His stomach rumbled like Muhammad Ali's last round with George Foreman. He hadn't eaten anything the evening before and as the old saying goes, choices have consequences. Nathaniel got off his bed crawling on the floor like a toddler looking for his milk bottle, slowly getting up the parquet floor, strugglingly strolling to the kitchen, holding on to the pale white walls of his little flat.
He rushed there as fast as he could and opened the pantry, anxiously looking around, praying for something, any type of food to be available. Luckily, he still had one last pack of ramen noodles left, it made him smile like a little boy who had finally found the last piece of a missing puzzle, hence he joyfully boiled water and quickly poured it on the ramen, slightly burning his hand, "Freaking hell!"
Like a hungry lion in Vienna's zoo, he devoured the ramen, calming his ever-unresting stomach, putting his head on the table to rest for a while. After a while he lifted his head, carefully looked around and jumped right next to the sink and ceaselessly drank water directly from the fossid. A sense of renewal surged within him; Nathaniel felt alive like he hadn't felt in weeks if not months.
Still lightheaded, he strolled back to his room. To his delightful shock, the clothes he put in the washing machine the night before were hanging on the drying rack, "Oh Nathaniel, you have done it again!" he smirked.
Taking off his clothes, he got inside the bathroom and with a shaving machine in hand, began trimming his beard into a thin stubble and took a steamy shower, once again deeply thinking about his life and the direction he should lead it to.
Aimlessly searching for something, anything that could help him in finding a purpose, he stopped and got out of the shower more frustrated than before.
He wiped the steam off the mirror, looked at his dampened, somewhat long black hair, his pale face and held it with one hand. He did not recognize the guy in the mirror. "Jesus, I look like crap…. I haven't looked this bad since my high school sweetheart left me!"
"I really need to clean up…..even it means for a short while and above all else, I need to find the Temhos….. my destiny lies with it!" the words fueled his delusion for this mighty source of power.
He looked at his reflection one more time and sighed, slowly tilting and moving his eyes to the razor blade laying on the corner of the sink, grabbing it and carefully shaving the lines around his cheek and below his neck.
With that so delicately done, he grabbed his face from the chin, looked at his reflection from left and right, checking for any flaws with a hawk-like eyes and nodded satisfactorily. "Now there's the handsome devil's son everyone has been missing." He smirked, quickly getting out of the bathroom to get ready. His eyes met the white clock, it pointed to 12:04 in the afternoon.
"Time to put on a show!"---he opened his closet---"You see that's what I love to contemplate, black T-shirts and shirts and all kind of dark clothing….matching my rigorous humor and unique style."----he searched for his favorite black shirt for a while---"Now where did I leave that…oh look, it is hanging on the drying rack…but before I put on any clothing, I take it I have to dry my magnificent hair first."
Plugging in the hair dryer, he stood in front of the big mirror hanging on the wall next to his study desk and began mercilessly drying his hair with a bamboo brush until it reached the straight, slickness he liked.
Although still pale, Nathaniel liked himself way more than the night before, "There is no easy way out of this rut. Sadly, that's not how the world works." He said in a desperate voice.
He pulled out his favorite black shirt from the drying rack, quickly put them on and began fixing the shirt while looking back at the mirror, his head slightly tilted down, a wicked look in his dark, brown eyes. "Get ready Vienna, the devil's son is making a comeback!"
Striding over to the end table next to his bed, he opened its old drawer that made a krik noise as he strugglingly fully opened it. There was a small onyx box with a red rose symbol on top, he glanced at it bitterly almost growling at it before he was to open the box and take out an equally onyx ring with a shiny, unique ruby gem on top.
He took his eyes off the mirror, his eyebrows frowned. His mind slowly carried his thoughts into memories of his father as he looked upon the ring given to him by him only days before he and Daniel moved to Vienna. Nathaniel was still not sure what his intentions were by gifting him something like that.
Mehhh, he muttered out loud in annoyance as he put on the ring on his left middle finger and walked out of his room, opened the closet in the hallway and carelessly, as if his mind was automated, grabbed a black blazer and finally headed out.
