The Last Vampire Hunter

Chapter 57

We walked into the dining hall. The loud din of chattering nobles slowly diminished as more and more Vampires turned to watch us enter. "Great", I thought. Philip seemed unfazed, however, as we continued walking toward the heavy wooden tables lined along the front of the room. We made it to one of the great oak tables. He sat and I kneeled beside him as whispered voices spoke hurriedly to one another, most saying the same thing. "It's her. They caught her." There were a few remarks about punishment and death but I ignored everything, focused instead on the ground.

I'm fairly certain that if the Church had not been disbanded all those years ago I would have been up for some sort of sainthood. Kneeling...in these sky high heels, with what only barely passed for a dress on the hard stone floor was near impossible and as I looked at the other human men and women in the same situation as me, I wondered if these idiot Vampires didn't consider that doing this every day would eventually cause physical issues that would hinder their slaves ability to perform at their most optimal. At least the last time I was a pet we were provided with pillows. Now. Well...this just sucked.

Just as I was beginning to fall asleep from the sheer boredom of being here, I heard a loud scream. "Master! No! Don't let him take me! I belong to you! Tell him!" It was a woman's voice. I forced myself to keep my head down and my eyes focused on the spot in front of me that I had been staring at since I knelt down.

I felt Philip's hand on my shoulder, probably warning me not to move. I stayed immobile as I heard a male response. "Silence, slave. Do not disrespect me in public. You know the rules. Lord Robey and I have come to an agreement. You need to know nothing else about it." Still she seemed to plead, "Please, Master. I've been a good slave, please don't send me off with someone else." He apparently didn't bother to respond further. Instead I heard sniffling as the woman and her new Master passed us.

Lord Robey. That name sounded familiar. I couldn't recall, but he was someone important. Maybe he was one of the Vampires in the Council? I couldn't recall. Either way, he seemed to strike fear in the girl he walked off with. Even before they changed the rules, Vampires shared pets. It wasn't ideal, but this girl risked pleading with her Master to not be shared. There was fear there.

Once again it was quiet with low whispers going around. Vampires came to Philip to give their greetings. He had motioned for me to stay kneeling at his side while he greeted all those who came to him. They spoke of me, mostly. Everyone seemed curious about where they'd found me and how they'd managed to get me back here. The story was quite embarrassing, actually when I heard it retold through Philip's point of view. They'd bribed an innkeeper to drug my food and drink and waited for the drug to take effect. Then they sauntered into my room and put the magic dampening collar on before bringing me back. That sounded pretty lame, especially since I was supposed to be some kind of Mage war hero.

Finally, a voice I recognized spoke. "Brother." Alex. His greeting dripped in sarcasm. Obviously he wasn't taking the fact that Philip was his brother very well. There had been a strained friendship prior to my leaving. It appears things haven't improved much since then. Though Philip was closer to Alex's age, he seemed to have a stronger friendship with the King, the Vampire who has now admitted to being his father. It was a strange dynamic and I would need to consider this further, but right now I needed to survive this stupid dinner and get back to the apartment so I can focus on an escape plan.

"You shouldn't keep Ani kneeling like that, brother. It can't be good for her knees. You'll notice that those who care for their slaves have them wearing thick leather boots that go above the knee to protect the delicate skin and provide a modicum of comfort from the hard stone floor."

Philip sighed deeply before responding and though I couldn't see him, I could almost see him holding the bridge of his nose before responding. "Father chose the outfit and asked that I keep her on her knees as a show of her obedience in front of the other nobles. I had no choice." Alex snorted. "Of course you didn't. Perish the thought of you going against Father!" He said the word "father" with the same venom and disgust he had just used to say brother.