Blood Slave

Chapter Forty: False Hope

ZURIEL

We make it to Los Angeles within thirty-five minutes of driving. I'm not sure where exactly this vampire nest is, but it will be easy to find. All I have to do is follow the smell scent of a bunch of vamps. They're somewhere in this once highly populated city.

"How are you going to kill them?" Ari asks me quietly from the passenger seat.

I shrug slightly. "Well, one, it has to be during the sunlight. There's very little chances of them surviving if the sun is up how it is," I say with a frown. "If they're in a building, that would be awesome. Normally, I would kill them one-by-one, but since you're with me, I have to knock them out the same way I did the last time in Las Vegas or something like how I killed them."

I park in front of an old building in a fairly empty parking lot. Like Las Vegas, Los Angeles looks like a ghost town with a couple of cars out driving. I guess there's still some humans trying to make it here, but they won't have much to worry about after I'm done with this place.

"Why? Is it because I'm with you?" Ari asks with a frown as I look over at her.

My eyes focus on the bruises on her neck, and I feel guilt settle in again. "I won't do what I normally do so I can keep you safe," I admit quietly as I reach over and touch her bruised neck.

Ari's breath hitches in her throat as she looks up at me. "So you suddenly care about me now or do you only care about the mark?"

A scowl forms on my face as my eyes look from her neck and to her eyes. I'm taken aback from how pissed she looks.

Why does it piss her off so much?

A small smile forms on my lips as I narrow my eyes. "Have you taken a liking to me, Ari?" I ask her with a cocky smile.

She glares at me coldly. "Screw you." She pulls away from my touch and opens the car door. "Yes, I have, and it pisses me off," she snaps before stepping out of the car.

I let out a laugh as I open my door and slide out easily. "I'm surprised. I figured you would be stubborn and deny it," I say with a big grin as I look at her over the car.

She glowers at me viciously. "Silas Dracula..."

I let out a sigh. "What about him?"

She only shrugs as she looks up at the clear blue morning sky. "Jacqueline and Angser had a son..." She pauses to frown suspiciously. "He thinks you're strong enough to protect his son."

I nod slowly. "Dracula always thought highly of Jacqueline. I guess his new favorite is Silas now if Jacqueline is Calico's blood slave... I'm surprised he hasn't went to save his precious little girl," I mutter bitterly.

"Maybe that's the reason why Dracula hasn't went to save his precious little girl," Ari says with a frown. "Maybe he found out that she isn't so precious at all."

I nod in agreement. "You may be right about that."

"Do you know where this nest is?" Ari asks me with a scowl.

I shrug slightly. "We will have to walk around for a bit. I'll catch a scent better if I'm out of that car." I pause to look at her curiously. "What's wrong with you all of the sudden?"

Ari walks ahead of me, and I easily catch up with her. I wait for an answer, but she only asks another question.

"What do you mean?"

I let out a sigh of frustration as I reach up to touch her hair as I walk behind her. "You seem irritated."

"I am," Ari mumbles as she bows her head.