Her eyes were shut because of the blindfold. Her wrists were tied together and so were her ankles. The only consolation she had was that she was not gagged.
The momentary pause in her fight with Colin, or whatever his real name was, gave the man the opportunity to knock her out and bind her. If she had not been puzzled by what the man said, she knew she had the chance to escape earlier. Not now.
Not now, when she could not see anything and with her movements restricted. To make things worse, she felt that they were in a moving car.
"Uncle, I think she's awake," said a timid male voice beside her.
"Are you awake, child?" came from the voice in front of her, whom she assumed was also the driver.
"Why did you take me?" she asked, her voice steady. She admitted that she was terrified in the eerie castle earlier. She was also nervous during the fight but the adrenaline seemed to settle and she was now her usual self.
"We have no choice. I told you, Dionne. We're here to rescue you," another voice in front said. She recognized this to belong to Colin and he must be sitting on the passenger seat.
"Rescue me from what?"
"Not from what. From who," Colin answered.
"I do not trust you. All of you. I know that one of you acted as the guard and the other was the steward," she said.
"How can you know that?"
"I recognize the voices. So I am right that there were only two other people with us in that castle," she contemplated.
"She has keen senses," said the driver. "We're almost there. We can remove the blindfold now."
"How about my wrists and ankles?"
"Don't push it, child. We know you can fight and Colin's bruised face is proof of that."
The man seated beside her slowly removed her blindfold. She adjusted from the dim light inside the car and confirmed with her eyes that her theory was true. They were indeed the men from the castle.
"You're calm," Colin observed.
"I cannot think well if I am not calm," she explained.
"Thinking of escaping?" he asked.
"Yes. But I will think of that later. I want to know your motives for abducting me first."
"How are you going to do that? Torture us?" he mocked.
"No. I will just ask. And I hope that you will answer," she politely said.
All three of them laughed at what she said as if it was unnatural. She looked out the window but she could not see anything other than walls. They must be in an underground tunnel, she mused.
"You know, you fight like a bad-ass earlier. But your personality is actually the opposite. How those bloodsuckers have not tainted you yet is beyond me," Colin said.
So they knew about her family. Maybe they also had an idea about The House. She was getting curious by the minute.
"Alright, you'll get your answers later when we arrive at our destination. Right now, let me introduce myself. I'm Johnathan Morales. And that's my nephew, Ino Morales," said the driver who gestured towards the man seated beside her.
She looked at Ino as he greeted her with a shy hello and she greeted him back. He was maybe around his early 20s while his Uncle Johnathan and Colin could be in their late 30s.
"What about you?" she asked Colin, meeting his gaze through the rearview mirror.
"Me? I'm Colin."
"You said that it is not your real name."
"Oh, that. I meant, I wasn't Colin Ford. It's actually Colin Regis." And he flashed him with a smile.
"Well, since we are having introductions, I am Dionne Huxley," she introduced.
"We know. But Huxley isn't really your last name isn't it?" Colin asked.
"No, it is not. But I will not divulge anything further because I do not trust strangers."
They kept quiet for the remainder of the ride. After around 10 minutes, their car was slowly ascending towards the main road above. They arrived at a port.
"What are we doing here?" she asked. She had never seen the actual ocean before. Even though it was dark outside, she stared at the black water in awe. So that was how the ocean looked in reality.
"We'll go to our place," Johnathan answered, breaking her train of thought.
They exited the car. Colin carried her since her feet were still bound.
"I know you don't like being close to strangers. But I have to carry you to the yacht. I don't want a repeat of our fight earlier."
She could not protest so she let him. Then they entered a yacht and proceeded to one of its cabins.
She was settled on a soft chair and was also given a blanket since her dress had been tattered by then.
"Are you ready to answer my questions?" she asked.
"Seriously, Dionne. You're the one who's bound but you have the audacity to demand questions, huh?" Colin said, but his voice was only teasing, not threatening.
"Of course. Because you also had the audacity to take me away," she countered.
"Agalat ak awutakakan!" You are so amusing!
"Nial waki orep." But you are not.
"Okay, let's settle down. They're here." John interrupted. The two men sat on the vacant chairs in front of her but Ino left the cabin. He must be the one to pilot the yacht.
She was taken aback when she saw another two men enter the cabin.
"Bill? Mateo?" she whispered.
Mateo's eyes were looking very apologetically but she did not know what to make of this. Why did her friend capture her? She felt different and it was something new. It was such a negative feeling that she did not like it.
"Dionne, I know you feel betrayed right now, but I can explain," he said as he knelt in front of her. He did not touch her, he just stayed there so that they were on each other's eye level.
She looked at Mateo but she was also distracted by Bill as he took a seat next to Colin.
"You both have the same last names," she said as she realized why the name was so familiar.
"Yes, this is Bill Regis, my husband. But you've already met at an auction, right?" Colin confirmed.
"That was intentional?"
"No. It was true that we needed to acquire that amphora. It was a surprise to see you there but I didn't waste time to confirm something about you. Mateo's theory was indeed correct."
"What is this? I do not understand what is happening. Why am I here, Mateo?" her gaze went back to her friend, or should she still call him that? Does he deserve it? Were they really friends from the beginning?
"First, I'm sorry. Second, it's the only way that we can get you from the manor. You're not safe there. Not with those vampires," he said.
"I am safest there. You know how they took care of me," she stressed.
"Is that why you're not allowed to leave the manor often? Why do you have to submit to whatever they ask of you?"
"I chose not to go out because it is not safe. I chose to do what is asked of me because I want to show my gratitude."
"You're right. It's actually good that you don't go out because it's not safe for us to walk around unguarded. But it's also not safe for you to stay there. They're manipulating you," he explained.
"You are wrong. They are my family," she said, not believing the words coming out of Mateo's mouth.
"You don't even know what you are, Dionne," said Colin.
"What do you mean?"
"You don't belong in that family. You're one of us," Johnathan said.
"Am I a... Morales or Regis, too?" she asked bewildered.
"No. We don't know from which bloodline you're from. But I'm sure that you're one of us. I knew when I touched your hand during the auction," Bill said.
One of them? What did it mean?
Mateo stared directly at her and answered her unvoiced question.
"Sorcerers."