Along with the blood, drop by drop, life flowed away. The fingers clutching the wound on the neck no longer felt warm. The bronze skin was fading, losing its color. There was no fear, no pain. Only a cool darkness, wave after wave, enveloped the heart until it stopped. Her last vivid memory was of her daughter’s eyes, cold and clear as moonlight. The dark waters of the river gently pushed Merit to the surface. All her wishes were gone, leaving only a fragile hope – the hope that her plea was answered and he would come.
Out of the thick darkness, a deep, guttural voice said, “Hello, Merit.”
The girl let out a small sigh of relief. She sensed his presence long before two glowing red eyes poked out of the darkness.
“Hello, my lord. You did come,” Merit whispered.
“You called, and I came. What do you want?”
“You know all about it, my lord,” Merit said, looking into his glowing eyes. “My daughter. She was safe now, but sooner or later he would find her,” her voice was pleading. “One day, when she comes before you, all I ask is that you protect her.”
“And in return?” It was a question of icy indifference.
Without hesitation, Merit fearlessly raised her large dark eyes and answered, “I will serve you. Forever.”
The otherworldly, inhuman gaze lit up with a satisfied spark.
“So be it.”
When you live for more than two millennia, time doesn’t matter. It flows slowly, like a river, washing the epochs, and you just watch it flow, as if from the top of a mountain. So Selene sat on the edge of her desk in the ancient library, watching her new student with unruffled composure.
The new girl, young and eager, was trying to move a massive bronze goblet with the enthusiasm of youth. Her face was impatient, and there was a stubborn wrinkle between her brows.
Selene, watching her struggle, smiled. She understood this feeling perfectly – the eagerness, the desire to learn everything at once, without wasting time on long and boring exercises.
“You know, Chacey,” she said slowly, taking a drag on her cigarette. “If you stare at something like that, it’s bound to look back at you sooner or later.”
Without taking her eyes off the goblet, Chacey snorted.
“We’ve been circling this piece of metal for two hours now, and it’s no use!”
Selene couldn’t help but roll her eyes. The eternal problem of neophytes is lack of patience and discipline. She’s been through it, too.
“Good results are the fruit of long and hard work,” Selene said calmly, stubbing out her cigarette and putting the silver holder in the inner pocket of her black jacket dress. “But I know it all sounds crazy to you right now. You’re just a child.”
“A child?” Chacey outraged. “Actually, you’re not much older than me!”
Selene just grinned, “Appearances are deceptive, it’s time to understand this already. Be patient.”
“God, how boring!” Chacey whined. “You’d think I wasn’t trying!” She pouted childishly.
Selene crossed her legs.
“You’re thinking about the wrong things,” she said, looking at her with understanding.
Chacey asked dejectedly, “And about which ones?”
“Being a member of the Supreme Clan won’t solve your problems. Until you learn to defend yourself outside these walls, you are nothing. Find the best motivation,” Selene said sternly.
Chacey thought about it and said, “I have motivation. Maria says that I am very lucky to get into the Supreme Clan. It’s an honor,” she smiled foolishly, ignoring Selene’s words.
Selene grimaced at the mention of Maria. In her long life, she had rarely seen such cruel and vile creatures. However, Selene admitted that there was some truth in her words. Membership in the Supreme Clan offered many advantages, but not everyone was accepted. There is no telling what Chacy’s fate might have been if the guards hadn’t discovered her two months ago, feral and thirsty, and brought her to court.
“Don’t forget that I’m your mentor, not Maria,” Selene reminded her sternly. “Besides, you haven’t been accepted into the clan yet.”
The clan took the lost ones like Chacy under their wing, helping them get back on their feet. The most gifted were accepted into their ranks. Selene was assigned to mentor Chacy and several other neophytes. She was engaged in training them and developing their abilities.
“How were you trained?” the girl suddenly asked.
Selene’s gaze darkened and went off into the distance, as it always did when remembering the past.
But she quickly regained her composure and said grimly, “My mentor wasn’t so forgiving.”
Chacey turned away and pretended to stare at the ancient leather-bound books that filled the huge dark wood shelves to the ceiling. Selene sighed and pushed her long black hair off her shoulder as she slid off the table and walked over to the girl. She was staring intently at a rack of various relics and artefacts. Selene noticed that Chacey’s gaze lingered on the obsidian statue of an ancient Egyptian deity. Its smooth black surface seemed to absorb the sunlight, and its ruby eyes, on the contrary, burned brightly with a blood-red fire. The student’s blue eyes shifted from the statue to the silver medallion that rested on Selene’s neck.
