Chapter 7: Paradox

In the beginning, I thought I’d passed out and was just coming to. Only when I opened my eyes there was nothing. It wasn’t dark and I wasn’t blind, there was simply nothing. A vast white emptiness as far as I could see and as I slowly picked my self up I realized I had been laying on nothing, there was no floor no solid ground. I was stationary but there was nothing to hold on to nothing to give me a sense of location or positioning. And as I began to ponder just that it seemed I was no longer sure which way was up and which was down. In a matter of minutes I was completely disoriented. I closed my eyes and tried hard to hang on to my sanity as my head began to spin.

“Things are not always as they seem, and you sadly will come to find that things do not always remain as they were. You will learn these things just as we did.” spoke a calm and distinguished voice. I opened my eyes to see two figures forming from within the vast emptiness. In a matter of minutes I was sharing this empty space with two young men. Both of them handsome with striking looks. They were obviously twins, in fact....they were the twins. I knew that somehow and I wasn’t surprised or shocked, nor was I frightened of this place. The two men before me were the exact opposite of the frail and twisted seeming figures that I had been faced with only moments ago.

“What’s happening here? I asked

“In order to make you see...” “We need to make you understand”

“Please, please don’t begin with that again, it’s so confusing.”

They answered me with only a nod as they once again began to speak as one only this time their voice was in the form of merging whispers. “Amon, the beast, has a history that reaches long beyond your own. The things and the people around him may change but he is every bit the creature he was made to be.” Every word they spoke only brought up more questions and somehow I knew the answers were there but hidden from me. Whatever level of connection we shared here I was able to come to some conclusions as if they were my own answers. And others, were held at a distance, there but unrecognizable. Our connection seemed to quicken and I knew before I spoke that this wasn’t about Amon not really, only Amon as he pertains to...me.

“It’s almost always a small village or town, far from any other largely populated areas. With no real connections to anyone or anywhere else in the world; these are the places he finds. They attract him, their pure atmosphere’s untouched and uninfluenced. He desire’s the naivety, the innocence. And when he finds someone so dedicated to the life they live, so in touch with the world around them despite their flawed or incomplete view of it. The beast has to take that and break it. In a sense recreating that which was done to him. There have been many others...” as they spoke those words images of men and women began to fade in and out. With their appearance came a bit of knowledge from some unseen place. Names, places, and even the ways in which they died it all came to me as I watched the visions.

“You are the only one to truly become a child of the beast. The only one allowed to remain with him entirely. In his own twisted way he has taken you in, trained you, and sheltered you...but why? That is what you must see and then you will understand. In time you’ll see that you must, you must understand. And only when it’s most important will this understanding come to you fully.

For the next hour or so I was shown visions, moments of their lives and mine. I saw the two young men as they appeared now. They were boastful of their mental abilities, and used them to their own ends. Not only could they both read the minds of those around them but together they were able to persuade nearly anyone to do or believe anything they said. They were selfish and ignorant of their affects on the lives of others. As most with power eventually do, they sought out more power. And through deep meditation they were able to achieve this goal. They gained the ability to stretch their minds out over entire areas, affecting all those within reach. With this newly found power they were able to alter the perception of entire villages and settlements at once.

It was on one particular night when they both felt a strange sensation reaching out. Another powerful psychic force somewhere in the world, much more powerful and potent than anything they themselves could produce. The sensation would come and go for several months and after sometime the brothers decided to find the source of this power. The sensation became a calling, and that calling became a yearning that they could not refuse. Such power was unimaginable to them. It led them across two continents and into a vast area of mountains. The brothers followed this call with unwavering drive, for them there was no other option. They discovered carved out passages that lead not up but down under the mountains themselves. Night passed into day and back again more than once before the brothers reached the source of the call. “There are places in this world that men are not meant to set foot upon. These places are more than sacred. They exist in our world as templates to that which we cannot understand. They are beyond us, more than we can comprehend...and still we will find them and do with them what we will. Ignorance; places such as these have...power.” their voices played out as did the images.

