Chapter 2.0
Eden has changed. I sit in the hallway in Eden, the eternal city. 100 years ago I remember how excited I was to see this place. The stone walls are the same. These walls look like modern day Rome. A mix of old and new. There are painted ceilings and the smell of antique history all around me. I remember going to school. I remember falling in love. I remember really thinking that I was going to be happy.
I found my prince charming.
I found my
happily ever after.
And that was all snatched away from me. 100 years ago.
“The King's are ready to see you now,” a man staggers up to me.
When he says “Kings”, my stomach turns. My prince charming is a king now and he's in love. But he's not in love with me. I don't let my face get sour. I don't want to fuck up this mood. I'm different now. I'm stronger.
I recognize the man. His name is Sinclair. He's a servant of King Nero. He looks the same as he did a long time ago. He's has the stunning vampire face, much like many other vampires. He's beautiful and cold. There is no love between us when he approaches me.
We walk into a room.
“Santos...”
Nero's
eyes make eye contact with me. After 100 years I thought I'd never
recognize those eyes again. He hasn't aged a day. My gray eyed
prince was now a king. He sits on a throne made of onyx. He wears
all black. His crown is a crown of thorns. He doesn't wear a shirt.
You really don't need one. The weather is always perfect in Eden.
He does wear fur though. A skinned fox is thrown over his shoulder.
He looks regal, important and dominant. The body of a 20 something
year old but the experience of someone much older and wiser. And
even with all my pride I am so attracted to him.
“Looks
like the old gang is back together again,” I state.
I recognize Roxanne
first. She stands to Nero's right, her small fingers perched on his
throne. She looks like little girl with blushed cheeks, pigtails
and giant eyes but she was the oldest vampire in Eden. Next to
Roxanne are more familiar faces. Coco, Camilla and Lucca are all
familiar faces from my past. They are old friends. Even now they
look at me as though they hardly recognize me. They are shocked that
I'm here.
Then there are the twins. Milan and Aiden. Milan
stands to the right. He hates me. His brother Aiden loved me once.
That was a long time ago. Now he sits on the throne beside Nero...as
his husband.
“I didn't expect to see you again,” Nero states.
He's still standing. He looks like he wants to walk up to me but something holds him back. I wonder if he's nervous. I wonder if it's because his husband Aiden is sitting there next to him.
I raise an eyebrow. Interesting.
“Am I on
trial?” I ask.
Nero looks down at
me, “What makes you say that?”
“I'm not
stupid Nero. You are all gathered around judging me. I can smell
it. There's a scent of bothered vampires,” I state, “My
old friends are all gathered around wondering why I'm here.
Wondering whether or not you should put me back where I came from.
Put me deeper...”
There is an uneasiness in Aiden as he shifts silently in his chair. Lucca and Camilla exchange haunting glances with one another. Coco adjusts her posture standing up straighter. Roxanne cowers.
“I won't let that happen,” Nero tells me.
That would be
mistake.
Almost as though
he's in my head Milan comes forward, “King Nero. I understand
that you and Santos have a history together but earlier today he
killed several of my men.”
Whispers fill the room. It's
the first time they've heard about it. The whispers get loud and
more frantic. I cross my arms. This was a trial. Even if Nero
didn't want to admit it.
“Is this true?” Nero asks me.
I nod,
“Yes.”
“Why'd you kill members of the King's
Guard?”
“Because they tried to kill me,” I
respond almost immediately.
It's a simple answer but I swear Milan's fangs show at that moment. Milan is the new Captain of the King's Guard. That makes him one of the most powerful men in the city now. Things have changed since we were were kids. I remember Milan was the weaker one between him and his brother.
“King Nero...your father buried him in the ground for a reason,” Milan states.
“We need to put him back,” Lucca states.
“Lucca is
right...we know who he is,” Camilla responds.
Chaos breaks out at that moment. If this isn't a trial it reminds me of one. I ignore them for the most part. I would assume they would be panicking if I returned. There is one vampire who is sitting and doesn't join in to launch attacks on me. Aiden. Our eyes connect in that room. He was the first person I ever loved. He was the one who had betrayed me by having his brother Milan give Nero's father the ammunition he needed to sentence me to be buried alive. I can't read Aiden. He'd always been cool, calm and collected. He's tall with dark, dark skin, brown eyes and a slim toned figure. As he looks at me my eyes seem to remember all the times I had with him. It's so weird to realize that he ended up marrying Nero.
How could that
have happened?
Even after 100 years the two boys that I loved
were now married to one another.
