by Arantes
A big black bear let out a loud roar. Albedo could feel the leaf on the trees shaking with fear. This was by far the biggest bear he ever seen in his life, maybe the king of the mountain. This roaring was not unfamiliar to him, nights he had heard the same sound over and over as he slept. He had always wondered what type of beast could make such a sound and now he was staring at it face to face. Albedo slowly started crawling back to a tree. He fell down in fear. Is that what I think it is? I can’t die now, not today.
The bear slowly walked towards him. Albedo thought about running, the bear would surely catch up to him; his only option was to fight back. The bear now ran towards him. It swung its claws. Albedo dodged once again. His only advantage was his size; the tree behind him was cut in half. The bear’s claws were as vicious as her look. What now? He saw a stick on the ground. Albedo grabbed the stick and hit the bear on its back, which only made her angrier. The baby cub was still on the other side, watching with its bright brown eyes. The mother charged once again. Albedo backed up, but he fell on his back again. Now the bear had him where she wanted him. She stood up on her feet, her claws ready to devourer him. The loud roar brought goose bumps to his skin; this was the end for Albedo! Today has been one of the worst days of my life, but it can’t end now.
She went for the kill; this was the fastest and strongest wild animal Albedo had ever encountered. As its claws were about to devourer Albedo’s face, his eyes meet her eyes in intensity; a single word came out of Albedo’s mouth. “Stop!” with no hesitation the bear stopped; its claw was less than an inch from his face.
Albedo’s expression had changed; it was as if he was a different person. The bear took a couple steps back; it was obvious to Albedo that the bear was now afraid of him. It was whimpering and shaking. It’s afraid of me now.
She lowered her head, making herself as small as she possibly could, her eyes not wanting to meet Albedo’s gaze in fear of him. The bear grabbed her cub by its neck and disappeared in the woods. Albedo held his shivering body as it had gotten colder.
“What was that just now, I don’t know why but I felt an urge to kill her?” He quickly got up and ran as fast as he could.
Albedo opened the door to go in the cabin-house; his mother was sitting at the kitchen table. Their house was two stories with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, and two kitchens. His room was on the second floor; by his window was a tree that he loved to climb. The cabin was in the middle of the forest; his father had built it himself.
“I told you about coming home late. I have been worried sick about you,” said his mother with an upset tone.
She was a beautiful woman, very elegant too. Albedo admired her very much, she was extremely intelligent and her voice was magnificent. Albedo had never seen any women come close to his mother’s beauty. Albedo always wished he had those beautiful green eyes his mother had. She had rich long green hair that reached to her back.
She looked at him in astonishment, “What happened to your face? Did you get into another fight at school?!”
Albedo failed to remember the bruises on his face, how could he have forgotten to hide them from her? “It’s nothing; I’ll go wash it off.” What was that voice that told me to move out of the way back there? I feel like I heard it before.
She embraced him tightly by his arm and took him to the bathroom. She started to clean his face. Her soft hand brushed through his hair removing the debris. His pale skin was gone now thanks to the sun.
“Sometimes I want to kill that teacher,” in referring to the teacher. This time her tone was more relaxing.
Chapter 2
Enter the Black Reapers
It was now the middle of the night, the king’s guard secures Inferno all day and throughout the night. Inferno was surrounded by a metal fence that runs all around it. The humans were ensured that no vampires will cross into Inferno. The big gate behind the guards was made out of the finest steel. Only one way to get into inferno and this was it, the fence was too high for any vampires to climb up. Many guards circle around the fence protecting it, making it impossible to get in. They were equipped with crossbow, swords, knife and all sort of different weapons.
“It’s sure is dark tonight, its times like this that I wish I was home with the family,” said one of the guards in front of the gate.
It was a nasty, cold and gloomy night. The sky was dark, heavy rain poured from the clouds the night before, and the wind started whipping and howling. As they continued to talk amongst themselves, one of the guards started feeling light headed and collapsed on the ground.
“What happen!” asked the head guard.
One of his men responded, “I don’t know sir, he suddenly collapsed.”
As they examined their fallen man, another guard collapsed to the ground. The head guard no longer sees this as a coincidence; vampires don’t just suddenly fall. His men were now in a state of panic. The head guard quickly realized this was the work of someone; one after another, his men have started fallen.
“How is this possible? We’re under attack, but there’s nobody here!” said one of the men.
“Search for any suspicious signs or anyone!” ordered the head guard. Could this be the work of a Pureblood? No it can’t be. They would have to pass through the capital to get here.
As his men scattered in front of the gate, more men started to fall victim to this mysterious situation. Their panicking reached a critical stage.
“Men, hold it, all of you form a circle around me!” ordered the head guard.
Each had a spear in their hands, ready to strike the first blow as they formed a circle of defense. Two more on the left fell, slowly the circle started collapsing.
The head guard needed to act quickly. If this situation is what he believed to be, then he’s going to need help from the King. Someone managed to sneak through the capital to get here, what are those guards doing, sleeping? “Go to the castle and warn the King! We’re being attacked by an invisible enemy!” ordered the head guard to one of his men.
