It was clear, if nothing else, that the Harpy sisters cared for their offspring. But in the hands of their Master, they had all become nothing more than expendable puppets to use for his gain. So, with little else to do and no other option, the Queen motioned for another one to step forward, only this time they knew what awaited them. This meant that they had to be forced to do the Queen’s bidding and the whining and hissing sounds became louder as they fought for freedom.
“Okay, so I don't particularly like these bitches, but even I think that this is brutal,” Nero exclaimed with a shake of her head, with the same disgust written all over her face that was mirrored on my own. But yet, one by one we were all forced to witness as Harpy after Harpy sacrificed themselves for no gain at all. In fact, by the seventh death, the twins Aello and Ocypete were holding each other’s hands as tears freely ran down their deathly skin. Yet during this willing massacre the Mother Queen did nothing to spare her children from this horrific ordeal.
Finally, just after the last Harpy had burst into black sand their Master held his hand up and ceased the order for another one to be brought forward. I think that if the Harpies had the ability to sigh, they would have all released an echoing sound of relief at the same time. As it stood, it was only Nero and I who made such a sound.
But during this whole horrific moment, I couldn't help question why the same hadn’t happened to me? Had it been because it had called to me, starting with a dream? Had I been chosen or trusted with the secrets of the Fates for a reason?
Unfortunately, it seemed as if I wasn't the only one having these thoughts, because now who they named their Master was staring my way.
“Oh no, that oh shit moment just came back, big time,” Nero said, obviously observing the Masters’ shift of attention as I had done. This was confirmed when the next order out of his mouth was directed my way.
“The Vampire’s Chosen One, she had possession of the Eye when you found her, yes?” His question may have been aimed at the Queen but as it was said, his gaze was solely on my own. The demonic red glow ringed by an abyss of darkness was the only feature that could be seen through the low hood covering most of his face.
“Yes, my Master, she had possession of the Eye.” In that moment if I could have hissed and made it sound half as effective as the way they did, I would have done so, directing it solely at the Queen bitch!
“I've got another bad feeling about this,” Nero muttered between clenched teeth, and I had to confess, I wasn't feeling too great about it either. This feeling was only cemented when the Queen stepped up to our cage and ordered me to do as her Master commanded.
“Yeah no, I don't feel like bursting into a cloud of black sand today, thanks…but hey, you go right ahead, pretty sure it's your turn anyway” I said making her hiss at me and like I said, she had it mastered hands down, complete with a spray of spit and everything. At this rate I was starting to think that Zeus had a thing for cats as well.
“Very well, bring me the witch!” Lucius’ brother commanded, making the blood in my veins turn to ice.
“No wait, you can't…!” My calls of protest were cut off the second the door swung open and both of us started to fight. Unfortunately, the Harpies were too strong for us and Nero was still too close for me to unleash the blood power that was inside of me. At this point I questioned everything, where it came from, why it only arose when I was angry and most of all, how to control it. Because if I knew this and understood it better, then maybe I would have the ability to direct it at my enemies and not that of my friends. But until that happened I couldn't risk Nero's life.
I tried once more to fight and kick my way through the Harpies that stood in my way, preventing me from getting to a screaming Nero. I was pinned back against the bars and held there until their Masters’ orders had been fulfilled. I knew what he was doing, they were going to use Nero as a pawn to get me to do what they wanted.
“Let me go!” I shouted but it was no use as my face was slammed against the bars and I gritted my teeth against the pain, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of how much it rattled my jaw. I was forced to watch as they dragged a struggling Nero over to the well. I sighed in relief when their intentions didn't mean Nero was next in line for being forced to hold the Eye. Meaning that she wasn’t going to become the next sacrificial lamb stepping up for the slaughter.
No, instead her body was lifted and positioned in the well bucket with her hands tied once more over her head. The length of rope was then looped over the hook the swinging bucket was attached to. At least her feet had something to stand on so she wasn't just hanging there by her arms over the sheer drop of the well. Naturally, she looked utterly terrified and I couldn't say I blamed her. Her eyes kept snapping between looking down at the death that awaited her at the bottom of the well and back up to mine, silently questioning what was coming next.
It was only once she was in place that I was also dragged from the cage before being pulled and pushed until I was before Lucius' brother. I was quickly forced to my knees and the bastard in front of me clapped his hands once, as if the sight pleased him.
“You won't be laughing soon, asshole,” I muttered between clenched teeth. I could feel the rage, the hatred and the anger all directed at this man and the creatures he commanded. I could feel it like a sickness sweeping across my skin. Like an infection I wanted out of my body knowing that when it did, it would become a destructive force eradicating my enemies that surrounded me.
“You will touch the Eye and reveal to me what you see of the future.” I released a deep sigh already knowing how this was going to play out.
“And if I don't?” I asked needing to know what they would do if I didn’t comply. Lucius’ brother simply shrugged his large shoulders and said in a nonchalant tone,
“Then the witch dies.” He stated this in a simple, matter of fact way before raising his hand and silently commanding them to drop the bucket. Nero and I both screamed at the same time, but hers was only one that echoed down the well before tailing off, the further underground she went.
