Eight for the Outcast
Chapter 7: Who to Trust
A.N. Wydow does not belong to me. She belongs to Wydow Zamure (Thank you so much for letting me use her in this story!!)
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Levana stepped forward away from the window and outstretched her arms towards Dante and Nero with her palms held up parallel away from her face. Nero shifted uncomfortably as something seemed to probe his mind, searching for what made him the man he was. Thankfully, the probing stopped before going farther than he would have liked. The uncomfortable sensation was then passed to Dante, who tried to seem nonchalant about the intrusion into his mind. Just like Nero, the probing stopped before getting too far into memories he didn't want others to see. Annette and Isaiah watched silently as their mother put her hands back at her side and smiled once more.
The graceful woman closed the remaining distance between them and stroked the side of Nero's face once, holding her smile, "You need not be worried child, I will not harm you. What are your names?"
Nero tried not to pull away from the strikingly cold, yet kind, hand, "My name is Nero"
She turned her head towards Dante, the satin strip over her eyes catching the light from the candles, "The name's Dante"
Her hand slid away from Nero's cheek, "Sparda's Son?"
"Yeah, that's me," he answered, wishing people would recognize him as something other than just 'Sparda's Son'.
Annette stepped forward, knowing her mother was going to go into some story about Sparda if she didn't interject, "Mother, we need to ask you some questions"
The smile Levana had been holding on her face didn't fade, "I know, I've had a feeling you would"
She walked towards a wooden chair and took her seat. Drusus came dashing inside the room and took his place on Levana's lap as Annette and Isaiah sat on the edge of their mother's bed. Dante and Nero both stood, being that there were no more available seats in the room. Levana stroked Drusus' fur as she awaited the questions with the cat purring.
"What do you know that The Elders aren't telling us?" Annette didn't hesitate to begin.
Everyone's attention did not stray from the blind beauty, awaiting an answer as she continued to stroke Drusus, "A question very similar to that was what cost me my sight"
"The Elders did that?" Dante questioned, becoming a little bit more suspicious of the head vampires.
Levana nodded, "I went searching for answers that The Elders didn't want found. I grew suspicious, just as you have Annette, and did research on the demons and if they really did affect us like they say," she paused, thinking over the past, before turning her face towards the others, "They don't affect us, but I feel you have already found that out Annette"
"Yes," Annette replied with a nod, "I fought against a demon named Zephyros"
"Zephyros? Very pathetic, even in the underworld," Levana shook her head.
"What else did you find?" Nero urged
"The Elders took my eyes before I could discover more and told me not to speak of it outside this room or they would take my children," her mouth twitched with slight irritation, "They are definitely hiding something if they want to keep the fact about vampires being able to fight demons such a secret. The Elders are more than likely in league with the demons and don't want the others discovering that fact"
"It would make more sense, but what about that Louis guy?" Dante questioned, almost forgetting about who they were originally after.
"Louis?" Levana shook her head ever so slightly, "He does not have the power of conjuring up demons, no matter how hard he tried. Only The Elders have that kind of power, which is why I suspect them more for the recent appearance of that demon, Zephyros"
"How do you think Louis will try to get revenge on the coven then, mother?" Annette's theory of Louis summoning demons was out the window now.
Levana sat in thought for a few seconds before responding, "You know that there are two covens, correct?"
"Yes"
"There are actually three"
Isaiah stood up as if he had sat on a needle, "How can that be?!"
"The third coven was kept secret from all others except The Elders and The Leaders because of the coven's dark intentions. Basically, they are all outcasts that had been sentenced to die. Over the centuries, these outcasts had formed their own coven in hopes that, one day, they could gather up enough power to overthrow the two original covens and bring back the ancient days where we would drink our victims to death," she frowned as she continued, "It's a horrific thought and Louis has the power to get that coven to do just that, whether or not they have the numbers necessary to do such a thing. The Elders and The Leaders know of this but are not allowed to act against them unless they make a move first"
"But how do the plans of The Elders and Louis' plans fit together?" Nero asked as he shifted his weight, crossing his arms crossed over his chest
"They don't," was her reply, "There are two completely different agendas being carried out. I know Louis' motive but The Elders' motives aren't clear to me"
There was a moment of silence as everyone took in the new information, trying to conjure up a way to discover The Elders' hidden plans. Druses glanced up at Levana before she smiled and nodded, as if the cat spoken and reminded her of something.
