The halls of the vampire fortress were long, dark, and smelt like blood. It wouldn't be long before the kindred, their vampire minions at their side, would come hunting them down.
Illius followed her scent. She was injured, that much he could smell, and it only furthered his determined fury. They rounded a corner and at the end of the hall lurked a vampire. Its head snapped in their direction and it snarled, dashing toward them, teeth gnashing and claws flying. Illius slid forward, skidding across the marble floor on his knees, bending back and as the vampire flew over him, he dragged his dagger down the length of the bloodsucker's chest. The vampire shrieked, stumbling towards Cael who buried his own blade into its heart. It fell to the floor, violently shaking as it burst into a pile of ashes.
"This way," Illius gestured for Cael to follow him and they darted down another long hallway and up a set of stairs. Illius held up his hand, "Wait." He inhaled her sweet scent and spun around to face a stone door, "Through here." He kicked the door open and they burst into a room. In the center of the room, laying unconscious on a stone slab, was Ava. Needles dug into her skin, filling jars of blood sitting on the floor around her, "Ava," Illius breathed.
A figure slipped from the shadows, swinging a chain with a spiked ball on the end. He had white hair and dark brown eyes, so brown they were almost red. He tilted his head to the side as he measured them up, "Come to save the Soul Bound, have you?" The gigantic, Morning Star fell on the floor, scraping against the marble. Several vampires surrounded Cael and Illius, appearing from the shadows. They hissed and growled as the kindred stood in front of Ava, "She's not going anywhere." He sneered.
"Cael, you help Ava, I'll take care of the corpses," Illius grinned with a wicked glint in his blue eyes, "You decided to vex the wrong demon." He leapt towards the kindred who swung the spiked ball, Illius ducked, slashing across the kindred's thigh.
He yelped, his eyes blazing with hatred and swung his Morning Star again. The chain wrapped around one of Illius' legs and he tripped, collapsing to the floor with a thud. The kindred stood over the demon and brought his leg back, kicking him in the gut. Illius gasped, the air knocked from his lungs. Cael had already fought through several vampires and was now carefully removing the needles from Ava's body. A vampire leapt towards him, tackling him to the floor.
The kindred knelt over Illius, a smug look on his face. He plowed a fist against the demon's jaw, "You shouldn't of declined Vahara's offer. Now you will die, just like the rest." The kindred lifted his spiked ball, hanging from its silver chain and brought it over his head, swinging it down towards Illius.
Illius rolled to the side just as the Morning Star dug into the marble in the exact place his head had been laying moments before. He jumped to his feet as the kindred yanked the spiked ball from the floor. The blunt weapon whipped back around and Illius jumped over it, rolling across the floor to soften his fall. He spun as the kindred raised the Morning Star above his head once more and dug his dagger through his ribcage, right into his heart.
His eyes went wide and he exploded into ashes, his weapon slamming against the ground, scattering the ashes. Cael shoved a hissing vampire off and soon the vampire too was nothing more than a pile of ashes. Illius moved to Ava's side. Her long hair hung off the edge of the stone, her eyes closed, her skin pale and her lips blue from the lack of blood.
"Ava," Cael whispered, his golden eyes filling with warmth as he gazed down at her, he reached out to touch her, his fingers centimeters from her face.
"Don't touch her," Illius snapped.
Cael flinched, unable to move his hand closer to her, his angered eyes flicked to Illius' cold ones, "You can't do this to me!" He yelled, his hands waving over her face, unable to caress her skin.
"It's just too fun to see you squirm. I love ordering you around, perhaps I should do this more often," Illius grinned. Cael's chest raised and fell with suppressed frustration and he watched as Illius leaned over her, his fingers trailing down her face. Cael gritted his teeth, jealousy writhing inside of him, "She's lost too much blood." Illius' eyes fell to the jars filled with her vibrantly, red blood. Gently, he removed the remainder of sharp, long needles and scooped her up into his arms. She felt cold and limp, but thankfully, he could still feel her weak heartbeat as he pulled her against his chest, "I have to go and save my brother's pathetic behind now," He stepped towards Cael, gazing down at his soul mate, "I'm counting on you, do you understand?"
Cael's brows knitted together in confusion, "Why?"
"I need you to take her, get her out of this place. I'm trusting you with her," He placed Ava in Cael's arms, his heart clenching, "If you dare to even look at her with that disgusting longing in your eyes, I will rip your arms off and beat you with them." He warned, clenching his jaw. Cael lifted a brow, "Go, get out of here!" He ordered. The angel turned towards the red, stained glass window on the other side of the room, "And Cael," Illius began and the angel looked back at him, "Keep her safe."
Cael gave one strong nod, his white wings unfolding from his back. He pushed off with them and smashed through the window into the daylight. Taking her further away from the dangerous vampire fortress, further away from Illius.
"No!" A shrill scream filled the room and Illius flipped towards the door where Vahara stood seething, making sure to keep out of sunlight's reach. Her furious blue orbs landed on his, "How could you?!" Illius shook his head, his lips curling into a devious smirk. He picked up one of the jars filled with Ava's blood, "No, Illius, please!" Vahara begged, extending a hand out, it sizzled in the sunlight pouring through the broken window and she pulled back, clutching her scalded hand to her chest.
Illius raised the jar above his head and let it slip from his hands. It shattered on the floor, "Oops," He chuckled, finding this terribly amusing.
Her wide, startled eyes quickly narrowed into wrathful slits, "Stop!" She shouted, her hands curling into fists.
