Legacy (20 page)

This did not have the effect that he hoped for as the soldier was wearing a helmet for protection which did its job brilliantly because all Lucius had managed to do was cause a loud metallic clank as the wood met it.

Lucius just lay there looking up at the soldier knowing that all hopes of winning this fight were quickly disappearing.

Lucius’s opponent took advantage of the momentary pause in fighting to reach over and grab the piece of wood that Lucius had just dropped and without any more hesitation, he lifted it over his head and swiftly slammed it down until it made contact with Lucius’s head.

The blow was enough to incapacitate Lucius and the soldier instantly knew that he had won the battle as his wounded opponent showed no more signs of life.

I watched the soldier stand up and nonchalantly throw the piece of wood to the ground before looking around to survey the trail of destruction that he had just left.

He showed no physical signs of fatigue or injury after such a brave battle from his opponent and he nonchalantly walked over to the newly deceased Maria and pulled the sword that had killed her from her chest.

And as he reclaimed what was his, the soldier stood majestically over the bodies lying around him and he took this opportunity to remove his helmet in order to wipe away the sweat that had built up around his face.

And as he took it off, all was revealed to me.

I was now staring into the face of Zephal!

A blinding flash suddenly came from nowhere and I opened my eyes to find myself with Lucius, who had his arms wrapped tightly around me, concerned for my well-being.

I looked up at him and burst into tears.

Lucius had spoken the truth about Zephal – he truly was an evil man and I could now fully understand why Lucius hated him so much.

I felt warm and safe in Lucius’s arms and it was clear to me that Zephal had failed to turn Lucius into a monster for him to control and for a few seconds I felt contented.

He gently stroked the side of my face and I looked up at him and smiled.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Zephal landed on the rooftop and immediately picked up the feint scent of Lucius and Naomi, moving his head in all directions in order to work out which way the two had fled.

This was proving to be a little more difficult than Zephal had hoped due to the number of policemen who had now congregated in the backyard below, filling the air around him with all types of different scents.

But he continued on his search for the elusive pair across the roofs of the shops, once again leaving a trail of chaos behind him.

This time Zephal would not be distracted by anyone else who happened to get in his way – he was not going to rest until he finally caught up with Lucius and Naomi and without any hesitation, he would make Lucius pay for all the grief that he had caused in his search to find Naomi.

Of all the people who Zephal had chosen to join him in his immortal life, none were as strong willed as Lucius and even though his soul was supposed to belong to Zephal after being bitten, Lucius seemed to still possess a mind of his own – and it was a strong one at that.

So strong in fact, that he was starting to become a worthy adversary and the only way Zephal could see the two of them ending their long lasting feud would be if one annihilated the other and he was certain that he was not going to be the one to die.

After all, Zephal was the master and Lucius was his slave to use as he wished, but somewhere along the line, he was faced with a rebellion from someone he considered to be his strongest student.

It was always Lucius’s destiny to join the vampire race, but he never knew it. Zephal could see it immediately and tried to nurture him into becoming a master himself one day, but Lucius never surrendered himself fully.

And when that fateful day came where Lucius discovered that his master had been the man responsible for the deaths of his loved ones, Zephal knew he was about to face a new enemy.

Lucius immediately became the strongest thorn in Zephal’s side and he made it his mission to make sure his newly acquired nemesis would suffer for the heartbreak that he had bestowed upon him and his fellow villagers that day.

And now their personal vendettas have grown stronger and stronger as they both share a mutual mission in bringing Naomi back to the world she had been born in – but both for different reasons.

But through the years, Zephal had shown time and time again that he was the stronger one and he also possessed a power that others could only dream of possessing – the power to bring the people he had bitten back to life to do his bidding.

Up until now, Lucius and Naomi had evaded capture, but when the time arises where Zephal calls upon his victims to rise and join him in his search, the number of hiding places possible would diminish very quickly indeed.

As Zephal moved from street to street, he could sense that Lucius and Naomi were not too far away from where he was.

And he was correct to think that – because less than fifty yards away from where he stood right now was a gap between two houses where Lucius was presently holding Naomi, completely oblivious to the fact that their hunter was fast approaching them.

Zephal had a skill of moving around in silence and he proved this majestically as he suddenly appeared at the side of Lucius and Naomi without either of them having any inkling that anyone was moving around near them.

It was too late when Lucius sensed that something wasn’t right and he looked across to be greeted by the sight of Zephal grinning directly at him.

And without any warning, Zephal leapt straight for Lucius.

