Hey guys, sorry for the huge delay. You people probably hate me. Also, I'm almost done, just one more chapter after this, then I'll move on to Evolution.
As Kahn carefully approached the pit leading into the lycans' lair, he pulled his silver grenade from his belt and pulling the pin, threw it. After waiting a few seconds, they followed the grenade down, sidestepping the bits and pieces of lycans that lay scattered across the ground. Wave after wave of lycan defenders came pouring into the corridor letting loose vicious blasts of fire but proved to be absolutely no match for the pure skill of the Death Dealers. After cutting down the first wave of lycans, Kahn heard something behind him. He didn't worry much though, since he knew that Selene had his back. He turned with a frown as he realized that Selene hadn't yet filled the lycan with quite an unhealthy dose of silver. He turned, filling the lycan with silver himself, as he spotted Selene heading to Lord knows where.
"Selene," he said, as he cautiously approached the crack that the prolific Death Dealer had just disappeared through. He heard the sound of gunfire and began to get genuinely worried. "Selene?" he called. He was about to continue when heard a sound that drew his attention. From out of nowhere, a vicious looking werewolf came tearing through the wall, only to promptly be killed by a hail of silver bullets. Suddenly, a second dropped down from nowhere, its claws digging deep into his shoulders and pinning him to the ground. Well, that's it, Kahn thought, as he waited for the beast to rip his throat out. To his surprise, the weight on him lifted and he found that he could move again. Scarcely believing his luck, he opened his eyes and he got to his feet, turning to see a figure wearing a complete suit of armor and a sword strapped to her side. She casually strolled over to the lycan, which had been kicked with such force, it had gone flying into the wall, leaving a huge dent in it. The disoriented lycan looked up after a few seconds and, with a vicious growl, prepared to spring at them. However, the growl quickly turned into a whimper of pure terror as it found itself staring down the wrong end of a crossbow.
"Sweet dreams," Amelia said with a sick smirk as she pulled the trigger of her crossbow, giving the beast a new, pretty little silver horn right in between its eyes. "Well then," she said, turning to the Death Dealers. "It looks like we've got some work to do." At that, she turned and began to walk through the unending labyrinth of tunnels. The Death Dealers followed, killing every single last lycan they came across. As they wandered through the tunnels, Amelia's mind raced. She had to admit, this was quite admirable. The fact that they'd managed to hide, completely underground, managing to convince everyone they were almost extinct when they truly had been building a force. She shook her head. They'd grown too complacent. Never had they expected such a vicious attack on a vampire convoy, especially not on one that carried an elder. Not for the first time, she cursed herself for her stupidity. She should've brought a much larger security force with her. If she had, perhaps the Council would still be alive today. Rage once more flew through her, as she thought of the carnage from that earlier that night. She would make sure each and every single last one of those filthy curs paid. Especially that treacherous bastard, Kraven. Oh, she could not wait to get her hand on him. Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts by a lycan lunging at her from the shadows. She hissed with surprise as she was pinned to the ground, her crossbow knocked out of her hands and skidding across the ground. She was fully aware of the Death Dealers behind her, cocking their weapons and waiting to see if they could get in a clear shot. Knowing that there was no chance, she held the lycan's snapping jaws away from her while she flicked out her right arm, a dagger flying out from under her armor and straight into her hand. Moving with the speed that only an elder possessed, the lycan didn't even have time to process the knife before she'd buried it up to its hilt in the side of its head. With a snort of disgust, she shoved the lycan carcass off of her and leapt to her feet. She'd had enough of this.
"Sweep the rest of the tunnels," she said, turning to the Death Dealers behind her. "NOBODY escapes. Understood?"
"Yes milady," the Death Dealers said, dropping to a knee before promptly rushing off.
