The Crimson Reaper-Chapter 51: A Vampire

"Helen..." Luciel felt like a whole world had collapsed as he made an eye contact with his wife. He was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.

His mind went blank, with not even a trace of thought inside. He did not perceive the environment, the people, or the pain from the direct sunlight. It was gone like it was never there.

All that was in his eyes was one and only, his better half, his loved one that was here for him, in good and bad, or at least he hoped so.

’Is this a dream? An illusion?’ He thought at first, his heartbeat speeding up in rhythm as excitement took over.

After a month and a half, he was finally able to see her. She was alive! And well!

This might had been a short amount of time, but for Luciel, it felt like he was stuck in the eternal circle of torture, playing a depressing act.

A day didn’t pass when he didn’t worry about her and there she was... Right in front of him, so then, why hadn’t he moved yet?

’Wait... Helen is here!’ Panic started to settle in once she called out his name with tears streaming down her face.

Luciel decided to stay quiet, not saying a word. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to, but whenever he would try to open his mouth, words refused to come out. He couldn’t form even a single vocal. He wanted to speak to hear, but how could he explain what he had become.

He glanced at his scorching hand like black charcoal, burning in the reality he must face.

’What is she thinking right now? Seeing me like this?’ He asked himself, looking away as he took a step back. He knew that she saw the crimson shade of his iris.

Luciel couldn’t even look at her, not like this... Not like a bloodsucking monster with eyes closely resembling in color of blood. Not like a creature that killed her sister...

He was afraid... Afraid of those dreadful words - a monster, bloodsucker, leave me alone.

Luciel gasped for air, keeping the tears in. This was not place nor time.

Looking back at her, he moved his hand slightly forward, remembering the last night they had been together, the last night they had shared a bed.

He gasped at the pain that constantly kept reminding him what he had become, making him grab his hand and move it down again, looking at the ground, hiding his face that already looked like it was on fire.

While Luciel was suffering in his own emotional pain under the scorching sun, Helen was lost in her thoughts, unable to take her teary eyes off the vampire in front of him.

No matter how she looked at the inhuman creature with burning skin that was touching the sun, he was still her dear husband. A guy who stood up for her without a good reason, but just believed in her.

She could still remember the first day they met, it was also the first time they got drunk and had a dance.

Luciel kept saying that he fell for her because of her kind eyes and the intelligent woman who was hiding behind them.

’Luciel... He’s..." She could have guessed what she was going to face the moment she saw him, but she couldn’t replace the image of her husband but this inside her head till now.

’He’s a vampire...’ She thought, she heard the news and even saw those crimson-red eyes herself, making her step back. Seeing the predator inside her husband made her shiver in fear.

"No..." She denied, shaking her head a little before covering her mouth and starting to walk backwards, this wasn’t how she imagined him to be.

But seeing Luciel in so much pain, feeling the smell of burned flesh, reminded her that this was very much, real.

Her legs felt shaky, starting to lose their strength as her sobs started to echo through an area.

Hearing Helen cry, Luciel raised his head and without thinking, he rushed towards her.

The sound of his loved one cry broke his heart, prompting him into action.

Quickly approaching Helen, he wanted to hug her, to tell her that everything would be all right, but right before making a contact with her skin, he stopped.

His skin didn’t only look scorched, it was literally hot to the touch and he didn’t want to sear her, to cause her more pain.

"Hey... Don’t cry..." He whispered, having a gentle expression on his face, "Everything will be all right."

Luciel tried to reassure her, getting down on one knee. He had a small smile on his face, but whenever Helen would look into his eyes, she could see sadness.

Helen’s breathing was shaky, her eyes red and swollen, but even still, she reached out her hand, gently stroking his face with the back of her fingers before placing them under his chin, slowly lifting his head, not carrying about the pain, knowing that her husband had it worse.

"Let’s go inside, shall we?" She asked with a trembling voice, the corners of her lips curling slightly.

****

Scarlet, George, and Dash, along with Melisa under her blanket, stayed outside, processing the drama that unfolded in front of their eyes.

"So... He is a vampire." Dash was the first one to break the ice, but the fact that Luciel was still sane deeply concerned him.

Him, George and a few other hunters had a pact with a few smaller vampire groups, they gave them the food and in return, they would hand them vampires from bigger clans, it wasn’t unusual for a vampire to go missing.

It was an easy way to make money, with the bonus of occasionally receiving an attractive captive, but Luciel being a vampire meant that there were bigger chances for them to get exposed. Neither of the two felt comfortable about seeing his crimson eyes.

"You two all right? I thought that you would be happier about seeing your... Erm, leader?" Scarlet didn’t know how she should address Luciel to these two in a way that they could understand her, but she expected to see some more reaction.

"And what about you?" George asked, wanting to shift focus from themselves.

"Hmph, me?" Scarlet threw her long, red hair over her shoulder, crossing her arms while looking down at the two.

"Why should I care about him? Besides, I already knew. His friend somehow managed to bite me," She answered, shifting her attention to the blanket that was covering Melisa. Now when she thought about it, that guy looked very similar to the one that was her prisoner.

The two hunters almost dropped their jaws onto the ground when they heard what Scarlet had said. They didn’t know what was more shocking, the fact that she got bitten or that she let a vampire escape.

"Anyways, let’s give those two some space, I might follow the orders, but I still have a heart. Even the kids know what’s going on." She pointed behind her where kids started to gather, managing to read the whole situation.

Everyone had a certain level of respect towards them, or in Scarlet’s case, toward Helen.