Chapter seventy four

‘Edward,’ a mystical voice called, ‘Edward, it’s time. Open your eyes,’ the voice cooed. ‘Wake up, your people need you. Wake up, Edward.”

Far away from the palace, on a mountain stood a woman in black, “I should have known you would fail,” her voice spoke of her displease. “Even at a time like this, you still couldn’t win. I wish your younger brother was the one I saved his soul and not you,” she hissed. “But it’s okay, he would take care of you for me. The prince is hidden in the palace, even I can’t go in there, but it doesn’t matter, I have waited two thousand years for this, what is a little more years to compare. Now I know he is alive, I will just have to take my time and wait till he falls into my hands, oh because he will, he really will,” she smiled softly and vanished, leaving a cloud of smoke where she once was.

Vertimon slowly pulls Aliyah down and Sean was catching her midair and placing her on the ground while cradling her head. His eyes were blurred with tears as he placed his head on her neck and sobbed, his cry surrounding them.

“No,” Irene whispered, “no, no, no, no,” she ran towards them, kneeling down beside Sean and touching Aliyah’s face. “No, no, no,” she cried, “no!”

Rasmus sighed and went to her, squatting beside her and placing his hand on her shoulder, softly squeezing her shoulder for comfort.

“Aliyah,” Steven yelled, running to the scene at that moment, “God,” he cried and fell on his knees. “Why did it get to this?”

“She asked me to do it,” Vertimon whispered.

“We know,” Damien said, approaching the scene at that moment. “She is an alpha blood and protecting is what every alpha does. It’s so sad that she has to…” he paused, not able to finish his own words as he was fighting to keep his tears in.

There were moaning sounds around them as the wolves and Nightwalkers started coming to, all of them confused at what was happening and where they were as their eyes flashed around them.

Maleeka sighed, watching Sean that was crying on Aliyah’s body, she too found herself feeling bad. The girl was truly a leader because she doubt if she herself would ever kill herself to save others. But guess this little encounter had thought her a good lesson, if you are a leader, then you should be willing protect to the very last minute.

“She would have made a pretty good queen,” Idrissa whispered.

“Yes, she would have,” Vertimon smiled, “she really would have.”

“Sean?” a voice called and Sean lifted his head from Aliyah’s body and turned around to see a confused Monica standing a little far from him. “What happened?”

He got up immediately and rushed her, holding her in his arms and he wept some more, “I thought I have lost you.”

“I don’t understand, where is Anita?” she asked, her eyes searching around and not seeing her daughter.”

“She is safe, don’t worry,” Sean said and looked at her, “but Aliyah…” he broke down in tears once more.

“Oh God, no,” Monica whispered as her tears clouded her vision.

“Oh my God,” Maleeka said and everyone turned and followed her gaze only to see the blue flame that has been shielding the palace since yesterday falling. “Is he dead or is he awake?”

“We can only wait to see,” Vertimon said as the blue flame completely diminished and nothing happened. Just as they were about to give up, something shot up into the sky from the window but it was so fast they could only see it as blurry shadow. The shadow paused midair and they all gasped now seeing the through form to identify him as a man. Like the speed of an arrow, he shot down at where they were, the breeze from his speed blowing them all away and when they got hold of themselves, they saw the man cradling Aliyah’s head in his arms.

“Long live the King,” the demon rulers chanted and if he heard them, he didn’t show it.

“Aliyah,” his gentle voice traveled to their ears, the voice so calm compared to the storm they could feel brewing. “Aliyah,” he called once more, his knuckles caressing her smooth fair face. “What happened?”

“My King, she gave up her life to protect everyone,” Idrissa answered.

“So what makes you think that you deserve to live while she dies?” Edward’s voice was calm compared to the threat in his words. Slowly, he put Aliyah’s head down and stood up. “If she dies, then so do you all.”

“No Edward,” Irene jumped out to say, “you don’t have to do this. She gave her life to protect them, killing everyone is making her die in vain.”

“And then I ask again, what makes you more important than her?”

