It was sunny when Nikola woke, and Wei Caihong was nowhere to be found. There was a servant in the room, though. Holding a bundle of clothes in his hands. Nikola rose, unashamed of his nakedness, and approached the man.
The man wasn't looking at him, but rather handing him the clothing bundle. Nikola touched it and then he groaned. Silk. If he went back in this, everyone would know he was Wei Caihong's lover now.
"Where are my former clothes?" He asked the servant, and the man lowered his head further.
"Master Wei threw them out, Master Nikola. He said that there was blood on them. This is the finest silk in the land. Brought from the capital when Master Wei moved here. The seamstress who has been making your other robes made these too."
So at least everything would fit. Nikola looked around him. He wasn't about to put on clean robes all sweaty and reeking of sex.
"Where is the house's bathing room?" He asked, and the servant trembled. What was the man's problem, anyway? Nikola knew for a fact he wasn't that scary.
"Won't you put on a robe at least for the walk to the bathing room? Master Wei would be displeased if someone saw you like this."
Nikola sighed and reached out for the clothes, only for the servant to pull them away and to scurry off towards a dresser. Then pulled out a bright green silk robe from there and Nikola put it on. It fit him like a glove and left little to the imagination.
"Well? Lead the way, good man," he prompted the servant.
The man rushed out. Nikola had to run slightly to keep up with him. He was soon in the bathing room, sitting on a bench and watching as servant after servant filled the cylindrical bathing wooden tub with hot water. None of them looked his way.
"Where is your master?" Nikola asked the last servant to move towards the door.
"In the dungeons. Inspecting the prisoners. He bid that you join him there after you are dressed and had your breakfast," the woman was out of the door after that, and Nikola climbed the small stairs to the bathing tub and got in.
He rubbed at his skin with a washing rag and thought on what Wei Caihong might want with him in the dungeons. Was the sunlight in the room too much for the vampire? Probably.
He splashed some water on his face and then got up, water dripping down his body. Getting out, he quickly dried and then rubbed his body with scented oils. Feeling more like himself, he dressed in the robes.
Again, green with silver thread around the trims. He tightened the sash around his waist and got out, only to see the same servant that had been there waiting for him as he woke, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another.
"Master Nikola, the dining hall is this way."
Nikola followed him, and soon he was eating sweet rice and steamed buns. These were Nuo Nuying's pork buns. He recognized them instantly. The vampire must really want to butter him up if he sent someone there to pick them up.
He wondered what the old lady was going to do now that he wasn't there to attract the crowds. Then he shook his head. He had earned her a small fortune these past days. If she was frugal, and that was practically the woman's middle name, it could last her for a year.
The dungeon was filled with moans and the sound of the whip. Nikola could hear forced confessions all around him. He had never needed to deal with the prisoners himself.
There were overseers, and every nation had its general to oversee the more dangerous criminals. The stench of blood in the air made Nikola scrunch up his nose.
He would rather not think of just what he was stepping in. He would need new boots after today. Wei Caihong was in front of a particular cell and skinning a man alive. There were bites on the skin, and now Nikola knew why the servants were so skittish.
"Have you taken a leave of your senses?" Nikola said instead of a greeting. Wei Caihong turned towards him, hatred in his dark brown orbs. "You can't let anyone find what you are. Now quit playing with him and kill him. You will need to burn the body to hide the marks."
"They already saw," the servant next to Nikola shrank into himself and turned his head, and Nikola saw that he too had a bite mark on his neck. "Word has spread to the village. I will have a mob on my hands soon."
The knife dug under the prisoner's skin again; the man screamed. Nikola moved briskly and took the knife from Wei Caihong's hands.
"And how did that happen?" He asked, blood dripping from the knife into his fingers. The prisoner chose this time to empty his bladder.
Nikola stepped away from him in disgust.
"They saw me feeding from you," Wei Caihong said, and Nikola raised an eyebrow. No one had come inside the bedroom as they fucked. "You were asleep, and I was so gentle, you didn't wake."
Nikola gripped his hand.
"I can do a mass forgetfulness ritual, but we barely have any time. You better pray that no word has left the village. How many have you bitten?"
Wei Caihong nodded towards the prisoner and the servant.
Nikola nodded. His soul was a dark place. What were two more to the countless condemned to death by him?
Ropes appeared out of nowhere around the servant, and an invisible force brought him next to the prisoner. The man begun to sob in fear, but Nikola had no compassion for him.
"It's a ritual that requires many sacrifices normally. But this place is steeped in so much death that two would suffice. We will need some herbs and spices. And we'll also need to eat their hearts raw, so we don't forget," at that the servant screamed and begun to beg, but Nikola snapped his fingers, and a gag appeared in his mouth. "Can you go upstairs or is it too bright for you?"
"I can barely stand being upstairs," Wei Caihong muttered, head bowed. Nikola huffed and gave the knife back to Wei Caihong. "Wait for me as I gather everything. Don't torture them. We need them alive."
Nikola was no stranger to cleaning other's messes. He had not taken over the world and held it without bathing in blood for it.
The only thing he could not understand was why he bothered. Wei Caihong meant nothing to him.
The blasted noble was confusing him, and the aged emperor knew that it could spell his doom in time.
He still ascended the stairs, willing to help the man he had cursed.