Chapter 9

To be or not to be?

While Klaus found himself completely changed and in a dire predicament, Elise was busy contemplating her own. It is a strange experience being ignored. The word ignored is simple and precise. Most know the meaning of it but few truly analyse it. Despite this, the feelings it can cause in humans can be both small and large. It can break hearts, cause hate or mean nothing at all.

To her and her circumstance at the time, being ignored rankled more than anything. She was the pride of the Delmora and did not understand why all her questions were not being answered by Boeithia, who had always given her anything that she wanted.

She took a strand of her dark red hair and looked at it in contemplation. ‘Why won’t they tell me what is going on; why did the household go into full alert and why was I whisked away to this dreary place?’

Why, why, why so many ‘why’ but so little answers. She had asked the butler who had always been there, but the dull man had shoved her questions aside just as Boeithia did- saying that she would. “Find out soon enough and just needed to be patient.”

She had never been good at being patient.

With a huff and her mind made up to find out what is going on or else. She stood up and headed towards the door to her room only for it to open before she even reached it. The culprit that had just stolen her thunder was none other than her Great Aunt.

Elise’s impatience flew away and her frown turned upside down as she rushed towards her Aunt and gave her a big hug. Her aunt returned it and put a hand on her shoulders before pushing the girl away gently and looking deeply into her eyes. Elise felt her thoughts being read but did not avoid it. It happened quickly and within seconds her Aunt once more left her thoughts alone.

She always found it amazing how quickly her aunt could search through her mind, find what she was looking for and then be gone the next. During her practice on normal humans Elise always got side-tracked by surface thoughts or feelings that the “normies” thought and felt.

Her Aunt sighed after reading Elise’s thoughts and then walked over to the bed and sat down gingerly. Morgose rubbed over her navy blue knee length business skirt. She wore a matching jacket with a white blouse underneath. Her deep brown hair was set in a neat bun above her head. Despite being called “Great Aunt” the woman did not look much older than Boeithia. Elise knew that the woman was much older than she appeared, she still could not help but feel respect for her. Morgose was her hero after all.

Morgose gave her a long look and then patted the bed beside her. Elise scrunched up her nose. The bed was in no way as good as her one at the hotel. The blankets and other things were sup bar compared to her soft and silky linen in the hotel. They were made from materials that came from the Secret Worlds and felt the part.

No these were not maroon as those in her room but stark white without any decoration to speak of. They were military standard.

She had been grabbed by the family's’ men in suits and led to a helicopter on the roof of the hotel along with a few others of her family that were deemed as important the previous afternoon. It was telling that her sister was not considered among those deemed important. They had flown for over an hour and landed on a platform in the middle of nowhere which then sunk beneath the ground and into a bunker.

She was taken to her room and told to stay despite her protests. Boeithia stayed long enough to make sure she listened while ignoring all her questions before storming off somewhere and there Elise had stayed.

She made her way over to the bed and sat down. Morgose looked at her for a long time and then almost whispered. “I have failed you child. Even worse I have failed the family and may have potentially put in motion what could be the end of our family on this world.”

Elise frowned at the words and gave word to her confusion. “Why Aunt, what happened and why are we here in this, place?” She had gestured at the stark and empty concrete walls surrounding them while speaking.

Morgose could not help but feel bitter at it. ‘Boeithia has spoiled this child rotten. What will she not act like when she has to survive on her own in the wilderness of the Secret Worlds?’

Morgose hid her thoughts and answered Elise. “We were nearly killed yesterday if not for the mercy of the boy whose dreams you so brazenly invaded.”

Elise wanted to protest, but Morgose lifted her hand and stopped her before she could start. “Though your actions could have led to conflict mine were far worse. I wanted to kill the boy before he could awaken. He was a threat to you despite his… normal upbringing. He did not have any ill will towards you, but after what I did it could have easily turned to that. I wanted to force him into helping you and in doing so I betrayed your aunt Lilith and her promises to the boy and his father. The consequences of my actions were dire to the extreme and if I had known…” She paused and looked at the wall, her eyes out of focus and then shook her head. “No, I would not have changed my actions, just planned differently.”

At the realization Elise’s Aunt slumped her shoulders and it broke Elise’s heart to see her hero in such a state. She looked frail and small to Elise for the first time in her life.

Elise looked at her hands and felt regret at what she had done. A part of her did not understand Klaus’ reaction. She was never taught to hold back and was encouraged to explore her powers. ‘Maybe if I held back and did not do what I did it could have been different?’

She was forced out of her thoughts when her Aunt planted a kiss on her crown. “It is not your fault, the responsibility is my own and I came here to explain so that you would understand.”

Elise frowned once more. “Understand what?”

Morgose balled her fists and looked deeply into Elise’s eyes. “Understand why you will be going into the Secret Worlds as an ally and… and concubine to Lewis Argent.” The last few words were said in barely a whisper.

Elise had flown up aghast and horrified at hearing what was said. “No, no I will not be a concubine to anyone- least of all that, that beast!” She shouted even as tears started to stream over her cheeks.

