“I should be the one who should thank you. I was beginning to think that I didn’t have the ability to get into a music department anywhere.” She was really grateful to them.
“It’s just that some people do not know how to cultivate true talent. Your potential is hidden to them. In Geom-Eun, we will awaken skills you never thought you had.”
She got a full scholarship, all she needs to avoid is getting bitten and it would be easy. Right, easy.
“He’s my little brother.” Fatima’s eyes grew bigger and pointed from Gael then to Saul.
“How are you…” she pointed at Gael again then at Saul, “brothers with that crazy one?” Saul suddenly stopped dancing. Fatima could have sworn he was a least a hallway away from them, but he suddenly appeared in front of her.
“Don’t talk about me like I am not even here.” Saul pouted then suddenly grinned. “I guess you are very interested in me. How about we go on a date?”
“Sorry, but I like the sun. I don’t think you can go out on a date with me even if I wanted you to. Which I don’t.” Fatima found him interesting but he was way too interesting for her taste. He also reeked of playboy, so she decided to pass on the offer.
“I am a day walker,” Saul said it as if Fatima was supposed to know what it meant.
“She doesn’t know.” Fatz figured Gael could read minds on top of being able to seduce women with his sexy eyes. They didn’t turn cat-like unlike Saul’s, they were more dark and deep, like they would just draw you in and never let you go. It was hard to read what he was thinking, but oddly enough Fatima was more comfortable with him than the ever-friendly Saul.
“Oh right.” Saul hit his forehead with his palm. “Don’t worry, you’ll learn all about it in Introduction to Vampira.” Fatima didn’t know why she had to learn that in the first place but tried to keep her mouth closed.
“Why are we even here, isn’t this some kind of secret society or something?” She needed to know if she was going to get eaten or if she was some kind of entertainment for these people.
“You’re not.” Mr. Reads Minds was at it again. It was giving her the creeps having someone in her head like that.
“We are keeping things under tabs. We have for a long time. But modern times require a different kind of security. We needed to have people who were part of our society who are well-educated but not part of our race.” Saul’s reason started to make sense, but Fatima was still wondering if she was trapped in a movie or a really lame nightmare.
They arrived at the clinic and Fatima was not prepared for what she saw. There were people who were sitting in coaches, feeding. The smell of blood was prevalent in the air, and she didn’t even know how to avoid gagging. Gael and Saul led her to a more private area. Love’s bed was no ordinary hospital bed; it had drapes and was made of wood. This is no ordinary university clinic.
“We sometimes have to sleep somewhere in the university, so he had this made just for us. You can use it whenever you feel like it. The nurse would know where to lead you when you are not feeling well.” Saul offered it to her. Love was still sleeping, and she sat beside the bed.
“She will be fine. But when she wakes up, you have to be careful not to alarm her.” Fatima nodded. “I don’t know why you became a part of the program, but I have heard of Love Lee before. She is a healer and seer. So she must be very sensitive about beings like us. We are the exact opposite of who she is, at the very core of who she is. We are death, and she is an agent of life. Darkness and light don’t mix well, especially in this place.”
Gael cleared his throat, and Saul stopped talking. “Rest.” Fatima reached for Gael’s arm.
“Are you leaving us?” She didn’t want to be alone. Not on their first night there and not in the state that Love was in. Fatz can’t even defend herself against regular bullies. Supernatural beings were definitely out of her league.
Gael turned to Saul and the latter nodded. “I’ll stay. You go have fun for a change.” Gael squinted at Saul, who just laughed. “Fine, I’ll behave.”
Gael went to Fatima and gave her something. It was a handphone with the school’s emblem on the back of the cover. “Press one if he gives you any trouble. There are only two numbers on that phone, my other number and his number. So you can alert me if he tries anything funny.”
“Ya! I am not a pervert, you know!” Saul sounded like a kid being reprimanded by his parent.
“But you are a killer. So don’t mistake her for your prey. She’s not for you.”
