HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM TEAMOCTOBER
His lunges clenched like fists ready for a fight. Ready for triumph. To fight the water as it clawed away what little oxygen was left in him. To fight to his very last breath. His clothes were supposed to be his armor, but even they betrayed him as they sapped his warmth and life away. The screaming became distant and hallow as he was forced underwater. Again and Again.
The rope bit against his raw wrists. The wooden chair seemed to absorb the cold, frigid water. It left him shaking and pale, his lips an unhealthy blue. He had closed his eyes voluntarily at first. The sting of the unclean water against his green eyes as he was forced under and ears prickled hoping for a confession. Praying for one even. But surly whatever higher being they all turned too must being the Devil if this was His idea of holy and sanctifying. The motions of going under and over, up and down made his dizzy so he tried to keep them open. He was still ready to fight.
"Confess Alexander and maybe we will be merciful with your sister dearest?" the Bishop taunted sweetly. Light is not the same as good just as darkness is not the same as evil.
He wasn't ready to back down. He was innocent. He never hurt anyone. But who had made it hail on their crops? Who had burned down the Bishops' manor? With his wife in it…
His eyes began to get heavy as the pain in his chest from holding his breath for so long became near unbearable. He counted in his head hoping to calm his nerves and limit how much he panicked when he was forced under for the twelfth time. Seventy-two, Seventy-three, Seventy-four…
"Witch!" they screamed. This was entertaining for them. An excuse to take a break from the muddy fields. For a Church service. One of the many torturous Trials and his sister faced. As children. They screamed even more when it began to rain. If I'm going to die of cold and of damp clothes, I'm taking as many people with me as I can, Alec gritted his teeth as his body screamed for mercy, for just a couple fresh breathes of air. For Air.
He was so cold and his limbs began to look waxy as blood drew away from his extremities to scavenge enough energy and heat to force his organs to keep working. To keep living through their pleas for his death. Alec had never been this terrified in his life. This was why even as a vampire he was horror stricken at the thought of not being able to breath. He each time they pulled him up, hoping to hear him utter the words "I AM GUILTY", he wondered if that would be his last breath, his last glimpse of light. If he would never see Jane again. That the last he saw of her was her screaming and crying as soldiers took him away. The same soldiers his father had fought besides, maybe even died for. As his small fingers slipped from hers. They didn't know this was just the beginning. That they would drag his half dead body back, broken and Ready.
Goodbye.
I'll see you on the Otherside.
Even though it was a river, he tasted salt on his cheeks. He felt no shame now in crying. Alec was dying. He would see his parents again. Maybe feel the warmth of his mother's hugs as she read him another story on a homemade quilt. His father would laugh as Alec tried on his jacket and boots, things that he would never fill of fit into. And when Jane joined them, he would spin her around tenderly under the stars. And even later Daniel would join them, old and grey after a life well and longed lived, and they would watched the storms together and dream about a land with no pain. Come away with me. They were all innocent after all…
He was so tired and just wanted the mercy of one last breath. The feeling of rain on his cheeks and static in the air as a storm rolled over. Just one last storm.
A man screamed something that Alec couldn't hear through the water. There was a brilliant, white flash. This Heaven he had been told he was damned from? They it was gone. They pulled him back up slowly.
A man lay dead on the ground, charred and smoking. His eyes pools of darkness. Like little black flowers. "Did you see the lightning?" a woman gasped with a shaky voice. She stared terrified at the scrawny boy strapped to the wooden chair. With blue lips and distant greens eyes. Wind ravaged the trees around them and thunder made the surface of the water quiver. "See! Proof he's a witch! See how he twists and manipulates the sky? See how he murders and innocent man in cold blood?" The Bishops scorns with wildfire in his voice. The crowded cheered louder as Alec was forced under the water for a final time.
He had his storm. He had been proven Guilty. He was ready to say Goodbye. Alec was ready. Taking what he thought was a final breath, he let the water and Death in.
Damien felt his eyes start to close as Marina ran out the door. Weird images plagued his mind, leaving strange hallucinations in the pooling water.
