Lust For Her Master's Blood

The anger and sorrow that had begun to well up from inside me felt like it was suffocating me. I knew that when Ella left she would never return. Once awake, the Mother would be active for a good few decades and by the time she grows bored and sleeps again Ella would be long dead. I bit my lip hard and gripped my arms until the cloth tore from my young claws at the alarming thought.

When I heard the tell tale sign of someone approaching me from behind and caught the familiar heart wrenching scent, my eyes flashed and my teeth grew ever longer. I stood stiffly, not allowing myself to acknowledge him.

“You have grown attached to her.” The Master said with pride and then sobered. “Which will make her leaving that much harder for you to accept.”

I growled at him and refused to answer.

“She must go Susan. It is for her own safety.” He said firmly.

I spun around to face him, unintentionally hissing at the same time. “I can protect her if she stayed. I am not weak.”

“True, you are not weak but you are probably in a far worse position around the Mother than she is. We can not risk you giving yourself away.” He said gently.

“Then let me go with her!”

“No, you must be with me. I cannot travel out to Romania every month to feed you and keep tabs on the Mother and the Clan. She would take advantage of my absence to do as she pleases. You have to stay by my side.”

“Then Ella stays.” I said stubbornly.

“If she does then you condemn her to death and most probably at your hands if the Mother finds out what you are and how attached to Ella you are. It is far too dangerous.” He snapped, his patience coming to an end.

“I will protect her. I won’t fail her like I did my older sisters.”

We fell silent. I watched with dark eyes at the Master’s closed off expression and tried my best to ignore the urge to wail into my hands at the pain gnawing at my stomach. It was some moments before either of us spoke.

“What happened with your family was not your fault.” He stated.

An angry animal sound rumbled out from my throat. “They fought and died while I hid.” I snarled. “I did nothing to help them.”

“You were ten years old! What did you think you could do against an Ancient?” He roared.

“I might not have been able to do much but at least I could have died along side my family!”

“And then what? One more witch line would have been extinguished along side the five other’s that were killed at the time. We have barely any Families left. Russia has lost their last and the Americas have recently lost half to a war against a pack of insane wolves. Your Family hid you to keep you safe and their line alive, they knew your death was needless and a hinder to your kind.” He said darkly, his rage growing with every word.

“I-” I began but was cut off sharply by the master.

“Ella goes to Eva for protection and you will stay here and keep yourself hidden when the Mother wakes. I will not have your pride endangering the girl needlessly and I won’t have it put yourself against the Mother’s sadistic nature either. Do you understand?” He demanded.

I was silent as I stared at his dark and enraged features and then I did the most embarrassing thing in my life.

I began to cry.

I tried to stop it by stuffing the heels of my palms against my eyes, trying to stop the flow but it was insistent that it continued. The flood of tears and wailing forced itself from me like an un-suppressible flood. The memories of my sisters began to spring up from my mind, their screams and cries while they protected me echoed hauntingly in my ears. I did not wish to stand by again while another sister is killed, I wanted to do the protecting this time.

When I felt the Master’s strong arms wrap themselves around me gently and pull me into his chest I began to cry harder. I gripped his shirt and buried my face in the material, the deep masculine scent strangely comforting me. His hand stroked my hair gently while he spoke to me softly. I could not understand what he was saying but the low tone of his voice soothed me. Soon I calmed out of exhaustion and I struggled to stand as my body began to get heavy.

My memories became fuzzy after that. I vaguely remember the sensation of being picked up and then concerned voices. After that nothing as well needed sleep settled in firmly.

*

I woke up groggily and forced my heavy and sticky eyes open. At first I felt blank but slowly my heart became heavy. The need to cry had gone thankfully and my anger had fled. I just felt sad and heavy at the thought of Ella leaving.

The Master had been right of course. It was pride and old painful memories that made me want to keep Ella here. I wanted to make up for the deaths of my sisters that I had not tried to protect. However I could not guard Ella from the Mother. That was an enemy I could not protect anyone from as I was now a Black blood. I knew and accepted that Ella needed to leave and soon. We had no idea how much time we had before the Mother woke.

I forced my creaking body to work and pulled the quilt back sharply, allowing the cold air to chase the warmth away. I sat for a moment, staring at my surroundings. Again I was in the alien room I had woken up in the day before and slowly realised that this was now my new room. Ignoring the feeling of disdain at having been separated from my fellow slaves, I pushed my self into my feet and pottered over to the bathroom. In slow and groggy motions I showered. It was so much effort I nearly gave up and did not bother to dry my hair after I fought with the brush.

