In Love With A Vampire

by M. J. Stevens

  “I want to remember who I am again!” Rellie cried desperately. “You’re right, Dove. I don’t have any recollection or whatsoever. “But every time I see this girl, I feel like I know her from somewhere in the past.”

  Dove was quiet for a moment, giving Rellie a stare. Then, she said, “What girl?”

  “I don’t know her name. But she stirred some fragments of memories in my mind whenever I see her. She looked so familiar and deep in my heart, I know that we’ve encountered each other many times. I just don’t remember. She is somehow connected to me. And every time I see her, I have this urge to feed on her … as you know, I’m a vampire, so it’s my natural instinct to feed the first time I lay my eyes on a potential victim. But for some strange reason, whenever I look at her, she stirs something inside my heart, and I can’t quite comprehend what it is … but the feeling is so strong that it stops me from the attempt to feed on her … and eventually, I refrain myself from sinking my fangs into her bloodstream. The feeling she stirs in me is so overwhelming that it renders me speechless, and it turns my brain upside down. My mind is twirled into a state of confusion, and I can’t gather the words to voice out my thoughts. It’s like every time I see her, I fall into a trance, and I become confused, bewildered. I don’t know who she is … and the funny thing is … I’ve saved her a couple of times from death. Yes, ironic, right? I should be giving in to my lust and feeding on her like every normal vampire should, but the minute she’s around me, I become someone completely different. It’s like she has put a spell on me or something …” Rellie paused, trying to continue but the words suddenly got stuck in her head.

  “So you don’t know who’s the woman?” Dove asked when the silence became a little too unbearable, and Rellie looked like the little lost girl in the woods.

  Rellie shook her head, straining to recall who this woman was, but nothing came to her mind.

  “This woman may be the key to unraveling the memories of your past,” Dove said, as the realization sank in. “She’s the Key.”

  “The Key?” Rellie asked, puzzled. “What’s the Key? Why does everything sound more complicated by the second?”

  Dove flashed her a slight smile. “It’s not as complicated as it sounds, but the current situation is extremely fragile, and if anything goes wrong, the Apocalypse will be triggered and we’d all be doomed. The reason you can’t recall your past life is because darkness is swallowing you up, taking you to the dark side slowly, but surely. In order to beat this darkness, you must have a grasp of who you are, and remember about your life before this darkness consumed you, turning you into Catan’s Bearer of darkness. You still have a chance to fight this, but it’s very slim. Because once you’ve completely transformed into the Bearer, there will be no turning back anymore. No power is great enough to undo this transformation. There’s no spell to reverse it. That is why the Key serves his or her purpose. The only one who can save you now from all of this is the Key … and from what I hear, it sounds to me like this girl is the Key to unlock the memories of your past, giving you back your normal life again before darkness changes you and erases everything you’ve cherished in the past. We need to find her. She’s the only one who can save you from the clutches of darkness … from turning into the complete form of the Bearer. You’ll partially the Bearer now, but you still have a chance to get out of it.”

  Rellie gulped, as if all of these bits of information were too much to digest. “Are you saying that we need to locate this girl?”

  “Yes, we have to. And we need to find her as soon as possible before Catan lays her hands on her first and eliminates her. Maybe he’ll come for you first when he finds out that you’re his Bearer. Whatever it is, we need to act fast. Time’s a wastin’.”

  “But how are we going to find her? I don’t even know where she is!”

  Before Dove could utter another word, she heard a noise coming from behind her. She turned around and saw a figure fast approaching her, and instantly, she knew who he was. She’d seen him in her Enchanted Ball, a magical crystal which showed her everything she needed to see as a seer. He was a Wingman, who was a gallant warrior in centuries past. But he was also cursed with a darkness which would signal the imminent Apocalypse. She didn't know his name, but she knew that he was an important figure in the grand scheme of things.

  The noise which emanated from him came from the loud flapping of his wings, as he slowly descended right in front of Dove and Rellie, careful to maintain at least a few feet away from them, as he wasn’t sure if one of them was a threat to him.

