Damien stopped himself from assuaging his urge as he hoped desperately that he wouldn’t be sent away. If his crime was too high, it might affect Alamin who had spoken up for him. “A million dollars?” how much was that? He wondered. He knew it had to be a lot though because of the way the man gave him a triumphant look when he said the amount out loud.He could see that the man was looking uncomfortable now as well and he knew that he wouldn’t mind devising other ways to torture him soon.“Sir should we send him away?” the assistant blurted out when he couldn’t take the tension anymore.“What do you mean by sending him away?” the Head Gardener said so suddenly that Damien almost jumped. “Have you forgotten that he was employed by the butler? What would you say happen to him when you are asked? I can see that you wouldn’t mind losing your job”The assistant was confused. Was he not the one that said he should look for all means to make sure that boy was off the land within two days?“Y
Damien looked at the lady as she stood some distance away from him with a shopping basket held to her waist. She gave him an aggrieved look and he could see that beneath the meek, unassuming demeanor was a lady with spunk. One wouldn't have thought she had such a clear, confident voice the day before when she was pushed to the floor by that rude man, Damien thought.Her body was turned away from his and it could be seen that she was truly on her way without an intention to stop before Damien’s seeming insult stopped her.“You are not going to apologize?” she asked even while Damien was wondering how he could explain himself and make it believable that he had not been talking to her. He was sure that he wouldn’t believe him if he was in her shoes.Apology. That was easier. “I am sorry”She gave him an accessing look “You don’t sound sincere” she said quietly.What does she mean? How was he supposed to sound sincere? Damien asked himself as he racked his brain to see if there was any w
The following week was hell for Damien. If it was to be a lesser man or one without his special abilities, he would have broken down. None of Damien’s tormentors had any idea of who he was though and his nemesis, the assistant gardener couldn’t but marvel at the resilience of the young man. Torturing Damien became an obsession for him because now he wasn’t just acting on the Head Gardener’s directives, he was intent on making sure that Damien broke and finally gave up. The Head Gardener on the other end would pretend to be nice to Damien after which he would scold his assistant for not doing what he sent him to do right. “Just to send that young man away! You couldn’t do it. Of what use are you to me here then?” he could be heard shouting at him in one of the greenhouses one day. Mrs Macmillian was a lover of flowers who had no green thumb of her own and she was known for her wild love for anything flora. It doesn’t matter how much the flower could be, she would make sure she gets
A redheaded young girl of about eight years old, dressed in an expensive flora-patterned jumpsuit and golden sandals stepped out with anger on her face as she gave the assistant a derisive look that would have been more at home on the face of an adult.“Did you just call me an idiot?” she repeated.“No, no!” the assistant said in a rushed plea as he waved his hands frantically.“Now you are calling me a liar!” the girl said petulantly, swinging her hands in anger. “He called me a liar!” the girl said in a high-shrieked tone.Sweat filled the assistant’s face as he knew the implication of what just happened. “No, I wouldn’t do that. I didn’t know that you are the one. Please forgive me”He cried in desperation as he went on his knees before the girl. “I am so sorry, Miss Andrea. I do not know that you are the one. I couldn’t call you an idiot if I had known” the man cried out as his polo became sodden from his perspiration. Snot started coming out of his nose when the girl did not answ
Damien couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Alamin. The man was totally different from the smelly, sweat-ridden man he met about a week ago. Of course, the man’s bad eye was still very glaring as it had an ugly extra flesh on it that looked burnt like a natural eyepatch and the limp in his leg couldn’t be overlooked as well but beyond that; he was different.Gone were the old clothes and even his formally gaunt looks had taken on a roundness that promised to flesh out as time goes on. He was dressed in an inferior version of the butler’s wear. Pristine shirt and expensive-looking trousers with a pair of gleaming shoes that made him look almost handsome.“You” Andrea pointed at him as the pair got closer “I know you”Alamin bowed slightly in greetings as he had been taught in the past days “Good afternoon, miss”“Butler Shawn,” Andrea said in excitement as if she was truly fond of the butler.The latter chuckled as he greeted her then he added “Have you been up to any mischief, miss?”
