by D L Blade
“Colin, stop! Maurice will kill you!” I screamed again, hoping someone would hear me.
“Relax, Akasha. I just want a taste of your blood. I just need a few drops.” Colin licked his lips.
“Maurice would never allow that. He said my blood is forbidden, Colin. Please don’t do this,” I begged him, repeatedly. “Stop, Colin. Please don’t!”
“I could smell your blood from outside the door. And why should my brother get to walk in the daylight while the rest of us suffer in eternal darkness?” He gripped my wrist tightly and he was surprisingly strong, given how skinny he looked. “He let Roland drink from you, but not his own brother,” he said through clenched teeth.
I lifted my knee, ready to knee him in the groin, but Colin bit down on my neck. The pain was so excruciating, my body began to tremble. This time it wasn’t as easy to relax, so my struggling made the pain even worse. I closed my eyes and thought about my friends, about Dorian and about Caleb. It was the only way to get through the experience. The pain started to subside and all I could feel was blood being drained from my body. Colin released me after a minute and climbed off my body, still sitting on the bed.
I was waiting for him to lick his lips like Roland did, but his reaction was unexpected. Colin stood there for a few minutes with a blank stare and blinked rapidly. He squinted his eyes and opened them as wide as he could. He quickly leaped off the bed and ran to the bathroom, pulled the lid up from the toilet and puked all the blood out he had stolen from me, spitting the last remaining blood from his mouth onto the floor. When he exited the bathroom, he just stood there and glowered at me. I climbed off the bed and stood in my fighting position, ready for him to strike. He was not going to touch me again.
“It’s disgusting,” he whined. Colin turned toward the door and ran out faster than he had entered. I relaxed my stance.
Disgusting?
Kyoko had said the taste of a witch’s blood was like no other, and especially the blood from Spirit. I ran into the bathroom and looked at the two wounds on my neck that were almost healed. My eyes scanned the bathroom. There was blood everywhere.
I needed to clean this up or they’d know. There’s no way I could tell Maurice what had happened. He would think I gave myself to Colin, and then he might punish me for it.
This would be my secret. I prayed he wouldn’t notice Colin going out in the daylight before I escaped from this place.
He did throw it up, though. Is there enough of my blood in his system for the daylight powers to even work?
After cleaning up as much blood as I could from the sheets, I threw away the bloody towels and cleaned the toilet. I composed myself and waited on the bed for Kyoko. When she arrived, her eyes immediately targeted the bathroom. She sniffed the air.
“Akasha, what happened?”
Instantly, I realized I should have cleaned up better.
“I was touching up my makeup and dropped the powder compact and the mirror broke. I cut my fingers on the mirror edges as I was cleaning it up.”
She looked at me suspiciously and mumbled something in Japanese while grabbing my hand. “Let’s go. He is ready for you.”
I entered the family room and all the witches, humans, and vampires were waiting for Maurice, who hadn’t joined them yet. Sarah was the first to speak when Maurice entered the room.
“Everyone, on your knees,” she instructed.
They all fell to one knee and bowed to him. I didn’t move, but stared at him as he approached me.
“Mercy, you need to get down on your knees,” Sarah whispered while keeping her head down.
He was now standing in front of me, with no expression on his face.
“I will not bow down to a vampire,” I scowled. “I don’t care what he can do to me.”
Gasps came from the crowd.
Maurice chuckled and the vampires started to laugh uncomfortably around him, while the humans and witches looked frightened for me. Maurice lifted his hand as if to strike but I only stood there defiantly. I was done being afraid.
I will not give him the satisfaction of scaring me. Not anymore.
He didn’t hit me like I thought he would. Instead, he turned my head to expose my neck. My heart began beating rapidly. I thought he would see the wounds from Colin, but he only stroked my neck softly. From his reaction, I could tell he saw no wounds.
“No reason in giving you any more punishment for speaking to me the way that you just did, when you are about to be fed upon,” he said coldly with a huge grin on his face.
