Black Blood

Something about the lady attracts me, something I cannot place. It is not sexual or her appearance. Her black hair hangs down like pieces of straw, her face is lank and blue and her cheeks are heavily sunken. At first glance, you wouldn’t say those features are attractive. I don’t even know the lady’s name, how old she is or why she is here. I have no idea who this woman is and yet I am curious. Whether it was the expression of the dragon, her unexpected arrival or my craving for adventure, something attracts me.

‘Do you know the lady?’ I didn’t realise I was staring until Lilia asked this question. I don’t look up from my gaze at the lady.

‘No,’ I merely reply. I hate it when the vampires call me you, but I can’t get it out. The stately thing is not my thing, I will never be able to be in a castle or mansion for long. The class system we live in is something I’ve never quite understood. Why should a vampire be inferior to a wizard? We get fewer opportunities, have less power, but that doesn’t mean we are less. We are seen as an underworld, cast out because we cannot cast spells.

I place my fingers on the skin of her ankle, running them gently over it. Under my fingertips I feel the blood running, racing through her veins. Her skin is hot, blood hot. The muscles are swollen and throbbing under my touch. I can’t feel a bone fracture, which means it’s badly bruised. On the right side of her ankle is a scrape that doesn’t look good. It is full of dried blood and swollen.

‘Sir.’ I shy away from the chambermaid, who has apparently entered the room. I look irritated at the girl, who is standing next to me with the fetched items in her hands. At first glance, she doesn’t seem to be able to place my irritation, until she quickly corrects herself.

‘Sorry, Novak.’ she corrects herself. I nod in satisfaction and gratefully take the items from her hands. I place the first-aid kit next to me on the bed and open it. The white box is full of types of bandages and gauze.

‘Lilia grab a wet cloth.’ She nods quickly and runs into the bathroom. I take a packet of gauze out of the first-aid box, tear the package apart and put it down beside me.

Lilia comes running out of the bathroom with a white cloth in her hands and hands me the cloth. With the wet cloth, I carefully clean the abrasion, remove all the remnants of blood. I hand the cloth back to Lilia and place the gauze on the wound.

Lilia carefully grabs her leg and lifts it up so that I can bandage it. She nods and walks to the other side of the bed. I search the dressing box for the right bandage and it’s harder than you think. I throw half the contents of the box on the bed before I find the support bandage. I look at Lilia and nod my head to give her the signal to lift the lady’s leg. Carefully and meticulously I begin to tie the bandage around the lady’s ankle. I take her heel and part of her foot for extra protection, the whole roll goes up. I secure the end of the bandage with a silver hook. At the end of the bandage and the bandaged part I insert the hook to connect the two parts. Lilia carefully puts the lady’s leg back on the bed and steps back.

‘Thank you, you can go.’ The two girls nod their heads, purely because I forbid them to bow. They walk out of the room, leaving me with the lady.

I sigh deeply and start to put the rolls of bandages back in the box, stand up and put the first aid kit away. In the time that I have been in this room, the lady has hardly moved, if at all. Her breathing seems to have increased a little, which is a good sign. I cannot imagine what has happened to the lady. She seems to have been beaten up, perhaps mistreated. A bruised ankle, bruises everywhere and unconscious.

I thought night riders were inviolable, if the lady is a night rider. I have heard about the king and his hunt for the four, but never expected him to actually do it. It’s an idiotic idea, an idiotic man. Once he starts with the night riders I can guarantee vampires and werewolves will be next. It’s not going to work to kill the night riders anyway, they’re inviolable.

A sigh slips from my lips. I get up from the bed and turn my gaze to the lady.

‘You know her?’ I look up at the door, startled. Myles is leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed and his gaze fixed on me. I look away from him and walk towards the lady.

‘No,’ I reply. Carefully I take the blanket from under the lady and pull it up to her shoulders over her.

‘Do you know what happened to her?’ As if Myles isn’t irritating enough, he now starts asking me questions to which he can think of the answer himself.

‘What do you think?’ My irritated reply seems to make an impression. Myles puts his hands in the air and stands up straight.

‘Calm down little brother. I was curious. Given the amount of travel you do, you never know who you’ll meet.’ I make a gruff ‘mmm’ sound as I continue to look at the lady.

‘I will inform father. Pass on when she wakes up, food will be provided.’ After those words, Myles leaves the room again and closes the door behind him. I blow my held breath out of my nose and run my hand through my dark blonde hair. Across from the bed is a black and white chair, which I sit down in. The chair is soft and the ideal size to sink into for a while. Just when I want to close my eyes, the lady moves.