"However, one might be able to help you with that problem," she spoke suddenly and everyone glanced towards her, "go to Wydow. She is The Leader of the second coven and has the power to see things others don't"
"Wydow?" Annette knit her brows in thought, "She is Leader of the second coven now?"
Her mother nodded after letting Drusus jump out of her lap, "Yes, after the previous Leader decided that it was best to let a younger generation lead, he chose her as his successor"
Levana stood up and faced towards the window, despite the fact that she could see nothing. Isaiah new that it meant she was ready for them to take their leave so she could rest. He gestured for his sister and the two men to make their way out of the room.
"Get some rest, Dante and Nero. Both of you will need it," were her last words before the door was shut behind them.
Isaiah glanced at the door a moment longer before turning to the others, "You three should get some rest since we'll be making a long trip tomorrow. I will make a call to the second coven so Wydow will know we will be paying her a visit"
"Aren't you worried that that crazy guy could come and attack this place while we're gone?" Nero asked
Annette shook her head before replying, "No, I am sure that Louis will wait for my brother and I to come back before doing anything of significance. He will more than likely want every single member of the coven rid of; no survivors"
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It hadn't been long after everyone laid their heads down to sleep that Nero sat up and looked down where Kyrie should have been. He pushed the thoughts of her to the back of his mind as he let his legs dangle over the bed, his back to the still sleeping Dante and Annette. Or, he thought Annette was asleep when he turned to see her glowing eyes advert their attention to him.
"Something wrong Nero?" she whispered.
"Not really," he lied
She yawned before speaking again, "If you need to use the restroom its two doors down on the right, just don't stray anywhere else"
Annette laid her head back down and turned over to return to sleep. Nero really didn't have any reason to go to the restroom at the moment, but it seemed like a good excuse to leave the room. After pulling the sleeve of his shirt down over his Devil Bringer, he exited the room and quietly closed the door behind him.
"You're Nero, right?"
The velvety voice slightly startled him before he turned his head to see Pandora, the woman he and Dante had seen before the party. Annette had said something about staying away from her but something about the look on her face didn't send out the warning signs he might have been expecting.
"That's right," he replied, hiding his Devil Bringer arm behind his back and sticking his hand into his back pocket so it wasn't obvious he was trying to hide something, "Did you need something?"
"Nero, what is it like outside in your world?"
He didn't say anything as she neared him with pleading eyes, deciding the best way to answer her question.
"I've been cooped up in this musty place for too long," then came the look in her eyes that sent the warning signals that he had been looking for before, "Humans come and go in this place to feed us, but I want to experience other things besides the humans. Like, how a half-breed must taste"
She liked her lips seductively and her blue eyes grew dark.
"Want to know how it feels to be drunk by a vampire?"
Nero avoided the hand that was reaching for his face, "Sorry, but I think I'll pass on that offer. I'm not really a donor anyway"
"If you want to resist, I can always force you into submission," Pandora was about to reach out for him once again before a figure came like a phantom in between them. The blonde snarled and growled when she noticed who it was, "Damn you Annette!"
"Pandora, you may only feed on the humans that are brought here, not on my guests," Annette stared Pandora down, her muscles tense if Pandora decided to do something rash.
The blonde chuckled darkly, "You know you want to feed on them as much as I do. The others have discovered that you fought a demon and didn't die, so now they want to know what a demon's blood tastes like. I thought a half-breed might be interesting since it has both human and demon blood"
Pandora leaned closer towards Annette, "You better watch them carefully while they are here. Who knows who will try to get their blood next"
She took one last lustful glance at Nero before turning to practically disappear down the hall. Annette sighed and turned around, "She didn't do anything to you did she?"
"No, but she was getting ready to," Nero took his hand out of his back pocket since there was no longer a need to hide his Devil Bringer.
