Gone Batty II: Eclipsed
Chapter 22: It's Tough To Be a God
Melody and Goth stared in silence as the bloodwings bowed before them, their noses pressing against the earth. They had just mistaken them for Zotz and Nocturna. Melody moved to correct them, "Actually we're not- mmph!"
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't wreak my wrath upon you maggots," Goth growled as he held Melody's mouth closed with one hand. He ignored her muffled cries of frustration. "Attacking a god- you deserve to be slaughtered!"
Melody gave Goth a look of disbelief. Was he seriously pretending to be Zotz right now?
The lead bloodwing shook her head in despair, "Yes, we deserve your punishment, Mighty Cama Zotz! Forgive us, please! We knew not who you were!"
A chorus of "Forgive us!" and "Punish us!" came from the bloodwings as they submitted to Goth's anger.
Goth hummed in amusement as he considered. He cracked the joints in his free hand. "I'm not one for forgiveness, but if it's a punishment that you require-"
Melody pushed Goth's hand away from her mouth and she roughly shoved him. She wasn't strong enough to move him, but she put enough force to irritate him. Goth glared at her but Melody glared right back. "That's enough from you! We don't need anymore bloodshed."
"I beg to differ…" He growled.
"Oh wonderful, beautiful Nocturna!" One the bloodwings looked at her with tears in his eyes. "Merciful sister of the great and terrible Cama Zotz! Please show us compassion as you have always done. We are fools! Pity our ignorance!"
"Umm…" Melody wasn't comfortable with this. But it was a little too late to back out of it now. Goth had started the charade and now she had to continue it, otherwise things might go downhill once again. "You are only mortal," she said with a forced smile. "Mistakes are bound to happen. I expect you have learned your lesson?"
The bloodwings nodded their heads.
"Then you are forgiven," Melody said and dusted off her hands like that was the end of that.
Goth looked down at Melody with disgust, "You can't be serious… sister…" he hissed the word out with such venom. He had never heard of Zotz having a sister and he did not believe it. He could have sworn he had heard the name mentioned before by Zotz, but in the end, it mattered very little to Goth. Yet for the sake of appearances, Goth decided to overlook it once. "You would let them off so easily?"
Melody was about to retort that they had enough troubles to deal with when the bloodwings agreed with Goth.
"The dark lord is right! You must let us make this up to you!"
Melody winced and put her hands up, "No, that's okay… you really don't have to-"
"We should hold a celebration in the gods' honor! There shall be music and a feast!"
Goth's ears perked up at the mention of a feast. In this hard time of coming across food, he was not one to reject the idea. Crossing his arms, he smirked. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea, actually."
Melody frowned up at him. Of course Goth would try to take advantage of a situation. "Fine, you can stay. In the meantime, I have some friends to find." She got ready to leave when Goth grabbed her by the arm. At the same time, the bloodwings cried out in protest and begged her to stay.
Goth's eyes were hard as he looked down at her. There was no chance that he was letting her get away from him so easily. He leaned down and whispered next to her ear, "You don't want to insult our hosts by leaving now, do you, senorita?"
Melody flinched as she moved to glare at Goth. She had caught onto the threat despite the pleasant tone in his voice. "And you don't want to dishonor your mother's memory by breaking your word to me," she whispered back. "I saved your life, Goth. You promised to let me go." She felt Goth's anger through the tightening of his grip on her arm. She winced from the pain. Goth noticed and slightly relaxed his grip. He breathed out his nose slowly as he worked on controlling his temper and Melody watched him do so with wariness.
Goth cursed the situation that he was in and he cursed himself for making such a promise. He could almost see the disappointment in his mother's eyes through Melody. He grit his teeth and fought a growl back down his throat. Slowly and reluctantly, Goth released Melody's arm. Melody pulled away and rubbed her arm. She slowly walked backwards away from the vampyrum, testing him.
Goth stared back at her hatefully, but aside from the slight twitch of his claws and tightening of his jaw, he did not move to grab her again.
