rapmike:
Twenty Three

Is he now? Or is he just with you because it's convenient for you? Tell me Jake, if this mission fails, will you be given a pat in the back or will you be blamed?

Jake stirred up from sleep, his eyes still feeling a bit weak. As he adjusted to the white colors of the hospital wing, he remembered those words.Weird that it's the last thing I hear before I wake up. The Imperious, Count Olorundayo or so asked Austin and him that question.

Is he alive because it's convenient for the coven to keep him alive? It was a troubling question.

Jake had never been secure about his place in the coven. Despite being the son of the most powerful vampire in the coven, he always felt that his life was in danger. True, things had calmed down since aidokai, yet it was never out of his mind that danger lurks.

It doesn't help that the said father never has time for me! Since the day he got the shock revelation that the emperor was his father, Jake has never seen the older vampire again. Instead, his day has been shared with Cleopatra, Thomrod, Calypso, Celeste and his team. He wondered if what Justin said about him being injured was true. If you were in his shoes, he will abandon you. We all will. He didn't abandon Austin though. He is my teammate. We fight for each other! So why did he think himself foolish?

He faintly remembered Cleopatra's eyes turning golden. She has golden eyes, yet she hid it from everyone! He wondered if he should have done the same. No one told me what to do! He thought that Cleopatra was his friend and someone he could trust. If she could hide such, he wondered what the rest hid.

The door opened. Jake quickly adjusted himself, wondering who wanted to see him.

It was the Empress.

empress is not to be trusted

Not her again! Jake didn't forget how much she wants him dead. She had insisted on aidokai and even flung his mother as collateral. Jake could faintly remember his mother but that memory was fading away.

She is the Empress. I have to remember that and accord her the respect her office deserves. He didn't want her here, but there was not anyway he could chase her out.

Jake adjusted himself and braced for whatever she wanted to throw at him. "Your Grace...."

"Sit, don't stress yourself." She took a seat. "I asked the nurse to inform me immediately you wake up."

So the stupid nurse couldn't wait for me to fully recover before inflicting you on me.

"You must be wondering why I am here." She paused and took a deep breath. "I want to thank you for saving my mother."

"Okay,ma." Jake wanted to know where this was going.

She saw the caution. "I am not playing a trick on you. I know it's difficult for you to believe me, but right now I wish you no evil."

"Okay ma."

"My mother is very important to me, just as your mother was before you came here. I was skeptical when your team was given the mission to rescue her, but your team did it and I heard it was largely due to you."

"My teammates dir their parts as well, Empress."

"They did." She agreed. "Yet you did a lot. I know that you rescued your teammates more than once and you even used your power to bring everyone back to the coven."

She watched him with her golden eyes. "You must wonder why I wanted you dead all this while."

Jake felt his heart tighten. Why bring this now?

"You must think I am very jealous of your relationship with your father or that I am very protective of my children."

Was that a question? "No."

"Then what do you think?"

"I don't know...maybe pure hate."

She smiled. "Maybe so. But I am not hating you because of that. My hate of you is self preservative. It was because of a prophecy."

[code][/code] At last the empress speak out
One big enemy down now
.
Few more enemy to change

I see. " what prophecy?"

Her eyes flickered. "It's nothing that should concern you now. I don't want to talk about things that may not happen. I just wanted to thank you for your service before the swarm of well wishers come to greet you."

She stood up and walked towards the door.

"The Oracle wants to see you when you recover, Jake."

Jake couldn't sleep long after she left. He hated to think what the Oracle had for him. Since the last time he visited the Oracle, his life had been a blitz. Now another prophecy waits for me.

The next few days was a buzz of activities for Jake. His team members visited him at least twice, with Zachris and Cleopatra visiting almost every day. Calypso came visiting a couple of times, Celeste came once( she smiled when he told her that he used the spell she taught him), Muyiwa and his sister came visiting one Sunday afternoon while many other random vamps came.

He was almost ready to leave the hospital ward when his father visited.

Gerald wore a white shirt with a red doublet and a red trouser. He had a badge which signified that he was the Emperor. His eyes gave nothing away.

"Good day, My Emperor." Jake felt he will never warm up to this man.

"How about 'Good day, father?', Jake?" He sat down on the visitor's chair. He observed the flowers and other gifts that were dropped by well wishers. "You seem to be the celebrity right now."

Jake gave a weary smile. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the whole fuzz but he had to admit, he did enjoy it.

