Everything about this woman is predatory. Her walk, her posture, her mouth, they all spoke of danger, but also grace. I'm sure a lot of men would think she's worth the risk.
"Who...who are you -"
The man didn't finish his sentence. The newcomer pulled out his dagger and slit his throat with a casual swing. She didn't even look at him.
I could see the tubes and smell the contaminated fluid. How annoying.
I could barely see the woman walking by. So very tired. I just need to close my eyes for a moment.
"Follow me, little one."
I blinked and something stepped over me. Here comes the woman! She rubs her thighs against my dirty skirt, making herself comfortable. Then she reached out and thrust a hand into my chest.
"U
k!”
"Shhh, look at me and follow my voice."
I stared at my chocolate eyes, twinkling mischievously. She was doing something but I was too weak to move.
"Nothing hurts, it just feels like you're surrounded by fluffy pillows."
Something pulled my stomach, but I didn't feel any pain. After a while, the strange woman was examining a silver ball, her hands soaked in blood. She whistled.
"Good take, honey!"
Really? I frowned.
"are you comfortable?"
Am I? I think so. I wanted to take a nap, but something kept me awake. special way.
"So, do you know Jasper, the stalker?"
who?
"I don't think so, dear. I'm talking about the mage who almost killed you. I guess it's him, because his head is almost gone. Annoying guy. He has a habit of hunting for prey, regardless of guilt. Kills monsters and humans for fun. This time, he bites off more than he can chew. Pun intended."
I see.
"Well, you're so quiet, my little sweetheart. Let me help you."
She took a small water bottle from her jacket and poured the contents towards my mouth. The burning sensation I had forgotten about was washed away. She dabbed the damp spot with a clean paper towel. I licked my lips tentatively. I'm still sluggish, but now I can talk.
"Good evening."
The woman looked stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Ah, my little duck, so cute!" I am Nami Nata, but you can call me Nami. "
"Nami..."
"So, why are you here anyway?" I assume you're not following a stalker. "
Talking is tiring. I gently turned my head towards the broken chair and the body next to it.
"Oh, that pig. You killed him, right? Well done. I wouldn't have gotten into the house otherwise."
She leaned forward. The distance between us grew closer and I shuddered as she licked her lips.
"I know you don't want to stay with those Lancaster bastards. Do you want to join us? Just say a word to Kuaku and he will marry you. We can do it in a natural way, my little girl."
Now that there are no bullets in my gut, I can feel my body working hard to heal itself. The numbness was fading, replaced by pain and renewed desire. I still can only shake myself.
"Never again... never again... haha!" Being manipulated by others. "
The smile on her face disappeared, replaced by regret and a little shame. I recognize her now because my mind is clearer. She was with representatives of House Iken when I escaped from the fortress. She was silent for a while. We don't move. I started to drift.
A hand patted my head gently. The sharp claws gently brushed through my hair, parting the strands without breaking them. The effect was so soothing that I shivered and relaxed.
"Shh, okay, little one. I'm sorry. I forgot. Fine, I'll give you a little present. Apologize for the inappropriate suggestion."
My eyes were closed, but suddenly I smelled something. It's a scent like damp earth and spices, an exotic scent, something to dance and sing about.
"I wonder what that feels like. Come on, bite!"
I felt soft skin against my lips. The perfume is getting stronger and stronger, making it unforgettable. I'm so thirsty. This isn't what I need, but it will help.
My fangs pierced her skin.
This is so different from humans. There is no rush, no ecstasy of life. I was getting barely any energy and whatever I was getting felt sluggish. There was no heartbeat to energize my aching body. What I got instead was power.
If life is what continues my damn existence, what I'm getting now is the essence of what makes me do the impossible. I can feel myself getting stronger. I guess I'm too weak right now and every little bit counts.
A similar situation exists for mages.
Drinking the blood of magical creatures makes me stronger.
I finally understood why other monsters were so much more dangerous than me. My master fed them the blood of powerful creatures, and possibly his own blood. Their rapid growth is bound to destroy their minds and turn them into natural disasters.
How terrible.
Baudouin said that a vampire's strength increases with age, meaning that the Devourer and his descendants draw strength from what they eat, much more so than vampires of other bloodlines.
