Page 79 of Dark Souls

Love Endures

“A re you sure you don’t want me to come? Once you get there, you could text me your location and I can transport myself there?” Ilaria asked, smoothing the ruffled feathers of my wings with her hands as I held her close to my chest.

“Thanks, Snow. But this is something we need to do, just the three of us.”

She smiled with a sprinkle of sadness. “I understand. I just know how hard it’s going to be for you and want to be there to support you.”

“You will be. You always are.” I placed her hand on my pec so she could feel my heart beating. “Keep our bond open and I’ll know you’re there.”

She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and hoisted her up, spinning us just to make her giggle into the kiss. Sometimes, I needed to pinch myself to believe that this was all real. That she was really mine.

Ambroz grunted next to us and I put Ilaria down reluctantly. My older brother had never been a patient demon and he seemed to be in a foul mood. Ilaria handed me the metal briefcase that contained mama’s bones and I gave her another hasty kiss because I just couldn’t help myself.

Hana shifted into Casmira and the three of us took off into the clear sky, leaving Ilaria and Ronnie behind until their bodies became specks in the landscape. It didn’t take long for the three of us to fall into sync with each other as we soared with effortless grace above the clouds. Our wings beat in a slow, rhythmic pattern, a gentle cadence that allowed us to savour this long-awaited moment of unity.

I felt free, unbound, as if the weight of our existence had lifted and we could finally be our true selves. The wind roared in my ears, the sun warmed my skin and pure joy thrummed through my veins. Yet, beneath the harmony, an underlying sense of unease sharpened every flap of my wings. What would we find, if anything? Our home, our land. Would it fuel cherished memories or should I prepare for only grief?

I glanced to my left and then my right, where my brother and sister flanked me. Ambroz flew beside me with fierce determination. We looked alike except for the telling signs he was a firstborn of the original bloodline. The tips of his black feathers were tinged with a deep red and his horns curled larger and also had a red sheen to their scales in certain light. His black gaze was fixed ahead, unreadable. His emotions came second to his loyalty to our father. They had the closest bond with him being the firstborn so I knew he would never rest until we found his bones.

Looking to my left, Casmira’s movements were elegant and fluid compared to the power and fierceness of Ambroz. She glided through the air like a boat in a stream. Her black eyes flicked to mine briefly, and a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. Everything about Casmira’s appearance was more delicate compared to Ambroz and me. Her wings, her horns, her aura. She was lean and toned, her vines swirled in beautiful patterns around her body to define her curves and she moved with such lethal agility, you could never underestimate her.

Ambroz clicked his fingers at me, indicating that now would be a good time to transport as we had just flown over the sea. I nodded in agreement and glided to allow them both to come closer until each of them took a hold of my ankles. Transportation during flight was one of the firstborn gifts and so they wouldn’t have been able to achieve it without me.

I closed my eyes and focused, allowing the memories of my homeland to infiltrate my mind. In a blink of an eye, our bodies vibrated with the demonic magic I possessed and we materialised high above a new landscape.

Rolling hills and vast plains stretched in every direction; Serbia’s outline softly rose and fell like the rhythm of a gentle wave. Gold and green patterns shimmered in the sunlight, showcasing the fertile fields and well-maintained farms. Glistening rivers cut through the ground like serpentine pathways, the flowing, pulsing veins keeping the very heart of the country pumping. But so much had changed since I’d last flown this route. Large cities, vibrant and full of modern architecture, reached up towards the skyline and once quaint villages now seemed larger and more imposing against nature’s surroundings. We passed over the occasional forgotten monastery or fortress that had refused to yield with time and blended into the untamed beauty, a nod to our country’s history.

Heading towards the south, where the rugged mountains stood like dramatic guardians over the landscape with their peaks lined with thick pine and oak forests, my heart beat faster than my wings. Home. We flew over clusters of red-roofed houses that were nestled in the deep valleys until we reached a familiar forest. The smell of my childhood, the subtle tones of oak and damp moss, infiltrated my senses. We swerved down into the dense forest, weaving through the trees and landing crouched in the dirt. For a few minutes, none of us spoke and just listened intently to our surroundings, checking there was no one nearby. Our eyes scanned the area and slowly we stood, folding our wings back behind us.

“It’s exactly how I remember it,” Casmira whispered in awe, her onyx eyes studying everything as she moved in a cautious circle. “But the trees don’t feel as tall as they used to.”

“That’s because you’re bigger.” I smirked and she returned my smile. But that didn’t ease the nerves rolling around inside me.

