The Elders
His doorbell rang, disturbing his sleep. Opening his eyes he crawled out of bed. His room was dark, it was still night. Curious, he glanced at his night clock and saw that it was four in the morning.
Cursing he walked down the hallway and into the front foyer. Looking through the peek hole on his front door, he saw his mother smiling at him. Frozen he just peered at her. She looked the same as he remembered her. The last three years had not aged her at all. She still had strawberry blond hair that was shoulder length, and straight. Her face appeared smooth and a little pale, and her blue eyes sparkled.
"Open up John. I know you are there." She said.
Startled, he unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. His mother stepped into his apartment and hugged him tightly. "Oh how I have missed you." Her body felt surprisingly strong against his. She must have been at least fifty now. Plastic surgery and health trainers must have helped her to remain young and fit.
He pulled away from her and shut and locked the door. He walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. Plugging in the kettle, he winced as he stepped on a piece of glass. He looked down at the floor and saw hundreds of tiny shards of the crystal that he had shattered earlier.
"My goodness John, this place is fabulous. I can see that you are doing well for yourself." His mother called from the living room. "What is it that you do again?"
"I'm a lawyer." He called back. He limped over to the broom closet and grabbed a broom and dustpan. He began to clean up the broken crystal. He noticed that he was smearing blood everywhere in the kitchen. He cursed. He was ruining his oak floor.
"Do you want any help?" His mother said entering the kitchen. He saw her eyes widen as she saw the crystal and blood all over the floor. "What happened?"
"I broke a glass and cut myself." He said. "Don't worry about it. So why are you here so early. I thought you weren't coming till tomorrow?"
She giggled. It sounded almost like a bell. "Yes, well I took our private jet and got here a lot earlier than a normal flight. The joys of being wealthy."
Finished cleaning up the glass, he grabbed the mop and began to mop up the blood streaks. He continued mopping down the corridor to his bedroom. Looking at his bed he saw that he had badly stained his sheets when he had cut himself earlier. The white silk was ruined. Cursing again, he ripped his sheets off and carried them to the garbage. Entering the bathroom, he bandaged his feet with gauze and put on his slippers. Glancing at himself in the mirror he saw that his normally tanned face looked very pale. His brown hair was sticking up and looked very dishevelled. Wetting down his hair, he combed it back into place. His brown eyes looked bloodshot and he had a slight beard growing. It was amazing that in one day his life could go from very orderly to chaos.
"Did you want some tea, honey?" His mother called from the kitchen. "The kettle is finished boiling."
Limping back to the kitchen he saw his mother pouring two cups of tea. "I remember that tea used to calm you down when you were upset." His mother said. She carried the tea to the dining room and sat down.
He joined her in the dining room and gratefully took a sip of the rich tea. "Where are you staying?"
"I've already checked into a hotel. Do you know where the King Edward's hotel is?"
He did. It was only the wealthiest hotel in Toronto. It was the place that royalty stayed when they visited the city. It figured that his mother didn't want to stay with him.
"I only stopped by to see how you were doing. I see not very well. Then I am off to the hotel to get some sleep and start making the funeral arrangements." Daphne his mother smiled at him. Her teeth were white and sparkled from the light in the kitchen.
"You look extremely well mom." He said. Sipping his tea, he felt uncomfortable and still very sad. "I'm glad you are going to take care of the funeral arrangements. I don't have the heart or strength to do a good job."
His mother nodded and looked at him worried. "That's why I came. I know I haven't been much of a mother to you since your dad died, but this is the least I can do."
Daphne stood up. "Well I'm sorry for waking you, but I am going to take off now."
"Do you need a ride?" He asked politely. He was sure that she had some limo service waiting outside for her.
"No, I brought my driver Justin. He's waiting out front with the car. I'll call you tomorrow sweetie." She bent over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry about getting up, I'll show myself out."
He watched her gracefully enter the kitchen. Her small hips swayed back and forth. He could not get over how well she looked. Obviously Mark was treating her good.