"I wonder how long it will last." He expected something bad to happen. It always does

" You have to be more positive, you know that." He faced him. " You did very well in a difficult mission."

"Difficult or compromised?" Jake didn't forget what the Count had said.

"I heard it was compromised. Zachris reported that and believe me that we are working on finding out who compromised the mission."

Jake's smile became sarcastic. "Really? You sent me on a mission where I could have died there or here. You knew fully well that it was compromised and you still sent me there. You sent me there to die!" Jake was shaking with fury.

"Calm down, Jake." Gerald moved backwards. "Doctors! Doctors!!"

Suddenly doctors appeared from nowhere and injected a dose of revein then doused him to sleep.

rapmike:
Not her again! Jake didn't forget how much she wants him dead. She had insisted on aidokai and even flung his mother as collateral. Jake could faintly remember his mother but that memory was fading away.

She is the Empress. I have to remember that and accord her the respect her office deserves. He didn't want her here, but there was not anyway he could chase her out.

Jake adjusted himself and braced for whatever she wanted to throw at him. "Your Grace...."

"Sit, don't stress yourself." She took a seat. "I asked the nurse to inform me immediately you wake up."

So the stupid nurse couldn't wait for me to fully recover before inflicting you on me.

"You must be wondering why I am here." She paused and took a deep breath. "I want to thank you for saving my mother."

"Okay,ma." Jake wanted to know where this was going.

She saw the caution. "I am not playing a trick on you. I know it's difficult for you to believe me, but right now I wish you no evil."

"Okay ma."

"My mother is very important to me, just as your mother was before you came here. I was skeptical when your team was given the mission to rescue her, but your team did it and I heard it was largely due to you."

"My teammates dir their parts as well, Empress."

"They did." She agreed. "Yet you did a lot. I know that you rescued your teammates more than once and you even used your power to bring everyone back to the coven."

She watched him with her golden eyes. "You must wonder why I wanted you dead all this while."

Jake felt his heart tighten. Why bring this now?

"You must think I am very jealous of your relationship with your father or that I am very protective of my children."

Was that a question? "No."

"Then what do you think?"

"I don't know...maybe pure hate."

She smiled. "Maybe so. But I am not hating you because of that. My hate of you is self preservative. It was because of a prophecy."

hmmmmmmmm

When Jake woke up, he met his father looking at him with worried eyes.

"What, what happened?"

"You almost attacked me, I believe." The emperor answered. "The doctors put you to sleep."

Jake couldn't understand. "I didn't want... I don't understand. I never wanted to attack you. I..."

"Was magicked to attacking me. It seems like whatever fed you those lies also put a spell on you so that when you see me, you will attack me. Fortunately, you seem to restrain yourself long enough for the doctors to arrive."

I knew that I couldn't trust the Count! "The Count, he told me......."

"A lot of lies, I trust." He cracked his fingers in anger. "If you had succeeded, it was sure that you will die. The coven would have turned on you." He looked at him with sad eyes, like he was sorry for something. "I knew that the mission was dangerous. I knew, but it happened that your team was the only team I could send. It was a risk, it's true but I had to take it."

He paused. "However, I didn't know that it was compromised. I asked Zachris and Cleopatra to make the best of plans and I trusted them. If I knew that someone was leaking any information, I would have stopped you from going."

Will you? Jake snorted in his mind. He didn't believe him one bit. Since he had come to the coven, he had been treated like he was very expendable. Jake never deluded himself on that. You will say what you are saying now and then send me to the nearest hell you can find.

His disbelief must have been clear on his face, for Gerald looked at him with a sad smile. "You don't believe me. I don't blame you. I know that you have gone through unbelievable hell since the moment you were dragged here. Your life has been on the line more than once and I, your father, have treated you worse than a leper. It's my fault and my shame, but be sure of this: I will always fight for you. Always."

Indeed! Jake looked at his father and hissed. What sort of lies does he think that he can tell me? That he, as the leader of the coven, can't help his own son? He watched as his father left and turned his back.

Jake received no visitors after his father came. Doctor Marcus soon released him, asking him to come back in two days time.


Once he got out of the hospital wing, he went to the Oracle.

He met her watering her garden. This time she was with a green gown, the gown gracing the ground. She turned towards him.

"Jake." She smiled. "How are you feeling today?"

Nervous. "I am quite fine, just a bit tired. The Empress claimed that you wanted to see me."

