CHAPTER ONE (3): WHEN EVERYTHING GOES WRONG
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The four of them get transported into a decrepit old building before a man runs up to them and throws rope at them. "Toss them in the storage room with their hands tied behind their backs, Anglestun!" Says Young Clint before he sees only one child. "Damnit! You forgot the other child! I'll have to tell Old Clint about your mistakes." He spits before he quickly walks into another chamber.
"You heard Young Clint!" says Anglestun before tying the hands of both Brian and Alexia behind their backs. "We'll have to put them into the rusted-out closet. But what other child?" He questions before he starts to drag Alexia to the closet. However, Anglestun's head gets slapped by the second man before he can drag her there. "Man, Derek, why must you hit me so hard? You’re new! You can’t abuse people in this guild!”
"Don't drag her there. Pick her up and put her in there." The second man says before glaring at Anglestun. "Are you deaf?" He lunges at Anglestun before Anglestun picks up the girl and starts running toward the closet. He turns to Brian and quietly asks "Do you have anyone in the circle that is coming to help?"
Brian gives him a penetrating look before giving an answer, "I don't trust you assholes. You and your dragel hunters can all rot in the depths of Lady Death's realms before I would give you an answer." He spits at Derek before walking towards the closet. Derek sighs and walks to where Young Clint went.
Before Brian and Alexia get locked in the closet, Anglestun taunts them by saying "Enjoy your stay in there, princesses. Don't piss your pants. Ha!" he closes the doors with a bang before cackling while walking away to join the others.
Two minutes after they get locked in the closet, Adam quietly ports in and quickly undoes their tied hands. "Fuck, sweetheart, I'm sorry to tell you..." he says before bringing out his wings.
The second Brian sees the blackened wings he falls to his knees and keens out a mourning cry. "Alanni! Matt! No!" He cries before going over and tugging the child into his arms. "I can't believe you and these two are the only living children of our circle." He sobs as he puts a hand on his stomach.
"Brian!" Adam snaps as he looks at his mourning Submissive. "Now is not time! I need to get you and Alexia out of here before they come back and kill us all." He pulls Brian up before putting his forehead on Brian's. "We can mourn them later, but right now, we need to get her out of here!"
"No!" Brian snaps back as he brings out his now-blackened wings. "Alanni and Matt might've died, but I will not let that go without trying to slaughter their murderers! I don't care what it costs." He hisses while his eyes go slightly shadowy and his voice deepens to sound like shadows from the depths of the Earth. "The last scion of the Rivière de l'Ombre clan will not let this slight go! I will fortify the closet and then kill them for this! Kiss Alexia goodbye. I will get them justice." He steps out of the closet to give Adam space.
"Sede, what's 'appening? Where's Daddy and Mommy?" Alexia says before tears start streaming down her face.
Adam sighs before kneeling before Alexia. "It'll be fine, my little firefly. I'll make sure everything is fine from here on out." He kisses her forehead before whispering a protection ritual for her. "Gun cùm na Sprites Uisge thu sàbhailte. Gun dìon an Rivière de l’Ombre Clan's Shadow thu bho chron sam bith." A light blue bubble encases Alexia before slowly popping. "I love you, firefly, never forget that." Adam nods his head before heading out of the closet. "It's your turn, Brian. Make it count."
As Brian comes into the closet, he first notices the shadows encasing the floor, the walls, and his crying daughter. "Baby. Alexia. Know that I love you very much." He sits next to Alexia before hugging her. He puts two fingers beneath her chin before bringing her head up to meet his but gasps and his hand flies to his mouth. "You've got my bearer's magic, love." He lovingly caresses next to her completely shadowed eyes. "You must be good, baby. Stay here and be safe! The line of my bearer must be avenged for this slight done against us." He starts to stand up to leave.
"But what about the babies?" Alexia asks as she puts her hand on Brian's slightly bulged stomach. "Leggy and Lia are gonn' be fine right?" She looks up sadly at her Bearer.
"We'll be fine, sweetheart. Now cover your eyes and sit in this closet. Don't leave unless it's your Maman, your Poppop, or your Gumpe okay?"
"Okay, papa." She says before she sits on the floor with her pudgy hands over her shadowed eyes and lowers her head to sob into her dainty chest.
Brian closes the door and whispers something at the closet before a shadow covers it and locks it against almost all magic. He walks over to Adam before running into where he saw Young Clint go. "This is for my Alpha and Beta!" Brian cries and rushes into the next room. Adam quickly rushes in behind him and yelps of pain quickly follow.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
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Minutes after the door was locked, a man cloaked in shadow walks up to the door and eventually opens up the tightly warded closet before quietly staring at the child. He gently lifts up her head, but before he can see her face, she bites deeply into his wrist and hisses at him, "I won' go with you!" She squeals, "I wan' papa and sede!"
