Sunday, 18 July 2010
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My Masterpiece, continued.
http://myhomeiswriting.xanga.com/730184605/the-beginning-of-my-masterpiece-revised/ Read the first half here otherwise you'll be lost. This is in no way completely finished, it still needs editing and the story carries on from here.
The entire Raiki family sits around the oak table in the dining room. Triyel and Fay are on either end of the table, their four children on the sides; Weifron and Kylu to Triyel's left and Janza and Azura to his right. Each of them has a champagne glass full of blood that they sip occasionally.
"He's done nothing wrong, he does not deserve to be punished-"
"I've told you all ready Azura, the town's folk aren't pleased with his prescence here. I'm sure Shugo knows this."
"But I don't understand why you have to be the one to do something about it. It doesn't make any sense!" Her champagne glass sits before her untouched.
"Drink and listen. It is my job as an upstanding citizen of Erid to take matters into my own hands. You have always known this."
"He didn't do anything! They were trying to kill him!"
"Yes and you conveniently intervened by killing two of our own. No. I won't argue with you anymore. I will speak to him and you will hold your tongue."
A knocks sounds at the door and Triyel signals his eldest son to answer it. Weifron pushes back from the table and does as his father bids. He returns with Shugo in tow and takes his seat back at the table. Triyel gestures to another empty chair between Janza and Azura.
"Sit with us, Shugo. We must talk."
Shugo takes his seat beside Azura who's glaring at her father vehemently.
"Can I get you something to drink, Shugo?" asks Fay.
"Nothing, thank you." He turns to Triyel. "What is it you wish to talk about?"
"I'm going to ask you something and I want you to answer it honestly, will you do that?"
"Of course."
"Why have you come to Erid?"
"I can't answer that."
Triyel's face hardens. "I asked you to answer honestly."
"And I have, I honestly can't tell you," Shugo responds impassively.
Everyone's eyes are either trained on Shugo or Triyel, navigating between the two. The tension in the room hums like a live wire.
"I expect more gratitude from a man who's life my daughter saved."
"And I am grateful but that doesn't change the fact that I can't tell you why I'm here."
Triyel shifts in his chair and rearranges the look upon his face to be more genial but it's forced and his smile appears more sinister than anything. "You see, Shugo, we have a bit of a problem surrounding the circumstances of your rescue. I can't, in good conscience, allow the death of two members of our own kind at the hands of my own daughter. The town is asking for justice. Do you see how this is difficult for me?"
"Yes, I do see, but that doesn't change my stance on the matter. If you're considering giving me to them instead, then you can try but it won't go down without a fight."
Triyel laughs uneasily. Weifron has his hand on the hilt of his own sword underneath the table.
"No, no, no. Nothing like that, Shugo. I have no intention of it. However, if you can't tell me why you're here then I must ask you to leave, permanently."
"No!" Azura shouts, jumping to her feet and knocking her chair over. Everyone looks at her, even Shugo.
"Azura, sit down..." Fays says trying to assuage her daughter.
"Stop coddling her, Fay." Triyel says without taking his eyes from his daughter. They stare each other down as if their sizing one another up. "I told you to hold your tongue-"
"And I told you this was ridiculous! We don't owe them anything-"
"We owe them for the mere fact that we are allowed to live here!" Triyel interjects, his mask of geniality finally crumbling as his fist comes down upon the table. The wood splinters underneath the impact and causes Fay and Janza to jump.
"Leave the angels to their own, Azura. They've never done anything for us," says Kylu never looking up from his glass.
Azura turns to him, livid. Shugo glances in his direction and catches his eye for a breif moment, mutual hatred passes between the two of them insantly.
"Shugo isn't one of them!"
"How do we know that?" Weifron asks and seeing the look Shugo gives him he shrugs. "Sorry, but we don't, and with as suspicious as you're being we can't afford to trust you."
"I trust him!" Azura screams.
"Your word isn't good enough," Kylu responds.
Azura goes to launch herself over the table at her brother but Shugo grabs her by the arm. "Don't. I'll leave, quietly if you'll still let me." He says to Triyel.
"That is all I ask."
Shugo drops Azura's arm and pushes back his own chair. She catches his eye for a breif moment as he walks by. Her eyes plead with him silently but he shakes his head in response. At the archway Triyel stops him with one more thing.
"Oh, and I never want to see you around here ever again." Azura stares at her father in horror. "As for the two of you," he says looking directly at Azura, "I forbid you to ever see one another again."
Without looking back Shugo exits the Raiki manor, not bothering to close the door behind himself. Azura starts to follow him out but Janza stands in her way.
