Master of Lust

Chapter 107: Amethyst Mist

Chapter - 107

"What did you say?" Evelina's jaw dropped, and her eyes widened as if she had just witnessed a unicorn tap dancing in roller skates. Rick's nonchalant words shattered her mental freeze, and suspicion, like a mischievous cat, crept into her gaze for the first time in their peculiar friendship.

"Hmmm... I know you want to know what gave it away?" Rick pondered with exaggerated seriousness, his pale skin practically glowing in the dim light. Evelina shot him a look that could curdle milk, but Rick's mischievous grin held its ground.

"Maybe your pale skin," he suggested, winking at her as if sharing a secret that only the undead truly understood. Evelina sighed, torn between disbelief and amusement.

"Don't lie!" Jack barked at Rick, his nerves visibly doing the cha-cha. Until now, Rick had been nothing more than an entertaining annoyance that Jack had to tolerate. However, the air had shifted, and now he was looking at Rick as a threat.

Rick leaned in, his eyes gleaming with a blend of mischief and something eerily unsettling. "Well, Jack, my friend, life's full of surprises, isn't it? Embrace the pale."

"You couldn't be implying that just because of our pale skin," Michelle's surprise echoed through the room like a ricocheting ping-pong ball, bouncing off everyone's bewildered expressions. Even the onlookers outside the room, save for the almost-dead old woman and the wide-eyed boy, were caught in the gravitational pull of shock, "That's too farfetched of a guess don't you think?"

Rick, however, seemed to relish in the dramatic tension. "Maybe not just because of the pale skin of your darling daughter," he drawled, drawing out the suspense like a skilled magician preparing for a grand reveal. The collective irritation in the room was palpable, hanging in the air like an unwanted guest.

"Think about it, though," Rick continued with a theatrical flourish. "Pale skin, deep red lips, and those shiny teeth. I mean, even the men? Either you guys are secretly K-Pop stars in disguise, or the other choice is... And believe me you guys are no K-Pop star."

"Who are you trying to fool?" Rick finally declared with an air of disdain, his gaze sweeping over Jack and Martin as if he'd just uncovered their well-guarded secret. "Why don't you just paste it on your forehead and make it easy for all of us?"

Martin's patience, like a frayed rope, finally snapped. "Stop lying to us!" he snapped at Rick, teeth gritted in frustration. "No one has ever been able to find out about us if we didn't want them to."

Rick, undeterred by Martin's glare, smirked with the satisfaction of someone who had just uncovered a hidden treasure. "You know, I've been dropping hints like breadcrumbs, and I'm pretty sure of it now," he teased, locking eyes with Martin. "You men in this house might just be the most stupid bunch in this house."

A collective tension filled the room, as Rick reveled in the awkward pause he had orchestrated. "You just confirmed it with your own words," he continued, his smirk widening as Evelina and Michelle turned their sharp gazes on Jack and Martin.

It was as if a light bulb had flickered on above their heads, and Martin suddenly realized that everyone had been masterfully dancing around the truth. Vague words, neither admitting nor denying, had been the order of the day.

Rick, seemingly the puppet master of revelation, attempted to comfort the beleaguered men. "But don't be too downhearted," he offered with a sly grin, as if handing out consolation cookies. "I wasn't actually in doubt. I knew you guys were vampires."

Evelina, caught between relief and curiosity, softened her gaze. "How long have you known?" she inquired, her eyes filled with a mix of emotions and a myriad of unspoken questions.

Rick, ever the enigmatic showman, leaned into the mysterious allure. "Let me keep it a secret. Suspense is sexy," he declared with a smirk, leaving Evelina's question dangling in the air

"Oh, you guys drink each other's blood as well? Isn't that cannibalism?" Rick's smirk persisted, the needle still menacingly close to Martin's throat.

"Blood is blood. Even if it belongs to someone like him," Evelina remarked, her gaze casually drifting toward her uncle Martin as if discussing the weather, "Just let him go."

"I am not holding him back. He can always let go of me and back off. But this dumb bastard of a vampire can't even think that," Rick shook his head, a condescending tone lacing his words. "All he had to do is let go of my neck and run away with his tail between his legs."

"Let him go," Jack intervened, his teeth gritted. "Martin!"

Rick had wielded the weapon of humiliation with precision, verbally slapping each member of the room since the moment he swaggered in, leaving them speechless in the face of his audacity. Now, he hovered just a few millimeters away from turning his audacious banter into a deadly reality, threatening Jack's brother.

The room simmered with Jack's seething anger, a cauldron of emotions on the verge of boiling over.

Hearing Jack's command, Martin slowly released his grip on Rick's neck, cautiously stepping back. Throughout this tense exchange, Rick maintained his enigmatic smile, making no move to hinder Martin's retreat.

"Well, that was exhilarating," Rick remarked, twirling the needle between his fingers with a casual nonchalance. "Nothing like a bit of sibling rivalry, huh?"

Evelina's glare bore into Rick, her irritation palpable. "Enough with the theatrics. If you have something useful to say or do, spit it out."

Rick, seemingly unfazed, casually pocketed the needle, adopting a nonchalant demeanor as he sauntered toward the center of the room. "Alright, alright. No need to get your fangs in a twist."

He raised an eyebrow, feigning offense. "Would I ever play tricks on you? I'm hurt."

"What is wrong with my grandmother?" Evelina cut to the chase, her impatience reaching critical levels, "You have just been doing side talk all this time. And I am reaching my limit here."

Rick surrendered to the direct approach with a dramatic flair. "Alright, no beating around the bush," he declared, waving his hand like a magician revealing a not-so-magical trick. "Your grandma has been having some deadly poison as her seasoning. To be more precise – it's the Amethyst Mist. Turns out, it's like vampire kryptonite, especially for the ladies of the fanged variety."

* * * * *

Q. Should I fasten up the seat belt?

1. Yes, Definitely.

2. No. I like the process.