He looks at her with sad eyes before his ruddy brown eyes turn shadowy. He sends a hint of Death’s Magic to her before she relaxes in its presence. "I have been looking for you for decades now, little bee. First, let's get you safe. And then I will be able to come back and get your papa and sede." He gestures for her to get up and she does while holding her hands up to him get held. He quickly gathers her into his arms and walks to where he knows the door to the outside is.
As the man silently opens to the door to the outside, three people try to rush in, but before they could, the small child cries out, "Mammam!" and motions towards a slender dark blond-haired woman. The man pulls back while pulling a hunting dagger.
"Give me Alexia right now!" The dark blond-haired woman hisses while bringing out her peach and white scales. "Don't think you can get away with her to then sell her to the wizards!" She flares her wings before debating on attacking the man.
The man relaxes his grip on the dagger before sheathing it and pulling out his own red scales. The three slightly relax before he asks the next question. "Which of you is the Submissive and Alpha? You two need to take her," He gestures to Alexia, "and stay in the Shadows outside while the Beta and I take care of everything else."
"Hmph," says the dark-haired woman before pulling a set of machetes and joining the man. "My name is Joni. Troy, will you be able to hide them enough? Molly, you be safe." After the other two nod at her, she nods back and spins around to go back inside to join the man.
"The name is Derek." says the man that previously was holding Alexia. "And ignore the shadows, they will only help us hide better." As the two of them stalk toward the middle of the building fully encased in shadows, they hear screaming and dart toward the sound.
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Once there, the two dragels hiss and quickly kill the last two wizards alive. Young Clint’s body drops to the floor with a splat to join the rest of the dead. Joni drops to her knees next to Brian's obviously dead body and moans lowly. "Not him and Adam too! What will Alexia do without her Sede and her entire circle!" She starts keening as she rocks back and forth in pain with Brian in her arms.
As she does that, Derek quickly goes over to Adam after noticing the blood bubbling to his lips with each breath. "Shit!" Derek snaps out before trying to heal Adam. "Nothing is working! Fuck this." He gets up and does his clan’s unique ritual to call for Lady Death. "Vocate eam, Domina Mortis! Exaudi clamorem meum et occursum mihi!" He slices his wrist and quickly draws the symbol of his clan with the drawn blood.
From a sudden flash of darkness, an angry feminine voice hisses, "Who dares to summon me without the proper protocols! Speak up or all here shall forfeit their lives!"
"My Lady Death," Derek says before dropping to both knees with his head bowed. "I wish to call upon that favor that is owed to my clan. Heal this dying man as much as you can."
The incorporeal and shadowy form floats to Derek before she slowly says "Deal." But before Derek can get up, she claws his chin and drags him up to his feet with her claws inside his flesh. "But you'll owe me, Perevell. Your clan may currently be my second favorite with my magic's blessing, but you can just as quickly lose my favor like that." She snaps her fingers before looking at the dying man on the ground. "And I won't be able to fully heal him, just give him enough time to say his goodbyes and set his affairs in order." The shadowed figure drifts over to Adam and breathes a small blue mote into his mouth. She then notices Brian dead on the floor and sighs loudly. "Hopefully Her line hasn't ended." She says to herself. "That would be a shame. To lose three members of my favorite house so needlessly..." She puts her hand on his head and stomach and gently grasps their souls before sending them on.
"It hasn’t ended quite yet," Derek says to her before Lady Death flies to him.
"What!" Lady Death screeches loudly before inhaling an angry breath. Lady Death hisses out, "You WILL become that child's Oret. You shall teach her all there is to her magic. And you shall teach her the proper way of calling for me. I need to teach this child what Her line exactly means to me once she is old enough to fully grasp it." She scoffs before turning around to look back at Brian and Adam. "This is the price you shall pay for what you have asked. And while you are not busy raising her, find everything there is about what happened to these three artifacts of mine. I gave them to your clan to protect and yet all three are missing..." She holds her hand to transfer knowledge to Derek. "Find out all you can while you teach that child everything. Once she is bound to her future Circle, it will be time for you to fulfill this favor for me." She drifts to Joni and asks, "Is it your circle that this child is from?"
Joni wipes her eyes before getting up and replying. "Not exactly, Lady Death. I am the Beta of the circle of Alexia’s third parent. But once Adam dies, she will be an orphan and my circle will take her in."
”Alexia, huh? Unique spelling for a very unique child.” Lady Death hums before she speaks again to Derek. "I want you to join their circle, Perevell. It'll make you being that child's Oret easier." She floats over to the last two killed wizards. "You have my permission to integrate these two for as much information as you can. If Her line is in danger, I need to know so I can send Aiden to end the threat. And change your circle's name to Perevell. It'll help hide the child better from scum like this." The shadows darken before she speaks once last time, "And Perevell, make these bastards pay for trying to kill out the Rivière de l'Ombre line." The shadows blacken the entirety of the room before vanishing like it never happened.
"Scheisse! She's of that line?" Derek exclaims before looking at Brian with a new light. "Alright, Joni. Call your circle in. We've got a lot of stuff to discuss."