Ambroz remained silent and stepped forwards, leading the way through the forest towards the place where we had created so many memories. Our last memories as a family. As we got closer, I was finding it harder and harder to breathe normally. The horrors of all we endured that night were returning. I stopped dead when I recognised the very tree, I had sheltered mama and Hana in before I tried to return to help my father and brother. I closed my eyes when I heard the screams of mama and Hana’s crying ringing through my ears. A soft claw slipped into mine and I glanced down to see Casmira’s and my joined hands. She gave me a sad smile and I squeezed her hand, finding the courage to continue.

Ambroz was already well ahead, each of his heavy footfalls echoing with his conviction to achieve the one task we came here to do. Find father’s bones. Reunite our parent’s souls. His silent but loud dedication was enough for me to rein in my emotions and focus on each step ahead. When the familiar clearing came into view, I held my breath. Ambroz had finally paused, stepping out of the shadows of the trees and staring at the rubble of stones and demolished ruins of our cottage. Moss, wild plants, and grass covered the remaining structure, but it was still visible. Even the large wheel of our father’s wooden cart stuck out from the brambles and overgrown weeds, the bolts rusted and misshapen.

My throat closed. The three of us stood in a heavy silence. Casmira’s eyes were glassy with unshed tears. Ambroz’s body was as solid as a rock with tension. I wanted to say something. But there were no words to say. Nothing could bring back what we had lost that night.

Ambroz turned his head and looked at me. His face was stoic but his eyes told a different story. He was finding this just as difficult as us.

“Come on,” he said with the decisiveness we all needed to hear. “Let’s find father.”

The three of us walked up to the ruins and took a few minutes to just remember. Casmira sat on a pile of stones and looked around, a sad smile painted on her face that wouldn’t leave. I climbed over stones, overgrown plants and scorched wood, running my fingers over them as if their timelessness could help me remember all the love and happiness that once was here. When I turned to search for Ambroz, my chest tightened with a sharp, painful breath. He was standing with his back to us, in the exact location where they had bound him with magic against the beam structure of the cottage to burn alive. His shoulders were rising and falling heavily as he kept his gaze focused ahead on the treeline. After a long moment, he raised his arm and pointed toward a tree in the distance.

“There,” he said, his voice shaking with hatred. “That’s where she was standing. Watching. Over there.”

Casmira and I followed his gaze, staring at the empty space at the edge of the forest. The tension and fury that Ambroz was projecting made the air feel thick around us even though it was a fresh, crisp morning. When I glanced back at my brother’s face, he seemed to be in a trance-like state. It felt as though he thought by staring hard enough, he would cause the witch to reappear.

I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder, pulling him back to the present. Blinking multiple times, he looked into my eyes with confusion until, finally; he swallowed and nodded. Pulling out the sharp-edged crystal Leif had given him to help us locate father’s bones, he placed it in my hand, and the three of us walked over to what used to be the front garden, trying to figure out the location where our father had been heartlessly murdered.

“It was here,” Ambroz said, staring down at the wild grass. I handed Casmira the briefcase containing mama’s bones and dropped to my knees. Running my fingers over the ground where my father’s body had been left to rot, a part of me hoped to find his bones right there. But I knew someone had moved his body because it wasn’t there in the days after the attack.

Holding the magic infused crystal against my palm, I glanced up at my siblings. “Ready?”

They both nodded and Casmira wrapped her hand around Ambroz’s bicep, leaning her head against his shoulder. I licked my lips and closed my eyes, sending a silent prayer to Veles.

Please. Please let his bones be here. This has to work.

I sliced the ragged edge of the crystal across my palm, digging it in until I saw my blood pooling around it. Then I swapped hands and did the same to the other, like Leif had instructed. Because I had fragments of my father’s blood from when I inherited his powers, Leif created a spell and syphoned it to the crystal so that my blood could call to my father’s bones if they were buried anywhere close by. I dropped the crystal on the grass and then dug, shoving my bloodied hands deep into the dirt. My head dropped between my shoulders and I closed my eyes, allowing my blood to soak into the ground. When a few minutes passed and nothing happened, I started to lose hope. I squeezed my eyes tighter and prayed harder.

Suddenly, the ground beneath us trembled. It wasn’t powerful like an earthquake but more subtle like an aftershock. My eyes snapped open and I glanced up at my siblings. They were both looking around, searching the ground for any sign with confused frowns.

“Did you feel that?” I asked, digging deeper into the soil, half-expecting to find the bones where I sat.

“Yes. Something happened,” Ambroz clarified I wasn’t going crazy. “But it felt distant. Like it travelled from the woods.”