Lost in the deep conversation with Rafaela, Daniel was confidently sitting on his chair, discussing the blueprints and plans of the construction projects while Rafaela sat next to him on an armchair. She pointed her fingers to the corner of the blueprint, distracting Daniel with her polished black nails----humm, that's Nathaniel's favorite color.---"Oh my God, what time is it?!" he shouted jumping off his seat, "Oh damn, he is going to murder me!" he said looking at his Seiko watch, swiftly getting up his seat, closing the laptop and putting on his gray blazer as if there was a squad of professional assassins chasing him, "I have to meet Nathaniel!" he looked at Rafaela, a clear expression of uneasiness going on his face and held the door for her with a gentle, friendly kiss on her cheeks, rushing out the building.
Minutes passed for what felt like hours as he jogged there, all the while thinking he should have taken a cab. Eventually he arrived near the entrance to the restaurant wheezing, fearing his brother's sarcastic, rude little comments. He peeked his surrounding before giving a quick glance upon the skies above him. The sun was shining so ever bright, and the skies were free from the plague of countless clouds, the weather was not so warm nor so cold. Just the right temperature as the people around the restaurant gave a curious glance at him.
Looking around curiously at every single corner of the clean streets of Vienna and back at his watch---Where the heck is Nathaniel?! He is always punctual when he is desperate!---he kept saying to himself huffing.
"Nope, no sign of him anywhere around here…..isn't that great, I ran all the way here for nothing. That idiot is also late." he quickly and stealthily checked his torso for sweat marks and then raised his head again.
Suddenly he felt a cold breeze blow behind him, he slowly turned and was faced with two sharp brown eyes, "Nathaniel!"
"Hi there little brother, did you miss me?!" Nathaniel smirked in a low tone.
Daniel looked at him up and down, he had two necklaces on. A cross and a Nordic symbol of warrior's death Valknut. His famous stubble was so ever sharp. The poor bastard has obviously taken care of himself. He looks sharper than I anticipated but kind of pale and weak. He stared at his face like he was watching a freak. "You can never appear in front of a person and say hi like a normal human being, can you?! No! Mr. Nathaniel King needs to always scare the living shit out of people to announce his magnificent presence."
Nathaniel rolled his eyes clearly annoyed at his remarks, "The audacity in this one. I have been waiting here for the past 25 minutes. I was only just a few minutes away from going back home and that's how you apologize for wasting my precious time?!"
Noticing his own wrongdoing, Daniel was a little dumbfounded, "Alright, I am sorry. I have really been busy with work …. It is not easy to do that while also maintaining a healthy romantic relationship and above all that, trying to keep in touch with my friends and fam---"
"Needless to say, you have masterfully failed at the latter." Nathaniel interrupted, ignoring what his brother had to say in his defense and began strolling into the restaurant.
Daniel was once again caught off guard by his brother's comment and simply stood there rather shocked. Realizing his stillness, Nathaniel carelessly turned his head, "Are you going to just stare at my beautiful face in awe or are you going to join me?!" Daniel rushed behind him, and they both got inside the restaurant.
A typical Austrian restaurant, the remaining empty paint cans from the recent renovation still laying on the floor. They both looked in amazement at the empty red bottles of wine, shared in festivities long gone, simply hanging from the ceiling probably commemorating to the memories of the past. How creative, they thought, all the while they strolled in sync on the recently varnished, bright brown parquet floor that resembled the one at their parents' house, passing by the tables and chairs that smelled of fresh wood.
How long had it been since Daniel was last there? He wondered as he followed his brother who chose the third empty table to the left, taking a seat on its light green chair, turning his torso away from him.
Regardless, Daniel kept observing his features, Nathaniel was indeed sharp as ever, with their father's gift in hand and his somewhat long hair…. nevertheless, he sure did lose a bit of weight.
A waitress approached their table with a bright smile glancing at Nathaniel who was looking back at her with a smile, greeted them and handed over two menus. Nathaniel thanked her and kept smiling while Daniel ignored her, giving her his typical cold thanks while still looking at his brother, "You have been living alone for a while, haven't you?" he said concerningly, his eyes narrowed.
Nathaniel slowly tilted his head up from the menu and arched a brow, "Oh, did you figure that out all by yourself or did you get help with that?" he mocked.
