Tributes

Chapter Eight

Tyreol wasn't sure who to be angrier at. Himself, or his tributes. They were trying to escape, and he was trying not to let his anger take over. This was not the time for anger, not when they were in danger. He needed to find them. Fast. Studying the lock to the tribute rooms, he had found it had been broken from the inside rather than from outside. Someone had picked the lock. So now all four were out. He would have felt slightly less concerned if they had all been together at least, but worryingly, they weren't. The twins had gone one way, Paul another and Julia another.

They were all alone and loose in the castle.  And running from him after he had well and truly scared them.  Tyreol exhaled slowly, the act itself helping him keep control even if he didn't need to breathe.

"I should have put bars against the door," the wolf god muttered to himself, as he followed the twins' scents. They were the youngest. He couldn't let them get hurt.

He sent trusted servants after Julia and Paul, trusting Heilan's aides to locate the older two. The guards and servants of the castle had long memories. This wasn't the first time a tribute had tried to run from their fates. Normally it was near impossible to do so. Over 3000 years of taking on tributes, the castle knew the tricks of mortals. Typically they couldn't get out of the door. But it seemed the guards had grown lax in their duties. A hundred years without mortal humans around would do that. They were all like little children no matter how old they were. It was easy to forget occasionally just how much trouble they could get themselves into.

His anger receded further as he searched. Concern flooding him as he passed more denizens who he did not recognise their faces. The castle was full of hazards and while the word was spreading about the missing tributes, that would do as much good as bad. After all, not everyone who lived in the castle could be trusted. As dark images flashed through his mind, and a promise filled him.  Anyone who dared touched the youngsters would die a painful, painful death.

Then he smelt something which made his blood run cold. The twins had split up too. Silas had gone one way, Abel another. Other scents were mixed in. The scent of passersby. Their smell was strong in a closet which would have been good to hide in. He closed his eyes and let his mind spread throughout the castle.  Like the guards, the castle itself was no longer used to humans in its midst. He couldn't find them this way.

Snarling, Tyreol slammed his fist into the wall. Stone crumbled and he kept himself still for a second. "Heilan!" He yelled, summoning the fae. His loyal servant appeared in a shower of rose petals, looking serious. Heilan fell to his knee respectfully and murmured a greeting. "Silas went that way," Tyreol pointed down the corridor. "You find him. I'll find Abel." Silas might be the braver twin, but Abel was the one with magic. If anything serious happened, he could cause a lot more damage by accident.

"Yes, Master," Heilan intoned, disappearing again. The rose petals floating down the corridor in the direction.

Turning, Tyreol strode forward, dragging his fingers over the stone walls and forcing magic into them. The castle's mind shifted but it was still mostly inert. Tyreol regretted letting the castle falling into such disrepair. Even in this state, he could taste the taint of darkness in the stone. Blood had run into its crevices. Dark magic was lacing the edges.

He was the god of war and destruction. His domain was inherently dark but his nature was not as such. It was going to take a much deeper clean out than expected to get the castle back up to standard. Light had never shone from its centre but darkness hadn't threatened to consume it either.

"Master," several voices intoned respectfully, stopping him in his path. The servants were bowing respectfully. None of them particularly drenched in darkness but it licked at their sides. Was on the tips of their fingers. They interacted with it, even if they did not participate in the actions that were sullying the halls. Tyreol only knew one face but it was enough for him to acknowledge their existence. Only it seemed they were planning to sully the corridors in a different way. He could smell arousal on them and Tyreol frowned. Using the tribute tower as a place to hide and have sex without permission was not proper conduct! However, he had more important things to deal with at the moment than misbehaving servants.