Eclipthos: Book One - Battle For The Throne

Chapter Two: Escape Into The Shadows



The first thing he heard, were the sounds of his own breathing and heartbeat. He was still alive, but where he was not sure and very surprised he was not dead when he should have been.



He tried to move his hands, but they were bound together at the wrists and strung above his head. He couldn\'t move his legs either, they were bound at the ankles to what felt like the legs of a chair and that\'s when he realized he must be sitting down.



Above his own breathing and heartbeat, other sounds began getting clearer and more noticable. Like the noises of a fire crackling near by and the sudden shuffling of another\'s feet on carpet. He wasn\'t in the cell anymore, he could tell just by the warmth of the area and then, he slowly opened his eyes.



At first he didn\'t see anyone, but he senses a presense in the room with him. He could also smell the lightly sweet, but distinctive scent of a Vampire. Their bodies generally seemed to give off the faintest hint of fruit, like an apple or a peach.



Nathan examined the area he now found himself in. It was dimly lit by the fire place and several torches hanging on the blood red walls. Giving off this strange but relaxing glow.



The chair he found himself in, was setting several feet from the door, which was closed. Not far in front of him, was a king size bed, taking up what portion of the room he could see. Hanging down from it\'s tall, dark, oak posts, was a red canopy, see through and shimmering.



He couldn\'t help but wonder why he\'d been taken here, and then behind him, he could hear the shuffling of footsteps. Which startled him, though he knew from the beginning he was not alone.



The man struggled weakly against his bonds, though he was still too groggy to put up a decent fight. Darius was rather amused by his efforts as he came around and stood in front of Nathan.



Immediantly he stopped his shuffling and looked up. Right away his eyes were filled with question and hatred for the Vampire before him. Though Darius didn\'t seem to care, as he knelt down to become level with the man.

"Forgive the ropes. They\'re merely a precaution. Though you\'re much too weak to escape, I\'d rather not risk it. After all, I would hate to tire myself in a fight with you." He explained, further amused by Nathan\'s growing hate for him.



Though he knew in the back of his mind, it would do no good, Nathan lunged forward at the Vampire. This sudden reaction caused Darius to break out in laughter, "I\'m so glad you\'re awake." He said, his smile revealing those repulsive fangs.

"Why have I been brought here?" The man questioned as Darius stood up.

He just glared down at Nathan, his bright emerald eyes glowing with interest, "You don\'t remember? I believe you wanted to tell me something, in regards to your King and his location."



All too fast, the memories of his on going torture and Darius last taunting words before he passed out, came flooding back into his mind. Traces of regret, washed away his once angered expression as he lowered his head to hide it.



But it was no use hiding his shame now and Darius couldn\'t care less about how it made the man feel. He stretched out his hand, and forcefully raised Nathan\'s head, making him stare into his eyes. Though he tried to jerk away, the Vampire\'s grip was much too strong and it was useless to fight.



"I\'m not going to play games. I\'ve had your wounds treated, waited for your recovery and had you brought here myself. I will not wait any longer. You do remember what will happen if you toy with me?" He explained coldly.

Nathan replied hesitantly, "Yes."

His response made Darius smile, and he released his grip on the man, turning and walking behind him, where Nathan could hear him moving around again, though he could not make out what he was doing.



Only moments later, he returned to Nathan\'s side with this small cup filled with water. Nathan glared at it with curiousity, and question whether or not it was simply water.

"Relax, I wouldn\'t want to poison you before you give me what I want." Darius assured him, raising the cup to Nathan\'s lips.

He didn\'t wait any longer before hungrily drinking up the water. It\'d been days since he\'d had any food or drink and he was extremly thirsty.



Darius watched Nathan lap up the water quickly as he titled the cup further back. Once more drawing enjoyment from the human, placing one hand on the back of his head, gently stroking him like an animal.



When the water was gone, he rose and set the empty cup down behind Nathan. He was almost ashamed to have accepted anything from the Vampire, but it was something he could not resist.



Expecting his answers, Darius knelt again, in front of Nathan and said, "Now, the location of your King?"

"How can I put my trust in you, to assure Layla\'s safty?" He asked.

Darius sighed, growing a little impatient as he answered, "You have my word that I will not harm her. It\'s all you have."



