Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 22:40:32 EST
From: Morbddream@aol.com
Subject: Crimson Tears - 25

Disclaimer: This is a work of complete fiction. It is not meant to imply
anything about the sexuality of anyone involved. If you are not of legal
age to view this sort of material, please leave.

************
From 24:
	Malak will succeed. There is too much at stake for him to lose."
The imps jumped and screeched. "Silence! I don't know why I talk to you
pathetic creatures. I know you'd turn on me in an instant if you had the
power."

************

Chapter 25:
	I waited on the deck for everyone else to wake up. They slowly
started to gather around me. Once they were all there we stepped off the
ship. There were no guards at the gate to the docks. There were no people
at the market. There were no signs of life. The gate to the castle was
open. The doors were open. We walked through the huge halls. We were
becoming more and more nervous. The marble walls and floors shined. They
were obviously well kept. The walls were lined with paintings. On one wall
were the past kings. On the other were their wives. I was studying each
painting as we passed. Painting after painting. They all seemed to be
painted by the same person. Impossible, but the style was the same. The
texture. Everything was the same. I stopped, staring at one of the
paintings. It was the painting from Camelot. There was a slight difference
though. There was no key. She was happy. I looked over at Gail. She was
staring at it too. I looked around. The others were looking at us,
confused. I looked at Gail again. She had turned toward me. She walked
over, stopping in front of me. "Is this what you saw?" She asked, pointing
at the painting. I nodded, looking back to the portrait. It was gone.
Replaced by one of the past Queen's. I looked at Gail. Gail looked at
me. Confusion on her face. "Hey. Are you two alright?" Anthony looked
worried, as did everyone else. "Yeah, we're fine." I muttered, walking past
him.

	I stopped in front of the throne room doors. I turned around, and
looked at everyone.  "Are you ready?" I asked, not knowing what was beyond
the door. They nodded, almost in unison.  I turned back to the doors. I
pushed them open. I walked into the room and looked around.  What I saw was
horrible. Pieces of guards against the wall. Any townspeople who came to
help defend the king were strung up on the walls, missing their throats or
hearts. "This is terrible.  Who could've done this?" I didn't recognize the
voice. I turned to see who it was. A man stood in the doorway,
grinning. "Malak."

	"So you remember me?" He walked past me, to the throne. "Altimus
knew you would come here for help. So he sent me to kill anyone that could
fight. Since children's souls are so innocent and clean, I sacrificed them
for my master too." He chuckled. "I still haven't found their tricky little
king, though. If you can find him, I'll let him live. If I find him, his
soul belongs to Altimus. Understand?" Anger was building inside my body. I
could feel it growing. It was like a fire being ignited in my soul, burning
hotter and hotter. "How dare you."  Malaks smile faded. His eyes
narrowed. "No! How dare YOU! You are interfering with something much larger
than you understand! None of you understand how huge this war will be! Not
even Isaiah, or Celeste! The dimension, bah! Why not take everything?"
Malak was serious. He wasn't trying to overwhelm us with false information
on the importance of what was happening. Every word he said was true.

	"Malak! Damn you! You don't see us destroying vampire colonies, do
you?" Celeste stormed past me. "No, dear, I don't. I see you two sitting on
your little clouds, just waiting for the end. You will not win this war by
sitting around, doing nothing! You must destroy your enemies before they
become your enemies! It is that simple!" Celeste almost growled. "You're
disgusting. Why are you doing this?" Malak walked toward her, stopping
himself from attacking.  "Something wrong? Why don't you do something?"
Celeste mocked. "Just shut the hell up! Why am I doing this? It is my duty!
It is my destiny! I was created for this very purpose!" Celeste was shocked
at what he was saying. "How can you say that? You and I both struggled for
years so we could join the light. We trained for years trying to achieve
the level of power we needed.  Why did you do it? Why did you leave?"
Malaks eyes sparked. The black of his eyes lightened a little, just for a
second. They quickly returned to their lifeless black. "Who are you to
question me? Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. Just leave it
alone, woman."  He vanished into a cloud of darkness. Celeste stood
motionless. I turned to the rest of the group. I motioned for Gail to come
to me. She walked up next to me, a questioning look on her face. "Could the
rest of you look for the King?" They nodded in understanding, and left the
room.

	I turned to my mother, who still stood in the middle of the room. I
walked to her, followed by Gail. I put my hand on her shoulder, squeezing
gently. She jumped, but didn't turn. I walked around her. She held her head
down, avoiding eye contact. I lifter her head by her chin. Tears were still
running down her cheeks. I was confused. I thought she hated him.  "What's
wrong?" She looked away. "You don't want to hear it." She walked to the
throne and sat.  "Yes, I do." I sat next to the throne. "Fine." She
sighed. "Malak and I were together for a very long time. Hundreds of
years. We trained together. We hoped that one day we would be able to
achieve the ultimate power. He didn't want children until we had achieved
that power. When we finally achieved it, we had Gail." She looked at Gail
and smiled. "A few years later, we had you. Exactly two days after you were
born, he vanished. He just left without warning. I still don't know why."
She looked to the ground, a tear trailing down her nose as she did so. "I'm
sorry. I have to go." She placed her hand on my cheek, smiling. She did the
same to Gail, and vanished. I looked at Gail. We both nodded, speaking to
each other silently.


