The Blood King's Bride

Damianos jumped at Calhoun. Calhoun dodged him and swiped at him with his sword.

The being dodged and slid back before jumping to attack Calhoun again. They kept on with their exchange of blows, sword versus claws. The clanging of their hits was very loud; it almost drowned out the people screaming. Calhoun made his attack again, which the being stopped with his claws.

"Boy, you really should just give up. What's wrong with giving me a woman you barely even know?"

Calhoun did not pay any attention to him. He dragged his sword out of his hold and

fought back again, giving out strike upon strike. They all kept being blocked by Damianos, who

in turn was making his attack on Calhoun.

The screams of Calhoun's guards and Firoza were starting to get to him. If their noise

didn't stop, he was afraid he would hurt them instead. He struck the being who expertly dodged the attack, then suddenly paused, preparing himself for his next move.

"What happened, young man, getting tired already?" Damianos asked mockingly.

"I just remembered that I also have an introduction to make," Calhoun replied.

"I have no idea what picture of me you painted in your mind, but I would have to help you correct it. Do you think you are the only one who has powers? Well, you are wrong." Calhoun then released his powers and started his attack again. Damianos was shocked at Calhoun's declaration and even more shocked when he experienced Calhoun's powers. "You? You! No! It can be!" Damianos said, attacking even more fiercely. Calhoun's

attack became direct and fatal. He fought like he was a crazed man, and he reveled in the blood he was spilling. Cuts were starting to appear on different areas of the being's skin, and the blood coming from it made Calhoun even more powerful. He laughed as he slashed at the being, cutting every open space he saw while also defending himself.

Firoza suddenly felt as if she was in a cocoon. The immediate comfort she felt was

nothing like the intense pain earlier. She was still seeing the source of her fear, but it was like she was viewing it from outside her body. She relaxed in the comforting embrace and finally shut her eyes.

Damianos attacks were getting weaker. He tried all sorts of ways to defend himself from Calhoun's attack, yet he couldn't, let alone leave a mark on Calhoun's skin. Finally, he was pushed to the ground when he could fight no more. Calhoun stood over him, pointing his sword directly to the being's throat.

"You cannot possibly be, the Blood-" his speech was cut short immediately as Calhoun

cut his head off from his body. His blood spilled everywhere, touching even Calhoun, who stood still, absorbing the power it gave him. Anyone who saw him would tremble in fear of the way he looked, like an Asura who came straight from hell.

Calhoun's guards collapsed, fatigued from fighting their inner fears. They were free from Damianos power upon his death. Calhoun turned to face his guards, paying no heed to the body he had decapitated.

"Take your needed rest. We need to move soon."

*****

The Kingdom of Neba.

The King's Palace...

The King welcomed his guests into his royal banquet hall. They had all taken their

allocated seats, with the King at the head of the table and Svetlana standing right behind him. The huge banquet table was filled with all sorts of food. Servants stood beside each seat, ready to attend to the guest's needs. The different ambassadors had come with their people. Just as they were very important in their country, they did not hide that fact as they came to the Kingdom of Neba.

"Thank you all, for attending my birthday banquet." The King started.

"I would love it if we introduce ourselves today, not that I do not know who you are, but just because I am seeing new faces." A low rumbling passed through the table, and the guests looked at each other, wondering who would go first. Finally, a man stood up, and the rumbling ceased immediately. He was dressed in a woollen tunic with loose leather breeches. His attire was adorned with different kinds of jewellery, which did nothing to hide the pouch he so heavily carried. He had a mop of blond hair and a sandy blonde beard, and strange scarification was on his face. It was in the shape of an axe, placed on his left cheek. He smiled at the King, exposing his gold front tooth.

"My king, allow me to congratulate you on celebrating another year." One of the guests heard a small cough, which the man blatantly ignored.

"As you already know, I am Magnus Pan, Northern Duke of the kingdom of Tush. You

were correct in your observation; I did bring with me new people who were not here to celebrate

your last birthday. With me is my first son, Dominic Pan, and his cousin Elvan Rogan Pan, the third prince of the kingdom of Tush."

"A prince! Welcome, your highness, to my humble kingdom." The King of Neba said.

The third prince bowed his head as a greeting to the King.

"Thank you, your majesty, for your humble welcome." He said. The Prince, unlike his uncle, had hair the colour of a raven. His skin was pale, and he also wore a woollen tunic adorned with different jewellery. His scarification was placed on his right cheek, and it was in

the shape of a bird. The King smiled, satisfied with the Prince's behavior. Then facing the Duke's son, he said,

"Dominic Pan, welcome to my humble kingdom." The young heir bowed his head to the King.

"Thank you, your majesty." He replied.

"I do hope you get to enjoy your stay here. Your father has had many... adventures, I would say." The King said, looking mischievously at the blushing Duke. The young heir looked at his father curiously before replying.

