🩸Beautiful Blood -- Sadistic Vampire Keeping Human Pets

The Vampire Party -- and an Unwelcome Guest

   "Speaking of my precious servant, he's waiting outside the door to make sure you get dinner and then he'll help you find your room again. You are free to leave," Nyx dismissed.
   Asher sprung off the couch, immensely relieved and eager to get out of the room with her as he edged toward the door, walking stiffly. And just as Nyx had told him, he found Callum waiting right outside, who jumped upon seeing Asher. Then his eyes landed on the dried blood smudged on Asher's neck, and his face tightened sympathetically.
   "How... How did it go?" Callum asked softly. "Are you okay?"
   "Am I okay?" Asher barked humorlessly. "I'm enslaved to a sadistic vampire who kills for fun and you're asking if I'm okay?!"
   Callum visibly winced, and he instantly regretted snapping at him. He reminded himself that Callum was just as much a victim as he was, it wasn't fair to lash out at him.
   Asher let out a sharp breath, running a distressed hand through his hair. "I'm sorry," he apologized in a helpless sob, finally breaking down entirely. "This all just... so much to deal with..."
   Callum slung his arm over Asher's shoulders reassuringly, steering him down a hall. "I understand," he sighed. "If it's any comfort, the pain and servitude gets easier with time. You start to get used to it, and then it doesn't affect you as much."
   "But how long does that take?" Asher choked on another sob. "How long do you have to suffer?"
   Callum didn't answer, traveling in silence until they had reached Asher's room, and the servant left him alone to fetch him dinner. Asher didn't even feel hungry when he returned with the food, but he forced himself to eat anyway before climbing into the criminally soft bed, knowing that sleep would evade him like the night before.
   His dreams were plagued by darkness and horrors, and morning seemed to come far too fast, chasing away the night. And right on time, there was a knock on the door, just like yesterday.
   Asher reluctantly got dressed in the fancy clothes provided for him and brushed his hair until he looked less like a walking zombie and more like a dignified human, before exiting his room to meet Callum.
   The servant's mismatched eyes breezed over his attire, and he whistled. "Wow, you look nice," Callum said, and Asher knew he was attempting to cheer him up, so he offered a half-hearted smile in return. He couldn't help noticing how well-dressed Callum was too, wearing an expensive black silk shirt and pants.
   "How does this work?" Asher asked as he matched Callum's brisk stride, falling into step beside him as the two of them went to the kitchen.
   "To start with, we are going to bring out the first round of drinks to the guests," Callum said, briefly explaining what they were walking into. "There are three main rules I would recommend to avoid offending any of the vampires, and fly under the radar -- to stay unnoticed. Firstly, always keep conversations short and simple if possible, but not rudely so. Act submissive and humble, keep your head down, and try not to make eye contact with any of them. Stick close to me, and I'll help you out if you get in a jam." Callum winked playfully.
   They finally reached the kitchen which was bustling with activity, the rich aroma of expensive liquor and savory food in the air, making Asher's mouth water. He darted after Callum as he made his way through the jumble of servants and cooks rushing around.
   One cook eventually shoved a decorative tray full of wine glasses into Callum's arms without a word, and a second did the same to Asher, who fumbled to balance the drinks in his surprise, before hurrying after Callum as he left the kitchen.
   Asher balked when they finally walked into a huge room with a giant crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. At the far end of the room was what looked like the front entrance, the double doors to freedom. But he'd never be able to slip through them unnoticed.
   There were at least a dozen long tables packed with silver-eyed vampires before him, and many servants running around tending to them all.
   Callum lightly nudged him in the side with his elbow, and he realized he'd been standing there gawking.
   "Focus," Callum said quietly, and strode confidently toward a specific table at the front of the room that was decorated differently than the rest, the vampires seated there looking more professional in the ways they held themselves and their mannerisms. These must be the important guests Nyx was referring to the night before.
   "These are Nyx's closest allies," Callum muttered under his breath to Asher as they approached. "Be polite but brief if you choose to engage in conversation with any of them."
   Callum dipped his head respectfully to the nearest man as he offered the tray of wine glasses. The man took one for himself without even giving him a glance, continuing the conversation he'd been in with the vampire on his right and not even acknowledging the servant's presence.
   Asher hurried to copy him, the tray trembling in his shaky hands a little as he offered it to the nearest vampire, who took a glass without looking at him. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding as he moved to the next vampire, remembering to keep his head down and eyes on the floor. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, and was certain every vampire in the room must be able to hear it.
   "Hmm... you must be new here," a smooth voice said. Asher blinked before realizing the vampire he was serving was talking to him, and he briefly glanced up from the floor.
   This one was a woman, who had long blonde hair and pale complexion.
   "Y-Yes, miss," Asher stammered, unable to hide his fear.
   "I thought so. It shows," the woman said pointedly, gesturing to the trembling tray. Asher made an effort to still his shaking, sweat sliding down his neck.
   The woman grinned -- and suddenly feigned a short lunge just to scare him, briefly flashing her fangs.
