5.

Conflicted Agony

~*~

It took less than an hour for the guards to come up with a list of old deserted mansion. It was a long list and if they had to cover each and every of it, it would take at least a day. Yongguk was already at the brink of madness. Lana was gone for more than 20 hours. He couldn’t spare another day of searching. Junhong saw the distress look from a distant and approached the leader. Thankfully, he has quickly recovered.

“Hyung, let me have the list. We’ll get help from vampires within the area to search.” He said.

Yongguk was hesitant. Initially, he didn’t want any vampires outside the palace to know what was happening. But he was left with no choice. He put aside his pride and agreed. “Please tell them to keep it low.”

Junhong understood. The royal family tried to contact their kind and requested for assistance. There were a lot of negotiations needed to fulfil and with difficulties they managed to get the help they needed. With the list in hand, they crossed out wherever unnecessary and eventually narrowed the search area. Only left with just three mansions, they jumped up their feet.

Yongguk looked at the guards and then towards the princes. “The princes will take over from here.” He ordered. “Guard the palace while we are away.”

Without wasting any more time, the six princes got up and dashed for their cars. Travelling in a car was still faster than running on two feet. They got into two cars and immediately sped to the destinations and hopefully Lana was in at least one of the places they have figured out.

Park listened intently on the phone for more orders. He together with Kim and Lee were still left empty handed when Lana refused to reveal the royal family’s secret. They tortured and inflicted all kind of pain on her yet she remained numb about it. Hence, they decided to report to their masters. If they continued interrogating her in such a manner, she could die. That was the last thing they intended. No matter what happened, they were ordered never to kill her just yet.

“We have tried many ways but she –“ Park stayed quiet suddenly. “Okay we got it. Yes, they’re already here. Thank you for sending more back up. Okay. We will report any finding soon. Thank you, Master.”

Park put down the phone and glanced at the two vampires. “The royal family has found our hiding place. In a matter of hours, they will be here. So, we need to get her to tell us before they come.”

“What else did the master say?” Kim asked.

“We have to be prepared for a battle.” He warned.

Lee threw a smirk. “We already have them ready.”

The three of them went to get Lana who was still tied up. Kim took a knife and in a swift move, cut the rope from the ceiling. Lana weakly dropped to the floor with a thud. Her eyes were half open. She grimaced at the cuts and bruised all over her body.

Lee crouched down to her level and squeezed her cheeks tightly with his hand. “Tell me their secrets.” He ordered. Lana smirked a little before spitting blood on his face. Lee tried to control his anger and also the thirst. He the blood of his face and looked at her terrifyingly. “You taste so good, Princess. Such a pity I can’t have you to myself.” With that, he dragged her up against the wall. Her back was hit really hard and she screamed in pain.

“Answer me!” Lee asked again, yelling this time.

However, Lana refused to speak despite the torture. Kim, with her cat like eyes, approached Lana and gave the girl a hard kick on the stomach. She was beaten and thrown like a rag doll yet nothing came out from . Lana endured everything and tried to stay conscious all throughout. But it was only time before her body could finally take all the pain. After endless of torture, she dropped to the floor; her eyes closed and face pale as a ghost.

“That’s enough.” Park ordered the two vampires to stop. “She will die if you continue.”

“But –“ Kim looked at him impatiently. “We still haven’t got what we wanted.”

“I don’t think she will reveal it. Master asked us to be ready for the fight instead.”

After which, a loud bang came from the first level of the mansion.

“The Princes are here.” Park said.

Using their sense of smell, the Princes finally located an isolated mansion. It was filled with scent of their kind and knew they got it right. After driving for an hour, they stopped just in front of a huge old building. Yongguk got out of the car and the rest of the princes followed. He turned around and examined his brothers’ angry thirst for revenge.

“Get Lana to safety before anything else. Do you understand?” He commanded.

They nodded in unison before charging the front door to the building in full force. As their judgement was correct, they were immediately greeted with vampires just as they slammed the door open. The vampires attacked and they effortlessly fought.

Daehyun dodged an attack before landing a hard punch on a vampire. Swiftly he grabbed its neck and twisted it. His head snapped and the body slowly disintegrated into dust. That was the only way to kill a vampire.

Youngjae and Jongup worked as a pair as they charged a group of vampires. They were stronger and more agile. Their movement was faster. The princes were able to dodge attacks easily and then counter attack.

Yongguk looked around to see the situated. He then turned to Junhong and ordered. “Junhong, search for Lana! We’ll handle this. Go!”

Junhong spun around swiftly avoiding another attack from the male vampire. He took the command from Yongguk and moved away from the fight. Although he was being pursued, the rest of the Princes held the enemies back, allowing Junhong to get away.

He ran up the stairs frantically as he navigated his way to find the room which he saw in his mind. He could foresee where Lana was, in a room so bare and cold. He ran across the long stretch of hallway. It wasn’t doing any good that the mansion was so huge. He ran past rooms and kicked the doors, hoping she would be inside. However, his anxiousness on top of his anger was making him lose focus.

“Urgh!” He growled angrily when he entered a room that was empty.

Junhong felt like he wasn’t making any progress and the clock was ticking. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself and focussing on the image in his mind. In a flash, he could sense where Lana was and sprinted for her.

Finally, he reached a door located at the end of the mansion at the top level. Without wasting any second, he kicked it open and saw three vampires heading towards him. Instantly, he ducked the attack before lunging himself at them. They were a lot bigger in size than him but Junhong was stronger and faster. He avoided their attacks effortlessly and viciously tore them apart. As he was dodging and attacking, he noticed a lying figure on the floor. Desperately he approached her but the three vampires wouldn’t let him come close. Hence, he had to finish them off first. With all his strength, he gnawed one of them, killing him in an instant. While the other, he snapped his head ferociously.

