The Blood Painted Cage

I stepped closer to Viorel and took his hand in mine to squeeze gently in comfort. I was perfectly calm at the news of Susan’s disappearance. Mostly because I was quite confident I could find her swiftly.

“Viorel, there’s no need to worry. I will search for her.” I told him soothingly. “Where did you lose her?”

He turned and pointed into the maze of flowering plants. “Just by the fountain. I was talking to her about,” He hesitated with a sudden shadow over his features. “About her past. She seemed quite open about it but then I took my eyes off of her for a moment and she’d gone.”

I smiled and stepped towards the yawning darkness. “I will go get her.”

He raised his eyebrows in alarm. “You’re not going by yourself.”

“Susan seems to prefer fewer strangers about her.” I replied with a slight shrug.

“But the assassins.” Viorel started but fell silent when I waved my hand nonchalantly.

“Then finding Susan quickly is all the more important.” I told him then smiled and continued. “Tell Dana then and get her to come find me.”

I didn’t give him much time to choose what to do and wasn’t at all surprised when I heard the tell tale squeek of his trainers against stone following me. Mentally I nudged him to turn him back to the house. It didn’t work. He remained stern in his decision and trailed after me, listening as well as a human could at the rustling night.

I let him do whatever he wished and focused on searching for the lost witch girl. I reached out, letting my mental feelers stretch into every space and every crevice within my domain. I found my maids and Lucius, all resting or working within my home. I hovered about Vincent for a moment. He was in the depths of the study; silent and brooding. I couldn’t tell what he was feeling and, after a pause to observe him, left him alone to continue with the task at hand.

I continued my search and smiled triumphantly when I felt the small hidden beat of life, thriving in a tree not too far from the garden.

I sent this information to Viorel alongside the order to remain distant. He silently accepted and I sensed him slow down his pace, letting the distance between us grow but not too much so he couldn’t keep an eye on me. I doubted Susan wouldn’t be able to sense him however. Matter was a very sensitive energy.

Quietly I stepped through my maze of bushes and shrubs to come to a stop in front of a large sycamore tree that stood at the corner of my grounds. I let my eyes scan the branches until I found the small hunched figure curled in one of the higher branches.

I took a few steps forward before I called out to her. “Susan? Why are you up there?”

At first there was silence and I nearly came to the decision that she wasn’t going to talk with me until she moved and a shadow dropped to the ground sharply. Susan landed on her feet lightly, like a cat, before she stood up sharply and glared at me with ferocity.

“I wanted to be alone.” She replied then swiftly shot her own question at me before I could continue. “Who are you?”

I blinked in confusion. “I am Eva, Susan.”

“I know that!” She snapped hotly. “But who are you?”

The confusion strengthened and I shook my head slowly. “I am not quite sure what you mean.”

Susan huffed testily and crossed her arms over her white apron. “The master speaks so highly of you and with so much respect, it gets on my nerves.” She swayed on her feet with a sense of strong irritation. “So who are you and why does my master love you so much?”

Bells of familiarity rang in my head at Susan’s words and anger. She strangely reminded me of Vince at his unexplainable rage towards Lucius.

“I am the only Sinclair, Susan, which makes me ruler. Your master only speaks highly of me because my position surpasses his.” I said gently, trying to sooth her resentment against me.

“You sure that’s it?” She demanded.

“Yes. We have not known each other for long and he only came to me because he wants to keep you safe.”

Hey narrow eyes grew suspicious. “Keep me safe?” She echoed. “The master is planning something with you isn’t he?”

Now that surprised me. I thought she knew about Lucius’s plan to seal her Matter.

“I wouldn’t say planning as if we were trying to do something horrible to you.” I said, although to witches maybe having their Matter was something horrible.

“I won’t let him keep me in the house.” Susan snapped. “He keeps trying to but I won’t let him.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And why not? The last time you escaped I heard you got into a bit of a fight with the nearby Pack.”

“Only because they bad-mouthed him.” She grumbled.

I laughed gently. “You seem to both hate him and love him at the same time.”

