Only Time Runs with Blood: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Smoke and Mirrors

Rowan was furious. Two members of his home, two council members nonetheless had disobeyed him. They left the perimeter to hunt instead of staying and feeding on the bags he had ordered. He wanted them dead, yet he could understand why they had done it. He had hoped that they were stuck somewhere in the sun, burning into a crisp, so he didn’t have to deal with it but his luck wasn't that good. He was going to have to punish his own brother and best friend. Blazke had run to him in early dawn, saying that Ember had let them through, and they had not returned, but now a young lady was bringing them in; which left him to do the punishing. He settled himself into his broken pile of rust which he called a throne, his hair a disheveled mess, his clothes hastily thrown on, and his tarnished, iron crown nowhere to be found. The large double doors opened in front of him and in walked a beautiful lady, and his two traitors.
She was dressed in a long silk-velvet cloak with a row of diamond studded buttons trailing down the front. She had shinning black hair dancing on her shoulders, eyes the color of copper and chocolate, and blood red, heart-shaped lips pursed as she took in the destroyed hall. She looked at the walls with distaste and when she laid eyes upon him she looked disgusted. She was expecting the fantastic castle this once was he thought. Sage and Aman were floating slightly off the ground with vines curled tightly around them behind her, but she didn’t look back to check them. She made her way over some crumbled pillars toward him and finally stood in all her glory and bowed.
“Your Grace, I have captured these escapees.” Her voice was that of a golden rose, floating majestically through the empty space until it reached his ears and softly whispered his name.
“Very well, I have guards all around, so if you will please unbind them, they won’t run.” He whispered --struck at the music her voice had made. Two burly trolls came forward and waited for the men to fall, but they never did, she just stared at the Emperor.
“I think not. I haven’t killed them myself, because I figured I would get some kind of reward for their… sort of safe, return.” She grinned as Aman let out another wince of pain.
“I’m sorry my lady, you have come here in vain then. There is no money left for a reward. I cannot help you. Let them go.” It was a demand.
“Again, not so fast, I will have a reward.”
Rowan sighed, “Name your request and I shall see what I can do.”
“I want to be part of the court, and have these two as my personal servants. Servitude when you have power is worse than death itself.” She grinned cheerly.
He was shocked. It was not something he had accepted, he thought that after she had seen the state of his home, she would surely be running away. But she wasn’t, she wanted to stay. He wasn’t going to say no. “What is your name, my dear?”
“Paris, Paris Rizzi.”
“Then Welcome Lady Rizzi, to my court. Sage and Aman will now be slaves to your will,” He clapped his hands and a large Minotaur stepped out of the shadows, “Yepi will show you to your room.” Yepi grunted and nodded his head toward a door in the far back. Paris flicked her wand at the vines, dropping the vampires on their faces. They sat up grumbling, but stopped when they saw the cold look in her eyes. Then they jogged after the Minotaur.
Rowan was left in the ruins of the great hall. His heart was just a little lighter now that he knew the most beautiful women in the world was staying in the chamber just a few doors from his. He had to inform the council of course, but they didn’t have any say over his decisions. He began clamoring over the rubble to find them. They would also have to appoint another new member, he thought. Someone who was powerful yet would abide by his rules. Then he got an idea, Dana Nöllsch, the vampire who watched over the werewolves when the full moon came around. She would be perfect. He walked out of the hall to find the others and the new candidate. That’s when he smelt it. There was a smell of change floating through the air. This was all going to get better, and it all started with that mysterious Lady Rizzi, he mused.
He found a lone Satyr guard, and bid him to call a meeting, watching as he scampered off, hooves clacking all along. He returned to the meeting hall and sat on his throne waiting for the Underworlders to come in. It started as a trickle, a single fey, or a Acheri. Then it was a steady stream, Red Caps, Unicorns and Ogres. Then finally they all came pouring in, Demons, Griffins, Amarok’s and the few Manananggal that remained. They all stood, sat, floated, and hovered in silence, waiting for him to speak. He cleared his throat, all the doors slammed shut, and all the Underworlders became still.
“I regret to inform you that we have lost two council members on this day. Sage Amanar and Aman Dilje have resigned their chairs and we are now looking for a new chair holder. We have found one, a witch by the name of Paris Rizzi, and we already have one in mind. If you would like to try for the seat, Thursday night at eight we will be in chambers. Please come in. That is also the night for all of you to voice your concerns. At the same time. Now, if you see Sir Amanar, or Sir Dilje, please let them be, they are now under another’s influence and reign. I bid you all good day. See you Thursday.” The room broke into low whispers, groups split up and began talking furiously with each other. Rowan watched with wary eyes. Thursday was going to be a long day. He thought with a sigh

Her room was no better than the rest of the castle. She picked up the dusty sheets in disgust; clearly she had work to do. Sage and Aman stood behind her, their bodies still tense in anticipation for the attack that would never come. She felt the energy of their apprehension pulse through the air, and laughed out loud, they jumped into startled crouches.
“I’m not going to hurt you, I saved your life.” she sniggered, but they just glared and she rolled her eyes. “Relax. I just needed to get into the castle. You’re under my protection. Now about this room,” She lifted her wand, “Clensio,” and the room turned to chaos. Dust flew into the air, the bed began to make itself, the chandelier shook clean, and a black vase appeared out of nowhere, landed on an old dresser and filled with black roses. “This will have to work.” She murmured.
