Bloodshed

Chapter Twenty-Two: Hate (Audrey's POV)

"This is your idea of supplies?" I asked Master incredulously. "You really don't see the problem here?"

He looked at me, genuinely clueless. "What? Do you not think this is enough?"

"Oh my God. They're people, Master!" I exclaimed, exasperated. "You really kidnapped eight people and didn't think there was anything wrong with it?"

I studied the people, six women and two men, noting their blank expressions and laxed postures. He'd obviously Influenced them, but where the hell did he find them? And how did he get them here without drawing attention to himself?

"People," he scoffed, rolling his dark eyes. "They are chattel, child. Nothing more than sustenance, or a source of entertainment if we are overcome with boredom."

If my heart was still beating, it would have dropped. "No, no we are not toying with these people. We're letting them go."

"Letting them go?" Master repeated, bemused. "We will do no such thing."

I could feel fear rushing through me at the challenge. Master was the oldest vampire in existence, the very first vampire to ever walk the earth, so it made sense to be terrified of him and what he could do. But Aiden said that I was stronger than him. What if he was right? 

"Yes, we will." I said, swallowing my terror and approaching one of the women he had taken, red-haired one with pale blue eyes and a million freckles. "Go home, forget what happened here." 

The woman didn't listen, and a knot formed in the pit of my stomach. 

"I am afraid you are too weak, child. Perhaps you should feed." Master suggested, feigning concern. 

Ignoring him, I tried again. "Leave now. Go home to your family and forget everything you saw here." 

The woman didn't budge. 

Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I glanced over to see Master snatch one of the other women, a brunette, by the back of her neck. The woman didn't so much as scream as Master hauled her to him just before sinking his elongated front teeth into her neck. 

I nearly collapsed from the smell of her blood. 

Every bit of moisture left my throat to pool in my mouth, and I struggled to swallow it down. It didn't do anything to the harsh dryness in my throat, though. It was like gulping down sand, the drool turning thick and gritty as I swallowed it. I licked my lips, feeling the points of my now extended canines. 

"Granddaughter, oh you must have a taste! She is exquisite!" Master pulled his head back long enough to speak before diving back in feeding. The girl kept still, stayed mute while Master slowly drained the life from her. 

I wanted to look away, to stop him, something. But I was frozen. I couldn't do anything except watch the blood stain Master's face as the light left the girls sad brown eyes, and wish it was me drinking from her instead. 

Finally, he tore away from her with a loud exhale, and released her lifeless body, letting it fall to the ground with a sickening thud. The crunch of her skull breaking when she landed would have been impossible for human ears to detect, but I heard it loud and clear. And it made my stomach churn. 

"There may be a bit of blood left, child." Master said, watching me as I listened to the girl's heart stopped. "Best consume it now before it goes cold."

A tear slipped out of the girl's eye, the last bit of evidence that she had just been alive. The sight broke something inside me. Before I even realized it, I had tackled Master to the ground, and held him by the neck with both hands.