A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 47: Rogues’ Hideout
From behind a bush, Allicent had watched Gabriel’s fighting. She materialized in the bloody clearing a minute after he left. Her long dress swept the ground, the leaves beneath rustling when she passed. The smell of death clung into the chilly atmosphere, but she appeared more scary than death itself.
But in her composed complexion lied a yearning so deep she’d get into unseen heights to reunite with her son. The years of absence had robbed him her motherly love, and instead, he was raised amongst vampires.
She cast her eyes towards the direction Gabriel had disappeared to. If only she had a chance to be close to him again. If only she could tell him who a actually was. And thanks to the bite, he had started unleashing the darkness in him. Now he needed to control it.
Taking a final look around the mess Gabriel had caused, Allicent materialized into thin air, completely disappearing out of sight.
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"The blood is not yet cold Your Highness. The attack might have been staged not too long ago."
Brandon alighted from his horse, ungloving his hands. He handed the reins to his squire and approached the scene.
Other knights were trying hard not to vomit at the disgusting scene in front of them. Some turned nauseous that instant. Even though they were vampires, such kind of killings were too gross to bear.
Brandon squatted low, his eyes surveying the distinct parts scattered all over the place. Not that he wasn’t scared or disgusted. No! He just didn’t want to show it to his knights.
"What thing kills like this?" He asked, standing up to his feet.
"Might be a wolf, Your Highness. They’re common in the werewoods." Answered a knight who was the captain of his kingsguard.
"No wolf is faster than a vampire," Brandon said and walked over to the body of the boy. He had so many bite marks all over. But the one on his hand was quite distinct. He closely examined it. Unlike a vampire’s bite, this one was deep, leaving dark scars around the skin. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"This is no wolf bite!" He said, fear laced in his eyes. What the hell were they dealing with here? And then it dawned on him. He lifted his armor and found a similar scar on his chest. "Gabriel!"
"You mean the prince did this?" The captain asked.
"He’s no prince of mine!" Brandon replied with clenched teeth. He needed to kill that bastard real quick. But if it was Gabriel who did this, then they had a difficult task even scathing him. "We keep moving!"
He walked back to his horse and mounted it. With one last glance at the flesh scattered around, a feast for the crows now, Brandon continued searching for his half brother.
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The rogues were gathered around their hideout enjoying fresh rounds of human blood. Human girls and children were placed in cages not too far from the gathering.
The lone survivor emerged a few meters from the hideout, sprinting faster when he got close. He was quick to garner attention with his bloodied clothes. Everyone halted to take a look at him, all curious.
"He’s coming...," he said in between taking breaths. And when he was done, he went stiff, pain suddenly coursing through his body. A hand materialized in front of his guts, long claws holding several of his organs. He fell on his knees revealing Gabriel’s face to the rogues.
"Thank you for delivering the message, though late ," Gabriel said before pushing his lifeless body to the ground. "What do we have here now?" He run his tongue over his fangs and took a step forward.
The rogues stood up, baring their fangs at Gabriel. Judging from their numbers, Gabriel was clearly at a disadvantage here. But instead of being scared, he was motivated to have more blood on his hands.
"I’m sorry I wasn’t invited," he teased. "But who sends invites nowadays? Just the scent of blood and you’re welcomed." He took a cup and filled it with a wineskin tied close to a tree near where he stood. Placing the drink close to his lips, he took a sip, savoring the taste with his eyes partially closed for potential danger.
"Ahh!" He muttered, wiping his lips with the back of his hands. "I’ve always wondered why you don’t want the blood sold in the capital. Now I have the answer. It all comes to the taste." He pointed at the wineskin.
"What do you want?" Asked a vampire pushing his way through the crowd. The rogues paved way for him, Gabriel’s eyes meeting with his. He let his gaze scrutinize the man. He had green eyes, which was weird for a vampire. Bulky and tall, he towered over all the rogues. But he didn’t scare Gabriel one little bit.
"What do I want?" Gabriel asked back. "Actually, I came for blood!"
"You already have blood!" The green eyed rogue pointed at the wineskin he was holding.
"My bad. I meant, your blood," Gabriel corrected.
Silence fell on the place for a fleeting couple of seconds before the rogues joined in a laughter.
"The half breed came for our blood!"
Gabriel joined in the laughter before his smile naturally disappeared. Jokes aside now, his nails grew, the laughter dying with it. The rogue’s leader smirked and motioned one of the rogues to take care of Gabriel before he started walking back to enjoy his blood unbothered. But the screams of the rogue and the sound of bones shattering made him halt in his tracks.
Gabriel stood in the same place, his claws now dug into the rogues flesh on the neck. He snapped off his head breaking a few bones in the process. The rogue fell with a thud, now dead! His face that time was the perfect definition of ’I came for your blood and I meant it’.
"Bring me his head!" The rogue leader ordered. His army acted on impulse, leaping towards Gabriel in great numbers.
