Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 555: The end of him

The voices rose before the light like thunder... Like the roaring of a thousand beasts.

But Lauden knew better as even in that dizzied state they kept him in, he remained aware.

Had it not been for the thick, black veil covering his figure, the sight beyond was sure to reflect the standing of hundreds if not thousands of men surrounding him. Did they stand below? Or perhaps above him? That was a hard question to answer.

Though before another thought took over in his mind, one voice rose above the rest, coming and going in waves like the wind flapping the cloak over his head.

"All hail the crown prince, Cedric the third!" one man bellowed as if in Lauden’s head, muting the howling that preceded him.

Only for a second as the men once anew roared to hail the prince as ordered.

"Many of you here haven’t seen the castle in years so, praise the dukes whom you’ve served all this time!" deep and gruff, breaking around the end of each sentence due to the sheer strain he applied on his vocal cords.

"The duke of the cold region stands here before you! Clyde Dofire! Praise his name!"

After earning the reaction the announcer demanded, he moved on, "And now, for the duke of the southern region! Atlas Nordale!"

Yet another, deafening ripple of guttural roars followed, only to die down right as the announcer’s voice ascended into the night, "Last, but not least, give praise to our duke of the hot region! Oliver Nevestorm!"

The scent of burning wood first and aged sweat accompanied the air that carried those words to Lauden’s ears. Pine too, of the same kind that surrounded the rear court of the castle floated around. Nothing sweet or fair could withstand those harsh circumstances.

"To my right! Please give your earnest, most hand-sizzling applause and respect to our great high Generals!"

Once more, the crowd cheered for their names until footsteps pacing against grinding wood came to the vampire’s ears from a distance. Approximately the same distance at which the announcer stood.

"Please stand straight for his highness, coming to you lowly servants in the flesh in order to address you with his own voice!"

That was the last thing the announcer said before the sound of something cutting the air hit the space then... A different, familiar voice trailed behind it all.

"My deepest and most sincere gratitudes to our howler who’s dedicated the life of his vocal cords to serving my family! My land! His country!" Cedric finished on a low note, but then spoke again, "Tonight, I stand facing the pillars of this nation! The ones that made standing with pride for humans a right! I speak of you, soldiers! So be proud of this power we hold. The one our ancestors have cultivated and curated for this very present that we breathe in! Arise and be proud!"

And proud those soldiers were, roaring, clinking the metal they held together as the stomping of their feet birthed a different kind of thunder that boomed in one’s heart instead of their head.

"Tonight!" Cedric continued, "I bring you a second wave of good news! A specimen that’s not so rare for some but never seen before for most of you present here in this court. Without further ado, I shall tell you to open and feast your eyes with the sight of this monster!"

At once, the thick fabric shielding Lauden from view was lifted. On his knees, chained from every joint with heavy, silver fortified shackles, his body had turned so numb that their weight and existence around him had been eclipsed.

"Born as a sin, this miscreant came claiming he was on our side! A blood sucker wanted me to believe he would help us! Came with a deal, he said!"

Slowly, but surely, the haze that shrouded Lauden’s eyes began to lift, revealing the heads that gawked up at him from below the towering, wooden scaffolding they had put him on. His ears rang with their roaring as they raised their swords towards the moon in indignation... Responding to the Prince’s latest words.

"Would you trust a creature that betrays its own people?" Cedric bellowed into the voice amplifier.

A resounding no rose from the crowd.

"Make him show his face in front of us!" the prince demanded.

Immediately, the two soldiers that had stood behind the vampire on the platform grasped his hair and forced his head up without regard to the pain they caused.

Lauden fought their hold with might, but to no avail. His body simply refused to respond the way it should have.

"Fear not, my loyal swords! There is nothing he can do to save himself from the very fate he brought upon his own soul!"

That was no lie, it seemed.

Unfortunately for him, his muscles and bones only grew heavier under his flesh with every second that passed.

The invisible force pressing around his heart could only be the dealing of concentrated Yuniper extract coursing his veins, shredding his insides cell by cell.

"This is proof that our kind simply cannot co-exist with these... People! They make a point to prove it over and over and over! How many times before we learn then? How many times before we take charge? One border separating us simply isn’t enough if they can just waltz in whenever they feel like it!"

As the fuzz in his eyes died down some more, Lauden finally caught Cedric’s figure on a plateau as high as the scaffolding that held him.

It went in length for the dukes to sit on his left whereas the high Generals took a seat to his right as he spewed those lies.

Lauden had nothing to say... No objections even! His tongue twisted into a thousand knots upon realizing he had played right into Cedric’s hand.

Engaging in a game of chess with the human ruler was oh so foolish of him when he did not have the board in full view.

"Under my lead, things will change! Things are already in motion! We will reclaim what has always been ours! Sovereignty over these feeble-minded animals! We shall wash the disgrace our ancestors left on our hands to deal with!"

Every corner, every joint ached... And the hurt was there to stay until the very end of him. It wouldn’t be long, would it?

"Our war starts tonight with his head as the first to roll!"