Beast of the Damned #2

*Chapter Nine *

~TRISTAN~

Lined in front of me are twenty-five warriors of the damned. Each one selected by Nakasha and me. We don't see tomorrow's tournament for what it is supposed to be—a day to show the parents the sacrifice they were forced to make of their firstborn was worth it.

During the Fifteen-Year War, our losses were great. Before, it would take four warriors of the vamperial army to one angel. Two if the warriors came from pure Darkos blood. Besides my father, a few of his offspring, and me, a vampire could not stand on equal ground with a warrior of the white army. These beasts I raised from the Underworld can give the winged bastards a fight that will have the angels clinging tight to the celestial flesh we can part them from in one-on-one combat.

As far as Nakasha and I are concerned, tomorrow is a battle of commanders. She picked her team and I picked mine. Despite the fact my champion is missing and Nakasha has yet to arrive, I have lots to attend to. I don't have time to wait around for them to show.

"Tomorrow your blood will spill upon the sand." I walk the line of warriors standing feet together, shoulders back, chin high, and eyes trained forward. "Death matches and venom-laced weapons will not be permitted. The winner will be determined by the submission of your opponent or getting them in a position that would lead to sudden death if you, one, drove your weapon deeper into them. Or, two, ripped out the heart your hand is clenched around.

I pause in front of the female warrior Nakasha wagered would be the victor from her team. "I don't care how much your opponent goads you or gets under your skin. There will be no heads or hearts departing tomorrow."

Female warriors can be vicious, rightfully so as they must work harder to overcome their strength difference. Often, they get carried away establishing themselves in the pecking order of ranks. I've already lost two of the vampires from my army to this one. I'm in no mood to tolerate the loss of another.

"Disobey this order and Satan will be your only solace from the wrath I will bring upon you.

"Insteldus, Deveast," they respond in unison, calling me the shorthand name the Underworld has given me— the Devil's Beast.

Very few vampires who live on earth are given a name in the underworld. It is an honor and testament to my ability to embrace what our creator has designed us for.

"Don't forget to pick up your issued battle armor. It has been painted with your family crest. The Prince of Darkness has seen to it you have a fine feast this evening. Drink your fill. Tomorrow, the vampirie will see our strength. We are not just vampire. We are beasts of darkness. Everywhere we walk, rivers of blood shall flow."

"Zagkat Envor!" the Warriors of the Damned shout, striking their weapons against the steel accents of their casual armor with one hard knock.

"Zagkat Envor." The age-old saying that hails from a time when the warrior bloodline was vast in numbers falls less jubilant from my lips. The exiled angel that sought an attempt on Kinley's life and the Dark Prince's last spoken words to me give the phrase new meaning.

Let's war.

The battle cry resounds throughout me, stirring the peace I managed to find within myself since being back in Valderanna. The vibrations of war pulse out from the sharpened steel tied to my hip. The angels of the Heavens have come for Kinley before. What I have yet to figure out is why they want her?

When the Prince of Darkness tricked me into believing the angels stole her from us, he told me they have been after his massarra since their creation. In the eyes of their god, they are no different than the exiled. Both are beings of light that have succumbed to darkness. Immortality is not supposed to be theirs on the Earth.