Bound By Blood (24 page)

             
A gasp came from the many throats watching. It spread like a wave of water.

             
"That is right!"
Kaléé spoke
even louder. "He is what I say and what I say he is means y
ou couldn’t kill him if you tried,
Dĩas,
something which you learned a long time ago already. Do not play the fool twice.”
Kaléé
hissed
this
as she put herself in between them. She took her own staff and pushed
Dĩas’
down with the end of it.

             
Everyone
else rambled away with blurred whispers.
Samanthŕa
,
whose mind was fumbling upon the words,
Father of the Blood, the thirteenth bloodline
, nearly choked. How could he be the Father of the Blood? How could he be the thirteenth bloodline? That would mean he was a
Dracuŕa
and if that was the case then he did not exist
,
or h
e wasn’t supposed to exist. The bloodline was
destroyed with the ancient world. It was forbidden to even speak of them, ask questions
about
them,
or search out their history.
Samanthŕa
was astounded. She knew now why his power was so intense. Her thoughts were running a million miles a minute. Her last thought
:
             
No wonder his blood forced the signs of my
A
wakening to emerge.
He
is not my
Awakener. His blood is merely that pure.

             
Her Awakening
--
s
he began to quiver
and felt ashame
d
as the memory of the rest of her dream came back to her.

             
The words,
No force on this earth can prevent me from finding you. We will be one again
,
caused her to blush.

             
How could she mistake hi
s power for
that of her true Awakener? How could she be such a fool?
She didn’t want to think about that right now. She couldn’t. Not with
Dĩas
so close. If he knew…she shu
dd
ered to think about what would happen to her.

             
“I will not tell you again
,
Samanthŕa
;
move
away from him.”
Dĩas
snarled.

             
“
Samanthŕa
,
stay where you are.”
Chymeŕah
’s voice came out of nowhere. Everyone’s attention turned towards her. She was the exact image of her
daughter;
except her hair was a chocolate brown and her eyes were dark
er than the lack of light
. She had a more mature look about her
though
,
a
nd
she worked her charms
more
effectively. She moved gracefully, smoothly, as
though she slithered like a serpent
.
The trai
n
of her crimson robes faded into a trail of mist.
Nothing was more beautiful,
Samanthŕa thought.

             
"Stay
out
of this Chymeŕah!" Dĩas growled without looking away from Daŕ
ēus. "If you know what is good for you, you will--"

             
“He has triggered her
A
wakening
,
" she told Dĩas with much satisfaction bursting with expression. Another gasp spread through those watching. "S
o she is no good to you now.
"

             
Samanthŕa
nearly
died
. Why in all of
Hadãe
had her mother said that
,
of all things? Did she not know what would happen to her by doing so?
No, she wouldn’t,
Samanthŕa
thought. No one knew what they had been doing to prevent the
A
wakening. No one knew about the curse.

             
“Can you not smell the scent coming off of them?”
Chymeŕah
continued
.
“All of them?
Samanthŕa and
her sisters
,
and
every
Vii that stands here this night?”
Chymeŕah
was
overflowing with pride. "That which you tried to
suppress has caused every flower in the garden to bloom
. My daughter, High Priestess, has triggered the release in every female here. Blessed be the Goddess for such power." Chymeŕah was
amused that her daughter had triggered every Vii
’s A
wakening
,
from this
realm
to all the rest. Her daughter’s knack for causing chaos made her so very proud
and Chymeŕah made no secret of it
. She was a beautiful
,
unpredictable creature to
Chymeŕah
and no matter what Dĩas did, he could not destroy it.
“Your efforts have failed. The
F
ather of the
B
lood has returned and your daughter will have her
A
wakening. A new night has fallen upon us. A prophecy
is
invoked. I suggest you prepare yourself.”
             

             
Samanthŕa
panicked. Was this the prophecy that she heard whispers of in the
T
avern
and the hint of what Kaléé spoke of before
? What prophecy
,
aside from her forthcoming doom? She noticed the irritation stream across
Dĩas
’ face
. It scared her almost as much as this
Daŕ
ēus person
.