He had his distraction. He had been drained of every ounce of energy. He was ready to Sleep. Damien was ready. Closing his eyes, he let his head rest on the floor and Sleep in.
The water rose around him as it rained down from the rusty, copper pipes dying the water red in some cases leaving a metallic scent in the air. And slowly it swallowed him.
The funny things about drowning was that it is one of the single most painful experiences a person can go through. The feeling of powerlessness as your body is drained of the one thing it needs to survive. The agony as your lunges shrivel away, like its holding its arms above its head, shielding itself for protection. Of true and utter panic.
But then there is the scariest part of all.
The Peace.
The feeling of letting go and that momentary feeling of weightlessness. The acceptance of death and being able to say goodbye. The feeling as your soul is shred away from its agonizing mortal prison and able to expand into something illuminating and wondrous. Of that glimpse of Heaven or Nirvana or Eden or Elysium or even the first light of a new life. Of a Paradise lost.
Damien opened his eyes.
The world around him had been leeched of color as ash rained from the sky. He was lying in what seemed to be snow. The fine powder felt airy and yet heavy. He slowly rose. To his right, a young woman lay sleeping in the same substance. Somehow he was able to identify that she was a dhampir. She looked about eighteen, maybe older, and had what had been brown wavy hair. Her clothes were nothing but a bloodstained white parka and matching pants.
Looking around he stood slowly and noticed he was in a clearing of a forest. They sky was a milky grey and a thick fog only let him see a small bit of what lay around him. Where was he? It wasn't how he pictured Heaven. The silence was too deafening and seemed short of harps and lyres. There were no halos or pearly gates. No bearded men in togas or winged servants. But it wasn't how he pictured Hell either. Instead of this promised torture and burning, he felt numb and cold as he rubbed his arms hoping to warm himself up but all efforts were fruitless.
"Hell is Cold," a small voice called startling him. He knew it was speaking a different language, but felt his ears click to understand it. Turning around he saw the young woman slowly open her eyes, waking up from a deep slumber. Her eyes were the colour of smooth stones on the bottom of a raging river.
"Who are you?" he asked, offering a hand to help her rise from the ashes. She looked down at the ground for a second before looking at him with fierce eyes, "I'm dead. And so are you."
Somewhere in the Alps
They slowly trekked, ears open for the creaking of the thin ice and noses ready for danger. Frustrated by the vicious storm and wind, Three managed to find two more pairs of goggles to help the twins see clearer. No one talked. Jane could feel her mind tightening with suspense. She wanted so badly to release her gift and take down their potential 'captors'. But that would leave the other two. Alec could maybe use his Mist, but it would take time to pool and take effect. And all three had proved to be rather quick and fast on their feet.
Asya didn't know why they had not been ordered to kill them yet. They were the Volturi. She had been trained to kill vampires. They were a threat. Why was Roman wrapping his arm around the one called Jane? Well, maybe the girl was. They could kill them right now and no one would ever know. They would be hailed as heroes. But Roman said they were to assist them on their journey and not hurt them. She was bound by his orders. She was not allowed to disobey orders.
Alec tried to observe as much as he could from their three "New Friends". One seemed to be the one in charge given how both seemed to keep looking at him waiting for orders and almost submitting to him. Two seemed to be the least experienced, the way he wavered and jumped at noises like he wasn't as confident in his abilities. Three seemed to be a wild card. He felt hesitant to say Three was male since he or she stood differently than the others. The way the dhampir balanced crouching down to observe their belongings indicated it could have been female in how the weight was distributed. Three seemed to be everywhere at once. One second Three would be to the left of him, the next he or she would be seen in the front of the pack. Constantly Three and One would be muttering things to each other, like they were in a disagreement about something. Two just walked slowly taking up the rear, a ghost silently trailing them. If they were to attack, Three and One would be the most dangerous. Two seemed slower to react to everything. They could maybe attack Two and hold him hostage and demand they tell them what was going on. There was something uneasy in One's eyes. A cold depth.
