Shifting Truth

by Francheska Fifield

  'We are the only ones left. Thank you for your help host. Goodbye.'

  When the last demon leaves me the portal snaps closed and everyone screams and drops. I watch as it fades away and my body slowly starts to heal itself. I had gorged on blood when I went home to change. Vampiric healing is probably the only reason I survived the entire ritual.

  It begins. The bloodlust. Despite gorging myself first I feel it. Boiling anger. Raging thirst. And a lust for violence. Here comes the part I didn’t want. I push and push against it, but to no avail.

  I try to save myself, my personality, and thanks to the demons I know how to do that. I try to cage the bloodlust, but it won’t happen. It won’t be contained. So I cage myself. I protect my personality from the bloodlust, so I won’t be taken over. So I won’t lose myself. I can only hope I hace fought within myself, against myself, long enough for my friends and family to cage me. I am so deep I can’t tell what my body is doing anymore. I can only pray they have done as asked. Then the world goes white.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The blood flows from all those that volunteered to perform the ceremony. All of us have taken at least a year off our life. The demons used the blood to connect to our life force to power up the portal to send them home.

  The werewolf is on the ground panting and trying to wrap up their wound. It is not healing as fast as it should. The demons warned the wounds inflicted for this ritual would heal at human pace and our magic will be drained for awhile.

  Beth' gram had done the vampire's part so I am in control off keeping the place clear of humans and those that would interrupt. Her gram drags herself under a shady tree and takes deep breaths trying to control the bloodlust that comes with loss of power and life. I bring blood to her and water to everyone.

  Jason lays on the ground and Brisa kneels next to him patting his head and checking his pulse every few minutes. She is no longer pulsing and even she pants.

  I look at Beth standing where the portal had been. Her eyes are still glazed over, but she is standing so I figure she will be alright for a few more minutes while I make sure everyone else survived.

  The human is the most troublesome. His power is gone. He is no longer a mage, he is broken. He lays on the ground tears quietly streaming down his face barely breathing. He probably would have preferred death. I can’t imagine having a piece of yourself ripped from you and entirely gone. Never to be felt again. It has to leave a hole.

  "It will be okay. The Fae will make sure you never want for money. You will be okay. You can get the help you need."

  He doesn’t even bother responding. I hadn't even asked his name in before all this started. The demons had taken me aside and told me what to expect. None of the others knew, the demons had been too afraid they wouldn’t go through with it if they knew so no one was told.

  It hadn't felt honest, but now I know why. Smelling the werewolf I have to say it is silly to use that designation. She[CB11] no longer smells of wolf, just human. It has broken her.

  "Jason can you still feel your shifts inside?"

  He sits up with Brisa's help to drink and closes his eyes. They shoot open in panic and I know the answer.

  "What the hell?"

  "You are human. So is the werewolf and mage."

  "And I am not immortal anymore. I am a living vampire again."

  It has taken her undeath? If she dies will she become the undead again or just die? How does that even happen?

  "So you get another chance…"

  She shakes her head.

  "Next time I die it will be for good. Hopefully me regaining life will put my seethe in frenzy and they will fear my powers. Could backfire and the council could have me killed. I will need to replan the next bit of life I have."

  Everyone that participated has lost something.

  "Brisa?"

  "Some of my power is gone, but only what I originally had. The new stuff, that’s still here or at least the equivalent of it."

  I sink to the ground. So much loss. But the demons are gone. It had to be worth, it right?

  "I need to see to Beth." Her heartbeat is erratic and she is barely breathing. A breath every minute, just one. I am worried there won’t be enough counseling in the world for those involved, but I am more worried about her lack of response. She worried so much about going crazy that no response is almost worst. How wrong I turn out to be.

  "Beth."

  She turns her head to look at me. Her eyes are white, glazed over, and froth pours out of her mouth. It is more terrifying than the vortex power eyes of the demons.

  "Beth."

  A smile unlike any other takes over her face. It is full of cruelty and hunger. I know that look. I have seen it on vampires that have lost themselves. But this is worse. Beth never fakes a smile. She doesn’t bull shit. She smiles when happy and scowls when pissed. This is terrifying.

  "Food."

  She jumps me tearing into my neck and shoulder. I can’t help but scream as she rips a piece away and swallows it whole laughing manically. I push myself back trying to crab walk away and staunch the bleeding.

  Brisa rushes over as fast as her shaking legs will move. Everyone here is broken and bloodied. Brisa throws up a shield around her and I. Beth laughs and jumps toward the once mage. She bites down and starts draining him.

  "Beth stop you will kill him!"

  She laughs as she rips his veins open blood spraying everywhere. I can no longer hear his heartbeat. It is gone. She reaches into his chest bursting open the ribs to reach in and pull out the heart. She bite into it and lets the blood pour down her chin and neck.

  "Beth!"

  Brisa drops the shield and throws a wind spell at Beth. It slows her down, but doesn’t stop her. She is on the once wolf now. They struggle, but the werewolf is no longer a paranormal and is no match for Beth's savage strength.

  "Brisa save her!"

  The female looks at us, fear in her eyes while Brisa tries to summon more power. She is drained. It will recover, what hasn't been ripped away, but for now she is drained. She makes arrows of wind and sends them flying at Beth. They stike into her side and arm. She roars and turns into a lion. She still has her vampire teeth. She has never done that before.

  "What the hell is that?"

  Her tail, it is a snake not a tail…"No way."

  "What the fuck?! Did she turn into a manticore?"

  I nod. I can’t speak. Beth is a living manticore. "Well almost. No wings."

  Brisa glares at me as Beth shakes the air arrows out of her hide. She bite into the female's leg and rips it off.

  "Is the wings the important part now?"

