Chapter Three

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The castle was huge. It was made of old, maroon bricks that had come from Japan (according to the dragon symbol on every other brick.) My two escorts, Cody and Ryan were their names, led me up to the gates. The gates lifted open, like the ones in those old medieval torture movies. The cast iron resembled teeth. They scraped together making a horrifying screeching sound. I cringed, but the men just looked on like it didn’t bother them. They must be used to it. I looked up to the men that were holding my arms. The one holding my right arm, Cody, was your average mortal. He was six foot, with curly blonde hair and navy blue eyes. His nose was off center, probably broken before in a fight with that of his own kind. The one holding my left arm, Ryan, was another story. He was six foot three, with thick brown hair and hazel eyes. There was more of a gold hint to them, though, which made it more unique. The drawbridge came down and made a loud booming sound when it hit the dirt. The men didn’t even flinch. I looked up at Ryan. He looked down at me, and smiled. His teeth were brilliant white. He would be an awesome vampire, I told myself, and reluctantly looked down as we walked over the planks of the drawbridge. I looked up as we walked into the parlor. It reminded me of one of those human optical illusions that they always played on each other. The walls were purple checkered, the ceiling was black with white wisps playing in it. The floor was black and stars were painted to make it look like you were entering another dimension. Cody walked away from us and turned down the hallway. I looked up at Ryan. He was broadening his shoulders, and he released my arm. I looked down at his hand. It was perfectly formed, not like many other males hands. You couldn’t see the blood veins, but they were there. He was not pale, and yet not dark either. He was the perfect shade.2

I heard footsteps advancing toward us, and we both looked in the direction. Cody was coming back, yet this time he was carrying a small brass key in his left hand. He handed the key to Ryan, took off his hat and bowed at me, and then turned and walked back down the hallway. Ryan led me to a room near the end of the long corridor. He opened the boxes I had brought along and started putting things in the cabinets. The bedroom was like something out of those ancient Roman paintings, minus the random polka dots. There were walls that were painted the colors of a sunrise. The carpet was a jet black. The bedspread and curtains matched the colors. The ceiling reminded me of the ceiling in the parlor. The whole room was full of mystery and magic. The only thing that was off was the piece of machinery that was mounted on the wall. I walked across the room and Ryan watched me as he finished putting up my things. I could tell because I felt his eyes burning a hole in my back. The machine was made of steel and had big green and red buttons all over it. I had never seen a piece of machinery like it before. “What ‘tis this piece o’ machinery ‘ere on this wall?” I asked, and Ryan strode up beside of me. I could hear his heart beating faster. “It is something that Father invented to keep your ‘kind’ under human control. But I quite honestly see no use for it. You seem…sweet.” He said, and his eyes looked over the buttons. I smiled. My fangs lengthened, but I retained myself by pushing one of the red buttons. Ryan turned and looked at me with horror in his eyes. The floor shifted and flipped. Three metal cages full of crazy eyed wolves came to the surface. There was a loud beeping sound and the cage doors flew open. I pushed Ryan against the wall. The battle was on. 3