Chapter 8

Liam found himself standing in a dark alleyway, unable to move his body or make a sound. He knew right away he was stuck in another dream hell. This time he was someone he didn’t recognize, he was a much taller male. 

Looking around, he seemed to be far in the past. He didn’t see a single lightbulb. Instead, the street at the end of the alley was dimly lit by candle light, and the road itself was made of cobblestone. Everything around them seemed dark and grimy, even for night time. The air was damp and thick with smog. His eyes and throat burned but there was nothing he could do to clear it, for the owner of this body must be long used to the sting of the air. 

They hadn’t been standing there long when a small man approached him. His eyes seemed to glow a faint reddish purple as he stared up at the shadowing man. 

“Are you the man who has sought me, sir?” The meek man asked, obviously nervous.

“That would be aye,” replied the man's body he was observing from. 

“I was told you wanted to find a powerful vampyre, sir.”

“That would be correct.”

“The strongest one of our clan would be Terrice, sir. H-he is often found lurking in the pub down yonder. He hangs there most nights looking for easy prey.”

“What does he look like?” The man demanded.

The small vampyre shuddered, unable to withstand the pressure bearing down on him. “Terrice is a t-tall man with long, straight white hair. His eyes are a d-deep red that glow intensely. S-someone of your stature s-surly couldn’t mistake him at first glance.”

“Is that all?”

“That is a-all I know, sir. I am far too low in the clan to speak with him myself. J-just being in the same room as him would drop m-me to the floor. I dare not approach someone as powerful as him.”

The body Liam was harboring stepped closer to the little vampyre, “are you saying I am someone that lacks power?” Liam felt his blood start to boil, the buzz of mana growing stronger as it flowed wildly throughout his body. 

“No, no, no, sir I-I didn’t mean that at all,” he stammered, shrieking back against the wall, hands raised in defense.

Suddenly, Liam felt his hand shoot forward, grasping the small neck in his hand. A gasp of air escaped from the defenseless vampyre as his back slammed against the wall. 

“S-si..si-sir, please. I… d-didn’t,” he tried to spit out, unable to breathe, feet kicking in the air. Liam’s heart sank, unable to help this poor vampyre as he watched him fight for his life. 

Just as the small vampyre’s struggles started to grow weak, he was dropped to the ground. The body he was in no control of plucked a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his hands,  then discarded it on the collapsed body on the ground. 

“Next time, be careful of your words. Weaklings like yourself have only one place in this world. That place is below the feet of the ones in power. I suggest you never forget that, lest you lose your life next time.” 

Suddenly, they were pushing open the door to a dimly lit pub. A roaring fireplace on the far side of the room took the chill out of the air. Each small wooden table had a candle at its center, giving the room a warm orange glow. Seated at the bar, just like the vampyre had said, was a tall man, pin straight white hair, clear to his lower back. 

“Whiskey, if you would, kind sir,” the man said as he approached the bar, choosing a stool two down from Terrice. 

“Coming right up,” the bartender replied, already reaching for a glass from the back counter. 

He sat in silence as he waited for his drink, pretending not to notice the man next to him. Once his drink arrived, he sipped it coolly, reading the labels of the bottles across from him. The warm light bouncing their deep colors off the mirror behind them. In his peripheral, he could see that he'd caught Terrices's eye. Again, he pretended not to notice. 

“Haven't seen you here before,” said the smooth voice to his left. 

Finally, he said something to me first,  he thought to himself, fighting the urge to smirk in delight. This is going to be too easy. All I have to do now is play the part. 

“Ah, yes. I was told this was where I could find the best Whiskey in town. It doesn't seem to be disappointing me either. It's going down like butter,” he replied coyly, extending his hand. “Ezra, sir. Ezra Solace.”

Terrice took a moment to stare him up and down before shaking his hand and saying, “Terrice. Terrice Bentley.” His grip was firm but gentle. It was easy to tell he was withholding his strength in that shake. He could probably crush his hand in an instant if he wanted to. 

Next thing he knew they were being pushed down onto a bed. Terrice’s shirt was already off when he leaned down to kiss Ezra deeply before laying them both down onto the bed. 

