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“Don’t stop,” she demanded.
He chuckled. That he refused to satisfy her was satisfying. Still, she was another addition to his stable of activated Blood Coven descendants. Her eyes showed she had turned.
Failure is unacceptable.
The echo of his mother’s words sent a shiver to every nerve in his body.
The warlock who was once Dolph rolled onto his back, his deflated appendage sagging against his thigh. When she tried to rest her head on his shoulder, he pushed her away, calling for his guard. “Return her to her cell.”
“But, lover,” she purred, “I could stay here with you.”
His blood ran cold, the chill reaching his eyes. How could she be so deluded? So blind? He was Cerberus. She was nothing but a human with the potential for weak power, her attempts to manipulate him pitiful.
The guard snagged the female’s arm to drag her away.
“Let me get my clothes,” she pleaded.
Before the male released his grip, Cerberus said, “No. Take her out naked. Let everyone see her for what she is.”
Again, his memories stirred, similar words spoken by his mother Echidna.
Everyone will see who you are.
“Who am I, Mother?” asked the boy.
“You will be the greatest warlock of all time. You will gather an army of Aeternals. When you do so, you will return us to our rightful place on Earth. You are invincible. Gahya has decreed it so.”
“You have met Gahya, Mother?”
“She visited my mother Seraphine and later me, though I have not seen her of late, Dolph.”
The young warlock was impressed that his mother and grandmother were important enough to attract the attention of the Genitrix Gahya.
Her mouth hardened into a tight slash when she changed the subject. “I am told your grades in history are not the best in the class, my son.”
“I shall raise them, Mother. The recent test was difficult.”
He closed his lids when she raised a hand, but he did not flinch. If he did so, his punishment would be longer, harsher. The flat of her palm smacked his cheek, the sting bringing tears to his eyes. He deserved her rightful anger.
“Failure is unacceptable, Dolph. Second place is failure.”
“Yes, Mother.”
She grabbed him by the elbow, yanking him out of his chair, dragging him across the room and down the creaking wooden stairs. He stumbled, his mother being stronger, faster.
“The cellar is where you belong while you think on your behavior. Someday, you will sit as a justice or a lawgiver. How will you get there without being the best?”
She tossed him onto the cold, hard ground.
A sliver of light shone from the top of the steps.
His mother retreated, using the railing on her return. “Why do you make me resort to these measures, Dolph?” The door slammed shut. She left the boy in darkness.
He would try to stay awake. If he slept, bugs and spiders crawled on his arms and legs. He closed his eyes, listening. Creatures scurried across the dirt ground. Probably mice or rats. He hated rats the most. Also the stench. The cellar smelled of rot. He touched the floor. It was damp, cold. He wore only a short-sleeve, thin shirt. Dolph wished he had changed into heavier clothes. He wanted to scream but wouldn’t. Males destined to rule the world did not cry like small boys. They stayed alert in the darkness, unafraid.
He would think on his failures while he concentrated on keeping the spiders and rats away. His mother was correct. He should do better. After all, one day he would gather an army to lead his people to victory.
Cerberus ordered a guard to change his bedding. Once the male completed the task, he crawled beneath the clean sheets. No spiders. No rats. No stink of rot. No damp earth below him. He snapped his fingers to turn out the lights, except the one beside his bed. It would remain on during the night. No inky darkness for the warlock ever again.