She walked over to the bed and slumped down; exhaustion hit her like a freight train. Her magic was taking more out of her than usual. That was the reason she came here, to the center of the Underworld. She needed answers. Aman and Sage stood awkwardly in the doorway, just watching her with silence. She looked at Aman, her brown eyes threatening to close, “I need my stuff. There’s a house south of the clearing, on the edge of a small town. Bring me everything you can, then go back for more,” She focused on Sage, “Go with him, there’s money in the top drawer of the black dresser next to my bed. Get me a Big Mac, large fries, and a large Coke with it. Then get yourself something tasty, I don’t care, but make sure my food isn’t cold when you get back. Then you all will be excused till tomorrow night.” Her final sentence came out in lisps, and she passed out. The vampires exchanged a look of confusion and apprehension, but quickly hurried to the grounds.
It was just before sun set and they stood in the shadows of the castle waiting.
“Make sure it’s not cold when I get back,” Sage mimicked perfectly, “What do I look like, a butler?”
Aman chuckled, “At the moment yes...” He didn’t finish his sentence as Sage took a swing at him.
“You have to be a pack mule, ‘Get my stuff’, she asks. Well I think that we should just dump her and run” Sage folded his arms, looking like a grumpy five year old.
“We can’t Sage, were in a blood debt, we can’t leave till she tells us to. She saved our lives.”
“Rowan wouldn’t have done anything; he was always hopeless when it came to being an authority figure. Plus she hurt us more than he did, damn vines.”
“That may be true, but we have no way of knowing what he would have done to us. I wouldn’t put it past him; I mean just take another good look at my hand will you?” He held up the mangled piece of flesh again. Sage sighed, but continued to look out at the purple streaked sky. The colors of the day slowly faded into the blues and blacks of night. Everything was eaten by a shadow and stripped of the brilliant daytime colors and shapes. Trees looked like menacing creatures waiting for the time to attack. They slunk out of their hiding and began their trek toward the clearing. Low growls emitted from the invisible line, between the kingdom, and the Surface world. Something red streaked past them, and then again, till it stopped strait in front bearing its fangs and snapping at their ankles. It’s bright yellow eyes eased their glare as it recognized them, and just stepped aside. They looked at each other in confusion, shrugged, and continued on. They reached the clearing in minutes then took a sharp left toward the south and continued on. Even with their super speed, it took them a half an hour to find a little cottage tucked neatly into the trees, looking like it was just part of the serenity in the night. The door was opened slightly already and there was a odd smell emitting from the crack. Both the vampires snapped into crouches and slipped their fangs out. They crept toward the side window and Sage lifted his head to look through the glass. The house was in perfect order, but green smoke was emitting from underneath one of the black doors and the foul stench was coming from that. Sage nodded at Aman, and they slide through the door, still on defense.
The house was filled with antiques, all in the same black color, and in great condition. The smoke was floating at the ceiling in tiny little wisps, tripping over it self in curls and folds. They crept toward the source, past a huge black 1800's couch and a orange, green, and yellow 1960's lamp, the smoke was billowing from under the door. Aman took the lead; he pushed it open, and then stepped inside the rush of green. The smoke cleared. Sage gasped, Aman stood gaping. It was a witch’s paradise. A huge black cauldron stood boiling on a black table surrounded by all sorts of odds-and-ends. Hundreds of jars full of labeled things sat on shelves above the table. Frog eyes, sheep liver, a few pianist's middle finger, unicorn horns, demon blood, vampire fangs, and other hideous things were all placed in an alphabetized order across the shelves. An assortment of stones were on one side of the room, everything from diamond to moon stone, and on the other side were miscellaneous items such as a ceremonial silver knife and bowls of holy water.
"How the hell am I supposed to carry all of this?" Aman groaned, "She's going to kill me if I don't get it all. What does she except me to do with all the silver, crosses, holy water, and rowan wood too? I'm going to die."
Sage laughed, earning him a bone crunching punch to the arm. "That's your problem now,” He said, then began mumbling, “Top drawer, Top drawer." And took off Aman stood staring at all the witches items clustered around. He looked through the little window above the knife; the moon showed it was just after eleven. Something’s in the human world must be open, some place where he could maybe pile these things in, and take them all. Sage sauntered back into the room. His face was alight and he pulled a wade of green paper out of his pocket.
"I'm going into town, you want anything?"
"I'm coming with you, I need some things, and I would like my meal to be.... Untainted by your dirty hands." Aman grinned. They walked out of the room, (the cauldron still bubbling,) shut the door and then turned toward the front door. There. Standing right at the threshold was a man. Maybe twenty three, with silver eyes and military style black hair. He smiled menacingly at the two with their shocked faces. It took seconds for them to switch from playful brotherhood, to intimidating predators.
The man coughed a laugh, "So who might you pets be? The lady Rizzi has gotten herself a couple more playthings I see. Where might she be? Never mind that, It does not matter. Just invite me inside, she has something that is mine, I must get it back."
Both vampires exchanged a glance, then Sage stepped forward, "I think not, she has asked us to bring her stuff. We don't even know your name or who you are. Take it up with Paris if you need something. She's at the castle."
He hissed, "No! Let me in now, I just need to get it now. Let me in young ones. You will not regret it."
"I think not," Aman stepped closer, "Leave now, you are not welcome."
The Vampire staggered backward. His fangs were out and bared. His eyes huge, black orbs. "You will regret this! We will get you!" With that, he vanished.