On their way back the mansion of Quinn, Penny sat quietly without a word where Damien spoke, “You look beautiful, Penelope,” her eyes that were looking out of the window to look at the deserted village which looked dark and gloomy, she turned to meet his eyes, “Did you have fun?”
“Are you not worried, Master Damien?” asked Penny for him to tilt his head with a questionable look.
“Why would I be worried if you have fun in my friend’s celebration,” he asked her to see her lips purse together. Of course, he knew what she was speaking about but he enjoyed having her speak more than what she intended.
The hair which Damien had tied previously had now stared to loosen due to the open window where the air came to ruffle her hair every time there was an increase in the breeze. Raising her hand to hold the baby hairs near her temple still, she changed her words, “How old are you?”
“Why do you ask?” he asked as if intrigued with her interest in him.
“I was curious.”
“In human eyes, I might be around twenty-four…”
Humans years that is, “What about actual years?” she asked him.
“Double the numbers. Somewhere there,” which made her ponder on how the entire vampire generation grew and lived. Their bodies being different from the humans, their mortality and immortality differed from one another.
“You are old,” she stated making him smile.
“Is that so? Compared to humans, one would agree but vampires’ growth differs. Sometimes differing from their own kind that one cannot gauge a vampire’s age unless they know the person closely. There was this one man in the pureblooded vampires who never grew up after he had turned three. Years passed. More than five decades until he started to grow.”
“He must have turned knowledgable by the time he grew up to an a.d.u.l.t,” Penny commented to find Damien wondering about it.
“Actually he died due to heart corruption. Nothing affects the pureblooded vampires too hard but the only disease one can have is the corruption itself.”
Penny had heard about it a few times from Damien’s own lips but she never knew in depth of what it was all about. Curious she asked to know more about it, “Can anyone get it?” because before stepping into Quinn’s mansion, she had known that the pureblooded vampires were indestructible creatures. Nothing could kill them and when she found out about it, it had come as a surprise.
“Every creature that walks on these lands has benefits and drawbacks. Nature has made it so that there is at least one loophole in every creature. If you find it there’s nothing Godly or high about them. The vampires possess something called a core which can be considered the temple of the body like your mind. Witches have been using a potion to corrupt the families, and the corruption is infectious. One bite and it will spread enough to cause chaos on the lands. Enough to wipe out anything and everything until nothing will be left. Do you know, mouse if you work on that skill of yours you can be the antitode for the poison the black witches are creating?”
“I will work on it,” she responded back.
“Of course,” he replied.
“How does one know that the vampires are corrupted?” hearing this question, Damien smiled.
“The corrupted vampires have pitch-black eyes. What starts as dilation goes to spread within the body. The lack of reasoning and insanity which is quite easy to detect because they go nuts. Corrupted vampires don’t know the difference between right or wrong. Their lack of ability to identify their loved ones.”
A doubt came to appear on Penny’s face and she looked at Damien as if searching for an answer.
“It appears that you have something to say.”
Penny had seen his eyes turn black once when they were walking back to the mansion on the bridge. It had scared and startled her, “W-were you ever bit by a corrupted vampire?” she asked him as he had told about the corruption being infectious by a bite.
“No.”
She continued to stare at him, his lips pulling up as seconds passed by.
“You aren’t a corrupted vampire,” she said as if trying to confirm but received no answer from him. His head fell back, eyes closing with a sigh before bringing his head back to open his eyes to reflect her in his black eyes.
“Corruption need not be by a fatal bite. It starts from within in here,” he pointed his chest, “And then spreads to the host before moving to the next person,” Penny tried to wrap her mind this time with what Damien said. According to what he just said, corrupted vampires lose sanity was that why he was the way he was? But yet, he looked normal so what happened? She wondered. He leaning back on the seat to look at the village that they were passing by. His eyes narrowed as if catching something there. He knocked on the window to speak to the coachman, “Stop the carriage here,” his eyes had flicked back to red.
“What happened?” asked Penny. The coachman looked confused but did as ordered by his master.
“Something looks off about this place. Shadier than what it looks, the crow’s caw and the ground that appears slippery. The day of dusk that appeared quick to not bring the dawn after it,” it was as if he was reciting some lines from a book.
Damien stepped out of the carriage, his eyes skimming through the dark streets and the houses before his eyes fell on the alleys which were as deserted as the rest of it. He had passed through this village several times in the past and often the place was quiet but there was something in the air which he had caught on to.
Penny had followed him down when suddenly a whistling sound appeared in the air. Before she could turn to see where it was coming from Damien had pulled her to his other side. An arrow passed her to get stuck in the carriage firmly.
