Betrayal of the Heart

Chapter 10 The Badlands

Amelia walked behind the lord through the town, everyone averted their eyes and hid as they walked by. Amelia looked at them confused, usually they stared in awe and crowded them as they walked through town. The journey up to the manor was quiet, too quiet.
"My love we are home" The lord called out but there was nothing in response.
"Why is it so quiet?" Amelia asked as she noticed none if the staff were around.
"My love?" The lord asked nervously. Amelia could smell the faintest amount of blood and took off running upstairs. Bursting through Marcella's bedroom door she stopped and dropped to her knees.
"My Lord!" Amelia screamed out. It took a matter of seconds for the Lord to be up in that room looking down at his wife's dead body. The room was filled with eerie silence, the lord was as still as a statue. Amelia sat on her knees, tears cascading down her face. Marcella treated her better then her own mother. All her life she wished she had a normal family and Marcella was the closest thing she had to a mother. Footstep sounded behind her as the lord left the room without saying anything. A few seconds later banging and cracking could be heard from downstairs.
"WHO DID THIS?" The Lord screamed holding up one of the guards against the wall by the throat.
"I..i don't know!" The guard said right before the lord ripped his throat out. The front doors slammed open as the Lord went into town. The distant echoes of screams wafted through the windows into the manor.
"I'm sorry" Amelia cried, holding Marcella's body in her arms. She rocked back and forth as she sobbed over her body. Why would anyone do this? They were good to the town. They never fed from the people in town and often sent food down for those who needed it.
"WHY?!?" Amelia cried.

Dried tears caked on her face, she kneeled in front the lord as her angrily paced in front of his throne.
"I want him DEAD! No.. I want him to live but I want every second of his life to be a painful existence. I want his will to live to be gone and when he is on the ground begging for death it does not arrive for him!" The lord had been ranting for a while now and Amelia just kneeled there quietly listening.
"Go to these damn badlands and find him! I want to to destroy him, mind and soul but leave his body. I want him to suffer for the rest of his mortal life! Here" he said handing her a crude drawing, "the towns folk said he had this crest upon his armor, this is how you will find him. Amelia took the drawing and studying it, a panther coming down his shoulder ready to pounce. It's tail looked like it curved around the back of his neck.
"I will find him and I will make him pay" Amelia said through gritted teeth, her eyes were set ablaze with pure hatred. He smiled seeing her this riled up, he knew she would succeed. She was about to turn and leave but her Lord stopped her.
"If anyone and I mean anyone is about to expose you or ruin your cover, kill them" he commanded, the collar around her neck glowed softly for a second before dying out. Amelia nodded her head and left the mansion, heading for the dead lands.

The trip to the badlands were long and exhausting, Arne and Isaac weren't given any food or water. Their bodies hit the desert sand with a thud and left tied up while the carriage started it's journey back home. Arne struggling to get his fingers into his sleeve so he could pull out the tiny dagger he hid in there. Isaac laid in the sand, accepting his fate. A quick slice and Arne's hands were free to begin cutting the ropes around his ankles. One completely freed he untied Isaac.
"Alright let's go" Arne said, still full of optimism.
"Where? We have been abandoned here. I can't go back, I can't find my sister. Just leave me to die here" Isaac said face laid against the hot sand.
"Let me ask you this, If your sister was captured would she be the type of girl to listen quietly?" Arne asked.
"Well... No. she was the type to fight a man if he got to handsy and listened to no one but herself"
"And you say you still feel in your heart that she is alive?"
"Well yes of course" Isaac said pushing himself up from the sand.
"We got sent here so how do we know those vampires didn't send her here when she refused to be a slave?" Arne said trying to inspire Isaac.
"You know.. you're probably right!" Isaac said excitedly standing up.
"Perfect! I feel like everything that was meant to happen has happened for a reason! Maybe we were meant to be here!" Arne said patting Isaacs shoulder.
"But how are we supposed to find her? These lands are vast" Isaac said sounding defeated. Arne stopped and thought for a minute, he was right to some degree. These lands were massive and the two of them together would take weeks to cover it.
"Then lets split up, you see that mountain?" Arne asked pointing to a massive mountain the stood directly north of them hundreds of miles away.
"I will go west and look all over the lands, you go east. In three weeks time from today we will meet at the bottom of that mountain" Arne said, to him it was a genius idea.
"What? You expect me to go by myself into these wastelands where murderers and thieves live and survive by myself?" Isaac said flabbergasted.
"If we do not go separate ways your sister will be dead by the time we find her"
"If she's even still alive, it's been years" Isaac said starting to doubt himself.
"Would you not do anything to see your sister again and make sure she is safe?"
"I would"
"Good" Arne says patting his shoulder one last time, "see you in three weeks"