Sins Among Royals

Sitting in his barely illuminated room the vampire closed his eyes and tried to recall the symbols he had seen in the diary. The language, Darvonian was something he had not written or practices in a long time.

With a sigh he leaned back in his seat and let his eyes open slowly. “Who the hell is she going to resurrect,” he muttered quietly as his eyes fell upon the glowing light that hung above his head. The room had to be in constant darkness least he burst into flames and melt into a puddle of goo but his master had taken measures to make sure he could still function. The room itself was insulated and set far enough into the large granite boulder that even with the doors open the daylight wouldn’t hurt him.

Andrew let his head roll to the side and thought desperately or what all the symbols in the diary meant. He strained himself and silently cursed himself for not keeping his mind active and for not actively learning. He came to a sudden realisation that he’d gotten lazy. Being under the protection of Master Noah made him too comfortable. Too complaisent.

With another sigh he stood from his seat and paced about the room slowly. He’d let himself become weak through fear but he owed a lot to Noah and his pack. He was able to live because of them. Even if he now realised he wasn’t living at all.

It was time to change that and move on, but first he had to help put an end to what Ebony had planned.

As he returned to his seat Andrew soon heard the loud, rusty sweep of the gate outside that usually heralded the arrival of a guest. He gathered his notes quickly and stuffed them under his desk. He couldn’t be too careful.

Clasping his hands before him he rested against his desk for a moment and waited patiently. Before long the silver doors opened and Grace soon appeared and though the sun had set long ago she was still dressed in her normal garb which was always much more elegant than anyone else’s.

“Vampire,” she acknowledged Andrew quickly with the slightest nod of her head.

Without hesitation he stood and bowed to her as she passed by him quickly, “how may I be of assistance to you madam?” He questioned curiously. Still unsure of her presence.

Grace ignored him as she headed for the prison wing that held Medea. Pressing the button for entry she turned her head slightly and muttered, “you may leave,” she insisted quickly.

Andrew immediately took notice of her. She seemed on the verge of breaking. He spied a silent crazed wildness in her eyes that made him feel sick. What did she have planned that she needed him to leave? “You must know by now my lady that I would never abandon my post unless instructed to by Master Noah,” Andrew replied defiantly. Grace had never ordered him to do anything before so it came as a shock to him that she would be so forward.

At his refusal to leave Grace turned and glared at him evilly. Andrew felt.it resonate deep within him and the look on her face made him shrink. “Very well,” Grace muttered as she entered the wing and let the door close behind her. Before she disappeared from view he heard her mutter “If you wish to live do not enter this wing.”

Andrew sat, momentarily stunned by what he’d just heard. What on earth was she about to do? Sitting back on his seat Andrew strained his ears to listen beyond the door. He heard two voices muttering in conversation but could not make out what was being said. The granite not only insulated the cells but it also blocked out the noise.

Taking his paper and scribblings from his hastily made hiding place he strode towards the exit, completely unsure of what Grace was doing. The unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach lead him to believe that Grace was planning on doing something unsavoury.

As he reached for the button on the door he the sickening, unmistakable sound of a blood curdling scream. Though the granite blocked much of the noise it did have its limits.

Before long the two guards at the entrance of the dungeon came barrelling through the door, anger swept over their features but as their eyes came to rest on Andrew both men looked more than a little confused. “What the hell is that?!” One of them demanded quickly, “Where is Miss Grace?” He pressed again for answers as Andrew motioned towards the door to the cells.

Both guards walked quickly to the opening as Andrews gasped in shock, “she told me if I wish to live that I do not enter the wing,” he muttered as both men turned and looked at him in amusement.

“Don’t think she’d be much of a challenge,” one of them scoffed as he pressed the button and they all watched the door open slowly. It moved far slower than it should have and when it finally slid open Andrew heard both men gasp in horror.

“What the fuck,” one muttered as he reached for his gun.

“Run and warn Master Noah quickly!” the other demanded of Andrew as he tried to peer through the gap between them. Being broad, burly men Andrew found it difficult to see anything ng.

“I can’t just abandon my post. My oath to Master Noah forbids me from leaving this space.” Andrew argued quickly. He didn’t know what would happen if he left the confines of the prison and he wasn’t too interested in finding out but as he stood there staring open mouthed at the guards a strange smell wafted through his nostrils.

