The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 28

After everything was done, I had a few hours to myself and decided to play some more games. I'd never really gotten to just play before, and it was a lot of fun. When my alarm went off, I turned off the game and headed up to turn on the blankets for Victor and Rosalynn. I went back down to the kitchen to pull out the prepared snack trays for the donors. I wondered if I could ask Victor not to request Ms. Helen anymore. I didn't want to make him mad, but I didn't like her at all. There had to be other options. While I was wrapped up in my work, I didn't hear Victor come down, until he was standing right beside me. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I hadn't realized I was that focused.

"What's wrong, princess? Did they bother you this morning?" He asked.

"No. I just got really distracted by my thoughts."

"What were you thinking?"

I didn't know how to answer him. I really wanted to ask him not to feed on Ms. Helen. He looked concerned at my pause.

"Echo, you can tell me anything that's bothering you. I'm your friend, not just your master. I want to be able to help." Victor insisted.

"I don't really know if I can say it, Victor." I blushed.

"Please, tell me."

"It's just.... I don't like Ms. Helen. She keeps trying to get me to go out with her and something about her rubs me the wrong way. I don't know what to do about it." I admitted. "I'll request someone else, then. This is your home too, Echo. You shouldn't be uncomfortable here." He said.

"Thank you, Victor. I just didn't know if I could ask that of you. If she's the type you like, I don't want you to have to go with a second choice."

"I prefer negative types. There are enough to find another. I won't starve for it. Plus, I have bags of blood until another donor can be arranged." He smiled.

"I'm a negative type." I murmured.

"I don't feed off of children, Echo. You are under age and were traumatized by feeding vampires. I'll never ask you to do that." Victor replied, taking my hand in his.

I looked up into his violet eyes and smiled. He was taking care of me in the best way he knew how. I wanted to take better care of him, though.

"It's not the same as if I were someone who'd never fed them. I understand what I'm offering, Victor. If Silence can't find you a donor for your next live feeding, then I can feed you." I said.

"Sorry, Echo. Marius has forbidden anyone to feed on you until your full abilities can be measured. You're rare. There are older vampires who can't resist his mind control, but you managed it as a living being. He's concerned that you are a lot more powerful than we could have guessed. He thinks that power will be too hard for any vampire to resist once you're healthy." He explained.

The thought of being powerful appealed to me a little. Being strong was just a mindset until recently. My heart raced at the memory of Marius telling me that he was afraid he might drain me and make a more powerful vampire than himself.

My thoughts were broken through by Rosalynn entering the room with a frustrated groan. Victor and I turned to her. He released my hand.

"What's going on, Rosy?" Victor asked.

"I just got a call from Giselle. There's some fuckery going on in my territory. I need to head home."

"We still need to test Valor and Harmony." I said.

"Right. Do you think they can come tomorrow instead of later in the week? I need to get back as soon as I can." She asked.

"I can ask. Val gave me his cellphone number." I offered.

"We can call Trent and ask him to talk to them. Your brother gave you that number for you, not to be shared with me. I'll let you know what happens, Echo. Why don't you get your dinner situated? The sooner you're healthy, the sooner we know what you can do." Victor told me, walking over to Rosalynn and taking her arm.

"Thank you. I'll have your donors wait in the living room once they get here." I replied with a small bow.

They left without another word and I started preparing my dinner. I was excited. He'd stop seeing Ms. Helen and Rosalynn would be leaving. I missed the time when it was just me and him.

I shook my head. That wasn't right. I shouldn't be selfish with Victor's time. He was in charge of a whole territory. I didn't own him.

The buzzer rang and I went to let the donors in. A man answered at the gate. That was certainly different. I was relieved to see two men getting out of the car that approached. No Ms. Helen tonight. The other wasn't Mr. Glen either. "May I have your names?" I asked when they approached the door.

"I'm Malik." The first man said.

"I'm John." The second one answered.

There was something wrong. They had the code words at the gate, but I didn't like something about them. I could feel my heart in my throat, but couldn't put my finger on why.

They were both about six feet tall, Malik was dark skinned with black hair and eyes. John had reddish brown hair with blue eyes and a tan. When they came a little closer, I could see there weren't any bite marks on their necks. "Would you please have a seat on the bench until my master and his guest are ready to see you?" I asked politely.