“Enough,”
Nero tells the vampires, causing a deathly silence to spread across
the room, “100 years ago my father made a decision. It was a
decision I didn't agree with. So no. I will not be putting Santos
back. He'll stay here. Under my protection.”
I glance
at Nero unsure of him. He's so much stronger and certain than he
used to be. I watch as the other vampires are looking at one
another. They are shocked. They are scared. They don't know how to
respond. They don't dare argue with Nero though. Instead they just
glare at me...dark evil eyes in the night.
All of them blood sucking monsters so eager to bury their skeletons...literally.
“This will be
your room.”
I'm escorted to a different part of state's
building. I don't find it weird that I'm being escorted. What I do
find weird is who they have chosen to escort me.
“Aren't
you Nero's son?”
“Yes...Justice,” he tells
me.
If he's Nero's son that makes him a prince. Justice glares at me with silver eyes. It's the same gray-silver eyes that his father has. He is the spitting image of his father except a lighter complexion. Justice has sunken jaw bones and a chiseled chin. There is something so warm in his eyes.
“Not everyday
I get a prince to show me my bedroom.”
“I'm not here as a prince. I'm here as a King's Guard,” Justice tells me.
I look him up
and down. The King's Guard were the police in Eden. I was training
to be one---got buried alive before I made it. I was sure Nero ended
up being one though a long time ago. I guess it shouldn't surprise
me that his son is a King's Guard too. I can't help but to look at
his lips as he talks. They are full and pink. He is much lighter
than Nero. It makes me wonder who his mother is. He'd walked me
throughout the length of the state's building before bringing me to
this room without saying a word. Now as he struggles to return my
stare I realize that he's nervous. There are even beads of sweat at
the very top of his forehead. I have to admit I'm amused by this.
I walk into the
room. It's old. Antique. There is a Baroque design. It has
intricate and elaborate carvings, with luxurious mahogany,
hand-carved Royal Fortune French black lacquer set. There are draped
red curtains and a chandelier high above the bed.
“100 years and nothing much has changed,” I state.
“Yeah.
Honeslty. You don't look a day over 25,” Justice answers to me
from the door.
I turn back
around. I sit on the bed, “Neither do you. How old are
you?”
“25.”
Nerves are getting the
better of him. He stares blankly at me. He licks his lips over and
over as though they aren't sparkling wet enough. Honestly he is
attractive...extremely attractive.
“You can come
in. There's no reason to be shy. I don't bite...well...unless I'm
hungry.”
Justice glances at me for a second. I wonder
how much he knows about me. I wonder how much the older vampires
told him about me. The way he shuffles into the room delicately
makes me think that there must be something that he must know.
Justice walks into the room. As he gets closer I take a look at his body. He has firm, strong looking hands. He has on all black. I realize that most of them have on all black. I guess things have changed from the color coordination in the past.
“They told me
I should just take you to your room and leave,” Justice
explains.
I laugh at the thought of that.
“Do you
always do what you're told?” I ask.
Justice thinks about
it for a second. He walks towards me. He sits on the bed with me.
The more I look at him the more I see Nero and my heart hurts. It's
almost physical pain. Why didn't Nero escort me to my room?
Why
didn't he approach me back when the other vampires were around?
Why
was Nero not approaching me at all?
Justice shrugs,
“Naw. I don't. I should. Especially when it comes to
you.”
“Me?”
“They are all
afraid of you,” Justice explains, “I've never seen
anything like it. When you returned the Elders wouldn't stop
talking.”
It's hilarious hearing this boy talk about
people I grew up with as elders. I guess I should have been used to
it by now. I may have looked 20. Nero, Aiden and the others may
have looked 20 as well. We weren't 20 though. We were much older.
“Elders.
Geez. I feel like an old man.”
Justice looks at me,
“Well you're a good looking old man...”
He licks
his lips.
He's clearly
flirting. He looks just like Nero. That jaw. Those big lips.
Those silver eyes. I couldn't take it. The more he looks at me the
more I start remembering the past with Nero. My past with Nero was
something that I didn't want to remember. I was here for
revenge---not a trip down memory lane.
I get up at that
moment, “You should listen to your father and leave.”
I
get up and take a look at the room. The drawers are filled with
black clothing similar to the style that Justice and the other
vampires are wearing. The buildings may look the same but these
clothes were definitely new. They were streamlined. Dark leathers
and sexy black accessories. I feel like I've entered some Gothic
leather sex store by the kind of things I am pulling out of the
drawer.
“Did I say something wrong?” Justice interrupts me.
He hasn't gone
yet. He's standing behind me. He is the same height as Nero. His
body is shaped like Nero's used to be before I was buried.
