#Chapter 45 - Aiding An Old Friend

Xavier’s POV

Nightfall had descended over our small camp pretty quick. I took one last swig of my whiskey before looking at the men before me as they were gearing up.

I could’ve brought an entire battalion of men with me and made this easy but I knew that making such a bold and loud entrance would only put us at a disadvantage. I wanted to have the element of surprise before taking Caspian for myself.

I watched as the men started to pack up the camping gear when Adrian had returned. I raised an eyebrow when I saw that someone else was with him, too. I rose to my feet and walked over to the pair.

“My Lord.” Adrian fisted his hand over his heart. “This is Private Omar. He’s one of Oliver’s men.”

The bloodied and bruised man nodded his head. “My Lord, Caspian is completely infested with those bloodsuckers. They’ve had the whole place on lockdown and are keeping my brothers and captain as prisoners.”

“Take a deep breath, Omar, and tell me everything.”

Omar calmed his breathing. “I can’t even tell you what properly happened. It was just an ordinary day until night came and then a whole bunch of vampires came into the city out of nowhere. We were able to fight off some of them but they were so strong despite how young they looked.”

“Fledgelings,” Adrian stated. “Fledgeling vampires are very strong despite only being in the starting stages of their transformation, They’re like this because their lust and desire for blood strengthen them physically.

I looked at Adrian and nodded my head. “It’s only after they mature into full-fledged vampires that their physical strength isn’t nearly as strong. Yet, they’re formidable foes regardless.”

I turn back to Omar. “Do you know where they’re being held?”

“Yes. The whole lot of them usually go into the church for a few hours for dinner…” Omar shudders at the actual meaning of the word. “No one patrols the streets during that time, so, now would probably be the best time to launch an attack while they’re all trapped.”

I whistle for my men to gather around me and within a second they’ve surrounded me completely. “Captain Oliver and his men are our main priority. Tonight, we will take no prisoners. Understood?”

They all pound their chest with their fist. “Yes, sir!”

I motion for one of my men to pick up Omar. “Don’t tear down the medical tent yet. Make sure that he gets all of the care he can get. Once you’re done, meet us at the Church of Caspian. Understood?”

“Yes, my Lord.” He scurries away with Omar in his arms.

I immediately shifted into my wolf form as I turned around and watched the rest of my men do the same. Immediately, their minds and thoughts synced with mine.

“We approach this with stealth! We cannot afford any casualties tonight!”

“Yes, sir! All hail, Lord Xavier!” Their voices rose in unison.

Without a moment to spare, I lead them to the outskirts of Caspian and began to skulk around the territory.

The roads were clear just as Private Omar had told me. Only, there was a vampire here and there that would occasionally come out of one of the houses. Since they were often alone, it was easy to dispatch them.

One by one, the poor vampire bastards who were alone would get taken out by my men. I left their bodies in a trail of destruction. None of them were making it out of this city alive.

Once we arrived at the church, I stopped and my men take position around the place and out of sight. Laughter, music, and loud and obnoxious yelling could be heard from inside.

Time to ruin their party.

I take a large rock into my mouth and hurtle it towards the beautiful stained window. A sound of large glass shattering echoes into the night sky.

Everything inside of the castle abruptly stops.

My legs lightly and quickly take me to a large oak tree as the shadows mask my black figure.

After a few moments, a vampire emerges from the church. It sniffs the air and bears its fangs to a threat it can’t see.

I hold in my breath.

To my right behind a barrel of hay is Adrian. I look at him and sync my mind with his. In a split second, Adrian looks right at me.

“Take him out,” I command.

Adrian nods his head and before I could release the breath I had been holding in, he’s already crossed the gap between him and the vampire. I watch as his canines sink into the vampire’s neck as he pulls with an immense force that rips its head off.

Adrian throws the severed head across the street and drags the body out of view.

