HeartBreak Warfare

Chapter 9

You can understand my hesitation when I turned back around. The last time I was in here, I was chained to the floor, waiting for my sentence. But to be here actually invited and not a prisoner? Something must have been wrong. I stood my ground, gathering my senses to look around this room without taking my eyes on my father. It was something I learned quickly. If you didn't know what you were walking in to, you were most likely going to be killed. Well I wasn't taking one step until I felt better about being here.

I took a loud breath, letting the sound echo through the room. The sound waves bounced back to my ears like I was a bat, revealing any hidden creatures or crevices that I was unaware of. I sniffed, going deeper than the fresh air, trying to detect something hidden in the air. From my peripheral vision, I could see the guards behind me, my families' eyes on me, and the windows shaded by thick curtains for my mother. Nothing seemed out of place, other than the fact that I was here.

My foot seemed to move without my telling it too, but I didn't fight it. My brother, Darius, was on my father's left side this time, leaving an empty spot on his right where I used to sit during trials. Being the oldest had its certain privileges. Everyone was there, my whole family sitting in their own seats like they used to be. Blake had taken a spot where my mother used to sit, dropping her back a seat. She certainly had established her own rank, showing who was in control here. I could almost taste her power, but I didn't let her coy smile get to me. I kept my eyes squarely on my father without me losing sight of the rest of my family.

"Welcome, Logan." My father said, his voice loud and controlling. He folded his hands, his eyes hard just like they always were. I didn't dare let my guard down-I had learned my lesson. "Why don't you sit down with us? We have some things to discuss." Terry smiled welcoming at me, beckoning me with his palm, but I didn't care.

"I'd rather you just tell me what you want so I can leave." I didn't even try to hide my disgust of being here. I thought I saw Blake's face crumble for just a second, but by the time I looked at her, she had regained her composure and glared at me, but there was something in her eyes…

"I see." There wasn't a hit of regret in his tone. Only business. Same old dad.

I raised my eyebrows as if to say "Well get on with it".

"We have gotten off on the wrong foot, my son." Here we go, I thought as he said this. "You belong here and as I've discussed with Blake, we need you to be a part of this family again. When you left it was a tragedy, a loss of the best son I have." Darius growled, but my father held up a hand to silence him. "As a family, we were feared, the strongest vampires in the world. No one dared challenge us with The Black Angel."

I roared with fury when he mentioned my old name. "How dare you." The rest of the words couldn't form in my mouth. I was shaking so violently, my vision blurring from hatred that I could barely think. I opened up my wings, stretching them out fully and barred my teeth, growling. My hands became claws, ready to tear limbs apart. It took me a few seconds to realize this is what he wanted. He wanted me to react this way, to give in to my anger, my old nature.

Atheus stood up and approached me. "Don't you see, my son! This is who you were! A strong demon who got what he wanted and never took no for an answer. You killed mercilessly and I was proud to say you were my son. You could be that again! Let us help you."

I stepped back from him, regaining whatever cool I had left. "Help me? Help me? All you've done for me this past week is fight me, sentence me, lock me up, lie to me, and now you say you want to help?" my voice rose with every word with my anger. "I'm through with whatever help you want to give me. In fact, I'm through with all of you. Screw you people. I'm done with your killing, your lies, and your ways. If you haven't noticed I have a soul now, something that's showing me what you're doing is wrong. I don't want to be a part of this family and it certainly doesn't want to be a part of me." I was surprised how much anger I built up and how much was still there when I went to take a breath.

"The soul is holding you back!" My father yelled at me. "This is not the Logan I know! I watched you grow up, ready for the kill and wanted to fight anything in your path! The real Logan has been closed up by this soul to possess. You're fighting your own nature-don't shake your head I can see it in your eyes, boy! Let yourself out, Logan, give in to who you are."

I thought about it for a moment. I was fighting my old nature, never wanting to return to it because the guilt was too much. The soul wasn't holding me back; it just gave me a reason to not do the old things. I was still me, I knew this. I was still Logan Masters, but now that I see the way a human does, how can I kill them without feeling guilt for it? No, I hadn't changed, I just see things differently than my father or family did. That's all that had changed in me.

My mother sighed, eyeing Blake with anger before her eyes looked upon me, softer than ever. "We want you back, Logan. You belong with your family here, picking up where you left off." She looked back at Blake again, and then spoke. "This is why we're taking Blake's idea so you can come back to us."

Blake stood up, slamming her fist on the oak table, smashing a hole through it. "When the hell did I say anything about that plan? I told you from the beginning that it was pointless to use it. It will make no mark on him." For a moment I heard a falter in her voice. No one else caught it because they didn't know her as well as I did, but it was there. Whatever my mother was talking about, Blake was against it wholeheartedly for some reason. What would they be doing to me that she didn't want and that she thought wouldn't affect me?

"We must try something. He belongs here." Scott said. He cowered back at Blake's glare.

"Did we forget I'm still here? What are you freaks talking about?" I said suspiciously.

All eyes were on me as my father said the words.

"We're going to remove your soul."

Then all hell broke loose, literally.

"No!" Blake shrieked, jumping over the table, trying to get at my father, trying to grab me.

