Chapter 7
~Rien’s POV~
Had I known this trip would have brought nothing but trouble, I would not have organized it and I certainly would not have brought my mate along for a front row view of the unapologetic whims of my coven.
Looking back I should have realized things had been too…quiet…after receiving three visits from adherents of the coven in under a month. Though I suppose that could not be helped; trouble would have found me no matter where I had decided to go, this trip only quickened the process.
The flight itself had been without any fanfare. After our brief conversation, Tony had fallen asleep, too tired to put up much of a fight against his heavy lids and for a while I had simply watched him. He had looked so peaceful in sleep and I had already become so accustomed to the ever present scowl on his face, that this new look had been thoroughly refreshing. Before I knew it, the time had flown and we had finally arrived.
I had hoped to re-introduce him to his hometown; the place where we had met, where things had been far simpler, the place where he had looked upon me with adoration rather than hate, with a smile rather than a frown. It was the place where his heart had not yet transformed into the mangled bits and pieces it now was, I suppose it was silly of me to think that it would have gone smoothly. These days nothing ever did.
I sensed their presence the moment we touched down onto the well missed soil of his home town and before the steps were lowered to allow us passage to exit the jet, the small space was invaded by none other than my brothers; Marcan and Peitre.
“Father has summoned you.” Marcan announced as soon as I came into his sight. There was no welcome, not that it had been expected.
“I fear I’m a bit busy at the moment, tell him I’ll drop in to see him in a few years.” I offered in a offhand tone. Kaio stood behind me, tense, as he watched it all play out. My brothers of course did not spare him a glance.
Marcan’s face reshaped into a mask of fury, as I knew it would. “I am not now, nor shall I ever be you messenger, father has summoned you and you shall do well to heed him.” he spat.
“Then don’t relay my message, it matters not.” I moved to pass him in the tight space of the aircraft when Peitre stepped in front of me, thereby blocking my path.
“It seems he has finally been made aware of the mate you have so poorly hidden from him. He desires a meeting with you both.”
If I had been such a man, I would have cursed in my most fowl tongue at his words, but as it stood, I simply watched him, jaw clenched and feeling quite a bit more than simply annoyed.
“You always were foolish, though I hadn’t quite believed you were so far gone as to have told Thames of your mate without expecting the entire coven to know of it.”
“Kaio gather the bags.” I ordered, eyes still holding my brother’s.
“At the moment you’re lucky father does not know that your mate is human. I would suggest you deal with that particular matter now while you have the chance because the moment he sets eyes on your little play thing the court will be in an uproar.” This spoken by Marlan.
“It’s as if you haven’t been listening. The court be damned, father can wait, I have prior engagements now if you would excuse me-“
Kandane, who up until this moment had been noticeably absent, stepped through the aircraft door and we all froze. “We did not journey here to request your company. You and the human will join us. Now stop this nonsense and let us be off.” He tone was firm and the look in his eyes called for absolute obedience. If I resisted any longer the situation would become worse.
Fists clenched I said nothing as I watched him turn to exit the way he had just come. The other two followed without another word.
This time I did curse, then looked over at my mate who was surprisingly still asleep.
“Kaio.”
“Yes my Lord?”
“Take Malik to the lodge. I will call for you when I can.”
…………………………..
~Tony~
To be completely honest I had no idea what was going on but whatever it was it couldn’t be good. I’d woken up to Kaio shaking me roughly, brows furrowed in concern. I’d been shocked to see that we had landed, usually I was a light sleeper; I had to be and I couldn’t understand what had made me sleep so deeply, that I hadn’t even realized we’d touched down.
What was even stranger though, was how Rien was acting and the fact that we were sitting in the back of some other fancy vehicle in complete silence.
The one time I’d opened my mouth, he’d shot me a warning glance that had me snapping it shut and turning away from him. It was strange behavior even for him, and instinct told me something was happening here; something that even Rien couldn’t control.
We’d been driving around for about an hour but I had absolutely no idea where we were or where we were headed. The windows were tinted pitch black so that the only thing I could see when I looked to my left was my reflection, but from the way Rien stared at his, I got the impression, he could see through it just fine.
Another strange thing was the fact that Kaio wasn’t with us and as far as I could tell Kaio never left Rien’s side. I rubbed my arms trying to dispel the uneasy feeling I had as I glanced over at Rien who still had yet to utter a word.
He just sat there, legs crossed, arms clasped in his lap and eyes planted on his window. His stiff posture told me he was tense and it hit me that I had never seen him like this before. He was usually oozing confidence and dripping with power.
I didn’t know whether to be concerned about what this all meant or to gloat at this interesting new development. In the end I chose to suffocate in the thick wall of silence that he had raised between us, allowing myself to wonder and to wait.
