Chapter 94 - The King's Bite

“Oh, shit,” Cilla whispered just as the door burst open.

There stood Josai and another vampire that none of them knew. Mace was nowhere in sight. Cedai and Milena exchanged worried, confused glances. Branek’s headcount had been off. They had only expected to deal with Rafael and Josai. Almost as if she anticipated their next move, Milena launched herself right at the two as one of them took a single step in Cilla’s direction. She managed to catch them off guard and knock the strange one out of the room. By the sound of things, he had crashed right through a wall.

While he was out of the picture, Milena and Josai hissed at each other right before their fists began to fly. The movements were too fast to be caught by their observers’ eyes. It was all a blur to them, but they could see that Milena had the upper hand. She was faster than her opponent and he was losing ground and backing up as a result. As if she had just realised she was free, Elanora leaped up from the sofa and ran towards the door, eager to escape from the room.

One moment she was running and the next, her feet abruptly stopped. She tried to move her limbs only to realise that she had no control over them any more. The only thing she could control was her eyes and they moved to find the cause of her stillness. They immediately locked on Cedai who had her arm outstretched to her with an open palm. The fae did not meet her eyes as her hand began to move back. It caused Elanora to do the same. Her feet backpedalled her unwillingly until she was once more seated on the sofa.

Soon, they heard another grunt come from outside the room. The door was hanging on to one hinge when the new vampire walked back in. He did not look too badly shaken up, which was to be expected. It was a delaying tactic on Milena’s part, if anything. Cedai feared he would head for Cilla, but the malevolence in his glare suggested what he wanted was to get even with the Princess. Without hesitation, he jumped into the fray, officially making the battle two against one. Now that he had joined, it looked like they were evenly matched, which was no surprise. Both their thunderous, chaotic eyes and being changed by Rafael hinted at a massive lack of experience.

Cedai realised that the only reason they had been able to incapacitate Mace was because they had ganged up on him as they were doing with Milena now. There was no doubt in her mind that in a one on one fight, the gentle vampire she was familiar with would have beaten either of them. She noticed Cilla turn to glare hatefully at Elanora and was sure the redhead was contemplating attacking the other woman now that she was free of her bondage, but the fae shook her head discouragingly.

“There’s too much going on here,” she whispered. “You will get your vengeance once we’re all safe and away from here.”

Cilla nodded begrudgingly. They heard another crash and looked over in time to see Milena fling the new vampire away yet again. This time, he took down a sizeable chunk of the bedroom wall with him as the door was wrenched from its hinges altogether. She looked at him like he was little more than a nuisance before she turned to Josai and began to fight in earnest, which seemed to anger the vampire that much more. When he next came back into the room, he zipped straight to Cedai. In the blink of an eye, he had both her hands in one of his behind her back and wrapped his free arm tightly around her neck. He gave it an experimental squeeze and it was enough for her to lose focus of her mental hold on Elanora, as well as pull a surprised croak from her throat.

Just like that, all the movement in the room came to an abrupt halt. Milena looked perfectly fine, but for a few loose strands of hair from the ponytail she had pulled it into. Josai, on the other hand, had bruises littering his face and arms. They were healing rapidly, but the sight of them said a lot. Seeing his accomplish with a hold on the fae instilled him with a false sense of confidence. He made to move for Cilla, but the Princess grabbed hold of his arm and snapped it like a twig. He fell to the floor with an agonised scream, and Milena took that moment to approach Cedai and the other vampire.

“Take one step and I’ll twist her neck,” threatened the vampire. He must have seen the murderous intent in her eyes because he chuckled darkly. “You won’t get here fast enough to stop me. You may kill me, but she’ll be dead before you do.”

His words caused Milena to stop where she was. Cilla was still on the bed staring at Cedai helplessly. The fae looked like she was resigned to whatever fate awaited her, while Elanora seemed rooted to the spot. She did not attempt to leave as she had earlier, despite now being free to do so. They all just listened to Josai’s pitiful whimpers as his arm stitched itself back together. When it was back to normal, he pulled himself back to his feet. It was just in time because, at the next moment, a dark presence appeared in the partially destroyed doorway.