"Yes." Her eyes looked sad. "I can't speak about what I want to tell you, because it's terrible. A vision that foretells the doom and rebirth of our coven." Her eyes met his. "Bring your hands."

Jake walked towards her and stretched his hands. She hummed in a similar fashion to Cleopatra back at the mountain.

Suddenly the room became dark, lit only by raging fire. Jake saw many vampires dead, their bodies been consumed by the fire or by werewolves. He could recognize some of the faces there: Zachris, Austin, Frank who was his first sparring partner, Thomrod. Others were unfamiliar faces, yet he could tell that they were from the coven.

Then he saw himself wearing a crown with long spikes. The crown is on fire! Besides him was Count Olorundayo and someone who was masked. The mask broke off and he could swear that it was a member of council. He tried to peep closer to see who it was.

Then he was returned to the room with the Oracle, her hands trembling.

"What's that I saw?"I am trembling. I saw destruction.

Her eyes were black and deep with suspence. "Doom. Doom of our coven."

"Why does this concern me?"

"You saw it. Your crown. You felt it. The rage in your heart. The anger that Sparks the destruction. The time is near."

She released his hands. "I hope that this vision will be forestalled. Most visions can be, however a few of them happen like it is seen in the dream."

She moved towards her plants and picked a yellow vase with yellow flowers.

"Take this. The juice in the flowers can heal most ailments and afflictions."

"How do I.... How do I keep this?"

She smiled, then she pointed to his hands. "Point to any spot and make a circle around it. Make your magic flow through your fingers."

Jake did as he was instructed, swirling his fingers. Nothing happened at first, then a golden swirl of current came forth. Then a portal opened.

"Keep it there. When you need it, remember this."

Jake kept it. Once he was done, he stopped the current.

"It's done." The Oracle became fifty years older all of a sudden. "I have left everything to you, Jake."

Twenty Four

He walked along the aisle, watching his humans plant flowers, harvest fruits and veggies, take care of the sick among them and then take the healthy, ripe ones for harvesting.My Farm. My paradise. The blood farms were the exclusive rights and responsibility of Muyiwa. It was where he had utmost control, a place where even his unreasonable mother and bullish sister had no control. Initially, when he was given governance of this area rather than 'more important' tasks, he felt it was a lack of faith from his father in his capabilities. He despised the vampires that were here and felt worse about the humans; after all, this is a vampire coven, humans have no business here.They are only food. They have no right to fellowship.

He was wrong about that. The humans were food, that was right but they were more. Their scientists were as brilliant if not more brilliant than those that were vampires: been immortal doesn't make you more intelligent. They were great test subjects for spells and medicines, they kept most of the plants in the coven alive and provided a great source of oxygen. Most of all, they revered him and his kind. Most of them though. A few still see them as an abomination. He has grown to love them and treat then well and they have responded in kind.

Now he is to share this world with Jake.

Waoh � awesome

hmmmmmmm next epiode

It was his father's idea. "Both of you are my sons. If you two are friends, it will make my heart glad. Moreover, Jake's influence may be useful when it's time for you to become the Emperor." Muyiwa had protested that Jake had no influence and can't have any because he is a new vampire. "Influence grows with time. I will be around for many years still." That was his father's reply. When he asked why it was him, not Ore or his mother that the emperor asked for this favor, his father frowned. "You know the history between them. Jake will never be close to any of them.

But I have no history with him, so it's easy for me to be a pawn. Muyiwa wasn't sure of the influence part of his argument or any friendship budding between them, but he couldn't refuse his father. It was the older man who shielded him from his mother's paranoia and his sister's spite when they were all younger. He also made sure Muyiwa was placed in the blood farms, a measure which kept him away from unfriendly questions about his martial prowess yet kept him close enough to know about the adminstration of the coven. An emperor should know more than battles, he claimed. Several vampires could be warriors but only a few can organize a coven, bring vampires together and a fewer still can lead.

His father can't make him bring Jake here though, so Muyiwa was not bothered about the awkwardness of 'summoning' Jake to the blood farms, nor the embarrassment of meeting him to come here. Muyiwa had some pride as the Emperor's son and he didn't want to bow and scrape to the 'savior' of his grandmother, especially with the way the coven were celebrating him.