"So how did you mess this one up?" Daniel talked, casually checking the daily specials.
"It is not so much about messing up but rather watching the love, the passion the awesome love-making's magic disappears and vanish into thin air and puff, you are left with a flawed girl who is even needier than you are." He smirked cockishly.
"Always the gentlemen, Nathaniel! I guess somethings will never change." Nathaniel was unmoved and just looked back at him with a smirk. Daniel quickly pulled out his phone and checked for any emails, raising his hand without even looking around for a waiter, confidently expecting one to attend their table and take their order.
"Have you made your choice yet, brother?"
"Oh, you know my exquisite taste in food, music or …. anything for that matter. I always order the most fascinating dish a restaurant has to offer." He proclaimed arrogantly.
"That would be the Florentine steak then, as usual." He responded unimpressed. How utterly predictable.
"See, you still haven't forgotten about my taste in food, not just yet! That's a pretty good sign that our brotherly bond is not yet fully broken. Humph, there might still be hope for reconciliation!" he talked jokingly, trying to intimidate Daniel with his sarcasm, looking him up and down. The pale, gray suit, the dark blue tie and the brand new, brown Scarosso shoes. Daniel sure had learned how to dress-up elegantly through the years, thought Nathaniel, trying to find an excuse, an imperfection to throw in a rude comment. "Nice suit, you seem to be the envy of the entire city of Vienna! One could definitely say that you are living in the wrong city, Viennese having a very bland taste in fashion and all!"
"Thanks, sadly we are not here today for your ultimate judgement regarding my taste in fashion. As you probably don't know, your dear friends Peter and David are sick and worried about you and have contacted me to bring you out of this slump, this quicksand you have been struggling in for the past few months. So tell me, what seems to be the problem exactly and how can I help?" Daniel said in a cold, careless tone, his eyes changing focus between him and his phone.
Of course they did----Nathaniel grew even more annoyed. His own flesh and blood was only there so he could lift off the guilt off his consciousness and not because he actually cared about his older brother, "What are you my therapist? I don't need your help or anyone elses to get out of this mess! I can take care of myself, like I always have." He said arrogantly with a frown.
"The paleness on your face says otherwise, brother. Aren't you tired of this?! Of constantly moving around like a spineless snake, screwing this girl or that other pretty girl and then leaving them after a few weeks or months if they are lucky?! Can't you for once be normal and stay with one of them without screwing things up." Nathaniel rolled his eyes and sighed but before he was even able to respond Daniel continued his barrage of criticism at him.
"And don't even let me get started on your precious Temhos, this stupid source of endless, wicked power. I hope the old man who handed you that God-forsaken book is now burning in the pits of hell. At this point I am certain it was a cruel ploy designed to mess you up even further." He mocked.
"Oh, don't you dare question my obsession, brother. You have seen what I have seen, you were there the night it happened. We both witnessed its presence!! Admit it, you are simply too scared to accept its existence." He accused vehemently.
Daniel's face grew weary, he looked away and stayed silent for a while. Deep down he knew something about his brother's obsession was true and not totally fictional.
"What's with the silence, brother?! What?! Are you scared?" Nathaniel continued his teasing, realizing he had hit a nerve.
"No----I------I just---need fresh air." He rose up and went out of the restaurant. Nathaniel looked at him stride out, still seated on but after a few seconds took a deep breath and annoyingly looked at the ceiling knowing that he had to do something and reluctantly followed he outside.
He slapped his hand on Daniel's shoulders, "You are doing it again, Daniel! Dodging and running away from your deepest fears, the Temhos included."
"Oh, don't you give me the prep talk, brother. I am not the only one dodging reality and you know it! You have not only avoided me for the past few weeks but also your best friends, you have been hiding and running from life itself not knowing that there is no one coming to save you but yourself!" he said in an accusatory tone.
Nathaniel looked away, realizing some truth in his brother's words, "Fine, I surrender and accept your judgment, your accusations hold some truth in em'. I have been----sort of----avoiding reality but you know the Temhos is real, it is out there, Daniel! You too felt its presence or are you going to deny that too?!" Nathaniel talked, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder.
Daniel looked back at him, his eyes filled with fear and weariness which were hard to hide. "You cannot deny what we both saw at the forbidden forests, Daniel!"