Finally, they started to descend signifying by evening they would be out of the mountains and by dark hopefully in the cities headed east. That way they would be out of wolf territory when the moon was highest tonight. The scent of wolf seemed to tease their nerves, eliciting caution and growls challenging the potential presence of a wolf. The path was much slipperier since gravity was forcing them to often slide on insecure terrain. Glances were caught and regretted when they hugged cliff edges. Often ice lay at the bottom which left an unanswered question as to what was waiting below the ice since the force of a falling body would surely smash through it. A lone howl made them freeze. "Close?" Three asked One. Roman paused, pulling the cloth away from his face and sniffing the frozen air as Jane scanned their surroundings for signs of movement. A hair or two would lay in the fresh snow indicating one was not too far off. Footprints both of a man and of a beast appeared interchangeably.
"Warm," Asya said as she crouched over one of the prints, taking off her thick gloves. Alec noticed how the dhampirs nails had been sharpened to points. Ten small knives ready to kill. Blood was caked under the left hands nails. It wasn't human. A low hiss slipped from the creature when Alec was caught staring. The warmth of the print told Asya that the wold was close. They all froze as the boys drew their weapons. Kotsya pulled one of his two pistols and handed it to Alec. Alec tried his best to copying Two's stance but felt awkward because he was left handed while the other was right handed and he had never used a fire arm before and hand no idea what to do. "Trigger," Two pointed patronizingly. Alec rolled his eyes, "I'm not an idiot you Abominable Snowman." One whipped around holding his finger to his lips aggressively and signalled desperately for them to cut it out as he and Three crouched down lower glaring down an object in the land scape ahead of them. A Werewolf.
Attack? Asya signalled with her hands. Roman nodded slowly creeping up. The scent of what seemed to be a mountain goat caught the violent wind. The wolf stood crouched over its feasts, ripping into the bloody flesh of the still breathing creature. Asya and Kotsya prayed it would be too distracted to notice them flanking around it. She would go from the left and him from the right, arching around it and then flushing it towards Roman and the vampires to kill it. They had to go as lightly as possible. With the midday sun the snow had partially softened and every now and then bits of the glaciers would crumble away crashing to the rocks and ice below. They were standing very close to the edge. And they were already walking on thin ice as it were.
The three of them began closing the circle feeling the ice creek below them. Roman almost wondered if he stabbed the ice with his sword if it would cause the ice to collapse and potentially trap the wolf. He took another step forward. The ice immediately gave way as body sunk into the ice up to his upper thigh. Dropping his sword he used his hands to stabilize himself from falling further. The loud cracking sound alerted the wolf of the threat around it. Snarling it turned its head as Roman scrambled to get out of the ice. The wolf broke out into a sprint, licking its chops ready for a fresher kill.
"NNOOOOOOO!" Asya screamed as she ran after the wolf. She would not let it hurt Roman. Leaping, she jumped on it back, knife ready to end it. The wolf bucked and struggled trying to get the dhampir off it as she hugged it closer breaking its ribs. Jane stood proud and glared the wolf down as it started whimpering and convulsing. It continued running disoriented by the pain and the thing death gripping its fur, trying not to get bucked off. She fought to get a clean stab as she held on for dear life to the wild beast. Asya didn't feel the ice break until she was free falling. She heard Roman screaming her name as both her and the wolf fell off the crumbling ice cliffs. Keep my daughter safe.
Falling
Falling
Falling
Falling
Falling
Falling
CRASH
She fought to get in a clean stab to its throat before they hit the ground. Everything went dark for her where her small body hit the layer of ice waiting below them as the fell further and the now mortally wounded wolf crashed above her. She didn't feel her ribcage breaking. She didn't feel some of her organs rupture. She didn't feel her skull crack. She didn't feel her spine pop like bubble wrap. She didn't feel the snow suffocate her had her lungs been working.
Asya felt the Peace.
She woke up to the feeling of snow around her in a cold wasteland. Asya had been here before. She had "died" before. Taking a moment to try and hold onto the Peace, she kept her eyes closed. But then she heard rustling, like another newly dead dhampir. She could hear the sound of skin rubbing against skin trying to warm phantom flesh. This was his or her first time dying.
