Drakon, pushed the large ivory doors open and, strolled inside. The sound of his boots, echoed in the dark silent hallway.
He frowned as he continued to walk, hell was more silent than usual.
He had expected to be entertained by the screams of those in agony and, the pleadings of those who were desperate to escape the eternal bondage they were subjected to, for sinning.
Drakon laughed aloud at the thought of sin, causing his voice to travel into the deep abyss.
"Creepy." He whispered.
The fact that mere creatures were punished for transgressing, amused him. When the real sinners were those that ruled, those that set the games in motion. They had killed, betrayed and abandoned souls, to get to where they were.
It wasn't as though he was any different from them. He was far worse.
Drakon, never thought of himself as a hero. He wasn't the kind of person to do something selflessly, he wasn't pure. But, he never considered himself as a traitor. So why was he currently on his way to the council of eternals?
Drakon stopped walking when he got to a big black wall. He pressed his hands on the wall and muttered a magic word.
The wall, began to crumble, causing him to step back. Once the dust subsided, he looked inside the open room and, smiled in amusement when he saw that the majority of supernaturals present.
"You're late Drakon, ruler of Dragons."
Drakon smirked at the sound of his title, before he stepped inside. "You really need to stop using this wall. I heard conference rooms are the new rage." He said sarcastically as he watched the wall go back up as though he hadn't just demolished it.
"You're late." Another voice said.
Drakon, looked at Hayes the ruler of demons and, Jethro the ruler of giants. He wondered what they were doing in such meeting but chose not to ask, not like he cared.
"Tell me, why was I invited to this secret meeting? Aren't we supposed to meet at every full moon?" Drakon asked, once he had sat on an empty seat.
Cyrus, the ruler of the underworld, stood up to address them."That is what we're about to discuss."
"I know you are probably wondering why I called some of you in short notice and great secrecy so I'll go straight to the point. The King of Vampires has returned."
Each person in the meeting began to discuss amongst their selves at his words, causing Cyrus to stop.
He raised his hands to quell the noise and once it had subsided, he continued. "He has returned so unexpectedly. I never knew he would be able to escape the chains of death. But if he is back, that means the prophecy is bound to take place and if it does, the great war will take place, we must stop it at all cost!"
This caused a stir of both excitement and terror between the members and they nodded in affirmation.
"How do we stop the prophesy when we don't even know if his beloved is alive?" One of the elders asked.
"Yes!"
"Yes!!" Different members shouted in agreement.
Cyrus smiled, enjoying the reaction before he proceeded. "If we can't find her, then we get rid of him."
There was sudden silence in the room and, the sound of a pin drop could be heard. The feeling of dread, saturated the atmosphere and it was as though they had opened the door to damnation itself.
It wasn't as though they hadn't thought about it, but no one had ever voiced it out, it was high treason.
"So you gather a secret meeting with those you feel are not loyal to Arzhel, in other to accomplish this?" Drakon said with amusement and slight disgust.
The other members turned to look at him but no one, dared to say anything.
Cyrus, forced a smile and looked at Drakon. "It wasn't as though I'm doing anything wrong. If not for anything, I'm thinking of a way we'll all live."
"Live? If you're so concerned about our lives, then why not call for a general meeting and ask for the other members to vote for his death or not?" Drakon, raised his hands and smiled brightly, displaying his fangs. "then we can all feast on his flesh and feed his bones to our pets, what do you say?"
"Well..."
"Well?" Drakon laughed as he saw the uncomfortable look on his face. "just now, you all were in agreement with killing him but then I offer a more direct approach and you stammer?"
"You do not understand Drakon" Cyrus said defensively.
"Make me."
"You know too well that it's easier said that done."
"Say whatever you want, but the truth is that you're all fucking cowards, afraid of a blood sucker." Drakon sat up from his seat.
Cyrus, slammed his fists on the table and glared and Drakon "How dare you call me a coward?!"
"You simply act like one. Prove to me you can directly challenge him, then you have my support. But if you can't you're nothing but a stray dog barking at a tree."
Drakon, stood up and looked down on him. "Besides, all this is your fault. You failed to stop a weakened vampire from breaking free from his chains. If you couldn't stop him then, why do you think you can stop him now that he has regained his powers? Weak people shouldn't speak."
Drakon turned to walk away before a voice called out to him.
"Wait. If you are loyal to Arzhel, why didn't you leave the very minute he spoke?"
Drakon turned to look at the veiled woman who spoke. He frowned as he realized he could neither see her face, not recognize her voice. Who was she? And why was her identity shrouded in secrecy?
"Who says I'm loyal to him?"
"The way you speak."
Drakon chuckled at the misconception. "I am afraid you are mistaken, I am merely doing this for the plot"
"The plot?"
"Don't you think it is more interesting to not get involved in many unnecessary escapades?"
"Then you are not loyal to him?"
"I am loyal to no man but myself. I simply support the stronger party."
"I see your point." She said. "But however, you already knew what was going to happen, even before you came. So you knew what to expect. Why did you come?"
