Chapter 210 - Revelation
Graven was waiting for his brother in his headquarter, which is located in the forest, on the outskirt of South Pond Town.
He knew that Luke will find him here.
He stood in the clearing and rose in the air at lightning speed after he detected his brother's scent around the area. He was anticipating his anger and he doesn't want his crazed brother burning the whole place down.
He floated in the air and saw the ball of deadly flames coming his way, damn! That was his brother's first attack! He dodged the flames coming in his direction from all angles.
Right now, his brother is hiding in his invisible form, he can't see him!
He can only avoid his deadly attacks!
Sooner or later, when the heat consumed his brother's body and he can no longer bear it, he will eventually stop and be forced to cool down his body before launching another attack again.
He doesn't want to retaliate. He has no plan to hurt his brother. He is the only living relative he had in this world. He still cares for him deeply.
"Tell me where is Laura! Bring her back to me! Or else I will burn you alive, brother!" Luke's angry voice appeared out of nowhere.
Graven looked in the direction of his brother's voice, he released a deep sigh. "Cool down first! Don't use too much heat or else your body will explode!" he told him.
"Stop pretending that you care about me! The moment you touch and married my beloved woman you already severed the ties between us!" Luke said spitting venom.
Graven released a deep sigh. "I admitted my sin and I know you won't forgive me. But you have to understand that Laura is already my wife and she's carrying our unborn child in her womb. Let me take care of her until the baby is born and turned three years old, then you can have Laura back. If you can't make her fall in love with you again through the years then it's your fault, not mine!" he said.
"How dare you command me to wait for long years!" Luke shouted.
Graven breathed deeply. "I'm trying to be reasonable here. I don't want you and I to quarrel and fight about Laura again. I'm serious with my offer. Stop finding Laura in the next four years, after the baby turned three years old, I will tell you of her location. Just let the mother and child bond for three years and after that, you can take her back, I will no longer stand in your way! That's how simple it is!" he said.
Luke made himself visible to his brother, his face seething in anger.
While Graven wore a calm expression on his face, as calm as the ocean.
"I'm not agreeing to your request. I'm going to take back what is rightfully mine!" Luke said indignantly.
Graven sighed deeply. "You only care about is getting Laura! Do you know that she is in danger of getting taken from us completely if the cursed King will finally able to leave that dilapidated castle?" he said.
Luke's eyes widened. "W-what do you mean?"
"Have you forgotten that you shared to me the vision you saw about Laura? It's finally happening!" Graven said. In their past life, they were best friends falling in love with one woman who happens to be Laura. Luke married Laura in their past life. And now in the present times, they're blood brothers and falling in love with the same woman who happens to be Laura again! But this time, it's Graven who happened to marry Laura in the end. And in that vision, they saw the tyrant vampire king come and ruled the land, snatching the woman they love and made her his queen.
"Y-you mean to say, you found the cursed King? And that tyrant King is coming to get Laura in this lifetime?" Luke said.
"Yeah, and that King imprisoned one of my men and planted a black mysterious liquid inside our body that can kill us anytime he wishes. We got to report to him once a month or else we will die once the black liquid attack the internal organs of our body and he is the only one who got the antidote. He instructed me to bring Laura to him or else I and my men will suffer a painful death!" Graven elaborated further.
"So... are you going to surrender Laura to him?" Luke asked.
"No way! Once he will drink Laura's blood the curse that imprisoned him underneath that dilapidated castle will lose its purpose. He will be able to leave that castle and his full power restored, then he will rule the world, bringing destruction to humankind. And the peace we enjoyed right now will be annihilated by him completely. I can't allow such tyrant King to rule the world! Over my dead body!" Graven said in a cold voice, an iron will determination flashes in his eyes.
"If that is the case... then why don't we blast that castle to smithereens? Just end everything!" Luke suggested.
