236. WHISPERS OF DEATH

236. WHISPERS OF DEATH


~ODETTE

“No. Father… wake up…” Orion cried out, holding firmly to Viktor's lifeless hand as if that could bring him back.

"Come-on, we forgive you! I forgive you— just wake up... Please." Orion continued, his voice breaking with every sound.

Something pierced my heart. But I quickly moved my attention to Vladimir and Cassius.

Unlike their younger brother, they didn't say a word. They just held their father, trying to be strong.

But I saw the tears trickling silently down their faces.

The sight was like swallowing pieces of broken bottles. It tore through my heart in ways that I refused to admit.

Viktor wasn’t my favourite Werewolf. In fact his arrogance and silly pride got on my nerves most of the time—

Yet, seeing him lifeless and the triplets crying over him, I couldn't deny the tug stirring deep within me.

But I ignored it and focused on the fact that Camille wasn't hurt.

Azarel's evil claws had not gone through her— if they had…

My brain quickly shut out the thoughts as the pain in my heart intensified. But again, I pushed it back.

"I shouldn't care about mortals," I scoffed under my breath. "Much less Camille..."

I rolled my shoulders and decided to focus on more important matters. Azarel.

Since my plan worked and he was contained, I had to make sure he stayed that way forever.

But the moment I turned to bundle him up where he laid, my eyes almost dropped from their sockets!

"Holy fucking goddess!"

Azarel's body wasn't on the ground!

I searched around with alarm bells ringing in my head, trying to convince myself that maybe I checked the wrong spot. Maybe he fell a few yards away...

But safe from us, the place was empty. Azarel was gone!

My heart started pounding as my brain already began the calculation of how this could be possible.

Wasn't the poison in the vial strong enough? Has Azarel's power gotten stronger? Where was he?

“Boys,” I called, slowly turning towards them. “We have a pro—”

The words barely left my lips when a dark aura suddenly grabbed me, and my insides stiffened.

“My sweet Odette. Did you miss me?” Azarel's cold voice rang in my ears.

The entire place froze as everyone stared with wide eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.

"I'll claw out my heart first before it starts missing you..." I hissed before meeting Kalista's pale gaze. "Do something!"

She looked weak. But she was a fucking witch. If anyone could stir up something to give me an opening to attack, it was her.

But before she could even think to move, Azarel tightened his hold on me. And I felt his sharp claws press dangerously against my neck.

“If anyone dares move, I will rip out Odette's throat.” He growled, staring back at the boys— and the slow witch.

Cassius' eyes darkened as if Azarel's threat had somehow shook him out of the shock.

He instantly jumped to attack, and so did his brothers.

For a second it felt like the opening I was hoping for was finally going to happen. My eyes even already found the leftover potion still in the vial by Camille's trembling hands.

All I needed was for the boys to actually distract Azarel long enough for me to get to it.

But just as they drew closer, Azarel grinded his teeth against my ears like a ritual.

Instantly, a sharp pain shot through my mind like the searing scorch of a fire.

“Argh!!”

My thoughts morphed and my vision flickered. Yet the painful ringing continued to pierce through every muscle that ever existed in my head.

I dropped to my knees, fighting through the pain. Yet the intensity only increased... as if, the pain wasn't just mine...

As if the pain was building... accelerating to become three times stronger... Or maybe four—

"Aaaahh!" The triplets suddenly chorused a strained groan of pain just as they also collapsed to their knees.

Despite the pain in my head, a part of me figured it out— Clearly whatever Azarel did to me, was an activation through all four of us...

"You... bastard!" I snarled through my teeth as I glared at him.

The pride in his eyes shone and I wished I could bring down brimstones on him at that moment.

"Oh my sweet Odette..." He sang, circling around me like a hungry hawk. "You can't get rid of me so easily, Odette.”

"You... think?" I managed to let out and Azarel chuckled in that same tone that made my skin crawl.

I wanted to give him a befitting response, but I knew that we were way past banter. He was growing stronger by the minute. And if I didn't think of something soon, everything we did would reverse back to the convergence.

Beads of sweat formed on my head as I searched around helplessly for a solution— for a plan C.

The triplets were stuck on their knees battling with Azarel's curse.

Camille was too shocked to move. Her eyes only grew wider like her subconscious could already see the terrible way this would end.

My heart flipped at this. But I refused to accept it.

Azarel couldn't win. There had to be a way—

My stumbling thoughts suddenly stopped as my eyes caught Kalista's movement.

Azarel was backing her and barely noticed as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. She was weak, but she fought through it and got to take her stance...

My heart started pounding even harder as I anticipated the hit.

