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nTrinity

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nNo matter what training I was doing or how busy I was, I actually rather enjoyed it all. But, I did miss my family back home. I wanted to see Mom and Dad, Carter and Noah, Nikki and her growing baby bump, Grandfather and Lila. I missed them all, and we only got intermittent cell service out here. It wasn't reliable enough to talk all the time and I felt bad invading their private time with mind links.

nWe did talk sometimes though. Which was good. They made certain we were being safe and that we were alright and then they updated us on the progress of the little community we wanted to build. Things were apparently coming along nicely. Leave it to a construction company owned by Reece to be super efficient. I wouldn't have it any other way.

nI wanted to work even harder whenever I heard from my family back home. I wanted them to be proud of me and of the progress I was making. I wanted to prove to them all that I could do this, that I was worthy of being the Queen. My stubborn streak had gotten buried a little with everything that had been going on the last few months, but it was back and ready to show the world that it meant business.

nWhen I had learned to fight at a, more than, adequate level we decided it was time for us to head home. We had a couple days to rest before we were scheduled to fly out so we were using that time to pack our things and spend some more time with the people of the Sentinelle that we had gotten close with over the last two and a half months.

nThere would also be quite a few people coming back with us when we left. Gabriel was coming with us and would be serving as my personal assistant. Ghirald was coming with us, he would be the new steward of our estate back home. Lucas was coming back to train the young ones that desired to become warriors. He would work with Paul to train a great new army for us. Nick, Grant, and Perkins were coming as well, they were all joining my Goddess guard along with Lucas, they were going to be wonderful additions to our ranks.

nThere were some women coming back with us too. Lana was coming back to work in Griffin's clinic. She was so excited for this opportunity, and Giffin was happy to have a new assistant to train. The sisters, Izzy and Thoma were coming back as well, they too were joining the Goddess Guard and my personal guard detail.

nOther additions to the Goddess Guard that were coming back with us were Hideki, Sebastian, Celest, Micah, Seiji, Yuri, and Victor. The rest were joining the guard but staying behind in the abbey. They would be at our call when we needed them.

nAnd, after some negotiations, we were bringing in some vampires that we were guaranteed could be trusted and several warlocks. They would be moving into the community that we were building for the shadow world. They would be there and available whenever we needed them, further adding to the power that I had at my beck and call.

nI spent this time relaxing and recovering from all my days of fighting and training. I used to feel worn out all the time, but not so much any more. What I felt now after three solid weeks of fighting every day was loose, limber, and toned. I felt strong.

nI had to admit though, that these last few days were pretty calm and pleasant. I didn't have to worry about a thing. I pushed it all out of my mind for the three days leading up to our departure. I needed a mental break.

nThe night before we were to leave I went to bed early. I wanted to be well rested for the long trip. I laid in the bed, wrapped in Reece's arms, and drifted off into an easy sleep. Too bad it didn't stay an easy sleep.

nSoon, my dreams took a turn for the worse, changing from something calm to something very unnerving. I knew I was dreaming, that was the only comforting thing about what I saw as the images flashed past my eyes.

nI was standing on top of a hill in a clearing in the middle of nowhere. The clearing was surrounded by tall, tall trees and nothing else. But as I stood there looking around me different pictures of pain, sorrow, suffering, and death would flash by.

nI saw children as young as ten withered away to nothing. Adults that were misshapen in odd, grotesque ways. There seemed to be something wrong with almost every single person I saw, aside from the fact that they had obviously died in a very horrific way.

nWhat was worse was when the swirling images stopped passing by but began to settle. There were piles of bones, twisted bodies, and petrified corpses littering the clearing around the hill. The sight of them made my stomach do a few somersaults, I didn't know if it was from fear or disgust. Probably a little bit of both.

nI spun in a slow circle, looking around the clearing at all those things, I didn't want to think of them as people because that would only make it worse. My heart ached and my stomach lurched from making that small, slow circuit. But before I was done, I caught the flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye.

nSomething had moved, but what was it. I paused and spun back around. There was nothing there, just the piles stirring on the ground.

