"Are you doing alright?" Alice asked as she opened up her eyes to look at him.
Sam couldn't seem to leave himself alone, continuing to scratch at his scars as if it were bothering him far more than usual. "My skin is a little uncomfortable and tingly. My teeth hurt too, but I'm okay."
Alice noticed that his skin was beginning to flake, the thin layer molting in a similar manner to that of a snake. It was an unnerving sight to see, leaving her feeling distressed and more than a little concerned for his health. "Sam… You're peeling..."
From Sam's look of surprise, it was clear that he hadn't even noticed what was going on until she pointed it out to him. "What? Why?" He stared in horror at his arms and then his hands, turning them over to peer at each side in bewilderment.
Pushing herself away from the headboard, Alice leaned in for a closer look, but made sure not to touch him as she didn't want to cause any further discomfort. Underneath one of the scars that appeared to be tearing away from the rest of Sam's forearm, she could see what looked like an undamaged layer of flesh, perfectly smooth and untouched by the ravages of time. "Is that what I think it is?" she enquired with a newfound sense of curiosity. "Is that new skin?"
Sam was baffled by what was happening to him, raising his arm up to his face to investigate further. "It looks like it… But how is that even possible?"
Alice shook her head slowly, unable to take her eyes off him as she spoke. "I don't know… But I don't see any of the scars underneath. It's like they're completely gone."
Looking completely puzzled, Sam raised his eyebrows as he returned her inquisitive gaze. "What do you mean they're gone?"
"Your body, Sam. It looks like it's healing." Even she wouldn't have even believed what she was saying if she hadn't witnessed it with her own two eyes.
Positioning himself to face Alice, Sam sat himself in the middle of the bed and crossed his legs. He placed his hands into his lap, making a visible and conscious effort not to scratch any further. "The witch… It has to be her. She did something to me."
"Morgana?" Alice asked, turning to face him as she too sat cross legged on the crumpled sheets. She had suspected that something was awry when the red witch appeared to her in the cave, but this pretty much confirmed that the mysterious woman had been manipulating events all along.
Sam nodded once, biting his lip as he tried to ignore the constant itching. "Yeah. She said that she had done something to my blood to weaken it. Something about that being the key to defeat Katherine."
Alice pondered quietly for a brief moment, recalling what had occured when she faced Katherine in the great hall. She had sensed a shift in the balance the second her mentor's powers failed her, but had been too lost in a rage to think about what was going on at the time. "That must be the reason why she couldn't defend herself against me… She had already consumed almost all of your blood."
"But that doesn't make any sense... If she drank from me, then why do I feel so much stronger now?" Sam asked as he flexed his fingers, a layer of dry skin still stuck under his nails.
"I can answer that one." Alice said with a brief smile that quickly faded as she remembered all of the awful things that she had done to get this far. "I fed upon those much older and far more powerful than either of us. Katherine drained the majority of their blood from my veins, but I must have had enough left within me to pass some of that strength on to you."
It seemed that Sam's confounded look of astonishment was going to become a permanent feature as it set upon his face. "Does that mean that I'm no longer Forsaken?"
Alice shrugged her shoulders, forcing a warm, yet apologetic smile to the surface. "I'm sorry, I really have no idea."
There was a long pause as Sam began to fidget. It was clear that he was struggling against a strong urge to scrape away his peeling flesh, but he appeared to be managing so far. Alice couldn't help but look at where it was flaking, the skin puffing up around each and every scar. It was an unusual sight to say the least, but she hoped that his affliction would pass in due time. She hoped that whatever was happening to him was actually a positive thing, the next step in becoming a fully fledged vampire, no longer trapped in a tragic state somewhere in between.
"Alice?" Sam asked, shuffling towards her a little. He was smiling softly through cracked lips as he offered his hand.
"Yes?" Alice replied, taking his hand and squeezing it ever so gently in hers.
"I'm really sorry about Matty." he said sympathetically, looking troubled by what had occurred in his absence.
The wounds were still fresh, the memories too terrible for Alice to dwell on. She fought back her tears and did what she could to stay calm, managing little more than a slight simper. "I know, Sam… Me too."
The pair of them were a mess, their clothes covered in blood that belonged both to them and to others. Sam's grey robe was still damp around the collar, with Alice's own clothing still stained with that of her dead lover, the copper musk a constant reminder of what had been taken from her. She knew that she had to find something clean to wear, but she hadn't yet found the time. If the motel clerk had actually paid any attention to her when she walked into the lobby, they would have likely called the police. Fortunately for her, they had been far too engrossed in their stories; never taking their eyes off the old tube television to notice the bloodied guest forking over cash.
Sam and Alice had a great deal in common, especially now. Katherine had ruined both of their lives, and no one else understood what they had been through better than they did. They had both loved and lost, and knew exactly how the other felt. Even though they had travelled along their separate paths, they had found their way back to each other and had been left in the same position; a fact that would cement their friendship forever. Nothing could break them apart; not now, not ever. The fact that they had survived through it all and were able to fight again was a true testament to their exceptional bravery, tenacity and fortitude. Perhaps they really were both special after all.
