Chapter Twenty-Two-
'What Ravages Of Spirit
Conjured This Tempestuous Rage?'
Melissa sat down slowly on the bed. She had been in a constant daze for hours now. She had only just gotten a grip of the fact that Isaac was gone and so were his brothers. Melissa only had to look at the blood stains once to know who had done it. It was a sloppy job and a quick one. It had to be vampires, it just had to be. It all made sense. It was a private joke, and a sick one at that. While Isaac had his soul he sacrificed himself to save his family and now the new, evil him would kill his brothers so if he ever remembered who he was, he'd never want to go home. Melissa hated them. She hated every single one of them. They had threatened to do the same to her family, but she had refused. She didn't think they'd really do it; really kill her own family who still loved her despite the village wanting her dead after finding out the truth. They had killed her family and now they had killed Zac and Tay. They might as well had killed Isaac, it was too late to save him and too late to save his brothers.
Melissa sniffed ever so slightly, she felt an urge to cry again but couldn't; she was too hungry. She hadn't bothered eating, what was the point? As of that day she found no reason in doing anything.
"Honey? Are you in here?"
Melissa looked up to see Diana walk in. She smiled ever so slightly to the sight of her, like seeing her would make it all better.
"Hey." Melissa said quietly.
"How are you doing?" Diana sat down next to her.
"Better. How about you?"
Diana paused for a second. "Not too well. I'm starting to doubt they'll ever be found."
"Yes they will, we'll find them, I promise."
Diana nodded slowly. Melissa put her arm around her. She knew it was a false comfort but it was better than nothing or even the truth. It was a horrible realisation to come to grip with; that a mother may never see her sons again and Melissa had to help her get through it. She wished she could put a memory spell on her- and the rest of the world- big enough to forget they had even existed.
"Melissa?"
Melissa looked up slowly. "Yeah?"
"Did Ike say anything before... Like anything about us? Anything?"
Melissa took a breath. "He said not to worry. That's all I remember. He said he'd be Okay, no matter what you were told." She had elaborated a bit, but it was for the best.
Diana suddenly started to cry again. Melissa held onto her and felt herself crying as well. She missed him so much and now she didn't even have anybody else who knew the truth. She couldn't stay here, she'd have to move on and...
"Melissa, I have to show you something."
Melissa looked at Diana walk out of the room and a minute later come back, holding a small black box.
"What is it?" Melissa was handed it and slowly she opened it. She gasped loudly, she hadn't expected it at all.
"He was going to propose in only a few days, when we got back home. I suppose he was going to make sure you were completely embarrassed, that's just his way." Diana said in a dreamy voice.
Melissa took it out of the box. She stared at it for ages. She couldn't believe it. She just studied every stone, every tiny piece of aquamarine that made it the most beautiful thing she had ever held in her hands.
"It's even inscribed." Diana pointed out.
Melissa looked inside and saw a tiny message:
We've stopped searching
Melissa must have stared at it for at least five minutes, secretly thinking over something she should had done days ago.
"I'm going to go find them."
Diana looked up at her. "Honey, we don't know where..."
"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Melissa replied rather harshly.
"The police are doing all they can..."
"They aren't doing that good a job if they're still out there! I have to find them."
She looked at Diana's shocked face, knowing that maybe she was afraid of losing her as well.
"Diana, you're like a mom to me. You've been so kind to me when you've got everybody else and... Thanks. I just have to find them, what else can I do?"
Diana smiled slightly. "Why do I feel you know more about this than you'll tell me?"
Melissa smiled back. "I promise they'll be safe."
She turned for the door, she had to do it now, before it really was too late.
"And what about you?" Diana yelled after her.
Melissa turned back. "Who could Ike replace me with?"
Zac woke up to see that Taylor had already been called to work. He worked longer than Zac for some reason which Zac knew must be killing him. Zac was nearly dragged back to their cell every night he was so tired, he wondered just what kept Taylor going. Then he remembered. Taylor had more hope. He was certain Ike would save them. Zac wasn't so sure. He still didn't know if he was there (not many of the vampires hung out in the laundry room) but if he was would it matter? Why would he help them if now all he saw of them was a meal? Zac hated to admit it to himself, let alone Taylor but he was starting to believe they would never go home.
Zac saw Taylor had written a message back to him in the dust:
MAYBE THIS IS WHAT TASTY WHEAT TASTES LIKE?
Zac smiled a little and saw what looked like oatmeal but he wasn't entirely sure. He ate what he could then waited for the guard to come. Taylor may still have hope but Zac was going to escape this hell, some day.
