Chapter-19

-Previously in DiR-

I struggled to keep my eyes open. I saw from the corner of my eye as something moved on my right side. My heart thudded in my chest, causing pain. I pulled the rope tied on my hands to free them. It didn't work. It was tied too tightly for me.

"Where am I?" I choked out. And saw a figure move in shadows. It was a man; his shadow grew taller as he moved. "Who are you?"

He moved closer and I saw his perfect features. His hair was combed back. He was pale and looked like a corpse. The only flaw was a small scar down the right of his face. Although, I couldn't tell his age, I could tell he was older than I thought him to be. It didn't take me to be Sherlock to know what he was.

"You already know what I am," He grinned. His canines were shining. "We're in Paris, human."

***

"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."-Joseph Campbell

Chapter-19

-Karen-

It was funny how future could turn out on you. It could promise such nice things and end up being devastating. Every time I had tried to make sense out of the plans my future was having for me, it turned out to be totally opposite of it.

I should have been planning how my graduation was going to be. I should have been thinking to go out with Jon for the celebration and clicking photos, as we had decided years ago. I should have been choosing my favourite colleges. That's what 'I should have been' doing.

And what's going on now? No parties, no graduation, nothing.

I last thing I wanted was to die without getting graduated.

You must be thinking why graduation seemed so exciting to me. The reason was graduating felt...normal. Being in a world filled with vampires and other supernatural (whom I hadn't met yet) was tiring. Everything was so unreal.

I blinked several times. If my hands were free, I would have pinched myself. I was sure I was in a dream. This deadly man didn't exist.

The music was playing up above our heads. Loud and clear, I could hear people's screams and cries over the music. Where was I?

"You think so much, human." He said, licking his fangs.

I was a tasty meal.

"That's what a human does." I made a face. "But you won't know."

Agreed, I was scared to death. This vampire could kill me anytime or drink my blood until I turned into a white corpse. There was no way I could open these ropes or run away. I mean there was a freaking not-so-good vampire watching me carefully. I had to stay optimistic. Nate or Victor could be coming anytime soon.

"How did we end up here?" I asked courageously.

"I thought you knew. We travelled in the portal to Paris." He smiled. It was sinister.

"You travelled?" I raised my eyebrows. That hurt my head. "Isn't it illegal to travel without permission from the royals?"

He chuckled and walked up to the bulb. The light fell on his dangerous features. His eyes were...red? The thing I noticed was; his skin was smooth and white.

He was wearing very casual clothing. He was wearing black shirt with jeans. I was unable to imagine a hundred year old vampire in this attire. Apart from movies, I never knew they could try to look fashionable.

"The laws? Huh! I don't give them a shit!" He yelled. His eyes blazing. "In the human world, I do not have to follow any rules the family has made and I have broken many laws in the other world too. My vampire friends are eager to break laws with me."

"And there aren't any people here who can come to find us?"

He laughed. I didn't know someone with that face could laugh. It was scarier than the idea of death.

"We are under a famous club in Paris, my dear human. I thought you might have figured it out yourself, with all these music going on for hours. My men are all over the club up here." He pointed at the ceiling with his pale finger. "They won't let anyone come down here and for the noise, the music never stops here."

Great. It was life if I had been slapped on the face. We were in underground of a club in Paris. His vampire friends were in the club above. How the hell were Nate and Victor ever going to find me?

I felt my throat dry. I couldn't stop coughing.

"Can—I get some water?" I asked.

"Of course you can because you're the one who is going to lure the prince out of the world where he is under so much protection." He grinned. "I won't want you dead. Until then."

Nate was weak. He could not travel through dimensions. He can't come here and I suspected if Victory would even bother to come for me.

The vampire disappeared into the shadows and came back into the light with a bottle in his hands. He opened the cap and poured the water down my mouth. It was a relief but I soon started choking and he smiled.

I glared at him.

"Sorry for the inconvenience." He said. "Your suffering will be over forever when he comes."

I wasn't dumb to not know the meaning hidden in his words. He was going to kill me when Nate came for me.

Nate, don't come for me.

I started chanting.

"He will come." The vampire said. "He will come to save you for the attachment he has with you and then there will be no one to save him."

"Why are you doing this?" I cried.

He was gone.

-Victor-

"Where is she?" I boomed at a guard, taking hold of his collar.

"I don't know, sir." He stammered.

Karen was missing for a day and I was informed when I had returned from the other dimension. The guards were searching for her in the kingdom for hours but there was no sign of her.

"You are of no use, then." I said to the guard and my hands went to twist his neck.

"Victor, let him go." Said a voice.

"He doesn't know anything about her." I said to Nathan.

"They found the bodies of the guards who were sent with Karen. Beheaded." Nathan replied. "I'm afraid something bad has happened to her."

"Aren't you a genius, Nathan?" I scoffed.

He signalled the guard to get out of there. His face was filled with worries and I could see how much angry he was.

"She is abducted."

"Do you have any idea who is involved in this?" I asked.

We had too many enemies. If I sat to make a list, it would take days to let us know who was behind this. But no matter who was he, I wouldn't think twice to kill him.

Why in the first place had Karen gone out with the two guards? Why had mother given them permission?

I had told Karen not to get out of the protected walls of the mansion. She was never listening to anyone. She did what she wanted to do. If I had been there, I would have stopped her.

