Urgency washed through Kylian and his veins pumped hard. He yelled in alarm. "We need to find Christa!"
Heald nodded and held Kylian's shoulder as he said, "we know."
Kylian's face crumpled. "You know?"
"Yes." Sarai nodded.
"She's been taken by Hellsong and you are all here saying you know?!" Kylian snapped. "Do you realize this girl is my soulmate?"
"It's not that we don't care about your soulmate, Kylian." Heald shook his shoulder slightly, "this is more than you think."
"You must have known before that she's going to be used for a sacrifice by a person?" Sarai asked.
Kylian nodded.
"It's not just a person." Sarai added. "It's a vampire."
"He's a very powerful vampire." Benzo muttered.
Kylian shifted his gaze between them, his eyes utterly filled with confusion.
Heald sighed with a deathly expression as he completed. "It's a Vampire Lord. It's a Primordial vampire."
********
Flashback.
1778
Florence, Italy.
It had been fifty five years since Caius met Ava.
He got control of his powers and saved his coven. Things couldn't have been more tantalizing than the relationship that sparked between him and Ava after what he pulled against the hunters, alone.
And since then, they have lived in relative peace.
Caius loittered through the woods. He was thirsty. Not thirsty for blood, but for refreshment like beer.
He headed for a bar.
It was located in the middle of the woods, a few miles from the City and a few kilometers from the forest-surrounded Casal Castle.
Smoke slashed through the air. Even though it's not as thick as it used to be, it's still thick enough to make breathing difficult for a human, even one that smokes.
The door pushed open.
Caius made his way into the bar. With long strides, he passed the vacant chairs and tables. The place was scanty and low on life.
Unusual!
Only the bodies lurking in the corners of the bar were puffing pipes and filling the space with not much smoke.
Soon Caius got to the counter and was gazing at the bartender.
"Ale." Caius ordered. He hadn't even blinked when it was given to him.
Silently, he sipped his drink.
"Hic est heres de Casal. (This is the heir of the Casal.)"
Caus lifted his gaze as he heard someone say. The side of his lip curled upwards in a dry, lopsided grin as he muttered. "Gianna, what are you doing here?"
The woman, Gianna, beamed but didn't reply as she signalled to the bartender.
The latter moved closer. His eyes glinted as he waited. Gianna winked at him and muttered. "Give me, just like you gave him."
The bartender went away to make the drink.
"What are you here for?" Caius asked again, uninterestedly.
"It seems I'm here for you, hehe!" Adele giggled.
"Tsk! Of course you're not."
The bartender dropped Gianna's drink right in front of her. Caius took a glance at it, his eyes flashed uninterestedly, then he shifted his gaze to look around the bar.
His brow furrowed as he pondered. "Anything going on in town?"
Gianna, who was gulping her drink, chuckled while her throat gave a funny sound. She sighed and slapped the empty cup on the wooden counter.
"Everyone is out of town," Gianna said.
"Everyone?! Why?!" Caius' curiosity peaked.
"There was a rumor that a Primordial vampire was in town. Everyone has left the town."
Caius frowned hard. 'Why the hell would a Primordial vampire be here?' he thought. His eyes flashed with doubt as he muttered. "And what about you?"
"I am here to have my last drink before I leave Florence. I don't have a life to waste, you know." Gianna slipped from the stool and landed on her feets as she winked at Caius. "Goodbye Caius, see you again, if you are still alive."
Caius watched as Gianna walked out of the place. The disbelief that coursed through his eyes hasn't diminished.
'Like why would a Primordial be here?'
According to Ava, Primordial vampires don't come out of their shelter anyhow, except if there's a very crucial reason.
'And now a Primordial is in town?'
Caius slapped two silver coins on the counter.
With the whistle of the wind, he vanished from the bar.
.
.
Casal Castle.
Caius sped home. The place was in disorder.
Of course they have heard about the arrival of a Primordial vampire.
The first thing that came to his mind was Ava.
'Where is Ava?'
He searched around. He asked around the huge castle, but he didn't find her.
His dead heart was banging against his ribcage when he barged into her room, in the castle. Relief watched through him when he saw her but that relief was short-lived when he met her, dressing up in a haste.
"What is it? Where are you going?" Caius' eyebrows ridge in confusion.
"I need to leave here now!" Ava sounded alarmed. The sense of urgency only made Caius' feel what he hated most, fear.
"Why?!"
"I just need to-"
Avab hasn't completed the words when a vampire barged into the room.
"Someone is here, leader." The vampire announced to Caius.
Caus could feel the overwhelming feeling of worry that was coming from Ava as the vampire announced this.
He didn't ask. 'when I come back, I'll ask her about it.'
"Wait for me, please." Caius pleaded then headed out of the room.
Caius headed for the main front door to meet the visitor, who the vampire doesn't seem to know despite being the one who opens the door to every visitor.
As he headed for the door, all he could think of was Ava. Why would she be leaving? Is it related to the new Primordial?
He couldn't worry less.
The five meter tall double door was pulled inwards by two vampires opening the door to reveal the person outside.
The man was clad in a knee-length mantua dress, his impossibly pallid feets tucked in a leather sandal and his hands were tucked in raw leather gloves.
But there's one thing that isn't at all pleasant about the man; his face was burnt and melted all over, and his eyes, vicious and piercing, were deep red.
It sent chills down Caius' spine.
Caius frowned hard. 'Who is this?'
Caius could sense that the person is a vampire. He couldn't help but admit that the aura of the vampire before him is identical to Ava's aura.