“My prince…”

“Silence!” he yelled, his hand waving and Malachi was thrown away. “I told you, if anyone touches a hair on her, I would be killing first and asking questions later and yet you dared violate me?”

“No Edward,” Genevieve said, “she chose to hurt herself, it was her wish.”

Edward glanced at her, his blue eyes burning a bright blue flame, “then this would be your wish too,” he said and at that moment, Genevieve started screaming in an unbearable pain.

“No,” Dennis yelled and rushed Edward.

“Dennis, no!” A high chief yelled but Edward tilted his head to the side and Dennis was smacked face down on the ground. He tried to get up but for some reason he couldn’t and then Edward’s gaze landed on him and he found himself yelling in pain and trying to quench the invisible fire that was burning his insides by tapping all over his body and screaming.

“King Edward,” A voice called and for a brief moment, Edward sensed his hold on the two nightwalkers slipping away. He tried to grab it again but he completely lost in the next second and before he could charge, witches in black and black hoods covering their faces appeared from nowhere, encircling him in a tight formation. “You won’t be killing any innocent soul tonight.”

“And who is going to stop me?” he asked, his eyes settling on the white-haired witch as she was the only one that wasn’t wearing a hood.

“Please King Edward, ask yourself if you are doing the right thing,” Hephzibah said.

“You did not answer my question. Who is going to stop me?” he repeated, his eyes now a mixture of blue and red. Half of each of his eyes were blue and the other red.

Hephzibah gasped seeing that, “you have merged your powers.”

“The little sleep helped,” he replied before a blue flame surround him, “now, who is going to stop me?”

“Now my sisters, let us join together and become one,” Hephzibah called and they all joined hands and started chanting in an ancient language.

Edward frowned when he saw his fire dimming and the more he tried to brighten it, the more it dimmed until it was no longer there. “What do you think you are doing?”

“After I got the vision of what you would be doing to this world when you wake up, I had to go into hiding, searching for the visions of the past and I found out that led by more than two thousand years old pure blood, a coven of strong witches can subdue the fire of a demon king. I don’t intend to control you or dethrone you King Edward; your fire would only be locked as long as this formation holds and I only intend to use it and speak to you. Please listen to me, king Edward…”

“You forgot something, witch,” Edward interrupted, “your formation may hold my fire, but as an original, your spells have never and will never work on me.” Saying that, his eyes burned blood red, his fangs elongated as well as his claws and in a frightening speed, he rushed Hephzibah but the witch quickly rose a shield to protect herself. Seeing that, Edward smirked and quickly beelined to an unsuspecting witch. He clawed at her face and his fangs sunk into her skin. He didn’t even bother to feed as he yanked the head out of the body. He let the body fall as well as the head and he closed his eyes as blue flame quickly surrounded him.

“No!” Hephzibah yelled, with a gap in the formation, the spell won’t work. “King Edward, please, listen to me, I am only trying to protect you, please.”

“Like I said, who can stop me?” he said and quickly sent a ball of fire at the witch and he watched in horror as the fire diminished right before it touched the witch. He turned sharply at the space he had created only to see that Irene had stepped in and joined hands with the other witches.

“I am sure that with two pure blood witches, the spell would be twice as strong,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“Traitor,” Edward said, “I raised you!” he yelled, his voice finally showing the anger he was feeling. “I protected you, took you in as my own and you betray me?”

“No Edward!” she yelled, “I am protecting you. I told you that my loyalty will lie with you forever and this is me keeping that promise. Please, listen to me, you will not like the end of the path you are following.”

Edward growled like a beast and then he started growing, his face turning red.

“Oh no,” Vertimon said as the man grew up to twelve feet tall, “with his demon strength alone, he would be smashing those witches. We have to help.”

“How?” Beruka asked, already scared of the royal-blood beast in front of her, “no demon can subdue a royal beast but a stronger royal beast.”

“You will all pay for this,” Edward snarled in a distorted voice and everyone felt the fear creep up their skin.