Blood dripped from Damien's hand, sliding down to fall on the ground once he stood up. Looking down at the man whose very face had been broken including the skull with blood splattered all over the carpeted floor, he turned and headed towards the door.
Walking down, he caught sight of a body that laid at the foot of the stairs. His sisters, mother, and father arrived out of their rooms after hearing the screams. Everyone looked confused as to what happened until they caught sight of a fellow maid lying dead with her hands and legs sprawled. A part of her neck was bitten off which was evidently a vampire's doing.
"Is it an intruder?" asked Grace worried at her mother.
"We need to see what happened, where are the-" Fleurance started to be hushed by Damien.
Maggie, on the other hand, caught sight of Damien's blood hand, frowning to ask, "What happened to your hand?"
"Damage control," he answered turning everyone confused, "Stay here. Let me check," he ordered before going towards the kitchen knowing already what had taken place. There weren't many vampires or half vampires who worked in Quinn's mansion which narrowed down the possibility over what had taken place this evening.
Taking the next corridor, he found blood on the walls. Like the paint which was splattered but here it was blood. The smell of death mixed in the cold air wafted in the atmosphere. Walking towards the kitchen he caught sight of one more servant lying near the wall with open eyes in shock and contoured pain. Then his eyes fell on the person who sucked out blood from another servant.
Another servant cowered in fear looking at the man who had suddenly gone on a killing spree. When the maid's eyes met Damien's, he jerked his head for her to come over and step out of the kitchen. The maid held fear in her eyes but taking in the master's action, she tried to quietly move away from the vampire who was still drinking blood. Just as she ran past and made her way towards Damien, the man turned around with black and hollow eyes.
Falcon.
The man bared his fangs at Damien, throwing the maid on the floor without any regard. Damien's eyes scanned the kitchen, looking at the vessels that were placed near the heating area. One of them must have been used with the liquid to corrupt the vampires of this house.
He had picked and left the switcher in the room not too long. And if he wasn't wrong, the person had been fast asleep. When did the switcher gain so much time to step down and have no one see what he did?
By the butler's eyes, it was given that he had been completely corrupted. The potion which he consumed from the food had engulfed his heart but Damien wanted to give the man some more time. A false hope, hoping the butler would come around. After all, with sheer luck, he had come around when he was a child. Stopping corruption when it just started.
"Falcon," Damien said his name to gain his attention but the butler looked away, looking around him as if he were searching something. He picked up the maid he had dropped. To suck on her blood again, "Put the girl down," he said after a while for the butler to look up at him.
Pulling away from the maid's neck, he stared right into Damien's eyes before a sinister smile appeared on his lips. He pulled away from the maid, placing her in a distance before tearing her limb off her body that had blood splattering all over where he stood.
In the next second, the butler threw the body and headed against Damien but he suddenly stopped before he could get any more close. Damien himself had closed the gap by stepping forward, his hand that reached through Falcon's heart that made a hole right in his chest.
Damien's expression was as vacant as the vampire's heart he held right now. He had saved Falcon from getting executed for what he had protected, to help and have the man die in one's own hand was an irony of life.
In the last few moments, Falcon's eyes met Damien's. Holding still and blinking once as if behind those hollow filled eyes, the actual Falcon was in pain. The light in his eyes started to diminish before vanishing completely while leaving the body slack where Damien had his arm around the butler.
"Rest in peace, Falcon," murmured Damien. People died every day, from one corner to the other in the four lands of the empire but it was only ones that mattered did one feel sorrow. And to carry the grief of death was a burden itself.
After exchanging quick words with his family while asking none to eat what was prepared and not to touch it, Damien headed towards the main door. Just as he stepped out where no one could see, his body disappeared to appear in the village.
Reaching the village, he caught sight of some of the men who must have arrived at the word of Lord Nicholas. Two of them were the councilmen he knew and the rest who were workers who had come to scout and look at what had happened so that they could give the detailed report.
Not wanting to waste his time, Damien searched for the house where he had picked up the switcher. Finally finding it, he stepped inside the house to find Penelope who was awake and trying to get rid of the bounds around her hands and legs.
When she saw him, she stopped which was when he noticed the taste of salt in the air. Without another word, he untied her hands and legs. Penelope was quiet which made him worry. This time he was sure it was his mouse.
He raised his hand to place it on her cheek, running his thumb over her wet cheek. The house was dark and quiet which must have scared her. Pulling her in his arms, he said,"I am sorry for not finding you sooner."