Blood on Roses [COMPLETED]

A Bond Thicker Than Blood - Devyn Dawson

How did Devyn not only befriend, but also fall in love with a Pureblood vampire? What stopped him from exterminating her when they first met?

~ ~ ~

"Good work. Now, go check on Area 3-84."

I pressed on my earpiece. "Got it."

I waited a few more seconds until the blood on my spear fully absorbed, then I stood up from the boulder I was sitting on. I spun the spear and stuffed the morphed key in my coat pocket.

"Pretty sure south is that way." I stepped over a half-disappeared vampire body. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and fixed my gaze ahead. The surrounding forest caged my massacre.

My fingers moved to press on my earpiece again. "What happened in Area 3-84?"

"We cleared a village of its fifteen vampires yesterday afternoon. The extermination occurred outside of town to ensure the safety of the humans."

Great. I had to see another murder scene. "And why do I need to check on it if the job's already done?"

"Some villagers reported noises coming from the site ten minutes ago. We didn't plan on taking them seriously, but well, you're in the area. Just routinely walk around, and we'll tell people that it's safe."

My gaze lowered. Ordinary humans had zero means of defense against vampires, so of course they'd be paranoid. No vampire was ever left alive unless they were Purebloods. Those ones would be captured in tiny cages and used to construct weapons, but the public wasn't informed of that. As far as they knew, all vampires were supposed to be killed on the spot, and we just fought them with a foreign power.

I trod through the woods, wondering what I'd be doing right now if I were never discovered with the curse to tell vampires and humans apart by sense.

The feeling hit me as soon as I made another step. Flicking my key, I spun out my weapon, point down, and adjusted my grip. I was still considerably far from the vampire. I slowly advanced in the direction where I sensed its presence.

My brows knitted; I gradually identified said creature as a Pureblood. For a vampire of such stature, it should've noticed me by now, but it hadn't moved at all.

I stepped past the last two trees that were obstructing my view. In front of the setting sun, an otherwise beautiful meadow was splattered with blood. It'd been a day since the extermination; reasonably, no corpses remained. In the vast field, a figure near the far left stuck out.

I stood still for a moment, analyzing the situation. What was a Pureblood doing here? I didn't sense any other vampires within the area, so it wasn't an ambush in waiting.

The most fearsome trait of a Pureblood was their powerful special ability that no other rank of vampire possessed. My lack of worry came from my immunity to these abilities. Without them, Purebloods were merely a tad faster and stronger than any regular vampire.

As I came within a five-meter distance of the vampire, I recognized it as a female. She sat on her knees, leaning slightly forward. Green lights seemed to emit from her hands.

"You can kill me in a few more minutes," she said suddenly. "This child didn't struggle to stay in existence for twenty-three and a half hours only to suffer another death."

"Another death?" I questioned, quickening my pace until I stood only a foot behind her. I could now see that she hunched over a small vampire. His eyes opened and closed as if floating in and out of consciousness. Both of his legs had been blown off.

"You must be the one they call Savior of Humanity."

"More or less," I mumbled. "What are you doing?"