NIGHTS OF HALLOW

Theodore sat with Headchurch Donovan in the carriage going back to the town of Wallington where the church was located.

Thoughts about the conversation of the village women still lingered in the mind of Theodore. No matter how hard he tried to think and bring answers to his questions, he still couldn’t form any plausible thing to call an answer.

There was no proof he could use to link the green-eyed lady to the abduction of Mr. And Mrs. Perkin.

Daemon had mentioned the King being involved in the abduction of Mr. Perkin and Mrs. Perkin. If the abduction was the doing of the king, then what about the green-eyed lady they questioned some days back? Was she also involved?

If the answer was a yes, then that means the Lady knew the king and the vampire she had spoken about that helped in the release of Mrs. Perkin could be Daemon or the king.

Yes, that was it. There could be no other explanations for the suspicions he had been having.

The green-eyed lady was involved in the abduction of Mr. Perkin and Mrs. Perkin together with Daemon and the King.

But then, did that also mean she was the vampire the king and Daemon helped to escape the village when the exorcism was being conducted?

The lady is a human and Daemon also mentioned vampires and not only a vampire. Could she be the vampire? No, she isn’t.

Then who were the vampires in question?

Urgh! Theodore gritted his teeth in annoyance. He was trying to link everything that had happened together with what he knew, but it seems as if each time he was on the verge of getting the answers to his questions, everything from nowhere would fall out of place and rather confuse him further.

He knew it was going to be hard trying to find answers with the king involved and the reason why he got this much information was because he knew bits and pieces of the events that has been happening.

Someone clueless about the situation would feel his brain explode from all the thinking each time they tried to put the puzzles together.

It was better he stopped stressing his brain with questions that would lead him nowhere.

Theodore exhaled deeply while lost in thought and he heard Headchurch Donovan question him. He asked,

”How is the investigation about the church members going? Any lead in finding the person who is leaking the information from the church?”

”Not yet. There haven’t been any moves on their part. Once I know of anything, I’ll let you know.” Theodore responded and leaned his back on the wall of the carriage. He averted his gaze to look outside the window where the snow was still heavily falling.

”Hmm,” Donovan hummed and nodded to the answer of Theodore. He continued to ask,

”Do you think the missing humans are still alive?”

”They could be,” Theodore vaguely answered. He turned his head away from the window and rested his head on the small window pane of the carriage.

He heard Donovan say, ”I doubt so. Considering how many days they have been missing, I think whoever it is that abducted has killed them.”

Theodore shrugged his shoulders, ”You never can be sure. There are cases where humans are abducted and after some weeks or months, they will be found. Maybe their case might turn out that way.”

”Maybe,” Donovan repeated and rubbed his aching forehead. ”I won’t apologize for my words but vampires are so hard to deal with. They’re the real problems we have in this land. I can’t help but propose that maybe the vampires should be eradicated or taken far away from humans.”

”Hmm, ” Theodore hummed without replying to Donovan’s statement. His red eyes flickered from the attentive and detective look that was in them a while ago to be replaced by his lazy and bored look.

He closed his eyes to take a nap before they will get to Wallington town which would take at least an hour because of the snow.

Back in the castle,

Perdita stood with arms crossed over her chest and her interrogating gaze trained on Sthena while he stared back at her without speaking.

”Aren’t you going to answer the question?” Perdita probed as her brows rose in question.

”What was that again?” Sthena tilted his head as if in thought.

”Are you trying to play dumb? I know you heard my question perfectly well. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

”You seem to have a room as big as this that’s no less than a king’s bedroom. Also, I have noticed the way the maids answer you. As a worker of the King, you seem to have many privileges which I haven’t heard of anyone having.”

Smart woman.

He knew she would think and process things. She was sharp with her surrounding and it was just a matter of time before she discovered the whole truth about him which he didn’t want. Not least not at the moment.

”What do I say?” Sthena shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. He went on, ”I guess the privileges you are talking about come from me being very good friends with the king.”

”Very good friends with the King indeed,” Perdita repeated and nodded her head knowingly. She further said, ”Very good friends with the king, yet you bad-mouthed him?”

”Bad-mouthed him?” Sthena let out a chuckle that lasted for a good minute and this earned him a deadly glare from Perdita who wanted to kill him with the sharp daggers flying out from her eyes.

Sthena toned down his laugh but a smile still tugged on the side of his lips. He said, ”You make me laugh, Perdita.”

”I don’t know which of my words sound funny to you. Unless you’ve lost your senses to be laughing without any cause.” Perdita retorted still glaring at Sthena.

Not taking offense from Perdita’s words, Sthena responded with a taunt of his own, ”There now, there now. Don’t kill me with your words, green-eyed Lady.”

”If I remember correctly, you were the one who bad-mouthed the king. I only told you your secret was safe with me but now you’ve insulted me, I think I should report it to the king. Who knows what he’ll do to you?”

A sliver of fear sent a jolt down Perdita’s body and she clutched her hand tightly beside her. Her eyes darted everywhere but Sthena.

She didn’t want to look at him or talk with him, this man was evil. He told her that her secret was safe with him but now he was to use it against her.

”Why are you suddenly quiet?” Sthena inquired with a wide smile on his face. ”Are you scared?” He further questioned and let out another chuckle that unnerved Perdita to no end.

This red-haired vampire knew how to corner someone with his dangerous tongue. Who knew after offering her his help now, the next thing she’ll see will be Sthena reporting to the king that she had barged into the castle and was using things without receiving orders from the king.

If only she knew, she wouldn’t have believed him.

”You are sure is easy to fool,” Sthena spoke with a smile. ”When I told you your secret was safe with me, did you think I was not serious and will go back on my words?” Sthena asked now with a serious face.

Perdita pursed her lips and didn’t answer. He was right. If he was going to renege on his promise, he would have done so the time he discovered that she and her brother were vampires. But he didn’t. Instead, he had been providing his help to them.

Who was the untrustworthy one now?

At the same time, the maids who left to bring the meal pushed the trolley of food inside the room and began to array the food neatly on the table.

Once they were done, Theresa bowed and took some steps back, and announced, ”The food has been set, Your...”

”Ah, yes, yes. You can leave the room.” Sthena interrupted Theresa before she could go on to call him by his title.

”Let’s eat?” Sthena said and led Perdita to the table while the maids closed the door behind them as they left.

Perdita followed Sthena to the table. He helped her push her seat before she sat down and waited for him to do so too.

When they were settled on their seats, Sthena raised his hand and gestured at the table. ”Please make yourself comfortable,”

Perdita nodded her head in acknowledgment. The delicious smell wafting from the food filled her nostrils making her mouth water at the explicit look of the food. Her stomach growled while her mouth anticipated tasting the mouth-watering food that would fill and satisfy her hungry stomach.

She coughed and smiled before she began to eat, she asked, ”Where’s my brother? Is he still unconscious?”

”Yes,” Sthena replied and cut the meat on his plate before raising it to his lips to have them open before it went in to be chewed and swallowed.

Perdita dropped the knife and fork in her hand and asked in a worried voice, ”I thought you said it didn’t affect him as it did to me?”

”Yes. But another thing happened which made him still unconscious.” Sthena replied and put another piece of meat into his mouth.

”Take me to him,” Perdita said about to stand when Sthena stopped her.

”Finish your meal first before you meet him. You’ve not fully recovered too.”

Perdita wanted to refute. She wanted nothing more than to go see her brother who was still unconscious. But she had to eat to regain the strength she had lost. Perdita thought and went back to eat with an uncomfortable silence between them.