by Gloria Dark
“Is that why he created the weapons?” Demian asked curiously.
“No,” Eden replied calmly as if he weren’t insane at all, “He created weapons by accident because he was an idiot.”
“Don’t listen to him!” Nataniel objected, moving closer to Demian, elbowing him gently, “The legend says that their son created weapons because he felt guilty.”
“He was heartbroken and decided it would be a brilliant idea to trap his ability to love inside a broken bell.” Eden glanced at Demian, piercing his purple eyes through Demian’s soul, “The magic sealed his heart inside the bell and hid it in a handmade music box. That’s how the first weapon was created - Hiopesia. He named the enchanted bell after his mother.”
“How is it a weapon?” Demian got confused.
“The rumours say, it can calm anyone with its power. Even if there was a battle!” Nataniel announced, “Unfortunately, nobody knows where to find this bell.”
“After losing his ability to love, Hiopesia’s son started having haunting nightmares. One day, he found a broken branch laying on the ground after a storm. The branch reminded him of his broken dreams, so he trapped his ability to dream in the broken branch.” Eden continued the tale, “That’s how a second weapon was created - Jitamo. It’s a stubborn weapon that chooses its owner and obeys only when it wants to. Jitamo has the ability to cast illusions and control dreams.”
“Wow…” Demian gasped.
“The third weapon is this violin - Morcie.” Eden pointed at his beloved instrument, “It can control its victims like puppets as long as the music is played. The sound can do many tricks, most of them are dangerous.”
“How was it created?” Demian asked.
Eden remained silent, watching the instrument with sad eyes.
“The legend says, Hiopesia’s son made the violin himself and trapped his soul inside it because he felt unworthy of having a soul in a body incapable of loving or dreaming!” Nataniel said.
“Did he die after that?” Demian glanced at Morcie.
“No,” Eden replied without hesitation. “It’s not like he could put the entire love, dreams and soul in objects. He was a god and would live as long as he had powers.”
“He created two more weapons before he… disappeared.” Nataniel tried to choose words wisely.
“As the son of Harmony goddess, he had two more things left in him - Darkness and Light.” Eden continued, his voice filling with heavier sadness, “Afraid that his Light would be tainted by the emptiness, he trapped his Light in a dagger.”
“Dagger of light? Oh, do you mean Kirari?” Demian seemed to recognise the name.
“Exactly,” Eden smiled, “Kiari is one of the most powerful weapons in the entire world as it has the power to cleanse a tainted soul, as well as it’s able to transfer souls from a body to another body. Or even an object.”
“To cleanse a soul, a ritual must be performed, and it’s not really that easy to get all of the items for the ritual. It includes phoenix ash!” Nataniel tried to explain, but Eden covered his mouth before he could say a word more.
“When Hiopesia’s son lost his ability to love and dream when he split his soul and lost half of it, and when he lost his Light… There was only one last thing left in him.” Eden continued the legend.
“Darkness!” Demian replied, his voice excited, “Wait! Is this legend about Abyss?”
Eden grinned, ignoring the question.
“When there was only Darkness left inside the god, he released into a rare flower - Morinji,” Eden said, piercing his purple gaze through Demian’s heart.
“Morinji?” a faint tremble went through Demian’s chest.
“A rare type of black lily with gold in the middle, capable of making a mortal immune to the Darkness, poisoning the owner's mind with power.” Eden described as if he had seen the flower.
“Legend says,” Nataniel removed Eden’s hand from his mouth, “Ermelinda, a human girl, found this flower and absorbed its powers to take control over the dark magic.”
“Do you think this legend is real?” Demian wondered.
“Yes, I certainly do,” Eden replied, pointing at his violin as a proof.
“So… It would mean Ermelinda and Abyss were real!” Demian sounded surprised at his own words.
“But this legend isn’t about Ab-” Nataniel tried to say, but his mouth got shut before he could finish the sentence.
“Both of them are very real,” Eden replied without a single doubt in his voice.
Suddenly, Eden’s slid down to the paper packet Demian held dearly in his hands.