Junhong was left with a female vampire. Single-handedly he attacked her and she put up a good fight. After finally managed to pin her down, he roared fiercely. “Who are you?!”

Kim struggled to free herself but Junhong was too strong. She glared at him and spitted. “Your nightmare...”

Junhong realised he wasn’t going to get anything from keeping the female vampire. Hence, he twisted her neck in a swift motion. He let out a victorious growl but immediately pulled himself together and dashed for Lana.

“Lana –“ He called. The girl was lying motionlessly on the floor wearing the same sleeveless night silky gown she was last seen. He turned her around and picked her shoulders up. He moved the strands of hair covering her bruised face. Her eyes were swollen and he could see red liquid flowing out of her nose. “Come on baby, wake up.” He shook her gently hoping she would at least open her eyes but she remained still. He could feel her skin all cold and bare.

Junhong didn’t waste a second more and instantly lifted her up in his arms. She was light, cold and almost lifeless. For the first time in his existence, he was extremely worried and scared. “Lana sweetie, hang in there.” He whispered in her ear as she rested her head on him.

Junhong dashed out of the room, holding her as tightly as possible. He heard the fight that was still going on but he couldn’t waste any more time. Lana was in terrible condition. He entered the hall where the Princes were and tried to locate Yongguk.

From a distant, Yongguk saw Junhong carrying Lana in his arms and instantly dashed to her. The rest of the princes continued the fight. They were winning the battle. However, Yongguk was not joyful after seeing his princess lying motionlessly.

“Junhong, how is she?” Yongguk asked. Junhong displayed the same terrified look as his.

Gently, Junhong placed Lana on the floor while Yongguk kneeled beside. “Hyung, you have to heal her now.”

Junhong didn’t have to tell him what to do. Yongguk instantly placed his hand above Lana’s forehead and closed his eyes. His palm moved slowly down to her arms, body and legs as he absorbed her pain and healed her injuries. By then, the rest of the princes have joined.

However, Lana’s injuries were too severe that despite his heal, she was still unmoving. Himchan placed his hand on Yongguk’s shoulder and said. “Yongguk, bring Lana back to the healing pool. I’ll settle everything here. Go now.”

As instructed, Yongguk lifted Lana in his arms and dashed for the car. Together with Junhong, they sped back to the palace. Yongguk kept Lana close and tried to heal her injuries. However, she was still not responding. Her eyes remained shut and she was just lying motionlessly. He knew this time, she was gravely injured that even his power was insufficient to recover her.

In just over an hour, they finally reached back to the palace. Quickly, Yongguk dashed to the secret room with Lana in his arm. The guards and servants watched in shock as they made way for the princes. The healing pool which was created by Yongguk himself was probably the last option for Lana. Muttering a few chants, Yongguk gently placed the battered and bruised Lana inside the pool. The water was warm and flowing continuously. It was filled with special water that could cure any form of injuries or illnesses. Of course, it was not for any being. It was made to serve the vampires. As for Lana, she was half their kind. Besides, she was healed fully after the last incident. Hence, Yongguk hoped this time it would just right.

Carefully, he let her float on the water, allowing the healing process to take place. He could see a few of her bruises slowly fading. But her eyes were still close. After about 5 minutes, Yongguk took her out of the pool and Junhong who has prepared a towel by the side, immediately dried her up. By then, the rest of the Princes seemed to have returned. They stood around and watched as Lana was placed on the bed, still unresponsive.

“Hyung, is Lana alright?” Junhong asked nervously.

Yongguk seemed to be lost at words. He didn’t know what to answer because he wasn’t sure himself. By right, Lana would have fully healed and most likely, she would have woken up.

“Lana –“ Yongguk called her name while gently dapping a dry tower over her forehead. He sat beside and held her hand in his. She was as cold as him and he could listen to her heart beating really slowly. “Come on baby, wake up –“

“What are you doing here?!” Daehyun turned his head and was greeted with a rare sight.

There were many guards standing before him but it wasn’t the guards who caught his attention. Behind the guards, there stood a group of unwelcomed guests.

Jongup and Junhong stepped forward as well while Himchan and Youngjae immediately went up on their feet. They glared at the sight of the new guests.

“What do you want –“ Junhong snapped but before he could end, he was interrupted.

“Move over.”

Yongguk turned around and was surprised to see who stood before him.

“Jongin?”

Jongin, together with Joonmyun, Kris and Tao entered the room. Despite being blocked by the guards, they went inside the palace boldly. EXO sensed a bad hunch about Lana, especially Jongin. He discovered she was absent from school and knew right away something was not right. True enough, he saw Lana lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Just like Yongguk, he could listen to her heart beat slowly drifting away.

Without saying a word, Jongin pushed Yongguk aside and sat by Lana’s side. He took out a syringe filled with what looked like red liquid, his blood. In a swift action, he grabbed Lana’s arm and inserted the syringe into her soft skin. The red liquid slowly entered into her bloodstream.

“What are you doing?!” Junhong snarled but was stopped by Yongguk.

Yongguk was the only one among the princes who knew what was going on. Instead of stopping Jongin, he let him continue.

“Junhong, don’t.” Yongguk warned the youngest.           

Yongguk stood quietly as he watched from the side. He knew that a wolf’s blood could cure any injuries and sickness. But that wasn’t just it. He knew that once a wolf’s blood is inside you, then you’re forever his. In this case, Jongin’s blood might be able to heal Lana. And not just that, Jongin was leaving behind even more traces of him within Lana. Yongguk watched in conflicted agony.

In his mind he kept thinking, the battle he was having with Jongin; he was losing. 

To be continued...

A/N:

EXAM MONTH! Been really busy i'm soooooo sorry.