Annette looked relieved, but it seemed for more than one reason. Nero wanted to ask about it, but didn't. Maybe it was better not knowing what could have happened if she hadn't shown up to stop Pandora.
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It was barely six in the morning when Isaiah brought the car around to the front and put it in park before stepping out. Annette was busy talking to someone on her cell phone with her back to the others, her heels clicking against the stone pavement as she paced back and forth. This morning she had decided on wearing a pair of tight leather pants and a matching corset over a flowing blue shirt. Dante would have been scanning her up and down with a grin but he was too tired to do anything but yawn and try his best to keep his eyes open. Despite this, he noticed that Annette was carrying a weapon with her today. She had an English rapier tied to her belt loop, more than likely charmed.
Nero, surprisingly not feeling the least bit tired, waited slightly impatiently for their ride to be ready and to get on the road. This whole thing with vampires was making him slightly impatient to get the mission done, especially after last night. Annette ended the conversation she was having and closed her cell before turning to the two half-devils, "Alright, I have everything cleared and it won't be a problem to get you two in. But, you two still have to stay very close to my brother and I when we arrive"
Isaiah came around from the other side of the car, "Everything is ready. We shouldn't have any problems getting there and back"
Nero walked past Annette towards the car, Isaiah making a small conversation before he stepped into the vehicle. Annette looked towards Dante who looked like he hadn't slept in days. She giggled before shaking her head, "You can sleep in the car. It will take us about six hours to get there. That should be plenty of time to catch up on your sleep"
The six hours went by like a breeze as Dante slept through the ride. Even before he fell asleep, he was hoping that there would be no demon attacks. Dante would have enjoyed having some good fights any other time, but he was too tired to even crack a joke right now. He awoke just in time to see a castle more gothic in appearance than the one they had left with gargoyles perched around the top like guardians. Before even putting the vehicle in park, a young blonde woman wearing a light Victorian pink dress walked out to greet them. As she neared the car, both Nero and Dante saw just how luminous her green eyes were. Did all vampires have glowing eyes?
Annette opened the passenger door, "Hello, Cera, it has been far too long"
"Oui," her shining lips sparkled as they stretched into a smile, "I've missed you since I was transferred here"
Cera was a French vampire, no doubt about that. Her accent was more than enough proof of that fact. Nero opened the car door and stepped out while Dante did just the same on the other side of the car. The young girl's eyes grew wide with a form of excitement that Nero couldn't quite place, but he new what it was when Annette stepped in front of her and shook her head.
"These two men are the guests my brother talked to you about yesterday, they are off limits," Annette spoke sternly before the excited look in Cera's eyes slightly faded away.
"What a shame, they both smell so delicious"
Annette ignored the statement and introduced the two, "This young one is Nero, and the other man's name is Dante, the one I employed"
Cera only nodded, "Nice to meet the both of you, but we should head inside now. Wydow doesn't think its safe to stay out here too long"
"I'll go park the car in the back and meet you inside," Isaiah was about to get back into the car when an ear shattering scream came from the forest surrounding the area.
"The demons followed us here," Nero was about to reach for Blue Rose, but Cera put a hand on his and stopped him.
"That isn't a demon," Annette spoke what Cera was thinking, "It's worse"
Isaiah's gaze darted towards Annette with worry, "Sister-"
"There's no helping it," she interrupted.
"Let me guess," Dante looked towards the figure beginning to show itself, "Blondie followed us here"
The figure dressed in a bloodstained white suite stepped out from the forest and grinned, "You guessed correctly"
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A.N: I hope this chapter is ok, I really didn't know what to do with this one. And Louis coming in was a last minute decision. I needed him to come in anyway since he hasn't shown his face for a while. The next chapter should be a lot better than this one, I hope. This one was just to set up some more twists that I'll be incorporating later.
If this is boring I'm sorry, but I'm trying not to make the story get into the heat of things too soon like I usually do. My goal is to have more chapters than Emerald Eyes.
Thank you so much for your support: Tori-chan, Deb-chan and TheMovieGuy.
Especially Deb-chan…The only reason this story exists is because of you!