"I have no—" Nathan began but was cut off when a guard entered the hall.

"There is a message for you," There was something off about the guard.

"What message?" We asked simultaneously.

"If you want Karen alive, travel all alone to Paris in human world." He...smiled.

I moved and gripped his neck.

"You know where she is. Tell me." I growled.

"If you kill me, you'll lose her forever, Victor." He was brave enough to say this.

"We can travel there." Nathan had also moved beside us. His eyes were glued to the smiling vampire. It looked as if he was controlling his desire to kill him.

"You've to come alone, Prince Nathaniel."

***

"You cannot travel." Mother said, denying our pleas. "You're weak. It can cost you your life, Nathan."

"If I don't travel, it will cost Karen's life." Nathan said. "She has to be saved. I have to go, mother."

It was the first time he was not listening to mother's orders. The typical Nathan was someone who didn't raise questions to whatever mother said. I could see what he was fighting for.

I could see the fear of losing Karen in his eyes.

"I cannot let you travel."

"Mother, nothing can hurt me ever. She needs me. Isn't she the one who saved me from the sleep?" Nathan pleaded, kneeling down on the floor beside mother. "The debt needs to be paid, mother. It will be my responsibility to take care of myself. I need no guards to accompany me."

Mother looked at him with care and sadness on her face. She touched his cheek. Feeling like a third wheel, I looked away. This was making me sick. He always received the love I never did.

"I'm scared for you. She is just a human girl with magical blood. I'm sure we can find someone else like that. We don't need to risk your life for her."

Enough! This weak creature that was kneeling beside mother to plead to save someone's life was of no use. I couldn't stand here and wait for another message from a vampire of Karen's death. This talk was useless. Nathan was useless. He could do nothing.

If I was at his place I would gone right away. I wouldn't be waiting for mother to grant me permission or anything.

"I have to go, mother." He stood up. "And that's final."

"Are you going against me to save her?" She asked.

"She's worth it." His eyes were fixed on the floor.

"Fine," Her eyes were filled with tears. "Do whatever you want to."

Nathan and I walked out of mother's room together. The tension and the pressure of the entire situation were written all over his face. His hands were balled into fists, his eyes were lost in rage and his jaw was clenched.

He stopped suddenly, making me stop too.

He turned to face me and looked at my locket. The one I used to travel the dimensions.

"I need this." He whispered.

"Nathan, you cannot go alone." I emphasized on every single word. "I've to come with you to save her."

"I can't risk it."

"We have no idea how many vampires we would be running into. They are dangerous. They killed our two guards outside the mansion. Do you think you can survive in the other world?" I asked, leaning on him. "There is no way you can get away without hurting yourself and as well as Karen."

He looked up at me.

"I don't care about myself." He said back. "I'm going alone."

"You are so not going alone."

"Stop me." He challenged.

"We don't have to fight and finish this now, Nathan. There will be times for this. Now, we have to focus on Karen and as your dead brain no longer has the ability to process ideas, I have to take the responsibility." I said.

"I cannot lose her, Victor." He said. "And if I lose her, I will tear the world down to ashes."

"Sounds like a plan."

-Nate-

"Where are we going?" I asked the vampire ahead me.

The forest didn't seem to end. And I was following the vampire into the place where I had barely been to.

"We are going to travel, Prince." He grinned.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know." He answered. Then he turned to the left and came to halt. "Get inside. We're travelling."

If there had been a house it was broken down. There was nothing but large stones here and there. The long grass had grown everywhere. How could a place like this hold so much power for a portal?

The vampire moved behind me and pushed me.

"Be quick with this."

He held my hand and asked me to close my eyes. I did not have any travelling experience. In my time there was no one who could travel dimensions. The witches had been working on this thought but I never knew if it could turn into reality.

I closed my eyes.

I felt the locket which victor had given me burn in my neck. It seemed like, the locket was consuming on my power to travel. The locket burned and I screamed. My hands and legs went weak. I could barely stand. The vampire did not let go of my hand. It was only thing that kept me standing.

Tiredness took over my body. I fell on my knees to the ground beneath me.

"Open your eyes, we're here."

I forced my heavy eyelids to open and reality came in focus.

The loud noises pounded in my ears and the smell of blood stabbed in my head. The large group of people were dancing in the room. My fangs came out. It was hard to control the lust for blood anymore. I was weak and I needed to feed.

"Keep those pair in your mouth and move." Someone whispered in my ear.

He took me by shoulders and made me stand on the feet. He kept me pushing from behind until we stopped on the top of stairs which went long way down.

"Move," He said.

We walked down the stairs.

My instincts became weaker but I could smell a familiar person.

Karen.

My eyes worked in the darkness.

There she was, tightly tied with ropes on a pole. Her condition was worse than mine. As I moved closer, her eyes twinkled with hope.

"Nate, you're here," She smiled weakly. And suddenly the smile fell from her face. "You shouldn't have come here."

I struggled with my breathing and tried to move towards her. I had to free her.

"You did not see me here, Prince."

I turned at the voice and someone hit me on the head.

Everything happened in a blur. I hit the floor in no less than a minute. I heard Karen screaming my name again and again. My eyelids fell over my eyes, no matter how I tried to open them. I could no longer try to stand up.

A/N 10k and counting...

This is all I ever wanted... ;)

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