Chapter 4: Fatima's Care
“What can you do?” Saul tilted his head to the left as he asked Fatima what her abilities were. “Love is a powerful psychic and a healer. How about you? What can you do?” She was beginning to wonder what it was about her that made her agree to be part of this other-worldly department. She was avoiding this kind of environment all her life. She wanted to be ordinary.
“I actually don’t know. I am ordinary. I think the only thing that I am best at is being poor.” She didn’t want to start with her typical sob story, so she stopped. But Saul couldn’t be stopped.
“There must be something about you that is more interesting than your bank account... or lack thereof.”
“How many times am I going to tell you that I am completely ordinary?” It was getting frustrating. He’s been at it for an hour, and Love was not coming to. The nurse said she would be sleeping for a bit more. The poor girl slept her way through the shock while Fatima was stuck with the nosiest vampire she has ever met. Granted that the only one she’s met so far was the one extremely careful with his words and the blabbermouth. She missed Gael because of his handsome face and his innate ability to speak without actually speaking. Saul was just getting on her nerves now. If he wasn’t asking questions, he was humming. And if he wasn’t humming, he was singing.
When Fatima told him that his singing might wake the patients, “Saul, please stop singing. You are going to wake Love up!” he proceeded on plugging the earphones in his ears and dancing intricate hip-hop dances.
She tried her best not to press number one on the phone’s speed dial. It wasn’t her fault that even vampires had ADHD. “I can’t take spending every day with this guy. I would just snap,” she muttered to herself.
“What major are you taking anyway?” It was about time he asked her normal questions.
“I am a music major.” She said it above a whisper, but he still heard her.
“Me too!” He was so happy that he appeared in front of her and held her hands. “I am so happy. We will see each other a lot then.”
“How…are you able to do that?” He was at one side of the large room one second and in front of her in the next breath.
“Speed is just one of the many things we have. And I am particularly faster. I haven’t even used my actual abilities around you. I don’t want you to freak out like your friend.” Saul’s lips pointed at the sleeping Love.
“I wish I could be fast and strong like you and Gael,” Fatima said it out of the blue.
She felt a heavy amount of dark energy suddenly accumulate beside her. “Never ask for that here. Someone might be stupid enough to grant your wish. No matter who asks you whether you want to be one of us or not, always say you want to be yourself, nothing more. Some of the civilian students become obsessed with belonging to the group that they seek out a chance to be one of us. But not all that embrace the darkness survive it. Many just lose their mind and become monsters. The very few, like that ones in this program, took years before they could find the discipline it required to live amongst humans.”
“But those people outside, are they here on their own free will? I don’t think there is any place to advertise about becoming a vampire’s lunch.” Saul shook his head at her.
“Red Cross.” Saul winked at her, and Fatima’s eyes were big again. “Blood drives.” She covered her mouth to stop her gasp. “So you see, there is a reason they like to support life and help a lot of people. It’s not really because they are nice people
but because, without the living, the undead would lose their source of food.”
“That is just awful.” Fatima never thought it was like that.
“No, Fatima. It’s called a win-win situation.” Saul touched her chin and moved his face even closer to hers. “But there are many who don’t feed on blood alone. And you best be careful not to be fed on by those beings.”
“What do they eat?” Fatima could barely breathe; her lips were almost touching his because she was talking.
“Energy.” He touched her left cheek with a slender finger. He kissed her softly and Fatima felt drawn to him. It was as if he was pulling her towards him. It was an uncanny feeling. Then something from inside of her tugged her back awake.
There was mist that emitted from somewhere. Fatima didn’t notice it sip out from Saul’s hands into the air. She was slowly being enveloped by it. A cloud around them made the sounds and smells disappear. Saul smirked because this was what he was best at, seducing his prey. It was the most exciting thing about being a predator of the dark, the slow fall of the helpless soul…into his inviting lips.
