Wings & Souls

Vampires

I crash to the cold ground and my chin smacks the floor causing pain to burst through my head in black dots and blood. But in a panic, I force myself to stagger up looking around. I'm in a very dark basement of some kind and Lycus is standing above me as the black hole in the ceiling rapidly disappears. 

"What the hell just happened?" I yell falling against the brown-painted wall behind me. In this room, there is nothing but small cells made of some sort of shiny metal. Six of them to be exact, and only two are occupied by very miserable-looking men. 

"Calm down Dristi." Lycus soothes. "I won't let anything happen to you. You are very important to me and I'd never let anything happen to you that didn't need to happen."

"Oh wow, that makes me feel so much better," I growl forcing myself to get up using the wall. Lycus grabs my arm quickly before I can fully stand up and I'm surprisingly way too weak to fight him as he puts me into the end cell across from the two men.

Both men look up at me and then the color drains from their already deathly ill faces. They look surprised and the one who seems the most unhinged starts wailing and shaking. 

His body convulsed and the heart-wrenching sounds he makes, forces his body to the floor like a slug under gravity. I notice how old and ill-fitting his clothes appear but what really grabs my attention is the blood on the creamy material of his shirt. It's a lot of blood. 

"No. Dead. Please let it not be real." He mutters and then shouts. His black hair is matted on one side and his gray eyes are full of tears. Both of them are covered in blood. So much blood that I can't help but look at the cells they are in and see that there is none in their cells. In fact, their cells don't even look like how I would expect evil basement cells to look. The floor is clean and so are the walls. Cots are in the corners with clean and soft blankets. 

Lycus shuts the cell door and locks it while the basement door creaks open. The man opening the door is large in stature and reminds me of a bouncer at a club in the movies. His bald head is shiny and he has tattoos all down his neck. 

"Watch them while I make arrangements. I shouldn't take very long at all seeing as how he planned it," Lycus orders the man who only nods and then stands still as a statue by my cell.

"What the hell is going on Lycus?" I yell at him as he walks away. He doesn't stop and even shuts the door firmly behind him as he leaves. Prick. 

"The world is doomed. The Mark of the Thrones." The black-haired man wines again clutching at his ears. While the other one with dark rich brown hair leans back eyeing me with sadness. 

"Who are you?" I ask the brown-haired one.

"My name is Edmond." He tells me softly looking warily at the big man and then at the wailing one. "And this is Marvin."

"Oh no. My lola. No no nooooo." The other man moans. He then gives me a serious look that makes me want to pale. "I should kill you. You abomination. Oh no."

"What is wrong with him?" I ask Edmond and he sighs. 

"I'm afraid I can't say I'm much better off." He tells me like that should make sense.

"Please." Marvin wails and my heart clenches at the pain in his voice. What has Lycus done? 

I stare between both men and wince with the heat of anger. I should have listened to my feelings. But Lycus had always been there for us and maybe he's doing this for my protection. But why would this protect me?

"We're all going to die. I failed the Dragon. My oath. They don't know. None of them knows. Dristi!" He cries out again and the big man steps forward warningly. Marvin shrinks back and sobs.