Benji was already out of breath by the time they turned the next corner. His started legs wobbling the minute he stopped, and he dropped to his knees. Silas ran past him and didn't look back. He heard Silas scream suddenly having realized he had left his friend, then came back to help him up.
"We do not have time for this. Get on your damn feet."
Silas propped him against the wall, and Benji said between pants. "My feet can't move any more, and we are lost."
Silas' brows darted up, and he said, "Like I care if we are lost. There is a fucking wolf after us."
"It looked more like a cat," Benji corrected.
"Like I care what it looked like. The point is, it's coming after us, and it's going to fucking jump our bones."
Silas wasn't calm, not that Benji was, but Silas was freaking out on a different level. He had redone his hair in a frenzy, removing the ruffle in it and putting it back to get a tighter hold. His eyes were also glued in the direction from which they had come, and he hadn't stopped jogging on the spot. Silas had a stamina he would die for.
Suddenly he stopped and tugged on Benji's shirt. "We need to leave now. I can hear it."
"No way. I can hear-"
Benji hadn't finished his sentence when something long and white like an arrow stabbed the wall close to his cheek. His eyes widened at the shard, and he gripped it, cursing when the ends cut his skin.
"Benji, what's that?"
He broke it out of the wall with his sleeve covering his hand, having forgotten the object had tried to stab him. How the object came about didn't even cross his mind as he was transfixed by it.
"It's glass. Its body is pretty rough especially the... Oh shit! I know what beast is after us."
"Well, which one is it?"
Suddenly more shards flew, and one even stabbed him on his shoulder. Benji and Silas didn't bother to look in the direction it had flown from before they ran. However, before they could escape into the next alley, a wall of fire blocked their path.
Benji stiffened at the sight of it, it wasn't an illusion. He could feel the heat from the flames, and they burned the usual orange as they led to a Charmer who had his hand on the wall.
The frowning, bored looking man cursed loudly then pulled away, leaving the wall of fire to carry on burning which ruined their chance of running.
"Benji, what do we do now?" Silas whispered, shaking slightly.
"Don't ask me. I'm just as confused and scared as you." He winced, clutching his shoulder that still had the shard in it. Benji didn't need to look to know blood was spewing from it.
"He's a Charmer, right?"
"I don't think any other being in this world can do this." He was already getting tired of Silas always coming back with a different question.
What the boy should really be asking was how the hell were they going to get out alive!
Swallowing, he winced from the pain in his shoulder as he took a step forward. The bored man instantly brightened up, and he hushed his pet who hissed. Benji took a deep breath and asked, "Why are you chasing us?"
"Well, you ran. I thought you had done something bad." The man smirked, his fingers playing with his beard.
Benji raised a suspicious brow. "Really?"
"No." He frowned instantly. "I'm kidding. Where are Wyatt and Xavier? I have permission from Isabelle to hurt you if my questions are not answered."
From Izzy? Benji froze. The witch was turning on them after Reina trusted her. Benji couldn't believe it. Had the witch hated them all this time? Benji noticed she avoided getting involved with them, but he thought she was just busy with the festival arrangements.
"Just so you know," The man broke Benji's train of thoughts. "Witch Isabelle was never a fan of Rune Bearers. Not that you are the biggest problem, you are just an obstruction. Now tell me where those brothers are."
Benji was at a loss for words. With the pain in his arm giving him a headache, he couldn't focus.
"We don't know where they are. We never met Xavier and Wyatt left us at the start of the festival." Silas spoke up quickly and rushed to Benji just as his legs gave out.
He caught Benji under the arms and tried to steady him on the other wall that wasn't blazing. A trail of fire started at the man's feet and lead to the wall until it circled them. Now, they were trapped for sure.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Silas yelled at him, and Benji winced at how loud his voice was. "I told you all I know."
The man nodded then went to his pet cat and removed the leash. "I know, but you see, Witch Izzy did give me permission to hurt you. She hasn't done that in a while so, I'm going to enjoy my opportunity."
He took a step away from his Madara, and the large cat snarled. "Yes, Lena. You can take a bite from the skinny one."
Benji swore he saw the beast smirk before it lunged at Silas, causing the boy to let go of him. Luckily, Benji had his bearings back and wanted to go after the beast, but a ball of fire stopped him in his spot. He turned back to see the man's senile grin and Benji shivered at just how crazy he looked.