  I can’t even shake my head. I am in complete shock. I have never seen this kind of carnage.

  I hit the ground, dizzy and nauseous. When Beth ignore Brisa's attacks and rips the screaming female apart chewing loudly and messily I can’t stop it anymore. Bile and blood rise as I vomit. Brisa rushes over grabbing Jason and drags him near Beth's gram. Beth turns toward me when she is done cleaning the flesh from the werewolf bones. Brisa comes over and tries to get me to stand.

  "Brian I need us all in one place to protect us. I am weak and need a more concentrated bubble. So stand up and move your ass or die now."

  I try to help as much as I can, but even standing I is more hindrance than help. She gets us over to the tree where a half aware vampire granny sits trying to keep her bloodlust in check. The carnage has to be hindering that. She is a vampire, seeing the blood and death will urge her to participate. Still it seems her self- preservation instincts are stronger. She isn’t going out there to fight for food with a manticore.

  Brisa raises the shield just as Beth pounces at us. We are all pig piled together on top of a hungry vampire while Brisa kneels in front of us and tries to keep her flimsy shield between Beth and us. It hold, but barely. I can see Brisa shaking and her skin is fading to gray. That can’t be a good sign.

  "Beth go away!"

  I never thought I wou
ld agree with that statement, but all I can wish right now is that Brisa's hollering will send her running off until we can all recoup.

  I look into Beth's eyes and see nothing of the woman I love. Nothing left of her. She is completely mad.

  When she can’t break the shield she goes to my equipment and the supplies we brought. High protein food and blood. Lots of water. She destroys it. The computers, the vehicles. Everything. The sun rises as we watch her turn metal to dust.

  As Brisa's shield fails Beth looks at us a gleam in her eye and roars. God the humans are going to hear that in the next state. We won’t be able to hide this from the human authorities. We don’t even have phones to call in help.

  Suddenly Beth sprouts wings and leaps into the air, flying off.

  "There are the wings you were talking about."

  I almost laugh. Instead I drop to the ground crying. Everything is going dark.

  "I think if I ever see her again I will be undead."

  "Dammit Brian!"

  Jason and Brisa start bleeding into my mouth. The wound Beth inflicted is large and bleeding so fast. I’m not sure they can save me in time for me to not become undead.

  "I am glad the boy gave me blood before she attacked. Bring over the human body. There's still a bit of blood in it. Drain him into the vampire. It might keep him alive. If not you might want to put him in the cage. Or me if I can't control the hunger anymore."

  Brisa turns toward the old woman but she shoves her wrist back to my mouth.

  "He needs it to live. I will survive. She didn’t rip a chunk of me out."

  Brisa and Jason drag the body over and grams helps hold it up and squeeze what is left into me. The bleeding stops but the chunk won’t ever fully heal. I will need Brisa's blood at full power and I know it will be days before she is fully recovered. It won’t be soon enough.

  "If we find Beth remind me to bitch her out."

  "When we find her you can milk this soon to be scar for all its worth. As her brother I give you permission."

  Jason is smiling at me, but tears pour down his face. Dammit. I should have caged her the second the damn ritual was over. Why hadn't I? Because she seemed docile I hoped against hope she would be okay.

  "This is my fault. I should have caged her first."

  "She would have attacked sooner and we wouldn’t have had those precious few seconds to hydrate and recoup enough to protect even a single one of us."

  I look over at granny looking skyward. Smart someone is keeping a lookout. The blood she had is helping and she doesn’t look gray anymore.

  "Do you think it means anything that she killed the ones with no personal ties to her?"

  Granny shakes her head.

  "She's a predator right now. She went for the easiest prey. Two humans standing side by side was the most filling and weakest link. Jason would have been next had you not interfered. Then me. The Fae girl last because she still has power left right now."

  I nod. I hoped. Maybe some part of her survived the ordeal. But then again, maybe not.

  "But there is hope we can bring her back."

  I look around at the carnage before us.

  "If we get home and get this cleaned up without anyone knowing anything about it. If the councils do not ask what happened to the human mage or werewolf. And if she doesn’t kill people up and down the eastern seaboard. Yeah sure, plenty of chances."

  "The demon in me thinks we can save her too. He thinks she did pick those not as close to her to start with so the bloodlust would win before she killed people she knew."

  All our jaws drop in shock at Jason's statement.

  "I thought your demon went home?"

  He nods and sighs.

  "He did, but one of Beth's didn’t. He was thrust out of her when the ritual happened since she was the conduit, but during the battle he attached to me. Likely why I feel strong enough to move already. He wants to help."

  "But…but I thought…."

  Jason's eyes take on the vortex Beth's had just yesterday. But it’s not as strong or overwhelming.

  "I am Samigina and I think I have a plan."

  * * *

  [CB1]What is “it” here. The wolf, your arm, the wolves jaw?? Needs to be clarified.

  [CB2]FYI most of the had’s before past tense verbs are unnecessary. You create a double negative. Also, it is clunky to read. You need to break that habit.

  [CB3]Incur isn’t the right word here. I mean it is a fine word, but in this context it is a bit over blown. I’d say invite or earn. If you go with incur I would change the adjective to wrath or something.

  [CB4]I’d consider rephrasing this. It is a bit clunky. I can’t think f anything off the top of my head right now, but look at is and see what you think.

  [CB5]What do they discuss?

  [CB6]What the hell is going on her? Where does secretary come into this? What the world???????

  [CB7]Gonna is not proper English. If you are using it in dialogue fine, but don’t use it in prose.

  [CB8]What exactly are you trying to say here. I think you talk-type messed up .

  [CB9]????????

  [CB10]Yeah……. I’m going to take your word for it that this is correct…….

  [CB11]You did say her at the beginning.