Chapter 3: A Cry for Help

 

Aria couldn’t recall how she made her way back to her chambers. She slowly sank onto the edge of her bed, her thoughts a whirlwind of fear and uncertainty about what her sister might be enduring. She struggled to pull herself together, but the weight of the situation lingered. At least her sister was still alive. Was that a selfish thought to have?

Aria clenched her fists. She would rather die than be used as a tool by those monsters. The thought of becoming one of their breeding stock—of having them touch her, let alone bear their children—was enough to turn her stomach.

She stood and began pacing, her mind spinning with worries about her sister. The unease in her gut refused to fade. Did her uncle mean to suggest that the new prisoner might know something about her sister’s fate?

Suddenly she remembered the way he had looked at her. Her sister was also her twin. They looked alike. He must have recognized her. Oh, God!

Rushing to the door, she went to find her uncle. He was leaving with a few soldiers and she had to call out loud and rush to the gates to stop him. The men were surprised by her behavior. She was often calm and collected even when she was sharp-tongued or cold-hearted as they called her.

The king turned on his horse. "Aria?"

"Your Majesty," she halted, breathing heavily from having run so fast. "I need to speak to the prisoner."

He laughed. "He will not speak so easily."

"I think he might know where my sister is. He recognized my face."

Her uncle frowned. "Aria. I understand that you want to find Corinna. I want to find her too but it is dangerous to be near him right now and he won't speak unless tortured. You know these beasts. I will take care of it."

"I will take care of it. I need to leave now." He repeated, cutting her off.

Aria knew when he gave his final word and couldn't be convinced anymore. She watched him turn on his horse and ride away with his men, disappearing behind the gates that closed. She remembered watching her father leave the same way. She would stand there with her mother and sister and wave goodbye until her father was out of sight.

Aria feared she had lost them all but her sister could be alive. How was she supposed to sit around and wait?

Turning on her heels she went back inside. She rushed through the halls to get to the Zenith. The Zenith was the secret quarters where the laboratories, inventories, and libraries could be found. It was where she spent most of her time.

After her father's death, she had taken interest in his developments and wanted to help develop and invent tools to keep humans alive and protected from the beasts. She had submerged herself in the notes and projects he had left behind, meticulously analyzing his sketches to figure out how he came up with his ideas.

In addition to the immortalizer, her father invented the clamp. It was a bow that fired a metal that clasped around the werewolf's mouth, preventing it from spewing fire during a battle. Of course, this weapon had to be aimed with precision.

He also designed the graviton, a device that uses the magnetic force of two particular metals to pull a werewolf down toward the other metal. He was also the inventor of the terrorizer. The soldier's weapon of choice. The metal clasped around the werewolf's neck, compelling it to revert to human form or risk being choked.

Aria could go on about her father's inventions. There was the apostle, the crucifier, the soul keeper, the penance, and much more. Fighting the werewolfs had been a terrifying war. Their ability to transform, control fire, fly, and much more had made the humans helpless against them.

The newly developed firearms were ineffective as small gun wounds didn't cause enough harm. Nor did arrows help when the werewolves were in their beast form. They mostly broke once they hit the thick werewolf skin. The immortalizer was likewise worthless unless they were in their human form. Needles couldn't pierce through the thick werewolf's skin. That was why the clamp and the terrorizer were great inventions to fight the werewolves in their beast form.

Aria's father had become a hero because of his inventions. They called him the people's king. The citizens mourned his death and swore to avenge him. The months after his death many men enlisted themselves in the army, ready to fight the enemy and avenge their king.

Aria wanted to avenge her family too but she knew that if they were going to fight a stronger force then they would have to be smarter. She became determined to follow in her father's footsteps and invent the best weapons. Something that would destroy her enemy.

Once she arrived at the laboratory, her teacher and royal physician Adrian looked up from the pages of an old book.

"You are late today," he pointed.

"I know. I found out that Corinna could be alive."

He closed the book with a frown and put it aside.

"Did his Majesty tell you that?"

"Not only that Adrian. I saw the werewolf when he was brought here and he looked at me in a strange way. He kept staring at me until he was dragged away. Why would he do that?"

Adrian shook his head with a smile. "Because you are a young beautiful lady?"

No! It wasn't that. She knew when men looked at her that way. "I am sure that is not it." She said, "Is it true that the werewolfs are using human females to breed?"

"That is what they say." He shrugged.

"Is that even possible? Will the women survive childbirth?"

"I don't know the details of Aria, but you have to remember that the original werewolves could not shift to human form. There must have been some mixed breeding for them to be able to look like us."

"That is possible, but if that was the case then we still don't know what happened to those women, if they lived or died."

Aria selfishly hoped whatever happened that her sister was alive. Once she rescued her, she would make sure to take well care of her.

"Adrian." She went to sit at the same table. "I noticed something strange. The sedatives we give shouldn't cause any convulsion and they didn't in the beginning but I keep seeing that happen whenever the immortalizer is used lately."

"I have noticed that too." He said. "I am trying to find out what caused the change."

"Also… this one did not only convulse. The sedatives didn't work at all."

"Well, he is of royal blood. The purer the blood the stronger the special abilities are, like the healing for example." He stood up and went to grab a bottle of blood on the table. "His blood is extraordinary. His Majesty wants us to study him carefully. We need to know the weaknesses of the ones with royal blood." he put the bottle down. "I need more of his blood."

"I can bring you more." She hurried to say.

He shook his head. "His Majesty wouldn't allow that,"

"But you said we should study him."

"Yes, you and I are together from a distance but you are not going near him to draw blood. He is very dangerous."

"He is chained." She said but still felt like she should worry. She had seen him cram one of the soldiers to death. If anything went wrong, he would kill her before she could take another breath. "Do we perhaps need different chains? Something stronger?"

"They have already secured him with more shackles and chains. We are also using a graviton to keep him in place."

Aria wasn't sure why this didn't make her feel safer. Still, she wanted to talk to him. She had to find out about her sister sooner than later.

"Adrian, I really need to talk to him. Please, help me."

The old man shook his head. "We should at least wait a few days until he grows weak. He won't tell you anything right now."

"I have to try. It is about Corinna." Adrian had known them since they were children. He knew her sister. They had spent a lot of time together.