The Vampires Pet

Chapter 24

During the carriage ride, I remained silent and tried to calm my beating heart. It was a difficult task and Nicholas's eyes drilling into me weren't helping at all. All the thoughts running through my mind wouldn't allow my heart to settle for longer than a few seconds before my heart rate would pick up again. 

I knew Nicholas could hear my heart so I was trying my hardest to shut the thing up. His silence actually frightened me more, he usually questioned me when my heart would beat faster but he hadn't spoke a word about my strange behaviour. Perhaps he just thought it was because we were going to a vampire murder scene and I was worried about the dead bodies and council vampires who would be there. 

With that thought in mind, I clutched the golden pendant through my dress that was lying against my heart. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, images of my father, mother and grandmother flashing through my mind, seeming to calm me finally. Instead of feeling like I was in a carriage heading to a murder scene and possibly the start of the destruction of the vampire race, I felt like I was floating on top of a calm lake. 

My breathing became steady and even, my heart slowed to its normal rhythm, matching the gentle rocking from the water. I opened my eyes, bringing myself back to the carriage. I looked up, Nicholas was already staring at me, no expression on his face to give away what he may be thinking.  I kept my eyes locked with his, now able to with a calm mind. 

The carriage slowed to a stop but neither of us made a move, still locked in a heavy gaze. Nicholas finally stood, his eyes still locked with mine. 

"Try to avoid trouble today Fairy." He spoke with a drawled tone, like I wouldn't understand it if he spoke normally. 

I simply nodded my head, I always did try avoid trouble but since being with Nicholas, trouble seemed to like me for whatever reason. He finally broke away, turning and walking out of the carriage. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in and followed after him. 

I glanced around. We were in the outskirts of a village, one I hadn't been to before. It continued to surprise me how many villages were littered around the lands. I quickly jogged after Nicholas when I realised he was not waiting for me, not that he ever did. 

I peered out from behind him, spotting what looked like 4 council vampires in their red uniforms and another 3 vampires who looked like guards. The council vampires noticed Nicholas's approaching form and turned their attention to him. They all had knotted together features, clearly tense and not happy with the murders. 

My eyes had been so focused on studying the alive vampires, that when my eyes landed on one of the dead ones, a gasp left my lips. It wasn't just a murder scene, it was a torture scene. 

The vampires twisted and morphed body lay on the ground, his head turned to the side and his wide eyes staring into mine. He looked like he was in complete agony, there were a number of cuts on his body but none of them were bleeding. Some were shaped in crescent moons and others in crosses. It was horrifying. 

The vampire didn't look like a councilman, maybe a guard based off what was left of his clothing. 

"You've brought your pet, again." I recognised that voice. 

I tore my eyes from the dead body and stared at councilman Hugh, the slimy bastard who tried to eat me the first time Nicholas took me out. I was starting to notice someone always tried to eat me when Nicholas took me out. 

"Have some professionalism Hugh." Nicholas snapped quickly, his quick retort surprised me. "We have work to do. So do it." 

Hugh glared at Nicholas but shut his mouth, I wanted to snicker at him. Nicholas talked to the other councilmen, Hugh remained silent, every now and then his eyes found mine. I did my best to ignore him, standing behind Nicholas's broad frame. 

I let my eyes wander over the rest of the scene, another vampire was sitting against a tree. It was clear his body had been placed their after he died. His head was down, his chin on his chest. His limbs were twisted and broken too, cuts littering his exposed arms and legs. Whoever killed them was not kind about it, it was clear they did it out of years long hatred. 

The hatred I saw in the manner of the murders frightened me. 

Suddenly a hand grasped my wrist, I jumped and turned to Nicholas. He shook his head at my reaction but didn't let my wrist go. 

"Stay here. If you go out of my sight I won't be the one killing you." He said in a deadly tone that sent shivers down my spine. I nodded my head.

He let me go and walked off towards where the councilmen were now standing. As he walked off, my view of the rest of the scene widened. I was able to see three more bodies. Two of those bodies were parallel to the first two, matching their poses. It was the last one that made my body run cold, my breathing cut short from shock. 

The vampire who was clearly a councilman due to his uniform, was pinned up against the trunk of the tree, a few feet off the ground. His elbows and legs had knives in them, keeping his body against the tree. One large knife was pinned directly through his forehead, in the center of some sort of satanic mark that had been carved on him. 

There was not a drop of blood on him, despite the hundreds of carvings that decorated his skin. On his exposed body, the word carved into his skin chilled me to the bone. 'Beginning' was carved into his stomach messily and though it was just one word, I instantly knew the meaning. 

They were saying this was only the beginning. The evil that surrounded this area was suffocating, it felt like a horrible nightmare I was trapped in. This wasn't a statement from a revolutionist, this was cold blooded revenge from someone who had become swept up in the same evil that was the very existence of the vampires. They weren't changing anything, they were repeating. 

This couldn't have been done by the people Karter had mentioned right? They wanted to get rid of the vampire race but for the right reason, not to arrange these sets to play with the vampires and torture them, right? 

They weren't so full of evil and hatred, they weren't capable of such horrors like the very species they were trying to get rid of. Right? 

