The Vampires Pet

Chapter 19

My eyes were trained on the lifeless body of the vampire as the carriage started to pull away, my eyes only leaving when the body went out of sight. I stared at Nicholas, he was already staring at me. 

"I'm sorry." The words fell from my shaking lips. 

Two deaths in one day, I wasn't sure if my mind would recover from that. Nicholas didn't reply, his eyes dropped to my shoulder when my blood was dripping down my arm from the bite and claw marks. I was dreading the impending punishment, he didn't do it infront of the other vampires but that doesn't mean he will let me off easily, I mean he just killed one of his own. He won't hesitate to torture me for the rest of my few days on this earth. 

"It seems you always cause me trouble." He muttered, his tone was even unlike his wild eyes. 

There were so many things swirling in his red orbs I couldn't quite figure out what was going on in his mind. I knew for a fact that he was fuming with me, but he was currently composed. However that scared me more than anything. 

I dropped my head, mumbling quietly. "I'm sorry Master." My eyes closed tightly. 

A ripping sound broke out in the confines of the carriage, I snapped my eyes open to see Nicholas ripping the bottom of the dress I was wearing. I stared at him with wide eyes as he brought the ripped piece of fabric to my arm. I flinched back when he reached for me, either he didn't notice or didn't care, I was betting on the latter. 

He held my arm out slightly and tied the fabric around my arm where the wounds are before letting my arm drop to my side again. A bit of my blood had gotten on his hand, I was expecting him to wipe it on his handkerchief like he usually did but instead, he brought his hand to his mouth and licked the blood off. 

It made me queasy. 

His eyes appeared to glow for a split second as he tasted my blood. We sat in silence for the rest of the ride. The minute the carriage came to a stop, Nicholas grabbed my wrist and pulled me with him. He didn't release my wrist as he dragged me upstairs, past the peering eyes of the vampire maids, to his room, only then finally releasing me. I stumbled, still somewhat dizzy from almost dying less than an hour ago. 

"Sit." Nicholas barked out the order. 

I instantly sat on the couch while he walked into the bathroom and came back out with the medical supplies. He sat beside me, pulling the fabric off my arm. He took a wipe from the bag of supplies and wiped my arm down, I winced at the stinging pain it caused. Nicholas worked quickly, wrapping my arm in a bandage. 

"He's always been a messy eater." Nicholas grumbled, I wasn't sure if it was to me or himself. He stood and put everything back in the bathroom, I sat still unsure of what to do or what was happening.

The dull ache in my arm and neck caused my mind to wander back to earlier. The images I saw in my mind felt so real, the drowning felt real. My father dying and staining the lake red with his blood, it all felt suffocatingly real. My mind was thumping and I tried my best to clear my mind of those nightmarish images. A shadow filled my sight, causing me to jump back. 

Nicholas stood in front of me, staring down at me. His hand reached out and touched my neck, my body naturally recoiled back in fear but that didn't stop him. 

"Does it hurt to breathe?" He asked. 

"A bit." 

"Does your breathing feel restricted?" 

I shook my head. "I'm fine now Master." 

He narrowed his eyes warily, pressing his fingers on the tender skin of my neck. When I showed no obvious signs of pain his hand dropped. "It doesn't appear that she crushed anything important." 

"I'm sorry." I mumbled again, picturing that furious rage on Dorothy's face when I held eye contact with her. 

"That word is beginning to get on my nerves." He stared at me with weighted eyes. 

I could still see anger bubbling behind his eyes, there seemed to be more than just anger directed towards me though. I could see inner turmoil as he tried to stay calm and composed while he wanted to erupt like a volcano. I pursed my lips and went to apologise again but the narrow in his eyes made me clamp my mouth shut. 

Instead, I let my frazzled mind take control and spew out words before I could process what they were. "You killed him." 

He stared at me with a blank face. "No, I put him down to bed with a warm cup of tea." He bit out sarcastically. 

"Why?" I mumbled quietly, fear was starting to surround me as I spook out of line but I couldn't stop. 

"Why what?" 

"Why did you kill him?" I gulped. 

He looked at me as if I made a cretinous comment. "Surely that lack of oxygen hasn't permanently damaged your brain." He spoke with narrowing eyes. "Why do you think Fairy?" He asked. 

I bit my bottom lip nervously, words Nicholas had spoke before rang through my mind but I refused to speak them. "You didn't like him?" I winced at my words. 

"Even the blind could tell that." He said. "Tell me why Fairy."

I searched his eyes, there were flicks of almost every emotion in there, humour now flicking through them once again but not overshadowing the pure rage that still boiled. I silently prayed Clara would bust through the door at any moment and save me from Nicholas, but I knew god never seemed to be on my side when it came to him. 

His eyes slowly broke down any resolve I had to keep my mouth firmly shut and never let him hear those words uttered from my lips. I squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze, dropping my head and staring at my hands in my lap. 

"He touched what was yours." I whispered, barely coherent. 

I felt his finger under my chin, raising my head so our eyes met again. "What was that Fairy? I couldn't hear." His devilish smirk appeared on his face. His annoying vampire hearing heard it, he just wanted to drag this out as he saw it was torturing me. 

"He touched what was yours." I repeated, my bottom lip shaking slightly. 

"And what exactly is mine?" He pressed further, making me want to sink into the couch. 

"Me." I whispered, not breaking our intense gaze. 

His smirk widened, his eyes sparkling with something new, something unreadable. "That's my good Fairy."

Silence consumed the room as he walked away to his desk, he got his whiskey out and poured himself a drink. Then he pulled paper and his pen out, writing something down. I watched him silently, he still looked angry, no, I knew he was still angry but he hadn't said what my punishment would be. 