NO!” I screamed when I heard the splash of water and my heart sank with her. The cranking sound of the mechanism that had been released for a quick drop had stopped and the deadly silence of her cries was deafening.
“Alright, alright! I'll do it! I'll do whatever the fuck you say, just pull her up…come on pull her up, for fuck sake, do it quickly!” I shouted desperately hoping that the fall hadn't killed her. Lucius' brother nodded to the Harpy that had been stood next to the crank, someone who started to turn it far too slowly and I could only breathe again when I heard her body emerging out of the water. However, I still needed to know she was alright, so only ended up holding my breath again as the rope thickened in the giant cog, until it was coiled around like a nestled snake.
I felt as if my heart had stopped and only started to beat again, the moment I saw her defeated form still attached to that bucket. Water gushed out over the bucket’s edge as her feet and ankles fully emerged. Her wet, dripping hair hung limp to one side where her head seemed too heavy for her body.
“Come on Nero, just give me a sign you're still alive,” I muttered to myself, because from all accounts it looked as if she was dead. Then as if she had heard me and my prayers, she suddenly gasped for air, her swinging movements making more water spill over and splash up her legs. I released a heavy breath and felt like crying with relief.
“Now, do as I ask, or next time your little friend won't be coming back up.” I felt my lip curl in revulsion and bitter loathing, as I sneered back up at him, but his threat was one I knew wasn't empty. I looked back to Nero to find her eyes on me, her blue lips quivered and even with her body shivering, she was telling me not to do it. I ignored her, then silently closed my eyes before I told the bastard,
“I will do it.”
“Then by all means get on with it, after all, your friend doesn't have all day and neither do I.”
I had to wonder at this and whethe
r it had been said because Lucius knew where I was? Had he somehow discovered who it was that had taken me and was now on his way here with the cavalry, as Nero had put it?
In the end, this hope became a moot point because time was not on my side and trying to stall him was not an option as it could only end up getting Nero killed. This meant that I had no other choice. I had to do what he said and if my plan worked like I hoped it would, I would touch the Eye and in doing so hold on to the comforting thought that in the end, it wouldn’t be the outcome he was expecting.
But first, it was time to step up to the Eye and take possession of the future it would show me once again.
The haunting image of my own sacrifice.
A price paid with…
My Stolen Heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Past Brutal Beauties
The moment I touched the Eye this time I knew it had taken me back to the past, not the future. I also knew the second I saw my mother that the reason for that was to show me what really happened to the Harpies’ sister.
I naturally questioned who the tall beautiful blonde was who walked with my mother, doing so almost as if she was escorting her through Hell. They had just entered a corridor that looked like a wide gallery you would find in a castle or English manor house. It made me wonder about the castle we were in now and if it had anything to do with it?
I watched like a ghost seeping out of the wall as I followed them. It was a very similar experience to when the Keepers of Three had taken me down a journey of Lucius’ past. I had felt like some silent witness following hopelessly through his own flickering of time.
But as for now, well I had to say that the sight of my mother made me smile, for she didn't look much different than she does now. I found myself wondering at her mind by being in this place. Yes, she was mortal like I am but as I was beginning to understand, being down here made me something different.
It made me something more.
But what had my mother been like back then? I knew for a fact that she certainly wasn't as capable at fighting and hadn’t been trained on how to protect herself by my father as I was. She also didn’t have the same knowledge of Hell and its demons that I did. She hadn’t grown up in my Father’s world and therefore wasn’t used to the brutality it had to offer.
Although didn't this fact only end up making her more fearless, more courageous? Coming down to Hell with nothing but your wits about you and the strength of your bravery to drive you, well, you didn't get more gallant than that.
But it also made me realise just how little I really knew about my parents and their own history. Puzzle pieces of a picture I would never see was all that had been offered to me growing up. Small snippets of stories told by my aunties and uncles or muffled nostalgic tales heard by small ears of a child with her cheek pressed to the door. Of course, I’d always known that their story was one on a more epic scale than what they first proclaimed it to be, even to me, their daughter. But I knew they did this to protect me, my father especially, as he always had. However, there was no protecting me now and seeing scenes like this one, only meant that I had so many questions. Questions that unfortunately I might never have the answer to.
I watched as both my mother and this unknown person came to a wooden door at the end of the corridor. Above it sat what must have first looked like a gargoyle of sorts being some hideous stone figure. But now, having dealt with these creatures for the last day, then I knew otherwise.
It was a Harpy.
“Wow, that is one ugly looking Gargoyle. I mean I have seen scary at Afterlife but this one takes the biscuit.” I had to chuckle at my mother’s humour, as we obviously had this in common. A humour used as a weapon to ease the tension during stressful situations. She said this after catching up to the woman who was obviously leading her through Hell for whatever reason I was still yet to discover. The beautiful blonde looked up at the Harpy who was sat statue still but still watching with a keen eye. Then she informed her,
“That’s no Gargoyle.”
