Chapter 13: The truth does not lie

Raven's family were riding horses while Jason was running with the same speed. He ran ahead of the group to show them the way. It was dawn and Jason was fearing the sun would soon reach him, he had his cloak on, but it wouldn't help for too long.

"Are we there yet?!" Richard asked loudly as his horse jumped over a root sticking out of the ground. It was harder for them to hear each other as their voices seem to rush by with the cold morning wind. It had been early autumn when Jason made the blood bond with Raven and it wouldn't be too long before the snow would fall.

Jason laughed at his childish question, before yelling back. "An hour maybe."

"Maybe?" Kori asked, she had listened to the question and was getting curious herself.

"It's been awhile since I've been to Trigon's castle and-" Jason stopped as they reached a hill. "We're here."

The four humans looked up at the hill and gasped at the sight. Trigon's castle was build into the huge hill wall with dark stone bricks. Many towers and many rooms were visible, there was no doubt that there was more inside the mountain. The roof of the castle was dark red along with the windows, many of which was stained windows with a picture of something. The castle reached from over the hill to all the way to the bottom, at the ground was two huge dark wooden doors guarded by two black armored guards.

"Who goes there?" Asked the guard.

"Lord Jason Todd." Jason called back, and not even a minute late the doors opened for the group. He leaned back to the humans, "Stay close to me, don't wander off, don't touch anything, don't touch anyone, and say you're my servants." He whispered, and received nods.

The group walked into the castle, the humans stayed behind Jason as ordered, none dared to walk off. They received many glances as they walked by Trigon's servants.

"What are those?" Garfield asked and pointed to a demonic looking servant. The servant was the same height as Richard, their skin was dark red while their eyes glowed with a red-orange glow. Many of them had white messy hair around black horns that sprouted from their heads. Their bodies were marked with black marks that Jason knew was Trigon's language saying either 'servant' or 'minion'. Many of them walked around half naked, they only wore some fabric that covered their croach.

"Demons, Trigon's minions." Jason answered as he sped up slightly. "Don't bother them and they can't bother you. They're bound to obey the higher Lords, me included."

The group made their way towards the throne room, where Trigon most likely wanted him. He was half considering how he was going to keep Raven's family out of Trigon's grasp. He began to wonder if it was such a good idea to bring them after all.

xXx

Malchior smashed into the black stone behind him. Raven was stronger than she looked, he thought to himself. Even after two hours of attack on her, she had barely broken a sweat. He was getting out of shape.

Raven stood across the room feeling quite proud of herself, she realized that she didn't need weapons to conquer vampires.

After Trigon had said that she was truly his daughter, she went on a straight attack while yelling and screaming at him, calling him a liar, calling him scum, calling him a monster. That she wasn't like him.

She wasn't. She wasn't going to be either. Not in this life, nor the next.

When she had tried to attack Trigon, she was attacked by his court, four on one, fair enough. She did manage to take out two of them, but she was knocked out by Slade, which only made her hate him more.

She had woken up in the same room as the first time, but this time, she was one: Strapped to the bed. And two: in there with Trigon himself. While kicking and screaming again, she was helpless against him, and with some magic he possessed, he forced her to calm down.

That had been a strange feeling. One second every nerve in her body was filled with fire and anger, and the next second… She was warm with a comfortable feeling, like she was bathing in a warm bath. Even her mind was melting into a comfortable cocoon.

She wasn't really aware of what he told her, something about possession, and that he now owned her. But her mind didn't seem to care. Her mind was accepting it, like someone would offer candy to a child or meat presented to a hungry wolf.

Now, she was battling against his court one against one. Trigon was sitting on the sideline of a training room while watching what she was capable of by hand. So far, she had beat Brother Blood, Jinx, and Malchior. Brother Blood fell with only three hits, one kick to the stomach and a kick to the face. Jinx had been swifter than the older man, but still fell when Raven tripped her over. Malchior had given her a fight, but he still lost when her pure strength smashed him into the wall, creating a small crater in the wall.

