Sins Among Royals

Andrew was more than nervous as he paced about the dungeon waiting for night to fall again.

“Stop stressing out and help me,” Nathaniel demanded. “This is the only way out of the dungeons. Can she get into the lift shaft?” He asked quickly. While the rest of the dungeons were a maze of tunnels that constantly turned back onto themselves the most direct way to the surface was the lift shaft.

“Not unless she has laser vision, it’s a reinforced alloy that makes it difficult for anyone or anything to destroy.” Andrew had helped design the dungeons long before he came under Noah’s watch.

“Well there you go. Now help me,” Nathaniel demanded again, This time with a little more force.

With a huff and a sigh Andrew stomped towards his charge and looked down. Nathaniel had written many enchantments and spells but he didn’t seem confident. “Why do you need my help? It looks like you’ve got this all sorted out!” Andrew couldn’t help but roll his eyes dramatically as he turned away.

“You are sounding like a whiney child. I don’t have the word split or separate and if you don’t tell me what it is then I might end up killing both of them. When night falls again Indie and Noah must be side by side. The light of the full moon needs to shine over them through the whole incantation and hopefully their Goddess will grant them life and not take it.”

A chuckle rang through the office space, “their Goddess? She doesn’t exist.” Andrew chuckled as the amusement got the better of him.

“What do you mean? Of course she exists,” Nathaniel responded rather gruffly.

“If you searched the memories you have from the souls I have taken before giving you life then you would see that their Goddess never existed. Your Goddess never existed. She is just a myth. A legend.”

Nathaniel frowned as he closed his eyes and began looking back through his life. He was flooded with memories of his wife and children, of his life as an Alpha. He pushed back to his childhood and saw his time in Blackwood Castle. As he pushed further he felt a barrier in his mind that seemed to be keeping him where he was.

Early on, Nathaniel had learned that with the life he was given he was also given the lives Andrew had taken in lust and hatred and in search of power. They were all like separate entities that all fought for dominance and it was up to Nathaniel to listen to any or suppress them all. He chose to suppress them all.

He pushed against the barrier as hard as he could and when it broke his mind was flooded with voices and memories and ideas that were not his own. He fell to the ground band howled in agony. There was so much there that every part of his body hurt, every muscle and nerve felt invaded.

“Fight it Nathaniel, fight the lust and desire your feel. If you don’t they will destroy you.” For many years Andrew lived with what he had done and he didn’t want to pass it on but Nathaniel was strong and Andrew knew he would master it.

Throwing his head back Nathaniel hit the floor with a thump his back arched to such an angle that Andrew grew worried and fearful. Nathaniel was the first of his kind. Part vampire, part werewolf and there was more power in him that not even he knew about.

The atmosphere in the room grew tense as Nathaniel pulled himself up off of the ground. The manner in which he did it left Andrew feel frigid.

His feet planted themselves firmly against the floor, his legs straightened as the rest of his body was pulled off of the floor. Almost like a puppet being pulled up by its strings. When he stood fully his head snapped up and he stared at Andrew so fiercely that he screamed.

Andrew was terrified. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Nathaniel’s eyes glowed an icy blue colour and an evilness seeped from his very being as the soul that had taken over his body made itself comfortable.

Running for the corner of the room that was furthest from the newly possessed Nathaniel, Andrew cowered. He did not like the soul that was possessing Nathaniel and the last time he checked the soul didn’t like him either.

“My dear Andrew, why won’t you come out and play?” A voice called to him that only made Andrew want to disappear. He knew the way be had treated the person was cruel and harsh but he wasn’t ready to face his past.

The cowering vampire opened his eyes and came face to face with a stare so intense that he was sure he would soon die. “No! Go away, return to hell Morgana!” Andrew squealed as he moved around the room at the speed of light.