             
“No, no he hasn’t. See? See father, I am fine.” She tried to move out from behind
Daŕ
ēus
but he was just so large.
"I have no signs of Awakening. See?"

             
Daŕ
ēus's
attention turned towards her again. He looked at her oddly as if he didn’t understand her reactions
.
A
nd why would he understand
?
Again, they had kept her curse a secret.
Those strange warrior eyes began to study her energy
though
,
and she wondered
if
he was the Father of the Blood, how long would it take him to find out?
How long would it take for him to find out she had resisted her Awakening . . . used herbs and potent to poison her sacred body . . . to defy the will of the Goddess within herself?

             
Nervously,
“I am fine. I’ll go with you now
,
f
ather
. I’ll go
,
”
s
he tried to say
,
when
Daŕ
ēus
took a step towards her. She stopped dead in her tracks as his eyes caught hers again. This time he did not hold back his power. His soul reached out and grabbed hers
without mercy
. It was the same intoxication as before, only now, ten times stronger. It flooded her. Her thoughts touched his slightly while his mind searched hers completely. He wasn’t trying to hurt her
,
which was the only reason she could fathom as to why her body did not resist.
Touching her mind with his, she understood his actions.
He couldn’t understand the fear in her heart concerning him and the
A
wakening. He was displeased with her panicking.

             
His mind held her there and she was unable to move. An inebriated power filled her up and embraced her. She felt as though she was floating.
Barely had she
heard
Dĩas’
angry voice.

             
“These are your tricks
;
Chymeŕah
!
Y
ou hunger for power as always! You wish your daughter to be bound to him because you think it will benefit
you
somehow! This will not happen! I will not allow it!”
He s
tarted to raise his staff
when the effects of
Daŕ
ēus
’ power caused
Samanthŕa
to
faint
. It was the same as a mortal drinking until they passed out. His power was
that
effective
and she was no match for it
.

***

             
W
ithout
effort or straining
,
Daŕ
ēus
caught her in his arms.
He turned swiftly
;
holding what was his. Without mercy,
a force of invisible energy left his eyes and hit
Dĩas
in the chest.
Dĩas
went flying a good twenty feet a
nd
his body slammed down
,
denting the soil with its imprint.
             

             
The
Strygĩ
warriors drew their swords
,
but the
fur and fang
Lycãons
and
Daŕ
ēus
's six
B
rothers
headed them off.
Those who had the skill, those like Dǒntáe shifted into their beast but
only
if their beast promised to be more dangerous than sword.
Steel
, fang,
and brawn bucked up against
its match,
each
side
daring the other to make the first move
, brother against brother, blood against blood
.

             
Another rasping sound came from
mostly Vii, mostly Phãegen,
who watched
with horror and utter dismay
.

             
“Do not
play
the fool twice
,
Dĩas
.”
Daŕ
ēus
growled low. “I have
not
forgotten your crimes against me,
traitor
. I had many years to think about it while I was trapped
in
a prison you fashioned out of your own ignorance. I remember you joining with Evil to go against
me
. You shall answer for your crimes.”

             
“
You are as delirious as the night you disappeared!
She
will not
accept you!”
Dĩas
yelled. “She will see your true face and sense your darkness! She
will not
accept you! She knows of the curse! You have no claim over her
,
or that!” The
Strygĩ
warriors helped him up.

             
“This is madness!”
Chymeŕah
rolled her eyes
,
looking at her sister
Kaléé
. “Will this
never
end?
I can hear Evil pissing themselves with laughter. Why lift a finger to destroy us when we can simply do it ourselves! Blood against Blood! Forgive us, Goddess, indeed!
” She looked back at
Dĩas
. “
He
is the Father of the Blood.
Without him
,
none of us
would
exist. There needs to be a truce of some sort. Think of
Samanthŕa
! Think of the blood
, t
he blood we are all bound to
,
not by force
,
but because of who and what we are!”

             
“I am the only one who seems to be thinking of her
,
”
Dĩas
sneered
,
concerning
Samanthŕa
.