Prince Xavier

Chapter 6

Xavier looks more than at home in the night as he strides ahead of me into the Evergreen Forest just on the other side of the huge gardens surrounding my house.

My runners I chuck on are gonna get beyond dirty but that doesn't distract me from Xavier's tall form in front of me. I knew why he left now - because of his mother.

Where else was he and what was he doing for those three long years though?

I speculate that for a vampire three years moves fast anyway - Xavier was an old vampire. Nearly three centuries old, I could only imagine just how many human slaves he went through and how slow or fast time would go.

We follow a safe distance behind the long line of humans who are walking with blank looks on their faces.

I knew that look all too well. They were under compulsion. I'm pretty sure they hear us a couple of times when I step on a branch and break it, or some dried up leaves. Xavier stops each time I make a noise to give me a glare. I just glare back - I couldn't avoid every stick and leaf of the damn ground of a forest.

I wasn't worried about the brainwashed humans noticing us. I was more worried about the real predators of this forest. We were in werewolf territory. Werewolves didn't welcome stray humans into their boundaries without permission and vampires were killed on sight - no questions asked.

I'm so lost in my thoughts that when Xavier stops abruptly in front of me I walk right into his back. I quickly place my hands on his waist, steading myself.

"We're here," Xavier rumbles quietly to me, staring straight ahead. I take a peak over his shoulder, standing on my tip-toes and my eyes instantly widen. The humans were lined up in three rows in a small clearing. About thirty innocent, unsuspecting, brainwashed humans mumbled to themselves occasionally but mostly stayed silent.

But that is not why my eyes widen.

There is a knife being passed around - one by one, they start to cut their wrists. I feel sick to my stomach. They are shallow cuts, not deep, but the blood starts to well up and spill out of their skin anyway.

I see Xavier breathe in a steady breath and then quickly step back wards, turning around he grabs my elbow and pulls me back a couple of more meters to a few thick tree trunks and ferns.

"We have to keep our distance," Xavier advises me quietly, "I can hear others approaching. Stay silent, no matter what you see."

Not liking the sound of that at all, I nod anyway. Then we take positions to spy on the small clearing some twenty feet away now. A safe distance - I hoped.

And then we watch, and what happens next almost happens too fast.

Eddrick and his two zombie vampires walk out into the clearing, behind them are two vampires I recognise, in ropes.

Prince Johnathan - Xavier's youngest brother, and Claudia, Johnathan's girlfriend.

"Excellent," Eddrick hisses at the humans who are still cutting there arms. He turns to his henchmen and smiles, "Put the Prince over here, and the girl over there." He points to opposite sides of the small clearing.

I look towards Xavier and I see him go dead still.

"You have to do something," I hiss at him, as quietly as possible.

Xavier turns to glare at me and I look to see Eddrick raise his ugly head suspiciously, looking around the clearing.

I go silent, and I see a tick in Xavier's cheek. Frustration.

We could watch or act - but what was safer? Smarter?

We continue to watch.

Eddrick eventually gets back to his task at hand and pulls out two small bottles of blood from his jacket pockets.

"You're sick," I hear Claudia snarl and Eddrick raises a hand and I hear her cry out and stop protesting. I can see her face go red, her eyes bulging like she cant breathe. He was chocking her like he chocked my mother.

"Please, don't hurt her," Jonathan begs and Eddrick just laughs.

I glare at Xavier again to do something but he is too intensely focused on what is happening.

As we watch Eddrick feeds Claudia one blood potion and Johnathan the other.

He uses some kind of compulsion that makes them drink it willingly and then they both abruptly slump to the ground. I see Xavier almost break and sprint out into the open - but I grab his arm.

I was sure it wasn't safe yet.

We watch for what feels like forever and I see Eddrick growing in impatience.

"Hurry up," he growls, kicking Claudia and then Johnathan. Claudia doesn't budge, but Johnathan jerks awake in a frenzy.

I can hear him snarling as he struggles to get up, fighting the ropes, eyes focused on the humans.

"Perfect," Eddrick says this loudly and grins, laughing, "Release this one," Eddrick orders his henchmen vampires who do their bidding without question.

I'm so focused on what's happening it takes me a moment to see Xavier has gone.

Holding my breath I see Xavier sneak up to behind Claudia's tree, moving silently.

On the other hand Johnathan is released and he pounces on the humans, ripping into them without mercy. The screaming and crying begins - some of the humans even start running.

I watch as Xavier waits for Claudia to awaken and find her ropes are loosened.

As soon as she awakens groggily I see her stumble to her feet and run while Eddrick is looking on at Johnathan.

Xavier has his eyes focused on Eddrick - death written all over his face. He was going to attack.

Things were about to get a whole lot more bloody.