* * *
Shortly before Lina’s arrival, Asha had stepped into Vad’s room to see him. She dismissed everyone from the room, leaving her alone with Vad to talk with him one last time.
Vad still lay upon his bed, barely alive, barely conscious, delirious and confused, the fear and agony deadened by weakness and fatigue. His half naked body was covered in wounds. Dried blood was caked all over his chest, his legs, his arms. A large circle of red covered the sheets beneath him, and his head swayed back and forth as he muttered incoherently.
“If you can hear me,” Asha said to him, “I’ve decided to give you relief. Your little minion isn’t coming back. It’s only fair to kill you in her absence. I’ll make it quick. You deserve that for the services you’ve rendered to me in the past. I can do no more since we in this coven cannot permit the least betrayal.
“In fact, I’ll tell you a story before you depart from us. You want to know how I killed Luce so many years ago? It wasn’t by hiding in the toilet, as they say. Though, I do like that story. No. Luce had a lust for human flesh not typical for a vampire. A sexual lust. He was uncharacteristically potent and liked young human girls. Not us vampire women. We’re as barren and frigid as a mountain peak. He would have his guards bring a girl to his room. The door would be closed, and he’d be left alone with her. After he was done, he’d kill her, drain her blood and dispose of her. All of this was fully confidential, but I found out.
“The guards always hooded the girls when bringing them to Luce, to keep the whole process secret. I bribed one of the guards to hood me and send me in. Once alone in that room, I had my chance, and I didn’t let it slip. I chopped his head off with my knife before he had a chance to resist, and this time it was his body that was drained.
“But the important thing was what I did with that guard that betrayed Luce. I couldn’t have a guard that could be bribed into betrayal. He had to be killed. We here cannot permit the least betrayal. It erodes the mortar that holds our coven together. As recompense for what he’d done for me, I gave him a swift and honorable death. I will do the same courtesy for you. You will not be eaten. I will have to drain your blood, though.”
Asha touched Vad’s face, wiping from it some of the sweat and gently pushed his head to the side to expose his white neck.
Before she could bite him, the sound of commotion in the Great Hall arrested her attention. She departed Vad’s room in haste, telling Vad, in case he was aware of what she were saying, “I’ll only be a moment.”
The Great Hall had flooded with vampires, though none dared to approach until Asha arrived, which was only a minute later. Asha came to an abrupt stop when she saw Lina, her face now exposed, her lips and teeth stained with blood, her pale face glowing with the beauty of a vampire many times her age. Even beneath the gore that stained her face, she had a radiance that was captivating and intimidating.
Asha commanded, “I haven’t time to draw this out. Just kill her.”
Before her order could be executed, the two rays of light that pierced through the ceiling were simultaneously severed. The dim light of the room faded into near darkness and everyone turned to look up. Lina recognized this as the signal and without pause, turned around and ran.
Elixir of Flesh Page 62