"Because I and my men will die once the black liquid will attack our internal organs and the only who has the antidote to end our suffering is the cursed King. As long there is a chance to find a cure then I will try to stay alive as long as possible," Graven said.
"One more reason why you should give Laura to me!" Luke demanded.
Graven shook his head, deeply saddened by his brother's obsessiveness towards Laura. He was hoping that Luke will see things in a different light but still, he won't open his eyes to reality. "Brother, listen to me. Laura is pregnant with our child and she is my wife in this lifetime, please respect that!" he pleaded.
"No, I can't! Bring Laura back to me! Where is she?" Luke insisted.
"She's in a safe place right now, please don't bother her. She doesn't like to be with you, so please respect her wishes and give her peace while she is pregnant with our child. If you love Laura, don't give her stress and leave her alone!" Graven pleaded.
Luke was silent for a moment pondering his next move.
"Where is that abandoned castle located? I want to see it!" Luke declared.
Graven shook his head. "No, you can't go there! That place is dangerous! The King is powerful, once he got you beneath the ground of the castle, he won't allow you to leave!" he warned him.
"Are you going to tell me the place or not? Or you want me to find it myself?" Luke said.
Graven sighed and groaned. His brother is such a stubborn guy! He shook his head. "No, I won't tell you the name of the place. You can't go in there!" he said, refusing to reveal the location of the cursed King.
Luke was furious. "Fine! If you don't want to tell me where is Laura and the location of the King I will find them myself!" he declared and disappeared from his brother's vision.
Graven released a troubled sigh. Luke will never listen to him! The two of them think differently.
Things will become complicated from now!
He knew that his brother will become his shadow following his every move starting today.
Another deep sigh emerged from his mouth.
He remained floating in the air, looking at the distant horizon. His gaze fixed towards the direction of the abandoned castle - thousand miles away from his location.
He released a deep sigh.
He still needs to bring Terros to Moraderry Town today so that he can erect the invisible barrier around the manor where Laura was staying. He needs to keep his pregnant wife safe from the cursed King, the vampire couple, and his brother Luke.
Graven teleported back to Terros place.
Terros was feeding his hens and roosters in the front yard when Graven landed in front of him.
"Good afternoon, old man..." Graven greeted him.
"Did you and your brother have a serious talk?" asked Terros.
"Yeah, we did. But he was stubborn as a mule and wants Laura back! Then he also wants to know the cursed King's location," Graven replied.
Terros brows furrowed. "Huh? Why would Luke want to know the abandoned castle's location? Is he planning on doing something to the castle?"
"That's what I'm worried about. Luke is a stubborn person! He won't listen to my advice. He always does what he wants to do with his life without thinking about the consequences," Graven said worriedly.
"Did you tell him where the castle was located?" Terros asked.
"No, but he will find out soon! And I'm scared of what he's going to do once he finds out," Graven replied.
"Did you told him about the poisonous black liquid inside your body and that of your men? And did he already know about the connection between Laura and the cursed King?" Terros inquired.
"Yes, I told him everything," Graven answered.
"I see..." Terros was shaking his head. "Your brother is like a ticking time bomb! I'm afraid that he's going to do something stupid later on and it might boomerang to all of us! Did he already know that the tyrant King is powerful and cunning?"
"Yeah, I already told them that, but it looks like he is not deterred by the information that I gave him. He's still determined to locate the castle without my consent," Graven sighed.
"Looks like your bother is another person to look out for," Terros said.
Graven shrugged. "Yeah, I'm having a headache thinking about my brother, especially now that he's no longer listening to me," he said in a distraught voice.
"Do you want to bring me now to Laura's place to erect the invisible barrier for her protection?" Terros asked.
"Yes, only if you are not busy," Graven said.
"I'm not busy, let me finished feeding the chicken, and then we will proceed to Moraderry Town," Terros said.
"Take your time, old man, no need to hurry," Graven said and settled down on the wooden bench, looking at the horizon above, his mind preoccupied.