Melody practically sagged in relief. Turns out that even Goth had a moral code that he couldn't break away from. She silently thanked Queen Mayara for her strong sway over her son. She gave a startled jump when a bloodwing gently grabbed the end of her wing.
"Please, Your Grace," the bat begged. "We have waited for your return for so long. Please, can't you stay for a while longer?"
"I… but I…" Melody looked up at the rest of the bloodwings. They were all staring at her desperately.
"You are the only one who can quell Cama Zotz's anger if we make another stupid mistake. Please, have pity on us."
Melody looked back at Goth and saw that his cold eyes lit up with an opportunity. A baleful smirk spread across his muzzle. Her heart sank. The bloodwings had just gifted him a loophole.
"Yes, Nocturna. Please stay." Goth repeated mockingly. "It would be a shame if I lose my temper and take it out on them."
Anger surged through Melody and she bared her teeth at Goth. In turn, his grin only grew. He was giving her the freedom to leave unharmed, true to his word. But the cost was to leave the vampire bats to face his fury. And after seeing what Goth was capable of with the power of Zotz on his side, Melody realized that if she left now… she would be sentencing everyone here to death. Melody wanted to yell, scream and stamp her feet!
Damn it all! He knew that Melody would never abandon them to die.
Melody bit her bottom lip, trembling from rage. "Fine…" she said curtly. "I'll stay."
The bloodwings cheered, flapping their wings. Goth and Melody merely stared at each other. Goth with mirth and Melody with bitterness.
King Romulus had led Marina and the rest of her group down underground and into the sewers. It wasn't pleasant to say at the least. Marina wrinkled her nose and pinched it with her fingers. "Pee-yew!" she exclaimed. "We're going to have to travel down here?" she asked, her voice nasally.
"Yucky-yuck!" Lily chirped, buzzing in the background. "No-flowers. No-sweets! All-gunk!"
King Romulus chuckled as he continued to lead them down towards the murky water. "It might not be the VIP cruise, but it will get you where you need to go in record time. Besides, the further south you'll go, the cleaner the water will get. It's worse in the bigger cities."
They reached the edge of the rocks where a human made craft was waiting for them. Marina had no idea what humans had originally intended to use it for and Melody wasn't here to explain. But whatever it was, King Romulus seemed to at least be certain that it would take them to jungles in the south. And it certainly seemed like it should fit all of them inside, plus a few more.
"It's not much, but it'll get the job done." The king nodded as Marina, Ariel, Frieda and the rest hopped inside. "To make sure that you will arrive safely, three of my most trusted servants will go with you." At his words, three rats appeared next to him. One of them was thin and sleek and the other two were big and buff, built for action. Romulus motioned towards the thinner rat, "This is Ulysses. He knows all the underground passages and secret tunnels. He's also one of my best swimmers. With him, you will not get lost."
Ulysses nodded at them in greeting and smiled charmingly.
"And these two are Constantine and Julius. They will serve as your protection. Our cousins in the south have not been keeping the best of relations with us lately, especially with all the warring going on down there. It is my hope that they will not give you any trouble, but…" Romulus shook his head sadly. "The south is facing dark times, my friends. Dark times. My rats should keep you from any trouble."
"Thank you, King Romulus." Marina smiled at him as the rat guards started to heave and push the boat into the water. Ulysses easily hopped inside with them. "Thank you so much for your help!"
Frieda nodded in agreement, "We owe much to you, Your Majesty."
Romulus shook his head again and smiled kindly. "No, it is I who should be thanking you. If it wasn't for you and your friends, my kingdom would be in chaos with Remus in control. I hope to see you again."
Marina noticed that Lily stayed behind with Romulus and she called out. "Lily, aren't you coming with us?"
"No-no! Lily-go-not. Lily-stay-here-shall. Too-dangerous-is. Wishes-bats-luck-Lily-does. Much-luck!"
