Let me repeat, almost all of the questions you have will be answered within the next two chapters.
~*~
I snuck quitely through the hall, the scent of flowers at dusk settling uneasily on my tongue. Death hung mustily in the air, filling me with a sense of dread. The smell of cold marble and antiques assaulted my senses. This castle was old and dangerous, and I flitted from pillar to pillar uneasily. What unnerved me the most was the darkness that clung in the shadows of the grand hall.
A grand staircase stood proudly before me, carved of black marble. A blood red carpet covered more of it, but not all and the dark stone gleamed wickedly. I carefully snuck up the stairs, using all of my senses to try and tell if I'd been detected. So far so good, I thought.
When I reached the top of the stairs I immediately took a right. By now, my heart was racing knowing that after this room I would reach my destination. It would be a safe house in the midst of enemies, but only the Turned could find it. I laughed as I thought about the way the Esgyrn didn't even know what that the ones they hated the most were breaching their domains.
The room I entered made me pause though. It was more of a hallway, but I felt lost and unsure. The ceiling was arched and held up by great golden pillars. Lining not only the walls, but also along the ceiling, were grand mirrors. Every image was reflected back at me, and as far as I could see, there appeared no end. Damned optical illusion, I thought, then I looked at in a new perspective Maybe that's why this is here, to confuse the weak.
I walked briskly down the hall, nervous from the fact I was so obvious. Then, I heard the noise that reminded me of my breaking heart. It was the sound of someone using darkness to teleport. I knew who it was, but instead of turning around I stopped dead in my tracks. On all sides I could see my cloaked figure tremble. I was showing too much weakness. Even the white hooded cape I wore could not hide that.
I waited to call on my power, not sure what he was doing here. Oh stars, I thought, please have him leave me. Please have him understand.
"Traitor," he hissed. He did not understand. They had kept it from him. Slowly, as if I had broken all the bones in my body, I turned to face him.
"Please, Xenos, don't..." I started to talk to him, but he cut me off. His form was livid, that much I could tell. He wore the traditional garb of the Esgyrn except I could tell he had risen in rank. Because of you, my conscious hissed, you tried but failed. HIs robes were of an ungodly black with blood red swirling up along the sleeves like fiery liquid.
"Traitor," he whispered again, this time his face coming into view. I gasped as he threw his hood back, watching his beautiful face contort in anger and pain. He had a new scar, this one running from above his eyebrow, curving around his face, and down to his chin. It was a fleshy pink, faded against his tanned skin. His stunning, now violet eyes followed me.
"They've changed you," I said softly, the words becoming lost in the stunningly expansive hallway. His strong chin gritted in what I knew was frustration. He ran his scarred hands through his pitch black hair that came just below his ears.
"My eyes," he snarled, "are from healing." I could understand what he meant. My leaving had ruined everything. He had sought solace in the darkness, even more than what the Esgyrn dabbled in, and it had left its mark.
"Do they bother you?" He asked, turning his face into the light. His words were filled with evil and bitterness, and I shrank back. My mind flashed to his old green ones, so perfect for his face. These ones were corrupt.
"What?" he said, taking a step closer, "Aren't you going to reply? Say something back? Just like you always would?" His one step had brought him and inch from my face where as he had been twenty feet away before.
"You're powers are greater. You've become a Reaper, haven't you " I said. His harsh eyes literally darkened, becoming black and cold. I could feel him summoning his sword, and we both took a step back at the same time. His weapon appeared in his outstretched hand in a flourish of darkness. The darkness wove it together, and I could tell the scimitar had changed from his recent encounters with the dark.
My own swords appeared in shimmering gold, the light blinding Xenos. Still, it did not faze him for long. My swords had recently become golden and white, transforming with my own unique transformation. It bothered Xenos for a second, but soon his scimitar was flying at me.
We twirled at speeds we had both never trained at before. Only our BloodTraining was keeping us alive. Our swords gleamed at each contact, sparks of magic flying off in various directions. Every time our bodies neared, glimpes of our past together bombarded me.
Eventually, I could take no more. I threw my swords in an act of defiance, and sank to the ground on my knees. Each tear I cried held a memory of our friendship...of our love. Xenos looked furiously at me, his brow furrowed in confusion. My swords crashed as they broke a mirror, the tumbling shards making beautiful tinkling noises as they hit the ground. In a flash of gold, my swords returned in front of me, but I held no desire to fight with them.
"What we had is gone," Xenos said in a rough whisper, his voice husky, as if he had lost it for a moment.
"But what will our future hold?" I countered, desperately wanting him on my own side again. His dark, chuckle, filled only with bitterness, rang through the halls.
"I've gone too far this time, my harp, and no matter how much you foolishly deny it to yourself, we'll never be again," he said.
"But I love you," I whispered, feeling the truth of the words break throughout my body like stormy waves. I could see nothing but seething pity on Xenos' face.
"Don't try to fool me," his words were harsh once again; "I'm sparing your pathetic life now. But when the Esgyrn demand your death from me, I will not hold back." I tried to open my mouth to speak, but one look in his hideous black eyes shut my mouth. He strode near me and slapped me across the face, causing me to spiral into lost consciousness, but not before I heard the noise of darkness swallow him up.
I am confident you can look through this manuscript and find the places yourself -- or else another soul will come by and give you line-by-line commentary.
I mean, i know they aren't human but you didn't specifically say what they are. Are they vampires, faeries, ghosts, or what? 