Time slowed. My eyes narrowed as I waited for the satisfying sound of magic hitting Azarel...

But it never came.

"No," I whispered as I saw the move even before it happened.

As Kalista hurled her energy at him, Azarel caught it!

"You stupid fool," he grinned as he swiftly sent it back at her with the power of a hundred vampire elders!

The poor witch couldn't stand a chance.

"Ihhhh!" She shrieked as her body flew over our heads and unto the ground. Hard.

Blood trickled down the corners of her mouth and I knew that she was done!

Fucking goddess!

“I am unstoppable, Odette!" Azarel laughed, turning to face me once more. "Nothing you do can stop me. And the sooner you understand that, the better for you and your crazy friends!”

“You are not unstoppable!” I countered. “If Dahlia, an ordinary girl, could stop your convergence, what do you think I, the high priestess, can do?”

I expected his darkened eyes to flicker with rage as I hit that spot. But his unsettling laughter only got louder.

“That's where you are wrong, my love," he retorted. "Your foot soldier may have destabilized the convergence… but I still have power over all of you!”

Before I could think of a comeback, he snapped his fingers and Cassius jumped to his feet like some mechanical puppet.

Cassius came to Azarel and bowed. "State... your— command... my— lord," he blurted, his voice completely distorted and broken.

My heart froze. What was this?

Azarel, sensing my confusion, smirks even widely. Then he tapped Cassius's shoulders; “Go find the strongest silver chains in the castle.”

Cassius' eyes flickered. I could see the internal fight going on within him. But once again, he gave a distorted mechanical answer and went to do as commanded.

At this point, it became clear. Since the convergence was broken, Azarel was controlling them from the outside!

“You pathetic bastard!" I roared, my body trembling with rage. "You will regret this. I promise you that!”

“Hmmm, I won't regret anything, my love." His eyes turned even darker. “In fact, I think this is my victory and you will be the one to regret not accepting to be my queen!”

Before I could give him a response, Cassius returned with a long silver chain. Then he came before Azarel and bowed as he stretched the chains forward.

“Go tie up your brothers and everyone else with it," Azarel ordered.

Once again, I saw the hesitation in Cassius' eyes. But in the end, he went ahead and began tying everyone up.

As Cassius' worked on his brothers, I tried to break free from Azarel's hold. I tried to reach Cassius. To stop him.

But it was hopeless.

Whatever the hold Azarel had on him— and everyone else— seemed even stronger than before.

But I would be damned to give up now!

"This is going to amount to nothing, Azarel! You have already lost the convergence!" I spat, glaring lasers at him. "Accept defeat now and I might consider keeping your soul!"

His head snapped in my direction like I had poured acid all over him.

My eyes narrowed, anticipating his comeback.

But to my surprise, he threw his head back and started laughing— a dark cold sound that clawed through whatever hope I still had.

"Don't be fooled, my love... I can still set it back." He boasted. "I can still regain control!"

I wanted to call his bluff. I wanted to strongly believe that those were just words. But the glow of darkness in his eyes, made my nerves freeze.

There was another way to call on the wrath of the gods... And reverse his creations... but we both knew that was doom itself...

Surely, that wasn't what he was planning, was it?

As the thoughts crossed my mind, I felt something I hadn't in the last decades... Fear.

"How?" I heard myself whisper. "How can you reverse this?"

"Oh love," he sang and his eyes flickered with even more evil.

My heart dropped. "Azarel, you can't seriously be thinking of that— right?"

"My love, that is exactly what I am thinking..." He stopped right before me and his evil smile stretched.

"Azarel... No. You can't do that—"

"You forced my hand," he shrugged, like it was that simple. "It was never supposed to get to this... But now, it all has to end this way."

Horror descended deep through my bones. "Azarel..."

"Relax, my love," he whispered, letting his cold fingers run over my cheeks. "You'll see... Everything will be perfect."

Before I could even finish processing that, he snapped his fingers again. And this time Cassius appeared with his car.

"Move everyone inside, we have a long road trip to catch up with," Azarel declared, as he pulled me along with him into the car.

I sat stiffly, as my thoughts went cold with the growing fear inside of me.

"Cas— Cassius..." Kalista's deathly cough slowly pulled me out of my thoughts.

I watched as she swatted Cassius' hands away. It was useless bringing her along— death was already standing before her.

And even Azarel knew it.

"Forget her. She is no longer my problem," he said.

Cassius nodded in obedience. But just before he moved, I saw Kalista whisper something to him.

But I couldn't even bother with that because what we faced was greater than anything I had encountered in all my old lives combined.

If Azarel did this, there was going to be no turning back.

It was over for all of us...

Gods and mortals alike…