The rats finally pushed the wooden boat into the water and they hopped in, the current already moving them away. Marina grabbed the side of the boat and waved to her old and new friend. "Bye King Romulus! Bye Lily! I'll never forget what you have done for us!"
She watched as Romulus and the rest of his rats waved them a cheerful farewell while shouting words of luck and encouragement. Lily meanwhile just buzzed hyperly overhead, seeing them off with gusto.
Marina kept waving until the river washed them out of sight, further into the dark and musky tunnel. 'Hang on, Shade. I'm coming.'
Dinner with Phoenix was going just as well as Itzel expected. It was dull, forced and downright unpleasant. Phoenix barely gave her or Throbb a glance as she ate her fill of an eyelash viper. She barely spoke, choosing to ignore her two hosts. Any attempt of conversation was immediately shot down by one word answers.
Throbb was too engrossed with eating that he didn't notice the disrespect he and his wife were receiving. "Mmm… this is so good!" He slurped his lips and looked at Itzel who was glaring at Phoenix. "Mi amor! You've got to try this duck! It's plump and tender!"
"In a moment, dear," Itzel replied cooley.
Throbb shrugged and continued to pig out. His moaning and messy eating was enough to catch Phoenix's attention. The maroon vampyrum curled her lip in disgust and rolled her eyes and turned back to her snake.
Itzel felt her temper flare. "Is there something that is bothering you, Phoenix? You don't seem like you are enjoying our company."
Phoenix's ear twitched, catching the unpleasant warning in Itzel's voice. She looked up and smiled sweetly. "Why no, Princess Itzel. Your company is quite lovely."
Itzel's eyes narrowed. She did not trust Phoenix's words at all. "And yet you roll your eyes at my husband. I find that to be highly disrespectful of you."
Phoenix gave a fake gasp, "Oh dear! I meant no disrespect, Princess. I'm afraid I'm simply not accustomed to a company who eats like a scavenging wild pig."
"Huh?" Throbb lifted his head with his cheeks full like a chipmunk's.
Itzel's fur stood on end and her eyes sharpened with rage. "You dare-"
"Let's get something straight, Princess," Phoenix dropped all pleasantry from her voice and her face turned aloof. "I'm not here to make friends and cozy up to you or your questionably chosen mate."
"No, but you are planning on cozying up to my brother," Itzel growled.
"Well, I'm happy that we've come to a mutual understanding then," Phoenix smiled, showing her dark teeth. "Don't take this to heart, sweetpea, but you no longer have any claim to the throne. You have tossed that aside once you married below your rank and ignored the mate that Zotz wished to bestow upon you. As for me, I'm the betrothed of your brother, King Goth. I am going to be the next queen. Very soon, you'll be respecting me."
Itzel marched over to Phoenix, causing Throbb to sputter in worry. His eyes darted back and forth between the two females who stood nose to nose, staring each other down. Itzel might have been larger than Phoenix, but the smaller vampyrum held no fear and stood her ground.
"Don't count your toucans before they've hatched. You are not part of this family yet," Itzel warned angrily. "Goth can just as easily marry someone other than you."
"Is that so? And who might that be?" Phoenix asked with false sweetness. "Surely not that little Silverwing runaway? What was her name again? Melanie?"
"Her name is Melody!" Itzel snapped, baring her fangs. "And yes, I'd say that she's a better match for Goth than you are."
Something dark stirred in Phoenix's eyes and Itzel couldn't help but take a singular step backwards. There was something … evil… in the depths of Phoenix's soul that made Itzel's fur prickle. But it disappeared almost as fast as it appeared. Phoenix noticed Itzel's hesitation and she smirked. "Melody, was it?" she spoke so softly that it was just above a whisper. "I think it's safe to say that we won't be seeing her again. Goth left to kill her, no?
Itzel clenched her jaw tight and even Throbb stood up, glaring angrily at Phoenix. Even he had lost his appetite at this point in the conversation. "He won't kill her," Throbb growled.