His front door slammed as his mother left his apartment. Sitting at the dining room table, sipping his tea, he felt a little surreal. Had she even been here? Only the lingering smell of her expensive perfume convinced him that he hadn't been dreaming.
"Garath, the elders want to see you." A whinny voice whispered. Turning slightly he saw the source. Jacob, the brown noser was approaching him.
Garath sat at the table in the lounge reserved for his Kind. He did not care what the elders wanted; he was a class of his own and didn't need to listen to anyone. He was almost tempted to attack Jacob and show him what a real villain was. But he stopped because Jacob was under the elder's protection and to harm him was indeed a reason for them to turn against him.
Standing up, he glided over to where Jacob was shivering waiting for him. "You are such a worm, you know that." He snarled at the little coward. Jacob flinched and scurried ahead to the underground layer where the elders waited.
Garath was sure he would hear about what menace he was and how his actions weren't condoned. But he was a powerful creature, and why would he want waste his power on only old feeble mortals. He could kill and conquer any being he wanted.
Jacob was ahead of him a few feet, and they were walking down the mile stairs to where the underground layer was. Garath hated the underground; it smelt of damp rotten mold. He cherished the fresh air and didn't understand how the elders could hide in such a dark, damp place. They were the rulers of the world, and yet they hid like they were afraid of something.
Sneering, he was tempted to trip Jacob and listen to him fall down the mile long staircase. But again, he held himself in check. He wasn't ready yet to stand up to the elders. Soon though, soon. His time was coming. He would be the ruler. It was time that they moved aside for someone who had vision and power. Not one of his Kind was as brave and powerful as him. No one would stop him, once he was ready.
Entering the platform, instead of continuing down, Jacob touched a stone on the wall, and an entrance appeared to their left, it opened up and exposed a corridor. Garath smiled; very tricky. He wondered what kind of other secrets Jacob knew. Perhaps later he would have a nice little chat with the worm.
"This way." Jacob said looking quickly at Garath and then scurrying down the corridor.
Looking at the walls in this corridor, Garath noticed strange carvings everywhere. He wondered what they meant. They were obviously done by his Kind, perhaps hundreds of years ago. Maybe this was the way history was passed on from generation to generation. The elders were the oldest of his Kind, also the most powerful, and the most knowledgeable. He admitted there was still a lot about his Kind that he didn't know, but he wasn't sure that he really needed that knowledge. He had been on his own since the beginning and had figured out how all his wonderful powers worked. He hadn't even known there were others of his Kind till many, many, many years later. Now he hated the elders, they were always sticking their noses into other people's business. He was sure that's why they had called him, to give him a lecture about how he was acting. But soon, very soon he wouldn't have to listen to them.
A smile trickled across his face, only for a second, and then it was gone. Jacob was turning around a corner. Quickening his step, he also turned the corner and saw a brightly lit throne room.
Entering the room, he had to laugh. The elders thought they were so important, and this only proved his point.
The throne room was oval. Every elder was sitting on a throne that represented his or her crest. His back, no matter where he turned it, was facing an elder.
"Welcome Garath." Boomed the oldest, strongest elder Hayer. He sat on a throne that was covered in pure gold and had carvings of the sun all over it. Hayer was the first and oldest elder. He also had the most power and authority.
Garath turned to face Hayer and smiled, "Thanks for sending this worm to escort me here."
"He is not a worm." Kira, a female elder growled. Garath turned to face her and noticed that she was sitting on a silver throne. She was the next most powerful. Her crest was of a diamond and her whole throne was covered with the sparkling stone.
"Of course he's not." Garath said and turned and looked at her. She was beautiful. If she weren't an elder, Garath would have tried to make the moves on her. She had rich thick red hair, and wore an emerald dress. Her whole being always took his breath away.
"You are looking nice Kira." He said and purred at her.
"You will call her honourable Kira." Brut snapped. Brut was the next elder in the power order. He was a fat bald elder. But he was powerful. He was known for snapping their Kind like twigs. He sat on a ruby throne; his crest was of course blood. It was a good bloodline to be from.
