Unholy War

Unholy War 12

Chapter 12- Aiden

I used to be scared of death when I was a human. I used to think about how temporary life was. I was young when Armando showed me what it meant to be undying. The idea of living forever was at times hard to really comprehend even when I became a vampire. I didn't understand. Everything had a beginning so everything needed to have an end. Right? That's what I thought. But then I saw his face and I understood what the idea of undying meant.

Somethings don't die. Somethings stay forever. Like his smile. The way he folds his lips. The way he raises his eyebrows. The way he squints. The golden hue of his golden skin. Somethings last forever. My love for Santos will last forever.

"Aiden I'm so excited," Santos states.

Confetti. Balloons. Cheers.

"I can tell," I state, "I was getting worried about you."

"I wish Nero was here. Have we heard from him?"

"Don't worry about that right now. Right now let's just focus on Promise coming back," I state, "Here...take my hand."

Santos reaches next to me. We are standing on a elevated staircase. I watch as Armando notices me take his hand. I guess I just want to comfort him. I just want to give Santos some sort of strength. Nero should be here for this but he isn't. He's been banned and if they find him he will be killed. Santos has been so far removed from everything that he hasn't even noticed. All he cared about was getting Promise back that the rest of the world had disappeared to him. He was a true father.

His devastation at the idea that his son was taken turned him into something else. Santos is so handsome. The way his eyes light up as we stand in front of the Blood Palace makes my heart smile.

"Any moment now the parade is going to lead the wolves here and you'll get to see your son. You'll get to see Promise again."

Santos hadn't been himself. He'd been...deteriorating. I could only imagine how it would feel to have my son taken away from me. We'd spent so long trying to find Promise and finally Promise was being returned to us. The streets of vampires were celebrating. It was the biggest celebration since Halloween. The wolves were paraded through the streets of Eden. They were paraded as the heroes who brought back Prince Promise.

"I have to admit, I didn't think the wolves would pull it off," Camille explains.

"Don't ever doubt me," Armando tells her.

Armando is strong when he says that. The counsel of vampires is standing nearby. They haven't been nearly as tough on Armando as they were on Nero. That's because Armando wasn't nearly as nice as Nero. He let them know where their place was and they listened. They were a ravenous bunch of white-collared blood suckers. I didn't trust any of them as far as I can throw them. Nero made the mistake of thinking you could work with the Vampire counsel. I knew better. They wanted revenge for Lucca and the only reason they were celebrating the wolves is because we could use the wolves to kill the witches.

"Here they come," I tell Santos.

The caravan that was pulling the wolves was coming up to the pedestal we were standing on. The vampires of Eden were literally treating the wolves like heroes. They run up to the caravan of carriages and were throwing gifts at their feet. People were so dramatic in Eden. They gather around. A crowd of hundreds have come to see the wolves bring Promise back to Santos. It's a big deal. It's all over local television. Santos is nervous. He squeezes my hand tighter. I turn to him. He is so handsome right now. Santos always has a very serious expression on his face like he is in deep thought. I love it.

The caravan opens. The wolves come out. I recognize Walid. He's the leader of the wolves. You can tell almost immediately that he is the Alpha werewolf just by how he dominates the others. He is a bulky guy that seems like he was actually raised by wolves especially when he doesn't bow to us. He might not know Armando is king. Maybe he doesn't care...

"We got your witch," he says, "I caught a few others but they escaped. No matter. This was the one that we found with the prince."

Another werewolf comes out and throws a young witch in front of us. The witch is the youngest of all the witchdoctors. His name is Innocent. They've tied the young boy up in ropes.

"Why did you bring us him?" I ask, "His father was the one we wanted."

Micko was the one who had kidnapped Promise. I look down at this Innocent boy. He seems lost. He just stares out completely blank. It's the strangest expression I've ever seen. It's almost as though he's alive but no one is home.

"A witch is a witch," Walid says, "They are all the same."