What they found in the cave they would not share with me, nor its location. They did share with me what happened to them after they found what they wanted. It was no beast that carved out their eyes, not cruel punishment or terrible assault. Their wounds were self inflicted. The exact reasons behind such insanity were not made known to me but I was made to understand that what they found was so overwhelming, so powerful and forbidden that they were forced to claw out their own eyes. I can scarcely imagine what would drive someone into such an insane state in an attempt to hang on to their sanity.

The things they told me, showed me were inspiring, intimidating and confusing at the same time. And still they were not through with me. “Now you have heard our tale” they continued in the mix of whispers. “Know this, without the memory, the knowledge we gained from such suffering from our own mistakes would be lost. What we discovered has forever scarred us and left us as we are now but the memories must not be forgotten, must not be overlooked. To forget the pain, the suffering would be to forget the true importance of what we now know.” I was quickly beginning to understand what they were trying to accomplish, what they wanted me to understand. Perhaps the link had grown stronger or my perception was more open than before but I understood.

“That is why you must be made to remember, the things you learn will be of great importance in the times to come. You must remember!” As they finished speaking their voices were raised to nearly a shouting volume and the visions of them faded as did the vast emptiness. With some difficulty I was able to open my eyes. I was still on my knees, there on that cold hard floor. My breathing was as though I’d been running at a steady pace and I was in fact sweating. All was as it was before. Looking up, the twins were focusing upon me again. It was a bit of a shock to see their frail twisted figures once again. And as I looked upon them I began to...remember.

The pain of it, the nausea, and the sickening and twisted sense of guilt for something I had no control over. It was all coming back to me. He was on top of me and behind me, under me and all around; smothering me. So many different times, the same disgusting act was repeated and I was helpless to stop him. His strength was unmatchable, his lust and rage unstoppable and he knew nothing of mercy. Biting and slapping, spitting and yelling, cutting and choking. All a hundred times more endurable: than the feel of him inside me. A tear began it’s way down my face at the memory. Pain, unwavering and ever increasing pain, and the sounds we made as he assaulted me. I remember nearly passing out almost every time. He never once let me escape into unconsciousness though.

It was never enough to take his pleasure with me and be done with it. There had to be pain, and the worse it was for me the more he got out of it. The more I desired to retreat within myself if only to keep my sanity, the more he enjoyed it. I recall wanting to die, as his spit ran down my face, as his hands grabbed at me, and the sweat from his body stung in the cuts and scrapes on mine. There was no end, it seemed he would carry on for days at a time. In the moments when he became so vicious that I truly believe he’d devour or kill me in the process, I’d pray for death, an ironic thing when death was what I was given.

After that I recall the dark room, the blood, the insects and filth. And I remember the muffled voices; they were arguing, master and Xanthia about me. I remember it all now. My vision was blurred with tears, my expression a mix of confusion, pain and anger. I could feel my body trembling. Within me there was no doubt that these things were true but how could they be? Why wouldn’t I recall any of this until now? I was sick to my stomach to think of all the nights I spent playing chess across our dinning room table from that monster. All the nights spent being lectured on the finer points of our existence. The very idea of having shared space with him for so long, all the while he was looking at me knowing what he’d done. I’m not sure how long I stayed there on my knees shaking but it was some time before I cared to give my attention to anything else around me.

“Marcus, Anton; what have you found?” spoke Falon, always direct and straight to the point.

“He knows nothing...” “As Xavien found.” “The beast kept....” “him secluded from others”
“We were unable...” “...to find where the beast hides”

“Almosar, won’t be pleased to hear that.” stated Xavien

“He would be the one in attendance now, wouldn’t he” replied Falon. At this time several of the servants appeared again to collect the frail twins and escort them off to some other area. I was still there on the floor as Falon and Xavien discussed their next moves. “The both of us will have to try and steer this Xavien.” spoke Falon. With a nod from Xavien the two of them began towards a door to my left. As I was kneeling there wondering what was to become of me now, I was taken by both arms and pulled up. The stationary chains and shackles were removed from my arms and replaced with the originals.

