Blood Slave

Chapter Seventeen: Betrayal

"Why did we leave? I wanted to talk more!" I complain. "She was saying something interesting about your dad having a twin brother." 

Angser sighs. "Yeah, I'm interested in that too...but I needed to leave." 

"Why?" I ask him angrily. 

"Amaryllis hasn't been feeling well, Clipper. Wouldn't you want to check up on Echo if she wasn't feeling well?" Angser asks me with a frown. 

"Well... I mean, yeah. I would," I admit with a frown. Actually, if Echo wasn't feeling well, I wouldn't leave her in the first place. 

"Same concept, Clipper." 

"Why did she keep comparing me to my dad?" I ask Angser with a frown. "Am I not good enough or something? Does she think that because I'm his son, I'm supposed to be just like him?" 

Angser looks down at me with an arched brow. "You're asking me for advice?" he asks in surprise. 

I shrug. "Well, it's not like I can go to my mom about this." 

He smiles as he places his hand on top of my head. "You don't have to be like him. When people compare you to your dad, don't let it get to you." 

"Well, it pisses me off. I'm tired of hearing about him," I snap as my eyes narrow. 

"You're jealous of a dead man, Clipper... I hope you realize that." 

I shrug. "What else are we doing?" I ask him curiously. 

"You're going home." 

"No! I have so many questions," I complain. "You were with Leigh Ann. My grandma... How did you two meet? Does she remember you? Does she know about you being a vampire?" 

Angser smiles. "Leigh Ann was a prostitute, but she wasn't any prostitute, she was my blood slave. The first and only human I've ever truly loved but..." Angser frowns. 

"But..?" I ask curiously. 

"Things really don't worked out too well between humans and vampires so it didn't work. You might have to ask her about this... She knows a lot..." 

"But... You've moved on with Amaryllis, haven't you?" I ask him with a frown. 

"Yes, I love her as well," Angser says with a scowl. 

"Am I never going back to your place? Your home?" 

Angser shakes his head. "No. Silas is there, and he's not a pleasant character. He's violent, crude, and pretty heartless. In a way, he's worse than Jacqueline. He's just..." Angser sighs as he shakes his head. "I don't know... I feel like I let a monster run around." 

"He sounds awesome," I mutter sarcastically. 

When we make it back to my house, Angser stands in front of me on the deck. 

"Well... I'll send you more blood every day... It's helpful, I hope," he says sadly as his eyes droop. 

"Time has made you lame," I mutter with a frown. 

He laughs as he leans in and wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly. "As a hybrid, I hope you have better luck controlling yourself...and living." 

"Can you tell me more about witches soon?" I ask him curiously. 

"All I can say is: they seem like they're just like humans when they're disguised in their human forms... That's what makes them so dangerous."

AMARANTH 

"Zuriel," I say gently as he puts his feet in the cool water. His hair is casted around his face, forming a curtain around him.