Eventually though when even the silence got to be too much, I decided to pull my tail from between my legs and turned to him.
“Is there a reason we’re sitting here in complete silence?”
“I’m surprised you’re bothered by it. I usually have to force the words out of you.” He commented in a dry tone and I gritted my teeth.
“What’s going on? Who were those morons from earlier?”
The ones I’d seen standing by the other car as soon as I’d exited the plane. The ones who hadn’t even bothered to glance my way; as if I wasn’t even there.
It was then that the car finally came to a stop and he finally looked at me. “We’ll continue this conversation when we’re alone.” And a moment later our doors were being pulled open and he was stepping out of the vehicle, I had no choice but the follow.
The first thing that popped into my head when I first caught sight of the place was that I must have been dreaming, then when I managed to come back to my senses after realizing that just about everyone standing around us were vampires; my second thought was that this must be his coven.
The third and final thing that popped up in my head after catching sight of Rien’s less than excited expression however, was that something was very very wrong and even this particularly beautiful setting couldn’t do much to mask reality.
The place looked like a self-contained city, only not as harsh as those which we humans occupied. It was hard to explain its magnificence and when I tried to look around to take in more of its beauty the vamps converged around me, blocking my view. As the led us to wherever it was were were going, all I could see were their dark robes and the blue sky up above.
Beside me, Rien walked with his hands clasped casually behind his back and his face completely devoid of emotion. There was no talk among the vamp men and the longer we walked the less curious I was about who they were and the more eager I was to get away from them. The unease I had felt earlier had risen tenfold and with every step I grew even more anxious.
“You need to relax, I’ll keep you safe, there is absolutely nothing to worry about.” Rien finally spoke up, his voice clear and confident. I snorted.
“Gimmie a break, I can take care of myself.”
Clearly he still saw me as the little weak string bean I was years ago, I wasn’t scared so easily anymore, yet… even as I thought the words I wondered if maybe this intense feeling of unease was something much more potent, I wondered if it was possible that I was….afraid.
I was in a vampire coven, surrounded by bloodsucking immortals who refused to acknowledge my presence and when they did, looked at me like I was a dirty spec on their clean floors. Despite my words, even I wasn’t stupid enough to think I had a chance against these beasts, so maybe this unease really was fear. After all, the unknown was a powerful thing and suddenly it felt like I was walking toward my own execution.
We didn’t have to walk for very long and when we finally came to a stop, the robed vamps surrounding us withdrew, bowed and promptly departed. Afterwards we were led into a building; it looked like it could have been a home, but the furniture and décor reminded me of something out of a museum. Despite the fact that a single candlestick from this room could probably keep me fed for a month or two, the atmosphere was cold and dreary and reminded me of a funeral; no life.
It was no wonder the vamps couldn’t even crack a smile if this was the kind a place they had to wake up in every morning.
Rien came to a stop before a wine-red loveseat and lowered himself onto the soft cushion, crossing his legs before him, back straight, hands as always; clasped in his lap.
“Leave us now.” He spoke and the two remaining vamps bowed low and quickly departed. We were finally alone.
I turned to him. “Wanna tell me why we’re here? Because if this was some stupid idea of yours to get me to fall in love with the place and choose to stay then you’re wasting your time.”
A small smile graced his lips before he turned his intelligent gaze upon me. “The only thing I need you to love is me, anything else is irrelevant.” He began, “but in answer to your question, I would have preferred to wait a little while longer before I brought you here, but as it stands, the choice was taken from me.” he finished, as calm and collected as ever.
I regarded him with furrowed brows and he reached over and patted the cushion beside him, indicating that I should sit. I shook my head and he continued.
“My father has requested that we meet with him.”
“Your father? You mean the king of all vampires? Why’d he want to meet with me?” I asked suspiciously.
“He’s hardly a king, though it would certainly give him pleasure to be seen such, neither does he rule all blood drinkers, he is simply the leader of this particular coven.” He paused and seemed to consider something.
“I am told he seems to have learned that I have a mate and wants to meet you.”
“Well you can tell him I’m just some guy you met, I’m not up to meeting any demon kings right about now, especially if he has some blood relation to you.”
He didn’t acknowledge the insult, he just went on as if I hadn’t said a word. “ In a few hours you will be presented to the court but there are a few things you need to understand before that time comes, now listen closely.” His gaze turned serious as he stared intently into my eyes and after only a moment’s pause, I moved to lower myself into the chair across from him.
……………………………..
Don’t open your mouth unless invited to speak.
Do not be insolent.
Never let them see your fear.
Answer only what you are asked and for god’s sake Tony stop your glaring.
