The Divine and the Damned

Azrael laughed in disbelief. "Oh, so after five hundred and sixty-five centuries, he chooses to reveal himself to you, and for what? To tell you Dawn isn't that much of a threat, and that bloodshed is avoidable?" he scoffed "You'd say anything at this point to ensure the safety of the girl"

I glared at my brother "You think I'm desperate enough to start cooking up lies?"

Crossing my arms, I frowned. "I speak the truth. But first, I must confront those corrupt manipulators in the Dark Order. Deceitful bastards"

Azrael leaned against a wall and shrugged "I support the choice they made in masking the truth"

Our mother fired him a hostile glance but he remained indifferent.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Mother but I spit on the idea of peace with the weaker species. They're nothing but puppets... meant to be controlled. Eaten. And besides, they massacred our kind."

I shook my head, glaring at him. "Vampires like you are the reason the Divine Purge was created. Vampires who slaughter without thinking... who forget balance... who upset and threaten nature"

He guffawed. "The only balance that matters is power, Dragos. The weak serve the strong. That's how it should be"

"Your thinking is what will destroy us, and I will not let that happen, so you better start warming up to the idea of peace" I shot back.

Azrael scoffed. "If your girlfriend doesn't end up killing you first. Or better yet, kill us all"

My mother looked at me "You're certain she's the solution to curing the family disease?"

"Do you doubt the words of Dragavei, mother?"

"I do not"

I placed a hand on her shoulder and answered "I'm certain"

"Why don't you two throw a party to celebrate?" Azrael mocked, walking away.

"Shouldn't you be happy you won't have to die like your father did?" Mother yelled after him and he stopped in his tracks.

"I've noticed the tremors, Azrael" She continued "Wearing long-sleeved shirts to keep your hands covered might fool everyone, but not me, your mother. This disease took Andrei from me, did you really think I wouldn't notice if it was about taking you too?"

I frowned and turned to stare at my brother, who remained silent.

"Dragavei mentioned it," I said "If it has started to take root in Azrael, it's only a matter of time before I start seeing signs too"

"We need Dawn," She said softly, looking at Azrael "I cannot lose you, too. I cannot lose both of you"

Azrael turned to face her. "Mother," he said calmly "I'd rather jump into the Mures river, and drown over and over than let that creature heal me"

Then he turned and walked away angrily.

I looked at my mother "While I'm gone, please promise me you won't let him harm her"

She reached out to brush back some strands of hair that had spilled over my shoulder.

"Mother, promise me you'll protect her till I get back," I said more firmly.

"I promise"

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"You used everything that happened that day to your selfish advantage! You used it as a means to manipulate the truth and you manipulated not just me but the entire vampire community to believe a lie!" I raged, standing before the ten members of the Dark Order.

"A treaty with the humans would do us no good. It is despicable!" Roxana snapped.

"And it still doesn't change the fact that our great leader was killed by the humans!" Alexandru contributed.

I sauntered forward "Only because he was betrayed by his brother! Our kind! Dragavei would've found a way and we would've coexisted peacefully with the humans aware of our existence"

Marius responded, "What we did, we did for the greater good"

"And on whose side does this "greater good" favour? There has always been a fair way to do this but you selfishly made the decision of choosing this life for us" I retorted.

Decius interrupted "They hunted down and lynched our kind like animals!"

"And didn't Dragavei hunt down humans for a hundred years before meeting his wife?" I questioned rhetorically. "Everything that happened on the night of the great cleansing, happened because of the dark lord's brother's jealousy! Centuries have passed, yet you dimwitted animals refuse to learn from his mistake!"

I was furious. "Humans and vampires can maintain the peace!" I declared loudly "We can co-exist. Why is it suddenly so reprehensible when we've been doing it for centuries? They've just been unaware of our true nature as vampires"

Traianus slammed a fist into the table next to him.

"Nonsense! Coexistence implies a degree of equality" he rose from his seat "We are the superior species. The humans are beneath us. If we are to reveal ourselves, it would be to conquer"

The others murmured in agreement.

"Ages ago, the humans hunted us. We were fortunate to escape," Marius said, his eyes moving across the room. "Before that, we lived in the shadows together with the dark Lord. If we had made our true nature known and declared ourselves as rulers over them, the great cleansing would never have happened."