Muyiwa could understand the buzz, although the why of it eluded him. It wasn't an easy mission, he understood: many teams had gone then and failed. His grandmother was a powerful vampire and a more powerful diplomat, as she was a leading council member of the Terigulus coven, another powerful coven. Rescuing her was imperative. Jake did most of the rescuing himself, with Cleopatra and Zachris doing the much they could. However, the revelation that the mission was compromised and worse still that the rescue of his grandmother was going to accelerate the destruction of the coven worried him. He had learned the latter information from Ore, who had heard their parents argue about it. His father was for sending her back to her coven but his mom wanted her here, where she could take care of her. At the end, his mother won, even though he couldn't say anyone was particularly happy.

He was still mulling about that when his father came with Jake.

rapmike:
It was his father's idea. "Both of you are my sons. If you two are friends, it will make my heart glad. Moreover, Jake's influence may be useful when it's time for you to become the Emperor." Muyiwa had protested that Jake had no influence and can't have any because he is a new vampire. "Influence grows with time. I will be around for many years still." That was his father's reply. When he asked why it was him, not Ore or his mother that the emperor asked for this favor, his father frowned. "You know the history between them. Jake will never be close to any of them.

But I have no history with him, so it's easy for me to be a pawn. Muyiwa wasn't sure of the influence part of his argument or any friendship budding between them, but he couldn't refuse his father. It was the older man who shielded him from his mother's paranoia and his sister's spite when they were all younger. He also made sure Muyiwa was placed in the blood farms, a measure which kept him away from unfriendly questions about his martial prowess yet kept him close enough to know about the adminstration of the coven. An emperor should know more than battles, he claimed. Several vampires could be warriors but only a few can organize a coven, bring vampires together and a fewer still can lead.

His father can't make him bring Jake here though, so Muyiwa was not bothered about the awkwardness of 'summoning' Jake to the blood farms, nor the embarrassment of meeting him to come here. Muyiwa had some pride as the Emperor's son and he didn't want to bow and scrape to the 'savior' of his grandmother, especially with the way the coven were celebrating him.

Muyiwa could understand the buzz, although the why of it eluded him. It wasn't an easy mission, he understood: many teams had gone then and failed. His grandmother was a powerful vampire and a more powerful diplomat, as she was a leading council member of the Terigulus coven, another powerful coven. Rescuing her was imperative. Jake did most of the rescuing himself, with Cleopatra and Zachris doing the much they could. However, the revelation that the mission was compromised and worse still that the rescue of his grandmother was going to accelerate the destruction of the coven worried him. He had learned the latter information from Ore, who had heard their parents argue about it. His father was for sending her back to her coven but his mom wanted her here, where she could take care of her. At the end, his mother won, even though he couldn't say anyone was particularly happy.

He was still mulling about that when his father came with Jake.

hmmmm

More please

His father seemed relieved to see him. "Muyiwa, there you are." He gave a huge grin. "I am going to leave Jake in your hands." He winked and left.

Father! Ugh! His attempt to try and be tactful left a lot to be desired.

They stared at themselves for a long time, not knowing where to start.Am I suppose to say something?

"Sit." Muyiwa broke the silence. Jake lingered at his face a little longer before sitting down. Muyiwa ordered a servant to bring refreshments.

"So what can I do for you?"

Jake scratched his head. " I really don't know. I am just recovering from my last mission and so I can't do anything for some weeks. I don't want to be left bored, father seems to be too busy and everyone else seems close to worshipping me. I need a getaway."

A getaway Muyiwa looked at his half brother with some form of resentment. He had spent years in the coven, making sure that the blood farms work well and produce enough blood feed for the coven and no one had even thanked him for a job well done, well apart from the occasional pat on the back from his father. Then someone who just arrived is getting all the praise and adulation from the whole coven, even from his mother who wanted him dead and he wants a 'getaway'. How very much annoying.

That said, he understood Jake. All that attention was suffocating, especially as it wasn't long ago that the same people wanted him dead.

The refreshments arrived, blood ham and two glasses of milk. Muyiwa ordered the servant to cover them.

"If you really want a getaway, then follow me."

Without watching if Jake followed him, Muyiwa walked out into the blood farm.

The humans were busy with their activities, ignoring the guest in their midst. It didn't take long for Jake to realize that they were not vampires.

"They are humans?" He asked Muyiwa in surprise. "There are so many of them, like a colony."

A colony. My colony. "Yes, they are humans. This is where they stay. This is the blood farm."

Jake screwed his head. "A blood farm?"

"Yes, a blood farm. This is where we harvest blood for all the dishes we make for the coven."

