He rasped out.
His dry throat choked on a bitter cocktail of grief and raw terror. His words were strangled, cut off by an invisible, crushing pressure coiling tightly around his failing lungs.
The vampire took a slow step forward. His movements were fluid, graceful, and terrifyingly unhurried.
"He was a loyal dog," the creature mused, his velvety voice dropping low, sounding almost melancholy. "But loyalty means absolutely nothing if a dog forgets its proper place."
The elder trembled uncontrollably.
"W-Why…? Why this… senseless slaughter…?" he gasped. A messy trail of spit and dark blood slipped past his trembling lips to stain his chin. "W-We never… we never wronged the Lord…"
The vampire lazily raised a single, blood-soaked finger to silence the man.
"You ignored His formal invitation."
The grand room went dead still.
Even the howling wind outside seemed to pause in reverence.