She turned and kept wondering, wondering where the hell Kraven could possibly be. She stepped over a dead lycan that was riddled all over with silver bullets and raised an eyebrow. What had become of the Death Dealers? They never killed that messily. She shrugged. It didn't matter anyway. But later, she would definitely have to speak to Kahn about having the Death Dealer's training stepped up. She was once again, snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of something being dragged across the floor. She spun and saw a figure that was obviously in deep pain dragging itself across the floor. With a slight smirk of amusement, she raised her crossbow and then something caught her eye. It was a pendant. More specifically, Sonja's pendant. Which meant that this could only be one person.
"Lucian," she hissed.
The lycan turned and seeing her simply groaned, and kept dragging himself toward an archway. "So, did you get what you wanted?", she said, her voice dripping with venom.
"I will," was his only response.
She threw her crossbow and aside and, drawing her pistol, pressed it to the back of his head. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't fill you up with silver."
"I can lead you to where Kraven is?" he answered.
Amelia blinked. She hadn't expected him to actually give her a good reason to keep him around. Okay then dog," she said. "Lead on."
Amelia leaned back and watched with deep amusement as Lucian dragged himself toward a new room. His progress was suddenly interrupted by 3 gunshots coming from the next room. She shouldered her crossbow and strolled across the room, but Lucian who was much closer, got their first. He grinned and flicked his arm. At once, a blade flew out and he continued to crawl forward, this time much faster. She walked forward, raising her pistol and warily approaching what seemed to be approaching what she assumed was their generator room. As she approached, she could hear voices quite clearly. One of those voices made her eyes glow green. She let out a hiss of pleasure and tossed her pistol aside, instead drawing out her mighty broadsword.
It was he, not the lycans who killed your beloved family." Kraven said, his voice filled with a deep hatred.
Amelia stopped, just a little more than halfway across the room, her eyes widening with shock as she realized at once exactly what the regent was talking about and whom the regent was talking to.
Selene simply laughed, unable to bring herself to accept the words of the disgraced regent. "Oh Kraven," she said, still laughing. "How utterly pathetic."
"Oh you think so? Ah, Viktor. Viktor, Viktor, Viktor." he said, his voice getting more and more bitter each time he said the Elder's name. "He never could follow his own rules," Kraven continued in a cruel voice. "No cattle blood for him. No…, not when he thirsted for something more stimulating. I cleaned up the messes for him, kept his secrets."
"Lies" she hissed. But, deep down, she knew it wasn't. She just would not, no, COULD NOT accept the horrible truth.
"It was he who crept from room to room," Kraven said with a hint of joy in his voice at Selene's disparaging look. "Yes, it was he, not the lycans, who stealthily crept through your home, dispatching everyone close to your heart. But when he got to you, he just couldn't bear the thought of drinking you dry like he did the others of your beloved family. You, who reminded him so much of his long-lost Sonja, the precious daughter he condemned to death."
Selene's mind reeled. This was impossible. He was lying. Viktor, her beloved sire, would never do such a thing to her. He would never hurt her. Not like this. No, it couldn't be true.
"Come on" Kraven hissed. "It's not too late. You can still join me. Together we will rule the vampire world."
"You're utterly insane," she replied, spitting in his face. He wiped it off with disgust glaring at her. "Very well," he said, turning away. However, before he could flee to Elders know where, he felt a sharp pain in his leg, unlike any he'd ever felt for a long, long, time.
Lucian leaned back, ready to finally be with his beloved Sonja. However as he saw the grief on Selene's face as she stared at the fallen body of Michael Corvin, he knew there was one last thing he had to do. The last time, Viktor had ruined his life by sentencing his lover to death. His beloved Sonja, the one person that kept him alive back when he was a slave under the Death Dealers' harsh and unforgiving whip. No., he thought. Not again. Viktor will not win again.
"Bite him", he said to Selene, his voice rattling with pain as he fought against the death that was now inevitable. "If you wish him to live, do it." he urged, as Selene looked at him doubtfully.
