AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She was doing what I told her.”
“Then you should be grateful that I value you as much as I do. Unfortunately, someone must be held responsible for this.”
He looked at Blair. “I cannot let this pass. Blair, isn’t it?”
Blair managed a stiff nod.
He smiled. “Thank you for your service.”
Samuel stepped forward and lashed out with his bare hands. Samuel tore through her, and Blair screamed as her arm was ripped off and dark blood sprayed from the wound.
He moved in a blur, throwing her against the wall and shredding through her body like paper. Blood spilled from wounds across her chest, abdomen and face. Samuel took her other arm, and her screams reached new heights.
Nick staggered backwards, away from the carnage, but his back hit the wall.
Blair dropped to her knees and Samuel kicked her onto her back. He reached down, still smiling calmly, and he grabbed her legs.
Nick flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, but he could still hear the noises. She kept screaming, and he heard more terrible sounds as he tore her apart. There were a couple of thuds, like heavy things hitting the floor. Nick felt like his legs were going to give out, and he braced himself against the wall.
More blood, more screams, but somehow, Blair didn’t pass out from the pain. She was still screaming. Nick couldn’t believe that she was still awake.
The noises stopped, but the screaming didn’t, and Nick opened his eyes. Samuel crouched down beside the writhing vampire and looked into her eyes. He reached out and touched her face. It was a gentle touch, barely more than a brush of his fingers against her cheek. The entire time, she was screaming.
Samuel brought his hand down and shoved it into her chest. Nick couldn’t look away, and Samuel ripped her heart out of her chest.
Blair went limp. Something started to happen to her body - it stiffened, her skin turned so grey that it looked like stone, and it started cracking. After a moment, her entire body collapsed into a fine grey powder.
Ash.
The heart in Samuel’s hand went hard and brittle and turned to ash, too, pouring between his fingers like sand through an hourglass. Samuel straightened up and adjusted his clothes, brushing a stray piece of ash off his shoulder.
Samuel looked at Nick, and Nick tried to hide his terror. He put on a neutral expression.
From the look on Samuel’s face, Nick didn’t do a very good job.
Faye stood nearby, completely silent, but both of the other vampires had moved away, getting closer to the door in case they needed to run. Or maybe they were trying to get away from the remains of their friend. Nick tried to stop himself from glancing down at the ash pile, but he failed.
“My apologies, Nick. You are my guest, and there was no need to force you to witness that.”
“No problem,” Nick whispered.
“Do you need a moment to sit down?”
Nick took a breath. “No. I’m fine,” he said. He couldn’t think about what he just saw, so he dove back into their conversation. “What do you want from me? An alliance, sure, but what does that mean?”
The words tumbled out of his mouth, but he didn’t feel like he was in control. His heart was racing and he was acting on autopilot, and his body reacted before his mind could catch up. He just spoke, and somehow, his voice sounded relatively normal.
Samuel smiled again. “An alliance would involve very little on your part. Practically nothing. I just want to find out your intentions and offer my support. And, of course, if there is anything I can do to influence your decision, let me know.”
“My intentions? What do you mean?”
“Who will you side with?”
Nick hesitated. This was clearly an important conversation, but he didn’t have enough information, and he couldn’t ask anything without showing his ignorance. He didn’t want to show weakness in front of this man. One wrong move could push Samuel to violence again.
“The witches fear you,” Samuel said. “As should anyone with the smallest amount of intelligence. Usually, they wouldn’t attempt to gain your favour. However, my sources tell me that you have been associating with a young witch. It is surprising, but it does not necessarily prevent us from forming an alliance. Unless you are invested in the girl, of course.”
“We, uh... We go to the same college.”
