Vamp Guards ✔️

S I X T Y-F O U R

Iris and Kai ran out onto the balcony seconds after the screams picked up.

The darkness, void of light, made the bursting red flames rage enough to be seen from the mansion. The sky was compacted with thickening clouds, blocking out the moon. The fire was a flare. A warning. The beginning of something disastrous.

Iris faintly covered his mouth in shock. The fire from the first village was alive in his eyes, whipping and lashing and growing. Smoke built up and fogged the lanterns in the town. The only color in the dark was a furious red.

"We have to go." Iris turned around and started running towards the bedroom door. Kai stopped him before he reached it.

"Wait, we have to–"

"We can't wait! I'm done waiting! They're attacking my kingdom–the people! I'm joining this fight whither you like it or not."

Kai took a deep breath and moved his hands from Iris's shoulder to cup his face.

"Just...."

Iris held one of Kai's hands and pressed his cheek against it. "I will. I promise."

He read the conflicted expression on Kai's face. The way he scrunched his eyebrows together and the way his eyes dulled. He kissed Kai's palm, giving him his final reassurance.

"You be careful, too."

Kai nodded.

They would've stayed together just a little longer if not for the loud boom muffled by the mansion walls.

"I'm going to gather up the guards. Get the dagger and Iris, for the love of God, be careful!"

They were ready to run their separate ways but just needed to get a last few words out before they parted.

Iris rolled his eyes. "I will. Trust me."

Kai opened his mouth to say something. The words were right on the tip of his tongue but he decided to keep quiet. He nodded, sparing Iris a final smile, before sprinting off.

Iris took a deep breath and started running the other way. He heard glass shatter from inside the mansion. Havoc coming from downstairs. Yelling and wailing.

They were on the third floor, his room was on the second. That's where the dagger was.

Iris ran quick. He skipped a few steps on the stairs and held onto the railing to turn himself more swiftly. He almost bumped into a maid who was trying to run to the stairs he came down from.

"Hey–Hey! What's going on down there?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to stand still. Her dress was splattered with blood but it didn't appear to be hers.

"There's...there's so many.....they killed–they–they–"

Iris squeezed her shoulders, shaking them to refocus her. "If you can't get to a backdoor in time find a place to hide and stay quiet. Understand?"

The maid shakily nodded and ran for the stairs when Iris let go.

More and more wailing invaded the mansion. Running footsteps were heard all around Iris and yet he was alone in the hall. The walls were thick, but not enough to block out the horrors the vampires were causing.

When his door came into sight, Iris busted in and slammed the door shut. He ran over to his bookshelf and pulled several out from their spot. He stared at the empty squared area that was hidden behind the books. The area where he hid the dagger, but it was nowhere in sight.

"What?" Iris raked a hand through his hair and stepped away from the shelf. He wasn't worried quite yet. As he glanced at his bed he remembered hiding the dagger under there at one point.