Daemon's Power

"Your Majesty, I know what I saw!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The slave. The servant. He is not who you think he is. He is much more. He is different."

"What servant?!" Daemon growled loud, annoyed. The captain of the foxes had only been speaking in halves and incomplete tenses that the alpha could not understand what exactly he was trying to pass across.

"The servant from the rising sun, he has weird powers!" He continued, spitting nothing but words of anxiousness.

"There are no powers. Your words make no sense."

"Believe me, my alpha. It is dangerous..."

"What did you say?" Daemon glared.

Of everything a person would say before, no one dared mentioned a threat to Daemon. He considered himself above all and devoid of fear, invincible and impenetrable.

Now that he had the claws, his pride only surged higher, reaching the heights of mountains and not bowing to any form of humility.

Frey knew this more than anyone. How could he make the mistake of undermining Daemon's strength especially now that he had acquired a greater form of power.

"Forgive me, your majesty. But I mean every word that I say. Something is going on within your own palace, and you are not aware of it..."

Before he could complete his words, a mysterious force was forcing him upwards against the wall, pushing against his neck and forcing the words back into his throat.

Daemon was staring right at him, not even moving an inch. Yet with the power of the claws he possessed, he could do that to him from afar.

"You cannot even defend yourself from me right now, captain. And you think a servant will be able to touch a hair on my body?" He sneered at the captain in mockery.

Frey could not say a word. He was in much pain and distress as an invisible force held his throat fiercely and threatened to choke him to death.

He held on tightly, trying to save himself. But it was not possible. This was a demonstration of strength from Daemon, a message he was passing across.

Finally, when the strangle had almost led to death, Daemon let go of his magical hold on Frey.

As the captain landed on the ground, he felt a sudden relief. It was as though life was handed back to him.

"So remind me, captain. What were you talking about?" Daemon sneered at the captain who struggled to regain himself.

"Nothing." Frey responded, even though the flame in his heart was still lit. He could still feel an impending danger. He did not believe that Nathan was not a threat no matter how powerful Daemon had now become. Nathan was most likely working with Daemon's own daughter against him, nothing was more dangerous than a stab from where you least expect it.

"Good. Now you can leave." Daemon dismissed the fox who used to be his most trusted soldier.

Frey knew that Daemon no longer viewed him the same after that occurence. But he was ready to prove himself. No matter what, he would expose Nathan, even if it meant that he would become allies with Alorea. He would expose his powers before the king and see him executed right before his two eyes.

"This is not over". He determined, ready for any cost.

Meanwhile, Shereena smiled with pleasure as he watched everything unfold from the shadows.

Everything was happening exactly the way she had planned them to unfold. With the damned princess of the night wolves gone now and her father ignoring both his vampire friend and his bravest soldier, all the stage was set for her plans to take place.

***********************

Alorea waited with a positive mind in the secret house provided by Frey. She knew the nature of the arrogant king Daemon. Frey was a very loyal soldier, she knew he would tell Daemon about everything, but she also knew that he would not listen to his admonitions.

In the end, Frey would be forced to trust her. He would come back to her to request for help and he would do whatever she told him to. She was certain about this, and she waited patiently.

A sound came from outside, jerking Alorea into suspicion. Cloris had gone out to get a few things for her, was she back already?

She approached the door to meet Cloris and help her with some of the heavy goods. But when she reached the door, Cloris was not there.

"Cloris?" She called for a while, then she heard some suspicious movements around the door.

At once, Alorea's body jumped into alert. Someone was there, someone who must have been sent after her. Before she would be spotted by whoever this was, she slipped back into the house. Then she heard some footsteps follow her and the door closed behind her.

Dashing into the room, she grabbed the claw of power which she had and became invisible. Then she waited for the footsteps to come closer.

When the footsteps reached the room, it was no other person than the old vampire who travelled with Frey. She knew he was working for Demeatris in the future but it did not seem like he had connections with Demeatris in the present, until right now...

"Why is he following me..."

"Come on, princess. Come out... Wherever you are... We have some things to discuss."

She did not respond. She watched him walk back and forth as her body glued closely to the wall, not moving an inch or making a sound.

"I know you have a claw with you, princess. The claw of invisibility. You used it the other night when you were listening to the conversation between I and Captain Frey."

That was a surprise. So he knew that it was her all along? Then could he have told Frey about his suspicions?

"I did not see the need to inform the captain about my suspicions, because we are not exactly enemies right now. I know you can see me right now. Believe me, I just want to talk."

Alorea did not believe him. If he only desired to talk to her, then he would not have sneaked up on her. He would not be spying on her.

"I can find you, princess. If I want to."

As if he could. She watched him scanning all the walls around him, trying to locate her position.

When he searched for a while with no success, he became exhausted. In the end, he gave up.

"Why don't you just reveal yourself? This is about the alpha Daemon."

Alorea kept still even after hearing that he wanted to tell her about Daemon. When the old man saw that he could not convince her, he dropped his head in failure and started to walk back towards the door.

"Wait." Alorea called him back. She had taken off the claw and she was now visible.

As he turned his head, she walked towards him, slowly and cautiously.

"You said it is about alpha Daemon."

"Yes..." The old man nodded, almost taken aback by her beauty. It took a while for him to find those words again. "He is planning something, something big."

"What is it?" She questioned. "Does it have to do with the claws?"

"Yes, of course..." The old man responded. "He can not access the full combined power of the claws yet because the claws are not complete in his possession. There is one with you, I'm sure someone else has another. But he thinks he can harness those powers by the use of sorcery. Thus he is preparing for a ritual."

"A ritual?"

"A sacrifice of ten humans. One for each claw. That way, he would be able to combine the powers of the claws regardless if he had all or he did not."

The old man crept closer to her as he said those things. "It is dangerous, princess. For every other person who bears the rest of the claws. They will be under his control."

"How... How do you know all these..."

"I am a vampire, princess. A vampire who has lived for lifetimes and ages. I know how powerful the blood of humans can be. They are natural creatures, unlike us and you. But within the natural body is trapped a world of supernatural mystery."

Alorea tried to comprehend all his words. Could they be true? But even then, something seemed odd.

"Why are you telling me all these?"

"Once the ritual is complete, Daemon shall rule the world. And the blood of humans and vampires shall overrun the surface of the earth. My people will die owing to his insatiable greed for power and dominance. I can not let that happen".

As his voice ran through the silent space, a sound came from the door.

"Cloris?" Alorea called, guessing it was her maid.

"I am back." And it was her.