Lucian smiled, finally ready to stop fighting. He turned to his cousin. "Dead or alive," he gasped, "my will is done regardless". At that his breath began to slow. He turned his head, with a breath of contentment. "Sonja" he said, as he began to crawl toward his love standing in the corner, away from the fight. She smiled at him, their beautiful child standing at her side, both of them beckoning him to join them. He jumped up and raced over to them glancing behind him as he did, seeing his body finally go limp, a broad smile fixed on his face. He turned, scooping his child up in one arm and wrapping the other arm around Sonja who leaned against him. And, together, they proceeded to the beauty of the afterlife, joined by Raze, Singe, and so many others who had died as a result of this horrid, never-ending war. And so ended the life of Lucian, the most legendary lycan alpha of all time.
Selene sat back, wondering what would now happen to Michael. Kraven, meanwhile, had just finished filling Lucian up with the last of the bullets in his silver nitrate gun. Before it was completely empty however he found himself thrown against the wall with such force he almost flew right through it. Selene smiled, enjoying the look of pure terror written all over Kraven's face.
"Hello Kraven," Amelia said sweetly, as she lifted him by the throat, his feet no longer even touching the ground, and then slammed him down to the ground. The force was so great a huge crack spread up the length of the room. Amelia was careful to make sure she didn't kill him though. At that moment, Viktor too came in, wrenching Selene away from Micheal. No, Selene thought as Viktor picked him up and flung him through the wall. Then she remembered what Kraven had told her. Looking at Viktor, she saw the truth at once. Kraven was telling the truth. This man, the same one who had, for hundreds of years, bore her trust, her love, and her loyalty. This man was the same man who had mercilessly killed her family. Hurt rushed through her like a river. WHY?
Viktor turned to his beloved child, stopping as he caught a look at her face, filled with hurt and betrayal.
"It was you," she said, her voice shaking. "YOU KILLED MY FAMILY, not the lycans."
How does she know? Viktor thought. He looked at Amelia, who was watching him with pity, she gestured toward a mini-crater and Viktor knew what must've happened. Damn you Kraven, he thought. Wait… where the hell was Kraven? Catching the look of confusion on his face, Amelia turned and let out a surprised hiss. "Where the hell is he?" she cried in shock, not knowing how the hell he could've somehow managed to escape yet again. Meanwhile, Selene decided she wasn't done yet. "This war is all your fault!" she yelled at Viktor
"Leave us!" he said to the elite Death Dealer force attending him, who promptly left, closing the door behind them. Selene meanwhile, had climbed to her feet and faced him. "Have you not done enough already?" she asked him defiantly and quite unafraid. "You have destroyed everything I love. So now what will you do? Kill me, like you did my family?" How could you bear my trust, knowing that you murdered my family?" Viktor stepped forward, his eyes filled with false sympathy.
"Yes, my child. I have taken from you, I've hurt you. But is not the life I've granted you worth so, so much more?
"Oh really. And what about the life of Sonja, hmm?" she growled. "Your own daughter?" She hissed. Viktor visibly flinched as he turned to Lucian's corpse lying there on the ground. The Elder crouched down beside his dead nemesis and tugged the metallic pendant. Amelia, who was standing in the background, still mad over Kraven's sudden disappearance, watched with pity. Soon, her fellow elder would have to make a painful choice. "I did what I had to do to protect our species," he said, his voice hardening. "As I am forced to do yet again." He began to advance toward Selene, his beloved child, unsheathing his blood-stained sword as he did so. However, he was cut off by an eerie cry that rose from the floor of the central chamber.
Michael! Selene realized. Viktor turned, sword still out, a lethal glint in his eyes. NO, Selene thought spun toward her, ready to question her as to the whereabouts of her new paramour. But when he did, he got the shock of his life. Selene was just as shocked as he was. She barely heard Amelia audibly gasp and stagger back unsheathing her sword as she did so. Before them, stood a… creature, glaring at Viktor with some very bad intentions. It wasn't quite a vampire or a werewolf. Instead, it seemed to be something that fell in between. Selene barely dared to hope. "Micheal?", she asked, going from shock to awe. At that, Micheal punched Viktor in the chest, sending him flying through what was left of the wall.
