Chapter 32 - The Awakening

Chapter 32 - The Awakening
“Amanda!” Cord’s voice resounded on a dimly lit spacious hall once he materialized in it. There was no one around except for the empty furniture sets and empty balconies above him. The chandelier lights were turned off, the lamps in the coffee tables were the same and the only thing that kept the place bright were the lightings that broke out from the sky from time to time passing through the uncovered floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Where?” he muttered to himself as he took in the room he was dumped in.

This room somehow was familiar. In fact, very familiar to him.

The first clue was the foul stench of blood in every corner and every space. Second clue, was the blood red carpet his bare feet touched. Third was the gloomy darkness of the place, the same theme in all rooms of his castle. And last, were the sinister silhouettes lurking behind the shadows. He may not clearly see them due to his temporary human eyes, but there they were looking at him with solid curiosity.

His damn biters.

“Good day, Master Cord,” a male voice emerged from one of the dark corners.

“Master Cord.”

Then, another.

“Master Cord.”

A female one sounded.

“Master Cord.”

Then, many more, in groups and in different genders.

A muscle in Cord’s face strained. His eyes thinned and he stood squaring his shoulders. Even with only his black pants on, he still looked intimidating, Godly, full of authority. His ripped torso and hard, fine-cut muscles were just an incentive of his overall stature. Human now as he was, he was still their master and one that commanded over them without question.

“Why are you all here? I didn’t summon a meeting,” he spoke. Hard as a boulder. Cold as an iceberg.

Another lightning appeared and this time, it showed that the silhouettes were now closer to him than before. Not anymore hiding behind the pillars, but standing at the edge of the balustrade.

“Behold! Our master has finally returned!” Then, one voice emerged from all the rest. It was with so much confidence and boldness that Cord immediately knew to whom.

“Garrett, you bastard. What is the meaning of this?” He looked at a particular corner, right straight to him and stared at it long and hard before seeing the snickering buffoon stepping out into the little light.

“It is what you see. You are in the north wing. The place where you have tried so hard to ignore,” Garrett answered.

Cord didn’t need to examine the room again. He knew this all along.

“And what are you gathering about? Don’t tell me you’ve thrown another soirée without my permission?”

“Nope. This isn’t a party.” Garrett shook his head and a smug smile appeared in his face. “They have all come here to listen to your side of the story.”

All?

It didn’t seem so. For Calvin was nowhere in sight. His sister too and Heather. The servants he deemed loyal to him were absent. The vampires that stood around him now were those that lavished and enjoyed their life as being a vampire.

“Story?” Cord parroted, shoving his deduction on the situation at the back of his mind, but only temporary. What story could he possibly share? They knew about the curse. They couldn’t have taken interest on his mundane, close-to-a-hermit life have they?

“You see, your loyal vampire subjects...” he waved a hand all over the room and grinned, “have grown anxious because of your recent activities with a certain woman.”

Then, his hand stopped, pointing to an open balcony just on their left side.

Cord jerked and his eyes rounded after seeing Amanda restrained by Trace. Her hands were on each side, but they seemed to be immovable. She had a cloth wrapped around her mouth and still was wearing the bathrobe she used after their precious time in the bathroom. Their eyes met, effectively showing the turmoil in each orbs.

“Aman--” Cord started but consciously, he cleared his throat and stopped. It was unwise to show his emotions in front of his subjects, much so when it was because of a woman, so he stared back at Garrett, clenched his fists and controlled his anger from seeping. “What of her?”

“Don’t play dumb Master, please.” Another voice emerged from the group in the balcony, but it was from an older man: Sir Alfort. “We only need to know the truth.” He stepped into the light, showing the frills and laces of his old-fashioned clothing.

“Is she a moon witch?”

Deep inside, Cord wanted to rip the man’s throat. The hell he knew... Who could have told him the truth?

Then, his sharp eyes rested on the answer: Garrett.

But how could he have known?

“I only know that she is a witch,” was Cord’s clipped answer.

Garrett smirked at him, looking somehow amused.

“Then we believe that you’ll kill her then?” Sir Alfort followed. “Like her ancestors? Take her witch ability and avenge the curse that befell us?”

Cord sneered at him. It was like opening wounds. Wounds that he had already healed with Amanda. On impulse, he glanced at her and although it was faint, he saw fear growing in her eyes.

“You do not ask me questions, Alfort,” he managed to say after ripping his attention away from Amanda.

And then, Garrett cackled. It was so loud and confident that everyone’s attention was on him.

“Really?” He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head in disbelief. “That’s the best you can do? Avoid the subject?”

Cord remained silent, but deep inside he was already planning on a thousand ways to destroy this traitor.

“Now, you avoid this,” Garrett continued and then started circling Cord. “Don’t you know my fellow vampires that our precious Master here stands before you as a mere human? It is what you see. It is what you hear. He has a beating heart. He has color in his skin, life in his cells, and the same human eyes just like before.”