"No problem." John said with a nod.

I closed and locked the door, then went to Victor's office. Knocking on the door, it felt like I waited forever for him to answer. Once he did, I rushed into the room.

"Victor. The donors are here, but they don't seem right. I don't like them at all. I didn't let them in. It didn't feel safe." I explained hastily.

"Calm down. Is this the same bad feeling you get from Ms. Helen?" Victor asked.

"Yes, and no. I get a bad feeling from her, but I get a danger feeling from them. I can't let them in. I'm afraid. They're bad men, Victor." I pressed.

"One of Marius' children used to have a talent for seeing the true heart in a man. Maybe Echo inherited it as well. It would be a good idea to trust her if she says she doesn't like them." Rosalynn told Victor.

I had never been so grateful for anything in my life. Even if he didn't believe me, he had to believe her. I looked at him expectantly.

"They're inside the fences. It's still thirty minutes until the sun will be gone enough for us to go outside. If they don't know our age, they won't be expecting us to be up. Echo, I want you to go get your dinner quickly, then head to your room with it. Lock your door, don't come out until morning, or I come get you. Do you understand?" Victor replied urgently. "You'll come tell me you're okay when they're gone, right?" I asked.

"Of course. I'm not going to let you worry. Go fast. I don't know how patient they'll be." He told me.

Quickly, I rushed out of the office and to the kitchen. I was just about to grab my plate when I heard the door opening. I ducked down and scuttled to the pantry, opening and closing the door as quietly as I could. "Victor. They're in the house. I'm hiding in the pantry." I whispered. "I hope you can hear me."

There was no response I could hear, but the careful footsteps of the men seemed to get louder. I sat on the floor of the pantry, clutching my knees, trying to be as silent and small as I could. They must be getting closer. "Where's the girl gone?" One of them asked quietly.

"She couldn't have guessed we were hunters. She must be waking her master up. I thought they didn't wake until full dark, though." The other said.

"They wake up on their own. She can't be waking him. She must be around here somewhere. The last thing we need is a servant getting in our way. Imagine the credibility we'll get for taking out the master of the territory." The first man replied with a dreamy tone. "We need to find the basement."

My teeth started itching again. That was happening more today than it had in the past. It usually happened if I got angry, which didn't happen often. It was why I was surprised by it earlier in the day. I wasn't mad about anything, but I certainly was angry now. "What are you doing in my house?" I heard Victor growl.

"Shit! He's awake! Stay back, we have silver bullets." One of the men commanded.

"Then you're idiots as well as trespassers. Silver bullets only kill werewolves. That handgun isn't powerful enough to take off my head or take out my heart. The most you'll do is make me angry. I'm certain that wasn't your intent." Victor laughed derisively. "How about this?" The other said forcefully.

Victor laughed again. "Are you here to pedal your religion? Thank you, but I must decline. Do you have anything that didn't come from storybooks? Or is that all the knowledge you have of vampires?"

"Oh, fuck! Where did she come from?!"

There was some scuffling and screams. I covered my ears and waited for it to be over. Tears fell from my eyes. I just wanted it to be over.

It didn't take too long before the pantry door opened and I saw Victor drop down to his knees in front of me. There was blood on his clothes, on his face, and on his hands. I wasn't scared of him. I knew what he was and what he could do. "Everything is alright, Echo. We took care of them. They won't hurt anyone again." He said soothingly.

"Wh...what's a h-hunter, Victor?" I whimpered.

"They're humans who don't like supernaturals, sweetheart. I'm sorry you had to witness that. Are you unharmed?" Victor asked gently.

"I'm scared. Why did they want to kill you? You didn't do anything, right?"

"Nothing other than not being human. Come out of the pantry, Echo. I want you to try and eat your dinner while Rosy and I clean up and call Silence. Come talk to me if you're still scared, but I want you to know that I will never let anyone harm you. Do you understand?" "Yes. I trust you." I replied.

He helped me up and I went to wash my hands before sitting at the table for my, now cold, dinner. I really didn't want to go to school tomorrow. What if more hunters came for Victor while he was sleeping?