  Lipton had soared across the air that night, his mind filled with the storm of endless thoughts. Enmeshed in agony, he wasn’t sure how he was ever going to be free from this curse, which had tortured him for centuries. Lipton’s thoughts were interrupted when he caught something suspicious down on the streets. With his sharp vision, he was able to see a familiar figure lying unconscious on the street. He zoomed in on the figure and was shocked to realize that it was Ken. His first reaction was to turn around and fly as far as his wings could take him. He wasn’t going to interfere with anything anymore. He was burdened with more than he could handle at the moment. But there was this stabbing guilt in his heart, compelling him to help Ken. After all, Jesse would be so upset if she knew that Lipton left him there on the streets like a dead duck. Lipton also saw a group of youngsters lying in their own pool of blood. Only two women were standing there suspiciously, talking to one another in a conversation which Lipton couldn’t make out. Lipton assumed that these two women must be responsible for the unsightly gore on the streets. Lipton just didn’t have the heart to leave these victims alone. Maybe he should go help those youngsters instead. Ken could fend for himself. After all, he was a vampire with supernatural healing ability. Even though he looked like he had been pulverized, Lipton knew that he would recover sooner or later. So there was no point trying to make sure that he was alright. But deep in his heart, Lipton felt as though his heart was going to be ripped with guilt if he chose to forsake Ken. Ken was Jesse’s husband, and Jesse would be terribly upset if she knew that Lipton fled from the scene when her husband needed help. Pounded by his own conscience, Lipton decided to confront the two women and get to the bottom of this. He knew that one of the women was Rellie. He’d seen her before, but he wasn’t sure about the other woman, who looked so calm and regal that it kind of unnerved him. God knew what was up in her sleeve. Her appearance might looked calm and cool, but who knew what kind of turmoil she could unleash from within? Lipton sensed that she had some kind of supernatural connection, but he couldn’t quite place what it was.

  Lipton braced himself for what was to come. His shoulders tensed and eyes serious, he stared at the two woman with as much composure as he could muster.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Lipton demanded, gesturing at the gory bodies lying on the streets.

  Rellie narrowed her eyes at Lipton, with a threatening hiss escaping her throat. “That’s none of your business!” Rellie howled, looking like she was about to pounce on Lipton and give him the worst night of his life.

  “Calm down, the two of you,” Dove said instantly, trying to prevent them from breaking into a fight. Dove gave Rellie a warning look, as if mentally telling Rellie to control her urge from attacking Lipton. Then, she swiveled her glance back at Lipton, and flashed him a smile, which made Lipton’s heart beat with a sense of wariness. “Hi, Lipton. My name is Dove. I can safely assure you that I have nothing to do with the victims behind me.” Dove gestured at the moaning victims, as if making her point.

  “If it isn’t you, then who is it?” Lipton demanded fiercely, his wings flapping energetically.

  Dove shot Rellie a sideway glance, making Rellie explode with sudden rage at the silent accusation.

  “It-it wasn’t me!” Rellie sputtered, steams of fury practically bursting from her ears. “It was him!” Rellie gestured at the vampire who was thrashing around on the ground, looking like he was in pain, but the bru
ises on his flesh seemed to have partially healed. Rellie guessed that the vampire would be back up to his feet again soon.

  “Ken?” Lipton mentioned Ken’s name in spite of himself.

  “Ken?” Rellie repeated, darting a glance at the male vampire again. “His name is Ken? Do you know him?”

  “Whether I know him or not is not your concern,” Lipton replied in a stiff tone. “You accused that vampire …” Lipton gestured at Ken again, “of attacking those victims, and it wasn’t you. How could Ken be attacking those victims when he himself is lying right there, injured?”

  “He was the one who attacked them first, OK?” Rellie howled in rage. “And when I saw that he had five victims with fresh blood flowing from them, I decided to confront him and negotiate with him. I asked him if I could drink some blood from his victims, but he refused. So we argued a little and it turned ugly. We went into a scuffle and I managed to clobber him with all my might and strength. I didn’t do anything to those victims. He did!”

