The crew was standing in front of a dark castle that looked abandoned, Bryn felt chills running down her spine. The weird feeling was now very intense, it overwhelmed her so much that she had trouble breathing.
‘’I don’t have magical abilities, but I feel that, too’’ Doubar said, looking at her.
‘’Let’s not panik here. Some travelers are known to abduct people for ransom and some cultures even practice cannibalism, it’s part of their warfare …’’ Firouz stopped when the crew all turned to glare at him. ‘’What I meant was that they’re probably not demons’’.
‘’I beg to differ’’, Bryn stated, ‘’I clearly feel it now. More evil than black magic, and truly more powerful. Maeve … she was telling the truth about them. They’re dead … and they’re not human’’.
‘’You’re creeping me out’’, Doubar groaned.
‘’What are they ?’’ asked Sinbad. ‘’Some kind of ghosts ?’’
Bryn looked at him, frightened. ‘’I’d say they’re more of the blood-sucking kind‘’.
‘’Vampires ?‘’ Firouz laughed nervously. ‘’They’re part of many cultures’ literature, but I don’t think they could ever exist. How would they move and eat if they were dead ? It’s nonsense’’.
‘’Yet, I saw many things I wish didn’t exist in the past years’’ Doubar scolded.
‘’They know we’re here’’ interrupted Bryn, as the heavy, wooden doors opened slowly for them to enter the castle. Candles were lit all along the hallway, guiding them to another set of huge carved wooden doors. From the castle’s architecture, they guessed they were standing before the the entrance of what must have been the ballroom. The doors slowly opened, with a loud cracking sound that gave them chills. But not as much as when they heard a very deep masculine voice that echoed through the room, saying ‘’Welcome’’, as the doors opened.
They walked across the room, where they saw three men standing up and staring at them. Maeve was sitting on a bench, at their right. She wasn’t wearing her horseriding outfit anymore. She had pulled on a black silk ballgown with silver flower embroidery. Her bodice was fitted and had short lace sleeves, leaving most of her shoulders bare. She had a dizzying cleavage : her breasts were pushed upwards, thanks to the square corset she was wearing. Her dress floated away from her body from the hips down. She wore short gloves, up to her wrists, made of black lace. Her hair was pulled in a loose, middle-height bun. Though the crewmen were all dazzled by how beautiful she looked, their focus was mainly on the three men who were now surrounding her, and especially on their glowing red eyes, as they gazed at the sailors.
Sinbad was shocked to see the contrast between Maeve’s white skin and the creatures’, as they were so pale their skin, because of the candles’ light, appeared almost blueish, just like one would expect from a dead people’s skin.
The first man at their left looked like he was in his early thirties. He had short chestnut hair, was about Sinbad’s height and size, and was dressed rather simply : a peasant-like white shirt, though made of the finest fabric, and brown leather pants. They noticed he was holding a wine glass in his hand, with red liquid in it. Sinbad felt nauseous imagining what his beverage really consisted of.
In the middle stood a creepy-looking, blond male. In his early forties, maybe. His glare was particularly evil. He was muscular and tall. He wore a black tapered suit and black leather boots. He looked like one of those arrogant, tyrannical princes, if ever Hell had its royalty.
The third man quickly caught Sinbad’s attention, because he was now standing behind Maeve’s bench. With his hands resting on her bare shoulders. Sinbad felt sick to his stomach. Unlike his two companions, this one was short, about Bryn’s height, and had a slender, almost frail shape. His fingers, which must have been delicate when he was still a living man, looked like raven claws perched over Maeve’s shoulders. He wore his dark brown hair a bit longer than shoulder length. His clothing style was different, too. While the others wore masculine and rather simple outfits, his was fancy. His long-sleeved silk shirt was deep purple, it had ruffles at both wrists and a jabot over the chest area. He even had bows on his leather shoes. He was wearing many rings on his fingers and his belt was encrusted with precious stones. *Crimson, I would guess* Sinbad thought to himself. What made this one look particularly creepy was that he actually smiled to them, a smile they presumed was meant to be warm and welcoming, but that actually gave the whole crew chills down their spine because it revealed his pointy teeth.
‘’Sinbad !’’ the short one exclaimed with an excited, almost childish voice. ‘’What a great honor for us to welcome you in our castle’’. He stepped forward, offering his hand to Maeve. ‘’My darling, why don’t you introduce us to our guests ?’’
The crew understood, by his elegant, almost haughty posture and gestures, that he must have been part of nobility when he was alive. Maeve placed her hand in his and got up. She was startled, as always, at how icy his hand felt. They walked to the crew who stood still before them, apprehensive about what would happen next.