If it were possible to suffer some kind of pain from too much thinking, from over analyzing; I’m sure that’s what I was feeling now. How could the things I’ve heard be true, be true about me and I not know of it. My mind was numb all over but the center of my head, it throbbed. Whatever was done to me back there, it was not gentle. Things were torn from my mind, grabbed at with a purpose and taken without any thought to my wellbeing. There was nothing I could do, these twins were very skilled at their tasks. I don’t believe they intended to harm me, they simply weren’t concerned with it. They did what was required of them. And I feel they tried to help me in some way. Somewhere inside I won’t commit to the idea that it was all true. And yet I had no way of knowing otherwise. One thing was certain; nearly a decade of my life was hidden from me. And if I managed somehow to live through all this, I was going to find out how, and why.

We left the chamber rather quickly, with my escorts pushing me at a hurried pace the entire way. Just as we stepped passed the doorway I became aware of a foreign thought. “Maverick.” I had no idea whom Maverick was or what importance he held but I knew that was a name I had to remember. I also knew the name had been left in my thoughts by the twins, purposely suppressed to stop me from asking questions about Maverick in front of the others, I would remember that name indeed. As we moved into the hallway and back towards the staircases, we were met by another group, Xanthia was with them looking much better. It was obvious that she needed a sleep cycle but I could smell the fresh blood moving through her system. She would be fine in time. This was more than enough reason to be thankful. I saw no reason for them to go to the effort of healing someone they meant to kill.

We began down the corridor heading in the opposite direction from that which we came. I took notice that as we began, several others joined our group as we traveled the long halls and shortly after we took an immediate turn, as though our destination had changed. It wasn’t long after that, that I heard the voices of Falon and Xavien coming up behind our group. “Unreasonable tyrant, he really does think himself a deity.”

“Calm yourself Falon, he has ears everywhere.”

“Yes but trying to accomplish anything with him is like removing teeth just to clean them. He always wants the most extreme actions to be taken. There was no point in us even going to report to him. He sent the order down before we’d even left the chamber.”

“Yes, I’ll admit he was in rare form this time.” replied Xavien

“And to think he expects you to carry out the whole thing. We all have to do what is asked of us I suppose. I need to go brief what’s left of my men. Good luck” stated Falon.

They took us both down a long corridor; all the while I’m trying to hang onto her. Just to touch her and know that she is still there. As I’m pushed and dragged along we take several turns into new pathways and corridors. I can see nothing through this sack over my head. I’m so disoriented at this point that I’ve stopped yelling at my captors and stopped calling out to Xanthia. We take so many turns that I have no idea where we are as we begin down a number of steps. I stumble several times and the men around me make no attempt to stop my falls. As we move into the lower level I notice a commotion to my left that begins to get farther away. Xanthia, they’re taking her somewhere else and I believe she realized the same about me only seconds later as she began to scream my name. I never even struggled against them and didn’t try to get to her; not this time. I’m not sure if it was cowardice or that I simply accepted my fate. I only know that I wanted to crawl out of my own skin at the sound of the blow that silenced her.

A few moments later I’m tossed harshly to a cold stone floor and the sack is removed from my head. Around me, stand several men, none of which are familiar to me. As I look from face to face for some kind of recognition none of these men speak a word. I myself being more than confused, have not the questions in mind to ask in the first place. Where I am, suddenly doesn’t seem so important as ‘why I am?’ Where was that burning sensation? Where was that numb throb at the center of my head? For so long the voices would not be silent and now when I may actually make use of them, they are gone from me.