"For Christ's sake, I am not denying it!!" he shouted taking a few steps away and looking to the ground uneasily.
But Nathaniel continued to push his case, "Deep down you know it to be true, it is out there, brother!"
"You know I have never denied it----not after the few weird shenanigans we went through together on those cursed woods." Daniel took a deep breath, accepting his brother's words and slowly turning back his head towards him, "But that does not give you a reason to be so nihilistic, you have completely given up on life, running away from reality by drinking yourself to sleep, waiting for the Temhos to come and save you."
Nathaniel frowned, Daniel was right, but he was not going to surrender and accept his brother's words and accusations so easily, making himself look bad in the process, "Alright, I am starving. Can we continue this little talk inside?! Fingers crossed; they have finally delivered our food!"
"For once I couldn't agree more!" Daniel wrapped his arm around his shoulders, and they strolled back. Nathaniel looked back at him with resentment, he was not going to let go of his ignorance towards him so easily.
The waitress looked around curiously with their orders in hand. Watching the food arrive, Nathaniel's face brightened up as if he was pulled out from the abyssal hole of despair right into eternal light of hope. It was that easy to excite him as of late, "Ahhh, food! One of my biggest weaknesses. That and beautiful, blond women."
"The former is my kryptonite too, Nate" Daniel grinned.
"Oh, don't push it." he looked sharply at him before digging in.
Daniel was rolling spaghetti on his fork, thinking of a quick strategy to fix both of their problems. "Now that we have both agreed to give this brother bond thingy another try, how about we come up with a peace treaty of sorts. An accord if you may?" proclaimed Daniel with a genuine smile.
Nathaniel slowly lifted his head from his plate, a piece of steak in his fork, he looked at him with an exaggerated anticipating face and said, "Righty-ho…. for once I am buying, what are you trying to sell, you charlatan!"
"Now that's the spirit brother! I tell you what, if you promise to meet up with me twice a week, clean up and only drink socially, I will leave you on your search for the Temhos and will not ever judge you for it! What say you?!" he said excitingly, a clear smile on his face looking at him in anticipation.
"Not quite convince but do go on." Nathaniel turned his attention back to his plate, cutting a piece from his remaining steak.
"You agree on those terms, and not only will I not question your obsession/research on the Temhos but occasionally help you out with it. Do what you must to find it but you cannot ignore your duty to yourself and to your loved ones, brother." Daniel paused and looked at him sharply, "You cannot forget and pretend that you've got no responsibility as an adult. I mean enough is enough you have stopped working for weeks now! I will once again become your confidant, your secret barer if you will and in return you will come out of this rut willingly. So, what say you? Do you agree with my terms?" he convinced.
Staring at his brother, Nathaniel felt, after a long time, that he could trust him once more like there was something different about their reconciliation this time. He, nevertheless, controlled his facial expression as to no appear too excited, "Fine, I'll take you on your offer." thus; Daniel offered his hand for a handshake. Nathaniel looked at it with a grumpy face and hesitantly shook it, swearing an oath.
After their meal, Daniel got up from the table and excused himself to go to the restroom. Nathaniel knew it was his stealthy, sneaky little way to pay for the food without shaming his older brother, hence he didn't do anything. After all he was broke and needed the money. He checked his online bank account, he still had some money left but he needed to save every single penny if he was to survive to the end of the month.
"Freakingtastic, my saving account is almost empty….I don't even have enough to pay for next month's rent. Guess I actually have to give this coming out of the rut thing a hard try after all. The Temhos" he continued turning his hand into a fist, "I shall never let go of it. It is real, I know it!" he said like an obsessed mad man before he was snapped out by Daniel.
"Let's go, brother! I must get back to work and you need to check your online business. I am fairly certain there at least half a dozen of video editing orders awaiting your masterful touch." He said with a wide smile pointing the palm of his hand to the exit.
Nathaniel got up and looked around with a sense of renewal, things looked so ever different to him; hence with a wicked smile and a childish tone he replied, "Oh no!! Did Daniel just pay for the food without me noticing, what will become of me!?"
Daniel simply smiled again, "You are eternally welcome my brother. Now come on pal, let's get the heck out of here and into the real world. Time to make money!"