“But my dearest Andrew, I wish to share with you my displeasure at being consumed by your greed.” The ghostly voice spoke through Nathaniel’s lips. An emphasis was placed on the end of every sentence. “I wish to scold you for the way you killed me, for the way you treated me!” The voice climbed in tone till it was a shrivelled, loud shriek. “You think it acceptable to take advantage of someone during a time of intimacy!” Again it shrieked as Andrew cringed, his fear forgotten slightly as he remembered the night of which the soul spoke.

“Oh Morgana darling you know I was never really into you right? I only wanted your body so I could feed on it.” Andrew had always loved men. He loved everything about men and no woman would ever change that. “If you were as you are now then maybe I wouldn’t have taken your life so easily,” he teased unashamedly. He didn’t have to hide who he was for anyone. But he wished he could hide from Nathaniel’s possessed body.

Soon Andrew was cornered by Nathaniel who seemed to tower over him easily. His eyes still burned an icy blue colour as a smile pressed itself against Nathaniel’s chapped lips. “But you know my heart only ever burned for you Andrew,” the voice of Morgana spoke tenderly and with great longing as Nathaniel’s face inched closer towards Andrew.

Taking in a deep breath Andrew’s demeanour changed suddenly as an insane desire took hold of him completely. “I actually think I prefer you this way Morgana,” he sighed as he felt a shiver of lust race up his back. He pushed himself out of the and pressed himself against Nathaniel. “If you continue speaking to me this way I may just ravage you again.” He grinned at the thought of how angry and annoyed Nathaniel would be.

Taking his fingers Andrew ran them down the side of Nathaniel’s face tenderly, he liked that there were no protests but as he leaned in for a kiss he felt Nathaniel’s possessed body jerked backwards.

“No!” Morgana screamed. “I’m not ready to go back, I only just...” the sentence was cut short as Nathaniel steadied his stance against the floor and hunched his shoulders. He was struggling to regain control of his body, of his mind and as Andrew sat and waited he was surprised to see Nathaniel suppress all the souls back into his mind, back to where they belonged. He howled and groaned as he did so. The pain was not something he expected.

Before long he stilled, a strange energy radiated from him as he stood in the middle of the room, motionless but strong. Andrew thought of saying something but Nathaniel seemed to shake his entire body as though it were trying to rid itself of something, “remind me to never do that again,” he chuckled softly as he looked for Andrew and found him in the corner of the room still. “What are you doing over there?” Nathaniel smiled lazily.

Crossing his arms with a pout all Andrew could do was sigh, “just reliving an old relationship I had. It was brief but wonderful.”

The words made Nathaniel chuckle. He had felt all of Morgana’s rage and hatred that was still marked with love and a very deep desire for Andrew. “You couldn’t have loved her that much.” Nathaniel grinned mischievously, “you killed her while you had sex. I’d still be angry too,” to further his amusement Andrew looked rather embarrassed and annoyed at his charge.

“You shut your mouth!” He barked quickly as he pushed himself out of his corner and walked back to his desk, “did you see what you wanted or not Nate?” he couldn’t help but ask angrily.

“I saw. Morgana is who we know as the Moon Goddess. She created us in an attempt to overthrow the first vampire. We were engineered as soldiers but you killed her before she could accomplish anything.” Nathaniel was having trouble coming to terms with what he’d learned. The world of the werewolf was a complete lie.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Andrew asked carefully, a small smile lingering on his lips as he saw the struggle Nathaniel was going through.

All fell silent for a short while. “I tell them nothing. I keep this information to myself. My kind think too much with their hearts and not their heads. If i let them know the truth their world will crumble and fall. For now they can live with what they know to be the truth. That is all they need to know.” Nathaniel decided then and there that it was in their best interest to keep it secret. Werewolves still acted on their impulsive human sides which often caused issues.

“And the word you were searching for. Did you find it?” Andrew filled the silence again quickly.

“I did but now it presents a problem,” of the many things Nathaniel had seen from the memories of the souls consumed by Andrew there was one that stuck out. It was impossible for a twisted wolf like Indies to revert back to it’s normal wolf like self. “We will have to split the wolf of the girl and put it into Noah. There is no way to give her back a normal lupine form.”

