Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Asael’s presence wasn’t required for the feeding, but he followed after them anyway. This inn room was similar to the one the Incubus was sleeping in; the decorations were pink and purple, colorful lanterns providing gentle lighting.

Kath’tan sat on the large bed, having no need to unbutton his sleeve buttons because he hadn’t done them up to begin with. He simply shrugged off his overcoat and rolled up his sleeve, offering his hand.

Dulce sat next to him, taking the large claw offered him. He had to hold the Demon’s large hand with both of his, "I apologize, this will sting a bit," He said with genuine concern, an emotion wasted on a Fiend.

Kath’tan barely felt the Vampire’s delicate fangs... How strange, if any other Vampire had hinted at taking a drink of his loathed blood, he would have decimated them.

The Vampire certainly didn’t care about the color of his blood, his movements skittish as he lowered his head.

Kath’tan moved suddenly, having to catch Dulce with the same hand that the Vampire had been drinking from. The Vampire had just bitten him, and he had been settling in for the drink, only for him to go completely limp.

Asael stepped forward in consternation, taking the Vampire away. He held an unconscious Dulce upright with a single hand, holding him close, his expression dark. "Did you poison him?" He demanded.

Kath’tan rose to his feet, tugging down his sleeve. The puncture marks had been so thin that he hadn’t bled even though the Vampire had fainted away in the middle of a drink. "He’s blood drunk," He stated calmly, taking the Vampire back to place him on the bed.

The Fiend had attempted gentleness, but he ended up tossing Dulce to the bed like a broken doll, hovering anxiously over the Vampire despite his calm words. He wasn’t worried about the Vampire’s unconsiousness, rather he was debating whether or not to throw a sheet over him.

Asael paused, equally hovering over Dulce. Color had completely suffused the Vampire’s striking features, he looked almost human, a soft red sheen on all the most distracting of places.

The contrast was comical, the Vampire had nearly drunk the inn out of business, only to faint dead away at a single sip of blood.

Kath’tan was easily distracted from his dilemma over the bed covers, an intense focus as he watched color fill the Vampire’s pale features. It was much different this time because it was his blood; it pushed him to retrieve sheets to cover Dulce up, stuffing down the urge to completely cover the Vampire’s face.

The Shadow Demon staring so intently irked him, he wanted to keep the image of the colorful Vampire all to himself, wanting no one else to be privy to the striking vision the Vampire made.

"I doubt he’ll wake up until morning," Asael stated, making no move to leave the room.

Kath’tan directly sat on the bed next to where Dulce was sleeping, covered, scheming up ways to have it so that the Vampire only consumed his blood.

Asael said nothing further, settling on a nearby sofa for the night, the sound of the festivities distant.

-+-

The next morning, Ruoxi made an appearance, his taunting smile falling off his face when he saw Dulce unconscious, both Demons watching him with a grim expression.

"What happened?" He asked coldly. He wasn’t wrapped around the Vampire’s fingers, but Dulce was incredibly important to him, he wouldn’t stand for his savior to be endangered.

"Blood drunk," Kath’tan explained flatly, displeased by the unspoken accusations.

Ruoxi relaxed at that, going to perch on an armchair, elbow propped on an arm supporting his jaw. "All night? How much blood did you feed him?"

Kath’tan scowled, still irritable at his blood being referred to as poison. The purple color had been a noose that hung around his neck all his life, just like his eyes, but that was all that was wrong with it.

"He barely had a mouthful," Asael responded, he had never seen a Vampire get easily blood drunk as Dulce did. It was usually brought on by mindless massacre, a Vampire decimating an entire village in a night.

The three Demons sat in silence even as dawn broke, yet the Vampire was still in a deep trance. As the sun climbed up higher in the sky and the last of the festival died out, the coachmen came seeking them.

Asael went to the door to receive them, he took one look at the expectant coachmen and then glanced over his shoulder at Dulce. "We’ll be down shortly." He informed the coachmen, closing the door in their faces.

He turned and walked into the room with the intention of carrying the Vampire, but the Fiend beat him to it, greedily gathering the Vampire into his arms.

Asael watched this with silent dark eyes, reminded of a short time ago when the Fiend would rather wring the Vampire’s neck than touch him, turning away.

The journey resumed while Dulce still slept, the roads cleared up now so carriages could easily pass through.

Asael kept his gaze stoically outside the window, his pupils eating away the gray of his eyes despite his composure.

Ruoxi was the first to break, scowling across the carriage at Kath’tan. "I’m sure the carriage cushions are far more comfortable than your rocky body." He complained darkly.

Kath’tan pretended not to hear him, he had carried Dulce to the carriage and simply refused to let go of him, holding the Vampire in his arms as the journey resumed.

Asael was seated next to Ruoxi to prevent Dulce from having to sleep next to the Incubus, but all that had achieved was a direct view of Kath’tan greedily hoarding the sleeping Vampire.

Kath’tan only placed the Vampire down when he started to rouse, his arms crossed as he watched Dulce slowly wake up.

Dulce woke up confused, blinking blearily at the bright sunlight and the change in location. The sun made the color on his skin stand out, silver blue eyes cool against the warmth of his skin.

"I apologize for the trouble," He finally spoke, realizing what had happened. "Where are we?"