He's cocky. He's a lot more cocky than I would've liked.

"Take him away," I tell the guards.

They grab Innocent up and take him away. I'm glad they do as well. There is something really eerie about how he just stares as though he has no soul. Something was wrong here and I couldn't put my finger on it. I look over at Santos again. He has that excitement still. If something is wrong it has gone completely over his head. Every part of me wants to protect him and right now I have a bad feeling about this.

That's when I notice a woman. She's a werewolf too. Humans may not be able to smell werewolf stench but vampires can. They stink. That's how I know what she is. She is barely standing. She is fully pregnant. R eyes silk behind Innocent when they take him away as though struggling with separation. Her stomach is large. She looks as though she is about to drop any moment now. There are bags underneath her eyes.

"What's wrong with her?" I ask.

"She's pregnant. Can't you see that?" Walid responds, "Fang. Take Amina back into the caravan. She's embarrassing me."

They take the pregnant woman back into the carriage but I get one long look at her. I could have sworn that she wasn't pregnant before she left. Or at least she didn't look pregnant. So why did she look 9 months pregnant already. And why did she have the same look on her face that Innocent had?

"My son. You have my son too?" Santos asks Walid.

"Oh yeah. We rescued your son from the witches."

"Bring him out," Armando states.

"First we need to talk about our terms," Walid responds.

The wolves had no manners. They were speaking to a king right now. Any vampire had more manners especially when it came to royalty but these people were just so...uncivilized. There was no other word to describe it. They were dragging around a sickly pregnant woman in fur coats and the majority of them didn't even have shoes on. I was annoyed this is how Santos was going to get Promise back.

"As we stated, wolves will be allowed to enter Eden," Armando states, "As many wolves as you would like from as many different packs as you would like."

I look at King Armando. I shake my head. This is a bad idea. This is a really bad idea.

Walid smiles at that moment, "Deal."

"But only in the gardens. You will not be allowed to enter the city."

This was a lot smarter. The gardens stretched out forever. They stretched out for miles. There was nothing out there that really concerned the vampires.

"There's no houses out there," Walid notices.

No shit.

"We'll provide tents," Armando states.

There are a few snickers among the elitist vampires in the counsel. They really enjoyed that. I do think that the vampires are really thinking that we have tamed some loyal dogs or something. I'm not so sure about that. Then I see Walid's face. If there was any fight in him it seems to be muted by something. He leans over to Yaser. Yaser...the one who we saved. Yaser owed us his life.

"You treat us like dogs?" Yaser asks, "We do all this hard work and instead of a room at the table you are sending us to the gardens! Like dogs? Putting us in the yard?"

There is a tension in the air. The crowd gets quiet. A few of the counsel members look at one another. If the wolves get offended and attack, they'd be the first one to haul ass out of here. We have guards though. We have enough guards to kill the wolves. There would be an issue though. Yaser. He was strong. He was too strong. Half wolf/half vampire. He would kill a lot of my guards, but if I needed to do it I would make the order to take them down.

"Well..." Armando starts off not quite knowing how to respond to that.

"We like it!" Yaser responds surprisingly, "Deal."

There are cheers.

Armando and Walid walk up to one another. They shake hand. More cheers. Louder cheers. Yaser and Santos walk up to one another and shake hands. The wolves the vampires have made peace and formed some type of alliance. It should be a happy moment. The crowd thinks so at least. They have raised up their voices and are celebrating at this moment. I had no doubt that wine would run through the streets.

"Now. Promise," Santos says once again, "Give him to me. Give me my son."

He's desperate.

He needs his son and honestly I don't blame him. It's been weeks that Promise has been missing. He was just a baby.

That's when all of a sudden Yaser walks back to the carriage. The crowd holds there breath. Santos stands in front of me. I put my hands on his shoulders. My lips are pressed up against his ear. I can see how hard Santos is smiling right now. I never thought it would be possible for me to feel as much joy for someone else as I feel for Santos. Promise might as well be my son. I almost want to cry. The time Santos spent away from his son had almost driven him crazy. He deserved this. He deserved every moment of this happiness.

