2.16 Attack
2.16 Attack
Theodore had a lot to explain to Ben the next morning regarding why he covered his neck and also made some excuses for Raphael's absence. Fortunately, Ben seemed to trust his words—no, to be exact, he trusted Raphael. Theodore had no idea what kind of spell that vampire had casted to the head servant to make him this subservient.
After that, he started to skim through the library to search for information regarding pureblood and he received quite a lot of information. Nowadays, pureblooded vampires were considered a rare species because they were created when the Goddess of Night, Nyx, first descended on Earth. After that, the purebloods turned humans into vampires then the vampires mated with humans to conceive dhampirs. The number of purebloods could even be counted with one hand. They were the ancestors of vampires; the being who were closest to God. Unlike ordinary vampires, they didn't fear the sun or crosses.
The time when Goddess Nyx first came to Earth was equal to how long Raphael had lived.
...Theodore couldn't imagine living through such a long passage of time. It wasn't just tens or hundreds of years. It was many, many centuries ago.
Thinking about the desolateness in Raphael's eyes and the way he seemed detached somehow just made Theodore's heart ache even more. He shook his head and continued to flip through the books.
At first, the vampires had no king. They considered themselves predators and the law existed where the strongest survived and the weak perished. Adding to their prolonged animosity with humans, their number slowly dwindled to the point where they were finally alarmed, perceiving that internal war didn't do anything good. Thus, they crowned the strongest one among them as the King and made a blood pacta to obey his words.
A sigh escaped Theodore's lips. It was weird to read how the person who had been with him every single day was revered like a God in the history books. Theodore couldn't get past it even through the whole day.
Raphael was Raphael. He didn't care what Raphael's identity was; whether he was a pureblooded, an ordinary vampire, a dhampir or even a human. In Theodore's eyes, he was no one else but Raphael, the one who would obey his every wish and command.
In the next second, he slammed the book close, irritated. Seriously, how long did Raphael plan to go missing?! Wasn't three days already more than enough? Otherwise... Theodore's heart sank. Did he plan to disappear for good…?
"Young Master," Ben put a cup of warm milk beside him then he proceeded to pick up the books that were spread out messily on the ground beneath Theodore's divan. "You're still reading about vampires? This servant thought that your interest had doused a few years back."
Theodore's mood was awful, he didn't plan to reply. He grew even more irritated as he caught sight of the milk. Everything seemed to provoke him somehow from the smallest things such as bad weather and milk until the emptiness in his chest which was getting more and more intense. "Take it away! I don't want to drink it!"
"But you always drink it when Raphael is here." Ben smiled.
Sometimes, Theodore felt as if Ben could see through everything but how was it possible? He scoffed. "That's why I don't want to drink! He's supposed to be responsible for me. He's my personal servant. How dare he just disappear just like that?!" He grumbled then returned his attention to flipping another book, causing Ben to shake his head helplessly.
The head servant had just wanted to take the milk away when the ground suddenly shook immensely. The cup swayed and crashed to the ground, shattering into millions of pieces.
"Young Master!" Ben held Theodore tightly as the teenager lost his balance and almost fell above the broken shards of glass. As a result, he stepped on one himself and hissed, blood oozing out from the soles of his feet.
Seeing that, Theodore frowned and helped Ben to sit somewhere else. "You wait here. I will go and see what happens."
"Wait!" Ben pulled him back. Theodore had never seen such a grave expression on his face before. He put his forefinger on his lips. "Listen, Young Master."
Theodore frowned but still complied. Faintly, he could hear a commotion outside from the direction of the main gate. The guards were hollering. "Vampires have attacked the house! It's vampires!" Theodore's heart rose to his throat and his head buzzed loudly. Vampires…? The first person who popped up in his mind was Raphael but he promptly shook the thoughts away. There was no way Raphael could have harmed him.
Ben stood up, disregarding the wound on his leg and shielded Theodore behind him, his eyes staring straight out of the balcony.
"Ben…?" Theodore looked at him in confusion.
The wind was howling and the drizzle soon turned into a downpour. Lightning struck intermittently and all of a sudden, a pair of glowing scarlet eyes appeared in the dark. Ben pulled out a gun from his inner coat and fired two shots agilely. Bang! Bang!
Theodore covered his ears in reflex and his breath hitched on his throat as he caught sight of a shadow who jumped to the balcony window, his familiar face illuminated by the intermittent lightning bolts. Theodore gasped. "U—Uncle Fred?!"
"Stand back!" Ben hollered angrily. "He's no longer Alfred Moore. He has become a vampire!"
The one standing in front of them was none other than Alfred Moore, the one who had died a few days ago. His clothes were drenched in the rain and his exceedingly pale complexion highlighted the lifelessness in his eyes. He growled, fangs poking out of his mouth which was stained in blood. "Where…" His eyes darted around wildly. "Where's that bastard Raphael?!"
Bang! Ben fired another shot which landed on Alfred's right thigh. "Back off, vampire." The elderly hissed fiercely, taking Theodore off guard.
Alfred screamed in pain and scrambled back, blood oozed out of his wound. His murky red eyes landed on Ben and he gave a sneer. "You're a vampire hunter?"
"Yours truly." Ben reloaded his gun and aimed. "You're turning deranged, Moore. Why don't you stay in your grave and rest in peace?"
"Rest in peace…?" It was as if Alfred had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. He gritted his teeth, eyes bulging out terrifyingly. "I can't and I won't rest in peace until I find the one who's responsible for my death! Where's Raphael, that faithful servant of yours? How can you cover for a vampire, Benedict?!"
"That's impossible!" Ben cried out in disbelief, his hand holding the gun shook.
Alfred shook his head in pity. His lips curled into a bloodthirsty grin as his eyes locked with Theodore. "Whether I am telling the truth or not, I think our Young Master here knows clearer than anyone. Why don't you ask him?"
Ben turned his head sideways, his eyes incredulous. "Young Master…?"
Theodore cursed under his breath. "He's lying! How can Raphael be a vampire?!" In the first place, he didn't even know that Ben was a vampire hunter. Damn it, if Ben knew the truth, would he have hunted Raphael down? And what was up with his father? How could he hire a vampire hunter as a head servant when his own wife was a dhampir?! Was he stupid or idiot?!
Alas, Ben had been with Theodore since the teenager was born. In one glance, he directly knew that Theodore was lying. His eyes trembled and Alfred seized the opportunity to pounce forward.
Theodore's eyes widened. "Watch out!"
He pushed Ben away and his arms ended up being grazed by Alfred's sharp nails. The strong momentum sent his body crashing against the wall and he bit down on his lips hard to suppress the cry. His arm stung as if scorched and he clutched it, the crimson liquid staining his palm. Even in a dire situation like this, Theodore hated that he still thought of Raphael. That vampire seemed to like his blood so much, that's why he shouldn't have let it spill just like that…
Alfred licked his bloodied fingers, his expression intoxicated. "I have never realized that Young Master Theo tastes so delicious before."
"You fiendish creature!" Ben hollered as he pointed the muzzle toward Alfred. "Even though I have long retired as a vampire hunter, I can still take you on by myself!"
"No…" Theodore's eyes flew open in horror as his entire body was petrified in place. Behind Ben, through the balcony where the sky was pitch black like spilled ink, numerous pairs of murky red eyes appeared one by one perching atop of the trees, observing...and ready to attack. Chill crawled up Theodore's spine and this time, he was truly frightened beyond wits. There were so many vampires, he definitely wouldn't survive through this. He still had so many things he wanted to do and so many words he wanted to say to a certain vampire who was currently missing.
"Raphael…!" He uttered the name subconsciously and shut his eyes firmly.