🩸Beautiful Blood -- Sadistic Vampire Keeping Human Pets

Help from a Monster

   Asher's terrified silence was answer enough, and the man's smile broadened as he put a hand on the wall next to his head, caging him into the corner.
   "I've heard so much about you," he drawled, and lazily ran a finger over the human boy's shoulder, grinning playfully at the way Asher shuddered under his touch.
   "It's a pity Nyx hasn't let anyone near you yet," he mused. "You would be the center of attention at a party like this. It must be pure luck for me to find you alone here..." the vampire's head tilted to the side as he trailed off suggestively.
   "I'm Kaden, by the way. It's truly a pleasure to meet you..." He leaned his head down to the side of Asher's neck, toying with him and chuckling at the way he flinched. Kaden's breath was hot against his skin, and Asher shivered at the light scrape of fangs above his carotid artery. He couldn't help his eyes flicking over Kaden's shoulder to Callum's barely stirring figure, dread and terror twisting his stomach as he realized he could join him soon.
   Asher's legs felt like they might buckle under him at any second with fear, his whole body trembling violently. "P-Please--D-Don't--" his voice came out in a shallow rasp of air, his chest tight. Time seemed to stop; the menacing aura radiating off Kaden was withering, overwhelming. He was death made flesh.
   Asher's breath hitched, and he scrunched his eyes shut in anticipation, awaiting the blasting pain, the feeling of his own throat being ripped out by a stranger.
   "Don't... what?" Kaden whispered teasingly in his ear. "Go on, finish that sentence. I'll give you a minute to talk me out of sampling your blood, just for the fun of it."
   Asher was pretty sure he'd do it anyway, but he desperately needed to buy himself time. Surely Nyx would arrive any second now to save him, even if he hated her.
   "D-Don't.... F-Feed on me... please..." He stammered hopelessly.
   Kaden smirked. "That wasn't very convincing." There was another scrape of fangs against Asher's neck -- before the sharp pain hit as Kaden roughly bit down.
   Asher couldn't help the cry of agony that tore loose from him at the intensity of it, a far worse experience than even Nyx. His breathing became shallow and ragged as Kaden pressed into him, a wave of dizzying nausea overcoming him.
   Kaden growled hungrily, drinking more with each passing second. Asher's unique blood was like a drug to him, intoxicatingly sweet, satisfying something deep inside that normal human blood could never fully sate.
   Asher fumbled to push the vampire away, find some opening to escape, but his strength was starting to fail him, and Kaden was just... too... strong.
   The world was a blur of pain, and he was only distantly aware of shouting coming from somewhere close by, a heartbeat before the fangs were ripped painfully from his neck. There was screaming -- but it wasn't coming from him.
   Asher slid down along the wall to the floor, panting and in shock, as the world came back into focus. He saw Nyx with her teeth buried deep into Kaden's shoulder as she roughly wrenched him away from him, even as the other vampire shrieked in agony.
   Kaden struggled and thrashed, his screams splitting the air, but Nyx only sank her fangs deeper with an angry growl, before whirling around and slamming him into the wall behind her with enough force to break bones, finally releasing him as he fell to the floor with a groan.
   "How DARE you attack my servants!" She roared with fury, and drove her foot into Kaden's gut, making him curl in on himself with a gasp as her foot connected with his ribs. Then she leaned down and grabbed him by the hair, yanking him to his feet with his head wrenched painfully far back, as she forced him to look at her.
   "Unforgivable," she snarled into his face, her eyes blazing with rage. Then she viciously sank her fangs into Kaden's jugular, choking off more screams. She pulled her fangs back out a second later, and Kaden went down gurgling, writhing and twitching weakly as he bled out on the fancy marbled floor.
   Asher could feel that his neck had already healed over, and his panicked gaze finally flitted to Callum. Without thinking twice, he rushed over and dropped down next to the boy, whose face was ghostly pale.
   "Callum? Callum!" He gently pulled the clammy servant into his lap, not caring about how his blood ruined the expensive silk clothes.
   Asher didn't know what to do. He was in shock staring down at the only friend he'd made as their life faded away in his arms. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. There wasn't even enough blood left in Callum's body for him to bleed out, as he lay there moaning and semi-conscious.
   Callum let out a pained groan, his mismatched eyes cracking open to peer dizzily up at him, one blue and one brown.
   "...Asher?" He rasped in confusion, his voice slurring badly. "What's.... happening?" He lifted a shaky hand covered in his own blood and stared at it numbly, not registering the severity.
   "Am I... bleeding?" He mumbled, and his eyes slid out of focus, head lolling weakly in Asher's arms as he finally passed out.
   Nyx suddenly appeared next to Asher, and he instinctively recoiled as she checked the injuries on Callum's neck.
   "Give me your wrist, human," she barked urgently to Asher. He didn't have time to react as she snatched his hand, flipping it over and slashing a small gash with her fangs into the soft underside of his wrist.
   Asher flinched, eyes widening with confusion and pain as she brought his bleeding wound to hover over the deep puncture marks on Callum's neck, dripping his blood on them.
   And right before his eyes, his friend's skin slowly began to knit itself together, until all that was left were faint scars. His face was still pale, but at least the injuries wouldn't bleed anymore. Asher had no idea his special blood could do that, and from the look of surprise on Nyx's face, she hadn't known either. She'd tried it as a last resort, a frantic experiment.
   Some other human servants came wandering down the hall, drawn by the commotion, staring at them all with wide eyes.
   "Send word to the medics to prepare a room!" Nyx snarled at them. "And find someone to deal with that mess!" She pointed a careless figure at Kaden's limp form laying in a pool of blood.
