Blood Secrets

Rogues and The Holy

Lorcan and Sebastian found themselves in a place far from the city--the graveyard. He had to torture the information out of that witch's boyfriend and now, here they are. It was reckless to be there but since he's there with Sebastian, maybe it wasn't so reckless at all. Sebastian is known to be always calculated and thinks before he leaps.

"A graveyard," Sebastian said. "Quite dramatic." Iginala ng kapatid ang tingin sa paligid. He did the same. Aside from the old gravestones, there was nothing there. Ngunit alam niyang nagsasabi ng totoo ang bampirang tinanong niya kanina.

"Well, perhaps I should announce our arrival," Lorcan said and smirked at his brother before he picked a piece of rock, tossed it between his hands, and sighted the altar of the witches quite far from where they were standing.

"Lorcan--" It was too late for Sebastian to realize what he was about to do. Lorcan threw the piece of rock straight to the altar. Agad itong tumama sa altar dahilan para masira ito. He could hear how the altar crumbled to pieces. Napangisi naman si Lorcan saka tumingin sa kapatid.

"That should be enough, right? Or should I destroy another? Oh, wait, how many altars do they have here?"

Magsasalita na sana si Lorcan nang bigla itong mapatingin sa likuran niya. Lorcan wondered and whirled around only to see a girl--about ten years old. Lorcan raised a brow as he looked at the girl.

"Don't mistake me as someone who has conscience because I would not hesitate to kill a little girl--" Hindi na niya naipagpatuloy ang nais niyang sabihin nang bigla na lang sumakit ang ulo niya. It felt like his brain was fried continuously but since it could heal fast, it gets fried again. Nang tingnan niya si Sebastian ay ganoon din ang nangyayari sa kapatid. Nakahawak silang dalawa sa kanilang ulo at napaluhod dahil sa sakit.

Napatingin siya sa batang babae sa harapan nila at nakita niyang nakataas ang isang kamay nito habang nagsasalita. He couldn't make out what she was trying to say but he's sure it's a spell for vampire misery.

"I...hate it when they do this," he mumbled as he fought the pain. He stood on his knees and looked at the girl. Nakita niyang nanlalaki ang mga mata nito nang makitang nakakatayo siya. He was fast and it didn't even take a second to run in front of the girl and wrap his fingers around her neck. The girl grunted in pain and lost her concentration dahilan para mawala rin ang sakit ng kanilang ulo.

"Lorcan, don't do it," said Sebastian.

"Make this one of the usual occasions that I don't listen to you, brother." He could see the fear in the girl's eyes and it delighted it even more. His eyes turned blood red and red and black veins started to sho around his eyes and his fangs grew. Mas lalong natakot ang babae.

He was about to bury his fangs on the girl's neck when he felt the sensation again. The continuous pain inside his head as though every single neuron is being busted. Kaya naman nabitiwan niya ang babae at napaupo ito sa lupa. And then he heard several people chanting around them.

He looked around and he saw people--the rogue witches coming out from where they were hiding. He groaned in pain and Sebastian was too.

Phasmatos adflictio.

Those were the words he could make out from them and he recognized the spell. Living for a thousand years, he had encountered a lot of witches and a lot of them had used the spell on him. it never gets pleasant.

He screamed in pain as he curled to the ground, holding his head. The witches continued what they were doing and Lorcan knew they could do nothing.

When they were weak enough, the witches stopped. Both he and Sebastian are on the ground. His head still felt like it was about to explode but he could feel it was healing.

Then he heard the footsteps. He looked up, only to see a group of vampires together with the rogue witches. Some of the faces of the vampires were familiar to him. Some, he could vividly remember swearing loyalty to him once upon a time.

Lorcan grinned at them. It did not escape his eyes how some of them swallowed hard at the sight of him. It satisfied him that he could still invoke fear even in his weak state.

"I do hope some of you could hide from me forever because once I am out here, I will hunt you one by one and you will spend the rest of your miserable lives looking behind your back."

The fear in the eyes of the vampire was enough to satisfy him but a kick on his jaw made him almost lose his consciousness. He felt the rough surface of the ground and he groaned in pain. Pakiramdam niya'y yumanig ang buong mundo niya sa lakas ng sipa sa kanya kanina. He could also taste blood in his mouth.

But he laughed. He looked at the vampires in front of them and they were looking at him questioningly.

"You know, it was kind of pathetic when you lot were practically kneeling on the ground, doing everything that could mean earning my good graces. It's funny how times have changed."

"We're not your puppets anymore, Lorcan. We will kill you and your family and you will never have rule over us again," said one vampire.

Lorcan laughed. His head was still throbbing but he's sure Sebastian has already gotten little of his strength. He trusts his brother will do something. All he needs to do is stall.

"You were free to do whatever you want," he said. "I let you feed. We gave you a home in this city. It's quite ambitious that you want something more from that."

Nakita niyang umigting ang panga ng isang bampira. The next thing he saw was some witches and vampires coming close to them. They were holding chains and the moment the chains made contact with his skin, it burned. He screamed in pain again. The chains were spelled with azalea.

They chained his hands and his neck dahilan para mapadaing ulit siya sa sakit. When they were done with him, they went to Sebastian. Ngunit bago pa man nila mailagay ang kadena kay Sebastian ay bigla itong tumayo at sinakal ang dalawang bampirang unang nahawakan nito.

