by Dani Hoots
When Brian and Joshua arrived back, I was in the library reading some of the books collected by Brian over the years. I had 20,000 Leagues under the Sea in my hand when he came through the door alone. He didn’t say a word as he sat down across from me. I placed the book down and we sat there in silence for a few moments.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t want to hurt you, I should have never...”
“No, it’s my fault. I made you... Even though you said you didn’t want to. I should have did as you said and left the room. I should have known better.”
He shook his head. “After you entered the room, you couldn’t have left. I may have wanted you to leave but... even if you backed down I don’t think I would have let you leave without taking your blood. And I want to apologize for that. I...”
I got up and sat next to him, placing my hand on his knee. “It’s alright. Stop making yourself out to be a monster.”
“You don’t understand, it’s hard to be around you when I’m like that. I don’t know if I can control myself. I took enough blood the first time I bit you, but after... When you desire someone, when you feel something, it overwhelms you and the hunger and desire combine. It is intoxicating and I couldn’t resist.”
I listened to his words very carefully. Was he admitting he had feelings for me? That was the reason he couldn’t stop. “I don’t know what to say, I just wanted to help you.”
He caressed my hand with his thumb. “You are too good to be true, Anne. And because of that, I want to let you go.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You are free to go. You don’t have to serve me or anything. You can leave, do what you want to do. I can give you money to go get started. I don’t want to hide your beauty from the world any longer.”
I couldn’t believe what he was saying. After everything, he was just going to let me go? I knew his secret, I could tell anyone if I wanted, not that I did. He also had just confessed that he had feelings for me. “I don’t want to leave this place, I don’t want to leave your side, Brian. I don’t have anywhere to go. I’m not leaving.”
He smiled. “Good because, honestly, I don’t think I really could have let you go out that door. I would have ended up begging you to come back.”
Seemed about right. I laughed, feeling more comfortable around him. I had to put the past behind me and realize that I wasn’t the only one with demons in my past. Brian had suffered with this curse for hundreds of years. He understood pain more than I could ever know.
Brian leaned in closer to me. My heart felt like it was going to skip a beat. But the dumb idiot didn’t kiss me that night. At the last moment possible, he turned away. My heart sank in my chest as he stood up. “I should go check and make sure Walter has started dinner.”
“Alright.”
Just as he stepped into the doorway, he turned to me. “And perhaps, after, I can accompany you on the piano.”
I nodded. “I would like that, yes.”
He looked at me a little longer. “Yeah, I don’t think I will ever let you go, Anne. You better get used to me,” with that, he left me sitting there alone in the library.
We did just that. Brian and I played the piano and violin through the night. I saw Joshua watch from the entryway with a frown on his face. I didn’t know why but as the days passed, he seemed to hate me more and more. I wondered if he figured Brian would kill me that night, only for us to become closer. Joshua didn’t like the idea of Brian having someone to love, I presumed because he didn’t want him to get distracted from business.
A few days after the storm, the phone rang as Brian and I enjoyed each other’s company in the library. Walter gave it to Brian and after a few minutes, Brian had a wide grin on his face. He hung up the phone and yelled in triumph.
“Yes!”
“What is it?” I asked.
He picked me up and twirled me around. “He’s arrested! The bastard got caught!”
I just laughed at his excitement. “Who?”
“Al Capone! The bastard is in prison!” he laughed again and spun me around. When he stopped spinning me, he stared into my eyes for a long moment. Leaning in, he kissed me gently on the lips.
He backed away quickly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”
I pulled him close again and kissed him harder. He wrapped his hands around my waist and ran them up my back. We parted mouths and he leaned his forehead against mine, taking in the lost breaths.
“Well,” he said. “I didn’t see that coming. Usually if I kiss a girl without their express permission I get slapped.”
Before I could respond, which would have been something along the lines of ‘a lot of women must give you permission then’, I heard a coughing sound coming from the entryway. We both jumped back to find Joshua standing there.
“Who was on the phone?” he asked, eyeing me.
“Great news, Joshua! Al Capone is in the slammer! We must celebrate! Call the boys and invite them out here!”
“I take it that you are already celebrating,” he stared at me for a moment longer then left to do what Brian wished.
“He’s not happy,” I whispered.
Brian shrugged. “He will get over it. As for the party tonight,” he picked me up and twirled me around once more. “You must play the piano. I insist.”
“I don’t know if I am good enough to play in front of everyone. Honestly, the three of you are the first live audience I have ever had.”
“Well, I don’t believe in hiding such great things from the world. You must play more.”
I agreed to it and helped Walter begin to clean for that night’s festivities. A few hours later, car after car started arriving. Al Capone had been causing the Irish mob a lot of pain in the past years, not only in Chicago but throughout the east coast. He had gotten away with the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, many murders, thefts, and when he was captured for something such as tax fraud, well, there wasn’t an Irish soul who wasn’t celebrating the man’s suffering.
Brian moved the piano into the ballroom and I played pretty much every song that was requested, and people danced all around. They laughed and cheered and I was glad I was a part of it all. I had gone to quite a few parties with Brian and never did I see so many smiles on everyone’s face.
As I played more, I watched as people mingled in the room and throughout the house. After a while I lost track of Brian. Presuming he had many people to talk to that night, I didn’t think about looking for him, at least not until Joshua came.
