Lust For Her Master's Blood

“You’re a witch?” She repeated with a very unbelieving tone.

“You know vampires are real so why not witches?” I asked, taking offence.

“It’s just that I haven’t seen you do any magic. Besides, if you were a witch I am sure you could escape easily.”

“Not if you’re a ten year old child who saw her whole family slaughtered in front of her!” I snapped.

A look of genuine sympathy quickly emitted from Ella which strangely annoyed me.

“You were ten when you came here?”

I nodded. “I escaped four times in the first year but stopped when the Head Maid told me I would be killed after the next attempt. But when I became fourteen I started to ignore the warnings of my peers and tried to escape again. It was then that I was given the limiter which activates whenever I get to the edge of the manor grounds without the Master's permission or try to use any sort of Matter.”

“Are there many others of your kind?”

I shrugged. “My mother and two sisters were the only other witches I knew of.”

“That might be why your master didn’t kill you if there are so few of you.”

I snorted at the comment. “Maybe if I was of a Clan-claimed Family. Vampires and witches do not get on. For some reason, people seem to separate vampire hunters and witches and paint the witches as magic wielding pansies who run around with wands and say silly incantations which is utterly wrong and, to be frank with you, a complete insult. My kind are the hunters of vampires and use what we call Matter to enhance our bodies and to use other abilities so we can fight them on an even footing. Thus saying that the Master did not kill me because I’m a witch is not an answer I’d go for. Well to preserve my kind anyway. He may need me for something which I am guessing is the correct answer.”

“You don’t seem to mind vampires very much though.” She said smiling at me.

“I have grown up with them so I don’t mind this lot but I am wary of them. But the Master on the other hand, I would very much like to kill that man.”

Ella seemed shocked at this well known fact.

“Why? You make him sound like a reasonable guy. He gives people chances where as others would kill on the spot.”

I scrunched up my face with thought. “He may be reasonable but he is the one who placed the limiter on me. I obey his every word, whether I want to or not. He can make me do anything just by ordering it. The only way to free myself from that is either for him to take it off me, which he won’t, or by killing him.”

“And I am guessing you have already tried to kill him before.”

“Since I was fourteen I have been trying but the man just won’t let me.” I said with irritation. “He just laughs and sees it as a game.”

“It might be to him.”

I shot her a cold glare. “If I had my Matter I would have floored him by now.”

Ella laughed. “You sound so confidant.”

“I am confidant. Witches are made to kill vampires and keep them in check.”

There was a pause as the conversation came to an end and an uncomfortable silence followed. It took some time before either of us spoke and it was Ella who broke the silence as I was busy counting the clouds that drifted lazily above.

“Can you tell me what happened?” She asked nervously.

I looked at her sharply. “What do you mean?” Though I really knew what she was asking, I just wanted her to have the guts to ask me straight.

“How did you wind up here?” Ella stared at me, holding my hostile glare though only through pure will and stubbornness.

“You already know it.” I said and looked away.

Ella’s face scrunched up with irritation. “Only that your family was killed. And if you say you and your family were witches then it must have been a strong vampire to do it.”

I grumbled to myself but told her anyway. “Eleven years ago I was living in the countryside with my two elder sisters and both parents. My mother was an exceptionally strong witch and had taken out a few rogue covens in her time and because she had killed so many, she had gained a lot of powerful enemies. It was winter when those enemies came for revenge. I was asleep with my sisters while my father and mother were downstairs. I had a funny feeling something was coming and I knew mother could feel it but when it happened I never saw it coming so fast. There were ten vampires, weak ones that came for my sisters and I. They hid me beneath the floor boards and fought them off as they were strong and old enough to fight. Normally weak ones are quite unorganised but they fought more efficiently than expected. I knew why as I could feel something cold and heavy outside. There was something much stronger there. I knew it was an Ancient, a vampire older than 10 years. I stayed where I was and tried to block out the screams of my family and the roars of pain from the vampires but eventually everything went very quiet. I could smell blood, feel it dripping on my head through the floorboards above me, and hear the iron silence. Then suddenly I could hear something else, breathing. It was heavy and it got very close to where I was hidden until it stilled then fled. It wasn’t long before he came and found me then brought me here.”

“He meaning the Master, I assume.” Ella said.

I nodded grudgingly.

“So he saved your life?”

I gave her a withering glare at the comment. “I’ll be long dead before I agree to that.”

Ella blinked then quickly swerved the direction of the conversation away from the Master. “Did you ever find that final vampire?”

I felt a sad expression form on my face. “No. We never found that Ancient.”

“We?”

Damn! “I, I meant I.” I said quickly and firmly.

Ella gave me a long look, knowing who ‘we’ meant, before another question left her mouth. She seemed loaded with those things.

“What is an Ancient anyway? Ten years doesn’t seem that old.”

I rolled my eyes. “In vampire years that is very old. For every one hundred years a vampire lives, one year gets added to their life. So an Ancient has been alive for more than one thousand years and that’s a hard age to reach seeing as there are witches about and coven disputes that usually end in death. Normally a vampire will live no more than three to five years.”

“So the Ancient really was old.” Ella murmured to herself.

“And strong. The older the vampire and the less human blood in their heritage, the stronger they are.”

“How old is the master then?”

I glared at the mention. “I don’t know but probably no older than 4.”

“And the others in the house?”

“All younger than 1, apart from the young master. This house is a safe haven for them. They use this place as a hotel as such. They want to get away from their own branch of the Clan, to gain some sort of independence and freedom but are not strong enough to stand alone just yet. So they come here, a place where they set their own rules and where the Master watches over them until they’re ready to leave to create their own branch in the Clan or, as they normally do, return to their old home. The Old World is a dangerous place and if you’re not strong enough, you’ll be cut down quickly. Immortals are very very quick to anger.”

Ella sighed. “It sounds tough being a vampire.”

I snorted lightly. “The young ones here are a lazy bunch. Constantly messing around without any sense of responsibility. It won’t last though. The Master will eventually kick them out to fend for themselves.” I mumbled and glanced at the sky.

The sun was hovering in the centre, letting me know it was midday and I still had a few boring hours of waiting before I could be moved. It was hot and the heat was starting to make me feel very drowsy, that and normally I would be asleep at this time of day.

“Look Ella, why don’t you go inside? I’ll be fine here.” Ella looked uncertain. “It’s happened before so don’t worry. Just look out for yourself.”

She had a very torn expression which warmed me slightly that she felt she couldn’t just leave me but eventually after much debating, she stood up, said her farewell and left me where I lay. I watched her walk down the gravel covered drive way until I could no longer see her as she disappeared into the great stone mansion. It was soon after that that utter boredom set in and I regretted sending a very willing, though suicidal, companion away.

I closed my eyes wearily and let the sun boil my brain to the point that it hammered about in my skull. Batting away the pain in both mind and body, I tried to relax and allow the fog of sleep to claim. It eventually came and numbed my pain as I drifted in and out of sleep.

I woke up suddenly when I heard footsteps on the pavement behind the black iron gate. The steps were heavy, indicating the person was probably a man. When they stopped briefly, I guessed it was because they saw me but the sudden chill that spread in an eerily familiar way through my body made my throat dry. They started walking again and this time towards me as the gravel crunched under their shoes.

My eyes widened and my heart thudded painfully in my chest as the strikingly handsome man came to stand over me and locked my eyes in his gentle gaze. I instantly recognised him having known him since I was ten and the half smile that was tugging at his mouth annoyingly made my mind become fuzzy. But even in my disabled state I still dutifully acknowledged him and forced my vocal chords to work.

“Master..."