NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”It is time. Take your stands and make sure no one, not even the king dares come in.” Serena ordered, taking her own position near the foot of the bed.

Fredrick and Leonard positioned themselves according to the orders of Serena. While Serena stood near the foot of the bed, Leonard stood near the closed door and Fredrick stood near the window.

The work of Fredrick and Leonard was to seal the entrances to avoid any intrusion from anyone.

With a nod of Serena’s head signaling the men to start, Fredrick and Leonard began to whisper some words under their breath, their eyes turned into a deep shade of green unlike Serena’s own which was now all white.

Soon, a dark blue light started to envelop the room, and this was the doing of Fredrick and Leonard to seal the door and the windows.

Serena on the other hand was focused on Marco as she whispered words that lured the already caged body of Marco into the depth of the darkness.

Silent whispers echoed in the dark around him, passing and bouncing on its walls, and sending it back to Marco with its cold embrace.

Marco was like a lost soul amid the darkness, his pitch-black eyes searching for something to hold onto, to stop him from moving down the path of the coldness that brought numbness to his senses that was in tune with everything going on around him which he couldn’t see at the same time.

His body and soul were aware of what his body passed through, he couldn’t see it. It was like someone was trying to break the walls surrounding his brain as if searching through his soul, and this was exactly what Serena was intent on doing.

Serena was trying to invade the walls of Marco’s brain, trying to see through him in an attempt to know the exact energy she felt from him the day she touched him.

Outside the room, Sthena sat on an armchair brought to him by one of the guards unaware of what transpired inside the room behind him as his mind wandered far and wide to find answers to the numerous questions in his head.

Suddenly, he stood up, feeling a change in his environment. A deep frown marred his already displeased face. His stare went to the door and he immediately reached out and pushed it open.

The formation Fredrick and Leonard were forming broke in an instant as Sthena pushed the door further as he walked in, his eyes scanned the room before they landed on Serena who was still focused on Marco not minding or stopping because of the interruption.

”What is going on here?” The voice of Sthena boomed inside the room as he made his way towards Serena and Marco who lay on the bed unconscious and pale as white.

Leonard took a step forward to stop Sthena from approaching Serena and Marco with his hand outstretched to block the path.

”Do not approach them, Your Majesty. She is performing a crucial task that if interrupted, may lead to the death of the boy.” Leonard informed, his green eyes not faltering from the intense gaze of the King.

”A crucial task, you say?” Sthena questioned, his lips curving into a dangerous smirk. His voice turned low as he spoke, ”If you wish for your hand to not belong to you anymore, keep them where they are.”

Sthena’s low threat was not to be mistaken that he wouldn’t do as he had said, but Leonard was also not going to give in to it knowing what he was protecting. If Serena got interrupted in the middle, then what they wanted to do would be utterly useless. But if they were successful and got to know that Marco was one of the siblings they were looking for, they would immediately take both him and Perdita away to the place they rightfully belong. The king intervening would surely hinder their plans. Time was short. If they didn’t find the siblings, things would surely go hay way for both the witches and the vampires too.

”Your Majesty, I believe it’s best if you...” Fredrick intervened only to be caught short when Sthena’s hand swiftly grabbed the hand of Leonard in a tight grip. Not only was the grip firm but also ice started to form on Leonard’s hand even though he tried to block the attack from Sthena.

”You’re making this hard for all of us, Your Majesty,” Leonard spoke. His gritted teeth showed the pain that shot through his hand, sending the pain down to every bone in his body. But then, he was not a first-generation witch for nothing, and now he was countering the effect of Sthena’s ability on him. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop the strong vampire’s ability from affecting him.

Sthena’s eyes flared into a darker shade of red that seemed to burn into the souls of the witches in the room. ”I don’t know why a simple instruction is always hard to adhere to by you all,” Sthena spoke through gritted teeth. His jaws clenched as he burned with fury.

Not wasting his time with Leonard as his target was Serena to see what exactly she was doing to Marco, he flung the hand of Leonard aside.

Before barging into the room, he had earlier felt the shift in the environment as the air smelt with something he had once perceived. That was when he knew it was the doing of the witches.

Sthena’s eyes burned as he took a step toward Serena. His claws elongated, ready to snap the neck of anyone that would dare to block his path, and strangely, Fredrick and Leonard didn’t stop him anymore.

He stood beside the bed, watching Serena mutter words under her breath, not for once losing focus of what she was doing.

Sthena raised his hand ready to touch Marco when he heard Fredrick speak, ”Your Majesty, just a little caution. Touching him would disrupt what Lady Serena is doing. She is currently removing the nightshade and the exorcism smell from his body system. Stopping it midway would not only cause harm to the boy, but it could also lead to his death.” Fredrick explained while calmly watching Sthena.

Sthena clicked his tongue. He wasn’t convinced and was not going to buy that flimsy lie. What they were doing was not to cure Marco. They were doing something to him that he was yet to find out. He thought and resumed wanting to touch Marco.

The door to the room burst open for the second time, and in came a bloody Daemon who reeked of blood from his head to his toes. His elongated claws were bloody so were his face and clothes.

Daemon bowed immediately and quickly informed the king, ”Your Majesty, there was an attack in the castle.”

Sthena’s hand stopped midway as his sharp red eyes went to Daemon and his bloody appearance. Another nerve ticked off inside of him, fanning the already burning flame in him.

”What happened?” He questioned.

”Milord, the attack was done by Vetis himself.” The words left Daemon’s lips and he looked up at Sthena for him to know the attack was massive and bloody too.

Sthena took a moment to assimilate the information from Daemon. He finally dropped his hand by his side. ”Where?” He asked, his voice hardening every time he spoke. What was wrong with today and pissing him off?

”The east part of the castle Milord,” Daemon informed.

Sthena turned around but not after casting one look at Serena and Marco before following Daemon out of the room. It wasn’t as if he didn’t contemplate between staying back to see what Serena was doing and going with Daemon to see what was happening. At the moment, finding and if he was lucky, capturing Vetis, was the most important thing to do now. The terrorizer would stop at nothing to cause chaos in the kingdom, and now he had the gut to come to the castle, it meant the man was not to be taken lightly anymore.

Outside the room, Sthena and Daemon walked side by side with long strides. Sthena suddenly stopped with narrowed eyes, and for a moment, Daemon feared the king wouldn’t follow him and would want to go back to the room.

”Milord,” Daemon called to gain the attention of the Sthena who stared at him with a look he couldn’t comprehend.

”Go back to that room,” Came the calm order from Sthena. ”Now.” He added and began to walk away. ”And make sure you give me the details of what went in there till I’m back.”

”Yes, Milord.” Daemon bowed and watched Sthena walk away. Daemon’s lips curved into a smile as his eyes changed from red to green as he began to walk back to the room.