Page 10 of Love Bleeds

"Kill him."

No.Shock widened Crimson's eyes. "But you wanted me to keep him alive!"

"I wanted you to learn how to restrain yourself. You've shown me that you can. The exercise is done. We have no more need for that human."

"You could erase his memory."

"Crimson." A dangerous edge crept into Nicolai's tone, one that said 'don't fuck with me.' "I thought by now you knew better than to challenge my orders."

He did, he really did, but this was... Crimson looked from his sire to the man he'd once known, who'd possibly been his friend once.

What would Nicolai do to him if he refused to do what was asked of him? The answer was simple. Compel him to do it anyway and then punish him for his disobedience once they were back in the basement.

Images flashed through Crimson’s mind. Of Silas and the bottle with the purple label.

"Crimson," his sire prompted again. "Don't disappoint me."

Crimson knew this was the last chance his sire was going to give him to follow the order without repercussions. If he didn’t get a move on, Nicolai would compel him. Whatever happened tonight, this man was going to die. The only question now was whether Crimson would need to be punished later or not.

And if Crimson could make himself move.

Nicolai sighed. "Do I need to remind you what happens if you disobey?" He reached one hand out to Crimson and brushed a strand of hair away from his face in a gesture that might have felt caring if the person performing it hadn't been Nicolai.

"You shouldn't have told me that I knew him," Crimson murmured.

"You need to realize that it doesn't matter. Whether you knew him or not, he's human, and what does that make him?"

"Prey," Crimson made himself say, only because he knew it was what Nicolai wanted to hear. The sentiment had been drilled into his head often enough.

"That's right." Nicolai paused and shot a disdainful glance at their victim. "Now, kill him."

Crimson closed his eyes and inhaled. He had no choice here, even if he wasn’t under compulsion. At least, Nicolai hadn’t specifiedhowhe wanted their victim to be dealt with, so Crimson simply sank his fangs into the man’s neck again and let instincts take over. There was that wonderful taste of blood again, laying itself over his senses, thick and rich. Crimson tried to lose himself in it, tried not to think about what he was doing, or who he was doing it to.

He didn’t stop drinking until there was nothing left, and once he let the man’s lifeless body slide to the ground, he battled the need to throw up. He wasn’t sure if he evencouldthrow up as a vampire, but he certainly felt disgusted enough to do it.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Crimson's eyes darted to Nicolai, but he had no words. Not when the truth was that it had been too hard and too easy all at once.

"You won't be so difficult next time I give you a simple order, will you?"

Crimson kept silent, knowing full well what Nicolai wanted to hear, but finding himself unable to speak the words.

Nicolai shook his head at him, his displeasure obvious in the set of his jaw. "What ever am I going to do with you?"

* * *

An hour after Nicolai had sent him back in his room, Crimson was still trying to erase the memory of his old friend from his mind. There was something ironic about that, really. He'd thought he wanted his memories back, and now that he could finally remember someone, he wanted nothing more than to forget them again.

The only glimpse of his past he’d been allowed so far, and he’d killed the guy.

Sitting on the hard mattress of his bed, he licked the back of his teeth.

It had been so easy to take his life. Too easy.

But it had been that or...

Crimson glanced at the small fridge in the corner.