In Love With A Vampire

by M. J. Stevens

  “Did you actually call my name while I was unconscious?” Maggie asked, trying to confirm her theory.

  “I did,” Jesse murmured. “I wanted to wake you up … and tried calling you over and over again, hoping that deep in your subconsciousness, you could actually hear me and be roused. And there were times when your body was trembling, as if you were having a nightmare. I tried to wake you up but it seemed fruitless.”

  Maggie took a deep breath, still feeling drowsy in her head. Her nightmare had seemed so real that she thought she was actually living it. It seemed to make sense now … what she was experiencing in her nightmare had an indirect connection with what was happening to her while she was bedridden. That was why she had kept hearing a voice in the tunnel … but it had been Jesse’s voice all along, who had been trying to rouse her.

  “So I had a terrible blood loss?” Maggie asked, struggling to get up. Jesse helped her to prop against the pillows comfortably, and passed her a glass of water.

  “Yes, you did,” Jesse answered. “But you’re OK now. The doctors did everything they could to get you back on track.”

  The nurse with the clipboard edged closer to Rellie, scribbling something. “You seem to have recovered well, Rellie. We’re quite surprised that you actually made a fast recovery, but it’s a pleasant surprise, and we’re glad everything is going smooth for you. Your vital signs seem normal, and there’s nothing major to worry about. I guess you’ll just need a day of rest before you can check out of here.”

  “Thanks,” Maggie said, feeling slightly weak but didn’t think that it was necessary to stay another night bedridden. After all, she couldn’t stand the hospital smell, and the thought of having to stare at the dull walls made her cringe inside.

  The nurses shuffled quietly out of the room, leaving Maggie and Jesse alone.

  Maggie’s eyes suddenly became more alert as the questions within her started to burst. “What the hell actually happened?” Her voice was still a bit hoarse, and she felt dehydrated, but she didn’t care until she got to the bottom of this.

  Jesse left Maggie’s side and went over to shut the door, hoping that nobody could listen in on their conversation. Then, she sidled back to Maggie’s bedside, and sat perched on the edge of her bed.

  Jesse sighed. “You know well what happened … but first of all … let me say that I’m really glad to see that you’re alive and well. For a moment when I saw Rellie attack you … I thought you were going to be gone for good. The nurses are mystified to the speed of your recovery, but I think I know why. Does it have to do with the fact that you have Enchantress blood, and that you’re heal faster than an average human being?”

  “I guess it helps,” Maggie murmured, “but I won’t have that super speedy recovery ability of a vampire, who can practically recover from any injuries, even the extreme ones. The magic within me helps to restore the blood loss in my blood much faster. If it wasn’t for that, I suppose I’d still be lying unconscious for at least a few more days.”

  Jesse nodded, and then her face fell grim again when she said, “OK, let’s talk about what really happened out there. How can Rellie be a vampire? I’ve seen Rellie, OK? I’ve no doubt that she’s a newborn vampire, with an unrestrained lust for blood, human blood. How could that happen? Did the revival fail or something? Did something go wrong with your magic? Did it backfire? This wasn’t supposed to happen to Rellie … she was supposed to wake up from the dead as a human being, not a vampire!”

  Maggie was quiet for a brief moment, digesting Jesse’s words. Even she didn’t expect that the revival would backfire like that. But it was supposed to work according to plan. How did Rellie end up as a vampire? Maggie had studied and practiced magic well before, and she knew that everything she’d performed in the ritual was step-by-step correct. She didn’t leave anything out. So what actually went wrong?

  Maggie could still recall the horrifying memory of Rellie pouncing on her and sinking her sharp fangs into her veins. The thought of it sent chills down Maggie’s spine, causing her to actually tremble at the gruesome memory of being attacked by Rellie. Maggie thought that she was going to die, as Rellie was consumed by sheer hunger that drove her to feed on Maggie with unbridled ferocity. Out of the corner of her eye, Maggie watched helplessly as Rellie drank her blood. However, Rellie’s attempt to finish feeding on Maggie was thwarted by Jesse, who had come to her rescue by fighting off Rellie. If it wasn’t for Jesse, Maggie would have died. Maggie was also too weak at that point of time to conjure up her powers.

