Silent Soul

Chapter 7: Run Part I

Rorick

I heard the door opening and stood, waiting for Ryl to return as promised. What I did not expect was a Goddess to step around the corner. She was dressed in a red dress with a lace overlay that hugged every curve. Unlike her top the night before, it showed off her sharp curves and full breasts. I grinned as I appraised her, from her perfect hair down her full chest, rounded hips, and long legs. She was thin

“Hello, sweetheart,” I murmured as she watched me carefully. She dangled the keys from her fingers and smiled. She opened the cell door and approached cautiously. I grinned, making a show of putting my arms out for her to unlock the chains. She did so, eyes staying on me, before she retreated in a near-invisible movement to just outside the cell door. I chuckled as I rubbed my wrists, which were raw from the metal rubbing against them.

“Little late now to be afraid of me.” She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. She mouthed out the words that had me grinning.

I never wasn’t. I’m desperate, not stupid. She turned on her heels and slowly ascended the stairs after waving for me to follow. I did so and walked up after her, remaining close as I watched this strange beauty peer around a corner. She looked back. Pressing her finger to her lips before pointing to the open door just to my left. I could hear two male voices drifting out, bickering over something I didn't care enough to listen to. I nodded, wanting nothing more than to tear whoever that was apart and normally would have loved, but with the woman here, that part of me was almost asleep. I carefully snuck by, the guards not even checking their six, and walked down before entering a room after Ryl. I followed, making sure to keep my eyes open for any sounds of someone approaching. As I moved I was very aware of the stiffness in my joints from being still for so long. My body ached with each movement,t and my clothes clung to me with sweat and dirt. I longed for a shower and clean clothes and kept my mind focused on getting through the portal.

“Where to?” I whispered, unsure if anyone was close enough to hear and not wanting to risk it. I entered the room after her to find a sitting room with a comfortable set of chairs and a fireplace that was currently lit. It looked like someone had been here earlier as there were empty glasses of liquor on the table and the smell of s*x in the air. She walked to the other side of the room where there was a door and waved me to follow. She leaned against the door, pushing it open slightly as she pointed out from the crack. There wasn’t much room, so I walked up behind her to look over her head and pressed up against her. I heard her heart stutter for a moment as her breath caught. Grinning I leaned forward, pressing into her more as I looked out.

“What am I looking for?” I whispered. She pointed, leading my eyes to a set of guards at the bottom of the grand staircase. I recognized the room as the main hall I was taken into after being shown off to the King like a prized pony. Two of the guards remained at the staircase. I felt her head move against my chest and looked down to see her look up at me. Her face was inches from mine.

Behind them. She mouthed. I looked back out into the hall and noticed a doorway past the stairs. She backed up, pushing against me until I moved and closed the door.

“The door behind them? Where does that go?” She turned away from me, looking over her shoulder and pointed in the direction of the door. She put up five fingers, then pointed to the right and down. I c****d my head and frowned for a moment as I tried ot understand what she was telling me.

“Through the door and five what?” I asked. She pointed to the door.

“Five doors?” She nodded, eyes widening before pointing right again.

“Then turn right.” She nodded again and pointed down.

“And down? Stairs?” She nodded. Then held up a hand to me.

“Then stop?” She nodded.

“Wait, why are you telling me this?” She pointed to the door again.

Distraction. Then pointed to herself. I didn’t like that idea. The main hall was wide open, with a large amount of space to move through. I shook my head.

“That is too large of a space. I’ll be seen. I’m fine with ripping apart some leeches, but I doubt you want me to bring attention to our grand escape.” She frowned and shook her head fiercely. She spun around, walked towards a table, and opened it. She searched around before finding some paper, then looked around some more for a pen. There was a small desk off the side and she lit up when her search finally produced results.

No killing. They will swarm us, and there is no way to fight them all off. She wrote quickly before jamming her finger onto the paper. I rolled my eyes at her and crossed my arms over my bare chest.

“Okay, then what is the plan? We can’t hang around here all day. Someone is bound to find my empty cell down there.” I snapped back, but she wasn’t listening. She was busy writing some more before drawing a schematic. The picture itself was a box that was labeled ‘us’ with two doors. The one we came through led back into the hall to the dungeon, and the opposite way was into the hall we had looked into earlier. She drew a line from that door, down the hall, and along the wall around the stairs until I came to the door she had pointed at before. Then we drew another line from the room labeled ‘us’ out the door we peaked through and right through the middle of the room to the same door. Above the schematic, she had written:

You go back out and follow the wall. I can distract them long enough that you can get through, and I will follow.

