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“You do not f**king speak to her,” Vidar growled. Charlie had been so focused on Millard that when the shadow to his left moved, she almost let out a scream. Fortunately she was able to contain it. Smith had stepped forward and without hesitation he backhanded Millard with such a force that Millards head flew back.
“f**king manners, scum,” Smith said in a dark voice. Now that Charlie was focused on him, she could see that Smith didn’t look human any longer. It was still Smith, she could recognise him. But his skin had turned a grey colour, speckled with darker and lighter flecks, like granite. He had two horns that curled from his forehead over his head. And he had a tail! She looked to the right of Millard and she could see another gargoyle standing there. She didn’t recognise him, but assumed he was another of Jones‘ brothers.
“Thank you, Smith. And thank you for keeping him alive,” Vidar said in a calm voice.
“The kill is not ours to claim, he had our brother killed, but he lay hands on the one bound to you.” It was the gargoyle to the right that spoke.
“I appreciate it, Bishop,” Vidar said. Jun opened the door to the cell, it had been unlocked. Caine walked in first and then Vidar followed with his arm around Charlie. Millard glared at them.
“Couldn’t think of a better plan than to run home to daddy?” Caine taunted Millard. He got the wanted response as Millard tried to get to his feet and rush Caine. Bishop hit him hard on the shoulder and he bounced down onto the hard floor again.
“No one said you could stand up,” Bishop said.
“Why the fuck did you bring these two beasts? Not vampire enough to take me on you own?” Millard said to Vidar. Vidar laughed.
“Please Millard, you are practically newborn. Even a newly turned vampire could take you on and win. I brought Smith and Bishop with me because I promised them they could be part of me capturing the one who killed their brother. That would be you. And unlike some, I keep the promises I make,” Vidar told him.
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“Oath breaker,” Jun spit out.
“Careful, you should take a look at your own house first,” Millard said. The smirk on his face told Charlie he didn’t think they knew about Min. Jun’s face grew darker.
“Min has been caught, interrogated and got her punishment,” he told Millard. Millard’s face fell.
“Did you think we didn’t know? Min was many things, but subtle was not one. Both Caine, Malcome and Che saw and heard her that day. She was dealt with before the day was
over,” Vidar said.
“Y–you are missing three of the clan members,” Millard informed them. Charlie saw it for what it was; he had played all the hands he thought he had and to his horror, none of them got him out of the situation or postponed what was about to happen. Now he was grasping at
straws.
“They are on their way, but we have decided that Vidar and Charlie has the right to the kill, not the clan,” Jun explained to Millard.
“How will you explain this to my father when he finds out what you will do to me?” Millard then tried. Charlie couldn’t help but to snort and then laugh.
“Last time I saw you, Millard, your father was pinning you to the floor,” she said.
“Mauritius and Britta are well aware of what we will be doing here. They may be heartbroken about it, but they accept it,” Vidar added.
“Charlie, my parents have been nothing but good to you. How can you do this to them?” Millard asked. Again, Smith backhanded him.
“Don’t f**king speak to her. This is the second time you have been told,” Smith growled,
“Don’t put this shit on Charlie. You broke you parents‘ hearts. You have been dishonest and betrayed your clan,” Caine told Millard. Millard looked at him with hatred.
“I don’t take advice from sullied,” he hissed. Before she knew it, Charlie was heading for him.
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She was no longer a frail human, she could finally slap him without breaking bones. Of course Vidar stop her with a firm grip around her waist.
“Let go of me,” she demanded.
“No, my little wild lynx. Remember what I told you about not knowing your strength? I’m not opposed to you testing it on Millard, but we will do it without rage,” he told her.
“I just want to hurt him a little,” she objected. Jun stepped up to Millard and backhanded him. It reminded Charlie how he had done the same thing the last time she had wanted to slap Millard senseless.
“Does that do the trick?” Jun asked Charlie.
“It will do for now,” she agreed and relaxed.
“Well, as fun as this has been I think it’s time we get down to business. There are things we
hurt you? Yes. But it will be less than if you fight us. So, are you cooperating?” Vidar asked as he took off his jacket and started rolling up his sleeves. Jun and Caine were doing the same.
need to know, Millard. It would be best for you to just tell us. Will we s
“f**k
you,
Vidar. You have always thought you were better than I, you have a stick up your ass and you think you are untouchable. Well, you are wrong. So fuck you,” Millard said. Charlie sighed and collected the jackets from all three men.
“This is where you leave, baby, if you don’t want to see the uglier part. No one would blame you,” Vidar told her. She just raised an eyebrow and was met by the same from him.
“Oh great, they are even starting to act the same,” Jun muttered.
