Natalia

Chapter 10 - Unbelievable

"How is it, professor?" General Chandler asks his old friend. Frederick leans forward while examining every inch of Ramsey's headless body.

"Did you find the head?" Chandler turns to his man. They all shook their heads.

"This is hatred. Look at these stabbing wounds. It's deep. The killer even took the liberty to yank her organs out." Frederick then turns his attention on the floor.

"And threw it a couple of meters away from the body." Frederick pulls his gloves down.

"And not even a slightest sharp wound on the intestine," Frederick went back to the body and examine the deep stabbing wound. 

"The killer uses its hands." Frederick looks up to Chandler.

"The killer using its hand for this deep blow. And the killer all of this after the victim was dead." The general nod. They all heard the annoying chief police voice before he went inside the crime scene.

"Who invited the geek?" He asks. 

"I do. And don't be rude. This is professor Frederick Bolt," The professor waves at the chief. The chief ignores him and went to the body.

"My officers find nothing outside the apartment and they also searched the whole perimeter within a 5-mile radius. We even interview everyone on this building and they all say they didn't see any suspicious person coming." 

"CCTV?" Chandler asks. 

"That's why I'm here. You need to see this," They follow the chief to the security room of the apartment building. The chief place his hand on the security's shoulder.

"Show us the clip you showed us earlier," The man nod and did as told. The chief pointed at the screen. 

"This is our victim's door. Look at this door in particular. There will be static interference happening," Chandler nod and keep his focus at the door. As the chief said, there's static interference before something extraordinary happened to the door. 

"Did I just witness the door being open on its own?" Frederick ask.

"Go to the other camera." The security nods.

"Look here. Static interference and boom! At first, we thought the victim opens the door but it's not. The f*****g door opens on its own." Chandler and Frederick look at each other.

"The next-door neighbor said she heard an agonizing scream coming from Ramsey's apartment. At first, she thought it's just the sound coming from her TV because the victim likes to watch horror movies with her friends. But then there's silent. Usually, the victim's friends will scream as well. And then I decided to check the CCTV footage. Maybe she did invite her friends but the footage shows no one entering her apartment except for herself." 

"This is weird Frederick. Any ideas?" Frederick placed his thumb under his chin while he thinks.

"This is the second headless body that happened to someone who came from the same high school. I was reading the victim's files while on our way here. I don't think it's a coincidence. It was done by the same person. I think your guess was right General. It's supernatural," 

"Sir!" Chandler turns and an officer saluted.

"At ease soldier." The soldier nod.

"We received an urgent call from the base. We were attacked. By two powerful beings. It was …" the soldier looks up to his superior.

"The Andromache clan." Frederick's eyes widen. 

"They exist?!" Frederick asks. Chandler nod. 

"Very much exist and alive my friend. We need to go back to base. Chief, you can handle things here I presume?" The chief nods and watches the soldiers went back to their base. The chief turns to his man and sighs.

"Alright, boys. Let's get busy.."

***

At the secret army facility, Denize and Juliet Andromache were hunted down like animals. None of their weapons work on them. They were angry. They demand to see the person in charge.

"GET YOUR f*****g SELF OUT OF HIDING YOU DEMONS!" A soldier yells. 

"Your wish is my command.." Denize said before smoldering him with her leathery wings. Denize extracted her fangs and bite a huge chunk of his neck off. Denize watches as life slowly leaving his body and release her wings. 

"Weakling. I don't know how you manage to be a soldier," Denize said. Juliet whistles for her.

"They're here." Juliet points at two army vehicles coming their way.

"General Chandler will be pleased to see us.." Juliet joke. Denize flapped her wings to remove the soldier's blood and stand beside her wife. 

"He’s angry. I can smell it from afar," Denize smiles and admire their handy work. The floor of the army base was drenched in blood while the body of soldiers’ scatters around.

"That's what you get when the weakest s*x was trusted to keep the nation safe from creatures like us," They waited for the General together with a couple of other man and woman came out from their vehicle. 

"JULIET AND DENIZE ANDROMACHE!" General Chandler shouts for them. 

The demons smile at each other and shot off to the ceiling, destroying the roof in the process. They both landed on all four in front of the General and show themselves for everyone to see.

"You have some nerve attacking my base," Chandler said when the two women gave him a sly smirk. 

"And you have the nerve to capture creatures like us for your, experiments," Juliet said the last part with venom.

