Damien stayed away from the staff house throughout that evening. That was after he ducked out of the way when he saw Leticia stalking back to the main house with a fury more intense than what she could feel rolled off her when she left earlier.The could see her muttering something in anger even with the distance between them and he wisely chose not to pick up on what she was saying. He knew that none of it could be favourable for him anyway. He was already on the path that led to the staff house when he remembered the look that the staff housekeeper had given him earlier and he thought that those two young men that bundled him to Butler Shawn’s office might be there at the moment too.“Better to steer clear for now,” he thought to himself. Especially since he could picture Head Gardener Salem’s forbidden look in his mind’s eyes. He took the next path that led away from the staff house and he smiled at himself when the outhouse came into view. “At least, I was left to myself here,” h
Damien was dazed by what just happened even as the thrill that his power was still intact ebbed in him.“What is wrong with that girl? Why is she always everywhere?” he thought to himself in anger when he remembered that she had given him a wide berth since the last time he told her to mind her business. And now this? Damien sat heavily on the bed and then stood up immediately when the thoughts came to his mind that what was this exactly?She was not supposed to see his ring! But she did.Did she also come to the outhouse because she just happened to be there or because of the moon's essence?Damien knew that he needed to get answers from her. What if she ran back to the staff house to tell everybody what she had seen? That thought made his heart beat faster as he ran out of the outhouse. He had to get his bearings after getting outside and he quoted his racing heart to pick up her footsteps.Damien was confused for a while when he couldn’t hear the sounds of her running feet or any
Damien did not have time to wonder what was wrong with her though because in the next seconds, it was as if he was sucked into something unexplainable and he saw beyond what he had expected.He could see snippets of her life. During her childhood, her younger self ran in a blue and white painted house with a lawn. Her older self ran with a one-eared shaggy dog. Many different versions of her raced across his mind and in his state of in-between, he could feel her as if she was right there with him going through the rolling pictures with him. Memories. They had to be memories. A part of him was conscious enough to think but for the first time, Damien couldn’t pull himself out of someone’s thought as usual. This was different. So, as helpless as he could be, he swept along into another memory and this time; she was much older, just like the girl he could see now. And she was crying. Gut-wrenching cries with fat tears rolling down her face. He could see people dressed in black then two
Damien’s vow to avoid trouble as much as possible that day was null even before he set a foot on the school ground. He was walking towards school in such a hurry since he was so late, his mind was so occupied by Morgan’s memories and how he could get the girl to talk to him without her feeling threatened. He was rammed from behind with such great impact that he fell.Torrents of laughter echoed as he tried to lift himself.“Woohoo! Look at that! I got him good!” Damien only saw the back of the three boys that were riding mountain bicycles at high speed as they chortled on their way away from school.One of them raised his middle finger in a rude remark towards Damien with a promise to bring him more loads of “fun” on their way back.Damien sighed to himself as he tried his best to dust off his shirt before he proceeded on his way.“One day, I am going to show all these idiot kids who they are messing with” he muttered in anger even as he shook his head with the unlikely knowledge.Ori
The school day passed as uneventfully as it could that day without Damien’s presence being detected by anyone. He went to the cafeteria together with Sky and the latter asked for extra help at the food counter. The chef gave him a stinky eye but then he heaped more mashed potatoes onto his tray. He got his way with the extra cutleries too, after he mumbled something about having PTSD and allergies.Sky couldn’t hold back his laughter at a point when Damien forgot to make his portion of the meal invisible as he ate from Sky’s plate. Thankfully, nobody else noticed the fact that a spoon was levitating. Sky’s laughter was what caught their attention and he managed to keep their curiosity at bay with a few well-placed glares.Damien scolded him for almost blowing his covers but Sky merely shrugged as he leaned closer to his plate like he was so engrossed in his meal as he whispered “Oh come on. You have to admit that it was funny”Damien smiled reluctantly then his smile was wiped off whe
“I can’t even imagine how someone could be so stupid enough to leave this well-paying job to go elsewhere! Stupid girl,” Damien was still some distance away from the staff house when could hear the cook mutter that in a pitying tone.“Maria was always a strange one” he heard the staff housekeeper respond. “To think she did not even tell me that she was leaving. Ungrateful twerp. Now, we have to look for the idiot’s replacement. She dared leave without saying anything when they would do all they could to get this job”“Erm, I have a cousin who just…”“Of curse, you always have a cousin who wanted something, Mario” the housekeeper’s snappy voice could be heard from the kitchen as it raised in pitch “You will do well to tell all those cousins of yours that this place is not a ground base for all your family and extended families”“Cousins…more like girlfriends and the people he bragged to” Damien could pick out the low voice of the man that accused him the other day”“You shut your mouth
Damien wondered what happened to the girl called Mary…Morgan or who knows how many names she had. Why did she leave? He wondered if it had anything to do with what happened when the mind linking occurred but he had no answers to his question.“Where could she be?” he thought for the umpteenth time in exasperation. He knew that she was not an ordinary girl if she could see his ring and he was sure that she felt his moon-absorbing process even before she came over to the outhouse.There was no reason why she would have thought that someone would be there otherwise. Why did she have so much guilt in her even though she was the one wronged? Why did she run now? These questions tumbled about in Damien’s mind as he waited for Butler Shawn.The man initially told Damien to wait for him some distance away from the main house and Damien had been anxious about the fact that anybody from the house might see him. By anybody, he had Sybil in mind because he was just that she wouldn’t hesitate to c
Main Square is the central commercial hub of Santa Eyre and Macmillan’s business took up the central part of the Main Square. The Macmillan’s business centre was a wraparound towering building that took up more than six acres in Main Square. They own about 80 huge, luxurious shops that deal mainly with women, men and kids' fashion. The Macmillans were originally known as cotton farmers before they went into textile production so their fashion shops are the most luxurious and expanse of all the shops. They only just recently added home appliances, food, technology, beauty and other things to their repertoire.Damien’s eyes widened as butler Shawn pulled up in front of the main entrance and the guards greeted him respectfully like they knew how much power he wielded.Even as he wondered what exactly they were doing there, Damien still couldn’t help but be awed by the magnificence of the place and he wondered what it might be like to be behind one of those floor-to-ceiling glass shingle
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