Bella frowned and raised her head only to meet the crimson eyes but it was not Rafael she was looking for.
"Who are you?" her eyes narrowed dangerously when the man laughed. "If you play any tricks, I will not hold it in." she threatened when the man walked closer.
She gritted her teeth as she stood up ready to fight. It would only take a second to burn the man, burn all of them. Just the flick of her fingers and she would be free from all of this trouble. But then she would have nowhere to return.
She had a mission. The moment she would use her powers, she would lose all of it. Her eyes flickered at his moving steps. He stood a few feet away from her and smiled at her.
"You had a strong resolution for a witch. Often they give in to their powers, their greed and do not survive for long. Their redemption, their salvation, their power turn into their ruination and they lose everything.. Including their life." he chuckled softly as if he was not mocking them. As if he was whispering plain truth. Sharing the wisdom of the world with her.
"I am not a witch." she gritted her teeth as she took out a dagger from her garters and pointed it at him, "but I know every sane person would put up a fight before accepting defeat. I do not understand why you resent witches when they do it."
The man paused. He was not expecting her to defend witches when she was going to such lengths to prove herself not as one. But then he laughed at his innocent question.
"What made you think they are innocent who only use powers for their defense?" he shook his head, making her frown. "I am not here to put up a fight, not to hurt you. My lord had tasked me to take you to him."
Her heart beat increased. It drumed so hard against her ribcage that she felt she was going to lose consciousness. But her face stayed calm and blank. As if his words meant nothing to her and then.. She chuckled.
"And what made you think that I will follow you?" she shook her head as if he was a fool, "what made you think that you taking me to meet a stranger was not a threat to my life." her hold on the dagger tightened, "i will rather stay here where i already know the danger."
The man paused, baffled.
"You want to stay in this room where you are kept as a prisoner and the owner of this place want to rape you? You think it is a safe place?" for a second, she felt that he cared if she was ruined or not. But she shook that thought away. He was a vampire, a stranger at that. They lure! She was not going to trust them.
"And I know that I can fight him if he forces me. But you are a vampire. I am not sure when it comes to your lord." she added plainly in a dry voice when he sighed.
"You have met him, you were sold to him." he informed as if she was imbecile, "he let you go because he thought it was better for you. But he is offering help now that you are in danger." she was dying to hear those words but it would look suspicious if she would give up too easily.
"He had given up on his rights to own me. Now I am a free person. I will not return." Once again, shock filled him as he stared at her. "You can leave because I do not want to hurt his men."
"He can save you." he added with a frown when she scoffed.
"And ruin me in another way. I will not give my life to a stranger again." her eyes were filled with resolution. His master had told her to save the girl not to force her.
But he had never entertained the idea that she would refuse after what he had seen in the market. He looked at her strangely when she shifted the dagger from one hand to another.
"You should leave." his lips smacked into a thin line as he stared at the stubborn girl.
"Very well! But if you need help, you can blow this seashell. I will come to save you." he took a tiny shell and placed it on the table near the door.
She had to narrow her eyes to look for its presence. When he vanished in the dark, she walked closer to see the strange thing. It was so small that no sound would come out even if she blew it with all her strength. She assessed the tiny thing in her hands and shook her head.
He had come to take her yet she refused. What if he did not come again? She had taken the biggest gamble of her life! Taking a deep breath, she sat on the bed again, knowing well that her captors would return for her too.
They have kept her hungry and thirsty. Sure that she would give in after struggling for long. But she was not to wait and suffer. She scanned the room again. The windows were locked and so was the door.
But the vampire had entered, so there must be a way. She checked every wall, every painting and every corner of the walls but there was no secret passage. It looked like the ordinary house of the villagers. Even the chimney was too small for her.
But the roof! It was only made of hay and thatches. If she were to blow it. Her eyes shone with a new idea in her mind as she ran to get stones and woods from the adjoining kitchen.
"One need not be a witch to make a blast."