Lady Dhampir
Chapter 42

Never had Milena imagined such a horrible scene. Not even in her darkest nightmares could she have come up with something like this. She felt like screaming, but any sound could get them both killed.

She slowly put her hand on Rayan's arm, unwillingly holding on to him. The creature was staring emptily in their direction, its eyes wide open. Milena barely dared to breathe, but she was shivering. The fear had overtaken her senses, making her tremble from head to toe. This thing was... nowhere near Human, or even Vampire. It was only... skin and bones, with blood all over its livid face. She thought its teeth looked more like fangs, as its mouth was half-open and breathing heavily.

Slowly, Rayan prepared to step back, pushing Milena behind him, using his body to make a wall, shielding her from that creature. His sword was held in the air, and the Prince wouldn't even blink, watching out for the creature's movements. Neither of them dared to talk, but they wished they could...

Suddenly, the creature moved, going one step down on the wall. It was making some howling noise, like a rale. Milena thought it looked like a wild dog, with its mouth open and blank expression. The blood dripping from its maw had that strong, fresh iron smell that made them both uncomfortable. Even for a Vampire, such a strong and thick smell was sickening.

Milena was scared, but she was still able to think. She knew Ruby was close, probably trying to replace when to attack without endangering her lady. She slowly moved her wrist, feeling Blanche, in her snake form, slowly sliding down to her fingers. But the shape-shifter still had silver scales; she would be spotted as soon as she came out...

"...Go."

Milena almost thought she had dreamed that whisper, but after a while, she realized it was Rayan's words. Was he saying she should run from there? It was clear that that beast would attack any second! She frowned. No way she was abandoning him... She slowly shifted her dagger's position, ready to attack. She regretted not bringing a g*n with her. Her father hated for her to carry a fire weapon, but she would have felt much more confident now. How fast was that creature? And how strong? It looked like a woman's remains, but... its limbs were strangely elongated, and it shouldn't have been able to climb a wall like a spider. Its nails were overly grown, sharp as claws, and its jaw was bigger, too... Something had distorted whoever this person used to be, if it ever was Human or Vampire at all. Milena carefully glanced down again. A male Human's body, and a girl. In their current state, she couldn't say if they had been Vampire or Human, but... if it was a family, that woman... "Rayan! Rayan!"

The voice coming from behind took them all by surprise.

The creature jumped before Milena could turn her head again. In a split second, it was above them, screeching horribly. Rayan was faster to react, pointing his sword up. Milena's head turned back to the door, where someone came running. "Ray..."

Ellias froze at the entrance, staring at the scene in shock.

Milena barely had time to push him out of the way, falling with him onto the ground. Right where she stood a second earlier, Rayan fell, fighting off the creature with his sword, a few inches away from its fangs. But even if he managed to keep its head away, the creature scratched him violently, blood splattering around them in seconds.

"Rayan!" Screamed Milena, terrorized by the scene.

Now that it was standing above the Prince, this creature appeared even larger and more disgusting than she thought. Moreover, Rayan could die at any second. In despair, Milena threw her dagger at it, but the blade planted itself in the shoulder and stayed there. The creature screeched again, turning its horrible head to them. It didn't seem to be in pain, only angry. Very angry. Milena reacted faster this time. Not letting it move, she took out the whip at her side, whipping several times violently, making a barrier between them.

She managed to distract it and, after a few more seconds, she got what she wanted: the creature stepped off and turned to them, leaving Rayan alone. She slapped it once more, and with the move, got the whip around its neck like a leash. Now, it was clearly after them, but Milena had to focus and keep it distracted. She was even more worried that, behind it, the Prince wasn't moving. "Milena, move over."

"I've got it, it..."

The creature screeched again, a horrible sound that resonated within the walls. It moved again, and Milena stepped back. There was only the silver whip between them, and with both Princes there, Blanche couldn't intervene... "Milena!"

Suddenly, she was pushed to the side, and the creature jumped at them. Before she was even done falling, a gunshot pierced the air. She bumped against the wall, and fell to her knees.