"You cross me enough this time Juliet. You manage to broke free with his help! What do you want from me!" Chandler asks. 

"We want to burn you all to dust," Denize said and shows them all her fiery palms. Juliet stops her. Chandler takes a step back.

"It's best for us if we don’t provoke them," Frederick whispers.

"What did you say, human?" Juliet asks Frederick. 

"It's best not to provoke such divine creatures of the dark. You, after all, the spawn of Satan himself. You work for him. And you live to serve him. The Andromache family were famous for being a ruthless killer." Juliet laughs echoes. 

"You have brains to think of us that way. I respect you since you see us differently," Frederick lower his head down and kneel in front of the demons. Chandler watches his friend with his hand ready at his gun. 

"A human kneeling down to us? That's new. There must be something that they want," Denize said and walks towards him.

"What do you want, human?" She asks.

"The truth," Frederick said while signaling Chandler to stand down. 

"The truth? About what?" Juliet asks. 

"Supernatural beings. Vampires? Werewolves, everything that was written in the book. Are they real?" Denize laughs.

"If those answers you seek, you will have to meet the Queens’. They ‘re in control of everything in our realm. The great Akeldama," Denize answers him. Frederick looks up to the demons with questionable looks. 

"The Akeldama exist?" 

"Very much alive for thousands of years. You should ask your General. He knows a lot about us creatures," Denize walks towards her wife and set fire on both of her palms.

"Magic, ghouls, life after death? It all exists. And the Akeldama controls them. Legendary gods and goddesses, they exist. And they only listen to the Akeldama," 

"And also, this hatred we have for you, General. It's real," They flap their wings hard enough to knock everyone down. Chandler covered his eyes from all the dust. 

"Don't play with fire, General. You don't want to meet them," Denize warns him and threw a ball of fire towards the army facility building, burning it all down. The General watches them go. 

"Why did you ask those questions?" Chandler asks his friend.

"I'm just making sure about the research I'm doing. I think I know who's responsible for this crime." 

***

Natalia was sitting by the lake when she heard a distinct noise behind her. She turns just in time to come face to face with the devil himself.

"Ahh.. the famous newborn." Natalia was so surprised to see him that she nearly fell into the lake. Satan grabs her by the collar and pulls her before falling. 

"It's you I want to see," Satan releases her.

"I'm here to make a proposition. An offer you can't refuse," Natalia waited for him to continue.

"After, you completed the task at hand, why don't you come to the underworld with me and join my army. You have no future with Videric and his daughters. But you will when you dedicated your undead life serving me," Satan smirks. 

"Imagine this. Living in hell, with all the beautiful ladies of your choice, coming in and out of your room every day, serving you as a token of my gratitude," Satan suddenly appears in front of Natalia.

"And they will never say no to you. Not like those humans." Satan pushes Natalia's forehead back. 

"I don't understand anyone in this castle. What kind of drugs were you all putting currently on?" Satan stands at the very edge of the lake and looks for a slight movement in the water.

"SIRENS SISTERS! GET YOUR WETT BUTT UP HERE!" Satan shouted and take a few steps backward from the edge of the water. 

The sisters appear from the bottom of the lake and surprised to see Satan waiting.

"I need a date for something. You three, follow me." The sirens follow the devil but before that, Satan turns to Natalia.

"See. You can get the ladies just like that! Consider my offer, newborn. I'll make you the greatest dark creatures in the world and this realm," Satan together with the sirens walks away from Natalia. 

"What he just said, is real. He will make you strong, yes he will," Natalia turns around to see Videric.

"I am his son, he didn't even offer me the things he offered you." Natalia sighs.

"Should I?" Videric nod.

"Of course! He offered. I mean, even if you say no, he will find a way to take you, forcefully." 

"What about Arika and Ivy?" Videric looks at her with sad eyes. 

"They are not your mates. That bite they gave you, it’s just a temporary thing. After you manage to kill the 7 girls, it will disappear. But before that happens, they will treat you like an equal," 

"Why are they introducing me as their bride?" Natalia asks. 

"To stop everyone from asking who you are. For me, it's best to not tell everything about what happened to you before I recreated you back to be a monster like us. It's never a good thing to talk about what happened before death. It's taboo for us creatures." 

"Why is that?" Natalia was curious. 

