…The Archipelago…
While Kylian and his crew fought for their lives in Akotal's castle, the entirety of the Casal coven was all gathered at the Archipelago, by Caius' order.
Of course, they are all now aware of the presence of a Primordial in New York, despite Caius' effort to keep it a secret, and this terrified them greatly.
But Caius assured them.
He didn't tell them much.
He only assured them that the vampire will die today. That a powerful hunter is also in town to kill Akotal so they should stay in the coven.
He said anyone who tries to run will be caught in the midst of it all and might be killed by the hunter so the only way is to stay put, in the cave, which can never be found by anyone. That, they are sure of.
Even though several of the vampires had doubts in their mind, they all decided it's better to stay safe in a cave than try to escape from the city and get themselves killed.
Their hearts were held high in prayers as they hoped that everything ended soon.
Caius managed to calm the vampires.
However, that's not the same for Adrian.
Inside the inner room in the cave, his angry aura lingered around him as he paced back and forth.
The creaking iron door echoed as Caius made his way in. The dim illumination couldn't express many of his features. Only his dark cloak could be seen with clarity.
"You are not considering going out there right?"
Adrian stopped pacing and stood before the wall, not saying a word for several seconds.
"You shouldn't consider it." Caius said with finality.
"You don't get to tell me, father. This is about my mother. You can't tell me to stay put while he does the sacrifice!" Adrian snapped as he turned back.
"Those guys will take care of it." Caius said.
"I don't want them to." Adrina retorted.
"You have to let them do it. You have to stay quiet until Akotal is gone. Please."
"Why? Why should I stay put?"
"Because he mustn't know about you." Caius suddenly spilled.
Adrian went quiet in shock, his mouth was agape. His eyes narrowed as he muttered. "What do you mean?"
"The Tribunals didn't know that Ava had a child. If they knew, you would either be dead by now or you would be with them and your future would be uncertain." Caius' voice was low as he added. "It was the reason I left Florence and came here. It was to keep faraway from the whole mess."
Adrian couldn't contain his shock as he stared at his father.
Caius moved closer to Adrian. His eyes were glittering as he muttered. "You are all I have left of Ava. Please, don't go there. Don't let them know about you."
Adrian was silent as he stared at his father. Then he looked down. His steps were fidgety as he faced the wall again.
Caius sighed. "I'll take that as a yes."
With that Caius left the room. As he closed the door behind him, Bellerin strode up to him.
"Leader." He arched his neck.
Caius' lips lifted, slightly, in a dry grin that expressed the 500 year old vampire's downcast feeling.
"I'll go talk to him."
"Emmm." Caius nodded and waltzed past Bellerin as the latter made his way into the room.
*******
Kylian and Hector kept on running.
The vampires were a few steps behind them and it's only a matter of time before they reached them.
Their bodies flashed as they ascended a staircase.
"Will we keep running while they close in on us?" Hector panicked.
Just then Kylian's voice thundered. "We are not running, we are moving from one place to another."
All of the sudden, immediately Kylian got to the top of the staircase, he stopped and faced the vampires.
Hector had raced past him before he knew what Kylian was trying to do.
Kylian dug his two fists into the chest of two vampires and pulled out their hearts.
Another two took their place but their hearts were stabbed by Hector.
The others tried to duck Kylian and Hector's attack but the staircase is too thin and they can't move with much clarity.
Within five seconds, all the Vampires are all dead.
Hector fell to the ground, breathing heavily with the two daggers still in his hand.
"You are trully a survivor." Hector commended as he heaved. His eyes shone with the faith and reverence as he muttered. "Trully a Skull."
Kylian rested on the wall still on the stairs. He didn't reply. All of the sudden, he glanced at Hector as he asked. "Hey, why do you use those daggers?"
"My coven leader. She taught us other ways to survive apart from our claws and fangs."
"A vervain coated dagger is the other way?" Kylian gawked. "What if it's turned against you since you are also a vampire? It can kill."
"I'm good now, it can't be turned against me."
"Very well then." Kylian pushed himself off the wall and said. "Let's move."
Hector's eyes flashed as he stood up and followed behind Kylian as they headed to find the altar.
*
*
After almost an hour of walking and searching, they still haven't found the altar room.
Kylian was beginning to get impatient. His steps were now nasty and his forehead was getting sweaty.
As they got to a corridor, his feets were beginning to shake with rage.
All of the sudden, he stopped and slammed his fist at the wall.
Hector sounded worried as he said, "hey, calm down. We'll find the place."
"We haven't found it by now. She might be dead now. That fucker must have killed her now." Kylian's eyes fluttered incessantly, glistening with tears as he roared in frustration.
"Hey, you need to calm down. The connection between you and your mate is making you more anxious. The anxiety will transform into fear and fear most times destroys a person's morale. You need to calm down."
But Kylian isn't buying it at all as he slammed his fist at the wall again. His knuckles began to bleed but he didn't stop.
He kept slamming his fist at the wall that in two seconds, he had hitted the wall close to fifty times.
Hector moved to stop him but-
The space twisted strangely and there was a flash of bright light.
Hector staggered, finding it hard to maintain his stance.
Kylian felt shock and disbelief as he felt his fist, which he had lunged at the wall, pass through nothing like the wall isn't there anymore.
But they both felt one thing.
And it's like their body is moving, involuntarily. But the bright light couldn't let them see at all.
They could only feel it.
In a flash, the bright light went down and they could see them again.
But they are no longer on that corridor.
This place was a spacious circular room, old and ancient looking, with images chiselled on the concrete walls that surrounded it.
Kylian's forehead creased in confusion as he gazed around. But his confusion transformed into shock when his eyes moved to the center of the hall.
There, in the middle of the room was an altar, and on it was a lady laid. Her Auburn hair was all that Kylian needed to verify it's Christa, his soulmate.
The girl, whom the first time they met, had brought up discussion about the existence of supernatural beings, but he had shut her up that day.
The lady, despite being a human, was the first to get Kylian's heart by her words. She was the first ever living being to hear the past of Kylian's, even though she didn't know he was the one who experienced it.
And finally, the woman who Kylian would have never thought could be his mate.
There she is, on the altar
Hector shifted on his feets beside Kylian but the latter wasn't even paying attention, all his attention was on the girl on the altar, who's about to be sacrificed for one old Primordial vampire.
"Here he is, the Skull vampire."
Kylian's attention was finally won as he flashed his gaze to the voice. When he saw the figure, he couldn't help but feel his insides churn.
"Akotal." He muttered with awe as he stared at the vampire lord whose face was burned all over with his features melted into one another.
"Welcome, boys. Your day has been red, I see." Akotal grinned side to side with his red eyes glittering as he waved his hands, with a feeling of pleasure that's to come.
The pleasure of the havoc he'll bring in a moment's time. The pleasure of the heads he'll pull off and the hearts he'll crush.
The feeling of pleasure typical of a Primordial vampire.
**********