Beholden (11 page)

****

RED.

Blood dripping through intravenous tubes and into bottles. Blood splattered on hands covered with surgical gloves. Blood on the skin around the killer’s mouth just before he licked it away, slowly, savoring the taste—

She started to choke, unable to breathe because of the overpowering smell of blood. It was too much, she didn’t want this scent. How could anyone live with this scent? And cold. It was so damn cold. She rubbed her arms, the chill in the room making her teeth chatter.

Hack. Hack. Hack.

Pieces of flesh flying in the air, and now the smell worsened. It wasn’t just the smell of blood. Now it smelled like decaying flesh—

Zari backed away, trying to escape the smell, and bumped into something hard and made a rattling sound. Whirling around, she saw a ceiling-high shelf stacked with computer servers—

Alexandru caught her before she fell to the ground.

Her eyes were wide with fright. “He’s a vampire like you,” she gasped. She knew she should be communicating quietly with him, but she was too weak, too disoriented. “He’s at the server room—”

 
I understand. I will need to leave you. Will you be fine?

“Yes.” She could still see the bits of flesh falling around her like snowflakes, and she gagged as the thought occurred to her that all of it could belong to just one woman. Was she still alive when she was being ground to pieces?

Alexandru swore under his breath when he saw how locks of hair, dampened by sweat, clung to her too-pale face. Cupping her face, he demanded,
Are you sure you will be fine? You do not look all right.

She lied, “
Y-yes. I’m o-okay.
”
A vision was starting to show, and she didn’t want Alexandru around when it happened. She had a feeling he’d be overprotective and not let her do anything. A sense of urgency hit her, driving Zari to push herself out of her Master’s hold.

“Go. H-he knows we’re here now. You need to take him b-before he kills again…”

Alexandru grabbed her jaw and kissed her hard. “Stay put. That’s an order,
pet
.”

She managed a smile. “Yes,
Master.
”

And then he was gone.

She sank to her knees, shaking. Her palms hit the cold marbled floor and she started to see once more.

****

RED. RED. RED. RED. REEEEEEEEEEED—

The walls, the stairs, the ceiling – everything was painted in red, and it was all blood, the reason he killed was because he wanted to paint the town red, literally, and where best to start than home sweet home?

A dungeon at the bottom of the stairs, and inside it was the girl he had come to kill—

Zari’s eyes locked with the girl’s.

Please,
the girl begged.

****

The world spun around her when she resurfaced, but she forced herself to stand, knowing there was no time to waste. Half-leaning against the wall, she made her way to the door. She headed to the end of the hallway, where a painting hung from the wall.

She took it off, revealing a secret panel. At the press of her fingers, the panel opened, revealing the stairway she had seen in her vision.

She gagged. Oh God, the smell. How could someone do something like this?

She didn’t want to touch the walls this time, forcing herself to concentrate on each step even as the world still shook and danced around her.
 

She counted the steps as she descended but the staircase seemed to be endless, its last step disappearing in the darkness. Terror gnawed at her like a hungry rat, but she forced herself to ignore it, telling herself she had to move faster—

“Please.”
That voice. It was that voice she had heard in her vision.
 

She missed a step, stumbling down the rest of the stairs. When she opened her eyes, she found herself right in front of the dungeon, its cavernous interior lit by a single lantern hanging high from the ceiling. A woman was huddled in the corner, her hair scraggly, and her skin dirty and scraped raw in parts.
 

“Are you okay?” she called out hoarsely as she crawled towards the door, unable yet to stand.

“
Please
.” This time, the whisper had turned into a moan.

She reached up for the door and found it unlocked, the door swinging open with a loud creaking sound.

Alarm bells started to ring inside her mind. Something was wrong.

Swallowing, she pulled herself up using the bars and took a small step forward.

A keening cry of hunger—

Oh God!

Even before Zari looked up, she already knew what was coming for her and what she had gotten oh so wrong.

The woman in the dungeon lunged towards her, Zari barely managing to escape. Her tongue had been cut, her teeth all pulled out, which was why the man upstairs had to grind the flesh. It was the only way this woman could eat her meals—

Zari tried to run, but the woman managed to catch one of her ankles. One strong yank, and Zari screamed as she fell. Her face would have smashed against the ground if she hadn’t managed to cover her face first.

The woman flipped her around, her incredible strength telling Zari that this was no human she was up against. An otherworlder as well, perhaps another vampire—

Long, sharp, blood-encrusted nails glinted in the dark like silver as the woman raised her hand, ready to slice Zari’s throat.

She screamed, in and out of her mind, “
Master
!”

Chapter Ten

“Additional grounds must be provided for a pet to use when terminating a claim.” She had read this over and over in front of the mirror, but when it was time to read it out loud in front of her Master, her practice was all for naught, her voice breaking at the end.