I stood up and we all used our speed to race into the forest. We searched for any obvious signs but there was nothing. I sliced the crystal against my palm, reopening the already healing wound and dropped to my knees to try again. This time, the vibrations through the ground were stronger. We were closer.

“This way!” Ambroz shouted, racing to his left and weaving in a blur between the trees. Casmira and I followed until we reached him, standing still and staring down at the ground. My lips parted and Casmira gasped next to me.

“Is that a grave?” She choked and I gulped down my own emotions at the sight.

The magic had caused the earth to rise into an obvious fresh mound, but it was the once-deliberate arrangement of moss-covered stones that had partially collapsed, leaving a long-forgotten, uneven heap that seemed to sink into the ground that shocked us. Though time had taken its toll, it was still obvious that someone had once taken the care to create it. Tree roots had snaked around and through the stones, weaving them into a tangled embrace while wildflowers and weathered moss sprouted through the cracks. Although there was no headstone, carvings, or inscriptions, the simple beauty of the grave’s placement was a testament to its thoughtful creation.

Ambroz hunched over and started dragging the stones away, digging frantically at the mound of dirt until the first flash of white came into view. My heart thrummed wildly in my chest as Casmira and I joined him on our knees, brushing away the mud until more and more bones appeared. When the unattached skull with obvious demonic fangs showed, followed by the skeleton of one demonic wing, I fell back on my ass, staring and breathing hard. It was him. It was our father.

My dark soul shattered, fractured and rebuilt itself as I crumbled over into the grave, running my hands over his bones with tenderness. This was my final unresolved failure that haunted my consciousness. The relief and harmony that flooded through me was a feeling so alien that I almost didn’t recognise it. I felt Ilaria pouring her own feelings of love and happiness through our bond. She knew. We’d found him.

I stared down at the carefully placed bones of our parents, their skulls pressed together in a symbol of eternal love. The three of us stood back, staring down at their skeletons in the deep grave we had dug in the front garden of the cottage. Our father had built this cottage with his bare hands. It was his pride and joy and the place we had spent the longest time in as a family on the run. It felt only right that their ritual took place there.

We marked the outer edge of the grave with stones from the cottage; on each stone sat a small black candle we had brought along with us for the ceremony. We’d spent hours carving the demonic runes and symbols of our written oaths into each stone, which, along with the light from the candles, were used to summon the spirits of our ancestors to help guide our parents’ souls through the passage between the mortal world and the eternal. The flames flickered in the subtle breeze but never went out as Zoran placed a gold coin in each of their hollow eye sockets as their paying fare into the Underworld and then covered their skeletons with a cloth of black silk, leaving only their skulls on show as a mark of their mortal lives coming to an end. He leapt out of the grave and stood beside Hana, placing his arm around her shoulders as silent tears ran down her cheeks. I carefully climbed down into the grave next to give my offering of blood to seal their passage into the underworld with the gift of Veles’ infernal powers. I bit into my finger and wiped a vertical line down each of their foreheads before closing my eyes and giving eternal gratitude to the God of the Underworld.

Climbing out, I stood on the other side of Hana and placed my arm over Zoran’s, covering her shoulders. His hand found my shoulder and squeezed in silent support. He cleared his throat and started the incantation father had taught us as children in the ancient demonic language that we rarely ever used. He blessed our parents’ souls, expressed our loyalty and love for Veles and asked for acceptance in their journey to finding one another in their next life. Tears ran down my cheeks as I lowered my head in respect and closed my eyes.

We stood in silence for a short while and then Zoran and I moved to each side of the grave and covered their bones with dirt, burying them together at long last. None of us spoke until the final part of the ritual was complete and Zoran and I paused, our heavy breathing and Hana’s soft whimpers the only sound surrounding us. I glanced up, tears staining my cheeks and locked eyes with my brother. His own cheeks were damp as he placed his huge hand on top of the mound and I offered him a trembling smile. I had never seen my brother cry. Not once. I placed my hand on top of his on the mound and turned my head to Hana. She fell to her knees and leaned forwards, placing her own on top too.

And then the three of us recited the prayer again but in Serbian, feeling every word with the meaning it evoked. “Here we lay our parents to rest, Maksim Vlado Nezera, warrior of the night, firstborn son of Voldislavu, Veles’ chosen soldier, and Desa Nezera, pureblood vampire who gave her soul in worship to our maker. Beneath the watchful gaze of Veles, Keeper of the Underworld, we give our gratitude and unwavering loyalty for his blessing as their souls journey through the gates of mortality and find eternal peace within the solace of the realm beyond, where the rivers run black and the forest whispers their names in honour. May their souls be eternally yours.”

