..Mercato Vecchio(Old market of Florence)..
Two figures under cloaks turned into a corner, behind a shop and got to a much thinner road which was sided by another sets of shops.
A pair of curious eyes under the first cloaked figure glanced at the second figure.
A masculine voice sounded from beneath the first figure as they went on. "What are we doing here, Ava?"
The second figure, identified to be Ava, seemed not to be bothered by question as she gazed around.
She dodged a man in a black mantua as she replied calmly. "Your curiosity will be gone in a moment, Caius."
The first figure, Caius sighed and turned his eyes from Ava as they went on, under the scorching sun.
"Here we are." Ava pulled down her hood as she stopped by a shop in front of which several talisman and lucky cards are displayed. She gestured to Caius as she muttered. "Come in."
Caius' eyes glinted with hesitation at first. But at the slight reassuring smile of Ava's, he succumbed and concurred.
They ducked into the shop.
A man with a shaman's staff identical to those of Chinese or Koreans turned to them as they entered. His face was painted in different color and his cloth was like the shawl dress notable to Indian traditionalists.
What do you want here?" The man asked.
Ava exchanged a glance with Caius and without saying a word turned to the shaman. "We need a Kai leaf."
The shaman, without saying a word went inside.
Caius turned to Ava. "What's that?"
"It's unique for its scent. It can attract creatures, and summon them no matter how far away they are."
Caius' frown deepened even more. "And why do we need such leaf if you are going to teach me how to control my powers?"
Ava smiled in a mischievous yet promising way. "We shall see."
Soon the shaman came back and gave Ava a wine red leaf wrapped in a damp shawl.
"Thanks." Ava muttered and glanced at Caius before turning away from the shaman.
Caius wondered why the shaman didn't ask for payment. His face held confusion as he followed Ava. "Aren't you paying?"
"You ask too much question." Ava sighed.
"Wait!"
Ava and Caius stopped just as they bent to duck under the hanging charms outside.
Their questioning look gazed at the shaman as he held up a talisman.
"This talisman is a future telling charm." He muttered, calmly.
Ava smiled. "Tell me what it said."
"Your future is like a dark tunnel that has a light at the end." The shaman says, his eyes shut closed.
Ava frowned hard. Caius wasn't left out too.
Silence persisted.
All of the sudden, Ava said. "We need to go."
Caius snapped out of his thoughts. "Y- yes."
Ava casted the shaman another look before ducking under the talismans, Caius trailed behind her and soon, they are out of the market entirely.
*********
Moments later, they were back in the forest, in the clearing in the middle of the forest.
The sun was settling down the large rock at the distant horizon already, and things are getting eerily quiet in the forest.
"Now what?" Caus asked.
Ava didn't reply as she held up the leaf. She smiled as she said. "We light up the leaf."
Her eyes flashed around and she found two fist sized stones. She walked over to it and grabbed it.
She dropped the leaf on the ground and squatted, with the two stones still in her hands.
Caius has an unsure look on his face as he watches Ava.
Ava grind the stone together and a spark erupted, dropping on the leaf that despite still being fresh and wet, caught fire like a dry leaf.
Leaf went up in a reddish flame and soon all that remained was ashes.
Ava stood, a serious look was on her face as she said. "Get ready."
Caius' forehead ridged in confusion as he moved closer to Ava. He asked, alarmed. "Tell me, what are you doing?!"
"I just did what I will call all the supernatural beasts around here." Ava pouted her lips as she added. "They will be here in a minute."
"Uh?!" Caius almost spat blood and die on the spot. The shock he felt was immense.
"You have to fight them like a born vampire, or they'll kill you."
With that, Ava sped off with a speed Caius can't follow.
Caius turned around in shock as he felt several presence approaching fast.
He couldn't even react when a large bear slammed at him.
He fought and fought with the bear, and struggled to stay alive.
Not up to a minute later, about four large lions joined.
Then everything went into jeopardy. He couldn't even hold his ground. He began to sustain injuries, ranging from slashes to bites, from fractures to gashes.
It got to a point when he couldn't heal again.
That was when Ava interfered.
Bang!
The ground shattered as she landed in front of the beasts. She stretched forth her hands, directly at the beasts. The air seemed to compress and a huge ball of wind was sent outwards, knocking away the beasts, sending them all crashing.
By the time Ava made to attack again, the beasts sped from the scene.
Caius was in a very bad shape. Ava grabbed his bloodied body and left the woods too.
*******
In an inn.
Ava gazed out of the window of the inn room, which was on the second floor, and gazed down at the bustling streets of Florence. Her figure blocked the golden rays of the rising sun, depriving the room of the bright light, as she lingered there.
"You did what you wanted?" Caius groaned as he got up from the pallet, now back to full strength.
