Battle of Lies

Chapter XX

 Silus stood in his tent. Nix Morte was treating him kindly, but of course, Nix Morte's kindness was torture.

"Prince Silus? It's time for you to speak with your father about the plans of attack," a servant said.

Silus flinched. To him, his father being king would never settle in, "Tell him I don't want to speak to him."

"He says that the meeting is mandatory."

Silus sighed. "Fine, I will be in the War Room in five minutes."

"Very well, would you like me to help you prepare?"

"Tell the king I am sixteen and that I don't need a babysitter."

The servant bowed out of the room. Silus took in his room once again. It was similar to that which he had grown up in. Only, the walls surrounding him were a darker color. The room was dimly light, his bed sheets were a dark gray, blackout curtains were hung along the walls. Silus knew what the room meant. He knew the curse his father had placed upon him. Silus knew what would happen to Rodalya if he got too close to her again. He was a danger to the world and this curse was in place to prove it.

Silus grabbed his sword. It was steel. Not Skierilian. Nix Morte used steel in all his weapons. That is except for his own. But Silus liked the feel of a steel sword. He didn't care if he had some magical sword. Normal steel was just fine.

"Aw. My son! Come in, come in!" Nix Morte called, when he saw his son enter the room.

"I am not your son," Silus muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Here, have a glass of wine. It isn't poisoned if that's what you are wondering. I need your help-" Nix Morte started, he had handed Silus the glass. Silus had looked at it. Normal red wine was what it looked like, but when Silus took a drink... it tasted sweet, but in an evil way.

"Blood..." Silus paled. He knew the conditions of which had to be fulfilled in order for the curse to stick.

Nix Morte smiled. "Indeed. Now there's no getting away. If you leave, I will make sure you kill everything in your path. Including your darling sweet Rodalya."

"You filthy bastard!"

"Now, let's discuss terms of war."

"You and I both know it won't be a war."

"Yes, just how we both know that you accidentally killed your own sister."

"It was an accident. My anger got ahead of me. I wanted revenge."

"And you got it. My sister cursed you as revenge on your mother. That curse wore off when you finally came home. When you finally accepted your fate."

"I will never accept my fate," Silus spat.

"Then it will never change and you will forever be my greatest weapon. A vampire. Forever. You will never get your free will back, you are forever my servant.

"Now, I think it's time for a battle don't you?"

Silus just sat there. He didn't want to argue because he knew it was true. Blood had touched his lips and now the curse was set. He was a vampire. Most vampires still had their free will. Most vampires weren't used as weapons. Most vampires weren't in love with a dragon. Most vampires didn't have a name, so he wasn't most vampires. He was a weapon. Nothing more. To Nix, all he would ever be is a weapon. He would be like a slave.

"I am thinking. You will lead a small troop to that forest. You will send them in and you will burn the forest down, after my troops are out," Nix Morte got up to leave. "Oh, and that kid you wanted to talk to. Faen was his name, I believe. He is waiting out in the courtyard for you. Don't drink his blood. I still need him."

"And what do you need him for?"

"It's not so much that I need him. I just need his sister and he is my ticket to her death."

Silus remained emotionless. Emotion was his weakness. It always had been and always will be. It always gave him away. His sister always used his emotions against him. Making him feel emotions that weren't real.

"I expect you know what you must do. Now be gone and don't come back until you have done as you are told."

Silus stood. He couldn't control his own body. He couldn't control his own mind. He definitely couldn't control his own impulses.

"Are you Faen Freman?" Silus asked on one side of a square courtyard. A fountain sat proud in the middle of the courtyard. Benches were placed all around and SIlus had seen the boy, well not really a boy. The figure looked to be around eighteen, so he was still a boy but so close to being a man.

"Yes," Faen answered, "How can I be of assistance to your majesty?"

"Never call me that." Silus said.

"Please forgive me." Faen said. The last thing he needed was more trouble and getting completely thrown out of the army. His destiny was still in the army and Faen knew it.

"Don't worry about it. Your sister is safe, but she must remain that way."

"What do you mean?"

"She must live until the end or all of this is for not."

"Why would you care about her?"

"I know what she can do. She is the sixth. The final piece to the puzzle and she must live long enough to die."

"I won't let you kill my sister!"

"Hush, it's not me who will kill your sister."

"Then who does?"

"I must not say, but this was not the purpose of our meeting. Keep in mind that, if in battle, you must not kill the dragon or I will make sure your death is painful."

Faen gulped. After regaining his senses from that threat he nodded his head.

"Very good, you are dismissed," Silus said. Faen had not noticed it but fear had crept into Silus' voice. Rodalya couldn't die. He loved her so much that if anyone tried to hurt her, he would kill them.

"The days are getting longer. My time is running short. Nadyn, hurry up please. There is something I must tell you. Something that might hurt to hear." Tyrun whispered into the dark.

"Oh poor Tyrun. Lost and hopeless. I wonder when you will finally die? I wonder when you will finally give up."

"Death is relative. You are dead. YOu and I both know it. You died alongside your love. You died with your sister and you died when you lost hope. You died when your spark faded out."

Nix Morte felt anger boiling up inside of him. Pure and utter rage.

"When hope dies, so too will I because hope is what keeps my going. What keeps me alive. Hope is powerful. And compared to it. Our powers combined can't even touch Hope's feet. If there's one thing more powerful than hope it's love. You have no love and that's what makes you evil. Magic isn't about power. It's about hope and love. Reeseya's brother didn't have magic, but he loved his sisters so much that he died for them. That's much more than you would ever do for your own son."

Nix felt hurt, that blow hit straight in his heart. "You know nothing of my son."

"I know that you turned him into a vampire."

The world seemed to start closing in. The world was getting smaller and smaller and Nix Morte felt as if he were suffocating.

"If you're just going to stand there and not speak, then you should leave. I would like to die in peace. Not with the likes of the evil scum you are."

Nix Morte did not know what to say or do, so he left. Tyrun, he could tell, was getting impatient. Magic always had a way of getting impatient. Especially when it knew what was coming. Even if what was coming would harm Magic, it still grew impatient, it wanted pain to happen so it could heal and become stronger. To Magic, what didn't destroy it and leave nothing left of its kin, only made it stronger. A single spark could light an entire forest fire. It was the same thing with Magic. If one of its kin was still alive then Magic could reign once more.