Vampire Nation 3: Titan Rules, page 19
Silence.
Arria was seething. Her rage could be felt from a distance. None of the council dared to utter a word. They knew not to make a sound.
It might have remained that way if Cronus and Alexander hadn’t entered the room then.
Chapter 24
Cronus took a look around and knew it was bad.
“Alexander, go to your seat.” Cronus instructed. He walked to where Arria was standing and gently guided her back to her chair. Once she was seated, Cronus turned to face the other members. “I am not sure what the cause of this tension is but we will work through it. Now, seeing Arria’s manner would suggest someone is accusing Titan of something. Dmitriy, would you be kind enough to fill me in?”
Dmitriy looked hesitantly at Arria in fear. He gathered his courage before trying to speak. If anyone other than Cronus had asked, I don’t think Dmitriy would have said a word.
“Arria told us of Lorac’s actions. She also told us of Ephraim. Lorac was trying to run or fight. I couldn’t tell which because Titan used his mind control to stop him before Lorac could even get out of his chair. The rest of us questioned how Titan could do this. He shouldn’t have been able to control a four thousand year old. Our accusations led to Sabina’s confession. She let Titan drink from her. The rest of the council believe this to be an extremely dangerous thing. The old ones will be in an uproar calling for Titan’s head. Arria swore she would fight to protect Titan. That is basically where you came in.”
Cronus looked at Sabina, then me, and finally Arria with sadness in his eyes. I couldn’t read him. I didn’t know him well enough to judge his thoughts.
“Sabina, why did you give your blood to Titan?” Cronus asked calmly.
“You were coming to kill him. Titan deserved the chance to fight back.” Sabina stammered.
“That isn’t the whole truth is it?” Cronus was disappointed.
“No.” Sabina replied. Every eye was on her as she lifted her head and told them. “I fell in love with Titan. I knew he would never be mine. I am even happy for what he and Arria have. I couldn’t stand by and watch him die when there was something I could do to help.”
“Thank you, Sabina. That makes more sense to me. Love is our greatest emotion.” Cronus turned to Arria then. “Arria, I expect you of all council members to put the needs of the whole before the needs of the one. I can see your love for Titan but that does not excuse your actions. Why would you risk a war that would destroy so many?”
“Titan did nothing wrong, Cronus. Since he was turned, he’s done nothing wrong. If I can’t fight to save an innocent who deserves to live, then why am I fighting in the first place?” Arria responded.
Cronus began to pace then. He walked slowly from one side of the semicircle of thrones to the other and back again. He never looked at anyone. He didn’t speak. He continued to pace with measured tread as my nerves went through the fricking roof in frustration.
Finally, Cronus stopped in the middle of the room. He looked up from the floor and appeared to be preparing his wording.
“I agree that Titan is good. I agree that Titan has done no wrong. Sabina will be excused for her mistake. She acted out of love. Arria will be excused for her mistakes, if any, because she was acting in good faith for an innocent under her protection.” Cronus announced. I sighed in relief as he paused. “Titan will be executed for being too much of a disruption to be allowed to live.”
Silence.
Arria moved first. She attacked Cronus but I stopped her before she reached him.
“Arria, you’ve done what you could. This is my fight now.” I told her. I led her back to her chair. My thoughts went out while I was doing this. “Ares, please keep Arria from endangering herself. Watch Lorac as well since I might lose the control over him.”
“I will, Titan.” The sadness in his voice conveyed his feelings.
I turned back to Cronus.
“Cronus, thank you for excusing Arria and Sabina. You will understand why I don’t let you take my head without a fight. Either way this goes, I want you to know that I respect this decision.” I meant every word.
“Well spoken, Titan. For what it’s worth, I wish it didn’t need to be this way.” Cronus seemed to mean his words as well.
There was a tense moment before he attacked. Once he moved, I forgot about Arria, Sabina, and everything else.
He moved faster than lightning. I defended his first pass but his second hit home. I was back at him before he could attack again. I knew I needed to find a way to take the lead. He was faster so I couldn’t try to wait and react. I mostly held my own but was slowly falling behind.
I called on my gifts while fighting off his latest attempt at my life. As he connected with a hard hit to my head, I shot flames out of one of my hands. He stopped his follow up attack to avoid being burned. I regained my feet in the momentary delay.
He came at me even faster and I knew I was in trouble. I multiplied myself and had the clones appear behind him. They attacked and pulled Cronus off of me. One of them got in a really good shot on Cronus before he knocked the clone away.
I followed up myself while he was fighting the clones. I couldn’t try for his head yet since I knew he would need to be worn down for that to work. I struck him repeatedly from one side then the other. Between me and my four clones, I took the upper hand in the fight.
Cronus saw this too. He sped away giving himself room to fight. I tried to surround him again but he used his speed advantage well enough to not allow that to happen.
As he became accustomed to the multiple attackers, he grew more successful in his defense. It was now his fight to finish. I tried to be creative and use the poison but I was never able to inject it. He somehow kept track of which attacker was the real me. When it was the real me, he was more careful.
