General Sterling

Ada     Darkness has always been a man's world. The Kings of each house have a specific set of laws for their specific race. Our king had ruled with an iron fist with his queen by his side. Our race had expected the next king to follow in his father's footsteps.     The males of our race were outraged when a princess had been born the heir to the throne. Our house nearly fell apart when the Queen was killed without training a male to take over the vampire throne. The assassination of the king followed the queen's death and in her pain, the princess killed every single noble male in her parliament months after her release from the training camps.     Her vicious war spread through every Nation of Darkness. She killed and killed until she was content with the reformation of her Kingdom. Learning our history gives me chills. Her scriptures make me proud to be a Vampire. To be the firstborn in my family. To be a woman.     I was twelve when her reign of terror ended with the birth of the first Princess and Prince. Hybrids. Half Vampire, half Incubi. It had been unheard of but they're here and there isn't a single thing anyone can do about it. No one dares to defy the Queen or the Incubus King. Both monsters of their own creation.      That same year, my family and I were blessed with my little brother. Mathew. I remember the first time I held his little body in my arms. I remember the pride in my father's eyes glowing in the perfection of his first son. My little sisters followed in the two years after he was born. Two of them, leaving Mathew the only son of Darius.     We all grew up, trained according to our birthright. As the firstborn, my duty is to follow in my father's footsteps. To fight in the Queen's armada. It may seem a bit unfair but I live for it. I love the fight in me. It's a thrill. Something that boils in my blood. Day in and day out.     Mathew, as the only son had the choice. To fight in the Armada or push through his studies. My sisters have that same choice. None of them were predestined. At least not like all firstborns of Darkness are. It is a privilege to be what we are. It is by chance for them to be. Not very many of our kind have more than one child. We usually die before it happens.      Mathew had just come of age when the Lycans declared war on all of Darkness. A group of Incubi terrorists aligned themselves with a man named Adam. Adam gave them the numbers they need to go against two houses. His goal was never specified. The other houses were caught in the middle of their war, all of them grouped together to fight against the masses of the experiments Adam used to against us. Many of us died.     The second wave of attacks took my father's life. My mother, she took my brother from me. She signed over Mathew's life to the Armada in my place. I nearly killed two of my kind when they came for him. The rage in me pushed me over an edge that was difficult for me to come back from. I'm not sure I really ever did. I wake up to the look in his eyes every evening. It turns over in my head over and over again throughout the day with no peace.      I took an oath of silence as punishment. To who? I don't know. Mother didn't care if I spoke to her or not. What she had wanted was for me to make sure those of the Darius clan survived. She knew I'd keep her and my sisters alive. Her only concern was herself. She didn't care. No one cared about what happened to Mathew so as long as they were fine, they looked the other way. I vowed that I wouldn't utter a word until my brother came home. Dead or Alive.     In my father's death, we were stripped of everything he had earned. We fell from our Aristocrat position and into the working class. We were taken from our home in Midtown and forced to live in Harpy Alley where the witches of Darkness reign. It's a blood thing. Based on our bloodlines, we're expected to survive no matter what condition. The vampire's life is a test to endure the stretch of eternity or live in that split second right before we meet our demise.      My sisters and I had to work to stay alive while Mathew completed his six years in the Camps. The very thought of him being there made me sick. My brother hadn't chosen the path of a soldier. Not like I had, but our mother had sealed our fate this way because she knew she would have to provide for our family in my absence and that's something she doesn't know how to do.     Four years, seven months, and eight days had passed when General Sterling knocked on our door. It was early in the afternoon. My sister Ashleigh had answered the door and called for my mother. My body trembled with rage when her hypocrisy echoed through our small home. I walked out to see my sisters at her side trying to calm her. The General's eyes met my own. In his hands, he held a beautiful vase carved from obsidian stone. I walked over to him and took it holding what was left of my brother in my hands. A f*****g jar is all I have of him.     "She doesn't speak," Analeigh informed the general.     "Mathew never mentioned a mute sister," he said looking at me.     "It was by choice," I answered him. "A vow I took until my brother returned,"     "You must be Adaleigh," he smiled. My sisters, as well as my mother, looked up at me surprised that I had spoken up for the first time in years.     "I'd like to take my place now," I announced.     "No," mother shouted getting up off the floor. "You are not leaving me,"     "You are the heir," General Sterling scoffed, ignoring her. "Parental rules don't apply to you once you're of age,"     "You're not taking another one of my children," she shouted gripping his sleeve.     I didn't have nor want the patience to listen to her. My left hand shot out and wrapped around her throat keeping her from moving towards the general. I shoved her towards my sisters and growled at all of them. The two of them flinched backing away from the strength of it.     "You need to settle down," I warned. "I'm leaving and there isn't a single thing you can do to stop me,"     "You can't leave," mother shouted hysterically. "Your brother was killed where they're going to take you. They took him from us,"     "You took him from us," I shouted handing the vase to Ashleigh who always stands her ground against me. "He was never meant to go there and you sent him away,"     "No," she shouted rushing towards me.     Ashleigh looked away knowing exactly what I was going to do. My hand shot out once more, the back of it connecting with her face. She fell at Analeigh's feet unconsciously. Neither of them moved to help her.     "What about us?" Ana asked glancing up at me with tears in her eyes.     "You're more than capable of taking care of yourselves," I said. "I'll see you when my training is over,"     "What about her?" Ashleigh asked looking down at our mother.     