The strange putrid, acrid smell burned the hairs in his nostrils.and made his toenails curl. What on earth was it.

Hearing a deep rumble the guards both turned and pulled their guns, one began firing as the other turned back to Andrew, “get out of here and warn Master! Close the gate. Keep it in!”

In the blink of an eye one of the men cried out with a gargled scream as blood began driving from his body. Andrew backed away towards the door and exited towards the gate as the second guard was taken down. With his great speed Andrew managed to close the gate behind him and when he finally managed to look up at the scene before him he saw something he hadn’t seen in many years. Something he thought had been wiped from existence.

“It can’t be!” he breathed in disbelief, “Loup-garou,” he watched,, horrified as the bipedal beast stood in the doorway holding the two guards in its sharp, talon like claws.

The beast threw it’s head back and let out a loud, ear shattering howl. One that brought on a sense of dread and despair.

In the blink of an eye Andrew left and ran towards town. He had not seen the outside world in many years but he imagined the town itself hadn’t changed much.

Instead of running down the driveway Andrew headed off straight down the front of the granite hill the castle sat upon.

The trees quickly gave way to the town as he desperately searched for his master. As he ran something occurred to him, something suddenly clicked in his mind and brought fear to his entire being. Stopping in the middle of a street he rifled through his papers and found the Page he had written many years ago.

With a gasp of realisation it hit him. Ebony wasn’t about to resurrect someone, she had already done it.

Now more than ever Andrew needed to warn his master, he needed to warn everyone. Bad things were coming.

It took a long time for him to find the building his master was in but when he did he was at the door to the apartment and knocking as hard as he could. He felt tired and hungry but he felt there was still much to be done.

The door to the apartment was roughly pulled open and the female guard stood before him, “Master Noah. Where is he?” He pushed passed her carefully and entered the apartment.

“Andrew,” Noah growled loudly. “What are you doing here, why are you not at your post!” He demanded quickly. Noah was angry at the vampire. So much so that he heard a couple of bones crack with anger.

“Master please forgive me but this is urgent!” Andrew pleaded quickly. The last thing he wanted was for his master to be mad with him. The last thing he wanted was to be punished. “There has been an incident in the dungeons.” He paused quickly as he thought of how best to word it. “Your mother!” He exclaimed loudly. “She’s Loup-garou!”

Amber gasped as the news filled her ears. “But how is that possible?”

“What?!” Noah roared before Andrew could answer Amber. “How do you know this?” he demanded of the vampire quickly.

“Master,” Andrew replied breathlessly. “She may have just killed Medea. She entered the women’s hall and the guards came to check. She is Loup-garou!” he insisted breathlessly.

Andrew frowned, surely it wasn’t his mother. She had been acting out of sorts recently but Noah was told by his father that it was because of an illness in her brain. How on earth was his mother Loup-garou?

Amber, Wade and Fletcher all looked at Indie who looked more than a little clueless. She sat on the sofa taking in the information but obviously struggled with it.

“What’re you all looking so confused for?” Noah asked the guards quickly. Their reactions to Andrew’s words baffled him.

Worry and concern crossed their features as the three of them sighed.

“Well.....” Amber began slowly. “Indie managed to shift into her wolf form,” she finally managed to blurt out.

“Well that’s news to me!” Noah responded in astonishment. He wasn’t too sure he felt proud that she had managed to shift and having seen the reactions of the three guards.

“Well that isn’t all Master,” Wade added quickly. “We weren’t really expecting it but it turns out Indie is a Loup-garou too. She’s a lycan.”

Andrew gasped and seemingly swooned as he stumbled sideways.

“I’m sorry?” Indie shrieked. She didn’t understand what had just been said. “I can’t be!” She exclaimed adamantly. “The last time I shifted.....I was normal.” The revelation left her bewildered and confused as she closed her eyes and thought back to when she shifted. Immediately she was met with a darkness that she couldn’t move passed. The more she tried to remember shifting the less she could recall.

It was Wade that stepped forward, “We believe it’s because she hasn’t shifted in so long that her wolf has become twisted, it became restless long ago and because Indie suppressed her urges to shift and then forgot it has twisted into a monster.” He seemed rather certain of himself as he and Fletcher had, had many previous conversations about the issue.

“Well shit,” Noah exclaimed as he let the news sink in. It was not at all what he had expected but it seemed it was something none of them were expecting.