"I had to do it. You don't seem to get something here." Ava muttered.
"And what's that?!" Caius snapped.
Ava's lithe body swiveled back to face Caius, and her Auburn hair swayed in accompaniment with her movement.
Her expression was serious as she began.
"Time is running. The hunters are making appearances everyday now that they are sure of the existence of you," she pointed her sharp nails at Caius' furious face and then pointed it towards the small window of the room as she said. "and your coven out there. It's only a matter of time before they get all of you."
Caius went silent as he thought about what Ava said. Perplexity sipped into his system slowly and made him feel helpless. But he braced up as he said. "No matter what, the hunter would never defeat me and my coven."
Ava shook her head as she said, "of course you know nothing of what's been happening in the past few days."
"Days?!" Caius frowned in confusion.
"Yes, days. You were out for five days!"
"Uh?!" Caius couldn't contain his shock. He was dumbstruck. 'Five days?!'
"And in those five days, almost all of your coven Vampires are dead. If I'm not wrong, the hunters should be on their way to the Casal Castle, your father's home in the woods, by now, wreaking havoc." Ava was damn serious as she spilled.
Caius felt a burst of anger in his chest. He sprung to his feets and dashed at Ava. He grabbed her collar but she grabbed his wrists and slammed him against the wall.
"Ava, why are you doing this? You need to help me save them!" Caius yelled, tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't even try to break out of Ava's grip for he knew he wouldn't be able to.
Ava sighed and shook her head slightly. "It doesn't work that way. I'm powerful enough to be of help to you but I can't interfere directly with you and your coven."
"But you saved me once." Caius yelled. He could see Ava flinch in reaction to what he just said. Then he continued. "You saved me once from the hunters, Ava. You can do it again. All I want is for my coven to be safe." He gulped as he added. "I need to at least save Bones and my father's men. Please!"
Ava was silent for awhile. Her eyes were glistening with a light Caius found surprising. Not that it's that surprising, but it confused him, even though it's what he would want, anyway.
But it's actually the truth.
Ava's steel blue eyes sparkled with affection as she muttered to Caius. "I will help, Caius. I wish to help you, Caius, just like I'm about to help you."
All of the sudden, Ava pulled Caius away from the wall with a urgency that he couldn't explain.
However, his confusion was solved in a second.
Not even up to a second, in a split second, a wooden stake shattered through the block, the exact spot Ava pressed Caius against earlier. The stake was so sharp that it pierced the wall with ease and before Caius could blink, the stake plunged into Ava's chest.
She gasped and staggered backwards. Veins began to bulge on her forehead and her body as she gasped for breath.
The stake went right through her heart.
Caius couldn't even contain his shock.
"Oh no!" He gasped as he rushed to Ava and supported her as she fell into his arms. He dropped to his knee as he held her close to his chest.
His shocks and surprises are not one.
First is that he's shocked at the sudden turn of events. Second, he's utterly shocked at how Ava is still alive with a stake right through her heart.
"Haaaa!"
Ava's scream of agony brought him back to reality.
"Hey, stay with me. Ava!" Caius shook her fervently, clutching her body to his chest as he panicked.
"Take it out. I- it laced in vervain. I- it'll kill me." Ava struggled to say as she clutched Caius' cloth tightly.
Caius' black eyes landed on the stake and fear flashed across his face. 'What if removing the stake tears apart the heart. She'll die!' he thought and his face turned even more ugly.
"Do it! Haaaaa!" Ava yelled the pain she's feeling getting more and more as time passed. "Just do it, Caius."
Caius gritted hard and his left hand, as pale as a white sheet, landed on the stake handle. With a pull, he extracted it and flung it away.
Ava screamed hard. Her scream wasn't just a scream but a cry of agony. It sounded more like a screech but after a few seconds it receded.
Ava sprung to her feet just in time to catch an arrow bolt.
Her palm burned and she dropped it.
Vervain, the arrow tip is laced in vervain.
She slammed her feets at the old table in the room and it was sent flying at the door as someone barged it open.
It's a hunter.
The table crashed into the hunter and sent him crashing out back to the corridor of the inn.
Quickly, she grabbed Caius' hand and went for the small window.
Bang!
They broke right through the bricks, out to the air and descended as arrows and spears flew their way.
Bang!
The duo crashed into an art shop below.
Caius struck his head against the wall and he felt dizzy for a moment. Ava grabbed him and dashed off at an insane speed as several arrows and other wooden projectiles, all laced in vervain, bombarded the shop.
For hours, they ran through miles in the forest and soon they got to the pool below the waterfall, where Caius had first seen Ava.
They both stopped.
Caius couldn't catch his breath as he gasped for air desperately. Even though he's a vampire, he has his limits, every vampire has their limit.
