Caged Wings

Chapter Twenty Five: The Circle of Shadows

Dimus was sitting on the couch, with his head leaned back. Den Maco comes storming in the room, angry. She goes in front of Dimus, "Dimus!!"

Dimus finally looks at her, expressionless. He sighs, feeling annoyed, "What?"

Den Maco's eyes widened, "Don't what me!!! You realized what you have done??!!"

Dimus sighs again, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I'm not following you."

Den Maco growls, "That mortal!!!! You made her one of us!!!"

Dimus leans forward a bit, "So?"

Den Maco yells, "So?!! You know the rules!!! And yet you broke them!! You broke the secret code!!!"

Dimus growls, "So what? You think I care about the code anymore? No. I don't."

Den Maco gasps, "You should!! It's been our family honor for centuries!! You know you're not suppose to turn anyone without The Counsel's consent!! If you go against their wishes......it could result in torture and death!!!"

Dimus then stands up and goes right up to Den Maco. Now face to face, Dimus growls, "You have the nerve to threaten me with The Counsel's pathetic punishments?! I'm the one who was choosen to be the successor of our family!! So don't go around and threaten me!! The Counsel has nothing against me.......even if they tried.....I'd kill them all!! And you know what I'm capable of, elder sister!!"

Den Maco's eyes widened. She began to shake a little, feeling a bit of fear. Den Maco then grunt, "B-but why that girl?! Why her??!!!"

Dimus glares at her, "Because.......I love her. You know that. I'd give anything for her to be by my side, no matter the cost!! Besides.....you always said it was time for me to find a bride to rule with me. So.......I found her. My choice is Raven."

Den Maco sighs, "What's she got that no other doesn't?"

Dimus smirks and chuckles, "She's everything I ever dreamed of. Everything I always wanted. She has a heart. That's what she's got that no other doesn't. And anyways........it was alright for you to turn Xanthos without permission, and yet it's not alright for me to turn Raven? Little contradicting there, don't you think?"

Den Maco's eyes widened as she let out a loud gasp, "That was different!!!!"

Dimus smirks, "How so? You loved him and wanted to be with him. That doesn't sound too different to me. You also went against The Councel's permission while doing so. I love Raven and want to be with her. So I turned her just as you turned Xanthos. Look at you now.....you're still with him and you still love him. So.....I would like to have the same as you have now. A companion to spend eternity with. I've found mine and now I'm complete."

Den Maco remains silent for a few moments. She then looks at Dimus, "You love her that much?"

Dimus nods, "Yes I do. I'm always fulfilled when I'm with her."

Den Maco smiles, thinking of the times she had with her love, Xanthos. She then looks at Dimus, smiling softly. She then puts her hands on Dimus' shoulders, "You have my blessing, little brother. If you love her that much, then this girl must be really something."

Dimus smiles, "Thank you, Den Maco. All you need is just time to get to know Raven. I know you'd like her."

Den Maco chuckles, "She sounds bold. She made Sarah furious and lived. No one has ever done that. So......I guess she does intrique me a little."

Dimus smiles more. He then leans in and kisses Den Maco on the cheek. Den Maco closes her eyes and gives Dimus a kiss on his cheek. Dimus leans back and places a hand on the side of her face. He then says, "Our empire is complete. We'll be able to rise above the rest of this world!!"

Raven is asleep in her room, the day dying out as she slept. She tosses and turns, having horrible dreams. She gets flashes of blood, people being slaughtered, and people screaming in agony and suffering.

Raven tosses and turns once more, breathing heavily. She gets more flashes of horrible things. She sees herself killing more people and being covered in blood. She sees herself laugh insanely while she's doing these evil deeds. Raven turns back and forth, breathing and growling vampirically.

Her eyes burst open and she rises into a situp and screams. She looks around, seeing nothing has changed. She breathes heavily once again, feeling fear. She then hears a knock on the door. Raven leans her legs over the side of her bed, "Come in."

Evan opens the door, "Raven? Are you alright?"

Raven sighs, "I'm fine. Why?"

Evan steps in the room, "I heard you scream."

Raven's eyes widened a bit, "Oh."

Evan then asks, "What happened?"

Raven wipes her eyes with her hand, "Nothing.....just a nightmare. Nothing more."

