Inge grabbed his hand. Ari pulled back thinking he was trying to bring him closer. Instead, Inge took the dagger and sliced into his hand. Inge threw him back towards the wall and strode toward the coffin. All Ari could do was hold his hand and look on. His heart was drumming through his own ears and his hands were shaking. However, Ari knew he could not let whatever Inge was trying to do come to pass.
Ari rose on shaky legs and steadied himself against the wall. Once his nerves settled, Ari said the only word that would stop him in his tracks. Cyrus once told him how when they loved it was ever-lasting. Perhaps with a one-sided love as well. Ari would just have to try and see just how his deep his feelings were for him went. There were no other options left open to him.
"Rein."
Inge spun around and looked at their surroundings. He sniffed and growled.
"You think I'm stupid, kitten?"
"No... Rein... He is here and I am sure he is trouble."
Inge paused at the step he was about to climb. His brows furrowed.
"Why did you take him down here?" Inge hissed.
"Because of my curiosity. Because Auovin refused to tell me all that I wanted to know, so I went looking for the answers myself. But that should be the least of your concerns. Rein is in here somewhere looking for me. He would not leave without me."
"Curiosity? Well, are you not curious now?"
"Inge--"
"Come, take a peek. A quick look-see. You are here now, after all."
He stepped back down the stairs and yanked Ari up towards the coffin causing Ari to pull away from him. Inge dragged him up the stairs no matter how much Ari dug his heels into the dirt. He was far too strong for Ari to resist. Soon as they were at the top, Inge threw Ari onto the floor near the coffin. Ari instinctively backed away, but Inge brought him back onto to his feet and pushed his head into the coffin.
There was nothing but bones and cobwebs. Ari lurched backward, causing Inge to laugh and hit his knees.
"Did you think he was in there? Truly?" Inge wiped his eyes. He smiled and walked closer to Ari, but Ari moved away.
"So you do not believe me? That Rein is here?"
"You do not believe me that your father is here?"
"He is not," Ari barked. "Freir is. What blood we share means little to me."
"You never even met the man and yet you hold him in such bleak light. Shame on you." Inge tapped his nose and went on and dropped his blood into the coffin. Nothing happened which made Inge look to Ari, but Ari was already rushing down the steps.
Inge sucked on his teeth before he threw away the dagger and jogged down the stairs after him. He grabbed Ari's wrist but Ari snatched it away from him. Ari fumbled on the stairs going into another corridor, allowing Inge to catch up to him. Inge tackled him to the ground. The burn of the stone on his skin now hot and dripping blood seared through him. Ari struggled out of his tight hold and tried to get from under him, but Inge grabbed his leg and yanked him back.
"Seems like I need more blood than that," Inge whispered in his ear before Ari brought his head back and slammed it into Inge's face. Quickly, Inge let go of Ari and held his nose. Ari smelled the stench of iron permeating the air now. He paid no mind to Inge as he rose, disoriented. There was a straight shot out of the corridor and Ari was going to take. As soon as he was down the hall, demons blocked his way. They were things Ari had never seen in all his years.
They climbed the walls like spiders. The padding on their feet made a sucking sound with each step. Ari backed away carefully. Their eyes were bright and beady. Ari could faintly make out his reflection through one of them as they approached closer. Ari took off back up the steps before one could attack. He went down another hall and another until he was out of breath and soaking in his own sweat. There were no sounds behind him, so Ari relaxed his shoulders and leaned up against the wall far away from any opening.
Cobwebs were everywhere and the place reeked of decay. When he glanced around Ari jolted away from the numerous bodies of dead seeres piled on top of another. He covered his nose and backed away, not wanting to find out how they died and what had done that to them. Out of the darkness came a voice which made Ari press himself against a wall.
"Harun was a good god," Inge said.
"He was no god. Just a demon raised far too high," Ari retorted.
"He had done many good deeds. Made humanity prosper."
"And at what price?"
"Everything has its price, Ari. What matter is the price when they agreed to pay it?"
Ari reached inside his boot and searched for the small daggers he stashed inside there. When he felt the hilt of one, Ari grabbed it and pressed it against Inge's neck. Inge only smiled and pressed the blade away from his neck despite Ari's resistance. When Inge twisted his wrist Ari dropped the dagger and gasped from the pain trickling through him now. Inge pushed him up against the wall and wrapped his fingers around his throat.