Phoenix narrowed her eyes at Throbb, "I'm sorry. Was I speaking to you?"
"He won't kill her!" Throbb repeated again with more force. "Goth and I both tried to hunt her down in the north and we failed. He will fail again. She's too kind and clever."
"Kind and clever?" Phoenix scoffed and turned to Itzel. "And you share this belief as well? You think that Goth, Zotz's chosen favorite- will soften his heart to a weak little nobody?"
"I do," Itzel replied brazenly. "Melody has won Throbb and I over and we both love her dearly." She gave Phoenix a haughty smirk, "And I'm willing to bet my left eye that Melody has the power to do the same for my brother. He's the sensitive sibling of us two, after all. I'm the vicious twin."
Phoenix glared angrily at Itzel for a moment and noticed the flexing of Itzel's claws. Phoenix nodded slowly. She wasn't very keen to get into a physical fight with Itzel. She had heard stories of how Itzel was a savage fighter during her younger years. Besides, a fight with Itzel would not sit well with Goth and that would cause a few problems in terms of marriage arrangements. It was time to put this little dinner to a close.
"In that case, I hope that you are not too attached to your eye," she quipped with a tiny smile. Phoenix dropped into a low bow, her yellow eyes flashing with mockery. "I have a friend who has lost both her eyes after a similar conversation."
"Leave my sight, Phoenix," Itzel demanded fiercely. "Before it is you who loses her eyes."
Throbb snarled in agreement.
Phoenix gave them both an ugly scowl before flying away. Her mind raced with uncertainty. Could it be true that Goth would fail to kill Melody? This wouldn't be the first time…
Phoenix grit her teeth furiously. No! She would not allow history to repeat itself a second time!
Melody sighed in reluctant acceptance as the female bloodwings fussed over her appearance. They vigilantly cleaned the swamp mud out of her fur and brushed her hair carefully with their claws. They cooed and showered Melody with awed compliments over her beauty and her kindness. Melody chose to drown their words out for they weren't meant for her but for Nocturna. She instead stared ahead into the jungle, her mind solely on her friends. She was so close to freedom, she could practically taste it on the tip of her tongue. But then Goth had to ruin everything as he usually did.
She wondered if Shade, Barnabe, Orestes and Chinook were alright. She hadn't had any updates about their well being since she managed to converse with Shade when she slept. She had tried a few more times to connect with him, but it turned out that both parties had to be asleep and dreaming for it to work.
She wondered if Elliot was furious with her. She wondered if her parents were worried sick… or if they mysteriously had forgotten that she was missing again? Melody frowned. There had to be other forces at work here. She wondered if Nocturna had any hand in it…
"You're all set for the celebration, Your Excellency."
Melody blinked as she was pulled out of her thoughts. The bloodwings dragged out a small round compact makeup mirror, which for a bat Melody's size served well as a full length body mirror. Turns out that the bloodwings didn't just clean her, but they took it upon themselves to adorn Melody with accessories. They had used a clipped silver chain with beautiful blue rhinestones as a circlet which hung above her brow. She had jangling diamond encrusted bracelets around her wrists. It amused Melody that the bats would use lost human items for their own purpose.
Her reflection stared back at her, looking uncertain yet slightly pleased with how lovely she looked. Melody allowed herself to smile and do a small turn. The reflection smiled back at her. While Melody wouldn't go so far as to say that she looked like a goddess, much less like Nocturna, but she did look like a princess.
The bloodwings led her to the main celebration where Goth was already lounging on a bunch of plush pillows. He was laying on his side with his eyes closed and his head propped up by one hand, ignoring the partying bloodwings who were dancing around the bonfire. He was clean, wore gold around his shoulders and had a golden masculine bracelet that was fitted tightly around his right upper arm. Goth hardly had to play the role of a god. He already had the air of a king and even in his relaxed state, it was hard not to see the power that radiated from him.