"Hell is Cold," she mused remembering a famous quote of Dante's. It was fitting. She had been here before often after being poisoned or stabbed or shot. Sometimes she was outmatched in a fight and her neck was snapped. As long as a dhampir's body was not totally and completely compromised, they had a good shot of "waking back up" anywhere from a couple minutes to a couple months depending on how low it would take for their bodies to heal. Their hearts and lunges would just take a break as well as their minds falling dormant. She vaguely remembered falling off the cliff. The terrifying vertigo and weightlessness. At least she had gone quickly. No doubt Roman would chastise her for her carelessness but in the end he would be happy she came back to him. At least she died trying to protect him and would gladly do so again. In her world, she knew her life was not valued as much as Roman or even Kotsya. Asya didn't mind being dead. Here pain was not a possible sensation. Here she knew where she would go when she died her final death. It was the reassurance that there were not pearly gates or burning pits to fear and dread like most people who equated religious myths with morality and judiciary system. She could be a good person purely because she felt like it, not because she hoped she would receive some reward after death. She could kill and hurt others without fear of what unknown "fresh" Hell awaiting her. Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints.
Asya opened her eyes to find a small dark haired boy with green eyes. She had seen eyes like that before. His lips were slightly discoloured like he had been perhaps strangled or suffocated. He walked over, leaving footprints, before holding out his hand to help her up. She didn't need this child's help, but she appreciated the sentiment. "Who are you?" he asked with childlike eyes.
She felt a twist in her gut. This boy was too young to die. He had to be only around seven month's old maybe? There was no way in knowing if he was trapped here forever. Cheated of immortality. It was better he learned quickly where he was and the state he was in. She didn't believe in sugar coating things, "I'm dead. And so are you."
He gave her a curious look, cocking his head confused and a little over whelmed by her statement. She let the idea sink in. "So I'm in Hell?" he asked morbidly. She noted the rosary around his neck and started laughing to herself. Figures she would be stuck with a bible thumper. "Yes and no. This is in a way an afterlife. But it's more restrictive and loosely ruled at the same time. Here it's mainly creatures that were living, but don't constitute as human. Humans have different souls than us but that is a whole new debate. And some creatures live revenants or vampires just stay dead we are guessing. But it's also more liberal in the sense that there is no 'final judgement'. It doesn't matter in the end if you were the princess of dreamland or the fucking king of hell, we all end up here. Just some stay longer than others. For some it's a blessing, some it's a curse," She shrugged. She was very familiar with the laws of the dead. She had sent many people here for good. Even now the werewolf she died killing could be lurking in the trees somewhere ready for round two.
Damien had a hard time processing what the young woman had said. It just seemed so odd. He had been told vampires had no souls and he thought that dhampirs just got lobbed in with. But this did explain Jonathan and how he seemed to be alive and well all of a sudden. She seemed pretty sure of what she was talking about and he could tell she was being honest. Why lie in the land of the dead? It was reassuring that this seemed to be the extent of death for them and it couldn't possibly get any worse.
"I'm Damien," he introduced. He debated saying his last name but he wasn't sure if the last name Volturi would be welcomed in all parts so he kept his mouth shut. "Asya Mishukov," she said robotically before looking around her. He still felt awkward with this stranger, but was still curious, "So how did you die if you don't mind me asking?"
She paused and sighed, "Got sat on." To her it was part of the truth the force of the werewolf's body landing on top of her plus the force of her crashing to the ground. So in a way she had died by a werewolf sitting on her. She liked to poke fun at the many ways she had died. Asya couldn't help but smile mischievously.
"Well, how did you die?" she asked curious as well. He grimaced, "I drowned." That explained his lips.
"You'll probably be fine. As long as no one decides to burn your body or something crazy you will probably wake back up soon. Unfortunately time works differently here. Sometimes you will be here for a week and find out it has only been five minutes in the realm of the living. And other times you will be here for a day and you later learn you were dead for a year. But you're going to be okay," she shrugged smiling. She hated seeing young children trapped here. It wasn't right. She wasn't sure how damaged her body was so there was a slight chance she might be trapped here for a long time. At least she didn't feel cheated being over half a millennium old.