Nathan paused briefly, searching the room with his eyes and then finally looked across at Darius, "He\'s hiding out in the eastern side of Spire Forest."

Darius\'s eyes became questioning as he rose, turning his back to the man, stepping forward, "Where in that area?"

Nathan hesitaited for a second and then replied, "In an old cabin, near a stream that\'s lined with thorns."



He knew the place Nathan spoke of, and was painting the image of the area in his mind as he turned around, "Ah yes, I know where you mean." Darius started, nearing Nathan as he lowered down to his knees, "The cabin surrounded by rose bushes, with the weeping willow out front?"

"Yes." Nathan nodded, watched the smile run away from Darius\'s face.

He knew then, something had to be wrong.



Darius\'s eyes fell cold as he replied, "My guards searched that area three days ago. The cabin no longer stands and the stream has run dry."

Nathan closed his eyes, turning away as Darius rose angrily and placed on hand on either side of the chair, pushing it back and forth violently before letting go and stepping back.

"Do you honestly think you can fool me?!" He shouted, as Nathan\'s eyes shot open just in time to see the Vampire approaching him at great speed, forcing the chair back once again, as he lifted the first two legs off the ground.



Nathan\'s wrists began to ache from the ropes being spun from the jolting of the chair, he squinted briefly at the sting, while Darius continued to chastise him, "You cannot lie to me! Do you have any idea what I will do to your precious Layla if you continue to be dishonest?!"



The man did not respond, but in the silence, Darius noticed for the first time, a hint of worry glaring in Nathan\'s eyes that he tried to hide, but simply could not. It didn\'t take Darius much thought, to figure out the emotion and reasoning behind the man\'s now fearful expression. It only took that one moment of weakness, when Nathan let his guard down, for Darius to know exactly what was going on.



It became evident that Darius realized something was amiss, though Nathan prayed he did not as the Vampire lowered the chair back onto the ground, keeping his hands firmly placed where they were before.

"You have no idea where the King is, do you?" Darius questioned, causing Nathan to turn his head away.

He had guessed correctly.



Removing his hands from the chair to stand up straight, Darius felt somewhat betrayed and angered, yet confused as to how this man had fooled even him for so long.

"Of course! Why would the King reveal his where abouts to anyone, especially his army. He must have known I would be searching for him." Darius spoke, as though he were talking to himself, until his eyes fixed on Nathan once more,"But you, you were his most truster Knight and he didn\'t even tell you. How worthless his pathetic men must really be to him. Such an untrusting King." He said, taking a step closer to Nathan, reaching out again, and forcing the man to look at him, "Pity you wont live to watch your city crumble and your people bow before me."

"The city of Eclipthos would sooner be swallowed up by the flames of hell, then surrender to the likes of a Nightcrawler like you!" Nathan replied.

Darius angrily responded, "We shall see. And as for you, well, no one lies to me and gets away with it. I\'m going to take great pleasure in making your last hours, your worst." He then, let go of Nathan where he turned and left the room for a few minutes.



One last time, Nathan tried to free himself, but it was to no avail. He was trapped and soon would be killed. He could not have been more dissapointed in himself for letting his guard down. But he was more worried about Layla now then ever, she was all he could think about.



But shortly after Darius left, he returned with two male guards of his. They were both very young, one was a very slender blonde and the other a more muscular Vampire, with raven hair. Each one approached him slowly, untying his legs and forcing him to stand.



He tried to fight back, but Darius joined his men and held Nathan still, while the blonde bound him by the ankles, then tied to rope to a pillar behind the chair, so that Nathan couldn\'t move.



Darius stepped back, but faced Nathan as the two male Vampires slipped off their black gloves and then stripped away their armour. One of them reached into a dresser drawer near by, where they took out a ball gag. The dark haired Vampire then forced it into Nathan\'s mouth and fastened it behind his head.



Nathan nervously shuffled about, looking in all directions, trying to see what the guards were going to do, but he had no idea. That\'s what scared him. He didn\'t see any weapons, or intruments of torture. Yet Darius was standing in front of him, with a wide and evil grin, that surely for shadowed Nathan\'s fate.



No longer would Nathan\'s mind wonder what tortures lie before him, when both the guards began to caress his bare chest. He jerked away at first, but then the dark haired man came up behind him, and held him still, while the blonde trailed several rough kisses down his chest. Nathan groaned and turned his head away in dissaprovel, but it was already too late and they weren\'t about to stop there.



