Chapter 24

Rose froze in fear. Facing her just a few feet away was one of Whitney's murderers. He didn't move an inch. His gun pointed straight at her and his mean dark eyes glared directly into hers. She knew just how much danger she was in and if she didn't do anything quick, she was going to die.

Rose quickly threw Whitney's jacket up in the air and Billy looked up distracted. Rose took that opportunity to picked up her gun. She aimed for his heart but missed and hit his shoulder. Billy groaned in pain and lost grip of his gun.

Rose pushed him aside. She headed for the door and was half way through the stairs when Billy grabbed her leg and pulled her back down. Rose fell with a thud and bruised her ribs. She whimpered and crawled upwards but was pulled back hard.

"Where do you think you are going?" Billy angrily blurted out and she scream sharply.

Rose used her other leg to kick Billy in the face. That only made him angrier, his gritted teeth and scowl were evident of it. Rose kicked him again and this time, he let go of her. She ran out the door. To her relief, the living room door was wide open. Rose welcomed the cool breeze hitting her face when she staggered at the sudden blow to her head.

Billy groaned at his bullet wound. He covered it with his hand, completely staining it with blood. He growled at Rose's unconscious state but when he met Danny's glare, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

Danny's nose went up in disgust, "I can't believe a skinny bitch did that much damage to you." he snarled annoyed.

Billy scowled back at him, "I could have killed her without your help." he spat.

Danny scoffed and squat down beside Rose. He pinned his fingers on her wrist. "She is still alive," he remarked in a bored tone.

Billy pulled out a dagger from his back pocket, "I'll finish her off."

Danny raised his hand to block Billy, "Wait, we can kill her later. As for now, we have to find out how much she knows and who sent her. None of our living enemies know where our hideout is." Danny added on with seriousness.

Billy dug out the first aid kit from the living room cabinet. He went over to a couch, bent his knees and groaned as he sat down. Setting the first aid kit on his lap, he sniffed at Danny.

"Well, this bitch has proven otherwise. She could be a spy or a reporter." he commented and opened the kit to no bandages but pain killers and scissors. "When was the last time we refilled this thing?"

Danny ignored his question and pulled Rose off the floor. He threw her over his shoulder and turned to walk away.

"Where are you taking her?" Billy asked.

"To the basement." Danny answered as he walked with a sinister chuckle at the end.

****

Maradina was watering the plants in her room when she noticed a dead sunflower. Her heart sank brittle leaf between her fingers, daring not to break it. She knelt down, put the flower pot on her laps and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and began humming a song.

Her angelic voice met with the air in a soothing rhythm. She swayed her head but kept her eyes closed as she sang from her heart. It was a melody like no other, enchanting and therapeutic. One of the gods.

A bright light peered out of her parted lips. It covered the flower in a glittering light. The flower's stem grew stronger and it stood up straight. It's brown brittle petals retained their yellow glow once more. The leaves became even greener than they were before. The more Maradina sang, the fresher the sunflower became.

"A beautiful voice that brings things back to life." Waxx suddenly said and pulled his shades down the bridge of his nose as he inspected the flower.

Maradina cheeks turned red with embarrassment. She put the flower pot down and rushed towards the door. Waxx went after her and grabbed her hand. She tried to snatch her hand back but his hold was too strong.

Maradina looked through his shades and saw his eyes staring back at her. Her heart skipped a beat. She blushed even more.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Waxx softly assured, "I am just fascinated by your voice. I wonder why a girl with such a beautiful voice would choose to remain silent. Come on, you can talk to me." Waxx found himself hitting against the wall. "What the fuck?" he cursed underneath his breath as he got back up.

"You pervert, how dare you try to take advantage of Maradina just because you found her all alone?" Sana yelled at him while pumping her fist in the air.

"It is too late in the night for this shit. I am going to bed." Waxx said and walked out of the room.

Sanuika laughed at the whole thing. Sana on the other hand was still very much upset. She stomped her feet, went to the door and slammed it shut. Josh who was on his way out of the bathroom threw his hands back startled with the sudden bang.

Maradina, as usual, didn't say anything. She went to her bed, got into her covers and closed her eyes. She thought about what had just happened with Waxx and her heart melted.

Maradina felt weird but she wasn't eluded by the weird feeling. That was because she once had it a long time ago. She smiled at the feeling, blushing ever so sweetly in the solace of her covers.

***

"We see a great battle approaching your highness." The Council of Elders announced at once.

Queen Sharaina's presence was requested by the Council of Elders that morning in Dark Star. The new premonition they told her hit her by surprise. She stood there looking up at them in their high seats. They wore nothing but purple robes and pointy yellow hats that did not hide the solid purple star birthmarks on their old wrinkly foreheads.

"Did you say a great battle?" Sharaina asked them again so as to clarify what she heard.

"Yes your highness. A great battle is approaching." they said again at once.