When he opened his eyes it was already morning, but in a different room. He rolled over to see Terrice sound asleep. Ezra reached forward brushing Terrice’s hair away from his face. The touch was just enough to wake him, or he was already awake. Either way, staring into those deep red eyes reminded Liam of Arthur. They had many of the same features, although Terrice had a much larger build. 

“What’s on your mind, my dear?” Terrice asked in his velvety voice.

“I was just thinking how I wish I could live as long as you. The time I can spend with you just never feels like enough.” His honey soaked words slipped off his silver tongue with ease. Liam could feel that he was lying through his teeth. He wished that he could scream and tell Terrice the truth. This man didn’t have a considerate bone in his body. Everything he spooled was self serving.

“Mmm, there is a way but I wouldn’t dare ask that of you,” Terrice replied earnestly.

“There is? How? I would give anything to stay by your side forever,” Ezra pleaded.

“I could turn you into a beast like me. It would be incredibly painful. Your body will die. Your heart will stop. The change from human to beast will rip your soul and mind apart. You may not want to live anymore once you change,” Terrice explained coldly. 

“The pain would be worth it if only we wouldn't have to separate one day,” Ezra dissimulated. “Please, Terrice, my love. Can’t we be together forever?”

Terrice laid quiet for a moment. “I do. I do wish we could be together forever. The thought has crossed my mind many times,” Terrice admitted, reaching to hold Ezras hands in his own. “Are you truly sure of this? There is no going back.”

“Of course, how could I ever want to take it back? You are mine forever,” Ezra soothed. 

The feeling of foreboding engulfed Liam’s heart. He couldn’t shake the feeling that what to come would be terrible. 

Terrice threw himself over Ezra, holding himself up by his elbows. “This is probably going to hurt a lot,” he warned. “This is your last chance to back out.”

“I’m ready Terrice, there is nothing you can do to hurt me that I wouldn’t accept with open arms,” Ezra said confidently, although Liam could feel the shiver running down his spine that said otherwise. 

“If it hurts too much, just hold on to me tightly. I’ll do my best to ease the pain but there is not much I can do,” Terrice assuaged, then he firmly bit down on Ezra’s neck.

Pain. So much pain. Liam felt like his whole body was on fire. His chest seized and his head felt like it was going to split open. He wanted to scream and cry and push Terrice off of him right this instant but he could do nothing. 

He must have blacked out from the pain because Terrice was waking him up. “Ezra, Ezra, I need you to eat. You’ll feel better, please.”

In front of his face was Terrice’s wrist, blood dripping down from the opening he had made for his new fledgling. “Your teeth haven’t grown in yet so you'll have to make do with my arm for now.”

At the sight of blood running down Terrice’s arm, all he could feel from Ezra was thirst. Like this was an oasis in a vast desert that he had been traveling for days. Hours, no, minutes from death. Ezra grasped the extended arm with both hands and sucked down the offering like there was no tomorrow. Slowly, he could feel sanity returning to him. A cool rush ran over his body, dampening the flames running through his blood. 

More, he wanted more. He wanted to get rid of the fire roiling through his body. To clench the endless thirst that he felt. 

“Hey, hey, calm down now. That’s enough. You need to rest. I’ll wake you up again to feed you soon, okay?” Terrice lulled, petting Ezra’s back. “It’s going to be okay.

Liam’s head was spinning. This was pure hell. Is this what Arthur had to go through when he was changed? How he felt when he had nearly starved himself to death? No wonder he had lost control. How the hell did he appear normal when he was suffering like this. This was pure agony. He wanted so badly for this dream to be over. 

Ezra passed out again.

This time, when he came to, Ezra was standing over Terrice. Immense power coursing through his veins, killing intent boiling over, tearing him apart at the seams.

A deep, manic laugh came from Ezra as he towered above him. “You foolish man, how could you have been so blind to my charade?”

“Blind? I was not blind. I have been alive far too long to be fooled by the likes of you. Foolish? Most certainly. I was a fool for being hopeful that deep down you had some ounce of true love for me as I did for you. Was truly none of what we shared real to you? The years we spent together? The time we spent, trading sweet nothings in each other's embrace? You look me in the eyes and tell me you felt not a thing,” Terrice grilled, tears welling up in his eyes. 