Melody gulped, suddenly feeling very insignificant as the bloodwings urged her to join him. But her pride refused to let her lose face. King or not, this was still Goth. He was still the savage bastard who wanted her and her friends dead. Squaring her shoulders and holding her head high, Melody walked towards him.
Goth's green eyes opened and they met her hazel ones. She saw his eyes widen slightly and Goth slowly sat up, his attention fixated entirely on her. Not expecting his sudden attention, Melody's bravado faltered and she lowered her eyes despite keeping her head facing forward.
Goth watched as his most hated nemesis approached. But in that moment, he forgot all his animosity towards her. His breath was caught in his chest as he took in Melody's beauty. Her jewelry shined like stars in the golden firelight. His eyes trailed over her body, devouring every detail. He could see no flaw. Her wings trailed behind her like an elegant cloak. Her long dark eyelashes… the delicious curve of her waist that led to the swelling of her hips.
Goth swallowed and straightened his back, unconsciously finding the need to impress. He could barely believe that this was Melody. The same human girl who was a constant thorn in his side. He stared as she stood right in front of him with her hands clasped in front of her lap.
Noticing that he wasn't doing or saying anything, Melody lifted her eyes to meet his. Her heart began to rush. He had the same look of heated intensity on his face as he did when he found her. When he pressed against her the tree…
Melody turned her face away. "Enjoying yourself?" she asked coldly. It was easier to mask fear with anger.
Goth raised his brows a bit at her tone before leaning back on his arms. He gave her a lazy smirk. "Immensely." He scooted to the side and patted the spot next to him. "Why don't you join me?"
Melody looked at the pillow as if it offended her. She didn't want to be anywhere near Goth, and he knew it. But still, she sat down next to him, trying to keep as much space as she could between them. She placed her hands in her lap and made sure to look anywhere but at Goth. Melody could feel his eyes bearing into her. "What?" she snapped.
"Nothing," Goth replied with a smile. He took a strand of her hair and played with it, causing Melody to look up at him, affronted. "I suppose that even someone like you can play the part of divinity when adorned with jewels and finery."
Melody scowled at the underlying insult. "It's too bad that it can't hide your despicable nature."
Goth chuckled. With a sharp tug, he pulled out one of Melody's strands causing her to yelp. He carelessly flicked it away causing it to float towards the bonfire and turn to ash once caught in the flames. "Be careful, senorita. Your sharp tongue can get you burned. You're not in your northern forest anymore. This is my world right here."
Melody narrowed her eyes back at him as she fixed her hair back into place. She looked back at the party. "You can't keep me here forever," she said quietly.
"Oh, but I'm not keeping you here," Goth practically purred with glee. "You are free to go, senorita. I gave you my word." He spread out his hand, motioning her towards the forest and the sky. "You can leave whenever you wish."
"You'll kill the bloodwings if I leave."
Goth simply shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a raw meat leg off a golden plate that was set before them. "It's not my fault that you did not include their safety in our bargain." He clamped his teeth over the bone and pulled the meat off. Melody tried her best not to think of what animal that belonged to. "Rather it makes little sense to me that you would want to defend them in the first place. They wanted to kill you too."
"That's because you don't understand compassion."
Goth snickered with his mouth full and chucked the bone away. "Compassion? Your soft emotions are your weakness. There is no compassion or mercy in the jungle. You either kill or die. Mercy is a fatal mistake."
Melody tilted her head as she studied Goth carefully. After a moment she asked, "Then why did you save me in the cave?"
Goth choked on the meat that he chewing. The question had caught him off guard. He managed to swallow the rest of the food before taking a few deep breaths. He turned to Melody with confused revulsion. "I did what?"
"Don't you remember?" Melody pressed. "Back up north, when you were trapped in the mines and we were trying to get you free. You saved me from a rock slide. Why?"
