The night sky was clouded, and the thunderous sound of rain echoed in the air. Sky sat on his bed, unmoving and unresponsive to the ruckus outside. His mind was focused on finding a way to remove the bracelet without damaging it or alerting Sir Nightbride. He had already tried all twelve lines and knew their effects. Six of them caused pain, two of them numbed his body, two of them stopped him from moving, and two of them prevented him from speaking. He was sure there was a way to cancel out the effects of the bracelet, but he hadn't figured it out yet.
Footsteps tattered against the wooden floorboards of the hallway, accompanied by the occasional clatter of metal against stone. The source was getting closer to Sky's room with each second. Finally, three loud banging noises against his door announced the arrival of his visitor.
"Sky, open up!" Damien's voice yelled from the other side of the door. "I know you're in there!"
Sky hopped off his bed to find Damien sweating and out of breath. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"No time, come with me!" Damien said while grabbing Sky's arm.
"What's going on?" Sky asked again as Damien pulled him out of the room.
"You need to get out of here, now! Sir Nightbride is coming for you!" Damien said while they ran down the hallway.
"Why? What did I do?" Sky asked, but Damien didn't answer.
Sky ran with Damien through the dark and empty hallways of the estate. He had no idea what was going on, but he trusted Damien. Damien led him to a small room near the back of the mansion. The room was pitch black, so Sky couldn't see anything. Damien pushed him into the room and closed the door behind them.
"I'm sorry, Sky... it's your turn. You won't remember what happened tonight..." Damien said before leaving.
Sky was alone in the dark room, trying to figure out what was happening. He could barely see the room's contents thanks to the green runescript on his arm. He heard Damien's footsteps getting softer and softer until they faded away completely.
❖
"Matheo! We need to tell the rest. We can't let this go on any longer."
"Keep your voice down, Beric. Do you want them to find out by them overhearing?" Matheo whispered.
"We have the evidence we require. I'm not saying we need to tell all of them; who knows what Ennith would do?! All we need is to tell Sirus, and he will do something about it. It's a matter of his race, after all."
"So, what definitive evidence do you have that Sirus would act against his kind?"
"I'm telling you, the Yal Houses are up to something. There has been an influx of zero's in each household-"
"And when you asked said households, what did the servants tell you?"
"That they enjoyed working for their master... but I saw their eyes! Their expression said a completely different story! Matheo, I know what I saw, and we need to tell someone."
"Fine, but not here."
Matheo and Belic were walking through the castle amid the stormy night. Occasionally they would see a guard or servant, but considering their position, the servants and guards simply avoided them. They made their way to the castle's east wing, where Sirus's room was. They stopped in front of the door and knocked.
"Who is it?" Sirus's voice called from the other side.
"It's Matheo and Beric. We need to speak with you about something important," Matheo said.
Sirus opened the door and let them in. "What is it?" he asked.
Matheo and Beric paused at the sight of Sirus. He was a tall, beautiful man with long wings that stretched the length of his body. His white hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his blue eyes were piercing.
"Sirus, we need to talk to you about the Yal Houses," Matheo said.
"What about them?" Sirus asked.
"We think they're conducting blood rituals."
"What makes you say that?" Sirus asked.
Matheo looked at Beric to continue, which he did.
"I have visited three Yal households with the most zero's in the capital. Everything about them screamed 'blood ritual'. The servants were all scared, the atmosphere was dark, and there was always a feeling of dread. And when I asked about it, they all said the same thing; 'we enjoy working for our master'. But their eyes... their eyes told a different story."
"Do you have any evidence?" Sirus asked.
"No, not yet," Matheo said. "But we're going to get it."
"If what you're saying is true, then we have a serious problem on our hands," Sirus said, "Did these servants you spoke to have bracelets with a brownstone on their wrists?"
"Yes, they did," Beric said.
Sirus didn't hesitate to strip down in front of Beric and Matheo to get changed into appropriate clothing.
"Why're you so comfortable in your own skin!" Beric shouted, looking away.
"This isn't the time for that," Matheo said as he pulled Beric out of the room, "We need to go back and get our things."
"What are we going to do?" Beric asked.
"Are you an idiot? At what time during the month are blood rituals conducted?" Matheo asked.
"During the new moon," Beric said.
"Exactly," Matheo said, pointing at the moon in the sky. It was a cloudy night with rain, but it was clear enough to see that the moon was at its peak, "It's a new moon tonight. So we're going to these Yal houses and see what's really going on."
"But what if they catch us?" Beric asked.
"And so what? What can they do to the Monarch of Earth and the Monarch of Nature? They're not going to kill us. Even if they wanted to, they are too weak."
"But they could hurt us," Beric said.
"You're a damn Delgard! Your stone skin can deflect arrows, let alone magic."
"But what about you?"
"What about me? I'm the most powerful being on this planet, remember?" Matheo said proudly.
"And what of Ennith?"
"Maybe the second strongest..."
❖
Sky stood in the dark. The howling winds caused the house to creak and the trees to bend. It was a new moon, and the Yal houses were conducting their blood rituals.
"Do you know why you're here?" A malevolent voice asked.
"I-I don't know," Sky replied.
Sky looked around the dark room to find a large engraved circle on the stone floor with a black figure in the centre. The figure was draped in a hooded cloak and had its back to Sky.
"You know what this is, don't you?" The voice asked.
Sky remained quiet.
"Enough of your facade," the man spat, "How convenient. No memories, found outside Belvoir forest out of all places, and then sent to the black market by the Galfeld house? Do you expect me to believe that, spy? Who sent you here?"
Sky stared at the man who stepped closer to Sky. He could see the figure more clearly now, with a tall figure and stark black wings that matched his long hair.
'A spy? Is this guy delusional?!' Sky thought as the man grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet.
"I asked you a question," the man hissed.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Sky choked out.
The man's grip tightened. "Liar."