The atmosphere remains still and silent for a few more minutes until two more vampires exit the church. The fools were in search of their poor friend.

I ordered for two of my men to do the exact same thing. Their movements mimicked Adrian’s with almost perfect precision.

My eyes snapped to the door that they left wide open and a grin stretched on my face.

Our howling battle cry pierces the darkness around us as we all file into the church. Inside, vampires are stumbling off of the pews and are just barely processing the fact that they’re being attacked.

I leaped across the large room and landed on the only mature vampire in the entire church. It must’ve been their leader.

I sunk my teeth into its arm and tore it off. Then, I pierced its chest with my claws and ripped the bastard open.

The other fledglings could only stare in horror as I pulled out its non-beating heart with my teeth. Just as they finally found the courage to stand up to us, it was already too late.

It doesn’t take long for us to wipe them out completely. I lost track of the limbs we tore off of their bodies and I tuned out their bloodcurdling screams. Surprisingly, their numbers were fewer than I had anticipated.

Still, they tried to fight back. Hell, one of them landed a punch on Adrian’s face. The last thing it saw was Adrian’s massive claws strike its face repeatedly until it succumbed to its shock.

After our enemies had fallen, I looked over at my men as I shifted back into my human form. “Drag these abominations out into the courtyard and burn their corpses. Adrian, come with me.”

Adrian shifted back into his human form and followed me into the church’s basement. There, we found Captain Olver and his subordinates chained to a wall.

Each of them had bite marks all over them and they even looked paler than when I last saw them. I quickly tore the pathetic chains from off of the stone walls and freed them.

Captain Oliver hunched over and threw up. “Goddess above, I didn’t think you’d ever get my message!”

A smirk spread on my lips. “What? And miss the chance to kill those abominations? I think not.”

I held out my hand to Captain Oliver who took it so he could pull himself up to his feet.

“It’s good to see you, old friend.” Oliver’s smile was weak.

“It’s good to see you, too. Come, let’s get you and your men out of here. The city is clear of vampires so my men can go and gather whatever supplies you need before we all leave.”

“What do you mean? We can’t just leave this city behind,” he protested.

“You, your men, and all surviving citizens have a temporary home in Noah. If you stay here, the vampire royals may strike and you’re in no condition to fight back.”

I pulled Oliver out of the basement and took him out into the courtyard.

He immediately took a deep breath, exhaling the crisp fresh air he had just taken in.

I placed him down on a bench in the courtyard and sat next to him. “So, what can you tell me about the vampires’ presence here in the city?”

Oliver spat out some blood. “Those damned monsters… They all came here because of Douglas.”

“What happened?”

“The appetites of the vampires have grown to such greedy levels. The world’s finest jewelry, clothing, or even gems can’t satisfy them anymore. Because of this, they started to demand more from Douglas. After all, they’re the reason he’s stayed king for as long as he has.”

I had to suppress the anger that began to boil in my chest.

Oliver continued. “Of course, Douglas didn’t want their alliance exposed to the world, so he offered Caspian to the Vampire Kingdom. They took us slaves and drank our blood. It kept them full and satisfied but worst than that, it sped up the process of the fledglings maturing.”

He slammed his fist on the bench. “Those monsters even emptied out our city’s treasury. All of the citizen’s hard work is just gone. Probably back in the Royal City or in the hands of the vampire nobles.”

I patted his shoulder. “In due time, Douglas and the Vampire Kingdom will have justice served to them on a silver platter. I’m just glad that I was able to save you. You’re one of my best men.”

Oliver looked at me with kind and determined eyes. “I was a fool to have supported Douglas in the past. He is no just ruler and he deserves a fate harsher than death.”

Oliver struggled off the bench and got down on one knee. “I swear until my last breath, my men and I will fight for your right to the throne. You are the only man in my eyes who deserves to be our king.”

I stood up and extended my hand to him. “Our fight will be glorious and we will make them regret the day they crossed the Leonard family.”