Chapter 319: Liora Losing

Liora was gasping for air by the time her carriage stopped in front of her villa, her breath coming out in sharp, uneven bursts as her chest heaved violently. With her scrambling down the carriage, nearly missing the step as her boots struck stone, she dashed inside her house, skirts gathered roughly in her hands.It was evening and the sun had set, the last traces of daylight fading from the sky even as shadows stretched long across the grounds. The air was cool, heavy with the scent of night-blooming flowers. Even as her butler and a few servants stood in front of the house to greet her, standing straight and composed as they always did, they might as well have been nothing but air.

Dashing past them as fast as her legs could carry her as she headed in, she didn’t slow, didn’t acknowledge the startled looks or the hurried calls of her name behind her. Her brown eyes were tinged a bit red with madness, the whites slightly bloodshot, as her hands shook uncontrollably at her sides, fingers twitching as though possessed.

Still she did not hesitate, dashing down toward the basement of the building, her hurried footsteps echoing loudly through the halls as she descended the stone steps. Her breathing grew harsher with every step as she pushed open the door with all her ability, the heavy wood slamming against the wall.

Ignoring the surprised expressions of the guards who stood there, eyes widening as they instinctively straightened, as she dashed straight for the humans she had stored in the cells. Men and women who instantly shrank back the second they caught sight of her, even as some of them went ahead to scream, voices shrill and breaking.

Backing into corners as fast as they could, bodies pressing desperately against cold stone even as Liora summoned her powers, a faint unnatural hum filling the air as she unlocked one of the cells with the keys she always kept on her person. The metal scraped loudly as the lock gave way.

"Please! I have two children and a wife!" the middle-aged man begged, his voice cracking. His face was dirty, streaked with sweat and old tears, and from the collar around his neck it was clear that he was a slave.

"Please! I’ll help you catch other people! I’ll do anything!" he begged as quickly as he could, words tumbling over each other, a panicked expression on his face, eyes wild like he had seen a devil standing before him.

Maybe on a different day Liora could have had mercy on him. Maybe she would have heard his pleas. Maybe. But not that day.

She had barely gotten the door open when she dashed in, sinking her teeth into his neck before he could dive away. His scream cut off abruptly as her fangs pierced flesh.

Using all his strength to try and shake her, to pinch her away, he struggled desperately, hands clawing at her arms, but it was a fruitless endeavor. His movements grew weaker with every second.

There were three others in the cell, and the thought of attacking Liora and helping their fellow prisoner didn’t so much as occur to them. They stood frozen, trembling violently. To them, Liora might as well have been a vampire with an ability but with brown eyes. They didn’t believe that even if they had twenty people, they would be able to take her down.

The sound of gurgling echoed through the cell even as Liora drank and drank his blood without showing any intention to stop, even when the man went completely still, his weight sagging lifelessly.

Someone began to sob loudly, a broken, hopeless sound, but it might as well have been the wind as Liora continued to drink, only to frown and allow the body to drop to the ground with a dull thud.

The blood had gone stale, she thought, even as the only thought that kept on echoing in her head was more!

MORE!

It was loud and incessant, pounding against her skull, and regardless of how much control she had, she couldn’t resist it. Unknown to her, her eyes, which were previously brown, had turned a light pink, glowing faintly in the dim light, which only seemed to terrify her prisoners even more than they already were.

Her eyes scanned them in a fluid moment even as they screamed, shuffling back in blind panic, but the limited space wasn’t their friend. The walls closed in on them mercilessly.

They scurried back in fear even as Liora focused on a woman, dashing toward her with teeth bared.

But the woman, seeing her life flash in front of her, glanced beside her, grabbing the young girl next to her as a shield, deaf to her screams.

Liora didn’t care, picking the young woman who willingly threw herself in her path even as she sank her teeth into her.

Gurgling like before and drinking with relish, eyes closed in ecstasy in a way that showed that nothing else mattered.

There were two people left in the cell, an older woman and a younger man who scurried away from her like she was a walking plague. Their breaths were shallow and frantic.

But still the fear in both their eyes persisted even as both of them eyed the entrance. Aware that by the second feed, if the young lady wasn’t satisfied, then they would be next on the list.

The thought was maddening as they kept glaring at each other even as the sound of drinking echoed through the cell.

Sobs rang through the entire cellar as others in other cells wailed in despair. The last time Liora had shown up was ten at the minimum.

She was yet to get to them, but it was only a matter of time.

Stale, Liora sighed, pulling away like before and allowing the body to drop to the ground.

Eyes sliding to the side toward the older woman who instantly dashed toward the young man intending to do the same thing and use him as bait.

But barely had she moved when Liora caught her, draining her like the others. The young man’s relief was short-lived as he was also drained, his body hitting the ground with a hollow sound.

But even that didn’t remove the bloodthirst that seemed to have embedded itself in her soul.

As she went ahead opening the other cells even as she bit into their necks one after the other, the doors clanging open loudly, trying desperately to find relief.

But all she found was more thirst, so much so that at a point even as she felt the sweet taste on her tongue all she felt in her heart was fear. This isn’t stopping.

It seemed to have sunk right into her very soul as she trembled in fear as the bodies piled around her.

Try as she may and she did try, fighting against it with everything she had, it was like something had seized her and she could no longer stop. Like the only thing that mattered was blood and more blood.

MORE!

The strange voice in her head echoed and she answered right until everyone was dead, eyes flicking around trying to find someone she would suck dry.

Finding no one she instantly headed out with impatience only to freeze, pulling a dagger from within her cloak as she stabbed herself right in the palm hard enough to clear her gaze, pain lancing sharply through her hand.

She knew it was the only way. For if she stepped out of those doors she knew she would never again return as herself.

Sinking to the ground with fear as tears ran down her face even as bodies surrounded her on all sides, she trembled violently. The stench of blood stuck strongly to her on all sides, thick and suffocating, clinging to her skin as she sobbed.