Stars After Midnight

IV. Freaks

The very same night, even knowing that his memories were returned, Marius made his way to the Vampire Council, to face the bastards before they destroyed all that he held dear. What he did not expect was their cruelty, their ability to disregard their own sins for the future of their power.

"Our decision is final," said one of the elders, fixing his eyes on Marius. "The Twilight Crew must be executed along with the human girl. A new oath must be made, but we cannot risk their rampant powers again. It is time to say goodbye."

Marius flared with a boiling anger. "Has the Vampire Council forgotten history already?" he spoke in a threatening tone, fists clenched behind his back. He stared down the bloodthirsty councilmen. "Have we chosen to disregard the fact that you all forced me of my position out of greed, out of jealousy?"

Whispers went around the room, a hiss of the blatant disrespect he gave them. 

"That is quite enough, Marius Moldoveanu," silenced one council member. "We should have killed you for the murder of villages at your hands."

"I did no such thing!" he yelled till his thundering voice bounced off the wall, causing some to wince at the innate authority he presented. "The oath is broken, and my memories are intact. The Vampire Council used the oath to keep their secret intact, used my absence that night as a reason to prosecute me for powers you made me to believe were out of my control. I did not slaughter those villages. You did. You murdered in cold blood after the defenders were no longer a threat after the war."

The same councilmen scoffed. "You know why that war existed."

"I know that the vampire clan's greed and superiority waged a war against innocent species, that we muted their reign by killing those that they loved. We are the true monsters of the night, and the Vampire Council enabled it."

There was a visible discomfort in the room, a ball of tension rising in the throats of every councilmen. The truth unraveled before their ghostly appearances as if the past finally caught up to their lies. 

Nothing Marius said was untrue. The real purpose of the war was to prove that the vampires were the superior species, so they launched a war using a teenage Marius and his uncontrollable powers. Through a series of spells and potions, they controlled Marius, used the Fates to their advantage.

And when the bloodshed ceased, the prophecy came, that Marius would be their king and he would rule all. To prevent it, they branded their murderous crimes against Marius until he was stripped of his titles and his powers. Memories of the past were fragmented after the torturous oath he took to imprison himself. 

He glared at the Vampire Council. "We crave power and most of all the blood that drips and pulses in fear of us," he seethed with disgust. "But my circus had no part in that. They deserve to live. My mate deserves to live her life to the fullest, away from uncouth bastards like you all." 

"Mind your words, boy," warned another council member, one Marius remembered to be the man in charge of his oath that day. "You know it best that threatening the Vampire Council is not in your best interest." 

Marius met his gaze with a crimson ferocity. "And you understand that I am no longer a boy for you to control," he said, a dark smirk of triumph on his lips. "My powers are returning and my chess pieces will slowly form on the board. The only question is when." 

"Is that a threat?"

Throwing his head back in a soulless chuckle, Marius met their twitching eyes with an amused glance. "Not a threat, my lords," he mocked. "It is a warning of your downfall. It is the debut of my reign as rightful King of Vampires."