Friends, Slaves, and Nightmares

33: Vampires and Blood

"What?" The leader of the five soliders snapped and looked at Mina. "Oh.. Just shut up girl.. This isn't your place."

"It is!" Mina shouted, stepping forward towards David. "He's my friend. I-I won't let you take him!"

"Oh, but we are taking him. Would you like to get dragged along too little girl?" The leader grinned. The other soliders laughed slightly, one producing more chains like the ones confining David. Four clamps for the wrist. One small band for around the neck.

"NO!" David's milky white eyes were wide in terror as he looked towards the leader. "She is not a slave. You have no right to take her!"

There was a flash of movement as the leader's gloved hand swiped across David's face. It left an angry red mark in its wake. A small gash now existed in the center of the red mark and blood slowly dribbled down his cheek. "This is not your place to speak slave! Now, hold your tongue before I cut it out. Blood slaves don't need to talk, now do they?..."

Mina lunged towards the leader. "I said to leave him alone!"

Two of the soliders moved and shoved Mina back into the lake, separating her from the leader and David. "Dumb girl... Your friend is as good as dead..." The slightly taller solider, holding the chains, said.

Mina stumbled back from the shove and collapsed into the lake, landing on her rear end. She shook her head and began to stand. "Just leave him alone! He hasn't don't anything wrong..."

"Slavery is the highest punishment... He's done something wrong... These people choose from death, or slavery... He made his choice!" The leader yelled and began to yank David along by his chains. David was silent now, the gash on his face still bleeding. He obediently stumbled after the leader. The rest of the five soliders turned to follow their leader now.

Mina's eyes widened as she scrambled to her feet and began to attempt to chase them. It was too late. The vampires may have been slow coming, but at the sign of chase, they seemed to become a burr of movement and vanish with a rush of wind.

She stopped and stood still. She felt empty. They had just ripped her best friend away from her.... She had no idea if she would ever see him again. In fact, Mina had no idea how long he would stay alive. Maybe they were going to kill him... They had mentioned a blood slave though.. Is that what they call people they plan to kill? Does it mean he is hound by blood to be a slave? It was too much. All she could feel was an empty numbness. Gone. David was gone.

Help. That was the next thing that popped in her head. She needed help. Mina suddenly felt the numbness subside, enough for her to feel the urge to get help. She turned around and began to run towards the herb shop. They had to help her get David back. They had done it before, they could undoubtedly do it again.

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Katey couldn't believe her eyes. She had only been gone a few moments. The herb shop was in perfect order when she left. Kevin was curled up and asleep. Kara and Axel were huddled near eachother and fast asleep as well. Mina and David had appeared to have left before Katey had awoken. She assumed they would be alright together, and they both deserved some rest. But now, as she was returning from the woods she still couldn't believe her eyes.

Kevin was pinning Kara to the ground, chewing the poor girl's shoulder to shreds. Her cries of pain ripped through the otherwise quiet morning air. Axel was nearby, desperately trying to pull the wolf form of Kevin away from his sister. He wasn't strong enough. And the occasional swipe of claws from Kevin kept Axel from holding on for too long.

Then she noticed something. In his eyes. Kevin's eyes weren't gold. They were red. Her eyes went wide and she felt a sudden rush of dread. She knew what those red eyes meant. And they weren't good news... He had to be close by-

"Let her go!!"Axel cried desperately and tried to wrap his arms around Kevin's neck. The noise jarred Katey from her thoughts.

She sprung into action and darted over, becoming a burr of motion. Her hands clamped onto Kevin and yanked him away from Kara in one swift motion. Then she swung the red eyed wolf towards his own shop, releasing him at the precise moment. He tumbled through the air and plowrd inside the shop, triggering a thunderous crash as he knocked book shelves over and rammed into tables and chairs. Kevin yiped in pain as he came to a stop. He didn't move much at first.

That would buy her some time. Katey turned her attention to Kara and Axel. Kara's shoulder was a bloody mess. It was torn to shreds and wouldn't stop bleeding. The girl was whimpering in pain and curled up while Axel wrapped his older sister in a hug.

"I'm going to teleport you two upstairs, alright?" Katey said. Her voice didn't hold much tenderness to the children. She spoke with a factual attitude. And that wasn't the best choice with children in a crisis. But Katey didn't know much better.

The two children gave quiet nods and clung to eachother.

Katey's eyes flashed a glowing red as she gathered up the magic needed, then the children vanished. They were in the upstairs bedroom in the herbal shop now.

Now she had to deal with Kevin. Katey turned and began to speed into the herbal shop to Kevin.

Kevin was standing now, in his human form. He slumped against a wall and held his head, obviously disoriented. "My head...." He quietly groaned and looked around. He looked around with golden eyes.

Katey sighed in relief, looking at Kevin. Why the control had stopped, she was uncertain. "You know what happened?...."

"I was asleep on the couch... then woke up here.." He spoke slowly and his golden eyes met Katey's eyes.

"The Vampire King was controling you. Your eyes were red again."