They could now hear someone laughing, But where?
“So you finally figured it out, but I’m afraid it’s too late,” said a voice.
The men looked all around them but no one was there.
“Who… who said that?” said one of them.
As the messenger left the huddle to deliver the message to the King, he could feel a hand grabbing the back of his neck as he loses consciousness. He fell to the ground.
Good, he fell for it.
The head guard threw something in the air; he took his two ring fingers and whistled. His men looked up; a messenger-bird grabbed the note and flew away fast.
We’re vampires, and if we’re against a Pureblood, we have no chance of winning.
“Impressive, using one of your men to distract me to send your message,” said the voice.
The men were now baffled than ever; one by one they each felt a hand touched them. The head guard watched helplessly while his men fell unconsciously.
“Who are you!” said the head guard aggressively.
“My name is Vincent,” responded the voice.
The head guard felt a sensation inside of him, as if he had heard of this man before. “I know who you are; you’re wanted throughout Nacune. Where is he?” His heart beating faster and faster as his face gets whiter; blood had stop floating to it. It was clear he had never dealt with a situation as perplexing as this before. For as long as he’s been head guard, nothing truly had ever happened, until now.
“Where is who?” replied Vincent sarcastically.
The head guard bit his lips as anger welled up within him. “Where is your partner? Did he send you here?” he asked with unusual coolness and restraint.... So he waited, listening for Vincent’s voice, this could be his chance to strike first. Vincent was invisible but if only he could pinpoint his voice, he could strike. “You know who I’m talking about, where is Alei----”
Before he could finish his words, he felt a hand grab the
back of his neck, in it was concealed a palm dagger. He felt the dagger piercing his back. Slowly he fell to the ground, blood was dripping out of his back, and he was losing consciousness fast, his eyes slowly closing. As he fell to the ground, he could see a man in front of him. His eyesight was now weak, very blurry. He could barely see Vincent.
“One by one they all lose consciousness in my sight,” said Vincent with a guffaw.
***
The messenger-bird made its way to the capital; one of the guards took the note and quickly delivered the news to King Victor. At that moment he felt so eminent. How often do you get to be the one to deliver news of this magnitude to your king? He ran inside the castle as fast as he could.
“This is an emergency; I need to see the king!” He explained what happened and was permitted to see the king.
King Victor was long awake after he heard the news. The messenger went forth to see him. King Victor was sitting on his throne; his body had the shape of a strong warrior. The anger on his face could have given any man the goose bumps. His long black hair matched the color of his skin. His dark black eyes felt as if he was staring into your soul.
“Bring forth the Black Reapers now!” said the King. I must hurry before this get out of hand.
The messenger heard the throne door behind him opening. A warrior walked in to the room, a long black cloak covering its body and its head, a red mask on its face. Both of its arms had strong chains wrapped around them. Must be a weapon! He shivered in the sight of the Black Reaper. He had heard of their reputation, never had he actually stood in the same sight.
The Reaper walked towards the King and kneeled to him.
“Where is your partner?” asked King Victor.
“He’s out training with his pupils my lord,” replied the Reaper.
King Victor had no time to send for the second Reaper, he had to make a decision fast. “I want you to go after this man, his name is Vincent.” He handed the Reaper a picture of Vincent.
“I’m sure you know who his partner is, they’re wanted throughout the Six Great Kingdoms. He managed to penetrate Inferno.”
The messenger watched the king trying to remove the tiredness from his eyes with his hand as he rubbed them.
“There are thousands of humans who live there; I don’t have to tell you what he can do.” The king now looked apprehensive more than ever. “This is our chance to capture him, so go now and don’t fail me.”
The Black Reaper lifted its head up, “I will not fail you my lord.”
***
As Albedo drifted to sleep, his nightmares had not stopped hunting him. Since he was a child, he always had bad dreams. From upon waking and seeing a man, not much older than him, calling him by a different name. This man had two different set of eyes, the left was blue; his right eye was red, his long white hair reaches his back. Albedo found himself in a tunnel in this particular dream, water leaking and making noises as it hit the floor. Albedo sat in the tunnel and the man with the white hair was just outside of the tunnel, staring at the moon.
“Who are you?” asked Albedo.
The man reached his hand towards him, “Dawson, it’s time to wake up,” The voice called out to him. This man was always in the dark. In the dream, even on occasion he was so close that Albedo felt the warmth of his presence. As always just when his hand was about to reach Albedo’s hand, his father woke him up.
“Son, you’re having a nightmare again!”
Albedo hardly saw his father during the day, most of the time this was the only chance they had to talk to each other. “I thought it would stop, but it’s the same dream over and over again!” Albedo wrapped his hand around his stomach, he squeeze, as if he was keeping something from coming out. “I feel it Dad, during the dream I feel as if there’s someone else inside of me who wants to come out.”
His father Joshua held him tight, he lifted his head up gently and gaze at the blood-moon. So it begins.
