THE HUNTED HUNTER

Chapter 5: THE SIP OF DEATH

Kael squeezed the letter and shoved it into his pocket before standing from the bench. He adjusted his cloak before walking towards the main hall. 

Grandmaster Maltheon rarely called for him and Kael assumed that his summon was going to be related to his questioning the scribes and searching the archives. It was about time anyways. He needed to know the truth and who better to tell him that than the one amongst the five who founded the Order. 

Kael walked past the main hall and through an unfamiliar corridor, one that he knew of but rarely visited. The corridor opened onto a high chamber bathed in silver moonlight from the open roof above the room. The room's walls were carved with ancient runes depicting stories of the past, stories Kael was taught for as long as he could remember. 

And there, standing by the window of the sanctum, was Maltheon, clothed in a robe of crimson and gold. Kael could not see the fae’s features, but from the outline of his shoulders, he could tell he had a calm expression on him. Kael grunted to announce his presence as he walked into the room but Maltheon didn't move an inch. 

“You’ve returned,” he said without turning as he clasped his hands behind him. “Tell me, Kael Draven… how did it feel?”

Kael frowned, his jaws clenching. "How did… what feel?"

"Killing the vampire who had the nerve to hide Cursed in his wings," Maltheon said, tilting his head towards where Kael stood. “That cursed creature, how did it feel chopping his head off?"

Kael paused for some seconds before nodding briefly. "It's over, Grandmaster."

Maltheon turned to him at last, his lips pressed into a thin smile as he cocked his head to the side. The fae had long black hair that flowed down to his neck and sharp features that made it hard to tell when he was serious or not. He had a scar under his left eye, one said to have gotten from a Cursed Vampire during his first cleansing.

"Good," he said, returning his gaze back to the window. “We actually feared for a moment, you know. We thought you didn't follow the Order's commands."

Kael's eyebrow shot up. He wanted to ask why Maltheon had thought that, but then changed his mind. Instead, he asked the one question that had deprived him of rest.

“Before I killed Eldrin,” Kael began, as he brought his gaze to the ground. “He pointed his hands towards my face and… and muttered some kind of spell that–”

"I know about the vision you claim you saw, Kael," Maltheon said coldly, cutting Kael off. “News of your… so-called revelation has spread around the citadel.”

“Oh," Kael muttered, a bit taken aback by Maltheon's words. He supposed the news really had spread around. “Okay, what was it that I saw, then? The vision Eldrin revealed to me, he called it the truth."

Maltheon sighed before walking towards a small desk by his window. "Deception, Kael,” he said as he grabbed a silver decanter from the table and began pouring wine from it into two glasses. “All of the vampire's words are nothing but lies, woven to deceive you, Kael. These beings use magic to create illusions, seep doubts into your brain, pervert your idea of justice.” He paused, looking up at Kael. "That is how the curse propagates, Kael. By suggestion. By doubt."

He grabbed a glass and walked over to where Kael stood, placing it into his hands. 

"You witnessed nothing more than a trick," Maltheon continued before taking a small sip of his wine. “It was his last hope to save his own accursed soul.”

Kael studied the wine as he frowned. “If this is so, why didn’t anyone else tell me this? Why did they all treat me like I was mad, like I was Cursed?”

Maltheon chuckled softly, the scar under his eyes crinkling slightly as he smiled. “Because they all know how dangerous it is to doubt, Kael. Most would rather not look into the fire if they think it might burn them.” He raised his glass. “To purity. To the Order.”

Kael hesitated again. He had wanted answers and he had gotten them, but somehow, he still felt this longing in his soul. Maybe, Maltheon was right. Eldrin had created that vision to seep doubts into his mind..

His fist tightened as he growled inwardly. The son of a bastard did the whole thing just so he could let him and the Cursed go. It didn't matter though. After his drink, he was going to find the damned vampire, hunt him and his people down, and take their hearts.

“To the Order," Kael said with a soft smile as he raised his drink before pouring its content into his mouth. 

And then, it.

His heart gripped and his eyes suddenly became blinded as a strange feeling settled upon him. He held his chest, trying his best to catch his now heightening breath but something tore through his ribcage.

“Arrgh," Kael screamed out in pain as the glass slipped from his hand, the wine splashing to the ground. Kael sank to his knees, gagging, his limbs locking in place as a feeling of burning fire suddenly began spreading through his body. 

Maltheon lowered himself to his knees beside the still struggling Kael as he grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling his face up to meet him. The Grandmaster's smile was gone now, and something cold had taken its place. 

Kael could not tell if it was pity, or guilt.

"Forgive us," Maltheon breathed, stroking a hand over Kael's brow. He placed a hand over his eye lids, closing them. "You were never supposed to know, Kael. You were never supposed to find that out."

Darkness poured into Kael's mind like water over burning coals, washing out all of his thoughts. And the last thing he heard as the nothing took him in was the loud shriek of the god-blade, screaming off into a fading silence.