I'm not sure this is common sense. However, I'm pretty sure no one in Louisiana knows how important this is, and I fully intend to keep it that way. I was worried that if they found out, they would eliminate me before I became a threat.
"That's enough, little one," said a sultry voice. I obediently licked the wound clean. This experience was so intimate for me. I was worried that Nami had stolen my first kiss, or some vampire thing like that.
"Ah, I love walking on cliffs so much!" That's enough, honey. I'll get Mr. Jasper back here, and then I'll go. See you later!”
After Nami left, something suddenly broke and I immediately lost consciousness.
"No, please, Akili, please..."
"I told you, sister, it's useless."
A terrible gust of wind blew through the dry cane, blowing ashes and dust into the air. The sky was blackened by smoke and I couldn't tell the time clearly.
"Please...I'm so thirsty!" Please..."
Achilles carried his only bottle of cold water with him. He drank from it from time to time. I can almost feel it on the tip of my tongue, so tantalizingly close.
"It's all your fault, you know?" If you died right, we could have closure, but even then you can't. "
A gust of wind blew embers onto my tattered clothes. Red dots fell on me and smoke began to rise. I can already feel the heat burning my skin. I struggled, but I controlled. My arms were supported by chains attached to a wooden mast dug deep into the ground. The familiar cabin taunted me with its safety, but it was so remote that I could barely see the charred walls. They still stand.
"Achilles..."
"You don't believe me. Good. Try it yourself."
My brother came over. His broad shoulders and muscular body were once a sign of comfort, but now they were a threat. I thought he would be happy to crack bone and bruise flesh with his meaty hands, but he didn't. Instead, he brought the kettle to my chapped lips. Yes! Finally!
The cold liquid finally rushed out of my mouth. It tastes like fresh mountain water. I swallowed greedily, but nothing happened.
"What?"
"I told you, I told you this wouldn't work. Only pain and misfortune can comfort you now, you in my sister's guise. Then eat. Enjoy. Monster".
Achilles took out a hunting knife and slowly aimed it at his jugular vein.
"Wait! Achilles, no! What are you doing?"
The knife slashed down, and blood splashed all over me and the ground like a fountain. He's going to die if I don't... I don't...
I need it, I need it badly. I'm injured, so... thirsty!
thirsty!
"Ge!"
Ah, the pain! What's the matter? Where is my rest? Where is my time for introspection?!
I can't move.
I opened my eyes. I was tied to the bed with thick ropes that entangled me and the mattress. I was still wearing the remnants of yesterday’s clothes, layers of twine underneath. It smells very familiar. My face was covered in dried blood and cracked whenever I moved.
This is part-time work. I could free myself in a few minutes and find someone to drink dry. I squirmed and the pain worsened. My stomach hurt so bad I almost believed I'd been shot again.
Ah, here it is. I must not have fully recovered from yesterday's ordeal. Such a wound would kill me within an hour if I were still alive. I would breathe my last breath in my own blood and guts.
There are benefits to this cursed life after all.
I heard footsteps, just as I managed to cut the first knot with my claws. The door opened and Mrs. Moore came out.
She looked as commanding as ever, her nose wrinkled in displeasure. How much I hate her and her misplaced arrogance. If she didn't loiter like a peacock in this barely civilized swamp, letting others labor for her achievements, her delicate hands would also be stained and smell of guts and blood.
Bitch.
"Is that contempt I see on your face, rookie?"
Now is not the time for confrontation. I would run away, and long after that, I would wipe that look from her face.
"No, Mistress."
I will not let arrogance destroy me. Yesterday I realized that mortals are lucky in the face of pain. There is only so much damage a man can take before his body breaks down, unless he is tortured by a particularly gifted tormentor.
Vampires, on the other hand, can take a lot of abuse. It's enough to drive people crazy.
I may be stronger than I was yesterday but I am still a sparrow in front of Mrs. Moore's hawk. I need more time to compare. I will be patient. I have to be patient. I will be as feared as the Master, even if it takes a thousand years.
I want to watch that pretentious girl be shattered in front of me.
"Baudouin assured me that you were useful. However, I now believe that you tricked him, you dirty little slut. He doesn't know you as well as I do, and I guess he is too used to dealing with mortals. Now, you have to tell me all about your deal with the Iken family."
