Chapter 2 - Vampires

Even if Morgaine insisted that Edwin take some soldiers, the two thousand year-old general decided to leave alone. He picked up some supplies and left before the sun went down.

 

When the sun touched his white skin he remembered to check if he was taking everything he needed. The blood-red cloak that covered his body hid what his hands touched under his clothing. When the verification movements had finished he had already crossed the frozen forest and reached the Emerald River. The point where the frozen sun, the great legacy of Vladimir ended. As he dismounted at the river Edwin remembered his father, who had sacrificed himself so that the vampires would no longer suffer from the presence of the werewolves.

 

The icy sun was built beneath the earth with Vladimir's blood. A spell, cast by a merchant. Every werewolf who stepped on this earth would instantly be killed. Not to mention that the abilities of vampires under its light were magnified. What Vladimir did not know when the deal was struck, was that when a pureblood vampire died, all those who had been created by him became mortal again. Today it is a closely guarded secret amongst their kind.

 

The night came and even though Edwin was a nocturnal creature he decided to rest under a willow. Even in the presence of the moon he still sweats from the warmth of the wolves on his skin. The heat of their breath burned every cell in a Vampire's body, it was why Vladimir had begun the slaughter after all. It was almost unbearable agony for his kind and had they not been born of pain it surely would have been their end.

 

"I will finish what my father started." He declared.

As soon as the sun touched Edwin's face again, he began to grow color, he shed the cloak revealing his white shirt with the coat of arms of the royal house, two crossed swords, and a pair of tusks in half moon with a hand holding the insignia. He also wore a cloth, trousers, with two sheathed blades and several bottles tied to his leather belt.

 

The deeper into the green forest Edwin traveled the worse the heat became and the more his features changed. His skin became tanned, his large black eyes turned honey-colored, his long black hair became golden. Green veins were visible through his body and his teeth yellowed.

 

Edwin stopped in front of a large gate by the statue of a dead man carved from black marble, a man that he had known and killed a long time ago. The guards recognized the coat of arms on his chest and begrudgingly allowed him into the castle. As usual, the wolves offered a large, isolated, empty room; in an attempt to alleviate the vampire's agony.

 

After some time The Queen received Edwin. Impatient as always, he went straight to the point, ignoring the great number of wolves and men in the room. He spoke directly to the queen. She sat on her throne, her silvery hair long and loose about her shoulders, everything from her polished boots to her circlet crown carefully chosen to project authority. It is a wasted effort as he doesn't recognize their authority on anything.

 

"I am Prince Edwin Vladi II I am here at the request of Morgana Vladi II, wife of Lucius Vladi I and ruler of Elatre."

 

The last sentence seemed to surprise the wolves. Edwin was pleased to confirm that Elatre's affairs remained confidential and explained more clearly.

"Lucius is on the verge of death. The heat of you is even more harmful now and Morgaine has two proposals. The first, you give up half of Zulcan so that our merchant may expand the icy sun, the second, you will offer pure blood so that we may make a ritual of recovery for our king," Edwin reached for one of the scabbards, and every warrior in the room came alert.

 

Alexa knew they could not surrender the land, it was too risky. If a war broke out with such increased power the vampires would annihilate the wolves in an instant.

 

Edwin who had never been friendly with the wolves threw a dagger to the ground and demanded, "The answer, now! Do not forget who I am!"

 

They all looked at Edwin, then at the dagger again, it was covered with hair of various colors, each for a werewolf Edwin had killed nearly a thousand years ago. Some say that just before the peace treaty Vladimir and Edwin killed a thousand werewolves alone.

 

Alexa stared at him intently, as she weighed her options. He grinned giving her a defiant look. Her almost white hair left him almost dazed.

 

"Please calm down," she asked after a while. She put her finger to her lips, thoughtfully, and continued, "May I speak to you alone?"

 

A ripple of dissent spread among the wolves who were there.

 

"It is not safe, my Queen!" Charles approached.

 

Edwin stared at the tall, silver-haired man.

 

He appeared to be a skilled warrior but Edwin already knew his weakness. From the moment the man entered the room he did not take his eyes off Edwin, he knew that it was not just a precaution and the man was calculating his movements.

 

"Do not worry Charles, I believe His Lordship, wishes a deal, as much as we do," The queen calmed the man and turned to him. "Let us reach an agreement that is not rushed, where both parties stand to win."

"I do not care for your side of the deal, so long as my Queen and my people do not lose," he answered harshly.

 

She pointed toward a door, and the wolves that were there gave way. The Queen soon motioned for him to follow.