"Close your eyes and listen. Can you not hear the beating of his heart? And his breath. Can you not feel it when the wind blows against your face?" Ari turned his head away, struggling for breath. "He is here and when he awakens, I hope you will come to realize, sooner rather than later, which side you choose to stand on."
Inge loosened his hold and smiled. Before he could drag Ari off to some place, someone came from behind him and knocked Inge out with a large slab of concrete. Rein tugged him forward, but Ari stopped and pushed Rein to the floor as he saw Inge rising. Inge held his head and looked at the both of them.
"A pity how you are on the wrong side of things. Auovin will tell you nothing because he promises you nothing that we are not already doing."
"I do not believe you," Ari breathed.
"Of course you do not. You do not want to believe that he is capable of such a thing. But he is. Harun stood in his way, and you see what had happened to him. There is no good left in him. What he does is for his benefit. Who he is with is for his gain." A trickle of blood trailed down from Inge's forehead and onto his cheek. "You are no exception. And look at you now. See how far you have sunken into his lovely yellow pair of eyes. Have they enraptured you so much that you have become beguiled by them?"
Ari furrowed his brows.
"I once was with him in his endeavor, you know. I just found what Harun had to offer me much more... appealing."
"And what is that exactly?"
"A new beginning."
"A new beginning...?"
"The time will come. You will just hasten the inevitable if only you just come with me." Inge outstretched his hand, but Ari smacked it away from him.
"All I hear is lies."
"The truth is there. You just fail to see it. When the time comes you will see him for what he is... What you really are," Inge added before he wiped the blood from his face. He stepped closer to them causing Rein to rise and point a sword at his throat.
"Not another step closer."
"Or maybe there is a truth you fail to see. You think because you lived so long you are incapable of changing your ways, but that is not true. There is hope in him still just as there is in you."
"Ari, let us go." Rein tugged on his arm, but Ari ignored it.
"You like Rein when you should only think of him as food because that is how it has always been for you. Is that not right?"
Inge pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. He did not bother to meet Rein's eyes as he has always done in the past. Instead, he shied away from them and stepped back.
"Here he is. Right before your eyes. I know a sword pointed to your neck would not deter you from taking me wherever it is you want me to go. You could kill him."
"I could," Inge agreed.
"But you will not--"
"Ari--" Rein hissed.
"--Because you like him."
"Enough, kitten," Inge growled.
"And you do not want to hurt him, so you will let us go. At least for now." Truly, blood demons were emotional things and Inge was one of the most changeable ones he had known. Ari did not realize how deep his feelings for Rein went until that moment.
Inge turned his back and put his hand up causing Ari to back away slowly. Soon he started off in a run, taking Rein along with him.
"Run, run, as fast as you can..." Inge mumbled. "Time and tide wait for no man."
Ari ignored his words and continued down into the corridor. He made many lefts and rights purposely trying to get lost, so Inge could not have a change of mind and come find them. When Ari stopped and checked to see if they were truly lost, Ari saw small rays of light shining through a crack. The sun was rising. They were close to the top.
Rein stopped him before he could take another step. A swarthy figure appeared from the corridor. As it stepped closer, Ari noticed it had no arms and its neck was bitten through. It fell and hit the ground, revealing the spider-like creature eating away at its back.
"The Khaeo," Rein murmured. "They are here."
The creature let out a screech and ran towards them. Rein easily disposed of it and pushed Ari ahead. "Hurry now. Before more comes."
They quickly climbed the stairs and saw dozens of demon bodies piled on top of one another along with their brothers littered around. When the light grew brighter and more profound, Ari saw Nolan standing in front of the corridor, halting him in his steps. The look in his eyes sent a chill through him. Still, Rein gave him a push.
"I told you to go and fetch him for me and you bring him here?" Nolan growled as he looked at Rein. His armor made a clatter as he strode down the stairs and dragged Ari forward and into the light. Nolan threw him on the ground and narrowed his eyes at him. "You do not know what you have just done, boy."
Ari looked to Rein, but he was already on one knee asking for Nolan's forgiveness.
"It was inevitable," Ari heard a female voice say before she moved towards the front and revealed herself. "He would awaken with or without his... help." Alia gave him a smile which sent bile to the front of his throat.
"How could he have stirred with just his blood?" Nolan said.
"Maybe he had help," Alia answered.