As I sat there trying to concentrate on picking up on even an underlying emotion from any of these men the large stone door swung open slowly bringing with it, all the dust that had collected on the floor. What ever this room was it was not frequented often. Who or what was coming in was only second in my mind as given the sounds that came pouring in. Screams and grunts, Xanthia! She was screaming and I could hear the sickening sound of a body being struck repeatedly with some blunt object. The second I recognized her voice and heard the agony that it held; I was scrambling to my feet and charging the door. There were 5 or more of them and if I had been in my right mind perhaps I wouldn’t have tried to break past them or the person coming in.

The fact of the matter being that I wasn’t, and I did try. I pushed with all my might against the first body I came into contact with and I was able to send him sprawling to the ground; obviously surprised by my outburst. The others having seen this sprung into action and were on me before I got within 5 feet of the door. They were all over me; an arm around my neck and several others holding me by the arms and around the waist. I took several blows to my already injured side as I caught sight of the person coming into the room just before I collapsed under the weight of the other men.

“Put him in the chair” Xavien spoke in a harsh tone, mostly out of annoyance and somewhat trying to speak over the continued screams of Xanthia. I was wrestled into a small chair in the middle of the room, whilst one of the men fetched another for Xavien. He sat in front of me a mere six feet away. “I’ve been allowed to offer you a chance to speak, I convinced them that tonight’s events have been too much for you and that you are not in the most logical state of mind.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my current state of mind, I’ve been kidnapped, don’t I act as though I have been? I’ve been assaulted and attacked repeatedly, is the blood I bleed not evidence enough? How about the disdain I have for you and your men? And now....you’re killing her and I can hear every scream and whimper and I feel as though I may die myself if it goes on any further. Are these tears not the correct response? DOES THE PAIN I’M FEELING SEEM ABNORMAL TO YOU?” Tears were falling freely from my eyes and at the same time I was full of rage and at the moment my tongue was as sharp as any weapon. My only weapon.

As soon as the last words had left me Xavien continued on, my words meant nothing to him and he was simply pausing until his next chance to speak. How could someone so beautiful be so cruel? “It was no small task to convince them of this, and believe it or not I did so to help you.” He leaned forward quickly as he continued. “You have no idea the lengths at which they will go to find out this information and the two of you are the only sources they have at the moment. What you hear happening out there...is meant to occur in here as well. If you can’t tell me what is required I’m to order these men to beat you half to death until you are ready to tell me.”

“I can not tell you what I don’t know, you looked into my mind, you said it was fractured, that there were many things that I couldn’t remember. And you saw the proof of that. You know that I don’t know what you’re asking of me.” I spoke my voice full of agony.

“...The Elders do not believe it”

“But I don’t know...I don’t, I don’t, I don’t.....why is this happening you me?” I was nearly hysterical at this point. It was more than clear to me what was going to happen. Just as it was clear to me that I couldn’t reason my way out of this. Xavien knew the truth, but he would carry out the orders of his masters, despite any amount of needless suffering on my part. I raised my head to look at him and through the tears I saw him glance away. He didn’t dare to ask the question again. A question he knew I had no answer for. He let out a small sigh as he stood from the chair and made his way to the large stone door.

“Amon was the one who slaughtered the boy, your lover. Not you...this he did after sexually assaulting him. It was a horrible and brutal act, something I’m not sure you are even capable of. Even the hunger couldn’t sway your dedication to the human, it was a horrendous deception in and of itself to allow you to believe otherwise”. I made no movements and not a sound as I let his words wash over. I simply shut my eyes as tightly as I could and held back the ocean of tears trying to push past my eyelids. “I’ll return in just under and hour...” as he left and closed the large door behind him 3 of the men moved off towards small shelves that I had not noticed until just now. My head jerked up at the sound of rattling, the shelves, held chains and small clubs. Through blurry eyes I saw the two men who remained in the center of the room draw closer to me, and one kicked the chair out from under me. The look on their faces was like that of a farmer trying to corner an animal to be weighed or perhaps even killed. These things were but everyday tasks to a farmer and this was the look these men had. They weren’t angry, they held no grievance against me, it was but a task and had to be done. It’s strange how quickly your mind and body can sober up when it needs to. Only seconds ago I was a heap of emotions, face covered in tears, vision blurry. And as the first fist connected with the side of my face, I saw it coming with complete clarity.