The crowded room was silent, waiting for his instructions. “Everyone, please join me in the ballroom,” he commanded.
Maurice grabbed my hand softly and escorted me to the ballroom. Everyone followed behind. He leaned toward me as we were walking and with a firm tone said to me, “I will not be disrespected in front of my clan. Noah will be here shortly with your friend and you won’t have much of a choice but to abide.”
A part of me felt like it was just an empty threat. Abigail was watching her. She would never let something bad happened to her. If Abigail couldn’t fight off whoever came for them, there was also Caleb, my family, and the werewolves. Could they really have gotten to Shannon?
“Screw you, you blood sucking demon. When I find a way to get this bracelet off my wrist, you will be the first to die at my hands.” I instantly regretted this threat. The look on his face was pure rage.
“I am not afraid of a witch. Especially one with a very big ego,” he barked backed and squeezed my wrist.
I am the one with the big ego?
I wanted to share those thoughts with him, but once I entered the ballroom, I only focused on the rows of vampires, that were ready to watch me get devoured. The only thing I thought about was, how the hell was I getting out of this?
At the front of the room was a stage covered in black and red roses. Maurice walked me to the front of the stage and sat me down. It all looked a little too pretentious to me. Was he really going to dip me down over a bed covered in rose petals, like some cheesy romance novel?
I looked around the room that was surrounded by tall windows and smaller ones that could be opened slightly to let the breeze in from the outside. Now that it was the evening, several windows were opened and the curtains drawn. I took a deep breath in as a cool breeze entered the room. Oh, how I wanted to be outside instead of in that suffocating ballroom.
I eyed the rows of seats in front of the stage. Everyone was still taking their seats and each witch or human had to sit next to their vampire. This was going to be a blood bath the moment he took a bite out of me. This wasn’t just a time for Maurice to feed on his witch for the first time, but a time they could all join in on a feeding together. Every witch or human with longer hair was wearing their hair up in a ponytail or bun.
Dorian was standing next to the stage with his hands clasped together, staring up at me. Ever since I had arrived, I’d noticed he didn’t have a donor or a slave like everyone else. Once I made eye contact with him, he walked toward me and pulled the red scarf that had been wrapped around his neck. He proceeded to wrap the scarf around my bun.
“What’s this for?” I asked him softly. Being this close to him again made butterflies flutter in my stomach. Oh how I wished I could just hold him again and kiss him tenderly like we did every evening we snuck away from our homes to meet each other. I weakened at the knees when I breathed in his intoxicating scent.
“It’s just tradition.” He tightened the scarf slowly around the bun and then stepped away from me.
“What are you doing, Dorian?”
I lowered my eyebrows at him. He frowned and turned away from me to face Maurice.
“Dorian, where is Colin?” Maurice asked.
“I haven’t seen him. Do you want me to go find him?” he answered steadily.
“No, I have waited long enough.” He smiled, sniffed my neck, and protruded his fangs. He then pushed me down to my knees. I glared up at him as a warning.
> I’m going to fight you, Maurice. I am going to fight.
A dark-skinned man wearing a top hat and a sleek gray suit walked onto the stage. He recited his chant and gently wafted the smoke from sage around us. He circled us a few times till we were surrounded by a strong earthy, herbaceous scent. I assumed this was the witch Maurice was telling me about. The witch continued his chant.
I had to think of something and fast. Maurice was the last vampire in the world I wanted to have the kind of power my blood would give. Then suddenly, I felt something on my head.
The sensation was slipping from my hair where the scarf Dorian wrapped around my bun had been. As it was about to hit the floor, I caught it from behind me. I felt something hard on my palm. I tried to be secretive as I felt the hard object. Finally, I realized it was a key.
A key!
Dorian was on my side. I lowered my left hand and with my other hand, I unlocked the bracelet around my wrist using the key and I softly tucked the key and bracelet under my dress while keeping my wrist hidden.