“What’s this?” he asked as his eyes lit up with hunger, forcing his dark-purple eyes to turn toxic-pink.
Demian glanced at the packet nervously. Fear shot through his body as he remembered he had to be home. His skin turned cold as the guilt overwhelmed his senses.
“Is it blood?” Eden released Nataniel and approached Demian dangerously close.
“N-no, it’s for someone else!” Demian tried to avoid Eden’s touch, “I… I must go!”
“Why don’t you share that blood with me?” Eden tried to grab the packet, but it slid out of Demian’s hands and fell on the ground.
One of the bottles smashed, releasing a sweet aroma into the air. Eden inhaled deeply, feeling drunk with the scent. He knelt down to touch the spilt blood.
Demian picked up the other bottle and ran towards the gate. Eden was about to follow him, but Nataniel stopped him by stepping before him.
“Look what you’ve done!” Nataniel’s face turned red with anger, “You scared him away, and now I’m angry!”
Eden glanced at Demian run away.
“Next time we meet, I’ll taste your blood because you left me hungry!” Eden said loudly, smiling mischievously while getting punched by Nataniel.
Demian’s heart thundered with fear for entirely different reasons. He doubted he would ever meet the strange boys again, but being late to turn up home after classes petrified him.
“Lucius... I’m sorry…” Demian said his brother’s name, his voice full of guilt as he ran towards the gate, looking at the only bottle of blood where two were supposed to be.
Chapter 2: Cursed Twins
Cursed Twins
The Morteeze family lived in a luxurious castle with the most beautiful garden where red roses bloomed during all seasons. Beautiful trees with fire instead of leaves grew near the giant gate. There was a beautiful golden fountain in front of the main entrance to the castle. It was shaped like graceful dragons dancing with each other while pouring silver water from their horns into the dazzling pool. Roses forged of gold decorated the door and the walls from the outside.
Thousands of vacant rooms complemented the lavish castle, countless libraries kept secrets and knowledge, but the glorious ballrooms were Morteeze pride.
The main ballroom was on the first floor, and it almost took the entire area. Only a few walls divided hall from the servant rooms where the biggest miracles were created - elegant clothing, most exquisite dishes for the guests, luscious wine and many other treasures.
The second floor was filled with many bedrooms, bathrooms, guest rooms, lounges, libraries, meeting rooms and other rooms they didn’t even know of. The third floor was the only place where no purebloods stepped as all of the bedrooms were for servants only. All, apart from one.
Demian ran into his castle, attempting to avoid everyone, but his hope to do so died early. His grandfather Dorian, one of the great Leaders as well as the head of the Elderly, stood in the hall by the fireplace. His flawless skin radiated youthful energy although he was more than 800 years old. His long, wavy hair looked like a waterfall of gold, buy his indigo eyes were colder than ice and fiercer than storms. He was dressed in gold like an emperor. His gown dazzled with wealth as if he imagined himself to be one of the gods.
Demian’s father Luminor stood gracefully by grandfather’s side, holding a glass filled with blood. Dressed in dark blue nobleman’
s suit, he looked like a devil’s lawyer if he had one. Luminor was only 500 years old, but both father and grandfather shared the same youthful face, the same indigo eyes, the same golden strands. They looked like brothers rather than father and son.
Demian froze in mortification as he noticed the angry eyes pinned on him.
“You’re late!” Luminor pointed out, sipping his drink.
“As far as I’m aware, your classes finished in the morning!” Dorian showed no empathy towards his grandson.
“I’m so disappointed in you, Demian!” Luminor said dramatically, “If your mother were alive, she would die from humiliation. How dare you to act like a peasant?”
Demian tried to remain calm, pushing down his anxious thoughts, pushing down his emotions.
“If you cannot honour your family, I will have to punish you until you learn to be perfect.” Dorian said sharply, “You’re a Morteeze! We expect nothing less but excellence from you. Do you understand?”
Demian’s eyes scanned the marble floor, trying to get distracted not to cry.
“Do you understand?” Dorian repeated, his voice dominant and fierce.
