Chapter 35 The Massacre at Cordon

If anyone were to ever ask Rassa what it felt like to be trapped within his own body, unable to control it, but a witness to everything it did, he would tell them simply, it was not something one enjoyed. He'd been trapped in a metal cage, but at least he'd known inside that cage he could get out if the situation called for it. It was as simple as bending the bars. Here though...here there was no way out. This didn't stop him from trying though.

He crashed his fists into the invisible barrier of his soul, a witness to everything that occurred outside. A witness to everything Red Eyes was doing with his body.

"Red Eyes! Let me out!"

There was never any reply, no matter how loud Rassa shouted.

"Stop it!" Rassa cried as he watched another guard die at his hands, the already bloody sword thrusting through the guard's chest to the hilt before Red Eyes reached out and took the spear the now dead guard had been holding, turning and hitting another guard in the head hard enough with the end that his head caved in, "Stop killing them! You said you were only hungry!"

But Red Eyes didn't listen.

He continued to move around with such grace and fluidity that if anyone were to watch, they could do nothing but admire him. He was covered in rotting food, sh*t and blood, but none of it marred him. Even Rassa knew, despite his protests to what was happening, that Red Eyes was much more than Rassa had ever imagined him to be. What exactly had he lived through to make him so efficient and fluid in battle? To be so unfeeling that the only expressions he could possibly give as he slaughtered 10, 20, 40 knights, were indifference and disgust?

Finally, Red Eyes met with a group of six knights holding nocked bows, Knight Captain Jameson standing behind them.

"Ready, Fire!" Jameson ordered.

Red Eyes didn't bother using his speed this time, he approached at a leisurely pace, using the sword he picked up off the ground to deflect the arrows. Seeing the first volley was ineffective, Jameson shouted again.

"Fire! Fire you fools!" shouted Jameson, a touch of fear in his tone.

Rassa's eyes narrowed, he should be afraid. Red Eyes had promised death upon the Captain, after what Rassa had just witnessed in the span of a mere three minutes, he had no doubt the promise would hold true.

The Knights were slow, fearful. They only managed to let off one other volley, which was again easily deflected. Rassa reached them, killed three of them in the blink of an eye, then grabbed a series of arrows and knocked down the other three knights before driving the arrows through their wrists and into the ground, pinning them. The Knights screamed in agony as Red Eyes stood, turning to face Jameson who'd already turned tail and run.

Red Eyes hissed in outrage, then used his superior speed to appear before Jameson in an instant, knocking him down. He grabbed the Knight Captain's wrists, then dragged him back to the pinned knights. Then, just like those knights, Red Eyes pinned the Knight Captain to the ground by his wrists, then by his ankles. After that he grinned at Jameson's screams as he squatted down beside the man.

"Does it hurt, Jameson?" asked the boy, "A shame you don't have my ability to heal, it would come in handy right about now. Not to mention your pain tolerance might allow you not to scream like a child".

The boy held up a single finger for Jameson to see, then took that claw and sliced down the clothing on the Knight Captain's torso, exposed his hairy chest and less than impressive stomach.

The Knight Captain was shaking now, tears filling his eyes.

"Please! Please don't kill me. Kill them! They forced me!"

The boy chuckled, "Adorable. You're begging just after this? What has this world come to? Your soldiers are pathetic, and your leaders are cowardly pigs. If I desired, it would be all too easy to conquer your entire world, and I don't even have access to my full arsenal of abilities yet. Truly a horrendous outcome".

"What are you? What do you want?"

Red Eyes expression hardened, "I am a Vampire. My only desire is blood. I am not greedy like your people, I need only enough to fill my appetite, unless of course you offend me".

The boy dragged his claw across Jameson's stomach, opening a wide wound that exposed his inner organs. Jameson screamed.

"I will not give you the honour of feeding from you. Instead you and your subordinates shall serve as my warning to all who dare suppress me without cause. Now, you can watch in your last moments as I feed from your subordinates. Had you fed me a week ago, I would not have to take a single life, let alone two. But alas, you starved me instead. Denied me what was rightfully mine. Let this be your lesson".

The boy stood, then took the arrows from the wrists of the nearest guard who cried out as he begged.

"Please, no please-"

The boy tilted the guard's head and bit down, drawing blood into his mouth and soothing the fire burning inside. He couldn't help but release a moan of ecstasy, like a man who'd found an oasis in an endless desert.

The guard froze, and to the surprise of those watching on, his expression turned blissful as he turned paler and paler, then the light faded from his eyes all together.

Rassa had stopped begging a long time ago. Watching on as Red Eyes tortured Jameson then drained two of the guards. In this entire encounter, the only thing Rassa was thankful for, was that Red Eyes made their last moments pleasurable. They did not feel as if they were dying. Rassa did not even know he was capable of doing that.

After the second guard was drained, Rassa felt the walls trapping him fluctuate, and he stood, pounding on the wall again. It gave. Only a little, but enough for Rassa to know he could retake control before Red Eyes massacred the entire village as well.

Red Eyes looked down at the last guard, now full, he turned his attention to suppressing the boy trapped within him as he spoke.

"If you happen to survive, I believe you can pass on my warning. I will not take more than is necessary for me to survive, but I will also not tolerate being suppressed".

Red Eyes turned away then, raising his nose to the air as he scented the air.

"Now...where has that little girl gone to?"

Rassa froze for a split second as he registered the words, then he pounded on the walls of his prison with renewed vigour.

"No! Don't you dare!"

"Pike down boy, I won't kill her...yet".

The Vampire moved.