Chapter 76: Chapter Seventy-six: Damien’s Story XVI: Kidnapping the prince.
Mira gaped at her son who sounded so different. Something or someone was clearly speaking through him. She had barely noticed anything odd about him since they reunited a few hours ago. Dawn was already breaking slowly and very soon, her husband will return.
Oh...her poor husband.
He would he completely heartbroken to find out Damien was possessed too.
But wait. She never heard of her father being indebted to someone so why did she have to pay for it?!
"Who—what are you?" Mira asked in a hoarse voice, still crawling backwards cautiously. Damien stopped moving at her question and just looked down at her. A slow, creepy smile crept up his lips, unnerving her totally.
Then, out of the misty darkness, a small figure stumbled toward her.
"...Damien?"
Her voice cracked, trembling with disbelief.
The boy stood still...unnaturally still. His small frame was hunched forward slightly, his pale skin dimly lit by the lamps. But his eyes, those bright, innocent eyes, were gone. In their place were swirling orbs of red and black, twisting like storms of hatred.
"Damien?" she called again, stepping closer despite the chilling look he gave her. "Sweetheart, it’s me."
The boy didn’t move. His lips twitched once. And then, his body jerked violently backward like a puppet pulled by invisible strings. Mira gasped, her hands covering her mouth as her eyes lifted...
And saw him.
Cassian stood behind Damien. Or at least, what looked like Cassian. But his face was pale and his once-bright, saucer eyes glowed with an unholy golden light. His expression was far from his own. What had her children become all of a sudden?!
The words struck her chest like lightning.
"You... Cassian..." she whispered, horrified. "You’re not my son."
"No," the thing inside Cassian answered calmly. "I am the witch you tried so hard to forget. The one your father robbed of her last gift."
Mira froze. Her mind spun like wool. What is this person even talking about?
The witch smiled through Cassian’s face, a smile that did not belong to a child. "Do you remember the potion, Mira? The one your father brewed to hide your hair color? That silvery mark of your impurity? Do you know what he used to make it?"
Mira’s breath hitched. "No..."
"Oh, but you do," the witch hissed, stepping forward. Her voice grew louder, shaking the walls. "He used the ashes of my mother! The last memory I had of her! He stole her remains and turned her soul into an illusion to make you look normal like the rest of you pure blooded witches!" she spat out.
Mira stumbled back. "That’s not true. My father would never—"
"Your father," the witch interrupted sharply, "was desperate. He wanted a daughter worthy of the elders’ eye. But what he created was a fraud. And now..." she smiled wickedly, "...I have come to collect the debt."
The burning, golden lamps flared and the room turned red instantly. Mira looked out the window only to see the sky turned red. This...this was a blood moon. But how...?
Mira reached for Damien. "Let him go, you witch! Whatever quarrel you have with me or my father, take it out on me! Leave my children out of this!"
The witch laughed. It was the kind of laugh that made the bones in Mira’s body turn cold.
"Oh, Mirenelle was it? Don’t you know? I can’t curse you. Pure blood burns the curse before it lands and it backfires to whoever issued it. But him..."
Her golden eyes turned to Damien, who now trembled where he stood, frozen by invisible force.
"He is a complete royal unlike his brother who holds jealousy and whatnot in his heart, he’s as pure as a dove. It was so easy to possess this one." she said, pointing at the body she was in. " He holds such a deep envy for him you know."
The witch cackled out and stretched out her hand.
"...and that makes him the perfect vessel."
"No!" Mira screamed.
But the witch had already raised Cassian’s hand.
"There’s no use, queen. He had already inhaled much of my poison while running away from his dear brother." she said menacingly.
She grinned again. "As for the bruises...those were just a bonus."
Damien’s body was lifted into the air, his small legs dangling helplessly as his mouth opened in a silent scream. Black, thick lines appeared on his cheeks down to his entire body. The witch’s hand glowed with black fire, and darkness began to form around them. The blood moon outside glowed fully, seeping into the room as if being summoned. She was summoning the power of the queen of heaven. The very keeper of the moon!