A rustle in the land scape made her freeze. "It's a werewolf," Damien said in shock, as if he had never seen one before. "We better move then," she warned as she broke out running. The boy followed her, struggling to keep up with shorter legs. Plus he wasn't used to being here. In this world you had no pulse, there was no air to have your lunges fight for. You could run for weeks if you had the focus to do so. He fell behind panting, but he followed none the less. "Where are we going?" he struggled to say. "Away from the wolf," she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I got that part!" the boy snapped. Suddenly she felt less bad about him dying. She couldn't have him slowing her down with his questions and naivety. They needed to just keep running away from the wolf, find a more temporary location to stay until he came back to life or she figured out if she was permanently dead or not, and keep a low of a profile as possible. She was not the most popular person to be around here. When dhampirs were sent here permanently, they often spend their sudden surplus of time swearing vengeance on you and plotting for revenge for when their 'guest of honor' arrived. The boy was lucky. He had no enemies and probably was just a stray who had an accident. He didn't belong to a family that people wanted exterminated.
Demetri dove down into the water to grab Damien, in the hopes that he was still alive. Swimming back up to the shrinking surface. The narrowing pocket of air. The three other children had to resort to trending water, arching their necks to keep their faces above the water line as their heavy clothes weighted them down. Shaking the limp body, Demetri listened for vitals. There was no pulse. No breath. Not a bit of warmth left in the now vacant body. Oliva gasped as she heard Demetri swear, breaking composure for the first time. He had always been the scary, mean teacher. Now he was desperately trying to hold on to the dead child in his hands.
"Carlisle is upstairs. We can bring Damien upstairs. Dr. Cullen can fix this!" Marina suggested now struggling to breathe. Damien couldn't be dead! He was not supposed to die. He was supposed to grow up and joke how he was taller than Alec and tour libraries around the world and go to art school and be a Maybe. Demetri shook his head. They needed to follow Aro's orders and keep ALL the children a secret. He had to follow Aro's orders no matter the circumstances. Unbeknownst to him, this was something so deeply instilled in all the guards by Chelsea. He had to follow Aro's orders no matter the circumstances.
"For the love of all that is good, break the gosh dang rules! This is a matter of life and death! An innocent child could die, the only remaining child of someone who is like a little brother to you! There is a well-trained doctor upstairs and you cower behind Aro's rules!" Marina felt herself start crying. Damien was dead and her father was not doing anything about it because Aro had his hooks so deep into the free will of all he guards. She had to watch her father hold the dead body of the boy who had been like a brother to her and people do nothing about it. She had never felt so useless in her life.
Above them Demetri could here screaming. Another murder had occurred. He needed to go upstairs and investigate. He quickly searched for the Building's tenors and could not hear past Donovan's shield. He swore again.
There was nothing he could do.
One freed himself from the ice and ran to the edge of the cliff. "ASYA!" he yelled in anguish as Two held him back from the edge. He watched her as she disappeared. Jane and Alec stood in awe struggling to comprehend what had just happened. One quickly pulled the rope from his belt tying it to the ice axe, imbedding it in the unstable ice. He slipped over to belay down. He kept slipping as he made slow work down the slippery cliffs "We can jump down since we can survive the fall," Jane suggested. "We can get you there faster and help her best we can," Alec agreed backing up his sister as they leapt over the ledge while carrying. It was a long drop and even landing sent a shock up their shins. They ran towards the crevasse that held them. Snow and ice from the crumbling cliff had covered them completely. "Asya?" One called again desperately.
The four of them scrapped desperately at the snow to dig up the bodies. Throwing the now naked form of the dead werewolf. One delicately brushed the snow away from her face and blue lips as he pulled away the goggles and face mask. Jane gasped realizing it had been a young girl all along, her mascara smeared somehow in battle and peppermint lip gloss staining her stiff lips. One continued screaming at her, begging her to come back. Her eyes lay open, staring at the winter storm blindly. At least she died bravely, facing death rather than shielding her eyes from it, One thought as he closed her grey eyes with shaking fingers after taking off his gloves.