Too short . Welldone

next update hmmmmmmmm so blood farm for harvest

"You harvest humans for blood?"
No, we just feed on cow's milk "Of course we feed on human blood, we are vampires, not humans. We need blood to survive."

"It's not necessary that the blood must be human. Cow's, goats, animals all have blood. Why humans?"

"You should know why, Jake. You must have been taught about that in our school."

Jake's hands were made into fists, his mouth clenched in anger. I hope it's not a mistake bringing him here. Muyiwa didn't want a fight, especially here of all places. The humans are fragile, he didn't want to risk them dying.

"You make the process painless, I guess?" Jake asked.

"As painless as possible, we are not barbarians who rip the lives off them. We use different methods to collect the blood and none of those methods involves them dying or going through much pain."

"They don't die? I am used to seeing vampires suck the lives out of humans."

"In movies I guess. The type of movies who set us up as the spawn of the devil." Muyiwa snorted. "We need human blood, but there is no need to kill them. Why kill them when we can keep them to produce more blood."

"So you keep them as pets?" Jake was relaxed. "You do realize that they are humans, just a step below....."

"....us on the food chain? Or evolution? Yes, we do. I do, at least. Don't give me those accusing eyes, humans keep other animals for pets as well. Goats, cattle, sheep, pigs and so on. Humans keep them for their milk and meat. Same here. I dare say we are better than humans in this."

"How?"

"First of all, the humans we keep don't die. They are taken care of, given the best of food and healthcare, get the best of refreshments and entertainment. They live the life their fellow humans want to have outside here."

"I guess that's a mercy." Jake looked calm, even a bit ashamed. Quite contrite.

They got to a spiral staircase. Muyiwa led the way, with Jake following quietly.

"Who is Lord Glabach?"

Nice storyline uve got

NapoleonT:
Nice storyline uve got

see next episode is not interesting due there is no battle

Rapmike, thanks for update

cokhale:
see next episode is not interesting due there is no battle

its not the action alone we are now married to the characters

Muyiwa paused on the way. "Lord Glabach is a member of the council." The oldest member of the council, actually. He wondered what Jake had heard about him from Father. "Why ask about him?"

"I heard some vamps speak of him like he is a god or something. That he is the most powerful vampire in this coven and he should have been the Emperor."

They resumed their walk upwards. " Lord Glabach is one of the most powerful vampires here, that I can say at least. He is also the oldest vampire here, supposedly here since it's founding by Herrick."

"Really? He had lived that long?"

Muyiwa viewed him like he was talking to a nitwit. "Yes. That's eternal for you. He hasn't been killed in battle and he never died of diseases."

"You guys get sick?" Jake was incredulous. "Like the way humans do?"

"We are not humans nor are we cursed with their frail nature. We don't have diseases like them. But since we feed on food and drink, we have some diseases we can fall prey to."

"I see." Jake fell into silence.

They got to the end of the stairway. Muyiwa pushed the door open, revealing a cave-like entrance.

"This is the getaway I promised." He looked at Jake in expectation. "What do you think about it?" It was a silly question though. He knew the answer from his face.

The coven was a myriad of rooms, domes and everything else to hide the sunlight. There were no fields or flowers here, their presence will require sunlight and that's something most vampires can't tolerate. Here was different. Outside the cave was a field, green as ever. Flowers adorned the field: sunflowers, hibiscus, the Lily of the valley and so on. There were even a few birds here: some doves and pigeons.

Mostly important of them was the sun. The sun shone here like it was meant to be: unhindered and unbroken. Rain fell here as well. It was the most human part of the coven.

It was the garden of Ivy.

Jake walked into the garden like a child in wonder. The sun was mild, like it was handling a child. He lay down on the grass.

Muyiwa couldn't see his face but he knew what he felt.Bliss. Pure Bliss. It was known that Imperious who started their lives in the human world often miss the sun and feel trapped underneath the massive layers of dirt, stone and concrete that protected vampires from the sun. Some vampires still walk in the sun but they do so with charmed rings or necklaces that mitigate the effect of the sun.

"Where is this place?" He asked, his voice profused with joy.

"The garden of Ivy. She was an Empress, mother to Herrick."

Jake stood up and went on a trot about the garden. Like a child. Muyiwa couldn't help but be amused. If anyone saw him now, he will just look like a child, not the man that has been mistrusted and has mistrusted others in turn. For all the noise about the prophecy, he is just a child. Even in the human world, he was a child. I wonder if anyone in the council or even in the coven thought about that. How growth spurt here has been massive and it had to be so, if not he would be dead.

