Call Of The Dark

Shira was making more of the same medicinal paste for Emma. "After this dry, I will apply more."

He gave her a tight nod. "I will be away for no more than two hours. Do you think you can handle it?" Suddenly, he heard a screeching sound coming from the skies.

Shira ran to the window that overlooked the waterfall and gazed up. Her breath lodged in her throat. "That's a… dragon!" she rasped.

"Yes," Lazarus said through his teeth. He began dressing up. "And her name is Nephie. She has come to meet Emma because Emma's mother is a dragon rider."

"Oh. My. God!" Shira had goosebumps on her skin. "I didn't know that about Emma. Do you know how rare it is to see a dragon and that too a female dragon?" She couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful purple dragon.

"She has come to see her mate, who is Brantley Frazier's dragon."

Shira turned sharply to see Lazarus, her eyes wide like that of saucers. "Can I meet Nephie?"

He shrugged. "Go and meet her if you think you can, but let me tell you, Nephie is extremely possessive about Emma. If she comes to know that Emma is with you, which I believe she already knows, she may attack you."

"I will take my chances!" Shira replied.

"But you better meet her after you have cured Emma. I will not take chances if I were you, because then I would be afraid of me."

Shira narrowed her eyes on him. "You are an arrogant bastard!"

"I know!" he replied and traced away.

A day had passed and it was evening. Lazarus came to the same inn where Emma and he had stayed for the night. The place was unusually quiet. He had booked the entire inn and so he knew that there wasn't anyone. Cautiously, he walked inside and traced beneath the staircase that was adjacent to the counter where the owner sat.

The owner was furiously putting something in a cloth bag, while glancing around. "Father!" his daughter came running from the back entrance. "Father!"

Lazarus remembered her as the girl who had brought a pail of hot water for them to take a bath.

"Go away Hiram!" he shooed her. "I am busy!"

"Father!" The girl came to stop in front of him., panting excitedly "The prince and princess aren't there!"

The owner stopped working and stared at her with a blank expression. "What do you mean? They were there only a few hours back."

She shook her head. "No, they have left! But their clothes are still lying in the room. I went in to clean it and found that they weren't there."

The owner stabbed his fingers in his hair as he looked at the entrance of the inn with a worried expression. Then he said, "Go find where they have gone. Check everywhere!"

The girl nodded and rushed away.

He started stashing things back in his bag all the more quickly. When his bag was full, he rounded the counter and came out in the lobby. He threw the bag on his shoulder and once again looked around to see if there was anyone else. Pursing his lips, he began towards the entrance when Lazarus traced right in front of him.

The owner was so shocked that he stumbled and fell down. Lazarus towered above him, his lips peeling back. A menacing rumble emanated from his chest. "What is there in the bag?" he asked through his clenched teeth.

"N—nothing, my lord!" the owner shook his head as his face blanched. His grasp on the bag tightened.

Lazarus tilted his head. "Show me."

The owner scrambled back. "There is n—nothing in it, my lord" he said again. Suddenly, he got up and started running in the opposite direction.

Lazarus let him run as far as he wanted to. He let him enter the back alley of the inn and then traced right in front of him.

The owner came to a standstill as he hit a rock-hard wall of pure muscles. He looked up at Lazarus who was clearly a foot taller than him. "My lord—" Before he could speak another word, Lazarus's hand was on his throat.

He squeezed the owner's throat. The owner dropped his bag down and caught hold of his wrist, spluttering and wheezing as his face went red for the want of air. Lazarus picked him up with his throat and his feet now dangled in the air.

"Please my lord—" the owner said with difficulty as he saw the vampire prince's fangs.

"How dare you drug my food?" Lazarus said in a voice full of fury.

"I—I didn't!"

Lazarus squeezed his throat further and hurled him in the air. The owner thrashed against a wall some ten meters ahead. He didn't even have a chance to get up when Lazarus traced to him and grabbed his hair. His muscles bulged with tension. "By adding drug to my food, you have committed a crime against a royal and the only punishment for it is death!" He yanked him up and tipped his head up. "I am going to count till three. If you don't give me the name of the person who made you do this, I am going to kill you and your family. And I won't stop there. Your descendants will face my wrath too!"

The man pissed in his pants. "No one—" How could he reveal the name of the person who gave him two bags of gold which were in the bag that was lying hurled across.

Lazarus was beyond control. He picked up the man and threw him against the wall with so much force that it cracked upon impact. The man was now so badly beat up that he didn't have the energy to move. A crack was heard and he screamed in pain. His leg fractured. Lazarus came over him and towered him. "This is just the beginning." He was about to yank his head again in a frenzy of madness when the owner stopped him. "

"My lord, I am sorry. It was—"