  Maggie had never seen such hunger in a vampire’s eyes before. Maybe it was due to the fact that Rellie was a newborn, and newborns were overwhelmingly wild and thirsty for human blood.

  Maggie cringed at the thought of her own blood oozing from her own neck. She didn’t want to revisit that gruesome memory again but images of blood and gore gripped her mind, haunting her, torturing her.

  Blood. The word ignited a maelstrom of thoughts in Maggie’s mind. Blood … Vampire … Blood … As the words swirled inside Maggie’s head, she was struck with an epiphany.

  Her eyes brightened as if she had discovered something very important. “Wait!” Maggie cried. “It all makes sense now!”

  Jesse stared at Maggie, wondering what she was thinking about. “What are you talking about? What makes sense?”

  “Don’t you see? The reason Rellie had turned into a vampire was because she was bitten by a vampire … the vampire serial killer.”

  Jesse gasped, trying to register what Maggie had said. “But how is that even possible? It means that …”

  “She would have to be injected with vampire blood,” Maggie finished her sentence. “Yes, it really makes sense when you think of it. The vampire who killed Rellie deliberately injected Rellie with his blood, so his blood would flow within her system. But of course, Rellie cannot be turned into a vampire if her death exceeded more than three hours, and if she is not buried according to the vampire law of nature. And it’s unlikely Rellie can be turned into a vampire because she’s been dead for more than three hours …”

  Jesse was hanging on every word, the puzzled look on her face replaced by realization and understanding. “I get it now …” Jesse murmured. “The reason Rellie was still able to be turned into a vampire was because of …”

  “Magic,” Maggie finished her sentence for her again. “Yes, magic was the main factor that completed Rellie’s transformation into a vampire. Because the ritual which we had performed required tremendous amount of supernatural magic … part of that magic ignited that vampire transformation. And of course, even in Rellie’s death, the vampire serial killer’s blood still remained in her system. So that explains how Rellie got turned into a vampire when she was awakened from death. Magic spurred it …”

  Both Maggie and Rellie were silent for a moment as they contemplated on that rationale which Maggie had worked out.

  “I still can’t believe that we’ve actually awakened a vampire,” Jesse said despondently, shaking her head. “That was not in our plan.”

  “Yes, I know,” Maggie echoed Jesse’s thoughts. “We didn’t think of that vampire-transformation possibility, because we thought the revival would work in our favor. But now, we’ve just unleashed a newborn vampire, who poses a threat to humans now. I feel guilty … and to make matters worse, because of the revival we’ve performed, there will be adverse consequences … I just don’t know what they are yet.”

  Jesse paced back and forth like a caged animal, buried in an avalanche of anxious thoughts. How could she not see this happening? They should have thought about this ‘side effect’ before performing the ritual. And now, Rellie roamed the streets as a deadly newborn vampire, who was intent on feeding on any humans who were in her way.

  “Can your magic reverse this?” Jesse asked tentatively.

  “I don’t think it’s possible,” Maggie responded with a sigh. “It would take the magic of the whole universe to undo this … and I don’t think that I can
conjure up that much magic.”

  Jesse plopped down on a couch next to her, burying her head in her hands. What was she going to do now? The vampire serial killer was still on the loose … and they were nowhere near to catching him and bringing him to justice. Instead, they seemed to have shaken up hell and awoken all the demons within.

  Jesse wished that the ground would open up at that moment and swallowed her whole.

  11. Into The Wild

  Kalista was back where she was. A wall of clouds stretched alongside of her, and she punched her fist against the walls, hoping to break them, but she ended up groaning in pain. The walls were not as soft as what she’d thought. Even though they looked like soft clouds, in fact, they were so hard that they could break her knuckles if she exerted too much strength.

  The familiar sight of the Maze of Doom sent a chilling sensation across her body, and Kalista wondered if there was actually any exit at all in this torturous maze. She knew that Catan was lurking somewhere behind those walls, but she couldn't be too sure. She didn’t want to run anymore like she used to when she was first here.