The King brothers said their goodbyes. Daniel made sure that his brother would stay true to his words and would call and go out with him twice a week just as he promised, and Daniel would in turn not only stop questioning his research for the Temhos but help him out with any clue there was to finally crack the code and find it.
With that done, Nathaniel went back to his place with some groceries in hand. He looked around his flat, things were once more so ever clear to him. He could once again notice and see the stains left from the ramen noodles on the table from earlier that morning. Things he had ignored for the past few weeks were once again so ever clear and vivid to him as if some deity was holding a light over his life, showing him the many flaws in his life.
His flat was indeed in dire need of a clean-up, and he had no time to look for a cleaning lady. Thus, He quickly put away the groceries, changed into a more comfortable clothing, folded his sleeves and began cleaning his apartment voraciously as if his life depended on it. While cleaning, he got bored and so he grabbed his headset and began listening to his favorite jam, dancing, mopping and vacuum cleaning the entire flat, pretending to be in the middle of a club dancing with a hot brunet in his arms.
He grabbed a big trash bag and put inside the empty gin bottles, pizza boxes and ramen noodles and sneakingly threw them out as to not be seen by any of his neighbors. I am sure as hell in no humor to put more fake smiles today.
He danced back to his bedroom and turned his head to his study table. Needles to say it was a mess, to put it in a nice way. So, he put everything above it on the floor and cleaned it like a crazy person on drugs before carefully organizing every book, every note and every picture he had collected over the years which were even remotely Temhos related.
With his flat finally clean and fresh, Nathaniel felt a peace he hadn't felt in months and so he opened his laptop and with a sense of uneasiness, typed in the web address to his online profile to check his inbox, "We are once again officially open for business!" he mumbled, a sense of discomfort going through his spine, knowing that he had to put extra work to earn a decent wage if he wanted to survive the upcoming month all the while he kept staring at the black book ironically titled the Temhos.
Every time his eyes met its dark, black onyx cover, he felt a slight shiver and a very quiet whisper coming out of the book, haunting his every thought for a few seconds, as if something called him to it. Nathaniel had already re-read the book more than he could remember and was on a deep investigation onto other books.
After a long, self-imposed shift of working none-stop, he felt satisfied enough with the money he had made that day and finally closed his laptop and grabbed the black book once again, his eyes piercing deep into its tattered cover…whispers from the dark abyss treading near his ears…or so he thought and desperately wished.
He opened it and turned to the preface which he almost knew it by hard. Regardless he read it again for a while, "The black book of the Temhos speaks of an ancient source of unimaginable power that shall only be given to those who truly deserve it. The strength of a thousand men, the speed of a peregrine Falcon hunting into the night and the ability to hear and see through the mysterious, thicket darkness of the nightfall, a vampire-like creature with huge fangs that is able to heal and regenerate its wounds in the dark like an immortal. To mesmerize and compel people to forget it was ever there. This deity would roam the world in the midst of the night protecting the innocent, purifying the world from evil, forcing justice with blood." He said going through the pages obsessively.
With an exasperated huff, he laid the book back on the table and slowly rose up from his desk chair, and staired deep into the dark hallowed skies of Vienna, covered in clouds, blocking the moonlight from hitting the surface of the streets, "This damn myth is the only thing that keeps me going in this purposeless life …. after all, a man always needs a glimpse of hope in the horizons to continue living his suffocating life somehow! There is an awful amount of darkness I can't seem to handle on a day-to-day basis anymore …. I just need something to look forward to…." he whispered to himself in sadness desperately searching for the moon.
He looked back at the black book laying on the table right next to the countless other mythological books he had bought and studied throughout the years from Persia and Mesopotamia all the way to China and Japan.
Regardless, after all he read, he came to hit the bitter wall of halt. "Sadly, the last time anyone heard about the deity was in ancient Mesopotamia where the vampire myth began more than 2,500 years ago. But then again there were hints of its powers lingering in the last few centuries in Romania, Spain and even the United States. How will I ever find its exact location!?" ----he said pointing his fingers across the globe on the study desk. "Apparently, the last person wielding its power became so obsessed and sick that he began drinking the blood of innocents people as his main source of food---and there is where the map stops." The stopped spinning the globe, "Other than the vague rumors, there are no more signs of it." Said Nathanial in a most depressing tone.
