Atherian Tales: The Blood Slave

Chapter Sixteen

When my men and I arrived back to the outpost, I commanded them to pack their belongings.

"We leave tonight. You have two hours." I said and walked to the tower. The two witches that were left were Hilda and Mina. They were still shaken by the loss of their friend and have trailed close behind me since we left the camp.

The Guardsmen had taken out all the creatures that resided in that camp but we knew it was foolish to presume that we had finished them all. Grim had more of those things waiting and could possibly bring those he lost tonight, back to this realm to continue doing his bidding.

The ride back to the Imperial castle was a long hard ride. The two witches shared a ride, one with Keilen and the other with me.The skies had gone dark as the evening set in and like the devil releasing the hounds of hell, the sky broke open and pounded us with rain. the rain quickly turned from raindrops to small stones being thrusted into our faces as we rode through the storm as swiftly as we could. Hilda, the witch that shared my horse, held tightly around my chest and buried her face in the back of my shoulder. A few of my men's horses were having a hard time keeping up and slipping in the mud that formed under their hooves. I told those men to slow down, they knew how to get back to the castle and I wasn't going to risk my men or our horses just to insure we all arrived back at the same time.

When we finally arrived back to the Imperial Castle, we rode our horses straight to the stables. Keilen took care of my horse and the witches as I jumped down, I had to find Lord Thelios and update him. Once I entered the castle, my first thought was the east wing sunroom.

Upon arriving at the sunroom, I saw Noah standing on the outside of the door. I knew Thelios was with Amily but when Noah informed me that the castle had a visitor, I didn't like the fact that Amily was in there without her escort. I shoved the door open and let myself into the sunroom. In unison, Amily and Lord Thelios turned their heads spotting me standing in the doorway. Lord Thelios coldly welcomed me back, I thought he must still be a bit sour from our last conversation. Amily looked as if she shifted in her seat like she was about to run over to me but stopped herself from doing so. The visitor I had noticed was Lord Thelios' cousin Cameron Delaney. He was a lord himself and he had his eyes glued on Amily. The sight of him focused so intently on Amily made my stomach turn in knots creating a fire in my belly. I didn't like this.

"Elias." Lord Thelios said. "Welcome back, please join us." He motioned to the empty seat on the sofa next to Amily.

"We need to talk." I said harshly, using my already aggravated stone to let him know we didn't have time for casual conversation.

"We can talk momentarily, please, have a seat." He motioned again to the sofa, this time talking through his teeth. I hesitated for a moment but looking at Lord Delaney still eyeing Amily, I decided to comply and sat down.

"Elias, you remember my cousin Cameron Delaney?"

"Yes."

"He's been visiting us for the past few weeks. He has come in hopes of finding a new blood slave." I clinched my jaw. Was he hoping that the blood slave he would find would be Amily. I slowly looked from Lord Thelios to Amily. Her green eyes were heavy with worry as she gazed back at me. Looking to Lord Delaney, his eyes were full of lust and something I couldn't quite place.

"Are you planning on giving him Amily?" I saw her stiffen at my words from the corner of my eye. Truth of the matter was that if Delaney took Amily, that would be one less worry for me but I couldn't allow it to happen considering death himself wants her for some conjuring spell. I still don't know exactly how he plans on using her but I wasn't going to let it happen. I could tell that was thought that had ran across Lord Thelios' mind. Unable to answer my question aloud, Lord Thelios dismissed his cousin and Amily. When we were alone, he began pacing the floor between the sofas.

"Delaney is under the impression that Amily is a true blood slave. He believes she is bonded to me so he hasn't asked for her."

"Yet! Anyone can see the man desires her."

"This is true."

"And you've considered giving her to him haven't you?"

"I will not lie to you Elias. The thought has crossed my mind and even more so with the threat of those creatures. Please tell me you handled the situation."

"We did."

"Good."

"We handled THAT situation, that camp. There are more and there will be more especially if he gets his hands on Amily."

"Who is he and why Amily?"

"He said to call him Grim. It's death himself who leads those creatures. He can only raise them to walk in human flesh. They have the abilities of demons but because of the shell they have to walk in, they are subjected to the earthly body's interruptions. When their true form requires no rest or nutrition, the flesh does. Grim plans on using Amily some how in conjuring the demons to where they can survive here without needing to host a fleshy bag of bones." The shock ran across his face as I spoke.

"The grim reaper? How do you know all of this?"

"The witch Hilda informed me. We were able to save two of the three witches. Grim killed the other when she made an attempt to run."

"So death himself is after Amily for some type of spell to bring his demons to walk on the earth and now he's killed one of my witches leaving me still unable to bond her to me." He didn't ask, he was repeating what I had said in a way to understand it, still pacing back and forth.

"Why did he simply not just follow you back?" I wouldn't tell Thelios of the part that my dormant heart would start beating.

"Too easily done I assume." Was all I could come up with in response.

"Please, leave me be. I need to think."

"Do not allow him to have her. She will best be protected if she stays here." He gave me a quick nod and shooed me away with his hands.

I had a few options, I could retire straight to my chambers or I could check on Amily. I needed to know if she had spoke with Thelios on any possibility that he may gift her to his cousin. Lord Delaney had always been an odd man and the way he practically was salivating over Amily made my stomach turn. The worry got the best of me and before I knew it I was making my way to Amily's chambers. I passed Perscilla and her escort on the way.

"Oh you've returned." She said with a fake smile as she placed a hand on my arm.

"Headed to see your little treat I see." Again she wore a fake smile. Turning her head down and looking up to me from under raised brows she said, "You need to be careful on your midnight snacks Elias. One should not eat that late, it isn't good for the figure."

"Excuse me?" I was shocked. How did she know I had fed on Amily. As if she read my mind, she chuckled a bit.

"I have eyes everywhere Elias. There isn't a thing that goes on here that goes unknown by me." She winked then walked away with her escort. I stood there for a moment lost in her statement. She has spies? Who does she think she is?

Making it to Amily's chambers, I noticed the door was slightly ajar. The sight immediately made me go on the defense. A blood slave's chamber never goes without proper locking. When I heard the shifting of furniture and a small yelp from Amily, I barged into her chambers unannounced. To my surprise, Amily was in the corner of her room being held up in the air by the long white covered arm of Lord Delaney. Noah was on the floor by the bed clutching his chest. His heart was peaking out from under the fabric of his shirt. Delaney must have attacked the boy to make his way in to Amily. I could smell the sweet strawberry fields that haunted me and saw her blood running from her forearm, past her fingers and onto the floor. I snapped.

I feel this isn't my best chapter, it's also a short one, but I hope everyone is enjoying the read! :)