Lucius tried to defend himself, but Naomi was still cradled in his arms, completely oblivious that their hunter had managed to track them down, but she soon felt Zephal’s presence – unfortunately though, it was when his foot made contact with her back, sending her and Lucius falling to the ground.

Lucius was fine, but he could instantly tell that Naomi hadn’t got off so lightly as she failed to get off him.

Lucius could feel how limp her body was and he feared the worst, but he knew that he could do nothing right now as Zephal was ready to attack once again.

But before he could fully defend himself, Lucius was tackled around the waist by Zephal with such force that the two men left the ground for a few seconds before hitting a brick wall with such force that part of it cracked upon impact.

With all the strength he could muster after being attacked twice, Lucius pushed Zephal away from him, sending him flying back a few yards until he came to stop right next to where Naomi was lying.

Zephal looked directly at her and noticed that her chest was still falling and rising slowly, indicating that she had not died. He instantly used this to his advantage and grabbed hold of the limp Naomi and pulled her towards him while Lucius struggled to get to his feet.

Zephal stood up, holding on tightly to Naomi and held her in front of him like a shield as he turned to face Lucius.

              “The girl isn’t dead, Lucius! But I finally have her! Your mission is over – go back to wherever you crawled from and admit defeat!”

              “Defeat is not an option, Zephal! I will fight you with every breath I have to make sure that you do not leave with Naomi.I’ll see you dead first!” Lucius answered angrily.

              “You have threatened that many times over the years,” Zephal replied mockingly, “but you don’t seem to be strong enough to carry it out! I saved you when I could have walked away and left you dying! You make me out to be an animal, but deep down you are just like me. Admit what you are – you’re a vampire – and being so makes us cold-blooded killers because that’s exactly what we have to do in order to survive!”

              “Sometimes I wish you had left me to die that day!” Lucius retaliated, “You may have made me immortal, but I will continue living every day of my incredibly long life plotting how horrific your last moments would be at my hands.”

              “There are many other women in our world, you could have the choice of many. And today is that moment.”

              “So be it, Lucius!” Zephal replied as he turned Naomi’s head so that her face pointed towards Lucius, “Such a shame. Say goodbye to this young man, my sweet one, for you will never see him again.”

As Zephal finished speaking, Lucius dived towards him and just like he had done to Lucius moments ago, sent him crashing to the ground along with Naomi.

Lucius and Zephal wrestled on the ground - both trying to achieve some sort of domination against the other, but neither man seemed to be winning the battle.

Naomi just lay there next to them showing no sign of movement whatsoever, completely oblivious to the battle that was happening around her.

Zephal managed to roll Lucius onto his back and held him down with his body weight and pinned his wrists above his head. As he did so, Lucius began to show the very first signs of changing into his true vampire form. His eyes were changing to a blood red colour and his fangs began to protrude from behind his top lips.

And Zephal was beginning to change too.

Not only were their facial appearances changing, but they were also beginning to grow in muscular strength and their fingernails were also extending out like the claws of a wild animal which instantly became added weapons in their fight.

Lucius had managed to free his arms and soon they were continuing their battle, arms flailing through the air at each other in the hope of catching and wounding their opponent, accompanied by strange sounds coming from their mouths.

The normal sounds of threats that each of them had thrown at each other were now replaced by the strangest, almost animal-like screeches as the battle grew more and more intense.

Zephal did manage to make contact with Lucius with his claws across his face, but the wound sustained was only superficial and the fight continued without a seconds pause.

While they were battling, neither of them realised that Naomi was beginning to show the slightest signs of life on the ground. Her head was slowly moving to her left and as she did so, she began to grow more aware of her surroundings.

And that was a bad sign for Zephal.

Zephal was definitely showing signs of winning his fight against Lucius and he was now beginning to strike blow after blow to his opponent’s head.

The adrenalin that was running through Zephal’s body pushed him to continue his onslaught on Lucius until he showed no more signs of life.

The fight will soon be over – his mission will almost be complete.

Lucius will be dead.

Zephal now had Naomi – or so he thought.

Without any warning, something hard came crashing down onto Zephal’s left shoulder and as he fell head first to the ground, he noticed that the pain in his shoulder remained. He looked at his shoulder and noticed four pieces of metal coming out from his skin.

And then all became clear as he caught a glimpse of Naomi standing at the side of him.

              “What did you do to me?” Zephal asked.

Naomi just laughed at him and then disappeared for a second before pulling out what had been stuck inside Zephal’s shoulder and returned into view.