She looked up at me as I frowned. Without words, how was she going to hold their attention long enough?

“Look babe, you’re smokin’ hot an all and I’m sure the guards eyes will follow that ass anywhere, but I have a heart beat and they could hear me walking though. Won’t they look just in case?” Her eyes darkened as I called her hot, and she pulled back her lips to bare her fangs before writing more.

Don’t talk about my ass and I’m going to open the door to the party. It’s so loud when the door is open with all the music that they won’t hear you. I frowned, still not liking the plan but it was too late. She tossed the paper into the fire and walked to the door. She paused only long enough to point to the other door before smoothing out her dress and walking out.

I growled, her boldness irritating as I re-entered the hall after a quick glance to ensure it was clear. I hugged the wall, thankful that it was fairly dark as I watched her walk across the hall with grace. Just as I had suspected, they watched her ass as she walked by, throwing them a smile over her shoulder that held more confidence than I thought she was possible of after watching her meek demeanor in the dungeon. As their eyes remained glued to her I slipped by. She opened the door, the music from the party was loud enough to drown out the small sounds we normally can detect and it allowed me to walk to the doorway and slip inside. I watched as she paused as if looking for someone, playing a part when she turned around and moved to walk towards me. Instead, an arm shot out and grabbed her, halting her in her tracks.

I gritted my teeth and was about to move forward in case she needed me when I heard footsteps down the end of the hall. I cursed under my breath as I quickly moved to the door and entered, hoping no one came in. I listened closely and heard heels clicking down the hall before a door opened and closed as hushed female whispers were muted. I pressed against the door, slowly pushing it open as I was wishing for a blade coated in grave dirt or goblin toxin. Anything to quietly take them out while in the back of my mind that voice was stirring and craving destruction.

Just slaughter them all. Why bother letting them live? It was the same voice that told me my family were liars. They were corrupt and trying to control all life in the Night Realm by claiming each of the souls. That voice was now my only companion since my wolf is gone. I leaned around the corner, seeing that the hall was gone but still hearing those whispers somewhere near.

Why not just kill a few on my way out? I’ll spare Ryl since she saved me but did the others really deserve to live? Besides, it would make this entire escape a lot more fun to paint he walls red. I let the smile twist me lips into what I knew was a smile that would make the Joker proud. I knew my sanity was fractured but this was far more fun then people made it seem. I was greatly enjoying the rage and c*****e. I slipped out the door and crept down the hall, fully intending on kill those who just walked into a room on my right. As I approached, the whispers grew louder. I pressed my ear against the door to hear how close they were and if I could slip in when two female voices caught my attention.

“-should have killed her when she was born!” One snapped. Curious I pushed the door open ever so slightly to see inside. There, I could see what had to have been the queen. Her hair was long and golden as it draped down her back and a top her head was a crown of gold and jewels. She was angry as she was looking at someone across the room from her and holding her side. Perfect. Not only a vampire but Vlad’s little b***h. Killing her will be so satisfying. It may even spark a war to wipe out the Varners.

Except that would also destroy my species, I argued back to myself.

Then maybe the other in the room?

“It was not that simple! I tried and your Father stopped it. What ever the witch told him wasn’t good.” She leaned on the back of a chair, gripping it hard as I frowned at hearing that was probably one of the Princesses in the room.

So much for a little fun. I pouted as I listened closely.

“What was the prophecy?” The other voice, another woman, demanded and confirmed my thoughts that it was one of the Princesses. Hearing about a prophecy, though, had my full attention right away. The queen looked up, annoyed as I caught red in her eyes.

“Nothing to concern yourself.” She snapped.

“Mother! She is about to marry before me! She is about to gain the power that was intended for me! She can’t even speak and she is ruining everything!” Can’t speak? Ryl? Injuries such as hers were rare. It should have killed her but the money to save her was something a King would have. Interesting. I leaned closer, the two so focused on their argument they probably didn’t hear my heartbeat or smell my scent. It helped that this hallway was filled with smells of cooking meats and sweets. The kitchen was probably somewhere nearby.

