Call Of The Dark



Cain came just before the morning. Disheveled and irritated, he barged inside his room only to find Naomi sleeping. He shouted at her, "Naomi!" She didn't even stir. He paced to the bed and shook her with his hands. "Get up, Naomi! Did you talk to your sister?" Once again, she didn't wake up. Instead, she just turned to the other side, mumbled something incorrigible and went off to sleep again. 

The door of the room opened and Cain whipped his head to look as to who had entered. The healer walked in. "What do you want?" Cain asked, hating the interruption. 

The healer bowed to him. "Lord Cain, I have come here to see Lady Naomi." 

Cain's brows furrowed. "Why?" 

"She had sprained her ankle yesterday and was in tremendous pain. I had to give her a sleeping draft. She won't wake up for a few more hours." 

Cain's mouth fell to the floor. "Sprained her ankle?" He had got the papers signed in the name of Lazarus. The estate was his unless Naomi had convinced his sister to change her mind. He wanted to tear those papers but not before listening it from Naomi's lips. 

The healer nodded as he approached the bed. He lifted her gown till the ankle and said, "See." He pointed at the bandages on her ankle. 

Cain stabbed his fingers in his hair as he stood there, numb in mind. How could this happen? They didn't really have the time. "Well, wake her up! I have to say something very important to her!" 

The healer gave him a stare as if telling him how strange he was. "You can't wake up a person like this. That sleeping draft is very strong." Saying that he started opening the bandages around her ankle as Cain watched him with disbelief. When he had opened it all, he said, "Her ankle has healed. There is no swelling now." 

There was no swelling yesterday either. But since Prince Anton had sent him to look after her, he couldn't say no. He had to go and see King Viktor's concubine. When he informed King Viktor about this, the king asked him to see her first. He could have said that there was no swelling but he was scared that if Lady Naomi accused him of not looking after her, he was going to be royally screwed. So instead of him getting royally screwed, he got Naomi royally screwed. She was acting smart? He acted smarter. How dare she waste his time? 

He got up and gave Cain a bottle of green poultice. "In case she feels pain in her ankle, which she shouldn't, you may apply this poultice to her skin. She will feel better in a day." 

Cain took the bottle from him and watched him leave. He was so angry that once the door closed, he threw the bottle against the wall. It shattered into a million thin shards. "Fuck!" He kicked the leg of the bed. The wood cracked, creaked and groaned before breaking. Naomi rolled down to the floor as it tilted, but she was still in deep slumber. Furious, Cain just left her sleeping on the cold floor. 

An hour later the guard knocked on the door. "Lord Cain, Lord Lazarus has asked you to meet him." 

Cain had just taken a bath. He was extremely tired and wanted to sleep. "Tell him I will be there in an hour!"

"He wants to meet you in fifteen minutes." 

"What the fuck!" Cain yelled. But the guard didn't respond. 

Cain looked at his wife who was snoring on the cold floor. Everything was going wrong. Hurriedly, he wore his clothes and as he walked to meet Lazarus, he buttoned his shirt. Lazarus was waiting for him in his chamber. When Cain opened the door of his room, he saw that Lazarus was sitting at the table while Emma was sprawled beneath a quilt on the bed and Olya was sitting at the edge of the bed, talking to Emma. He was repulsed by how meek Olya looked in front of Emma. 

"Have you been able to register the land in my name?" Lazarus asked. 

"Yes!" He gritted through his teeth. His fingers curled around the scroll which was the deed. The estate was now in the name of Lord Lazarus. Once he handed the papers to him, he was going to forever relinquish his hold on that piece of land. "We need Olya's signatures on the deed below yours." 

Olya jumped up, her face glowing with energy. "Where do you need my signatures?" she asked, batting her eyelashes. 

Cain grabbed her by her upper arm and said, "Can I talk to you?" 

Olya looked up at him with surprise. "Sure," she muttered. 

Cain took her outside the room and grated, "Did Naomi talk to you about all this scheme yesterday?" 

Olya raised her arched eyebrow. So it wasn't Naomi who had thought about it? It was Lord Cain who had shoved the idea in her sister's mind. "She did," Olya replied, removing her arm from him. "And I gave her my answer." 

"Can't you see what Emma is doing? She is going to make you her slave. She is going to take your land and toss you into misery. Why can't you get it into your thick head?" Cain hissed. "Are you such a moron?" 

Olya pursed her lips. "We need to go inside and finish the job. I don't want to wait for it because we have to go to the village and check out a few things." 

"Who is 'we'?" 

"Emma, Lord Lazarus, Lord Magnus and me. Maybe, Lord Anton too."

"Olya!" Cain tried to reason. "What is wrong with you? Why don't you—" 

"You are wasting my time, Lord Cain," Olya shot at him. "And my time is precious. I have to go to meet Lord Magnus and discuss the agenda at the village." Olya turned on her heels and walked inside the bedroom.

Lazarus was looking at her with a hint of a smile on his lips when she walked in. "What are we waiting for, Lord Cain?" he said. 

Cain shuffled on his feet. His grip on the papers tightened. He took a deep ragged breath in. 

Lazarus extended his hand. "Then let us sign those papers and we will be done with. We have to go for a meeting with Magnus." 

Cain just couldn't stall it anymore. With heavy steps he closed to where Lazarus was sitting and with shaky hands gave him the deed. 

"Thank you," Lazarus smiled victoriously. He opened the deed, read it carefully and then took out the quill from the inkstand and signed it. "Come here, Olya." When Olya went to him, he gave her the quill and she signed it where he pointed. "There!" Lazarus said excitedly. "This is all done now." He opened a drawer in his table, stashed the papers in it and closed it. He got up and said, "Thank you, Lord Cain. You have indeed shown your interest in marrying Olya into the royal house. The marriage will take place in a month's time. If you like, you can stay in the palace for a month. However, I would like it if you and Naomi leave. You can prepare for the remaining dowry at Upper North Jupan."

"Remaining dowry?" Cain squeaked, paling.