"My Lord!"
The voice echoed distantly through the stone walls of the catacombs. I heard it clearly, but I couldn't respond.
The sun was still up.
Its oppressive weight held me prisoner, sapping what little strength remained in my body. I was conscious, painfully so, but unable to move. My limbs were paralyzed, heavy as iron, every fiber of my being suppressed beneath the cursed sunlight.
"What's taking you so long, Jack?" another voice rang out, closer now.
"It's not my fault! The Lord isn't responding," Jack replied, voice tense.
"That wasn't your directive. You were just supposed to deliver the message," Caleb snapped.
Then came a pause, followed by Caleb's voice raised toward me.
"Lord Kael, the battle will begin soon. The signs of a Dark Rise have begun. The sky is darkening with that cursed hue, and the stench of decay is thick in the air. It reeks worse than usual. Captain Thorpe and the others suspect multiple higher vampires may be joining the assault."
Their footsteps faded shortly after, echoing back into silence.
Multiple higher vampires.
A troubling omen, indeed.
Even a single wielder of blood force is a challenge under ideal circumstances. But the thought of more than one supported by household familiars set my mind spinning. Too many unknowns. Too many threats are layered behind other threats. And even with all our preparation, if this was retaliation, the scale would be unlike anything we've seen.
The last time a Monarch retaliated, the Winterlands lost nearly half their domain. Swallowed whole by the wrath of a single Monarch.
And now, that story threatens to repeat.
If anything, I may need to visit the dungeons before joining the fight. The vampires coming for us tonight won't be half-starved scavengers. No. They'll be well-fed monsters, merciless, disciplined, and eager to kill. Every one of them will be out for blood.
Then, at last, I felt it.
The sun's oppressive grip began to loosen. The crushing weight faded from my chest and limbs. I could move but I took no comfort in that.
No relief.
Only dread.
The Dark Rise dome had been completed.
A massive barrier of blood-forged magic now stretched across the land, shrouding the citadel and everything within a four-mile radius in artificial nightfall. It blocked the sun. It beckoned the monsters.
They were already here.
And they were coming.
As much as I wished to rise and rush straight to the front, I knew better. Charging in now without first feeding would only make me a liability. I would have to take a detour to the dungeons before joining the battle. I could only hope the others held the line until I returned and that nothing catastrophic happened in my absence.
Meanwhile, above ground…
In another section of the citadel, every soldier stood in position, eyes lifted toward the sky. What once looked like an eclipse had fully revealed itself as something far more sinister. The Dark Rise dome had risen gradually over the horizon throughout the day, and now, only a sliver at the top remained to close. As the final curve drew together, the stench of rotting flesh and dried blood grew unbearable.
Captain Thorpe paced along the inner wall, turning to the castellan flanking him.
"John. Norman. Have your men positioned themselves as planned?"
"Yes. My infantry is in place," John replied.
"And mine are near the gate. In case… things go wrong," Norman added.
"Good," Thorpe muttered. He turned and climbed the stone steps to the top of the wall, staring out across the darkening horizon.
Then he shouted his voice booming with conviction, echoing across the ramparts:
"Men and women of Lord Kael Xerxes's army, and the warriors of Lord Marcel Raven, Tonight, we face not a mere enemy, but an army of death. There are no human soldiers. What comes for us feels no pain. What comes for us cannot be reasoned with. They are relentless. Overwhelming. Monstrous. And worst of all, they see you as nothing more than livestock. Meat to be hunted. Blood to be drained.
Many of you have your own opinions about Lord Kael. I know. Some of you mistrust him because of what he has become. But understand this, he was not turned by choice.
And I will fight to my last breath to ensure that Lord Kael rises from this nightmare as something greater than any of us imagined.
A force to be reckoned with.
A storm that shakes the pillars of the old world.
I welcome those who will stand with him and with me.
But first, we survive this.
We survive today.
So I ask you now, Xerxes Knights… what say you?"
"To Lord Kael Victory!" James roared from below.
"To Lord Kael's victory!" the Xerxes knights echoed in unison, raising swords, clanging shields, stomping their boots in thunderous rhythm.
Raven's soldiers responded in kind, slamming spears to the stone, striking metal against metal with a rhythm that shook the battlements.
"TO VICTORY!" the army cried out, just as the dome sealed shut overhead.
Dark mist crept across the ground.
And the battle for survival began.