Blood Stained Lives (The Blood Stained Saga Book 1)

by Ronald Griffin

  “So, is Galamythe the Leviathan in the stories?” Namon asks Katrina.

  “Yes sir.”

  Rose Hill Cemetery, a mysterious shrouded figure chants while holding his hands together. The two rings that he wears on each hand glow red, and purple as he chants the spell. One by one, ten corpses crawl their way out of ground, and gather around him, ready to receive orders. Mist forms in front of him, and the mist is manipulated to show an image of the ring that he seeks, and an image of a wolf printed on the gates to a secluded area of graves that shows the area the ring is located.

  “Find the ring, and bring it to me,” he says to the zombies.

  They shuffle around the graveyard searching for the symbol, and in just mere minutes, a symphony of moans fills the air from their undead mouths. The sorcerer walks over to them, and they point at a gated section of the graveyard with a symbol of a wolf right above it. Within the gates, he can see names on the tombstones Lance, Clint, Mya, Chase, and Michelle. The zombies beat on the gates until the gates fall down to the ground, and one by one they dig up the graves, and remove the corpses. They do not find the ring, until they pull Michelle's body out. On her left hand, the ring shines brightly in the moonlight.

  Katrina parks at the main gates of the cemetery, and they get out of the vehicle. Namon turns to Oz, and motions for him to stay in the car. Oz stands on the armrest to the car door and places his hands to the glass with a sad look on his face, wishing that he could help. Namon raises his flashlight, and they cautiously enter the graveyard. They look around, and see ten empty graves, and Katrina swears under her breath. She pulls her phone out, and begins to dial a number until Namon shines the light over, and the broken gate. Katrina sees the gate, and then stops him from walking any further, removes the necklace, and places it over his head, tucking it beneath his shirt.

  “Listen, son, if things get too out of hand, you run as fast as you can, and hide. Do not let anyone get the amulet, and don’t worry about me. If anything happens just go, do you understand?”

  “Yeah, I understand,” he responds even though he doesn't intend on doing as she says. He has lost his parents he doesn't want to lose her as well.

  His attention turns back to the broken gate while Katrina fumbles with her phone again, and he notices the corpses that dug up his parents' bodies. Namon breaks out in a full run, yelling at the top of his lungs. Katrina sees him running straight for the zombies, places the phone in her back pocket, and races after him. As anger flows through Namon, his body begins to glow. He leaps at the nearest zombie, phasing mid leap, and landing on it forcing it to the ground. He brings his jaws around its neck biting with all his strength, and removing its head from its body. Katrina looks over at the shrouded figure assuming that it is the sorcerer, and recognizes him from last night.

  “It's you again,” she says in surprise.

  She phases, and leaps over Namon, and then chases after the sorcerer after he removes the ring from Michelle's corpse. She ducks, and dodges through the other nine zombies trying to make her way to the sorcerer. Namon follows behind her biting at legs, and slashing at zombies with his claws, acting on pure instinct, and trying to slow them down as they follow Katrina.

  The sorcerer raises his arms as he exits the section of the cemetery, making the gate rise back up with his magic. Then he summons chains to lock the gate tightly. He faces the gate as Katrina reaches it. The sorcerer reaches into his cloak, pulls out a drawstring bag, and dumps its contents, allowing the wind to carry it in the direction of the gates.

  “Now Cyrus is only one artifact away from what he needs, and you wolves will not be able to stop him. Besides, I do think that you will be a little busy with something else,” He laughs as he waves goodbye. He spins around, and his body is enveloped in smoke until he vanishes.

  When the contents of the bag make contact with the zombies they start freaking out, acting confused, and frenzied. Namon stops as he recalls what he read about salt touching zombies before they are in their graves. At that moment, Namon realizes what was in the sorcerer's bag: salt

  “OH SHIT!”

  The two wolves turn with their backs facing the fence, and they watch as the zombies head right for them, going into a fury. The two of them do what they can to, and dodge their attack until Namon gets a brilliant idea. He turns, and runs back to the gate, and stands there, waiting for the oncoming attack. Three zombies close in on him with their arms raised, ready to attack, and when they bring their arms down, he dodges them so they bring their arms down on the gate instead of on him. They knock the gate down, opening up the battlefield.

  “Come on, let's go Katrina, we need more room to fight!”

  Namon runs out of the gates, and turns back to look for Katrina. He looks just in time to see one of the zombies grab her by the tail. She turns, and bites the zombie's arm off. While she's off guard, another zombie back hands her, knocking her into a tombstone, breaking it in half. She gets back to her feet, and starts limping.

  “Leave, I'll hold them off while you get away!”

  Namon ignores her command, and runs full speed toward her, ramming head first into the zombie that is preparing to attack her. He turns to her, and nudges with his nose. He turns back to see that the zombie has fallen into a grave, and has stopped moving. Then he remembers the information about what happens when they reach their final resting place. He runs to the nearest zombie, and gets it to chase him as he runs around from empty grave to empty grave until the zombie falls into the correct one, and lies unmoving.

