the Titan region soon your majesty,” one of the guards told my father over a two-way radio.
“Thank you,” my father replied, then released the radio and set it on the dash. “Tomorrow night we should be arriving in the capital, if I remember the distance correctly,” he said, looking back at me from the passenger seat.
“What is it like? The capital, I mean,” I asked, curious about visiting this new region and secretly wishing it was everything we were hoping it would be. Or rather, the help we thought they would be.
“I’m glad you asked,” my father said with a smile in his voice. I swallowed hard, realizing that I had a history lesson in my immediate future. “The region is named after its king, Kass ‘Titan’ Locke. He got his name during the war, being that he was the largest vampire anyone had ever seen. He was a fierce warrior, who fought with such savage tactics it was hard to believe that he was on our side.”
“But, he was, wasn’t he?” I asked.
“Oh, yes, he was. Titan was one of the few among us who was willing to fight fire with fire; as your friend Bennett would say. Where we were afraid to resort to devious tactics; Titan crushed the enemies before him without reserve. He was like a machine with no other thought than to destroy Baal and his followers.”
“He was a badass!” Arrick chimed in. My father chuckled loudly, nodding his head in agreement.
“Titan was also one of the only ones who never believed Baal had been defeated. He tried to convince the rest of us that our enemy was still out there, but…”
“You didn’t believe him?” I questioned.
“No,” my father answered, regretfully.
“How come?”
“Titan had become consumed with revenge. We believed that his hatred would turn him into the very thing he sought to destroy.”
“Did he?” I found myself asking, oddly enthralled by my father’s tale.
“No, I don’t believe he did.”
“Baal couldn’t defeat any of our forces when they were led by Titan, so instead of retreating he chose different tactics,” Arrick continued the story. “He sent the Jackal after Titan’s wife.” I gasped at his words, not happy about the turn the story had taken. My father had mentioned that Baal targeted Titan’s wife, but he never revealed what had happened.
“Did he kill her?”
“Killing her would have been a kindness,” my father interjected. “He poisoned her.”
All I could do was stare at my father in shock. I didn’t even think such a thing could be done to a vampire. We never got sick, and as long as we were able to feed, nearly every injury could be healed rapidly. I figured I really shouldn’t be surprised by the depth of Baal’s wicked acts, but it was hard not to. He was capable of anything. He attacked the capitals of two great regions; controlled monstrous, mutated beasts that were once vampires like me; and commanded unimaginable power thanks to a vile necromancer. Everyone else might have doubted him, but I agreed with Titan; there was no other way to defeat Baal than to focus on our hatred, and channel it through every blow we threw at him.
“What happened to her?” I asked, not sure if I really wanted to know the answer. Being poisoned by Baal could only lead to one thing.
Death.
“I don’t know,” my father answered, a hint of pain in his tone. I looked to Arrick, but he just shrugged his shoulders. Did anyone know?
Chapter 12
The swamp eventually broke way to a flat desert surrounded by barren mountains, dotted with sparse vegetation that grew denser the closer we got to the capital city. Tall, palm trees lined the dirt road that led to an illuminated cityscape in the distance.
I grew more and more anxious the closer we got. The sounds of music and a bustling night-life filled the darkness, and I leaned forward between the front seats to get a better view. My eyes focused on the glow that cast shadows along the sandy dunes. It didn’t sparkle like Naos did, though. The lights of the city burned orange, reminding me of the bonfire we had at Palace Noire for the dead dark vampires. Maybe that had been Titan’s intention. I couldn’t help but feel the hatred Titan had for Baal radiating off this city in waves of heat.
For some reason I expected there to be armed guards waiting for us at the city gates, but as we approached I discovered I was wrong. Stone