Viktor looked up to see the hybrid standing literally right in front of him and suddenly felt something he hadn't experienced ever since he'd first been turned almost 1,500 years ago: fear. Then he almost laughed at himself. After all, this was just an American med student. What chance did it have against him? He, who had fought for centuries. He, who had killed millions of lycans in his lifetime. He smiled to himself. This… thing, this abomination to the covenant would fall, crushed under his heel and ground to bits. He ran his tongue over and fangs in anticipation of the furry bastard desperately begging to be spared. The hybrid roared intimidatingly and Viktor began to feel a bit of doubt. NO, he thought. This abomination will NOT intimidate me. He hissed right back, expecting it to either run and beg for his life. Instead, it refused to back down. Viktor half wished it would be a challenge. He hadn't felt the thrill of a TRUE battle for many, many centuries. Bring it on, he mentally willed the newly turned hybrid. BITE ME! As if reading his thoughts, the hybrid lunged at him still roaring.
Selene walked up to the hole in the wall, her mouth frozen in a permanent O. She heard footsteps, and saw that Amelia was standing there staring at the two warring figures below. She looked just like Selene felt right now. It took everything within herself not to weep. No matter what happened, Michael would die. Even if Michael could manage to beat Viktor, Amelia would kill him. If by some miracle they were able to kill two elders, they still had Marcus and the entire vampire covenant, hundreds of them, big and small all throughout the world. Nevertheless, Selene steeled herself for a fight. Suddenly, some Death Dealers came from the top of the stairs, all of them armed. They evaluated what was happening very quickly and at once began to fire at Michael. Not happening, she thought as she leapt through the hole snapping the neck of the first warrior, elbowing the next, and shot them all with a gun she stole from one of them. She whirled, ready to help Michael, but before she could, there was a jarring blow to the back of her head that sent her and the gun flying through the air. She tried to get up, but it was useless. She fell back weakly watching as Viktor assaulted Michael, soon bringing the hybrid to the ground, locked in a headlock. Michael! Selene thought as she desperately looked around for some way to help him. As she did, the familiar glint of silver caught her eye. It was Viktor's sword. Forcing herself up, she snatched up the sword and lunged across the room, cutting Viktor's head in half. He hissed, sounding shocked, as he thrust his hand outwards. Much like Amelia, his knives slid right out. But it was far too late for him. Selene raised the sword, showing him what he seemed unable to process: she had already struck. She closed her eyes as she realized what she'd just done. She was an outcast now. Lycans hated her simply because she was a vampire. Vampires saw her as a traitor. She had nothing but herself and Michael. But for now, it was all over. She was about to drop the sword when she heard a slight splash. Terror flowed through her. They were done for. She gripped the sword tightly, ready for the fight of her life.
Amelia landed nimbly, slightly amused at how tightly Selene was gripping the sword as she watched her anxiously.
"You do realize that you have just signed your death warrants, don't you?" she asked.
"Surely you can convince the council. You KNOW why I did it." Selene answered.
"I do. And I don't blame you. Honestly, he's had it coming for centuries. But very few vampires will see it that way. The ones that don't worship him are outcasts. Unless I can convince Marcus to spare you, the council will order your death."
"And as for you," Amelia said, turning to the hybrid with a bit of pity. "You will die. There is nothing that can be done about that. By all means, you are an abomination to the covenant. By our law, you MUST die. I might be able to convince them to spare you, but you will have to be a slave. And, I can assure you, death is MUCH better than being a vampire slave."
"I think I'd rather take my chances out on the street."
"You sure? Me killing you would save us all a lot of trouble long-term."
"I'm certain."
"Very well then." Amelia turned. "I'd best see if anyone else is still alive and get back to the coven. The sooner I get out of this hell-hole, the better."
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