Caius lowered his dark hood and his black eyes gazed at Heald as he asked. "How are you, now, Heald?"
Then it occurred to Heald. Caius was the one who gave his blood that made his healing system powerful enough to heal from a partially destroyed heart.
Caius is a five hundred years old born vampire, and is naturally stronger than a turned Vampire. Thus, his blood, which is stronger in terms of purity, could enhance the durability of a turned vampire's system.
A half crushed heart should've been a dead end for Heald, he shouldn't be able to make it. He should be dead by now. But Caius' blood helped him survive it.
"I am, well, now. Thanks, leader."
"Don't thank me yet." Caius stopped before Heald. The disturbed look in his eyes told Heald something is wrong.
Caius moved closer to Heald as the latter retreated from the door.
"Adrian went after Kylian. The human lady Kylian said is his mate was the human mate Adrian found years ago. He's going to kill Kylian to have her. I need you to stop them from fighting." Caius sighed.
Heald's forehead wrinkled. 'Adrian is going after my friend? You gotta be kidding me.'
Even though he knew Kylian is a survivor and a vampire of almost over eight hundred years old, Adrian is still a true born vampire. He's strong enough to kill a turned Vampire without much trouble. He has a special ability while a turned Vampire doesn't. He feared Kylian might lose his life if the two fought.
"Why do you want me to stop them from fighting?" Heald frowned as he asked.
Of course he should be asking. Because if one is to look at it in a clearer way, Adrian is Caius' son and any father would support their son when it comes to this kind of matters, especially one related to mate issues.
So he's confused on why Caius wouldn't want Adrian to fight Kylian for his mate because the vivid picture of what the result of their clash would be is that the born vampire thrashes the turned one, even though the turned one this time is several centuries older than the born one.
And apart from that, Caius should want Kylian dead now, because Kylian had broken a law of the coven by saving Christa and risking the secrets of the vampires. So Heald's confusion is justified.
Caius' eyes were calm and thoughtful as he recounted Heald's question. He's not doing what many would expect him to do now.
He should be hunting Kylian now but he's not. He should have let Heald die because he was an accomplice of Kylian's, but he saved him instead. He should be letting Adrian do justice with his own hands now but he's stopping him.
Quite unusual of the iron fist leader.
And he knows what people would be thinking; Caius has become soft. He's no longer the iron fisted leader of the Casal coven, he's not worthy of the mark of the Tribunals.
But he knows exactly what he's doing.
Caius sighed and replied, "I remember Kylian and I know who he is."
Heald's heart skipped and he gulped. 'What did he mean by saying he knows who Kylian is.' His lips pursed and he wanted to talk but he kept quiet.
"I know of his secrets as the Clawe, so don't play smart."
Heald swallowed and a rivulet of sweat dropped from his forehead. But when he heard what Caius said next, he calmed, knowing things won't be too bad.
"He saved my life before. I was in India that day when I got caught in his trouble. The hunters had me but he saved my life." Caius looked at the empty space. "Even though his existence is dangerous to everyone, I still can't let Adrian kill him."
Caius suddenly lifted his gaze as a troubled countenance etched on his face. "Something is coming. Something that could be the end of me and my coven and I have to be prepared for it. Or I'll perish alongside my people."
Heald frowned hard at this. He could feel the fear dripping off the leader of the Casal coven, his coven. His eyes narrowed and he asked, in a mutter. "What's coming?"
"An enemy probably knows about Kylian's identity now."
Heald was becoming restless. "What identity?"
"Oh, you don't know? Your friend is a Skull vampire."
Heald eyes widened and trembled. Even Mei Li wasn't left out.
Benzo, on the other hand, had no reaction since he knew nothing about vampires. But the expression of shock on the faces of his two crew was enough to tell him whatever a skull vampire is, it's something either spectacular or dangerous.
"How come?" That was all Heald could bring himself to say. The shock was just too much. He had heard about an extinct clan of vampires that are very powerful. Never in his life had he thought he would see one, talkless of being friends with one. So now that he comes to know Kylian is one, his shock knows no bounds.
"He goes berserk. You two kept it a secret well but I found out about it. When he was chained down in the dungeon back at the coven after the newborns' frenzy, I saw his blood. It had black spots in it. It was how I knew he was the vampire who saved my life centuries ago." Caius paused, then continued. "The reason that happens to him is because of the curse running through the veins of the skulls and perhaps the one that turned him too.
"Akotal, a Primordial from the Tribunal clan, arrived here in New York recently. He must have known about it all and if he does, he would be rushing to get his thing done quickly."
"What thing?" Benzo couldn't help but ask.
"A ritual. Several centuries ago, he fought a severe battle during which he wiped out the Skull vampires alive but he sustained severe damage. The damage was not just any injury, what caused the damage decays his body and power and soul. He performs rituals every three hundred years and now he'll be carrying out one, soon.
"If he does the ritual successfully, he will return to his peak for the next three hundred years before another ritual will be needed again. And once he does, he will kill us all. Especially me. We have had an ill relationship for centuries and now, I'll be his first target."
"Then why are you telling us all this?" Heald asked.
"Because I can't fight him myself. I have the mark of the Tribunals on me and I can't fight or kill one of their own. I'll die.
I want you to do this for me and the coven." Caius moved his gaze straight to Heald.
Heald frowned and was visibly disturbed as he looked away. He couldn't help but think. 'How are they possibly gonna win against a Primordial vampire.'
Heald had a doubtful gaze as he looked down. Caius could see the clear hesitation in Heald. Then he said, "if Akotal gets back to full strength, he'll hunt down your friend, even if it's the last thing he would do. Because he is a Skull and apart from that, Kylian is a roadblock for Akotal's minions. He didn't let them get what they want.
Heald's eyes widened with realization, "the lady."
"Yes. She's a descendant of a tribe with a unique blood that has the Divine ability to resuscitate. She's probably the last of the descendants considering how scarce they have become now and Akotal needs him to carry out the ritual." Caius held his white hands out as he demonstrated. "If you all join hands together, you can do it. The window of opportunity is opened before the ritual is made."
Caius glanced at them all, scanning their faces and the emotions on it as he awaited a reply.
Heald's lips parted and his face tightened as he made his request. "In return for this, I want my friend alive."
Afterall, he had nobody to call a friend or family. Only Kylian. Just Kylian. For the past two hundred years since he became a vampire, he's been alone. So securing the life of his best friend is the best thing he could think of for now.
Caius sighed. "He'll live."
Mei Li and Benzo, on the other hand, just kept quiet since what they both wanted was Kylian's safety. Mei Li wanted it because Sarai asked for her help and Benzo because he wanted to help Kylian.
So the trio wanted the same thing.
"You shouldn't worry about me hunting for Kylian's life. Apart from the fact that he saved me before, my coven is still gonna need him considering the tension in town currently." Caius had a thoughtful gaze on as he continued, "Something bad is coming, I can feel it. And to get out of whatever is coming, I'm gonna need him."
Heald exchanged glances with Mei Li and Benzo. They both nodded their heads, showing their support. Heald sighed and faced Caius.
"We'll do it," Heald said. "But first we need Kylian's location."
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