Maurice held me firmly in his arms, lowering my body so my neck was exposed. He was already inches from my neck, but he joined in on the chant the witch was reciting. I closed my eyes and did what I had done with the water at the cove.
I focused on what I wanted my powers to do. There was no chanting, no herbs, and no spell book this time. My mind was the only thing in control as I mustered all the energy I could.
What am I capable of right now? How much power can I control at once?
My hand opened, with my palm facing up, as I focused my energy on all five elements. The elements were speaking to me. The bucket in the corner of the stage was only a few feet from us. Looking at it, I commanded it to move, using the energy force from my fingertips. My fingers tingled slightly, right as the bucket wobbled.
I closed my eyes tightly, but this time, I focused on the trees outside the walls of the house. I saw their branches reaching for the windows, and they hovered there, shaking and waiting for my command. Maurice was still chanting, and every vampire grabbed their slave and was ready to bite down.
I’d never tried to speak to nature before, but I knew I could do it. It was risky, but I had no other choice. Time was running out.
“Trees … save me,” I spoke out loud.
“What?” Maurice’s attention was broken from the ritual.
All at once, I felt energy moving through my body again, but with a stronger force, and I tried my best to conceal it from Maurice. He looked down at me, his eyes wide, and he grabbed my hand quickly to observe I no longer had the bracelet on my wrist.
I yanked my wrist from him and braced both hands on the stage, while using both feet to kick him away from me as hard as I could. The force of my kick caused him to go flying across the stage.
Whoa, I’m not just stronger in power now, but I have the physical strength to fight.
Hisses and gasps were coming from the other vampires, while I looked down at my hands which had a bright green glow radiating from them. The room was now shaking, walls were cracking, and everyone was scurrying around the room like roaches.
Maurice made his way back to me. He grabbed my throat, but I wouldn’t crumble under his strength. I stayed still like a statue as magic flowed through my fingertips. He wouldn’t let go of me.
A second later, I lifted both of my hands above my head and threw my arms out to the side, allowing the green energy to leave my fingers. Suddenly, a crash from the windows lining the ballroom echoed in my ears. Tree branches broke through the windows and into the ballroom, shattering the glass and thrusting their branches through vampire’s hearts as they tried to run in the opposite direction.
My eyes narrowed in on a female vampire running toward me at lightning speed. The roots from one of the trees blasted through the floorboards at the center of the room, stopping her in her tracks. She tried to run in the opposite direction, but the root grabbed her by the leg, twisting her body and soaring her up into the air. She screamed and hit the roots with her fists, but the roots only squeezed tighter and tighter around her body until she exploded into ash.
Maurice turned around to focus his attention briefly on what was happening behind him and I kneed him in the groin, causing him to scream and release me. One of the vampires quickly jumped toward the stage, trying to stop me, but I kicked him in midair and he plummeted to the ground. It was a gruesome scene straight out of a horror movie.
Maurice was right behind me. He grabbed my arms and bent them backwards, forcing me to fall face forward onto the stage and lose focus on what I was commanding the trees to do. Everything came to a standstill. I tried to get up, but there were already three other vampires holding me down. One of them put the bracelet back on my wrist.
I looked around the room trying to find Dorian but didn’t see him anywhere.
I prayed I hadn’t hurt him.
Several vampires were screaming in the distance from wounds that hadn’t healed yet, and many were lying on the floor in a pile of dust, while others were staring at me on the stage with fuming rage. Several humans and witches were crying for their now deceased vampires. I didn’t understand it. They should have been happy they were free of them. I looked up at Maurice who was ready to sink his teeth into my neck. His anger seemed to grow as he observed all the death and destruction I had caused. I scanned the crowd for Dorian again, and spotted him coming to his feet. He was covered in his own blood.
What have I done?
The bloodied scene didn’t seem to concern Maurice anymore. Apparently, all he wanted was my blood. Maurice licked his fangs and moved toward me while the vampires were still holding me down. He stopped moving when a loud voice echoed through the room.