"Move," Azura orders as the rest of her family circle around to stop her leaving.
"This is for your own good," says Triyel from behind his daughter.
She turns on him, fangs exposed, but Kylu and Weifron jump on her before she can do anything. Each of them holds one of her arms in an iron grip.
"Do you see what the taste of his blood has done to you?" Triyel asks Azura. "It's made you absolutely insane. You need time to recover. Lock her up in the basement. I want someone watching her at all times too."
Weifron and Kylu wrestle her down the hall and into the basement. She thrashes and fights them the whole way there to no avail.
"Don't you think this punishment is a bit harsh?" Fay asks her husband. He takes one of her hands in his own.
"I don't like this any more than you do, but it must be done for her own safety. We don't know what she might try to do if we let her go free."
"How long will this last?"
"I can't say but she'll come back to us in time. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to her." Triyel kisses Fay upon the cheek and goes to the basement to help his sons.
Outside in the moonlight Shugo disappears into the trees with one last look at the Raiki manor before he does so. He heads for the gravel path which leads both into and out of Erid; to the same place where just the night before he was almost murdered for the blood in his veins.
Back at the basement of the Raiki manor Azura is chained to the cement wall by her wrists and feet. Weifron stands guard at the door, leaning his back against the frame. He spins his sword on it's point periodically out of boredom.
"I could break out of these easily," Azura says indicating the cuffs on her wrists and ankles.
Weifron chuckles. "Of course, but then you'd force me to stop you and we both know you can't take me yet. I don't see why you're so worked up over this guy. Personally I'd have helped Teera if it had been me instead of you."
"Only because you hoped to get in her pants afterwards."
Weifron chuckles once more, "Touche. Was he good? Must've been for you to care so much."
Azura growls responsively.
"I can't believe you had sex with an angel. How did you control your thirst?"
"What? We never - how could you think that?"
"You didn't sleep with him? So what, you just saved his life and that was it? Where were you all night then? Why even save him?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"You're right, I don't. I think father's right, I think drinking his blood made you crazy."
"I'm not crazy!"
Janza enters the room just then.
"Father says it's my turn to watch her."
"You think you can handle her?"
Janza smiles wickedly. "I may look innocent but you know as well as anyone else I can handle myself."
Weifron grins and turns back to Azura. "Get well little sis," he says as he climbs the cement stairs.
Janza stands in the doorway, watching him until he disappears. Then she turns and Azura catches the glint of something shiny in her hand. Janza goes to her sister and unlocks the cuffs at her wrists then bends to do the ones on her ankles. Azura examines her wrists as her ankles are undone.
"Why are you doing this?"
Janza stands and looks at her sister for a moment. "You don't know, do you?"
Azura shakes her head and Janza's normally cheerful demeanor crumbles. "I saw the way you looked at him. It was the same way I felt about Markis." A half-smile lifts the corners of her lips at the memory of his name.
"Who's Markis?"
"Markis was a shape-shifter. He had travelled through Sirian and stopped in town. I was working at the bar the night he came in. I remember looking up when the door opened and I saw his face for the first time. I'll never forget his smile. He came up to the bar and I got him a whisky. He was so beautiful. Every night after that for a week he came into the bar when I was working and he'd talk to me. One night Kylu came in just before closing time as Markis and I were sitting at the bar. He told Markis to leave and never come back. Markis refused so Kylu smashed his face into the bar. I've never seen someone bleed so much. I had to leave, I couldn't bear the smell. I couldn't help myself but I wanted to kill him. I didn't see Markis for a week after that. Then he came into the bar one night and asked me to leave with him. It was then that father, Weifron, and Kylu came in. They took him out back and killed him. Father made me watch the whole thing."
Azura's jaw hung open in shock. "I don't understand. Why would they kill him? He never did anything."
Janze laughs bitterly. "They don't like non-vampires. Your angel is an extreme abomination. Father can't bear the thought of you and our enemy consorting together."
"So why are you helping me?"
"Because I wish someone had helped Markis. I wish I'd never met him in the first place. He didn't deserve to die the way he did."
Azura embraces Janza in a tight hug, a bond of sisterhood forming between them that had never previously existed.
"All these years I thought you were merely a puppet of father, but now I see it's only a facade."
"Go find Shugo, get the hell out of Aridact before it's too late."
Azura embraces her sister one last time and kisses her on the cheek. "Thank you."
Together they move up the stairs as silent as possible. "I'll make sure the coast is clear and then you run for it." Janza says going into the kitchen. Azura stands in the stairwell listening intently. After several seconds that feel like eternity Janza peers around the corner and waves her forward. She hands Azura her sword as they reach the front door that is miraculously still open from Shugo's departure.
