Vampire Nightlife

Chapter 24 A Hint Of Self Preservation

?One of the doors at the corner of the stage opened, and then it happened. A group was forced out in chains shackled over their wrists and ankles. Lukas didn't know what to expect when they said small offering.

But he hadn't foreseen this.

A strange mixture of feelings overcame him–beyond the instinctive awareness of the rich blood pumping across their veins and body, the rational, no, the emotional part of him tugged at his heart and wrenched his mind into acting.

And yet he couldn't.

Lukas stayed grounded in place and didn't take a step forward.

To move would be idiocy and his self-preservation overcame any heroic antics and loyalty to humanity that tried to worm itself into his psyche. It didn't make things any less painful and he tried to soothe himself by looking at the humans.

If only to check on their conditions.

They didn't exactly look starved, not one of them had sunken cheeks–but a great number of them had dark circles underneath their eyes. There was a haunted look over their faces that made him almost want to turn away.

Even more so that while they weren't starved, there were indications of being hurt. Some had bandages over their neck, in their arms and even one close to their inner thigh.

However, what bothered him beyond the fact that the group was composed of young men and women was the reaction of the crowds–they looked immensely pleased and made sounds of approval.

"Hah…" Lukas let out a breath.

It was a cycle of hate.

These Vampires lost their loved ones and relished inflicting harm on the humans captured.

And so it happened. Another Vampire came about pushing a cart filled with numerous goblets and accompanied by knives. It caused some of the humans to flinch, but others didn't even budge.

Each one of them received a knife and soon held it over their arms.

Lawrence Tenebris' sharp gaze frightened the most into submission and it was with one quick flick that it happened–blood started to drip down from their arms as many of the humans winced.

However, they were all being handed a goblet to collect their blood as the bloodthirsty crowd awaited for their cups to be filled. It was a terrible sight and among them, the person he almost expected to look queasy–Lily?

She didn't look bothered at all.

There was no sense of injustice or uncomfortableness in her eyes–this was all part of the ceremony to her. Which made sense. This was the Vampire society that she was raised in, so of course she wouldn't find anything wrong.

And yet what made a sunken feeling reach his stomach was the fact that there was almost a look of awe in Lily's eyes–as if the ceremony itself was mystical or amazing in of itself.

Lukas was so focused on staring at Lily, that he completely missed the singular face in the crowd with a hardened expression.

Chelsea.

Amongst the other Vampires ready and waiting, some even drooling as fresh warm blood gushed down the arm of the humans–she had her hands folded together, her nails digging into her skin.

Her gaze flickered across the faces of each human, taking their condition into account as she once again repeated the hardest decision of her life.

One of the men looked like he was close to the verge of death, a pale look on his face. The youngest of them was a young girl who didn't look more than the age of twelve in human years–

A commotion started on the stage.

A woman who stood close to the pale man suddenly dropped her goblet, its contents spilling across the floor as she held onto her knife and then moved in a quick jerk of adrenaline.

The humans in the group looked at her and soon joined in her quick movements–heading in the same direction with their own knives in hand and they all tried to stop the Vampires that tried to stop them.

It was with such a level of human ingenuity and survival that Lukas' jaw dropped for a moment as a flicker of hope welled inside of him but was dashed away in the following seconds.

The oldest woman, the one at the edge headed for Lawrence Tenebris with a scream–but the Vampire simply caught the woman's head in her hands and snapped her neck.

Over in an instant.

The will of the humans vanished–except for one. The pale young man who had looked on the verge of death stumbled forward and jabbed his knife forward and struck Lawrence Tenebris across the chest.

"Father!" Lily's voice echoed across the main hall.

Horror struck the Vampire crowd, but Lawrence Tenebris simply looked at the human and chuckled. "Did you really think that something like this would kill me?"

The man spat at his face. "No, but it was worth the effort."

"You–I won't grant you a quick death." Lawrence Tenebris reached out to the man's bleeding arm and twisted it in one go–the painful sound of a crunch audible to the ears of the spectators.

The Vampire then took away the knife from his chest and threw it across the floor as the rest of the humans fell to their knees, losing the will to fight and abandoning their weapons.

It was a sight that made Lukas' stomach churn uneasily and something came over his throat–the urge to vomit and retch arrived but there was no contents in his stomach to purge out.

In the end, Lukas only ended up coughing hard and squeezing his eyes shut. That was why he completely failed to notice Chelsea coming to a decision and standing up.

"Pink hair?"

"Isn't she the Atticus–!"

Chelsea Atticus bravely ventured forward and approached the stage, before she held up a hand and bowed her head to Lawrence Tenebris.

When she looked up, there was a cruel smile on her lips.

"Please do not waste your time on this insignificant man, Councilman. Allow me to take him off from your hands, and inflict the same punishment that you will–and then I'll have his blood."