Hearing the crack and pop sound made Penny’s eyes snap from looking at the man’s finger which he now embraced as he fell on the floor with his back against the table. Whining and his face in pain.
Penny’s eyes moved from the magistrate to Damien who had a calm and collected expression as if he hadn’t even touched the person and had caused an immense as well as excruciating pain. It seemed that Damien’s favorite torturable part in a body were the fingers. The sound in the room where the sky had turned dark and cold, she could feel her heart racing but it wasn’t out of fear but the shock.
With the way Grace had turned and twisted her arm, she knew to some extent that the pureblooded vampires were strong but to pop a human’s bone with just two fingers. That would have been unbelievable before but now that she had witnessed it, her body slightly trembled at the thought of if she would still be having an arm if Grace had put some more pressure and if Damien hadn’t come down in time.
Damien looked around the room, his eyes roaming before it settled on the magistrate, “Where are the keys to the houses?” seeing the magistrate still in pain where he failed to answer, he turned over his shoulder to look at Penny who looked petrified.
Looking back in the front, he walked around the table, opening the drawers one after another as he rummaged through them until he finally opened the last drawer where the keys were placed on the hooks.
“What’s the lock on the house?” Penny first thought that Damien was asking her the question but he wasn’t asking her but Mr. Linguin who was still on the floor. Sighing, Damien rubbed the bridge of his nose before kicking the table which got the magistrate in an alert position, “What’s her house lock number? You must have changed it right?” it was a common work in every town and village when the house was acquisitioned back in the magistrate’s hand. It was a routine to change the locks so that the house would not be used by others by breaking into the house with the older lock and keys.
“I-It is twenty-three,” huffed the man for air, getting up from the wooden floor with great difficulty. As Damien hummed softly, picking out the key he closed the drawer with a small bang.
“Thanks.”
“W-what about the d-deal?” asked the magistrate when Damien started to leave.
Damien’s hand tinkled softly with the two keys that he held in his hand, “What about it?”
The magistrate looked at him with a bewildered expression, “The half-” he started to only be cut off by the pureblooded vampire as he waved his hand.
“The case has been dismissed. Now if you want the rest of your fingers to have bones in there, make sure to fix that attitude of yours. Yes? I knew you would listen, there is no violence needed at all,” said Damien, he walked to the door, opening the knob and stepping out who was followed shortly by Penny as she didn’t want to stay in here a second longer alone with the magistrate.
When they stepped out, Penny could see the number of people who had come to surround near the office of the magistrate while also keeping a safe distance from the unknown vampire and the girl who was shunned. All Damien had to do was look at the people around to send them stumbling and scurrying back to their houses, shutting and closing the windows and doors.
Pathetic humans who derived pleasure from others misfortune, thought Damien as he made his way back to the house with Penny who was a step away from him. He handed her the key, asking her to open it, which she did.
Picking up the lantern which hung outside, Damien shook it to feel the weight of the oil which must have still been there after all this time. While Penny stepped inside the dark house which was quite small, he plucked the dried up cotton, dipping it in the oil before pulling out a match stick which he had stolen from the magistrate’s office.
Lighting the lantern up, he handed it to Penny for her to carry. Placing his hands in the trouser of his pocket, he looked at the house which could hardly be called a house as it wasn’t even half of the size of his room.
It was empty.
Damien asked her, “What happened to all the things in here?”
“I sold them before going to stay with my aunt and uncle,” she saw him nod as he looked at the walls and the ceiling. She stared at Damien enough for him to notice without looking at her to ask,
“You keep looking at me like that and I am going to get another meaning from it.”
Penny quickly turned her head to look away from him to see the empty space. With her mother gone and also the scarce furniture that was there, there was nothing much remaining in her except for the hollow and empty space which filled up her heart with.
“Do you regret moving out of here?” he asked her curious, his eyes falling upon her to see her looking at nothing in particular as they were surrounded by the walls.
“No,” she responded back with a whisper in her voice. This was hell compared to the life she had now. Trying to shift the topic she asked him, “Aren’t you worried that he’s going to complain against what you just did to his direct superior?”
“Hmm, what is that?” he asked in a murmur before saying, “Are you worried for your master, little mouse,” he teased her.
“I was only wondering,” she pressed her lips. It seemed like Damien didn’t worry about it as he hardly had cared about the man’s finger which he had turned to dust.