After a few moments, we all sat on the grass in silence, not knowing what to do next. It was done. We’d done everything we were supposed to do and now, we just had to pray that it was enough. That we weren’t too late.

Zoran couldn’t take the repressive weight of sadness any longer and sighed, turning his head to stare at the ruins. “I’m going to rebuild this place. Once I find that witch and kill her, I will come back here and rebuild the cottage.”

“To live in?” Hana gawked at him, unease in her eyes.

“Why not?” Zoran shrugged. I swallowed down my own complicated emotions as I stared between them. I worried Zoran was unable to let go of our past and this was just adding to that concern, but maybe this was his therapy. Maybe he needed to do this for himself.

Hana opened her mouth to speak and then thought better of it, closing it again as she wrapped her arms around her knees. She tried numerous times but never uttered a word until Zoran groaned, “Spit it out, Hana.”

“Who do you think buried our father?”

My eyes darted up to meet Zoran’s and a muscle in his jaw ticked as he held my gaze.

“I don’t know,” he grumbled, staring back down at the mound of earth. “Probably some passerby in the days after the attack.”

Hana opened her mouth to argue but my quick warning glare cut her off. We all knew that was extremely unlikely. No one came by our cottage. It was so far away from the villages in the valleys for a reason. And father died in his demon form. Whoever buried his body would have seen what he was, yet they still made it personal. They did it with respect. It couldn’t have been a slayer.

Suddenly, the wind swept through the clearing at such a speed, all the candles blew out in one go. A chill raced down my spine even though it wasn’t cold but a fairly mild day. The wind whipped at my skin like a memory, causing my eyes to widen and a calmness to take hold. I visibly noticed the change in Zoran and Hana’s postures, too, as if they had been physically forced to sit up straighter. Our heads swivelled around at the towering trees nearby that swayed in the drastic change of weather, and my eyes latched onto a faint glow by the side of the desolate ruins. They widened when that glow turned into shimmering air, delicate and incorporeal as it slowly took shape.

A shaky breath passed through my lips when I saw them.

My mama’s form was soft, her outline blurred as if she was a part of the mist herself but the features of her pretty face were clear. Her smile. Sweet and kind. Her brown hair flowing down her back. Her eyes were nothing like the last time I had looked into them. They were full of love and warmth as they cast over each of our faces and landed on mine. She slowly lifted her hand to her lips and blew me a kiss before placing that hand over her chest.

“Mama?” I breathed with disbelief as my green eyes overflowed with unshed tears, making it even harder to know if what I saw was real or a figment of my imagination.

“I see her too,” Zoran said, his own voice sounding so distant and unsure, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her to look at him. Especially not when a second shimmering shape formed behind her. The tall and imposing frame of my father stepped up behind her. His arms wrapped around her body, just as I had seen him do so many times before as a child, and she leaned her head back into his chest. He kissed the top of her hair and then looked at us with a bright smile. Their gazes conveyed a torrent of unspoken emotions. The wind blew harder again, sending a gust of leaves swirling around us as if they were delivering us their love and tender embrace. The weight of grief in my chest lifted and was replaced by a bittersweet ache of longing to keep them with us but accepting they had to go.

“I wish they could stay,” Hana whispered from beside me, her voice so faint with emotion.

“Veles is waiting. They must go. But they are saying goodbye,” Zoran said but I didn’t dare look at him because I knew his face would mirror mine.

“No,” I sighed, exhaling a deep breath. My gaze locked with my father’s piercing green eyes and he gave me a slow nod, a gesture that felt both like a goodbye and a command to carry on. “They will see us again. But not yet.”

The spiritual forms faded, dissolving slowly into the air like dew warming under the morning sun. But before they disappeared entirely, Mama raised her clear hand as if to caress each of our faces, and I swear I felt her touch on my skin. Father placed his fist on his chest and smiled.

And then they were gone.

The wind settled and everything fell silent. The three of us peered at each other in a moment of shared stillness—each of our expressions matching in looks of overwhelming emotion and calmness. Hana placed her hand over her heart and smiled through her tears.

“I can still feel them.”

She was right. I placed mine over my chest, too, and Zoran followed suit. Though they had gone from this world, their presence still lingered, not in the wind but in us.

I finally understood what the brutality of this life had been trying to teach me. No matter what, love endures. In this life and the next.

Love endures even through the darkness.