Zach watched as the little girl was taken into a car with several people. He did not know most of them, but he recognized one of them. It was the head of Vlassta, Logan Pierce.
The old vampire looked tired, as though he worked twenty-four hours per seven.
Logan was appointed as the head of Vlassta after working there for almost three decades. He had made quite a big accomplishment during his time as the head of the organization. For instance, he found sacaflorous, a flower that had a fatal effect on vampires. And he asked the royal family to provide a weapon with the flower's component covering it. He stated it was simply to give humans a chance to win against vampires when they were in a fight.
He was almost like a saint. That was what Zach thought about him.
Vlassta itself was an independent organization that worked to eradicate rogue vampires and another criminal that wanted to mess with the balance in life between humans and vampires at Rimore.
Many things had changed since Zach passed his throne to Levi Morgan, his former loyal butler. Levi changed his name to Levi Dacre to make it as if Levi was part of his family. He was too tired and bored dealing with the trivial problem, so he handed his responsibility to a human who wouldn't betray him.
Zach had turned Levi into a vampire before he slept over five hundred years ago. He also left Silas to monitor Levi's movement while he enjoyed his peaceful sleep. Fortunately, nothing terrible happened. On the contrary, the half-vampire made the treaty of life that was useful for both his kin and humans.
The Treaty of Life consisted of several rules for vampires and humans. The first was the equal status between humans and vampires, and they were forbidden from killing each other. The second was that the marriage ban between the two kins was lifted. And the last was about hunting law. Since the law was effective, Vampires started getting their blood rations from a blood bank, so vampires should ask a willing human when they craved fresh blood. Everything should be recorded on paper and legalized in the town council.
Although the law was not fully effective, it helped to reduce the high number of deaths caused by vampires.
Unlike in the past, most vampires in Rimore should be registered. They would be given a collar or other accessory like a bracelet that contained sacaflorous, so when they showed a sign of rebelling, the collar would release the sacaflorous into their system.
Talking about registered vampires. Of course, there were unregistered ones, just like the rogues, but Vlassta haunted them daily.
The punishment for the defender was quite fair too. Vampires could get defanged or get a death sentence, while humans could get behind bars and get a death sentence.
That was what Zach understood from Silas's explanation years ago after waking up. But, unfortunately, it was a bit complicated, so he tended to forget about it from time to time. Well, he did deliberately forget about it sometimes.
While Levi worked nonstop for the kingdom, Zach was busy enjoying killing people whenever he pleased. All the laws that Levi made were nothing to him, and even if Levi wanted to punish him, he could not since no one knew that the former king was very much alive. They believed he was dead, just like the royal palace's announcement.
"Your Majesty, you could not kill as you please anymore," Silas said with a face filled with so much concern. One of those days, the former king would make him lose his life.
"I am not the king anymore, Silas. So, stop calling me your majesty. Levi will be upset with you."
"Exactly, Mr. Dacre. You are not the king anymore. Vlassta will find out sooner or later that you are the reason the number of rogue vampires has kept increasing in the past six years." Silas almost wanted to scream. "Why did you even choose Chusire as your hunting ground when we have it in your place?" Silas really wanted to shed tears right now.
The former king was unreasonable most of the time. He kept turning humans into vampires, but before their transition was over, he released them to venture alone, which increased the number of deaths caused by vampires.
"Vlassta can not touch me. They would be dead before touching a strand of my hair." Zach said carelessly while touching his long hair. He did not care at all about the consequence of his action. Silas and Levi would solve it for him, so why bother?
As for Silas' question about why he chose Chusire, he did not know the answer. He only followed his instinct.
"You don't understand Logan, Mr. Dacre. He would haunt you if he caught a whim about you." Silas said while clenching his hand. He could not imagine if Logan did find out about Zach.
"He can try." Zach shrugged. He was way too confident with himself. Little did he know his life would be turned upside down in the future.
***
Nevea eyed the man beside her. He was a scary-looking man with bread and several scratches on his face. Since she left Mother's Grace and entered the car to go somewhere, no one had talked to her. They only looked at her with squinted eyes, like they were suspicious of her.
