Chapter 21: Dace, Callan, and Matthew

Darkness approached. The obscurity deepened, thickening and strengthening, morphing and shifting, sliding and snaking forward and forward until their still bodies became enveloped by the inevitable.

Wordlessly, she crouched and converged with the condensed haze; she riveted the set of hands tightly squeezing her bow and arrows. Leah prayed that their tactic would work.

Blurry outlines zoomed forwards. Shrill hoots sounded, echoing through her ears and coursing through her adrenaline-pumped body. Very deliberately, she whistled lowly and purposefully plunged, landing on her victim. He grunted and groaned before punching the side of her face. Leah snarled and pawed the roots of his hair before repeatedly banging his head against the ground. Gnarling, he kicked her stomach, but she pressed his pressure points and strangled him; his head lulled to the side, while his eyelids fluttered but finally failed and fell.

Triumphantly, she carried his body throughout the forest before entering the passageway; she handed him to Drakon, who nodded with approval and ushered her to their underground headquarters. The rest of the unconscious bodies traveled down the corridors.

They imprisoned them and placed them into separate confinements.

"Who are they?" Leah questioned once they retained the trio.

"Important, higher up officials," Alcander disclosed.

"Trusted?"

"Trusted."

She swiveled, facing the approaching figure with poorly concealed distaste—with distrusting, probing eyes which bore into his own and threatened him. Smirking, he neared her and winked, but he stopped when he caught a glimpse of the prisoners. Suddenly, his face whitened, but it soon darkened and reddened; his eyes dilated, and his heart pulsated erratically, painfully, fervently. His fists clenched, veins popping.

"What are their names?"

"Dace, Callan, and Matthew," Nico responded.

"Two of them lied," he murmured; his eyes blazed with barely repressed fury.

"Then who—"

"Callan and Dace lied," he whispered; his tenor wavered and fluctuated, oscillating between pure, unadulterated rage and resentment. "They're Maximus and Nathan—disguised by Adastros's splendid mental powers."

Everyone froze. But Drakon immediately sprouted upward, roughly seizing Calder from his collar and backing him up against the corner. Eyes narrowing and glinting furiously, he pressed him against the wall and banged his head. Tremors rolled down his coiled muscles, which expanded momentarily before tensing and compacting to the point where he convulsed. Perspiration dripped from the sides of his forehead. He gritted his teeth, glaring and challenging him.

"It's true. And you know it. But don't worry, I'll do my job correctly. I know why I was freed and trust me, even if I wasn't under contract, I would still rip them to shreds," Calder vowed. His voice hardened and dripped with malicious desire.

After pausing, he released him and scanned over his lusting irises; he noticed his squared shoulders, jutted jaw, gritted teeth, protruding veins, overshadowed gaze, which darkened significantly—tormented

by the pressing memory of his deceased soul mate.

Purposefully, he entered Maximus' confinement and cackled when his previously relaxed features became darker but warier; his facial disguise receded, exhibiting his prominent cheekbones and jaw shape, his broad eyebrows and his long nose, his faint stubble and cropped tendrils. Along with his visage, his body shortened and became stronger and heftier, environed by burly muscles and swarthy skin.

"Long time no see," Calder stated.

"I don't associate with traitors," Maximus spat.

"No?" Calder questioned placidly, eyebrows raised.

"No," he confirmed stonily.

"No?" Calder repeated.

"No."

In an instant, Calder whizzed forward, seized his throat, tackled him down, and pinned his body against the ground.

"No?"

"N-no," he stammered before wheezing.

"From my point of view, you have been. All this time, you have been," he verbalized mindlessly. "Now don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly attached to this group. Not really. But you've been betraying their trust, haven't you, dearest Maximus? And you do associate with your other companions—once my subordinates, you remember. What else?"

Maximus struggled, withering and turning violently in his tightening hold.

"Oh, it nearly escaped me," he taunted darkly. "You've betrayed me, Maximus. Time-and-time again. I—"

"She was—"

"Don't interrupt me!" Calder exclaimed before thrashing his head and throttling his neck.

"A conniving temptress, a cunning prostitute—"

"I said don't interrupt me," Calder vocalized calmly before brutally walloping him.

"You k-know it's t-true. She w-would h-have killed y-you first c-chance she g-got," he proclaimed nervously.

"Don't speak about her in that way," he deadpanned. "You don't have the right to speak about her. She was too good for you. For all of us."

"Including you," Maximus barked before chortling. "I'm done trying to smack some sense into you. You're pathetic, Calder. You used to be great before that tramp came along. It's a good thing I had the pleasure of hearing her scream, of hearing her beg for her life, of having the pleasure of killing her. And I'll do the same with you."

