I'll Justify My Reasons With Your Blood

Jared stared Shadows down with a look of absolute hatred. I don’t think I’d ever seen this side of him before…then again, there were a lot of things I wasn’t really clued in on.

“Shannon, take Nikki and get out of here. Things are about to get ugly,” he demanded, glancing over his shoulder to look at the two of us.

Shannon didn’t hesitate to grab onto me and lead me toward the nearest exit. “Hang on,” I said dragging my feet along the stone floor.

Shannon spun around with a confused expression. “Nikki, I know you’re new to the game…but just trust me when I say this is dangerous.”

I rolled my eyes, “I knew that much! We have to take Lillian with us. The Rev is going to hurt her.”

“Well, that’s her problem. She’s a two-way traitor,” he spat.

I tugged on his arm and wore my puppy dog eyes, which always worked when I was younger. “I know she’s a good person. She didn’t go after Jared like she was supposed to and…she filled me in on some of my memories that Avenged Sevenfold had tampered with,” I explained, trying my best to keep it brief.

“Ok, fine. But make it quick!” he replied, begrudgingly.

I grinned, glad to see that I still could pull that little trick over on him and ran up the altar. Lillian gave me a surprised expression as she continued trying to maintain her hiding place behind some statues. “What are you doing here? He’s coming for me, and he won’t let anyone get in his way,” she whispered, nodding toward me.

“Look, you need to come with me now. Shannon is taking me out of here and if you hurry up we can save you too,” I said hurriedly.

I knew that the Rev was closing in and that we didn’t have much time. After a short deliberation, she stood up and bolted down the stairs just as the Rev had managed to wiggle between some statues. Shannon grabbed each of our hands and led us out the exit on the left side of the building.

Large clouds, seemingly tinted gray and red, began forming in the sky and covering the sun. Clearly, a dangerous storm was rolling in…and that can’t be a good sign of what’s to come inside that cathedral. Jared, please stay safe…don’t die!

*Jared’s POV*

Shadows and I continued our stare-down until he decided to make the first move. He dug his hand down into his pants, which looked almost hilariously inappropriate, but the smile I was tempted to show vanished once I saw what he had retrieved.

Of all the vampire clans in the world, very few of them are lucky enough to get their hands on a Roulette, a rare revolver that contains a series of silver bullets, which are typically used for killing vampires or werewolves. Back when my family took over the throne, members of Shadows’ clan raided what was left of the artillery, presumably taking the Roulette with them.

He grinned as he clicked the gun into place, aiming it directly at my skull. Once again I felt the urge to smile…he’s crazy if he thinks I’ll let that gun be my demise. For each session the gun is used, only six bullets can be utilized, which means after he fires six shots…I’d be able to tear him down once and for all.

Just as he got ready to pull the trigger, I reached backward and grabbed the hilt of my sword. As the first bullet zoomed through the air, I held my large sword angled downward to deflect the poisonous pellet. I was going to simply take charge and try my luck at stabbing him, but he was clearly in a quick-fire mood right now. The process repeated as bullets two and three failed to penetrate the steel of my sword.

However, bullet number four lightly grazed my shoulder as Shadows finally realized that he ought to change his offense around a little bit. The wound itself wasn’t too deep, but because a silver bullet caused the damage, it would take three times as long to heal.

Ever since that fourth bullet, Shadows strayed onto some sort of random tangent. Now, instead of aiming the gun at me, he held it up toward the ceiling. I couldn’t possibly imagine what he was planning…but I knew he couldn’t possibly be stupid enough to waste one of those bullets in such a way. The gun was fired and the bullet whirled upward, hitting a curve in the ceiling and bouncing off aiming at a downward 45-degree angle.

Screaming had been the background music of choice the entire time that battle had been taking place, but after that single bullet pierced its target, those screams rose above anyone else’s. My eyes widened in horror as I watched the bullet enter my father’s heart, then exit his backside, only to continue on its murderous path as it pierced my mother’s heart next, finally lodging itself somewhere inside her body.