The assistant was busy pleading “Sir, please. Don’t send me away, I don’t want to lose my job!”“Oh, you should be sure that you would lose it alright. If you would be punished further by having to pay for those flowers or be locked up till your people have enough money would be another issue, you idiot” Butler Shawn said absentmindedly as he picked the scissors up. Recognition showed on his face and turned to Damien “This looks familiar and it is something that should have been anywhere near here. What is this doing here?”For the first time in Damien’s existence, he felt a strange feeling he never thought he would feel; guilt; as he said “It was used to cut the flowers”The Butler’s eyes narrowed on Damien’s face and it took all his willpower not to look away when the man asked “You mean this was what he, a gardener, used to cut a flower?”The word came a bit easier this time around “Yes,” Damien said, averting his gaze from the assistant who was busy yelling “Liar! He is a liar! I
“Err, what?” Damien was momentarily confused as to why she was back with such fury and why she had even heard him at all. He had been angry but he did not speak up and she was already leaving when he said what he said.“You will throw who into an abyss?” she said as she moved closer to him and pushed him on his chest with her two fingers, tapping him as she asked “You will what? Who do you think you are? You are just a common gardener and a liar too. You have not even set a foot in the main house yet, whereas I live in the staff house and you think you can talk to me like that? Who will you throw?”Damien was confused by a lot of things going on at the same time. Surely he had been touched by these humans before but they had been men. Sky was so used to grabbing him when he wanted to share something with him or teach him about something or whenever he was just fooling around. He had been touched by Michael before even Mathew and at least one or two of the elders.The girl’s touch was
Damien heaved a deep sigh after escaping the Head Gardener’s presence.The man was so surprised when Damien repeated what had happened to him. Andrea’s version anyway. “He did what?” Head Gardener Salem said as he looked sharply behind Damien as if he was expecting the assistant to jump out to tell him that it was a prank.“How did you become friends with miss Andrea?” he asked and Damien blamed himself for adding that information. He had initially intended not to say anything to the man but after he told him about what happened at the gardens, HG Salem was just looking at him as if he couldn’t comprehend what he was being told. Damien blurted out that last part in his nervousness. He regretted it immediately but the deed had been done.“She was passing by,” Damien said after a pause. “Passing by?” HG Salem asked in disbelief and Damien nodded in reply.“You reply to my questions when I am talking to you, boy!” the man bellowed and Damien quickly responded.The man gave him a disbel
Months Later...Damien stood in the palace of Santa Eyre. He was looking down through a concealed portico at the people down in the palace waiting room.The creme de la creme of Santa Eyre was down there. All of them were waiting for him to see them on one issue or the other. It had been the routine for Damien for the past months now. There had been a lot to deal with, after their encounter with Ulric. The King's burial had been an international affair. King Saldus had been a very influential and well-beloved king. Presidents of countries, well-known CEOs all over the world, and dignitaries from different continents were in Santa Eyre, for days, to celebrate the dead king.They all believed that the king had died peacefully in his sleep. Only Damien and his inner circle knew that there was more to the king's death. There had been a dark essence to his chakras. Damien still couldn't come to terms with how much Ulric took from them. The call Allan received after the battle with Ulric,
Total darkness filled the whole house as the power supply went off all of a sudden. The only silhouette that could be seen was the dark mass gathering again in the middle of the room. It was so massive and tall that it seemed like a giant was forming out of it. The witches rallied together and a spark of fire ignited above them to conquer the dark. Light could be seen from afar but the immediate environment of Damien’s house was as dark as the void itself. “I will purge you abominations from this earth!” came the terrifying voice of Ulric as the darkness swirled around the lights and they all went out again. One of the witches screeched, and by the time the magic light was lit again, she could be seen grabbing her throat, as blood poured out of her mouth and sunken eyes. “We need to take this motherfucker out!” Liam shouted and the rest were right with him. Damien took the lead as they charged the dark mass again. Damien released the orb and every protective substance he had in t
Everyone in the room looked at each other as the mocking voice of the man they all knew, had heard of, and heard of resounded throughout the house. The distortion to his voice was horrid and the frightening element in it was only causing more fear in those around. Only the leaders were still stoic. The soldiers were half paralysed with fright as King Saldus went on and on to describe explicit ways that they would all be obliterated that night. Exactly at 11:58 pm, the voice stopped talking and Isabella’s phone exploded right there in the middle of the room. It was charred beyond recognition. A blast of wind rocked the shingles of the house. Suddenly, the witches all exclaimed “Stench of the underworld” A knock sounded at the door at exactly 12:00 am. They all looked at each other and beneath the bravado, was a hint of apprehension. They all knew that they might not come out of this alive. Still, the witches flung the door open by magic and someone tumbled inside. Even as everyone
