Paying For Another's Sin.

The news about Mrs. Perkin who was accused of whoring in the village spread like wildfire around the village.

No one wanted to know or find out the truth, they all believed that which was displayed for them. Their mouths moved rapidly in haste to tarnish the already bad image of Mrs. Perkin. Some said she had been whoring around while taking those birth control pills so she wouldn't get pregnant, and her husband discovered it and ran away.

They all felt pity for Mr. Perkin while cursing his wife for doing something so evil. The villagers hated anything evil around them, that was the reason they would go to any length to make sure they got rid of it.

No one believed or wanted to help Mrs. Perkin out of her predicament. The friend she thought she had was the first person to spread the news around. Mrs. Perkin cried in the misery that befell her as the head warden took her away as demanded by the villagers who said she was evil, and evil shouldn't associate with the village.

Perdita was heartbroken seeing the state Mrs. Perkin was in. Somehow she wanted to blame herself because of what happened, but then her intelligent self told her it was the fault of Mr. Perkin. If he had not been following her, this wouldn't have happened to any of them. Now both of them were paying the sins of each other.

She didn't know how she was going to help Mrs. Perkin clear her innocence and also be able to keep her secret without being discovered. She knew if she did anything rash, the blame would turn around and fall on her. And with she and Marco being vampires, it wouldn't take a minute before they would run a stake into their hearts.

The villagers would label them first-degree evil that was in the land. They all did as if they were pure, but they were the real evil that was in the land. Every one of them will smile at you today and tomorrow they will scorn at your face. Such hypocrites hiding their scornful and vile nature in their coats of sinful smiles.

Perdita shook her head before turning away to go to her stall and make the day's sales. She wished she could contact Sthena, maybe he would help her out in freeing Mrs. Perkin without raising much attention since she believed he worked for the king.

Had she placed so much hope on the man already? Questioned Perdita to herself. She didn't know, maybe she felt that way seeing how the man handled what happened in the house of Mr. Malphus to know he was capable of doing anything. He had this demeanor in him that calmed and also raised the heartbeat of anyone near him.

Such a mysterious man with red hair. Was that even his natural hair? Perdita thought and asked herself in wonderment. How could someone be born with red hair? She hasn't seen anyone with red hair before.

Away from the village of Woodbridge and in the castle dungeon was Mr. Perkin whose hands and legs were tied together as he screamed at the top of his lungs for someone to free him. But the thick walls of the dungeon that was built underground swallowed his voice and his wails.

Sthena had only bound his hands and legs as a small punishment to him, not that he could escape from the thick black wall and brown irons that reeked of death. Perkin continued to struggle to get the ropes untied but the more he struggled, the more the ropes hurt his arms. He didn't know how he got where he was nor did he know where he was in. The last thing he remembered was running away from Perdita and that vampire man before he stabbed Perdita. But it felt as if he was the one being stabbed instead because he fell unconscious afterward.

It was because of Perdita that he was in this state. The thought of this brought more anger to his heart. He gritted his teeth and thought of how to deal with the siblings once he got out from this hell of a place not knowing that his wife was paying for the sins of his actions.

Just then, Sthena walked inside the dungeon while humming a soft tone to himself. He appeared to be in a good mood as two guards who were following him dragged something behind them.

Mr. Perkin immediately became quiet seeing the devil come towards him. His eyes turned fearful when he saw the look on the vampire's face that sent cold sweat down his back.

"I can see you're enjoying yourself in here" Sthena commented with his dark red eyes watching the state Perkin was in.

Perkin kept mute not replying to the words of Sthena who appeared to be crooked in his head.

Sthena gleefully smiled at Perkin as if they were good friends. He signaled the guards to unlock the door to Perkin's cell and that was when Perkin's eyes fell on the thing that the guards were dragging behind them. It was a human! No, no, no, a dead human to be precise. What is he going to do?! Perkin fearfully looked at Sthena.

"Let me out of here!" Perkin finally found his voice and yelled at Sthena.

"No noise," Sthena warned in a low voice "You don't want to wake your new friend, do you?" He asked with a disapproving look on his face.

He continued to say, "I brought you a friend since you were so lonely. Not to mention, you have been talking to yourself since yesterday. Am I not kind and considerate to have brought you a companion?" His eyes twinkled with an evil glint in them. The person he had brought that looked dead was none other than Clayton whom he had taken with him together with Perkin the night before.

After torturing and making Clayton spill out the information he knew about the production of the pills, though it was not much information that was retrieved from him as it seemed their master kept them out of the main business. He turned into this state he was in because of the torture he received where he appeared half dead and half alive.

The guards dragged Clayton inside the cell room. They unlocked the iron cuffs stuck into the wall at the far end of the room a little away from Perkin. Then they cuffed one leg and one hand of Clayton before leaving the cell room.

After the guards locked the door and left, Sthena smiled at Perkin who was scared to his bone marrow because of the person that was brought inside that looked like a dead man.

Sthena was not only torturing Perkin physically but mentally. When he stayed with a hungry vampire who would be more than hungry when he woke up, he would understand what it meant to stay out of someone's business. Though Clayton wouldn't reach him because of how far but almost near they appeared to be with each other, it would create the desired fear he wanted in the man.

It was also torture to Clayton when he woke up. Seeing a human with his blood rapidly pumping in his body and not getting a taste of it would make him go wild with hunger. Seeing your food and not drinking it was pure torture to creatures of the night.

Sthena chuckled darkly as he left the dungeon. Immediately after he left, the man Perkin thought was dead snapped his eyes open to reveal his bloodthirsty red eyes that gazed hungrily at him because of the smell of blood wafting in the air which was caused by Perkin constantly pulling at the ropes in his hands and legs.

Perkin watched in horror as Clayton slowly stood with his elongated fangs in view. Wait! What the fuck!

Seeing Clayton come close to him Perkin shrieked with a loud voice that reached the ears of Sthena who have not completely left the dungeon.

"That was fast," Sthena said to himself with a wide smile adorning his lips.

«★»

The day ended late in the eyes of Perdita. It felt as if the day was being dragged as she couldn't wait to leave the market and look for Sthena or maybe the other black-haired vampire who was with Sthena.

Closing her stall together with other villagers who closed for the day with the gossip of Mrs. Perkin still fresh in their tongues, she searched for either Sthena or Daemon with her eyes.

Perdita constantly looked behind her to make there was no second Mr. Perkin who might be following her. She made her way towards the alley hoping to find who she was looking for.

Speak of the devil.

Perdita saw the black-haired vampire who was leaning against a wall at the end of the alley. She didn't like this man who always looked at her with his smug look. Their first encounter was still fresh in memory as she sauntered towards Daemon.

As usual, Daemon had the smug look on his face. It was like not he hated Perdita, but being told to watch over the lady irked him to no end. And not only was he made to watch over her, but her tongue also irked and annoyed him further making him want to cut it and probably feed it to her. At the thought of this, a sly smile appeared on Daemon's face.

At the same time, Perdita now stood in front of him with an annoyed look on her face. This was the look she had been talking about she hated to see! What was wrong with this crazy man?! Yes, he was crazy. Perdita yelled in her mind while her eyes spoke the words she couldn't utter lest she became a dead vampiress who would rot away in this dark alley. Sthena's description of vultures eating her flesh was still fresh in her mind.

"What do you want, green eyes?"