"Does this battle involve us or is it the destined battle between Jehovah's army of angels verses Satan's army of demons?" Queen Sharaina asked them.

"This battle involves darkas gods!" they screamed.

Queen Sharaina raised her eyebrows in shock. "This battle will be against who then? We have been living peacefully for over a thousand years. Why then should the peace end? I do not understand."

"We see death and horror. We see so many casualties! Misery everywhere! DEATH DEATH DEATH!!" They screamed.

Sharaina watched them murmer panic. She heard nothing but noise coming from their mouths. All she thought about was the dreadful prophecy against Dark Star. As queen, she had to make sure that she made all the necessary preparations.

"Your highness," the council of elders calmed down and Sharaina faced up to listen. "There is still hope. In our horrifying vision, we saw the Infinite Medallion that went missing during the civil war against King Meelzib thousands of years ago."

Sharaina gasped and took a step forward with her eyes wide. Her red plump lips parted in astonishment. "Where is it?" she demanded.

"We do not know because the bearer hides behind it. All we can tell you is that the medallion is under the control of a vampire on Earth."

Sharaina's face screwed up into a scowl and her eyes beamed red for a split second. The deathly aura emanating from her forced her two guards to step back in fear. "A vampire? A lowly vampire dares to possess the power of gods?!" she thundered in fury.

"The medallion has to be retrieved by all costs your highness. It is through it that the terrible war will break out. It will be a worse war than the civil war." their voices echoed in sync with each other.

Queen Sharaina gritted her teeth even more annoyed. "I will see to it that the medallion is retrieved."

****

In the basement of the Packet Brothers' cabin, Rose regained consciousness. She tried to lift her head up but it felt heavy. She smelt the blood clots in her nose and a moan escaped her lip.

She laid on her side on the floor with her hands bound behind her back by a tightly tied rope. Looking through her messy hair, she realized that she was back in the basement.

Rose wondered why the Packets hadn't killed her yet. She felt so helpless and scared. Her tears stung at the thought of never seeing her little boy again. Rose cursed at herself for being too reckless. Feeling overwhelmed with defeat, she sobbed at having to die without putting Whitney's murderers behind bars.

I am so fucking stupid.

Suddenly, she heard two feminine voices approaching the door. She listened as they drew closer and closer. The door knob turned and her heart skipped a beat. Walking in, snickering like deranged psychos high on crack, were the two strange women who hung around Danny.

The pale women grinned at her exposing their fangs. The smell of her blood aroused them. With moves like a flash, they knelt down beside her, caressing her red hair. They played with it and sniffed it while giggling like witches in an old Disney fairly tale.

Rose couldn't stop herself from shivering in horror. She felt their cold touch and concluded that they weren't normal. Their physical characteristics only pointed out to one mythical creature she read about and watched in movies.

Vampires.

"We were able to smell your blood upon reaching this dump." Monique licked her glossy lips. Normally, that would have turned Rose on but now, it only made her stiff with terror.

Blood? Smell? These two ARE vampires! What the fuck? Vampires are real? This can't be true!

Madeline gently brushed Rose's hair off her neck. Her fangs stuck out longer than they were before. Rose let out a sharp scream when she felt her wet tongue lick her neck.

Hearing her screams, Danny rushed to the basement. The fangs were about to sink in when he arrived in the nick of time. His presence startled the two vampires. He furiously glared at them with an unforgiving scowl. The two immediately stood up and stepped away from Rose.

"I thought I made it clear to you two that I want her alive for questioning!" he yelled at them.

"Fuck you Danny. We are just hungry." Monique rolled her eyes at him.

"Upstairs with you two and don't you come down here again. Fucking unbelievable." he commanded as they went passed him and headed up the stairs.

Rose felt so relieved that she had survived death yet again. Danny's scowl disappeared and what replaced it was a brown toothed grin. He walked up to Rose and knelt down beside her. Danny roughly grabbed her chin and forced her to sit up. He pulled her face closer to his. Rose was breathing hard.

"Now ain't that precious? Nothing in this world is more attractive than a tied up scared little bitch." he said to her and she cringed at his bad breath.

Without breaking eye contact, he felt around her breasts for any hidden camera or wire. Rose couldn't stop herself from whimpering in disgust at the feeling of his hands fondling with her breasts. When he touched her warm skin underneath her blouse, it was as though ants were crawling on it.

"Be a good girl and tell me who sent you." Danny softly said to her again as though she was a child in court.

Danny pulled Rose's face closer. She held her breath and tried to turn her face away from his bad breath. Her struggle forced a wince out due to her sore ribs. Danny smirked at her condition.

"Do not waste your strength." he mockingly advised her, "Do you have the slightest idea of the shit you are in right now? If you cooperate and tell me who your boss is, I'll let you go."

Unable to take his bad breath any longer, Rose spat in his face. "Fuck you." she insulted him.