Sky did not wake up immediately. Morgan tried to wake him up but she eventually looked up at Damien and others. “I think he used up his vitality. Ulric did something else with Sky that he had never done with any other host before. He used him up. He might…he might never wake up” she said with a sigh of defeat. “No, no. that is not possible. Do something leader. You have to do something!” Michael said in desperation. Damien knew that but then he thought of the fact that Ulric might want to use Sky’s condition as a distraction for them while he strike from elsewhere. Damien was the head of the group and their link make them strong together, just as he make them vulnerable together as well. If Damien was caught in the realm while trying to heal Sky, any damage done to him at that moment will affect the whole group as well. He was sure that Ulric had a plan to do something to them while they were trying to heal Sky. Though it was difficult for him to do; he had to ask “How long can he
“You changed her?” Michael confronted Damien the moment he got back to the house. He had to teleport Laura back with him since she was still very much out of it. He had just placed her in his room, where Morgan and Isabella were keeping an eye on her when Michael confronted him just as he came out of his suite.Here we go. He thought. Anger welled in him for the reminder of his guilt. He respected Micahel for being a stickler for rules but at the moment, he did not care to be reminded that he had failed to protect his woman. He did not need the clan leader to rub more salt unto his wound. Not at all.“If you have a thing to say, just say it,” Damien said as he bypassed Michael on his way to the main floor.“If I…” Michael paused in disbelief then he lengthened his stride to meet up with that Damien. “If I have a thing to say? We never change humans. You know how precarious they could be and you went to turn one of them?”“She is one of us now,” Damien said as he turned back to face hi
Sybill Macmillan couldn’t believe what was happening! When Andrea called her to inform her, she thought that her bratty sister was just acting up. Truth be said, Andrea didn’t appear as bratty as she used to be. Sybill felt it must have to do with the fact that she didn’t have to see her daily anymore. It had all started long before Sybll left for school. Andrea had capitalised on her invitation to the palace by the king, an invitation orchestrated by that nobody. Damien. Sybill still couldn’t think of him without distaste in her mouth but she didn’t dare say any of her thoughts aloud.Who could have thought that a mere gawking, gardener? A good-for-nothing would turn out to be a prince. A referred prince for that matter that the whole of Santa Eyre and its environs had become submissive to. Sybill snorted as she remembered the rumour she had once heard that the king intended to pass the throne to Damien. Sybill doubted if the king would be so dumb to do such a thing. Why would a man
Laura’s awakening was messy, to say the least. She woke up hours later feeling disoriented, groggy and out of it. It took her a while to recognise Damien. Then she blurted out “I love you” thoughtlessly. In the next moment, she was shouting bout feeling so thirsty, then she started pulling at her hair and agitating about hating her skin. Her clothes felt too tight. Her head hurt and she felt like she would die if she did not eat something.Damien knew what was happening. Despite how much he wanted to ignore it, the inevitable couldn’t be denied. Laura had become a vampire and if he did not do something about it, she would die within the first hour of her awakening. He tried to talk to her during that moment to see if she would rather choose to die than become a fully-formed vampire, yet it was like singing a lullaby to a deaf kid. She could hear him. She seemed to have some iota of consciousness but she was not comprehending what he was saying.“Okay, okay. Can I eat now?” was the ans
It finally dawned on Damien why Sky/Ulric wanted him to see him draining the life out of Laura. It was just so he could make a difficult decision or live eternally with the guilt of causing the death of the girl that he only belatedly realized he loved. Tears trailed down Morgan’s face as she stood up. “It is no use. I…I can’t do it. There is nothing to draw from. I can’t heal her.” She spread her bloodied hands to the sides as anguish soaked her voice. “My hands are filled with her blood, and I can’t bring her back. I was supposed to be better than this”“Now, now. You shouldn’t beat yourself up, A Ghra. This is not your fault” he looked straight at Damien over Morgan’s head “This mess was not for you to sort”“What the hell did you just call me? How can you be so cold and glib right now?” Morgan lashed out at him. “An innocent girl is dying for God’s sake. She did nothing wrong! She is dying and there is nothing I can do. That… bastard drained her lifeblood. He wanted us to watch h
Laura called him in the wee hours of the following morning. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes as the true caller on his phone identified the number. The call brought back the memory of the kiss they had shared and the messy feelings that seemed to take hold of him whenever he heard her name or that of anyone related to her. “Laura?” he called her name like a question. “You are…”“Awwn, isn’t this sweet?” everything stilled inside Damien as he heard Sky’s voice. Fuck it! He yelled in his mind, knowing immediately that damage had been done. If not, why would…Laura!“What have you done to her, Ulric?” Damien asked instantly.“Ulric? Who is that? There is only your buddy, Sky, here. Remember me?” Sky’s horrid tone said over the phone.Damien quelled all forms of imagination that wanted to come to his head about what could have happened to her as he said calmly “She has nothing to do with this. I thought you were said to be a wise man. Surely, you must know that she is a human and she i