Chapter 16

There was nothing but silence in the court room as everyone waited for the judge and jury to return. Gabriel Gates, a 59-year-old pet store owner sat nervously in his seat next to Steve.

His heart was racing, his palms were sweaty and his throat was dry.

Three months ago, a teenage girl with teeth marks all over her body was found dead in his store. Everyone in the neighborhood suspected him of the murder because of his mean personality.

He pled not guilty and told the court that it was the work of vampires. No one believed him and found his excuse ridiculous. With the way the trail was going, Gabriel was sure that he was going to be convicted of murder.

He knew that vampires killed the girl because he hid and helplessly watched them devour her. But who would believe his story? Even he didn't believe in the existence of vampires until that fateful night.

The jury got back into the courtroom and that only increased Gabriel's nervousness. One of the jury gave the bailiff a paper containing their verdict. The bailiff handed the paper to the judge who wasted no time in unfolding and reading it. Gabriel Gates swallowed hard and adjusted his neck tie.

"Try to calm down." Steve said to him, but he didn't hear a word he said. His mind was focused on the judge.

"Will the defendant please rise." The judge ordered.

Gabriel Gates along with Steve stood up. His heart was racing more than ever. Everyone held their breath as they waited to hear the verdict. Steve stood there looking calm as usual. He was used to courtroom tension.

"Due to lack of sufficient evidence, Mr Gabriel Gates has been found... " The judge paused and Gabriel felt like he was going to faint. "not guilty of the murder of Stephanie Miller."

Gabriel couldn't control himself when he burst out in tears of joy and hugged Steve. The family of the deceased mourned. Their loved one's killer was still unknown and this hurt them so much. Gabriel's daughters and grandchildren ran after him and hugged him.

"Thank you so much sir." Gabriel said to Steve.

"No need to thank me Mr Gates. I am just doing my job." Steve said and walked away.

On his way out, his phone vibrated. He took it out and saw that he had a new whatsapp message. He paused with a thoughtful face after reading the text. Steve dialed Asher's number and patiently waited for her to pick up. After a long ring, Asher didn't pick up and Steve was directed to voicemail.

Hi, this is Asher. I can't come to the phone right now but please leave a message after the beep.

"Hi, I just called to let you know that I will be late tonight so don't stay up and wait for me. I love you. Enjoy the rest of your day."

****

Commander Diavinx sat on the roof of the royal castle while sipping on a hot cup of tea. Most of the commanders had already left for Earth, but he chose to stick around for a while.

He watched Melonina and Whitney take stances as they trained naked in the hot spring. He got hypnotized as their breasts bounced up and down with every movement they made. He was so hypnotized that he started to drool. Diavinx suddenly felt a hard slap at the back of his head, and he chocked on his tea.

"I should have known that a pervert like you would be up here." Commander Yolin said and looked at him with disgust.

"Yolin, you idiot! You could have killed me!" Diavinx yelled at her.

"I should have done worse. You should be ashamed of yourself." Yolin sternly said to him.

"You can just go to hell. Why can't you mind your own business?" Diavinx argued with an annoying chuckle at the end.

"What nonsense but I guess I shouldn't expect more from a shameless pervert like you." Yolin spat. Diavinx grinned at her flat chest and laughed. "What's so funny?" Yolin asked him annoyed.

"Now I know why you are so mad at me. You ma'am have a flat chest. Don't worry though, there's a thing called plastic surgery." he mocked her with a snicker.

Commander Yolin's face turned red with rage. She gritted her teeth until her jaw hurt. Raising her hand, she slapped Diavinx so hard that he blacked out and lay motionless on the ground.

Yolin lit a cigarette and stared at the two women. She scoffed to herself and puffed out smoke. Diavinx got up with a moan, rubbing his pink cheek. He poured himself another cup and blew on it.

"So tell me, what do you think of our future queen?" He asked her and she scoffed again.

"I don't know what to think of her yet. There is something about her that is keeping me from trusting her." Yolin took a pull and let smoke come out through her nostrils. "I wonder what the queen is up to."

Yolin put out her cigarette and with one finger, she drew a circle in the air. A portal to Antarctica appeared with lightening bolts. Through it she was able to see her vice commander patiently waiting for her.

Before getting in, she shot one last glare at Diavinx and then disappeared into it. Diavinx chuckled and continued watching Whitney and Melonina. He knew that it was about time he left too, but he decided to finish his tea first.

****

"Okay cut! We are going to take another shot in ten!" a director yelled.

Asher was at the set of Lucy's secret. They were shooting her part and she was so nervous. This was her first movie role and instead of doing things right, she kept on messing up her lines. She had no idea playing a hooker would be so difficult.

Asher walked to her seat to get a drink of water. Paul, her best friend was on the set too. By the look on Asher's face, he knew that something was wrong.

"Sweetie, if you keep frowning like that you will have wrinkles before you turn 30." he teased her whilst blinking his long lashes and stretching his glossed lips.

"I am just nervous, Paul. I'm afraid if I mess this up, I won't get another chance like this again." Asher sighed and leaned back on her chair.

"You will do just fine. Just believe in yourself. Do it for the both of us. You know how much I want to meet Hollywood hotties." Paul squeaked and fanned himself.

Asher rolled her eyes at him. "How can I forget when you keep reminding me about it? This is the eighteenth time today."

"Five minutes remaining people!" The director yelled.

"Oh my god I have to head back." Asher sighed.

"Wait, Steve called you while you were on set. He left you a voicemail." Paul handed the phone to her.

Asher listened to the voicemail and sighed. "Looks like I will be having dinner alone tonight."

"Don't be sad, boo. I would have loved to join you but I have a date with Sean tonight."

"Yeah, yeah," Asher got up and straightened her dress. "When will I get to meet this guy anyway?"

"Soon, don't you worry." Paul winked at Asher.

"I want everyone on set!" the director suddenly exclaimed.

"Well, that's my queue." Asher waved and dashed there with Paul cheering her on.

****

Whitney sat down with her eyes closed, trying so hard not to think about anything. She monitored her breathing and tried her best to block out all the sounds apart from Melonina's voice.

After an hour of exercise and warming up, Melonina instructed her to focus on her own gamarax. Whitney had to form her weapon by feeling the gamarax flowing within her and then concentrating it on her dragon mark.

Unfortunately, Whitney was having trouble in doing this. Her eyebrows started jerking. "Yo vice commander, why the hell I'm I doing all this naked?"she asked Melonina with her eyes closed.

Melonina held her hip and replied, "Training is better done naked." but her response was met with a scowl.

"Forget it, I'm going to get dressed. I can't concentrate."

Melonina stood in Whitney's way and took her hand. When she felt her palm, she frowned. "Akirexer, when was the last time you fed?" she asked, her soft eyes showing concern.

"What do you mean? I eat every day."

"I mean, when was the last time you absorbed a vampire?"

Whitney withdrew her hand and protectively held it close to her chest. "I have never fed on a vampire before. I don't even know how."

"Don't worry, that's why I'm here. You need to feed dear." Melonina insisted.

"Why? I feel fine." Whitney crossed her arms defensively.

"Your gamarax levels are too low therefore you cannot summon your weapon." Melonina explained. "Let's go and change. We are going to Earth."

Thank You For Reading. ❤