Chapter 44 : War Field

The night was too cold, and fog crawled through the roots of the large trees in the vast forest. The moon was full and perfectly bright, illuminating the thick trees' dark leaves. And then, all of a sudden, blinking tiny lights began parading and spreading under the trees, slowly at first and then quickly; they were vampire warriors preparing for war. There were hundreds of them, and they formed a line like Christmas lights at the border of the land between werewolves and vampires. And on the other side of the forest, where the orange leaves of trees grew, werewolves were all well prepared to defend their land from vampire invasion.
The werewolves' side of the forest was filled with the sound of drums chanting, increasing in intensity to boost their energy and desire to kill their enemies. Their eyes were starving for vampire blood. They had a single goal: to protect their realm from vampires' desire to control the entire underworld.
All the vampires on the other side of the mountain were dressed in black tuxedos with inner red and full warrior body armor, silently awaiting the command of their warrior leader, General Dracu. His expressionless face was determined and deep. They were all holding their weapons of choice. Some carried crossbows, guns, spears, and shining swords with silver elements that, when slashed into the werewolf flesh, left difficult-to-cure wounds.
After a few minutes, both groups were running and merging into one group of warriors fighting and killing each other, vampires slashing werewolf flesh with their swords and beheading some of them, while werewolves slashing and biting their enemies with their long, sharp nails and biting necks. After a half-hour of fighting, the once-dark green ground had turned red with blood, and deaths were all around. Werewolves were outnumbered when vampire reinforcements arrived, and the fight escalated, leaving werewolves defeated.
After another hour, the werewolf Alphas and Betas decided to retreat in order to save a few warriors from certain death. Wolf-doctors were busy mending wounded warriors in their camp. Packs of the dead warriors were summoned, to recover the bodies of the unfortunate fighters in order to give them an honorable burial and a decent grave.
And the celebrations in the vampire camp began as they won and planted their flag on the hoped-for lot of werewolves. General Dracu was sending a message to their king and wealthy war supporters.
***
Nikolas Augustus