His sights rested on Amanda, who in turn, threw daggers at his way despite how helpless she looked.

“He has ingested the blood of that witch.” Garrett pointed at her. “The same blood in a family of witches who cursed him - no, us - in the first place.”

There was a throaty groan that surfaced from deep within Cord. “Family? I do not know what you are talking about,” he said.

“Fuck,” Garrett’s nose wrinkled. “For a Master, you are so clueless, so allow me to explain.” He started circling again, making sure that everyone heard his short storytelling. “That witch there is the answer to your curse. By blood you were cursed, and by blood it shall be undone. By taking all of her blood, you will be lifted, and in effect us too. We will turn into human again.”

But of course, Cord didn’t know about this. It was the one truth that he wanted to discover. But how did the damn traitor know all of this? Again, who told him about it?

“And you knew about this, how?” Cord raised the question.

In response, Garrett’s chest swelled with heavy regret and as if it wasn’t enough, there was a flicker of pure hate that appeared in his eyes directly to Cord.

“Let’s just say I have loved a witch who knew about your curse. The one witch that you killed and drained. The one that owned your shadows originally. She is Amanda’s cousin, Arriana.”

Cord’s eyes widened at the realization.

The shadow witch Arriana.

Hell, what a twisted fate.

“But anyway, that’s not the point,” Garrett then cut off, not wanting to remember how he failed to protect his lover from Cord’s past rampage. “What I’m trying to say is that your subjects here are worried, Master Cord.”

“We do not want to turn into a human again, Master Cord,” Sir Alfort butted in. “We love being a vampire, so we don’t want you to drink her blood. We want you to kill her. For us. Because you owe us. She isn’t special to you, right? You...do not love her, right?”

What a mess. Of all the questions, why that?

Cord inhaled a sharpened breath. With clenched fists, he looked at Amanda, eyes devoid of emotion and then replied, “Have you forgotten what the curse states? I don’t know love.”

For a moment. Just for a moment, Cord swore he saw her brows flinch and a flash of purplish light appeared in her wet eyes. He hoped then that that didn’t mean anything.

“Great! Then, let’s get it on, shall we?” Garrett interjected. He neared Amanda, stood right in her front and gestured for Cord to do the same.

Only that he didn’t.

“But you don’t get to order me what to do,” Cord spat out. “I am the Master here. You obey me, not the other way around. Give that witch some decent clothes and lock her up in the dungeon.”

He then turned around and walked to the exit with heavy steps.

But then, Garrett called out. “What for? Why not just kill her? Right here, right now?”

Cord paused and turned to look at them.

“She’s my plaything and I alone decide her fate.”

He looked at Amanda once again and this time, saw purple coating her eyes. He knew that he had hit a spot. He knew he may have broken her heart with his words, but what else was he to say? If he showed emotion. If he showed his true feelings to them, then the worse would certainly befall on her.

On Garrett’s point of view though, it irked him. Displeased him. He didn’t like how things were going so without a second thought, his game plan changed.

“I don’t think that’s a good decision, Master Cord,” he stated and upon seeing Cord attempt a step towards them, he pulled Trace’s silver gun out and pressed the muzzle onto Amanda’s head.

“Ah. Ah. Ah. Stay where you are. You wouldn’t want this woman’s head blown into pieces right? I know you are powerless right now, so just be obedient and do what I say.”

Cord hissed and glowered at him. “Garrett, I know you’d drop that pathetic act sooner or later.”

Garrett snorted and so did Trace.

“I know right. It seems you just have an uncanny ability to tweak every plan I make,” he said, running the muzzle on Amanda’s carotid pulse. “But unfortunately for you, now I have the upperhand. I’ll make you suffer. I’ll make you feel the pain you gave me when you took Arriana’s life away. Now, I’m going to avenge her death by killing your lover.”

He pressed the metal more against Amanda’s neck, but somehow this didn’t elicit any response from her. Her eyes even were snapped shut, her brows in a relaxed line, and her breathing was even as if she was just sleeping calmly during the whole exchange. Garrett and Trace somehow found it odd, but to Cord, he knew exactly what was happening.

In the periphery of his vision, just some distance away behind Trace’s back was the sudden appearance of the wounded Matteo, kneeling with one limp hand nursing his wound while the other was lifted directly to Amanda, a blue glow on his fingers appeared.

“Harm her and you’ll be sorry,” Cord announced, eyeing Amanda with intensity.

Garrett chuckled. “Huh! Your threats lack luster when you stand there powerless, Cord.”

But then, Cord shook his head.

“No, it is not me that you should be worried about,” he said, readying himself of what was to come, “But her.”

When Garrett turned to glance at Amanda, she was already released from the invisible cuffs. Her eyes were snapped open, bathed in a purplish glow, and she was baring her teeth to him.

Or particularly, to Cord.