NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”Answer my question, old man! Do you have anyone in that room that shouldn’t be here?!”

”Of c...course not! Why are you even asking me that in my house, Clayton?” Malphus immediately answered feeling more petrified of the situation that was going to escalate to something else if his master got to know that two men came asking about the pills and what they were made for.

Clayton snorted in an unbelievable tone. He said, ”If it’s so then, why don’t you open your room for me? Hmm?”

If it were possible, Malphus’s eyes would have fallen and rolled out on the ground because of how they bulged out of its socket.

”W...why are y...you asking me to o...open my room for you? It’s my privacy!” Malphus tried reasoning with Clayton who was adamant to enter the room and see if there was someone inside there.

Clayton looked at Malphus with an evil glint in his eyes. He knew Malphus was hiding something from him and their master. And he couldn’t wait to expose him and finally kill the old man.

”Don’t worry, I’m not invading your so-called privacy. I just want to check if everything is in order” Clayton said and immediately went to the door and kicked it open.

The force at which Clayton kicked the door made the fragile door break, and it fell with a loud thud in the quiet night.

The dust that had accumulated on the floor blew on the face of Malphus because of the door that suddenly fell and broke. It felt as if his heart was kicked too. His heart thumped with fear in anticipation of the death that awaited him today. Maybe this was the day he was finally going to die because of his evil doings.

Clayton dusted his face which was marred with dust. He slowly went inside while looking around the room as if he was waiting for someone to emerge from their hiding place.

The room was tightly packed with Malphus’s properties. His bed, cupboards, and his cooking utensils were littered around the room with a foul odor wafting in the air.

Clayton not minding these things kicked at the things that were in his way as his eyes continued to roam around the room looking for the person that made the sounds he heard a while ago.

He searched under the bed, and every possible place someone would have hidden in. His eyes narrowed after searching for a while and not seeing anything or anyone. He exhaled deeply and went out of the room. But before he got to leave completely, his eyes went back to the cupboard that held old books on it.

He internally knocked his head. ’why didn’t I see that earlier?’ Immediately he went back and walked towards the cupboard. Going behind it, he awaited what his eyes had been searching for to be there. But there was no one there!

The veins in Clayton’s forehead popped out in frustration. He punched the wall next to the cupboard in anger. He had wasted his time for nothing in this old man’s house. He should have left this house and met with his colleague in the forest where he would meet them. His red eyes looked around again before leaving the room.

Malphus who was still in the other room busy calculating the time of his death was surprised to see only the man walking out of the room without anything or anyone. He blinked rapidly in shock before a sigh escaped his lips in relief.

Why was he even thinking that someone was in his room? Malphus questioned in his mind. Maybe it was because of the sudden disappearance of Perdita that he thought she was inside there.

Now everything was clear with nothing to cause his death or that of his family members. He didn’t care to know where Perdita suddenly disappeared to. She could as well disappear to hell, at least she wouldn’t cause him unnecessary problems in the future.

”I’ve wasted my time here for nothing” Clayton groaned in anger as soon as he came out of the room. He glared at Malphus for making him think that someone was in his house. But he was sure Malphus was behaving suspiciously all the while he came here.

Was he doing it so he would waste time and get in trouble with their master for not delivering the pills on time? He should have known that Malphus was trying to set him up so their master will kill him! After all, everyone wanted to climb the ladder and gain the favor of their master, and they wouldn’t care if one of them were killed.

Clayton sneered in his mind at the failed attempt of Malphus to get him into trouble. But before that, he would make sure he killed the man. Clayton thought in his mind, not knowing he had been right about Malphus hiding something from their master.

He pushed past Malphus almost making him fall. He went to the bag he had come with which contained the pills he was to deliver to Malphus. Opening the bag, he brought out another bag where the pills were in. He tossed the bag to Malphus who caught it with shaky hands.

”Those are the advanced pills master asked me to give you. Be very careful with these pills, they are not like the old pills. Their effect is faster than the old pills” Clayton said to Malphus in a clipped voice still angry with him.

He continued to say, ” Master said you should report to me how the people taking these pills are doing. Are there changes in their body?”

”Why should I report to you? Are you the master?” Malphus suspiciously looked at Clayton. He knew what he was trying to do. He wanted him to tell him about the pills and the people taking them so he would take credit for his work.

”Because master said so, you old hag!” Clayton hissed, getting more annoyed with Malphus.

”No!” Malphus shook his head in disapproval ”I will only report to master myself. I would never tell you”

Clayton gritted his teeth in anger. He looked at Malphus for some seconds and he burst out laughing.

Malphus narrowed his eyes on the man, had he perhaps lost his sense? Malphus couldn’t help but question in his mind.

Clayton stopped laughing and mockingly looked at Malphus ”Do you think you can meet the master? An old hag of a human, meeting the great and powerful vampire of the second-generation pureblooded family? Ridiculous”

”Sure, you can meet him. I’ll go and relay the message of what you said to master” Clayton mocked again. He scoffed at Malphus and turned to leave.

Malphus carefully thought about it. If he went to meet with their master, he would know about what he had hidden from him, and he would kill him and his family. No! It was better he told Clayton about his findings than face bigger consequences.

”Wait!” Malphus called out to Clayton who was about to leave.

Clayton rolled his eyes. Of course, he was never leaving. He knew Malphus will eventually tell him about his findings, he had only been playing hard to get.

”What is it?” He asked in anger while pretending he was going to leave.

Malphus hurried over to him seeing his hand on the doorknob was about to turn it. He hastily spoke, ”I’ll give you the report!”

”I’m listening, start speaking old hag!” Clayton bellowed at Malphus.

Before Malphus could open his mouth to talk, the door was kicked open, this time with so much force that made the door hit Clayton on his face as he was standing close to it.

The impact of the door made Clayton fly and hit the nearby wall while crashing a few things on his way.

Malphus was taken by surprise at the sudden breaking of his door. Why are his doors being broken today?! He looked at Clayton who slowly stood up with broken pieces of the door stuck in his body, and then at his broken door before his eyes fell on the intruder.

”Y...you” Malphus’s eyes widened in shock. His heart skipped two dangerous beats as he gazed into the dark red eyes of the man standing at his door with a wide smile adorning his lips.

”Why don’t you say hello to your old friend?”