“No. Just
Nero is smart when he told you that you should stay clear of me.”
“Well...Nero is my father...but I actually got the warning from my other father Aiden,” Justice states.
I struggle with this.
“So fill me in. How long have Nero and Aiden been together?” I ask.
“Since before
I was born. My dad...King Nero never wanted to marry Aiden,”
Justice explains to me, “I never knew why. After 25 years he
surprisingly just decided to do it. And that's when you came
around.”
My heart races.
Why the fuck
does this hurt? After 100 years was this shit supposed to hurt like
this.
“Are they
happy?” I ask.
Justice nods, “They're in love.”
I feel an emptiness at that moment. Nero and Aiden were happy together. It was real. They'd fallen in love with one another. I stand there at that moment and all I feel is bitterness. Nero loved me. I loved Nero. He told me he would wait for me forever. He told me he would love me forever.
Forever was a
short time.
I'm staring at the Baroque floor. I'm staring at these walls around me. I should be happy I was out of a tomb but instead I just feel like I'm in a new one.
“You OK?” Justice asks me.
I wasn't. It hurt. If this was 100 years ago I would have crawled up in a corner and started crying my eyes out. It wasn't a 100 years ago though. I wasn't going to cry. It was painful but sometimes pain could be the best motivator.
So instead of crying I smile.
“Thank you
Prince Justice. I'll be fine.”
“Just
Justice.”
“Ok. Justice,” I flash full teeth
at him.
He smiles back,
bites his lower lips, hesitates and then opens his mouth slowly, “Who
are you? Where did you come from?”
“The elders
didn't tell you?” I ask.
“They didn't
tell anyone. They are being very secretive with the past when it
comes to you. I never even knew you existed until you showed up
earlier today...out of no where.”
Justice is intrigued.
I can see it on his face. He's a young vampire. He's naive. He
must have not been turned too long ago. I know vampires aren't
turned until after 17. That means he must have been living a human
life in the human world until just about 8 years ago. He hadn't
stared in the depths of hurt and betrayal. I could see the
excitement in his eyes.
“Just like a ghost. Huh?” I snicker.
Justice glares at
me, not finding this funny at all. His face gets serious and he
raises an eyebrow, “Why are they all afraid of you?”
“Let
me show you.”
I pull Justice in at that moment.
I grab onto his collar and I kiss him. My tongue presses up against his lips. He isn't expecting it. His eyes are completely open at that moment as he's kissing me. His tongue enters my mouth. He even tastes like Nero.
It's clear
Justice is into this. I watch as he grabs me from behind my thighs,
lifts me up and puts me on the high decorative Baroque bed. He
throws the sheets to the ground. Just like a young boy he is full of
energy and passion. His dick is hard in a matter of seconds.
“You're sexy as fuck,” he is whispering to me, pulling off his shirt.
“Thank you,” I state laughing at how turned on he is.
He throws his shirt to the ground. His body is the shit. He has a six pack just like Nero. He has that solid chest. When I reach out to touch the broad chest and squeeze at his hard nipples, he captures my fingers, lifts them up and sucks on them. One at a time.
He removes his pants. He throws them to the ground. His underwear is all he's wearing now. He has a dick print that is very hefty. Justice is playing no games.
“I was wrong,” he states in the next second.
“You
were?”
“You're not just sexy.
You're...beautiful,” he responds.
He leans in at that moment. His voice sounds like Nero. His tone sounds like Nero. However there is an inexperience with Justice. He's moving too fast. He's too desperate to fuck. I can tell as he quickly is throwing himself over me. I rub on his muscles.
“You're so sexy, closer...closer...” I tell him.
He moves closer
and closer. He is grinding on top of me now. He's thrusting his
small waist into mine. He is showing me an aggressive, youthful and
almost bunny like stroke as he goes up and down. I watch his tight
butt furiously lifting and thrusting into me, harder and harder as
though showing me what he plans to do as soon as he takes off his
underwear.
I have to admit my ass gets wet imagining sexy
ass Justice pinning me down and fucking me with that youthful vigor
of his. After 100 years of not busting a nut...I think I definitely
scored with a guy like Justice.
He leans in kissing me more. Then he cocks his head to the right.
“Should I pull it out?” he asks me.
Nero would have
never have asked. He's just as beautiful as Nero though. He's just
as beautiful as that vampire that broke my heart. And Nero must love
him. He must mean the most to Nero.
“Yes
daddy.”
“I like you calling me that,” he
says taking his dick out at that moment.