Evan nods, "Okay. What was it about?"

Raven then looks at Evan. She then looks to the floor, "I don't wanna talk about it. I.....I just want to be left alone."

Evan makes a saddened expression, "Oh....okay then."

With that, he leaves the room. Raven looks to the floor and sighs. She then thinks of Dimus' lastest event at the club. She thinks hard as to what he had in store for her. Another lesson. That's what he said. But what kind of a lesson and what is it?

Raven then looks towards her dresser drawers. She then stands up and goes over to look inside them. Raven sighs, "For some strange reason......I'm sick of my clothes."

With then goes to her closet and takes some money out from the bag she won from the club. She then leaves the house and goes out shopping for new clothes to her liking. She finally found outfits she was satisfied with.

Hours later, it was inches away from the big event at The Barbarian's Inn. Raven then changes into one of her new outfits. She looks at herself in the mirror. She wore a ripped white skirt. It was short on the left side, while it was long and ripped on the right side. Underneath she wore tight black shorts as well. She also wore a tight white, tank top with ripped sleeves that showed her shoulders. On the tips of every rip was a light purple colour. Raven turns and looks at herself, seeing her stomach was, for once, slim. Raven smiles, "Finally! I can wear belly tops without having a bit of fat show!!"

Since Raven's transformation, she also gained a pinch of muscle on her stomach as well. Raven once again put her hair up into a ponytail. She then spikes out her bangs to make her look more sharp. She then places black slip-on shoes. She then puts her sword to her side, looking herself over once again. She then looks upon her dresser, seeing her raven feather. She picks it up and looks at it. Her eyes narrow, "I.....I don't need this anymore...."

She then drops it. It glided itself onto Raven's floor. She then turns her back and leaves out the door, heading towards the club for, as Dimus calls it, her next lesson.

As Raven went to the front door, Serenity comes in, "Hey, Raven. Where're you off to?"

Raven replies, "Out."

Serenity's eyes widened again, "You're not gonna go back to that place and fight are you?"

Raven shrugs, "How should I know? Dimus just wanted me to meet him there."

Serenity then says, "I'm coming too. I'm not having you take a chance in case you do fight again!"

Raven shrugs again, "I don't care. Do as you wish. You can't possibly cause further wrong, since you cost me enough last time."

Serenity gasps at what Raven just said. Before she could reply, Evan comes in, "What's going on?"

Serenity then says, "She's going back to that club."

Evan sighs in frustration, "You're gonna go fight again?"

Raven then says, "Like I told Serenity, I don't know. Dimus wants me to be there."

As soon as Evan heard that Dimus was gonna be there, he then says, "I'm going too then!"

Raven shakes her head, "Geez......why doesn't the whole fucking house come with me!!"

Hikari skips from the livingroom, smiling, "Don't mind if we do!!"

Behind her was Coslotus, Hova, Pheonix, Zero, Sith, and Sythe. Raven's eyes widened and she sighs from frustration, "Let's just go."

Pheonix then pulls up in his jeep towards the club. He looks and says, "This is where you hang out? What a dump."

Raven grunts, "Just shut up."

She then gets out of the car and slams the door, almost breaking it. Pheonix jumps out, "Hey! Be careful!! You could've broke that!"

Raven growls, "Like I care."

Raven and the group then go up to the door. She knocks. The same devil guy answers. He then bows, "Come in, Lady."

Raven nods a thank you. She then walks in as did the rest of the gang. She then turns to them, "Wait here."

Serenity looks at Raven, "Are you mad?"

Raven then says sarcastically, "No! I'm walking on fucking sunshine and having the time of my life!!"

With that, she walks away before anyone could say anything. Raven then heads to the backroom, once there, Dimus is sitting on one of the benches. Raven places her sword down as she says, "Hey."

Dimus gets up, "Hey, love."

Raven sighs, "Hope you don't mind.....I brought friends."

Dimus smirks, "You brought them? Or is it more like they brought you?"

Raven nods, "Yup. That's about the size of it."

Dimus chuckles, "No matter. They should see your true power anyways. Get a taste of exactly what you can do."

Raven raises an eyebrow, "My true power?"

Dimus nods, "Tonight's lesson is learning how to use your powers."

Raven then says, "You mean I'm gonna fight tonight?"