Silence plagued them before Calder grinned manically and laughed, momentarily releasing him.

"Oh, Max, dearest Max, I've waited so long to be reunited with you. After that incident, I couldn't speak to you. I couldn't find you," Calder revealed before stalking forward and cornering him.

Without glancing backward, he leaned in and lowered his voice to the point where he barely heard it.

"I couldn't wait to thank you," he confessed. "This is all just a ploy created by Adastros and Alecto. I play the tragic and pathetic victim, traumatized by the death of his mate. Just play along. I need to earn their trust. Now, look frightened or angry, but play along for the sake of this plan. You wouldn't want Adastros to find out."

"You're lying—"

Calder shushed him, fear sparking in his eyes.

"Don't say anything," Calder whispered lowly, features confronted with heed. "Just be ready. I'll bring along Nathan, and I'll reunite you two. Pay close attention because it'll happen in an instant. Everything needs to be calculated carefully. I won't lose my head for your mistakes."

Maximus scoffed but asked, "What about Matthew?"

"I trust that you can get him out yourselves," Calder proclaimed, "if he's even worth it. He's always been too cowardly for my liking—way too easily influenced. But it's your choice. I'm already risking my hide for you two—I can't afford anyone else."

"You're lying. I can tell. This room has cameras and microphones. There's no—"

"Stay quiet and listen," Calder interjected.

It was deadly silent.

"Now look around."

The cameras had been blinded.

"Don't believe me. But when the time comes, when Nathan enters, you two have to escape quickly and silently. No diversions. No unnecessary killings," Calder disclosed before exiting.

Perturbed, Maximus circled his confinement and turned, catching a brief glimpse of his bewildered comrade slowly walking forwards; he instantly clamped his hands around his shoulders and nodded, showing that he understood. He consented when Calder tipped his head towards the empty corridor. Calder vanished, leaving them to their own devices.

Hesitating, Maximus towed along his agitated companion, who wobbled forward but quickly gained confidence; the two trekked together, sticking to the light and evading the growing obscurity. Driven, the two men trudged down the halls before descending the staircase and abruptly stopping. Conversations brewed below. Silently, the duo ascended, turned right, entered a different corridor and nearly cussed when the haze brushed their ankles; their flesh sizzled, but the two plodded on. They nearly screeched when the obscurity converged with them.

Seething, Maximus hopped back and barreled into Nathan, who barely suppressed his own shrieks. The impending darkness encompassed them. It snaked around their ankles and bit their skin before slithering up and assailing their knees, which trembled and nearly buckled from the pressure. A searing heat advanced, accelerating up their thighs, up their belly buttons, and up their chest. It licked their wrists and bent their palms back; it impelled them back, causing them to topple over. The two backtracked into an open door, which they entered and closed behind them.

While panting, the duo scanned their environment, which consisted of a wide room that had one narrow door on the opposite end. Gulping, Nathan tiptoed towards the exit, while Maximus followed him. Behind them, the obscurity crept from underneath the opening of the entrance. Fearfully, the two quickly bounded towards the door. They hesitated but opened it. The haze followed them closely, causing them to shut the door and tentatively step into the long corridor standing in front of them. They entered before strolling down the passageway and ending at the start of the new pathway. The obscurity bellowed behind them, making them whiz through the exit and choke with frustration when the fog converged with their lower halves. Three doors materialized.

Running out of chances, Maximus ran and detonated when his body converged with the raging obscurity; he seized Nathan, who had become paralyzed, and lurched through the nearest exit. The two tripped and plunged through a hole. They huddled and shrieked when the darkness enveloped them. Wheezing, Nathan stared at the closing hole. Terrified, he rose but yelled when the darkness flung him against the wall and pushed him down. Maximus snarled, struggling and squirming, tossing and turning, but he eventually surrendered.

Out of pure luck, Nathan bustled forward and escaped the impending darkness; he shot forward, slipping and sliding but somehow managing to seize Maximus. Puffing, the duo scampered toward the exit and rolled into another room with another passage; they pursued it before exiting and shutting the door behind them.

Frantically, they backtracked and nearly shouted when two figures zoomed forward. The two criminals gaped openly, betrayal swarming inside their reddening gazes. Drakon growled and crescent kicked Nathan, who dodged his attack and stomped his feet; he quickly kicked his groin and tackled him to the ground. Without hesitating, Drakon snapped his ankles and reveled in his shocked whimpers. Nathan spat.