Albedo’s mother came to the room with hot tea and waited till he fell asleep.
***
Cecelia and Joshua sat in the kitchen and finished what’s left of the tea; their eyes did not meet one another.
“He’s coming for him and there’s nothing we can do to help,” said his mother Cecelia.
“Earlier today, after he came back from the forest, I thought I felt something odd about him… I suppose in a way we all knew this day would come eventually.” She didn’t even bother cleaning the cup of tea.
Joshua laid his hand on top of hers, their eyes meet at last. “We’ve been raising him for a long time now; we have to believe in him. I changed my name and my identity for my son so he could have a better life. We taught him right from wrong.” He stopped to get himself together. “At the end we cannot stop the inevitable. This is his destiny, when the time comes he’s going to have to choose his path to follow.” His voice was more eager than hers.
She took a deep breath, “King Victor is going to have him trained. I wonder who he’s going to choose to train him, we can’t do it. Our days are over,” said Cecelia. Of course she was being modest, not a wrinkle was on her face, she was tone and strong. Albedo, what will you do when you find out the truth? Will you still be our son?
His father Joshua was stocky but not fat. He had a full rich beard and hair hanging fourteen inches from his scalp. He had a scar that ran from under his left eye almost reaching his mouth. “The King will never choose us, you know why.”
***
The Reaper arrived. All the men were lying unconsciously on the ground. The Reaper walked towards one of them and checked his pulse. He’s still alive. The Reaper continued to analyze the scene, wondering why Vincent would enter the human’s territory, did he want blood?
What are you after Vincent? Why would you come all the way to Atnius just to enter Inferno? This doesn’t make any since at all. The Reaper made its way to the gate, idling around would not give the Reaper the answer it was looking for. As the Reaper was about to cross the gate it could hear a faint voice.
“Wait.”
The Reaper was startled, and it looked back not all the way but just enough to see who’s calling out. The head guard was trying to get back on his feet; his legs were too weak to stand.
He said in a faint voice. “I know who you are; you’re with the Black Reapers’ Division. King Victor calls for you when a situations like this unfolds, am I right?”
The Reaper was in a hurry, it knows each minute that passes by is a possible human getting bit. “Is this his ability, if he touches you he drains your energy and you lose consciousness for the time being?”
The head guard was astonished at how much the Reaper had learned from the scene. When he sent words to king Victor, it was after the messenger-bird had left that he came to this conclusion. If Vincent touched you then his victory is ensured.
“You lost too much blood, you will not survive for long,” said the Reaper. A mere vampire has no chance against Vincent, they’re lucky to be alive.
The head guard watched as the Reaper threw him something that seemed to be a flask, he opened it and the smell of blood had him drunk with excitement, he desperately needed it. The Reaper was gone before he could look up.
The Reaper makes its way to the human’s territory. The humans had their own guards who watched over them at night and throughout the day, made of humans only. This of course comes from not trusting the vampires. They were known as “Humans’ Special Division.” The Reaper stood on a roof; it began to study their activities. The shadow was the Reaper’s friend, too dark for any humans to see. The Humans’ Special Division had their sharp swords around their waist, a dagger on their back, and a whistle around their neck for backup. These soldiers were mostly young men who wanted to keep their families safe. If Vincent wanted to kill all of them there would be nothing they could do to stop his massacre. It was now obvious to the Reaper that Vincent had not made his move yet. If he had, then Inferno would be in an uproar by now. Humans would be
screaming from terror, the smell of blood would linger in the air. King Victor had made a wise decision by sending the Reaper by itself; he could have easily sent some of his men with the Reaper. But, the Black Reapers were different; their job was to make things disappear and try to do it as quiet as possible. They’re different varieties of missions that the king send them to. Some people call them assassins and some call them bounty hunters.
The Reaper scouted the leader of the group, a short man by the name of Lou. The Reaper moved quietly until Lou spotted it.
“Just one minute boys, nature calls,” Lou’s voice sounded a bit bitter. He made sure he had a great distance away from the group. He stopped in a dark hallway where the Reaper was waiting for him. He looked up sure enough the Reaper was there hiding in the shadow. “I was told you would be coming by King Victor. Is something going on that I need to tell my men?”
The humans hated the vampires, but for their survival to continue they needed the king’s strength. After they lost the “Blood War”, Atnius had sheltered them for thousands of years. The Humans’ Special Division was created by King Victor’s father; it was a way to make the humans feel like they still held some supremacy in this world. They knew this was a fragment of the power they used to hold; out of respect for the King they accepted.
“Has anything uneasy happened?” asked the Reaper.
Lou took a pipe out of his pocket before he could answer, he took a puff. “If a vampire has managed to penetrate our area, we demand to know now!” his tone was calmer than demanding.
The Reaper said nothing; it got the answer it was looking for.
“You and your kind are supposed to protect us, but somehow one of you managed to enter Inferno,” said Lou. His hands trembled a little, his very soul shook in fear. Lou kept his voice to a minimum; raising his voice to a vampire could be a fatal mistake.
