The Vampire's Crimson Kiss (Editing)

Chapter 47/Scribe

Victoria's POV. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Soon it was the fifth day of my capture. I was in his tent in the morning, reading the new batch of letters to him. My campaign to keep him friendly was working. The company, as Malphas insisted on calling his mobile mini-coven, had taken over an inn in an old town. The ancient inn had been built in the medieval period, and Malphas said he remembered it. The low beams and wood floors were dark and smooth with age. Malphas had taken the best rooms for himself, complete with a four-poster bed and a fire.

I could have walked out of Malphas's camp at any point, but curiosity was my new manacle. Malphas didn't recognize me, and soon I felt, after his test, he was willing to accept me for my pretense. Malphas was a test of my own. Would the Duke find out about me and rescue me? The wedding seemed very convenient, and I couldn't help but feel he had been using me all along. Finally, had he usurped Malphas? I felt betrayed and this curiously alined me with Malphas. This meant I had no real place to go for the moment. Would the Duke welcome me back? Would my farther and mother be any more pleased? I was uncertain and feeling safe enough in the camp decide to find out more before condemning the wrong brother.

The days followed with no sign of escape from the collar or manacle. I had about seven days for them to be sure any silver in my blood was gone, then Cub/Isha and I would be on the menu. I don't know what they were feeding us, but whatever it was made my stomach churn. Malphas's camp moved regularly, and the vampires rode while the familiars walked. I had thrown up the last couple of mornings and felt tired over it. Cub/Isha seemed OK with the food clearly my stomach wasn't as tolerant.

The only concession was I had access to all of Malphas's chests of papers. One of my jobs was to burn messages when complete. I can't say I burnt every single one. Some letters might have found their way to other, more secret places, especially the ones written in a spies spidery hand. The If I kept what I could as evidence to identify the spies. I found an old letter from Lady Valencia her handwriting I knew. Sadismann had warned me about sharing too much with her when she befriended me. He hadn't needed to; I had guessed her unreliability already, and that was before Mary had told me.

I was unsure of escape. As messages arrived the news was confirmed: Sadismann was going to marry Duchess Bitch. I felt abandoned and unsure of where to run to. I heard rumours that Malphas had a map, and if I could read it, I could find my way to the Barrenlands with it. I really had no idea where we were. The map was kept locked away in a tube; Malphas would annotate his dealings with other vampire clans and his supporters on it. He wanted the vampire clans' help, but being vampires, they were completely untrustworthy. Their help would be most willing if they felt the civil war would aid them in a land grab.

Upset I had weakened, I taken to using drops of venom as I was expected to. As a member of the red tent we all got a dose to spice our blood up for the vampires. Malphas's venom wasn't high grade but it was enough to kick off my dreams again. In them I kept seeing an brass eye in relief. In my vision there was a hidden room with a new kind of venom. That was the only dream which made sense, the others covered endless random slaughter. I guessed it was just my mind replaying the brutal fighting I had experienced again and again in my soul.

After I had arrived Malphas threw me onto a bear rug he had spread out on the floor. It was large and soft, the rug almost warm, almost alive. He came over and lay on the rug with me. I felt a slight knot in my stomach. Our bodies touched; as a familiar, I knew I was not supposed to resist his advances. My body was his body.