Deadly Ends (Book #4)

Chapter Fourteen

I watched as Saskia lot candles around the room.

"Now that you are living here, you must become adapted to our schedule" Saskia said, as she entered the room that I would now call my own, wearing a long silk robe "Get changed"

I looked at the white dress she had thrown onto the bed and though I wanted nothing from them, I needed something to wear that was not covered in blood and did not serve as a reminder.

"Do not think anything of it, but you must change in front of me so that I can know that you have not tucked away any tools to help yourself" she said, as I stepped off of the bed.

I stripped down from my dress, feeling as though I were being watched by more than just one person.

Although I do not see this woman as a person, she is better fitting for the title of demon.

"What is the point of this?" I asked, as she stepped closer to my body.

"You remind me of a porcelain doll and that amuses me, so I will dress you as I like and present you how I want" she said, handing me the white dress, which I soon realized was sheer near candlelight.

I looked in the mirror and quickly looked away, as she took a wet cloth and removed the blood from my arms and face, scrubbing at it in an almost gentle way.

"As I said, you are like a doll and in my eyes, dolls are meant to look beautiful, not as if they walked away form a violent scene"

"I did walk away from a violent scene" I muttered.

She shook her head, putting the cloth back into a small bucket of water "Follow me"

I slowly walked behind her, noticing that there was dim lighting everywhere, creating an eerie feeling throughout this castle.

She opened a door, holding it open for me and I took in the sight, finding it strange to have only a few shelves and porcelain throughout the room, including the white, spotless tub in the center.

"You may never join us, if that is your fear" Saskia said, closing the door "Because that would mean you would be equal to us and since you are already a vampire, time with you is not an issue, so why make it more complicated than it needs to be"

"And my friends?" I asked.

She smiled "The shapeshifters are chained by their necks, like the animals that they are, with a type of silver that burns into their flesh" she turned to me "As for the witches, they are chained to beds inside the cells, experiencing hallucinations from Jakub, while the vampires are hanging by their wrists from the ceiling"

She knew exactly what I was asking, but instead decided to remind me that I have a better chance of leaving this castle rather than them.

"What are we doing in here?" I asked, desperate to shake the image of those I care for in so much pain.

She walked to a cabinet, unlocking it "There was a woman in Hungary, who loved to bathe in the blood of untouched girls; she thought it kept her beautiful" she looked back at me "You would have been just her type"

I held my tongue at that comment, choosing to stay quiet, as she continued her story.

She opened the cabinet, revealing jars of blood, all filled to the top "I will never age, so the blood of a virgin does nothing for me" she picked up a jar, walking back to the tub "I do however enjoy the idea of blood as a tool outside of food"

I watched her pour the remains of the jar into the tub.

"So that is vampire blood?" I asked.

She chuckled "Of course not, that would be a waste of food" she took another, repeating the same process "This is the blood of pure witches"

I now realized why so many covens had been attacked recently, not because they could help us or they were a threat, but because every coven must have at least one pure witch in their group.

"I love the strength that it gives me from bathing in it" she had now filled the tub up halfway "Lena was supplying me with the blood from the Metanoia coven, because that coven was crawling with the pure blooded" she set the empty jar next to the tub "Unfortunately you had to go and kill her, which was to be expected, but now I had to go back to finding incompetent vampires to do the job"

"Like Rosalyn?" I wondered.

She nodded "She is a vampire who will do anything necessary to stay alive"

I watched her drop her robe and step into the blood filled tub, grinning evilly as she rubbed the blood all over her body, as I stood there more than uncomfortable.

"I was however surprised that Rosalyn found us on her own" she commented, resting her head back and staring up at me "She wanted in on our group, willing to serve us in whatever way possible" she closed her eyes, enjoying her surroundings "However, the only reason she has stayed alive for so long is because Lukas finds her entertaining in bed and loves the dark color of her skin, finding it wrong and exciting"

There was a knock at the door and Jakub walked in, making me look away from his gaze.

"Saskia, it is time" he said.

She frowned "Already? I have just gotten relaxed"

He nodded.

"Very well. We will be in the room shortly, once I am satisfied with my bath" Saskia commented, as he left the room.

"What is it time for?" I asked.

She grinned, rubbing the blood over her chest some more "You will soon find out"