“It’s not like that. If you had listened to me, this never would have happened!” She snarled as she pointed to her side, leaning heavily on the other. “I told all three of you to leave her alone. You disobeying a direct order is what brought his wrath down upon us. He is furious and you risked our reputations.” She was near yelling by the end of her rant, struggling to keep her voice down. I leaned back and looked behind me, ensuring that the hall was still clear.

“Then what was it, Mother, because it sure as hell looks like my younger sister is causing me to lose my crown!” The queen spun around, picked up a vase from a table behind her, and threw it across the room. It shattered out of sight as she was probably aiming for the other woman. I smiled at hearing my guess earlier was correct and Ryl was probably one of the royal family; I just didn’t expect her to be a legitimate child. I guess Vlad dragging her to the dungeon is his way of showing fatherly love. It also explained her desperation to leave, even if she was a royal. Apparently, her lack of a voice caused tension. I wonder why? And what is this prophecy? Something to do with the Souls, maybe?

“She is not! Apparently, your Father never intended any of you to gain the crown. Amaryllis is being used as a pawn to maintain control over the people since he has not chosen anyone for any of you girls to wed. We need to come up with something else.” She lowered her voice to a near whisper.

“So it has nothing to do with the readings at our birth?” The other woman asked. The Queen looked up and frowned, pursing her lips.

“It possibly does.” She muttered. “I never heard what your Father was told and I lied to him about what I was told.” Suddenly, the other woman stepped into view. She could have been the Queen’s twin as she had a similar shade of hair color and eyes but was just a little taller and her hips not as round. She leaned into the queen's face, baring her teeth as she looked her in the eyes.

“What was her reading, Mother?” She demanded. The Queen stared her down as the Princess was also holding her side. Her hair seemed a little more disheveled than Ryl’s, with her makeup slightly smudged.

“She told me that when she speaks, all will bow to her, and when she weds, she will take more than just one crown.” The other woman grew pale as there was a ring of familiarity to that. I couldn’t remember all of the Soul prophecies I had collected, the first being the only one I memorized, but I think there was something about being silenced. I would say having your throat slit by a power hungry mother counts as silenced. I needed my notes, though to be sure,e and those were probably locked safely away inside the Archives on Royal land. Not exactly a place I can just walk into. But was a good reason to stay with Ryl. If she is one of the Souls, my ob is to protect her and she could be used to help remove the rest of my family from power.

“She will gain the crown?” The princess asked, pulling me from my thoughts. The Queen shook her head.

“I fear it is far worse than that.” She muttered. I wanted to hear more as the conversation was turning very interesting and could give me the answers I needed without me needing to return home. I was positive they were talking about Ryl, who is actually Amaryllis Dracul. Unfortunately, I heard someone at the door at the end of the hall. I bared my teeth as I backed up into the shadows and turned to silently run down the hall. I counted the doors, turning right at the fifth and down a set of stairs until I found myself in the doorway of a kitchen. Most of the staff was running through a different set of doors across the room. I watched carefully as I looked around for a way out. I wanted to just kill them all, but knowing what Ryl might be was a temptation that was actually able to control the blood lust. I sniffed the air as I tried to figure out an escape. She never told me where to go after this.

I kept close to the counters on the far wall as most were at the stoves in the middle of the room. The sound of pots and pans clanging and the smell of blood, sweat, and delicious foods was a strange combination that had my stomach turning. I did snag an apple out of a fruit bowl as I passed and then grabbed a plate that was piled high with what looked and smelled like turkey. My stomach growled as I realized I hadn't eaten anything in days. I hugged the wall, carried my stolen loot with a grin, and made my way to the opposite side of the room. I could smell fresh air from that direction and feel a breeze that was the only source of cool air in this hot and stuffy kitchen.

Following the scent of flowers and green plants, I slipped out the door and found myself in a garden. I smiled and looked up at the moonless sky. It was a perfect night to escape and would make it difficult for anyone who tried to follow. I took a large bite of the food and groaned at how good it tasted. One thing is for such, the blood suckers know how to cook a meal. I grinned as I hurried off to the far corner and found a section that was nearly hidden by large rose bushes. Behind that was a fountain, and I could smell that Ryl had been here in the last day or so. I sat on the ground, enjoying my meal as I waited for my guide. I took a deep breath at freedom, trying to ignore that feeling in my chest that I wasn’t truly free as the voice in my head smiled.

Now, time to find my family.