“Yes, but I’m not the only child in this family!” Demian spoke back, “Why can’t Lucius get some education or at least any kind of attention from you?”
Grandfather’s hand landed painfully on Demian’s cheek, leaving a red trail of extreme heat.
“Don’t you dare to mention that weakling’s name!” he threatened, “He’s a shame of our family, a tragedy!”
Luminor disappeared from the fireplace so quickly, it seemed as if he could teleport. In just a second, he appeared right in front of Demian.
“I can see you have problems with your manners!” Luminor hissed, squeezing the boy’s cheeks with his sharp fingernails, “Don’t you dare to disrespect the Elderly. Most importantly, don’t ever dare to disrespect your family!”
“But Lucius is my family!” Demian objected, tears filling his eyes with blurry glitter.
“I said,” Luminor pierced the boy’s skin with his nails, “don’t dare to disrespect us. Lucius is not your family, he is nothing. Just because you were born the same day from the same mother, doesn’t make you family. He is weak.”
“From now on, I forbid you to mention his name unless you are asked to!” Dorian commanded.
“This morning, I had to turn red with embarrassment because of you!” Luminor released the boy from his grip, “I had a phone call from your history teacher. He said you expressed your honest opinion in front of the class about the biggest enemies of our clan!”
“What?” Dorian turned pale, his cold eyes ready to cut throats.
“He,” Luminor pointed at his son, “said that Abyss and Ermelinda were just a fairytale!”
“You what?” Dorian shouted out, approaching the boy aggressively, “Are you a fool? Both of those villains are the nemeses of our family! Morteeze family used to be the biggest pureblood family in history until Abyss once ripped out thousands of hearts of our ancestors at a masquerade! He flooded our home with our own blood!”
“And Ermelinda was no better!” Luminor added, “She humiliated our family and murdered your great-grandfather Claudius Morteeze! Her demons stabbed your mother while you weren’t even born! Gladly, it didn’t kill her, but Lucius did later, anyway.”
Demian’s cheeks drowned in tears as he listened to the cold voices. He squeezed the bottle of blood in his hands, not knowing how to fix anything.
“Oh stop sobbing!” Dorian demanded, “You can’t bring the dead back, so don’t cry about the ancestors you never met. Just go upstairs and study after you’ve seen Lucius. Don’t waste too much time on him, you have a lot to do. You must become stronger than anyone, do you understand?”
A sound of smooth steps muted the shouting. Both men glanced at the stairs to see a stunning woman enter the hall. Beautiful like a model, she wore an elegantly long dress as if drenched in ruby. Her black hair sat over one shoulder like obedient snakes decorated by diamonds and pearls. It was Demian’s grandmother, Scarlet.
“My love!” Dorian danced towards her, kissing her hand like a gentleman, “I didn’t expect to see you so early!”
“I’m hungry!” Scarlet placed a back of her hand on her forehead, pretending to be a starved victim.
“Why don’t you ask servants to bring you some fresh blood?” Dorian asked, seemingly worried.
“I’m hungry for some thrill, that’s why!” Scarlet giggled, covering her bright red lips with her slim fingers. Her flirty red eyes glimmered with foxy fire.
“Do you mean…” Dorian smiled.
“I’m ready to hunt!” Scarlet winked.
In less than a second, Dorian grabbed a fur coat from the second floor and brought it back to cover his wife’s shoulders. His movements were quicker than a human eye could notice. Chuckling like villains, Scarlet and Dorian left the building.
Demian watched them disappear before glancing at his father. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to leave since the grandfather was no longer in the room, so he waited patiently for Luminor to say something. Demian’s cheeks still bled from his sharp nails.
“You’re not healing properly.” his father stated.
Luminor closed his eyes and lifted a palm towards the ceiling, whispering a spell. A golden goblet with beautiful gemstone decorations appeared in his hand. It was a unique enchantment, allowing vampire parents to share their blood with their children. The goblets absorbed the amount of power that was presented to those who drunk from them.
Luminor cut into his skin with his sharp nail, pouring a little blood.