"I curse you," she said, her voice deepening, echoing through the room, "with the vilest of all blood — the blood that devours gods and burns the world."
Black smoke poured out of Cassian’s mouth, thick and gummy like tar. It slithered through the air like living serpents before forcing its way into Damien’s eyes. He shrieked — a raw, terrible sound that shattered Mira’s heart. His little hands clawed at the air, his body convulsing violently as the curse rooted itself deep within him.
"Stop it! Please, stop it!" Mira screamed, running forward but the power radiating from the curse threw her back against the wall.
When the last of the curse left Cassian’s mouth, his body went limp. The witch inside him smiled faintly through his pale face — and then her own form began to dissolve.
"No one can survive the calling of a witch’s soul," she whispered, her fading eyes locked on Mira’s. "Your son’s blood will never be pure again. Dragon’s blood will hunt him. And through him... the world will burn because of you!"
With that, she vanished completely, leaving in Cassian’s body still but with Damien’s flung aside like rotten eggs.
Mira rushed to Damien’s side. He lay motionless, his tiny frame shaking as his body fought the infection of the curse. The mark on his back throbbed with a crimson light, spreading thin and dark veins across his skin.
"No...no, no, no!" Mira cried, flipping Jim over and pressing her hand against his chest. His heart was still beating — barely. "You’ll be fine, my love. You’ll be fine." She said but deep down she knew that was just a lie. The worse of the very worst had just happened and there was literally nothing to be done about it. That evil woman had indeed cursed him with dragon’s blood and had used soul magic!
Her mind flashed back to the time she found him alone in that meadow after Severin had taken her there.
Mira’s head reeled in suspense as she retraced her steps. Damien’s body had been covered in bruises and marks when she had seen him. Those marks...
She looked down at his body again. They were still there! Those should have healed up long ago...
That cursed witch! She must have already begun her plan right from then.
Any witch, no matter what blood they possessed had the ultimate one chance to issue a curse on anyone if and only if they used a great amount of their soul energy.
No witch could survive the process. The technique itself was forbidden in their village. No doubt, she was an evil witch.
She pulled him close, sobbing, her tears dripping onto his face. "Please, don’t leave me, Damien... oh my poor child! I’m so sorry..."
The sun had not yet risen. Dawn lounged around gray and heavy. Mira looked toward the window, her mind racing. She had to act fast. Really fast. If just an ear found out he’s corrupted... they’ll kill him.
Mira knew the consequences of what had just happened. His blood was now corrupted. With dragon blood for that matter. She had to get him out.
She had no choice.
By the time the first light touched the sky, Mira had tied Damien tightly to her back with a long wrapper. His breathing was faint but steady. She used a big cloak to hide her face and a smaller one for his to block them from prying eyes. Once she was set, she slipped through the halls of the sleeping palace. She had already clothed him in the commonest clothes she could find in his closet to cover his back.
At that moment, rational thoughts were far away from her. She had already lost one child. She wasn’t going to lose hope on the other. There had to be a way.
The guards were few at that hour so she crept past them with the silent grace of a shadow, her bare feet making no sound.
When she reached the back gates, she exhaled shakily and leapt. Her magic had fully recovered and she used every ounce of her power to scale the high stone wall and land on the other side.
Once on the other side, she ran like nuts.The streets were already waking and the very few merchants were setting up stalls while the women swept the front of their homes. Mira kept her head low, blending into the thin crowd.
Every step she took was filled with dread. She could hear her own heart pounding in her ears.
Just a little farther. Just a little more.
Her destination was a small cottage on the edge of the town. It was the home of an old witch she once helped. There was a woman she had helped in the past who was one of the witches in her village that frequented the human world to help cure diseases. She lived in the outskirts of town which was a few hours journey from the palace. Mira didn’t care one bit. She had to save her child at all cost. Surely the woman would help her now.
But fate always, always, had other plans.
Mira turned the corner, without pausing and a carriage came hurtling into her from nowhere.
The wooden wheel slammed into her side, sending her crashing to the ground. Her head hit the cobblestone with a dull crack.
"Ah!" she cried out, dazed.