Dimus nods again, "Correct."

Raven smirks, "Good. I need to take some anger out."

Her eyes glow red as she smirks even more. Dimus walks up to her and strokes the side of her face with his hand, "Once you win........I've got something to show you after........and something to ask you."

Raven looks right at him after he said that.

Serenity then looks to the others, "Did us coming upset her?"

Hikari nods, "Yeah. You should know her by now. She doesn't like to share her affairs too much with others."

Hova shrugs, "What's the big deal?"

Sith sighs, "Raven thinks it's none of our business on what she does."

Coslotus then says, "And it's not."

Serenity gasps, "Coslotus!!"

Coslotus shrugs, "What? It's true."

Zero then says, "If it makes Raven upset, maybe we should leave."

Before anyone could say anything, the announcer was heard, "Alright!! People back for more?"

The crowd cheers loud. The announcer smiles, "That's what I like to hear! Tonight.......we have a special treat for your viewing pleasure!! Tonight we have...........Vampire versus Mountian Ogre!!!"

The crowd began to break into a riot of cheers. The announcer then says, "Back with us.....we have our fair lady......Raging Raven!!!"

Raven the steps into the ring as the crowd got louder. The announcer then says, "And her opponent!! Thrashing Thrash!!"

A big grey ogre steps into the ring. He stood almost 7,0 ft in height. He had a messy, white mohawk with a lot of piercings on his left eyebrow and more piercings on his lower jaw. His teeth stood out, big and sharp. He had spikes growing from his arms and shoulders. He also wore ripped black shorts. He also had both of his nipples pierced on his chest. He lets out a growl and smirks at the sight of Raven.

Raven turns and sees Dimus come up to her in the ring.

Evan sees Dimus and growls, wanting to go up there and fight him.

Dimus whispers, "The lesson is simple. Don't hold back."

Dimus then kisses Raven's lips. He then parts the kiss and smirks, "Kill him! Give him no mercy."

With that, he gives Raven an evil smirk. Raven smirks as well and nods, "Don't worry. I won't."

Evan's eyes widened when he saw the way Dimus was smirking. He then begins to shake with anger, as he knew he told something to Raven that wasn't right. Zero looks to Evan, "What's the matter with you?"

Evan growls, "This fight should be stopped! Dimus is out of his fucking mind!!"

A song began to play in the club. It was called What I Always Wanted by Kittie. Raven waves her hair over her shoulder and glares at Thrash. They walk slowly, staring one another down. They were both ready to fight.

Zero then looks to the fight, "It's just like last time. Are you sure you're not saying that because you're jealous?"

Evan shakes his head, "N-no!! I mean it!! I'm not joking!! Dimus is a fucking psycho!!"

Zero laughs, "Dude. It's okay to admit you're jealous."

Evan's face turns a pinch red, "I am....b-but.....that's not why I'm saying it!!!"

The announcer then says, "Okay! Let the match begin!!"

The ogre smirks as he jumps forward at Raven, with his giant claws. Raven's eyes narrow as her eyes glew red. Her fangs reveal themselves as she allowed her anger to take over. Raven ducks and swings her arm on Thrash's chest. He goes flying upwards from the force and flips onto his stomach hard. He began to gasp for air. Raven's eyes widened. She looks at her arm, not believing the brute strength. She thinks to herself, "D-did I just do that??"

Thrash gets up as he coughs out blood. He growls from anger and turns to Raven. She smirks as she does a back flip, throwing a double kick to his face. Raven lands on her feet. Not only did she have strength.....but also speed as well. Raven says to herself, "So.....this is my power!"

Raven smirks even more, feeling her anger surge within her. Thrash went flying backwards onto the nearest table outside the ring. As the announcer went to call the match, Raven puts her arm out, "I'm not done yet."

The announcer nods and stands there. Raven then flips out of the ring and onto the floor. The crowd goes wild. She then grabs Thrash and throws him upwards. He crashes into a light bulb onto the ceiling, causing a major power surge. Half the lights in the building began to flicker on and off, while electricity began to manifest. As the ogre fell, Raven kicked him across the room. He lands onto the bar. Raven smirks and walks to him.

Dimus crosses his arms and smirks, "That's right.....play with your opponent."

