In a large meeting room in the Castle
Sloane sat at the head of the table, pretty much declaring she would be taking over the reigns for the newly formed alliance while the others would act as her council.
Sloane relayed the matters she had discussed with the elders earlier, to the others, before getting down to business
"I'd like to know how much progress has been made so far" Sloane said
"Well, we've finished treatment on all the injured in the hospital. And I can get to work with Clark on setting up the food substitutes" Priya said "In addition, countless baby deliveries will be happening starting from tomorrow"
"I've started working on a vaccine to counteract the magic from the abominations, so it can be self administered on the battlefield by the soldiers" Fernanda said "Apparently, my bloodline magic works perfectly against them"
"The matter of headcount you mentioned before, can be handled by me and my sisters" Nathan said while resting on one arm "However, that will have to be done tomorrow when everyone is a bit calmer and the baby deliveries are over. You'll also be able to collect the list of volunteers while at it" as soon as he said all this, everyone looked at him in surprise and he gave them a side glance "Stop looking at me like that. I hate it"
"Okay. He's still normal" Gard sighed which made Nathan's relaxed face turn into a deep frown
"There's still the problem with Demon General Melissa" Allen said
"I've already used up a lot of magic power today" Sloane said "I'll have to do that tomorrow or maybe when my powers are steady again"
"I've recovered the map you asked for last time. The safe zones and other stuff you asked for, have been prepared" Timothy said "What are you going to do with it?"
"You'll find out the day after tomorrow" Sloane said "Is that all?"
"I'd like to step down from my position as elder" Gard said with a raised hand
"Are you crazy?" Jerald asked
"You're old enough to handle things. I need rest" Gard said
"I'll allow it" Sloane said
"I'm retiring too" Marcus said "I've been in this position for four hundred and....I don't even remember how long it's been. But I do know that Nathan should be able to handle things from now on....heck, he was ready when he was eight. That's fine with you right?"
Sloane looked at Nathan who stared back at her and she nodded "I don't mind" she said "If that's all, then this meeting is dismissed"
Everyone began to leave the room while Nathan sat there staring at Sloane. The tension between the two, was so heavy, not even Mackenzie wanted to stay in the room with the both of them. Alexa was the last to leave and she shut the door only to see the others were still there.
"Did those two get into a fight?" Marcus asked "The room was quite suffocating"
"I have no idea" Mackenzie said "If I try to peep, mum will surely get mad at me"
"I can bet my life, that my son is the one at fault here" Marcus said "At times, he doesn't watch what he says and ends up causing trouble" he sighed 'Did I make the right decision in stepping down?'
"Everyone at that door should leave. We have something to discuss in private" Sloane's voice resounded from beyond the door which spooked them
"She sounds pretty angry" Alexa said "Let's go" she added and they all left
******
Inside the meeting room
"What is it?" Sloane asked while getting up from her seat "If you have nothing to say, I'll be taking my leave"
"The order you gave me before..." Nathan started as he got up from his seat and walked towards her before looking down at her
Seeing as she had to lift her head up to look at him, it was only then that she felt so small when compared to Nathan, whose body was made up of muscle and stood as tall as a statue
"What about it?" she asked but he just stared at her "What? If it's about the order I gave you, then you do know you're not following that order right now, Nathan Kendell"
He grabbed her chin and raised her head, so he could meet her eyes "That order...to hell with it" he said with a deep voice
"What did you say?"
"I said, I'm one person you can't order around as you please, Sloane Michelle" Nathan said while lowering his head "You yourself should be able to tell right now. Now that we're so close to touch..." his hand caressed her cheek "My demon seed is taking longer to merge with me because I don't have a medium. Right now, my brain's going nuts because my feelings are all over the place and you being angry at me, isn't helping"
Sloane let herself melt from his touch; something she had promised herself to never do if he got this close. As she stared into his eyes, it took a lot of willpower to not apologise on the spot and kiss him
"Holding back around you is almost impossible for me now" Nathan whispered in her ear "I might just gobble you up if I don't set some restraints"
"What?" Sloane let out with a blush on her face as she looked away from him "How can you casually say such things to the head of three clans?"
