Chapter 6
786words
Miles followed his finger. He saw the pile of silver-gray dust shimmering in the sunlight.
He collapsed heavily to the ground, his legs giving out beneath him.
The Duke of the Vampire World crawled across the floor toward the pile of ash, dragging his expensive coat through the dirt.
He made guttural, choking sounds, "No, no, no..." He shook his head violently, tears of blood streaming down his face, mixing with the dust on the floor.
He tried to scoop the ash up, but his hands shook so uncontrollably that he couldn't hold it.
"Put her back together, Silas! Fix her! Use magic! I'll give you anything! Just put her back!"
"You have desecrated her, My Lord."
Miles didn't hear him. He curled around the pile of ash, shielding it with his body, rocking back and forth. "
It's cold. She's cold. Isolde hates the cold. Why didn't you turn on the heater?!" He screamed at the empty room, his sanity fracturing in real-time.
Just then, the bedroom door was thrown open violently.
Grand Elder Marcus strode in, his usual lofty dignity gone, replaced by pure terror.
"Miles! The barrier... the barrier is gone!"
Miles frowned, instinctively pulling the still-sobbing Vivienne behind him. "What are you panicking about, Marcus? What barrier?"
"The clan's blood ward!" Marcus pointed toward the window with a trembling finger. "Just now, the magical barrier that has protected the Vance estate for three hundred years collapsed completely! There is only one explanation for that..."
Every eye in the room instantly fixed on the ebony box Silas had just closed.
A dead silence fell over the room.
"Isolde is dead," Marcus said, his voice hoarse. He then whipped his head around to look at Vivienne. "If Isolde has truly fallen, then according to that transfer agreement... the one who now controls the clan is this... this fledgling?"
Vivienne was terrified by the murderous look in Marcus's eyes.
She clutched Miles's robes, her nails digging into his flesh. "Miles, the way they're looking at me is terrifying... Where did sister go? I'm so scared..."
"Don't come near me!"
In a rare display of rejection, Miles shoved Vivienne away.
His mind was currently consumed by nothing but Isolde's name."Since everyone is here, this will be easier."
Silas's voice cut through the chaos like a scalpel. He stepped further out of the shadows, holding a black metal remote.
"Lord Miles, Grand Elder. Lady Isolde did not die of her illness."
Silas pressed a button. The massive crystal chandelier in the center of the bedroom suddenly projected a beam of blue light, creating a large holographic screen in the air.
"She was murdered. And you can see for yourselves by whom."
"What are you talking about!" Miles roared, his voice cracking. "Silas, how dare you make such an accusation—"
"Be quiet and watch!" For the first time, Silas yelled at the Duke, the raw fury in his voice stunning Miles to silence.
The hologram flickered to life. The image was shaky, clearly from a hidden camera.
The setting was the master bathroom.
On the screen, Vivienne, wearing Isolde's silk nightgown, was holding the thumb-sized crystal vial—the Progenitor's Blood.
Miles remembered this moment. That day, Vivienne had cried to him in pain, begging him to give her the medicine. His heart had softened, and he had personally taken his wife's only chance of survival and given it to another.
But in the video, there wasn't a trace of pain on Vivienne's face.
She stood before the toilet, uncorked the vial, and shot a vicious, triumphant smile at the mirror. She held up the vial that could save Isolde's life, humming a cheerful tune.
"Farewell, my high-and-mighty sister."
Her voice came clearly from the speakers, every word a nail hammering into Miles's eardrums.
"If you drink this, you will live for another few hundred years, won't you? When will I ever get to be mistress of the house then?"
With that, she tilted her wrist.
The crimson liquid was mercilessly poured into the toilet.
With a flush, the swirling water swept away Isolde's last hope for life.
In the video, Vivienne made a face at the empty vial, then turned to the mirror to practice her pitiful, tearful expression. "Miles, it hurts so much... I hope sister won't blame me for taking her medicine..."
Once her rehearsal was done, she smiled and filled the empty vial with a specially prepared, similarly colored liquid.
"This colored water should help me sell the performance."
The hologram froze on her twisted, grinning face.
In that moment, Miles felt all the blood in his body freeze solid.