As the raven haired Vampire ran his tongue across Nathan\'s throat, Darius took a step forward then asked, "Did she ever touch you this way Nathan?"

A look of confusion spread over his face, as Darius continued, "You know, your beloved Layla. Tell me, could she make you feel the way both of these men are right now."

Nathan began to shift uncomfortablly in their grasp, as the blonde Vampire\'s nails raked across Nathan\'s skin, causing his body to tighten up, refusing his cool touch.

The other Vampire simply and unmercifully roamed the human\'s body, hungrily longing to feel every inch of him, though he rejected it.



"Tell me Nathan, did Layla ever do things like this to you?" Darius teased, as he now stood inches from Nathan, and then he whispered, "Did you ever want her to?"

With one swift movement, Nathan pulled away with a loud and frustraited groan, muffled by the gag in his mouth. This motion caused Darius to laugh evilly as he backed away, just watching the situation unfold.



Nathan was becoming dishuffled and losing his focus as the Vampires began to bite and scratch at him. All of which made him jump, trying to get away, though he could not.



Finally, the light haired Vampire started caressing his thighs and the one behind pressed further into him. Nathan squinted his eyes and began to, almost whine against his gag. Darius just stood their, folding his arms as Nathan\'s belt buckle was slowly undone by the one behind him.



"Now if you\'ll excuse me. I\'ve got an army to command. As you know, we have a missing King to find and a city to destroy." Darius said, looking directly at Nathan, who squirmed between the two male Vampires.

"I\'ll return in a couple of hours when my men are finished playing with you." He explained, then turned to leave the room for good, all the while hearing Nathan\'s tortured and muffled screams.



He writhed uncomfortably, as the blonde Vampire bit into one of his thighs, while the other reached down to remove his garments. Syliva began to pool around the corner of Nathan\'s mouth and leak downward as he was forcefully held in his place, while Darius opened the door and exited the room. Leaving Nathan alone with his guards to be violated.



* * * *



Darius\'s merciless and monsetrous guards had finished with Nathan after just two hours. But for him it felt like a life time. They\'d cleaned themselves both and the room, then covered Nathan with his clothing again.



Then, without a word or even a glance they left the tired, aching, humiliated man dangling where he was bound. All his dignity felt drained and there was this horrible, shameful feeling that crept in from every corner of his mind accompanied by the painful sting of embarassment and violation he\'d just faced. A feeling that would most certianly remain prominent in his mind for many nights to come, if he lived that long.



Feeling nothing less then a complete failure, Nathan lowered his head and stared and the ground, quietly praying for one peaceful second, to free himself from the tortures of his memory, as he relived his dealings with those male Vampires again and again.



Squeezing his eyes shut, he allowed himself to breathe slowly, taking in what he was sure to be, the last several easy breaths of the night, before Darius continued to destroy him physically and mentally.



But, suddenly a distant clicking sound caused his eyes to widen and open, while he raised his head nervously. Expecting to see none other then Darius standing in the doorway.



However, to his surprise the door was still shut and the sounds were growing louder behind him, as he twisted around as far as he could to see just what was going on. Fear and ebrasiveness being the first of many emotions.



Then, he heard a familiar and sweet voice call out, "Nathan!" In a loud whisper. He must have been dreaming, he told himself. Or were his prayers answered, allowing him to be granted that one moment of peace he begged for.



Though he was not dreaming, nor imagining things it was Layla\'s voice he knew it and soon she stood before him. Wearing a long dark green cloak, carrying a sword at her side, sheathed over her dirtied white pants.



The moment he saw her, his eyes grew wide with both shock and hapiness just to see her face again, for he wasn\'t sure he would again. But his moment of joy was brief when he remembered that Darius could be returning to that very room any second and then he became worried for his beloved\'s safty.



She was was surprised as well, though differently then he. For she could not even imagine what he\'d been through. Though every bruise, every cut and every scar told her he\'d been through it all. But now, she was determind to bring him home.



"Layla...you must..leave this place." He muttered painfully, as she unsheathed her sword and cut him free.

Nathan quickly fell forward into his arms, leaning all his weight against her, as she lowered him to the ground gently, "Shhh, it\'s alright now love. I\'m going to take you out of this awful place."