"Can't help it. I'm already used to messing with you" Nathan said and she glared at him which caused him to smirk before kissing her forehead "Until my thoughts are sorted out, keep a bit of distance from me but please, don't misunderstand and get angry at me" he said before moving away from her and leaving the room
Sloane turned to looked at the door, of which Nathan had just left from. She sighed and the look of surprise disappeared from her face
'He's right. Right now, my personal vendetta with Nathan needs to be pushed aside until the settlement has stabilised, at least. I'm not sure when Nathan and I's hearts will be in the same place' she thought before looking through the windowpane
It was quite clear that the settlement had already become a winter wonderland. Sloane's eyes began to glow as she viewed everything within her zone from a birdseye view
'Greenwood Springs is in sudden disarray from the snow. They could pretend that they couldn't hear the magic explosions, or the screams of death from the forest because they hoped it would only be from the forest. Now that snow's falling in summer, and Greenwood Springs is also covered in said snow, they act like the whole world is going to end' she thought with a scoff 'Though, none of our kind's spells have ever left the forest so...this is quite expected. The people in the settlement are much calmer than before the bodies were burned...this is good'
A pang of headache struck and her eyes stopped glowing as she held her head with her right hand "Damn this body" she groaned "It is yet to adjust to the upgrades made by the ritual" she looked out the windowpane again and sighed "I've done my best. I should probably get some rest" she left the meeting room without a second thought
******
Northern Forest
Compared to the South, the northern forests which were known for its beauty and its ability to stay hidden by fog, looked like a haunted forest from a horror film.
It was fogy, with most of the trees being dead, creating shadowy figures around the place. No brave soul would ever think of even trying to enter this forest; not even during the day time. The 'NO TRESPASSING' signs placed up in front of the forest didn't make things even the least bit comforting either. And the smell of death reeked from all over the place. It wasn't the same northern forests from the past.
Further into the northern forest, was a large settlement. One far bigger than even Greenwood Springs. The buildings within, where that of an abandoned city but you could still see people moving around the settlement. Their eye colours stood out alongside different parts of their bodies which had solid dark colours.
Right passed the settlement, was a large mountain leading up to a cliff and imbedded into the mountain, was a single cave. The cave gave off the same feeling as the forest; as the stench of death seemed to be spewing out from the cave with a thick black and purple fog pouring out of it. This cave was the form of which the Gates Of Hell had taken on, in the human world.
Standing in front of the cave was a handsome man who looked to be in his forties with white hair sitting on top on his head, a beard, and sapphire blue eyes. He was none other than, the current king alpha, Leon Michelle.
"What do you want from me, Belphegor?" he asked but his voice sounded younger than his appearance
"Have you done it?" A deep voice echoed from the cave and Leon smiled
"If I told you I was working on it, what would you say?"
"Damn you, Lucifer" Belphegor replied "You took over that body fourteen years ago and you still haven't gotten rid of the last of the purified? If only I could enter the human world myself, I'd have taken care of that thing a long time ago"
"Do you really believe that?" Lucifer asked with a frown "Yes...I took over this body fourteen years ago but, so what? This body isn't even the body of the second strongest demon in the human world but, it was the only one that met my conditions since it was offered up to me by the previous generation. In the human world, I can't even use half of my actual powers thanks to this blasted barrier on the Gates of hell, the dragon keepers put. To top it all off, Leon Michelle's body is deteriorating very quickly thanks to my powers"
"And that's exactly why you should have gotten rid of the purified"
"I have tried many times. What don't you get?" Lucifer argued "Fourteen years ago, I almost had her; I could almost touch a strand of her hair, when one of the Spirit King's lackies got in the way" he sighed "The second time I tried, her Demon Generals tried to kill me. There's even a scar on Leon's body which was caused by the first ranking Demon General, James Connor. No matter what I try, that scar refuses to heal completely. And the third time, that bastard Dante was there"
"Damn it" Belphegor shouted angrily
"If not for the one you mentioned before, the one who is one of us, who was given father's powers, I wouldn't even be trying so hard. My greed is the only reason I'm here" Lucifer said "Currently, that girl has gotten very powerful. I have been backed into a corner thanks to her and I need to find a way out so I don't have time for this. I'll leave first and keep you posted" he turned around and started to walk away "Don't bother me anymore"
"Lucifer!!!Get back here. Lucifer!!!"
...
I know you're all wondering what the hell you just read, but that will all be explained at a later time in the story. Enjoy and keep reading more of TFA.