   "And you! Blue shirt! Take Callum to the medical wing!" She started barking orders at the rest.
   Asher was rattled, staring numbly down at Callum until a strong hand grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.
   "Come with me, human," Nyx growled to him, tugging him down the hall. He obediently trailed after her without a fuss, and they went through the main room where the party was still in full swing. Many vampire heads turned to stare at them and their blood-soaked clothes as they passed through, but Nyx didn't acknowledge any of them.
   Eventually Asher realized that she was taking him back to his assigned bedroom.
   "Your duties are done for the day," Nyx announced briskly as she opened the door for him. "Do not step foot out of this room until I come to fetch you."
   Asher nodded shakily, stepping inside. He winced as the door shut and locked behind him, and then he finally let himself fall apart, crying and deeply shaken. He couldn't stop replaying what had happened over and over again in his head, the look of sheer terror on Callum's face as Kaden nearly killed him, the feeling of sharp fangs plunging into his own throat... He barely had the energy to slip out of his blood-stained clothes and into fresh ones before flopping down onto the huge bed, burying his face into the pillow and sobbing as it all caught up to him.
   It was a rough night, and Asher kept jolting awake gasping to the phantom feeling of teeth in his neck, in a cold sweat. He was utterly exhausted when morning finally rolled around... but there was no knock on the door, reminding him once again about the horrors of yesterday. He slammed a pillow over his head with a frustrated groan. At least he'd be able to sleep in.
   It was around midday when a knock finally sounded, and Asher sprung out of bed to answer the door hopefully. He opened it -- and found not-Callum standing there. It was Nyx. Asher's stomach plummeted.
   "Is Callum--?" He started to speak, before realizing who he was talking to. Nyx would probably tell him the servant was dead just to mess with him.
   "No, he is recovering well," Nyx answered, sincerely for once.
   Asher let out a sigh of relief. Callum was perhaps his only friend and ally in this wretched place... if there was anyone who could help him survive this place, it was that servant. But Asher would have to be careful about his choices if he was to try and convince him to help him escape. It had only been a faint idea for awhile now... but after the deadly attack at the vampire party... he wanted to get out of this mansion as soon as possible.
   Nyx sniffed the air, and then her nose wrinkled with disdain as her eyes swept over his haggard appearance. "I give you all the hygiene luxuries in the world, and still you decide not to use them?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Pitiful." She clicked her tongue with disappointment. "I was going to take you to visit Callum, but you're an absolute mess. Go clean yourself up, at least make an effort to look dignified. Then I'll lead you to the medical wing."
   Asher was taken aback, it was an unusually kind offer coming from the vicious vampire, almost too good to be true. But he wasn't about to question it as he went back into his bedroom, heading for the bathroom. He got a big jumpscare when he turned on the lights, seeing himself reflected in the mirror for the first time that day.
   Nyx was right, he looked like a walking disaster, all mangy and ruffled, his hair a tangled mess from tossing and turning all night. And there was dried blood still staining his skin. He was a sore sight. He sadly undressed and took a quick warm bath, the bathwater tinted red by the time he was finished cleaning himself. It felt good, to be clean again, as he slipped into a fresh pair of clothes. He left the bathroom to find Nyx lounging on his bed, boredly examining her fingernails. She raised an appraising eyebrow at him, nodding approvingly at his new attire.
   "Much better," she said in her sing-songy voice. "Follow me."
   Asher kept his head down and followed her out, making note of every twist and turn they took. He was slowly memorizing the layout of the gigantic mansion, knowing the knowledge would be useful later. Eventually they reached a white room devoid of any decoration whatsoever, and in the center, was a single medical stretcher, where a young teenager laid.
   "Callum!" Asher cried happily, and rushed over to the side of his bed.
   Callum's face was still pale, but he was awake, and offered Asher a small smile when he approached. He was hooked up to several machines monitoring his vitals, and there were a few medics tending to him.
   "Hey... how are you doing?" He rasped hoarsely
   "I could ask you the same," Asher laughed. "After yesterday..." He trailed off, and the mood in the atmosphere turned sour. He glanced over to where Nyx was talking to the medics. He waited for a minute, and to his utmost relief she soon left the medical facility. He leaned closer to Callum, dropping his voice to a low whisper.
   "We have to get out of here," he said quietly, and Callum's eyes widened.
   "You mean... escape?" He sputtered in sheer disbelief. "We can't! It's too risky!"
   Asher glanced nervously at the doctors nearby, fortunately none of who seemed to overhear their conversation.
   "Think about it, Nyx has /dozens/ of servants to keep track of. We could pick a time when she's distracted to slip away unnoticed," he added softly.
   Callum shook his head, his mismatched eyes full of fear. "It's not that easy," he whispered back. "You're Nyx's favorite, and so am I. She keeps closer watch over us than all the rest."
   "But surely there's been someone who's tried to escape captivity over the years, right?" Asher argued. "Hasn't anyone successfully escaped before?"
   Callum averted his eyes sadly. "No... no one ever has. And any who try... well, usually end up ripped apart. Literally. Nyx makes a clear example of any who stray from their place to remind the rest of the consequences of disobedience." A shudder ran through his body as he recalled some haunting memory. "It's not worth it, Asher, please tell me you won't do it."
   Asher guiltily looked at the floor. "I can't promise that," he whispered. "I don't belong here, as a walking bloodbag for a possessive vampire. I can't live like this for the rest of my life. Haven't you ever wanted to be free?" Frustrated – he expected Callum to be more excited by the thought.