Ash's hate for her was greater than mine. Ashleigh and I had never gotten along. The two of us had inherited our father's temper along with a few other personality traits that put us at each other's throats. The war in our blood made us clash. We barely acknowledged each other and when we did we'd end up fighting until one of us couldn't fight anymore. It happened a lot more than either one of us cared to admit. Ash took it personally when mom thought they couldn't take care of her or each other when she sent Mathew away.     "I've never given you anything before. It's up to you to do whatever you want," the gleam in her eyes told me she'd do exactly what we both knew one of us would be doing one day.     "Father would hate both of you for doing it," Ana shook her head.     "Father isn't here anymore. She shouldn't be either," Ashleigh responded. "I'll take care of this until you return,"     General Sterling waited until I finished getting ready and walked out to the massive recruitment carriage. It is only him and the two other guards that were with him. He handed me a small leather trunk before opening the back door of the carriage.     "He knew you'd come. That's for you," he pulled out a letter with my family wax seal holding it together. "He was a good man. A skilled fighter. Demons and Incubi are tricky powerful beings. He went with honor,"     "How did you know him?" I asked when he finally did open the door. He climbed in with me.     "I was a guard in the Britanian Training Camp. In the last stage of training, each race picks their alliance and the rank they want. I asked to be relocated to Macedonia. That's where you're headed. Portal transportation is in a few hours.      "This place is- None of the other camps are like this. It's set up on floors. This is where they send the firstborns, the ones who shape the next generation of soldiers like your father. You're going to see some f****d up s**t in there. You can't help the others. You make one ally and you keep each other alive. I'll see you there. Not always and I won't be able to help you. When you reach the last stage of your training I'll let you know who your target will be,"      I didn't say a word after that. We arrived at Duke Mountain where the portals were opened in Satan's demise. The cliff where Lucifer was banished to the underworld, or so the story goes. I looked around. The General handed me a leather pack. I put the box inside and strapped it on my back.      "Armad!" we both looked over at the two little girls rushing over to us. One older than the other.      I recognized the younger one right away. The princess. Edwardian Pierce. She held a lot more poise than the little girl who rushed into the General's arms. He lifted her up into his arms and held her tightly. He laughed tickling her belly before looking down at the other little girl.      "Are you behaving yourself? Not giving the princess a hard time are you?" he asked the girl in his arms. She looks just like him. The dark hair. The bright green almost glowing emerald eyes.  q"Nope, she gets in more trouble than I do," she stated as he set her down. "E, this is Armad. My brother,"      "I know," the princess answered rolling her eyes. Those brilliant azure eyes bore into my own. "Who are you?"      "Edwardian, your mother is expecting the two of you inside," the General and I both lowered our heads in respect when the Incubus King walked out of the castle entrance.      "I asked you a question," the princess demanded.      "My name is Adaleigh Darius, my lady," I answered.      "Are you a new recruit?" she asked.      "Yes, I am,"      "You better not die. I'd like to kill you myself when you come back," she spat at my feet before taking the other little girl's hand and walking inside. I looked at the general and laughed.      "Armadian, you've been away for a very long time. You're all your sister has," the king scolded looking him over.      "I'm not going anywhere, sir. I'm just following orders," the general addressed him formally.      "I can speak with my mate about this,"  The General shook his head.      "I'm respectfully declining, sir. I became a soldier to fight not to be a nanny. Ava knows what we are. When her time comes, I'm not going to stop her from doing what she was born to do. Just as you aren't going to stop your son or your daughter,"      "Get out of here before she wants you to stay," the king responded angrily before walking inside.      We both walked over to the end of the walkway where a young woman stood under an archway the size of a cathedral doorway. She has a heartbeat. Strange for those who live in Darkness. She looked us over and nodded before placing a ruby in a blood bowl. The General put his arm out pushing me back. The blood inside the bowl began to boil, lifting the gem. A bright red light burst from the center of the gem stretching towards the edges of the arch. A strong cold breeze burst through once the Arch was completely engulfed by the ruby-red light.      "This one has a hidden thirst, young prince. Tread carefully. She's lost her light, many centuries will pass before she finds another," her cold pale eyes turned to me. She's a witch. "Fight. There is nothing other than the war left inside of you. It will come to you in the shade of blue,"      "Let's go," the general said ignoring her before pushing me forward.      He walked through the portal. The woman grabbed my arm. She gripped my wrist pushing something into the palm of my hand before pushing me forward. I stumbled through the portal my chest smacking against the general's back. The portal closed behind me. I looked down at what she had placed in my hands to find a golden ring.      "It goes on your middle finger," the general advised looking at me. He took it from my hand and slid it into place. "It's the golden sigil of Anubis. Granted to those who live by blood,"      "I've never killed anyone," I admitted looking down at it.      "Not yet,"      "She's yours," I stated, looking up at the mansion of the camps. He sighed.      "Edwardian is a child," it sounds like a reminder. "A very unique child,"      "She won't always be. You're going to get people killed," I laughed.     "You going to be one of those?" he smirked. Cheeky.     "Only if you promise not to get attached. She said I was dead inside remember?"      "That's what pulls me in, Adaleigh. I have a girl and there's nothing more perfect than her,"      I followed him inside where I was registered. The cold here stings my cheeks a bit. The place smells like rotting flesh and s**t. The sounds echoing along the walls as I was escorted into the dormitories are feeding this fire in me. The General held up a small dagger for me to take.     "That's cute," I smirked looking away. I pulled my short rapier from under my coat before hiding it again.      "He did say you were born for this," I was shoved into the room with the others. He shut the door behind me his eyes growing dark. "Survive Adaleigh. Edwardian will be pissed if you let these savages kill you before she gets a chance to,"      "That kid is going to beg me to fight in her war," I scoffed. He laughed.      "Did you see the look in her eyes? She doesn't beg, she takes. Everything belongs to her. Including us," with that, I turned to face the filth they called the Dormitories of the Heart of Macedonia.