Adelina rested her head on the edge of the satin chair. Her forehead felt cool against the material and the smell of satin made her forget the rotting corpses around her. She let the air fill her lungs slowly and tried to calm her heart.
Deep breaths Deep breaths, she kept reminding herself.
Don't look up. Keep your head down.
Asmund turned from his brothers and focused his attention on Adelina. He took in her features and noticed her skin was flushed and pale. Her body shook with fear. Pity flashed in his ice blue eyes. He turned his focus away and strode over to his two brothers who also had their dark eyes focused on Adelina, with specks of curiosity glimmering. Asmund moved himself in front of both his brothers in order to gain full attention.
"Give her a minute Falentine. It is a lot to take in and you've made it worse on her already. " Asmund pleaded in a hushed tone.
"She wanted an explanation and I am trying to do is give her EXACTLY what she wanted." Falentine boomed loud enough the entire hall heard him.
Asmund looked behind him and saw Adelina had her eyes focused on the men for a split second before turning them back towards the floor.
"Maybe we should clear out the hall for now. You invited EVERY single demon within these walls, which we never do. You made sure this was a massacre. Are you really that cruel? I know you were trying to scare her but to go this far, really?
"I have guaranteed she will not fall out of line." Falentine responded frankly with not a flicker of sympathy in his tone.
"I think she has been through enough shock for one day. If you insist on throwing information at her let us talk to her about it somewhere private and less gruesome." Taavi argued.
"Neither of you can see what I am doing here. She needs to fear us, for it is the only way. But have it your way, let's take her to our office to speak more."
Falentine side stepped around Asmund and gazed upon Adelina. Her eyes glistened with tears as she met his gaze. She looked innocent and frail in this light. He prowled towards her never letting his gaze drift away from hers. Her head was resting softly on the side of the chair but her eyes never left his.
"Come with me." He said while holding out his hand.
Adelina didn't budge and let the defiance flash into her eyes.
Was he serious?
"And why would I do that? So you can take me somewhere and kill me?"
Falentine's laughter echoed throughout the large hall. Demon's silenced there gruesome chomping in order to see what was taking place.
"If I wanted to kill you I guarantee you that you would be dead by now. I've told you, you won't be physically harmed. We need you. So please stop with your pity party and come with us."
Adelina didn't believe him nor did she trust him. However, she knew she had to take the opportunity to get out of this blood feast. She lets her legs fall to the floor and lifted herself up, ignoring Falentines outstretched hand.
Asmund and Taavi fell in to step behind them. Falentine reached his lean arms and placed them, being careful, on her elbow. The four of them walked behind the massive stage and headed through a black door to the right.
Falentine had a gentle grasp of her elbow and he couldn't resist the urge to caress her delicate skin under his thumb. He shivered in pleasure at the feeling of her soft silk-like skin. He kept running his thumb up and down her skin. Adelina tried to pull her elbow out of his grasp, causing him to tighten his grip. He craved her skin and warmth. She was pure and so innocent, something his kind hadn't been around in a long time.
Soon Adelina was lead into a narrow hallway. She noticed at the end a red door with unique carvings that she couldn't place. The hallway caused panic to rise up in her body, a sense of dread seeping in as well. She stopped and let the fear overcome her by taking a few steps back.Her journey was short-lived as she felt her shoulders being grasped by cold hard hands. As she swirled around, she saw Asmund standing behind her grasping onto her. He gave her a nod of encouragement, but her body still quivered.
They continued their walk through the hall and as they neared the door Falentine let go of Adelina's elbow and opened the door with a quick twist. Her breath stuck in her chest as she entered the room. The room was a simple office with black decor and leather sofa's line the walls. A large desk sat in the middle. Something about the way the room smelled wasn't right to Adelina. She took a large breath and realized that blood lingered in the air. Adelina placed a hand over her mouth, stifling a gag that escaped her lips.
"Ah yes that delectable smell huh? Don't worry you'll get used to it." Falentine said while he steadied her.
He led her to one of the many black leather sofa's in the office and helped her to sit down. Asmund and Taavi placed themselves on both sides of Adelina. Falentine meandered behind the desk and tugged on his sleek black suit before taking a seat.
"I suppose you want to know why you are here." Falentines voice rumbled off the small walls.
"I don't care. I just want to see my family and Daniel. I want to make sure they are okay." Adelina confessed, her voice quiet and weak.
"They are fine. And they will continue to be as long as you behave. And as long as they are needed."
"Need them? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said. As long as they are useful they will be fine. I will let you see them, in fact, I will let you see Daniel as well. That way you can see we are telling the truth."
Adelina's mouth tugged upwards and into a smile. Tears of joy filled her eyes as her vision blurred.
"You mean that? You will really let me see them soon?" She looked, unbelieving, at all three men. She made eye contact with each of them as they nodded in agreement.
"But first there are some things you must know. It is quite obvious that you are here for a reason. And I want you to know you will be protected while you are here with us."
"And how long will I be here, exactly?"
"Indefinently."Asmund and Falentine said in unison.
Shear terror seeped into Adelina's tiny frame. She gasped as she fought for air to enter her lungs.
A long time? What did he mean a long time?
"But you will always be taken care of. As long as you don't do anything to try to run or harm anybody you will be treated well. You know already you have free reign of your room and the lawn area outside of it. We will have a more permanent room ready for you soon and you will be allowed to decorate it as you wish. There will be a large garden and pond outside of this room. We are just finishing construction on it now. But that is unimportant right now. Right now let's focus on why you are here."