He sat down and rubbed his hands against his thighs and sighed, staring at the red Persian rug before he hopelessly got up, turned off the lights in his room, keeping only the bedside lamp on and lay on his bed, staring deep into the ceiling wondering how would he ever find it? Clueless yet with high hopes in his heart, remembering the promises made by his wise, noble brother, Nathaniel turned to his side, closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
"Oh brother, the pointless promises I make for you! It is going to be a long, restless night. I haven't been able to sleep without alcohol or medication for months and no matter how weak and fragile I may look; my body is not going to be able to fall asleep so easily! The promises we make for the fools we love." He shook his head with a silly smile.
After hours of tossing and turning, night dreaming and imagining figures near his bed, haunting him, trying to take him away, his eyes finally gave up, and so he fully closed them and his mind slowly faded into the dream world.
In his dream he saw blurry visions of the same woman, her eyes turning ruby red every now and then, dancing in a white, tattered dress in front of the crescent moon. Nathaniel looked at what stood behind her. There was the thicket forest he dreamed about the night before, they were finally going to delve deep into the forest. Was he going to find the Temhos?! He did not know, all he could see beyond the forest was a huge black tree that could be seen in the distant, why was the tree so tall and unique, he wondered but was quickly distracted by his surreal surrounding changing.
He looked around the foggy, hallowed woods near him, they were about to step in. It was kind of dark, but he could still clearly see the birds flying away and the little critters running around nervously as they approached. She grabbed his forearm with one hand and held a lantern in the other, leading him deeper into the thicket forest, the caws of a lonely crow followed them.
He treaded carefully into the dead fall of the dark, wicked woods, cracking the leaves beneath his feet, the breeze of a cold wind brushing against his skin, giving him goosebumps. Fear slowly began to linger and become stronger by each step take. Suddenly he felt fear like never before, he had no clue what awaited him, but he had to go and follow this mystery woman's lead else he would be viewed by her as a coward, he thought to himself clutching his fist, resisting the dreadful thoughts. For some reason, he really cared about her opinion of him, for she was giving him a motherly love Nathaniel craved so much since childhood, that had to be the reason, else why?
Slowly as they kept walking deeper into the forest, the dead fall woods began to become bleaker and dark as the night, the fog grew stronger around them further blurring his vision. Nathaniel's heartbeat was so ever rising, terrified at his ever-changing surroundings, the caws of the lone crow still haunting him. He looked around but could not find the bird, all he could see were evil, faceless eyes looking at him from the dark bushes underneath the pine trees.
The mystery lady looked back at him with a beautiful smile, her eyes turning ruby red for a slight second, caressing his hand and comforting him, "Everything is going to be fine, my love. Just follow my lead into the tree of black hopes, there you shall finally have all the answers!" She whispered in Nathaniel's ears in the most seductive voice imaginable.
Finally calmed by her words, he curiously and courageously looked around his ever-creepy environment that was growing darker and scarier yet again. As they strolled deeper, she grabbed his hands and they both began dancing and spinning endlessly "Dance my love, be free of the worries of life, nothing can harm you while I am here with you!!" Nathaniel listened to her words and kept spinning. Slowly, he turned into a little boy-version of himself. He continued to spin joyfully, trusting her words with every ounce of his being.
He was so happy, so free from the world of worries. He slowed down and wondered about the ruby-eyed girl who had let go of his hand. She began to run, a black dress covering her marble body, laughing so joyfully as she slowly faded away in the dark mist.
He ran behind her, begging her to stop, "Please! Don't leave me here! I have no idea where to go without your guidance!" but his pleas were to no avail for she was far gone. He ran behind her into the fog still trying to reach her, but his feet got tangled in a bush, falling into a pile of dry red leaves.
Nathaniel raised his head to see his surrounding, he had finally reached the massive black tree all alone. He slowly rose up, standing there and all he could hear were wicked laughters in the foggy, gloomy dark. He was paralyzed with fear, rooting him to the soil beneath him. "Hello?! Anyone?! Please I need help?! Hello!! Hello!!" he cried desperately.