Drakon punched him, hitting his eyes, which became mere slits when he regarded him with blood lust. He fractured his wrists before brutally battering his sweat-drenched face and rising. When he surged toward, he applied immense pressure on his sockets before pulling it forward, nearly bringing his eye forward. Gnarling, Nathan attempted to maim him, but Drakon knocked him unconscious.

Without pausing, Calder kicked Maximus until he slumped over, shoulders sunken and ribs shattered.

"Strap them in," Drakon commanded.

Calder obeyed.

"I told you it would work," Calder stated with disgust. "They only wanted to save their hides, even though no reasonable person would've believed it."

When the captives awakened, they whitened. Their wardens unveiled their weapons. Without hesitating, Drakon retrieved stronger restraints and his preferred tool: a twisted, poisoned knife, whose familiar jagged edges incited true fear.

"It's time," Drakon stated; his voice hard and steely.

Deliberately, Drakon unevenly cleaved through his flesh, slicing through his layers and sundering his insides. With steady fingers, he retreated but diced the surface of his stomach; he punctured his protruding bones and dove back inside. He tossed and vomited when Drakon severed his chest and injected the poison throughout his bloodstream. Drakon watched when the surrounding flesh blackened and tinged with blood. Shrieking, he wept.

"Stop! Please stop! I'm sorry for what I did! I shouldn't have done it! I'm sorry! I was under orders. Have mercy!" Nathan pleaded.

"Stop, Nathan! Don't say anything! He's not capable of doing anything; he's weak, pathetic, cowardly!" Maximus exclaimed.

"Do you believe him?" Drakon whispered. "Do you believe him?"

His lips wobbled but tightened. With grime satisfaction, he flipped him over and tightened his bondages over his wrists and his throat. After tearing his shirt, he savagely disfigured his back, marring and mangling his flesh, dismembering pieces and hurtling them onto the floor, slashing and splintering open his layers. Detonating, he threw his body against the table but yelped when his body started bleeding heavily.

"This can all end soon. Unlike you, I don't enjoy torture. Just tell me what we need, and I'll stop. I promise," Drakon vowed, sounding persuasive and reassuring.

"Never," he spat fearfully.

Extending his blade, he carved his back and skimmed his spine. Instantly, his flesh blackened, his blood changed color, and his heart started pumping slower. He cried heavily when black dots dance across his vision. Lying in his own puddle, he perspired, agonized, surrendered.

"You'll s-stop?"

"I will," Drakon promised.

"O-okay. What d-do y-you w-want t-to k-know?"

"How did you get in?"

"Then y-you'll h-have t-to g-get r-rid o-of—"

And he choked, suffocating and sniveling.

Understanding, he produced a strong orb of darkness which quickly swept forward and severed his mental bonds. He flailed, bleeding and vomiting but functioning.

"He k-knew t-that Calder had been a-affected so he d-decided to u-upgrade us. To test us, h-he gave u-us a mission: to infiltrate the kingdom and r-rise in ranks. We p-pretended—"

"Stop!" Maximus ordered, but Calder silenced him.

"We p-pretended to be r-refugees and the f-foolish royals from the Populus Fusca believed us. We g-gained their t-trust," he confided, breaths billowing. "And we r-rose until w-we became what w-we are now. Then w-we instigated the b-battle. We c-contacted them when we knew the k-kingdom was the w-weakest and it almost worked. This k-kingdom is falling a-apart."

"But you killed many innocent lives! Children!"

"And you haven't either?" Nathan asked rhetorically. "Look at what you've done—at what you've succumbed to—Drakon. You're just as b-bad as we are."

"Are they any more traitors?" Drakon asked, evading his tactics.

"Not here."

"In my kingdom?"

"Not yet."

"Where?"

"In t-the Infrignando, Forti Animo, and Fatales k-kingdoms."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Drakon uttered before bashing his temples and staring at him when his eyes became lifeless and spiritless.

"You promised him!"

"I promised I would stop, which I did," Drakon deadpanned, his body heating unpleasantly. "But I never promised that I wouldn't kill him. And he should consider himself lucky because it was as painless as it could be."

"You treacherous—"

"Don't speak out, Maximus. I'm sure you remember that rule," Calder mocked. "Now, tell us, which kingdom is going to be attacked next?"

He spat.

"Classy," Calder stated before retrieving his sword. "I'm sure you're familiar with this sword. It's related to yours. Looks identical but it's not. It has a beautiful secret that I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. Tell me when the pain becomes too much, dearest Max."

