The Vampire And The Orphan
Chapter Seventeen

Lettie and Jael walked behind the two faeries and Prue until they finally reached a large wall; it was built mostly with stone but had a log door that swung open when Jael whistled.

Why would he need a wall and a gate?

“Take her down to the cellar.” Jael directed the two men, and Lettie watched as they opened a latch near the gate, then shoved Prue down there with them. They were rough on her, but she was a vampire; she’d be all right. Truthfully, Lettie was still a little upset with Prue; she just didn’t need to let Jael in on that.

As they walked inside the gate, Lettie found several little huts, a large garden, and a big fire pit and was confronted by the many eyes of various faeries, staring at her with burning curiosity. Most were peeking out from the door to a hut or hiding behind something. She could sense the fear they all had of Jael but could also feel their anguish. They were hurting, and she found herself longing to help.

“The longer we are away from the earth, the more we weaken.” Jael led her further inside. “You have the power to fix all of this.”

“You’re right, and I can. I can bring them all back with me.”

Jael let out a chilling laugh, “lead them to their slaughter? The vampires that litter the earth will destroy everyone.”

“We can protect them.”

“No, you cannot, not in their weakened state; there are far more vampires than you know of. Lilith is a cunning woman; she will slaughter every last faery.”

“So, then we’ll defeat her,” Lettie said stubbornly. “There is always a way.”

“There is a way, you insolent girl,” Jael spat out. “It’s through there.”

He turned and motioned to the gate they’d just walked through.

“What is?”

“The realm you need to open first. You must have heard the humming.”

“The fireflies.”

“The fireflies represent the souls of the recently deceased Faeries. No. The humming came from the veil between. The demons and monsters are locked up next to us.”

The story Ben told about the angels opening a realm and throwing all the demons and monsters in it to save the earth, was true! Lettie looked at Jael with wide eyes as she took this in.

“Demons are powerful, every so often, one gets through the veil into this realm, the entire veil has been weakened from years of your mother coming and going.”

“She stays in there with the demons?” Lettie asked in a horrified voice.

“Not anymore, but that used to be the way she’d travel back to earth until she made her own little realm and started using that.”

“So that’s why you built a wall,” Lettie guessed. “In case a demon came or a monster slipped out.”

“It is and I’m telling you this because it no longer matters; you are here now and can do what your rotten mother refused to do.”

“Which would be?” Lettie asked carefully.

“Let them out.”

“Let them out? The monsters and demons? What? Why?”

“So, you can send them back down to earth, they’ll be vengeful. They’ll destroy everyone and everything, and then with nothing left to kill, they’ll go back to hell. We can then finally come home and reclaim the earth.”

Lettie two several steps back as she shook her head furiously.

“I will not kill every living thing on earth!”

“So, you’ll let our kind die?” Jael asked as he stepped closer, a menacing glare burning from his eyes into hers. “Did you not sense it yourself? How badly they need this.”

“There has to be another way.”

“There is. It’s a choice. You follow your fate, win the war of the species, and free the fae, or deny your fate and kill us all, along with the earth itself.”

“So that was the choice she didn’t make,” Lettie murmured to herself.

“Now it falls on you. She was a coward; will you be one too?” Jael taunted her.

No… this couldn’t be! There had to be another way, there had to be.

“The moment I open the realm, wouldn’t the demons and monsters kill me?”

“Not if I come with you. I can negotiate with their leader.”

“Then we can both negotiate with them for protection. We can find a way to all live on earth in peace.”

“Oh please,” Jael laughed. “Humans are selfish greedy things, and the only thing worse is the blood-sucking versions of humans that don’t die as easily. The earth belongs to animals, plants, and faeries. Nothing else should be residing on it, humans included.”

“I won’t let Nathanial die,” Lettie said firmly.

“You’re blinded by your human side, ignore it, Olette. Let the dark in.”

“Never. I will never leave Nathanial to die. You have to let me go get him first.”

“I won’t keep a vampire alive in our new world.”

“He is trustworthy, he’ll only feed from me.”

“No.”

“Then I won’t help you.”

Jael paused anger growing in his burning silver eyes.

“If you want me to help you, I should get something too.” Lettie wasn’t sure where she was finding the confidence, but Jael seemed to be responding as his posture relaxed some.

“You cannot; leave here until I trust you to leave, come with me to talk to the demons, and then we’ll see about you getting your mate.” He crinkled his face in disgust.

“Fine,” Lettie agreed.

She knew he was lying but so was she so she played along, no way would she kill everything on earth, going to get Nathanial was her way to buy some time.

“This way.” Jael led her further down past all the dead fairies, where she and Prue had originally materialized.

“Why don’t you bury them?” Lettie asked irritably. “It’s so disrespectful to them to leave them like this.”

“I do not have time to worry about the dead.” Jael scoffed. “Now come.”

She saw it and heard it then buzz, and the slight alteration of color in the sky ahead of her.

“Open it.”