Slade would've been next if one of his servants hadn't come to interrupt. "Sire," It bowed before Trigon, "Todd has arrived."

Raven's mind felt clouded as the servant said the name, it felt familiar, yet she couldn't remember. Trigon nodded to the servant before it vanished out the door.

Trigon stood and walked up to Raven, who still stood facing the crater in the wall. "Do you wish to join me?" Raven felt herself nod before she automatically followed him.

xXx

The four members in the court sat with outfits from the era they had been changed. Brother Blood sat in a dark medieval priest outfit with a funny looking hat. Jinx sat in a dark pink victorian dress. Slade sat in black armor that didn't seem to come from any era. While Malchior sat with a medieval knight outfit.

Trigon himself sat with an antler crown, including the skull, with a long black cape that covered the throne. His body was wearing that thing he called clothing over his lower chest with a black piece of fabric trailing down to his knees. His arms held gauntlets that yet again were covered with human remain skulls.

Raven didn't know how, but she found herself wearing a blood red long dress with black feathers decorated from the waist and down and over her shoulders like a cape. The waist of her dress was decorated with black pearls and gems. To be honest, Raven didn't like the color red, she would prefer blue or at least dark purple. But she found herself comfortable in the clothing.

Raven was standing on Trigon's left side, she was not seated but she didn't mind.

The huge wooden doors opened at the end of the hall, five familiar figures walked in, each looking at her with wide eyes. "Raven?" Some of them whispered, barely for her to hear. The one in the lead was not looking at her though, his eyes were fixed on her father.

"Jason Todd!" Trigon said loudly, the tone of his voice suggested that he was mildly joyfilled to see him, yet it seem irritated and angry. His eyes turned to the humans behind him, he could sense their 'pureness' and 'innocence'. "You have brought weaklings?"

"Servants," Jason corrected. "I felt the need of company on my trip, and since you took the one I prefered, I had to take the second choice." He ignored the pretend glares the four humans sent to him. "What is it that you want?"

Trigon laughed, his hand raised to Raven's chin, carefully lifting her chin. "I was curious to whom had made a blood bond. A bond like that is unbreakable by anyone but me." He laughed. "But I would never have guessed that you would have made a blood bond. Not after the fiasco with the last one."

The humans turned to Jason, who seem to have turned to stone at this point. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jinx laughed, breaking the conversation. "If I may speak, Sire. It seem like Todd has been keeping a little secret." Her pale hand wiped away a fake tear. "Do you not remember Ramona, the little flower that burned in the black fire."

Jason had actually expected Raven to react, but she didn't. She stood still, almost too still. Finding this strange, Jason moved his gaze to her. The first thing he noticed was the lost and clouded look in her eyes, literally! Her eyes were grayed over, a lair of see through mist covered those amethyst eyes.

Jason had meet Ramona a few years ago and they had quickly become friends. It didn't last long as they made the blood bond to keep each other safe, Ramona had only done it for fame. A month after they made the blood bond, she betrayed Jason. She hurt him, stabbing an iron dagger in his knee before running back to the humans. But the blood bond had other ideas, not a week after Ramona's betrayal he hunted her down.

Jinx had actually helped him track her, that's how she knew of the black fire. How Jason had let Ramona's entire family burn with her betrayal. And so, after Ramona was dead Jason was freed from the blood bond.

It wasn't the best idea to make a new blood bond like the one he made with Raven, but his soul told him that she wouldn't betray him. Not like Ramona. And she didn't. He had felt her feelings, despite the fact that she tried to kill herself, she hadn't meant to kill him. Even before the blood bond, he'd felt her soul fighting her mind. Her mind telling her to kill for her mother, while her soul was what held her back, what kept Jason alive. Raven's soul had never wanted to kill him.

It was the anger of revenge that had taken over her mind, what had made her blind to love and made the voice of her soul mute.

