The Darkened War

Ch.32

The screams had Daniel rubbing his sweaty palms together while he paced. The color had drained from his fingers, and the King was sure it had from the rest of him as well. Even though he listened from the safety of his castle, he might as well have been out there standing in a pool of blood. Whatever was happening, whoever was causing his people to cry out like they did, he felt them getting closer with every passing second. When he'd first heard the screams, he'd rushed to the closest window and looked out, only to quickly recoil at the sight of some sort of creature. It almost looked human, but there was no humanity in its eyes. Only seconds after Daniel had spotted it, he watched in horror as a girl passed it and met her fate. As soon as the creature saw her it swung around and with its bare hands sunk its nails into her side, then bending over, ripped her open with his fangs. She'd spasmed, coughing up blood before the creature straightened itself, examining its nails that were now covered thickly in scarlet as she dropped to the ground. There was no guilt in the face of the fanged man, only pleasure, as life drained from her eyes. Death had never bothered the King of Rayland. He'd killed many and had even tortured Alyssa's brother when it was necessary. Still, something about the way the creature had brought about the girl's end had him throwing up onto the floor of his castle and cowering as far away from the window as he could get; unable to keep his hands from shaking.

Even after everything, Daniel more than ever longed for the man in the mirror. His mind was racing, desperate for step-by-step instructions on what to do next. The chess pieces he'd at one time had completely organized had been scattered about the room, the same way all his plans had been taken from him in such little time. Now he found himself lost. The Kingdom he'd worked so hard to keep in his power would be worthless if all his people were taken away. What good was a crown in a ghost town? Rayland had fought so many Kingdoms to gain the power it had, and now if he didn't think of something quick it would all be gone. He had such little time to make the biggest decision of his life. The thought of it made him want to throw up all over again.

Returning to the window for one last look, he saw many more of them. All with the same pointed teeth his cousin had worn when he'd come out of the mirror. He should have suspected this had to do with him, of course he would not have given up on his revenge so easily. Finally Ajax had returned: with an army of those like him. Dangerous and bloodthirsty; without limits; without control; that was what his cousin had brought back to the Kingdom of Rayland. People who would continue to rip apart anything that breathed, not stopping until all of it was gone. Daniel had only just again retreated from the window when he heard the Captain's voice from the doorway. "What do we do now, my King?" Turning to look at him, he saw Burgess was also there, though his face no longer wore its usual arrogance. Instead, he was beside the captain, eyes were written with the same question, while his face was white with fear. The King had to admit it was an odd look on him.

Daniel tapped his fingers against the wall a few times before he answered, his voice quivering with an uncertainty he wasn't used to, "Unfortunately, we are at a lack of options. My guards have all disappeared, though I'm not sure they would be of much help in this situation anyway. No, of course they wouldn't. Out there is my cousin's army. An army of fanged creatures that possess dark magic, something I know nothing of. Angelica won't respond to me. From what I can tell, this is hopeless. Still, we do have one option. We could seek help from the one person we know understands magic. It may be the only way. So, I need you to remove Alyssa from the dungeon, and bring her to me. If we can get her to cooperate; bribe her, threaten her, beg her for all I care, then she may be able to give us even the smallest amount of aid."

Burgess's eyes widened before objecting, "But my King, she's our enemy--"

"They are our enemy," Daniel snapped, pointing to the window, "we don't have a choice, Rayland is at the risk of losing everything right now, it is by no means the time to question me!"