The sun suddenly retreated and left the garden cool. Jake stayed for a while and then walked back to the cave.

The descent was made in silence. Jake's mind was thinking of a lot of things and Muyiwa was eager to know what ran through his mind. At the end of the stairs, Jake turned to him.

"Who uses the garden?"

"The humans here. Vampires are not immune to the sun, except for Imperious." Many of them used here to relax, they laughed and played until some of them decided to start a rebellion.

"It's a wonderful place. Thank you for bringing me here." He sounded humble

Muyiwa smiled. "It's my pleasure." And a good start I hope. "If you need to....."

The doors burst open, two guards with manacles coming in. Before a word could be uttered, the silver manacles flew and trapped Jake. One of them moved and injected him with some drug.

"What's the meaning of this?" Muyiwa asked.

"Step aside, he is charged with murdering the Empress Mother."

rapmike:
Jake walked into the garden like a child in wonder. The sun was mild, like it was handling a child. He lay down on the grass.

Muyiwa couldn't see his face but he knew what he felt.Bliss. Pure Bliss. It was known that Imperious who started their lives in the human world often miss the sun and feel trapped underneath the massive layers of dirt, stone and concrete that protected vampires from the sun. Some vampires still walk in the sun but they do so with charmed rings or necklaces that mitigate the effect of the sun.

"Where is this place?" He asked, his voice profused with joy.

"The garden of Ivy. She was an Empress, mother to Herrick."

Jake stood up and went on a trot about the garden. Like a child. Muyiwa couldn't help but be amused. If anyone saw him now, he will just look like a child, not the man that has been mistrusted and has mistrusted others in turn. For all the noise about the prophecy, he is just a child. Even in the human world, he was a child. I wonder if anyone in the council or even in the coven thought about that. How growth spurt here has been massive and it had to be so, if not he would be dead.

The sun suddenly retreated and left the garden cool. Jake stayed for a while and then walked back to the cave.

The descent was made in silence. Jake's mind was thinking of a lot of things and Muyiwa was eager to know what ran through his mind. At the end of the stairs, Jake turned to him.

"Who uses the garden?"

"The humans here. Vampires are not immune to the sun, except for Imperious." Many of them used here to relax, they laughed and played until some of them decided to start a rebellion.

"It's a wonderful place. Thank you for bringing me here." He sounded humble

Muyiwa smiled. "It's my pleasure." And a good start I hope. "If you need to....."

The doors burst open, two guards with manacles coming in. Before a word could be uttered, the silver manacles flew and trapped Jake. One of them moved and injected him with some drug.

"What's the meaning of this?" Muyiwa asked.

"Step aside, he is charged with murdering the Empress Mother."

jake blood will be used now to find a cure for vamp

TWENTY FIVE

"The evidence is clear, he must die!" SIMI thundered in the council. "He killed my mother!"

Gerald looked at his Empress with cold anger. You are so blind to the truth! He knew that Jake was innocent, he was with Muyiwa for most of the day. The excuse that the murder happened in the morning was a farce.

"We must be careful in making conclusions, My Empress." Uche softly chided. "Let's not forget that he was the reason that she was here in the first place. If he didn't save her and his team, we won't be talking of this."

"So you are insisting that we let him go, Lord Uche?" Kike asked.

"No, I only want a fair judgement in this case. Jake has been with us for a long time....."

"The Imperious were with us for a long time before they decided to revolt!" Reagan clapped back. "This Imperious boy has done the same. Do you realize what he has done?"

Gerald heard enough. "You all are terrible counsellors and worse lords! Should I remind you that he has been on judgement from the very minute he arrived in this coven."

"For justifiable reasons!"

"What reasons? The prophecy? His abilities? The Deviants? Are we forgetting who we are?"

"Are you forgetting who you are, Emperor?" Glabach asked in a cold manner. "Your duty is to the coven and all it's associates, which includes her mother...."

"And Jake!" Gerald halted him there. "Have you forgotten that we have accepted him in our coven, that he is one of us? Where is the love, the affection we show to our own? Why are we so glad to judge him guilty? Answer me, COUNSELLORS!"

"It's councilors, my emperor." Lord Glabach smiled. " I understand that you must protect your son, but the evidence is on the screen. We all watched it here. Why delay?"

