End Game

Chapter 7 - The Vampire's Keeper

ACCORDING to some of the Mages, maybe the reason why Isabella had not woken up yet was either the poison which Moran injected her was too strong or it could be psychological. Maybe the pain and the shock that she experienced that night was too much for her mind to handle.

Iyon din ang kinatatakutan ng mag-asawang Anderson. They were afraid that the moment Isabella woke up, she would remember every nasty thing about her past which they both had tried to erase in her memories using compulsion. They had to do that to put a lid on her overflowing emotions. Otherwise, she would not have withstood the tragedy that took place when she was only ten years old.

That was Martin and Paulina’s secret, at bahagi din si Claude ng sikreto na iyon dahil siya ang nag-grant ng request ng mga ito noon na ampunin si Isabella. Every Vampire who wanted to become associated with humans had to have the blessings of someone with a higher status. And that responsibility happened to fall onto his shoulder.

Claude had met Isabella for a very brief period at that time. She looked like a bird who had forgotten how to fly. And he wanted to see her fly. That prompted him to go along with the Andersons’ wishes.

As long as Isabella was human, she would no longer be bothered by her past. Pero ngayong isa nang bampira ang dalaga, sa ayaw o sa gusto nito, magsisimula nang magbago ang buhay nito.

Sumilay ang matipid na ngiti sa mga labi ni Claude nang maalala niya ang naging pagkikita nilang muli ni Isabella noong eighteen years old ito. Back then, just as he had predicted, Isabella had become a walking sunshine since the day her memories had been wiped out.

She became too bright, too dazzling for any men, especially for the Night Creatures like him…

Fifteen years ago…

“WE ARE deeply honored to finally meet you, Young Master. I heard that this is already your second visit in this country. Welcome back to the Philippines. I hope you would allow us to tour you around the beautiful places here one of these days.”

“Thank you, Mr. Guevarra. If my schedule permits, why not?” sagot ni Claude saka matipid na ngumiti kay Vincent. “Forgive me for arriving late. I was in Japan when the Sire called me this afternoon to attend in behalf of him tonight because he suddenly had a meeting he needed to go to.”

Mabuti na lang at may private plane siya. Umalis siya ng Tokyo matapos ma-execute ng kanyang team ang lahat ng mga rebeldeng bampira doon. They had been hunting those Rogues for three days in a row. And he would have stayed there for a while to get some rest if not for the Sire’s sudden order. Claude had only managed to get a few hours of rest inside the plane.

He was sleep and blood deprived. He ought to be hunting his next prey by this time since he had given the blood bags which his assistant brought to him to his team members. They needed blood the most, dahil mas nanghihina ang mga ito kumpara sa kanya. The Rogues had played hide and seek with his team the past days. Mas malalakas din ang mga ito kompara sa mga unang nakaharap nila. Fighting them took a toll on their energy. The last thing that he wanted was to have a chitchat with the humans. 

But what could he do? The Sire’s every word was the law.

“It’s okay, Your Highness. I know that you are a very busy man,” Vincent responded in a chirpy voice.

“Thank you for understanding, Mr. Guevarra.”

Claude had heard that Vincent was the newly-appointed head Vampire who would serve under the McNiall Empire from now on. Nang magkaroon ng Asian tour ang Sire kasama ang Dame, sa Pilipinas daw pinakanag-enjoy ang mga ito. That was the reason why the tour took longer than expected and Claude's workload had become heavier than before because he had to fill in for the Sire, too. And now, they decided they wanted to have a house and business in this country, too. Dahil gusto ng Sire na sa Pilipinas na manirahan sa oras na mag-retire.

Ilang beses ding nagpadala ang Sire ng mga litrato sa kanya para kumbinsihin siyang bumisita uli sa Pilipinas. But the pictures which the Sire took were ninety-five percent about the Dame and only five percent about the country. That was how whipped he was about his wife.

Bahagyang naaliw si Claude sa naalala. Isa si Vincent sa mga napiling magmo-monitor ng mga negosyo na itatayo ng Sire sa Pilipinas. The Sire personally chose him for the role which had surprised Claude a little. Iyon ang kauna-unahang pagkakataon na may bampira mula sa third tier na napili para sa ganoong posisyon.

Vampires were categorized by tiers. The first tiers were the royal-blooded who were born as Vampires like Claude. The second tiers were the half-bloods, with human mothers or fathers. And the third tier belonged to the lowest kind. Sila ang grupo ng mga dating mortal na naging bampira kaya sila din ang mas matindi ang kagustuhang patunayan ang kanilang halaga sa mga mas nakatataas na bampira.

Lumawak ang ngiti ni Claude nang makipagkamay siya kay Vincent. Ngayon ay alam niya na kung bakit ito pinagkatiwalaan ng Sire para sa ganoon kataas na posisyon. He had a good heart and he was also a sincere man. Kahit pa na-late siya nang halos isang oras, ang mga sinabi sa kanya ni Vincent kanina ay ang mismong nilalaman ng isip nito. The second their hands touched; he had already sensed the man’s kindness.