****

	Joey walked through the halls of the great castle, searching every
room for the king.  Each room he checked had no signs of being used for
years. As he was closing the door to one of the rooms, he heard a sob. He
entered the room, looking around. No one was in any of the corners, or
behind any of the couches or chairs. He heard the noise again. He headed in
the direction it was coming from. He listened closely when he reached the
far wall. He heard it again. It seemed to be coming through the wall. He
began knocking, looking for a hollow spot.  As he walked by the wall, he
saw something strange. The pattern in the marble seemed to shift in the
wall. He touched it. His hand went through like it was nothing but air. He
timidly stuck his head through, not sure what to expect. He looked
around. The walls weren't walls. It was dirt. 'How did I get underground?'
He thought to himself. He stepped back, and looked through one of the
windows. The fountain in the center of the courtyard had stopped
flowing. He looked sideways through the window, but didn't see any addition
where the invisible wall was. He ran out of the room, trying to find his
way through the maze of halls.

****

	Joey came bursting through the door. He ran up to me, out of
breath. "I think I found him." He motioned for me to follow. We ran through
the halls, stopping frequently so he could remember which way he had
gone. We came to an open door. He led me to a wall and stuck his hand
through. Then he led me to the window, and pointed out the lack of the room
he had revealed to me. "Those are common in castles. They provide a place
to hide if something ever threatens the lives of the King and his
family. They usually put these in random rooms, one for each member of the
family." Joey sighed. "How is it there when it isn't... there?!" I
smiled. "It's magic, Joey.  I thought you were used to it by now." He
scratched his head, and left the room.

	I walked through the wall, and into the small room. There wasn't
much to see. Just a large chest, and a wooden chair. There was a shield,
and two swords on the wall. I heard a sob.  There was an echo in the room,
so I couldn't tell where it came from. With nothing in the room to hide
behind, there was only one possibility. I walked to the chest and opened
it.  Inside was a boy. No older than thirteen. He was curled into a ball,
sobbing. The chest was so thick I could only hear it when it was
exceptionally loud. The boy lifted his head, and looked at me. He began
shaking and trying to move deeper into the chest. "Please don't kill me!"
Tears were streaming down his face. His eyes were shut tight. "Don't
worry. I'm not going to hurt you."  He slowly opened his eyes, looking into
mine. Somehow he read my mind. He jumped out of the box, wrapping his arms
around me. I stood, letting him cry on my shoulder. I walked back to the
throne room where Joey had gathered everyone. They all expected me to walk
in with an adult. They were shocked when they saw him. "Who is that?"
Anthony asked. "The boy lifted his head, looking in the direction of
Anthony's voice. "Anthony? Is that you?" Anthony's eye's widened. He ran
over to me, taking the boy from me, wrapping his arms around him. "I'm so
glad you're alright Matthew."

	I looked at Gail, she motioned me over to where everyone was
standing. "That would be Matthew, one of the Princes of Fortuna. He and
Anthony have been friends for a very long time.  Anthony treats him like a
little brother." Anthony released Matthew. I couldn't hear what they were
saying, but I knew Anthony was asking him what happened. A few minutes
later Anthony walked over, leaving Matthew sitting on the floor, with a
dazed look on his face. "Malak was telling the truth. He requested an
audience with the king and all of his sons. He also asked that there be as
many guards in the room as possible. As soon as the last Prince walked
through the door he began ripping the guards apart. Matthew made it out of
the room, but he was the only one." Justin looked at Matthew, who was now
crying again.

******

POV - Justin

	After hearing what Anthony had said, and seeing what Malak had done
I lost control. I could feel the power coursing through my veins. My arms
began to grow. It felt like my body was being ripped apart. Soon I was
covered in fur. My entire body was growing. "Not now." I heard someone
say. Soon my body was pushing at the ceiling. The ceiling crumbled under
the pressure.  I tried to scream. The pain was unbearable. Instead of
screaming, I roared.

******

Jacob

	Justins power burst was enormous. Waves of energy knocked me
against a wall. I looked up as Justin was growing. He was soon taller than
the castle. He seemed to wade through it like it was nothing but water. I
didn't know where he was going, but I did know he would destroy anything
that got in his way. There was nothing we could do.

TBC...

**********************************

I'm sorry for the delay. I don't have an excuse once again... Just lazy. I
will try to get the next one out as quickly as possible. Let's just hope
life stays out of the way.. and that I can keep my mind on track. ::yawn::
It's very late... So I'll end this here... Good-bye...

Out of the Ashes...
I emerge...
Death shall be your only salvation.
 ~^*^~LilAlfie~^*^~