And if Nero wasn't here then I would be.

"Here he comes," I whisper to Santos.

Footsteps. Soft footsteps can be heard from my ears. The crowd has gotten so quiet. You could hear a pin drop. It was almost like we were having a moment a silence. There was a problem. The problem was that the person Yaser was leading up to Santos wasn't a baby. It wasn't even a toddler.

This...person was at least 12 years old.

Yaser is the one who says, "Santos. This is your son...Promise."

There are deep gasps from the crowd and Santos faints. I grab him at that moment, scooping Santos in my arms. Armando is beyond pissed at that moment.

"What the FUCK is that?" Armando says.

The little boy doesn't speak. He just stares. He has a muzzle on as though he was some sort of dog! Armando is outraged.

He isn't the only one who is upset. I'm so pissed that I'm shaking. My nerves are getting the most of me. I want to attack someone but I'm not sure who. Santos has fainted in my arms. I want to kill the person who is responsible for breaking his heart like this.

"Is this some sort of sick joke?" I ask the werewolves.

"We found him like this," Yaser states, "He just keeps...aging. He killed someone I loved a lot named Dakota."

Yaser has no loyalty. He was supposed to convince the wolves to form an alliance with us against the witches.

"You'll be joining Dakota soon. Kill them," I order my guards, "Kill them all."

The wolves had fucked with the wrong one. They had made the wrong mistake today. The vampires descend past the counsel. They are making their way towards the wolves. A few of the wolves jolt back attempting to defend themselves but I think they know that there is no way they would get out of this alive as well.

"Wait," Armando states.

That's when Armando walks forward. I'm shocked when he does it. He walks straight up to the little boy the wolves are claiming is Promise. He bends over. The boy doesn't speak. The boy doesn't say a word. He seems to be almost like he is in some sort of daze just like the pregnant woman and Innocent. He stands there lifeless even as Armando grabs onto him. He holds tight on the muzzle wrapped around the little boy's mouth

"Be careful," Yaser states, "He's dangerous..."

Armando could care less. He removes he muzzle. He opens it up. The boy continues to stare out lifeless. Armando stares back at him.

"No. He's not. He's my grandson."

"Armando...I mean King Armando," I state, "We don't know what the fuck that is."

The boy was the same complexion that Santos was. That golden hue. He also had that serious expression like Santos had. He looked a lot like Santos, but this thing had aged ridiculously. I can't understand this.

"I know my blood. This isn't the werewolves who did this," Armando states, "Look at him. This is magic."

That's when I realize where Armando is getting at.

"The witches."

All of a sudden there is a piercing scream in the distance. I'm not sure who it is but the scream breaks through the silence.

"Will we be blamed for everything?" a voice says.

I turn and I see Genesis! He's breaks out from the crowd and starts to ascend the stairs. I'm shocked. He's right there! In the open!

"Genesis..." Walid says.

I'm shocked he walks show up out of no where, alone and surrounded by enemies. All of a sudden I am beyond pissed. All of a sudden I want to kill him for Santos. I want to rip him in half. I could care less if he was working with Nero or not. They hurt Promise. They hurt Santos. I would make them pay. I feel my fangs show up automatically. I'm not the only one on edge.

Armando is ready to attack. The vampires are ready to attack but then again so are the werewolves. Within a matter of seconds every last werewolf has changed into their wolf form at the sight of Genesis.

I had to admit that he had some balls showing up here alone.

"What did you do to my grandson?" Armando asks Genesis.

Genesis looks at the little boy, "Nothing. I'm not here for him. I'm here...for everything else."

Armando screams out at the guards, "KILL HIM!"

