Requiem for Blood

by Alexandra Hope

  Another one tossed her and she slammed into the metal doors. When she had gotten back up they were like bursts of color tussling on each wall, fast and sporadic movements as they drifted from corner to corner. She had dropped the dao as the man ripped her arm backwards and broke it at the shoulder. With her right arm out of commission for a while, she jumped back briskly as he ineptly swung it at her. He took a few swipes at her neck and she winced between the screams that had been coming out of her mouth before. She felt her arm come back to life as she now stood in a corner with all the men running toward her. She narrowed her eyes, annoyed that the weapon was being swung around by a complete amateur though she knew she wasn't much better. Still, she thought as she grabbed his throat and felt the veins pulsate under the pressure, I don't like people using my weapons. The blood from the man spurted all over her and hypnotized the others, giving her enough time to throw his body at them.

  The men had recovered from their spellbound state and she noticed that she was still outnumbered, five to one. After retrieving her weapon, she was slammed against the wall, the dao once again dropping onto the floor with a loud clang. She began to lose consciousness from the blood loss but retained enough cognizance to force a hand into his throat, blood now shooting out of it. He had her high up on the wall and when he let go and fell back, she slid down and collided with the floor so forcefully that her bones shattered. She let out a scream as they slowly repaired themselves, so slowly that she couldn't move as the remaining vampires encircled her. One had been so driven by his bloodlust that he had become a mindless creature running toward her before the rest of them. He stabbed his teeth into her neck and then he pulled back as shrills came out of his mouth. Olivia turned her head slowly and saw that he was now engulfed in flames and that they were spreading toward the other vampires. Erika was at the door with a now recovered Troy and had done her the favor of burning them to a crisp, the remains now a heap of ash around Olivia.

  Troy didn't know what he was saying when the words came out, all he knew was that he was bent down, leaning toward her. He urged her to drink and when she finally brought her lips to his neck, she did as she was told. She had gotten most her strength back when she pulled her mouth away from him and saw the bite marks disappear. Erika told her to go on and she did, but not before thanking Troy.

  When she ran through the doors, she positioned the blade in her hand ready for another fight but there was more than a silence in there. There were heartbeats. She ran through, counting until she reached twenty three and knew immediately who was in there. She followed the sound and when she stepped into the room that held mats, she saw Sam ahead of everyone.

  “Olivia!” she said when her eyes fell on her. The outburst surprised everyone despite the circumstances.

  Olivia noticed the children had been tied in chains and when she asked who did it to them, she was given an answer she pretty much expected.

  “Felicity.”

  She couldn't understand what she had been fighting for since nothing but a series of nightmares had led her to her mother. The rest had all seemed like it was Felicity's doing. She broke the chains and the students rejoiced briefly but were now wondering what to do. She explained to Sam that she couldn't stay and was headed to the door when Sam held her back.

  “Turn me.”

  “I haven't been very successful in the past,” she said and thought of her 2:1 ratio.

  “I'd rather have a chance at immortality than to not have one at all,” said Sam, her green eyes near pleading with Olivia. She knew that wasn't what the girl meant and her true words played in her head, I'd rather have a chance to kill Felicity than to not have one at all. She then began the turning process.

  She expected the girl to be burdened by a deep bloodlust when she had awakened, but she had been completely devoid of one as she sought out Felicity. She thanked Olivia and as if she had been a vampire for years, sped quickly and quietly through the halls. Olivia asked the other kids to be silent and wait for her return and then she went in search of her mother.

  After racing through the halls, she knew her mother hadn't been there and neither had any of the adults. She left the recreation center through a side door so not to be caught by Troy. She could smell for miles and had caught the faintest scent of peppermint then took off in that direction. The rain poured down on her as she whizzed past the autumn trees and the town center, its multiple brick buildings blending into one as she blew through. If she hadn't been going so fast, she probably would've noticed the familiarity of it before she had gotten there.

  “Home?” she asked herself as she went through the open gates. When she stepped into the house, her mother's steady heartbeat welcomed her.

  Twenty Five

  Troy and Erika listened to the sounds of bolts being shot from a crossbow. Felicity was shooting it at Sam, but missing every time. They heard their every movement as it reverberated through the recreation center despite being faint to human ears. With sounds so strong in their ears, it was like they had been watching the fight. Felicity pulled out a whip after tossing the crossbow down and Sam avoided the strikes as the whip lashed out in her direction. Felicity couldn't keep up but didn't give in as she obstinately whipped again and again. The tips had still been adorned with spikes and when they finally caught Sam's skin, blood was shed and Felicity smirked.

  “Vampire or not. I can still catch you with a whip.”

  Sam had dodged the next lashing, never coming in close enough to attack Felicity. She was doing what she had always done, evading until her enemy got tired.

  The weapon snaked behind Felicity as she geared up for another strike. She wiped away the blood that trickled down her forward with a bloody hand, only managing to smear more across her white skin. She lashed it out and the whip wrapped around Sam's arm. She tried to reel her in but Sam's strength had been too much for her and she was pulled in, fully accepting of her death as Sam bit down her neck and drained her until Troy heard nothing else.