What's the matter?
"I have no agreement with the Aiken family."
"is that so?"
"Yes. Not at all."
"Then how do you explain that Naminata was seen coming out of the building where we found you unconscious?"
"This is the first time I've seen her since the fort."
I explained what happened yesterday, except that my strength increased, even though it was like that.
"You said you killed this man named Jasper? Alone, without a weapon?"
"I wasn't completely unarmed. I used his throwing knife."
She scoffed, her rouge lips twisting in contempt.
"Taking up lethal weapons like a beggar without dignity?" Now the story suddenly seemed more believable. "
So whose fault is it that I'm in danger wearing a cape? Bah! A woman has no idea of intellectual honesty if she's slapped in the face with a rotten catfish.
although……
Is she implying that she can't tell truth from lies? This is huge news! It means I can hide my little plot from her. I still have to be careful, because if she wasn't cunning, she wouldn't have survived this long. At least your attitude won't work.
"But do you expect people of your blood to be honest?" Girl, you must think I am stupid. "
"I assure you, there is no arrangement between me and the Iken family!" I even rejected Naminata's proposal. "
"Ha! I knew it. What's that advice?"
I did not mean that. My anger got the better of me again.
"Marry Lord Kuaku."
"Ha! Hahaha, that must be tempting, you shameless whore! To set free on this barbarian's head? What's stopping you? The idea of just being a second wife?"
"Hiss!"
It seems Jime
a is wrong. Vampires are racist, but not to each other's faces.
"Indeed, it appears that I was mistaken in imagining that you were so cunning as to have made such an arrangement. You must have some base cunning; however, merely conspiring against us is not enough."
I remained silent. I finally saw the end of my pain. I just want this nasty woman to go away so I can hunt in peace.
"However, betrayal, no matter how small, cannot be tolerated. I'm sure you must have some idea in your stupid head, and now I want to hear your idea."
"What?"
"You have an escape plan. You must have said I would hear it when you were ready to share it. Don't worry, girl, I brought some light reading to entertain myself while I waited.
You must understand that I have the blood of kings flowing in my veins. Those who have grown up in such a high field know the best tools to achieve the desired results without getting their hands dirty. In this particular case, the tool is patience; we just wait. "
Mrs. Moore ignored my protests. She sat in my chair, at my own table, took a book out of a small bag, and began to read.
I shuffled my feet uncomfortably. My stomach still hurts, if not as much as before. However, my thirst...
Start at chest level and go up to my arm height. It spread up and down my throat and stomach. It's an itch, a burning, a craving. It is unique and cannot be compared with human experience.
When I was a kid, I held a heavy plate for as long as possible. At first, it feels easy, then uncomfortable, then painful, until finally, it becomes almost unbearable. If I persisted any longer, my whole life would be limited to this task.
The situation is somewhat similar, as being stung by a bee is like being stabbed by an enchanted silver dagger.
Within minutes I would be rolling around, openly fighting against the bindings, forgetting about the pain in my stomach. I couldn't help it.
Half an hour later I was hissing and grunting. A giggling Charlotte brought the heavy chains to Mrs. Moore, and I was bound like a cocoon.
After that, I only read a few pages before I started begging.
"Do I want anything?"
"Yes! That's right. Please, please!"
"I want to know your arrangement with the Iken family right now."
"I didn't arrange for you - ah!"
"But you do have a place to escape."
"I……"
"Um?"
"Yeah! Yeah, damn, I know. I have a plan."
"What's your plan?"
"I saved the money! I'm going to take it and go!"
I barely had enough sense to abandon my most desperate plans. I will use it as bait and as a sacrifice.
"Did you steal our stuff?"
"No, Mistress, I took the money from your enemies. The people in the warehouse! The Swordfish Gang, the rapists and the runaways. I took their money!"
"Pfff! Hahaha, oh, war prize? Oh, that's so precious. Well, you may be a little more cunning than I thought, but I have to ask you, how do you expect to survive the rest of the hunt?"
"Well, there's enough money for the overnight train. I'll run after that."
"I'm talking about the bracers, you stupid redneck."
"I……"
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to chop my arm off."
"Oh. Oh! This is getting better and better. My dear, I should have thanked you for your hospitality tonight. I've paid for it and smiled less. Are you really, really going to hurt yourself?"
