Page 78 of The Vampire King's War

Balthazar straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin. “Thank you, Daemon.”

“So where is this general place that you know to look for my parents?” Julian asked eagerly.

Daemon stiffened before the name of the place was mentioned. Everyone looked at him in concern.

“Moonfall?” Daemon murmured, his eyes burned hotly. “Of course, Kaly brought them there.”

“I didn’t know the place had a name,” Balthazar said. “It’s a beautiful name for a terrible place.”

“What do you mean?” Julian’s eyes narrowed.

“As you know, the gates we enter lead us to cities in the Ever Dark, but the Moonfall gate does not,” Caemorn explained as Daemon’s gaze was turned inwards.

“So where does it lead?”

“Just wilderness. And, as you know already, Ever Dark wilderness is deadly,” Caemorn explained.

“I don’t understand. Why can’t you sense my parents’ soul gems there? You found the general location so--”

“Because they went dark,” Christian said. When he saw the alarm fill Julian’s face he quickly added, “They weren’t destroyed. We’re just being blocked from finding them. Kaly hid them somewhere in Moonfall. We need them to tell us where otherwise we could be looking for… well, for a very long time.”

“Okay, so we go and make Kaly tell us where he stowed them,” Julian said with a nod.

“That’s the plan,” Christian agreed, but it worried him how Daemon wasn’t saying anything. The Vampire King looked downright grim.

“Come, let us go to see what Kaly has to say for themselves,” Daemon said softly. “Fiona, would you do the honors and teleport us?”

“Of course, King Daemon,” she said.

They gathered around her and she took them deep into the bowels beneath House Ravenscroft. Christian had never been there before and he wasn’t sure what he had expected. Modern homes did not have dungeons. He didn’t think that before Daemon’s return that House Ravenscroft exactly had much cause to keep prisoners of war. But they had managed to put a dungeon together.

They were in a simple concrete room with a drain in the very center of the floor. There were two cells in the room with thick, two inch steel rods that were cemented into the floor and ceiling. Heavy padlocks were affixed to each door. There was also a heavy metal door that likely led into the rest of this lower basement.

In one cell were the Vampires that Caemorn had sent to take out Julian. They came to attention when they saw their erstwhile Preceptor. They hadn’t decided what to do with them. It would seem hypocritical to allow Caemorn free while these two remained caged. But while their motivations remained anti-Daemon they weren’t safe to let go.

In the second cell sat Artemis-Kaly. His clothes were dirty and there were multiple bruises and cuts on his fair skin. He must have been terribly injured if those still remained after healing for a day. He was seated cross legged in the center of the cell. And though he looked rather beat-up, there was a certain dignity about him. Christian had a moment of deja vu as he realized how similar this was to how Caemorn had acted in the cell in the Spire.

He truly took on all of Kaly’s mannerisms. I suppose Caemorn admired Kaly’s poise and aped it.

Elgar and Arcius stood at either end of the cage. Christian could feel the power of their minds blocking the area around Artemis-Kaly. Elgar was staring down his skull, running his fingers over the smooth, white dome, while Arcius was staring at Artemis-Kaly, massive arms crossed over his more massive chest..

“It seems that your fledgling, Eyros, has a taste for the dead!” Artemis-Kaly laughed

Balthazar patted Elgar’s shoulder. His expression was tender. “He still suffers from what happened in the War.”

“I am getting better, Master.” Elgar pushed up into Balthazar’s hand much like Meffy did.

“Yes, you are,” Balthazar said with another pat. He then turned to Artemis-Kaly. “I bet no one mourned you when they thought you died. No one cradled your skull unless they hoped it would give them some power. And if obtaining that power hurt you, I doubt anyone cared.”

Artemis-Kaly nodded. That child’s beauty was so cold. “I would expect nothing less. Sentimentalism is abhorrent to me.”

“Really? When all of this is about how Daemon didn’t love you enough?” Balthazar hissed. His temper snapped like a live electrical wire. “We’re all here because of your damned tantrum. Daddy didn’t love you the way you wanted him to so you’re going to smash things. That’s what you’re doing, Kaly! This isn’t some noble quest you’re on. This is you simply acting out.”

Christian thought that Balthazar really did understand Kaly, but Kaly did not care to see himself that way. Just like Caemorn had said. One did not see what was in front of one’s face. Confirming Balthazar’s words, Artemis-Kaly steadfastly refused to look at or acknowledge Daemon in any way. For his part, Daemon remained in the background with one arm curled around Julian’s shoulders, still appearing grim. Julian was rocking back and forth on his heels. He was trying to hide his anxiety but couldn’t.

Balthazar took a deep breath and put his hands on his hips as he regarded Kaly. “You can end this right now. I am betting that--despite everything--Daemon will forgive you. Tell us where the soul gems are. We know you had them last. We even know where you were.”

“Yet you still need my help?” Artemis-Kaly’s eyes glittered.

---