Call Of The Dark

Emma\'s eyes became wide as fear triggered down her spine like an icy blade. She looked at the red lips of the man in the hoodie. The pale skin and those red lips were more than enough to reveal that he was a vampire. 

Stunned, she clamped her teeth hard to stop them from chattering. She swallowed down her saliva when the man stayed at the door for a while. She knew that she was too vulnerable and she might not get the time to even shout if this vampire tried to attack her and kill her. The vampire\'s fangs were elongated which meant that he was ready to suck her blood. 

The only way to survive was to call Lazarus, but she knew that he had gone to the dungeons with Yul. Her thoughts raced as to how did he know that she was alone and could walk in her bedchamber without the guards knowing about it. 

The man took a step inside the bathing chamber. She clutched the edge of the tub as she watched him. "Wh— who are you?" she asked in a low voice that came out as a whisper. 

The man didn\'t answer. He took another step towards her and stopped as if regarding her. Emma\'s thoughts went to Nephie. She really wanted to meet her mother before she died. Emma had never felt this vulnerable and close to death in the palace. With a shaky breath she said, "If Lord Lazarus comes to know about this, he is going to skin you alive." 

The man\'s lips parted, his fangs in full glory. He padded his way closer to Emma. She scrambled back as she covered her breasts with her hand. "Stay away!" she tried to shout but her voice came out like a squeak. "I said, stay away!" 

Dressed in all black from head to toe, it was difficult for Emma to make out who he was. She started shaking as she watched him coming closer. All at once, a deafening screech shattered the peace of the skies above. The vampire looked up at the ceiling and at the same time Emma said, "Nephie!" Nephie had sensed that she was in trouble. Bless the dragon. 

The screech became so shrill that the vampire covered his ears with his hands as he closed his mouth shut. A heavy thud later the room shook and Emma guessed that Nephie must have sat down near her bedchamber or on one of the roofs. She heard guards shouting and a commotion ensued. The vampire let out a hiss before he turned sharply and rushed out of the door. 

Emma took a deep sigh of relief but the danger wasn\'t over. She got up and grabbed the towel to wrap herself. She came out of the bathroom to see where the vampire had gone but she saw that the window was open. A gust of cold wind made her tremble. Just then she heard a soft whisper of a motion behind her as Lazarus traced in the bedchamber. 

"Emma!" he shouted and darted to her. "What happened?" He stared at the window and whizzed past her to see out. He heard Nephie batting her wings as she sat on the palace\'s roof. He looked down only to see that there was quite a commotion on the outside. All the guards had come together to look at Nephie, who he knew must be baring her jaw to scare them. He closed the window and turned to Emma. 

She sat on the bed with a thud. He rushed to her and dropped on his knees in front of her. He grabbed her thighs rather painfully and asked, "Did anyone come here? I can smell leather and sweat." 

Emma\'s heart was racing wildly. She closed her eyes and the first thing she did was to connect with Nephie or send her a thought that she was fine. She pictured Nephie and pushed the thought out of her mind that she was alright and that she could leave. Once she heard Nephie flapping her wings and taking off to the air, she opened her eyes. 

Lazarus was still looking at her with worry etched all over his face. "Emma?" 

"Lazarus, I don\'t know who, but someone came inside the bathroom when I was taking a bath. He was dressed in black and I couldn\'t see his face. I—" A shudder ran down her body. "He was a vampire and his fangs had lengthened. It was as if he wanted to suck the blood out of me."

"What the fuck!" Lazarus growled. "Who could do that? Where were the fucking guards?" 

"I have no idea how he entered, but all I know is that I called Nephie because I thought I couldn\'t connect with you. Nephie sensed my agitation and I think she was nearby because she came almost instantly." 

Lazarus thanked Nephie mentally. He was in the dungeon questioning Gladys when he heard the commotion and the walls of the palace shook with a thud on the roof. That kind of an effect could occur only when the palace got hit by a huge force and in such a short interval, it had to be Nephie on the roof. The next thing he did was to trace to Emma. "What happened when Nephie came?" 

"He hissed and turned sharply away. I grabbed a towel to wrap myself and go after him but I saw the window open. Perhaps the vampire jumped out and taking the advantage of the night and commotion, he vanished. Or he could have traced away." 

Lazarus gnashed his teeth. "I am going to keep a constant vigilance now and I am going to change your quarters!" 

"But—" 

"No Emma!" she growled. "Nothing is more important to me than you! I am surprised that whoever he was, he was able to get past the security and come into my bedchamber."

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I was scared, Lord Lorza." 

Lazarus\'s heart twisted with so many emotions that he threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "No one can harm you. This was a short incident that raised my heckles. Now I am going to hunt that bastard and bring him to his knees before I behead him!" 

Emma felt safe in his embrace. It all happened way too quickly and was enough to give her a week\'s worth of anxiety. 

That night Lazarus moved her to a different quarter near that of Magnus\'s even though it meant that it was less equipped in luxury than his own. The entire corridor that led to his chamber in that wing was cordoned off. Guards stood at every fifty meters interval. There were guards even outside the window. 

When they were settled, Olya and Magnus came to them along with Yul. It was almost midnight and Emma was sleepy, but the rest were pretty up and alert. 

"Were you able to find out who that was?" Lazarus asked Yul. He had given Yul the orders to find out about the vampire who broke into his chamber. 

"We traced the smell, but it was impossible to find him. He traced away," Yul said. "So I am going to look for black clothes all over the palace now." 

"That would be a very tiresome exercise and I am sure it won\'t yield results," Magnus 

"This palace has become a den of snakes!" he spat. "And—" he let out an irritated breath. "The King is asking about Nephie\'s visit."