Casimir's shoulder was still a raw mass of pain by the time he returned to the inn. Pulling his shirt off, he looked at his shoulder and winced. The missing muscle had grown back, but it was exposed, the flesh still not healed. This one was going to take a few days. Groaning, he lay back on the bed.
He had to find a new place to stay tomorrow. Mikki and the people working at the Jewel Box were innocent; if Jared was feeling vindictive, they'd get hurt in the crossfire. He would leave as soon as possible. The day after tomorrow, maybe, if he could shoulder his bag again.
It was a shame. He liked Mikki, and the kind heart under his rough exterior. Casimir felt like he was just getting to see it, and now he had to leave. Maybe he could come back someday, but as long as Jared's group was here, he couldn't be in Brightgate. Sighing, Casimir lay back against the pillows.
It seemed like he had just closed his eyes when he woke up to someone pounding on the bedroom door. Groaning, he rolled onto his uninjured arm to sit up. "Who is it?" When he got no response, he forced himself to get off of the bed and crossed to the door.
Lilin was on the other side, two unfamiliar men behind her. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked.
"I'm not that much of an idiot," Casimir replied. She couldn't step foot inside of his home, even a temporary one, without his word. "Are you here to fight me again?"
"If you could call that a fight," she snorted. "It depends on you. Jared invited you to dinner."
"I'm going to have to decline." He took a step back when she grabbed at him.
Lilin's exquisite face twisted with ugly anger. "You have three choices: come with me willingly, have us burn you out, or I'll find that little fucker that helped you and have him be dinner. Pick one."
Casimir licked his lips. He didn't want anyone getting hurt because of him. "I'll come. Just let me put a shirt on." With some difficulty, he put the same one back on. One sleeve was almost completely gone, and it was stained with blood.
As he stepped out into the hall, Lilin grasped his shoulder, grinding her thumbnail into his raw muscle. He let out a sound that was pure agony and sank to his knees, her grip keeping him in place.
"If you breathe funny, I'll make your entire body look like this," she warned, withdrawing her hand and licking her nail clean. "Clear?"
"Perfectly," Casimir said through his teeth, trying not to show his fangs at the same time. He didn't need to give her the excuse to kill him.
The two male vampires pulled him halfway to his feet, letting him hang limp between them. When they began to drag him, he said, "Lilin, I really don't plan to try and run. I can walk. And I'm just going to leave town without causing trouble."
"Why don't you tell Olivia that?" she sneered.
He hung his head. "I apologized for—"
"Shut up."
Casimir let his head drop all the lower when they dragged him past the centaur. He would definitely have to find a new place to stay tomorrow. Outside, he could see someone moving in the shadows, hidden even from his eyes. They must have had other vampires nearby, just waiting for him to try and get away. As though he could escape Lilin by running.
They dragged him outside of town before they let him walk. Casimir could see a small stone house before him, the kind of gray rock that lasted the test of time, covered in climbing ivy. Beyond it was the lake that Inaho must have been living at; he could see the weeping willow that hung over it.
Lilin stopped the other vampires and dusted Casimir down. "You have permission to enter," she said, pulling him up the low stairs and forcing him through the front door.
The first room past the entrance was the dining room. On the very back wall, Casimir saw a glass cage that was frosted over. The snow maiden was seated on a white cot inside, her lovely face as impassive as ever. As he stepped into the room, she seemed to recognize him. He bowed his head to her, she lowered her eyelashes as she had before, but he could clearly see her looking at him when he rose.
The dining table sat before the cage, laid out with empty glasses and plates, full silverware sets at each place. No one but Jared sat in the chairs, and a single human in a red robe was chained to the table leg by his wrists. A bag was tied closed over his head.
Jared rose, and Casimir took a step back. He looked the same: of average height, with a chiseled jaw, long blond hair pulled back into a tail. Casimir had seen winter mornings a warmer blue than Jared's eyes. "There you are. It's about time you came—you're incredibly rude."
"You told me you never wanted to see me again. I took that to heart." Casimir's shoulder was throbbing in time with his increased heart rate. "I'm leaving soon. I never planned to stay."
"I heard you're a hunter," Jared continued, clearly ignoring him. "That's disgusting. Killing humans not exciting enough for you now?"
Casimir looked away. "I don't kill humans. And I'm not a hunter. I only kill the vampires you send after me."
"You don't kill humans now, you mean. That's real big of you. Too bad that doesn't help Olivia," Jared sneered, baring his fangs.
"I've apologized. I left. I never killed another human. I don't know what else I can do to pay penance." He lifted his head. "And from what I understand, one of your brood almost killed one of the boys at the Jewel Box."
"That's different." He dismissed the words with a flick of his wrist. "They're just food. They're not pets. We don't kill pets." As he spoke, Jared ran a hand over the human's covered head. He jerked, chains rattling. "Sit down. You're going to have dinner with me."
"I don't—" Casimir cut himself off with a yelp as Lilin grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to sit in the nearest chair.
"Thank you, love," Jared told her. "Now, Casimir. We're going to talk about your new pet."
"What pet?" he hissed, body slumping when she finally let him go.
"That boy that almost set Lilin on fire. I want him. You owe me one for Olivia."
"He's not mine!" Casimir forced himself to sit up straighter. "Even if he was, I wouldn't let you have him. I know what you would do to him."
Jared bared his fangs. "I figured you would say that. Pick up your glass, Casimir, and we'll fill it for you."
Reluctantly, he lifted the heavy crystal goblet and held it up to be filled. "I wouldn't ever bring someone to you to be—"
This time, he was cut off by the keen sensation of a blade across his throat.