Sebastian did not hesitate to behead the vampires dahilan para mapasinghap ang iba sa nakita. His brother slammed his hand into the chest of another vampire and when he took his hand out, he was already holding a vampire's beating hard. Sebastian was fast and in his weak state, Lorcan could barely see his brother move.

The witches chanted another spell and Sebastian stopped and held his head. Ngunit panandalian lamang ito dahil agad itong nakabawi. He was quick kaya naman ay agad itong nakarating sa kinaroroonan ng mga witch. Sebastian wrapped his fingers around one of the witche's neck--the same girl who they saw first earlier.

"One more nerve exploding in my head means the death of this little witch," Sebastian said. The witches hesitated but when the girl croaked a little cry as Sebastian tightened his grasp, the witches stopped. They put their hands down.

"What are you doing?" hissed the vampires.

"He has one of us. He's going to kill her!" said one witch.

"That's right," said Sebastian before he looked at the witches and the vampires. "Now, remove those chains from my brother."

"No," said a vampire sternly. Lorcan remembers him. His name was Fidel. But it doesn't matter now. They're going to be dead.

"Fidel," Lorcan said and the vampire looked at him. Surprise was laced on his face. "You must have not expected I would remember your name but I do. You served me and my family for years. You must have also remembered how bad it is once Sebastian loses his temper."

The moment he said it, the witch gasped as Sebastian's grip tightened around her throat.

"Let her go!" said a witch. He guessed it was the leader of the rogue witches.

Sebastian looked at them before he said, "Free my brother and I will."

"Adela, don't you dare do it," pagbabanta ni Fidel but it seems like Adela has already made up her mind.

She looked at the other witches before she said, "Praefringo." In an instant, the chains on his neck and his arms shattered.

Napangisi si Lorcan sa gawi ni Fidel at ng ibang bampira. They couldn't believe what the witches had done.

"Clearly, you haven't thought about things escalating to this, Fidel," Lorcan said as he rubbed his wrists, already healed from the burn marks caused by the spelled chains.

"Let her go. Ginawa ko na ang gusto mo. It's your turn to do the same," said Adela. But Sebastian only looked at her as though he wasn't planning on honoring the bargain in the first place. Napangisi naman siya sa ginagawa ng kapatid.

"I believe you, witches should learn your lessons the hard way," said Sebastian. Lorcan could hear the girl's heartbeat racing inside her chest as Sebastian tightened his grip on the girl's throat. A little more and he would snap her neck.

However, it did not come. Instead, he saw Sebastian groaning in pain until he loosened his grip on the girl's throat. He was about to run to his brother when he felt sharp things piercing his back. He knelt on the ground and looked around only to realize some vampires were holding guns with syringe bullets filled with azalea extracts.

He looked at the witches but they aren't doing anything kaya naman hindi niya maintindihan kung nangyayari kay Sebastian.

And then his questions were answered shortly after dahil isang pamilyar na babae ang lumabas at naglalakad na papunta sa gawi nila. Esmeralda was looking at Sebastian and it was clear she was the one making Sebastian suffer. He tried to stand but there were more azalea bullets shot at his body.

"Bloody hell," he muttered. He heard some vampires groaning in pain and realized they were also being shot by syringe bullets filled with azalea extracts. He looked at Fidel and gave him a smirk before he ran together with the other vampires.

Some vampires were left behind as they were already shot and are now unconscious but the witches remained standing there, watching their coven leader make Sebastian suffer.

"I will not let you harm one of my witches, Sebastian. They made a mistake and they shall answer to me. Not to you." Esmeralda's voice was ringing inside his head as the azalea extracts started to burn him from the inside.

"Enough, witch," said a voice. An awfully familiar voice. Lorcan opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the black boots. When he looked up, he was greeted by the smiling face of Eleanor, holding a gun.

Mahina siyang napamura nang mapagtanto kung anong nangyari. Eleanor crouched down in front of her and tipped his chin up.

"Miserable look suits you, brother dearest," she said and he growled in fury. Ngunit masyado siyang mahina para igalaw kahit ang mga kamay at paa niya.

He looked around and realized the witches have ran away too, leaving him, Sebastian, Eleanor, and Esmeralda.

Ngunit maya-maya pa ay may narinig siyang mga yabag ng mga paa papunta sa gawi nila. And his sense might have dulled but he could clearly remember the smell approaching in their direction.

"I hope you brought humans for me to eat," he said to his sister.

"We've lost them," said a woman, and when he looked at her, he let out a short laugh as he recognized her.

"Nadia Melendez," he said and the woman looked at him. There was something in her eyes that makes him curious, something that makes him want to touch her head and get inside her mind to see what she was thinking. He clearly told her he'd kill her if she so much as show her face once again.

"And yet here you are again, showing your face. I'm starting to wonder if you don't care about you or your lover's life," he said.

Hindi umimik ang babae. Katabi nito ang kasintahan nito. Nadia walked towards him. She was also holding a gun jut like Eleanor's kaya hula niya ay ito at ang nobyo nito ang bumaril sa ibang mga bampirang naroon.

Nadia crouched down in front of him. "I am here to help and with this, I will ask a favor in return."

Lorcan scoffed. He badly want for his hands to move so he could wring her pretty little neck. Or perhaps feed on it.

He was about to say something when Eleanor went close to him and then snapped his neck.