“Here, drink this! You must feed to regenerate. Vampires that neglect their hunger don’t heal.” Luminor explained, handing Demian a full cup.
The boy emptied it immediately, feeling his injuries disappear. Using powerful magic always resulted in stronger hunger. When Demian attacked the adult vampire that attacked a human within the city, he used up too much energy, making his hunger quite insatiable.
“Is that the blood for Lucius?” Luminor noticed the bottle in Demian’s hands, “Why does the bottle look like it’s made of glass?”
“It’s a special material that keeps the contents fresh even if someone placed the bottle in the fireplace for hours or even days,” Demian explained, knowing a fair bit about the technologies.
“I see.” Luminor glanced at the wall behind him, viewing the thousands of portrait paintings of the most influential ancestors of Morteeze family, “If this blood helps to improve his condition, I might take you both hunting.”
Demian’s eyes widened in surprise, filling with excitement.
“Really?” he asked.
“Go,” Luminor dismissed the boy with a simple move of his hand.
Demian ran upstairs to the third floor, impatient to meet his twin. The hallway was dark and empty, only a few purple, ball-shaped lanterns floated in the air by magic. The walls were painted black, the same as all of the doors. Demian stopped in front of one of the door, touching the handle nervously. His heart was heavy, forming an anxious knot.
“I wish I could save you…” he whispered into the empty space between opening the door.
The bedroom was as dark as the black hallway, only warm light from the fireplace painted the walls in slightly warmer shades. Black curtains hid the room from the world, making it appear incredibly isolated as there was only a double bed with black covers and a bedside table between the bed and the fireplace. No other furniture filled the unpleasant room.
Demian placed the blood bottle on the bedside table and sat in the bed where a fragile boy laid wrapped between the blankets and many pillows. His face was nothing like any other Morteeze. The boy’s delicate skin was a mix of unhealthy grey shades, his lips were pale purple. Unlike any other pureblood in the family, his hair was white and colourless, but his thin fingers had chipped nails instead of deadly weapons. His heartbeat was too faint to hear it, his breath was too slow to notice him br
eathe.
“Lucius…” Demian whispered gently into his brother’s ear.
The boy opened his eyes. Unlike any other vampire ever seen, one of his eyes was white, only pale grey line bordering his iris from the rest of the blind eye. The other eye was the pales shade of red, almost too pale to call it red.
“Demian!” Lucius sounded weak, his voice even less than exhausted energy, reminding of creaking wooden floor rather than a voice, “I was waiting for you.”
The boy tried to force himself to sit up.
“I brought you some human blood!” Demian pretended to sound cheerful as he noticed his brother’s bones sticking out painfully when he tried to put pillows behind his back, “Nora said this might help! Actually… There were two bottles, but I smashed one by accident.”
“I won’t tell anyone, don’t worry.” Lucius smiled, almost falling asleep again.
“It’s not that. I just want you to get better as soon as possible.” Demian admitted, trying to mask his concern as good as he could.
He took the bottle and opened it, the sweet aroma filling the air. Demian’s fingers twitched in the temptation to taste the blood, but he resisted. Instead, he placed it to his brother’s lips.
“Try it,” Demian encouraged, helping Lucius to sit up straight, “It will be delightful, I can tell by the smell.”
“I can’t sense it, but…” Lucius glanced deep into brother’s eyes, “One day, when I grow up, I want to be as strong and intelligent as you are!”
“One day, you will be!” Demian forced a smile, his heart breaking in tiny pieces as he tried not to think about his brother’s death.
Demian pushed back the pale silver hair out of Lucius’ frail face before tipping the bottle to allow the blood flow into the boy’s mouth.
Lucius had a few sips before his skin covered in sweat and turned a few shades paler. His face became an honest picture of pain as he leaned over the bed, vomiting more blood than he drunk.
Demian’s eyes widened, staring at the puddle of blood. He couldn’t stop thinking about the cold words their father said about Lucius being unworthy of their family name. Even their grandfather was ashamed to have a weakling under his roof.
