Endless

Chapter 22

Malik

The western warrior coven was very different compared to the coven I had come to know. The entrance was basically just stairs leading underground.

The outside seemed small and ordinary, but the inside blew me away.

At the bottom of the staircase, I stared in awe at the giant room surrounding me.

It looked like a lunchroom, warriors sat and chatted, drinking together cheerfully. All the tables were rustic with matching wooden chairs. The walls were decorated with old weapons and large animal pelts along with dark crimson drapes towards each of the corners of the room. On the opposite end of us stood a glorious stone fire place with dancing orange flames that warmed the entire room.

The floor and walls were stone, some areas had small cracks but that just added to the medieval beauty.

Warriors noticed us as we walked by, each stood and bowed to Cyrus, showing respect. He paid little attention to it, I suspected he barely even noticed.

The warriors all had their weapons on their backs or sitting next to them, which seemed strange to me. They also wore little clothing, almost all the men were shirtless and so were a lot of the women. The straps from their weapon holders did most of the torso covering. The pants they wore were skin tight, they looked as if they were all ready for battle.

We passed the fireplace into one of the hallways. As we walked, the left side of the stone hallway had other ones branching off.

The main hall came to a slight curve, and on the right side was giant, beautifully carved, dark oak doors.

I was a bit overwhelmed by the sight, the doors almost reached the high ceiling and came to a curve at the top.

As I looked at the doors, I realized the carvings were of warriors. Some of the carvings depicted war, weapons, fighting and death. Other parts showed warriors dancing and drinking joyfully around a fire. Closer towards the top, I could see writing in Latin.

Militibus sanguinis
Viribus
Honoris
Victoria

It read Soldiers of Blood; Strength, Honor, Victory. Latin was a dead language to humans and most vampires. Warrior covens and many of the Royal class however still used it.

Latin was one of the first things I had to learn when I was brought to the coven. I barely use it, Cyrus's coven was considered pretty modern. He once told me the only reason why it's still taught is because the other covens can't let go of the past.

I was brought out of my train of thought as Ofelia and Seth opened the doors. Cyrus stepped in first, while I followed behind. The room we walked into was much like the one we had first seen. The walls held weapons and those dark red drapes, except it also had paintings of people.

In every painting there was one person. As I looked at them I realized some of the paintings were very old. All wore clothes from centuries ago, each one depicting a different time in history.

I also noticed each of the weapons hanging were underneath a painting. It was then I realized these were the covens previous master warriors, and the weapons below each painting was their weapon of choice.

"Greetings Cyrus, welcome to my coven." A woman said from the other end of the room, I immediately recognized her before I even turned my head.

Bellona stood proudly in front of a dark wooden desk, a fire burning behind it in another stone fireplace. Her long pale hair laid neatly against her body, not in a braid like the last time I had seen her. Unlike many of her warriors, she was dressed in a long red dress that flowed nicely down her curved body.

She exhumed beauty and power, the perfect picture of a master warrior.

I bowed deeply, Cyrus did the same, however not as low as I did.

"Bellona, it's been so long, thank you for inviting me to your coven and home." My master said standing straight again. I stood as well but kept myself in a respectful stance with my hands behind my back.

Bellona looked at me then and raised a brow.

"And who are you warrior?" She asked me directly. I bowed again before speaking.

"My name is Malik, it is an honor to meet you Master Bellona."

"He is my successor, I wanted him to accompany me to meet the other masters and be able to see another coven, surely you don't mind." Cyrus said with a half smirk, Bellona glared at him for half a second before forcing a smile.

"No of course not, luckily we have plenty of rooms within my coven, we will find an extra one." She looked at me then. "You may not participate in our meeting, however, I will allow you to listen if you'd like."

My eyebrows rose, I wasn't expecting that. I quickly composed myself and bowed again.

"I would be honored, thank you master Bellona." She nodded and turned back towards Cyrus.

"When will the others arrive?" He asked.

"Thane arrived yesterday, Camilla will be here this evening. The meeting will begin the night after everyone has arrived so please, relax and enjoy yourselves." She turned her head towards Ofelia and Seth, I forgot they were even in the room.

"These two will be at your disposal, if you need anything at all just let one of them know." Bellona gave us one last big movie star smile. "They will escort you to your rooms, see you both at the meeting."

With that, we were lead out of the room and down the hall. We turned into another hallway until we came to a bulky wooden door.

"This is one of the private quarters, you both will be staying here along with the other masters." Seth said as he opened the door.

The inside was beautiful, the floor and walls decorated with dark red rugs and drapes. The ceiling made a cone shape, at the top hung a chandelier made out of what looks like deer antlers. Three large black couches sat around a stone fireplace, similar to the one I had already seen.

On one of the couches sat a big guy with dark skin and long dreads. He turned his head as we walked in, his eyes glowed a dark red.

"Cyrus, I was wondering when you'd show up." He stood and set down his drink before walking over to us. He stuck out his hand and Cyrus shook it.

"Thane, nice to see you again."