The Bloodied Candies
Chapter 8- Plans and Impeccable Palaces
The next night we were on our way to Darkrai's palace. Despite the wonders he promised, I couldn't stop thinking of how I was going to detach myself from Oxenberry whose hand warmed mine at the moment. Now when I looked into his eyes, I saw passed the blood and pain; I saw a heart that beat in time with mine. His heart was the only one I could ever love although I had hated it so much for most of my life.
Finally we arrived at the palace. It stood thousands of feet above me, stately announcing its presence. It was glittering as if it was painted with the tears that I would soon shed. Despite its gloomy look, Darkrai smiled happily at his home. But when he turned to look at my despairing face, his smile faded to a grimace. We entered through the golden grand doors that barred the entrance of that prison.
The floors were made of marble with the ghosts of dying embers from the fireplace wrought on its face. The skeletal remains of expensive paintings adorned the walls with inverted scowls. Instead of lights, candles hung in their candelabras attached to the peeling wallpaper. A crooked chandelier hung on the ceiling as beautiful as the moon that guided us to this place. As we walked rats scuttled along our feet and even my look of disdain and sly kicks could not keep them away from their long traveling master.
The butler that stood sentry to what I could only guess was Darkrai's bedchambers had brought shoulders and the same glowing red eyes of a bloodthirsty vampire. Inside the room was far more people than I would have ever expected such an ancient palace to hold. On one side there were women warriors who had fought my kind all their lives and through their generations. On the other side were the men who had governed the vampiric land and commanded war on the Bloodied Candied generation.
Automatically we snarled at each other even though it was two against at least a thousand vampires. The ancient hatred boiled and crackled in the dusty air between us. Grabbing for my stake I lurched forward deciding that it would be better to die honorably than to sit and wait like a coward. I could feel Annabella a breath behind me, her stake raised, but before we could even get much closer to the crowd, we found that Oxenberry held my arm and Vance held hers. Darkrai moved in front of us to work some crowd control into the mix.
Suddenly the vampires hushed and the only thing that could be heard was the few heartbeats that still pounded. Darkrai's manicured hand was raised high in the air, powerful, demanding respect.
"We are here to discuss what you have been told," he said. "We are here to assure the innocent and destroy the guilty."
I rolled my eyes as he talked as properly as Oxenberry usually did. What was it with vampires that made them want to speak so formally like they'd never been introduced to slang?
"My dearest apologies, Your Majesty, but I cannot breathe with such a vile, dirty..." a man said standing up and glaring at us.
"Cool your skin, Robert," Darkrai warned. "Do not talk of my allies in such a wretched way or your stomach will feel the bitter bite of my sword."
A phrase that vampires used was "cool your skin" because the fiery blood in their veins caused them to constantly remain on edge, irritated so the best they could do was "cool their skin".
"As I was saying," he continued, "there have been plots against the throne, my throne. Of course I will have to contact the King of the Sun, Isiha, but until the news reaches her, we shall have to deal with the problem here with our own council. I smell sweat, fear traitor, unveil yourself!"
Just as I was getting skeptical, a face turned to a woman with short black hair. She whimpered as the eyes pierced into her cursed soul. She gazed at me helplessly knowing that her fate could be none other than death. Suddenly she stood and spoke the words that appealed to my heart.
"I was supposed to spy on them, but I fell in love. I know that that doesn't account for the betrayal, but sir, if you will let me live for a while longer, because you see I am with child," she whispered.
"Who is this child for?" he answered emotionless.
"It is for... for," she sniveled.
"Tell us woman," a man snarled.
"It is for Lord BloodLust. He was the one that implanted this angel into my womb. I care not for myself, but for the darling child that brews within this belly of mine. Please, I implore you, King Darkrai, spare me," she stated bravely.
He started to shake his head, but I stopped him knowing that this would only make matters worse. I stared into his eyes willing myself to see the same things that were embedded in Oxenberry's eyes. They weren't there.
"Think of her as me, sir," I began. "If I were in her place and I was captured by Lord BloodLust with your child hidden underneath my ribs, would you want me to be spared or for us to be wasted away as traitors? Is this not the very reason why your kind is diminishing so quickly? If you kill your own kind with war so quickly approaching, would you not be 'shooting yourself in the foot' as it is said among humans?"
His expression was one of deep contemplation when he declared me correct and allowed her live only if she would undergo the deep questioning. But when he turned to me he had on a face that was both authoritative and demanding. I shrank as he grabbed my arm and pulled me to a place that was dark and secluded. Without saying a word he pressed lips to mine. My heart nearly burst out of my chest at the passion that was glowing white hot in our kiss. When we finally broke away I was breathing hard and my cheeks were pink in blush. I knew then that I had developed a crush on him...