Ava, despite being so powerful as a vampire, something that still confuses Caius, she was sweating all over and it wouldn't take up to a glance before knowing she's shaken by the hours run.
Caius gazed at her with a crumpled look. His eyes glinted with a complicated expression as he stared at her chest, the bloody spot. It seems it's healed up.
"How did you do that?" He couldn't help but ask.
"What?" Ava's voice was unclear, more like a slur. Her steel blue eyes were almost closed as she struggled to stay on her feets.
Caius didn't seem to notice all that as he said, "you were stabbed right through the heart, Ava. No vampire can survive that."
"I'm a Primordial vampire." She announced.
Caius' blinked in shock. "Primordial Vampire?!'
His father had told stories of the peak of the vampire world, the Primordials. They are the first vampires, almost Immortal and now that there are plenty of vampires out, they are still in existence.
According to Maximus, Caius' father, Primordial Vampires don't usually leave their home, which is unknown to most. So to see one through the seemingly immortal life of a vampire is a sky-high wish.
But now, a vampire just claimed to be a Primordial!
Caius was dumbstruck.
"Like I said weeks ago, I'm not like any other vampire, I'm stronger than you and every vampire out there. Only a Primordial vampire, which is not many at all, can compete with me in terms of power."
Caius' frown deepened as he narrowed his gaze at Ava. "You are a Primordial vampire?!" He shook his head with doubt as he said, "why would a Primordial vampire leave its home and come to a-"
His question was interrupted when Ava suddenly collapsed.
Caius' eyes flashed open and he scurried to her. His eyes glistened with alarm as he held her head. "Hey, what's happening to you?!"
Ava coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her face was impossibly pale as she muttered. "It's the vervain. It's poisoned my heart and it will take a few days to get it out of my system."
"Uh?!" Caius blinked in shock. His mind reminded him of his worst fear as he shook his head, sideways.
He, a born vampire who cannot protect his coven and his father's castle from being burned down, now has to protect an unconscious Primordial vampire?
"You can do it, Caius." Ava's eyes glistened with tears. "I won't be able to lift a finger till I get all the vervain out of my system. You will have to protect me till I'm back to full strength." She held out her hand to hold Caius' right hand. She held it, tenderly as she continued. "You're stronger than you think. You are brave and courageous. You can do things even I might not be able to do." She paused for a few seconds before muttering. "I trust you with my life, Caius."
After that, Ava dropped caius' hand and went unconscious.
Just then, rustlings from a few distance away reached Caius' supernatural ears.
Even from afar, he could tell it's the hunters.
The hunters were inside the room next to Ava and Caius' room. They were preparing to strike for the days while Caius was deep in his sleep. Ava knew, but she couldn't do a thing because she knew if she made any move to escape with unconscious Caius, things might get dirty. So she had to wait till he's awake, to make things easier.
When Caius woke up, he glared up at her but she tried her best to fill him in on the latest developments, and just at the last moment, saved Caius from being stabbed through the heart, something that could have killed him within a few seconds.
Even though he can't explain it, he feels something deep for Ava and he could tell that Ava feels the same for him.
And he knows for sure, if the hunters get their way, Ava would die, Bones-the-old would die along with the rest of the coven.
The risk is just getting too much.
His eyes flashed red with rage and he turned his head to the direction.
"Graaaa!" He growled loudly exposing his long, sharp fangs.
'I will kill them. I'll kill them all.' he thought as he left Ava's unconscious body and dashed towards the direction the hunters were coming from.
*******
End of flashback.
Present.
..The Archipelago..
Caius turned from the sculptured image on the wall. His black eyes gazed at Adrian, who was standing behind him, listening to and staring at his father the whole time he had been narating.
Adrian was all fine now, his chest that was pierced by Kylian, had healed and he's back to his full strength.
His eyes were expressionless as he asked. "Now why are you telling me all this?"
"You've never asked about your mother and I had to tell you, myself." Caius gazed at the empty space as he continued. "Her sacrifice that day made me become who I am today. I had to protect her, and to my surprise, I did. I gained control of my power and with it, I defeated the hunters and brought peace for my coven and for myself." His eyes were sparkling as he recounted. "Even though we felt drawn to each other before, the incident and my breakthrough opened a way for me to conquer her heart, completely."
Adrian looked away as he muttered. "She was a hero for you, but not for me." He pulled up his scarlet hoodie and made to walk away.
"You think like that only because you know nothing about her." Caius suddenly says. His eyes glinted as he said. "Do you wish to know how she died?"
Adrian halted on his tracks at this. His eyes flashed to Caius'. His fists clenched beside him, and his teeths clasped tightly against each other.
Caius sighed on seeing this.
'Of course he would want to hear about the whole story.'
***********