"Go and don't look back."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine. Go, before it's too late."
Azura ties her sword around her hips and dashes out the door and into the moonlight. At the edge of the trees she looks back at Janza silhouetted in the doorway. She raises her hand in farewell and Janza does the same. Azura turns back to the trees and makes her way toward the gravel path.
Shugo sits off to the side of the road, hidden by the darkness of the forest as he rests his back against a thick oak tree. He closes his eyes, listening for the sound of approaching footsteps. He hears the crunch of gravel and the shifting of pebbles scraping against one another and opens his eyes. A voice whispers tenatively.
"Shugo?"
He stands up silently and moves to the edge of the trees. She sees his blue eyes first before he steps out of the shadows and into the moonlight, smiling. Janza's words float back to her like a dream, I'll never forget that smile. It sends a sinister chill down her spine. Azura crosses the distance between them and opens her mouth to speak. Shugo leans down and kisses her. She feels his heartbeat quicken through her lips and forgets everything else. He pulls back after a moment and brushes his fingertips gently over her cheek.
"I'm sorry, I've wanted to do that for a while now." Shugo says when she stares at him in disbelief. His heart is pounding in her head, she can feel his blood rushing through her own veins, she doesn't even register what he says. Azura kisses Shugo feircly, almost viciously. It catches him off guard but not for long before he's kissing back and his tongue runs over her teeth; he can feel her fangs elongate as her thirst battles for dominance. She wants to bite him, to suck his blood, but mostly she wants to fuck him like he's never been fucked before. Her hands find his shoulders and she shoves him backward into the tree. The tree groans in protest from the impact as the roots start to pull from the earth. Neither of them notices anything but their hands all over one another.
Azura stops abruptly after a moment of frisky foreplay. Shugo continues massaging her breast and sucking on her neck, oblivious to the fact that she's pulling away from him.
"We can't do this here. Someone's likely to walk by."
"I'm okay with an audience."
"Not this audience you won't be. Follow me, I know somewhere safe." Azura says grabbing his hand and pulling him further into the trees away from the gravel path. They run through the forest for a while, Shugo with no idea where they're going.
"Do you actually know where you're going or are you just teasing me, 'cause I don't find this funny." He says as they walk down to the bank of the river. Azura turns to him with an impish grin upon her lips. They hesitate a moment, staring at one another awkwardly as the river runs serenly in the background. Moonlight filters through the tree's leaves and sparkles off the river's surface, illuminating Azura's alabaster skin. Her demon eyes swim through the curtain of her raven hair and pierce his heart. This wasn't what he expected to find in Aridact. Azura takes Shugo's hand in her own and places it back upon her breast. Their lips meet and the rest of the world ceases to exist. Shugo starts to unlace the front of her corset. He finishes with the corset as Azura pulls his shirt off. She removes the belt that holds his sword and drops it on the ground. He removes the belt at her hip as well and drops it on the ground next to his own. The pants come off next leaving them both stark naked in the moonlight. Azura pushes Shugo down to the ground and straddles his hips. He enters her with a grunt and a sigh. His wings wrap around them both, hiding them from the moon that watches overhead.
A mile from the river in the Raiki front room Triyel slaps his daughter for her disobeidance. Fay grabs her husband's arm to keep him from hitting her again but takes the brunt of his next attack instead.
"It's because of you she's like this! You have to coddle them and weaken them with your motherly affection! I'm sick of this! You're daughter's out there somewhere right now with our enemy because you don't understand the meaning of tough love!" Triyel screams in her face then promptly slaps Janza once more, knocking her off her feet. She crumples on the floor and refuses to get back up. Weifron and Kylu both move towards the door but Triyel grabs them each on one shoulder.
"No. Azura is mine. I want the two of you to stay here and watch the house in case she decides to return or these two try to leave. I'm going to end this once and for all." With that he dashes out the door and into the trees on the hunt for angel blood and vengeance.
As Triyel leaves the Raiki manor Shugo and Azura are redressing. Shugo belts his sword at his hip once more then pulls Azura towards him for another kiss. In the afterglow the reality and danger of their situation has slowly begun returning to Azura. She pulls back from the kiss and gently pushes Shugo away.
"We have to leave tonight. Get as far away from Aridact as possible before morning. It's not going to be easy but if we hurry-"
Shugo strokes her cheek with his fingertips and that contagious smile on his lips. "You worry too much. We'll be gone before they even know you're missing."