"From your death, they will know your weakness. They will know what can kill you. Creatures are complex. They will envy you for no good reason. They even will harm you for something stupid." 

"So? I've been through all of those when I'm still human. What makes the difference now that I'm a monster?" Natalia asks while resting her forehead on her knee. She hugs her knee close to her chest while Videric walks towards her.

"Monsters like you have two destiny. To be a better version than we are as a human or to be bad because of how misery our life used to be." He turns to Natalia. 

"What do you want to do after the tasks are done? To be better or to be bad? Do you want to accept my father’s offer? Do you wish to wait for Arika and Ivy? Or do you want to be free and get yourself out of my castle to search for your destiny?” Natalia looks up to the king. 

"Out there, you'll meet some of the most lunatic and dysfunctional creatures you will ever meet. They live for thousands of years so what do you expect?" Videric chuckles.

"But you'll find someone dear to you if you’re lucky enough. But be careful. They tend to betray you or talk behind your back." Natalia sighs. 

"What I'm trying to say here is, you will not know what's lurking out in the dark if you only stay inside the castle. After the task is done, you have to think about the future you want to be in carefully. Don't make bad choices as I did. Not only my wife died, but I was also chosen to live behind my stepsister shadows for eternity," 

Videric bends down to touch Natalia on the shoulder. 

"We should go back to the castle. Arika is ready to brief you about your third task. I think this is rather intriguing. Your next task will bring you three to London," Natalia stands up before following the king towards the castle. 

"Don't tell Arika and Ivy about this conversation. Promise?" Videric smiles. 

***

"I hope everything is in order?" Videric asks as he enters the Andromache meeting room. Denize smiles at him.

"We burn his facility down to the ground," Videric smiles back.

"Good job. Did you get to kill him too?" He turns to Juliet.

"No. But we killed most of his soldiers. Not him. He's wearing the amulet that stupid witch gave him." Videric sighs. 

"My newborn shall finish her task before he gets his hands on her! I want him dead," Juliet hissed in front of Videric's face.

"Have some patients, king Videric. Or your blood will smear on my silver sword," Juliet shoves the king to a chair and sat on his thigh. 

"Never underestimate the power of a demon. We have limitless power. His blood will be our dinner someday. But not now. He brought friends. One of his geeks asks us about the Akeldama's. I'm sure they will meet the Queens’. If the Queens’ know about our existent, even Satan can't help us." Videric cups Juliet's face. 

"What did you do?!" Videric asks with venom. 

"I may have stolen something from Chandler's secret stash," Denize shows Videric the sacred item.

"You stole the book of Thoth?!" Videric eyes widen. Juliet smirks.

"We did. I think he probably noticed it by now." Juliet got off of Videric as he grabs the book from Denize. 

"I'm not worried about him. What about Thoth himself?" Juliet chuckles.

"If Chandler can get his hands on them, why can't we," Juliet said.

"What I don't get is, why do we need a spell to understand what animals said? We can just read their minds." Both Juliet and Videric turn to Denize who shrugs her shoulder. 

"Can you be dumber than this? Book of Thoth contains two amazingly yet out of this realm spell. The first spell, yes, to understands animals. The second spell is what I'm aiming for," Juliet said. Denize raises both eyebrows.

"And what is it?" 

"A spell to understand the minds of the Gods," Videric said under his breaths. That caught Denize's attention to the book he's holding.

"There's a curse though. It's a method to repay God. Well mostly because it was stolen from him. The first handler, a prince, commits suicide after his family was killed," Juliet sat back down. 

"The second handler was warned by the dead prince. He leaves the book inside his tomb until Chandler discovered him, took everything and even the book." Juliet turns to face Denize.

"We can control the Gods if we manage to successfully summon the spell." Juliet smiles. Videric places the book down to examine it. 

***

Meanwhile, Satan was walking down the hallway towards Arika and Ivy's room when he notices the two girls walking out of their room.

"You two have something I need," Satan said before grabs both Arika and Ivy's neck and drags them with force. Arika tries to free herself from her grandfather’s hands and so does Ivy. 

"Stop struggling and just walk," Satan drags them and threw them in the middle of the huge castle hall.

"Natalia Ambrose!" Satan screams for Natalia.

"Come out come out, wherever you are.." Satan said creepily. Everyone hides behind the pillar or the furniture so that Satan wouldn't notice them. 