While Alice was deep in thought, Sam stopped to study her face, a sudden look of worry quickly spreading. "Alice? Are you okay? You don't look so good..."
"Really? I feel fi…" Her response was cut short by a debilitating blight that spread through her entire body in a matter of seconds.
Alice felt a nauseating sense of impotence that caused her to panic, then quickly found that she had been left completely paralyzed. She felt faint, her thoughts were flustered; her mind overwhelmed with disorder and chaos. If this was the result of Sam feeding upon her, then she would have already lost control to the hunger. No, this was something else entirely. Something far worse.
"What is it, Alice? What's wrong?" Sam was clearly scared for his friend, holding her by the shoulders as he did his best to support her.
It was no use; no matter how much he tried he couldn't stop her from slipping into unconsciousness. Down Alice went, both Sam and the bed beneath them vanishing as she plummeted into the darkness below; straight down into the prison where she kept the darkest parts of herself hidden away. She was trapped with the beast now, within the cracked glass cage that held it at bay, but they were not alone; Alice's feral instincts were present too, roaring and screaming as they tried to break free. The three of them were locked in there together, at risk of tearing each other apart. However, they too were not the only ones present, as a fourth entity joined them in the dark; someone or something else that meant them harm. It was an evil presence that did not belong. An intruder most unwelcome.
Outside the transparent walls, enveloped in the oily blackness of the great beyond, a familiar voice spoke with malicious intent. "You left me to my enemies, a disappointment to say the least. It was meant to end by your hand, not theirs. It was always meant to be you."
Katherine's body had been destroyed, but not her soul. Somehow, her spirit had survived and now occupied Alice's mind. It had to be the mental link they shared that had brought her there; the same bond that allowed Alice to glimpse pieces of her men
tor's past. Katherine had somehow used it as a doorway to transfer her consciousness, refusing to give up and perish as she stubbornly escaped her own demise. Death itself had been unable to claim her; the immortal creature somehow managing to overcome the certainty that all things came to an end.
Whatever happened, however the events unfolded, it seemed that the Blood Queen was there to stay. Unfortunately, this time there was nowhere for Alice to run and certainly no hope of escape. She had to face her fears and the woman who had brought them to life. This was her final fight. Win or lose, the outcome would decide her fate.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Glass Cage
Alice had reached the end of the road; the culmination of all her life's events and everything that had happened since her rebirth as an immortal monster. Unfortunately for her, it looked as though she had hit a dead end, with no hope of pulling through. Nothing had turned out the way that she hoped and she now found herself at the mercy of a malevolent woman who threatened to imprison her within the construct of her own mind.
The road to perdition was paved with the sins of the past and Alice had already succumbed to temptation along the way, giving in to the beast that was now trapped in the cage beside her. Every vampire was a sum of their countless years upon the earth, a combination of all their former experiences and the terrible nature that they constantly wrestled for control. Giving in to her bestial urges and allowing them to run rampant had opened up a doorway into her subconscious, allowing Katherine to invade her thoughts with ease. Her momentary weakness had provided the perfect opportunity for the Blood Queen to make her return, an offer that proved far too tempting to resist.
Alice looked out through the glass upon the face of her tormentor, as if it were her own reflection in a mirror. The woman standing there was nothing like her however; not just in appearance, but in everything that she was both inside and out. Katherine Louviere was little more than a spectre now; her body destroyed at the hands of her enemies.
From what Alice could tell, Katherine wasn't really there in any physical shape or form; or at least that's what she hoped. This was merely a projection of the monster that she had become, not a representation of who she was in life. Whether she was a restless spirit, a hallucination of the mind, or something else entirely; the Blood Queen seemed ready to prove that she was still as dangerous as ever, as she worked to sow the seeds of fear and self-doubt throughout Alice's restless mind.
Katherine's hazel eyes took on more of a greenish hue in the oily blackness of her surroundings, their viridian glow both unnatural and unsettling. "You'll find that I'm not so easily disposed of." she said with a wicked smile, her nose so close to the glass that it was almost touching the cold surface.
Alice had to look away, the Blood Queen's icy stare chilling her to the core. It felt as though someone had walked across her grave; the final resting place that she had already been denied. She had been placed under duress, not only in danger from an external enemy that had forced its way in, but from her own feral instincts and the beast that saw her as easy prey on which it could gorge itself. They snapped at each other with a savage hunger, both of them unwilling to share the feast of her immortal soul. Their deadly conflict was all that held them at bay as Alice cowered in the corner of her transparent prison, unable to escape from the parts of herself that threatened to destroy all that was good and pure. There was no telling how long she had left, or whether she would fall victim to the darker aspects of herself before Katherine was able to achieve whatever insidious goals she had in store.
"Why are you doing this?" Alice cried out, overcome with a paralysing fear, both of her captor and her own potential for evil.
"Oh Alice, my sweet girl..." Katherine replied, her attitude cold and callous. "You have wasted all that was given to you; the inherent power in your blood. The gifts that you were given belong to me by right, and I plan to take what is mine."
