Vilmo's Wrath: Deglon Blood (16 page)

“Alright, you two are going to crush her before I have the chance to show her I am worth having around,” Zen says.

Mia pulls from Mike and Rocco and wraps her arms around Zen’s waist.

“You have already shown me that.”

“
D
id you kill her?”

“No Father. She got away,”

“How? How do you seem to fail in killing her? I think you feel something for her. Do you forget where I found you, Aria? They threw you away. They didn’t want you, only their precious Nora! I saved you. It was me that loved you. Have you forgotten that?”

“No Father. I have not forgotten all that you have sacrificed for me. I can assure you I feel nothing for her or any of them.”

“Good, because now is your time, my sweet Aria. The babies have been born. You will be a mother soon. Which child have you chosen?”

“I want them both, Father.”

“No! Just one, the other must die. They are too strong together. The power from one will last me an eternity”

“Yes, Father. I am sorry,” Aria says looking to the floor.

For as long as she can remember, Dumont has forced her to expel all emotional attachment to anyone or anything except him. Even going as far as pulling small bits of emotion from her when she was a child. At times she believes she can only feel what Dumont allows her to feel (only hate). With each aging year, Aria finds herself angrier and filled with more hate for everything and everyone but Dumont.

Buried deep within her, Aria hides a secret from Dumont. The unrevealed joy that she has recently grown fond of. With every kill or torture, Aria embraces the comfort of the emotions that uncontrollably flows from each of the victims.  Empowered by each fallen tear and every scream, she takes her time with each kill.

Walking to the basement to give the prisoners their daily meal, she hears the boy scream her name. When Aria arrives, he sits perfectly still glaring at her. His mother hovers over him crying.

“Please forgive his outburst he didn’t mean it,” the woman begs.

“What is wrong with you?” Aria asks him.

He stands and looks Aria in the eyes. His dominating posture and glowing eyes make her smile.
A brave boy for only nineteen,
she thinks.

“You were supposed to feed us hours ago,” he says.

Aria laughs. She tosses the trays into the trash and strikes the boy across the mouth. As if barely fazed by her blow, he gets to his feet and smirks wiping the blood from his mouth.

“Aria, please stop! Leave him be! He is just a boy!” Trouse screams from his cell.

Aria looks at the young man intensely.

“Oh—I like him. I think I’ll keep him. I will let him live. You have raised a hell of a Vilmo, Trouse. He will be mine. He and I will be one when he is of age,” she says. “What is his name, Trouse?”

“My father does not have to speak for me!” the boy says.

“Okay. What is your name?”

He spits in her face. Aria strikes him a second time, he laughs.

“Blake, my name is Blake. No one will ever love you. I will never be yours.”

His words sting more than any words have.
He will learn to love me or he will die.
She pulls her sword from her waist. Trouse drops to his knees and begs for mercy. Blake stands to his feet and glares at Aria with burning fury in his eyes.

Blake does not flinch as Aria approaches him. For a long moment, the two stare at each other. Blake’s expression is full of anger and Aria’s filled with fascination. She blows him a kiss and quickly removes his mother’s head. The moment the head falls from her shoulders, a crippling pain pervades Blake’s body and his legs buckle, dropping him to his knees, yet his fury-filled eyes stay locked on Aria’s eyes and hers on his. A terrifying strength fills the softness of his brown eyes. The cold stare gives an unspoken promise to kill Aria. Aria overlooks the hate in his eyes and makes a promise as well.
I will change your hate into love for me. You will be mine,
she says to herself as she walks out of the room.

“Get rid of the woman’s body, place Trouse in the cell next door and bring the boy something to eat. Something good, like a steak or something,” she tells the Shadow guards.

Aria thinks of Blake all the time, imagining their life with their new baby. The feeling she has overwhelms her so much that at times she forgets that Blake hates her.

“I will go see him today,” she mumbles.