Rafael stood there silently as he took in the sight before him, slowly striding inside. Milena glared at him with impotent wrath. She was tempted to go after him, but knew that would spell doom for Cedai. And now, with their master in the room, she was actually outmatched. The way out of this would have to be to outsmart them and not use brute force.

“Well, isn’t this lovely,” Rafael said, stepping even closer to an anxiety-ridden Cilla. “It isn’t everyday that two hostages practically throw themselves into my clutches.”

“How do you think you’re going to keep me hostage?” Milena asked mockingly as she looked at the subpar vampires he chose to surround himself with.

“That’s easy,” he said as his eyes glowed with triumph the moment he realised the shield was down. “You’ve allowed yourself to care for too many beings and, unfortunately for you, I happen to have three of them within my reach. Your hesitation to attack Weston here says it all. The only logical approach is to take advantage of your weakness.”

Cilla saw him coming closer and hopped off the bed, but there was nothing she could do to stop him from grabbing hold of her and dragging her back across the bed. He held her firmly by her hair as she stood in front of him. Milena’s eyes flashed red, and it was the first time Cilla had ever seen them do so.

“Think with your head for once, Rafael,” the Princess spat. “Do you really think we came all this way alone? I know you know better than that.”

The smirk on Rafael’s face disappeared at the words and only those who had known him for long would be able to tell that the look that flashed across his face was panic. Unfortunately for him, Milena was counted among that number. Without a word, he wrapped an arm around Cilla’s waist and leaped towards the open window. Instead of disappearing off into the night like he had planned, however, they both bounced off of an invisible barrier. Rafael made sure he landed on his feet, still keeping hold of Cilla, even as she was still reeling from the unexpected force she had come into contact with.

“You son of a bitch,” the redhead muttered in pain as her captor whipped them back around to face Milena.

“What have you done?” Rafael spat.

“You’re not getting out alive tonight,” Milena replied dispassionately.

In the next moment, she realised her mistake when his face subtly changed with resolve.

“Then, I suppose it doesn’t matter what I do,” he said in a disturbing tone.

His fangs flew out of his gums and Cilla screamed. Even though she was not facing him, his face was close enough to hers for her to feel them. Elanora jolted with panic from her seat. She ran up to him and no one bothered to stop her because there was little damage a human could do. She stopped a safe distance away and appeared to be battling between anger and fear.

“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded. “You said you wouldn’t hurt her! That wasn't part of the plan!”

“In case you haven’t noticed, the plan has gone to shit,” Rafael said uncaringly. “Neither of us are going to get what we want, but I plan on enjoying myself one last time.”

With those words declared, he bent down and pierced his teeth through Cilla’s jugular. Milena instinctively launched herself forward, but Josai was there to distract her. He fought with renewed vigour and actually managed to stop the Princess’s advance. Elanora rushed to Rafael, pulling on his arm to little avail. Annoyed, he swatted her away with enough force to knock her backwards. Her head hit one of the bedposts and she immediately fell unconscious.

Cilla screamed in agony as Rafael drew on her blood while the vampire greedily savoured the taste he had been craving. Suddenly, he pulled away with a painful scream of his own. When he did, his mouth and the skin surrounding it were red. It was not from her blood, but from a burning sensation that had not affected Cilla at all. She was breathing shallowly as he turned to glare at her accusingly.

“I knew you did something to weaken Azil’,” he spat, ignoring Milena and Josai’s fighting. “And now you’re trying to do the same thing to me. Unluckily for you, I fully plan to take you with me.”

Cilla tried to deny the accusation, but Rafael had already latched back onto her neck and was pulling in deep mouthfuls of her blood even as the fire spread from his mouth to the rest of his face. Cedai panicked as she saw her friend’s eyes begin to droop.

“The ritual!” she croaked, desperate to stall the vampire. Her words must have struck a chord in him because Rafael finally let go of Cilla, only for her to drop to the floor, completely still.