"Good day, gentlemen. Oh! Vampires rather. I'm here for someone." The man's lips curled upwards on both sides as he smiled without exposing his teeths.
The vampires flanking Caius irritated looks on their faces as they gazed at the man with a burned face.
"Hmph!" Caius snorted. "Who are you here for?"
"A woman! A prodigal daughter who I can't imagine could stoop so low as to live with low vampires like you." The man grinned, mischievously.
"Uh?!" Caius' eyes widened in shock and disbelief as the pang of insult hitted him hard.
The others growled in response to the man and were about to make a move.
"Wait!!"
A scream made them halt.
Caius and the others turned back to see Ava.
The man with a burnt face smiled. "Here she is. The Primordial."
Ava ignored the surprised gazes of the vampires beside Caius. Why wouldn't they be surprised? They have been living with a Primordial vampire for over fifty years and they never knew. The shock they are feeling right is now is justified.
The mere thought made their blood chill.
Caius, on the other hand, was surprised at how the man knew about Ava.
Ava faced the man as she asked. "What are you doing here, Akotal?"
Caius blinked when he heard that. Ava knew him?
Though Ava didn't keep crucial information from Caius, she never really talked about herself, for the past years of their relationship.
So Caius knows so little about her.
"Was looking for you, Ava. Travelled through a whole continent and used over five hundred years before I found you here."
"Humph! I think you shouldn't be here. Go away, Akotal." Ava replied then turned to walk back into the house.
However, Akotal's voice made her stop.
"Is it because of him?"
Ava bit her lower lip so much that it almost bled as she heard this.
"I have done a little research, you know. And I can't help but say, Ava. You surprised me by dating a turned vampire. Not even powerful enough to fight the weakest Primordial vampire in our clan. You are quite motivating, I say." Akotal slowly shook his head as he muttered the last parts.
Ava turned around to face him again. "I have told the elders about it. I found my soulmate."
"And I'm pretty sure they don't know it's one vampire whose father left a puny castle and a few men, for before he was destroyed by hunters."
Caius' eyes flashed red and he growled angrily and lunged at Akotal. The wind whistled sharply and in a split second, Ava stopped Caius on his track.
"Calm down, he's trying to get on your nerves. You need to be careful. He's a Primordial just like me!"
Caius' eyes flashed with realization. His objective when he first saw the vampire was right afterall.
The vampires beside Caius subconsciously took a step back as they heard this. Their eyes flashed with wariness as they gazed at Akotal, now.
Caius, on the other hand, closed his eyes and sighed. Slowly, his heart calmed just like his head. Ava sighed in relief.
"Thank you." She muttered to him as he opened his eyes, it's back to its normal black.
Ava turned to Akotal and said, "I have told you, I'm not yours. Find your soulmate."
Akotal flinched at this. But in a split second the flinch disappeared like it wasn't there at all. His red eyes glinted as he said, "you are pregnant, Ava. For him?"
Ava didn't reply, the menacing gaze she casted at Akotal was enough of an answer.
Akotal's eyes flashed with bitterness and he muttered. "I see."
"You should leave!" Caius growled.
Akotal turned to Caius and he grinned, dryly. "I think you should be recruiting more men these days. Nothing is safe in this house." His vicious red eyes wandered across the castle as he added with a whisper. "Not anymore."
And from that day, doom hovered above the Casal castle and the coven members.
.
.
.
End of flashback.
Present.
Location: The Archipelago.
Caius sipped blood from the cup in his hand then gave the remaining to Adrian.
The latter gazed at the cup for a few seconds with an unsure look.
However he took it but didn't sip. His black eyes, identical to his father's, glinted as he asked. "What happened after?"
Caius turned away from Adrian and was quiet for a few seconds. Bitterness flowed from his pores as he began. "Akotal attacked once. I would have been killed if not for Ava's help. When Ava realized that Akotal would do anything to hurt me in order to get her to marry her, she took me to her clan, Tribunal, and had me marked by the elders.
"This kept akotal at bay until it was time to give birth to you."
Caius stopped.
Adrian frowned hard. He could see Caius clenching his fists tightly in his silence.
He already knew what it's. 'What father is about to say is the most crucial part of this narration, I think.' he thought as he inched closer to Caius.
"Father, what happened during the labor."
Caius turned to Adrian, his eyes were deep crimson and his face was held in a venomous look as he began. "She couldn't birth you. She was weak and dying. She knew what was happening so she asked the woman helping to cut her open and take you out.
"I freaked out. Is she going to heal? I asked the labor woman. She hasn't answered when Ava called for me. I went to her and held her hands in mine, telling her everything is going to be alright. She told me she's going to die and asked me to be strong for her. I asked why…."
Adrian's eyes were already misty. He gritted hard in anxiety as he growled. "Continue, father."
"She told me. She was cursed by somebody. And the curse has weakened her so much that she's beginning to dessicate. Her feets were already desiccating. If she's cut now, she can't heal. She's dying. She knew that yet she told the labor woman to do it. I didn't want to let her go but it was the only solution. So we did it."
Adrian's lips were trembling as he asked. "Where is her body?"
"After giving birth, her entire body dessicated completely, at a much faster pace. The Tribunal elders couldn't believe one of their own died, so they requested for her body. It's currently with them."
Adrian dropped the blood filled cup to the ground and raked his fingers through his hair. Deep growling escaped his throat as lines of tears ran down his face.
Then he asked. "You said somebody cursed her. Who was it?"
Caius lifted his gaze to Adrian's. His eyes were venomous as he muttered the name. "Akotal."
********