The Blood Painted Cage

I stared at the old oak door that stood firmly in front of me. If I was human I would’ve been staring at nothing but darkness however the light emitting from the small candle being held gently in Sonia’s grasp was more than enough.

I twisted my hands nervously. The aura was thick here, very thick and ominous. I was scared I had to admit. I had never found an aura so blood thirsty before among my sane people. Only the parasites felt like this. It made me wonder what on earth happened to this man that made him wish so much death and created so much hatred and anger within him.

Sonia and Livia sensed my hesitation and fear and I did not need to look back at them to know they were glancing at each other in concern.

“We can come later, when the sun is high and the prisoner is weak, Lady.” Livia suggested in her gentle voice.

Swallowing heavily, I forcefully shook my head. “It would do no good if he knew I was scared.” I said.

There was a pause behind me as my two maids considered what I said carefully before acknowledging it.

“Then be calm, Lady. We will guard you and keep you safe from him.” Sonia told me.

I nodded hesitantly then forced my hand to cover the rusting door handle and pushed it down hard, giving it no chance to jam. The old oak door wailed when I pushed it open and at first I could only see darkness with the mouldy damp stench filling my nose but Sonia brought down the small light, more than enough to brighten the muggy room. Not that I wanted to see now that I could. The place was covered in dust and cobwebs and creepers that had somehow found their way in and were clinging to the stone walls. It was cold too. And miserable. My heart felt slightly heavily just standing at the doorway. I always knew there was a reason why I never came down here.

With a light sigh I forced my way in, overlooking the iron barred rooms and chains hanging from the ceiling as I shuffled along the floor. I tried my hardest to ignore the aura but I couldn’t. The rage was just so raw, so blood thirsty, it chilled me. But I was going to meet him. If I was to be looking after him for three days then I was going to do it properly.

Livia stepped ahead of me, taking the light with her before she stopped before one of the prisons deeper into the complex. She stood straight and stiff, a sign that she was in fact ready to defend me if the occasion rose.

With Sonia close behind me and letting me gently probe her calm mind for comfort, I stepped forward to stand tall beside Livia. After breathing in deeply I swept my eyes over the prison in front of me and found the owner of the damning aura.

The man was leaning back against the wall with his arm on his knee, staring at me with a very firm and calculating stare. His dark hair was bedraggled and looked as if he hadn’t shaved in weeks. But it was the tattered shirt and jeans spattered with blood that made me wary. That and the rage and hatred he didn’t bother to hide from me.

We watched each other for a while, sizing one another up. I knew he did not think me strong. In part that was true. A young human would be able to break me. That was how weak and fragile I was. However my mind could destroy houses, tear opponents’ limb from limb and control the elements. It was why I was feared, alongside the other Silver bloods. To kill, I just needed a thought.

But this man was strong, very, very strong. His toned body was oozing restrained strength but he could not break free. The shackles on his wrists prevented him from doing so. If he so much as thought of breaking free pain would devour his body. It was how Silver’s could be contained here. It would only take them one thought for them to be free and those chains stopped those thoughts.

I titled my head slowly as I observed the powerful and rugged prisoner, thinking of what to say. I wanted to know why he killed, what caused him to. I could wriggle out the answer but it would take time. His mind was as strong as his body. It was a great iron wall that would not be easy to break or mould. I would try talking first although I doubted very much that would do any good.

It was getting late, for me anyway. Livia and Sonia would be able to stay up for hours. They barely slept as they were always guarding the house or caring for it. How they functioned so well without the need of sleep was beyond me.

I turned to Sonia who was watching Blackburn with hostility, keeping her body close to me. When I said her name she jumped slightly and looked down at me in surprise.

“Could you go get me a chair?” I asked. “And something for yourself and Livia too. We might be here a while.”

Sonia looked bewildered but did not question me and strode back down the way we had come.

“What are you planning to do, Lady?” Livia asked me gently.

I smiled at her but remained silent which Livia took no offence from. She was accustomed to me working silently. She knew if she waited she would see the answer to her question although that didn’t stop her fretting.