Benji slowly backed away from him as the man came closer. In the other corner, Silas was struggling to keep the cat's fangs away from him as its sharp claws dug into his stomach. When Silas cried out, Benji got a strong feeling they weren't going to leave there alive. Edgar might already be gone.
The blonde stopped moving when he felt the heat of the fire behind him. He groaned in pain from not only the shard in his shoulder but also because the man's large hand had clutched his neck. Benji choked on air as the man's hand tightened making him let go of his injured shoulder to pull on it.
"You know," The man started, leaning in until Benji could make out the dull green in his bulging eyes. His body instantly felt weird, but that didn't stop him from pulling on the man's hand which didn't budge. "Witch Izzy is a big coward. She's scared of Domus itself. Kicking out Vampires, Rune Bearers, Pirates... After today, everyone will see why she's so uptight. Poor Izzy, this will go down as a very huge loss for her."
"Now boy," The man's hands turned red, and Benji almost died the second he felt the heat on his skin. "By tomorrow, you will not remember anything that I have said, what I look like or what happened to you. Can't risk my reputation as one of her soldiers now, can I?"
"W-what about him?" He tried to look at his friend, but the man slapped his head back.
"No, boy. Look at me. Your friend doesn't need to be charmed. He's going to die anyways." His hand tightened and stung, and Benji choked.
He had never felt pain like that before, and the shard in this shoulder was almost unnoticeable. Benji was going to die now. He could just feel it.
Let me take control.
He heard Fang's voice but the ringing in his head made him wince.
Come in here and touch my mirror. I don't want to die again.
"I...can't." His voice came out weak, and his eyes fluttered.
Unexpectedly, the man suffocating Benji froze and instantly released him. Benji dropped to his knees and took in as much air as it could. He didn't dare touch his throat as he looked up at Silas bloodied from his neck to his stomach and hands. He gripped a piece of glass, blood coating the hard object.
Silas stared at the man that was choking on his own blood. Benji saw something in his eyes as the boy knelt down and stabbed the man's chest. The curly haired boy slowly dropped the glass to grip the man's throat and he squeezed hard. The man was going to die. Silas was killing him.
"S-say the spell, S-Silas. Just take...his power." Benji managed.
"Rapio." He said it quickly, and the man choked on his own blood before the light in his eyes went out.
Silas stared at the body then looked at the Runes on his hand. The second ring flashed red before it cooled back to black. Benji drew closer to him, his breath coming out from his mouth as he tugged Silas' hands away from the body. The man was dead. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore.
"It's fine now Silas." He told him as he made out a rough bite mark on his neck oozing blood. "He's dead."
"Dead." His voice sounded throaty yet so small. "I killed him." His dark brown eyes met Benji's. "I killed someone."
The realization dawned on Benji, and he choked. How were they ever going to get over this? What would happen to them now? Where was everyone else?
~::~
Ava had been on edge. After Reina had found Silas and Benji passed out covered with blood on the ground, Ava couldn't quench the anger and fear inside her. Who had done this to her brother? Even when Benji had weirded her out only hours ago, she still felt sorry for him when she saw his burns.
Edgar was a lucky case. Thanks to his bloodboar abilities, he and a couple of Steels were able to make an opening for them to get out when the rescue team came. According to Reina, most basements in clubs, warehouses or houses were made of steel and used in case of attacks like the one that had happened only a few hours earlier.
After Reina had found the three of them, she didn't care to look for Wyatt or Xavier. She had quickly taken them to the ship on her 'flying carpet' and gone out to find a doctor, leaving Ava and Akane to stop as much bleeding as they could.
At the moment, they were being treated on the ship.
As the ship sailed away from the floating city, Ava paced the floors hoping to hear from Reina on how the boys were doing. Edgar leaned against the wall, surprisingly having more composure than her, and Akane sat on the floor, cleaning off the blood on her long daggers. Reina and Ava had found her sending people to safe houses and fighting as many Vampires as she could.
"I thought you dealt with arrows," Edgar said suddenly, watching Akane as she picked up her second dagger and started cleaning.
"It's my secondary weapon. It's good to have two in case one fails you." She answered.
The hallway grew quiet again, and Ava tried to stop pacing but she couldn't. It was a horrible habit she did to keep herself from hitting something or someone. Especially now when she had enough power to destroy anything.
"I have to go soon." Akane stood up and sheathed her weapons which were strapped on her back. "Izzy will go ballistic if I am not there...that is if she isn't ballistic now."