“Have fun having two of them at the table,” Caine joked. Jun made a face and then he got a sadistic smile on his face.
“At least I don’t have to work for the two of them,” he pointed out. Caine shrugged.
“That’s easy, I’ll just do what Charlie tells me to do, Vidar will end up doing what she tells him in the end,” Caine said.
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“Hey!” Vidar objected.
“Am I wrong?” Caine asked.
“No. But it would be nice if you din’t make me sound like a pushover,” Vidar grumbled. Charlie smiled at the three of them. Millard looked like he didn’t know what to make of the situation and the two gargoyles were just standing on each side of him, looking at him with hungry eyes. And so it began. Vidar or Jun would ask a question and Millard would stay silent. For the minor things, one of the gargoyles would punch or claw at Millard. If it didn’t get him to talk, one of the vampires took over. The damage they inflicted was horrific. They could swipe with their claws so quickly Charlie knew she would not have seen it if she still were human. Sometimes they took it so slow that time seemed frozen. Which ever way they did it, they caused deep, open wounds where blood flowed for minutes before they closed. Charlie understood that the quick healing, which she had always seen as an advantage, was equally a curse. If Millard had been human, he would have been dead several times over. But as it was, his b*dy healed and he was left to endure more pain. Over and over again. Charlie had thought she would have stepped out long ago. She shouldn’t be able to watch this go on and don’t feel queasy or troubled by what she saw. But she kept watching and focused on holding the three jackets and Vidar’s phone. As the three men asked Millard questions, Charlie had wondered if they would remember all the answers. Maybe they needed to record them in case they needed to listen back to the answers, and so the three members of the clan that weren’t present could get to hear it. So she had grabbed Vidar’s phone, as she still hadn’t got hers back yet, and started an audio recording. It made her feel like she had a purpose in the room. The longer the interrogation went on, the louder Millard’s screams became. Somewhere just before the two–hour mark, he gave up on trying to resist and just started answering their questions. They would still deal out some pain here and there, mostly to keep him alert and avoid him slipping into unconsciousness. After three hours, they stopped and the three vampires turned around and walked towards where Charlie stood. All three of them had red
stains on their clothing and hands.
“Are you okay?” Vidar asked Charlie.
“I am,” she said, even to her she sounded tired and all three of them furrowed their eyebrows.
“I think we can stop here for today,” Vidar said. Caine grunted an agreement.
“You will keep him alive?” Jun asked.
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“For now. I have the feeling we are missing something. I don’t want to risk killing him just to realise we should have asked more questions.”
“I have the same feeling,” Caine admitted. “We should go through his answers and see why we have the feeling.”
“I recorded the whole thing,” Charlie told them and held up Vidar’s phone.
“Of course you did, because you are a genius,” Vidar told her and he sounded proud as he leaned in to k*ss her cheek. He took care not to smear blood on her.
“What now?” Jun asked.
“We go upstairs, freshen up, get some food and then we relocate. I’m thinking to my property in the alps,” Vidar said. Jun nodded.
“The others can join us there,” Jun said.
“And we can train Charlie away from prying eyes,” Caine added. Both the other two nodded.
“And it would be easy to keep the traitor contained,” Vidar finally said.
“Agreed,” the other two said.
“Um, aren’t we forgetting something?” Charlie asked. Three sets of eyes looked at her.
“I don’t own a passport. I’m not even really sure where I am, but I know it’s not in the US and
I don’t have a clue how I get a passport or how I would explain to the authorities how I got here without one,” she told them. Vidar smiled.
“You have one, I made sure to have one issued for you a month ago, in case we felt like taking a trip,” he told her.
“You did? How? You know what? I don’t need to know,” she said. Vidar chuckled and k*ssed
her cheek.
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“When we found out where you were, we made sure your passport has all the correct stamps,” Caine added.
“And where is that?” Charlie asked.
“Finland,” Jun told her.
“Well, didn’t think Finland would be my first country to go to outside of the US. But I guess that is one box to check,” she said. Vidar k*ssed her other cheek. “So the alps next?” she asked.
“Yes, Switzerland to be more precise. It will take us about thirty minutes form here to the airport, the flight is about three hours and then it’s about two hours to my property,” Vidar told her as they guided her out of the cell and along the tunnel.
“Do you think we can take Loyd with us?” she asked. Vidar groaned and Caine chuckled.
“It’s not like taking home a stray cat, you know,” Vidar said.
“Of course it’s not. I need to ask him if he would like to come, and then we would need to ask
the DeVoens if they can do without him,” she said.
“You see, she’s the one in charge,” Caine happily told Jun. Jun laughed and Vidar pretended to sigh, but it didn’t escape Charlie how a happy smile played on his lips.