Chapter 29: The true King

Oh, how much he despised the cold. It got even worse the past few days and Goth was already sick of it.

After regaining his consciousness and realizing that those puny bats and the human escaped once more, he let his anger out at his cousin. He scratched and bite him until he was crouching behind his wings, whining and begging for him to stop. If Throbb weren't his cousin Goth probably would have killed him. It was his fault Shade and his friends got away. If that stupid fat ass would have looked where he was going instead of falling out of the pipe, knocking him out. He for sure would have got them.

But now there were gone. And the Vampyrum prince had no idea where they could be. Where they still hiding down in the sewers? Or did they get out already and were flying towards Hibernaculum?

Oh, how he longed to be there himself already. A warm place to stay, away from the blasted cold with so much delicious bat meat that would fill his belly for a good amount of time until he would return to his beloved jungle. A soft growl escaped his throat. He would kill them all, every single one of them. And with Shade he would begin. With him and his miserable human friend Vanessa.

The moment Goth laid his eyes on her, he knew that she meant trouble. Humans were just all the same. Nasty creature that the world needs to get rid of for Zotz's sake.

But Goth wasn't just furious about the fact that those three managed to slip away from him again. Oh no. He was also still pissed off, that they humiliated him with a hallucination of a fake Cama Zotz.

To think he, of all bats, got forced down to his knees by such an inferior species! To bow his head before them and weep like a newborn pup! Goth had no idea how they had done it, but they would pay for it he swore to himself and to Zotz.

Once his anger calmed down Goth searched around the junkyard together with Throbb, trying to find a trace of Shade, Marina and Vanessa. But all they found were a few rats.

After a quick meal, he decided they would fly back into the forest, close to the junkyard and look for them there. There on the branch of a snow-covered tree both Vampyrums were shivering heavily with their massive wings tightly wrapped around their bodies.

Goth blew warm air into his hands, causing several puffs of white vapor to escape. He clenched his teeth together and shuddered, glaring darkly into the brightening horizon. He couldn't deny that, no matter how powerful he claimed himself to be, this frost would eventually overtake both him and Throbb and most likely kill them before the end of the winter.

''Goth, did I mention that I'm now slowly freeezing to death while also slowly staaarving to death?!'' Throbb complained while roosting on another branch above Goth, glaring at him. His wounds, caused by his cousin, were no longer bleeding, but a few of them might turn into scars.

The taller bat turned away from Throbb with an irritated sigh. Once again, Goth was so close to eat him, just to shut him up, if not to prolong his own life for a few days.

''Oh, I think you may have mentioned it once. Or was it...'' Goth swiveled in Throbb's face, ''ONCE too often?!'' he snarled, his eyes flashing.

Throbb flinched but didn't back away, from his cousin. He frowned. At this point, he was more scared of starving than Goth's fury. ''Are we almost at Hibernaculum?'' he asked.

''Enough!'' Goth snapped, turning away from him, clenching his fist. ''Shade has mocked me and Cama Zotz and for that, his friends and his colony will pay.''

Throbb crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow ''Oh yes. That Shade most certainly is a…'' he cleared his throat and smirked deviously at Goth, ''naughty bat.''

Goth spun around. His fur bristled, and a pissed off growl grew out of his throat. Without warning, he grabbed Throbb by the neck and squeezed, causing his companion to yelp and gag.

''What did you just say?'' he hissed, pulling the smaller bat closer, intending to kill him right here and now.

Throbb tried to pull Goth off him when to his luck, he spotted a parliament of owls flying over their heads. He made a strangled noise and pointed upwards. Goth stared up at the owls, not making any sudden movements. When the birds flew past, he calmly released his grip on Throbb and thought for a moment before lifting off from the branch to fly into the woods. Throbb gasped as he got free and gingerly rubbed his neck, trying to rub away the scratches that burned into his skin, then followed his cousin.

Despite our constant cries of protest and attempts to escape, the guards dragged us out of the throne room and down to the dirty, stinking drain.

''Alright, let's get this over with,'' the headguard, a dark blue rat with darker patches said, sounding quiet bored and waved the rat, that was holding me over to him.

''No!'' Marina cried out.

Shade tried to grab me but the guard holding him simply pulled him away so he couldn't reach me.

I did my best in trying to escape my fate myself, but it was no use. The headguard himself came over and grasped my left arm, while the other guard was still grabbing my right and together they pulled me towards the water.

''Let go!'' I screamed, feeling fear rising inside me and also pain because the headguards claws were digging into my wound. Suddenly the mushy ground under my feet got more wet, and both rats hustled me into the water. Coughing, I burst through the surface but was immediately pushed back underwater. Strong arms held me firm to the ground as I struggled to get free, holding my breath. I was sure Shade and Marina were trying to help in some way, but the rats were too strong for all of us. If no miracle happened soon, I would be history. I did my best in holding back the urge to breathe, but I was never good in doing this for long. I could already feel my air was running out.

After what felt like hours, I couldn't stand it any longer and opened my mouth for a deep breath, filling my lungs with water. I instinctively coughed or at least tried so and struggled to get free, but the rats were still holding me down. I desperately needed air now and noticed my vision going dark before my eyes.