  By now, Ken had fully recovered and he was back to his feet again, his head swiveling around as he scanned his surroundings. He caught sight of Lipton and the two vampires, and when his eyes lay upon Rellie, he let out a thunderous howl, a look of vengeance etched on his face.

  Without hesitation, he dashed toward Rellie, his arms flailing in the air as his expression twisted in unadulterated rage. He was going to get back at Rellie for what she’d done to him moments ago.

  Rellie reacted by shrieking furiously, her shoulders tensed as she braced herself for an attack.

  But before Ken was able to reach Rellie, he was suddenly flung across the air, as if by invisible hands. Ken crashed against the trashcans in front of a bakery shop, rolling across the sidewalk with litter all over him as he groaned in a sickening high-pitched voice. Who had flung him in the air like that? There wasn’t anyone in his sight as he dashed for Rellie. How was that even possible?

  Lipton soared into the air immediately, and rushed over to Ken, who was thrashing around in misery.

  “Are you OK?” Lipton asked, hovering slightly above Ken, who shot him an irritated gaze. Ken stared at Lipton momentarily, trying to figure out who Lipton was, as though he’d seen this winged creature before.

  “Have we met?” Ken demanded, growing impatient. Clearly, he wasn’t interested about knowing who Lipton was. He was more interested in pulverizing his new female vampire enemy, who had come out of nowhere earlier to stake her claim on his victims.

  “Ken, I need to bring you out of here,” Lipton said firmly, knowing in his heart that the right thing to do was to bring Ken back to Jesse, who’d do everything in her power to save him. Sure, he knew that Jesse had declared her love for him, but Ken was still her husband, and he couldn’t bear to see Ken in such a state of newborn misery. Lipton knew that helping Ken wouldn’t reduce the love he’d for Jesse. Even though Jesse realized that she’d loved Lipton all along, but Lipton knew that in her heart of hearts, she still cared for Ken. If she cared for Ken, then he wasn’t going to abandon Ken like this.

  “Who do you think you are?” Ken growled at Lipton, darting an angry glance at Rellie, who shot him a snarl. Ken flicked his gaze back at Lipton again. “I don’t take orders from anyone. I’m going to get that female blood sucker if it’s the last thing I do!”

  Ken blazed toward Rellie at lightning speed, eager to inflict as much physical harm on her as he could.

  Dove raised her hands, and instantly, Ken was suddenly frozen in mid-air, his feet dangling helplessly as he strained against the magical force that was immobilizing him.

  It dawned on Lipton that Dove was an Enchantress, just like Maggie. What was an Enchantress doing out in the open here in the streets in the middle of the night? What was Dove’s purpose here? There must be a valid reason as to why she was here, and Lipton had a sinking feeling that it wasn’t good at all.

  “So it was you who had tossed me in the air just now!” Ken yelled, still frozen in the air, flailing his arms and legs so violently that his tendons felt like ripping apart. “You’re an …”

  “Enchantress,” Dove finished the sentence for him in her signature regal tone. “I can’t have you bring harm to this woman here.” Dove gestured at Rellie, who was hissing at Ken as though she couldn’t wait to bite his head off. “She’s instrumental to the salvation of our world. I cannot let anything bad happen to her. So please stop trying to do what you’re trying to do.”

  “She’s instrumental?” Ken growled uneasily, the discomfort on his twisted expression obvious as he struggled to break himself free from the magical spell that froze his body in mid-air. “What’s so important about her?”

  “Well, it’s a long story. I’m not going into the details. But I need to keep her safe.”

  “How long are you going to freeze me like this?” Ken yelled anxiously.

  “I’ll release you if you promise not to lay a hand on Rellie.”

  Ken remained quiet, grunting against the magical force clamping him in the air. Ken looked like he wanted to protest, but he chose to remain silent, seeing how powerful Dove could be, and he wouldn’t want to think of messing with her.

