End Game

Chapter 4 - See You In The Afterlife

“I BEGGED Claude so many times to spare my brother’s life but he did not listen! You know what’s worse? The Sire knew all about his only son’s crimes but that old man kept his mouth shut!” Nanggagalaiting sigaw ni Marcus. “Pinapaikot lang ni Claude ang lahat ng mga nakapaligid sa kanya! You all need to wake up and stop your illusions about him because he is not who you think he is! That cold-blooded beast is the Prince of all the Night Creatures!”

Naipilig ni Isabella ang kanyang ulo. What Marcus was saying was just too hard to grasp. It was as good as saying that the Earth was square. Matagal-tagal na rin silang hindi nagkikita ni Claude. Iniwasan niyang hindi makipagkita sa binata nang kasing dalas ng dati, since Luke would constantly make a big deal out of it. Pero nakakapag-usap pa rin sila sa telepono tuwing may free time sila. Claude was the only constant thing in her life. Siniguro nito na mananatili pa ring solid ang friendship nila sa pagdaan ng panahon. That’s why despite her own pain, she still found it ridiculous that someone as gentle and as affectionate as him was being accused like this.

Bukod pa roon, ilang beses na ding na-meet ni Isabella ang mga magulang ni Claude. They were such adorable and down-to-earth people. Wala siyang masasabi sa ugali ng mga ito. In fact, ang mag-asawa pa nga ang sponsor ng maraming orphanage at home for the aged facilities sa bansa. May mga bampira bang magiging interesado sa pagtulong sa mga mortal? And what would they gain out of it?

And Claude as the Prince of all the Night Creatures? Only a person with a massive imagination could think of something as terrible as that.

It was like Marcus and Isabella were talking about two different people with the same name. Hindi deserve ng best friend niya ang akusahan nang ganito. If the tables were turned, she knew that Claude would defend her, too, in a heartbeat.

“Pag-usapan natin ‘to nang maayos. Please calm down, Marcus,” Ani Isabella nang lalo pang dumiin ang kamay ng lalaki sa kanyang leeg. “I’m sorry but that sword thing you were talking about is impossible. Claude does not even use a knife except when he’s eating and-“

Suddenly, Marcus was looking at Isabella like she was the most pitiful person he had ever seen.

“You are such a fool, human.”

“And you are such a liar, Marcus. Even if you kill me now, I will never betray the McNialls just to team up with someone like you! I will always stand by my best friend’s side.”

Alam ni Isabella na hindi niya na dapat pang pino-provoke si Marcus. But considering the unbelievable amount of rage he had with the McNialls, ano man ang sabihin o gawin niya, wala nang magbabago pa.

Marcus was a changed man. Hindi na mapagkakatiwalaan pa ang mga salita nito.

Damang-dama ni Isabella ang pagtayo ng mga balahibo niya sa katawan nang sa halip na magalit ay biglang ngumisi si Marcus. “Go ahead, then. Stick to your stupid beliefs until your last breath, human. I would love to see Claude’s reaction upon seeing you die. After all, ikaw ang pinakaimportanteng babae sa buhay niya. If I can’t make you betray him, then I will just let him experience the pain of losing the woman he loves. I’m sure that by now, His Highness is already searching for you like a mad man. Too bad, hindi niya na malalaman pa kung nasaan ang pinakamamahal niya. And in case he does, which is very impossible considering the barrier the Mage surrounded around this place; there are several Rogues who would get in his way. He would have a hard time coming here.”

Umawang ang bibig ni Isabella nang tumawa si Marcus. So, there weren’t just Vampires? There were Mages, too? What the heck?

“Ano ba’ng pinagsasabi mo? Importante man ako kay Claude pero hindi kasing importante gaya nang inaakala mo. Mas kilala ko siya kaysa sa ‘yo. That guy does not even believe in love!” Isabella said, aware that she was almost freaking out. Pero sino ba naman ang hindi magkakaganoon sa sitwasyon?

But Isabella needed to keep Marcus talking to buy some time. Parati siyang tumatawag sa kanyang mga magulang matapos niyang manggaling sa mansion ng mga ito. She was sure that if they would not receive a call from her, they would figure out that something was wrong. Siguradong ang susunod na tatawagan ng mga ito ay si Luke. At sa oras na hindi ma-contact ng mga magulang ang kanyang asawa, si Claude ang susunod na tatawagan ng dalawa para i-inform sa binata ang sitwasyon.

At si Claude… naniniwala si Isabella na mahahanap siya nito gaya nang dati. Parati siyang nahahanap nito. Whenever life was at its hardest for her, he would always magically show up in front of her as if he could tell right away how she felt.

“It’s okay to run away or to hide when things get rough. Ano man ang mangyayari, hindi ka mag-iisa. I promise you that. I will always come find you, Bella. Kaya ‘wag kang matakot.” Ang mga salitang iyon ang minsang sinabi sa kanya ni Claude. Kaya gaya nang dati, kailangan niya lang maniwala na kahit pa gaano kaimposible, kahit pa parang walang nang pag-asa, darating ang best friend niya. He would make a way to get both of them out of that crazy situation.