Raven was a complicated creature, so rare, so beautiful, like a puzzle with a missing piece she was unsolvable. And the most guarded people were the ones that needed help and love the most, and Jason had wanted to be the one that wished to give her the love she deserved.

She really did deserve love.

"What are you planning?" Jason asked, he just knew they would do something to pain him with this.

"Well, now that I know who your bound one is. I can't really do anything, but I'll thank you." Jason's eyes narrowed with confusion. "For finding my daughter, that is."

xXx

The four humans was thrown into the dungeons minutes later. Jason was thrown into the one across from them.

"What has just happened?" Kori asked.

"Seems like Jason didn't tell us something!" Richard snapped as he gripped the bars to their cell. "You tricked us!"

Jason crawled over to the iron bars and yelled, "If I tricked you, why am I here with you?"

The cells were made of the same stone as the castle above. There was a half circle with iron bars, and a iron door in the middle surrounded by more stone. The size of the room was okay, all of them had room to move, it was a little harder for the four humans but they simply settled along the walls. There wasn't any windows that provided any kind of light, but there was a touch hanging from the ceiling.

"Richard calm down, I don't think Jason knew." Victor said, it was reasonable as they had seen the confused look on Jason's face. He hadn't known, yes he had known Raven was different from others, but not that different.

"I didn't. I mean, I always knew Raven was different from other hunters, but I had no idea she was the daughter of that thing." He paused and turned to sit with his back against the bars. His plan on attacking the court had gone wrong when Trigon announced Raven as his daughter. The shock had taken back and made them lose their idea of the plan.

"What now?" Garfield asked, he sat next to Kori in the corner of the room and across from Victor.

They were all quiet while trying to come up with something, anything.

Nothing.

They sat in silence for what felt like hours, but really only was one. They needed think, but thing came to their minds. Well, not the humans mind.

Jason's mind was filled with everything and nothing. He felt like someone was controlling him, or at least trying to. He shook his head, his mind had been blank for a second before it returned to Raven. His Raven.

Raven had been under some kind of spell, he was sure. There had to have been something controlling her, or she would've reacted when they came in. She hadn't even flinched when her clouded eyes had fallen on the five.

And that confused him at first, but then it hit him. Mind controlling spell. Raven must have denied what Trigon had told her, and he was forced to used magic on her, forcing her into submission, forcing her to bow to him. And now, it angered him. Angered him so much.

xXx

Something was wrong. Raven could tell. She was laying in the bed staring at the ceiling. Something about those people was too familiar. It was like she had known them before, but she could place any names on their faces, it felt like a dream.

"You are not asleep?" Raven sat up in the bed and turned to the speaker. She felt a sudden numbness come over her and she shook her head while staring at her father.

No, her mind yelled, don't give in! But it was too late.

"Father?" Her voice was barely above a whisper and the word was forced. "Who was those people?" She sounded like a child that had either just had a nightmare or had just meet frightening people.

"Enemies." Trigon answered.

It wasn't Trigon's nature to even try to act fatherly. But this was his daughter, his and Arella's. A woman that interested him so many years ago, the woman he had sent vampires out to find. Not kill. Find. Looks like someone came before his guards.

While he had Raven in a trance of childness he took advantage of having her tell him everything that she had passed through life. Without hesitation, Raven had told everything. All from her mother raising her, her mother's death, her own first kill, how she killed vampires around Gotham, how Maribelle had gotten Raven to stay with her, how Raven would sneak out at nights, how she meet Jason, and how she made the blood bond. It was quite a tale to listen to, but it was worth it.

Trigon had plans for this information.

Trigon used the spell he had on her to have Raven fall asleep, she simply fell into the bed without a second thought.

Trigon left her room with a devilish smile across his face. "Don't leave her side, like this, she's vulnerable to emotions and memories." He said to the guards, his voice was a command. He commanded them to watch her, so he… Could start making the black bonfire.

xXx

Well… More trash will come soon… I hope.