Arika gasping for air and so does Ivy when Satan threw them both. They were wondering why he treated them this way. Natalia appears from the kitchen door and notices both the princesses were on the floor. She was about to help them when Satan threw a knife towards her. Natalia manages to avoid being stab and turns to Satan. 

"I didn't ask you to help them," He said. Natalia stands up straight.

"What do you WANT?!" Natalia growl. Satan smiles when he manages to make her angry. Finally.

"Fight me, beat me, kill me if you must, to save your women," Satan snaps his fingers and two ghouls suddenly appear after a flash of lightning struck the floors in front of Arika and Ivy. 

Natalia turns to the princesses. 

"Defeat me, and they will be free. If you lost, my ghouls will give them, Sangue Debolezza. A vampire disease only me, the devil can cure. To add more spice, the silver stake will be piercing through their dead hearts, killing them slowly. KILL ME TO SAFE THEM!" This is the first time Natalia saw how scared Arika and Ivy was. They were hugging each other. Natalia clenches her fist and faces the devil.

"Don't hurt them!" Natalia stated.

"I won't if you defeat me. Now, attack me, newborn." Natalia turns to face Arika and ivy before ran towards the devil. 

Satan yawns as he caught Natalia by the head, lifted her and slam her back to the ground, breaking her bones in the process. Satan didn't wait for her to heal, he kicks her side hard and she met the walls. Natalia groans in pain as she feels her ribs are breaking apart. 

"Is that how you would save your women, Natalia Ambrose?" Satan asks as he made way towards Natalia who is in agonizing pain from the forced healing.

"Get up.." when Natalia didn't even move. Satan grabs her by the neck and slams his back on the walls. It was so hard, the walls were cracking as well!

"You are weak, newborn!" Satan said something in his language and Natalia notice the ghouls were piercing through Ivy's chest. Her scream echoes throughout the castle hall. Arika tried to help but the other ghouls forbid her to do so. Arika watches as her wife's chest being pierced by a silver stake. Immediately, the blood that's pouring out, turn to silver. 

"Natalia, do something! Anything! Please!!!" Arika yells at the newborn. 

Satan gave out a loud sinister laugh when Natalia grabs on both sides of Satan's head. She pulls as hard as she could to dismember Satan's head away from his body. When she managed to do so, Satan releases her neck and takes a step back. 

"You just took off my head!" Satan exclaimed while Natalia still has his head in her hands. She was so surprised that she threw his head on the floor hard.

"You think this little trick can kill me?! You learned nothing from my son," Satan said and set his headless body in a fighting pose. 

"FATHER!" Videric's voice echoes in the empty hall. Satan turns his headless body to meet his son.

"What have you done to Ivy?!" Videric kneels to examine his daughter in law. Videric grabs on the ghoul's neck and threw them towards his father.

"Ivy!? Can you hear me?! IVY!" Videric shakes Ivy's body while calling for her. Nothing. Videric notices how silver liquid drips from her stabbing wound on the chest.

"Silver?! Sangue Debolezza.. no... no way!" Videric looks up to his father who's reattaching his head.

"CURE HER NOW!" Videric ordered. Satan slowly turns to his son and raised both eyebrows.

"Are you, telling me what to do?" Videric looks down on the floor. 

"I will only cure her. When this newborn fulfills her task at hand. Five more victims I assume?" Satan smiles before disappears with his ghouls. Natalia crawls to Ivy and tries to touch her when Arika spat her hands away from her.

"You heard him. Complete your task now!" 

"Arika!" Videric yells.

"What?! The first day she came here, there's nothing but problems for us! Now we have the general's on our tails. My wife is sick and grandfather harassing us!" Arika turns to Natalia with dagger eyes.

"I'm tired of cleaning up your mess! Arika shoves Natalia on the floor and looks at her neck where she placed her mark on.

"You are no longer my bride!" Arika pierced through Jac's skin and tore off her mark off of her. Natalia screams in pain as she touches the fresh wound on her neck. 

Arika places her sharp nails on the other side and tore off Ivy's mark as well. Natalia was weak. She weakly shoves Arika off of her and crawls away from the princess.

"ARIKA! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!" Videric screams at his daughter. She threw the chunk of meat from Natalia's neck on the floor and grab her wife from her father. She carried her to their room leaving the king and Natalia alone. Videric stands up and went to the newborn. 

"Come on. I'll treat that wound," Videric said.