Chapter 157 The Meeting



When Lazarus entered the community hall with his men, he saw that there were a large number of rebels that had gathered over there. He wasn't intimidated by their presence, but he realized that this meeting was extremely important for them. 

There was a table in the middle and about sixteen chairs surrounding it. At the head of the table sat Drogo, Emma's father. The way he looked at him, Lazarus was sure that he hadn't revealed to anyone that he had sold his daughter to him. Lazarus crossed the floor, scanning the crowd that was huddled a few feet behind Drogo. They all stared at him with fear and trepidation. The hall was completely silent. He went to sit at the other end of the table. There were other rebels too and all of them sat around the table, watching him intently. Magnus stood right behind him and other vampires flanked him. 

"You called for this meeting Lord Lazarus. Can you please state your purpose?" Drogo said in a loud, authoritative voice. 

Lazarus tilted his head and leaned it on his hand. "I would like to start from the beginning. What is the purpose of your rebellion?" 

Drogo appeared to become angry. "Have you come here to ridicule us? Don't you know what is the purpose of this rebellion? Why are you asking about it?" 

"Like I said— I was to start from the beginning. Was that so difficult to understand?" Lazarus replied back with a snarl so ferocious that all of the rebels shrank in fear. 

Drogo's heart beat fast, but he cleared his throat. He had to maintain his façade that he wasn't scared of the vampire prince. He took a deep breath and said, "We are not happy in your rule. We have been staying in this kingdom for generations and still you rule us. We will not submit to your rule. We want freedom!" 

"So you mean to say that you want to break the treaty which was formulated hundreds of years back between humans and vampires?" Lazarus asked, straightening his back and leaning forward. 

"The treaty was biased," Drogo replied. "It is not in favor of humans!" 

"Have you read the treaty?" Lazarus asked again. 

"Yes, I have!" Drogo replied glibly. He didn't remember it. 

Lazarus narrowed his eyes on him. "Then can you list the kind of punishment you have to meet when you break the treaty?" 

Drogo shifted on his chair. He didn't know what the punishment was. All he ever knew was that they had to rebel against the vampires and get hold of the land of Wilyra. The rebellion was more for the sake of usurping the lands. "I don't want to talk about punishments, Lord Lazarus," he growled. "If I had to talk about punishments, we wouldn't have rebelled. We want to have rights on this land." That statement gave him approving nods and he knew that he had won the first round. 

Lazarus clenched his jaw. "I can sense that you are lying Drogo that you have read it. Since you don't know about the penalties of breaking the treaty, let me tell you about them." He studied the men in the room. All of them had eyes on him. "If you break the treaty, then the humans are liable to be sent to the dungeons of Wilyra and there they will be met with severe form of punishments." He paused and tried to sense them. Smell of fear wafted. "Breaking the treaty would also attract another very severe penalty. The human would have to vacate the lands of Wilyra." He leaned back in his chair and said, "So as far as your rights are concerned, they were never there. You came to the lands of Wilyra at your own will. No one forced you to come and you signed the treaty after understanding all the issues." 

"But that was hundreds of years back!" Drogo snapped. "Our life has changed a lot!" 

"In that case, you forget Drogo that every time a new human or a Lorean comes into Wilyra asking for home, he or she signs a treaty. Or have you forgotten that?" He glared at Drogo with his red eyes so dangerously that Drogo recoiled. "You all come into the lands of Wilyra, sign the treaty because we give you lands and homes to live and once you are settled nicely over here, you start demanding that it is your land?" Lazarus got up, thumping the table with his hands. "Well, then let me tell you one thing Drogo!" His eyes roamed at all the participants of the meeting. "This land was never yours. It shall always belong to the rulers of Wilyra. If you feel that you can no longer remain within the terms of the treaty, then you are most welcome to leave the lands!" 

There was a collective gasp from all the humans. They stared at him with fear, with hatred and with repulsion. "We have given you so much!" Drogo said. "You have used us as your food. Without us, you won't even survive. You need us." 

"As you need us," Lazarus retorted. "A treaty is signed not for the benefit of one party. It goes both ways. We have been honoring our terms and have not once faltered. But your rebellion is unjustified." His breath became labored. If he gave the lands to the humans, he knew that no one would be their vassal. They would never come to give their blood to the vampires, and vampires needed them. "If you feel that you can no longer be of use to the vampires, then we can't stop you from staying in Wilyra. If you leave, more will come. If you will force others to not come, then we are going to go back to what we used to do earlier. And that would be very, very bad," he snarled. "Your rebellion is not required. I suggest that you all go back to the old ways so that life of the common people resumes normally. Because as far as the royals are concerned, we can get blood from any source. But I know for sure that life is going to be extremely difficult for all of you if we force you to leave!" 

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