Vampire King 2 Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Adrian could hear the murmur of new voices as he hurried downstairs, his hair still damn from the shower. He cleared and locked his mind, putting on the stoic-est expression he could muster and entered the office. Mael was still sitting in his chair stroking Gregory, Christian, Giovanni and Ghost where there now as well. Adrian had come to know them by name but he had yet to be formally introduced. He was to be joining their ranks as one of his brother's Sentinels. The thought of it was strange having spent most of his life trying to kill people like them.

He also noticed, standing on either side of the door way, were the two Step he had seen the day of the Volven attack. He suspected they would show up eventually since he had had direct contact with the Princi. "I trust your mind is clearer now?" Mael asked. Adrian nodded, keeping his demeanor as neutral as possible. "Then please enlighten us about your encounter. We have two guests here that are rather interested in it." Mael said and motioned toward the Step.  

The blond , the one known as Camael, stepped forward addressing the group first. "My name is Camael and this is my associate, Apolon. We are here to help you retrieve the Queen and detain the Princi with whom she is now with now." Adrian felt a jolt of fear spike through his entire body at that statement. "Raya is with the Princi I encountered?" He gaped. Camael nodded. "Adrian, what the hell happened that night?" Mael demanded, sitting forward, frightening the cat.

"I had gotten a strange call, the person on the other end told me to find this girl that supposedly knew Abby. I asked her about it and we went to the address she gave me. Once there I realized that something was terribly wrong and that's when I left her here with Cassy. I went back and walked in on a house literally painted in blood on the inside. I searched the house, finding little left to salvage of the people that lived there. After searching upstairs I was attacked.

The creature used magic and I was no match for it at all. If it hadn't have been for the fact it wanted me alive, I'd be dead." Adrian explained. "Why did he want you alive, Mr. Church?" Camael asked. "He wanted to play a game. He said if I lost, he would come and take Abby away and if I won, he would leave us alone. I was supposed to find his next victim before he did but I have no idea how I am supposed to find them in a city this size. How the hell could I win?" Adrian asked.

"You couldn't. Princi play games but they never play them expecting to lose. You should have called us the instant you were able." Camael said with a disapproving tone. "I was having other issues at the time, one of which is now apparently with this Princi." Adrian said. "Ah yes, the missing Queen and her split personality." Camael mused, stepping closer to the desk. "I think we can shed some light on that particular issue." The Step said. Mael, gritting his teeth, removed the cat from his lap and gripped Camael's suit collar and pulled him close.

Camael seemed un-phased but there was an uneasy air from the Sentinels in the room. Which was understandable since they had seen one of their King's tantrums first hand. "Please do shed some light on this." Mael growled low. Camael removed Mael's hand and brushed his suit fabric smooth again. "The woman that you encountered was not Raya, per say. You see, when Raya died, she was filled with bitterness and resentment. Though there was a part that did still love you two idiots, there was also a part that hated you. The part that loved you, assimilated into the rest of Cassandra's consciousness along with Mana's.

But, Mana too was not without bitterness. Somehow the anger from those two deaths and betrayals accumulated into one consciousness.  That is the creature that has stolen Cassandra's body. It is not a soul but a fragment of pure hatred and bitterness that separated from the original soul." Camael explained calmly. "What the hell does that mean?!" Mael raged, slamming his fist onto his desk. "It means, dear King, that 'Raya' is not your long lost love nor your friend, Mr. Church. She is a fragment of a time long gone that has assumed control over Cassandra's body.

A simple cleansing of the negative energy should remove it but we have to get her back first. " Camael said. "And you know where she is?" Mael asked, keeping his voice at a reasonable volume, surprisingly. "We know who she is with but we do not know where she is. The Princi uses humans to create hiding places, it also has the ability to create dimensions within this realm. Unfortunately, we have yet to lock on to these dimensions. It hides within them, masking its whereabouts. But, Raya has been seen walking the city and she was seen walking into a building that might lead to one of the dimensions." Camael said.

"Then let us check this place first and work it out from there." Mael said and looked at his watch. "The sun won't be down for a few more hours, we haven't that much time so I am going to give you three amulets to withstand the sun for a few hours. Do not remove them or let them get damaged." Mael growled and retrieved a box from inside his desk. Adrian remembered the special stone the amulets were made from, in fact he would stand and marvel at it for hours when he was a child. It was destroyed when Valaya fell but Mael had collected most of the pieces over time to make his amulets.

He crafted each one himself and had made a special ring, that matched his own amulet, for Cassy. Inside the box were at least twenty of the handmade necklaces, each one beautiful and amazingly detailed. The stones were a dull red but when put in the dark they glowed a brilliant crimson. The settings were all made of real gold, some simple and masculine, others delicate and feminine. He let the Sentinels choose which one's they preferred. Ghost, though female, took one of the more masculine ones.

She brushed her hair away from her face to hook the clasp and Adrian could see burn scars. The wounds had to be near fatal to scar, the body being so low of blood that it was unable to heal them properly. Mael had told him little about Ghost, simply that she only smiled on the outside. Christian was next, Mael's 'cleaner' or so they called him. His job was to make sure no one knew their kind existed and to be the King's eyes around the city. Giovanni, Christian's brother, was simply an assassin.

He was always in some sort of deep cover, fishing out rebellions in the underground, breeding dens, unsanctioned covens and cults. He was the best man for the job because killing was like drinking water for him. He took one of the more elaborately carved amulets and smiled. "His majesty's best work..." He said and kissed the stone before placing it around his neck. Mael sat back in his chair, regarding them. "I'm going out to search with you. Adrian, you and I will search the building that Raya was last seen at, the rest of you will fan out from there and scour the city. Does that sound alright to our heavenly hosts?" Mael asked curtly.

"Indeed. Let us begin the hunt." Camael said ignoring the inflection. "Is your mate secured, Adrian? We don't have to worry about her wondering off, do we?" Mael asked, standing, righting his jacket. "She is resting and has been advised to play videogames until I return. I think I can count on her to do that." Adrian said, smiling inwardly. He had worn her out, not to mention walking would be the last thing she wanted to do. "Good, I'll need your mind clear today." Mael said, weakly offering a smile. Adrian could understand how he felt now.

The idea of having Abby taken away was almost unthinkable so to see his brother struggling so hard to maintain his composure gave him a little more respect for him. Mael was being strong for Cassy and their future children, for the people he had relying on him. Adrian wasn't sure if he could do that if faced with the same thing. A world without Abby would be a world without him. There was no going back to the way it was before.
Never.