The Red Chamber

Lupe exited the elevator quickly and entered a secret double-door room, opening the red door after knocking twice. “Sir, we won the war. We planted another of our flags on another part of the forest."
Nikolas was standing looking at the LCD with the war video, and he turned to face Lupe. "How many have died in their struggle?"
"A hundred, but the enemy suffered more deaths," Lupe said.
"Okay, that’s good news. At least, we have recovered from our last fight, in which we suffered the most deaths." He sat on the oversized, bejeweled chair fit for a king. They won, but in his face, the sadness prevailed. He pulled out his phone and dialed, and after a few minutes, he conversed with the other end of the phone. "How is she?"
Lupe was looking at his master, waiting for his next command.
"I want to see her every day," Nikolas said impatiently over the phone, "but I don't want her to know what's behind all her jobs." Then he paused, and his expression was solemn as he made his commandments. He added, "Help all her problems without her knowing it. Is that clear? But don’t let my mother know what I am telling you." Another paused, and then he said goodbye. He then sighed.
"What else can I do for you, sir?"
Nikolas was silent and then stared at Lupe, "What can you say about Rakiza?"
Lupe said as a matter of fact, "She's easy to deal with, and she’s beautiful inside and out."
"And she’s the cure," Nikolas said silently.
The door opened and Tessa Augustus came in with a grand smile, like a queen. "How is my son today?" She then sat on Nikolas' king-sized bed, crossed her legs, breasts out, and sat like a 35-year-old lady in her 500 years on Earth. Her candid smile was dominant and fearless. She clapped her hands, and two beautiful ladies came in with her baggage and placed them next to Nikolas. "Take good care of my servants while I am away."
Nikolas' furrowed brows displayed clear shock and disagreement with what his mother had done to Muriel. His suspicions were true, and he couldn’t undo what his mother had done to Rakiza’s friend. She had already become his mother’s servant. But he still uttered his true opinion, "What have you done, mother?"
"Well, I’m just helping you out, to make things easier for you to have the cure caught in our lives," she smiled and added, "We won the war, Nikolas, and we have to move on to the next level." She rose to her feet and moved back and fort, "Conquering the werewolves is not enough. We should have enslaved all humans and conquered the sun. That's what I want. "Her voice turned harsh and deep, with her sharp red eyes telling her impatient dark soul, "Get the cure as soon as possible before I will."
Nikolas was at a loss for words to oppose her mother. He knew he couldn't win by arguing with her. Before she could get what she wanted in her fatal way, he had to show her something. "Give me enough time, mother," he begged.
Nikolas, your time is almost up. You are well aware that our species yearns for the sun. The cure is a prey item as well. You must hand her over to our scientist for further research on how to use her to obtain the bloodstone. Or perhaps I was correct in thinking that she was the sole carrier of the cure. "
"However, her bloodline must be thoroughly checked without killing her. She must not perish, "Theo said flatly, "That’s what my father had said."
"Damn your father. He had done nothing to our family or kind. He was so obsessed with becoming a good, harmless leader. Forgetting about the sacrifices our forefathers had become against the human huntress." She was enraged, "He wanted to be special but did nothing. All he had given us were promises and dreams that had killed him in shame." She touched Nikolas's cheek and said, "Don't be like your coward father, Nikolas.
Be brave and ruthless, because that is the only way to obtain the bloodstone. And have no mercy when it comes to the cure. Rakiza is still our blood enemy, "she said as she walked away with Muriel.
Nikolas stood like a freshly lit candle, knowing that he needed to make some quick decisions before her mother did. He opened the drawer of his old dresser, pulled out a pen and some light blue stationary, and began to write a note, a message for Rakiza.
***
Rakiza was rushing out of her classroom. She had to be at her working cubicle in Reign-Bridge Book Publishing in the afternoon, doing her assignment, and Theo agreed to keep a safe distance from her while guarding.
"It's too much for me to see us together most of the time, so please give me some space to get things back to normal. Theo, I don't want to be seen with you all the time, "Rakiza pleaded the day before.
"All right, if that's what you want, I'll give you some space." But make sure to let me know where you're going. "And don't play hide-and-seek with me," Theo warned Rakiza and said, "Please take your safety seriously, Rakiza." You are already aware of the vampire's lethality. "
Rakiza agreed, "I know, I'm in trouble right now, and I appreciate your concern. But it doesn’t mean that I have to live in fear. I can’t live a normal life if I keep on remembering what happened to Muriel. "
"So, you could easily forget some big event in your life, just to make everything alright." Theo said.
"Do I have a choice? My life has been a mess since the day my father left us. And my mother almost killed herself by working three jobs a day just to raise me and educate me. How is that for you? "
Sometimes Rakiza's stubborness made Theo silent and retreat from talking, "Okay, do whatever you want to do. Just keep me in touch." That was their last conversation, and Theo kept his promise to watch Rakiza from a distance.
Rakiza waited at the waiting shed by the road for a bus ride when a familiar limousine halted in front of her. And when the car window rolled down, Lupe's face was staring at her, and he handed the message to Rakiza, "This is for you, Miss Zanier, from my boss."
Rakiza was surprised by the sudden appearance of Lupe. "A note from Nikolas Augustus?" She accepted the note and read it. Nikolas invited her to a dinner. "This is for tonight, right?"
"Yes, Miss Zanier. He wrote the name of the restaurant there. "
"Uh, yeah, it is written here, but...
"Please, don't let him down. He was a bit lonely today, and he needed you. "
Rakiza felt something as she heard what Lupe had said about his master. And it pushed her to accept the invitation because Nikolas needed her. "Yes, I'll be there. Tell him I'll come to see him tonight." Lupe offered her a lift, but she refused. She knew that Theo was watching them from afar, and she didn’t want trouble before going to work.
She arrived at the office on time and went straight to the cubicle assigned to her. All the workers were there, unlike the first time she went there. And everyone had welcomed her with a warm smile, and some even made friends with her. Rakiza was given an assignment for the featured story by Miss Brinson. And they talk in the conference room about the project.
"This house has been heard to be deserted and quiet at times," Miss Brinson explained. You can go there in the morning tomorrow and use the company car. I'll send you a driver who is familiar with the area. "
"So, what am I going to do?" Rakiza inquired.
"Speak with the caretaker and learn everything you can about the house." Take down any and all information you can get your hands on. Remember that history is important and will garner more attention than the present because the past has so many stories to tell. "
Rakiza was taking in what her boss was saying. She was new to the job and was gathering information on how to do it. But it's not a problem for her because she's a quick learner.
"Do you have any questions?"
"Miss Brinson inquired.
"As of now, nothing, but may I contact you if I have any questions?" Rakiza inquired, nervously.
"Of course, I’ll keep my line open for you 24/7." Miss Brinson smiled.
"Okay, and thank you," Rakiza smiled.
"If you don’t have any more questions to ask, you can go back to your work."
"Thank you, Miss Brinson," Rakiza exited the conference room quickly, leaving Miss Lyra inside. What Rakiza didn’t know was a secret door opened as she closed the door and Nikolas Augustus stepping outside from it and said, "Thank you for having your meeting here."
"You wanted to her, didn't you, sir?" Lyra asked her boss, smiling.
"Yes," Nikolas said solemnly. He confided in Miss Lyra Brinson about some of his secrets, but not about his secret of being a vampire. His day workers had no idea who Nikolas was. Only Lupe was aware of it, and he had vowed to take the secret with him to his grave.
"Release Rakiza earlier; we have a dinner date tonight," Nikolas said softly.
"Yes, sir, I will."
Rakiza was relieved at her early exit. She was ecstatic about her dinner with Nikolas Augustus. She sought assistance from her friends, Chin and Susan, once more.
Susan burst into tears. Chin was overjoyed with her, too.
Rakiza and Chin both inquired. "Susan, what happened to you?"
"Are you feeling sick?" Rakiza inquired.
"I was reminded of Muriel because of what we're doing right now." "You know how excited she was to groom Rakiza." She sobbed even more.
"Muriel is no longer alive, Susan. Give her some space, "Chin advised her friend.
Rakiza almost whispered, "She's not dead."
"Rakiza, what did you say?"
"Muriel is not dead," Rakiza said, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked at her two friends.
After a few hours of preparing, Rakiza was fitted in a black short dress. She was ready to wait for a cub to arrive, but it was Lupe who picked her up.
"Sir Nikolas is waiting for you, Miss Zanier." He was smiling.