Darkest Days

Darkest Days - Chapter Seven

After Piers had disappeared, he went to the shopping area and paced back and forth on the sidewalk. "Dammit! What am I going to do!?" There was no way he could just waltz right in and take them, that would lead to all three of their deaths for sure. He was royalty. A runaway prince after his twin brother was next for the throne once their father Mikhail finally let go of it. That wasn't bound to happen anytime soon though, and he had known that his sibling was becoming very impatient and he hadn't wanted to stick around to see what happened next.

After all, he didn't agree with anything that ended up happening to this world and Mikhail and his brother, Evan had almost the same mindset. It was almost frightening. Piers knew all hell would break loose if either of them learned that Nakia was still alive and back in the city.

With that thought, the vampire slammed his fist into the nearest wall, making the rock break and crumble to the cement below. "Fuck!" he hissed under his breath. His eyes started to glow red around the irises as he glanced about the dark streets, watching merchants and customers alike scramble about as they went on with their lives. No human could be seen, unless it was on a leash being dragged behind their 'master' or 'mistress'. God it sickened him.

His head roughly shook with a small growl as he jumped up onto the rooftops and leapt one to another, practically invisible with the night. It didn't take long for him to arrive at the giant house used as a palace on the very top of a hill that overshadowed the city. Once he reached the window he wanted, he pressed his back against the stone brick wall to carefully listen.

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Mikhail sat on his throne with fingers tapping on the oak arm, head slumped into the opposite hand. He had dark brown hair; so dark it could almost be considered black. A little bit of facial hair decorated his chin, and deep black eyes glared out at the people before him that were attempting to put the king back into a better mood, but ever since his slave broke away and was killed, he had been on a non-stop rampage.

He stood. His six-foot figure was so brooding and dangerous it made people cower before him. Upon that muscular body was clothing that mimicked that from the Victorian Era. "Get out of my sight!" He demanded, voice booming out as he shooed them away, before sitting back down with a growl.

Evan had been watching in the back, hidden in the shadows behind their so-called king. The man he wanted to overthrow and even send to his death. With a smirk, tongue rolled over his bottom lip. He had waited centuries long and his patience was finally up. But how would he do this and make it seem like an accident? No assistance of the sun, but...maybe fire could still be used, but how? That was a very good question.

Crimson eyes looked about at the candles that sat burning all over the room, the only light that Mikhail allowed. Then he got the most brilliant of plans! With a flash of movement, he was downstairs where the werewolves resided. He grabbed three and literally drenched them in gas. He'd drag them back up to the king's quarters through secret passages no one really knew about, being that this place was so old. He'd then let them loose into the room with the tips of their tails on fire. That sent them into a frenzy.

Snarls could be heard as they caused a ruckus. As they thrashed around the room, they knocked over the candles causing not only the werewolves to catch themselves more on fire, but everything around them as well. It quickly made the room go up in flames.

Quickly, he locked all the doors that would allow the king free as smoke seeped out from beneath the wooden entrances. Mikhail ran to every locked door trying to get free, but to no avail, he was stuck because he had made the doors practically impossible to break, even with a vampire's strength. The smoke was so thick, he could barely see and it clogged up his nose so much it was nearly impossible to smell.

The flames licked at the king's clothing, quickly spreading up his robes until his entire body was covered in flames. He desperately tried to remove them, but it was too late. The fire had already seared his sensitive skin. His screams echoed through the room as the fire eventually engulfed him.

Evan could hear the royal highness screaming in pain as he quickly unlocked the doors and waited until the sounds disappeared before running hysterically to get help. "Help! Smoke is coming from the kings room! Something is wrong!" he screamed as he forced a few guards to quickly run to the scene.

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Piers was utterly shocked at what he had seen and heard. The king was...dead, and he knew exactly who had done it too. So his brother had finally lost it. His head gave a shake with a heavy sigh escaping him as the vampire leaned his head back against the wall. Of course, he was smart enough not to stop it from happening since he despised Mikhail with every fiber of his being. One evil down, one to go, but he could never kill his only family member left. He would just have to hope that one day it just happened and everything would then go back to normal, but he very much doubted that would happen.

As he listened more, he heard men come running into the room accompanied by a familiar voice that he knew was his brother's as they all talked in shock and surprise. He carefully glanced inside to the singed room; nose wrinkling at the smell of burnt flesh and fur.

"Looks like werewolves broke free and ran in. By the looks of them now, they caught fire from the candles and it spread to the rest of the room. The King must have been overwhelmed by them," Evan said with a shake of his head, making Piers just roll his eyes. Him and his brother were almost identical in appearance though there were a few differences. Whereas Piers' hair stopped just below his shoulders and was always kept in a short ponytail against his neck, Evan's hair was kept loose and fell to the middle of his back. He also dyed the ends black. In addition, Evan's eyes were permanently red and his nails were sharp and pointed like claws.

One guard looked at Evan. "Well.. It looks like you're the new king, Evan," he spoke as he bowed to him.

Evan smirked a bit as he nodded. "Yes, we will make the announcement first thing, but for now...clean this up!" He spoke as he motioned to the entire room with a single swipe of his hand.

"Shit!" Piers hissed under his breath, knowing that this was not going to end well - at all. He lifted his hands to rub at his face before sliding his fingers through his hair.

A few hours later, after the room was spotless once again, a large group of people had formed to make Evan fill out paperwork and make announcements about his new position as the king. Piers was still there, trying to think of a plan while waiting to make sure no one told Evan about Nakia and then of course...his worst nightmare came true.

"Your Highness?" spoke one guard nearest to his brother.

"Yes?" He questioned, looking agitated that he was bothered.

"Nakia was found and imprisoned earlier today," the guard explained. "With Mikhail deceased, she now belongs to you. We were wondering if you wanted her brought to you, or if you'd like to get her yourself?"

Evan was quickly on his feet. "She was found?! And alive! Yes, I will gladly fetch her myself!"

Piers was completely stunned. What was he going to do?! The worst thing he could possibly think of literally just happened. Fuck!