A chill went down her spine that was the voice in her recurring nightmare as a kid, but she didn’t have time to worry about things like that right now. She needed to get Jael to trust her while she tried to figure out a way to outsmart him.

She concentrated instead on the veil using her light energy, she shifted it opening a hole in it, that she and Jael quickly stepped through, it didn’t look much different than the field they were just in except all the strange-looking creatures roaming around.

A massive scaly-looking creature was walking towards them and she stilled, frozen in shock.

“Is that a dragon!?” Lettie gasped leaping back behind an amused Jael who pushed her back out mmmm behind him.

The dragon blew smoke from its nose, its red eyes looking straight at Lettie as it took a slow step closer.

“Stand down,” a deep baritone voice filled the air. The dragon whimpered and then plopped down to a sitting position, shaking the entire ground.

A figure stepped forward. He was freakishly tall, at least eight feet she’d guess. His black hair was slicked back, his ears were pointed and his eyes… his eyes were black—pure black. Lettie shuddered at the sight of him. She could feel it, the evil. It filled her body with a sense of wrong.

“Jael it’s been some time.” The demon looked from Jael to Lettie, and as he did her necklace begin to glow, and the demon winced.

“Keep that light out of here,” he complained. “I’ll sick the dragon on you otherwise.”

Lettie carefully clasped it her palm dimming the light.

“You brought an Angel into my realm?” Those black eyes bored into Jael angrily.

“She is here to save you all, but first we need to discuss some things, Damien.”

“I won’t negotiate with an angel.”

“She’s your only chance, to return to hell.”

“The angels are why we’re here in the first place! Never, I’ll never trust one!” That only further agitated him and as such his dragon started spewing smoke out of his nose again.

“I’ll negotiate on your behalf,” Jael offered, to which Lettie shot him a look.

“I don’t trust you!”

“I know what’s at stake,” Jael hissed. “Let me talk to him alone before this gets any worse.”

“You’re going to leave me here?” She looked around the wide expansive field, lit by several small fires. She noticed a few makeshift tents and several creatures stalking about. Luckily no more dragons, but some of the monsters were huge and scary looking.

“If anything comes near you just use the angelic light,” Jael explained. “It’ll force them back.”

“Oh,” Lettie clasped her necklace. “Okay.”

“You know you don’t need… “ Jael paused. “Never mind.”

Need what? She wondered as he left with Damien and they entered a tent a few feet away.

Lettie stood there unsure what to do, but clasped her necklace tight in case she needed it.

Then she felt it… someone. She stepped forward toward the feeling, and as she reached a tent a small woman with silver hair with teal eyes crawled out. Lettie gasped as she saw the wings on her back.

“You’re a faery!? Why are you in here with the demons?” Lettie asked in a horrified tone.

“Jael locked some of us away with them when the angels trapped them here. As a fail-safe, in case Lilith managed to kill all the fae he’d have a few here she couldn’t reach.” The woman explained. “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the one that’s going to save us all?”

She looked terrible, her cheeks sunken in and dirty, and her clothes were just rags.

“I’m going to try, “Lettie offered meekly. “There are other fae in here? I can let you out now while Jael is busy.”

“Just me. I was the only one smart enough to work with the demons. The others were killed a long time ago.”

“Come I’ll let you out,” Lettie said as motioned for the woman to follow her.

“Jael will be angry.”

“Jael needs me,” Lettie replied.

“You can’t do it,” the woman whispered as she clutched her arm. “You can’t let them out to kill everyone.”

“I know.. but what can I do?” Lettie asked as she brought the girl to the tear she’d made and closed for her and Jael, it only took her seconds to reopen it.

“Go ahead,” Lettie encouraged her.

The woman hesitated before stepping through. She closed her eyes and took Lettie’s hand and her voice filled Lettie’s thoughts.

“Kill Jael. We are ready. It’s time.”

Lettie concentrated her thoughts back to the women, much like how she’d speak to Nathanial in her head.

“Kill Jael? First how? he’s immortal. Second, wouldn’t that kill all of us?”

“No one is fully immortal there is always a loophole.”

“But how?”

Her light? But Ella said it wouldn’t be strong enough against Jael’s dark energy.

“You’ll have the help of all of us. We’re ready for you...”

“Ready for what?”

Her thoughts ceased abruptly when she heard Jael’s laughter from behind her. She quickly showed the faery through the veil. Then turned to see Jael’s eyes narrowing as he studied her.

“I see you found Velma.”

“You locked our own kind up with demons and monsters?” Lettie shot back.

“To ensure the survival of our kind. I did what I had to do.”

No, it was to ensure his own survival, that much she knew for sure; Jael’s heart was cold as ice.

“Now let’s hurry along; they’ve agreed to spare your mate,” Jael lied so easily, but Lettie pretended to buy it.

Jael was hustling back towards the veil, Lettie he’s opted for a moment, as she looked back at all the monsters roaming this wide field.

What was she going to do? How was she going to fool Jael?

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