"Thank you, your majesty." He was the younger version of his father, tall and built, with

the same colour of hair and little beards. His scarification was also on his left cheek, and just like his father, it was in the shape of an axe. The scarification did nothing to hide his handsomeness, though. It gave the young heir a roughish look, and he probably turned the hearts of girls back at his kingdom.

After the people from the kingdom of Tush, the King looked at his other guest, and this time he wasn't as welcoming. The guest stood up and cleared his throat.

"Birthday wishes, your majesty." He said. The King nonchalantly nodded his head to

show that he had acknowledged the greeting.

"I am Côtan lokï, the Eastern Duke of the Kingdom of Pres. I have come to offer birthday wishes on behalf of my King. He prays that you would continue to have a long life." The Duke announced with his head bowed slightly. The King remained quiet and instead took his time studying the ambassador from the kingdom of Pres. He was a lanky man, but he could exude a great sense of authority. He had worn a green robe, held tightly on the waist by a golden sash. On his head was a ceremonial hat, given only to those who the King of Pres bestowed the highest honour on. He was part of the closest people to the King of Pres, which automatically added him to the King of Neba's hate list.

"You can thank him for me." The King replied drily. He continued his introduction, not minding the King's sudden lack of enthusiasm.

"I brought with me Afang loki, my eldest son, and Beau rage, the Queen's youngest niece." The King raised his brow at that particular introduction.

"Niece?" He asked purposely. What was meant to be a normal introduction immediately became an uncomfortable topic for the poor Duke. The Queen's niece had no station in court, so she was not qualified to be attending the banquet hosted by the King of Neba. But the Queen insisted on it, and the King had no choice but to agree to his wife's demands. The Duke cleared his throat, thinking of a way to disperse the tense atmosphere.

"Birthday wishes, my Lord." Afang lokï stood up and bowed his head, respecting the King. The King surmised immediately that he was a smart one. He understood what was going on and tried to help his father by diverting the King's attention towards him. "Thank you, young man." The King finally replied. The young loki, unlike his father, was heavily built. He had also put on a robe, but of the colour purple, held tightly on the waist by a golden sash. He didn't cover his head like his father, so his shoulder-length, dark brown hair splayed proudly on his broad back and shoulders. The guest took their seat after passing on their greetings to the King. The King was just about to announce the commencing of the banquet when a soft voice paused him.

"Birthday wishes, my king." The King looked at who had greeted him, the niece of the Queen of the kingdom of Pres. He could not help but look at the Duke and his son who had come with her; they both looked like they had swallowed something bitter. That was both a curious

and interesting sight for the King. The King waved his hand at her, nonchalantly acknowledging

her greeting.

"I come on behalf of her Majesty the Queen to offer you birthday wishes." She continued.

The King frowned immediately; he didn't understand where this was going.

"My Queen also said to pass this unto you, as she was close friends with the late Queen. She does this as a favour for her friend who would have loved to attend this banquet." The hall immediately became silent. Côtan lokï and his son suddenly became nervous, wondering what had prompted the girl to say something like this. Everyone in the kingdom knew that the present Queen had killed the former Queen. It really would not be a surprise if the King of Neba had found out what had happened to his daughter. Was the Queen trying to start a war? The King of Neba folded his hands tightly on his table. If not he had guest, he would have ordered the girl to be killed immediately. Taking a deep breath, the King calmed and smiled.

"Tell your Queen that I do not need her favour, and I doubt my daughter would. Also tell her, that even though she is the Queen of a nation, her name doesn't qualify to be mentioned at my table. She is just a low-life prostitute, I wonder what she did to the King of Neba." He said, snickering. Beau rage mouth fell open in shock as the Duke from Tush coughed to hide his laugh.

"I didn't want to say anything previously, but now that you mention it, I just can't help it." The King stood up from his table and began to walk around.

"Niece? Your King, sent me someone who has no position in court? Just who does he think I am? And worst of it all, the person he sent has no idea how to act as a delegate. Although

I am not surprised there, what would you say, like aunt like niece?" The King said. The Duke from Tush burst out laughing, and his son and Prince snickered quietly. Beau Rage's face burned red from embarrassment, and she was about to reply to the King when Duke Lokï dragged her down and bowed before the King of Neba.

"My apologies my Lord, I sincerely apologize." Beau rage looked at the Duke, anger emanating from her eyes. The King raised his eyes at that action, curious.

"The kingdom of Pres has become a very weak country. I had always suspected, but now,

it's a known fact. Just look at who they sent. Tch!" He said, shaking his head. Before delivering

his final blow, the King walked back to his seat and sat down comfortably.

"What do you say, Duke of Tush? Should we go to war against the Kingdom of Pres? Let

us be honest, we come here every year to gauge our power, and now that we have found the weakest, we can't let this opportunity go like this, can we? After all..." He paused, facing Beau rage, whose eyes were opened wide in shock and fear.

"After all, weak countries are not allowed to stand. It has been like that for centuries." The King said, smiling deviously.