"Wait, you can't go." Ava finally stopped pacing and turned to her. "You need to answer questions and stuff."
She frowned, her brown eyes appearing black in the poorly lit hallways. "There is nothing I know that you don't. A dragon went out of control. I tried to save as many people as I could as the soldiers tried to put out fires and keep as many people safe as possible. You told me the boys were missing when we met. I helped you find Edgar. Reina found Benji and Silas. She whipped out a carpet and took us all here."
"How did the Dragon get stopped? I don't know. Xavier probably caught it. Most of the Vampires scrammed for some reason. Probably their leader called them back. I must leave. My city is almost destroyed, and I need to help rebuild."
Akane bowed, her black hair falling freely before she looked back up at Ava and smiled. She nodded at Edgar, who returned the gesture, then walked out of the hallway. Ava quietly followed after her, not saying a word until they were on the deck. The crew members were up and about adjusting the main and foremast to the direction they were heading in.
Just up above the ship on their right was Omar looking dark and deserted. Smoke clouds covered the third step, and it only reminded Ava of how it had started. Everything was going well until...
"Sure enough, next year, there won't be a dragon riding event. Wyatt and Xavier will probably not be invited." Akane said suddenly, causing Ava to look at her.
"I'm sorry...about what happened. Everything was going so well. I hope you get the man who did this." She came closer to her as she watched Akane stare at the city.
"I hope so too." She looked down to her feet then back at Ava. "You should keep training. If the vampires realize you are all in this together, they will not mind coming after you or anyone of you. I was having a sword made for Edgar because he said he wanted one. It's going to come in late but it's probably still going to come."
Akane came closer and took Ava's hand in hers. She slipped something into it and smirked. "Your heat wave is back. Did it work on Reina?"
Ava's lips fell into a thin line, and she shook her head. "No. Totally oblivious to it."
"I guess you have to be more forward about it. Anyways, if you are having problems..." Akane closed the gap between them, not even caring about the public's eyes as she threw her arms around Ava's neck and whispered into her ear softly, "You can always come and find me. I'm in an open relationship."
Ava felt a shiver when Akane's tongue grazed her lobe. She resisted the stupid urge to cup her face and just kiss her but the minute she turned to look at the Asian, she was gone. Ava stood there and stared at the spot the other had stood in, wondering if she was only teasing her. Of course, she was teasing her. Ava squeezed the charm in her hand. It wasn't like she really had an interest in her.
Ava huffed loudly and met the eyes of the crew members who were staring. She rolled her eyes at them before marching back to the hallway where Edgar was waiting. Luckily, she made it just in time to see Silas because Reina and the doctor were coming out.
Picking up her pace, she quickly met them and the doctor acknowledged her before saying, "They had lost quite a lot of blood but if Reina hadn't gotten those Vampires as we came, they would have been in a grave state."
"Vampires?" Edgar asked before Ava could even utter the word.
Reina looked at them and said, "Omar doesn't have a blood bank so it would have been terrible for Silas and Benji. Especially Silas. Getting Vampire blood was the next best thing and it saved them. With the Vampire blood's healing ability and mine, we were able to get them as healthy as we could."
"Unfortunately," The doctor continued, adjusting his round glasses on his nose "those boys shouldn't do anything dangerous that could cost their lives. Most people do not use vampire blood because it is demonic, but the real reason they do not use it is that it turns them if they happen to die within three days."
Ava's eyes widened. "What? You mean if my brother and Benji die right now, they'll come back as vampires?"
"A Dawning but yes, it's basically the same thing." He answered. "Right now, they just need a long sleep."
The doctor smiled at her, but Ava could only gape at him. A few days ago, they were almost bitten by Vampires and now they had their blood running in their veins. Ava looked at Reina, but the woman just shook her head.
"Can I see them?" Edgar asked, and the doctor nodded.
"Sure. Right after you help me dispose of the bodies." The doctor turned back to the room and opened the door.
Ava only had a glimpse of them before Reina grabbed her away from the door and out of the hallway.
"What the hell, Reina? I want to see my brother." She scowled at her as she brushed the woman's hand off.
"You will. Just after you answer some questions regarding your parents and why you were sent to that camp."
Ava wanted to tell her it could wait, but the dark look in her eyes said there was something crazy going on, and sadly, Ava could guess what.