A few days later…

I yawned as I walked down the steps. Lily followed me like a lost night hound puppy. It was deathly quiet upstairs with the only sound of my night hound snoring disturbing the fragile silence.

It was starting to snow outside. By the end of the week, ice chunks should be forming in the sea. The waves were calmer this day and there was thin sheets of ice over still puddles in the courtyard.

The night hounds would refuse to go out since it was much too cold for their taste. Hopefully this pre-winter chill would crush the hopes of any Witchers to raid our castle.

Lily held my hand tightly. I felt her fingers twitch nervously. Turning to her, I asked a silent question. She shook her head, as if it was nothing to be wary of. Shrugging, I felt her arms wrap around my neck as I stopped on the top of the steps.

The three story castle was large and immense. For it to be this quiet was a little worrisome. Lily rested her chin on my shoulder. I hummed quietly in pleasure. Her brown hair tickled my shoulder blade.

“Do you want a cloak, dear?” I asked her. The cold typically didn’t bother us, but since Lily was still feeling some of those pesky left over human sensations, she might be a little sensitive to the cold.

“Yes, please.” She whispered. Her arms were still wrapped around my neck.

“Dear, you have to get off.” I chuckled quietly. Lily whined behind me.

“Carry me!” She giggled softly. With a smirk, I let her jump up on my back. Her little legs wrapped around my waist as she clung to me like a little bear cub hugging its mother. Her lips attached to my cheek, giving me a quick kiss as I started to walk to the closet. We had a spare room that we kept cloaks and other clothes in.

As I walked to it, I felt a breeze sweep through the air. I think someone had left to the front doors open. Frowning, I knew Chris would be yelling at whoever it was soon enough.

Lily grabbed a cloak as she jumped off my back. Wrapping it around her shoulders, I clasped it in the front for her. The basic silver buttons shone in the dim light. Her eyes twinkled to match.

“You look lovely.” I murmured. She smiled.

“Thanks, Alan.” As she said that, I felt her stiffen up. Her hand went up and rubbed her ear as if an annoying bug was buzzing in it.

“What is it?” I asked her curiously. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the sound.

“It’s so loud.” She complained.

“That’s part of being a newly turned vampire. It takes a few days for everything, including your hearing, to adjust.” I sighed. She shook her head.

“There’s yelling.” She whined. Sure enough, I started to hear the panicked cries. Grasping Lily’s arm, I raced downstairs. The steps seemed to blur in our speed. A night hound raced by us. I think it was Li’er’ey.

As we stopped at the bottom of the steps, I looked out to the main hall. The boys were all racing around, looking frantic and scared.

“What happened!?” I called to Alex. He looked up. I saw his bright eyes shaking.

“The feed-subs!” He screamed. Everyone looked up, as if he had cursed the world for wronging him.

“What with them?” I asked. Austin raced up to me. He grasped my wrist and I jolted forward.

“Jynx, Annabelle, Blue, Kellin, Jaime, Vic, all of them…” He was out of breath. I looked around. The night hounds were baying as Chris tried to control them. I counted nine of the ten night hounds. Al’Wy’En was missing. Jack was running around on the second floor balconies.

“What!?!?!?” I screeched, needing an answer. Chris finally approached me with an answer.

“They’ve escaped!”

Notes