Visitor's Blood Series [Book 1 + Preview of Book 2]

Chapter 34: Malook

I normally tolerated Cartef pretty well, but his attitude and even small mannerisms of his were grinding on my nerves today. Perhaps it was due to my paranoia concerning this whole situation. Add that to the exhaustion from the ordeal, and it would naturally account for a dive in my usual tolerance.

Sulru did not care for him at all so I was glad there wasn't that extra tension of having her present. I didn't know why it was Cartef that she picked to have it out for. We had met so many more deserving of her hatred and mistrust, yet it was him who had gained her focus.

The sound of tapping suddenly struck me from my thoughts. I looked up to see my assistant typing rapidly on a thin tablet held before him on an posable cord extending from the device's case on his leg. His attention hadn't strayed far from the handheld since we had departed the docking bay, and even though I knew he was working, it was infuriating me. I refrained from speech though, sighing instead as I put attention back on my own work.

A large part of the paperwork had been authorizations for executions, or rather vampire feedings. The death penalties were largely decided by Empress Naiker herself, however, handling which vampires were to take care of them fell to me. Generally it was just a schedule: whose turn it was. Sometimes when a vampire had sustained damage, they were allowed extra feedings to better aid in recovery.

Other times there were complications where sentences were changed last minute or an officer otherwise had to forego a feeding or other such discrepancies. It was part of a General's job to be certain every vampiric officer was properly nourished, as well as allot an appropriate amount of the sentenced inmates to the academy meant for training their young.

Although not a favorite duty, not carrying the disdain against the vampires took away much reluctance toward fulfilling the task. No, I understood that they required blood to sustain themselves. This was no fault on their part. My problem lay solely with the deaths themselves. Unlike the typical carnivore, vampires didn't need to kill to eat.

I'm sure if the world were different to where we didn't work together, as it were, or they were as animalistic as many seemed to think, that they would find it easiest to kill or otherwise subdue their prey, yet as it stood, this was not so.

It baffled me that a grand majority of humans still did not realize these things, or either they chose not to believe it. It wasn't as if it were often taught. Our leaders and most government officials certainly did not care for it to be common knowledge.

After the final form was signed, I exhaled sharply and stretched my back straight, pushing it against the chair I sat in before slicking back my hair with my hands and standing.

I took hold of the pile of folders and papers I had been working on for the last hour or more and strolled over to Cartef, who, upon noticing I had gotten up, bent the metal arm protruding from his leg back into place and grudgingly relieved his eyes from the screen of his device.

"Finished?" he observed.

My only reply was a nod as I handed him the stack and continued past him on my way out of the office, down the hall beyond. I heard a short sound behind me coming from the man shuffling the paperwork under his arm and stepping quickly after me.

"Would you like me to escort you home?" he asked.

Maybe fear was playing in, but I found the offer strange. It wasn't something normal for him to do, considering it wasn't his job and neither were we friendly. We worked with each other; he had been to my home a handful of times as a guest to gatherings. That was the extent of our relationship. At least it was until Soare-a and I had begun planning our vacation.