Adelina was shaking with fear but nodded. Heat seared through her temples, traveling down to her core.
"Let me start by letting you know who we are. In our world we are called the Council of Three but we are also family, brothers to be exact. Our father was one of the leaders, who led the war against humans many years ago. He was the most powerful of his kind, until humans found his weakness. He put the three of us in charge, in case anything happened to us. So now here we are taking care of the humans, the demons and our kind. "
"The war," Adelina questioned?
"Ah yes, the war. Such a lovely subject. Most humans won't agree with us, but we did them a favor. They are so destructive, awful, and violent. Sure we are violent too, but at least ours isn't mindless. Humans had destroyed the earth, the planet wouldn't have survived had we not stepped in. They didn't want to listen to any solutions on clean energy or ways to clean up the planet. The only thing they cared about was money and power. If we hadn't intervened there would be nothing left, and mankind would have killed themselves off. Some of the humans were thankful and they fought against the others alongside our father. They were the ones rewarded. They knew that we could help. At first we tried the peaceful approach, but a majority wanted nothing to do with our kind. Some were just frightened by the demons, even after we assured them of their safety. Our father, of course, fought back. He protected the earth and destroyed anybody who was against him. He won the war and took control. He even built clean cities, that still exist, for the humans to live. The ones who sided with us are treated well."
"What about all those humans down there? They don't look safe to me?"Adelina pressed.
"We eat to survive, just as you. It is just the way life works, Adelina. But I'll be honest with you, the ones we do eat are usually members of rebellions that pop up, criminals or other type of awful people."
"What about all those people I just witnessed being brutally murdered? They were criminals? There was a girl about my age that was being torn apart. What was her crime?"
"I realize you've lived a sheltered life, but criminals come in all shapes and sizes. Besides I won't sit here and lie to you, yes we do kill innocent people. You can just call it survival of the fittest. It is our nature, we are the strongest."
"Strong-- strong?" Adelina lets out a bitter laugh before continuing.
"You guys are MONSTERS! You're just using your power to hurt innocent people and to tear people apart. So don't try to sit here and lie to me. Don't you dare lie to me." Adelina screamed while pointing her finger.
" I'm not here to argue with you. You wanted answers right?"
Adelina glared at him in silence.
"Lets start out with your town. You never thought it was odd that your town was protected? That there was no violence? And everyone just magically got along so well." Falentine questioned.
Adelina shook her head without making a noise. Her mouth felt dry and hot thinking about how right he was.
How could he have known all this?
"There was something, in fact a few things, in your town so very precious. They had to protect it. They build that town with this knowledge, and only let the purest people in. Those who would protect and serve the purpose. They protected the town with some of the most powerful magic we witnessed. Granted there are tons of towns just like this, but none quite as special as yours. And that is where you come in! My favorite part of the story!" Falentine lets out a booming laugh.
"What? Why exactly did you feel the need to uproot my entire peaceful existence?"
"It isn't quite as simple as why. When the war ended, the rebellion kept on. There was a weapon they said they had against us. The witches came in and they took our father out, putting him in an eternal slumber. But with any spell there is always a loophole. These towns started going up everywhere in the world with magical barriers protecting them. Soon after doing some research, we found out that they were protecting something. Something very important to that 'loophole' we had been searching for. Your town was the most remarkable we had seen. The barrier the elders put up around your town was extraordinary."
"What...what are you talking about" Adelina's voice shook, a sense of dread welled up in the pit of her stomach.
"Protection.That is what I'm talking about here. Although, we have had a lot of experience getting through these protection barriers. It took us a lot of time, though. We had built devices ad trained out men to get into these cities, unseen. Our three best men, I believe you've met, are the most successful at gathering people we need. We weren't sure, though, that we would ever find the final pieces to the puzzle. We had almost given up hope when we ran into your town."
"And what does this have to do with me or my village?"
"Here is the fun part." Falentine stood from the desk and leaned his weight on the side.
"The only way to resurrect our cursed father is through a long series of rituals. One of these rituals requires a great sacrifice. One pure Angel born of darkness and one born of ethereal light. Half angels other supernaturals a lot will go into this ritual."
Bile began to rise into Adelina's stomach.
"The pure one is the most important. This is where you come in to play." An evil grin crept onto Falentines features as he leaned closer to Adelina staring at her fearful doe-eyed expression.
Adelina looked over to Asmund and Taavi as they both stared at her with an evil glee shining in their eyes.
"You have one of the purest souls we have ever seen. So innocent and so fragile, yet you are daring and willing to protect the ones you love at all cost. You are just what we have been looking for. We weren't even sure you existed and yet here you are in front of us."
Adelina felt her world spin. Her world had already been changed, first with vampires and demons. Now she was faced with the possibility of angels. What did this even mean for her?
"This can't be real." She whispered to herself.
"I can assure you this is real. You might as well get that through your head."
Black swirls began to dance into Adelina peripherals. Her body suddenly felt heavy as she tried to lift herself off the chair.
"Thi-s this can't be real. I don-t I can't believe you." She stuttered and threw her tiny frame towards the desk.
She felt strong arms gather around her waist and another rest on her back. Dizziness took over her entire body and soon she felt herself falling and losing control.
"I'll never help you."she said barely audible.
"You have no choice." Taavi whispered into her ear right before the darkness consumed her vision and her eyes rolled back into her head.
"Go lay her down for now. Tomorrow we will let her see her family." Falentine waved a dismissing hand to his two brothers.
Soon nobody would take her away from them. Falentine thought as a snide smile pulled his lips upwards.