 

Edwin was unaccustomed to taking orders, he preferred to make his own decisions. However, he knew he was not there just for him. He was there for Morgaine and the sake of all vampires.

 

"There are many interesting things in our village that I would like you to see," She soon said as they were outdoors.

Even besieged by the intense heat, Edwin did not falter, he continued with his head high.

 

The village was surrounded by a huge stone wall, giving protection to the villagers. The stone path they followed led them to the top of the hill where he could see everything.

 

"I do not understand what we can do for Lucius's health," Alexa speaks again after a while.

 

The wind picked up and made her hair swell and shine in the sun.

 

"You're not complying with the Treaty. The increase in wolves increases the heat that you emanate," Edwin responded angrily, being so close to a wolf made him even more sensitive to their heat.

 

Two children ran past as they continued to walk among the few houses that were there.

 

From what he could see, there were not as many people as he had imagined. It only added to his doubts about what was happening.

 

"Only I can create more werewolves, and I am not doing that," she replied, her eyes met his for the first time since they began to speak privately. Both of them had doubts in their eyes. "From my point of view, the treaty was the best thing that could have happened. I will not let my mother's sacrifice be in vain."

 

"Queen Morgaine sent me on a mission, and I will not return until all is settled," Edwin paused to admire the lake in the center of the village, it was huge, on its far shore there were a few more inhabitants who used the lake water to wash their clothes. "I have already come here with two proposals for you to choose from."

 

"Both proposals only favor you," she said in an attempt to calm him down, but her face showed how annoyed she was.

 

"The treaty favored us, but you broke the rules and only the vampires have been affected," he snapped.

 

"I will not accept either of these offers, both are intolerable. I cannot give you half of my kingdom, just as I cannot send one of our own to sacrifice."

 

Edwin held his dagger firmly as he stood before Zulcan's queen.

 

"Your actions do not frighten me!" She growled as she took up a position of attack, even though she knew he had not come to her kingdom to start a war.

 

He laughed at her attitude. Beating her would be easy, but he did not want war simply because the conversation had not gone as planned.

 

"I also felt the change in the heat we emanate. It is stronger as if there are more out there…"

 

"Do not play me for a fool," Edwin cut her off in the middle of her speech. Alexa's forehead wrinkled. "If you are the only one who can to produce werewolves. You are breaking the treaty's laws."

 

"They are appearing in a way I can not explain," Alexa continued ignoring his aggression "But you're also in violation of the treaty laws since I have information of humans being killed in my territory by vampires," she smiled

.

She did very well when it came to arguing in her favor. She always had a way out of everything.

 

Edwin was startled. He did not know of any vampire movement in the forbidden territory.

 

"You're bluffing," he pointed at her.

 

"I have evidence since I do not need to use my strength, but my wit. I prefer reason over force," she added. The smile of victory was undeniable on her face.

 

Alexa did not enter a fight if she could not win with honest arguments alone.

 

They stopped walking when they were near a huge tree with a bench made of stone below. Alexa was the first to sit down and waited for Edwin to remember his manners.

After a while Edwin sat down, wondering what Morgaine might have known that he had not. There was no shortage of food in the vampire lands. If what she said were true, then some rebellion was being formed.

 

"If both of us are being affected by something unfamiliar, I suggest we leave our rivalry aside to look into it together," Alexa continued.

Edwin shook his head bewildered by the proposal, joining vampires and werewolves in a hunt for something unknown was beyond their prospects.

 

"Never!" He growled harshly.

 

"Only together will we be able to find out what is happening out there in our territories!"

 

If she was telling the truth, something very terrible was beginning to happen, and it would grow fast. No matter how much he abhorred the thought he could not completely dismiss the idea. After all his people stood to lose far more than the werewolves if it was allowed to grow unchecked.

 

"Very well, I accept your proposal, however with some conditions!"

Alexa motioned for him to continue, it seemed she was willing to listen. "I will go on this journey, and you may choose one of your warriors, one that is not wild," he laughed at his own joke, "but just one, I will take no one else, no guard, and no other member of the pack are to follow as well."

 

"What if there's a greater danger? Only two will not be able to handle the evil that can happen," her concern was remarkable.

 

"I will not take more than one. It would risk war as we are still rivals."

 

Alexa was thoughtful for a moment, he had accepted her proposal, and his conditions did not only favor him. He was right, such a partnership could end in war. She could not hold the pack back if the worst happened and there were few werewolves, and they would quickly be destroyed.

 

"I will go!" She blurted out suddenly.