The Vampire & the Rebel (Completed)

Part 1: Chapter 18

My days had grown increasingly habitual while I waited for the return trip to the bloodsuckers' capital. The leech seemed to have grown bored with tormenting me, which could only be considered a good thing, although at the same time it felt strange in a way I could not quite put my finger on. Still, I was not about to question my good fortune.

The only time I had seen her was when I went and asked to go along. It had bothered me to have to ask for permission, but at the same time it had been worth it.

This trip might be valuable to me in several ways.

I was going to be included in the attempt to hack the council's database and if I was lucky maybe I would have the chance to locate my quarry. I would also be able to familiarize myself with the leech council building and perhaps even the city, which very well might come in handy in the future. And, if I were fortunate, maybe I would find my moment to finally escape her control.

Although it was unlikely that I would manage everything I was hoping, I at least felt optimistic that new opportunities were coming towards me and I was ready to meet them.

A few of the human traitors remarked on my good spirits, but I tried to let them believe that I was just settling in and pleased that the bloodsucker was leaving me alone.

I woke the morning of our journey, just as I did every morning. I stretched and quickly got up and made my way to the showers. It was early, so I found the room mercifully empty.

Before I got in, I shaved for the first time since I had been forcibly restrained while a leech ran a blade over my skin just before I had been stuck in the slave cages. This time I had been ordered to, but it was an order I gladly followed. I would be much less recognizable as the human who had killed a dozen leeches while clean shaven.

As far as I knew, no one was looking for me specifically, but it was better not to take chances.

My beard and moustache gone, I stripped off my clothes and stepped into the shower naked except for the collar still around my neck. I was used to its constant presence by now and the luxury of consistent hot running water was still too novel for me to take it for granted so I lost myself in the sensation as I scrubbed myself down and then rinsed the soap from my hair and skin.

I glanced down at my chest, the scar from the leech's brand pink and glaring against my healthy flesh. The design was surprisingly simple for the ostentatious leech, a thin oval with two numbers centred inside.

If I had had to guess, I would have imagined she would have chosen something more fancy or detailed, like I had seen on other humans in my travels. There were some leeches that went with straightforward brands like this, but I had seen a couple that were ridiculously complex.

The worst brand I had encountered was on a runaway I had travelled with for some time a few years ago. His brand had been extensive, twice the size of my own and rather than the simple border, his numbers were surrounded by the image of a bird of prey, as if his bloodsucker master had tried to make cruelty into art.

Although I hated to give the leech who held me any sort of credit, this brand was not as bad. Once I finally escaped, I would further scar my own skin to obscure it as I had seen other escaped humans do before me. It was not ideal, but it would help me remain anonymous. The last thing I would want was for the next vampire who caught me to return me straight to her clutches.

Before I stepped out of the shower, I heard voices, probably of the men who had become my acquaintances during my time trapped in the leech's lair. Since my arrival I had been largely surrounded by her guards and one of the nice things about the communal bathrooms and showers was that they were typically used by the men in the rooms situated nearest to them, rather than solely by her most trusted lackies. Other than Theo, Bean Sprout was the only one who I had ever encountered in the areas around our room.