"Why?" Reese spoke forth. "Why we are delaying is because there is a system in place to judge such issues. Moreover, we have judged him falsely due to his abilities and heritage. Reagan spoke of the Deviants. We shouldn't forget that the reason why we stand here is because many vampires, including Imperious vampires rejected the Deviants and fought to preserve the sanctity of the coven. Should I also remind us that the reason why we made those laws against the Imperious is to make sure that they prove worthy of becoming one of us and that once they do we treat them as such." He paused. "He has done that again and again. If he actually killed the Empress Mother, there we have to find now why and how. We must judge him fairly and justly."

The hall was quiet for a long time. Gerald looked at them all. Glabach is looking for Jake's death but he won't find it easy! He could see that he and Kike were not happy about the way Reese had cooled the tempers down. I have to thank him.


"Let's recovene tomorrow." Gerald stood up. "Reese, Uche, come with me."

Gerald stormed out of the council room. Uche and Reese followed him. When he was out of earshot, Gerald faced them.

"Something is very wrong with that video evidence. I don't trust the video."

Uche looked at him as if he was accusing him of changing the details. "Are you trying to say that it was tampered?"

"Perhaps. Or someone masked himself as Jake and killed Simi's mother."

"Or both." Reese added. "Someone has wanted him dead for a long time. This is the best chance of that."

"You certainly not referring to Lord Glabach, are you?"

"I don't trust Lord Glabach." Gerald said. "I trust Kike less. Reagan is not averse to Jake but he doesn't favor him and Simi is not in the frame of mind to find out what's happening. It's only two of you I can trust. Will you help me?"

"Yes." Reese answered immediately. Uche paused. "I will only help if it's to establish the truth of what happened."

"Obviously. If he is guilty, I won't stand in the way. Take my word for it."

"Then I will help you. What do you want from us?"

Gerald faced Reese first. "The Oracle told me that the event that will change this coven is near. I believe that the Horn of Pandora is involved in this. Reese I want it guarded day and night."

"Yes, My Radiance. I will post guards there."

"I want you there yourself. If someone comes for the horn, he would likely be a powerful enemy. I need someone at your level to be there."

"I will do it." Reese left immediately. Uche quavered. "You don't mean that the coven is in serious danger again."

"I do believe that it's at the most dangerous point right now. I have someone checking the security footage that was shown to us. If there is something fishy, he will reveal it. Follow me."

He walked to the security room.

"Josef, anything?"

Josef, who was the lead security agent in the coven before he was moved to another department looked at him.

"Yes, My Emperor. The video was tampered with. I have retrieved the original copy. I was about playing it now."

Gerald watched as the video started. It was in the morning as reported, yet who he saw walk into the Empress Mother's ward gave him a shock. It was Lord Glabach!

Thanks for the update. I have always suspected lord glabach.

Gerald's eyes burned as he watched Lord Glabach change into Jake and enter the ward.

"My Emperor, tell me what I am seeing isn't true." Lord Uche said, eyes in disbelief.

Suddenly an arrow flew, residing on Josef's throat.

That's your answer. Gerald turned and found Kike with two guards.

"What's the meaning of this?" Uche's eyes shone, displaying it's red color. Gerald tapped him. "Don't bother about her, go and back up Reese!" Uche's eyes lingered at her for a bit longer then he left.

"When did you decide to join Glabach, Kike?"
She smirked as she uncoiled the whip by her side. "I joined this rebellion from the moment you became Emperor." She sneered. "Glabach should have been Emperor instead of you! Take him!"

One of the guards fired another arrow but Gerald moved sideways, dodging the arrow. As the guard loaded another arrow, the second guard charged at him with a silver chain. Gerald caught the chain and sent a huge amount of electricity into the chain. The electricity went to the other end, burning the hand of the second guard. Another arrow was fired but he burned it before there could be impact.

"Stand down, both of you!"

Instead they attacked him, this time together. Gerald eyes glowed red.

The two assailants fell to the ground, burning.

"Kike, I will give you one last chance. Stop this madness!"

She smiled and rushed towards him, unleashing the whip towards him. Gerald simply deflected the attack, then tossed her out.

rapmike:
Gerald's eyes burned as he watched Lord Glabach change into Jake and enter the ward.

"My Emperor, tell me what I am seeing isn't true." Lord Uche said, eyes in disbelief.

Suddenly an arrow flew, residing on Josef's throat.

That's your answer. Gerald turned and found Kike with two guards.