  She knew that Catan had the sadistic pleasure of seeing her run around like a helpless mouse, and she didn’t want to give him that satisfaction at all.

  Why did Catan always bring her here … the Maze of Doom? Kalista had little understanding about the Maze of Doom, but she assumed that it was Catan’s so-called ‘playground’ where he caged his victims so he could have this cat-and-mouse game with them.

  But then, as Kalista whirled around, her eyes scanning the fluffy surroundings, she sensed that there was some kind of inexplicable power inside this maze. She could almost hear the heartbeat of power throbbing in this place. It felt like this place was actually … some sort of power source. But a power source for what? Kalista couldn’t deny feeling the waves of supernatural energy flowing in this place … they were like electric currents dancing past her body.

  Kalista leaned against one of the wall clouds, and collapsed onto the floor, which was also fashioned out of clouds, like a carpet of clouds. But these clouds were solid and strong, as if they had been hardened by some kind of supernatural magic residing in this place.

  Instead of running in fear like she used to, Kalista decided that the best course of action was to sit down and think, and understand more about this place, and figure out Catan’s next plan of action.

  She wondered if the Maze of Doom was a place that sat high above the sky. Or was it built on a remote land, hidden behind a veil of magical walls, away from human contact? She couldn’t tell, because she couldn’t see the outside of this maze. There were no windows, no doors. Perhaps she would never be able to find out, as she assumed that this maze was so big that it would be humanly impossible to explore the entire mass of it.

  Then, she heard a voice echoing in the maze. The familiar voice of someone she despised to the core of her heart.

  “Why aren’t you running?” the voice demanded, edged with anger.

  Kalista snorted, realizing that Catan was able to see her no matter where she was in the maze. Or else how would he know that she wasn’t running?

  Kalista gave herself a mental high-five, relieved that she’d made the wise decision not to play the cat-and-mouse game in the maze. Now she knew that Catan was practically omnipresent, knowing her every move, her every action.

  Tired of being cooped up inside the maze and eager to get out of it, Kalista boldly stood up with renewed energy rushing through her, and she screamed out, “Catan, please stop this foolish game of yours, OK? Let me out of here! I have no use for you here. You’re just wasting your time.”

  Her eyes roamed her surroundings high and low. She hoped that Catan would emerge any second now, but he didn’t appear as she’d expected.

  “You’re so stubborn and foolish, Kalista,” Catan responded, his trident voice reverberating through the maze. “You think you can outsmart me? Well, I’m sorry to rain on your parade … but nobody, not even you … can outsmart me.”

  “Look, Catan,” Kalista cried, trying to pluck a good reason that would sway Catan and make him listen to her. “I have no use for you here. Why do you always bring me here to this place? To this … Maze of Doom? What’s so special about this place?”

  For a moment, there was silence, and Kalista could almost hear a pin drop. Why was Catan so quiet all of a sudden? Did she say something to offend him?

  All of a sudden, a heinous laughter echoed, making Kalista’s hair stand on one end.

  “I have a right not to reply to your question, Kalista. You’re the victim here … not me.” Catan’s voice sounded cold and hostile.

  “No, you’re the victim here,” Kalista protested, the fire burning within her. She was not going to give up without a fight. “You’re the victim here because you seem chained to this place. You won’t even tell me what this whole place is really about. I’m beginning to see the clarity of things … and it seems like you’re enslaved to this place for some reason …”

  “I’m not enslaved!” Catan roared, the voice dripping with fury. “You’re the slave here! Do not talk back to me like this! Keep quiet or I shall come out now and make your life a living hell!”

  Kalista’s whole body trembled as waves of fear crippled her momentarily, making her feel as though she couldn’t breathe. Catan sounded really furious, alright, and he seemed to mean business. Kalista decided not to provoke Catan further, and chose to remain quiet.

  But it seemed that silence wasn’t enough to quell Catan’s rising anger. Kalista had provoked him to the point that there was a sudden rumble overhead, and Kalista flicked her glanced upward, wary of what was going to emerge.

