The Consort's Will 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Bogdan

Droplets of water trickle down the slabs of manmade walls, finding homes within the cracks of their foundation. The gentle whiskers of rats sniff along the corridor in search of scraps of food. Even in stillness, there is movement. There is life.

I close my eyes and blend into the shadows, melting into the darkness. I am stone. I am nothing. My thoughts are silenced as I tap into the soulless creature within me. It's where vampires are meant to live, meant to thrive. It's been centuries since our kind has crawled out from the ashes - not to be better, but to be equal.

I hone in on my senses and am keenly aware of just how much the human world has weakened me. My thoughts have overtaken my senses. My feelings, what little I possess, have overpowered my judgement. It is not wrong. Such is the nature of becoming conditioned. Yet it goes against the grain of my DNA, against my immortal being.

"...to hold them."

Voices echo through the corroded pipes above me. Feet shuffle. Two pairs in total, just as Gabe promised. Their pace is sluggish, clearly either on break or avoiding their post. Based on the way the sound is traveling, they are headed towards me.

"We got most of them," Guard Two adds. "Mr. Primary says we've obtained their leader. Now it's just a matter of turning them."

"That and forcing the human leader to surrender to our command."

They turn the corner and stop just fifty feet away from me. Guard One leans against the wall. A small piece of debris falls away as he settles his weight against it. Guard Two rests beside him and scratches at the lightly forming facial hair across his jaw.

"You think all of them will die?" Guard One asks. "Like the one in the infirmary?"

Guard Two waves him off. "He's not dead yet. Mr. Primary knew there was a risk in creating the anti-venom by using the blood of a Nirv. Hell, it's designed to kill vampires. But that was the point, to kill off the vampire genetics while leaving their human genetics intact."

"Except humans are weak," Guard One laughs sardonically. "I realize Mr. Primary was trying to turn them all back to their original form, but once their vampire DNA is killed off, did he really think their human side would be strong enough to keep them living?"

Guard Two shrugs. He possesses a shred of compassion. Little does he know, it will work in his favor. Their words confirm everything I have pieced together over the past few days. Reyo does not care if he wipes out an entire species of vampires. Even if his intent is to turn them all to human, when he realizes it will not work, he will continue killing them anyway. His mission is clear: Secondaries shall rule by whatever means necessary.

Anger threatens to take over my mind and cloud my senses. I focus on my human's blood as it courses through my ageless veins, giving me power and strength. Without my human's blood, Reyo has nothing. The Secondaries will lose. The war might not be over, but I will change its course. And I will save my human.

Guard Two shuffles in front of Guard One. "At least he tried. Either way, I don't think we can imprison any more vampires." His voice drops to a whisper. "Not with you-know-who lurking around."

A smirk tugs at the corners of my lips.

"You-know-who?" I whisper, finally revealing myself from the shadows. "I assume you're referring to me. For future reference, my name is Bogdan."

Both of the guards jump to attention. Guard One eyes me with nothing but disgust and disdain smothering his pointed features. His eyes glimmer with a hunger that parallels my own. He's far more vampiric than I assumed. In contrast, Guard Two is in awe, albeit terrified. His dark eyes dart between me and the other, who is clearly his superior. It will be a shame to have to kill him, but I will if my plan doesn't go just as it needs to.