  Katrina manages enough strength to get back up, and copy Namon's actions, making one of the zombies follow her to find its grave. Luckily, both of them survive, and wind up getting all of them put away. Namon phases back to human form, and even though the book says they should go inactive, he doesn't risk it, and makes a line with the salt shaker in his pocket all around the graves. Katrina phases as well, and then instantly goes into parent mode.

  “Why didn't you leave when I told you to? You could have been hurt or even killed! We may heal fast, and have powers, but we are not invincible, Namon!”

  “I did what I had to. I mean, if we didn't stop them, who is to say they would not wind up in the city? Never mind me, the rest of the city could have been hurt or killed! I know you’re worried, but we survived, and we have kept lots of people safe by finishing this. If I had left you, they would have overwhelmed you, and torn you apart,” he says as calmly as he can manage.

  Katrina still keeps the scowl on her face, but you can tell by her eyes that she knows that he is right. She also knows that he used his head during the fight. Yes, he went into the fight blindly before she could call for reinforcements, and that was dumb. Overall, though, during the fight he kept his wits about him, and he was very smart about how to handle the situation; much better than she ever expected.

  “Let's go. We need to get to the church; they need to know about this. It is very bad that Cyrus has the ring, and according to the sorcerer, he already has the other ring as well.”

  He nods in agreement, as they both get into the car, and she drives off. Oz jumps up front, and gets in the seat with Katrina, and acts as if he is driving as well. Namon looks down at him, and smiles.

  “Thank you for staying in the car Oz,” Namon says.

  Oz nods his acknowledgment to Namon, holding his little hands in the air like he’s gripping the steering wheel and twisting them as if he were on a very windy road.

  She keeps focused on the road ahead with her thoughts on the sorcerer, and worries who else, or what else Cyrus has at his disposal. She worries that things are about to get very bad, and she is not sure that, even with Namon helping her, they will be able to succeed in stopping Cyrus. She pulls her phone out, looks through for a name, and highlights the name Eric. Her fingers type a message to him, and then she presses send. She would normally never text and drive in front of Namon, who is very impressionable, but she's getting desperate. The message reads, “It's time.”
r />   Chapter Eight

  Cyrus and the mayor stand in the mayor’s office, pacing in front of a man sitting in a chair looking at them very nervously, as if his life were in danger. A section of the room fills with smoke, and everyone's attention is directed toward it. When the smoke clears, the sorcerer walks toward Cyrus, and kneels, offering him the ring in the palm of his hand. Cyrus smiles and accepts the ring.

  “You may stand, Drake. I have always been proud of your success.”

  Drake stands, and pulls his hood back, revealing a bald head with a serpent tattoo spiraling around his head. Cyrus walks over to the mayor, and pats him on the back.

  “So your informant proved useful after all. So tell me, what kind of information do we have on our friend here?” Cyrus asks.

  “Turns out that his daughter has cancer, and he’s behind in his taxes; due to spending all his money to pay for her treatments. So, I merely told him that if he did not cooperate with us, he would go to jail, and his daughter would wind up dying when what little insurance he has is tapped out.”

  Cyrus walks over to the man, places his hands on the man's shoulders, and gently massages them in an intimidating manner.

  “You gave us very valuable information as to the location of the ring, but you still gave false information in regard to the amulet. Where is it?” he asks as his fingernails extend forming claws, and dig them into the man's shoulders.

  “I don't know!” the man cries out in pain.

  “Who does, then?” he asks while making his claws dig deeper into the man's shoulders.

  “The priest, he is the only one that knows. He said he was sending it somewhere safe.”

  “Then I guess I will have to pay this priest a visit. Where does he reside?” Cyrus asks.

  “He lives in the church,” the man says as blood starts to drip down his shirt.

  “What kind of defenses does the church have?” Cyrus says as he lets his grip on the man's shoulders loosen.

  “He always has several armed knights around him at all times, and snipers in the towers.”

  “Well, I don't think that will be any problem at all. My forces can handle that easily, day or night. Drake, do you think you can summon a group of warrior demons?” Cyrus asks.

  “Yes, sire.”

  “Good,” Cyrus says as he releases his grip on the man completely. Cyrus pulls his cell phone out of his pocket, and dials a number on it.

  “Yes, I have need of your talents again,” he says into the phone as he hears the loud clanging of metal parts. “So, are you two still playing with that truck?”

  “Yeah, you know we've always loved taking things apart. So what do you need us for?”

  “I'm planning an assault on the church tonight. I want to make sure that no one survives. The demons I will have should be enough, but too much is at stake to take any chances now.”

  “Sounds like a party! We're on our way.”

  Cyrus hangs up his phone, and turns his attention to the mayor.

  “The twins are coming to help,” he says with a smile.

  Then Cyrus returns his attention to the man in the chair.

  “You have done well, but unfortunately, you have failed me once, and that is one time too many for someone I don't have much use for. Oh, and don't worry about your daughter. She will have a very long life free of cancer, or should I say, un-life,” he says to the man as he places a hand on the back of his head, and the other just under his chin. Then he twists, snapping the man’s neck, killing him instantly.

