"A dozen dried fish," a customer said.
"In a moment, please." Sarai bent behind the counter and prepared what the customer asked for.
A grating noise, a crowded place, the Market Street bustled under the orange sunset.
"Ello amardi Sarai."
Sarai the witch looked up from the counter.
A body beneath a beige cloak was before her.
"Heald," she called.
"Sarai." The latter raised his head. His pulled brows spoke of his feelings.
"What are you doing here?" Sarai's eyes glanced around, caution glinting in them, before she faced Heald again. "Come in."
They entered. Sarai motioned to the mat on the floor. Heald chose to stand.
"What have you done to my friend?" He asked.
"What?" Sarai's brows furrowed.
"Ever since I brought him to you, he's been distancing himself from me."
Sarai sighed. "I only did what I think I should do, which you know of."
"Don't tell me I know of anything!" Heald inched closer to her in his towering form. "Now you tell me what you did to my friend."
Sarai subconsciously took a step back. Her eyes widening at Heald's ferocity.
"Okay you need to calm down!" Sarai held her palms up at Heald's chest.
Heald stopped. But his eyes still burned with the same intensity.
Sarai gulped. "I think your friend is keeping a secret."
"You shouldn't make up things, witch, I have known him for two whole centuries. Never had he behaved like this."
"I swear. You might have known me not up to a decade but trust me when I tell you this."
Heald's frown loosened a bit. "Speak."
"Sickness, that's what you both call what might be affecting him, right?"
Heald nodded.
"I don't think so. When I look into his eyes, all I see is darkness." Sarai gulped.
"Now, what are you driving at?," Heald asked.
"There's something he's not telling you. There's something he's not saying."
Heald scoffed. "Every supernatural being out there has a secret. Every living creature has."
"Trust me, the secret others have might not be as deep as this. The darkness is just too much."
"How do you know? I have seen no darkness in him since we became friends. I drink human blood but he doesn't. So tell what darkness he has?"
"I'm not sure but I think you should try and get something outta him."
"Don't try me, witch, no vampire's anger has been a cool one."
"In a full fledged fight with me, you'll barely be able to hold up so you should hear me out," Sarai said.
Heald stopped talking.
"Try to get something outta him."
Heald was about to answer when he paused.
A gasp escaped his lips as he lifted his pallid hand. His thumb finger was aglow.
"Another claw glow? What the hell is going on?"
Sarai's features took on a pondering look. "Must be something important as far as it's the coven."
"I'll be back." Heald headed towards the door.
"Remember," Sarai said.
Heald halted.
"Try and get something outta him. Or you might lose him forever."
Heald glanced over his shoulder at the witch. Then he headed out, melting into the crowding piling around the market.
**************
..The Archipelago..
The Vampires coven.
Chains jiggled. Low groans echoed off the rocky walls.
One could barely see what's in the next meters away. It's dark and chilling.
Chains clattered again. A groan, this time more loud and prominent, emanated.
The air whistled and a figure appeared.
Several candles lit, revealing a cavernous hall with rocky walls, images of razor sharp claws and deadly fangs engraved on it.
The candlelights reflected on the standing figure, illuminating a scarlet cloak. In the ensuing illumination, a figure in chains was revealed too, its silvery hair seeming to glimmer.
"Hello, vampire." The figure under the scarlet cloak grinned as it lowered its hood. A square face was revealed, icy cold and pale. "Kylian. That's your name?"
Kylian lifted his head. His eyes were weak.
"Y, you."
A trickle echoed. Kylian's gaze slowly fell on the ground, below him. His eyes twitched and flashed with a painful light.
Adrian looked down as well and his eyes gained a size. But he was quick to regain his composure.
It's a pool of red. Formed by Kylian's pale vampire blood.
Adrian snorted. "Look at you. Appears you fed more than your belly this time. A crowd of humans, uh, you even had a squad of vampires by your side."
"So dwarf in every sense." Kylian's weakly scoffed.
Adrian's smile disappeared. His face hardened as several bees appeared from thin air. Their buzzing, sounding like death's trumpet, emanated in the rocky space.
But a footstep echoed.
Adrian stopped as he felt the aura.
The bees disappeared into the shadows and he shifted from Kylian.
"Father." He bowed.
Caius, under his black cloak didn't even reply. He barely casted him a glance before focussing on the man in chains.
Bones the old was beside him too. His face held a complex expression.
Caius' gazed at Kylian like forever. His sharp eyes wandering on his body and scanning it like he could see his very soul.
After a while ogling, his eyes settled on Kylian's eyes.
Kylian's face was expressionless. His anxiety could be felt by him. It poured in every holes of his soul. But not his body so the vampire men before him couldn't feel it.
Things might not go right.
But the determination in him told of what he would do if what he feared finally came.
He will fight, annihilate and survive as he had always done in the past.
A swoosh made them turn. Behold it's Heald. His eyes were wide with shock as he looked around.
There's no fang glow? He thought.
Caius' have him a curt look and said, "I summoned you, myself."
Heald gulped and nodded.
"What were you doing, vampire?" Caius' asked as he turned his gaze to Kylian. "If it weren't for the sweepers who bought you in, our secrets, our existence is at risk."
"Uh!" Kylian was surprised. He had expected a question more hostile and unnerving.
"Am asking you, what were you doing, bloodsucker?!" Caius growled this time.
"Father, the evidence has revealed what happened." Adrian took a step closer.
However, Caius declined him by raising his arm. Adrian shrank back.
Kylian watched. After a few minutes, his lips parted.
"I was in the bar. Having my time when a strong scent of blood reached me."
Caius nodded, giving him a go-ahead.
"I wanted to check it out but there are newborns in there. They went berserk and began to feed." Kylian stopped.