Rien’s rules reverberated in mind as I stood in the center of the large room, dressed in an uncomfortable, heavy robe and being ogled by about three dozen expressionless vamps. This was what Rien had called the court; just a large open room with ridiculously high ceilings, whitewashed stone walls with no windows and not much in the way of décor. The creatures stood on either side of the room watching and waiting in complete silence, but they didn’t concern me as much as the ones standing on the podium at the front of the room. There were four of them, two of which I recognized from earlier when we’d landed.
I assumed they were of some importance since they were standing up front. Their expressions mirrored everyone else’s but there was something in the way they looked at me that gave me the distinct impression that there was a large degree of hate there.
It was hard to take that kind of treatment without giving them so much as a glare but only an idiot would disregard Rien’s rules in a place teeming with bloodthirsty vamps, so as expected I stood there like a meek puppy dog, not saying a word and trying to act ‘like a decent human being’: Rien’s words not mine.
The four of them stood beside a chair, in fact it was only one chair in the entire room; one fit for a king, upon which sat a vampire who looked way too wise to have such a young face. He wore gold threaded robes and sat much like Rien always did; looking regal and confident; maybe even a bit cocky.
He wore his hair long so that it shrouded either side of his thin flawless face and his piercing black eyes were like pits waiting to suck me into its dark debts. He looked like evil incarnate and he looked pissed. Beside me Rien stood as always looking calm and unruffled by it all.
“You have brought a human into the court, dressed him in our robes and have had him stand before me as if he is one of our own, do you try to insult me Riener?” the man spoke for the first time.
My eyes narrowed at his words.
“You requested an audience with my mate and now that we stand before you, you complain? Which is it father? Do you wish to meet him or not?” Rien said simply and I glanced at him in surprise, and he lectured me on insolence?
A chorus of whispering went up among the vampires standing on either side of us.
“Watch your mouth child, How dare you speak to father in such a tone” one of the men up front exclaimed and my brows furrowed.
They were brothers?
“Kandane, you have no right to speak here after allowing him to run about like he has.” The father said in a cold voice and just like that the fight seemed to leave the one called Kandane. He didn’t look particularly pleased but he nodded and stood back.
“Why is it that nothing you do surprises me Riener? You leave the coven for years on end and whenever you choose to return it is only for an insanely short space of time and now you have brought with you a human whom you call mate, what am I to do with this news? How is this to benefit our coven?”
“Who I choose to mate has nothing to do with the coven as you so rightly know father.” Rien began then looked around him. “Why have you invited so many men, I was led to believe this was a meeting between father and son.”
“I had thought to present to the court my son and his companion and now I see that it has been a waste of time.” He began, “You have always made rash decisions Riener, now it is time for you to take on some responsibility. I will select a worthy mate for you, then you can carry out your duty and stop with this nonsense.” He said it as if he were discussing the weather and I clenched my fists, teeth gritting as I watched him.
Worthy of a fucking vampire. Damn high and mighty piece of shit. That was the thing with these monsters, they all thought they were better than humans and even Rien wasn’t above that.
“I’ve already made my choice and this has clearly turned out to be a complete waste of my time.” Rien spat.
Before I could even blink, Rien’s father was standing before us and not a moment later the back of his hand came crashing down on the left side of Rien’s face. I heard the sickening crunch of smashed bones as I watched in horror and just like that I felt an irrational surge of anger build up within me until I only saw red.
“You son of a bitch!” and my fist was flying before I registered any decision to retaliate, but just moments before my fist touched flesh Rien grabbed hold of my arm and yanked me back.
“That’s enough.” He ordered, voice cold and dead serious and I ripped my hand from his then froze when I caught sight of his face.
Four gashes ran from eye to mouth and oozing the darkest blood I’d ever seen, it was like ink; jet black and thick that also dripped from his smashed nose, then right before my eyes the wounds began to pull together, the flesh healing, knitting the skin back to its previous smooth texture and saving the blood, it was as if nothing had happened.
I watched in awe as he simply removed a piece of cloth from within his robes and swiped it over the mess on his skin as if he was only drying water from his face and not blood resulting from his father’s violent behavior.
Rien didn’t even seem particularly concerned and it just served to piss me off all the more.
“Look I don’t give a damn what you freaks wanna do to each other, but I’m done, I want the hell out of here.” This I said to no one in particular and when I turned toward the direction of the exit, Rien’s hand on my arm stopped me.
“We will resume in my chamber.” I heard the voice of their leader close behind me and a moment later he was gone.
“I warned you.” Rien said with barely concealed anger and when I tried to pull out of his grasp, he tightened his grip.
“Problems in paradise brother?” one of the vamps asked with a slight grin and I cut him a glare, “You had better heed our father before something worse comes your way.”
AUTHOR'S NOTES
.....Meh.....
-DoUbLe.A
-unedited.