Goth racked his brains for the memory. He remembered Shade and that other silverwing male - Barnabe was it? - giving suggestions to which rocks to move. He remembered Melody being there and then the cave began to give way…
Goth furrowed his eyebrows. He did save her. But why? Did he have some motive for wanting to keep her alive at that point? He only remembered seeing her in harm's way… seeing her frightened face… He had moved purely by instinct and had immediately forgotten the deed once she was safe- more concerned with getting out of the cave at that point and wringing the life out of Barnabe and Shade.
He sneered, "Even I make mistakes, senorita. I did not save you out of kindness, if that's what you are asking."
Melody sighed and looked away, "No. I suppose not."
Goth took notice of her disappointment and the way her shoulders wilted. He rolled his eyes and shoved a bowl of fruit in her direction with his foot. "Take a word of advice and stop hoping for the impossible. Life's too short as it already is without taking yours into account." He was pleased when Melody's inner fire returned and she glared at him. He smirked when she aggressively grabbed a camu camu fruit and bit into it.
Melody's eyes widened as the sour taste filled her mouth. She spat it out and sputtered. Without thinking she grabbed a cupped leaf with red fluid and tried to wash the sour taste out of her mouth…. Only to have a thick metallic taste fill her mouth instead.
It was blood!
Melody's stomach churned in realization and she spat it out too. She stared at the cup in horror.
Goth was doubled over in laughter. Tears pricked at the corners of his squeezed shut eyes.
Melody glared furiously at Goth and threw the empty leaf cup at his head. It bounced off harmlessly. "That was not funny! That was crude! That was disgusting! That was-"
This only made Goth laugh harder as he threw his head back and his shoulders shook.
Melody watched Goth in awe as he laughed. What she did replayed in her head a few more times and even she couldn't suppress a chuckle. She tried to cover it up with her hand, but her giggles grew to the point that she couldn't help but laugh along with Goth. "That was horrible!" she guffawed.
"Your face! Y-you should have seen-" Goth could barely speak.
The two of them just sat there laughing for a while. Eventually they calmed down into soft giggles and snickers. Melody's face was slightly flushed from laughter, giving her a lovely blush. Goth's eyes softened marginally at the sight of it.
She really was beautiful… Perhaps he didn't need to kill her. Instead, keeping her in the jungle with him might reap more rewards. It could be her witchcraft pulling a veil over his eyes once more, but perhaps he could use that to his advantage? Clearly she had some sort of hidden power and knowledge that stretched far beyond a vampyrum's dreams. If he had that for himself… just how powerful could he become?
Then again, if she used that power against him…
Goth's face hardened as he considered his options.
A catchy beat began to play as the bloodwings drummed their wings and blew into wooden make-shift flutes. Goth raised his head and smirked. He could figure things out later. But for now, he would enjoy this night.
Melody raised her eyebrows as Goth got up and offered her his hand. She gave him a confused look.
"Baila conmigo, mi senorita," he said smoothly, flashing Melody a charming smile.
Butterflies suddenly woke up in her stomach and started to flap their wings with excitement at the sound of Goth's sensual voice. Melody desperately shoved them back down and frowned at Goth, "Um, what was that?"
"Dance with me."
Melody's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Before she could even utter a syllable, Goth grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Goth, w-wait! Hold on a minute- what are you-!" She yelped when he pulled her arm and let go, causing her to twirl dizzily onto the dance floor. The bloodwings cheered and cleared back to give the two 'deities' room to dance undisturbed. Melody cringed as she looked around nervously. Her ears flattened upon her head. This wasn't what she had planned for tonight…
Goth approached her and Melody tried to slip away. He caught her by the hand and pulled her back towards him effortlessly. Melody squeaked as she lost her footing and Goth caught her by the waist and leaned her into a dip. He smirked knowingly at her as her heart raced like a crazed jackrabbit. Melody's expression was one of complete mortification and bafflement. Goth pulled her back up and she was forced to fall into step with him. Where he led, she followed.
Goth even tossed Melody into the air and she tried to take the opportunity to fly away- but his hand gripped her ankle and she was pulled back down. She was completely at his mercy.