Although she’s walked those steps, to this basement a thousand times, this time makes her nervous to see the bottom of the stairs. Every step weakens her knees, and for the first time she cares about her appearance. Just before making it halfway down the stairwell, she turns around and races to her room. She fixes her hair, puts on her prettiest dress, and even brightens her lips with lip gloss.

Aria’s next trip down the basement stairwell is more terrifying than the last. Her armpits sweat and her heart races. When she unlocks his door, Blake sits in a corner with his head up against the wall and his knees tucked in his arms. He looks up at her and laughs. Aria cringes with annoyance but quickly hides her anger, for she needs him to like her. She gives him an awkward smile.

“Hi, Blake.”

He scowls at her and turns away. His hate for her, burns. For the first time in her life, Aria felt a hint of regret. She silently cursed herself for killing his mother.

“Did you like the meals I sent to you?”

Blake smiles and nods toward the last three days’ worth of food sitting across the room. Some splattered on the walls and the rest filled with dirt on the floor.

“You haven’t eaten in three days? Blake, you have to eat or you will wither away and die.”

“Isn’t that your plan? You are going to kill me eventually anyway. I’ve just sped up the process,” he says.

“I told you. You will live. We will…”

“I would rather you kill me, then make me live a moment as your pet. I will never love you!” he interrupts.

“You will eat everything I send or I will kill your father as well!” Aria shouts.

She races out of his cell and up to her room. Her heart hurts. She’s never felt so awful in her life. Pain radiates through her so fast that she can barely breathe and tears flood her eyes. No one has ever made her cry. She hates how she feels and more than that she hates Blake for making her feel so bad about herself.

Aria and Dumont sit in silence as they eat. Over the last few weeks, they have hunted non-stop for Nora and her family, and each day Dumont gets more impatient with Aria. She hates disappointing him, but Robbie has hidden his family well, not even she can get into Nora’s head anymore.

“Aria, do you have news for me?”

“Yes, Father. We found six more families. I took care of them for you.”

“And your sister?”

“Nothing yet, Robbie …”

“Why do I get the feeling something else has preoccupied your mind? You need to focus, Aria. Find them before it is too late!”

“Yes, Father,” Aria says, leaving the table.

Aria sits quietly in her room.
He is right, I need to focus harder, but all I can think about is stupid Blake. I have to kill him. That is the only way.

Each time she passes the door to the basement stairs, she stops, swearing she will kill Blake for making her feel so bad, but as soon as she opens the door, she slams it shut and leaves like a coward.

After about three weeks, Aria no longer wants Blake dead. She only wants him to fear her more than he’s feared anyone in his life.

“Today will not be one of those days that I run away. Today he will fear me,” she says as she stares at the basement door.

She walks down the stairs full of confidence, her fangs shined and her eyes glowed as she approached his door. Although she planned to make Blake piss his pants in fear, she still fixes her hair and puts on lip gloss before opening the door.

Today Blake draws in the dirt with his fingers. He quickly slides his hands across his picture, messing it up before Aria has a chance to see what he drew. One look at him and it is she that is frightened. She wants to get close to him, but his every stare pushes her away.

“I—I just wanted to see how you are doing.”

He looks up at her and turns away.

“You like to draw? Maybe I can bring you some paper and chalk.”

He turns and stares at her blankly, then faces the wall again.

“Why would you do that?” he asks.

“I like to draw too. I know what it is like to have an image in your head. The need to see it on paper is painful when you have no way to make it happen,” she tells him.

He turns to her and gives her his best fake smile. Her eyes widen, she’s never seen such beauty.

“I can return tonight, maybe show you some of my drawings. If you like?”

Blake nods and smiles again, this time looking deep into her eyes. Aria leaves the room with a warm feeling. Within Blake’s smile, her view on life becomes filled with possibilities. The hole in her heart feels less empty.

That evening, just as most evenings Aria and Dumont have supper quietly.

“You’ve grown fond of that boy, haven’t you?” her father asks.

“What boy, Father?”

“Aria don’t lie. It makes you ugly, and you my dear are too beautiful to be a liar, especially to me,” he says gazing at her.