   Asher instinctively flinched, recoiling, and accidently spilled a few drops of wine that splashed out of their glasses in the tray he was holding, and the woman laughed loudly along with a few of her friends at his expense. Then she gestured to him, eyes full of amusement as she gave him a polished smile showing pearly white teeth and fangs.
   "I couldn't help it," she chuckled. "Nyx's newer pets are my favorites to play with." The woman reached and picked a wine glass for herself, trailing her free hand teasingly over the back of Asher's hand holding the tray.
   Asher shuddered as she pulled back, moving to the next vampire, and the next, until he and Callum were out of wine. And that's when Asher noticed that the wine didn't look normal, it had blood mixed in with it. His stomach churned with nausea. He followed Callum to the edges of the room where the clusters of servants were thinnest as they made their way back to the kitchen to pick up more wine glasses to give out.
   Asher took the opportunity to scan the layout of the room, all the dining vampires. It was terrible, to have so many predators in one place, being served by prey. And that's when his eyes landed on a group of servants who weren't dressed in anything fancy like everyone else, wearing only simple clothing, that Nyx herself was herding into the room. All of them looked petrified with fear.
   Several vampires got up from their seats throughout the dining area to approach them, exchanging a few words with Nyx before each walking away with one of the servants.
   Asher's heart sank to his stomach at the dawning realization that these were the lesser servants, whose blood would soon slick the floors when their new vampire masters fed openly on them. Every vampire in the room seemed to have their full attention now locked onto the new arrivals, eager and excited and completely fixated on them... distracted.
   That's when Asher heard a sharp, startled yelp behind him, and he whirled around. "Callum--?" He froze at seeing the empty space where Callum had been standing with him seconds earlier, the tray he'd been carrying laying flat on the floor.
   Asher thought for sure he saw a flicker of movement in the dark hallway a few meters away, the glimpse of black silk disappearing around a corner. He instantly forgot about his duties, dropping his own tray with a clatter to give pursuit to the heterochromatic servant. Something terrible had happened, he just knew it.
   Adrenaline pounded through Asher as he charged through the dim hallway, rounding a corner -- before coming to a sharp halt, eyes going huge at what he saw. There he spotted two poorly-lit figures, one with their back flush against a wall, and the second standing in front of them.
   His chest seized with horror when he recognized Callum. The servant was pinned helplessly against the wall by a male vampire who already had his teeth deep in his neck, one hand on his shoulder keeping him in place, while the other was clamped firmly over his mouth, muffling his screams and shrieks of pain as the stranger dug into him. Callum was struggling and thrashing fiercely against the vampire, but the man was like solid rock, strong and immovable.
   "Callum!" Asher cried. Callum's panicked eyes flicked to the side, widening upon seeing Asher standing there.
   The stranger took his fangs from Callum's neck and turned his face to Asher with an angry hiss at the interruption, his teeth stained with mortal blood. He looked surprised to see Asher was a human, and apparently deemed him not to be a threat, because he rolled his eyes in annoyance and turned his attention back to Callum.
   "Mmph!" Callum tried to say something through the man's hand covering his mouth, but only incoherent sound came out. He struggled harder as the stranger carelessly leaned in toward his neck again, picking a new spot to plunge his fangs in. Another muffled scream of agony escaped Callum when he bit down, his thrashing rapidly weakening to twitching as the life was drained from him.
   "Stop! You'll kill him!" Asher shouted desperately at the stranger, but the vampire didn't respond, too lost in the predatory drive to care about the opinion of a puny pet like him -- the bloodlust was too strong.
   So Asher called on the only suitable helpline he could think of, fervently hoping it would work but also dreading that it would.
   "NYX!" He shouted as loud as his voice could go, screaming the name. If that vampire was anywhere close by, there was no way she'd miss hearing it.
   The stranger attacking Callum let the servant go and jumped back in surprise at the sudden blast of noise, and Callum's limp form crumpled to the ground with a broken wheeze, blood leaking from the two sets of bite marks on his neck.
   Asher froze in place when the man swiveled toward him instead, abandoning Callum to focus on his new target.
   "I-I--please--" Asher tried to form words, beg for his life, but the terror was too much, choking out anything he could say as the vampire slunk toward him with predatory grace, lips and teeth still stained with fresh blood. He quivered before the dangerous predator, eyes huge and scared as he stayed rooted to the spot, fear paralyzing him completely.
   The vampire stopped right in front of him, inches away as he loomed over Asher, a full head taller. "So brave," the man laughed, amused, and trailed a hand softly down his jawline, making him flinch hard. Then the vampire's expression shifted to something far more curious as he sniffed the air like a wolf.
   "Interesting... you smell different from the rest. I think I've heard about you..." He came closer, and Asher took a jerking step back, and was quickly backed into a corner, trapped against a wall like Callum had been.
   The vampire dipped his head toward Asher with a wry grin, his voice dropping low and dangerous. "...You're the regenerate Nyx spoke of, aren't you?”