His eyes locked onto mine. "We will not make that mistake again."

"Predators and prey cannot coexist," Petru added. "It is better to hide what we are and live among them in secret than to reveal ourselves as the superior species, only to live as equals" he spat on the floor to emphasize his disgust.

"That's a very pathetic way to think" I replied. "No wonder you were hunted like animals. You think like prey"

Flavius was angry. "For the chosen one, you speak nothing but nonsense. For a long time, you have neglected your duty and now you come out to say this?"

"I am the chosen one, yes and I was born for a purpose. But that purpose is for the unification of both species with them aware of our existence" I announced. "Dragavei chose me to carry on that which he was unable to fulfill"

I stood with my hands crossed behind me. "That is my true purpose. That is my duty"

Virina forced out a mocking cackle "Are we all just going to sit here and listen to this silly talk?"

I shifted my attention to her, a scowl on my face "You refuse to heed the words of the dark lord? My words come directly from him!"

They all went silent, before Traianus spoke up "Perhaps he is wrong this time around. Perhaps it is time we stopped acknowledging him"

His voice was defiant, his challenging gray eyes not straying from mine as he leaned forward slightly. "Perhaps we no longer need the Alesul to lead us."

In that moment, I realized these were the vampires Dragavei had spoken of—the ones that needed to be purged. But I wasn't going to leave the purging to Dawn.

I'd deal with the corrupt, deceitful, power-drunk bastards myself.

I guffawed in anger "You fancy yourselves gods now, is that it?"

They gave no response, and I continued "I am your Alesul, and you will listen to my words. Today, I declare that I will not partake in your reckless and self-serving plan to dominate the humans."

The place erupted in an uproar.

"You can rage however and as many times as you want, my mind remains unchanged. What I have said is final" I folded my arms, watching in silence.

When they had quietened down, I spoke again, "You know what I've come to understand? The vampiric race would be significantly better off without the likes of you, driven by nothing but selfish ambition."

The place erupted in another uproar.

Suddenly, a pale, skinny servant entered the room to deliver a message to Petru. The elderly vampire froze in astonishment, and his fatigued eyes found their way to my gaze. Traianus had also overheard and was glaring at me.

"I have just gotten word that an agent of destruction resides in your home... the agent of destruction. Why do you harbour this creature, especially when it wields the power to annihilate us?" He demanded angrily.

The other members glanced at themselves in confusion.

I cursed inwardly. Damn Azrael. How dare he do this to me? The bloody snitch.

"What agent of destruction?" Marius asked.

"The Divine Purge" Traianus answered and the room fell into a deafening silence.

He continued, "Azrael Vlad himself confirms this. He swears our Chosen One has taken up the responsibility of protecting it"

The second-in-command simmered with anger "It has come in the form of a girl"

"Dear Dragavei" Roxana lurched out of her chair, troubled, her hand on her chest "She will destroy us all if we don't act fast"

"I said it!" Petru exclaimed hysterically "I told you lots I beheld it in a vision. I mentioned it during the grand dinner, but you dismissed me!" He rose from his seat and raised his staff "We are doomed!"

"We are not" Traianus bit out coldly "Let us take action and strike it down since our Alesul has chosen not to" he locked gazes with me again "Azrael said it is still weak—unaware of its powers"

"No one is laying a finger on her," I warned.

Traianus got up slowly, his eyes narrowing with challenge as he studied me "Why do you so fiercely protect this being?"

"It's none of your business"

A moment of silence passed between us, our eyes never leaving each other.

"It's treason!" Virina announced "Protecting a being that threatens our kind is treason! Even for the Ale..."

I shifted my gaze to her, not even having to utter a word, and she froze in fear.

"As I said" I stepped forward, continuing, my gaze hard as stone. "No one is laying a finger on her"

Ajax, who had remained silent until now, let out a long, dry, humorless laugh, throwing his head back.

"Oh, I know that look," he said, his voice infused with mockery. "And that tone of protectiveness…"

Rising to his feet, he pointed an accusing finger in my direction. "I'd recognize it anywhere." He said again. "That is the look of a man in love! Our Alesul has fallen! He has fallen for The Purge!"