................................

“Xavien! Xavien stop this. They’re killing him.”

“He thinks the same of you, Xanthia”

“He doesn’t know....you can’t”

“Be silent woman, you think I don’t know that? You think I couldn’t see it on his face? The Elders ordered it done and so it is. You better than most know that I can’t go back to them and tell them I simply decided to go against their wishes. “

“Then I will go to them myself, I can’t let this go on.” She stated as she turned towards the end of the corridor.

“Do you think they’ll listen? They would never raise a hand to you directly, daughter of Hemnol. But you have lost all trust and support of the elders.

“I’m am the daughter of one of the original elders they have no choice but to listen.”

“And listen is all they would do Xanthia. To cast down your lineage and forsake your duties to the elders is one thing but to align yourself with the Beast! They will not forgive that Xanthia. They will not do as you ask? The order has already been given to Falon, until Amon is found and destroyed you are not to leave the grounds of this compound. Now, go back into that room and continue your task, you owe him that much, give him some reason to survive what he’s suffering through. Knowing that you are suffering as well or perhaps just that you’re still alive will keep him strong enough to last through what they will no doubt put him through.”

As Xavien finished speaking a man walked up to him and delivered a parchment. “Relay the message that I will be with them shortly, I need a moment.” Xavien turned to leave but looked back at a motionless Xanthia. “I don’t hear any screaming.” At this Xanthia moved off quickly down the hall as if she’d been struck in the face. Xavien turned back towards the room and opening the room with a heavy sigh he said. “Alright enough of that, string him up.”

It was steady, rhythmic and terrifying. It resounded on the walls coming back at me and I could feel its beat on my skin. My blood, dripping slowly from my wounds, precise and nearly surgical wounds, fell freely and never ending. Each beat, each drip of blood was like a numb sting as though I could actually feel the blood leave my body and a sudden alertness went out through my nervous system. This is how they left me, this is the work they’ve done. Covered in bruises from the attacks on my body; results of a question I could not answer. Bones broken and shattered; results of a question I could not answer, and now bleeding to death, also the result of an unanswered question.

As my body hangs here in this cold room, stone slabs on all sides with only a small bit of moonlight filtering through the odd looking ceiling. I can feel the life leaving me. Even though I know it’s coming, despite part of me welcoming the relief; I still panic. My mind races as I make one last effort at freeing myself from these ropes. My body jerks wildly as consciousness begins to slip away. Moments ago I was accepting of my fate, and now that it’s here...I’m clawing and fighting with everything I have left to futilely struggle against it. And futile it is; I die.

Slowly, rhythmically; it fades in. And I, nonexistent; and of no conscious mind, float along with it. I’m lost somewhere in the background, only an afterthought, not yet real. As it fades in, every inch of me is filled with it. My veins surge and pulse with it. Muscles begin to throb and bones ache with new sensation. Slowly, rhythmically my body comes alive, I'm alive....again.

With a gasp and a twitch, my eyes fly open and all is as it was. My mind and memories, along with my body are as they were before. A few hours after my death, I'm completely healed. There is something about dying that's unlike anything else. Of course that goes without saying.
Only, after you go through it half a dozen times, you really start to gain a feel for it. You understand more, each phase has new meaning and you almost reach out trying to gain better understanding....of your own death. Truly I've lost my mind or perhaps I've found what I've lacked all these years. What we all lack, perhaps enlightenment is not found in knowledge of life but in knowledge and experience of death.

So I hang here dying…again. I have no voice; I lost that many lives ago. Most of the blood has been drained from my body. The affect this has is that my body can no longer sustain it’s self. My lungs still burn with defeat. Again and again, instinctively my body fights to stay a live, and always with the same result, failure, death.