Morgose stood up and tried to hug the distraught girl but Elise pushed her away. “No I can’t. Why, why would you do this to me?”

The older woman felt her heart breaking at the look that Elise was giving her. “The Argents were the ones that attacked the boy while he was with Lilith. Apparently he had hurt Lewis’ brother who is like Clarissa. They found out that he had somehow compelled the boy and when it was discovered that Lilith was watching over him they thought it was one of our manipulations and attacked.

The Dalmora and Argents were like oil and water due to their nature and war like past. It was also known that a union between their bloodlines did not result in a child, but grotesque abominations. This meant that Elise will never have a child and that she and Lewis would have to be made sterile. The Dalmora did not believe in polygamy, but the Argents had to. If one of their bloodline felt strongly for someone they would imprint and never be able to feel love for another.

“Elise, we had no choice in the matter. You need an ally or you will not survive. Our bloodline and powers make us powerful but also hated. There is no one else.”

Elise felt like she was going to throw up. Her mind thought of school, of her so called friends, but that too was just more of the bloodlines manipulating each other. If it came down to it they would simply abandon her and laugh. She realized then; The lifestyle she lived, the feeling of being on top of the world and getting everything she wanted. It had all come at a price and now she had to pay it.

Morgose stayed with Elise as she wept until she cried herself to sleep. She then slowly stood up and made her way to her own room where Boeithia sat waiting. When she saw the other woman Morgose snorted.

“What do you want?”

Boeithia did not answer immediately and sat there fiddling with her hands. “Did you tell her?”

“Yes.”

Boeithia closed her eyes and a shudder ran through her body. The reason Elise had not seen her was because she did not have the heart to face the girl.

A long pregnant silence stretched between the two before Boeithia finally broke it. “Was there really no other choice?”

“No.”

Boeithia got up and started to pace. “Can we not promise them something else? Lewis awakened at the age of nine he will not amount to much and the Argents know it. Elise has a stigmata; the first in our branch of the family for four hundred years!”

Morgose felt her temper start to slip from her grasp. “Do you think I don’t know! Do you really think that I did not take all of this into consideration? I even contacted my sister and do you know what she did? She laughed at me, rubbed it in my face and…” Stopping halfway Morgose took two deep breaths in order to calm down and then just sat down.

The two had sat in silence for a while.

“What about the Jambavana?”

Morgose then frowned. “Their branch on this world is young and they are a strange group; recluse and have never attempted to make contact. Unless we can find them in the next two days and broker a deal before the Argents arrive there is no hope at all.”

Boeithia shot up and made her way to the door.

“Where are you going?” Asked Morgose more than a little peeved.

Boeithia smiled and seemed a lot more energetic. “I know right where to find them!” Before she explained or Morgose could question her, she was gone.

Klaus was sitting admiring his claws. ‘How shiny they are, how smooth and sharp, magnificent! Marvellous!’

A sigh next to him made his anger nearly explode for interrupting his grooming, but he pushed it down.

Lilith who sat next to him in the cave was the culprit. ‘You are doing it again.’ She thought at him.

He snorted and the sound of it reverberated through the cave. ‘I know, it is hard not to. I can’t help it. It is almost like I have two minds at war with each other. No, it’s not minds but instincts.’ Frustration came through with the words and Lilith could see how tense the little dragon was.

Lilith not thinking patted his side eliciting a growl form the dragon. Anger rose in him once more. ‘How dare this lowly creature pat me! Wait, what is this. What sorcery!’

Lilith, watched in amusement and relief as Klaus’ eyes rolled over in bliss and the tension left his body. She had heard his thoughts and known she made a mistake, so she did all she could; Lilith started to scratch him. She watched as the deadly tail curled in pleasure and nearly laughed out loud when his hind leg started shaking just as she found a soft scale to scratch right in the corner behind his lower jaw.

The little dragon had then suddenly sat upright and retreated from her hands. ‘Stop, I could die and here you are scratching me.’

A bit of Klaus’ old self revealed itself and Lilith let out a chuckle. Pain had explained to her that he would act erratically as his human and dragon instincts fought for supremacy until they would find some kind of equilibrium. His human psyche was in general more in control as his dragon self was but a hatchling.

The few times it was in control though, he had chased his tail twice and nearly burnt Lilith with the chaotic fire. Despite Pain’s protests she still did not leave him. He was her only family now, even if he did not know it.

‘I feel so confused. I can’t focus my thoughts; everything and anything is a distraction.’ Complained Klaus and as if to prove his point Klaus spotted something new to his dragon self and chose to burn it. Only to realize a second later it was his shadow.

After the stunt Lilith watched as he sat down in dejection. 'I am going to die aren't I?'

Standing up, Lilith sauntered over to him and put her hands under his jaw. 'Don't say such things. We will find a way, we have to.'

Clearing his throat Pain interrupted the moment and stepped forward. Klaus nearly shot fire at him, but fought the impulse. "I may have found a way, Young Master."

Hope filled the young dragon's heart and his burning gaze looked at the demon expectantly.

