“Do you need more blood,” the slave girl asks, boldly meeting my eyes. I shake my head, though her offer does comfort me. The act of offering blood is something sacred to my new self, my very instincts demand that I respect her.
The slave children play with sad little toys, rocks and sticks of odd shapes mostly, but the kids wear infectious smiles and make a small, but cheerful ruckus.
Was I ever like that?
Piper turns to her younger siblings, her family, and breaks up a fight that’s stirring. Even in this flimsy shelter, wearing filthy rags, they know how to smile.
“I’ll be eating out this evening,” I say, turning from the sight. This atmosphere is so cheerful, so happy, that it’s offensive to my vampiric nature, so much so that I’ve become wholly cut from my new powers. “I may... I’m taking on a challenge that I’m likely unready for. If I do not return you may wish to escape, though... if that was an option before now...”
“We can’t escape,” she says. “If you truly wish to do some kindness for us, then you will need to return.”
“I will try, and should I succeed, I’ll be much stronger. Perhaps even strong enough to…” I can’t finish the sentence. It is my responsibility to give them a kinder life, and I will not fail them. They are some of the few people supporting me now, even if the only reason is because of their own weakness.
The children are the ones to see me off, their innocence keeping them from understanding the situation, an understanding that would turn to grudges in time. Their cheerful farewells seem a solid effort to melt my frozen heart, but it’s not enough to war against the æther that chills me through.
It is the unspoken curses of their elders that I find most appropriate.
I am a monster, and it is right that I am hated.
Turning and leaving the den, which the slaves have worked hard to make into a home, I find Therina waiting for me attentively outside. She bows and follows me as I lead us toward my home.
The sky is still warm with the lingering grace of the sun, but while my power is not at its greatest, the red streaks in the sky only parch my skin, the same as the noonday sun had when I was still human. It is time to prepare myself.
With Therina’s assistance, I dress as properly as I may, for tonight is not a night for the huntress alone, but for my noble self as well.
She isn’t practised in this nature of care, her hand is unsure with a brush, not quite forceful enough, and her attempts to dress me are clearly that of an amateur, but her spirit and professionalism, even in her less than perfect performance, leaves her at an obvious advantage over the others that surround me.
She walks at my back as I leave my room, the blood finally cleaned, and the sheets changed. While I have no more need for a bed, it is a basic thing neglected for too long.
The maids and guards we pass pause, unwilling to stand in my way just yet. The air is thick with fright, an ambience that echoes through the death-marked halls, born from the bloody effigies made from the corpse of the man I murdered. Many of these cruel talismans that I had to spare are now strewn through the estate grounds. The fear they inspire echoes in the stains that remain forever upon the walls of this house, and through the demented souls of those who have taken up residence here.
Terror feeds terror, and the longer this goes on, the more it’ll feed upon itself making a living nightmare from this haunted home.
“What do you think that you’re doing?” My uncle steps in my way, as we come upon the entrance hall. His brows are knit together in a tight display of stress, even he can feel the terror-drenched atmosphere.
“I’m heading out,” I answer him firmly, demanding his silence. “I have some business to attend to.”
“You think you can just walk yourself to a fancy ball and have a party?” He asks, clearly mistaking my intentions. “I’m the regent of this property. You will obey me, now go back to your room.”
He huffs and he puffs, his face bright red from the strain. I can hear a disgusting squelch come from his guts as he expels something from the hole in his belly, followed soon after by a terrible stench filling the air. I no longer have a gag reflex, but it’s incredible that I do not have it return to me from this alone.
I ignore the man and his odorous air as I walk around him to the doors. When he moves to intercept I level an æther fuelled glare at him, strengthened by the effigy hidden in a pot plant nearby, it has enough force to it that the man freezes in his step.
Without hesitation, I push through the doors, leaving the man behind. The guards don’t have the spirit to stop me tonight, frightened to an unusual degree. I suppose that word would have spread about that man’s disappearance.
I left no blood behind and used all of his flesh to make effigies. Perhaps, some have been found? What was made with his skull was certainly something difficult to hide after all is said and done.
Henry waits for us outside the property, he wears an old suit, worn but clean, and in the dark it’s hard for others to see the fraying threads.
“We’re really doing this?” he asks, escorting me down the street. We have no carriage, for the same reason that I do not dare to ask for proper guards, the infestation of my house is simply too complete.
“We are not. You are here to escort me. The rest of this business is my responsibility, and it would be good for you to leave me at the door.”
“What if they overpower you?” Henry asks, Therina wearing a dark expression at the thought.
“Then my fate might as well be sealed,” I answer. “I have prepared as well as I might with what pieces I have. Delaying for uncertainty would only add to my deficiencies.”
“Be careful,” Therina says as the manor comes into sight.
“Now is not the time for a careful nature, now is the time to be bold, lest the moment be taken from me.” My words are nearly interrupted by the old man who stands before me, leaning heavily on his cane.
“And what have you planned that demands that you be bold?” Reeve Lewark asks, his eyes shining brilliantly in the night.
“Good evening to you too, sir,” I say meeting him with a curtsy. “I had intended to mention this, but I could not find you before opportunity came to act.
“I believe that the boy, the murderer who was left to walk, has turned his eyes to a closer prey. Come morning he will be found with a knife in his hand, laying upon the corpses of his dearest family.
“A terrible misfortune it will be, but such is the end for those who fail to allow justice its due course.”
“And the servants?” Lewark asks, “What of them?”
“Hiding through the incident, I’m sure,” I reply. “I’m quite certain that they’ll survive, they know the young master’s proclivities well enough to avoid him.”
“Are you sure of this?” He asks, a little quieter. “This will not go as well as you expect it to. You’re still a kid…”
“Perhaps it will end badly,” I admit. “But I know what happens if I do nothing. The killings go on, and I will be married to my cousin, kept locked in my own room like a kept pet.”
“I won’t stop you,” The reeve says with a long sigh, stepping out from our path. “If you become a monster…”
“I already am, Reeve Lewark,” I reply. “But my noble heart shall remain regardless, and my responsibilities shall not be ignored.”
He nods slowly, spitting on the side of the road, his scarred face twisted in thought. I haven’t a clue what this man might have experienced such that he’s letting me continue with this insane plan, but when he does step aside, leaning on his cane, there is a sad look in his downcast eyes.
Therina stays with the man, unable to show her face in this house for fear of recognition.
Henry walks to the gates with me, as the guards take in the sight of us with great suspicion.
“Open the gates,” I order them. “I am the current lady Greystone, and I am here to meet with Lord Andrick.”
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