Nevea did not have a choice but to play with her dirty hand. She could not help but remember the feeling when she stabbed the man named Zach in the chest. Sure, it did feel good, but the other side of her was screaming at her that she should not feel like that. Instead, she should have felt remorse for hurting another being.
Her heart was always in constant war. Each of her actions received a different response from her heart. It was as if there was both an angel and a demon inside of her. They were fighting to dominate each other. She was tired of listening to both and wanted them to leave her alone.
Logan rested his back against the backseat. He was thinking about how a little girl escaped death when everyone else in that building was brutally killed. Luck was not part of the option. The girl either had extraordinary power or someone had helped her.
"Kid," Logan called, and the little girl turned her head to face him. Her blue eyes immediately captivated him. And Logan lost his words.
"Yes, Uncle?"
The word uncle was like a slap to Logan's face. Although he was much older, he believed he did not look that old to be called an uncle.
"Don't call me uncle. Call me Logan." He instructed, and Nevea nodded. "I have a question for you, and I want you to tell the truth. Okay?"
Question again. Nevea hated it. Everyone always asked her question whenever something like this happened. Back then, in Vuysire, she was interrogated when all people from the first family who took her in died. And it kept happening until the last family.
'Why are they always asking a question? A grown adult should be able to seek their answer, not wait for a little girl like me to give them a hint.' Nevea grumbled in her head.
"Okay."
"Did you see someone else when you were hiding?"
'Yes'
"No." She lied.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I can't see anything since the light was out." It was a half-truth, but better than a whole lie.
Logan stopped, knowing he wouldn't get the answer using the easy way. Then, he would have to use the old method to make her speak.
"We are going to the capital city, and you will stay in The Academy of Vlassta."
"Grouver? We are going to Grouver?" Nevea could not conceal her excitement. She had always wondered what Grouver looked like since people in the town usually talked about Grouver as a new world different from their hometown.
"You seem excited."
"Of course, I have never gone to Grouver before. People from the town always said Grouver is a different world. They said there are many fascinating things in Grouver." Nevea exclaimed. She forgot everything about the incident. All she could think was what she would do once they reached their destination.
They did not talk again after that. Nevea daydreamed about her days in Grouver while Logan cooked a strategy that fit a kid like Nevea. He could not use excessive torture on Nevea. After all, she was still a human and only six years old. If he were not careful, she would die.
After more than three hours on the road, the car finally stopped in front of a building that looked like a prison since a high fence circled it with a pointed edge. The area around the building was also secluded. Nothing could be seen except a tall tree.
Nevea looked around, searching for the so-called lively city that people talked about. Yet all she saw was a dead area. There was no blinding light, only one streetlight that almost died down. Except for the buzzing sound of crickets, there was no sound at all.
Her shoulder slumped down at the realization that Grouver was worse than Vuysire. What kind of capital city looked dead like this? Did the people from the royal palace not have money to fund the city, so it was like this? So disappointing.
Logan chuckled slightly as he caught the expression from the little girl. Gone was the excitement on her face. He placed his hand on her head and patted it softly, "You looked like you just lost your pie, kid."
Nevea shoots a death glare in Logan's direction. Then she said innocently, "Grouver is as poor as Vuysire. Maybe even poorer."
"Grouver poor? Hahahaha, The King would faint if he heard you." Logan laughed out loud for the first time in a long time. People were not wrong when they said that sometimes the innocence of a kid could bring unexpected happiness to an adult.
"You know The King personally? Are you close with him?" The mention of the king brought her excitement back.
"I know him, but no. I'm not close with him." Logan answered truthfully. He was only one of many people who worked under The King.
"For a second, I thought you could take me to the palace. Who knows, I may get to see a Prince.
"Stop dreaming, Kid. Let's get inside." Logan took Nevea's tiny hand and led her to enter The Academy.
Nevea's eyes continuously watched every crock and nook that she passed. She noticed several people lingering in the hall with weapons in their hands.