He knocked me mostly silly with a good shot. Two of my clones were lost. I knew I was about to die. I needed to recharge. He was wearing me down.
Moron! Dumbass! Idiot!
I knew what I needed to do but wasn’t sure how to pull it off. I made another attack but could see it wouldn’t work. I was running out of ideas for how I was going to get this done.
Illusions! While my two clones and I attacked, I made one hundred more of me appear using the illusions. They couldn’t hurt Cronus but they could confuse him. I made them all come in at different angles to keep him off balance. When one of the clones could get close enough, I struck. I worked Cronus into the position I needed and went for it.
One clone dove at Cronus’s legs. He didn’t take Cronus down, but he was holding on to Cronus’s leg to keep him from moving. The other clone grabbed Cronus’s left arm and held on for dear life. I went in for his right arm and grabbed it in a death grip just before sinking my fangs into his wrist.
Cronus instantly saw what I was doing. He fought with renewed vigor but I had him weighted down enough.
I felt when I drank what was needed.
I staggered backwards and fell to my knees. Cronus was still trying to fight against my clones but the tide had turned. My clones were stronger and faster than Cronus now. I made sure they didn’t hurt him but I didn’t let him go.
My eyes were hazy and I saw in triple vision. My head swam uncontrollably. I tried to stand but couldn’t.
The power was incredible!
Cronus stopped struggling then. He saw it was over. I could barely see through my own eyes but the clones had perfect vision. I saw through them.
I remained kneeling for another minute or two while my head came to terms with my new power. When my eyes cleared, I stood up. I looked around the room to see the wide eyed stares of the council members.
Arria was smiling from ear to ear. I felt my answering smile spread across my own face. I wanted to rush over and take her in my arms but I knew there were things that needed to be done. I wouldn’t like some of it.
Chapter 25
I put my head down and paced a little. I needed to think. No, I needed Ghost.
“Arria, please call Ghost. Tell him to run. I need my brains.” I laughed lightly.
I heard as she called and told Ghost to come to the council chamber. I watched as the other council members all came to terms with what they had just witnessed. I looked to Cronus to see his look of sadness.
“Cronus, I hope this doesn’t destroy the chance of us becoming friends.” I didn’t see the response I wanted.
“You pose too much of a threat to vampires everywhere.” Cronus stated simply.
I sighed and resumed my pacing.
How could I pull off the ending I wanted? What was the ending I wanted? I knew I wanted to be with Arria. Other than that, I was empty.
Ghost came in then. I watched as he looked around taking everything in. Most would be asking question after question. Not Ghost. He spent less than a minute processing what he saw.
“So, you drank from Cronus? Wow!” Ghost exclaimed.
“I am a little braindead right now. Between the tension leading up to the fight, the fight itself, and the overwhelming rush of drinking from Cronus, I am not firing on all cylinders right now.” I admitted.
“I can imagine.” Ghost looked around and shook his head. “The council is going to be a pain.”
“You are too young to question the council.” Cronus lectured.
“He is Ghost. We spoke of him before, Cronus. This is the smartest man you will ever see.” I spoke respectfully. I wanted Cronus to understand.
“Still, to question those who are responsible for the well-being for our race is preposterous from one so inexperienced.” Cronus ranted.
I decided not to argue. I looked to Arria for direction of sorts. We needed to bring order to this mess.
“Arria, we have a lot to work through here. What do you recommend we handle first?” I asked her.
“Well first thing is this.” Arria rushed to me and kissed me. She laid her head against my chest and sighed in relief. I kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tight.
“Lorac.” Ghost gave the one word direction of what needed to be done first. I felt Arria flinch when it was said.
“We need a vote.” Arria spoke up as she disengaged from my arms. “Lorac has broken faith with the council. He is the cause of a great many innocent vampire deaths as well as the deaths of several old ones. How do you vote?”
“Execution.” Sabina stated firmly.
“Execution.” The rest of the council echoed.
It was normally Arria’s duty to carry out the sentence.
“It is unanimous.” Arria sighed.
Dmitriy stood and moved to Lorac’s chair. With a grateful nod from Arria, Dmitriy ripped Lorac’s head off. Arria had a river of tears flowing but she remained in control of herself otherwise.
“What will you do with Ephraim?” Ghost asked.
Arria cleared her throat. She was trying to overcome the loss of her brother.
“Alexander, before you arrived we took a vote on Ephraim. He was found guilty of spying for Cronus. Since it is Cronus that he was working for, some are leaning toward probation instead of execution. He was only providing information. Nothing more. Take a moment to think it through and let me know your vote.”
“I don’t need the minute, Arria. Cronus told me some while he escorted me here. I know Ephraim was only keeping Cronus up to date. I vote probation.” Alexander stated plainly.
“I think we can all agree that Cronus should be excused. We know he killed many innocents along with the old ones who deserved to be executed. Cronus has done more good for our race than any other. We know this. It is Lorac who needs to shoulder the blame for what has happened over the last weeks. We need a vote though. I vote leniency.” Arria sounded firm.