  Drake slowly approaches beside Cyrus, and then leans closer.

  “My lord, you know that they will also have the White Wolves there. Well, that is, if they survived the zombies I left them with.”

  Cyrus looks over at him, confused.

  “What do you mean 'they'? There is only supposed to be one of them.”

  “I am sorry to inform you sir, but there were two at the cemetery. One of them was a black woman in her thirties, and there was a teenage white male there as well,” Drake informs Cyrus.

  “Well then, I guess it is a good thing we are increasing our odds with the twins then. I think I will have you come along with us, Drake, and summon a stronger creature to fight them just in case. The wolf I encountered recently took out the warrior demons a little too quickly for my comfort. This other wolf that you speak of must be the offspring of the White Wolf that I had the destroyer kill ten years ago.”

  Drake nods his acquiescence.

  “Tonight I will have the amulet, or the church will be burned to the ground with everyone in it.”

  Drake reaches into his cloak, and pulls out his spell book, and flips through it until he sees a creature he thinks will be to Cyrus's liking. He shows the picture to him, and Cyrus smiles with approval.

  “I do believe that is an excellent choice to help burn them to ashes.”

  Aluana is steadily writing music in her room at the mansion to reflect her newfound good mood. She has been ecstatic at the news that she will be able to get out in public when they move to Macon. Thoughts of shopping, singing, dancing, romance, and having fun flood her mind. She is giddy at this moment, and does a little happy dance. That is, until Tiffany knocks on her new door, and comes into her room. Well there goes my good mood.

  “Do you really think you will be free to come, and go when you please in Macon? Seriously, you're under such high guard here. Do you really think Cyrus is going to let you out without a babysitter? You are so delusional if you truly believe that at all, love,” Tiffany says.

  She just rolls her eyes at Tiffany, ignoring her as best she can.

  “Don't you ever wonder about your life, and why you do not remember it? Don't you ever wonder why it is that you never crave blood, or need to feed at all?”

  She wonders about those very things every single day, but what she is really wondering right at this moment is why Tiffany is bringing it up, and why she seeks to bother her.

  “What do you want?” she asks Tiffany bluntly.

  “I just want to make things clear. I don't like you, and the first chance that I can get you out of my life without Cyrus killing me, I will.”

  Aluana puts her pen down, stands, and walks over to Tiffany.

  “I think you have forgotten who put your ass into a wall. Mess with me, and you won't have to worry about Cyrus killing you because I will do it myself. Comprende'?”

  Tiffany doesn't back down, and instead pushes her to the ground, and then straddles her, pinning her. She grabs Aluana by the neck, and slams her head to the ground.

  “Do not speak to me that way if you value your freedom, or should I say what freedom you think you will have. All it will take is one word from me, and your freedom will be revoked.” She leans down, and whispers into her ear. “Comprende’?”

  She doesn't fight back out of fear that the words Tiffany speaks are true. Tiffany stands, and leaves the room, leaving Aluana on the floor. She just lies there tears welling up as a wave of depression washes over her. No matter what happens, she will never truly be free. She wonders to herself if she should even bother trying anymore.

  Katrina stops the car in front of the church, and they get out, leaving Oz in the car. He sits in the back window with his arms crossed a frown on his small strangely adorable face, frustrated at being left in the car, as he watches them walking up the church steps, full of fatigue. Namon grabs his stomach as it rumbles and growls, he has not had a chance to eat other than a snack cake earlier in the day. Once they get to the top of the steps, Katrina knocks on the door, and one of the guards opens the door, allowing them to enter. Once inside the church, Katrina walks down the aisle to approach the priest standing at the podium practicing his sermon for Sunday. Namon sits down in the front row, holding his stomach. The priest stops his sermon as Katrina nears.

  “Cyrus now has both rings. He had a sorcerer at the cemetery to claim it, and I want to know who it was that told him.”

  “Yes, I found the leak. Only three people
knew of its location—you, Reginald, our records keeper and myself. He catalogs most information in the church. That explains why Cyrus's men attacked that shipment that was headed to Atlanta. That means, since he didn't find the amulet there.” the priest's eyes get really big as the church bells in the tower start ringing alerting them just before a guard starts yelling down from the tower.

  “Cyrus is here, and he is not alone!”

  The knights inside the church gather around the front door, and the sound of gunfire comes from both towers as they shoot at the warrior demons that approach. Several of them start pounding on the door, trying to get in.

  Oz looks outside the car window to see what's going on. His eyes grow round and he shudders in terror at the sight of Cyrus, and the twins walking toward the church while demons are slashing away at the door with their claws. He scampers quickly from the window down the back seat and hides under the driver's seat, quaking with fear.

  Namon is looking around, overwhelmed with everyone running around trying to barricade the windows, and the doors. Stained glass falls as the demons shatter the windows trying to get inside. Katrina comes out of a room holding a sword, and grabs Namon by his wrist, dragging him over to the pipe organ. She presses a few keys, and a hidden door opens.