Ngayon ay sigurado siyang ipinadala siya ng Sire doon para patunayan ang kutob nito. If something was amiss, the Sire knew that Claude would have informed him right away to cancel the agreement. All the people whom he had assigned in the Empire were Vampires who had proven their value overtime. Although most of them had to get through Claude first just like tonight.

The Sire was making Claude his walking scanner. He should get paid more for this.

Bihira siyang um-attend sa mga gathering at alam iyon ng mga taong nakapaligid sa kanya. After being around for more than a hundred years, these things no longer catch his interest. But the Sire would constantly order Claude to attend these things every time the latter was about to make a huge decision such as this. At tuwing may balitang a-attend siya sa isang gathering, mas maraming tao din ang pumupunta.

Gaya na lang nang nangyayari ngayon.

Maraming mga mata ang nakatutok sa kanya. Nararamdaman niya iyon kahit hindi siya tumitingin sa mga ito. Maybe he would stay for an hour or two and then find a way to escape as hordes of people, Vampire or not, men and women, young and old, began walking towards his direction. Sigurado siyang pinalibutan na siya ng mga ito kung hindi lang maagap na humarang ang kanyang mga bodyguard. Pare-pareho lang ang mga ito. They only wanted something from him that’s why they would do anything to gain a McNiall’s favor.

And he was so sick of it. That’s why he hired bodyguards even if it seemed like he was the one who needed to protect them more if worse comes to worst since none of them had ever been able to beat him in their recent training. They were serving their purpose as his shield against people, though, so he could always let that one slide.

Hindi mabilang ang mga mortal na nasa gathering. Every board of directors of all the businesses under the McNiall Empire may be Vampires, but the employees there were mostly humans who knew nothing about the Vampires’ existence. At naririto din ang lahat ng mga mortal na iyon ngayong gabi. On the way here, Raven had informed him that even the country’s top-notch celebrities and performers were invited in this hotel inauguration as well. It was the biggest and the tallest hotel in the City. It was only right that many would be interested to be here.

If only the inauguration was what they came here for. Pero hindi. Nababasa niya ang nilalaman ng isip ng mga ito. He could also sense their feelings even from miles away.

“The pictures did not do him justice! Claude is so hot in person! I can’t wait to have a taste of him.”

“I heard that Claude is very gallant towards the woman he fancies. If I become his woman, I wonder how much he would give me as the sole inheritor of the McNiall Empire. If we marry, I’m sure I’d swim in money every day! Kailangang makuha ko siya ngayong gabi!”

“How could I make Claude McNiall agree to my business proposal? Ano man ang mangyari, kailangan ko siyang makausap. I need to get him to say yes. He has a lot of money to waste anyway. Barya lang para sa kanya ang gagastusin sa ganitong bagay.”

“What a total show-off. Dahil lang pamilya niya ang may-ari nitong hotel, sa palagay niya, may karapatan na siyang maging late at paghintayin kaming mga guest? And what the hell are the women squealing for? They must have gone crazy. I bet that this Claude is just another good-looking dumbass.”

“That’s rich… coming from the real dumbass,” bulong ni Claude. Ito ang numero unong dahilan kung bakit hangga’t maaari ay ayaw niyang pumupunta sa ganitong mga pagtitipon. People’s thoughts were too damn noisy. They may be smiling in front of him but deep down, some of them were cursing him. Kahit pa iyon ang pangalawang pagkakataon na bumisita siya sa bansang iyon ay malinaw niya pa ring nauunawaan ang lenggwahe ng mga ito. Isa iyon sa mga katangian ng mga bampira mula sa first tier. The first time he went to Manila was because of a Clan meeting. And his visit only lasted for two days.

“Let me show you to your table, Young Master.”

“Thank you, Mr. Guevarra. Please lead the way," Claude replied appreciatively.

Vincent, along with his wife, and two sons fervently guided Claude to his table. Paupo na sana siya nang bigla siyang matigilan sa nalanghap na dugo. Kakaiba ang amoy niyon kumpara sa lahat ng dugo ng mga nakaengkuwentro niya na noon. It reminded him of the white and purple lilacs in the Dame’s garden back in France. The scent itself was able to turn him on which had never happened to him before. He had lived for so long but it was only tonight that he realized that such blood scent existed and that it was possible to be this aroused over it. Usually, nangyayari lang ang ganitong bagay sa mga mortal sa oras na kagatin nila ang mga ito dahil aphrodisiac para sa mga ito ang kagat ng mga bampira.

But there were rare instances when it could happen to a Vampire, too. This was something that Claude had only heard from the Elders before. Hindi niya akalain na pati pala sa kanya ay posibleng mangyari din iyon. Even if he had not seen the owner of the blood yet, he could tell that it was from a woman. He could feel it in his bones and in the way his c**k reacted.

Damn, I’m getting hard down there by the mere whiff of her blood. This doesn’t make sense!

Nilingon ni Claude si Raven na nakapuwesto sa likod niya. “What do you think was that? I have never smelled something like that before.”

Kumunot ang noo ni Raven. “What do you mean, Young Master? I don’t smell anything.” Mayamaya ay biglang nanlaki ang mga mata nito. “Could it be your Keeper? That’s possible. That only happens to Vampires when they meet their Keepers.”