The bundle on her back rolled free — and hit the ground with a small thud.
Damien tumbled out, his small hand reaching instinctively toward her. His face turned, and for one horrifying second, the sunlight hit the dragon mark on his chest.
A woman who held a basket of secondhand clothes instantly recognized him and screamed. "The prince! That’s the prince!"
Mira’s heart stopped.
Dozens of eyes turned and whispers erupted like wildfire.
"It’s the prince!"
"Who’s that woman?"
"Is she kidnapping him?"
"No, wait—" Mira started, but a strong hand seized her arm.
"You dare kidnap the prince?!" a man roared, throwing her to the ground. Mira struggled to maintain the hood covering her face. Is she was revealed, it would bring a horrible shame on her husband and that was the last thing she could ever want.
The people crowded around her like vultures, shouting accusations and hurling curses. Someone struck her across the face and some others kicked her ribs. The royal family were generous and benevolent, always looking out for the well-being of the people. And someone had dared devise hurt against one of them? They weren’t going to take that.
Mira tried to shield Damien, crawling toward him. "Please, he’s my son—"
"Silence!"
"How dare you filthy thief claim the prince?!"
Her voice was drowned by the chaos.
One man ran off toward the castle. "Fetch the guards! Fetch the King! He must hear of this!"
By the time they dragged her through the streets, blood was dripping down her arms. Her hood had was the only piece of clothing that hadn’t been torn away, and her once-bright shoes were caked with dust and sand. But still, she held Damien close to her chest, refusing to let go no matter how much they hit her.
Elsewhere in the castle, the sound of iron scraping against stone echoed through the dungeons.
Alex sat at the corner, watching the half-conscious King Xeranthis. His gloved hand was stained red with blood and he threw it at his face in disgust.
They had tortured him all night. "You’re quite a tough nut aren’t you?" Alex said, walking with measured steps towards him.
Xeranthis whimpered. His once-proud face was swollen beyond recognition.
"Please... I’ve told you everything— I’ll never touch your wife again!"
Alex’s knife slammed into the table beside his hand and Xeranthis jumped in fright. He sat stark naked before the king with the chains still tight around his ankles and wrists.
"Please—please have mercy."
Alex smirked evilly at him. He could never let his gentle wife see such absurd sight so he had sent him to the dungeon where he could properly let out his and her anger.
Before he could continue, the heavy door burst open.
"Your Majesty!" one of the guards of the dungeon burst in breathlessly. A maid had come to inform him on the present situation. "Your presence is greatly needed — at once!"
Alex turned slowly, his expression twisting into an unreadable one. He dropped the knife into the bowl and splashed it with the knife all over Xeranthis. He turned to Ezra who was standing beside him the whole time.
"Dump his dead corpse back into the kingdom by dusk." he said languidly, wiping his unstained hands with an handkerchief.
He turned towards the guard, slipping on his long coat that almost brushed the floor. "This better be important."
"It’s urgent, sire. It concerns the prince."
The world seemed to tilt. Alex’s frown deepened "What about him?"
"It’s best if you see for yourself, my Lord." the guard said with a bow.
By the time Alex reached the front courtyard, an angey crowd had already gathered. Hundreds of them, some with cutlasses and others with sharp shards banged at the gate in angry protest as the guards struggled to keep order without hurting the people.
In the middle of it all, a woman knelt. Her body was covered in blood and dirt. Her hair was tangled in front of her hidden face.
At her chest, unconscious but alive, was Damien, wrapped to the point where his entire body was invisible.
"Your Majesty," one of the guards said, bowing. "We found her attempting to flee the city with the prince. She refused to let him go."
Alex’s boots crunched against the gravel as he stepped forward. "How had a commoner managed to steal the prince? Where were the guards who were charged with his protection?!" Alex barked out.
He turned to the woman. "Raise her head," he commanded.
The guard obeyed, yanking her hair back roughly.
At that moment, the world stopped.
Mira’s face turned upward, her eyes meeting his. Her bruised, swollen, and battered face came into view but it was unmistakably hers.
Alex froze, his breath caught in his throat.
"Mi... Mira?"