Reaching the place, Damien didn't bother to wait for the coachman and opened the door. Penny carefully got down with his help as he gave her his hand.
Where was this place? asked Penny to herself to see the land to have many rocky stones beneath their feet and some which were large enough to cover what was there on the other side. From the sound of it, she could tell it was a waterbody where Damien had called it 'lake of bones'. Behind them, the other carriage stopped where she saw they were surrounded by nothing but trees.
The maids were the first ones to be taken out of the carriage, where the butler's dead body followed. She still couldn't believe that the man had died in a way where he couldn't have a grave of his own. Masters and mistresses never give a proper burial to their servants. All their bodies were put in the lake of bones which was were people who had no family went by. The council believed it allowed to have more space on the lands than have a graveyard unless the person had his own land and a family member to perform the burial.
While the maid's necks flesh was torn out, the butler held a hollow hole in his chest. His expression looked extremely vacant in shock that Penny turned her head away. Life was so fragile where a person could die in an instant.
The Quinn's had many coachmen and the two of them who were pulling out the bodies looked at their master when it came to the fourth person who laid motionless inside the carriage. A sack was pulled over the man's head to avoid blood or any other body parts to spill in the carriage.
"Keep him there. I need to deliver him somewhere. Take these three up there," he said turning around to look up at the cliff that stood tall.In time, a different carriage appeared where a tall man stepped out, with stark blue eyes that looked like precious gems. Penny's first guess was that he was from a rich family, a human. But when he appeared closer, opening his mouth to speak, she noticed the fangs which the vampire didn't bother to hide.
"Damien," the man approached walking towards them while looking at the bodies that were on the ground. The air around him was different compared to the other vampires. If possible she would say it was something very similar to what Damien usually carried. Shaking their hands,
"Maximillian," Damien greeted the man back.
"The magistrate asked me to go to the lake of bones. What happened here?" asked the man named Maximilian looking down at the bodies that rested on the ground.
Damien took the councilman aside to talk alone. The man gave a look at Penny, his eyes curious before going back to listen to what Damien had to say.
She stood there idle, wondering why Damien had taken her along with him as they left the mansion. It felt as if she were a toy who was being carried all around by the pureblooded vampire. But somewhere she knew that he wanted to keep her close where his eyes could reach. It wasn't as if she wanted to stay away from him.
Penny knew she was the safest when it was around him. It made her wonder how much of a scare he must had felt today after getting her wrong twice. The councilman named Maximillian who had arrived walked towards the bodies, bending down and looking at the victims before standing up.
"I will let Duke Leonard know about what happened so that the matter can be kept hush. As Lord Nicholas said, it would be better to keep it under covers than have the matter let out like a wildfire," said the councilman.
Damien nodded his head, "I heard that Alexander and Elliot already gave the information about the fleshy masses that have been falling on the forest area. It must be one of them. Take this man to Murkh," Maximilian looked around wondering if he was pointing out the coachmen as they were the only alive people here with the dead who were going to be thrown into the lake, "The switcher's body is inside," as if realization dawning on the councilman he said yes.
"I will have it delivered to Murkh. He would be more than happy to receive this one as an early Christmas present," just as the man was about to go near the carriage, he dropped his kerchief which fell from the pocket without knowledge. With him being busy picking up the dead man out and handing it over to his coachman, "Careful with the body," Penny who stood close by, took a few steps forward to pick up the kerchief forgetting that she had just wounded her back to flinch and take a sharp breath.
The councilman turned around to hold her arm, "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Stupid girl. Who told you to bend when you are hurt," Damien came to her side to see Penny looking wide-eyed. Instinctively she moved closer to Damien where the man wound his hand around her.
"You dropped your kerchief," she said for the man to give her a fanged smile.
"Don't trouble yourself with that. I have a whole lost of them back home," he said and turned to meet Damien's eyes. A smile on his lips at the sight of Damien holding the human girl, "I will drop by the council to check on this one," said Damien to the councilman take the body into his own carriage and heading on his way.
This way there would be no need to go through the court council. It was something he didn't like to go through. Things were not to be run like this under the veil where no one could see but this was how the world ran where even the Lord of Bonelake was involved.