Chapter 24 - Vampire Acid

Damien and Nolan were rolling on the floor, screaming in pain. Neither had noticed the others had left. Whatever Xavier had thrown on them made them feel like they were on fire.

Damien stopped screaming first and decided to risk opening his eyes. He could barely see through the burning pain but noticed he and Nolan were alone.

"Dammit, Nolan, stop crying and get up. They left, and now we have to find them. Maybe it's better if we make all three of them disappear. I can always make it look like a terrible accident killed Alessandra, Luci, and her mate." Nolan got up off the floor, rubbing his eyes. If Damien didn't kill them, he would. No more second chances.

"You should have gotten rid of them a long time ago. Alessandra is a useless female, and Luci is a worthless whore." Despite what Damien said, he loved his wife and daughter. He took his fist and connected with Nolan's nose, sending him flying backward.

"If I ever hear you talk about my family like that again, I'll kill you myself." Damien looked at Nolan's face and took a few steps back.

Part of his nose was missing, and where he had punched him left a dent on his face in the shape of Damien's fist. One of his eyes looked like it was melting and the places the liquid had touched his face were open holes.

Damien was getting ready to start laughing until he remembered the stuff was on his face, too. He ran to the mirror on his desk and gasped when he saw himself.

He had the same holes on his face; part of his nose seemed to have melted, and one of his ears was gone. Damien had never seen anything like it. They were vampires; nothing was supposed to harm them, with the exception of fire.

"What the hell did that bastard throw on us?" Damien screamed in anger.

"I believe it's vampire acid. I've never seen it, but I've heard of it. We're lucky he only used a small amount; otherwise, we'd be dead. Other than fire, it's the only thing I know that can completely kill us."

Nolan walked behind Damien and looked at his face in the mirror. They both still felt the burning, but it was subsiding. However, the damage to their faces remained without healing as any normal wound would.

"Where would he have gotten his hands on something like that? Will our faces ever heal?" Damien lightly touched the open spots on his face, wondering what he would do to cover up the damage.

"I have my suspicions that he may have gotten it from this group that sells it to vampire hunters, but I don't know why he would have it. He didn't put enough on us for permanent damage, but it's going to take days for us to heal." Nolan looked at his face in disgust. He didn't care what Damien said; he was going to kill all three of them.

"I guess we should stay here until we're healed. We can work out what we're going to do next and try to find where my family ran to." Damien had a few ideas of where they may be, but he wasn't ready to share them with Nolan yet.

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Luci, Alessandra, and Xavier all looked at Corrine in shock. None of them had ever heard of vampire acid.

"Who would make this stuff and why?" Xavier asked as he put his arm around Luci, who was shaking.

"I don't know who would make it, but I have heard that there was something like this out there. Vampire hunters use it to kill us." Corrine didn't want to be near the stuff, but she knew she needed to destroy the samples she had used.

"How much did you put on Nolan and my dad?" Luci asked quietly.

"I only opened two vials, so probably about a vial a piece would have hit their faces. What will that do to them, Corrine?" Xavier looked at the redheaded vampire with mixed feelings. He wanted them dead but didn't want Luci to lose her dad that way.

"Most likely, you disfigured their faces. It will take a few days to heal properly, but it will still burn them for a while." Corrine put on a pair of thick black gloves and took the samples in her hand. She then went to a little Bunsen burner and turned the flame on. She used forceps to hold the vials one at a time over the flame. They watched as the liquid inside turned into a crystal-like substance. After Corrine had turned each of the vials into crystals, she threw them in a metal bucket and attached a lid.

"Xavier, do you want me to destroy the rest of the acid you have?" Xavier was getting ready to hand the box to Corrine when Luci stopped him.

"No, keep it. We have vampires chasing us, and you never know when you may need it. I trust you to keep it away from my mom and me." Luci looked up at Xavier, and he nodded.

"Okay, I'll keep it, but Corrine, do you have something I can put them in so they're better contained than this little box?" Xavier showed her the box they were in, and she nodded.

"Yes, here, put them in this." She handed him a small metal bucket like the one she had put the crystalized acid in. Xavier carefully placed the small box with the vials inside the bucket and attached the lid.

"I think it's time we left. We should go to the palace and discuss this with my father. He should be able to help us. Also, Nolan and Damien wouldn't think of going there." Xavier looked at Luci, and she looked up at him, worried.

"What if your family doesn't like that you have a vampire for a mate? They may be willing to help you, but not us." Xavier rubbed her cheek with his hand as he smiled at her.

"Sweetheart, I already told you I will denounce the throne if they don't accept you. I don't want to be the king if my mate can't be the queen." Luci wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his shoulder. She knew she was lucky to have a mate who loved her unconditionally.

"Alright, let's go to the palace then. Mom, is that okay with you?"

Alessandra was watching the couple with a smile. She loved seeing her daughter and her mate together. They were so sweet to each other, and it did her heart good to see how much Xavier loved Luci.

"That sounds good to me. Thank you, Corrine, for helping us so late. If anyone calls you or comes looking for us, please pretend you haven't seen us." Alessandra gave her cousin a hug.

"Don't worry, no one will get any information from me. You three, take care, and let me know if there's anything else that you need me to help you with." Corrine waved at them as they left the lab and got into the waiting car.

Xavier had the driver take them back to the airport. He figured getting to the palace as soon as possible would be best. They didn't know if Damien or Nolan had people looking for them. He hoped his family would be kind to Luci; she had been through enough without them adding any more stress.

As they took off from the Pittsburg airport, Luci couldn't help feeling apprehensive. She was nervous about meeting the king and queen. What if they didn't like her, and Xavier denounced the throne like he said? She didn't want to cause him to lose his rightful place as king.

She thought long and hard on the plane to Maine. Xavier and her mother slept, but she couldn't. Luci decided that if his family didn't accept her, she and her mother would disappear. She refused to be the cause of him not being king, no matter how much pain it would cause her.