The Blood Contract

Chapter 9

Three days had passed since they entered the forest.

Pierre Monet and his team of disgusting henchmen had probably given up on looking for them but they were staying hidden for now. Just in case.

Thankfully, they had found a small cave and they temporarily sought refuge in it.

"Elizabeth, are you still alive?" Gem croaked out, her throat parched. It wasn't a joking question. Any moment now, they might just die and rot away.

They hadn't eaten for days and their only source of water was from a small creek that they had found.

Gem wasn't sure how long she could hang on. The poison had overtaken her body and she was still partially blind  and her arms and legs were leaden.

"M'am, do you feel fine?" Elizabeth sounded worried.

"I'm okay," Gem muttered weakly. "I just can't believe I'm going to die from starvation here after escaping a mob of vampires wannabes."

"M'am, should I....should I just cut off my leg? You can eat it then," Elizabeth offered. "I saw it in one of those trashy TV shows."

"Elizabeth!" Gem chided. "Although I'm a half-vampire, I'm not cannibalistic and I don't intend to start soon."

They were lost and in her mind, she was repeatedly stabbing Pierre Monet in the face. He was the one who brought them to this remote wilderness where no city was in sight.

Suddenly, her ears picked up on something.

"There's something outside," she hissed. "Take my dagger. Kill it or whoever it is if it's someone sent by Pierre Monet."

Elizabeth took her dagger and ventured outside. "Mercy," Gem heard the maid hiss.

"What is it?" Gem called out.

"It's a lion. A bloody lion in a forest," Elizabeth shouted. "Should I kill it?"

"Yes. We can eat it." Gem cringed. Wild meat was better than nothing.

For a few moments, she heard the slashing of meat and the lion's gurgled growls before there was silence.

"I'm done. That was harder than I thought," Elizabeth said, her voice closer now. "Just a few scratches, nothing my goblin skin can't handle."

Gem nodded. Half-goblins had typically uglier skin but they were hardier and came in handy during situations like this.

That night, they had roasted lion meat. Elizabeth built a fire and they sat near it, trying to warm themselves.

For Gem, there was something exhilarating about eating wild meat. The rawness gave her strength and she was temporarily reminded of the fact that the reason she enjoyed wild game was because of half-vampire self. Any ordinary human would have puked from eating it.

Elizabeth seemed to enjoy the raw meat even more than her. Maybe that was from her goblin side. Aftr all, goblins had a fetish for eating fresh human meat.  

"What are you going to do with Luke Garon?" Elizabeth asked as she chewed on the tough lion meat.

"What do you mean?" Gem asked warily.

"Pierre Monet does have a point, m'am," Elizabeth said cautiously. "There's got to be a reason why he never told you his identity."

"And I know what that reason is," Gem said irritably. "He probably wanted to finish me off for what my father did."

"I don't think so m'am."

"Are you trying to tell me that you believe Pierre Monet? That scumbag?" Gem snapped. "If I ever see him again, I will personally snap his limbs."