A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 136: Nephew
The cold was unsympathetic this particular night. The stars themselves appeared distant as if coiling from the frost-bitten earth, recoiling until all that was left of their light was nothing but a shimmer.
But Gabriel wasn’t affected by the cold. He was a vampire, always cold even in summer. Those who suffered the most were the humans he was tied with.
The person in front of him had died staring at him. His heart gave out due to the cold and hunger. To his left, a young man was mumbling a silent prayer as his teeth rattled and his body jolted in spasms of cold.
To his right was a woman staring emptily into the space as if she was waiting for death. Her lips were dry and cracked, her eyes sunken to make her look older than her age.
"He won’t last the night," she said, talking to no one in particular.
Gabriel looked at her through his tussled hair. Their eyes met. She had bite marks all over her neck.
"He should spare his energy for his God," she added, staring back at the sky. "I heard you’re one of them bloodsuckers but you don’t look like one. What are you in for?" She craned her neck to look at him.
Gabriel just stared at her, his lips sealed as if he was dumb. She tore her gaze from him and chuckled lightly.
"I’ve heard stories about you, you know. A bastard vampire prince who married a human to please his father. How did that turn out for you?"
Gabriel scoffed. "I suppose you know everything about me," he replied.
The young man who was mumbling stilled, his back facing Gabriel.
"Just rumors," she replied.
"What about you? How did you end up here?"
"My son and I were in the farm. He was a jolly little fella just like his father. The grain was ripe for the picking. Me and my son had just filled our baskets when they came.
They were hundreds, lots of ’em. First, they took my husband and the other men in the village. Right in front of us, and my son’s eyes, they slaughtered my husband and drank his blood like some scavengers.
Then they took my son, said they were offering him as a sacrifice to their gods for the successful bounty. They said they liked ’em young. The last I saw of him was his blood dripping after his head was severed."
"I’m sorry," Gabriel offered.
"No, you’re not. You would have done the same would you have led the raid."
"Looks like you don’t know who I truly am then," Gabriel said with a chuckle.
Before they could exchange more words, two vampires came and started untying the woman. She tried to struggle but a hot slap landed on her face before she was dragged into a nearby tent.
Gabriel heard her muffled screams for a couple of minutes before she was returned and tied to the post, her eyes devoid of any life. She appeared thinner than she was before, fresh marks on her skin.
"They do this every night," she said. "Different men every night. They take turns raping me and drinking my blood until all is left of me is a shell of bones." There was no remorse in her voice. It was as if she had accepted her fate.
Lost for words, Gabriel could say nothing but sympathize with her. The thought that this would have been Elena was the only thing that made him think he’d made the right decision.
Two minutes didn’t pass before two vampires came and started untying Gabriel. The woman looked confused but she had no choice but to watch. They took him to a tent closer to Brandon’s and tied him in a chair before they walked out.
The tent was dimly lit with only a few candles burning but Gabriel could sense a presence behind him. And true to his instincts, someone placed their hands on his shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze.
"We finally meet, Gabriel Sinclair," he said, whispering his name in his ears.
The figure walked in front and there was no mistaking him. It was Tieron.
"Hello, nephew," he greeted. "Do you remember me?"
"The last time I saw you, my father kicked you out of his kingdom," Gabriel said, aiming to strike a nerve.
"And the last time I saw you, you were crying because your mother in law didn’t love you as he did Bran," he replied. "I suppose things do change, but not for everyone. Now my other nephew has taken your kingdom from you and here you are, a prisoner at his mercy."
"You didn’t change, did you?" Gabriel asked, his eyes piercing through Tieron’s fake smile that was quick to disappear. "You can’t be doing this without expecting anything in return."
"That’s where you’re wrong, nephew. Contrast to what everyone else is thinking, I don’t want anything from Brandon."
"What do you want?" Gabriel enquired.
"You always think someone want something, and that is where you’re wrong. It doesn’t matter what we want, does it? Once we get it, we want something more," he replied.
"But right now, I want something from you," he said, clapping his hands together in delight. "Shall we begin?"
Turning to a leather pouch laid on the table, he unfolded the friek to reveal a torturer’s tools. His hand hovered above them before settling for a pair of scissors. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"You don’t mind giving me a piece of meat, do you?"
He stalked towards Gabriel and lifted his shirt to reveal his stomach. Gabriel’s breath hitched at the sudden turn of events as he braced himself for what was about to come.
"After your father banished me," Tieron started, "I was captured by a certain group of Northern vampires. Their method of torture was quite perplexing."
He spread the scissors and drove both ends into Gabriel’s intestines. Gabriel breathed heavily as the pain shot across his body.
"They cut your intestines into pieces." He moved the scissors to cut a section of his guts. Gabriel let out a scream that echoed throughout the camp.
"Enough to make you scream in agony, but not die instantly." He cut another loop of Gabriel intestines making him scream until tears formed on the brim of his eyes.
"The healing process is the worst," he added, twisting the scissors inside Gabriel. The squelching flesh let out blood before Gabriel let out yet another scream that jolted Elena. He passed out!