I turned my soft gaze on Blackburn which only turned his eyes colder and darker. I swept over the iron wall of his mind and noted his flaring rage. He did not like the fact I was quiet and soft around him. The other vampires had been violent, threatening to kill him for what he did. The fact I was not flying into a rage was unnerving him, setting him on edge and making him very wary of me.

I watched him for a little while longer while I waited for Sonia’s return and it was as my eyes trailed of him that I noticed some of his own wounds. A frown of worry tugged at my mouth. He was hurt and untreated, letting the deep wound fester without care. Alarmed I whirled around to Livia just as Sonia came trotting down the corridor with the chairs held lightly in her arms.

“Why hasn’t he been attended to?” I demanded.

Livia blinked rapidly, obviously confused at my genuine rage. “Lady?”

“He is wounded. Why has he been left?”

“Because he is a murderer Lady, although that word is quite tame for what he did.” Sonia replied matter-of-factly. “And he is to die anyway in three days.”

“That is no reason Sonia.” I snapped which forced to be silent. I turned to look back at Blackburn and noticed the wariness and coldness had increased. My eyes then slid down to the ugly wound at the base of his neck that was nearly hidden by his hair. My attention snapped back up to Sonia. “We heal him. I will not have someone in here dying under my care.” I narrowed my eyes when she opened her mouth to object. “We heal him, Sonia.”

Her mouth thinned as she pressed her lips together but said no more. I nodded my head and let my face become softer, an expression I was far more comfortable with, and made to move for the door while ignoring Sonia’s and Livia’s mind becoming tense. I did not have much time to react when Blackburn made his move. As soon as I wrapped my fingers around the bar of the iron gate and turned my head to calm my wound up maids, he launched himself forward and grabbed hold of my small wrist in his far larger hand. He roughly pulled me forward then gripped my throat tightly, ignoring the knife that had buried itself in his shoulder.

With terrified eyes I stared at him. His expression was dark yet blank, giving no emotion other than black rage. But his eyes, they were pained. He was hurt. Physical pain he didn’t care about but something had emotionally wounded him. His heart was aching.

Suddenly he reeled back when a loud crack echoed in the dungeon and I was pulled away roughly and held firmly behind Sonia and Livia who were both hissing and growling in rage. I then heard the sharp clicking of Dana’s heels. The speed and strength of her footsteps was all I needed see and hear to know she was furious.

I gently pushed Livia and Sonia apart although they still flanked me and held my wrists. Dana turned on Blackburn who was absentmindedly looking at the knife he had pulled from his shoulder, not showing any sign of the burning that would be surrounding the wound. When he did not look up Dana raised the gun in her hand and fired not too far from him. He raised his head but did not look alarmed. In fact he looked perfectly calm.

“How dare you try to harm our Lady.” She snarled.

Blackburn’s face darkened and his grip tightened on the knife’s handle. “She should not have approached me.” He stated.

I blinked, startled that he spoke and how soothing his voice sounded, like warm honey.

Sonia growled. “She only wished to heal you.”

His face darkened and his eyes narrowed. “Then she is foolish. I am imprisoned for slaughtering innocents, not for her to pamper.” He said firmly then turned his eyes on me, making me flinch. “And Lady I would not approach me again. Next time I will kill you.”

Dana snarled, baring her fangs. “You are threatening your queen you realise.”

Blackburn did not reply and instead threw the knife at her feet and retreated to the corner. By the way he sat showed he will not speak any more and wished to be alone.

Dana’s strong teeth snapped audibly and she swore in her foreign tongue before she arrested my arm and dragged me out of the dungeons with Livia and Sonia trailing behind. As soon as the door was closed behind us and we stopped in the centre of the lounge, Dana rounded on me and declared I was an idiot for getting close to him. If he was serious in killing me I would be dead.

But I let her shout. I may have been stupid but I believed in what I thought. I would not let anyone die painfully and those wounds could kill him if they went uncared for. But I was also glad I got close enough to find something else about him. He had been in pain emotionally and still was. And I was going to find out what had caused it. I wanted to know the reasons behind his rage and hatred. And I wanted to know why he didn’t kill me when he had the chance.