"Very well Blood Child Kael. Your rather fresh view has been noted. And now it is time for your first task. Bring him out."
As soon as she finished speaking, three vampires came up to the stage dragging behind them a cage with a person inside. With the difficulty they used in pulling the cage, it was quite obvious to me that they were still sealed. From where I was standing, I noticed that the person in the cage was actually a human! However based on clothing, body frame and the terrified look in his face, this guy was not a part of the guards.
"This human was caught snooping around the Hollow basin four days ago. We have deduced that he is a spy sent by the council of light to observe us, and find our weaknesses.
He aims to destroy us. Your first task, Blood Child Kael, is to deal with this human anyhow you see fit. He must be punished for his transgressions against the vampire race. And you should also note, that we promised to release him if he can make you bleed. So be on your guard."
Seriously? Was I born yesterday or something. This was an obvious trap, and with the way things are with humans; me killing one in such an exhibitionist manner, would bring down the wrath of the council of light on the pit, and I would bear the full brunt of it, for being the one to kill the human. I walked towards him with my face as blank as possible, the cage was opened and he stepped out clutching a very rusted machete in his right hand.
I looked at his ragged appearance, taking note of the bite marks and holes all over his body. He must have been through a lot, but still an action had to be taken.
But it didn't make sense; I was once human so without a measure of a doubt, I knew exactly or at least to a certain extent how spies of the council operated. And no matter what happens, they would never be caught alive, ever.
"Please! I'm not a spy, I'm not a spy. I'm just a simple miner trying to make a living. The only wrong thing I've ever done was to illegally mine here and smuggle it out since only vampires are allowed to mine the minerals. I'm not a spy, I only smuggle ores."
He was telling the truth. Vampire senses never lie. Fun fact about vampires, we can literally smell fear or lies. When any living being lie or is afraid, their body tends to secrete or circulate particular kinds of endorphins, like adrenaline and what not. There's a particular kind that's made when a person is afraid or lies. It made it easier for me to judge his story. But the entire crowd had already gone wild.
KILL HIM!! KILL HIM!!
Their voice echoed across the basin, strong and powerful. It was almost as intoxicating as the drums, but not quite as powerful. He was innocent, but I don't think anyone of them would care about it. For one, he was human, two their elders had pronounced him guilty, and three...…he smelled really good, so killing him would be a form of voyeuristic gratification for each of them.
But I could not make that choice, the consequences would be too much for the entire vampire race to bear, because without a doubt, we would crack under the pressure that was sure to come due to such a choice.
The human was beyond afraid by now, his knees knocked against each other rapidly as he pointed his rusted machete at me in a feeble attempt to look intimidating and to ward me off.
I'm sure he knew that as a vampire that thing would only cause as much damage as a mosquito bite, and even then that bite would heal up so fast it would be like the wind just went past him. I moved closer and closer, and as I did he moved backwards, taking one frightened step after another until his back hit the cage that they had used to bring him here.
With no other place to go, he shed a tear and closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate. But his courage was commendable; even though he had given up, he still kept his machete upright and pointed at me, that made everything easier for me.
SHRUUUKK!
The tearing sound of metal going through flesh forced him to open his eyes. And in them were shock, fear and awe. And it was all directed at me, the vampire standing before him with a rusted machete lodged in his gut. Suddenly I felt the need to say something cool, something memorable that would be remembered for a very long time.
"We're Vampires! Not savages."
And once again the entire Arena went silent. I grunted and scrunched my face in pain as I stepped back, letting the machete slowly slide out of my stomach in the same manner with which it went in. I made it seem like I was in a lot of pain, but I've been through worse pain than this, all this was for show. Then I turned to the elders and spoke to them in the most disrespectful voice I could muster.
"Are you guys stupid or something. Or are you so blind that you can't see the repercussions of your actions. But I guess you wouldn't care would you, for your information you are still prisoners, and if I should kill a human right here in front of you, everyone of you would pay the price in one way or the other, and for no other reason than the fact you all watched it happen.
You are all honored elders, so I'm sure you all know what would have happened if I killed him. But it seems none of you even cared.
Because the fallout from such an action would see the husbands, brothers, fathers, mothers, sisters, wives, and friends of everybody here hurt or worse. And it would have been all your fault because you felt the need to set me up."
"But he's a spy!" Sousa yelled at me.
"That's bullshit and we both know it. But even so, what if he was a spy, are we going to savagely; like a bunch of uncivilized monsters kill him in front of thousands like it's some sort of sport. Have none of you learnt nothing from your thousands of years of captivity and the mistakes of your ancestors.
The world has changed, there is no place for monsters, or tyrants, or savages. It is because you all have been unable to extricate yourself from such practice that you're all still prisoners. After all after a certain amount of years, prisoners would be released for good behavior, you all are a bunch of animals."
Sousa looked livid, and the on looking vampires looked shocked. They couldn't even begin to imagine that I could muster the confidence to talk back at and even challenge their elders, the people responsible for guiding and leading them. And painfully enough most of them knew I was right based on the amount of nods and whispers that were going around. I turned to the seats and signaled Kodak to come down to the sands.
"What are you doing?" Sousa asked confused.
"My task was to deal with you alleged spy any way I see fit. And as such it is in my full capacity and right as a participator of this conference, not to mention the lord of a freaking district, that I'm taking this human prisoner. Humans have locked us up for so many years that we've lost track, why don't we extend the same courtesy. If he's not a spy, he'll serve time as a prisoner for a few years for illegal mining and encroachment of a national heritage. And then I'll let him go. Because I'm better than the council of light and I refuse to be like them. But if he is found to be a spy, then he will stand trial, and will be executed."
The leader of the Bediako coven, the douche bag who I'm supposed to fight when this is all over stood up from his seat and yelled at me.
"On whose authority!"
Then I gave the most scathing glare I could muster, releasing my soul energy and letting the dark blue fog twirl around me like a hurricane. Then I infused my soul energy into my voice and used the skill [Lion's Roar] to answer him.
"MINE!"
Ripples spread out from where I was standing, disturbing the sands, and pushing the human away. It went through the five zones stirring them up, and went on to smash into the ornately carved podium that held the elders. They were all unsealed by now, so all they did was move back a few steps.
Cracks appeared on the podium as dust rained down from it. Jaws were hanging, and eyes were bulging out of their sockets, this was turning out to be a little extreme even for me. I came here with humility, now it's devolved into a blatant show of power.
The leader of the Hom'rugr bloodline coven came forward with a bright smile on her face and said to me.
"Lord Kael of house Cor, you've passed the first task given by elder Sousa of the Zekeri bloodline Coven, and the second given by the young master of the inferno bloodline coven. That task was to show enough power to handle and protect a coven. Congratulations, I shall now tell you your third task."
Kodak led the human away, who even though he still looked frightened, had a look of gratitude on his face. A leader has to be confident in all that he does, and even though I've had to play politics and make rather unsavory decisions, I realize that I have to be true to myself and honest to the people around me. Let them see me for who I am, then it would be up to them to decide whether or not I'm worth following.
"Your third task is quite simple. You have unseal a vampire one rank higher than you, and after you're done with that, you would have to commence with the fourth task and kill that vampire you've unsealed. There are no loop holes in this Kael, you either pass or fail it. The choice is yours."
Okay what was wrong with these people, what's with them and killing defenseless people. But then again it can't be that simple. There's bound to be something more to this, and when the next task begins, I'm sure I'll find out. In the mean time, I guess it would be best to get ready.