Bab 15: Maze
Spawn
It was the lowest among the lowest ranks of vampires.
Spawns were vampires who were in the process of being turned but have not yet completed the transformation. This could be due to various reasons, such as their Sire being interrupted during the turning process or it may have been intentionally halted or paused by the Sire for a specific purpose. This could be due to the Sire's ulterior motives or personal reasons, such as using the spawns for their own entertainment, experimentation, or as pawns in a larger scheme.
Spawns had no control of their body and only had one thing on their mind… blood.
They possed a feral nature, acting mostly on instinct.
However, they also lacked the full abilities of vampires.
Compared to humans, spawns were stronger and faster, but they were nothing compared to a mature vampire.
"Why would a spawn suddenly appear in a place like this?" Eve asked. She watched Ophelia's expression. To her knowledge, spawns were said to emit a distinct scent that could be readily detected by both vampires and humans.
"Spawns are not as strong as normal vampires. Even the guards are stronger than them," Eve added. This meant one of two things. Either someone in this castle was harboring a spawn, or... they had intentionally unleashed one for their own amusement. Eve found herself increasingly convinced of the latter.
It must be a part of the games.
"I lack the means to answer that," Ophelia said coldly, which only convinced Eve that she knew something about it.
"Do you not know? Spawns just appear all the time," one of the women who just finished closing the window answered.
"They must be dealing with the spawns now," Willow said meekly. "Surely, they won't allow it to roam freely, will they?"
"Still, we must be prepared," Ophelia uttered. Hearing this, the women grabbed the nearest thing that they could and stood as far as possible from the door. One of them grabbed a pillow, the other a comb while someone actually used a shoe.
Eve was speechless.
Still, her gaze never left Ophelia's.
Despite her being a human, she was not actually working with them. She was working for the vampires. Sadly, Eve could not blame her.
Eve focused her attention on the door. Tapping into her sorcery, she swiftly extended her senses beyond the confines of the room, reaching out into the surrounding area. Despite the other's expectations, there were no soldiers or other guards outside. Instead, she could sense blood lust coming from the West.
It was just as she expected.
The spawn was still around.
Luckily, it seems that the spawn was not actually moving.
Was it hiding?
"I— I think we should add something to the door," one of the women was smart enough to suggest. "Perhaps we could use the bed and barricade..."
"What are you scared of? I have no doubt that they've already dealt with the spawn. An estate of the Prince would surely have the means to capture such a creature."
Eve listened to their banter before she suddenly felt the creature move.
This time, it was moving toward their room.
Did it hear them?
"Shhhh—" Eve shushed them. "Spawns still have good hearing abilities," she said. Seeing the change in Ophelia's demeanor made her think that the spawn might come inside the room. Either way, she quickly made some preparations.
Without saying a word, she grabbed Willow who was standing next to her.
"No need to be frightened," Willow said, misreading Eve's action as fear. Eve did not know if she would laugh at that remark.
The only reason why she grabbed Willow was because she wanted to use her.
Naturally, her words changed Eve's initial plans.
She glanced at the door. This time, she could feel the spawn getting closer and closer.
She braced herself…
With a sudden violent force, the door burst open, revealing a figure that appeared skeletal, its flesh stripped from its bones. Its fang bared, its eyes burning with an insatiable thirst for blood.
Acting on instinct, Eve grabbed a nearby candle and hurled it at the bed, igniting a blaze.
Screams immediately filled the room and Eve quickly took advantage of this to run outside while dragging Willow. She was not intending to take Willow with her, but that would make her seem suspicious.
Chaos erupted as the other women wasted no time in joining the chaotic fray, desperately trying to flee from the advancing spawn and the flames that were rapidly devouring the room.
"No— No— No!" Willow suddenly pulled her. "Let me go."
"What?"
"We cannot— You cannot do this!" Willow suddenly said before she removed Eve's hand from her hands. "Go… I will run the other way."
Eve blinked. Understanding flashed in her eyes. Perhaps, Willow did not want to owe her anything so she wasted no time convincing her. Instead, she turned around and continued running.
Soon, Eve realized that navigating the mansion's halls was more challenging than she had anticipated, as there were no windows or hiding spots to protect them from the spawn.
She made a deliberate choice to run in the opposite direction, opting for the hallway that was opposite to their usual dining route because she thought it would be different. Meanwhile, most of the women run towards the more familiar dining route hoping to meet an instructor or another guard to help them.
She realized her mistake as she spun around repeatedly, only to be met with the same monotonous, windowless hallway, illuminated by candles.
This place feels like a maze!
Her feet skidded to a stop when she reached yet another stretch of hallways. One to her right and another one to her left, of them had the same darkness, the same candles.
Irritated, she debated using her magic to find the exit to this place. Her patience was running out and The strain of continuous running had quickly overwhelmed her untrained body, leaving her utterly exhausted and frustrated— definitely frustrated.
"This way—" Out of nowhere, a familiar voice echoed next to her.
The next thing she knew, she was already in the arms… of the vampire prince.
...
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