His dick is
circumsized, 8 inches curving slightly to the left. His dick is
shaped like a torpedo which I just honestly think is poetic by how he
was dry humping me a few minutes ago. He is completely naked on top
of me now. He stands there for a minute either wanting me to
appreciate how perfect his body is or maybe he honestly just wanted
to make the most out of this moment. I wasn't sure if he was cocky
or humble. I think it was a mix of both.
He damn near jumps
on top of me, even though I'm fully dressed and once again begins to
dry hump me. This time precum is dripping from Justice. It stains
my leg.
He cocks his head to the side and lets out a deep moan.
I lick on his neck and he moans louder. He gets louder and louder.
“You like
that?” I ask Justice.
“Fuck...FUCK
yes,” he responds.
I bare my fangs at that moment.
I sink them into
him.
“OH FUCK!” Justice screams at that moment.
He doesn't expect me to bite him in the way that I do. I see him struggling at that moment. He wants to pull away but my fangs are so deep in his neck.
He is struggling to pull away. I wrap my feet around him. Like a python my legs secure him into submission. He is shocked, confused and naked. He doesn't know what's going on.
It's at that
moment I feel a hard thud at the top of my head!
“OUCH!”
I let go out of surprise and watch as Justice falls off the bed, kicking his way to the wall. He sits on the side of the wall in shock that I attacked him. He's holding his neck with one hand and his semi hard dick with the other. He doesn't know what to do.
That is when I
see...him...
He walks up to
Justice. I know who he is even from the back. The copper Hispanic
skin tone. His hair had the same soft curls that I knew a million
times over. His body is the same tough hard body that I remembered.
He walks over to Justice.
“Do you
know who I am?” he asks the boy.
Justice looks at
him, swallows his spit and nods slowly, “Armando.”
“Good,”
Armando responds, “So how about you go cup your balls, your
dick and run along. And I'd recommend you not tell anyone what
happened here today. For your own good.”
Justice looks
at Armando. Then Justice looks at me. I can still taste his job. A
part of me wants to finish what I started and drain every last drop
of blood out of Justice.
Justice struggles to get his
clothes, doesn't even bother getting dressed and runs out of the room
without saying another word. I'm not sure who he's more scared of.
Armando...or me.
“Your
reputation has lasted 100 years,” I state crossing my arms,
“That's amazing Dad.”
My father is here. He was
the one that hit me on the head and stopped me before I took Justice
out completely. I can tell that he's about to chew me out. My
father was the captain of the King's guard a long time ago. It was
my father who trained Milan and Aiden. I assumed even though Justice
didn't know who I was he still knew Vampire history. Where I had
been blotted out of history by everyone, my father was probably a
legend in Eden. He remained one till this day.
“Have
you lost your mind?”
I get up, dust myself off. I go to
the mirror in the bedroom and use a shirt from the drawer to dab up
the excessive blood on my mouth.
“Maybe,”
I respond, “It happens when people you loved and care about
buried you alive for 100 years. You unravel. Just a little
bit.”
“It was reckless. That is the King's son.
You could be killed for attacking him,” my father states before
stopping, “But you know that.”
I roll my eyes.
The last thing I need is for Armando to come in here preaching. He
looks back at me. Armando had always been the heart throb of Eden.
Young girls threw their panties at him when he walked through the
streets back in the day. I wonder what he was like now. I know he
lived away from the center of the city. I don't think he had
anything to do with Nero's rule. So there was only one reason he'd
come to this palace.
Me.
I turn back to
Armando, “100 years ago I was imprisoned because people found
out my father had sex with someone. Because of who my mother is I
was imprisoned...for 100 years.”
Armando shakes his
head, “Santos...you know it's deeper than that. Your
mother...your mother is no ordinary vampire.”
“No
she isn't. And neither am I.”
Armando seems be
struggling at that moment, “Your mother is dangerous son. You
can't keep embracing this part of you. If she was to be allowed into
Eden. Everything would be over. Everyone would be gone.”
I
turn to him.
My eyes burn
into his.
“Isn't this
what they deserve?”
“This isn't you,”
Armando responds.
“You don't
know me anymore father,” I tell him.
Armando walks over to me at that moment and grabs me up by the collar. He's strong. He lifts me up and holds me there, pinning me up against the mirror.
“I love
you. I fought for you all those years ago. I never stopped looking
for you. But you are back now. It's over. Lilith will destroy
Eden. I now you're better than that. I know you are.I'd kill them
all if I thought it could ease your pain...but it can't. ”
I
shake my head, “Prove it.”
“What?”
“You
said you'd kill them all if it could ease my pain,” I state,
“Prove it. Armando. Father. Kill them all.”
Armando
stands there for a moment.
“OK.”
“OK?”