"Why didn't you stop them?" Bones-the-old asked.
"Because I can't. I don't have the strength. I tried but I couldn't."
"That's so undoing. A. Two. And. Half. Century. Old. Vampire. Can't. Stop. A. Few. Newborns." Caius shook his head. "Quite odd."
"And why can't you do it, ain't you a survivor? Or perhaps, you lied about your age," Bones-the-old said.
Kylian's face was expressionless. He didn't even bulge.
Just then Heald came in. "He hasn't fed for the past six months."
"Uh!"
"Uh!"
They were surprised.
"He isn't healing from his wound too," Caius reasoned. Then he looked up at Kylian. "Why weren't you feeding?"
"I just wished not to," Kylian replied.
"Wished not to? You sure want your head on the cold floors of this coven." Caius growled and his eyes flashed pure crimson.
The others moved back a step. Only Kylian wasn't affected by the bursting aura.
But then a wave, invisible to the eye, bursted towards Kylian.
A yelp of pain erupted from him. He felt his head splitting. He felt like…..
His ears bled and a mouthful of blood spurted outta his mouth.
Caius calmed his aura a bit as he leaned closer to Kylian, who's still groaning in pain. "You were protecting a human. A female. Who is she?"
Kylian's eyes widened. "Where is she? She's with me." His voice was barely heard.
"Who. Is. She. To. You?"
"She's my mate. I felt it. That's who she is."
Caius' kept quiet about this. He pondered on it.
Bones the old too seemed to be pulled into his thoughts. Heald and Adrian were both surprised. But their surprises were different.
Heald's was mixed with fear. Fear because it's forbidden to have a human mate except if the human has agreed to be turned. So he feared Kylian might be dessicated.
Adrian's surprise was different. Entirely different. He felt empty all of the sudden. He felt downcasted.
But then his expectant eyes turned to his father. "Father, a human mate is forbidden by the law."
"I know," Caius replied, his eyes not shaking at all. Then he turned to Kylian. "You know that, don't you?"
Kylian nodded weakly.
"You know what to do. I don't need to tell you."
Kylian nodded again.
"You're going to die at this rate if your wound is still open," Caius pondered. He bit his wrist and a pallid blood was revealed.
The others stared with wide eyes.
Caius bought his bleeding wrist near Kylian's mouth and nudged him to feed.
The latter hesitated before bringing his mouth to the wrist and drew blood.
After a few seconds, Kylian took off his bloody mouth.
Caius shifted back as well.
The others stared. Kylian waited. But his waiting wasn't up to half a minute when he felt his strength coming back.
The gash on his neck healed and his eyes gained a sparkle of red.
"You can go."
"Uh!"
"Uh!"
"Uh!"
Gasps erupted. Shock. That was what they all felt.
Even Kylian wasn't left out.
You can go. Just like that?
It felt like it's not their leader. It felt like the person before them was not Caius.
"But, father-"
Caius' glare shut Adrian up.
Vampires appeared in the shadows and slashed at the chains. It fell with a clank.
Heald walked to Kylian and supported him.
Caius exited the hall. Bones the old trailed him.
Adrian casted Kylian a glance before vanishing as a blur.
Kylian sighed and looked at Heald with a look of gratitude.
Heald nodded and they swooshed from the coven.
**************
Night Hills woods.
As they sprinted, Heald and Kylian conversed.
"Don't tell me you wanted to fight if things go the other way," Heald started.
Kylian didn't reply. Heald knew at once what his answer was.
"What really happened?" Heald asked.
"It's just as I've said. But there's something more." Kylian squinted his eyes.
"Tell me."
They swerved out of the towering oaks into a pine field. Leaping over a fallen tree, they continued.
"They were harvesting organs. Perhaps, for a ritual. They took someone too. I heard them say it even though it's incoherent. It's a girl."
Kylian suddenly stopped.
Heald stopped too and faced Kylian. "Hey, what's it?"
"I need to see if the girl is okay," Kylian replied.
"The girl?" Heald moved closer to him. "She's your mate. I know it's a lie."
"You're right. I need to keep her safe. She was there because of me."
"She's just one human. A breakfast to us vampires."
Kylian growled. "She's not a breakfast."
Heald flinched. His lips pursed for a while before he asked, "Why do you care for her?"
Kylian kept silent. His gaze fell on the ground as he became lost in his thoughts.
Heald waited.
"All my life, I've done many evils that can make you turn your back on me if you know."
Heald's jaw dropped.
Kylian continued. "All my life, I've been the demise of others. I've never saved one. She's just a girl, Heald. A candlelight in the breeze of our world." Kylian lifted his gaze to Heald's. "She came there for me. She wanted to listen to the rest of the story but I almost got her killed. I couldn't even protect her till the very end."
"It ain't your fault, KY. The crest held your powers. You need to grip yourself," Heald said.
"She deserves to live."
"And she'll live," Heald replied.
"Not now that she's the only survivor of that attack. The attack was caused by a group of supernaturals I know nothing of yet. Whether she knows of our existence or not, she's a survivor now and she needs someone to protect her." Kylian clenched his fist. "And I'll protect her."
Heald was speechless. But then he gripped himself. "You know it's prohibited to help or interfere in human matters. Caius' won't be pleased if he gets to know."
"And I don't care if he does. I need to make sure she's safe."
Kylian turned to leave but then a groan escaped his lips. He clutched his chest.
He could feel a wave of heat rising.
"The crests…" Heald gasped.
Kylian lifted his hands to look at his wrists.
Lo and behold, the crests are gone.
It's expired.
Kylian's eyes widened and fear crept up his soul.
He could feel the familiar heat rising up his abdomen. It's only a matter of time before it gets out of control and the worst occurs.
****************