The Night Market

A carriage entered the black alley and stopped in front of the black market. It had a red and golden intricate design that often belonged to the vampires but it did not have their flag.

Six large horses stood proud at the entrance which was a rare scene. Many stopped to look at the majestic carriage when the door opened. A footman sitting behind the coachman opened the door with hurried steps.

A young woman who barely looked seventeen walked out. She held the stretched hand of the footmen with her head raised high. Her face had a look of arrogance as if she was higher than any other being here and the dark red shade of her eyes confirmed it. Her long face with sharp cheekbones and pointed chin was raised with disdain while her golden hair was tied in a bun showing her slender neck on a low cut dress.

Many stopped to just get a look of her. Beauties like her were extremely rare even though this place had the largest slave market.

A young man of her age followed. He wore a loose white shirt and black trousers. The front two buttons were opened giving a good view of his broad chest and taut muscles. His red eyes looked darker than women and the cold smirk on his full lips made any woman skip a heartbeat.

Even a stranger could realize they were siblings. Not even looks, they share the disdain toward others too. 

"I have told you that we should not take the carriage." Dami, the elder son of the head of the senators of the vampires, holding one of the strongest positions in the vampire kingdom muttered as he started walking.

His younger sister, Diana had hooked her arms into his and walked slowly. Her eyes were scanning the whole area.

"Then how would Rafael find us? Or do you want to spend all night searching for him?" her eyes taking in the vast detail of the dark market.

She could notice fear in the eyes of many humans that only boosted her confidence and a small smirk formed on her lips.

Damien rolled his eyes, he knew his sister only wanted to make a strong impression on everyone. Yet his own eyes look at everything with marvel.

Though at the highest level of the food chain, they hardly get a chance to see the human market and this one was the whitest and darkest one.

Things found in the black market could not be found anywhere else. 

"Why are you so sure that Rafael is here?" the girl asked again, searching for the young man but she could not find any other vampire except them in the dark alley.

"He told me that he had found a clue about those witches in the black market and he disappeared after sharing the information.

I am sure he must be investigating by himself. It had been years but he had forgotten nothing." his own face turned grim. 

Though he behaved like he did not care, the death of his father was still fresh in his mind. His eyes staring at everything with a calculated look, cautious at every step taken by strangers around them.

He was not a fool to believe that witches had died. He knew they were living in hiding, preparing another attack.

They were just waiting for a chance and this could be the chance.

"Rafael is smart, he could look for himself. Do we need to look for him in such a pompous way?" He noticed how every customer was wearing a cloak to hide their identities while his sister was dressed up to her nines, standing out like a sore thumb.

He could feel their wariness and curiosity. Some even dared to stare at them blatantly until he showed them fangs and what he could do with them.

"Forget it, you will not understand. Rafael is still hurt and as his family, we should protect him and take care of him." Diana decided to ignore her brother and look for Rafael.

As Diana let him go and mixed in the crowd, Dami leaned on a tree and took out a cigarette. His cold eyes looked already bored with the darkest place of the continent. 

He took another puff when his eyes fell on a girl with silver hair and paused. She was standing near a shop and sniffing potions. His eyes narrowed at once. 

A witch! Only witches had those shiny silver hair and they were the ones Rafael was looking for. If he would find one, his mother would be happy and might forget all the mistakes he had made recently.

With that thought in mind, he picked up a cloak from the bench. In normal conditions, he would have never thought about wearing something dirty and cloth that did not belong to him.

But witches were sharp. If she noticed his presence, she would flee and all his plans would go in the drain. 

He was quick to move as if he was one with air and stood behind her when she complained that the potions were fake and it would not make any effect.

Many customers stared at her in confusion and gasped when they noticed her silver hair.

"What is a witch doing here? I thought all of them were caught by vampires?" a woman took a step back, scared but when she thought about the potions, she did not want to give up.

"Can you make one for us? The one that works on my aging skin?" asked the woman after pausing as she rummaged her purse. "I can offer you double the amount from that trader." 

Bella's eyes twitched as she took a step back.

"I am not a witch." she announced in a low voice and raised her head high enough to match their eyes. 

"You have silver hair." the woman replied in confusion. "Everyone with silver hair is a witch." the girl frowned and took another step only to bump into Damien this time.

"Caught you, little witch."