  “So, she's dead....” he said.

  “So she is.”

  There was a crash in the hallway, the sound of someone being slammed into the brick walls and the two heard a grunt from a girl's mouth. There was a steady tap of heels walking across the floor and they heard more grunts as someone staggered upwards.

  “And now she's back,” said Erika.

  “As a vampire? How?”

  He thought of all the blood he lost when Felicity stabbed the dagger through his heart and his question had been answered by his own memory. She had to have drank his blood and allowed herself to get killed and despite all his knowing, he was angry that he didn't figure that out from the beginning. He had pushed himself off the wall and was starting toward the sounds of the fight but Erika pulled him back, “No, it's her fight.”

  “I'm not gonna just sit here and do nothing,” he said in a low growl as he thought back on the diary's contents.

  “Troy, this is what they do and have always have done. And besides, if you get hurt, you'll only distract Olivia. Bound to you, remember?”

  Troy felt useless in the grand scheme of things. First, forced to stay outside by Olivia and then stabbed in the back by someone else—someone he pretty much loathed at this point. He asked himself why he had trained if he was just going to be left out of it and the answer came to him quickly: it wasn't his fight. Sure, he had been at the center of it, but what would he be fighting for? To avenge Alexa? That task had already been given to Olivia so that left him with nothing to do but wait and he inwardly agreed that if he got hurt, it would only distract Olivia and possibly get her hurt.

  Felicity had Sam by the neck and was slamming the back of her head into the wall over and over again, taking great pleasure in hearing the girl scream at the pain and then inflict it on her again once she healed. She then ran her body along the walls, digging into the bricks as she did and threw her into the metal doors. The force behind the throw was enough to push Sam through it and it took her a couple of minu
tes to shake off the daze she was in. Felicity was standing over her and pulling her by her red hair as she slid her across the floor and then threw her into another wall.

  Sam was pushing herself up, her back on the wall as Felicity slowly strolled toward her.

  “So now two vampires are engaged in battle? How long do you think this will last?” asked Felicity, sarcastically.

  “Not long at all,” choked Sam as she spat red, the color in her eyes blazing with fury.

  Felicity narrowed her eyes at Sam's boldness and proceeded with caution, wary of the girl's movements. Sam began to run but Felicity was in front of her before she got anywhere, “This is boring. You're a vampire and you can't even fight like...” her last word still hung in her throat as Sam stabbed her hand into the chest of a gloating Felicity. She ripped her hand back but didn't take her heart with it and instead, took a hand to Felicity's neck. She brought her mouth to it, giving her the slow and painful death she deserved as she drained her. Sam pulled away, her eyes dark as Felicity dropped to the ground in her permanent death.

  When her eyes returned to their normal state, she shook her head at the dead girl. “That was for Allison.”

  Sam walked down the hall, bloody and slowly recovering from the fight. When she had gotten to the entrance of the recreation center, she saw two figures leaned against the wall as if it were just normal to do that amidst a fight between two vampires.

  “Who are you?” she asked, her eyes going from light to dark as she took in their scent.

  “We're the backup,” said Erika.

  Sam pushed down the bloodlust as she fell, but didn't collide with the ground. Troy caught her in his arms before she made it to the ground and let her feed on him to regain her strength. He realized his position could only be described as a human blood bag but didn't mind as he supported their struggle. When Sam had gotten back some energy, she spoke briefly with the boy who introduced himself as Troy and was almost brought to tears after hearing that Allison was alright. She mentioned the other kids who were still in one of the rooms and it had most of Troy's attention but he couldn't deny his wandering thoughts, so he interrupted and asked, “Where do you think Olivia is? Do you think she found her mother?”

  “If you were in tune with her, you would know she isn't here,” Erika said and glanced up at the ceiling.

  Twenty Six

  Olivia had followed her mother's scent into her study where she was at the desk, flipping through her book. The study had always been a cramped and tiny space but she hadn't seen the inside of it in years and noticed that new books filled the shelves and were stacked high on the floor, the sight alone being able to force any breathing human into suffocation. Mar barely acknowledged her daughter as she peered over her glasses and then back at her book. Olivia couldn't believe she had the nerve to turn away when here she was, soaked in blood and holding a weapon before her.

  “Alexa and Noah are dead and to an extent, so is Allison and Sam.”

  “And now you have come to seek revenge?” she asked, taking her reading glasses off and looking boldly into Olivia's eyes. Olivia couldn't help but feel small under her mother's harsh gaze, even if she had been a sword wielding vampire.

  She spoke carefully. “I'm seeking answers. And I'm searching for a reason to defend you.”

  “Is my love for you not enough?” She stood up and stuffed her hands into her lab coat pocket.

  “Not anymore, especially if it's not true.”

  Mar narrowed her eyes at Olivia. “What did you say?”

  “Tell me I am wrong when I say that you crave immortality more than you crave family!”

