Page 3 (1/2)

Power Struggle

Aiden&039;s back went rigid when he heard the shrill wail of the astronoht The metallic chime struck his new, nocturnal ears harshly as it bounced around off the baroque fixtures of the ancient buildings The gears and cogs were even audible from this distance, and he pictured the littleto life as they danced around the clock face

He closed his eyes aon His steel-toed leather boots splashed in the puddles along the ancient roads of the aze down, and his hands in his pockets, his bangs escaping from his leather poor-boy hat and into his eyes

The crowded square buzzed with dozens of warly just getting their evening started, as he was He studied the qualities of the human movements and tried tohis teeth over the thought that any one of theined a ti similar to that of his sworn enemy-the very bane of his existence-the one who&039;d ended his life as he knew it and all of its possibilities Valek

However, nothing would stand in his way now He would use all of this newfound dark power in his favor, beco the very darkness he&039;d once hated

And yet there was an undeniable hole in the center of his chest It see piece But it wasn&039;t her love that could fill it anyirl He no longer wanted it She had made such a fool of him She and her leech They&039;d caused hiime Hu the dead and forgotten He was too strong for that He had a plan-a prophecy that needed to be fulfilled Vladislov was dead Aiden was heir to the throne The only heir The Regime needed to be re upward, Aiden could see the dark clouds swar over the city spires from the west One silver drop splashed onto the tip of his nose and then another, reminiscent of a tear, just underneath his eye He didn&039;t cry anymore He couldn&039;t re his face back toward the street, he moved forward The sky opened up above him The downpour caused the mortals to scramble to the nearest shelter while others desperately tried to open up their uht Aiden hest spire of the palace, gothic and jagged in all of its ht, surfaced over the tops of the city&039;s other roofs and gutters

The first step in his revenge sat right on the outer liing chill of the sheets of rain When he&039;d awoken from his death, Aiden found hiue in a cold and lonely shack near the Vltava He tightened his fists, gritted his teeth Had they meant for it to be a tomb? Had they meant to throw him aside like the refuse he knew he had become? Vladislov was dead That was true But there were others left They had to have escaped successfully, hadn&039;t they? Bedrich, the blowhard Kazimir, the quiet one Not to mention his own father who had not even bothered to try and look for hi moment ever shared with his father Maybe it had even been his father who&039;d put him in that shack

Clearly, their desire to ic societies, however failing, heavily outweighed their loyalty to hihtfully their lord now It didn&039;t matter He was about to reclaim his position at the top very soon, anyway

Aiden arrived at the bolted doors to the building&039;s facade, which looked like nothing more than a bank or an embassy of some sort He leaped up the few, shallow stairs to stand just before the palace entrance Glowering up at the enorht when Valek had escaped with Charlotte through the billowing fla over the Vampire&039;s shoulder

Aiden shook off the hurtful er cared for her that way, he reain, so it didn&039;this quest for revenge and regaining his throne

Reaching into the brown leather satchel slung at his side, he pulled out his pocketknife and unfolded it Gripping it in his right hand and holding up his left, he carved the faround his teeth as the knife pierced his skin, though it didn&039;t hurt nearly as badly as it used to The blade was ice cold as his blood, now closer to a shade of black than red, spilled out over his pal upward inside of a circle, was complete, he carefully pressed it to the wooden door Nor flashy As if not to make a scene, the door would si behind Aiden would think he&039;d si Aiden pulled his palht That was the syhing, he let both of his hands fall to his sides and cocked his head He inhaled through his nose and closed his eyes Save your rage for the inside Don&039;t waste it out here You&039;ll need it He looked at the closed door for a fewhis hands, he shot a blast of fire fro soasp fro in the center of the street, her hands to her round

"You saw nothing," Aiden murmured with a smaller blast froasp and hurry away fro wood and ash into the desolate great hall

He looked up to the gold-leaf bea to find that only half of the ornahtful place, thick cobwebs encasing its intricate detail The other half had collapsed to the center of the hall, cracking the marble floor where it hit Shards of the broken crystal crunched under his advancing steps The place was utterly abandoned, with pieces of armor and bent weapons scattered about the floor Even the tapestries were torn in scraps off the walls It was astounding to see how solorious had fallen to such shambles

Aiden snorted It seeo to decay without him How dare they let it fall to such chaos? Did they have no pride? No honor, that they couldn&039;t afford the upkeep of their palace?

He continued deeper, the sound of hisominously off the hollow chambers How many weeks has it been? The promise of death reeked somewhere off in the distance of the palace Howon this es coust at the sight of a dented piece of ar several feet away caught his attention It was the distinctive sound of claws on , he found a rat feasting on the flesh of one of the perished guards

Stoainst the stench, Aiden lurched away fro face of one of the officers he&039;d once known so well A warrior even in death, his sallow hand still clutched the hilt of his sword, his face frozen in an eternally fierce bellow Aiden brought the back of his forearm up to his mouth and nose to shield them from the smell, and saluted the officer with his other hand What had happened while he&039;d been dead? He ru day-for an answer The last thing he remembered was his mother&039;s terrible screa to his throat

Irand hall, and down the north corridor What of his s? Was everyone dead? He careened up the winding, spiral staircase and rounded the corner to Vladislov&039;s office, bracing hi the ancient bricks

The office was completely empty, untouched All of the Wizard&039;s docu looked dalobes continued to spin at even paces on their invisible axes The ical and historical volu in the corners of the arched s Aiden&039;s heart slithered up his esophagus He bent in half, trying to keep froh this rooy of the place tasted of death and silence The panic of his thoughts was just beginning to set in

"Hello, son"

Aiden whirled around to see hisin the threshold of the study, her hands folded neatly in front of her Her colorless face carried years of weight and worry Her lips wereline as she stared back at hi her arms, she said tearfully, "Come here to me, Aiden Let me look at you"