Call Of The Dark

Anton was shocked to see that Lazarus had traced in his room. He had a lethal aura and a murderous look into his eyes. Anton was sitting with two councilors and they were discussing the treasury.

"What are you doing here?" Anton growled as his fists clenched tightly.

Lazarus gave a furious yell. Papers were sent flying. Chairs were rendered broken and the table cracked when Lazarus traced to him, creating a storm of ruckus behind him. Anton too traced away from there and had gone to the other side of the room. But Lazarus let out a roar and lunged at him with his claws and fangs that had snapped out. The two councilors ran out of the room for their life.

Anton dodged Lazarus and traced to the bed but Lazarus had anticipated the move and he lunged at Anton over the bed, breaking it into two and pulling all the curtains down. Within a second, he was behind Anton, his arm curled around his neck. Anton grabbed his arm and tried to remove it with all his power. But Lazarus was too powerful. His face became red with the lack of air.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he said in a thick voice.

"You ordered rogues to kill Emma!" Lazarus growled, squeezing him further.

"Are you fucking mad?" Anton replied, his face becoming purple. "Why would I do that when I know how important she is to Maeve?"

"You lie!" Lazarus roared and shoved him down on the bed.

Anton crawled away from Lazarus, coughing and wheezing and trying to gain as much distance as possible from Lazarus. He had never seen him getting so mad and when he was mad because of Emma, his power was beyond control. He rested against a broken chair and in a gravelly voice said, "I am not lying." He gulped air hungrily. "You know that vampires can't lie. And as for Emma, I don't know what you are talking about." He swallowed his saliva. "All I know is that she is still in Upper North Jupan and we heard the news that Olya ran away taking Emma with her!"

Lazarus narrowed his eyes on Anton and realized that he wasn't lying.

Anton wiped his brows. "You are assuming that they are killed by the rogues? Or have you seen with your eyes that Emma is killed?" He was panting, still feeling short of breath. "And if that is the case, you should order the guards to hunt for the two girls!"

Lazarus didn't reply to Anton, lest he would reveal where Olya and Emma were. "I am assuming," he growled. That was a partial truth because he heard one of the rogues giving Anton's name and that was why his throat didn't burn. Seeing Anton, Lazarus was sure that he didn't order the rogues to kill Emma. Then who could it be? Surely, Maeve wasn't a fool to do that.

---

"Go Ailill!" Maeve rasped. "If Lazarus sees you here, all our efforts are going to drown away."

Ailill buckled up his pants as his gaze went to all the jewelry that was lying on bed. "I am in need of coins. I have to give it to the black portals."

​ "You can take it all away," she said as she hurried to the bed. She wrapped it all in the bedsheet and handed it to him. "This is for you!"

He chuckled as he grabbed the bundle of jewelry. Then with one arm, he grabbed the back of her head and seized her lips. When he pulled away, he asked, "How many days are left?"

"Ten!" She looked at the door and repeated, "Go Ailill! I can feel Lazarus coming back."

Ailill gritted his teeth. He snapped his fingers and the room got filled with a lemony aroma. He snapped his fingers again. Shadows and mist burst around him and the next moment he was gone.

Maeve was trembling so badly by this time that she let out a breath of relief. She ran into the bathroom and jumped in the water to remove any scent of Ailill that lingered on her but in her heart thanked him for the lemony aroma. Within minutes, she heard her door opening with a bang. Lazarus had come and she knew that he was angry.

Maeve wrapped a towel around her and donned a nightgown before entering the room. She was sure that there would be some bruises on her body because Ailill was very demanding this time.

"Lazarus?" she mocked a surprise. "What is wrong with you?" He looked… menacing. Even murderous. "There is a bruise on your cheek. Did you get into a fight?"

He wanted to grab her throat and ask her questions. But first he needed to control himself. Maybe he was wrong. He went towards the bar and poured him a healthy glass of wine. He gulped it all down and then poured more.

"I heard that Emma has run away along with Olya. You can't even handle your mate?" she growled. "We need her. Instead of wasting time over here, it is better that you go and find her!" Maeve walked to her dresser where she gave herself a long look. "It seems that you are unable to control a human girl." She gazed at his reflection in the mirror as she applied oil on her body to mask the scent. Suddenly, she felt that he yanked her waist and the next she was surrounded by thick mist. She screamed, but before she knew, she was being traced by him. He landed over a thick mossy log. She was about to slip when he grasped her tightly and traced her again. And this time they landed in a cave.

Maeve looked around at the decapitated hands and legs of the shifters and her eyes gleamed. "Is this your doing?" she said without an iota of remorse. "Why this massacre? Have you done it for me?" She kicked a severed arm that was in her way.

Slowly, he walked to a protruded rock and sat down on it, studying her.

"Why are there chains here? Who did you torture?" Suddenly her eyes glinted with more happiness. "But why have you brought me here? Have you found Emma?"