Chapter Eight

Julius walks into the small campsite, the fire burning low. He could see the outline of Jacob and Lintel's bodies as they sat beside the unconscious body of Callista Malik. He could picture her in his mind; the silver blue eyes, silver pooling into soft blue. Black hair that cascades her shoulders. She is a beauty, unknown to the world the gem they have lost. She put him on edge, the feeling of familiarity beckons at him, and her soft voice sent him falling. He had snapped and grabbed her, choking her. The anger still simmered within him, but the bruises that never fades from her throat stood out to him like a brand of shame. The sun is finally descending into twilight, but still had a few hours before it was safe enough to travel. Jacob sits up, leaning against the side of the tree Callista is tied to, his eyes resting on Julius.

Lintel's eyes stay glued Callista. Julius feels the pinpricks of anger, realizing the look in Lintel's eyes. Anger. Hunger like she was prey. He clenches his hands into fists, glaring down Lintel.

"What are we going to do now?" Jacob asks, his voice is thin with mild impatience.

Julius closes his eyes and leans against the tree, the rough bark digging into his skin. "We are going to leave when the sun finishes its descent."

Lintel's eyes snap to him, their brown darkening. "What about her?"

Julius shrugs, bringing his eyes down to meet theirs. "She'll be riding with me until we hit the Black Ley Forest. Davis should be already there with Keiser. Callista will most likely be awake by then," he explains, ignoring the look Jacob threw his way when he mentioned her waking up.

"Kieser managed to find you?" Lintel asks. Shrugging, Julius goes back to looking at the sky, the sun rays hitting the tree limbs and never them. A horse nickered behind him, and he knew the horses were put into hiding as well. Out of nowhere, Julius feels his inner sixth sense lock into place. Keeping his body still and motionless, he brings his eyes down to meet Jacob's. They speak with their eyes, both of them could detect it.

A scent enters Julius's range and his vampire reflexes has him swinging around to behind him. He snarls, his fangs sinking into his bottom lip, slicing it open. Blood drips down his chin in a slow trickle. Jacob is beside him, their bodies mirroring each other.

A growl echoes around them, reverberating through them. Then the forest seems to part and morphed wolves pour through the opening. A bigger wolf, the alpha, came through last. He is pure black, with golden eyes of werewolves. Julius recognized the power the Alpha held, the raw magic that seeps from him and his wolves.

"You are far from your territory, wolf," Julius snarls.

The Alpha morphs into his human; a subtle of broken bones and dislodging from his sadistic side. A man stood in the wolf's place, broad shoulders and raven cropped hair. His eyes are light blue, crystal clear as a river. He stood there with his shorts on, his torso on display. A smirk of entertainment sits on his face, as he looks at Julius and his crew.

"Says the one with a werewolf, vampire," he replies, his voice rough with transformation.

Julius raises an eyebrow in question. "What werewolf?" he asks. Pointing at Callista, he returns the wolf's smirk with one of his own. "Her? She's human. Even you can sniff that."

"She isn't a human," the werewolf snarls, his canines protruding. Growing irritated, Julius feels his blood begin to boil. His hands clench and he snarl, readying himself to launch an attack.

A blinding light floods the camp site, illuminating from Callista's unconscious body. Seeing the Alpha's blue eyes widen and dilate, Julius whirls to see her whole body is outlined in white. A cloaked figure is knelt beside her, a glowing hand against Callista's forehead. She is kneeling as if she was praying. The figure looks up and meets Julius's eyes.

His mind catapulted him back to when he was eleven. He can see tunnels, leading to darkness, small bundles of rags piled into corners. Julius feels the fear and hatred that grew within him as he ventures the tunnels. He came to a stop once he reached a certain enclosed cell. He reaches through the cell, a hand connecting to the bars. The magic ripples away, illuminating the room beyond.

He falls back, his hands brushing a trunk. Julius leans against it, his skin feeling tight and itchy. He comes to understand that the figure brought back memories long forgotten. He picks his head up, not hearing Jacob until he looks behind and the werewolves are gone.

"...disappeared," Jacob is saying as his hearing focuses again. "Julius, are you listening?"

"Where are they?" he asks.

Jacob looks annoyed. "I was just telling you. When you and whatever that thing was, made eye contact, they just vanished," he explains.

Julius shakes his head, glancing over his shoulder, watching Callista. He noticed Lintel getting up, his legs wobbly. He realized now Lintel never got up when the werewolves were here. His eyebrows furrowing, he pushes himself off the tree. He strides to Lintel; his brown eyes were blown with fear.

"Who are you?" he growls.

Lintel backs away, his hands coming up to protect himself. "I had to, Julius. You don't understand," he tries to beg.

Jacob is beside him, connecting the dots. "You were the reason they were here," he accuses.

Lintel swallows harshly. "I'm sorry. I'm a werewolf turned vampire. I was their intel,"

"Grab the horses, Jacob," he orders in a quiet tone, the anger a raging storm within.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," his second in command argues, his face held a hint a knowing look.