"I...I know we can regenerate limbs!"
This is technically correct, but also completely irrelevant, as you'd expect. You just can't understand the reality of your existence. You are not truly a descendant of the Devourer, driven mad by power and desire. You are just a lost chick, abandoned by her father who thought she was strong enough to run away at all costs. You are not, and since I am a kind hostess, I will educate you right away. "
She came to me and drew a wicked dagger from a groove in her robe. This weapon is terrible. It was black as obsidian and oddly curved. I'd never seen anything like it before, but one look was enough to know it was meant to kill people.
She raised her hands and I flinched, but she just freed my hands and took off the shackles. The rest of my body was still trapped.
"Well, I almost forgot about your stink. I only have myself to blame. Anyway, take it."
She offered me the hilt of the dagger first, and I grabbed it without thinking. I can cut the remaining rope and get some blood...
"Cut your arm off right now, I'll let you drink someone dry, and then I'll set you free."
"What? !"
"You heard me. If you succeed in severing your arm, you can leave. This is my sword. It can cut through metal. Even an untrained mortal can use it in two attacks Beheading enemies, so cutting arms is a piece of cake.”
Doubt assaulted my mind through numbing thirst. Could things really be that simple?
"No trap. Go ahead. Give it a try."
I stretched out my left arm and waved the blade, realizing the problem.
I'm afraid of pain.
I've been in a lot of pain over the past few months, one would think that would make me get used to it. but it is not the truth. I don't want to get hurt. I don't want to bleed.
But I have to try. I have to do it. This is my best chance at freedom. I turned my attention to the vampire master beside me. She had a patient and slightly condescending look on her face. She seemed so certain that it was impossible for me.
I'll show it to her.
I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, and attacked with all my strength and speed. I'm chopping and slicing before my brain realizes what I've done.
My hand dropped and started shaking.
oh. mine. god.
“AAAAAAaaaaAAaaaahhh!”
Can not move. Can't think. It breaks my heart. The blade scraped against the bone, buried deep inside.
I kept screaming and holding on to the arm with the knife still inserted in it for a while. The pain cleansed my mind of all but the blinding pain itself. The world turned white. There is only pain.
Finally, another voice emerged from the dry sobs.
"Okay, you've reached the bone. Here, let me help."
A hand pushed the blade down with a loud crack and I lost consciousness for a moment. When I woke up, the knife was stuck in my arm. Blood slowly seeped onto the stained sheets. The only sound was my whimpers.
"You're halfway there, although it's arguably half the easy part. Well, will you continue? Take your time."
too painful. Too much pain and too much thirst. I should keep going, but I just can't. It hurts so much.
I am not the hero of a story who can ignore pain and adversity. I'm not strong enough.
I don't want to do this. I don't want to suffer this.
It must be a Cadiz number.
I'm lucky Mrs. Moore forgoes a full interrogation in favor of humiliation. Now it seems that being looked down upon is still my greatest asset. I would feel sorry for myself too, but I was in so much pain.
"Should I take it out?"
I nodded. Yes, God, please make it stop. Make it all stop. I wanted to cry, but I wouldn't give up what little dignity I still held on to.
Mrs. Moore pulled out the knife and, to her credit, she did it cleanly. The wound didn't heal, and I held my injured arm in a futile attempt to stop more of the precious fluid from escaping. So thirsty. I can't take it anymore.
She dragged me to the cattle pen and I ate both victims one after the other.
Things have changed.
I noticed the sky outside my spiritual sanctuary darkened. Maybe I should be worried, but how could a vampire find daylight so comfortable? I deserved it.
When we were done, Mrs. Moore dragged me back into the house and threw me on the carpet. I could hear Harold snickering as he watched me from the stairs. Those jackals are always eager to see others humiliated.
"My faithful Melusine wanted to turn you into a likeable courtier; but you prefer to hang out with scum. Now, unless you want to help in a challenge, you will be working in a position more suitable for you . Or rather, on your back."
"challenge". I croaked.
"What did you say?"
"challenge". I repeat it more firmly. No matter what, it's better than the fate she thinks now.
If my refusal had offended Mrs. Moore, I saw no sign of it.
"Good. Just the wrist guards."
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