‘’As you know, this is Sinbad, captain of the Nomad’’, Maeve said as she and the eccentric vampire stood in front of him.
‘’Yes….’’ he said, gazing at him with admiration and excitement. He stepped closer to Sinbad, and without touching him, he leaned forward so he could deeply inhale, smelling the captain’s skin. It gave Sinbad the creeps. Rongar shrugged and Doubar frowned as they watched the vampire’s weird behavior.
‘’Yes …’’ he repeated as he stepped back, only this time the gaze he granted Sinbad was almost defiant. He turned to Maeve and grabbed her by the waist. She didn’t resist as he pulled her closer to him. His lips traveled from her shoulder up to her cheek, barely brushing against her skin. ‘’She had your smell all over herself’’ he addressed the captain, though without looking at him. ‘’That’s why I asked her to bathe and put on another dress. I thought, since you men have been sailing for so long, that you might as well enjoy some nice cleavage.’’ He looked at them with that creepy smile again.
‘’Don’t get me wrong, Captain. I would taste any of your bloods with great pleasure. But hers is the most appealing to me,’’ he almost whispered, grinning devilishly.
‘’You must be Crimson,’’ interrupted Sinbad. ‘’Maeve has told us about you.’’
‘’Yes !’’ the creature smiled, flattered that they had been talking about him.
‘’This is Doubar..,’’ Maeve continued.
‘’What a powerful man !’’ Crimson exclaimed. ‘’Strong and tall’’.
‘’Rongar…’’
‘’How exotic is this black man !’’
‘’Firouz…’’
‘’A very intelligent man !’’
‘’And Bryn.’’
Crimson stopped in front of her. As he did to Sinbad, he leaned forward, closer to her. ‘’White magic’’, he whispered. ‘’Don’t worry, my dearest, you will get used to us’’ he grinned as he stepped back. Bryn looked at Maeve, puzzled.
‘’After a while’’, she explained to her, ‘’you won’t be as sensitive to the dark forces and energies as you are now. You somehow grow accustomed to them. It’s a good thing, since death’s energy could be powerful enough to drain out all of our vital forces’’.
Maeve then adressed to the crew : ‘’The man at your left is Kane. You ought not to feel threatened by him, for he hasn’t drunk human blood in over two centuries. Kane is the intellectual one out of the bunch’’. Kane nodded to greet them. He smiled, though without showing his teeth. He almost looked sympathetic.
‘’The very friendly man behind me’’, she said with sarcasm, ‘’is Xander. Beware, for he has the ability to control people and objects with his mind. He has strong powers, but I must say, no sense of humor whatsoever’’ she said as he granted her his most evil glare. ‘’I strongly suggest you do not play smartass with him’’ Maeve told the crew, then stared at Sinbad. ‘’The last time I saw someone trying to mock him, Xander crunched all of his bones with his telekinesis. This sound will haunt me forever’’.
‘’Now that we’re all happily introduced’’ exclaimed Crimson, ‘’Let’s eat ! ‘’
The crew looked a bit panicked as they thought they were on the menu. But they calmed down when they heard Maeve chuckle softly. She pointed at the banquet table on one side of the room, which had been filled with refined food. ‘’Please take a seat, humans are the only ones to eat tonight’’.
The crew sat on one side of the table, while Maeve and the three vampires sat in front of them. Sinbad was annoyed at how Crimson always kept her so close to him. He thought she was like a pet toy to him, and he despised him even more.
The three vampires sat still, watching the sailors eat their first meal since they left the Nomad in the morning. Kane soon began discussing with Firouz, and the scientist was happy to discover the vampire had wide knowledge in many domains he was also interested in. Maeve chatted with the crew, and Crimson sometimes joined the conversation to cheer or express his admiration over what they were saying. But overall, he mostly spent his time contemplating Maeve, glancing at Sinbad and smiling haughtily at him whenever he felt the captain’s gaze over his precious prize. As for Xander, he remained silent and seemed to have only two facial expressions, a mad glare and an evil glare.
Suddenly, Xander lifted his head, looking at the ceiling, and raised his arm. The crew was blinded by what looked like a red lightnight bolt and jumped as a pigeon fell, dizzy, on their table.
‘’Thanks’’, Kane said as he grasped the bird.
The sailors felt nauseous as they watched Kane plunge his fangs in the pigeon’s nape. The bird let out a painful chirp, but soon became numb as Kane finished drinking its blood. He threw the dead bird away.
‘’Delightful, isn’t it ?’’ Crimson giggled.