"Jacob," he warns, before lunging at Lintel. Lintel ducks and takes off to the surrounding woods, the sun is setting behind them, only a few hours left before night fall. Julius's focus is on the male in front of him, thinking he is escaping. A smirk consumes him face and he races the male, letting the fear of being hunted find it's mark inside Lintel. The traitor looks behind him, sees Julius catching up, his brown eyes evaporates into complete fear. Julius swerves toward him. Even when he is running his full speed, Julius is always the fastest one. Bearing down on him, he sent their bodies tumbling on the ground. Lintel lets out a pained whimper as his head gets embedded by a sharp rock. Julius straddles his stomach, his eyes black and cruel, the eyes of a predator.

"Don't kill me," the traitor pleads, his eyes fading to the brown. "Julius, I can be your intel. They won't ever know you found out."

Julius looks down at him with an incredulous expression. "You gave it away. You sat there when the pack surrounded us and you sat there! Any vampire would've noticed and picked up the scent of the wolves, you ignored them. You set a trap and if I let you go free, they will know."

"Please," is all he pleads. Anger barrels down him, making his fangs slide out. He snarls at Lintel, the fear blossoming in his eyes again, inducing the fail attempts to escape. A vicious hiss escapes him and stuns Lintel. Julius strikes, surging forward and biting into Lintel's neck. Lintel let out a horrible shriek of pain, the venom of his leader's bite lowing through every vessel. Vampire bites weren't lethal to others, only of your own clan. Julius feels the traitor's body go limp, no supernatural magic keeping him alive.

Julius leaps up from crouching over Lintel's body. Blood was dripping down his chin, mixing with his. He feels Jacob coming toward them, his eyes never leaving his dead comrade's face. "The werewolves can find us. Who knows what he's told them," he says, "We need to start the move. Head towards Black Ley Forest."

Swiping his hand across his chin, he smears the blood. Disgust rolls through him like a tidal wave. He killed another vampire in anger. Only his king did that.

Maybe we do belong in his kingdom.

∞†∞†∞

Julius and Jacob settle Callista's body between his and the horse. Her warm body presses against his front and he tenses all over. Breathing through his mouth, he reigns his horse to go. Jacob rides beside him, guiding the third horse. They start their decent on Vampi Kingdom.

The air is humid and Julius glances up to the sky, but twilight made it hard to tell of there was rain clouds. Callista moans in her sleep; a moan of despair. Looking down at her, he could see a tiny freckle beneath her left eye. Her pink tinted lips twitch and her eyelids flutter, but she still did not wake up. Swallowing against his suddenly dry throat, he peels his eyes away from her.

An hour into their journey, Julius felt a pang of hunger slice through his abdomen. Stifling any urge, his eyes met Jacob's over his shoulder. The younger male nods, his eyes pitch black like a bottomless pit. They came to a stop by a pine tree. The smell of fresh blood hangs in the air, indicating a tavern.

Jacob gestures for him to go and Julius sighs in absolute relief. Leaving Jacob with her, he turns to leave. He starts up the hill, hoping to see a tavern. Reaching the peak, he sees a tall brown building, men laughing on the porch. The stench of beer and alcohol filtered up to him. Julius crinkles his nose, knowing what alcohol in the system does to the blood.

Gliding pass them, he reaches inside the bar. Knowing he just killed a vampire; he can't kill a human tonight. He just needs their blood. Walking into the tavern, he catches a blonde waitress. She is beautiful and young, also naïve. Smiling, he leans down a little.

"Can I order a drink?" he asks softly, like a breeze.

Red blossoms across her cheeks, she smiles back. "Of course, sir. What can I get you?"

He smirks, leaning further down. His lips brush her ear in a caressing manner. "You," he breathes out. He backs up and meets her light green eyes, full of life. "Do not scream. Come with me."

She obediently follows, her eyes full of terror. Her hands lay in his in a limp manner, showing her human resistance. Her lips were trembling, but Julius knew she couldn't speak. Coming out in the fresh air, he lets out a soft sigh. Dragging the woman to the back, he lets his hunger take over. Slamming her against the wall, he presses his body against her. Dipping his head, Julius brushes his lips against the soft skin at her neck. A soft gasp escapes her, and Julius freezes.

Controlling his hunger, he uses his nail and slices her neck enough to draw blood. Draining a portion into a small container, he screws the cap back on. Watching the blood dribble down her neck, he feels the need to taste. So, he does; licking her neck clean of blood, his salvia healing her wound.

Reeling from the stab of hunger, Julius eases away. Putting the container in his pocket, he meets the lady's eyes again. "You will remember nothing," he says softly. Her eyes cleared and confusion replaced the glazed look.

"Who are you?" she hisses, seeing they were outside the tavern. A smirk settles on Julius's face.

"No one," he replies. She frowns at him, pushing him back. Huffing, she leaves him in the back behind the tavern. Drunk with hunger, Julius takes his stallion back to where Callista and Jacob were.

The sky was dark, the moon hanging like a broken nail in the sky. He saw the other two horses, and then two people standing. He halts and watches as life animates Callista's face. Her face was flushed with red and her silver blue eyes boiling with anger. Jacob's green eyes are an equal bright color, highlighted with anger as well.

He clears his throat to make himself known. Callista's head of black hair whipped towards him, her throat cleared of any bruises or markings.

"Where are you taking me?" she snarls, ignoring the fact it was just them four.

Julius shrugs coyly. He is intrigued on why her bruises are gone, human as she is. Stepping off his horse and crossing the small pass towards Jacob. Handing him the canteen, Julius briefly looks at her. "To Vampi Kingdom, to my father."