"Enough!" Hayer snapped. Garath turned and looked at him. Hayer gave the presence of a wise elder. He had a grey beard that reached his chest and always wore yellow robes. His grey eyes were narrowed and he was glaring at Garath.
"We have called you here because of your actions. I don't need to hear another remark from you Garath!" Hayer waved his hand towards Leift, the next elder in the power chain. Leift was the youngest elder, but because he came from a strong bloodline, he was given the status of being an elder. Leift sat on an oak throne. His roots were from the oldest continent Africa, and he was nothing but close to nature. He had dark chocolate skin and wore multi-colour robes. His house symbol was the trees, which represented the wilderness of the harsh continent.
"Good evening Garath. Since we are from the same bloodline, it is I, who will direct you." Leift said.
Garath smirked at Leift. They were from the same bloodline, but that was the closest either of them were to each other. Garath was a pale white and Leift was a dark chocolate colour. Leift was from Africa, Garath was from Iceland. Only their makers had had the same bloodline. But that's how his Kind worked; the makers connected them to their bloodline.
"We have called you here today because we have heard talk from the outside. It seems you are not obeying the code, the code for our Kind. It also seems that you are just preying on the innocent, especially the women. We have also heard talk that you have even made some of our Kind."
"Yes, we would like to hear this." Trinya said. She was the next elder in line and could hold her own with even Hayer. She was known for her skill of words and memory. A crystal crown held her blonde hair back. Her thrown in fact was made from shining crystal. She was a tiny woman and sat perched on the throne with her tiny feet dangling. Her crest was that of water. Probably one of the strongest bloodlines.
Garath turned and looked at her. "Honourable Trinya, yes it is true. I have made one of our Kind. But only because I smelt her bloodline and I know that she is related to some of our Kind." He smiled at her. "I suppose I wanted to try out this power we are forbidden to use and see if I worked." He laughed, it had a hollow sound in this oval room. "Anyways it worked."
Hayer stood and thundered. The sound of it echoed throughout the whole room and the force brought Garath to his knees. Growling back Garath quickly rose to his feet.
Hayer glared at Garath, and Garath heard him in his mind. Do you not think we know what your plans are? Do you not think that we can't read your thoughts? Get out of my sight now, while you still have your
life. Garath then felt a mental shove and he was losing his balance and falling on the marble floor.
"Leave." The elders chanted at him. "Leave, while we spare you your life."
Scrabbling to his feet, he turned and glared at each of them. "I will remember this." He spat out. Turning he marched out of the throne room and back up the corridor that he had come from. He hadn't faced all the elders, about three or four of them hadn't been present, but the five he had faced had been far more powerful then he. They had pushed him around like nothing.
"This is your first and only warning." Leift whispered in his mind. "We will be watching you, and then we will come for you." Again another mental push, Garath fell to his knees and cursed as he felt the blood pouring from the cuts.
Pushing himself to his feet, he roared in anger. Roaring, he ran down the corridor and back to the stairs. He couldn't wait till he got his vengeance. He didn't care that they could read his mind and knew what his plans were. Big deal, he was from the bloodline of the wilderness of Africa, he knew many voodoo spells and powerful potions. The elders would get theirs soon.
Reaching the upper level, he stormed into the lounge area. The instant he roared into the bar, everyone stopped talking and stared at him. Garath stared back and dared one of them to say something to him. He needed someone to unleash his anger on. Not one of his Kind said anything, they all turned away and appeared not to notice him.
Leave Garath. Kira whispered into his mind. If you want your life, you will leave now and never return to any of our lounges. You are unwanted and on your own. We will be
watching. Garath shivered and felt the mental push, but this time, it pushed him until he was out of the building, and into the dark night sky.
Don't ever come back, or you won't leave. Kira whispered in his mind, and then she
laughed; it had an eerie feel to it.
Outside, Garath turned and ran up the street. He wasn't sure how far they could reach into his mind, but he was tired of them pushing him and shoving him places. He needed to feed, and express his rage.
His run quickly turned into a gallop and he was racing across the industrial area into the business district. He needed to feed. The elders had not only bruised his ego but also his power. He was not up to his full strength.
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