Darius restrained her somehow, holding her to the ground. I met her eyes in confusion and the expression there dumbfounded me. It looked like she was worried for me. Like she actually cared what happened to me. Like she wanted me to be me, fighting the evil in this family. She knew without my soul there was no chance of the old me coming back.

But why would she care?

The guards at the door grabbed me by the arms, shaking me. I kicked one in the gut, one in the groin, trying to get out of there. I jumped over my father, smashing my foot in his face, aiming for the window. Someone grabbed my foot, and then slammed me on the floor with a growl.

"I don't think so, brother." Darius smiled in my face. I twisted under his grasp, breaking his wrist while he howled in pain. I shoved him off me with my legs, kneeing him in the throat and jumping in the air to get out.

It took seven guards, my family, and some kind of paralyze item to bring me down. I had to say that I put up a good fight, but once I hit the wall, I felt the electric current rush through my limbs, paralyzing me for a moment. They all jumped me at once, strapped me, and then caught their breaths while I was unable to escape. Blake was still restrained by Terry this time, her body shaking as she screamed and fought, but she just couldn't get free. They poured water on her constantly, keeping her fire powers at bay.

They carried me through the halls and up the stairs to where I spent so many hours of my young life: The Torture Chamber. I knew they were taking me some old place of mine, to either give me an old sense to who I used to be, or to make me feel submissive that they could do this to me, that they could use my inventions against me. The servants set me down on a metal table in a gray room with monitors set up all around me. They hooked me up to most of it so I heard constant beeping and bells that drove me insane.

"Calm yourself, my son. This is all for the best. Soon you will be you again." My father spoke gently, almost fondly. I could still hear Blake screaming from the marble room. Obviously she hadn't given up yet and I didn't suppose she would. She was a fighter unlike anything I had ever seen before.

"I already am me!" I thrashed. "Why can't you leave me alone?" I was panicking; fearful of whom I will be again. The old me frightened this new me. I was ruthless, a killer, not letting anyone stand in my way of what I wanted.

The only thing that confused me was Blake's reaction. Days ago she said she missed me and it was because of my soul that we couldn't be together. Had she gotten cold feet? Now that she was going to get what she wanted, she didn't want it? And what about her never loving me? She had to feel something to want me to lose my soul. It occurred to me that none of Blake's words and actions was matching up. What was she up to? Was she really-

"Stop! Let him go!" Blake's voice was much closer now, angrier and more powerful.

"Contain her!" my father shouted, frantically looking for his spell books, calling for a witch.

When she entered, I saw her eyes were glassy, something that tipped me off before I realized what I was thinking.

"Do it! Quickly before she gets here!" My father rushed out the door to help them stop Blake. It seemed like a wasted effort to me. She was going to get through sooner rather than later. And with that anger and determination? I guessed in about five minutes she was going to burn down that door with just a glance of her eyes.

But I didn't have five minutes! The spell was going to be over way sooner and the witch had already started! I heard her chant words in Latin, her lips moving quickly. I felt the ripping inside me, tearing my soul apart. I screamed in pain, feeling the fire in my chest.

When the pain was gone, I felt it.

The hold on me was gone. The guilt was washed away in a flash, releasing me from the pain. It wasn't just the guilt I could feel either. I was thirsty for the blood I hadn't drank willingly in so long, the lives I hadn't ended, and the fun I didn't have. It was all there right in front of me. For a few seconds I had no cares in the world besides the urges I wanted to fulfill this very instant. I pitied the old me that was clueless about life. This me wasn't scared of anything or worried about any life but my own. The old Logan was weak. This me was strong.

Oh how I had I missed this sensation of pure joy. I could do anything I pleased without caring if it caused others to suffer. In fact I wanted to burn, to scream my name when I kill them. I want them to know that I was back, that The Black Angel had returned to finish what he started! How many lives I wanted to end today. I wanted to destroy the world. This world now belonged to me and no one was going to stop me from getting it.

It was like I had forgotten who I really was. This world was mine for the taking. For a moment I forgot what I had been doing for the last centuries, like I had been locked away. And I had been. I had been locked inside the weak body of some other Logan, the one who had the soul. I wasn't awake while he was in control and had no idea what was going on. Until the rush of memories came at least. At last I could tap my old mind to see what my weak self had been up to. He didn't nothing fun, only trying to run from his past. He trusted humans, even befriended a few. The best part was attacking a boy outside a hotel because of a…a girl? Yes a girl whom I had loved. Blake was her name. I had fallen for this human, only to find out she wasn't human, but a strong demon. My kind of girl. But she had tried to stop the removing of my soul. Why?

The girl burst in the room. She knocked the machines over, killed the witch, and then grabbed my shoulders, shaking me. "Logan?"

I smirked. "What up, hot stuff?" oh how I missed this! The old me was too soft, scared to talk to women. I was reveling in the fact that I could get anything I wanted. I laughed, excited to have my first kill.

Blake's face fell. Why was she sad? I was raised again! Wasn't this what she wanted form the beginning anyway?

The man I recognized as my father came in, looking at me. He didn't say anything, but was merely curious to see if the spell had worked.

I sat up and stretched. I groaned as I felt the body I hadn't been able to use. It felt so good! "Thank you, father. Where were we?"