A MAZE OF GREED

"Nothing! Forget about it."

Ruth replayed his words over and over in her mind trying to wrap her head around it, but she failed.

"What do you mean?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"I mean forget what you know and do not say a word about it to anyone." Edwin explained.

For Ruth, the man now was speaking had no similarities with the man she loved, except their appearance. Even the feel of him was different.

"How can you say that Edwin? That woman tried to kill you for God's sake. How can you tell me to forget about it??" Ruth could not understand if she was failing to catch on to something or this man indeed sounded ridiculous.

"And that woman is my aunt Ruth!" Edwin's voice rose even more than Ruth's.

She stared at him unblinkingly, trying to see past that facade of the passive face.

But all she got was a thick and tall hard wall.

"Why are you doing this Edwin?" Her voice was softer, begging even.

"You do not have to carry the load of their sins. It is okay to call the wrong as wrong. You do not need to always protect them for the sake of your family name."

How easy it was for her to say, Edwin thought. However, he was cent per cent sure that she would have also done the same if she was in his shoes.

It was easier to say than do!

"I am not trying to do that." He said dryly.

"Then why? If she can do it once then I am sure that she can do it again. And for what? This manor? The money? The power? Are all that worthier than you, a family?"

She saw the cracks in that massive wall, and she had already made up her mind that she was going to exploit those cracks until she break down that wall to dust.

"I... I can't!" He finally said after tearing his gaze away from her.

He could not face her when she had expectations from him, and he could not fulfil them. Edwin did not want her to see his broken self and doubt his capability and the promises he had made to her.

He did not want her to think that the man she thought was as strong as a mountain was actually helpless when it came to his family.

Ruth did not see any point in the further discussion when Edwin was not ready to even acknowledge what his aunt had done to him.

She stood up and walked away but not before reminding him about their meeting after two days.

*

*

*

Lisa was in pain, a lot of pain. Her screams of agony shook the surroundings, but they failed to send pity to the heartless blood-sucking monster.

Darius kept pushing her into the portal, and every time her situation got worse than before. Lisa begged, cried for him to stop, but Darius's mind was set on his goal.

He wanted to cross through that portal at any cost, even at the cost of her life.

After the eighth attempt, Lisa's body gave up. She fell to the ground, her nose bleeding and vision unclear.

Darius knew why Lisa was more affected than Florence. Florence had only his seeds inside her, but Lisa had his seeds as well as his saliva in her system after he had drunk from her last night.

Darius was raging in anger. He thought that Lisa might open the portal to Malvadogar but seems like she was no use to him. And Darius did not like keeping the useless things with him.

"I am sorry Lisa, but you came to no use to me. You are as worthless as everyone told me. But I was the fool who kept you around. But now this is my final goodbye!" Darius spat in anger, his eyes red.

Lisa fought to keep her eyes open. She could not see his face, but the way he spoke to her alarmed her. She began mumbling incoherently, her hands tried to reach up to him.

Darius squatted beside her and held her hand.

"But then how can I leave you here to die just like that. So I am giving you a chance to serve me for the last time."

"D-Darius... p-please, d-don't leave m-me." She begged, tears streaming down her eyes. The blood now began flowing from her ears too.

But Darius had no heart in his chest to feel her emotions and perhaps her unacknowledged love for him.

His fangs shone in the daylight, and before she could protest, he had them sunk in her wrist. Her blood tasted sweet to his palate.

He drank from her to his heart's content and until she succumb to the darkness.

Darius finally separated his mouth from her wrist then wiped his mouth. With a last glance in Lisa's unconscious form, he left, leaving her to die slowly and painfully.

This plan did not work, and now he had no idea what he was going to do.

His father must have sent his men in search of Darius. What if he got to know about Darius's plan? What if he reached Hilton?

Darius had very little time, and now he had to come up with another way of opening the portal.

Lisa remained on the ground, out of that hut, unconscious and slowly nearing her death. Her mind was slowly shutting down, surrendering to her unfortunate fate.

About an hour passed, and now her body was on the verge of giving up.

Her face was smeared in blood as she lay there betrayed and alone.

If only she was conscious, then she could have seen someone stepping out of the portal in that hut. The man was tall but slim with slightly big greenish eyes. His white hair rested at his back in a ponytail, and the long bore was also completely white and rested on his chest.

He looked old. The black ankle-length dress covered his body along with a black cloak.

He paused before stepping out of the hut. After a minute, he came out and scanned his surroundings with his greenish eyes.

The serene silence was familiar to him.

And then, his eyes shifted to the human who lay on the ground with blood coming out of her ears, nose and wrist.

If it was years ago, then he would have cared less about a mere human- a muggle. But after years of experiences at his hand, his ignorance had dissipated.

Besides, he was curious to know who this human was, who made the dome shake with her trails of opening the portal.

It had happened once before, a few months back. But it was only a single attempt, and he had changed the portal's position immediately.

Looking at the human's wrist, he understood the reason for it. She was used by a Vampire. And when she could not open the portal, he left her there to die.

The man shook his head in disappointment. What else he could expect from a Vampire?

But he also accepted that it was very easy to fool humans. They were the most naive and gullible creatures on the planet, and even after centuries, nothing had changed.

The man crouched down beside Lisa and ran his fingers on her forehead. He did not specifically feel bad that she was on the verge of dying however, what he felt then was comparable to pity.

He took her wrist in his hand and observed it keenly to see the marks of Darius's fangs.

He inserted his hand under his cloak and pulled out a stick that was about one foot in length.

Holding it elegantly in his fingers, he moved it in the air while chanting something. And miraculously, Lisa's wound healed slowly without leaving any evidence that it was there in the first place.

With another spell, the man successfully made her bleeding stop, and her heartbeats began increasing from their slow rhythm.

Lisa's breaths became normal. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. And when she saw that strange man staring right down at her, she got scared, and a shriek escaped her mouth.

Instinctively, she scrambled away from him, misinterpreting his weird appearance as a psycho killer.

"Wh-who are you? And... where is he?" Lisa's terrified eyes began searching for the man who bought her there.

"The one who left you to die?" The old man asked.

Lisa was speechless. The memories from about an hour before came rushing to her, leaving her shocked.

"I... I did not come here willingly. I... I want to go b-back?" She had tears in her eyes.

The man stood up to his full height then walked towards her slowly. Lisa wanted to run away from him, yet she could not find the energy required for that.

He stopped a few inches away from her before extending his hand.

Lisa looked at it unsurely, but when he stood there unwavering, she hesitantly hold on to it. He helped her stand up.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

His tone was not sympathetic, nor it was rude. It was just a simple question from him.

Lisa only nodded her head, still unable to study him. She still did not know if he was a danger or her saviour. But then, how did she get better when she was on the verge of dying?

"Wh-who are you?" Lisa asked.

Before the man replied to her, a spine chilling voice came from behind.

"It is a pleasure meeting you Reznor!"