Lucienne Vldisalav had seen many things that human eyes have not seen and will never see. She's a nine hundred and forty-seven-year-old vampire, and she has mingled with different entities, but none of them were like Rey.
The look in Rey's eyes when he wanted to cut him loose didn't make sense to her. As far as Lucienne could tell, she was mated to another man back in her coven, and no vampire has ever been recorded to be bonded by two mates. Though she had heard a rumour of a female with two mates in the wolf's pack, it hadn't occurred in her coven yet. That made her conclude that Rey was just mesmerized by her beauty, which aroused his lust.
She had witnessed Rey fighting like a possessed being, cutting down Empire knights like a chopstick, predicting their movements as if he were the one directing their thoughts, and dancing in their midst like a leaf in the wind.
It took him approximately one hour to ransack the ship for any other hiding empire knights, killing them as they stood in his way and tossing their bodies in the ocean for fish to feed on. The only ones he spared were two sailors to control the ship, and he kept them under tight surveillance in the boiler's room.
"Where are we going?" The first sailor asked, looking at Rey with dread and respect. "We can't keep sailing around the ocean like a lost sheep without any particular destination."
Before Rey could respond, Lucienne Vldisalav said, "Back to your empire!"
"What!" The two Empire sailors exclaimed at once.
The second sailor paused what he was doing and started striding toward Lucienne Vldisalav with a neutral look. What he intended to do wasn't obvious, but no one attempted to stop him.
"Back to our empire, you say?" He scoffed. "I think you're out of your mind, woman."
"What do you think they will do to us?" The first sailor asked, "Welcome us with a wide hug after killing approximately eighty of their men."
"For your information, man, I didn't kill your men; he did it." Lucienne pointed at Rey, who didn't act as if any of the things they were doing concerned him. His gaze remained focused on the fire that was burning in the boiler's room, and his feelings couldn't be described. "If you have anything to say, you can complain to him."
The first sailor hesitated for a few seconds before summoning all the courage in his body to approach Rey.
"Sir, madam said we should sail to the Empire kingdom, shall we?" He asked, his voice shaking like a child caught stealing meat from a pot of soup and his body trembling like a leaf dancing on top of the water.
Rey ignored him.
He rose from the chair he was sitting on, walked to the firehouse, and picked up three planks that were arranged next to the wall. He leaned forward, throwing the three planks into the fire at once, and a hissing sound was emitted from the fire chamber.
Since they are on a steamboat, and steamboats were a type of ship that used steam engines to power their propellers, Rey seems to prefer running the engine rather than interfering in their discussion.
The blood lord had told him that an ocean would take him to the kingdom of Vastadia. So, wherever they went, it didn't concern him.
The only thing that matters is that he needs to reach his location, complete his quest, break the bond between him and the blood lord, and return to his realm—Earth.
Still not bothering about the three beings that were staring at him and waiting for his reply, Rey continued to load the fire chamber of the empire's steamboat with dry planks, making the engines heated, which created steam that moved the ship faster.
Finally, Lucienne couldn't take the awful silence again. She walked to Rey, stomping her feet on the ship's floor very loudly to show that she was angry.
"The boiler room was created for stokers, who should be responsible for keeping the fire burning and ensuring that the engine had enough steam." She explained, standing behind Rey with beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
Rey sighed, and he slowly turned around to give her his full attention. He examined her from head to toe, and Lucienne could still see the lust in his eyes. It reflected clearly on his face, and she could guess that he was trying hard to control his emotions, or perhaps there was something else at the bottom of his heart that was subsiding the lust.
"And unfortunately, I killed all of them to save you." Rey finally responded, and Lucienne scoffed. "Worst, the empire didn't take any slaves with them to do the loading, leaving me no choice but to fuel the ship, so the sailors could focus on navigating."
She could tell that Rey was infuriated, but about what exactly? Despite the emotions on his face, she could tell very well that he was angry about something or someone. He's fighting an internal battle.
Instantly, Lucienne felt bad that she couldn't access her power at that point. It's the only disadvantage she has as a member of the Eternal Guardian. In her coven, they can move in the sun, unlike other covens, but they can't access their full power or operate anywhere near water. In the Eternal Guardian Coven, they have to protect the rest of the vampire coven from any possible threat.
She was on patrol with a few other guardians when they were ambushed by the tribe of the ancient one.
This group is made of creatures that are similar to vampires but have unique powers and abilities. They were older and more powerful than any other supernatural beings ever known, with a deep connection to the earth and the elements. There were rumours that the most powerful of them all was Aldar Gera, with the ability to command the elements and control other creatures.
Lucienne Vldisalav hadn't met Aldar Gera before, and those who had the chance to meet him never got the chance to live and foretell the story.
Since it was an ambush, the tribe of the ancient one easily outnumbered her and the other vampires' guardians, killed a few of them, and sold the rest to the empire as slavery after binding them with silver chains.
