Chapter 70: The Foreboding
Evelyn’s self-defence training kicked in, and instead of struggling under his strong grip, she reached her hand down to the dagger she had hidden under her robe and stabbed the forearm of the same hand that was pressing the cloth against her mouth. He let out a hiss and loosened his grip just enough for her to break away and whip around to see red, hollow eyes glaring back at her, before shifting back to the normal eyes of a vampire.
Eve’s eyes widened in realisation that this person was none other than a darkrot, hiding behind a normal skin disguise. She couldn’t fathom why a darkrot would be roaming around the academy grounds. She first tried to use her powers to melt it, but for some reason, her powers wouldn’t respond, so she decided to run instead. The darkrot pulled the dagger from his hand and let out an angry grunt before rushing after her.
As Eve ran on the wet ground, her breathing ragged, she suddenly felt her vision starting to blur. "No! Snap out of it, Eve!" she urged herself, pushing herself to run with all her might through the woods, back to the academy’s building. "Just a little longer," she told herself as she saw the light leading back to the path she had taken earlier.
Before she could take another step, a sudden wave of dizziness crashed over her, making her stumble and fall onto the wet ground. She groaned in pain as she tried to fight whatever substance had been rubbed on her nose earlier. She dragged herself in an attempt to get up, but two pairs of feet stood in front of her, and she sensed more behind her.
As her consciousness was slowly slipping away, she knew she certainly couldn’t run anymore. Weakly, she looked at the wicked grinning faces of darkrots surrounding her. And before she knew it, her eyelids grew heavy, she whispered, "I-Ivan..." before slipping into unconsciousness and dropping to the ground.
Under the downpour, her unconscious body was picked up by one of the darkrots and soon they disappeared without anyone’s notice.
Drake and Kayla, who were hiding in the bushes, stepped out, looking completely pale as they had watched everything unfold. As they snapped out of their shock, Drake’s face twisted into anger, looking absolutely livid, while Kayla’s eyes glinted with malice, as she finally got her wish for Evelyn to disappear from the academy grounds for good. Though she hadn’t expected her hired goons to be darkrots in disguise, regardless of the outcome, it was in her favour.
Kayla had told Drake that she would send Evelyn a cryptic letter, forged in Ivan’s handwriting, to lure her to a secluded spot. She planned to hire some lowly goons to corner Evelyn, allowing Drake the chance to swoop in and save her. In that vulnerable moment, he could then mark her with a slave bond.
A slave bond was a mark placed by a vampire on someone they wanted to compel for their absolute loyalty. It not only allowed the master to hear the person’s thoughts and emotions but also forced them to obey any command, stripping them of free will. Though long outlawed, many nobles still secretly practised it to bind others into servitude.
Kayla had found an old scroll in her kingdom and kept it hidden, waiting for the right time to use it as a bargaining chip, even though she herself was a human. She had hidden the scroll within the academy grounds in a safe spot after catching wind that the authorities were searching their rooms.
King Iskra had long ago decreed that all the scrolls containing such information on how to perform the slave bond be destroyed and banned from the kingdom, branding it as inhumane after countless abused victims. To possess one was to risk being named a traitor, yet some corrupt nobles had still managed to preserve the knowledge in secret.
Though she had told Drake this plan, the truth was she only did so to make him agree. In reality, she had instructed the goons to eliminate the Lumen princess for good, framing it as an accident and clearing the path to win Drake’s attention back to herself again.
Drake spat in anger and grabbed the collar of her dress, "What the f*ck did you do?! How did you hire the darkrots to work with you?" His eyes burned with spite as he glared down at her.
"D-Drake, n-no.." she stammered as she faced the full brunt of his sudden rage. "Believe me, I only paid some local goons to frighten her a little before you stepped in to save her! I-I d-didn’t know they were anything else!"
Her eyes welled up with tears as she tried to convince him.
"Liar! You wh*re! You just wanted to get rid of her, didn’t you?" he yelled at her.
"N-No, Drake, believe me! I only followed our plan, making the local goons corner her so that you could save her, then bind her with a slave bond so that she could never disobey you again! I didn’t know their real identity!"
He growled and shoved her aside, making her slip and fall onto the wet ground, "F*ck! She’s as good as dead with them!"
"W-we should get out of here before anyone finds out what happened," Kayla said frantically.
Drake suddenly grabbed her collar again and said menacingly, "If you breathe a word of this to anyone, you won’t live to see another day, I can promise you that."
"I won’t! I’m involved in this, too! We’re in this together, Drake! Let’s just get out of here, okay?" He glared at her then let go of her collar and started to walk away. She scrambled to her feet and started following him and when no one was looking, a subtle evil smirk formed on her face.
....
On the same stormy night, some time before Eve’s abduction...
Far away from the City of Bastian, in a small village cave, the walls were stained red. The muddy ground bore a massive pentagram, etched with multiple ancient runes that told tales of the dark rituals once performed there. A tall man’s molten-red eyes scanned through the diabolical surroundings with an unreadable expression. Around him lay multiple skeletons and huge cauldrons filled with people’s decomposing flesh, filling the place with an extremely ghastly and suffocating odour.
Alex finished off the last darkrot and reported to Ivan, "Your Highness, we took care of the last one."
"Any survivors?" Ivan asked in his quiet voice.
"No, Your Highness, they killed every last one of them," Alex replied, unable to hide the disgust in his voice. Then he added, "Caleb reported that on his side, he believes he’s uncovered a much bigger nexus than this."
"Where?" Ivan asked.
"Welfort City," Alex replied swiftly.
"Hmm...the city under Marquess Viremont?" his lips curled into a chilling smile.
"Yes, Your Highness. Caleb also reported that Marquess Viremont has been aiding the nexus, granting them lands for their hideouts and..."
"And?’ Ivan prompted.
"There have been reports of the prisoners going missing. Caleb believes he’s been supplying those prisoners to darkrots for sacrifices."
"Bastard!" Ivan cursed under his breath and turned to Alex, "It’s time to catch the rat. Have someone identify the deceased, if possible, and give them a proper burial. Get a Lumen priest to see if the land can be purified from any residual evil still lingering here."
Alex bowed, "Yes, Your Highness." He immediately instructed one of his subordinates to carry out the order. Alex then asked, "Are we heading to Welfort now?"
"Yes, I need to take care of this before I return to the academy. The longer we let them be, the more dangerous every city becomes," Ivan replied with a grim expression on his face.
They moved out of the cave to where their horses were, Welfort City was six hours away from the current village they were in. As Ivan walked towards his horse, he suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, as if a soft voice called out his name. His mind inevitably drifted to one woman who plagued his thoughts at any given time, whether he was asleep or awake.
He paused abruptly as he lifted his hand to press against his chest, and he felt it tighten a little. A sense of foreboding crept in, and his eyebrows drew together as he tried to understand why he suddenly felt this way. ’I hope you are alright, Eve..’ he whispered in his mind.
As he stood still under the rain, "Is everything alright, Your Highness?" asked Alex.
"Yes, any news from the academy? Did Damien point out to anything?" Ivan asked.
"We received a report from Lord Damien this evening. Nothing unusual stands out apart from the regular classes and room inspections as per your order. Some students were found with restricted items, and they will be punished according to the severity of their offence. They await your return."
Ivan asked again, this time a little more impatiently, "Did Damien leave any message for me personally?"
Alex cleared his throat and answered with a straight face, "He did mention that your partner was asking about you, and he said you should hurry back...as....a lot of bees have been buzzing around the flower lately."