The vampires run down the steps towards Genesis like ravenous beasts. The only thing that seems more hungry to tear Genesis apart are the werewolves. That's when there is another scream in the crowd. Then another scream. Then another and another. Soon vampires in the massive crowd are screaming for help and I smell the blood in the air.

"What's happening?" I ask.

The crowd is panicking. Everyone is running everywhere. I can smell the blood in the air. That's when I see sprinkled throughout the crowd red capes. People in red capes stabbing people. They are murdering the people of Eden in middle of the day!

The chaos breaks out!

I turn back to Genesis. Sure enough he has been lost through the chaos. A stampede of people have covered him up almost completely and still I can see the murders in the crowd. The people of Eden were being attacked indiscriminately.

Armando looks over at me, "Take Promise and Santos back to the palace. Keep them safe. No matter what!"

The red capes are flying throughout the crowd. More people are screaming. The streets are pouring with blood. Even with my vampire senses I can't seem to locate exactly who is doing these attacks. It seems like something is shrouding their movements.

Magic.

There is blood magic in the air.

"I can't leave you," I tell Armando.

Armando walks over to me, "Go. You're the only one I trust with Santos. I need him save. And I need you safe too."

"Me?"

"I'm going to step down, Aiden. Here," Armando says, "I've annulled Nero's marriage to Santos."

He hands me the piece of paper. It is all happening so fast. The guards of Eden surround us. The chaos is so loud though. We aren't safe here. Santos is still fainted in my arms and he isn't waking up. I realize what Armando is handing to me but I don't get it.

"Why did you annul their marriage?"

"Because I want you to marry Santos."

My mouth dropped open. I knew Armando trusted me. Armando had trusted me because he had handpicked me to become a vampire. He had watched me and my brother when we were humans. I was his protégé. Armando loved his family in the most ferocious way I had ever seen a man his love his family before. The fact that he trusted me to marry his son and was actually giving me his blessing was crazy. His blessing was something that Nero never was able to obtain.

"I'll keep him safe," I tell Armando.

"Good. And if I die today. You'll be king Aiden."

King Aiden? The thought of it makes me feel so much responsibility. I grab Promise's hand with my free fingers while I carry his father in my other ared. I am running towards the castle! Just as I make my way to the castle steps past guards I look back one more time and I'm blown away by what I see. The red capes are liked wings eagles dancing in and out of the crowd killing vampires. Blood is spilling all over the streets.

They were coming!

I don't get it. So much killing. So much blood.

How is this possible?

We were vampires. We were the undying.

Someone had found a way to kill us and they were finding a way to kill us in mass.

~

"Get out there. The city is under attack," I scream out to guards as I run past them.

The ones that are available don't hesitate to be called into duty. There is a loud alarm that is sounding in the Blood Palace. It's castle walls are vibrating with the alarm. I can tell people are panicking everywhere but I have one job and one job only. I had to keep Santos and Promise safe. I can hear the screams outside of the palace. This couldn't be happening!

How did the witches get this kind of power? How the fuck had they managed to get enough power to attack an entire city of vampires?

I'm running. My clothes are drenched in sweat. I keep going. I can't let Santos down. I had to protect him. Surprisingly Promise keeps up with me. He must want to get away from the attack outside as well.

I'm running!

Screams are filling Eden. So many screams. Eden hadn't been in chaos like this in years. I have a feeling the witches aren't the ones screaming.

I feel an arm grabbing onto me. I shove the person back!

I bare my fangs.

"It's me!"

I'm shocked when I see the person who is grabbing me.

"Nero?" I ask, "What the fuck are you doing in here? If Armando or any of the guards saw you in here you would be killed on sight."

Sure enough it is Nero. He isn't alone. He is holding onto someone. It's Justice. He's holding onto Justice in the same way that I am holding onto Santos.

"I need your help," Nero tells me.

I look around. I look down at Santos. I look at Promise.

