The Curse Of A Stranger's Gift 32 Death

Zheira was trying to wake her mother up, but she couldn't even touch her. All she could do was to watch her lying helpless on the ground. She glared at Vladimir who's still busy with her sister. She couldn't even afford to look at him straight. He seemed to be a different person. In fact, he's worst than the king himself. She wants to scream, trash, and vent the overwhelming emotion ironing her heart. However, that wasn't possible with her intangible hands.

She closed her eyes while breathing in and out. It wouldn't do her any good if she let her emotions take over her. She needs to find a way out of this memory. That's the only way she could remove the deep feelings lingering inside her.

A cracking sound stopped any of her thoughts. She opened her eyes and was horrified by the sight of crawling cracks in the mirror. It was moving so fast that the gla.s.s was then filled with deep lines.

Vladimir's narrowed eyes trailed over the cracks. He bent, almost hugging his sister before surrounding himself with water. Seconds pa.s.sed and the mirror exploded; its fragments flew in the air. Zheira's eyes widened. She tried covering her mother, but the gla.s.ses just whoosh past her body.

"Mother!" she bellowed as the sharp gla.s.ses pierced Zayne's skin. It's like she could feel the pain as well.

When the mirror collapsed, the room was exposed and piercing screams tickled her eardrums. They were on the corner of the elevated stage while below it were the men trying to fence Elite vampires.

"Vladimir," Zheira called, "Protect them, too!" But just like the wind, her voice was unnoticed. She wiped her sweaty palms on her shirt. Her erratic heartbeat was overruling the noise.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw three Elites swiftly gliding towards Vladimir. However, his water rises like some thin la.s.so and strangled them to death even before they could step in the room.

Zheira crouched; her hands were covering her ears as she sobbed. Those chaotic noises took a tool of her consciousness. She wants out. The clashing of weapons, the scream of pain, the yell of defense, the clicking deaths; it's overwhelming.

She exhaled deeply when silence ruled once more. She's so occupied with the events that she didn't notice her whole body shaking. Her arms wrapped around her knees. There, she let her tears trailed down her cheeks.

"I—I do—don't w—want t—t—this any—anymore," she whispered in between her sobs. There's a certain heaviness inside her heart that made it hard for her to breathe, but she willed herself to. All these things happened for a reason. This was her chance to know the truth. She must be brave.

When the world started turning, she clenched her fist so hard, trying to calm herself down. Her breathing quickened as the light started seeping through the darkness until she fell facedown to the ground. The impact didn't even hurt her. She's numb by the mixed-emotions she'd felt for the hours that pa.s.sed-by.

Zheira arrived in the king's quarter. Three Elites were holding George, Zayne's husband, in the corner. His body has a lot of wounds. What made her freak out was the skin on his legs; it was peeled. On the other side, Vladimir was chained to a post while Alic lay on his lap. There wasn't any wound nor a scratch in his body, but he seemed exhausted. And, Zayne was with the other men. Six of them had their heads cut and was hang beside their body. Zheira swallowed hard. It was like a ma.s.sacre happened.

The king walked slowly while glaring at them. He's emitting too much energy that Zheira could feel it caressed her skin. It's clear he's not going to tone down. He shook his head. "I'm very disappointed." A red smoke formed from his mouth with the utterance of those words. "My underlings tried overruling my jurisdiction. Tch. Tch." The air whipped the red smoke towards the remaining men, and the moment it touched their body, they dissolved into thin air.

"You!" The king pointed Zayne who's stirring. A shiver ran down Zheira's spine as she wished for her mother to stayed down but it didn't happen.

Zayne glared at him. "W—what have you done to my husband?"

"Don't ever look at me like that!" He yelled, slicing his arms like a maniac until red-like strings were binding Zayne's body. She screamed every time it sends sparks through her veins.

"S—s—stop t—that!" George yelled, but his voice barely registers in Zheira's ears. The king has heard it, though.