Nevea thought Logan would lead her into her new room. However, after walking for more than five minutes, they arrived in front of an iron cell. Logan opened the cell and forced her to get inside.
"Am I to stay here? Why? Did I do something wrong?" Tears brimming in her eyes as she asked with a pitiful expression. From what Nevea knew, an adult should be softened with that kind of trick.
Nevea's effort was for naught since Logan's expression did not change. Instead, she saw another man come closer to them, bringing something she recognized that looked like a needle. But it was bigger than the usual needle.
"What…What are you going to do with me?" Nevea's voice trembled. She feared the needle. A needle was the enemy of kids.
"Give me your hand, kid," Logan instructed as he took the needle from the other man.
"NO!" Nevea interlocked her hands behind her back. She eyed Logan furiously.
"Don't worry. It won't hurt. It's going to be like an ant bite."
Nevea rolled her eyes. Did Logan think she was a fool? "It's not good to lie, Logan."
"But I am not lying. Trust me. This is not going to hurt." Logan coaxed her again. "I will take you to the center of Grouver if you let me use the needle on you. Fairtrade, isn't it?"
Nevea pondered for a second. Fair enough. She could hold the pain for a while, and she got to see the true face of Grouver. Then Nevea stepped closer and placed her hand carefully on Logan's palm.
"It's going to sting a bit," Logan said as he injected the truth serum into Nevea's system.
It stung, just like Logan said, but it disappeared as fast as it appeared. Nevea then dropped to the ground and leaned on the metal wall.
"I feel funny, Logan," Nevea said. Her head felt dizzy, and Logan suddenly have three heads like an animated character, making Nevea giggle. "You have three heads, hihihi."
Logan handed the needle back and looked down at his wristwatch. The little girl would lose her mind entirely in just a minute more. Then he would extract all the information he needed.
Nevea vision then began to see different kinds of faces, from her first mother, her second, and the last. They were pretty happy when they greeted her for the first time. Then the image changed to their face filled with horror. The picture changed again to a fire accident on Nevea's first home, her second mother's death, and the robbery that led her third family to lose their sons.
Her tears dropped. Why would that memory assault her right now? She wanted to forget, so why did they remind her that she was cursed?
Then the image of a pile of bodies scattered on the brown floor of The Mother's Grace filled her head. And the man named Zachary walked into her with an air of mystery and sinister around him. Nevea gulped hard; she recalled what Zachary had said to her.
Right, she should not tell anybody. She should remain silent.
"Did you see anyone else in the orphanage?"
"Huh?" Nevea's eyes darted anywhere in confusion. But still, she managed to answer with a no. "I did not."
'It's a top secret.' Right, she should not spill the beans.
"Did you see anyone else, Nevea?"
The same question, Nevea shook her head and said no to Logan.
"Tell me the truth, or I will kill you, Kid. Did you see anyone else?" Logan pressed again. He did not know how Nevea could still lie despite the effect of truth serum.
"I ALREADY SAID NO, UNCLE! NO MEANS NO, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Nevea screamed in frustration. Her head was spinning, and Logan just would not give up.
On the other hand, Logan was rendered speechless. A little kid just yelled at him. A little kid yelled to the head of Vlassta.
"Mr. Pierce, we received a phone call from the palace." One of Logan's men informed him, which made Logan lift his brows in question. "The palace recommended the little girl to the academy."
"What did you say?"
"The little girl is going to train under the academy with the recommendation from Palace."
Logan's eyes then stayed longer on Nevea, thinking how a little girl from an orphanage could get a connection in a palace.
"She must meet someone from the palace," Logan mumbled. His eyes shone brightly as the epiphany came to him. "Keep her here for two days. Don't give her water or food."
"But, Mr. Pierce, she is…."
"Just follow my instruction. If she says nothing after two days, we can let her go and start training with everybody else."
Logan left the cell with a satisfied smile. "Let's see if you can still lie, Kid."
Little did Logan know that Nevea was stronger mentally than most people her age, and the little girl won't open her mouth.