Page 39 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Thrall

A figure stood not too far ahead of me and I stopped moving to watch them. They were a dark silhouette until they shifted slightly and the dim candle light illuminated his face.

It was a living vampire, not one I particularly knew, but I'd seen him around. He was one of those that often stared at me like they were seconds away from slitting their wrists and offering themselves up, just for the chance at power.

But the source of the heavy metallic scent was the girl being held against the wall, her head lolling awkwardly as the living vampire continued to feed. He was taking too much.

"Hey!" I'd seen enough. I moved forward, my new speed bringing me to him in mere breaths, but instead of his usual fear or awe, there was only a feral creature staring back at me.

He snarled low in his throat and, even if he hadn't been about to kill what I could smell was a human, my vampiric side was not going to let an insult like that stand.

Hayes was the first to reach us, with Novalie and Rowan not far behind, but they were still too late to try and stop me. The crack of the living vampire's neck sounded out before they'd stopped moving.

I dropped him dispassionately and moved towards the girl. She was Black, pretty and her hair was braided into spirals across her head that would have been stunning if so much of her wasn't painted red. The rich hue of her skin was faded to an unnatural chalkiness but I could hear the very faint beat of her heart. I focused on that, on her, as I bit my wrist and pressed it to her mouth.

Was this what I had looked like? When the vampire had killed me? More blood than person? Just meat that had been discarded?

One of the group had clearly left to retrieve Elowen, but I'd been too focused on the girl to notice their departure or her arrival.

Her steps faltered on the floor as she took in the scene, a cold word escaping her. "Explain."

Rowan spoke to her quietly as I continued funnelling my blood into the girl. I could only hope it would heal her enough—I was young, and typically the older, more powerful the vampire, the easier it was to heal grave wounds. Both your own and others. I wasn't even a month old, there was no way this should be working, but her heart was definitely beating stronger. Suddenly, it stopped and I looked down in alarm. At some point I'd pulled the girl onto my lap, heedless of the blood, to continue feeding her in a more dignified pose. She wasn't just something to be used and discarded. God, had I killed her?

In a sense, Hayes thought and I looked up at him blearily, confused, rage burning through me.

"Leave the girl, Leonora."

I stood so quickly I knew I must have been a blur to the others. Not Elowen though, her eyes remained on me the whole time. "Is that all you have to say? One of your students brought this girl here and nearly killed her."

Her head tilted to the side as she watched me. "And you killed him."

"Not yet," I said, looking at the place where the living vampire lay, his body repairing itself as he prepared to make the transition to an undead. "What, exactly, are you going to do about this?”

There was something of a challenge in Elowen's stare that should have frightened me, but I couldn't feel anything past the rage that threatened to send me over the edge.

"Well, I believe all of the appropriate measures have already been taken," she said finally and my body tensed. "The culprit has died his first death, and the girl is alive. Or, rather, undead."

"What?" My lips felt numb as I turned to see the girl blinking on the floor where I’d left her as the wound on her neck closed over. She was still far too pale, but she was alive. Wasn’t she?

Elowen took advantage of my momentary distraction and approached to murmur in my ear. "It shouldn't be possible. The girl should be dead. To turn through bite or blood often ends in failure, even when the vampire in question is hundreds of years old."

I didn't know what to make of her words. They sounded like a warning, a threat, but her face was blank even as her eyes gleamed with a strange light. "For better or worse, she is your responsibility now." Elowen made to step towards the living vampire, now undead, her skirts swirling around her ankles in a mist of black but I shook my head.

"Leave him." It was a command, I realised belatedly, and from the way Elowen stiffened, she didn't appreciate it any more than my vampire-side would have. "Please," I added, a slight peace offering, but she did as I’d asked and that was all that mattered really. Vampires understood the need for violence, especially when it came to retribution—nobody more so than the undead.

Hayes raised an eyebrow at me and I nodded, knowing what he was asking. I approached the girl who was beginning to stir and ignored the groan of the vampire I'd killed as Hayes hauled him up.

"What are you going to do with him?" Rowan asked and I flicked him a quick glance.

"For now, we're just going to hold him." It hadn't escaped my notice how his voice had gone up at the end of the question, like he feared what I would do, what I might become.

Eyes fluttered open to reveal dark irises and I smiled as comfortingly as I could. "Hello. I'm Leonora, what's your name?"

"Emerson," she said, and then touched her mouth as if surprised she'd replied. "Why did I tell you that?"

"I'll explain everything," I soothed. "But first, I need your help. Okay?"

Emerson hesitated and then nodded slowly, warily. Smart girl.

"This man," my lip curled at the word, as if it were an even slightly accurate depiction of the slimy prick who'd done this. "This man tried to hurt you, and in order to save you, I ended up turning you into something like me." Her eyes were wide, but she was listening. Good. I flashed her my fangs and she inhaled a sharp breath of air. Fear. "Now, you can either join us or you can choose to let go."

---