“What ritual?” he asked almost robotically.

His voice was disturbingly raspy, which was no shock, since the fire damage seemed to have spread to his throat. The fae did her best not to react to the sight of the gruesome burns that covered his face and neck. They were healing, but not at the speed an ancient vampire’s wounds should. These burns were magical and would take a while longer to heal. Weston, visibly shocked at his master’s appearance, eased some of the pressure from her throat so she could speak.

“Cilla and I took part in a ritual of protection a few weeks ago,” she said. “We did not think much of it, but if Azil’s magic has been debilitated, as you say, and you are burning... then I can only assume that the ritual worked and anyone who comes into contact with us with the intent to cause harm... is also being harmed in another way.”

After a prolonged moment of considering her words, Weston practically shoved her away from him. She expected Rafael to say something, but close inspection of the vampire revealed that the damage had affected more than his face. He slid down the wall so he was slumped next to Cilla’s unmoving body. He closed his eyes as if to rest and Cedai took that moment to reach into her robe. Weston looked entirely lost, not even bothering to assist Josai, who was being held by his neck against the wall by the Princess. She felt around until she felt the press of cold metal against her palm.

The fae wrapped her hand around the handle and then, with a quick movement, whirled around and buried the knife into Weston’s chest up to the hilt. He looked at her with wide eyes, then tried to use his hands to pull the knife out, only to find himself frozen to the spot. Cedai scowled at him as she held him there, unmoving.

“Milena,” she said, unable to hide her panic. “We have to help Cilla. She’s lost a lot of blood.”

They both looked around at the carnage in the room and at the vampires they had trapped. It would be impossible for them to do anything if they let them go. And then, as if brought to them by some miracle, they heard the dragging shuffle of heavy feet make its way to the room. Mace came in, looking worse for wear.

“Mace!” Cedai breathed with relief. “What happened to you?”

“That bastard, Rafael, broke almost every bone in my body,” said the vampire, grunting as he stepped inside.

He paused when he saw both Cilla and Rafael on the floor unmoving. If possible, the blonde paled even further.

“Cilla,” he whispered brokenly as he saw the unhealthy pallor of her face.

“Mason,” Milena called to him, needing him to stay focussed. “Do you think you can hold Josai off while I see to her?”

Pure, unadulterated malice overtook him as he glared at the other vampire.

“Thanks to their boss, I know exactly how to do that,” Mace said coldly as he smoothly took Milena’s place.

Josai would have been sweating had it been possible. He knew what was coming and he dreaded it, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Cedai kept Weston firmly in a lock as his blood continued to pour out of the stab wound. She was too worried about Cilla to even care about the agonising screams Mace pulled from Josai. Milena came to her to gather as many potions to help as possible and she handed them over, but she had been the only one who saw how much blood Rafael had taken. She knew Cilla had lost too much.

The feel of a hand on her shoulder broke her out of her musing. She looked up to see Branek.

“Where have you guys been?” Cedai asked a tad accusingly, her eyes shimmering with tears.

“We were on the second floor,” Branek said. “This place has been cast with something to dull our senses. We only managed to track you down because of all the screaming.”

Cedai glanced at the heap on the floor that was presumably Josai. She nodded emptily, then looked pointedly at Weston, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible.

“Can you take care of him?” she asked? Branek nodded and got a hold of him before she released her spell.

She pulled her knife out and murmured under her breath until it was clean of all traces of the vampire’s blood before she returned it to her robe.

“Since when do you carry a knife?” Branek asked with fascination.

“I always carry a knife,” she said emptily. “Most fae do. You never know when you’re going to need to perform blood magic.”

Branek nodded as he looked down at the unfamiliar vampire. He was the only loose end left to tie up. He sighed and got to work.

Cedai walked away as a new set of screams started up from that direction. She noticed that Milena had moved Cilla onto the bed. She was surrounded by the Princess and Mason. Rafael was nowhere to be seen, nor was Vladislav. She joined them as they looked down at their friend in silence.

“She’s not going to make it, is she?” Cedai asked.