“Leniency.” Was echoed by all.
While I was happy about that, I didn’t like the stares the council members were giving me. I knew we might face some disgruntlement.
I looked around and wondered about what was to come. Cronus was still a potential problem. The council was being obstinate about me. I wondered what Ares thought.
“Ares, any advice? We have a council that would rather I die. Cronus isn’t going to relent. It may end up worse now that I have this power.”
I looked around at the growing discontent among the council. I didn’t like the way this was going to go.
“I’ve been thinking this through. It seems that we are destined to be the judges of the council. It doesn’t matter what they decide now. They can’t pose a threat to you any longer.”
“Give me a minute.” I asked with my thoughts.
Ares had been taking this role for some time. I’d thought this through a little when we spoke before. Now, it would seem this role would be shared by us.
I was far stronger than any vampire now. I didn’t like it too much.
“Titan, do you see what kind of danger we are in? Every old one will be attacking us.” Dmitriy was being respectful and pleading at the same time.
I sighed loudly and looked at Ghost.
“There is one answer that is better than the others.” He had that smile. The one that told me to figure it out for myself.
Butthole.
I was preparing for a long drawn out contemplation when it dawned on me. I took a minute to think it through. It fit better than the rest.
I looked to Cronus. When he felt my stare he looked at me.
Still
I smiled inwardly as Cronus was locked under my mind control. I let the clones disperse since they weren’t needed any more.
“Ares, it seems we should be on equal ground if we are going to be facing these idiots together. I think you should drink from Cronus.”
I felt Ares approach. Just because I could, I looked through his illusion. He saw my eyes following him and smiled.
I watched as he lifted the arm of Cronus and drank. The council wouldn’t understand what was happening. That made me smile wider. Ghost wore the same smile.
“Why aren’t you even answering? Dmitriy stated the truth, Titan. We are all in danger now because of you.” Sela was sounding desperate.
Ares was on his knees much the same as I was after drinking from Cronus. The power that came from a vampire of that age was incredible.
I looked up from Ares to Sela. She wanted an answer. I guessed I needed to give her one.
“Sela, the old ones are not a threat to me. You are afraid because the system has been breaking down and now is in serious trouble.” I paused while I watched Ares regain his feet.
“If every old one comes after us, we are more than in trouble. We will all die!” Nina exclaimed.
I’d heard enough. I needed to assert myself.
“Listen up! All of you need to hear this. All I’ve wanted since I was turned was to be with Arria and live my life peacefully. You are blaming me about the old ones. The old ones will blame you for letting me drink from an old one. I’ve had enough of all the blaming. I’ve had enough of all the underhanded, backstabbing, and self-serving bullshit! From now on, things will be different. Everyone will be held accountable for their actions. That means you too!” I paused and looked around the room. “The council will continue with Arria as its leader the way it has for thousands of years. The old ones will fall in line. You will make sure they see the folly in coming after me or raising a fuss. The council will perform its job and handle things like that. If a problem arises that you can’t handle, I will deal with it. This council will be watched over to make sure none of you continue what Lorac, Feng, Cheng, and the others have done. The old ones will remain in line.”
“What kind of army do you have to make this happen?” Dmitriy asked.
Ares dropped his illusion then. He stood by Cronus and had a few drops of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
“He has me. I am Titan’s army.”
Chapter 26
Arria was still asleep. She’d cried her eyes out last night. The council members were still here and would be for a few more days by the looks of it. They were going to bring in the two new replacements and bring them up to speed. Menolo’s loss wouldn’t be felt. Arria was the main one feeling the loss of Lorac.
I fought the most enjoyable fight. I loved to watch Arria sleep. The problem was being this close without kissing her. Some fights have no losing side.
There were things we needed to do but I felt they could wait. I wanted to enjoy the peace and comfort of watching the love of my life sleep.
Damn it!
I kissed her and now she was waking. When her eyes opened, she smiled. Her smile made it okay.
“It is still early. I was trying to let you sleep but couldn’t resist.” I couldn’t keep the happiness from my voice.
“Today should be a much better day. I’m okay with starting it early.” I saw the sadness hit her again. It would take some time for her to get over losing Lorac.
We took turns in the shower. She went first since she had more pressing matters to handle. Ghost was planning a meeting with me, Ares, and himself. I thought of including Apollo and the gang. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.
I was getting dressed when Arria came to kiss me goodbye.
“Call me if you need me.” I told her.
“I will.” She promised.
Once I was dressed and ready, I headed for Ghost’s room. Ares was already there. They were standing around waiting for me.
“Hey, guys.” Things felt a little weird at first but then settled in to the normal mode quickly enough.
“Hey, Titan. How is Arria?” Ghost asked.
“She was pretty bad last night. She seemed better this morning. Still, it will be a while before she gets over losing her brother.” I sat in Ghost’s chair.
“Ghost has a few ideas. I like the ones he shared so far.” Ares started us off.