She shot me a glare. “I won’t let you do whatever is you’re planning. I won’t stay in that house.” She said hotly, ignoring my statement, then turned to run.

I expected this however as I hovered in her mind, picking up her strange conflicting emotions with interest. I let her run a few paces before I mentally took hold of her right foot and forced her to fly forward. She landed on her face and remained still only for a moment before she bounced up with her Matter running through her body thickly.

“What did you do?” She demanded.

“I stopped you running.” I replied which only made her angrier.

“Why do you answer my questions so plainly?” She snapped.

I frowned a little. “I answer your questions as well as I can, Susan, and I did stop you from running.”

“But how?” She yelled, her irritation boiling horribly.

I raised a finger and tapped my forehead. “With my mind. I am a Silver blood after all.”

She scrunched up her face in doubt. “Well, whatever.”

She remained still for a moment, assessing me, before she whirled around and tried to flee again. I smiled gently and, again, grabbed her foot and forced her to the floor. She screamed into the floor then rolled over onto her back so she could push herself up and glare at me venomously.

“Will you stop doing that!” She yelled.

“Not unless you promise to stop running away. It will give Lucius trouble.” I said firmly.

“Like I care.” She said. “He won’t let me hunt so I will cause as much trouble as possible.”

“Hunt?”

Susan gave me a long look before she sighed and grumbled to herself. “I want to look for the person who killed my family but the master won’t let me.”

That hit me like a punch to the stomach. So Vince’s suspicions were right, she was trying to find the killer. I wouldn’t allow her however. I would protect Vince until Lucius said otherwise.

“The vampire that killed your family would’ve been strong, Susan. Your mother and sister were strong Harlow members and taken down very quickly. Lucius is right in trying to keep you safe.”

A slight hiss of annoyance escaped her mouth and the scowl rapidly returned tenfold. “You sound just like the old man.” She commented snidely. “My family’s killer won’t avenge himself so I need to do it.”

“You will only get yourself killed in the search, let alone the fight against him.” I said sadly. “The Old World is a dangerous place, especially for a young unclaimed witch. Now stay safe and stop running away until you are strong and grown.”

For once she made no reply. Instead she stood there, watching me carefully, then stepped forward sharply.

“I will stop running from him,” Her eyes narrowed when my smiled grew. “But only if you tell me what he is planning to do with me.”

My smiled faded until an answer came to mind. “He is planning to keep you safe.”

Something snapped in her mind and she screamed in rage, gripping her short boyish hair and pulling hard. “Stop answering like that!” She cried. “It pisses me off!”

My eyes narrowed and I mentally cuffed her around the head hard, ignoring the cry of rage and surprise I got in return.

“What was that for?” She demanded.

“I don’t want to hear that sort of language coming out of a fourteen year olds mouth in my house, understand?” I said firmly before my smile returned which only seemed to pour oil on the small girl’s rage. “Now that I have answered your question, you will stick to your promise. No more running.”

“You never answered it!” She roared in aggravation.

I smiled widely. “I believe I did Susan, now come inside.” I held my hand out and glanced up at the sky. “I think it’s going to rain soon.”

“I won’t!”

“Then stay outside and come in when you’re ready. It is not like you can go anywhere.” I said lightly, reminding her of my mental strength by flicking her nose lightly.

She rubbed it fervently and glared at me with fiery eyes but she remained still, not making any move to run. I gave her one last smile before I left her standing alone in her rage and returned to the house. Viorel didn’t follow however. Under my own instructions and his own decision, he stayed beside Susan to ensure no assassin of mine would harm her. Not that they could. Lucius was right; the Matter inside the witch child was abnormally high and would prove a tough opponent for a single vampire to take on.

Feeling strangely happy, I went and sought the kitchen in search of tea. Susan was going to be very interesting to work with and she may unintentionally open up a door to understanding Vincent and his rage. That thought made me giddy with excitement.

There was a small hope that I might just be able to get Vincent to be a little civil towards Lucius yet.