nStirring? They were stirring on the ground? They were moving? Why were they moving? What was going on here?

nI watched on in fascinated horror as one pile after the other began to shift and stand. Even the ones that didn't have bodies anymore. They began to reform to what they were before.

nSoon, the clearing was full of people. They no longer looked dead, no longer piles of bones or twisted limbs. They looked like normal people, and they all appeared to be alive.

nAs I looked around the group of people I saw they ranged in age from approximately ten to maybe twenty-five at most. They were all still so young and yet they were all dead, and there were hundreds of them.

nI looked in their faces. I saw their eyes, the complexion and pallor of their skin. The slim build of their bodies. They all looked so similar to each other. And as I thought about it, they all looked like me.

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"Who are you? All of you, who are you?

" I asked them, fear and other emotions swirling within me.

nOne shape stepped forward. It was a young man close to my age with the same shade of blue eyes I have and a pale look to his face. But his hair was pale blonde and he was wearing clothes from an era that was long since past.

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"We are the children of Edmond.

" He spoke in a somber tone as another person stepped forward, a woman close to his age with a similar look but with an auburn color to her hair.

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"We are the one who did not survive his experimentations.

" Her voice was eerily calm as she talked about her own death.

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"We are the one who were born like you.

" A chorus rang through the crowd, every voice speaking at the same time.

"We are the ones who were not strong enough.

"

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"Am I the only one who ever survived?

" My heart and mind couldn't handle that thought.

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"No, there have been others, but they were not as strong as you. They easily bent to his will and did his bidding.

" That eerie, echoing chorus of their voices sent shivers down my spine.

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"What became of them?

" I didn't know if I really wanted to know, but I had to ask anyway.

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"Most did not live long after their awakening. They were either killed by their own people or drowned in their magic.

" The man who had stepped forward answered my questions alone.

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"What made me so special?

" I asked them.

"What was different about me that allowed me to live but killed all of you?

"

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"That we do not know.

" They all spoke again.

nIt was finally hitting me. This group of people, the hundreds of people before me, they were all my brothers and sisters. Edmond had not been lying when he said that he had been up to these tricks of his for a long time. And I most definitely was not the first. But I would be the last if I had anything to say about it.

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"I won't let him do this to anyone else. I won't let another child be his unwitting pawn and helpless victim. This needs to end.

" I could feel the determination growing within me, right alongside my hatred for Edmond.

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"We want to help you.

" A little girl spoke up as she moved forward. She was the smallest of them that I had seen so far, and she looked the most like me. This little girl was wearing a little flowered dress with a beaded leather vest over it.

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"Help me how?

" I wondered.

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"Our father is on the move.

" The crowd chorused.

"He seeks to return to where his troubles started.

"

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"Where his troubles started? What troubles could he have?

"

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"You!

" Their voices, so calm and scarily in sync, caused all the blood to leave my face. I felt myself swoon in place as my body began to feel cold all over.

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"Me? So if he's going to where it all started does that mean he's going to my home? He's going after my people? My friends? My family? My city?

"

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"You must hurry, sister.

" Their voices were insistent.

"You must stop him. He must not be allowed to succeed here. If he wins this battle then the world will be lost forever.

"

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"Believe in what you have learned. Believe in yourself as we believe in you. But now you must hurry.

" The man who started the whole thing ended it as well.

nWhen he finished speaking with his pleading voice the whole group turned and began to walk away. None of them took more than a few steps before they all faded and floated away on the wind, nothing more than wisps of smoke or mist in the night air.

nI woke with a start, sitting bolt up in bed and breathing hard. My hands reached out next to me in search of Reece and his comforting warmth.

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"What is it Little Bunny?

" He asked as soon as he felt me frantically searching for him. He sat up and placed a warm, strong arm around my shoulders.

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"We need to go. We have to get home. Now!

" I was sweating hard and my heart felt like it was about to jump out of my throat.

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"What's wrong? What happened?

"

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"Edmond is on his way to our home. He is going to go after and attack our people.

" I saw the look of shock on Reece's face as he heard my words. Things were about to get ugly if we weren't careful.

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