“Stop! Maurice, don’t!” Colin called out while running toward the stage.
Maurice grunted. “What is it? Where have you been?”
“Don’t drink her blood. It’s a trick. It’s all been a lie!” Colin told him.
“What are you talking about, brother?” He signaled the vampires to pull me back up to my feet.
What the hell is happening?
“I’m sorry, Maurice, but I was tempted today to drink her blood. I couldn’t stop myself,” Colin said as he backed away from him. The look in Maurice’s eyes said he wanted to kill his own brother in that moment.
“Noah, seize him,” Maurice commanded.
Noah ran quickly to Colin and grabbed both of his arms. Maurice approached Colin and slapped him firmly across the face. Maurice quickly backed up. The skin on Colin’s face turned pink where he had been slapped.
“Colin?” Maurice cried.
“Yes, brother. I am human. Blood is pumping through my beating heart and I feel weak and powerless. I can feel my heart beating.” Tears formed in Colin’s eyes.
More gasps filled the room as vampires heard what he had said, and my eyes widened as I realized what his words meant.
“That’s it,” I said out loud. “My blood allows a vampire to walk in the light, not because of some temporary power, but because it turns them back to a human. Roland knew it this entire time, too.” I smiled. “This was the reason for my existence. The power of Spirit brings light.”
I turned to Colin. “Your soul is your light. My blood reunites your body with your soul again.” I laughed and turned to Maurice. “Did you really think it was going to be this easy?”
“How is this possible?” Maurice cried and flung his hand toward my throat.
Dorian leaped toward us, but Noah grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back before anyone else noticed.
Noah must know about us.
Maurice squeezed harder around my throat and threw me across the stage. I slammed hard against the wooden floor and winced.
“This is impossible!” he screamed.
Maurice slowly walked toward me as I lay on the floor in agony. “I did not wait centuries for you, just to be deceived.” He tightly gripped the bun on my head and pulled me up.
&nb
sp; He held me high in the air. “I love being a vampire. Nothing is better than the strength I hold and the power I have over you pathetic humans. I will not have you destroy what we have built here.” He paused and composed himself. “How do you reverse it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I didn’t know my blood would do this,” I confessed.
Maurice released me, dropping me to the ground, and approached his brother with his fangs still out.
“Stop, Maurice,” Kyoko said fearfully. “You don’t know what will happen if you touch him. Don’t risk it.”
He paused for a brief moment and then turned back to Kyoko. “Kyoko, feed him your blood,” he demanded.
“Master?”
“Do it!”
Kyoko bit her wrists and Colin gladly drank from it. They all watched Colin as Kyoko backed away.
While this was happening, I looked around the room and saw several vampires eyeballing me and licking their lips. I knew not every vampire in this room desired to be what they were. If they had a chance to be human again, they’d take it.
There was broken glass on the floor from the window and I stealthily picked it up without anyone seeing. I went to slice my hand, but Dorian was in front of me before the blade could touch my skin. He shook his head. “Don’t, Mercy. Not yet.”
I looked down at his bloodied shirt. “Dorian are you okay?
“I heal quickly, too, remember. The branches never pierced my heart.”
“Dorian?” Maurice interrupted us. “Did you lose something?”
Maurice held up the key to my bracelet.
No, they can’t take him from me. Not again.
I grabbed his arm and held on, but Noah and one other guard grabbed Dorian by the shoulder and pulled him away from me. Noah looked down at Dorian. “Sorry my friend, I don’t have a choice.”
“Get him out of here,” Maurice commanded. They escorted Dorian out of the ballroom and Maurice went over to Colin again, grabbed his neck, and snapped it. Colin fell lifeless to the ground.
I jumped, shocked at the sudden impulse to kill his brother. They all stared at Colin for a few minutes, waiting for him to wake, but he didn’t move.