Andrew grinned which only made Nathaniel mad, “you knew this already didn’t you?” He asked as the frown on his face deepened. “Why didn’t you say anything?” Nathaniel asked quickly.

With a gentle shrug of his shoulders Andrew smirked, “Where was the fun in that? And besides,” he sat back at his desk slowly as he looked at the books and papers before him, “you learned many things in that short burst of soulful release. You learned that their Goddess is a lie, you learned that you cannot fully do what you wanted before you killed them both, you learned why vampires don’t like eating werewolves,” Andrew couldn’t help but grin at that, “so my silence was worth it.”

Although Nathaniel hated the tone of voice Andrew took with him he could see the use in it, “you seemed pretty terrified of Morgana though,” Nathaniel couldn’t help but laugh. “She must have been pretty scary to make you cower in a corner like that.” Nathaniel didn’t need anyone to tell him how powerful she was. He felt it as soon as he let the souls into his conscious mind.

The pair bickered and argued back and forth until the sun set and the door to the outside world opened. Two guards stood there with a female. “Where is Victor? He hasn’t been back to the castle yet.”

The woman Andrew knew as Amber looked more than a little concerned. He didn’t quite know how to break the news to her but he could see that before any words were spoken that she already knew.

“Master Victor has been killed. She stole his life force, his soul.” Andrew failed to find the right word for what he had seen and although the entire day had been a mix of trauma and amusement he was holding it together. “She is in the lower levels trying to escape. Hopefully she gets lost like all the other clueless beast’s and dies down there.” Though Andrew had been responsible for most of the deaths there were some inmates that became so hopelessly lost that they went mad and while in their maddened states they met death.

The guards and especially Amber were in shock. How could she have overcome Victor when she was locked away.

“She used a spell.” Andrew barked as he heard the thought like a voice echoing through the stone. “I can hear your thoughts if I want to so be careful what you think.” He tapped the side of his head as the guards shrunk in fear.

“It is night now and we were wondering if you were ready to perform your ritual?” Fletcher asked quickly. He wanted his master and leader awake, conscious and ready to deal to Ebony.

“Yes we are ready.” Nathaniel nodded once as he cast a glance towards Andrew.

“You go, I need to stay here.” He sucked in a deep breath and held up his hand as Nathaniel began to protest. “It is my duty to make sure no prisoners escape. You are able to perform the spell without me. I can’t break my oath to Master Noah. Just tell him I was brave and did my duty.” Andrew was dramatic, everyone knew that but this time none could differentiate between selflessness and selfishness.

Nathaniel sighed and shook his head as he left with the guards.

“Wait” Andrew screamed which made everyone jump as his voice echoed around the walls. “Maybe send extra guards just in case. Maybe Alpha Christiansen and his fifty would do.” It was impressive how quickly Alpha Christiansen had his guards get to Blackwood and as per usual he went overboard with how many he ordered to the castle. It was clear that he took his role as security chief seriously.

All guards nodded as Fletcher hung back, “I’ll stay here. Amber and Wade can escort you up to the castle.” Fletcher had never been the bravest but he knew how close Wade was to Noah and he had seen the friendship flourish between Indie and Amber. He was fine with that and fine with whatever happened should Ebony try escape the dungeons.

Nathaniel and the two guards disappeared off towards the castle. The grounds were crawling with security and in light of recent events it was likely to stay that way for some time.

The small group quickly entered the castle and headed straight to the small infirmary where Noah had been stabilized and Indie was being held under sedation. They entered quietly and Nathaniel soon found Rita. “You are to help me. Andrew stayed behind in the dungeons.” Although he knew Rita was entirely capable of helping him he was worried that she would become overly emotional should things not go how she envisioned. “But know that if you get in my way and jeopardize their lives by being overly emotional I will have no choice but to put you to sleep.”

Rita swallowed hard. She didn’t like the tone of his voice but he was the only person that could help.