Black Blood
Chapter Eight
We weren't met with any more trouble after that. As we walked through the mansion, there were several bodies laid about, including those of the girls that had been taken with me.
"What happened to them?" I asked Claude.
"Protocol," he answered. That should have been a good enough answer for me, but it wasn't.
"Protocol? What do you mean?" I asked again. Claude looked at me out of the corner of his eye. I stared back expectantly.
"When clearing out rogue lairs, it is protocol to kill the humans as well, in order to protect the secret of our existence," Claude said. I pondered that for a moment.
"I'm a human," I said. "So doesn't that technically mean you're supposed to kill me, not rescue me? Not that I want to be killed. Just pointing out a flaw there."
"You're not just any human," Clause said. "Killing you would not be a good thing. Now, enough talk."
"Okay," I said, holding my hands up in defeat. I stuck my hands into my pockets and continued to follow him through the maze of halls.
I tried to keep my mind off of all the death. If I thought about those girls' dead stares for longer than a minute, I would surely go insane. I took in a deep breath and then let it back out slowly. I looked down at my clothes.
He had only just said 'enough talk', but I had to know.
"Will there be a fresh change of clothes for me, where we're going?" I asked. The smile was still present on his face, though it faltered slightly. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye again.
"I'm sure we can arrange something," he said. I nodded at that.
At least that was something to look forward to: the possibility of a fresh change of clothes. Even if it meant that I was being tossed from one vampire to the next.
Clause cursed under his breath a few times, after we'd taken a few wrong turns down the halls. Eventually we found our way to the front door. It was cracked open, revealing the dark of night fall.
There were more vampire corpses outside, including the burnt corpse I assumed was Kyle. I looked up and away, keeping my gaze up, trying hard not to glance back at them. They may have been vampires, but it was still death.
I shivered against the cold, bringing my arms up around myself. Claude gave no notice and continued to walk. I continued to follow him.
It crossed my mind that I could have turned and ran. But I had no idea where I was, and I had already tried that before with no luck; real vampires were just as strong and fast as they were depicted in books and movies. I sighed as the cold sank deeper into me.
"Where- where are we going, exactly?" I asked. My teeth chattered together as I shook from the cold.
"We're traveling to my home realm. A place where the sun cannot harm me," he said as we reached the edge of the trees. He stopped walking, turned toward me, and held his arms out. "Come."
"Wait- what?" I said. I took a few steps back form him. "You- you can't be serious. W-what do you m-mean 'traveling t-to your h-home realm'?" Though I already had a good guess as to what he meant by that.
Claude rolled his eyes and stepped closer to me. That slight, ever-present smile remained in place on his face. I was starting to wonder whether I should find it soothing, or disturbing.
"Come," he said again. "You'll want to hold onto me for this. I'm unsure of how to describe it, other than we are going to be traveling between realms. WE have to stay in contact with each other, or we'll end up separated once there."
"Oh," I said. I nodded slowly. "That s-sounds... simple enough."
I took a deep breath, released it slowly, and shook myself out. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew that it wouldn't be a fun experience like on one of my favourite sci-fi shows.
I moved closer to Claude and warily put my arms around him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tight against him.
"You'll want to hold on tighter than that," he said. His tone made me want to kick him, but instead I did as he said.
"Don't you have super human strength? You can't let go, right?" I asked.
"Don't let go," he said simply.
I was about to respond when the world spun and changed colours. Bile rose up in my throat. I felt like fainting, but I held on tight as he had said to. And then the dizziness became far too overwhelming. I vaguely recalled Claude yelling for me.
"What happened to them?" I asked Claude.
"Protocol," he answered. That should have been a good enough answer for me, but it wasn't.
"Protocol? What do you mean?" I asked again. Claude looked at me out of the corner of his eye. I stared back expectantly.
"When clearing out rogue lairs, it is protocol to kill the humans as well, in order to protect the secret of our existence," Claude said. I pondered that for a moment.
"I'm a human," I said. "So doesn't that technically mean you're supposed to kill me, not rescue me? Not that I want to be killed. Just pointing out a flaw there."
"You're not just any human," Clause said. "Killing you would not be a good thing. Now, enough talk."
"Okay," I said, holding my hands up in defeat. I stuck my hands into my pockets and continued to follow him through the maze of halls.
I tried to keep my mind off of all the death. If I thought about those girls' dead stares for longer than a minute, I would surely go insane. I took in a deep breath and then let it back out slowly. I looked down at my clothes.
He had only just said 'enough talk', but I had to know.
"Will there be a fresh change of clothes for me, where we're going?" I asked. The smile was still present on his face, though it faltered slightly. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye again.
"I'm sure we can arrange something," he said. I nodded at that.
At least that was something to look forward to: the possibility of a fresh change of clothes. Even if it meant that I was being tossed from one vampire to the next.
Clause cursed under his breath a few times, after we'd taken a few wrong turns down the halls. Eventually we found our way to the front door. It was cracked open, revealing the dark of night fall.
There were more vampire corpses outside, including the burnt corpse I assumed was Kyle. I looked up and away, keeping my gaze up, trying hard not to glance back at them. They may have been vampires, but it was still death.
I shivered against the cold, bringing my arms up around myself. Claude gave no notice and continued to walk. I continued to follow him.
It crossed my mind that I could have turned and ran. But I had no idea where I was, and I had already tried that before with no luck; real vampires were just as strong and fast as they were depicted in books and movies. I sighed as the cold sank deeper into me.
"Where- where are we going, exactly?" I asked. My teeth chattered together as I shook from the cold.
"We're traveling to my home realm. A place where the sun cannot harm me," he said as we reached the edge of the trees. He stopped walking, turned toward me, and held his arms out. "Come."
"Wait- what?" I said. I took a few steps back form him. "You- you can't be serious. W-what do you m-mean 'traveling t-to your h-home realm'?" Though I already had a good guess as to what he meant by that.
Claude rolled his eyes and stepped closer to me. That slight, ever-present smile remained in place on his face. I was starting to wonder whether I should find it soothing, or disturbing.
"Come," he said again. "You'll want to hold onto me for this. I'm unsure of how to describe it, other than we are going to be traveling between realms. WE have to stay in contact with each other, or we'll end up separated once there."
"Oh," I said. I nodded slowly. "That s-sounds... simple enough."
I took a deep breath, released it slowly, and shook myself out. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew that it wouldn't be a fun experience like on one of my favourite sci-fi shows.
I moved closer to Claude and warily put my arms around him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tight against him.
"You'll want to hold on tighter than that," he said. His tone made me want to kick him, but instead I did as he said.
"Don't you have super human strength? You can't let go, right?" I asked.
"Don't let go," he said simply.
I was about to respond when the world spun and changed colours. Bile rose up in my throat. I felt like fainting, but I held on tight as he had said to. And then the dizziness became far too overwhelming. I vaguely recalled Claude yelling for me.