- I, Knight Alex Blood," the vampire stood in front of the prisoners and threw off his hood, "And I have a proposition for you. I need to know who on the staff has served the rebels faithfully. The rebellion must be put down. A just royal retribution must be meted out to the traitors. Anything you have seen or heard, either yourself or from others. Anything will do. As a reward, I promise to take the informers as my servants.
Alexander deliberately acted in such an underhanded manner. Knowing the prisoners' dislike of informers, he didn't expect a line of willing informers. He wanted the cunning, the calculating, the clever. Those who would spot the inconsistency in his words and appearance. Someone who could see his future prospects correctly.
Would there be any? It wasn't that important, the vampire would get all the information he needed anyway, so one could just practice. But a line had formed anyway. Three convicts expressed their desire to help the royal troops to restore justice.
The first was a burly man with a monkey face. His small, angry eyes were the only thing that made him look more human than animal. He approached Alexander and tried to look him in the eyes, but immediately withdrew them, having encountered a penetrating gaze.
- I, Your Grace, am ready to tell you everything I know," the convict muttered.
- Do you know what will happen to you if you lie? - asked the knight.
- I am a loyal servant of His Majesty Gordon and I will not lie!
- Then tell me everything you know, my good man, - with these words the knight grabbed the prisoner by the neck and squeezed it tightly, the bandit, who tried to jump, realized that he was in a tight grip and could not escape, - And look me in the eyes.
As you might expect, the convict was the local "authority" and the main man in the barracks. Possessing not only strength, but also intelligence, he tried to use the situation in his favor and improve the current situation. His story was extremely entertaining, and if Alexander had not drunk his blood, he might well have believed him. And why would he? He would have believed him! The story was very well told by a murderer who had been on penal servitude for a couple of murders.
- You sing beautifully, - Alexander interrupted the story of the bully, - But your eyes tell me that you are lying. What about it?
The convict's gaze did not change even for a moment. He was firmly convinced that they were trying to take him for a weakness and just testing him.
- I'm not lying to you, Your Grace! May the Almighty punish me if I am!
The vampire did not intend to make a show or any particularly cruel punishments, but he could not miss such an occasion. The next moment the convict's neck was released from his grip and he fell to the floor, screaming in pain. The other prisoners stared dumbfounded at their leader rolling around on the dirty floor of the barracks and howling desperately.
- It seems that the Almighty found your words not true enough, - Alexander looked at the work of his hands with satisfaction, he was not going to kill the hapless deceiver, but everything must have its price, - Who is next?
The next was a convict, who was the complete opposite of the one now beating on the floor in pain. A small, ungraceful man with a running gaze stood before the knight in fear. The procedure was repeated. Alexander was even beginning to like it. He always believed that the eyes are the mirror of the soul and they can tell a lot about a person.
And now, having the opportunity to look into the underlying essence of an individual directly and comparing it with the eyes he looked into, the vampire was learning to understand people better simply by their appearance.
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