Venom

Chapter 19. Brinevault

Tremendous braziers enclosing each of the eight marble columns light up the lower levels of the throne hall and bathed it in an orange glow. The intricately carved woodwork hanging from the terraced ceiling danced in the flickering light while statues and statuettes looked down upon the oaken floor of the extravagant hall.
I marched on to the sanguine rug splitting the entire hall in half; lacking attention for anything else. It was matched by the thinner ones on either side of the hall while rounded banners with embellished fringes dangled gently from the walls. Between each banner sat a shrine-like ornament covered in candles. They had all been lit and in turn illuminated the artistic depictions of divine beings bellow them.
A grandiose throne of iron sat beneath an impressively decorated baldachin and was adjoined by five similar, but smaller seats. All four members of the council stared as I approached the thrones. Four of the five seats were occupied and only one was empty.

Nothing was as shocking as the sight of the person sitting on one of the four: Angus Humphrey in his usual black outfit gracefully sat next to the three others staring down at me, blankly.
My eyebrows squeezed slightly and my lips parted as my face paled. Blinking rapidly; I looked away. Three other people sat with him on the great throne. I immediately recognized Galahad wraith. He had a graceful, serious and intimidating stance, nothing really unusual.

  “Welcome to Brinevault! It's a great honor to finally meet you dear.” a lady greeted, smiling.

She appeared in her early thirties. She was the only female in the council. Her teeth glinted in the light as she smiled down at me.

  “My pleasure, ma'am”

She wore a long elegant leather dress which reached her feet and had long sleeves that covered he arms to the wrist. Her neck was barely visible, too. The dress covered most of her body.
Her beauty intrigued me. Ginger hair made her fragile, light skin appear even more sparkling than it really was.

Elsa Calarook.

Her family was written in the book of ancients as one of the most powerful after Devonshire. Born with a gift which was more of a curse than a blessing. I had goosebumps just by thinking about it—Her body was poison which means that none could touch her and survive, of course, she could control the thing though. The man seated besides her narrowed his eyes on me. Wonder was the only thing I could read on his face. He appeared a little younger than Elsa Calarook. His age ranged in the mid twenties. He had perfect brown hair and a strong body. His pale skin made me question if he was vampire or human. I recalled his name was Leland Aura, an expert in hypnosis. But he wasn't the youngest of the four… Angus was. He was young, almost a child like me and yet—yet he sat there among the three. I was astonished, furious that he'd never said anything, but I was surprised too; because despite all this he surely and incontestably belonged here on this throne. His grace and hard, wise stare screamed so.

  “I must admit, I was surprised to learn there's still a heir of the Devonshires.” Galahad told. “We thought the four kingdoms had lost their leader after your mother—it's wonderful.” I flicked a glance at Angus. Unsure of what to respond I stared at his eyes for any support. Why isn't he helping me? Why isn't he saying anything?

Leland did not miss this. “I'm sorry, no one has judged well to tell you, did they?”

  “What?”

  “Ida Devonshire, your dear mother and our dearest queen. She was descendent from the first immortal.” Elsa explained in a swift, low voice. “She disappeared… only to give birth to the greatest beautiful creature.”

My mother's name made my stomach twist. I felt dizzy and I almost dropped to the floor. A calm voice forced me to regain sanity. Leland was shaking his head
 
  “She's amazing, isn't she Angus?” he said.