  “Alright, I’ll let you go.” Dove waved her hand gracefully, and Ken instantly plunged down onto the cold damp ground, yelping miserably. Ken sprang back to his feet, his body tensed up, but he refrained from attacking Rellie, even though his eyes were filled with the fire of vengeance.

  Burning curiosity compelled Lipton to hover closer to Dove, the woman who seemed to ooze with inexplicable charm and mysteries. He wanted to know what was her purpose here, and why was Rellie such an important figure in the whole situation.

  “You’d better explain yourself,” Lipton demanded, wings flapping in regular rhythm as he floated in mid-air.

  “I have a name, you know,” Dove bristled, annoyance evident on her face at Lipton’s terse statement. “The name’s Dove.”

  “Dave, Dove, whatever. I don’t care about any of that. I just want to know what’s really going on here. What brings you here … Dove?” Lipton emphasized on her name to please her, even though his tone seemed to drip with sarcasm.

  Dove didn’t reply for a moment, but let her gaze wander around her. Lipton followed her gaze, wondering what she was thinking about. She seemed so wise, so mysterious, and possibly very powerful, even more powerful than Catan himself.

  After a moment of ominous silence, she finally spoke. “I can sense evil lurking everywhere around us. Darkness is taking over. The air you breathe right now … it’s filled with the essence of evil. The balance of good and evil has been tampered with. Evil is winning … I can sense it. And once complete darkness consumes everything, that would signal the Apocalypse. We’d all be doomed. Nothing, or no one, can be saved. And there is only one way to stop all of this. Just one way …”

  “What way?” Lipton asked, more puzzled than ever.

  “One way to stop this Apocalypse,” Dove began in a solemn tone, “is to kill you.”

  17. Apocalypse

  Lipton gasped with a deep sinking feeling. “What? Kill me? What does this have to do with me?”

  Dove shot Lipton a sudden sinister look, her expression darkening, sending chill down Lipton’s spine. “You are the Apocalypse, Lipton. You will bring doom to the world, and all of us!”

  “Are you insane? How could I be the Apocalypse?”

  Rellie flashed Dove a puzzled look, and gushed, “But I thought Catan was the main trigger of the Apocalypse. I don’t get it …”

  Dove put one hand up as if to silence Rellie, and then she began in a calm tone, “Yes, Catan is the main trigger of the Apocalypse, but Catan and Lipton are bound as one due to the curse that had been put on them centuries ago by a powerful Enchantress, possibly even more powerful than me. If Catan is the Trigger, then by default, Lipton is also made a Trigger. The curse has sealed both their fates together. Whatever evil deeds Catan has carried out, the blame would also fall on Lipton, by association. They may
been two different entities sharing the same body … but in essence, their fates are sealed for eternity.”

  “No!” Lipton roared incredulously, feeling the urge to punch Dove straight in the face. “I will not bear Catan’s sins. He and I are both different, and I shall not be responsible for his malevolent deeds. He’s the Trigger, not me! I’ll do whatever it takes to stop the Apocalypse from happening. I will not take part in any of Catan’s evil plans. Never!”

  “Say whatever you want to say, Lipton. But this curse that binds you and Catan together is far more powerful than you can ever imagine … so powerful that there’s been said to be no cure for it. You’re doomed for eternity with this curse. And in order to prevent the Apocalypse from being triggered, either Catan or you must die. If you die, Catan will die. If he dies, you’ll die as well. There’s not workaround to this. It’s all what it is.”

  Lipton wanted to spurt more furious words from his mouth, but the weigh of Dove’s words anchored him down, causing him to hesitate for a moment. He hated to admit it, but Dove was right. If Catan died, Lipton would also suffer the same fate, and vice versa. Lipton had a sense of trepidation that the Apocalypse was unstoppable, because Catan himself was immortal, and there was nothing powerful in the world to stop him, or to kill him even.