When I left the bathroom I found my bed had been made and clothes spread out on the sheets once again. A small smile tugged at my mouth when I saw the black and white frilly material. At least the master had registered that I felt uncomfortable about leaving my old role in the house.

I dressed swiftly then tied my wet hair in a tight neat bun on my head. After inspecting myself blankly in the mirror I left quickly.

At first I was aiming to start work in the Ballroom however my tasks were changed when I felt the master summoning me through the bond. It was a gentle coax, not a demand. His gentle actions inflamed my currently bland emotions. I did not like the fact he was treating me like a fragile doll.

With a frown and narrowed eyes I stalked my way towards his study, the one place he never seemed to leave. All eyes seemed to fix themselves onto me when I swept inside. The worry and concern the master and Arnold showed so clearly sent a shiver of insecurity down my spine which was closely followed by an explosion of annoyance.

“I am not dead so don’t go looking at me like that.” I snapped.

Arnold smiled warmly at my spite. “With what the Master told us happened yesterday you might as well be.”

My cheeks flamed red and I shot a withering glare at the master who was looking at me gentle happiness on his face. “I was not myself yesterday. I was tired from what has been happening recently but I am better now so don’t worry.” I said to Arnold although I was still glaring at the Master. “What is it you wanted?”

“Are you feeling more comfortable with Ella leaving?” He asked.

“I am. I will do what I can to make Ella safe wherever she is.” I stated, annoyed that he answered my question with a question.

“Good as she is leaving today.” He said bluntly.

“Today? So soon?” I stuttered. “And is she okay with the idea?”

The Master nodded gravely. “She understands that this is for her own safety.” He paused heavily for a moment. “The Mother is starting to wake now, Susan. Her mental awareness is rising and she is reaching out to myself and Alphonse. We don’t have long now.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant. When she woke all hell would break loose.

“When is Ella leaving?”

“Next ten minutes. She’s out the front.” He replied gently.

I nodded once, asking for my leave and then left rapidly, breaking into a run as soon as the door shut behind me. As I ran into the entrance hall I skidded to a halt. I took a few deep breaths to slow my breathing before I strode outside.

Ella was standing beside the small black car, dressed in a simple dress, with Mo and Sall fussing over her. She was smiling widely and laughing and if it wasn’t for the fact I could smell her fear I would believe she was not concerned about the journey she was about to take.

When she caught sight of my approach she smiled broadly and waved enthusiastically at me.

“Susan!” She cried as she ran towards me. “There you are. I was starting to think you would not see me off.”

I smiled ruefully at her. “Well I am here now. Do you have everything?” I asked doubtfully when I glanced at the small bag slung over her shoulder.

“Yes, the Master told me that Mrs Sinclair would sort my clothes and things out once I get there. I was just to take anything I had grown attached to since my stay here.” She looked at me carefully. “Will you be okay here? With what Al told me, the Mother sounds likes she is not particularly kind.”

I laughed gently. “I will be fine. You just make sure you never leave that house if she ever finds out about you and the young master. Eva may be a mothering lunatic but she is powerful and will die before she allows anyone in her charge to be harmed.”

“Sounds like you then.” She commented.

“Yeah,” I said half-heartedly and with a tone of bleakness at her comment. “Who is going with you?”

“Luca and Will. They said they will stay until Al gets there in the next six months. Al said he needs to stay here until his grandmother wakes up. She would not be impressed if he was not there to greet her.”

“Where is the young master anyway?” I asked, casting glances about the grounds.

“He has already said goodbye to me and gone to check on his grandmother. He said he felt her move.” She smiled weakly. “He said our goodbye is only a brief one and that he would see me soon. I hope he is right.”

I smiled at her then patted her head in comfort. “He will be fine, I will make sure of it so be safe and well. Write to me soon as well please. Tell me if Eva is just as insane as I remember her to be.”

Ella nodded her head and walked with me back to the car. She nattered continuously, trying to cover up her fear with words. Luca and Will soon appeared and Mo and Sall quickly said goodbye to their friend. I allowed Ella to hug me before she got into the back of the car with Will and with a heavy heart I watched as the car drove up the driveway and swallowed up the grounds wall.

I did not take my eyes from the black gate when Mo sighed heavily.

“We should see her again soon Susan so don’t fret.”

I glanced down at her then allowed one last look at the archway before turning back into the house. “If all goes well I should never lay eyes on her again.” I said quietly to myself, ignoring the confused glances of Mo and Sall.

As I entered the house my heart grew hard with determination. I would protect Ella’s and Alphonse’s secret and keep them safe from the Mother even if it was the last thing I do and I would ensure Alphonse would go to her in six months safe and unharmed.

However I did not realise how chaotic my life would get and how difficult this new task would be when the Mother woke.