“I want to taste how sweet you are, faithful girl. You have something that I want inside of me. I don’t know exactly what it is. But I want it all.” The voice that was making her want to give him whatever he was asking was making her weaker and weaker by the moment. His cold cloud was seeping into her, trying to take her energy from within.
No! She wasn’t able to say it, but she was thinking it. Then she began to focus on that voice. No! No! NO! “NO!” she didn’t push him but Saul flew away from her. He fell on the ground and was unconscious. The glass that he hit had a large crack on it from the impact.
She took out the phone that Gael gave to her and pressed one. “Come…come please come here!” She didn’t even bother to say anything else and just threw the phone near the edge of the bed.
Saul was wondering why she was accepted into Geom-Eun’s night department. He wasn’t ready for what she was capable of. Fatima knew that she was not safe here if they knew about the things she could do. Fatima had her hands on her head trying to stop herself from hearing the voices that were stuck in her mind.
“You are an abomination. How could God give me a child like you? What have I done to deserve a child that causes me nothing but shame?” Fatima tried not to cry because if she did, worse things would happen.
“He was hurting our daughter, she was just defending herself.” Her mother was defending her, as usual, but her father looked at Fatima like she was his doing.
“I can’t raise my chin in this village! Why me, of all people, had to have a daughter who wreaks havoc here? We had a peaceful life before you brought that…monster in our home.” Fatima gasped at what her father called her. She has been called that name by others, children mostly – but never by her own father.
“She is no daughter of mine.” Her father threw a bag at Fatima’s feet. “Pack your things. I am bringing you to the temple where a monk that I know lives. He said he would take you in.” She was afraid that this day would come but she never really thought they would send her away. She didn’t want to leave her mother with her father. It was Fatima who was the only reason why her father never laid a hand on her mother because her father was afraid that Fatima would lose control and kill him. Fatima would never want to do that. But the fear of her kept her father from doing anything since the very first time Fatima threw him off her.
He was trying to get her to do something for him that she didn’t want ever to do with anyone.
Not ever. That dirty act that people do to make more of them, the total surrender of a woman to a man. She promised herself that no one would be able to touch her like that again.
Gael stopped at the door and looked at how Saul was sprawled on the floor, and Fatima was standing next to Love’s bed with a fear-stricken look on her face. “What have you done?” His deep voice turned rougher and Fatima was scared that he might retaliate. But Gael appeared in front of her and held her to him. “It’s safe for you now. Don’t worry. The dead can't be killed.”
Fatima began to cry as he said that. It was the very first time anyone told her that. No one in her family ever told her that what she did or what she is was anywhere near close to safe or good. In Gael’s arms, she felt that she was able to find acceptance and peace. She didn’t want to leave. He is right. Geom-Eun was the safest place for her to be. There were others stronger, stranger and scarier than her. Here, she would be normal, she could belong here.
“Now, now, big brother…I think you are holding her too close now.” Fatima looked at the direction of the door and saw that Saul was moving his shoulder as if putting back a dislocated bone. She hissed at the idea of how much that hurt. “Now, now Miss Park…it seems I have found out the reason why you are here with us.” Fatima saw the wound on his cheek heal. The blood dried, and Saul wiped it away. “It’s rude to throw people around. You owe me one, Fatz.”
“She’s under my protection. You can’t come near her unless I allow it.” Saul looked incredulously at Gael.
“She is mine now. I am her protector. Do not even think about laying a hand on her.” Gael snarled at Saul as if to make a point.
Saul raised his hands in mock surrender, “Now, now fair Gael, you really should watch your temper. Bora has made her choice. But it is up to her if she comes to me or you now.”
“Do you not value your existence?” Gael didn’t like to make idle threats. Saul just laughed.
“My existence is a whim of the gods. I was created into something that lasts simply to put an end to the lives of others. What is it to me if I seize to exist or not.” Saul smirked at Gael, who was seething now.
“Then let me help with your quest to end your existence.” Gael was pulled back by Bora.