Roman pulled away his own mask and goggles, whipping away the dampness that betrayed him as he kissed her forehead. He prayed she would come back to him. Roman had never felt so useless. He could see the cold blood seeping through her jacket. He would keep it on since it would conserve as much body heat as possible. He would not move her, in risk of causing more damage. He needed her to come back. Keep my daughter safe. He had failed his mentor Kirya.
Demetri could feel the needles in his brain burn as he fought against Chelsea's sway. Marina was right. He told the children to follow him. He had them stand on the lowest landing, still out of sight but at least only not mid shin deep in water allowing them to catch their breath from treading water from nearly half an hour. He had Marina and Tiago help hold Damien's body in a sitting position so his face was out of the water in the miraculous chance dhampirs could heal from this and he would snap awake. Demetri ran and shut off the water valve. Next he ran to find Aro. The Cullens were too shocked by the murder to inquire why Demetri was soaking wet. Demetri grasped his maters hand. "NO," Aro screeched. This couldn't be. Subject Two could not be dead! The murder of Corin seemed insignificant now. There was nothing they could do. Aro knew the Cullens weren't the cause so he quickly dismissed them, telling them to speak to no one of this. Or else. As soon as it was safe everyone ran down stairs to find all the children crying and in shock. Marina watched as they took the body from her numb arms. She watched as Joham tried in vain to pump the water out of his stomach. She didn't process Heidi pick her up, telling her that she was going to take her away to change into dry clothes. All Marina could process was the pain in her chest knowing Damien had died.
Donovan came down to see as soon as he heard the news. It couldn't be real. It couldn't be. He was met by the lifeless body lying on the floor. He knelt down and was pushed away by Demetri and Joham, "You will just get in the way." He looked up when he heard a woman scream. Joan stood in the hallway, as she covered her mouth with her hands to hold the sobs in. He stood to comfort her, hugging her so she would not run in and anger the vampires. She did not need to die for this. He had promised Alec to help take care of Damien. To be a good role model. He had failed him. Donovan could not even imagine the amount of pain the twins would be in when they learned of Damien's death.
"We can call the Cullens back. Carlisle is a doctor," Donovan suggested. "No, the Cullens are to know nothing," Aro hissed at him. "Brother, are you so caught up in your own selfish greed that you would let an innocent member of your family die? Your own grandson?" Marcus was floored. "Yes, yes I would."
"Does someone have a clock?" Joham asked. Demetri robotically told him the time. "I'm calling it. Time of death 12:56 January 10th 2015."
Asya knew that there was a cave just a little ways away. With a stroke of luck it would be empty and they could stop there to formulate their next move. He nodded as if he understood what she meant without her verbally explaining her plan. Asya just prayed for no more surprises.
Damien had never run this far and for this long. It felt amazing as he lunged over fallen trees and dodged boulders. Each stride propelled him at least twelve metres. He soon found he didn't need to breath, his heart wasn't racing begging for rest. He just needed to keep running, trying to keep up with the girl Asya. She wasn't even much of a girl, she seemed too old to be considered such. He kept seeing the image of a cave pop up in his vision as he ran. That was where she was running to. Was she running to the people hiding in the caves? Were they to be trusted? Did she even know there were people already there?
Asya slowed when she heard shouting. Yells and cheers, but they were voices none the less which were much more welcome than beastly howls. Bare foot boys with wild hair and feral eyes. Their displaced shadows watched, circling them. Asya felt for her knife and found herself disarmed. She had never seen any of them before, so they didn't know who she was. Nothing about them was familiar to her. They all must have been strays when they had been alive, dying violently to be trapped here. Strays were never stable to begin with in comparison to dhampirs who had been born of dhampir parents. Death had only drove them mad.
