The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

32 | An Eternity of Suffering

Chapter Warning: Description of Violence

Taeyong stood in the middle of what seemed to once have been a magnificent ballroom but now was nothing but its ruins, rotting away. The walls were greyish black with bits of the muraled ceiling falling in places, the smell of decay thick in the air. The mist outside had turned into a thunderstorm and rain was pouring on the ground like pellets of bullets, spattering against the windows, the frames of which were rattling in the strong gusts of wind.

'Come in,' he said, without turning back, taking pleasure when he heard Taeil's staggered footsteps on the broken planks beneath his feet.

'My Lo–'

But Taeyong raised a hand silencing the other. He turned around and even in the grey of the storm, there was no mistaking the dangerous look in his eyes.

'I haven't asked you to speak yet, have I?' he said.

Behind Taeil, were Doyoung and Mark, standing quietly. Mark was clearly still in shock, shivering despite the thick material of his cloak.

'Mark, I would like to hear from you first,' Taeyong said.

The young vampire seemed so frightened that it took him a moment to look up. His eyes shifted from Taeil to Taeyong and a tear rolled down his cheek.

'There is no need to worry about anything. The person who you are so afraid of won't be standing with us after this is over,' Taeyong told Mark, with his eyes fixed on Taeil.

At this, Taeil's head shot up and he was about to speak when Taeyong cut him off. 'You really don't know how to follow instruction. Did I not tell you to shut up?' he bellowed.

'Mark,' he said, as gently as he could manage at the moment. 'Please, could you recall for us what happened in my absence and do not skip any detail. I want to hear everything Taeil did.'

'My Lord,' Mark began, collecting himself. 'The morning after you left, everything was fine. Senior Taeil had told me that he will stay in the library. He was on the ground floor and he sent me upstairs to work. It was nearly sunset when I returned but he was gone so, I compiled the remaining texts on the desk before I went looking for him.

'But I could not find him anywhere. I searched the guest chamber, the other library, the pantry but he was nowhere. It was almost as if he was gone. Then, as I was passing by the Servant Wing, I heard a large group mumbling to each other. I went to inspect and heard Senior Taeil's voice. I got curious and that's when I first heard him say...' Mark glanced at Taeil, hesitantly.

'Continue,' Taeyong told him.

'He was... he was trying to convince the others that your Familiar killed Sunghyun, my Lord and that she is a traitor sent by the enemy. But since there is no evidence against her, she is walking free. He...' Mark was on the verge of tears again. 'He wanted to get the evidence by interrogating her and he promised the others that the Lord will reward them all once they do.

'When I heard this, I burst inside and confronted Senior Taeil. I reminded him that he cannot interrogate anyone without your assent, my Lord. I also reminded him of what you told him before leaving. I tried but he had already sent the vampires to get her. Twenty!' Mark shrieked, his hands shivering. 'He sent twenty men to get one girl. I knelt in front of him, begging when I heard her screams from across the Mansion but he refused to listen.

'I had no choice but to fight him. But...' Mark shook his head. 'I failed you, my Lord. I could not even get a single hit on him while he sent me bleeding on the verge of death without even moving. He left me on the floor of the pantry unconscious. Several hours later, I woke up to scream' –Mark sobbed– 'her screams... it was so horrible. Oh, it was the most horrible thing I have ever heard. The sound of lashes and her screams. It was as if the walls itself were crying in pain.'