Hall of Games [The Celestial Chronicles #1]

Chapter Thirty-Five: Blood of Blood (Part II)

Chapter Thirty-Five: Blood of Blood (Part Two)

Cady lay down on the straw pallet as Zoroth began his story.

"Should I start with Once upon a time?" Zoroth teased. Cady rolled her eyes at him.

"Okay, okay. I'll be serious."

He cleared his throat.

"Not too far away from the Darkling Woods lies a den of Decanates. Countless of us have perished in the hands of Starlets keen on ending our bloodline. We Higher Decanates are dwindling, our numbers greatly diminished since the Great War where all Walkers were wiped out from existence." There was a faraway look in his purple eyes, as if he had sunk into a realm of painful memories."I have six other brothers and I was the youngest of them all. My father, the Great Decanate Aragor, was the Consort of the last High Priestess of the Hall of Shadows."

Cady propped herself up on her elbows so she could keep eye contact with Zoroth.

"Consort?"

Zoroth gave Cady an amused smile. "You seem unfamiliar with the rules of the Starlets. A Consort is an old name the Walkers gave their bonded partners in which the former is the Ascendant. Once Consort and Ascendant are bonded, the link will preserve forever until one of them dies. When that happens, the other will be free to search for another partner."

"How do you start a bond, or end one?" Cady asked.

"You are indeed a curious little thing," Zoroth mused. "A bond is forged between an Ascendant and Consort when both parties come to mutual terms, for is eternal unless severed by death or force. But there are rare cases in which a bond can be used to save a dying Decanate, or a Walker. But then, their lives will be interlinked. If the bond is severed, the side whose life was saved will be lost."

"That is so brutal."

"Welcome to Esvanira." Zoroth threw his arms out in a mocking gesture. "Everything here is harsh. Makes me wonder what life is like in the New World."

Cady thought of the blinding lights of New York, the judging looks she received when she failed to accomplish something, the crazy traffic weaving in and out of the lanes, poisoned and fake food.

"Nah, I don't think you'll enjoy the New World," she said. "It's crazy there."

"You need to give me a tour sometime," Zoroth grumbled. "Since you hail from that part of the world, it'll only be suitable if you'll show me around."

"One day, when there is a chance." Cady smiled. "Your story?"

"Oh yeah," Zoroth muttered. "Where was I? Oh."

The atmosphere of the situation changed at once when Zoroth transformed into a maniacal beast, remorse and anger flaming in his eyes.

"I lived in the Hall of Shadows. But it was dark times, dark times indeed."

His voice had deepened into a low growl, showing off his pointed incisors that Cady hadn't noticed before.

"Are you familiar with the lore of the Sanguinis family?" Zoroth queried.

Cady nodded. "Mistress Silver mentioned something about them the last time we had a lesson."

Zoroth nodded as well. "Raphine Sanguinis, the current High Priest of the Hall of Spirits had two sons: two undeniably powerful Oracles. My father's Ascendant had a lovely daughter with the name of Capella Blackthorn. To maintain the peace treaty in between both Halls, Capella was married to the eldest son of Raphine Sanguinis—a way my father saw as a miracle to heal the rift between Walkers and Oracles."