The Forgotten Prophecy: Episode 5 (July 21st, 2702)

“Search the area!” Juleus was furious when he found pieces of Yahktarin all over an apartment flat. The place had recently been on fire and then decorated with the entrails of his late bodyguard. One of his other bodyguards approached him with a broken phone in his hand. “That’s my brother’s... that’s Gallus’s.” Juleus hesitated when he picked up the broken pieces. He couldn’t imagine what could have happened here but there was still no sign of a second body. There was still hope. “There are two levels of entry into this flat that doesn’t include the actual door,” said another bodyguard, one who used to be a cop in her previous life. She was a brunette with short hair from Belgium and only a few years older than Juleus. “But are they both entries? One has to be an exit.” “From what I can tell, the actual entry into the flat was via the bedroom. There seems to have been a brawl in the living room and a big fight in the bathroom where the other entry, or what I believe to be the exit, is.” She pointed towards the bathroom where all of them directed their attention.

Juleus was kneeling beside the head of Yahktarin that was horribly pulled off from his body. He wasn’t feeling well but it wasn’t queasiness. There were terrible things happening and he wasn’t getting a good vibe from any of it. His family, mainly his father, could fix most problems with ease but this was proving to be a difficult task. Whoever they were facing was powerful. “Are you sure you don’t want to call it in, sir?” “We’re fourteen Demigods.” Juleus grabbed his knees to support himself as he stood up. “If we involve my father this situation will only worsen.” “What do you suggest we do then? Keep tracking your brother?” “We need to assess the situation first. How long ago do you think this happened, because we were only minutes behind them.” “Well,” the Demigod looked around, “the charring in the area suggests your brother was trying to take control of the stage. His immunity against fire will have allowed him to greatly unbalance the fight in his favor.” “Can you tell me anything about the person he was fighting?” “Only that he was powerful, judging from the spectacle and the fact that Gallus had to go through a great measure to try and win the fight.” Her gaze fell upon the many pieces of Yahktarin. Another Demigod lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Ok.” Juleus was almost at a loss for words.

Another one of Juleus’ bodyguards came jumping in from the bedroom hole, a middle-aged man from Denmark. “I found a second body,” everyone suddenly walked towards him in a hurry but he raised his hands to stop them. “It isn’t Gallus.” “Who is it?” “John Doe. No ID on the body but I can guarantee that he wasn’t a Demigod.” “How so?” “Bite marks on the neck and you won’t believe me when I say this but I think it was a vampire.” Everyone looked at each other for answers. Being a Demigod was one thing but hearing about vampires was still quite outlandish to them. “Show me.”

Juleus and his guards leaped out of the hole and were led towards a green dumpster. His Danish bodyguard opened the lid and pointed at the body inside. Almost everyone put a hand over their mouths when a bad odor began to linger. “Take the body out. We need to examine this further.” Once the body had been carefully placed on the ground the Demigods began to study the wounds. The former cop leaned in closer and began to point out sections of the bite mark. “I can’t believe I’m going to be saying this but from what I know of vampire lore is that they pierce the skin with their extended canine teeth and suck then suck the blood...” Juleus nodded for the rest of the group. “This, however, is a full-on bite but we can still see the canine teeth have a larger diameter where it has pierced. A regular canine tooth would not be able to pierce through the skin like this one has.” “So we’re just looking at someone with modified teeth?” “No sir, because there has been suction.” She started pointing where the skin had become drier and tighter around the bite mark. “This is the first time I’m seeing this.” She stood up and played with the waist of her pants. “If we had to go out on a limb and say that we live in a supernatural world then this is probably the definition of a real-life vampire bite.”

Juleus sent two of his guards to take the body back to the fort while the rest of them continued their search for Gallus. Juleus, like his father, kept his arms folded behind him as he walked and pondered the events of the day. He suddenly picked up on the curious footsteps of one of his guard’s. “What is it Jana?” he asked before she could say a word. The former cop jogged to his side and smiled. “Sir, I know we’re searching for your brother and the mood may not be right but aren’t you just a little excited that we found out vampires exist?” she smiled, trying to crack through his worry. Juleus thought about it for a second and hesitantly nodded. “We still found out many things about ourselves as a race... I guess running into yet another is quite exciting...” “But?” “The one race we already knew has turned into our enemy. And now I guess we’ve found out there’s a third race out there, a race that has already attacked us and innocents, a race that is in search for something. If these people really are vampires... they are not our supernatural allies.” The rest of his guards were listening in on the conversation and most of them murmured in agreement. “Alright, pick up the pace now. Gallus needs us!”

Back in the fortress, Arcadeus had taken a seat beside Marceus’ side in the hospital wing. It hurt to see his son in this position. One would think it an impossible task to lay harm upon a Demigod but they all had their weaknesses. It was up to them to protect that weakness. For some it was a flaw in their powers, for others it was the character. As he sat there thinking of a million ways to cause harm upon those who hurt his family, Arcadeus silently vowed to himself to protect any weakness he had. Each loss in his family greatly hurt him. He needed to turn that pain into fuel. A fuel to use against his enemies and burn them for eternity.

Arcadeus was so deep in thought, even while looking straight at Marceus, that he had not yet realized his son had woken up and was staring at him. “Father?” Marceus’ voice was as frail as a child’s. He could not raise it higher, nor could he say more than a word at a time. His entire torso was still a mess inside. He was a dead man holding on to life by mere strings. Arcadeus leaned in and held Marceus’ hands between his. “You are healing. You must rest.” “St...” Marceus tried to talk but cringed in pain. “What is it?” Marceus looked at the ceiling and tears began to stream down his face. His lips went loose as he clenched his teeth, trying to hold them back. There was a silent cry as Arcadeus watched. His son was in pain and it tormented him. He suddenly felt hollow as he watched his son tried to cry. There was no sound to his sorrows. Arcadeus stood up and cradled Marceus’ head in his arms. “What is it, son? Tell me, I beg you.” “St...St...” Marceus’s eyes began to roll upwards. “No...NO! BRING IN THE DOCTORS!”

White coats rushed in to sedate Marceus and began the healing procedures. “He’s gotten too weak. Sir, we can’t save him!” cried one of the healers. “You will do everything in your power to save him!” Arcadeus bellowed. He approached his son once more after having to give space to the doctors. “Look at me, son. Look at me. What is it you were trying to say? I need to know. I need to make this right.” Marceus’ eyes rolled down but only for a brief moment as they slowly rolled back up. “Marceus Mara! Marceus Mara! TELL... ME... TELL... ME!!!” Arcadeus slammed his fist onto Marceus’ chest and pumped a bright light of energy into him.

The whole room was in awe as to what had happened. Arcadeus had not planned it. It was simply a reflex action of some sort. But whatever happened gave Marceus enough energy to sit up. He flexed his muscles and looked at his hands in disbelief. He then turned his gaze to his father who had done the same. “Son?” “Father?” “Are you ok?” “I am...” “What were you going to say to me?” Marceus had only a short time to smile before he was reminded of what he was trying to say just a while ago. Fear struck him and everyone saw it. “We have to get Gallus and Juleus back here at once.” “Why?” “Because the man I fought wasn’t a Demigod. Father... he was strong... godly strong...”