"Stop what?" An evil grin curved his lips. "This?" He balled his fist and blood squirted from Zayne's shoulder. Her screams were too much for Zheira. What's worst was the fact that all she could do was watch it happen?

"Y—you're a m—monster!" he whispered. The Elite punched his back, making him cough with blood.

"You have no right to mock the king," one of the Elite said.

"I—I am m—mocking no one. H—he's c—cruelty i—is wa—way too m—much." Every word he utters, blood spilled out of his mouth. Zheira put her hands in her mouth, stopping herself from shouting. She couldn't take it.

"Cruel?" the king snarled, "I'll show you cruelty." He slashed the air and a red beam cut his hand off. George's scream echoed, mingled with Zheira's yell.

"No, no, your majesty! Please forgive us for being presumptuous. We will never do it again. My Zheira needs her father, my king! I'm begging you!" Zayne pleads, her knees were on the ground. Zheira closed her eyes. Everything was too much. It's too much.

The king cackled. "I can hear her heartbeat in your womb. I might say, you both are so brave to enter this place with that baby barely clutching to her life. Fine! Don't ever appear in my eyes again." He shook his hands, and the Elite let go of his father.

Zheira was about to help him when darkness engulfed her once more. This time around it did not hover. It was turning and turning and turning. From the blinding shadows, she heard voices. Familiar voices that she'd traid for a million to see.

"This is all my fault! I shouldn't have go against my father. Those poor vampires shouldn't have died. I've been too reckless. You must hide now, Zayne. He will not stop until the last of you drop in h.e.l.l. Don't ever surface without my signal."

"Don't blame yourself. All of these things wouldn't have happened if your father wasn't hungry for power."

Zheira's head was swirling, but her senses were oddly sharp. Especially when voices pressed through the rough pounding of the compressing s.p.a.ce. Yet, she still couldn't see anything.

"I will distract them for the meantime, so you take your time to hide."

It has been the last voice that she heard before everything come to a halt. She steadied herself when dizziness took over her balance. A sudden footstep alarmed her. She straightened as tension mounted inside her, but relief took over her when she realized that it was Vladimir. Like earlier, she couldn't see her. He just ran pa.s.sed her without so much as a glimpse.

Without thinking, she followed him towards nothingness. Before both of them could get far, Vladimir was then obstructed by Louise who wore a sanctimonious smile.

"My, my! What a terrible son you are?" He shook his head.

"What are you doing here?" Vladimir bit his lips.

"Aah, you don't know? Well, the king located the lowly mortals and now they're suffering his wrath." Louise cackled.

Vladimir's eyes widened. With a blink, his long arms were already on Louise's neck who struggled to get away from him. Louise stretched his palm towards Vladimir's chest, knocking him three feet back. He snorted before vanishing in thin air.

"s.h.i.t!" Vladimir cursed as he ran with a speed blended with precision. Zheira couldn't even match his pace. He's way top fast.

He stopped at a house engulfed by fire. Breathing heavily, he pushed through the house. Zheira, on the other hand, was rooted on the spot. Her heart was constricting and she doubted whether she would be okay. She didn't dare move; her knees were wobbling.

After a while, Vladimir goes out unscathed. His jet black hair was an utter mess and burnt. He has in his arm a cloth that is wrapped to what seemed to be a baby; instantly, she realized it was her the moment she makes out a golden strand of hair.

A small voice rented the air. "Where do you think you're going?"

Zheira looked back and her eyes caught Eleanor's small figure. Vladimir glared at her before running away, and then their chase started.

She wanted to follow them, but a force was attracting her from somewhere. She screamed as she plummeted towards nothingness. It was long until her back hit something hard. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she realizes she was in Alic's room. Her body was filled with sweats while she catches her breath. Tears streamed down to her cheeks. It was painful. The truth has never been joyful. Now she understood the root of their death, and she wished she didn't.