Nolan shook his head in response and motioned for Rein to rise. "Bring the boy back up," Nolan said to no one. "And, this time, make sure you lock him up tight. Rein and Freir have been too soft on him and now he thinks he can do as he pleases."
"Perhaps he is convincing. Manipulative... He is one of them, after all," Alia noted, causing Rein to flash her a look. "And should we not punish him as well?"
Nolan looked at Ari then to Rein. "No, just keep them separate for the time being."
"As you wish," Alia groveled and looked Ari. "As you wish."
Ari was thrown into a room bearing no furniture but a rickety bed in great disrepair and a threadbare blanket that smelled of sickness. When Ari rose, someone threw a cold bucket of water on him that chilled him to the bone. He held himself tight to stop himself from shaking. Ari did not want to look weak in their eyes. He would not be cowed and he would not put up with that treatment.
Whatever he had done, Ari did not care. Some great part of him wished that it would wipe out the order. He wanted to see it all burn to the ground. Thoughts like those scared him, but they were his thoughts, nonetheless. The more minutes passed the more those thoughts festered and grew, eating away at him until his knuckles turned white.
He was angry with Nolan. He was angry with Auovin, and, most importantly, he was angry with himself. Time and time again, he had played into other's hands and each time he seemed to never learn from them. He would not be used and he would not be tricked any longer. Ari rose on shaky legs and made his way over to the barred windows, ignoring the rat droppings on the floor. He tried to bend them, but the metal burned his hands at the touch of it. The earth beneath him shook then, causing Ari to fumble and fall to the ground.
"Do not bother."
Ari whipped his head around, recognizing the voice. Stein? He approached the bars keeping him enclosed and looked through the darkness seeing him as he was. He was smaller and his face was bruised. Ari could barely sense much life in him.
"... Why are you here?"
"I am here..." Stein breathed. He held his side as if it was painful to even speak. "Because I am here."
Ari narrowed his eyes and looked at him with a keener eye. There was a thought in his mind that Ari dared not to bring to the surface, but it was itching to come out. He had to know. Would Auovin truly do such a thing?
"Because of Auovin?"
Stein gazed at him, for a moment. Ari's heart was pounding through his chest. Before long, Stein shook his head no.
"Then why?"
"Judgment."
"Judgment?"
"It is upon us," Stein croaked.
Ari had an ill feeling nestling in the pits of his stomach. The same feeling he felt when he was inside of the abandoned temple.
A larger quake shook the building again. This time, roofing came falling down into his cell. Ari covered his head and ducked for cover. When the dust cleared and the rumbling ceased, Ari quickly went over to bars again. He lurched back when he saw Stein crushed beneath the rubble.
Ari had to leave. He had to get to Freir and Rein. Ari pulled at the bars. He pulled and pulled and pulled until finally, they started to bend to his will. As soon as he made an opening large enough for him to go through, he rushed down the hall. He stopped the moment he saw Inge coming up the stairs. It caused his brows to furrow and his feet to back away.
"I think it would be best if you stayed. Ylanan will be looking for you and he does not like to wait."
"You did that to Stein."
"I did nothing."
"You gave Harun his blood."
"Perhaps."
"You killed one of your own."
"Maybe."
"And now you need Auovin for his."
"A later time. But for now, why not take a walk?" Inge smiled and came closer. "I am sure you will like it. You are curious, yes? About the greats? Come, and I will show you. I will show you just how similar you are."
Ari backed away and started making a run for the window at the end the hall. Before Inge could stop him, Ari crashed through the window and rolled onto the ground. He took off towards the forest but stopped midway thinking of Rein and Freir. He could not leave them there. However, with him, they were much worse off. Ari paced back and forth before deciding to just leave. He ran as fast as he could, but no matter how far he went, Ari still felt the same pair of eyes from before boring into his back.
_______________________________________________
[A/N]
Despite how Inge is, I think his nickname for him his pretty cute. Ari is like a kitten trying to mingle with the tigers and lions. On another note, Harun might really start to fuck shit up. Ari finally got through his whole identity ordeal and now it's being questioned again. And what's Ari to do but to go running back in the arms of the people he has grown to love. But do you guys think that is a good idea? Is Auovin really just not good or is it all hearsay.
Leave me your thoughts down below! I would love to what you guys have to say about this as a whole. ❤️
Thank you for reading, commenting, and voting, as always!❤️