The creature, shot straight in the head, fell down, too, at her feet. Milena felt like throwing up again, with that hole in its head and the grimace left. "W...Wha..." she whispered, out of breath.

"Milena, are you okay?"

Ellias was still holding the fuming g*n and helped her up, despite her shaking legs. Milena nodded, staring at the g*n, and tried to calm down. She abandoned her whip and immediately ran to Rayan's side, throwing herself down next to him. "Your Highness! You... Rayan! Rayan! Rayan, can you hear me?"

She kept calling him, but the Prince was unconscious, and his injuries were numerous. Ellias ran to the other side to check on his brother's injuries. It was worse than they thought. Wherever he had been scratched, the injury was deep and ugly. "What... What happened?" Asked Prince Ellias, while taking off his coat.

"We... we were looking for... for leads about the murders, and... the... the morgue burned so... so Rayan suggested we..."

"You came here instead," said Ellias, annoyed. "You two are so stubborn!"

"But this... and how... how did you know?" Asked Milena, still shaken up.

Ellias sighed, ripping off his shirt. He had never seen Milena like this, with her black hair disheveled and that livid expression. Her black dress, drenched in blood, and she didn't care about her manners at all, stubbornly holding on to Rayan's arm. "I was at the fire, helping the Royal Guard. Someone spotted my brother's horse, and I knew he wasn't at the Castle, so I followed you as soon as I could. You were easy to track, with the snow..."

Before Milena could say anything, he took out a little knife. Realizing what he was about to do, she took it from him.

"You can't be serious! He can't drink a man's blood, let alone his brother's..."

"We are twins. It may be disgusting for him, but it's the best source here..."

"Oh, shut up," she sighed, ripping off her sleeve.

She cut herself and immediately held her wrist above Rayan's lips, ensuring it got in. In a few seconds, the young Prince received some of her blood, in painful silence. Ellias was frowning, looking at the whole process, visibly worried. Soon enough, though, the cuts started closing, slowly but surely.

"What kind of creature can get in so deep... in a Vampire's skin..." Whispered Ellias.

He got up and approached the creature's body with a frown. Still focused on feeding Rayan some of her blood, Milena shook her head.

"I've... never heard of something like this. Ruby!"

Her assassin appeared out of nowhere, kneeling.

"I'm sorry, my lady, I've failed my mission, and..."

"Shut up. We'll discuss it later. For now, get my maids here, and warn the Royal Guards his Highness is injured."

"Yes, my lady."

Meanwhile, Blanche had come out of hiding too, and in the appearance of a mouse, was sniffing the bodies. Glancing over her shoulder to ensure Prince Ellias couldn't hear, Milena clicked her tongue. "Blanche, you'll get dirty."

But the shape-shifter ignored her, continuously inspecting the bodies out of Ellias' line of sight. Had she noticed something they hadn't? Milena decided to ignore it for now, focusing on Rayan.

Everything had happened so fast, yet all he had done was protect her... She had always seen him as a manipulative liar who wore a mask in society, but... he had put his life on the line there. Without thinking, he had stood between her and that creature. "Thank you..." She whispered.

"Milena, I think this creature was the wife," suddenly said Ellias behind her.

She turned to him, still hanging her wrist above Rayan's lips.

"I thought the same thing, but... do we have any idea what happened?"

The Prince inspected the other two bodies, shaking its head.

"The father was Human, the child too. But the mother was a Vampire... Whatever was done to them, was probably the same thing, but only she... survived it somehow."

"But what was that? It's as if she... Aw!"

To her surprise, Rayan had suddenly grabbed her wrist, pushing it against his lips, drinking faster, his eyes still closed.

"Easy! If you're awake, you-" groaned Milena, but Rayan's eyes opened, and a smirk happened on his lips.

Milena pulled her wrist away, slapping his torso, angry.

"It's nothing to laugh about!" She said, angry.

"Thank you for the meal..." sighed the Prince, still exhausted.