CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Alice opened her eyes slowly.She still felt nauseous and dizzy. Her head was spinning. She squinted her eyes so she could have a good view of her surroundings and adjust to the lights around. She must have passed out for hours.

She tried to stand but a sharp pain reverberated through her system. She groaned loudly. She discovered she was strapped to a chair and her hands and legs were tied with chains.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you", she heard a voice say. She couldn't see who it was but she squinted her eyes enough to see the figure of a man. "Those are more than chains", the man said. "They're meant to hurt their victims."

They turned the lights away from her and Alice groaned. She wasn't prepared for that. However she began to see clearly again. She could see the man in front of her. He was very tall and very ugly. He had a really rough face. One could tell he must have had multiple scars. He smiled when he noticed her gaze on him. His teeth were incomplete and the few that were left were disgusting to sight.

"You like what you're seeing?" He asked moving closer to her. Alice watched as fangs projected from his gum. " I won't deny that I'm quite fascinating to behold. If you weren't a hunter I would have fucked you the moment I laid my eyes on you."

"You're a vampire and at the same time a psycho. I think you need help because your face is pitiful. They must have beaten you and hurt you so bad that your body couldn't even heal again. Maybe you're their dog. They didn't know what to do with you that's why they made you watch over me. Exactly what dogs do." Alice deliberately said those things to provoke him so he could lash out. People who lash out in anger do so without thinking and are bound to make mistakes and hopefully that could lead to her freedom.

"You bitch!" The man growled. His eyes switched colors. He sped to her and raised his fist up to smash her head when a hand suddenly gripped his. He turned back and saw Mary standing behind him. She looked pissed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She questioned. "Forgive me", he quickly said, the prisoner provoked me and i lashed out.

"Burger off wanker!" Mary retorted and he left immediately. She looked at Alice the frown still on her face but she softened as soon as their eyes met. "I hope he hasn't done anything to you?" She asked.

"Am i supposed to be happy that you're concerned about me?" Alice asked. "Am I supposed to be saying thank you? . You seem to be forgetting that you're the one who put me here."

"Lord Fergus will be with you shortly" Mary said ignoring Alice's remark. " Its unwise to be pissing off vampires while you're harmless. You're the most dumb hunter I know. Vampires despise hunters, they can barely stand their scent and then you want to piss them off while unarmed."

"Hello" ,Alice called, "why do you all keep calling me a hunter?". "You'll find out soon enough" Mary said. " You're very valuable and very crucial to our course. I've been following you for a long time now and protecting you. We've come a long way to having you here."

Alice was completely lost. She couldn't understand what they were telling her. Nothing made sense anymore. She looked at Mary to say more but Mary didn't say anything again. She kept mute and just watched.

Alice struggled again to see if she could use her strength to cut the chains loose but again a sharp pain reverberated through her system this time sharper and more intense.

"That's a bad idea" Mary said. " It'll do you more harm than good."

"You act like you care but you're actually worse than any of the villains vampires I've seen so far." Alice snapped. If she thought her words would have an effect on Mary well she was wrong. She didn't even flinch. She just gazed at Alice with an expressionless face.

They stayed there for some hours until a man suddenly appeared. To say he was a man would be an irony. There was nothing human about him except his looks. His looks were aggressive and wild. There was this dangerous aura projecting from him. His gaze was something Alice haven't see before. His eyes was moving around her and Alice looked around. What the hell was he seeing around her?

"Sorry for the inconvenience" he said. Despite his wild looks he still moves and speaks calmly. Maybe he was just faking it. "We didn't want to tie you up like that but we didn't have a choice. You turned out to be really strong and faster than we anticipated but that is good."

"Who are you guys and what do you want from me?" Alice asked. She was frustrated with how they all wanted to toy with her mind. " I haven't done anything to piss off any vampire."

"This isn't about you." Fergus said. "This is a battle that have been going on for ages. You just happened to be dragged into it by fate. You see you have a gift, you're one of a kind. Actually you're the only one of your kind. The last bloodline of hunters to exist. You're special Alice but people don't really understand you. But i, I know your worth, I know how to use you as my perfect weapon. With you by my side I'll be invincible to any one and everyone. "

"You're really good at making good speeches but unfortunately I don't understand a single word you've said."

"You don't have to understand" Fergus said. " Soon you'll forget everything and be enslaved to me forever. You'll do my will till the end of days. We've come a long way to having you here. At first I thought Mary wouldn't succeed but well she created a master plan. We wanted you to be a fighter. To give you something to fight for and then we got it."

Alice shook her head in frustration, "Can you just go straight to the point and tell me why I'm here instead of beating around the bush and frustrating me with boring speeches."

"Your family" Fergus said. " Who did you think killed them?" Alice was taken aback. She looked at Mary to see if this was some kind of joke She felt pure anger arising from within.

"You killed a baby and an innocent man for what?" She asked. Her voice was husky. She wanted to scream but couldn't.

"If you think I'm sorry for what I did sweetheart then you're wrong" Mary said. " We don't have any humanity left and neither will you soon. We gave you the strength you needed. Family made you weak but as soon as they were gone you became desperate then you trained hard to find their murderer. You became stronger both physically and mentally."

"How dare you!" Alice finally screamed. " You ruined my life and now you stand there and pretend like you're my saviour."

"Shhhh" Fergus cautioned. / All this you'll forget now." He moved towards Alice staring at her eyeballs to eyeballs. " From now henceforth you seize to be you" he said. His voice was more like a growl and very deep. "You'll not even remember who you are, all you'll ever think about is how to please me. You'll serve me with all loyalty for all eternity." He stood up straight with a satisfying look as Alice continued to stare at him as if still processing everything he just said.

"You really think that'll work on me!" Alice spat. "I'll never be your slave." Her words took them both by surprise. For some seconds Fergus was speechless including Mary. He moved to her and started moving around her in circles like a predator accessing its prey before jumping at it.

"So you cannot be compelled", he said. "There has to be a reasonable explanation for that". Mary moved towards her and used her nails to slice her hand. Blood dripped slowly. The pain stung Alice but she didn't move. Mary took her blood and brought it to her nose. "Vervain" she announced.

"Interesting" Fergus said. "Who gave you vervain?" Alice bit back a laugh. "You really think I'll tell you?."

"Doesn't matter" Fergus said. "This changes nothing. It only delays my plan a little longer." Mary forced Alice up with the chains still bound around her. Alice screamed as the sharp pains came this time with more intense. They dragged her to another room. She was forced to her knees. Mary untied her. Alice wanted to use the opportunity to escape but sharp pains reverberated through her system and she collapsed to the floor. They tied her again this time with different chains. Alice feared what this one might do. They took her right hand and stretched it forward and then tied it to a pole.

"This could have been easier". Fergus said, " but alas you're destined to live a painful life." He brought out a blade and sliced Alice wrist. Blood splattered quickly and dropped to the floor. Alice screamed in pain and twisted. It was like live fire was set up within her all over at once. She screamed in agony. " Don't worry" Fergus said. "You'll bleed the vervain off your system and I'll be able to compel you." He looked at Mary, "summon me when its over", he said and suddenly vanished.

Mary looked at Alice one more time and left shutting the door behind her. Alice was left alone in the room with her blood dripping from her vein to the floor. She couldn't scream anymore. She felt her strength leaving her. For years she had looked for her family's killer and here there were now. Tears dropped from her eyes. She was in pain both physically and emotionally. She had no hope of escape. She couldn't even move. She stayed still. There was nothing she could do absolutely nothing. She had no choice here. All her life she had limited choices and she was destined to live a miserable life. She closed her eyes and resigned herself to fate.