I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be worried about Nero. If I was smart I would leave him here to die for the guards to find him and Justice. I'm sure Armando would have them killed. Armando didn't think their bloodline should be ruling. He hadn't planned on taking over Eden just to hand it right back to Nero or his son.

The thing is I'm not smart.

I'm in love. I'm in love with Santos and if Santos was awake he would want me to help.

"Follow me," I tell Nero.

~

We lock ourselves in Nero's old study. I barricade the doors to keep us safe. I don't know how long this will hold. I have to admit that I'm scared. My heart is racing. I'm not scared for myself. I've lived long enough. I'm scared for Santos. He hadn't had enough time with his son.

"What's wrong with Santos?" Nero asks me.

He's standing over Nero. He looks down at him. Nero is clearly concerned.

"He's fine. He just fainted. He hadn't been drinking blood either. He was already dehydrated. What's wrong with Justice?" I ask.

"He needs blood as well. He was attacked."

"By who?"

"A witch."

What the fuck? These witches were monsters. I look over at Nero.

"Can you help us?" Nero asks me.

I shouldn't be helping him. I keep saying that to myself. I've helped Nero enough. I've done my part. Things were different now. Armando was giving me everything that I wanted. Armando was going to let me marry his son.

I was going to get the thing I wanted most.

But then I look down at Santos and I get weak.

"He needs a blood transfusion. Get up on the bed. I'll show you how..." I explain.

Luckily Justice and Nero have the same blood type. It's the most awkward silence in the world as I help them. The whole time Nero is looking at Promise who is staring back at him. I think about telling him who Promise is but I don't know how. It's a weird thing to say.

"Everything OK with that kid?" Nero asks me.

The blood transfusion is almost done. I can see a little bit of color returning to Justice who was going gray. I look over at Promise. Nero had a point. Promise was just staring blankly at Justice as though there was no soul in him. It was scary to be honest. He was a creepy kid.

I take a deep breath, "The witches are attacking."

He at least needed a warning.

"No. This thing with Justice seemed like an accident."

"No. I'm talking about right now they are attacking. Outside of these walls. Don't you notice how easy it was for you to get into the palace? That's because everyone is out there fighting off motherfucking witches."

I shake my head. Nero seems shocked. He's not as shocked as me though. It was a full blown attack. I don't get how the witches mustered up enough strength. There was just a handful of them if that. The ones they did have barely knew any strying magic either.

"The witches I know, save Genesis, were actually nice," Nero states, "They don't seem like they would do this."

"Well there's fucking magic going on out there. So you explain it. You explain that..." I point to Promise.

"What are you talking about?"

"That's Promise."

"No it's not," he responds.

"Why do you think Santos fainted?" I ask, "There is magic happening here. I don't know who is responsible for what. I don't fucking like it. None of it. And we should have killed the witches when we had the chance. All of them."

Nero gets quiet. He stares at Promise. He is speechless or so I think. We should have never let the witches near Eden. The wolves were dumb and predicatable. They were safe. The witches though were something else. They weren't safe at all.

"I'll find Mason. He seems reasonable. I'll reverse...whatever this is," Nero states.

I should have known Nero wasn't speechless. He was thinking of a plan. He seems so sure of himself even as he looks at Promise. He is so calm. Maybe he is the kind of guy that is good for Santos. I have nothing but anger. I just want to kill them all while he wants to actually fix things. We are so opposite that I don't understand how Santos could have loved both of us.

"This is your family," I state shaking my head, "Do what you want..."

I finish the blood transfusion and get up. I walk over to Santos. He is stirring a little bit. I can see that he's coming back to himself.

"I've missed him," Nero states, "Thank you for protecting him."

Nero looks over at Santos. I look down at Santos. This was Nero's family. Not mine, but damn...it could be. That's the only thing I keep thinking at that moment. I play with the paper in my pocket. I turn to him at that moment.

"Armando annulled your marriage to Santos," I spit out, "Santos is waking up. I thought you should know before he woke up."

