Page 31 of Halfblood Deceived

There was a gargoyle on his knees, tied with chains to a massive column. He had a bleeding wound on his side that spilled red blood down his leg and onto the light hardwood floor.

Isaiah.

He was barely conscious but still struggling, red eyes transmitting so much rage, remorse, and fear. Not for himself. But for the three vampires on their knees, bound like pigs for the slaughterhouse with silver chains that burned their skin. A male, a female, and a little girl with a long braid of dark hair, each of them held in place by a gargoyle.

CHAPTER 9

Aella’s teeth chattered, cold sweat blooming on her forehead as she detailed every aspect of the scene unfolding before her.

The oak dining table had been upended. A board of scrabble and countless little pieces were scattered all over the floor along with a bowl of peas, mashed potatoes, and slim cuts of roasted meat.

The gargoyles had interrupted dinnertime and a game of Scrabble. It was so… normal. Aella had always imagined vampires in a dark den doing perverted things. Not living in a beautiful cabin and having dinner like normal people.

And wasn’t it impossible for vampires to eat solid food?

It was a stupid thing to linger on perhaps, but Aella felt as if the floor beneath her had disappeared.

She had always imagined vampires as monsters, not victims.

But this family, they were victims.

Micah—pacing in front of them, sword drawn—was the monster. Eli, holding the female by the hair as she cried silently and shook, was the monster. Another gargoyle Aella didn’t know had both massive stone-clawed hands on the male’s shoulders, keeping him immobilized. Ben had his hand around the girl’s head, his claws drawing blood on her pale skin.

God, the girl. She couldn’t be more than ten years old. Willowy with shifted eyes—cat-like pupils and azure irises.

And she looked just like the vampire male. Same uplifted, almond-shaped eyes and high cheekbones. Even with her face distorted by pain and fear, Aella noticed the girl had her mother’s chin and full lips.

The vampire girl wasn’t a cruelly transformed human. She was the biological daughter of the vampire couple.

Impossible. But the evidence was right there for Aella to see.

Eli, face twisted into a diabolical smile, pulled the vampiress’ short black hair, forcing her neck to arch. Then he slid a dagger across her collarbones. She cried out, twisting against the silver chains, fangs flashing, her wrists and ankles smoking. Her eyes were curiously red, the pupils slightly slitted.

The vampire male hissed and struggled in vain to get free, flashing his remaining bloody teeth. “You fucking bastards! I’ve told you everything I know! Let her go!”

“Mommy!” cried the girl. “Mommy!”

Aella’s sight clouded, and she blinked, feeling hot tears fall down her cheeks. She couldn’t move, couldn’t draw enough air into her lungs. The girl didn’t look like a soulless demon child. But like a terrified innocent girl who was watching her mother be tortured.

Micah hummed, reaching out with his sword to pierce the vampiress’ arm.

She cried out again, voice hoarse, tears running down her face. The gargoyles’ blades were imbued with holy magic that the vampires were allergic to. Aella had read the pain was excruciating, but seeing it was something else entirely.

“I’m not so convinced you’re telling us the truth,” Micah said, an amused, repugnant glow in his red eyes as he smiled at the vampire.

The male whimpered, shooting a desperate glance at his wife. He recited an address that Aella had never heard before. “You’ll find his family there. I’ve given you everything I have. Please. Please don’t make my daughter watch her mother die. Please.”

Vampires are demons, Aella tried to remind herself, but she had never seen something as demonic as the look on Micah’s face as he gave a nod to Eli.

Eli released the vampiress and took a step back, then unsheathed his sword and brought it down on her.

Bile crawled up Aella’s throat, her breath seized in her lungs, her muscles painfully locked in utter terror as she watched Eli cut the vampiress in pieces in a matter of two heartbeats. Her blood splattered on her child’s face.

Isaiah let out a growl and struggled to free himself.

The vampire male cried out, shaking his head convulsively, as if wanting to wake up from a nightmare.

The child froze for long seconds as Aella had, and then screamed with the full potency of her lungs. “MOMMY! NO! MY MOMMY!”

---