"Please...go before they come back." He pleaded meakly, as she cut loose the bonds which held his legs.

Then she hurried to him and removed all ropes from his bruised and bloody wrists and ankles.



Her eyes sorrowfully fixed on her love, while she lifted him with all her strength after putting away her weapon. "Come on darling, you can do it." She encouraged him, as he tried with all his might to stand and managed to, but was very unstable.



Now that he\'d risen, she unsteadily lead him to the same window she had broken in through. They were only a couple stories up and not far from a place of escape.



So, she leaned him against the wall, then climbed in through the window first, extending her hand to Nathan, "Come on, hurry!" She urged, and so he tried, but the first time, was unsucessful, taking her hand briefly before his legs buckle and he collapsed to the ground. Making a bit of a ruckus.

"You can do it Nathan, just take my hand." She said, offering it to him again.

Then once more he rose on shakey legs and took her hand, this time firmly and she was able, with his help to pull him through the window.



It was then, the two of them heard the faintest sounds of footsteps, headed down the hall, to that room. They knew now, it was time to move before they were both seen.



Layla reached around, behind her back, near her belt and pulled out a length of rope she\'d brought along. The small ledge that she and Nathan balanced themselves on, was near this small over hang, held up by two small stone pillars.



Carefully, Layla reached out, keeping herself steady while tying the rope to one of the nearest pillars. When she was finished, she made the mistake of looking down.



Though they were only a couple of stories high, the mote that was dug around the place and filled with water, was much farther down then two stories and even being as far as they were from it, she swore there was something shifting in the water bellow the surface. But she couldn\'t see what, due to the darkness of night.



Making sure the rope was secure, she placed her hands on it and looked back up at Nathan.

"We\'ve got to move now. Please, try to hang on." She said, and he nodded in response, for he couldn\'t muster the strength to answer.



The state he was in frightened her, but they had no choice and began heading down the rope slowly. Nathan\'s shaking hands gripped the thin brittle rope as firmly as they could, quivering from exaughstion.



It was then the door to the room they were just in, could be heard opening and immediantly afterwards the sounds of voices, more then one. Which were no doubt Darius and more guards talking and searching the room.



But neither Nathan nor Layla could think about that right now, as they scaled down the two stories and dropped to the ground quietly. As Nathan looked around it became obvious they were not in front of the tower, but rather on one side of it.



Layla looked up at the rope, just hanging there. It would serve as a sign of where the two had escaped, but before she could do anything further with it, she could hear the voices from the room, echoing louder and outside.



She quickly took hold of Nathan and pulled him up against the rocks, surrounding the place and into the shadows with her, right as Darius peered out the window.



Layla looked both ways, and as far as she could tell the way she\'d come was still clear and so she took Nathan\'s hand and they silently made a run for it. Moving as fast as the could and finally dissapearing into the night.



Darius had noticed the rope and glared down at the ground bellow. Then, he pulled himself back inside and faced the guards he\'d brought with him. "Somehow, Nathan has managed to escape this room and scaled down the wall to the ground bellow. He cannot be far, I want two dozen men outside right now looking for him. He couldn\'t have gotten far." He commanded, and the men before him nodded in response, then hurriedly exited the room.



The Vampire remained in the room momentarily, asking himself how Nathan may have escaped. From what he\'d learned from the guards that left him, Nathan could hardly move, or even make a sound.



Lifting on hand to his face, Darius squinted his eyes as they darted about the area, until something on the ground caught his eye. It was this shimmering glare, off set by the flames whiched burned in the fire place.



Bending down gently, Darius lifted this small, round item off the ground and then stood with it. Examining it through his fingers. It was an earring, a very expensive one at that. He could tell by the jewels encrested through out it\'s gold shape.



He smiled to himself, coming to a surprising realization. Layla must have come for Nathan. Somehow, she must have come for him and if she was with Nathan and he was found, the girl would be as well and Darius was sure he could make her talk.



Sliding the earring into his pants pocket, Darius walked out of the room unphased by the recient events and rather excited at the thought of having another hostage, one who could be more useful to him. He was not worried, for the forests surrounding the tower were vast and wide, they couldn\'t hide forever and could so easily get lost. The way he saw it, there was no where to run and it was only a matter of time before they were both within his grasp.