Clearing his throat once more, Pain stepped a little closer and the dragon in Klaus growled at him so the demon stopped and took out a vial filled with an unknown red substance.

Klaus' enhanced senses picked out what it was almost immediately. "You bring me blood and this is not like the blood of my mother?"

Pain let out a long breath. He recognized the tone of voice. His master used it often when she was not pleased.

"Yes, but it is somewhat related to the Master. The blood is in a way from family. My hope is that it will trigger a similar experience to your awakening. Only, you will have to search in your blood for when the Master found a way to turn into a human."

Klaus had to fight his impulse to try and rip pain apart for even suggesting he take the blood of something inferior to his mother, but something else stuck out. "Family? Are you saying I have a brother or sister?"

Pain, shuffled around a bit before replying. "Yes." Klaus almost jumped with jubilation, however the feeling got doused in its infancy very quickly by Pain. "But, your siblings all went mad with the corruption, you see the Master had spent most of her hatchling years around the tree of life so her body naturally got infused with a lot of life energy. This saved her from the blight and made her into something more, a hybrid like you are now. Children born from other bloodlines would live well for a few years but madness would take them eventually and… it would not end well."

Pain watched as his words seemed to physically hurt Klaus. His already confused and worried psyche did not take the news well.

Silence reigned for a few minutes as Lilith scratched and hugged Klaus trying to sooth his pain. Being a normal child had always been a dream. A part of that was being a big or even little brother and his hope for at least a part of it got kindled only to be snuffed out again.

Just as Pain wanted to hurry things along. Klaus swallowed the hurt down like he always would and had the same thought that had driven him to where he became valedictorian. 'Life owes us nothing.'

The dragon's eyes bore into Pain along with the words that soon followed. "What do I need to do?"

Pain took a few slow steps forward and seeing that Klaus did not react aggressively moved a bit faster. "My theory is based on the fact that dragons usually, naturally unlock the powers in their blood while in the egg, but the Young Master was obviously different. Contrary to what we believed would happen and unlike the others, Young Master had to be carried by the Master in her humanoid form just as a normal human would."

"The Master had to give normal birth as well- so the memories that would have been unlocked while the Young Master was being incubated did not happen, but I believe they are still there. We need only find a way to access them." Pain almost seemed excited while he explained.

Klaus impatiently looked at the vial, in his grief finding it a lot easier to fight against the objections of his draconic psyche. It was young after all and did not truly understand loss and what it meant, it would rather avoid it. "What do you need me to do?"

Pain stood up and gestured behind him. The previous demons that helped with the awakening streamed into the cave and started to set up incense burners inside the room with the jewel.

While preparation were being done,Pain looked at Klaus and almost reluctantly said. "It is my duty to warn you that we will only have one chance at this. There is not a lot of magic energy left inside the jewel and should you fail… you may die."

Klaus took in a long breath and then slowly exhaled. "I die if I don't do it and I may die while trying. I would rather try and die than do nothing at all."

Lilith felt a fear at his words but also a strange sense of pride. Klaus had never been indecisive. It would serve him well in the future.

Things happened quickly after that and despite the hustle and bustle Klaus noticed someone missing. "Where is Lust?"

Pain pointed towards the vial. "Her father was your half brother, because of that she is a bit more… unhinged than the rest of us. That also means that this blood had to be extracted from her and she is currently recuperating."

Klaus could do nothing but nod at this. He still felt a little happy about it. In a way, she was family to him.

Once everything was set up, Pain guided Klaus towards the centre of the vault once more.

"How do I do this."

Pain fell silent for a moment. "i do not know."

'Great.' Thought Klaus to himself nervously.

Lilith walked over and touched her hand to his cheek. 'The Delmora often meditate in crowded areas in order to train our abilities. We open up ourselves to everyone and then learn to focus on just certain individuals. I think this should be similar, only you will have to find what you are looking for within yourself. Find something to anchor yourself with and then spread out your mind in order to find what you are looking for. Do not spread yourself too thinly or lose your anchor or you will get lost and may not be able to return in time.'

Klaus looked at her deeply and asked. 'What happens if I don't do what you just said.'

With a look of worry on her face, Lilith shook her head and stressed. 'Don't lose your anchor.'

Stepping back at Pain's urging she went out of the vault with the others while one shadow creature like those that carried in the food stood near the incense burners. Klaus watched as it divided the blood between the eight burners surrounding him.

"Wait, don't I have to drink that?"

"No, the blood is poisonous and may kill even you. We have to burn it and hope that diluting it this way will be less… poisonous." Replied Pain.

Klaus wanted to object, but he saw the shadow creature look at him as it lit a match. For a moment the face of the creature became clear and it very much resembled a little monkey to Klaus. His look of worry seemed to be reflected on the little creatures face.

"Light it!"

The creature dropped the match, running for all it was worth and with a bang the bent vault door slammed shut casting Klaus in dim lighting.

The fires soon turned red and thick red smoke started to spread through the vault.

Klaus swallowed hard and a strange thought crossed his mind.

'To be or not to be: that is the question.'*

He could not help, but chuckle since it seemed rather fitting for his situation.