Drakon nodded in agreement. It was true that he knew the agenda of the meeting, even before he came. So why did he come? He grinned as he thought of the answer, it was quite simple. "I wanted to be amused. Yet your sense of humor bores me."
"Take him down?" Drakon continued. "Do you think someone like you can stop him so easily? You will only join the pile of dead bodies that he has built in his name."
Drakon began to walk away, but not before he left parting words. "Heed to my warning, for even death fears him."
***
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I assure you that I'm not, this is for your benefit."
Ruelle, looked at the dagger in her hand, inspecting it once again. It seemed heavy but rather plain looking. She looked up at Koa's face, wondering what he was thinking.
"Why exactly are you training me to kill with this dagger?"
"In case you find yourself in a situation where you'll have no choice but to survive." Koa paused and, looked at the weapon in her hand briefly. "Although, I'm certain you'll be able to survive without that." He pointed it out.
Koa, smiled as he remembered how she had escaped where he had kept her and, how she might have been able to escape completely if not for El.
"Tell me Ruelle." He continued. "How have you learnt to survive this lonh?"
Ruelle shrugged and used her free hand to scratch the back of her head. "Well, it's not rocket science or anything. It's simply blending in."
"Blending in?"
"Yes. By avoiding anything that'll make us stand out and doing nothing really unique. I'm certain people were still curious about us but after some time, their curiosity turned into spite and that, into ignorance."
Koa, frowned as he heard how they had survived. It was quite sad, that they had to do anything just to live.
"What about your parents?"
Ruelle, scoffed as she heard his words. When was the last time someone had asked about the people that brought her and El into this world?
"Didn't my sister tell you about them?" Ruelle asked.
"Not that I remember of."
"Well, they abandoned us. My father left when we were 4 years old and my mother, left when we were 10. Wonderful parents aren't they?" Ruelle said sarcastically. She hated remembering both of them. How they had left her and her sister to survive or die on their own.
They should have at least suffered with them a little.
The wind blew, causing Koa's now overgrown hair to enter his eye. Ruelle, watched in amusement as he struggled to get the hair from his face and his eyes. He looked quite adorable, like a puppy.
Ruelle, dropped the knife on the floor and walked towards him, like a woman on a mission. She stopped when she was few breaths away from his face and ignored his look of shock.
She leaned forward, and brushed her lips against his before taking a step back.
"Rue... This is an unexpected development..." He stammered, trying to get the words out.
Ruelle, completely ignored him, but proceeded to place her hand on his chest. "Act like I'm not here."
"That's rather hard, considering the fact that you're touching me."
Ruelle, dropped her hands after some minutes and took a step back. "Sorry about that." She apologized "I was merely trying to see if your heart beats."
"Of course it does, that's a ridiculous reason."
"I know."
Koa scratched the back of his head as he tried to look at anywhere but her direction. "Then why did you also almost kiss me?"
"To get a reaction. I wanted your heart to beat."
"I would have even if you didn't do that."
Ruelle smiled awkwardly and picked at her nails, trying to avoid eye contact. "I apologize, I was just curious."
"Is that truly what you wanted to find out?"
Ruelle pondered on whether she should ask him the real question or forget about it. Logic told her to shut up but curiosity, asked for more.
Curiosity it was.
"Then what if ones heart doesn't beat?" She asked.
"Then they're dead."
Ruelle took in a sharp breath. She had expected that answer but it still came as a shock to her.
"You're right Koa, silly question. Forget I asked." She muttered.
Ruelle, bent to pick the dagger she had dropped, determined to bring the conversation to an end.
Koa's eyes narrowed as he looked at her awkward demeanour. "Rue, did you have an experience with the dead?" He questioned, refusing to bring the conversation to an end.
"Is that even possible?"
"Anything is possible. It's a rarity for wolves but it happens especially for necromancers. However, I doubt you've had an encounter with one." Koa, looked at her suspiciously, wondering what it was she was hiding.
"I haven't had an experience with one, besides I don't want to get mixed up in more issues than I already am." She said nonchalantly, whilst waving her hands.
Ruelle, scolded herself for thinking about that. The real reason she had asked was because she noticed that Arzhel didn't have an heartbeat but she couldn't ask him why, since he no longer visited her in her dreams.
But why was she thinking about a vampire?
From what she had heard, they were nothing but trouble. Monsters who feasted on the weak. The last thing she wanted was to be mixed up with one.
"Ruelle, I want you to trust me." Koa said, interrupting her thoughts.
Ruelle absentmindedly nodded, ignoring what he said, as she played with the dagger in her hand. "I'm quite exhausted, I'm going back inside" she mumbled, suddenly feeling drained.
Koa, placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled brightly. "Remember I'm here for you Ruelle. You may not trust me now but I hope you'll think of me as someone reliable."
Ruelle, looked into his pretty blue eyes and smiled. If not for anything, he was quite charming and not so bad to talk to. "You're right, I'll keep that in mind."
But Ruelle knew that the day she began trusting anyone, was the day she would die.
***