38. The salvation

The leader and Grimore have a staring contest between them. Surely there is what it looks like when it seems like an hour before anything is said in the room again. "I am in favor as vampire king that Cleo is handed over to me. What you do with the rest, you decide for yourselves," I hear Firius say, who I didn't even see come in. Both vampires look at Firius in disgust. "You keep your hands off my wife!" I suddenly hear Xandros' voice, shouting down the hall. I look toward the door where I see the large, strong figure of Xandros standing with the even slightly larger Remus behind him. A smile conjures on my face as I see George enter behind them, who will still be my human husband. Though I must admit that my feelings for him are now, diminished to friendship. He will forever be my first love. But after my imprisonment by Xandros and the change to a vampire. Is our love never possible again, and so it occurs to me that my feelings for Xandros were never played or a thing of his bite? I love him and with those caramel-colored eyes in mine, I reciprocate the affection he shows them for me. Still, those two vampires have a hold of me as Xandros steps closer through the group of slayers. "Another one who doesn't understand my rules," the leader mutters and then lets his gaze go to Bogan who comes stepping out through a door in the front of the room, with a long sword In his hands. "Bogan I think you are going to have to kill more than one person." Laughs even as he blurts out the last word. I look at Bogan in horror, the man he was before is no longer there. He's not a man anymore, he's a vampire. "No, Quinn! I hereby relieve you of your duty." Everyone is mouse silent as Grimore blurts out the leader's name like he's nothing. "How dare you talk to me like that!" Shouts now as he beckoned to the guards standing in the back of the room. "Stop!" Calls Grimore and holds out his hand to the men. Who immediately obeys or Grimore is the leader and not Quinn. "I am your maker and your Quinn will obey me!" That was it. This was the fall of the leader of Irantus.

Everyone was dumbfounded. Even the slayers were in no condition to know what would happen next. Rumors began to form until Grimore set himself on the rise next to Quinn with him gripped by his neck as if he were the pet. How could I have ever thought that Grimore was a slave to Xandros or just the pet? This man had more power than any of them, why work so long for Xandros? Until suddenly all the truth comes to light. "I am Grimore the head of Irantus and I hereby decide that Xandros will be the head, will be the leader of this planet. The place he has earned." If we weren't already surprised, we are now. Xandros steps forward proudly wearing his costume, which I can only now see. A costume I recognize as the one he had on at our wedding. I could clearly see in his look that he hadn't expected this, but when Grimore said something, it was impossible to ignore. This Grimore even scared me. The skinny man I recognized seemed to have grown wider and stronger by the moment. Even his gray color, now, seemed more of a regular shade of skin color. It was as if a mask was falling off, or he was living under a disguise. This man was impossible to ignore. This man was the epitome of strength, which I had first thought Quinn was. Even Quinn seemed weak and small against him.

Xandros comes from standing in front of all of us, but not long before Firius jumps from the spot from up in the hall, where he had been sitting quietly for the entire time. "No way am I going to obey that weakling!" Yells he, now almost in Xandros' face as he gets closer and closer. The guards immediately obey Grigoir as he points at Firius and takes hold of him and bring him closer to the booth, where both of them are standing next to the two other vampires. Apparently, counselors or something of his, as they say, things in Grimore's ear. "Firius it comes to my ears that you have broken our rules. Several times, but that Quinn here beside me," he says, squeezing Quinn's neck harder. Firius clearly realized he could no longer get away with his behavior. Moves more quietly to the back, but to no effect when other guards come through the door and grab him. "So now I've said everything." That was it. I was free, everyone was free. Waylon came up to me as the guards let go of me and looks at me with his piercing eyes, almost begging me to help him. Or I should know what he wants until suddenly I hear a voice in my head. "Make sure Xandros keeps me here." The voice is scary but recognizes it immediately as Waylon. Is this something normal? Is everyone hearing my thoughts? "No, silly, just me." I look at him again but am disturbed by Xandros's strong hand placed on my shoulder. "Waylon, follow your group and leave this planet immediately," Xandros says in his deep voice. Waylon is still looking at me, almost pleadingly. I want to say something, but Xandros stops me. "Cleo, not now." And that was it. That was the moment everyone left the room, even I couldn't say goodbye to Verona. Xandros had already dragged me out of the hall with him to another place, which looked like some kind of office, with all computers and papers. "Xandros, why wouldn't you listen? And why wasn't I allowed to say goodbye to my friend?" He looks at me like I'm crazy, something he's becoming known for. He thinks I'm crazy to be friends with people who are trained to kill us, even though I think I'm crazy for it, but she's my friend. "And Waylon, he's one of us?" I ask him, but Xandros doesn't want to hear about him. Just his name made him growl and be in a bad mood. That was the day I gave up. Giving up fighting for a man or vampire I shouldn't have been friends with in the first place. He was more than he had ever said he was. His actions were too crude to be seen through. That day we closed on our castle. Not just Xandros', but ours. Our home.