Then all of the sudden, the weight on my head and back disappeared, and I was pulled out of the water. Under heavy coughing fits I spat dirty water and did not know at first what was going on. But eventually I calmed down enough and turned around to see that all rat guards seemed paralyzed with fear.

''Do not kill the captives!'' came the sudden shrieking voice of something hidden in the shadows and the rats started shivering.

''B-b-b-but king R-r-r-remus s-s-said...''

''I'm sure the king wouldn't have anything against it if you hand them over to me Croll,'' the voice interrupted the headguard. For me it sounded just like the voice of a rat, so I got confused about the reaction of the other rats. What were they so afraid of?

Croll hummed and hawed. ''Uh, w-well ... I...'' Again the voice cut him off.

''Or do you want me to come over and get them from you?''

Croll, widened his eyes and heavily shook his head. ''N-no no. That..that isn't necessary. R-really.'' He frantically looked around, seeking help by his comrades but they all stayed silent and looked like they wanted to run off right now.

''Uh, you know what,'' Croll continued, ''You can have them. W-we will just go and leave you alone with them.'' He smiled nervously into the shadows where I believed to see eyes flashing in the darkness.

Then after a moment of silence the voice spoke again, ''Alright, go and leave the two bats and the human with me.''

''Y-yes. Thank you.'' Croll immediately ordered the other guards to release me and my friends and then they all run away without looking back once.

''What in the world...?'' Confused I stared after the guards, still sitting in the water. Shade and Marina looking after them as well.

''Uh, might somebody explain what just happened?'' Shade asked while Marina went over to me to help me back onto the short. I was soaking wet and still spitting out water but at least I was alive.

''Are you alright?'' Marina asked me, looking worried.

''I'm ok,'' I replied. Though I felt tired from the ordeal I had to go through. Plus, my left wrist was hurting me.

Shade flutter over to us. ''Come on, guys let's ditch this place before they come back.''

''Oh, don't worry. They won't return anytime soon.''

With a gasped Shade spun around and all three of us stared into a dark corner from where the voice was coming from.

''There is no need to be afraid.,'' the voice reassured us. But Shade remained wary and stood in front of Marina and me for protection.

''Who are you?'' He demanded to know and bared his teeth.

''My name is Romulus,'' the voice said, ''And please, I'm not here to harm you.''

My friends and I looked at each other unsure.

''Why were the rats scared of you?'' I asked and was given a deep sigh as a reply.''

''They think I'm a monster that haunts the underground. At least that's what my brother keeps telling them all.''

''Your brother?''

''King Remus.''

We were shocked. ''What?'' Marina asked. ''The king is your brother?''

''I'm afraid it's true.''

''But why does he keep telling anyone that you are a monster?'' Looking at my two bat friends I knew they were both confused about this as well.

''He...has his reasons.''

''What reasons?''

''Are you saying that this is true?'' Shade kept staying in front of Marina and me and opened his wings wide to make himself look bigger and more dangerous. ''Are you a monster? If so, then back off!''

''Shade, wait. Maybe...''

''Please, I truly mean you no harm,'' Romulus tried to assure us once more.

''How about you show yourself to us so we can talk more properly,'' I said, wanting to know who were talking to the whole time. Romulus hesitated for a moment, but eventually he stepped out of the shadows. To our surprise we saw ... a rat. A basic looking rat with resemblance to King Remus but with violet-colored fur and a larger body size.

He sighed. ''Now, you see me. But please, believe me. I'm just here to help you.

I was baffled. No idea what I expected to see coming out of the shadows but definitely not an ordinary rat. What was with this talk about him being a monster? Was this just some kind of joke or something?

''Well, now I don't understand anything.'' Shade stepped forwards towards Romulus and furrowed his brows. ''You are just a rat. Like that king and all the other rats down here.''

Romulus shook his. ''I'm nothing like the other rats.''

''How come?'' asked Marina. Again Romulus shook his head.

''Not here,'' he said. ''If we keep staying here. Chances are high that my brother might send another batch of guards down here to see if you guys are still here.''

''But the headguard and his men looked so frightened. Do you really think they or their colleagues would return here?''

''If they don't want to face my brother's wrath then yes. Now come. I'll lead you to my place. It's the safest place for you to be at least for a while.''

He turned around to move, but we hesitated. Could we really trust him?

''You should really come with me. Especially since your human friend doesn't look so good.''

Just now I realized how sick I felt. I was still soaking wet, and the water was running down my face at the tips of my hair. I shivered and knew I needed to get out of my clothes otherwise I might get a cold. On the other hand, my body already felt like it was burning from the inside. I had tried to ignore it before but it seems I really did got a fever. And on top of all my wrist hurt so bad it was almost unbearable.

Taking a short look at my left arm I gulped. Blotches of dried blood was sticking on my skin and the area around the wound was red. The wound itself was warm when I touched it and also felt swollen. The crusty yellowish film on top could only mean one thing. The wound got infected.

''Just great.'' I bit down on my underlip. That was just what I needed. An infected wound and no medical kit around to treat it. If I was even more lucky, I would get blood poisoning from it. How wonderful.