It was now clear what Katherine planned to do with Alice, viewing her protégé's body as little more than a piece of valuable property that she intended to claim for herself. It had been her intention all along to use Alice as the instrument of her resurrection, the next step along her path to ascension. She had reached the limits of her own flesh long ago and still craved more power, keeping a watchful eye on her descendants as she waited for a new host for her consciousness to inhabit. Alice had been the first suitable candidate to be born; the one who would be strong enough to carry her ever upwards. Katherine wanted to carve out Alice's mind, purging it of all its contents in order to create an empty shell for her to assume complete control.
Resting her palms against the glass, Katherine stared at Alice with covetous longing in her eyes. "With your help, I'll build my kingdom from the ground up; right under the noses of those idiotic fools." She ravenously licked her ruby lips as her perfect teeth changed into menacingly sharp fangs. "Thank you, Alice... Thank you for your sacrifice."
As Katherine stepped back from the edge of the cage, Alice could finally see her in all her dreadful glory. Her pure white skin stood out against the obsidian backdrop, her haunting gaze now a verdant emerald. Darkening hair fell down her back and coiled around her neck like a shadowy serpent, her ominous features appearing completely flawless. The sanguine coloured dress that she now wore was fluid in motion, the fabric flowing over the contours of her body; dripping from her limbs into the blackness below. It was impossible to tell where the Blood Queen ended and her dress began, as crimson droplets ran from her pores and merged together to form its shape in a beautifully seamless display of abject horror.
"Don't be afraid, my child." Katherine smiled widely as her skin too began to turn a reddish tint, the lines between her body and attire blurring to the point that they were one and the same. "This is not the end for you, not really. It's merely the start of something new, as you will forever hold an important place within my heart."
For some reason, the thought of becoming one with the Blood Queen terrified Alice far more than being wiped from existence ever had. She never wanted to become a monster, and yet it seemed to be the destiny that fate had assigned her. She would rather die and be forgotten than become the thing that she hated most, and yet she seemingly had no choice in the matter. Katherine had rendered Alice helpless once more and she found that she was unable to prevent what was about to happen; a fact that left her feeling completely and utterly defeated.
This was it, there was no way out. Alice saw no hope of escape, her sane mind feeling as weak and drained as her body, whereas her instincts were still strong and tearing away at the beast that returned each blow with equal levels of ferocity. There was no telling who would win their brutal contest of might, nor did it matter, as there was no chance of them defeating Katherine alone. Whoever came out on top, their strength wouldn't be enough to overcome the Blood Queen. Even in the woman's current disembodied state, she was far too powerful for any of them to face and Alice knew it. It was in that single moment of true vulnerability that she saw her life flash before her eyes; the images of her past rushing by like a hurricane of pure pandemonium.
Alice could see a little girl, barely a few years old, hiding in the tall grass outside a fenced off compound. The wooden buildings were set alight as terrified screams filled the night air; the flickering flames pumping smoke into an already clouded sky. Her blonde hair was blowing in the breeze, her cheeks damp with tears as she found herself all alone in the dark. As if from nowhere, several shadowy figures crept into view and began to search the area for any sign of her passing. The girl was clearly terrified of them finding her as she crouched down low and crawled through the thick mud, scrambling towards the relative safety of a nearby field where she became lost in the endless rows of corn.
Alice immediately recognised the girl as herself, but she couldn't recall the burning village, although something about it seemed strangely familiar. Was this her original home; the place of her birth? There were strange parallels to recent events and another similar compound
that made her wonder if history was doomed to repeat itself. Wherever this particular event had occurred, it was an important and defining moment in her life that had affected her for years to come. This was where an innocent girl had struggled to survive, fighting against all odds to make it out alive. It was there where her feral instincts had been born; the part of herself that she had almost forgotten about until now.
That same little girl stumbled upon a farm, having spent months feeling cold, afraid and so very alone. The fear of being caught had kept her far away from strangers, that was until the night she raided a chicken coop in a desperate search for sustenance. It was then that she met her true family in the shape of Bill and Martha Delaney. Sure, they weren't her birth parents, but they had treated her with such kindness and had shown her so much love that they were far better than those who had given her life.
The Delaney's had honestly cared for Alice more than she felt she deserved, offering her a stable environment that she had otherwise been lacking. And how had she repaid them? With countless sleepless nights, a dead dog and a legacy of blood that eventually resulted in their untimely deaths. They had given her so many happy memories, a loving family and a good home, and she still longed for the years that she had played the part of their daughter. She would always be known as Alice Delaney, the name that they had given to her; not Riley McKay, the stranger who had been born into a twisted family of inbred cultists.
A torrent of memories swept the rest of Alice's childhood away, each image coming faster than the last. School bullies, supernatural encounters, the impossibly tall man. They were important experiences in their own right, parts of her past that had made her who she was, but she didn't wish to dwell on them for long. The fanged goddess, Jolee's death, a secret war in Calgary and the end of the McKay family line. All of them were crucial events that had shaped her existence, each and every memory sharing one thing in common. Katherine Louviere.
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