I just spit it out. He should know. I would want to know. Nero is very mature. I don't think he'll have a big reaction to it. He's always been the patient, wise and kind king. This Nero who hears this news has a different reaction though. At first his eyes get wide. Then his mouth drops open slightly.

"He can't do this," he asks.

"He's king. For now," I state.

There is another pause. It's long. It's awkward.

"And then you?" he asks, "You'll be king."

It's more like a statement then a question. He knows what Armando was planning. Armando was planning the same thing he had always been planning. I would take over for Nero. I was the stronger match for Santos. I could protect him better according to Armando. The funny thing is that I'm the weak one right now who doesn't even have the backbone to go through with this. It's ironic.

I nod, "You're no longer married to Santos."

I turn back to Nero. He is in tears. It's rare to see Nero show emotion in public. He was always the stoic type. He never thought angrily like I did at times but then again he never really cried like I did as well. Right now he was showing those tears though. I have to admit they warm my fucking heart.

"I can't lose him," Nero states, "I'm losing everything."

His one son almost became a thirst. His other son has aged rapidly. He had lost his throne. Nero was at an all time low. I can understand the emotion.

Santos is waking up.

"He's waking up it seems like. I wanted to tell you before you before he did."

"Will you tell him? Will you tell him we aren't married?"

I shake my head.

"No."

"Thank you Aiden."

I don't tell Nero that he's welcome. I'm not doing it for Nero. I'm doing it for Santos. I'm doing it because Santos is waking up and the first thing he sees when he wakes up is Promise. Santos looks so afraid. He looks like he is about to faint again almost immediately but I watch as Nero walks over to him. Nero puts his hand on Santos and he can calm Santos down in a way that I have never been able to. He has the touch that Santos needs.

Nero is the man that Santos needs.

"It'll be OK," Nero tells Santos.

Suddenly there is a knock on the door. There is so much banging. So much fucking banging.

There were monsters at the door.

"They've found us," I tell Nero and Santos.

"Whose found us?" Santos asks.

"The witches are outside. They want Eden. In order to get to Eden they will probably want to kI'll you and everyone who has a claim to the throne."

Nero runs forward, "I'll fight them off. Aiden can you protect my family?"

Nero trusted me with his family. Was I that trustworthy? First Armando and now Nero. Then I think about it. Of course I was. I would never hurt Santos or anyone related to Santos. I would protect him with my life for as long as it took. He could trust me.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"No," I respond, "You protect your family. They need you..."

He needs you.

"Don't go out there. Aiden...please..." Santos states all of a sudden.

"I have to."

BANG. BANG. BANG.

"Wait...Aiden," Santos says.

Santos runs over to me at that moment. He runs into my arms. He hugs me. I'm shocked by it. I'm shocked when he leans in and kisses me right on my mouth.

"What was that for?"

"When Promise was gone I was afraid. I know it was you who stayed with me every night. You took care of me every night. I love you for it. Even though I wasn't in my right mind I still remember. You were always there for me Aiden."

"And I'll be there for you...forever," I promise him.

Somethings were undying. My love for Santos was undying. I turn around one more time to see Nero and his family. I wished at times I could love Santos just so that I could be related to Santos, but I couldn't. It was always Santos for me. It always would be. Now and forever, I loved him.

Santos is crying. Tears are rolling down his eyes.

"They'll kill him. They'll kill him," Santos is whispering to Nero.

Nero nods, "I know."

Nero holds Santos. Santos is crying.

There were monsters behind that door but it didn't matter.

I smile. Don't let him go. Don't ever let him go Nero. Hold him. Forever.

I start clearing the door...

Today was a good day to die...

Just as I remove the barriers I hear it. I smell it.

This god awful stench!

It's at that moment I know that we are saved. It's at that moment I know the witches have been beaten back.

"Open up," I hear Yaser state, "It's the wolves."

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