"What's the meaning of this?" Uche's eyes shone, displaying it's red color. Gerald tapped him. "Don't bother about her, go and back up Reese!" Uche's eyes lingered at her for a bit longer then he left.

"When did you decide to join Glabach, Kike?"
She smirked as she uncoiled the whip by her side. "I joined this rebellion from the moment you became Emperor." She sneered. "Glabach should have been Emperor instead of you! Take him!"

One of the guards fired another arrow but Gerald moved sideways, dodging the arrow. As the guard loaded another arrow, the second guard charged at him with a silver chain. Gerald caught the chain and sent a huge amount of electricity into the chain. The electricity went to the other end, burning the hand of the second guard. Another arrow was fired but he burned it before there could be impact.

"Stand down, both of you!"

Instead they attacked him, this time together. Gerald eyes glowed red.

The two assailants fell to the ground, burning.

"Kike, I will give you one last chance. Stop this madness!"

She smiled and rushed towards him, unleashing the whip towards him. Gerald simply deflected the attack, then tossed her out.

let the war begin in coven
next episode

Kike flew back in with a vengence, her claws aiming to tear Gerald. The Emperor froze her in mid air.

"You forget yourself if you think you can kill me. I fought against vampires more powerful than you."

She smirked, her eyes shining with red malice. "They didn't have Jake's blood to supplement their abilities." She broke free of his spell and made another attack at him. Gerald moved back and swerved to his left. An arrow pierced his leg.

"Good." Kike smiled. One of the guards took another arrow and fired it at Gerald. It broke into pieces before it got to him.

"I burned you into bits." Gerald said, breaking the arrow lodged in his leg. The guard was about to reply when he found himself choking.

"You should have stayed dead." Gerald weaved his hands and cut the guard's head off. Kike watched with amusement.

"You can defeat him, but not me." She curled her whip and sent another attack at him. Gerald held it and dragged it, forcing her to come towards him. He caught her on her throat.

"What did you do to Jake? What did the council do to him?" Gerald suddenly slumped, letting her go.

"What have you done to me?" His hands suddenly erupted with wrinkles.

"The poison I started is working." She smiled. "We bled Jake. I, Glabach and Reagan. He was the key to our ascension." She snapped her fingers and a glass prism appeared, trapping Gerald. "Now you will watch your world burn while you do nothing. But first you will watch your family die, starting with that weakling of your son called Muyiwa." She walked away, heading to the blood farms.

Gerald felt the power of his prison.A Madorian prism. He felt the poison get a grip of him, forcing him to sink to the floor. His eyes began to waver. Is this where I end? It will be a colossal failure if he died here, trapped as the coven he swore to protect is destroyed. I can't allow that to happen. I am the Emperor and it's my duty to protect the coven. He can't allow Glabach to win.

He closed his eyes and focused his energy inwards, burning the poison. It is a lengthy and draining process, but one he had to be quick about.I underestimated Kike and her guards. The fire that seeped through his body forced him to groan. I have to destroy as much of the poison as I can. He knew that time was short and he needed to be out of the prism.

In a few minutes, he had done enough to stand up and activate some of his magic back. He spread his arms, using his hands to feel the prism. Then he focused all his strength on the prism.

The prism shattered to pieces.

Twenty-six

He looked down from his elevated position and sighed. He remembered the Count's words and the latest prophecy from the Oracle. Somebody has probably used that to their advantage and I am imprisoned because of it. He knew why he was here,chained and bled dry. The guards who arrested him made sure he knew.

He wondered what Muyiwa was doing. Probably telling his father what happened. They were together and Jake had just experienced the best moment of his life since he entered the coven when he was arrested. Could he have been part of the plan all along? Muyiwa had no bias against him but had none for him either. It will take a simple bait for him to turn against him.

He had no help here, no support. His father may or may not try and get him free and the Empress will certainly want him dead.Even if I am innocent, she will still want me dead. His team mates won't care to save him, apart from Cleopatra. He was alone.

He remembered the last prophecy. I can't allow myself to be bled dry. Those who devised this method must surely want his blood. He can't allow that to happen. He thought of his conversation with Muyiwa about Lord Glabach[i] He was supposed to be the Emperor, but my father became one instead![/i] Jake felt that he was the brain behind this. No better way to become Emperor by seizing the throne. That is if there was any throne. He can't allow that to happen.

An idea came to him.

Rapmike
this is breath taking