"Let me leave." Xiao Chun Dan glares at Kai. "I need to meet my host.""Brother Aiken sent a command that n.o.body can leave the castle until he comes back." Kai pinches the tube and a few drops of a transparent liquid falls on the slide. As soon as the liquid mixes with the blood, it turns black and emits a pungent smell. "Brother Aiken will bring her back."
"She lost her control." The boy walks to the man in a leather suit. He wonders why this guy never takes it off. "You are not going to erase her existence, are you?"
"We can"t do that." Kai scrutinizes the blood solidifying on the slide. "She belongs to the king. If she succ.u.mbs to the darkness completely, we will put her to sleep for eternity. Only the king can put someone in eternal slumber."
Xiao Chun Dan pales. "You can"t do that."
"Usually, we kill the converts who are lost to the darkness." Kai glances at Xiao Chun Dan. "Did you see the vampire-zombies? A lost converted vampire is worse than that."
Kai hasn"t forgotten that look and smile on Huang Qiuyan"s face when she was drinking Jin"s blood. The darkness inside a convert is born from the ghosts of their human life. Because emotions are amplified after they change, the human darkness is also amplified by many folds. It takes time and right guidance for a convert gain control. In these dire times, Huang Qiuyan didn"t get the time and right guidance. Then, there"s something different about her.
"Her blood…" He sniffs the blackened slide. He"s not surprised that the magic can"t be replicated. No cure can be developed from the blood taken from Huang Qiuyan.
"What"s wrong?" Xiao Chun Dan scans the slide. He blinks his eyes when the a.n.a.lyzation results appear before his eyes.
"Same as the blood of a corpse," Kai mumbles. "Is her body rotting?"
"It wasn"t rotting when I was inside her --" Xiao Chun Dan realizes that his host"s stats are frozen. There"s no change in the numbers. Did someone hack into him?
***
Exhausted, Huang Qiuyan drags her body away from the sh.o.r.e. She must find Fu Sheng. Only he can release her from this torment. Her body feels like it"s being drained of life, leaving nothing but an unquenchable thirst for blood. Each step weighs a ton. It"s already dark.
She drops to her knees when scalding hot metal chains coil around her body like a python. Her pained screams echo through the forest. The chains turn cold in the next instant. But the burning marks on her skin aren"t disappearing.
"What do we have here?"
"Who…" She tries to open her eyes and look at the person. Her senses are fuzzy. She can"t see properly. In her misty vision, she sees people. She clings on to the last thread of sanity and inhales the air. It"s the scent of humans.
"Forgot about me already?" Ian steps close to her. "I didn"t expect to see Fu Sheng"s true mate in this state. I guess that he"s not taking care of you well. Did you not get enough blood in the castle?"
"Stay away from me." She shoves his chest. The human scent is pus.h.i.+ng her toward the frightening darkness. She has a feeling that she will lose herself if she gives in. She has to see Fu Sheng. She promised him that she would wait for him. She wants to be here before he comes back.
"Avoiding me?" Ian smirks at her. "But I have missed you, Huang Qiuyan."
"Let me go now." She hisses out the words. "Ian, why are you doing this?"
"Your mate rejected our offer." Ian"s eyes turn cold. "Then, he went ahead and made a deal with the council"s president. We still don"t know how to kill these monsters. I kept some men on the watch around the castle. I wanted to get another opportunity to get Fu Mian, but we got you instead. They saw you running away."
The metal chains burn red again. Huang Qiuyan writhes on the ground. She can smell the burning flesh. Her tears are soaking her cheeks. The pain is driving her crazy. The people around her are laughing. She won"t let them have the satisfaction. She bites her lips to stop herself from screaming. Her teeth break through the skin and blood rolls down on her chin, falling on the ground. Ian wrinkles his nose with disgust and steps backwards.
"Brother, are you sure that she knows how to kill the vampire-zombies?" Abel asks Ian.
"She is Fu Sheng"s mate." The woman is more beautiful than before. The lost vampires are intriguing. Ian raises the intensity of the flame in the chains and watches her face contort in pain. It"s satisfying to see her like that. Fu Sheng"s pride is rolling on the ground in front of him. "Take her to the lair. I will interrogate her personally."
The female vampire already lost her consciousness. Abel shudders when he hears Ian"s words. It"s no secret that Ian likes to torture the vampires before he kills them. Huang Qiuyan will be his next entertainment before he frees her from the suffering. Leader"s hatred for Fu Sheng runs deep. What will he do to this female vampire?
All vampires deserve to die. Abel shakes his head. The word "Pity" doesn"t exist in a vampire hunter"s dictionary. The only pity that a vampire hunter can grant to a vampire is by freeing them from this abominable existence.
***
When she opens her eyes, she finds herself tied to a chair. She realizes that she"s only earing a thigh-length s.h.i.+rt. A small light bulb is hanging a little above her head. The dirty brown walls of the room are filled with nail marks. She can"t see a single window. Where is she?
Ian? Did he bring her here?
She clenches her teeth and tries to rip the metal chain around her. The more force she uses, the tighter it gets. She opens her mouth wide and gasps for air. The burning marks are not gone from her body. Why is she not healing anymore?
Her gaze falls on her nails. They are turning darker. She can see the black-blue veins on her wrist. What"s happening to her body?
The door is pushed open and Ian walks into the room with a smile. "Huang Qiuyan, you kept me waiting. You slept for too long."
Huang Qiuyan swallows down. She hides the fear when he comes closer to her. She knows that nothing good awaits for her in the future. When will Fu Sheng come? He won"t think that she ran away, would he? She didn"t run away. She"s caught by these hunters. She"s waiting for him to come. She will not die. If she dies, he will also die.
Her clear pearl blossom eyes are beautiful. He wants to see her begging him. Ian bends down and whispers in her ear, "I won"t hurt you much if you just answer me like a good girl."
She won"t tell him anything. She purses her lips. She won"t let him hear a single scream.
"The body of a vampire-zombie is rather strange." He eyes her feet. "It"s delayed, but I see that you are also turning into them. That won"t do, Yan"er. You must answer all of my questions before you become one of them."
When she doesn"t utter a single word, Ian squats down and touches her pale fingers. "You are more beautiful now."
"I won"t say a word." Huang Qiuyan looks at him with a mocking smile.
"You think that Fu Sheng will come to save you." Ian places a kiss on her fingers. "He"s your hope, isn"t? But, can you bear the pain before he comes back? Do you know how many converts were broken here before you came here, Huang Qiuyan?"
Preparing herself for the pain, she closes her eyes.
Crack!