As a vampire I don’t need to breathe to stay alive in the strictest of senses. Although just like every other creature on the planet with lungs I take in air. Deprive me of this, and my body will react with suffocation but I will not die and after some time, being deprived of air can be overcome. The real damage is done through the flowing of my blood. Without it my body is fragile and won’t heal properly, I’ll have little to no energy and in the worst cases a vampire can slip into an endless sleep. Under this circumstance a vampire will live out its life as a living corpse, the body will waste away, the organs will fail and overtime the mind will destroy itself. Endless torture is something they’ve mastered I suppose.

That is the case in fact, this is torture...and only so. My life is not truly being extinguished and I am not allowed to die. I wasn’t put here for that purpose. I imagine if they wanted to kill me they would be much more direct about it than this. Still the fact remained that I have died several times now at the hands of my captors, directly or otherwise. All fight, curiosity or heroic will have long since been forgone. This was far from an experience on par with those I’ve read about so many times. At this exact moment, I wasn’t consumed with curiosity about my captors or the things I’d been told. I wasn’t even angry enough to push through this with determination for revenge.

I don’t remember when I was taken down, nor do I recall being cleaned up and placed in these clothes which are not my own. When realization settled in once again I found myself within the large chamber room once again. Only this time I was not bound by shackles. I was slumped over in a chair that was facing the elevated throne like chairs. Standing before me was Xavien. When I first laid eyes on him I wanted to leap forward and lash out. And I saw the thought wash over him just as I’d had it. I’m not sure why I didn’t, I had little to lose other than my life.

"How much of your birth into our world do you recall?" This was ridiculous what was he trying to prove, trying to bring reason to their violation? Trying to gain my interest and my trust. I've always known that for whatever reason I was unable to recall certain events of the past. There was a blank space in memories where details should be. He's torn his way into my head and found that little known secret. And now he thinks he going to use that against me. Try to manipulate me. “What I found, is memories. Memories that you blocked out. And it's no question as to why someone wouldn't want to remember such things. The more complex part is the fact that Amon allowed you to forget. He so enjoyed your torment, why simply give up and let you live; where countless other were put to death.”

“You’ve already lost your leverage. I remember everything now.” I responded, never letting my eyes fall away from his.

“Perhaps; do you recall what you did to him the night of his final assault?”

“You’ll have to excuse me if I try to not bring up specifics about those events”

“Yes and all this time he’s been hoping that you would do just that. You couldn’t recall the events locked away in your head. Most importantly was the pain you inflicted on your attacker that night. During that last assault your mind opened up and lashed out. The rage that was always there had only one way to break free. Amon was an overwhelming force for you physically but mentally you were as strong or as weak as you allowed yourself to be. You found yourself no longer wanting to simply accept your fate.”

“What is it your not telling me, I can feel you holding something back.” I replied.

“That’s what I’m holding back. The twins for whatever reasons unlocked certain memories only they didn’t dare to touch one in particular. They like Amon, are afraid of your mental abilities. You see that night you unleashed upon Amon not only your rage but all the pain he’d inflicted on you. As far as I can tell Amon and you both were rendered unconscious for several nights. You awoke with no knowledge of the last periods of your life.”

“I don’t fully understand...how?”

“It’s not something I can do myself so I could do little to truly explain but you were able to send rage, pain and energy flowing into his brain and throughout his nerve endings at once. While you awoke only a few days later. Amon was in a comatose state for nearly a year and half. Xanthia nursed the both of you back to health.” He finished. I can’t explain why the question hadn’t formed until just now. Maybe it was hearing her name, but in that instance my thoughts were of Xanthia alone. Where had she been during the beatings and torture, the rapes and assaults? Why had she allowed those things to happen in the first place? “I know what you would ask now, and I can not answer those questions. You’ll have to ask her yourself.”

“What is going to happen now?”

“Almosar will join us shortly, he alone will decide your fate. When he enters stand and say nothing. Xavien began to whisper and speak quickly towards the end. I could tell by the shift in his mannerism that this Almosar was on his way.

