." Liam asked.

"Do we have a choice? We have to wait. Chris goes directly to Juliet. It will already be too late. They could be in any one of those rooms. We can't send back up. Two of our own is better than all of us out of commission." Samuel said. "If they wanted her dead, she would be."

"Chris, take Caleb to Mirach," I said softly. The boy was protesting in his father's manifested arms.

Later that night, I sent a message.

Louis [ Can I talk to her ]

Soren [ Not gonna happen ]

Louis [ So what now ]

Soren [ Now they stay for a while. Until all your truth is revealed ]

Louis [ Why ]

Soren [ I'm moving on ]

Louis [ I regret not letting you brand her. We would've known then what we were dealing with. You never cared about her ]

Soren [ Since I watched your feed. I could say the same thing ]

I melted into a pile of disillusionment about myself. The truth didn't want to let me go. Their branding would've worked. Nothing he was doing meant he cared any less about her. I was trying to psychoanalyze a man who would do anything to get what he wanted. He knew her so well.

Louis [ If you let them go now. You can have everything ]

Nothing came back after that. Marcus was right. Soren was using Ian.

***

The following day, Chris had disappeared. Decided to try all by himself. He left us a message that he would go and hoped for the best. If he didn't come back, we should send in Ira and Silvanus.

Soren [ Chris should've come yesterday. You guys are failing her, Louis. ]

I wanted to break his neck. Send in the Dheka, the vamps, the Riphaths, and the wolves. Finish it once and for all.

Louis [ I think I should send in Silvanus ]

Soren [ No need. You can talk to Chris at any point. He is staying for a few days to watch all your sins play out. I'll send him right back. And when Juliet is done. She will come back. Hope you're ready ]

There was no point in creating a massacre for my sins. All lies eventually come to the surface. It was time that Juliet knew the truth, and I would carry the consequences.