"What exactly did you want?" Lucienne couldn't help but ask. She had thought that Rey would follow her movements because of the way he was staring at her and helping to free her friends. But it seems she's wrong now. It seems that Rey wants something different entirely.
"You want to know what I want?" Rey scoffed, standing with his hand on his waist. "I need to get to the Kingdom of Vastadia in a few days, or everyone I care about will be killed."
"You have a destination in mind?" Lucienne asked, bewildered, and the two sailors gasped. "Then why did you abandon your quest to save a stranger?"
"Because I couldn't stand the sight of them molesting you!" Rey yelled, ruffling his hair in frustration. "It's what I hated most in my life. Because of this, I burned down about fifty brothels, murdered fifty kingpins, and destroyed the unclaimed house in the Middle Land."
Rey's confession didn't only make Lucienne calm down; she was speechless and couldn't find the right word to say.
"You caught me looking at you with lust, and that's because you reminded me of someone I loved in the past, Kyle Faith. She was my mate back on earth before I was sent here to save the people of the Middle Land from Sebastian and Dylan Knoll." Rey explained, and his speech left everyone flabbergasted.
"Another realm?" One of the sailors was bewildered. "So, you're not from this kingdom."
The second sailor asked, "Are you saying there's another world like this somewhere else?"
"Yes, there's another world like this, and that's where I came from." Rey acknowledged them, looking at them one after the other. "It's known as the human realm. In that realm, those of us with extraordinary power don't get the chance to move or roam the world freely. We blend in with them during the day and go out at night. I was sent here by someone greater than me after defeating La Bête du Gévaudan in a fierce battle."
Rey paused to catch his breath and returned to his seat.
"Back in my world, I was a true Alpha werewolf and the harbinger of death, a hellhound." He said, and everyone gave him their full attention. "When I got here, I was killed, and my soul went to the underworld, where I met the six pillars that held the underworld. The six pillars merged and turned into one being, known as the Blood Lord. The blood lord forcefully gave me water from his fountain realm to test my power and replaced it with something…"
"With something great," A thick guttural voice completed Rey's speech, and the voice seemed to be coming directly from the fire chamber in the boiler's room. "I replaced your power with something greater."
Even though the boiler's room of the ship was a dimly lit chamber filled with the low hum of machinery and the rhythmic clanking of metal, the air still hung heavy with dread as the sudden ominous voice enveloped the room.
As if summoned by the depths of the underworld itself, the atmosphere thickened, becoming palpable with an unrelenting sense of dread. The temperature soared, making every breath difficult for Lucienne and the sailors, and beads of sweat formed on their foreheads. The rhythmic thudding of their hearts echoed in the chamber, drowning out the mechanical noises of the ship.
They were all forced to watch as the fire chamber, housing the boiler that powered the vessel, seemed to come alive with an unnatural energy. The flames within danced with an eerie intensity, casting flickering shadows that danced ominously on the metal walls. The fire's glow painted the room in shades of crimson and gold, creating an otherworldly spectacle.
Suddenly, the air split with a guttural growl and the very fabric of reality seemed to warp.
Finally, everyone watched with fear as the Blood Lord of the Underworld materialized in the centre of the room, his presence an overwhelming force that eclipsed the flickering flames. Dressed in dark, tattered robes that seemed to absorb the surrounding light, he emanated an aura of death and despair.
Lucienne and the sailors felt their breath catch in their throats as the Blood Lord's eyes, pools of abyssal darkness, fixated upon them. The very essence of the underworld clung to him like a shroud, freezing the blood in his veins. Panic set in, and the room seemed to close in around them.
Yet, amidst the paralyzing fear, Rey Reed Smith stood defiant. His eyes met the Blood Lord's with a calm determination, his demeanour unyielding.
The deathly aura that filled the room seemed to part around Rey, leaving him untouched by the suffocating dread. His gaze locked onto the underworld entity, unafraid and unyielding.
The ship's boiler roared, and the flames surged higher, threatening to consume everything in their path. But the Blood Lord, a master of the infernal, held the chaotic energy in check with an outstretched hand. The molten glow of the fire played off the malevolent gleam in his eyes as he surveyed Lucienne and the two sailors before sending Rey a death glare.
Lucienne and the sailors trembled in the oppressive atmosphere, but Rey stepped forward, a beacon of resilience in the face of the underworld's wrath.
The Blood Lord, intrigued by this unexpected defiance, regarded Rey with a twisted smirk, acknowledging the fact that he had grown stronger and fearless.
"What did you want?" Rey seethed in rage because the man invaded his privacy.
The blood Lord laughed, and his voice was like the roaring of a thousand men.
"Just checking on an old apprentice!" The blood lord elucidated. But deep down, there's hatred at the back of his voice.
To be continued.