“He’s lonely. We can’t leave him behind. He would be lost without us.” Bora looked at Saul and smiled. “I can’t have children so why not keep him as ours?”
“He wants you for yourself. I have never heard of a child wanting his own mother.” Saul snorted, and Gael squinted at him again.
“Clearly you have never heard of Oedipus.” Saul laughed as he flew away from Gael’s range. He wondered if there would ever be someone who would take him seriously and need his protection.
“You never take anyone under your wing. Why now?” Saul didn’t understand what Gael wanted from Fatima. She was weaker than most of the ones who have wanted to take the empty space in Gael’s heart. But she was human. He would never turn her. Gael didn’t turn people into one of them. It was his only redeeming factor. Then again, he killed those who tried to be turned through him. No vampire came from Gael. It was an unusual side of him, an almost human side.
“She’s not for you to play with, Saul.” What Gael said just made him want her more.
Maybe this time, it would be my turn. Not yours.
Chapter 5: Morning After
She was walking down a grand staircase. She held on to her gown and tried to raise it enough for her to be able to walk.
“Dresses are truly an inconvenient thing.” She blew air up to keep the tendrils of her hair from falling on her face.
He was dancing in the middle of the ball, again with a beautiful Madonna that she would never be able to compare to. She is an Original, but she was not beautiful. An Original either got married early, so she would keep the interest of others or she became a novelty in parties because it is so difficult to marry her off.
She didn’t want to marry anyone else but him. She walked up to him and pulled him by the arm. Embarrassed by her own brazen behavior, she kept her eyes on the ground. She stopped when they reached the balcony and threw herself into his arms. She kissed him with all the love that she could muster.
She opened her eyes abruptly when she heard Saul’s voice. “Now, now, big brother, you really shouldn’t rush off like that. Bora would be jealous.”
Fatima opened her eyes and saw that Gael had a darkened expression painted on his fa
ce. Bora stood beside her, black curly hair flowing down on either side of her generous bosom. “I don’t blame her for wanting him. I chose him for myself. I understand the appeal.”
Saul moved forward to claim Fatima’s lips in a punishing kiss. “These lips are mine, faithful one. You really should take your glasses out of your reticule when you try to drag me out of the arms of a fair maiden.”
“She wouldn’t have to drag you off anyone if you just keep your hands to yourself. My lips would be safer too.” Gael was wiping his lips vigorously. Bora laughed and just kissed him instead.
Fatima opened her eyes as she felt the warmth from the sunlight streaming through the only window in her tiny room. She still couldn’t believe it, she was half-expecting that it was still March first, and she hasn’t had that weird night at Geom-Eun.
I really should stop dreaming about that ridiculous guy. For most of the night, she had so many dreams where she is in Saul’s arms, and Gael was there too. A beautiful woman who bore a resemblance to Love, with her black doll hair, a spunky lady named Bora. She felt like she time-travelled because she was in so many different places and times that she couldn’t keep her mind in the same frame as the other people in her dream. This uncanny awareness that she was dreaming always bugged her. But when she reached out to write about her dreams, a piece of reality came back to her.
Now they know about me.
She has been living alone since she was fifteen because her parents could no longer take care of her. Her brief stay at the temple proved to be very helpful. She was able to find her center thus the control for her emotions were more stable. It was only when she was really angry or shocked that things get out of hand.
But she couldn’t come back after her training. Their whole village knew about the girl who couldn’t control her dangerous abilities. She didn’t have any friends to say goodbye to so going to Seoul to continue her education was better than being around people who knew her since birth. But the money they sent her is just enough to pay for the room she is living in now and a few groceries. She had to take part-time work as a cleaner and later on as a server in a restaurant just to get by. Since she’s been working hard for all that time, she began wondering how she was able to study for her test and managed to ace it. But she still did it, and she was able to get into Geum-Eon.
Menage: The Vampire Brothers Hunger (Menage Paranormal Romance Book 1) Page 2