“Eosss!” the creature hissed after leaning forward and spitting this name down at them…no not them, just at the woman next to my mother. I frowned to myself asking where it was I had heard this name before, and then I looked back to the woman I believed the Harpy had called Eos. She looked disgusted in return and with a curled lip, addressed her,
“Podarge.”
Moments after speaking her name, it made me realise that I was about to witness the true murderer of the Harpy sister and let's just say, I really doubted it was going to be my mother. But once again I found myself ignoring this name, insight of another, remembering now that Eos was Latin for Aurora. I felt my features twist into my own look of disgust as this was a name I had heard before. And well, let’s just say that it wasn't ever spoken about in a good light. In fact, I think my mother hated her just as much as she hated Layla, which made me question now what she was doing with the bitch?
Had this been a moment in time before the cause for that hatred had happened? It would seem so.
“Why are you here?” the Harpy demanded, hissing the last word. The Harpy then jumped down from its perch and whereas my mother took a step back, Aurora did not.
“That is none of your business Harpy, you know who I am so you would be wise to have respect when speaking to me!” the bitch Aurora replied, straightening her spine with an arrogant air when staring down at the Harpy as though she was scum beneath her feet.
“Oh, I know who you are and of your traitorous ways,” Podarge said, sneering at who she obviously classed as being a small threat before her.
“What is she talking about?” This question came from my mother who turned to face Aurora with distrust in her eyes. This then confirmed to me that whatever had happened between them must have been after this point and perhaps what I was witnessing now was simply the start of it.
“Nothing!” Aurora snapped making the Harpy laugh in a high-pitched cackle.
“You call betraying your Master nothing?” The Harpy threw back at her in challenge, but it was my mother’s reaction to this I focused on,
“Draven...? Why you…” I could feel my mother’s anger rising in a way that was similar to that of my own down here. And although I couldn't see what I had started to see in myself when it happened, the power I felt coming from her was still there. It was like an invisible wall knocking into me and passing through me like a ghost. However, it only evaporated and released its hold on me when Aurora answered,
“She’s talking about Zeus.” My mother released a visibly relieved sigh before saying,
“Oh…well, that’s alright then I…uh…” Then she paused when the Harpy took a menacing step closer to her and in a comical way, after taking note of the Harpy’s annoyance, changed her tune and added,
“I mean, how could you do that?” Aurora simply rolled her eyes in annoyance before addressing the Harpy once more, obviously choosing to ignore my mother’s comment.
“My business with that ruthless bastard is my own and does not concern the likes of you and your abhorrent kind.” In response to this the Harpy became furious and crouched low, at same time opening her wings. This was in preparation, as if ready to pounce and attack the one who had insulted her entire kind.
“Erm…yeah, good one,” my mother muttered sarcastically before Aurora released a frustrated sigh, as if she didn't have time for any of this and it was all so very taxing.
“You die traitor and with it I will cook the flesh of your mortal over your burning corpse to share with my sisters!” the Harpy threatened, painting a gruesome picture and making my mother’s face wince as if she could see it herself. Then in another comical and classic way of my mother’s nature, she asked the woman next to her,
“Seriously though, do you have any friends?” However, Aurora ignored her and instead focused on enraging the Harpy further, basically goading her into attacking.
“Zeus should have killed you!” Aurora said making Podarge char
ge at both of them instantly. However, in a surprising twist of events Aurora pushed my mother out of the way just before the Harpy could use her talon tipped feet to rip into my mother’s form.
And with my mother now out of the fray, they both ran at each other. A vision I had to confess made for an odd sight to witness, especially when one of them looked like they had just come out of a business meeting from a New York office board room. But then, it wasn't just the business suit that looked out of place, but that of the bladed weapon she pulled from her back and used to slash out at the Harpy. And she certainly hit her mark, first to her back and then one to the neck that had the Harpy stumbling backwards. She tragically did this whilst trying to hold together the gash that almost certainly meant her death.
However, as she went stumbling backwards, she tripped to the floor, which meant now being forced to look up helplessly into the face of her killer. It certainly made for a pitying sight, when seeing her now silently begging for her life to be spared.
And what did Aurora do in sight of this but pull her knee up and hammer down a foot, quickly impaling a stiletto heel in the eye of the Harpy. Podarge’s body seemed to curl up around the impact reminding me of a dead spider on its back, before all her limbs and wings relaxed back flat to the floor. My mother looked in total shock at the ruthless cold glint in Aurora’s eyes, who instead of looking affected simply pulled her foot from the Harpy’s head. Then she pulled down on her jacket and smoothed back her hair before walking past my mother saying,
“Fucking Harpies.”
***
The moment I was slammed back into reality, I dropped the Eye and stumbled backwards. The moment the Crimson orb touched the ground it turned everything around it to black sand being that of a reminiscent representation of its own past. The Harpies all saw this and quickly retreated backwards to the circumference of ground that still remained part of the castle.
Roots Of Rage: A Vampire King Paranormal Romance (Transfusion Saga Book 9) Page 12