Melody stumbled a couple of times, tripping over her own two feet but Goth was remarkably a good dancer. He probably had to be, given his pedigree. Pretty soon, Melody managed to get the hang of the rhythm and the bloodwings clapped along. As they danced, Melody's fearful expression eventually transformed into a giddy one. She looked up at Goth with a smile and he grinned toothily back at her. They were practically foxtrotting. Or in this case, was it battrotting?
Whatever they were doing, this… was actually really fun!
As the music began to grow in intensity, so did their footwork. Melody laughed, completely forgetting that she was dancing with her enemy. Goth twirled her once, twice, thrice before they went back into step with each other. Melody gave an exhilarated whoop when he picked her up and spun her around. She could feel through his chest that he was laughing too.
When the music came to a close, Goth dipped her one last time and Melody dramatically flared out her wing and her hair grazed the ground. Cheers erupted from around them as they breathed heavily. Melody blinked, feeling both dazed and dizzy and Goth pulled her back onto her her feet. They looked at each other, Goth loosely holding onto her waist and Melody gripping his arms.
And then the magic disappeared.
Melody hurriedly stepped away from Goth. What was she doing? Goth literally had tried to murder her only one night ago! He had killed countless bloodwings and had threatened to kill more. And here she was… dancing?! Giving Goth a fearful glance, she rushed away from him. She shoved off her bracelets and circlet, letting them drop to the ground until she was nothing but plain old Melody again. With nothing else holding her back down, she took to the sky and did not look back.
Goth watched her retreat with an unreadable neutral look on his face. It then turned into a sly smirk. Yes. Perhaps he could keep her around a while longer. Maybe much longer. He turned to the bloodwings who were watching him with close attention. His smirk turned into a malicious grin. "I have enjoyed your celebration, my friends. And since I am so pleased, I would like to invite you all to my pyramid during the solar eclipse for my official return."
The bloodwings went from awed to horrified in seconds at his words. They knew exactly what he was inviting them for. They inched back away from him, frightened.
"What? Not interested?" Goth chuckled darkly and his eyes began to glow yellow. "I'm afraid that I must insist. You wouldn't want to disappoint your god."
With those words, he took off his trinkets, letting them fall to his feet. The glow faded from his eyes and completely unaware of the momentary possession, Goth unfurled his wings and flew after Melody.
The bloodwings began to shudder and cry. Some of them dropped to their knees and pulled at their hair while others stood there in morose silence. How could they possibly go against Cama Zotz's words? They cried and pleaded Nocturna for mercy. To save them.
Unbeknownst to them all, Phoenix had watched the entire show. She lurked in the shadows of a tree, her eyes flaring red with uncontained rage. Melody was still alive. Goth didn't kill her like he swore that he would. No, instead he had danced with her! Her claws sank into the wood of the branch and it splintered. Her demonic aura blazed and the wind picked up, blowing furiously, fanning her hatred.
Well… if Goth wasn't going to do the job, then she would.
A/N: Hey guys! I'm still alive! :D No, I'm still actually on hiatus and revising the story. But even I can't handle the suspense and have to poop out a new chapter. Better out than in, right? Hahaha! This chapter is heavily inspired by "The Road to El Dorado" and I even imagined Goth and Melody dancing to the beat of "It's Tough to be a God." Originally this chapter was supposed to have a musical number, but as I promised… I will restrain myself from adding unnecessary numbers. Singing only when singing is needed.
I know that Shade hasn't had an appearance since… chapter 19 I think? But he will appear in the next chapter (I hope). I wanted to focus more on Goth and Melody in this chapter as well as kick Phoenix's butt into action. Speaking of Goth and Melody, it looks like they are learning that they CAN enjoy each other's company. *wink* Of course, Melody isn't exactly sure that she likes the idea.
Anywho… I'll see you all when I see you. Feel free to favorite, follow and leave a review. I read them all. :)