Damien could feel presences closing in around them, like predators working together to take down large prey. He could feel the chaos of what was left of their minds. This primal rawness. Many of them had died centuries ago and had been rotting away here. Most boys or rather young men. Their hair was matted with sticks and leaves. Occasionally he saw a French braid that had been reduced to dreadlocks. White night gowns stained and ripped beyond repair. When he locked eyes with one, he could feel the immense sense of loss and disorientation. They found meaning by banding together. A person had found a way to band them together. He kept getting glimpses of an older boy. One who had not died too recently?
"Wait, we just want to talk," he said holding up his hands, calling them from the shadows. What is he doing? Asya wondered, growling. "Can we go talk to your leader? I think I know him." This boy was crazy.
The dhampirs swarming them stepped forward. The dirt had painted fearsome war marks on their pale young faces. Much of their clothes were hides of animals, most likely wolves that they had bested. It only added to their wildness. "You know him?" one laughed. Damien nodded trying to hold his ground. He didn't know who their leader was, but he hoped he could stall long enough to have them take them to him, all the while reading as much as he could off these creatures and maybe off their leader. Asya just stared at him in disbelief, she shoulders still squared ready to fight as she eyed up who would be her first target.
Calmly as possible he followed behind the strangers as they walked towards the caves, which on further investigation were filled with dead dhampirs shuffling like ants. He hoped that by being as non-threatening as seemingly possible, he would reduce the risk of triggering any instincts that would motivate them to attack. Anything from relaxed muscles, to slower breathing, to even lowering his gaze from them to avoid eye contact. "Relax, trust me," he breathed to Asya so only they could hear. "Like hell," she mouthed back.
"We found two more recruits. The boys says he knows you?" a dhampir said as they came up to the largest cave. In the farthest depths he could make out a thrown and the boy sitting in it. What made Damien gasped in shock was the fact that the thrown was made up of the skulls of were wolves. "Where are they from?" a voice called from the thrown. "They didn't say," the dhampir responded. Damien knew he needed a response. Something strongly told him to lie. To not tell the leader who he really was and where he was from. But oddly he felt like Asya could tell the truth. He breathed this as quietly as he could to her, urging her to tell the truth. "My name is Asya Mishukov," she announced. "Oh, a Mishukov. I deeply respect your family. You will make a great asset to our Tribe. Have Andrew here show you around and how we now operate," he announced warmly. She was in awe. Tribe? This place had always been a place of anarchy and chaos. Every man for himself. When did the dhampirs start congregating and rallying together? The dhampir now named Andrew motion for her to follow him, leaving Damien with this unnamed ruler of the dead. But the kid could look out for himself. And if not he was bound to wake up from here any minute now, alive and well.
"And what is your name?" the voice called. Stepping forward Damien took a deep breath, he tried to see who the boy was. "My name is Damien," he said simply. "Damien what?" the voice called.
"Just Damien. I drowned in a lake back home and woke up here," he asserted.
"And where is home?"
"Just a small town in England."
"And you were swimming in this lake? In the middle of fucking winter?"
"I was walking on it when I fell through the ice and got trapped and drowned."
He was met with silence.
"And who might you just be then?" he asked this voice.
"I thought you said you knew me?" Damien could hear the sarcasm in his voice. He scrambled to try and read this stranger.
"You use to live in New York? I think I saw you there at one point? Your face seems familiar."
"But I haven't shown you may face at all. Now I have caught you lying twice."
This stranger was clever. Damien needed to find something, "Your name started with an H?"
"Bravo, let me guess? Mind reader? I happen to know a mind reader or two. Maybe he could make you say the truth. The one thing I hate more than anything is a liar. A liar was the one who framed me and got me killed."
"Then step into the shadows where I can see you!" Damien ordered. He heard the crunching of bones as the boy rose. The stranger stepped out into the dim light.
His hair was just as dark as Damien's. His eyes just as hallow, but were so dark you couldn't see his pupils. He had to be around sixteen of seventeen. He had been full grown when he died. Damien felt like he still recognized this stranger. The way he talked, presenting himself as a natural born leader who had found a way to govern the rule-less. The shape on his cheek bones. The tint of olive as if he was of Mediterranean decent. Greek even. He held out his bare hand for Damien to shake.
"My name is Hadley and I am Prince of the Damned."