Silence cowered in the shadows. She didn't want to show weakness or cry. She held her head high smiling widely. There was one thing she was always good at, it was acting. However, she didn't expect him to show up there. She didn't even ask him to join the race party as a guest. There were some strings she pulled from acquaintances she blackmailed and that were all.
"I always knew you would be blown by the wind near my feet. To what please do I owe your presence here? If I knew you were a fan of death races, I wouldn't have gotten in it in the first place."
"A fan?" he frowned thinking about the word; it wasn't something he took a person who had a strong interest in or admiration for a particular person or thing. He took it more like a handheld device, typically folding and shaped like a segment of a circle when spread out, which was waved so as to cool the person holding it. "I didn't think you would compare me to a wind blowing object that women use. Yeah!" he emphasized the last word. "I am glad to see you too."
Stephan looked at the girl on the ground, still sobbing, her face still hidden behind her palms. The man stretched his hand and the girl levitated to his palm; he held her by the tip of her dress, not wanting to touch her. It was too dark to notice it but when the apprentice mage watched her travelling to the other side of the space, landing right next to Aurora's feet, Stephan noticed her cut wrists. He didn't understand what was happening exactly but he knew one thing; the girl's blood was used for him to come over to that place.
Did they exist in a separate dimension or what? It was odd.
"Heal her! I don't like having a corpse on me unless it's necessary."
"Why would I do that?" a lascivious grin spread over her face. For starters, naturally, when she met him, she wouldn't act like that, she would probably joke with him and accept his request since she knew he would pay her very well. Vampires were always generous towards witches and mages when they needed them. "You came for something else, right?" she stalked past the girl, leaping over her body. "I am sure you are here for something."
Instead of walking toward her, he went to Stephan instead and placed his hand over his shoulder. The touch was gently but it soon changed into a nightmarish force that brought him to his knees. His neck prickled as their eyes met. He was threatening him silently and Stephan didn't even understand why the vampire was doing it. Vampires never saw humans more than food. For them, mages and witches were like wild rabbits; it took a while to hunt them in a forest.
There was a feeling inside him telling him to run, to be away from there, that the man was much more dangerous than how Legend of the Past portrayed him. The man didn't have an imaginary throne, he had a real one and it was troublesome. No wonder that test was required to get access to the secret passages. The man himself was the lord of that castle, not some kind of bandit who liked to bring girls to his bed all day and night.
"Lord Dimitruicasten!"
The man heard the whispering of his name. He forced his eyes, jolting them from her attractive silhouette to the boy she called a disciple. He smiled, his eyes widely open. "You know me?" he said, his red eyes coming out from their hidden places. Not every day you would see one of the royal families show their real eyes. They were secretive about the kind of ruby eyes they had.
"I didn't expect this name to echo in this place. Fortunately for you, little dog, this place is sound-proof. No one would know about it," his peepers returned to Aurora's silhouette who was debating whether to involve herself or not. She prayed he wouldn't bring out the pistol because knowing him, he would surely jump at the new object. Vampire hunters always used ranged weapons to do their work. It would anger him. "You surely told him a lot of things, Aurora. I wounded to think how much you trusted a young boy over a grown man like me."
"Don't create stories over nothing, Duncan. He is my disciple and if you dare pick out a single strip of his hair from his head, I would make sure you regret it horribly. Who snitched on me? Maria? Susan? Riley? Michael? Maybe others? I just know you have a lot of eyes watching out there."
There was a vision of disbelief on Stephan's face. No wonder, there were a lot of bosses based on the Lord of Dimitruicasten. Indeed, he had many names. He was a vampire with many faces. His lips twisted into a wide smile and his hand pointed the pistol at Aurora. His grin widened from ear to ear when the Lord of Dimitruicasten looked at him.
He put strength in his hand almost crushing his shoulder. Aurora's face was full of confusion. That pistol pointed at her was something that brought back dark memories of a time when someone had something similar pointed at her.
"You have guts, boy. I expected this weapon to be pointed at me but instead, you are forsaking your master. Such a bad disciple you are but I kinda like you! It takes courage to even move when two powerful creatures are debating. You certainly know how your master is strong; even I don't dare to run through her thoughtlessly. Yet, here you are, pointing a stupid gun at her."
"I wouldn't call it stupid if I were you, Lord Dimitruicasten. It's a weapon personally made by her. Do you think she can make something bad?" he doubted his own question but what to do, he had to get himself out of that question.
He didn't like it when someone brought him to his knees.