"But Dad got angry in the past and his eyes never changed before. What's so special now? This only happens when Drako is here. Why?" Keliana countered.
"I guess we will find out after dinner," Khalisa answered as a sinister smile played on Drako's lips.
"You ladies should really wait until after dinner, I promise, you will enjoy my story right to the very end," Drako said smiling.
The sisters stopped talking and started eating their dinner. The scraping of the plates as the food was being cut and devoured by the somewhat happy family. Seemed like the perfect time for a family photo.
The happy banter continued for an hour as they ate to their heart's content. It was strange to see Drako genuinely laughing. The conversations seem to flow smoothly as they listened to Drako giving a joke.
"Mind you, there is much that I find funny, but I can just imagine Mondola throwing a tantrum, causing all the demons in his domain to run around like headless chickens." He said laughing.
Unfortunately, he was the only one laughing as this could mean Mondola would be sending more demons to their world. The family turned to look at him that was still laughing at the scene he pictured in his head.
"You are going to cause more chaos for us here,?" Michelle asked.
"I am sure it's nothing you guys can't handle. After all, you're an elite team, hence why you were chosen to defend this realm."
Drako's eyes then dimmed and he seemed spaced out before looking bright again.
"Well guys, in a few minutes we will have another guest." He smiled.
"Who is coming here now?" Erinic asked.
"You will meet my blood brother, Dante..." Drako replied.
"What do you mean by blood brother?" Caden asked.
"You know when you cut yourself and make a pact on each other's heart and swear to always be there for them no matter what happens." He replied.
"Can't you stop him from finding you?" Jayden asked.
"The oath we took, is not one to be taken lightly. It's a way of tracking each other no matter where we are in the world or dimension." He explained.
"So isn't he going to report back to Mondola what you did when he sees Benara here?" Khalisa asked.
"I am sure he figured it out by now. And no, he won't betray me, he may ask why? Or if it's a prank... as we do play some deadly pranks at times." He smiled.
"You know... it would be great having him here. You can hear the stories from both of us and get a full picture of what happened 15 years ago." Drako then looked at his surroundings noting the dining table had no room for his friend. "Let's make room for him shall we... as he is almost here," Drako added.
They all looked at him astonished, were they about to be slaughtered or were they finally about to get closure for all these missing years?
They moved towards the living room and made some furniture arrangements to make space available for their new arrival.
Erinic and Michelle sat on the loveseat. Peter, Eliira, Benara and the twins sat on the long couch, while Khalisa and Keliana sat in the medium-long chair with space for two more persons to sit in.
Almost in the same fashion that Drako arrived, black and red smoke filled the living room briefly before retreating into itself, gradually revealing another tall figure almost the same height and weight. They could pass for twins.
As the surprise group looked from Drako to Dante, they marvelled at their close resemblance. Both had red eyes and strikingly handsome features. Both gave off a scary chilling vibe as in a horror show.
"Drako! You did it again. What's the punch line for this one?," Dante asked walking towards Drako. He noticed all eyes were on him. "Hello. Drako why are we at our enemy's camp?" He turned to look at Benara who was no longer in chains. "Am I missing something here, Drako?" he added.
"Yes of course. I once was lost, but now am found," Drako smiled.
"Sometimes your punch lines are annoying Drako. Please elaborate."
"These people here are my real blood family. I was lost to them for 15 years. Mondola and your mother seemed to have kidnapped me while setting fire to their home. Seeing that Benara and I had special powers, they saw it fit to keep both of us alive. I on one hand was raised to be the next prince of Darkness by Queen Zamora herself and the mighty Hitchcock sisters. Not to mention those crazy twins, she keeps in a secret society. "
"Did you have to kill one of Mondola's favourite guards? Do you know how troublesome and tedious this is?" Dante asked as he surveyed all the faces stopping on Keliana. His heart skipped a little and a slow smile threaten to give way to his nonchalant expression. He quickly looked away before his face followed his heart.
"I had no choice brother. I couldn't risk him finding out about our plans, plus I needed Benara to help with a few more chest pieces. "Drako drawled.
"Okay. I will meet back with Mondola and find someone else to blame for you. But please keep me in the loop next time before you make any drastic life-altering decisions. Should I expect you home for dinner, Dad's cooking his favourite tonight. Also, remember the meeting with Zamora tomorrow morning. In other words, remember you have your responsibilities. I will give you some time with your family, but remember where your loyalty lies." Dante said as he took one last look at Keliana before disappearing in red and black smoke.
"Well, family, there you see, Dante will not betray me. So shall we get on with this family gathering?" Drako said as he sat between Khalisa and Keliana again before whispering to Keliana, " I think my brother likes you. The future does look quite promising doesn't it?" winking at her.
Keliana stared blankly at her smiling estranged brother. If his friend liked her, he sure had a funny way of showing it.
"Drako, please tell us what you know of Mondola's plans for this family?" Erinic asked.
"I can't tell you everything, but he does want to drain anyone of pure Aurum blood to gain more power." He replied.
"But how did he know about Erinic?" I never told anyone about the queen's last child," Peter questioned.
"I am afraid, I might have had something to do with that secret being released," Benara sheepishly replied.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked.
"After Mondola kidnapped me, I was drugged and compelled to tell him all about your bloodline, since I was around for many generations. I had a vision of the queen giving birth to a mystery child. I wasn't sure of the child's gender, but that was enough to get Mondola searching for that rare bloodline. Mondola by then had gotten quite fond of Drako and adopted him as his son. One day Drako was fighting one of the lesser demons which drew his blood. Mondola seeing the rear blood, started to retrace Drako's family tree. As soon as he had his minions spread out and search for all who were associated with Drako, he then put all the pieces together and was going to move on your family today." Benara concluded.
"He was going to come here?" Erinic asked.
"No, he doesn't know about here as yet, let's say he doesn't know for sure which dimension you are in. But he knows of your existence. He was going to your house, Peter. He probably has sent some of his best demons to try to find you and bring you in," she added.
"I see. So it's a good thing we came here." Peter replied.
"God sure works in mysterious ways. We could have been prisoners or worse by now," Eliira voiced.
"We are safe for now. What do you have to say for yourself, Drako?" Peter asked eyeing him carefully.
"As I said, as long as you are with me, I will protect you." He drawled. Right now Mondola needs me. So I will have to finish our reunion at another time. Until such time, keep safe and keep a low profile." He then turned to face Keliana, "For now leave the demons at your school, if you try to bring them down, Mondola may soon turn his eyes on your current sanctuary. Currently, your name is just used to scare demons or draw higher demons to try to gain favour in Mondola's eyes. So for now, just let the demons do their thing and you all will keep safe." Drako added.
"You know we can't do you that. It goes against everything we believe in and our code of conduct." Erinic replied.
"While I understand that, you may force Mondola's hand sooner than I would like." He replied.
"Do what you need to do and we will do the same here," Erinic replied.
"Don't say I didn't warn you. I have to go now." He said.
Within seconds the room was engulfed in smoke again, then folded in itself leaving the spot where Drako once stood empty.