She rubbed her brother’s back slowly in steady circles. Like she used to do when he was small and scared of thunderstorms. Back then, she always said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Wox. I’m here. The storm will pass soon. I promise.’
But this time, she could not promise the storm would pass.
After a long moment, she pulled back and wiped his tears with her thumbs.
“Now hurry, Wox. Hide inside… and don’t come out. No matter what. Okay?”
Wox nodded and crawled into the empty space at the base of the tree. He curled up inside, small and shaking, still clutching the bracelet.
His sister looked at him one last time. Then, without a word, she pulled him into a tight embrace and kissed his forehead.
“I love you… I love you, Wox.”
“.....”
For a while, neither of them said anything. They simply held each other, as if trying to make the moment last a little longer.
Then she pulled away and covered the opening with branches, patting snow over them until it looked like nothing but an ordinary tree.
She stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where her brother now hid.
Then she turned and began running in the opposite direction. Away from the tree. Away from her brother.
She had gone only a short distance when her feet stopped. She turned and looked back. The tree stood silent. Wox had not come out. He did as she asked.
Relief and sorrow crashed together inside her. Tears spilled down her face. She pressed her fist against her chest, hard, like she was trying to hold her heart inside.
Then she forced herself to turn away and ran again.
***
Even though she had no strength left, she did not stop running. Her lungs burned and her legs trembled with exhaustion. The cold air cut through her chest with every desperate breath. But she did not stop. She had to go far away from her little brother.
But it seemed this was as far as she could go.
Because the monster they had been running from finally appeared in front of her.
At first glance, he did not look like a monster at all. Not a towering beast or some grotesque creature from nightmares. Instead, he looked almost human, a tall figure with pale skin. His crimson eyes gleamed faintly beneath the strands of white hair falling over his face. And a cross-shaped scar marked his left cheek.
He looked like an old man, yet the oppressive aura surrounding him made it clear that he was far from weak.
A grin slowly spread across his lips, revealing the sharp edges of his fangs.
“You ran quite far. Most humans collapse long before this. But did you really think you could escape from a vampire?”
The vampire tilted his head, studying her like an interesting animal.
“Humans are so interesting. You run and run… even when you know it’s pointless.”
His bloodshot gaze slowly drifted past her. “Hmm. Wasn’t there a boy with you? A little one. I can’t sense him here even with my heightened senses.”
A faint frown crossed his face before it disappeared just as quickly.
“Don’t tell me he ran off and left you here alone.” The vampire chuckled softly.
Just as the vampire said earlier, a vampire’s senses were far sharper than any normal human’s. With blood in the air, they could track prey from miles away. And with his heightened senses, he should have been able to find Wox easily.
But the reason the vampire was unable to sense Wox was because of the bracelet his sister gave him. The bracelet was magical, and hiding its wearer’s presence is one of its specialties.
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