Black vein-like lines began crawling across their skin as screams filled with agony poured out of their mouths. Their skin was falling off their bones and their eyes were becoming loose in the sockets. Both of their bodies sank to the floor and soon their voices were silenced. All that remained was a pile of bones, clothes, and ash.

I had had enough of this bastard ruining my family. I was about to slice his oversized neck in half, but was interrupted by the sound of all the glass breaking and the remainder of the doors being busted open. An army of faces that I hadn’t seen in decades stepped forward, enjoying the blood bath. I shoved my way past Shadows and approached the leader of the pack.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here, Varkatazas?” I demanded. “You were banished for a reason.”

He held a smug grin on his face as he shrugged and stepped up closer to me. “It would seem that things have changed now, haven’t they your majesty? Shadows offered us a deal with simply couldn’t pass up. I mean, you wouldn’t resist a promise of power and a free buffet, would you?”

“I don’t give a fuck what Shadows said, he is not the king here!” I growled.

“You won’t be the king for much longer, I’m afraid,” he smirked, showing his wolfish teeth as his body quickly transformed into his wolf form. His gang followed accordingly, leaping above me and landing on members of the crowd, viciously biting down and ripping heads off as a fountain of blood spraying merrily into the air. This wasn’t good…I was officially outnumbered.

And to make matters worse, Shadows wasted no time stepping up behind me and resting the barrel of the Roulette against my head. “Still think you’re in charge here, Leto?” he whispered.

I could sense when he was ready to fire, without even looking at him. When he did so, I extended my elbow outward and sent the gun flying out of his hand as the bullet fired off in some random direction. Luckily, I believe no one got hurt that time…not like my poor parents. Event though I technically didn’t have a beating heart, I still felt pain in my chest. I couldn’t believe that he really just killed them, and oh so simply too!

My sorrow quickly turned to hatred as I turned around and faced him. “Let’s end this now,” I said lowly, gripping his shirt and throwing him upward through the ceiling. I leaped up there and joined him on the roof. This way not only did we have privacy, but I could be away from the horrible nightmare going on down there. Plus, he was out of weapons now, which means this shouldn’t last much longer.

Rain began pouring from the sky, soaking us both heavily and weighing us down. Anger clouded my thoughts as I charged forward on the angled battlefield, wielding my sword tightly, anxious to watch his blood run along the blade. He smirked knowingly as he remained in place, watching me come toward him.

Raindrops continued dripping down my face, often times blurring my vision. I should’ve slowed down and taken everything in before attacking, but I couldn’t…I couldn’t forgive him for what he’s done…and I wouldn’t let him live long enough to even try and be forgiven.

I raised my sword above me before dropping it down onto him. He held his arm outward, gripping the blade in his hand. Blood began gushing from the initial contact point, mixing with the water on the shingles.

“Your time is done,” Shadows said as he ripped the sword out of my grasp and threw it off the roof.

He used his non-damaged hand to form a fist and made contact with my temple. I stumbled a little, losing my balance on the rooftop. Shadows smiled evilly as he pulled me close to him, barring his fangs. “Let’s have a taste of some of that royalty,” he laughed, digging down into my neck.

I fell to my knees in pain, feeling near human for the first time in one hundred years. He reached down and grabbed the crown, placing it on his own head. Blood was leaking from his mouth and he didn’t even bother wiping it off. He was savoring the taste of my humiliated defeat. With one last kick, my body was flung off the edge of the roof plummeting toward the ground.

*Normal POV*

As we began running for the forest, I suddenly stopped in my tracks after hearing a scream that sounded all too much like Jared. I spun around and saw Jared slowly falling from the roof, while Shadows watched from above, the bloodstained crown resting on his head.

I ran back toward the cathedral, despite my brother’s cries. Jared landed in my arms hard, causing us both to clash with the concrete. I stole one more glance at the roof and saw that the clouds had now turned black as thunder clapped loudly.

God help us all, human and vampire alike.