Danny let go of her and wiped the spit off. With the back of his hand, he gave Rose a tight slap that left a ringing sound in her ear. Rose fell back hard to the floor with a grunt. Breathing heavily in anger, Danny walked out of the basement, leaving Rose all alone once more.

****

Sitting on her throne with her legs crossed was Sharaina. Wadose as usual, was not far from her. He stood quietly by her right side. Bowing down below were fourteen fourth class darkas gods. Not daring to look at their queen in the face, they kept their heads down low as they waited for their orders.

"I have a very important mission for you so I want you to pay extra attention to what I am about to tell you." She said to them.

"Tell us your desire our mighty Queen and let be as you wish." they spoke together in a rehearsed tone.

"Divide yourselves into groups of two and lay this message to the Enchanted Seven. The Council of Elders have finally seen the lost Infinite Medallion. They believe that it is in the possession of a vampire. The whereabouts of this vampire are unknown at the moment. My orders to them is to find that vampire, retrieve the Infinite medallion and eliminate the vampire. Failure is not an option. Leave at once."

"And so it shall be, your royal highness." they respectfully said and left.

"Wadose," Sharaina said in a sad tone. "I do not want to fight another war."

"I know so my queen." Wadose answered with a bow. "Would you like me to get you anything?" He asked.

Sharaina sighed and headed for the door leading outside. "A bottle of my favorite red wine will do. Bring it to me outside. I need some air."

Sharaina walked slowly around her huge front yard. She spotted a wounded grey dragon that had just been given first aid. Sharaina went to it and petted it. The dragon enjoyed this and swept its large tail across the pavement. Sadness left its eyes. The darkas gods taking care of it watched with warm hearts as their queen showed sympathy to the beast.

"I never knew that you were this compassionate about dragons. You kind of remind me of a dog lover." a voice sounded and Sharaina grinned.

With her attention still on the dragon, she replied "So nice to have you back...Whitney."

"Actually, I just came to say goodbye."

Sharaina smirked and turned away from the dragon to face Whitney. "I take it that you want to face your enemies."

"The time has come for me to do what I was destined to do." Whitney boldly replied.

"I wouldn't go as far as calling it destiny darling. Do you think you are ready to extract your revenge?" Sharaina asked her and took the wine glass away from Wadose.

"I have never been so sure of anything in my entire life." Whitney confidently answered.

Sharaina let out a gentle laugh. "Well then, let us see just how ready you are!"

Sharaina thrust herself at Whitney and brought down her free hand. Whitney blocked the attack with her hand. She tried to kick Sharaina but she went down and kicked Whitney in the stomach, sending her flying to a wall.

Not waiting for her to get up, Sharaina jumped up and threw a punch at Whitney. Whitney dodged it and rolled away. Sharaina took out her fist from the hole her punch created. With her eyes closed, she smiled at Whitney who was panting and on her knee.

Sharaina sipped her wine slowly. From the look of things, none of it spelt during the fight. Once again, Whitney didn't understand Sharaina's actions. It was like she was trying to kill her. But why would she? Wasn't she the one who gave her the powers in order for her to get her revenge?

Sharaina, with flash steps, appeared suddenly in front of Whitney and pulled out her leg to kick her. Whitney blocked the kick with her elbows but it was too strong. It sent her flying once more.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed. "I guess I have no choice but to use it."

Whitney did a back flip and landed on her feet. She focused her gamarax on her birthmark and her sword appeared. Whitney then used it to block Sharaina's next attack. Sharaina back flipped away from her, taking care not to spill her wine. She studied Whitney's sword and nodded her head with a wide smile.

"Very nice," she said and thrust herself at Whitney once more.

Sharaina held out two fingers and swung them constantly and continuously as if they were swords. Whitney lunged up to the sky and looked down at Sharaina. She couldn't believe that she was fighting her with her fingers.

'Just how strong is she?' She gritted her teeth, frustrated. 'No matter the case, I can't let her stop me from going back to Earth!'

Whitney dived straight at Sharaina and the two went at it. Whitney was getting tired but Sharaina wasn't. Despite that, however, Whitney was still determined to win or at least survive. In a split second, both women faced opposite directions.

Whitney's sword pointed forward and Sharaina's fingers pointed up. Whitney bled on her cheek and Sharaina had a ripped sleeve. Sharaina relaxed herself and drank the rest of her wine. Wadose ran to her and poured her some more.

"You are indeed ready to return to Earth as a darkas god. Until we meet again Whitney." Sharaina permitted with a grin.

"That was my human name. Henceforth I shall be known as Akirexer."

"I can see that you have accepted your new name." Sharaina mockingly stretched her lips.

Akirexer opened a portal and saw Kansas City. "How can I not? It is the name my queen gave to me." she grinned and disappeared into the portal.

"What an interesting mortal." Sharaina said to Wadose after the portal closed. "She managed to put a dent on you." Wadose referred to her ripped sleeve. "No one has been able to do that after your battle with King Meelzib."

"That's why I let her go."