I hadn't noticed Nicholas had been watching my reaction and I also hadn't noticed how my hand had crept up and clutched onto the golden and ruby pendant that lay on my chest. My eyes widened more, if it was even possible and fear racked through my body. 

What if Nicholas's brought me here because he realised what I had been thinking. That Karter wanted me to runaway to the people who had possibly done this horrifying crime? What if he was on to me this whole time. 

I wanted to run. My whole being was screaming at me to turn on my heel and sprint into the trees for as long as my legs could carry me but I was frozen to the spot. It was like my body wasn't my own, I knew I had my limbs but they were numb and weren't working with my mind. His eyes dropped down to my hand clutching the necklace before he slowly turned away. 

My heart was back to being as chaotic as it was earlier. My lungs seemed to be my enemy, not allowing air to fill them properly so I could breath. I stumbled backwards and fell against a tree, thankful for something to hold me up while my legs were too weak to do their job. 

My eyes kept glancing to each of the five dead vampires. Something inside of me wanted to walk up to the one in the tree but I felt repelled by the darkness that consumed them. Not to mention the vampires crowded around the dead body put me off. So I stayed where I was, frozen in place against the tree. 

Suddenly, more chills ran down my spine and goosebumps rose on my skin. I furrowed my brows at the sudden reaction, though it suited the current atmosphere. Regardless, it felt different, it felt like I was being watched. I glanced up, Nicholas was busy working and none of the other vampires were paying the least bit of attention to me. 

I slowly turned my head to the side and my eyes widened when they landed on the shadow standing in the trees. My heart stilled and I instantly turned, my body wanted to run to him. I took a few steps forward but my body froze, remembering Nicholas was not far from me. 

I quickly glanced over at Nicholas, he was still busy so I glanced back and stared into the dull blue eyes. Karters eyes were empty, his expression void of any emotions and it scared me. If Karter was here, then does this mean it was the people he was talking about? I gasped as another thought came to mind. 

Was it Karter? 

He just continued to stare at me. He looked like a corpse. 

I was worried about him. He was only a small distance away from eight vampires that could capture and kill him. 

'Run' I mouthed worriedly. 'You need to run' 

I hoped my expression would convey more than my silent words could. It was too dangerous for him to be here. Even if he did kill these vampires, even if it made me sick. There was something about Karter that I connected with, maybe it was because he was all alone too. In a weird way, he made me feel less alone, knowing that someone else was out there like me. 

Except he was going to dramatic lengths to change our world so others like ourselves, wouldn't be alone. 

The last thing I wanted was for him to be captured or killed. Regardless of how empty his eyes look, he's a boy who had his whole life torn away from him by Nicholas. Nicholas ruined yet another undeserving life. 

'Come.' Karter mouthed. 

I shook my head and glanced over at Nicholas and the others quickly. 'I can't.' I mouthed back. 'Run! Now!' 

Karters eyes found Nicholas and the others, he stared at them. I wasn't sure what I saw but I swore it was a smile that formed on Karters face at the sight of the vampires looking over their fallen. My heart dropped to my stomach and a strange feeling rose inside of me, I pushed that away when Karter turned back to me. The same dead expression as before. 

He stared at me for what seemed like centuries, before finally turning and skulking off into the thick trees, back towards the village. I sighed and let my exhausted body fall back against the tree. 

"Who was that Faye?" The voice behind me made me jump around, I wanted to scream but the fear had grabbed my voice and thrown it into another dimension. 

I stared into Nicholas's red eyes, my body rigid and shaking. He was studying my expression and reaction with a blank face, giving nothing away. I wasn't sure how long we stood there, eyes locked while my heart went into overdrive and restarted but when I finally realised what was happening, I someone managed to bring myself back into the moment. 

"What?" The word fell from my shaking lip. 

"I asked who that was." 

He had seen Karter, the very thing I was praying not to happen, happened. 

"Uh.. it was just a.. they were just a villager." The words stumbled around, finding it difficult to form a sentence. 

His eyes narrowed on mine, making my blood run cold. Nicholas could sense when I was lying sometimes and right now, a dead man could tell I was lying. He looked in the direction Karter went in, his eyes narrowing further. He walked around me. My heart was pounding so loudly against my ribcage I could hear it in my mind. 

The adrenaline coursing through my veins from the fear, took control of my body. It pushed me forward after Nicholas and made me wrap my hands around his arm before he could follow Karter and kill him. I held onto his arm with all the strength I had. 

"It's just a villager I swear." The words splurted out from my lips. 

Nicholas stopped at my sudden and probably dangerous, to me, action. He turned around slowly, his cold eyes staring directly into mine. His eyes travelled down to where my hands were latched onto his arm like it was a life and death situation. It was. 

"Let go Faye." There was a hint of a growl in his tone, causing me to flinch. 

"I'm sorry Master." My lip quivered as I spoke. 

"Release my arm before I remove yours." He growled lowly. 

The fear compelled me to drop my hands and stumble backwards. Nicholas continued forward and I watched in horror as he walked directly towards the direction Karter was in, but then suddenly Nicholas strayed left a bit before stopping and kneeling on the ground. 

He grabbed something off the pineneedle covered ground, brushing the dirt off it and revealing a small silver dagger with a black and purple handle. He turned to me, looking at me before examining the dagger again. 

That whole time, he just saw the dagger?