With a groan, Alexandru reached for his pet, and when she was on his lap, he pressed a tender kiss on her forehead. “You must stop torturing yourself with this. I know I agreed to it, but if it’s only going to bring up bad memories that hurt you—”

She shook her head. “It’s all right, Master.”

He flinched.
 

Her eyes widened in alarm. “What is it?”

“I remember the last time you said that to me…and you didn’t mean it.” He cupped one soft cheek. “You told me it was all fine, but in the end you still left me, pet. So I beg you now – don’t tell me it’s fine if it’s not.”

Alexandru reached the server room just in time to see the killer about to escape through the window. Without hesitation, he went into attack mode, fangs extending as he made a swipe for the other vampire’s throat.

But the killer was strong – too strong for an ordinary vampire, making Alexandru suspect that the killer had fed on a demon. Demon blood had the power to give an otherworlder incredible strength – if he didn’t go crazy first.
 

Walls cracked and equipment crashed to the floor as they fought and tussled on the ground.

Slash.
Alexandru managed to slice the killer’s chest open.

The other vampire howled as he charged towards Alexandru, managing to leave a long red gash on Alexandru’s arm.

The door burst open.

Erou leapt into the fray when he realized what was happening, and with the younger man’s help, Alexandru was able to subdue the vampire. When Erou lifted his hand to kill the vampire, Alexandru said sharply, “No.”

“Why?” Erou demanded.

“I want him interrogated,” Alexandru said. When his men arrived, he ordered them to take the man to the enforcers.
 

As the others left, Erou looked around the room, demanding, “Where is Lady Zari?”

“I left her upstairs.” His tone was distracted, Alexandru unable to shake off the feeling that he was missing something here. The flesh of the women had been missing in parts, and in some crime scenes, there had been bits and pieces scattered on the ground. There had to be a purpose for that. Even killers had motives, no matter how crazy, and he just couldn’t understand why a vampire who seemed to lead the quiet life of a librarian would do something so heinous.

It didn’t make sense unless—

Unless he was doing it for someone else?

His blood chilled.

And that was when he heard it—

Master!

“Zari.” He didn’t realize he had said his pet’s name out loud until he saw Erou glance at him sharply.

“Something’s wrong, isn’t there?”

He didn’t bother answering, racing out of the room and hurrying the sound of his pet’s screams.
I’m coming.

She didn’t answer.
 

Zari, wait for me!

Knowing that he would only waste precious time if he traced his pet’s steps from scratch, Alexandru simply followed the source of the sounds, crashing into walls and furiously digging his way down until he smashed his way into the dungeons.

He saw a female vampire on top of a frightened-looking Zari.

With a roar, he charged towards the vampire.
 

There was no fear in her expression when she saw him. Just hunger and rage as she launched herself towards him—

She was as strong as the other vampire, but she was no match against Alexandru.

Everything in him was focused on keeping his pet safe, and what threatened her must be eliminated.

His fingers closed around her neck.

Zari gasped as she watched Alexandru lift the female vampire up in the air—

His fingers closed around the neck, squeezing until the vampire was flailing, her legs kicking in the air. He squeezed until bones cracked—

The female vampire went still.

****

Even before Erou reached the dungeons, he already knew that Alexandru was gone – together with Zari. He found a dead female vampire on the ground, the flesh of her neck torn and the bones inside it smashed into pieces.

So she had made her choice
, Erou thought. And unfortunately, the Lady Zari had not chosen him.

****

An hour had passed since her Master had brought her back into the safety of his room, and still he had not talked. He had waited outside her door when she asked if she could take a bath, and when she was done, he had carefully carried her to bed and tucked her under the covers.

She had thought he would talk to her then, but he had simply kissed her on the forehead.

And then he had left, just like that.

Zari told herself to be patient, to wait for her Master to come back to her, but in the end she couldn’t do it. Her Master just had to accept that she was not the most patient person in the world. Swinging her legs over the bed, she padded barefoot to the door and when she opened it, she found her Master seated on the couch, the room cast in darkness except for the table lamp glowing brightly next to him. He had a glass of whisky in one hand, and his gaze was brooding when it met hers.

Slowly, she walked to him, her heart beating loudly. She had so many things to say, to ask, but the way he was looking at her told Zari that whatever her problems were right now, it was nothing compared to the burden weighing him down.

Zari whispered, “What’s wrong, Master?”

His answering laugh was hollow. “Are you certain you want me to be your Master still?”

She took a few more steps, stopping only when she was standing right in front of him and her shadow fell over her Master, making him look like a dark angel. She repeated quietly, “What’s wrong, Master?”

This time, he didn’t speak, a blank mask settling on his face.

Somehow, that scared her and she found herself falling to her knees, adopting the ceremonial position of pets when they were claimed by Masters. She hadn’t actually done this before, but she had read about it. The position was supposed to symbolize a pet’s complete allegiance to her Master, and she was hoping her Master knew that.