Chapter 7

The vampire didn’t kill him.

It was all he thought about as he tied the opposite end of the vodryx chain to the pommel of his horse’s saddle and hopped up himself, forcing the vampire to walk, the chain tugging her along. Every time she started to slow from weariness, he’d kick his mount into a canter, and force her to increase her pace to keep up. He was taking a risk to bring her back home, but it was a risk worth taking. By the time he finished his experiments, she would wish for death.

Once again, his troubled thoughts entered his mind as his memories flashed back to those deep red eyes, those fangs… He assumed he could capture the vampire before the fight turned into a bloodbath because once it did, he would lose the advantage. The moment her fangs sprouted, he thought for sure she would kill him. Why hadn’t she?

He scratched his chin in puzzlement. He wasn’t familiar with older vampires like he was with younger ones, making this new territory for him. In fact, the oldest vampire he had ever come across was one hundred and twenty-eight. Willow was over twice that age.

The steady burn in his shoulder brought him back to the present, reminding him he had a gaping wound he hadn’t taken care of. He debated between conserving his magic or healing his arm but decided on the latter. If Willow managed to attack him again, he needed to be ready.

Taking a deep breath, he sucked a steady stream of magic from the souls he held bound in the blood gem hanging from his neck, the red mist enveloping his shoulder. Instant relief took effect as his skin knitted back together, a soothing coolness replacing the burning pain. He tested the healing job by rolling his shoulder and grunting in satisfaction. Good as new. But he better not let her gain control of his weapons again. It was a moment of carelessness he wouldn’t allow to happen a second time.

He glanced over his shoulder to find her watching him intently.

“I’ve never met a blood hunter before…” she mused as if she wasn’t currently in a predicament. “Can all of you breathe in souls?”

He debated remaining silent, but he was starved for the company other than his horse on long, silent journeys. Besides, it couldn’t hurt… “It depends.”

“On what?” Her eyebrows furrowed as if trying to understand for herself. “It has something to do with your blood gem. They’re not common.”

He shook his head. “No. They’re not. Moonstone is the weakest gem. Amber comes next. Then Sapphire. Onyx. And finally, the blood gem, which is the strongest. Every blood hunter carries one of these, but only a select few carry a blood gem.”

“How did you get yours?”

This time, he remained silent. The vampire didn’t need to know anything about him. He preferred keeping to himself, and he especially didn’t want to consort with a human killer. His past was his business. He didn’t want her to know anything about him, and he especially didn’t want to learn anything about her. Perhaps it was better to remain silent companions.

“Family heirloom?” she guessed. “Or maybe you graduated top in your class in blood hunter training. That’s probably why you’re such a ruthless killer.”

Although he knew she was goading him, he shot her a glare, one that might have killed her under a different circumstance. “I kill to protect my kind. You kill for your own selfish desires.”

“You know nothing about me,” she cried exasperatedly, and if he wasn’t mistaken, he caught her stomping her foot out of the corner of his eye. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”

Adam halted his horse and swung over the saddle in one bound, easily landing on his feet. The vampire cowered away from him, but her eyes remained defiant. She was afraid of him. But she was also stubborn. He wasn’t sure which of those traits he hated more.

“If you were innocent, the jarl wouldn’t have hired me in the first place,” he said, glaring down at her. He was shy of a foot taller than the monster. “You’re a good actress, but you certainly aren’t blameless. I don’t believe you killed the young man. But I do believe you had something to do with countless other unexplainable attacks, and it certainly was you who killed the other vampire to try and cover your tracks.”

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she shook her head insistently. “That wasn’t me. I have never killed one of my own, nor will I ever. It must have been my father.”

He scoffed at her attempt to free herself of the blame. “Your father? Sure. And where is he now?” He gestured to the empty road, the vacant forest, and toward the expansive valley approaching on their left.

“He’s in mourning. Otherwise, he would have come to my aid.”

A sense of dread overtook him at the statement alone. A slow chill crept into his heart, his head swimming with consternation. Few others knew of the vampire king’s mourning period, but blood hunters made it their business to learn even the most trivial things associated with the creatures they killed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to convince himself it was all an unfortunate coincidence. The vampire before him couldn’t possibly be the vampire king’s offspring.

“Who is your father?”

“Dracula.”

A dam broke inside him, and a flood of emotions surged through him, solidifying into morbid fear. He ran a hand down his face and leaned heavily on the tree beside him as his weight threatened to collapse on him. Dracula was rumored to be stronger than any vampire that ever lived. He was no match for the vampire king.

He realized the sudden predicament he found himself in. Not only did he almost kill Dracula’s daughter, but he also kidnapped her and planned to conduct repugnant experiments on her. What would Dracula do to him if he learned of his actions?

He could always set her free, but that wouldn’t work well in his favor either. He would lose the vampire he fought hard to capture, and Dracula’s vengeance would come upon him all the same. There was no way to escape this.

Finally, he opened his eyes and stared back at her. “It can’t be that bad. Surely, there are more of you. Dracula must have plenty of children.”

She shook her head. “My mother is deceased, and because vampire fertility is quite low, I’m their only daughter.”

“Daggers,” he muttered, running his fingers through his hair. Was this really worth the risk?

“What did you expect!” she cried. If she wasn’t tied to the horse, she looked like she might kick him right now. That would be much more preferable to Dracula’s unavoidable vengeance. “There aren’t many vampires older than I am, my father being one of them at over a thousand years old! You should have realized it the moment I told you my age!”

“Well, I didn’t.”

A smug look crossed her face, her mouth turning into a partial grin. “If my father killed one of his own kind with hardly a second glance, what do you expect he’ll do to you, a blood hunter, when he learns you have his precious daughter in custody? You can’t win.”

He knew that. Of course, he knew that! Many have tried to kill Dracula, but none survived. The vampire was already immortal and would likely stay that way for the rest of eternity. He would have no chance of survival if the vampire king chose to deliver vengeance.

He ignored her watchful gaze, pacing back and forth and trying to decide the best course of action. Save his brother? Or protect himself?

He was overcome by selfish weakness as he approached Willow and grabbed hold of her wrists with the intention of freeing her from the vodryx chain. But he paused. This was his brother’s only chance at survival, and many years ago, he made a vow to Zachariah that he would save him. If he let her go now, all would be lost, and his vow broken. He had to take the risk.

He dropped her wrists and mounted his horse, ignoring her disbelieving stare. Moments earlier, she looked smug about what she thought his decision would be. How very wrong she was.

“You’re not letting me go? And here I had half a mind to not mention this to my father.”

“This changes nothing.”

He kicked the horse into motion, ignoring the vampire’s cries of protest as the chain yanked her forward. A sense of urgency spurred him onward. He had to beat Dracula’s mourning clock before hiding away for a little while. The sooner he finished this, the better.