Waltz of the Damned [Braxton & Nadia]

[Braxton Obscura]

She rose from the grave. He rose from the pit. Together, they’ll bring kingdoms to their knees.

The mortal realm was dreary in comparison; it lacked a certain spark and character that Valtheris mastered and in particular his inherited land of The Vulkan Vale. Many of his people questioned why, after so many years, Braxton continued to hold dealings with mortals and venture into the land of the mundane. He was always so blunt, matter of fact, that he had people to torture and kill, and the fact remained - they resided in the mortal realm as basic humans. Out of his men, Riordan was the loudest, perhaps due to their shared interest in drinking the ale pegs dry, in calling out Braxton for not killing his family and their associates already. The answer was clear, he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, the lingering aroma of fear when he entered the family estate. Of course, he enjoyed the brutality, the slow, torturous art of killing, but prolonging their death even further gave him a kick.

Enyo, his twin sister, sat before the fireplace with a whiskey in hand; the flames dancing within her eyes. “I still don’t understand how you get to go on these trips, do the hunting and killing all the while I sit around playing princess”

Braxton smirked at the pout forming on her lips. “Because you would kill them too quickly and that is not the justice we deserve.” He raised his brows at his sister as the pout of hers grew. “Besides, don’t you have some poor souls to torment alongside The Painsingers?”

Enyo huffed and nodded. He knew her too well.

“Take care of The Vale for me. I won’t be long.” Braxton approached his sister and kissed her forehead in farewell before summing an infernal fire once he had finished conjuring up the ancient rites. A whirlwind of fire enclosed around Braxton, embracing him in a heated embrace and whilst loving, it was short lived and was quite happy to spit Braxton out again.

The demon Lord was welcomed by drizzle, a damp mist clinging upon him as he stood on the darkened streets. The streetlights blinked, struggling to maintain power; if there were any hunters or humans with a keen eye for the supernatural, those damned flickering lights would notify them of his presence. Braxton inhaled the air and turned on his heels as he walked in the direction of Crowthorne Manor; the residence of his Uncle who had somehow managed to profit from the sacrifice. The feeling of being back here did nothing for him, at first, it was a welcoming relief; time away from the fiery lands of The Vulkan Vale and his newfound responsibilities as High Lord. Equally, however, it was a place of huge importance to him; he had lived and flourished as a mortal, but his family robbed him of a rewarding mortal life. But he supposed, through their sacrificial traditions, they gave him something far greater.

The town hall clock tower chimed, indicating midnight and the start of the next day; but for others of the darker species, it was just the beginning of the night. Braxton walked past many bars, many drunken women attempting to cat call him; he was here for one thing only - the torment of his uncle. To remove himself from the eyes of mortals, he turned down a back alley which would soon enough lead him to the outskirts of town.

His form took up the width of the alleyway, menacing and dominating in one; and if one looked close enough, they would have sworn they saw the shadows of his wings against the brick wall. Braxton was pulled from his hunters thoughts as the sound of sharp, high heeled shoes running on concrete echoed around him. He came to a pause, his eyes narrowing as the sound got louder still, indicating they were heading right towards him.

[Nadia Delphi]

Nadia stepped back and turned on her toes and walked towards the bed. ‘Yes! Devia was quite kind. I only not to make her feel uncomfortable about her job. I did reassure her that I would be out of her hair as soon as I figure this shit out with Declan.’ In reality, Nadia was already quite fond of this place. It was new and had a different atmosphere than the mortal realm. Sure, the mortal realm had the most activity but this place wasn’t that far off. Plus, it was charming in it’s own way and frankly, Nadia liked that very much! So, she don’t know when she’d be leaving. Or if she ever would.

She plopped down on the bed before crossing her leg over the other and leaned back, resting her weight on her hands as she watched him with curious yet, delighted eyes. ‘Huh?’ She said as she looked back over her shoulder at the patio doors that were pulled apart, welcoming in warm night into her sleeping chambers. ‘Oh!’ She smiled before looking back at him, ‘I saw. The view is quite breathtaking. You have a beautiful home, Braxton.’ Boy, it was strange calling him that. After she referred to him and his sister as “The Children”. But even then, his human name fit him. But she respected him, and she would refer to him however he’d like.

The room grew quiet for a couple of moments. Nadia had plenty of questions to ask but didn’t know how to ask. And he appeared like he wanted to say more. She watched him sit down and get comfortable on the couch. His arm draped over the back of it and his legs spread. He now took up so much space on that sofa whereas when he was just a teenage boy, he probably would’ve taken up a small space. She then took note of his strong shoulders, his bulging arms, his veiny hands, how his dark shirt brought out the emerald in his eyes. The poor woman didn’t even realize she was staring! Her full lips slightly parted in disbelief… or was it awe? I mean, she’d be fucking lying if she said this boy, man, wasn’t fine as hell! Powerful and all. He’d accomplished so much in the last 20 years. It was impressive and deeply attractive.

i suppose, you in particular have many questions to ask me about this has come to be.

’I do.’ She agreed as she finally blinked those beady eyes away. ‘Only if you’re willing to tell me of course. I won’t pry.’ She raised her hands in objection to reassure him that she wouldn’t overstep if he wouldn’t allow it.

But firstly, don’t take much mind from Enyo.

She knew that he wouldn’t overstep stick up for his sister, and with reason. It wasn’t like Nadine disliked Enyo. And she also did understand that the twins have been through a lot. Their lives were ripped away from them like some kind of animals and now they live out the rest of their days as demons. Nadia was taken aback when Enyo lumped her in with the rest of those dreadful vampires who were just as bad as their parents were. ‘I understand. I don’t blame her for not trusting me. If my family murdered me, I’d think that everyone who they were acquainted with had something to do with it too. I don’t blame her for being cautious.’ A small smile curled up on her features as he assured her that his sister would come around eventually. ‘I only hope to gain her approval. I hate for there to be any kind of tension as for I’m only the guest.’

it grew quiet again. Until she had the gall to ask about his unfortunate demise.

’What happened, Braxton? I mean… I know it’s straightforward and maybe you don’t have to relive your trauma. I just— I guess you were the last person I was expecting to see tonight… when I found out about your deaths… it was through Declan… even he felt remorseful. I tried to contact The Drakes. Send them my condolences and gifts to help ease their pain… they sent all the gifts back. I thought it was odd… I thought that maybe they wanted to heal alone… but Declan had come from a gathering that they had… only to tell me that they were the ones who killed the both of you. I thought he had something to do with it at first but he wasn’t there. And he had no idea… we both had no idea what those people were doing. I promise Braxton, if I had such as suspected something like that, you and Enyo wouldn’t have suffered like that.’ Nadia sighed, ‘10 years after your deaths, your parents invited us back to the Estate. Said that they were going to be celebrating your life and rebirth… Declan and I didn’t show. I knew that if I did go, more blood would’ve been on my hands that night… so, we didn’t go… I never spoke to them again after that last letter they sent.’