 Clearly today was a half wit day for me, the next words went tumbling from my mouth. "Are you mad at me?" 

Nicholas's body tensed for a second when he heard my words. He slowly turned to me, his analytic eyes studying mine. "I think it was pretty clear you did some brainless things today." He started, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, I dropped my head submissively. "For that you will be punished, but I am mad at that senseless i***t. I'm mad that he drank from you before I did." Nicholas grumbled out. 

At his words I looked back up at him. His jaw was clenched and eyes narrowed as he tried to hold his anger back. I almost wanted to laugh at his expression and anger, I should've expected that. His pure anger was born from the fact that he didn't get to drink my blood first, he is mad his food was eaten by someone else. I found it amusing and ridiculously aggravating at the same time. 

"I see Master."  

"I want to revive him just to kill him again." His expression changed slightly as it became clear he was imagining killing that vampire all over again, probably thinking of more exciting and experimental ways to do it. "But unfortunately that isn't possible, so punishing you will have to suffice." 

He turned to me, his lips curled up into an evil smirk. I gulped, regret flooded my mind. I really should've learnt to keep my mouth shut the first time it got me in trouble. His eyes lingered on mine before they slowly travelled down my body, his smirk turned into a scowl. 

"Get changed." He barked out. 

Nicholas didn't say another word as he sauntered into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I furrowed my brows until I looked down and saw the blood splatters covering the top of my dress. I grimaced at the sight, thankful Nicholas pointed it out before I sat around in the dress for the rest of the day. 

I grabbed one of the slave dresses from the neat pile I kept, glancing at the closed bathroom door before I quickly slipped the blue dress off and slipped the less likeable slave dress on, instantly I missed the soft fabric of the other dress. I frowned and mentally cursed at the vampire for getting his blood on it. 

I sat back down on the couch, unsure of what to do now. I heard a small scuffle and what sounded like a door opening, I glanced at the bathroom door, confused when I saw it still shut. My eyes wandered to the bedroom door but once again, it was shut. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a black shadow suddenly lunge towards me, I gasped and jumped further back into the couch, shutting my eyes tightly. 

I wasn't exactly sure what I was expecting, an attack, a bite, whatever it was never came. Instead I heard a soft meow and something soft brush against my hand. I slowly peeled my eyes open to see a black and white cat smiling up at me with bright blue eyes. I blinked, the cat blinked back. 

"Uh hi?" 

That cat meowed at me, brushing its head against my hand. I slowly raised my hand and ran it down the cats back, it purred in approval. Since when was there a cat in this house? and why would vampires have a cat? 

I continued to pat the cat until the bathroom door opened. Nicholas's eyes snapped to me, then to the cat now laying in my lap. Water drops fell from his wet hair, landing on his forehead. 

"I see you've met Phantom." Nicholas said. 

"Is that your name? Phantom." I said softly, staring down at the cat. "Is he your pet?" I glanced at Nicholas as he ran a towel over his head to dry his hair. 

"Not really." He muttered. "Cats don't particularly like vampires." Nicholas's voice held something as his eyes were glued to the feline. 

"But he lives in a house full of them?" I questioned. 

He shrugged. "He liked her, so he stayed." My ears perked up at the sound of the woman with no name Nicholas has referenced before. "I don't know why he's still here now." His voice was quiet, his tone held a hint of the melancholy I've noticed when he mentioned 'her' before. If I hadn't perked up I would've missed what he said altogether. 

"Do you have a secret entrance somewhere for him?" I questioned, thinking back to how he just appeared out of nowhere. Nicholas shook his head. "Then where did he come from?"

"He learnt to open and close my door because I'd never let him in my room." Nicholas's face remained cold and blank as he pulled his eyes from the cat and walked to his desk. 

I pursed my lips and wondered why Phantom was in this house. Nicholas didn't seem overly fond of him, however I don't think he hated him either. I think Nicholas did like the cat but would refuse to acknowledge or admit it, afterall he hadn't thrown the cat out of the room the moment he saw it, instead a troubled almost pained expression found his face. 

"Maybe there is a witch in this house." I spoke without thinking as I thought about the stories of how cats were drawn to witches. 

Nicholas's head whipped to mine, his eyes somewhat suspicious. Then I remembered that he really wasn't fond of the witches at all, I sucked in a breath waiting for a reprimand but it never came. 

"Despite the stores, cats don't actually have otherworldly attachments to witches." Confusion must've flashed through my expression as he continued to explain. "Cats are called Soul Seers in the supernatural world by those knowledgeable enough." 

"Soul Seers?" I furrowed my eyebrows. 

He nodded. "Cats are the only animal capable of seeing further into humans, even supernaturals. They can see into everyone's souls and by that, their judgment of who they like is made." 

Reminisce flashed through his red pools as he stared at Phantom, who stared right back at him. I looked between the strange engagement, it almost seemed as if they were speaking through their eyes. Nicholas's words rang through my mind, was Phantom looking into the part of Nicholas no one else could see perhaps? If what Nicholas said was true, then why did Phantom seem to like, or have some sort of understanding towards Nicholas. Surely he could see his soul was nothing but tainted with evil. 

"I like that." I said, causing Nicholas to snap his eyes to mine. "The idea of them being able to see into our souls and see us for who we are inside, I like it." 

His eyes lingered on mine, almost the same way as they did with Phantom. Something was flashing through his eyes, something I couldn't read but could just see. In that moment I wanted to reach out, I wanted to see like Phantom and grasp what was behind the orbs that mirrored the pools of blood Nicholas left behind in his wake.