Neither of her companions wanted to be the one to agree with her. Their attention was so fixed on Cilla, none of them noticed when the shield finally lifted.

***

Rafael woke up drowsily wrapped in a blanket of confusion. He knew some vampires liked to rest, particularly those who had once been human. He personally did not. When his memories returned to him, he winced. Beautiful green eyes, fiery red hair... heat... fire... pain. He could still feel the heat close to him and he was tempted to return to his slumber until he opened his eyes and was confronted with, of all things, a fire.

It was not a normal fire, though. It was a pyre. He slumped back down, remembering the details he had willed himself to forget.

“So this is how it all ends then?” he asked. A long moment passed by without an answer until...

“I am certain you saw it coming,” came his closest friend’s voice. “You were certainly well prepared.”

He felt his arm being lifted. Then it was harshly wrenched out of its socket and detached from his body altogether.

“Fuck!” Rafael shouted from the pain, then watched helplessly as his arm was thrown into the fire before swiftly recovering his cool. “Are you mad at me?”

“Immensely,” Vladislav said as he did the same to Rafael’s other arm before throwing it into the fire, ignoring his scream. “I was on my honeymoon and you made me return early to kill my oldest friend.”

“She’s my soulmate, Vlad,” Rafael reasoned. “What was I supposed to do?”

Vlad picked up a machete and eyed it pensively before throwing it back to the ground and wrenching Rafael’s left leg from his torso.

“You killed her, Rafael,” the King said dryly. “She was not your soulmate. Maybe if you had gotten rid of the concubines and approached her in a less invasive manner, something may have come from it, but it is too late now.”

“When I laid beside her, I was hoping this fae fire would kill me,” he confessed. “I was hoping we would die together.”

The King eyed his final limb and wrenched that off too, with little hesitation.

“I apologise for ruining your plans,” said Vlad as he sat down next to what remained of his friend.

“No, don’t” Rafael said with a small smile. “This is the next best thing. My oldest friend by my side and being burned to death. The fire reminds me of her. It’s perfect. I took her life and, in a way, she’s taking mine.”

Vlad gave his friend a slight smile.

“What should I do with your estate?” he asked. Vampires rarely had wills made.

“Give it all to Leander,” Rafael said. “He cares far more about my legacy than I ever did.”

“Leander is alive?” Vlad asked with no small amount of shock. “Even this close to death, you still manage to surprise me.”

“Don’t get soft on me,” Rafael chuckled weakly. Vlad wondered if he knew how badly burned he was already. “Go on, then. Do your job. Chuck me in.”

“Maybe you’ll come back less perverse in another life,” the King said with a sad sort of fondness.

“Only if you’re there with me,” Rafael joked as his eyes drifted close.

Vlad took that chance to sever his neck from his torso. He threw the torso onto the burning pyre and stared at Rafael’s immobile head for a good minute before he gently tossed it after.

“Goodbye, old friend.”

***

Branek slowly approached Zallius and Cedai as they sat in an empty room, staring at the weak sunlight that was beginning to stream over the horizon. They sat in silence with Zallius rubbing his mate’s side comfortingly. The vampire cleared his throat to make his presence known. They turned to look at him in unison. He looked conflicted and Cedai wondered what could possibly have gone wrong.

“We’ll be ready to head out soon, but before we do, I think there’s something you both need to see.”

The fae exchanged cautionary glances before standing up and following him out of the room. He led them to the end of the hall and opened the door. Branek ushered them in.

“We found him like this during our sweep,” he said, hesitating to say any more. “For what it’s worth, I'm sorry.”

He left then and closed the door behind him. There, on the wide four-poster bed, were the remains of Azil. He was not lying down, but instead, frozen as he sat upright. A single finger pointed in front of him, as if he had seen a ghost. His face was also stuck with an expression of fear. Zallius stepped forward to stretch him out, but there was nothing they could do about his pointing finger or the look on his face.

They looked at each other sadly, not daring to say what they were both thinking: that in the end, it looked like he got exactly what he deserved.