He picked up a second jar, "Why would I want to do that? You won't have invulnerability Vahara, and I'll make sure of it." He growled, letting the jar slip from his hands, glass flying in every direction, skidding across the marble.
She let out an infuriated scream, her eyes glowing with rage, "You'll pay for this!" She snarled.
"Join the long list of people in line to make me suffer," He scooped up the last jar, "I might have loved you at one point, Vahara."
Her lips parted in shock, her eyes softening, "Illius..." She breathed.
"I adored you, I would have done anything for you," He said, his voice barely more then a whisper, "But that girl died centuries ago. The woman who stands in front of me now is nothing more than a power hungry monster!" The last jar exploded on the marble.
Vahara sank to her knees. If she could cry, she would have, but she was too cold and dead inside, "I still love you, Illius." She breathed.
He shifted his jaw, "You can't love, your heart doesn't beat. Goodbye, Vahara, and if I ever see you again I will kill you." He stepped past her defeated form and strode down the hall.
~*~
Cael's purely white feather reflected the beams of sunlight that poured down on his golden hair as he swooped low, his feet placing one after the other, gently on the snow packed ground. Ava lay cradled in his arms, her skin pale and chalky, her lips blue. He had sworn, made a vow that he would never allow her to come to harm and now look. Look at what he had done. He had foolishly been caught in a weak moment and captured by his arch nemesis, the man who could potentially win Ava's heart against him and now was subjected to the demon's every wish. His one role in life was to protect, love, and cherish this one woman, and yet, he couldn't even do that. He had awaited her birth earnestly, knowing that she would be his one and only, his soulmate. He'd watched her grow into the beautiful young woman she was now and fallen deeply in love with her along the way.
If only he could break free of the chains the demon had placed on him, he would take her far away. Take her to a place where she would never come to harm again, where the sun would always shine and birds would sing above fields of emerald green, grass.
Flakes of snow melted on his golden, skinned, bare back as he gently laid her upon a blanket of snow. He brushed the hair from her face, his fingers tingling as they moved over her soft skin. Fate was a cruel thing. It played nasty games with the hearts of anyone who tied into its web of demise and once he had been captured, there was no escape. His fate was set in stone, written across the skies like a daunting message forever hanging over his head. He was a Soul Bound's soulmate and he would either win her and regain the other half of himself that he had long lost, or he would lose her forever and stay the broken man he was.
He gazed down at her, she was everything he had ever hoped for and more. How could she slip so easily from his grasp? His eyes narrowed, no, he would not let her go, not that easily. He would fight, even if it meant shattering himself in order to break free from the orb, he would do it. For her.
He leaned down, placing his lips tenderly on her cold ones. They were like petals of flames across her cool skin, healing her, bringing color back to her face that spread from her lips. She would not awake, not yet, but he had placed a blessing on her, a healing blessing. Angels were the only ones who carried healing abilities, besides some very special warlocks and witches who usually put their talents of healing into administering to the sick and afflicted.
He allowed his lips to remain on hers for a few moments longer, savoring the sweet sensations that ran through his entire body like currents of electricity, invigorating and energizing, the back of his hand trailing down the side of her face.
He would have her in the end, have his other half, even if it meant executing the one demon who stood in his way and anyone else who dared to attempt to stop him.
~*~
Illius plowed down halls, slaughtering through any vampire that dared to stand in his way. The lingering stench of burnt werewolf fur traveled to his nose, pungent and sour. He wrinkled up his nose, making a gagging sound before pulling the collar of his trench coat over his nose. His eyes stung as he descended a set of spiral stairs, plunging into a dark, humidly dank, cellar.
"Illius!"
He spun around, facing Vahara who stood fuming before him.
"You can't walk away from me, not again. I won't let you," She panted, as though gasping for air regardless of the fact that she didn't breathe. She reached out towards him and he gripped her hand harshly in his grasp.
"I will never be yours again. Give up, Vahara. You know very well that you cannot control me," He shoved her hand away, making his way down the passageway.
"You care for the Soul Bound, don't you?" She spat with jealousy, "She could never love you, not the way that I do. She hasn't known you for centuries upon centuries. No one knows you better then I, Illius."
He flipped around to face her once more, clenching his jaw, "Don't make assumptions. You'd do well to walk away."
In a flash she was in front of him, gripping the sides of his face and locking her blue eyes on his, "You will return to me, Illius."
He yanked out of her grasp, disgusted, "Are you trying to compel me?!" He shoved her and she stumbled back.
"You can't stop me," She shook her head, hurt in her eyes, "I will have the Soul Bound's power, with or without you by my side."
"She has a name!" He growled, "And if you ever come near Ava again, Vahara-"
"You'll what, Illius?" She threw her hands up, "Rip my heart out? Go ahead, the pain could be no worse then what you have already done to me."
"Stop being so dramatic," Illius rolled his eyes, "Ripping hearts out isn't really my thing anymore. No, I'll just drag you down to Hell where you belong and feed you to the Hell Hounds and the Souls of the Damned."
Her eyes went wide and she lifted her chin, composing herself, "Take your pitiful band of sinners and leave if you wish. Just remember, if you walk away now, I will show no mercy, Illius, not even for you."
"I'll take my chances," He seethed between tight teeth.
She frowned, "Release the prisoners!" She shouted, her eyes never leaving his.
"You've gone soft," Illius observed, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"I have bigger plans for you and your little group. You remember our games, don't you Illius? What do you think about playing another for old time's sake?" She grinned, a wicked, dark grin that deformed her beautiful face.
He raised a brow, "I say, game on."