Ezra's boiling blood flickered with ice, threatening to crumble his resolve. But, that was but for a moment. Just as quickly as it came, it went. Once again, Ezra stood over Terrice with an overwhelming amount of power. The combination of his Golden Eye lineage and his newly found power of the Bently clan was a force to be reckoned with. 

“I feel nothing for you, Terrice. Nothing is going to stand in between me and my journey for power. I guess I should thank you at least,” he smirked, raising his hand to Terrice’s face. “If it wasn’t for you, I would be standing here. So, thank you, My Love.”

And with that, Liam could feel the overwhelming power course to his arm, ready to fire.

“Liam! Liam, wake up! Please!” Arthur pleaded, shaking Liam awake.

Tears poured from Liam’s eyes, his heart pounding out of his chest. His hands, his shoulders, everything was shaking violently. He couldn’t make it stop. Everything hurt. His heart, his soul. He felt so empty. He looked up at Arthur, locking eyes before sobbing uncontrollably.

Heather came sprinting out of her room. “What’s going on?!” She demanded.

“I think he had another one of those dreams from the past,” Arthur explained, curling Liam into his arms, rocking him. “Shhhh, it’s okay. You’re back now. Nothing is going to hurt you. You’re at home. We are in the cottage. It’s me, your mother and you. Just us.” He did his best to calm him down. He could feel Liam gripping the back of his shirt for dear life. Whatever he had seen this time must have been horrid. 

Arthur’s arms rose and fell with the rapid heave of Liam’s chest. “Liam,” Arthur cooed quietly. “Can you hear me? I want you to breathe with me. In,” and Arthur took a dramatic breath in. “Out,” and another dramatic breath, but out this time. He repeated this process for some time until Liam finally calmed down. The grip on Arthurs shirt slowly relaxed and the rise and fall of Liam’s chest slowed. 

“Good, Liam. Welcome back,” Arthur said enthusiastically, stroking his hair. “You’re safe now.”

“I hate him. I hate him,” Liam repeated over and over, face buried in Arthur’s chest, wiping his tears on his shirt.

“Who do you hate?” Arthur asked.

“Ezra, Ezra Solace that fucking bastard.”

Arthur's whole body ran cold. He looked up to Heather. Fear was written plainly across her face. She shook her head and sat down on the floor with them, never breaking eye contact with Arthur.

“Ezra,” Heather squeaked out. “You saw him?”

“I was him. I had to be there. For all of it. That bastard. How could he treat someone who loved him like that? How could he…” But Liam couldn’t get anything else out except more sobs. His heart felt like it was being torn to pieces. He didn’t know how many more of these dreams he could handle. Especially if they were going to be like this. 

“This isn’t good. I don’t like this one bit,” Heather said more to herself than anyone else. “There has to be a reason that that bastard is showing up in your dreams.” She started chewing on her thumbnail. She wanted a cigarette so badly right now but she promised herself that she wasn’t going to smoke anymore for Liam’s sake. 

“What do you mean?” Arthur asked. “I thought the dreams were random and you just learned bits and pieces of your past that way.”

“Well, that’s partially true. Random, not so much. For the Golden Eyes, they frequently have a more predominant meaning. Memories that can help you will normally surface. Whatever the reason is for him learning of Ezra’s past, that’s what terrifies me,” Heather delineated. 

“So you're saying, we might have to deal with Ezra soon?” Arthur asked reluctantly.

“That is indeed why I'm terrified. Everyone calls them dreams but I think of them more like omens. Premonitions. Sometimes they can be just information to help with your state of mind. But this… the only thing I think it's meant to help with is giving us a warning.” Heather let out a long sigh then rested her face in her palms, as if she was trying to keep herself from crying. 

“He doesn't know how to fight, neither do I. If he runs into trouble I have no way to protect him,” she proclaimed, exasperated. She flopped backwards onto the hard wooden floor. “This is just great, what the hell are we going to do?!”

Arthur looked down onto the precious bundle in his arms. He would do anything to protect what he had now. If that meant he had to face Ezra again, he would do it. 

“I'll do it. I can teach, I know how to fight. I'm not great but I know the basics. I can start teaching you and Liam the bits that I know, just in case. And I'll never leave Liam's side, I can promise you that,” Arthur declared.