A MAZE OF GREED

Hilton was at the secret headquarter of Darius. He was speaking with a group of vampires when another vampire dragged an eight-year-old girl down the stairs. Her cries filled the already chaotic place, drawing everyone's attention.

The chaos in the space mild down noticeably as others noticed her. The man stopped near Hilton then bowed.

"We have got our target, Mr Hilton." He informed.

Hilton narrowed his eyes at the frightened girl. Her eyes had turned red and puffy with all the crying. They looked around frantically, but as they settled on Hilton, a wave of strong fear washed over them.

She hiccuped as it became hard to breathe normally after all the crying and screaming.

Hilton stalked towards the girl, and she cowered under his dark gaze. The vampire tightened his hold on her arm as she began pulling her hand out of his gasp with more force.

Hilton peered down at the girl. "Welcome to our world,little Miss! I hope you will like it here as much as you liked back home." The corner of his mouth stretched upwards.

The girl shook her head fervently. "No! This is not my home. I want to meet my mother! Let me go!!" She yelled daringly.

Hilton tsked not so apologetically. "I am afraid but that is not going to happen any time soon, little Miss."

"Let me go! Or you will regret it!" She glared at the man in front of her but failed to mask her fear.

A fountain of mocking laughter erupted around her. She looked around at the pale faces laughing tauntingly at her. Her chin trembled as fresh tears waited at the gate. She fought to refrain them there.

"Do explain me how!" Hilton asked with a tinge of curiosity.

"My alpha will not spare you!" She said confidently.

Hilton scoffed at that. "Who? That old sack of potatoes? If he was so capable then you weren't here, little Miss!"

The girl frown at him, not liking his insulting comment about her alpha.

"My alpha even though old is well capable of fighting with you. Do you know why? Because he has a son who is way stronger than you all!"

This time Hilton could not hold back his laughter. "Oh, little Miss, you do not know anything about us then. That man is no match to us!"

"You are lying! Brother Lester is the most powerful werewolf of the Bluemoon pack. He is also friends with our leader. My mother told me that he is our next alpha because he is unbeatable!

He will come here to find me- his friend. He can do anything for his friends! And when he will come to get me, I will laugh seeing your ass beaten by him!"

Although scared, she could not take insults at her friend Lester. He was her next alpha. He would come and save her, she was cent per cent sure about that!

"Aaahhh" The tears she was holding back so long broke free as Hilton's hand landed on her cheek.

"Throw her in the dungeons!" He barked with flared nostrils.

Looking at the frightening pairs of eyes, he said in a loud and clear voice. "If anyone of you thinks that your alpha or your so-called leader will come and save you, then you are sadly mistaken.

No one is coming to save you! Get that in your small brains. No one can beat us- the Vampires! We were, are and always will be the strongest of all!"

All the vampires erupted in loud cheers, baring their fangs, their eyes turned red.

"Darius I have done what you have told me to do before you left. Now come with more Painite and this world will see the Vampire rule again!" Hilton mumbled under his breath while watching the fear instigated in the eyes of numerous children they had kidnapped over the period of months.

*

*

*

Darius walked through the white gate to enter the kingdom of Crinudel, which was a beautiful place taking his breath away.

The people of Crinudel noticed the guest that looked way different from them. They were watching him in curiosity. But apprehension was also there, standing hand in hand with that curiosity.

Of course, they had sensed who Darius was. A Vampire - though not considered an enemy like a werewolf- was also not considered as a friend either.

Darius saw some young females blushing his way after their gazes collided with each other. Darius kept a small smirk on his lips as he walked along with his horse.

The other thing he noticed was as soon as their gazes landed on his horse, their curiosity was replaced by disapproval.

"You should have left your horse in your world." The vulture woman who was following him hissed in his ear.

She reached a little below his ear, but as a vampire, he did not need to lean down to listen to her.

The last time Darius came to Crinudel, he took a wise decision of leaving his horse outside before entering the giant tree.

He could have done the same this time too, yet as per his nature, he liked to get on others' nerves. And what could be more entertaining for him than bringing a horse in the Kingdom of Crinudel- the land of the Centaurs?!!

"Oops... I forgot!" Darius replied without a trace of apology in his voice.

"You should hand him to me. It is disrespectful towards the sentiments of our people to bring a horse like this in our land." The vulture man said from Darius's other side.

"But he can not leave without me! We are like brothers!!" Darius pouted.

The vulture woman narrowed her slit-like eyes even more. "A Vampire does not spare his blood relative when it comes to power. I am sure a horse comes way down in that list of beloveds."

She got that right!

Darius bid his bye to his horse with a promise of meeting again soon. He passed the reigns to the vulture man. He walked away with Darius's horse.

Darius shifted his focus from the people around and to the beauty of the kingdom. Crinudel was a forest kingdom where the Centaurs lived with an army of Vultures at their service.

He saw grand trees, taller and thicker than one could find in the outside world. Watching their houses built-in and on those trees, Darius's mind ran back to his initial days in the Academy, where children used to built treehouses and play there.

He regretted revisiting that memory when it also reminded him of his isolation. The next Vampire leader in line was always frowned upon in the Academy. Not only students but also the mentors preferred to keep four hands' distance from him.

He was not invited in building the treehouses, he was never a part of celebrations or the sports the others played during their free time. Darius Garfield was the lost child, who put up a facade of arrogance and indifference. He kept himself busy in training and reading, but his heart always longed for the acceptance and the normalcy others had in their life.

Darius shook his head out of those thoughts. He concentrated back on watching his surroundings. The houses that were built on the giant trees were connected with each other by natural bridges that were made up of tree branches and wood.

Those bridges hung in the air that might look dangerous to some people, but Darius knew they were strong enough to weigh dozens of Centaurs.

The light chatter amongst the people fell on his ears, accompanied by the chirping of birds and the sounds of forest animals. If anyone wanted to experience the beauty of a forest, then it was the best place. It was an amazing example of living together with nature.

Leaving behind the town area where the citizens of Crinudel lived, Darius and the vulture woman walked towards an inclined road on the hill.

After they reached the top of that hill, the scenic view in front of Darius made him pause and just enjoy it for a long minute.

Ahead of him was another grand tree which was probably the largest and the oldest ones in the Crinudel. Its branches are grown in the front to make a natural covering on the palace of the ruling family of the Centaurs.

Its surroundings were covered by various plants and bushes. The greenery accentuated the pretty white flowers grown on those plans in bunches.

At the bottom of that gigantic tree was the palace, which had many white towers with windows, topped up by the pointed light blue roofs.

Darius walked towards the entrance of the palace that had many steps. At the end of the stairs, a circular arch welcomed the people.

There were no guards stationed outside the palace or at its entrance. Perhaps the Centaurs still had not forgotten the very core value that should be possessed by every being- loyalty.

Walking inside the beautiful palace situated in the heart of a giant tree, Darius saw people he had seen the last time. And the displeasing look that appeared on their faces as soon as they saw Darius was proof that Darius had a great time in the palace during his last visit!