Raven's fangs grew even more as she goes on top of the bar. Thrash's eyes widened. He began to try to back away from her. Raven walks over him. She then kneels on top of him, now face to face, she smirks, "Having fun yet?"

She then grabs Thrash by his hair. She then lifts him up with one arm. With one throw, he lands hard onto the ring. A big bashing sound was heard.

Serenity gasps, "Raven, stop!!"

As Thrash got up, before anyone knew it, Raven was behind him.

Sith's eyes widened, "Holy shit! Such speed!!"

Thrash turns around and looks at Raven. She smirks, showing her fangs. Her eyes glew brighter than before. Raven's nails grew even more as well. She then swings her arm back and forth a couple of times. Thrash stands there frozen.

Dimus smirks, "Yes....."

Raven walks away, smirking. She then licks her finger nails, as of now, they were covered in blood. Before Raven set foot out of the ring, Thrash falls to his knees as blood sprayed out from his throat. He then fell forward, dead.

Raven smirks even more as the announcer calls out, "Our winner!!! Raging Raven!!"

The crowd yells even louder with cheers. Dimus walks up to Raven. He places a hand on her face, smirking, "Astounding! Absolutely astounding!"

Raven smirks, "I would've killed him quicker, but I wanted some fun."

Dimus smirks even more, "This lesson is adjourned."

Raven smirks more as her fangs reside to normal and her eyes go from red to black. Dimus looks to see Raven's friends start to walk to them. He grabs Raven's arm, "Let's go."

He then pulls Raven into the back room. He then grabs Raven's sword and heads out the back door. They were both outside. Raven looks back, "W-what about the others?"

Dimus then says, "They'll be fine without you for now."

Back at the castle, Den Maco stands in the middle of a dark room. She then says, "I've brought you all here in accordance to the previous events."

Others step out from the shadows as well. One steps right beside Den Maco. He had slicked back, short black hair. He had dark, sapphire blue eyes with a very handsome face. He stood around 6,0 ft in height. He had bold shoulders as well. He wore a black tuxedo with a long black cape with red on the inner part. He also wore sleak looking boots. He smirks, "My dearest. What has Dimus done now?"

Den Maco touches his face, "Nothing that we can't handle, my loving Xanthos."

Xanthos chuckles, "I love it when you call me that."

Sarah steps out from the darkness, "It's not about that mortal is it?!"

Den Maco then says, "I'm afraid it is."

Sarah growls, "Can I kill her?!"

Den Maco shakes her head, "No you can't."

A woman comes from the shadows. She had long silver hair, with yellow eyes. She wore a long and tight black dress, with long sleeves. She says darkly, "What about the mortal, Den Maco?"

Den Maco then says, "Dimus......has finally choosen his bride to lead us!"

There was a giant gasping sound in the room. Sarah roars, "That can't be possible!!! I wanted to be his bride!!!!! He chose a mortal over me??!!!!"

Den Maco then says, "His mind's made up. From what he tells me......she's powerful beyond belief."

Whispering was heard among the other people in the room. Sarah growls, "I bet I'm more powerful!!"

Den Maco smirks, "We'll see. I'm gonna get to know her myself!"

Xanthos then says, "Has he turned her yet?"

Den Maco nods, "Yes."

More gasping was heard. Sarah shouts, "B-but that's against the Code!!"

The girl with the silver hair shouts, "Dimus should be killed!"

Den Maco growls, "Mind your tongue, Mona!"

Mona growls and keeps quiet. Den Maco smirks, "This is just what we need!! Raven can help our clan rise to the top!!! I can mold her into being like us!!! So can Dimus!!! Now.....members of the Circle of Shadows......are you with me?!!"

Everyone in the room then look at one another.

Dimus then takes Raven to a forest area with the river flowing passed it. Raven then says, "Wh-what did you want to tell me?"

Dimus turns and smiles. He then gets out a small black case. He opens it. Inside was a small silver ring, with a blue sapphire in it. He then kneels down in front of Raven. He holds her hand as he holds up the ring. Raven gasps, knowing what he was gonna ask.

Dimus then says, "Raven? Will you marry me? Will you become my Queen?"

Raven couldn't believe what was being asked. Everything was happening so fast. Dimus says in a whisper, "Marry me."