Marina drew sharply the air between her teeth and looked worriedly at my arm. ''Romulus,'' she said ''Do you have any herbs we can treat her wound with. It really doesn't look good.''

''How bad is it?'' Shade walked over to look at my arm as well. The look on his face told me that it wasn't a pretty picture to see and I could relate.

''I might have something to help her with,'' Romulus said looking at us, ''But for that you need to come with me, quick.''

Even though we were still not sure what to think of him, we decided we had no choice but to follow him through the underground.

Luckily, his den wasn't too far away from the place Romulus had found us. With my wrist hurting so much there was no way for me to cling onto Shade or Marina's feet without being in even more pain. I may could have clung to them with only one hand but Romulus insisted for me to climb onto his back, so he could carry me to his place with Shade and Marina following us, flying right behind. His den was a small hole in the upper region digged into the mud and hidden behind a heavy rock.

After making sure no one was around, we quickly sneaked inside. Everything was pitch-dark but since it's been days since I've been out in the daylight my eyes got used to it pretty quick. Looking around, I saw nothing but mud and scraps of cloth lying around.

Feeling tired I stumbled over to one pile and fell down on it face first. All I wanted to do know was sleep. Sleep until my head stopped spinning and wrist stopped hurting.

''Vanessa!'' I hear the concern voice of Marina, but I didn't react to it. I felt sick and just wanted to rest.

''She needs to get out of those wet leaves otherwise she will get even more sick.''

Maybe it was my current condition, or the fact that I was so dearly aware of it. But I could hardly perceive anything around me anymore. My focus was solely on myself and the tiredness that tried to take possession of me more and more. Only halfway I realized that someone took my coat off and helped me out of my dirty, wet dress. Afterwards I was rubbed dry with a piece of cloth and wrapped in another one. Then I was finally allowed to lie down and get some rest. The last thing I noticed was that someone was putting another cloth over me as a blanket, then darkness...

''I must say, very clever what you did in the throne room. I thought you'd get away with it.''

''You were there?'' asked Shade.

Romulus nodded. ''I was watching you, hidden behind bars in the wall,'' he explained. ''I'm truly surprised he figured it out.''

Marina let out a sigh. ''Unfortunately,'' she said and threw a short worried glance to Vanessa, who was sleeping peacefully in a pile of rags. Her left wrist bandaged after the rat cleaned the wound and put on some healing paste. ''We own you one Romulus. If it weren't for you she, Shade and I wouldn't be alive anymore.''

He waved off. ''Don't mentioned it. I just did what was right. That's all.''

Hearing a huff, Marina looked up to see Shade pacing around the small room with his wings crossed before his chest.

''Suspecting his own guard to be a spy out of random. Sending us to death without reason...'' he stopped and shook his head. ''What kind of king is this guy?''

Marina let out a sigh. ''Maybe if we told him the truth instead of...'' But Romulus interrupted her, shaking his own head.

''He would have never believed you. No matter if you tell the truth or not, ''he said.'' His kingdom lies in ruins. He has hardly any idea what is going on in the world, because his messengers are unreliable and his guards are constantly deserting to join better kingdoms. The only person he trusts is himself, no one else.''

''I hate to say this,'' Shade said, ''But that guy is nuts. I'm sorry Romulus. I know he is your brother but what crazy minded fool put him on the throne?''

''Well,'' Romulus seemed to struggle with himself, as if he wanted to tell them something but didn't know how. ''Technically, since I was born first. Remus isn't really the king. I am.'' Both bats gasped and started at him in shock and confusion.

''What? But if you are the rightful king how come he sits on the throne instead of you?''

''Yeah,'' Shade agreed, wondering the same. ''And what's with those rumors he spreads about you?''

''Like I said, he has his reasons. Look!'' With a sigh Romulus spread out his arms and to Shade and Marinas surprise they saw long folds of skin stretched between his arms and legs. Making them look like...Wings.

''Wow,'' Shade gasped with awe, ''I wish my wings were that big,'' he confessed.

''That's amazing,'' Marina added.

''Huh?'' Romulus blinked. Apparently not having expected such a reaction coming from them.

''Uh, anyway. Remus tells everyone that I'm a freak and unfit to rule. That's why he is in charge instead of me.

''But that's nonsense. What does looking different got to do with being a good king?'' Shade asked. ''We are all different in someway. Look at me! I'm a runt.

''And I've got a band.'' Marina added, lifting her wrist.

''And Vanessa here got herself shrunken to mouse-size. If that's not freaky, then I don't know what is.'' Romulus looked to the side, thinking about what they just told him. ''And besides,'' Shade continued, ''If you really were a monster you wouldn't have helped us.''

As if this had been the motivation boost Romulus needed, he nodded and looked at them, eyes gleaming with joy and a big smile on his face. ''Thank you. Both of you. I'll never forget this.''

Both bats smiled back. ''You are welcome.''

AN: There you go another chapter. ^^

I know it's short but the next one will be longer. I think. Anyway, Chapter 30 will contain a few surprises so stay tune for that. :D :3