  The overcast sky above her had gloomy-looking grayish clouds which drifted like slithering snakes. The clustered clouds throbbed as if there was something inside of them, and rumbled as though there was something, or someone … inside of them. The clouds parted like a door, revealing a figure who slid out of it with great ease and plummeted twenty-story down toward the ground. He landed on one his feet just right in front of Kalista, without a single sound of fracture.

  Catan rose up to her feet with bold confidence, his sharp eyes narrowed as he stared at Kalista, his expression filled with wrath.

  A deep gulp went down Kalista’s throat as she gazed helplessly at Catan, who shot her dagger looks, as if he wanted to reach his hands out and choke her to death.

  “Why won’t you run?” Catan demanded, his fists clenched at his sides. “Why won’t you cower with fear like the other victims whom I’ve entrapped here in this maze in the past? I’ve seen how my victims cower and run in this maze, losing their minds as they try to flee from me. I’ve seen the fear in their eyes, their helpless looks as they begged for mercy. Why won’t you just play along like the rest of them and flee from danger? From me?”

  Kalista wanted to say something in response, but her lips trembled as she tried to form the words on her mouth. The sight of Catan’s murderous face accelerated the pounding of her heart, making Kalista feel as though she could keel and collapse at any moment.

  And when she gazed into Catan’s eyes, she could see a subtle glint, a glint that seemed so stand out from the fury that was etched his Catan’s face. It was an almost undetectable glint that flashed across Catan’s eyes, and for a moment, Kalista wondered where she had seen that familiar glint before.

  Lipton, Kalista whispered mentally, the fragments of realization slowly fitting into place. A slight smile tugged Kalista’s lips as she realized what was going on. Lipton was in those eyes. Yes, the glint in Catan’s eyes actually belonged to Lipton. Kalista knew that Lipton was fighting hard to manifest, trying to reach out to Kalista, trying to be there for her … to protect her.

  The thought of Lipton suddenly fueled the strength within Kalista, chasing away all the shadows of fear that were threatening to petrify her. Kalista found renewed strength once more, powered by the thought of Lipton. Lipton was still suppressed inside Catan, and Kalista
had to think of a way to get Lipton to manifest as soon as possible and keep Catan suppressed instead. But how was she going to do that?

  A plan began to form inside Kalista’ mind. The plan might work, or not … but Kalista had to give it a shot. She had to trigger Lipton’s emotions, and overwhelm him enough so he would have the power and strength to manifest over Catan.

  Without a second thought, Kalista bit into her arm as hard as possible, howling in pain, and sprang toward Catan, flashing her bleeding arm at Catan’s face. The sight of Kalista’s Urukan blood dripped freely from her arm, enticing him, tempting him, and driving him wild and crazy. He couldn’t control the urge to sip Kalista’s every last drop of blood.

  Consumed by the sudden ignited lust, Catan grabbed Kalista and pinned her to the ground, and started to suck the blood from her arm. Kalista cried in pain, trying to channel her agony toward Lipton, so he could feel it, and be spurred by it to manifest at this point of time. Kalista continued screaming in terror, thrashing around helplessly as Catan fed on her ferociously.

  But still, Lipton did not manifest.

  Lipton, where are you? Kalista cried mentally, trying hard to send a telepathic message to Lipton, hoping that he could somehow hear her. Come out now, Lipton!

  But Catan was still present, sucking Kalista’s blood with wild intensity, slowly draining Kalista’s strength away, and killing her. Kalista knew that Catan had never intended to kill her, but seeing the thirst on his face, Kalista realized that Catan was so consumed with it that he wouldn’t even think of anything else but only to quell his thirst with Kalista’s tempting Urukan blood.

  This was it … Kalista was going to die at Catan’s hands. Her plan to get Lipton to manifest had failed. She had taken the biggest risk by getting Catan wild with thirst by deliberately causing herself to bleed, and now, she was facing the imminent threat of death.

  She felt her strength draining away as Catan consumed her blood with wild rage, and as much as she’d have liked to shove Catan away, her ebbing strength paralyzed her, as she lay there like a dead duck. She shouldn’t have initiated this plan at all. She had signed her own death warrant.