Claude, please find me ASAP. I’m about to lose my mind here. I’m scared.

Bumalik ang atensiyon ni Isabella kay Marcus nang muli niyang marinig ang mataginting na pagtawa nito. “I’m a little disappointed, you know. For someone who is highly respected by the society, you are proving to be so damn clueless about a lot of things, human. Now, enough with these chit chat. Let’s start the fun part, shall we?”

Hindi na siya binigyan pa ni Marcus ng pagkakataon na sumagot nang bigla na lang siya nitong sinaksak ng syringe sa leeg. Hindi niya alam kung ano iyon pero damang-dama niya ang mabilis na pagkaubos ng natitira niyang lakas. At that very moment, as hopelessness began to creep in her system, there was only one name that she could think of, one name that she wanted to call so desperately.

Naipikit ni Isabella ang namamaga nang mga mata at sa natitirang lakas ay pilit na sumigaw. “Claude!”

As if on cue, she heard gun fires from somewhere followed by the screams and the sound of things breaking. Nang dumilat siya, kitang-kita niya ang pagrehistro ng tension sa mukha ni Marcus. Sunod-sunod na malulutong na mura ang pinakawalan nito. Aabutin na sana nito ang baril sa mesa nang bigla na lang nasira ang pinto. Bumagsak iyon sa marmol na sahig.

And there, Isabella saw the center of all that mess. It was Claude. Relieved na napaluha siya. Wala siyang idea kung paano nakarating doon ang kaibigan at hindi na iyon mahalaga sa ngayon. What mattered was that Claude was able to find her again. Her savior was here now.

Ilang segundong nagtagpo ang kanilang mga mata bago itinuon ni Claude ang atensiyon kay Marcus. Nanatiling kalmado ang anyo ng binata pero biglang nagbago ang kulay ng mga mata nito. Mula sa orihinal na kulay na blue-green ay naging pula ang mga iyon. Nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata. That was the exact same thing that Isabella had heard from her father’s tale about the Vampires. So, even that part was real?

Ayon sa kuwento ng kanyang ama, ang pulang mga mata ang simbolo ng pinakamalakas na bampira sa buong mundo. At iisa lang daw ang bampirang taglay ang ganoong mga mata. And that was the main character from her Dad’s story. Ayon pa rito, ang natural na kulay ng mga mata ng mga bampira ay dilaw… gaya nang kay Marcus.

“T-this is impossible! H-how did you get in h-here?” tanong ni Marcus. Hindi maikakaila ang pagpa-panic sa namumutla nang anyo nito.

Claude’s voice was dangerously calm when he spoke. “Did you honestly think that your Mage or your men could stop me? Like you, they still have a long way to go, Moran. I remember allowing you to live four years ago. It was my way of showing sympathy to your parents who had been kind to me and my family. And this is what I got in return for sparing your life? How ungrateful.”

All of a sudden, Isabella felt like she was seeing and hearing Claude for the first time. Ito ang bahagi ng pagkatao ng binata na hindi niya pa nakita o narinig ni minsan. And she was not sure how to deal with this dark and mysterious side of him.

Nanginig ang mga kamay ni Marcus habang pilit pa ring inabot nito ang baril sa mesa. In an instant, the ferocity in his eyes was replaced with dread. Itinutok nito ang baril sa direksiyon ni Claude. Pero sa sandaling naningkit ang mga mata ng kanyang best friend, bigla na lang paluhod na bumagsak si Marcus sa sahig habang tutop ang dibdib. Nabitiwan nito ang hawak na baril. Sunod-sunod na nabasag ang mga salaming bintana kasabay nang pagsuka nito ng dugo.

And as strange things kept happening around Isabella, all she could do was look at the two men with her eyes wide open.

“T-the high and mighty Prince p-personally went out of his domain to take my l-life. I feel so h-honored,” punong-puno ng sarkasmong saad ni Marcus. “I didn’t know that you would be able to find us this soon. P-pero tandan mo ito, McNiall. I may have lost to you today but the Organization will surely strike back for me and for the ones you k-killed. Hindi ka nila patatahimikin. They will h-hunt you down in my stead and will show no mercy.”

Nagkibit-balikat si Claude. “’Wag kang mag-alala. Hihintayin ko sila. But just so you know, if only Isabella was not involved here, I wouldn’t have done this personally. I would have just sent my men to do the job. A man like you are not even worthy to be called my opponent, Moran.”

Sa kabila ng sakit na malinaw na makikita sa mga mata ni Marcus, nagawa pa rin nitong ngumisi. “Sa tingin mo ba talaga ay nanalo ka na? Kahit pa na-trace mo kami, huli ka na, McNiall. I’ve injected Isabella’s body with poison. Kaya kahit pa patayin mo ako ngayong gabi, hindi ako mamamatay nang mag-isa.” Nilingon ni Marcus si Isabella. “See you in the afterlife soon, sweetheart.”