Innova

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Super quick A/N: There are nine Leaders of the Dome in this period of time. So when I say Second Leader of the Dome I mean second ranked Leader of the Dome and not the second person to ever be Leader of the Dome. Sorry if that's confusing, I'm not the best at explaining. :P

Raven's POV:

I look up at him in confusion.

What is Byron Blake, the Second Leader of the Dome, doing here?

"You look confused, little one," he says with a slow, kind voice. His skin is black as coal and his graying hair has a few white streaks running through it. His warm brown eyes remind me of Devian.

Where is Devian? Was he captured? Is he in a room like this? I glance at the man in front of me. I don't know if Devian is okay or not, but I decide to not say anything about him anyway.

I clear my throat, "I uh, I– I am confused, Mr. Bla– er, um, sir. W-why am I here?" My voice comes out more stuttery than I thought. My voice is low. I didn't realize my throat was so parched. I look down at the ground embarrassed.

Mr. Blake chuckles and claps his hand twice. The door slides open and a young man, about my age, walks into the room with a glass full of water. He hands the cup to Mr. Blake and walks out of the room. I see him flash me a look full of disgust right before the door closes.

Before I have the chance to be hurt at his feeling towards me, Mr. Blake sits down pretzel style across from me.

He holds out the cup of water and offers me a comforting smile. I grab the pristine cup and take a little sip. I forget all about manners as I chug the water down. After I'm finished I let out a small burp. I look down at the cup embarrassed, but my breath catches in my throat at the sight of blood smeared on my hands. Tears pool in my eyes as I remember what had happened. I carefully steal a glance at the hand that I threw across the room.

"Do you want it back?"

Mr. Blake's voice abruptly pulls me out of my thoughts.

"What? I mean, excuse me?"

"Do you want it back?" He says, gesturing to the hand. I violently shake my head no.

"I see," he says smiling, "We'll get you something of real substance later. For now are there any questions you would like me to answer?"

Yes, answers! Finally!

"Why am I here? What's wrong with me? Why do I want to eat... that?" my questions come out in a rush. Tears prick my eyes as I wait for his answers. I need to know what's happening to me.

He chuckles softly at my eagerness. "You have a lot of questions little one. But to answer your first one, you are here because you have yet to learn how to control yourself. It is dangerous and deadly to express your cravings in front of others. For your next two I will answer them both together. There is nothing wrong with you. You probably got the idea from the leftover thoughts and memories of your human host. It is perfectly fine to need human meat. You are one of us now and I am going to teach you how to be one of us."

Confusion. That is the only thing I am feeling. I thought he said he would give me answers. I open my mouth but he cuts me off with a wave of his hand.

"I'll explain it better later. For now, let's get you some real food."

He claps his hand together twice. The same young man from before walks in and picks up the cup with a blank expression. I'm still confused but at least I'll be getting food.

Mr. Blake looks at the boy and says, "Cade, I'm dreadfully sorry for this, but our..." he pauses searching for the right word, "Guest, needs to be feed."

It happens so fast I'm only left with terror and more confusion. Mr. Blake's mouth spreads into an unnaturally wide smile, rows of needle teeth poking out at random angles. Neither me nor Cade has the time to scream before Mr. Blake's fingers turn into knives and gouge their way down Cade's arm.

Cade lets out an ear piercing scream and falls to the ground gripping his arm. I stare at Mr. Blake dumbfounded and frozen as he pats my shoulder and says, "Feast well, little one."

He leaves the room with me staring at his back. The room rises slowly, blocking the door. All I can think is, he sounded like the monster from my nightmare. A million voices whispering as one.