‘’At least someone gets to eat’’, Xander scolded with his low and monotone voice. It was so deep that it sounded more like a growl than a male’s voice. ‘’Thanks to your poor hunting’’, he adressed Maeve.
‘’We have an arrangement, don’t we ?’’ she replied.
‘’Tonight’’, he threatened her.
The sailors frowned. Sinbad glared at Xander. They all turned to look at Kane, puzzled, when they heard him chuckle.
‘’What is so funny ?’’ asked Doubar, still frowning.
‘’You, you are all really funny’’, Kane answered, laughing even more.
‘’Dare to explain ?’’ asked Sinbad, irritated.
‘’Please entertain us’’, encouraged Crimson, smiling widely.
Kane turned to Xander. ‘’Our guests believe you want to bed Maeve’’, he told him. Crimson let out a high-pitched laughter, clapping his hands: it really amused him. Kane and Maeve chuckled, and Xander even smirked lightly. The crew was clueless.
‘’I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you by laughing’’ Kane told them. ''But the thought of it, it was hilarious''.
‘’We are dead, sailors,’’ Crimson declared with a soft voice. ‘’Thus, we cannot feel.’’
‘’There is no air in our lungs anymore. And our hearts have stopped beating centuries ago’’, Kane continued.
As the crew still looked puzzled, Maeve rolled her eyes and said :
‘’Guys, what they mean is that nothing even works down there !’’
The crew flushed at what they thought was a rather intimate declaration.
‘’We have no soul, no feelings … we can’t even recall what lust feels like’’, Kane explained.
‘’We’re doomed’’, Crimson nodded. ‘’The only lust we still know about is bloodthirst when we get into frenzy’’ he smirked.
‘’Which Maeve is supposed to help prevent by bringing us food’’, Xander growled. ‘’We have been generous by allowing you to chose which humans you judged best deserving of being preyed upon’’, he barked at her.
‘’I already told you I would stick to my promise’’ she protested sharply.
‘’Friends, friends !’’ exclaimed Crimson. ‘’Let’s not ruin this delightful evening’’.
‘’I want her to fulfill her duty,’’ Xander replied aggressively.
Kane stood up and stepped back from the table. Crimson grinned devilishly and walked away too. ‘’Do not move, or else it could be dangerous both for you and for her’’, Kane warned the crewmates, who got really anxious. It didn’t feel right at all.
Maeve removed one of her lace gloves, revealing her wrist. Sinbad’s heart squeezed as he noticed it was marked with many bruises and scratches. The crewmates were startled when Xander grabbed her wrist, his red eyes glowing with anticipation, and plunged his sharp fangs into her small wrist. She writhed and let out a soft, almost delighted sigh as he sipped the blood from her veins. After a few gulps, he brutally let go of her and pushed her back onto her chair, where she landed, dizzy and slightly weakened.
‘’Maeve, are you okay ?!’’ Firouz asked her, worried and shocked.
She nodded.
‘’So that’s what your arrangement is about ? Becoming their meal when you don’t bring them any ?’’ Sinbad bursted out, outraged.
His anger turned into apprehension and anxiety as he caught sight of what Xander was doing. The creepy vampire glared fiercely at Crimson, then with one hand gesture, he sent the aristocrat flying over the table and violently crashing against the wall. Kane shook his head.
‘’Let him’’, he told Xander.
Crimson got up, smiling devilishly. He walked to Maeve, defying Xander with a scornful glance. He grabbed her wrist with his usual elegance. She was bleeding from her wounds. The crew felt repulsed as they saw the aristocrat running his tongue lasciviously along her inner forearm, following the blood dripping from her wounds, delighting himself at the taste of it. When he reached her wounds, he smirked at Sinbad and bit her. Maeve moaned as Crimson was sucking too much of her blood.
‘’Careful, Crimson’’ Kane warned him. ‘’You do not want to kill her’’.
The crew grew agitated. Sinbad stood up, followed by Rongar and Doubar. Kane reminded them not to interfere, for Maeve’s sake.
‘’Then make him stop !’’ screamed a panicked Firouz as Maeve was fainting from her blood loss.
‘’Xander’’ Kane ordered.
Xander raised one hand, and with a swift hand gesture, he sent Crimson crashing on the floor. Crimson straightened up, smirked at the crewmates and licked off the blood remaining at the corner of his mouth. Kane ran to Maeve with a towel to stop the bleeding. Firouz too ran to check her. She was unconscious and her heart was weak.
‘’You can’t control yourself’’, Xander reprimanded Crimson with his usual low and monotone voice. ‘’Now look what you’ve done’’.
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