"I knew she was missing five minutes ago," says Triyel emerging from the shadows. Azura jumps but Shugo merely glares at Triyel. "Looks like it's too late for that plan." Triyel says smirking as he draws his sword and points it at Shugo's bare chest.
"I'm disappointed in you Azura, I had hoped you were smarter than that stupid sister of yours, but I guess I was wrong. No worries though, I can fix this easily."
Shugo moves in front of Azura and draws his own sword. "You can try to kill me but you won't be successful."
Triyel laughs, "No, Tenshi, tonight I get my revenge. Tonight the angel dies instead of the vampire."
A dark look passes over Shugo's face that Azura can't see. She moves around to get a better view of her father. "What are you talking about?"
Triyel grins sinisterly as he and Shugo begin to circle one another. "Of course he wouldn't tell you. He's using you Azura, using you to get to me."
"Bullshit," Shugo hisses through clenched teeth. Azura looks from Shugo to her father.
"He wouldn't do that. What would he want with you anyway?"
"Why don't you ask him."
Azura turns to Shugo. "What is he talking about?"
"Tell her, Tenshi. Tell her about your holy family. Tell her about our history together."
Shugo stops circling and looks at Azura, his expression pained. His face is contorted in agony as if he has vampire venom running through his veins again.
"I told you I came here looking for someone. That someone is your father."
"Why? I don't understand."
"Because he's a cold-blooded murderer just like his father. He's ridding the world of evil one vampire at a time." Triyel interjects. "Azura, your grandfather Larkin was killed by Daraku Tenshi and now he's sent his son to finish off the Raiki line, isn't that right Shugo? But that isn't going to happen tonight. No, your father may have killed mine but I'm going to kill you, Shugo."
"No. That can't be right." Azura says disbelievingly, shaking her head.
"It is." Shugo responds flatly, eyes trained on Triyel. He watches his every move, waiting for him to strike first.
Triyel laughs more like a bark. "You see Azura, he never loved you. He just needed to get to me and you led him right here."
"No, that's where you're wrong, Triyel. I love you, Azura. Don't listen to him."
"Shut up, both of you! You're both liars! This can't be true."
"Believe what you want Azura, but we're going to settle this once and for all, Tenshi." Triyel says closing the distance between himself and his opponent. Triyel strikes first and Shugo blocks his attack. The duel rages on as Azura watches from the sidelines trying to sort out the jumbled weave of her thoughts; who she trusts and who she believes. Triyel strikes with his sword again and Shugo blocks it then counters with his fist, punching Triyel in the face. He staggers backwards with his head reeling and barely dodges Shugo's next move. He blocks the following attack and kicks Shugo in in the kneecap. Shugo screams as his knee is shattered and collapses on his other good knee. They all hear the crack and Azura winces, finally spurred into action by his scream. She runs at her father and attempts to leap upon him but he catches her mid-leap and throws her into a tree. The blow stuns her momentarily as she sinks to a sitting position at the base of the tree. As Shugo tries getting back to his feet Triyel's sword slices open the flesh of his upper right arm. He falls on his back as Triyel stands over him, gloating in his victory.
"You were never a match for me, Tenshi. Greet death in the knowledge that I'll send your head back to your father in a box." Triyel says raising his sword for one final blow. Shugo waits for the exact moment when he knows Triyel's body is most off balance and kicks out with his foot and shatters Triyel's knee with his boot. Triyel screams and staggers, dropping his sword. He staggers backwards towards the river as Shugo regains his feet. Azura slowly comes too through a hazy fog as Shugo approaches her father with his sword drawn and pointed directly at his heart.
"Just like your father you couldn't shut up long enough to finish the job at hand," says Shugo as he drives the silver imbued blade straight through Triyel's chest and out the other side. Triyel looks down at the sword for a moment and back up at his murderer. "I should've killed you when I had the chance."
"Yes, you should have." Shugo replies as he pulls his sword out. Blood pours from the wound in both front and back; smoke curles from the hole in Triyel's chest in lazy circles as he falls backward into the river. The water instantly turns red as Triyel exhales for the last time.
Shugo steps back from the river and turns to Azura who's sitting by the tree in shock still trying to process what just happened. Shugo sheaths his bloody sword at his hip then picks up his deerskin shirt and pulls it over his head. The blood on his arm darkens through the shirt. He stares at Azura who finally catches his eye; blue on red. Shugo opens his mouth to say something then thinks better of it. He stands a moment longer, wishing to take back everything but knowing he can't. Instead he turns and disappears into the trees. Azura watches him disappear, listening to his heartbeat move further and further away.
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