He
extends his hand, “Follow me.”
I grab onto my
father's hand unsure of where he is leading me. We walk through the
hall of the state's building. The halls are empty. Most people are
probably asleep at this time of hour. The palace is connected down a
long corridor in the state's building.
I follow Armando down and down into the stairwell.
“Where are we going?” I ask him.
“We're going
to make things right,” Armando explains, “I'm your
father. It's up to me to do it. If no one can I
should...”
“Armando...”
“Yes?”
I
stop.
I want to tell
Armando that I don't blame him for what happened to me 100 years ago.
When they came for me to bury me Armando fought for me. Nero fought
for me as well. Out of all the people I knew they were the only two
there that fought for me. People who I considered my friends like
Lucca and Camilla had abandoned me. People who I thought loved me
like Aiden didn't look at me twice.
My father was there. Armando was there. And 100 years ago he would have died for me.
“We'll do this
together,” I tell Armando.
“Always,” Armando
responds.
He keeps holding my
hand and takes me down while talking in his low voice, “Things
have changed over the last 100 years. There are rogue vampires loyal
to your mother who have barricaded Eden.”
“The
rogues still exist?” I ask.
I'm surprised. I thought when Armando was King's Guard he had wiped all of them off the face of the Earth. The fact that they were still running around blew my mind.
Armando nodded,
“Yes. Your mother is around. She created more of what she
called her pure vampires. They've made it hard for us to leave Eden
and get blood.”
“Smart.”
“Smart?”
Armando asks.
“She's trying
to starve them out.”
Armando nods at that moment,
“Something like that. When a vampire goes too long without
blood they become something else...something like a monster. The
vampire still lives but they change. They lose their consciousness.
All that remains is...the thirst...”
I'd never heard
about it. I guess we didn't have that problem 100 years ago. I mean
I didn't drink blood for 100 years but then again I wasn't the
regular vampire was I? These other vampires they were regular
regardless of their blood type. I never thought about what happened
if a vampire didn't drink blood. There was no blockade around Eden
when I was around. I guess my mother had just woken back up when I
was around though. The fact that she had the power to create a
blockade around an entire city of vampires blew my mind.
“She
will use these monsters,” I state, “Since she can't come
into Eden, she'll block them from outside and create monsters on the
inside.”
Armando nods, “Yes. Here...I want to
show you one.”
Armando opens the door at that moment.
We are in the bottom of the state's building. A strange room that
I'd never seen before. Armando was probably familiar with this
building as he used to be the Captain of the king's guard. He
probably had access that other people didn't have.
The room is dark. When he opens it I can tell that this door hadn't been opened for a very long time.
“Why was it bolted shut?” I ask him.
He points on the
other end of the room, “Look. There in the
shadows.”
Something is moving! My heart races. There
is a dark figure that crawls slowly. My vampire eyes are quickly
adjusting to the darkness to the point that I can start to make out a
man. His body is contorting in many different ways.
“What's wrong with him?” I ask.
The man is groaning
in pain. His eyes are illuminating with darkness. His hands don't
look like hands anymore. They are these long winged like things.
They are bat wings. He growls in the darkness showing that all his
teeth have become fangs---not just two! My heart is racing as I see
him stretch out. His jaw stretches open wide like a cobra. Thin
skin lets out this wretched smell in the room. The darkness around
me is filled with an eerie feeling.
This thing was unholy.
This thing was
horrible.
I turn, “Get
me out of here...”
No answer.
Armando is no where to be found. All of a sudden I see the door behind me BOLT close.
“Armando!” I'm screaming out.
That is when I hear it. It's a sound I never thought I'd hear. My strong father was behind the door and he was crying. For some reason Armando crying scared me just as much as the dark figure he had trapped me in this room with.
“I'm
sorry...”
“Armando---stop playing,” I state.
My heart is racing. This isn't happening. I wasn't getting betrayed again. This was NOT happening.
“I'm sorry,”
his voice whimpers behind the door, “I love you son. I love
you, but I have to do this. You're getting more like her every
single day. I have to stop you before you destroy Eden.”
Her.
He was referring to my mother.
“Dad
please.”
He's gone. I hear footsteps from behind the
door. He'd bolted the door shut and he's run away.
Just as I turn around the vampire---bat---demon thing hurls itself across the room at me. It contracts it's mouth against the side of my neck before I have the ability to respond to it. It's digging into my neck. Claws scratch at my skin.
All I feel is pain as the demon tears away my flesh one piece at a time. It bites deeper and deeper. It claws harder and harder. More pain. More blood. More flesh.
I've been delivered to death's door by my own father.
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