I think I felt him before I saw him, yes long before I saw him. Much as you can hear the low rumbling of a storm before you ever see the flashes of lightening. He was tall and had what appeared to be a very solid build. Small of frame yet strong, handsome, yet frightening and most importantly, there was this overwhelming feeling of age and wisdom about him. His presence filled the room before he’d even fully entered it. This is a memory that could have remained vivid in my mind always. The first time I was in the presence of an Elder.

Watching him move was like looking at someone with a strong wind to their back. Every movement was graceful and with purpose but it had such an underlining power behind it. As he moved into the room from a small door to the side of the elevated section. I wasn’t sure if I should look him in the eye or not. A slight tug on my arm from Xavien reminded me to stand and I did so quickly. Despite the exhaustion in my body, I brought myself to a stand almost immediately. Not once did his eyes meet with mine and not once did he address me directly. Taking a seat in what I assumed was ‘his’ chair he began.

“Xavien....Falon, I’ve taken your reports as well as those of the twins back to the rest of the council and we have come to this decision. “We are not convinced that this youngling does not possess the information we seek. The details of both reports were....inconclusive. Falon your skills and leadership are more than capable for this task and you have been chosen to over see the continued hunt of the beast. Xavien, you will continue to reach out among the council’s sources as well as among the public and attempt to find any signs of the beast’s movements. He slowly moved his glance to rest on me for the first time in our encounter. “You, child of the beast, are charged with the obligation to this council. You will find your sire, wherever in the world he may be in an effort to assist in his capture by decree of the council.”

“He’s traveled the entire world over several times, I myself have barely roamed the lands of Europe. He knows places and has allies that I have never seen or meet. It could take me two lifetimes to find Amon at this point.”

“You have a fraction of that time, nearly a quarter of a lifetime; twenty years to find Amon and bring either the beast himself or some sign of his demise before this council.” I began to speak utterly confused by his words, only he continued before I could speak. “Know this, you are only vaguely aware of the circumstances. And there are things in play that you can not fully comprehend at this time, consequences and outcomes that you can not foresee. You’re failure, your disregard for these orders or any other action, excuse or what have you, which results in anything other than the terms I have laid before you will result in not only your own death but that of Xanthia, Layla and Gabriel. Along with a dire outcome for all those that outlive you in this world.”

I was more than shocked by his words but somehow the presence he passed over the room kept me silent. How could anyone expect me to locate let alone bring Amon back here. I didn’t even know where here was. And to bring Layla and Gabriel into this, no doubt information relayed to him in Falon or Xavien’s reports, perhaps even pulled from my mind by the twins. It seemed everywhere I turned there was yet another obstacle in front of me, something more for me to overcome or suffer through. I had to wonder how long I could endure such things. “You are granted the time you need to fully heal and prepare for your journey and no longer. You will be accompanied at all times by a chosen member among our elite. Go now and heal.

Things were moving in slow motion for me as I was taken from the council chamber and moved back into a lower section of this giant fortress. Upon arriving at the room I would be ‘allowed’ to rest in. I instantly felt the weight of this night fully come to the surface. I had barely made my way into the main room before I felt the tremors. And once I was able to find the large bathroom I rushed in and shut the door harshly behind me. I was crying, loudly. How had all this happened in one night? Our home infiltrated by mercenaries and assassins of a mysterious elder council that was nothing but a unseen truth in my world til now. My master, was taken from me, had abandoned me and then he became some vicious image of himself that I didn’t know, in more ways than one. Dragged through the woods, bound gagged and treated like an animal. I was beyond my wits end. Interrogated, tortured, and my mind assaulted. Enlightened, cautioned and my mind awakened to truths of the past; all in a single night.

A/N: 7 down and a who knows how many more to go. Feedback, Feedback, Feedback.

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Chapter 1: Point of Origin

Chapter 2: Foreshadowing

Chapter 3: Broken

Chapter 4: Grievous Intrusion

Chapter 5: Awakening

Chapter 6: Revelation

Chapter 7: Paradox