  “You are wrong,” she said simply.

  Olivia had been stunned by her words and dropped the sword to the ground as she choked on the liquid in her throat. It had been the first time since becoming a vampire that she had been rendered to that state and she almost couldn't speak when she opened her mouth. “Then what is this? Why the need to lock up the others and tell them to kill me when they saw me.”

  “I asked for them to be locked up because it was for their protection and I never told anyone to kill you, that is why no one believed Felicity because those words were not true. It's just so hard to keep up with her...” she trailed off.

  “What were you protecting them from?”

  “The same thing I have been trying to protect you from. The vampire,” she said. “I know Erika sent you here and her efforts were in vain because I don't have the answers you seek and trust me, my death wouldn't be in her best interest.”

  Olivia felt the walls push in around her and if she could die from suffocation, she probably would have died a thousand times by now but here she was, still standing but beyond confused at what her mother was saying. She looked at her with wide eyes and shook her head at how little it made sense.

  “How do you know Erika? Be honest or I will kill you,” her voice wavered as she realized what she was saying.

  “Clearly her audacity has rubbed off on you,” her mother sighed. “There is an immensely powerful vampire who is in search of something. Erika holds a piece and I hold one as well.”

  “What is it?” she asked with urgency.

  “Even I do not know. It was hidden within me by another kitsune and the only way to get it is in my death. I didn't want it to be found and that is why I do not wish to be a vampire yet. I had been searching for the kitsune blood but I was not going to use it yet. I was not going to kill Troy Evans, I just wanted to know if another one existed.”

  “But now you will?”

  “There are things—people—who seem like they are fighting on the right side, but believe me Olivia, they are not. I wonder if Erika has told you how many she has killed in her misguided fight. I do seek immortality, you are right, but for reasons you couldn't begin to understand. They aren't things as mindless and selfish as not wanting to grow old or a fear of death....” She let the words hang between them, unwilling to let the truth slip out.

  Olivia could hardly keep track of everything that was coming out of her mother's mouth and wanted so desperately to shut it off but the words were already embedded in her head. Still, she couldn't forget the deaths of Noah and Alexa and how her mother had indirectly caused them. As a war raged within her, Mar studied Olivia cautiously. She read each thought as they came up and had already planned her next move when Olivia resolved to kill her no matter what. Mar walked over to Olivia and softly pressed her palms against her cheeks as she looked into her eyes.

  “My dearest Olivia, you are the only daughter I have left...” she snapped her neck, “and I cannot allow you to kill me.”

  She stepped over Olivia's body with her book in hand and just before she exited the study, she bent down and picked up the dao and stabbed it into her back to give herself more time to escape. She was pulling the front door open when Olivia shut it, her eyes burning with hatred as she stared at her mother.

  “You are faster than I expected.”

  “I have learned a lot from Erika.”

  “But you haven't learned the truth...” said Mar, shaking her head in disappointment. “Especially about her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Mar didn't answer and instead turned and ran but Olivia cut her off with quick movements. Olivia felt a stab in her chest and looked down to see that her mother was pulling a kunai out of her chest. Mar brought it high over her head and was bringing it down again, this time to Olivia's neck. Olivia deflected the small weapon with her arm and blood spilled out of the gash. Mar stepped back fluidly, the kunai whipping around her middle finger before she clasped it in her hand. She tore off her lab coat and was left wearing all black, as Olivia had been. She charged forward in what seemed like a rash and uncoordinated move but the speed at which she moved was almost blindingly fast for Olivia whose arm was grazed by the tiny knife again.

  She quickly realized that her mother had been holding out on her and had never showed strength and precision like this, but then again,
she had never seen her fight.

  “I've trained with assassins and have met a few vampires, if that is what you were wondering,” she said in a clear voice despite how much she had been moving.

  Mar kept moving and Olivia could barely dodge her attacks as she ran through the house and back to the entryway. Olivia hadn't noticed the book that her mother was still holding until she briefly set it on a step and then retrieved it after forcing the kunai through her chest again. Mar had pushed it through her with so much force that it made Olivia stumble back and when she regained her bearing, her eyes stared straight at the item in her hand. She couldn't understand why the book had meant so much to her as she was never willing to let it go for more than a minute while she stabbed and slashed Olivia several times in an effort to bleed her to death.

  Olivia slammed her mother against the door, her eyes dark. She managed to control her bloodlust as she slid her hand down her mother's arm and tugged the book away from her. She had left a large gap between them as she darted away from her mother with the book in hand.

  “Olivia,” Mar called. “You can kill me, but you will never understand what is in that book!”

  Olivia was in the den, standing in front of the crackling fire convinced that before she rid herself of her mother's insanity, she would have to rid her mother of whatever was bound between this leather. Despite the fear she had of fire, she felt unusually fearless as she held her hand above it. The flames clawed upward as if sensing that something was going to be dropped into their void and welcomed it with eager anticipation. Mar had pushed the glass door open and for the first time, Olivia could see something in her eyes, something that closely resembled fear.