Enthusiastically, he outlined his throat and imprinted the mark of his blade onto his jawline; he nicked his neck and traveled up, where he scratched his cheeks and slitted open his skin. Calder broke his nose, slashed his lips, and punctured one of his eyes. Feverishly, he elongated his wounds by starting at his temples and ending at the base of his throat. Carefully, he nicked it again, indulging himself further by shattering his collarbones and making him whimper.

Reminiscing, he grabbed his head and slashed through his hair, purposefully creating lacerations on his shaven head and teasing the veins popping from their place. He fought vehemently, but he faltered when Calder impaled the spaces in between his ribs and punctured his thighs. Blood poured, splashing everywhere.

"Please stop," he muttered, choking on his saliva.

"I'll gladly stop, dearest Max, but you have to tell us where you're going to attack next. And don't play stupid either because I know that you know."

"Then n-no."

"Then you've forced my hand," Calder teased viciously.

Maximus deflated when poisonous liquids surged through his veins. His eyes waned with fatigue, while his body convulsed. While grating his teeth, he fought against his restraints, but the poison made everything bleary and dark.

Calder traced his shaking limbs with his blade before stabbing his stomach and slicing his legs; he fractured his feet before rupturing his chest and making his blood boil.

"You're learning the secret of this sword," he murmured. "It's poisoned. But this poison kills you slowly. It's beautiful, isn't it?. I have the antidote, of course, but I'll only administer it if you give me what we need. I promise, dearest Max."

When her eyelids fluttered and faltered and finally failed, he surrendered; he convulsed, sniveling but glowering.

"They're a-attacking the Sirenis. They're n-next."

"When?"

"Tonight. That's w-why we w-were leaving. We n-needed to m-meet up w-with our t-troop."

"Where are they?"

"At t-the s-stream leading into t-the o-ocean."

"Any others attacks?"

"You know t-they a-aren't p-planned like that. It'll p-probably be p-planned t-tonight."

"Well, I must thank you for your information, Maximus. You've been very helpful."

"The a-antidote," he rasped.

With his features plastered with ecstatic pleasure, with his eyes shining and scintillating with morbid pleasure, he administered the antidote, which inflamed and burned his insides.

"You l-lied!"

"No, I didn't. Unfortunately, this blade only has one antidote, and it only solves the slowness of the poison, so instead of dying slowly, which you do deserve, you'll die quickly. Fortunately for us, unfortunately for you, you'll die painfully, just like how you deserve. I hope you rot in Hell with the rest of your companions."

"Then I'll s-see y-you t-there."

"Gladly. And then I'll be able to finish torturing you for betraying me and killing my mate."

"Treacherous son of a bi—"

His heart exploded; his eyes rolled from their sockets; his mouth gaped open; his body inflated dramatically before deflating

Calder straightened.

He suddenly froze, cheeks draining of color. Calder wheezed, eyes becoming larger and burlier with trepidation. Gapping, fighting, whining, his chest rose erratically. With his veins jumping against his neck, he stared at her. Calder focused on the apparent scratches on her skin, on the finger-shaped bruises covering her arms, on her whitening skin, on her dying and decomposing corpse, on her head lulling to the side and her lifeless, spiritless eyes staring into his corrupted soul.

His forehead felt overheated.

It was time.

Once they entered, Matthew glared at their upcoming forms and sprinted forwards. Leah crescent kicked him, but he crawled forwards and suddenly hunched over; she kicked his gut, while Artemis wandered forward and pervaded his mental barriers. His defenses cracked, letting her slither through.

Driven, she barreled through and strained the bonds flowing through his head. She severed the central one. He shrieked, clawing through his chest and scratching his own eyes with feverish intent. She destroyed the bond before retracting and wheezing.

Leah tackled him to the ground before pinning his arms and kneeing his chest. He surged and skyrocketed before barreling towards the exit. The guards behind the exit readied themselves, but the teenage rebel quickly extracted the doorknob from the socket and plummeted it through his throat, creating an irreparable hole; he collapsed, suffocating, choking and finally dying.

She gulped, startled.

Head bent, she refused to see them carrying the damaged, deformed corpse. Artemisia laid her hands on her shoulders, prompting her to turn around and gaze at her knowing but gloomy eyes.

"Does it happen it often?"

"This one was the least damaging," she confided.

Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it!

Another battle will be featured in the next chapter!

Also, the sequel is progressing slowly. I'm on chapter four, but I have to say that I love writing every part of it. The sequel will have the perspectives of Leah, along with Angela, Jake and Seth! But, of course, Leah's perspective will be the bulk of it.

Next update will be in two days!