Chapter 43: Chapter 43
TRISTAN:
As soon as Samalah disappeared from my sight, the carriage halted. I went down from it and was stuck in awe at the sight of the grand palace of Talandor.
The palace itself was bigger. Before me was the large marble façade of Talandor’s Great Hall of Justice. This was the only part of the palace that was accessible to outsiders like me.
As expected, the security in this part of the palace was heavily laden, especially today as the peace talks are about to take place. In fact, before we could enter the Great Hall, Gideon and I had to undergo a thorough inspection by the palace guards. Weapons were confiscated by the knights, and those who disagreed to follow the protocol were not allowed access inside.
“You may enter now, Lord Abell,” the knight escorting us said after we were carefully inspected.
Before we can even enter, however, we heard someone’s outrageous voice nearby.
“And who are you to take away my decorative weapon? It was bestowed to me by King Maurus himself! Are you saying your authority is higher than him?!”
“We apologize, Count Jeteris, but the prince and the king had ordered that no weapons should be allowed inside.”
“Then how about those Blasted Ones? Did you also strip them and prevented them from coming in?”
“The rules were implemented on both sides, sir. We are just following our orders.”
“Following my ass! How about the sharpened teeth of those bloodsuckers? Those are weapons too! Did you mean to say you allowed them to enter when their greatest weapons are themselves?”
Gideon and I could only stare at the obstinate buffoon before us. For Gideon, it was out of curiosity, but for me, I had a deeper reason to look at him with contempt.
It was the first time I am seeing this punk yet again after twenty long and agonizing years. Just like Duke Hurst, this old fool did not seem to have aged a day. His wild, red hair coupled with his detestable temper was still there. The gash across his left eye signaled danger, but unlike when I was younger, he did not look as scary in my eyes now…
Instead of fearing him like I did as a boy, I simply clenched my fist as I remember the way he had bludgeoned my head so that he and Duke Hurst could murder my whole pack. I couldn’t forget the bloodthirsty look in his eyes back then…
If he was merciless before, then how much more ruthless has he been with poor Livia, then?
I shook in disgust. I should have killed this man without Livia’s knowledge before! It would have been damn easier!
“Let’s go,” I whispered to Gideon. This isn’t the time to lose my temper. The day will soon come when I can kill this beast and the other ones who helped him without restraint!
The knight took us further into the hall where many of the nobles had already arrived. We were given a seat based on the geographical location of our districts.
Even before the council meeting had started, the hall was already loud and boisterous, teeming with luxuriously-dressed men who were nothing more than flashy gossipers.
“Did you hear the recent vampire attacks at the outskirts? They wiped a whole village clean! I’m sure they’re all well organized.”
“I hear they are working with rogues now. They’re looking for slaves and artifacts related to the Shadow Runes…”
It was foolish of them to talk about that when a peace talk was supposed to take place. I sat silently as I drink in all the pieces of information they murmured.
It was easy to see why the vampires would choose to work with rogues. They had an easy supply and demand relationship, and there was no need for such complicated talks like this one.
In the succeeding years after the annihilation of the Shadow Rune Pack, vampires and werewolves were once again plunged into war. Apricus, the most powerful among the vampire clans, signed a treaty with the Shadow Runes in order to gain access to the black magic that the Shadow Rune wolves possess.
Instead of taking werewolves as their prey, the two teamed up and conquered territories of other elemental clans. The Shadow Runes wanted to expand their lands and made use of the Apricus Kingdom’s help by killing the enemies alongside them. On the other hand, the spoils of war – the people they conquered – would belong to the Apricus. Together, they became unconquerable allies.
Thus, when the Shadow Ruins fell, the Apricus Kingdom, as well as the rest of the vampire clans, was plunged into chaos. They started to snatch werewolves as their main source of nourishment again. Rogue wolves took advantage of this by kidnapping people of their kind and selling them to vampires. They made quite a profit by doing this.
Now, the rogue and vampire problems are at its worst, and Talandor, the biggest among the werewolf clans and kingdoms, is at the heart of this dilemma.
The problem has persisted for twenty years.
Today will be the first set meeting this year between the council and the representatives of the vampire clan. There had been previous meetings for the past five years, but they were all unsuccessful. Both clans did not want to yield to one another’s biddings.
Suddenly, a group of dark-robed individuals entered the hall. Everybody fell into a dead silence.
It was easy to see that they were the council from the vampire clan. Their pale and placid complexion was far too noticeable.
The ten to fifteen delegates that marched inside the hall were wearing robes in black. They were hiding their bodies and their faces, which were typical of this clan.
There was a famous saying that seeing the face of a vampire directly will cause one to have bad luck and become insane, but based on how I remembered things, the vampires in my youth whom father had spoken to never had to conceal their faces like this…
I shuddered internally. Maybe the saying holds some truth to it. Maybe my pack ran out of luck because we saw the vampires’ faces without any efforts of concealment in their part…
My eyes were drawn back in front of the hall when a royalty of Talandor, Kaist, the blasted prince I saw earlier at the house, entered. He was also jointly followed by a royal representative from the Apricus Kingdom – a man whose faces was also obscured – but this time, by a mask.
Soon, the court secretary went in front of the hall and thumbed his heavy seal into the officer’s table in front of the room.
“Attention! We will now start the yearly peace talks with our delegations from the Kingdom of Apricus and the representatives from the Kingdom of Talandor. Everyone, please take your rightful seats.”
I was seated near the front part of the hall being that Crohmwall District was one of the largest districts in the north. This gave me a good view of the delegations.
I didn’t notice it at first, but as I scanned through the vampire delegation’s faces, I saw one such vampire look directly at me into my eyes.
He had red, bloodshot irises, and his sleek, dark hair was parted into one side. His deep set eyes and sharp nose gave him a rather handsome figure.
I could have looked away, but didn’t…
A smile, which gave him a boyish look, broke on his lips when our eyes met. Somehow, this vampire - he looked very familiar.
Where did I see him? Why does he seem to recognize me too?
I had forgotten the fact that vampires can recall faces despite the passing of time…
Am I about to be discovered? Will my cover be blown? I could only grit my teeth as I thought of this.