Isaac looked around at the dinner guests that his family were entertaining tonight and smiled. It was another party to celebrate their success and great wealth despite the many that were against them with the other families dotted around the Other Realm. It was amazing how much the vampires controlled, despite the other demons trying to stop them. Vampires hated the demons as they all tried to keep them under control. They told the vampires where to live and who to eat. They tried to stop the vampires even existing sometimes if they ate too many humans. Vampires despised their very existence as there were even some demons who were always protecting humans, as if they were important and didn't deserve everything they received. So this party was a gathering of many of the masters of the families, ready to toast themselves for a job well done.
One of the masters got up, a young looking man but with a long history behind him. He raised a glass.
"I'd first like to thank our host for this evening for throwing this great dinner party. We all know there have been troubles in his castle but that's nothing a good party couldn't solve, right?" There were a few laughs. "He told me last night we really should get together and here we are. This is a special time for us all, what with gaining our own control over the Other Realm, despite there being a number of hunters breaking the boundaries we have remained mostly untouched."
Ike stared at the woman who was staring at him. She looked confused at him, as if she recognised him from somewhere. Then the man sitting next to her whispered in her ear and she nodded. She smiled at Isaac before paying her attention back to the master talking. Isaac looked at her for another second before doing the same, confused a little.
"...and so I ask you all to raise a glass to our host, and son, for tonight!"
There was a chorus of 'cheers' before they all got up to dance. It wasn't so much a dinner party as a party really but their meals were yet to come.
They'll be the slaves soon enough. Ike thought as he looked at one slave stumble and fall, breaking the expensive plate he was carrying with him. The group laughed and circled him, teasing him for his very existence.
"Please, I'm sorry..." He started but their laughter only replied him. Isaac walked over to the circle of people.
"Really, why haven't you eaten them yet?" One lady laughed.
One man picked up the boy by the neck. "Yeah, why haven't you?" He pushed the boys head to the side.
"Hey. Stop it." Isaac said loudly.
The man dropped Zac to the floor. Zac looked up at Ike, glad that Isaac remembered. They could escape now, they could...
Isaac picked Zac up by the neck himself. Zac gasped, trying to struggle. "They're our slaves, we get to dispose of them."
Zac couldn't breathe. He saw the pure evil in Isaac's eyes, he couldn't even cry for help. His own brother was going to kill him, that's what those demons had planned all along.
"Isaac, that's enough." Isaac turned to his father. Zac tried to pull at Ike's grip but it only tightened. He felt himself growing weaker.
"Why should we let them live? After centuries of them trying to fight back why should they deserve pity?"
"Drop him, I don't want them going to waste."
Isaac sighed and let Zac drop to the floor. Zac coughed loudly, trying to clear his throat of the blood. He was trying so hard not to cry but tears began to stream down his cheeks. He felt so weak he didn't even notice he was being carried back to his cell. He was told if he did not recover in two days he would be eaten. Zac just managed to wait until the guard slammed the door before he began to cry.
"Zac, Zac what happened? Zac are you Okay?"
Zac saw Taylor shaking him slightly. Zac coughed loudly and looked up at Taylor. "Hey." He croaked.
"Let me see your neck." Taylor held the candle up so he could see his brother's wounds. In reality he was looking to see if Zac had been bitten. When he saw no bite marks Taylor hugged his little brother gently. "It'll be Okay, I swear it will."
"No, it wont Tay." Zac said quietly. "It will never be Okay because we're never getting out of here alive."
"Zac..."
"It's hopeless Tay! There's nothing left to hope for anymore!" Zac tried to yell but it hurt his throat.
"But Ike, he'll..."
"Ike is dead Tay!" Zac yelled and immediately regretted it. He coughed loudly before he continued. "Ike is dead, don't you get it yet? He died the second he entered this place. That guy out there, that's not our brother. That demon may look like him and talk like him but it's not Isaac!" Zac felt tears well up in his eyes. "Isaac died to save us and now the demon that always lived inside of him will kill us. We weren't taken by the fault, it's all been planned out. And unless we get rescued, escape or die before he gets a chance, he's gonna kill us himself. We're going to die in this pit one way or another but the chances are that they want to see us suffer as the last laugh against humanity."
Zac began to cry again, exhausted and weak before he heard Taylor speak.
"That's not true, Zac, I know there's still good in him."
"Oh yeah? Who d'you think I got these bruises from?"
Taylor was stunned for a moment before he hugged Zac close, letting him cry himself to sleep. Maybe he's right, maybe there is no hope. Taylor silently prayed before he fell asleep himself, nearly wanting Zac to die tonight, before he was admitted to any more horrors than he had seen.
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