“Hey, Brian has been looking for you. I think he is in the library,” Joshua said. “I can get someone to take over for you in the meantime.”
He seemed a lot more cheerful than normal. I should have gathered something was up, but I had been too distracted from all the things going on. I finished up the song and got up. “Alright, thanks.”
“No problem,” he smiled as I left. I headed through the hallway and into the library and that’s when I saw him. Brian, sitting with a woman who’s lips were against his and her hand moving up his thigh. I just stood there, in the doorway, my hand over my mouth. I couldn’t believe after everything he said that he would still go after another girl.
Brian looked up and saw me. “It’s not what it looks like.”
I shook my head and left the room. I could hear him calling after me but I didn’t bother stopping. He grabbed my wrist. “It’s not what it looks like, I swear.”
Like I hadn’t heard that one before. “No, I get it. You were just using me again. None of it meant anything to you, I should have known. Just like earlier,” I pulled my hand away from him.
“Anne, wait, please,” he begged. “It’s not like that, let me explain.”
“I’m going out and getting some air,” and with that, I left him standing there. Quickly I grabbed a jacket and ran out into the crisp autumn night.
Looking back on it, that was probably the second worst mistake I had ever made in my entire life. The first was st
ill yet to come, unfortunately. I ventured into the night, alone, tears falling from my eyes. Brian had broken my heart once again. He had showed me so much compassion the past couple of weeks and after the kiss that morning... I really thought he had loved me. I was just another girl to him. I didn’t even want to give him the chance to explain himself, it probably would have just been another lie.
The air was cool against my exposed skin. I tried to stay as warm as possible because I didn’t want to go back to that house. I didn’t want to be the fool that believed someone could love me any longer. I didn’t want to be manipulated anymore and I didn’t want to be lied to. I had thought I had escaped a home full of pain only to find even more.
As I pondered on the thought of where I could go to leave everything behind me, I heard a howling noise. I stopped in my tracks and listened. The howl echoed around, I couldn’t make out as to where it had come from. My heart started to race in my chest and I held my breath in the silence.
I was in deep trouble and I knew it.
I slowly looked back at the house. It was a small light in the distance and I didn’t know if I could make it in time. At least that time I wasn’t wearing heels, as I promised never to do so again. I started to hurry back when I heard the growls start to encircle me. I really should have never left Brian’s side because everything bad seemed to happen if I ran off from Brian, or if he went off alone.
Making a straight sprint back towards Brian’s house, a dark object leapt out from the bushes and on to me. I barely had even got five feet before it knocked me down to the ground. I screamed and kicked at the creature’s mouth. It exposed its sharp teeth and its piercing eyes looked at me with an intent to kill. A wolf. I tried to get up and kick the wolf in the muzzle. It snapped at my feet as I moved. The creature’s teeth sank into my ankle and I screamed again. I could feel the sharp fangs rip away at my flesh. It pulled me down to its level and bit my side and stomach. I tried to kick it off but it was no use. The wolf was stronger than me.
Something moved in the shadows like a flash. Suddenly the wolf moved off of me and growled at the object. I tried to move but the pain shooting through my body was unbearable.
“Somebody help me,” I whispered into the night. “Please.”
I heard the sound of footsteps coming to me. “Anne!”
It was Joshua.
He knelt down beside me. “Oh, God, Anne. What happened?”
“Wolves. They came out of nowhere,” I tried to move but the pain swept over me. “Ow!”
Joshua placed his hand gently on my arm. “Don’t move, don’t move. Brian knew something was wrong and sent me out here. He’s fighting off the wolves right now.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What? Is he crazy?”
“The wolves have been after him for a while. They are part of the tribe he massacred. They are shape-shifters.”
“I don’t understand,” I began.
“It’s not important now, we have to get you medical attention,” he tried to move me. I cried out in pain.
“My stomach, it hurts,” I hadn’t looked down and I knew I didn’t want to.
“Oh, God,” Joshua said. “Anne, I can’t move you, I can’t get you out of here.”
I heard more footsteps. “Anne!”
It was Brian. I tried to look up at him but the pain was overwhelming. I grimaced and my head fell back. Everything was beginning to go blurry and I could hear voices but none of them were making any sense. My body started to feel numb and I could barely breath.
Brian knelt down beside me and did one of the strangest things I had ever seen someone do. Brian bit down on his wrist.
“What are...” I began, everything was spinning around me.
“Shh, don’t talk,” he placed the blood to my lips. “Drink it.”
The red drops came off his wrist and into my mouth. My mind was screaming, every wound was screaming, but the moment the blood touched my lips, the world was silent, I couldn’t hear anything. The pain shooting through my body fogged my mind and I drank the blood pouring out of of his wrist.
And I couldn’t stop myself.
Brian pulled his arm away from me. I couldn’t see anything but red, not being able to feel anything but the fire that dwelled in my veins. I had no idea what he did to me but it felt magnificent. No more pain, no more fear. It was all gone. For once, I felt alive and strong. For once I felt in control.
Then everything went to hell again.
A wolf leaped out of the bushes and attacked Brian. All I could see was the large hairy creature leaping over me and onto Brian, growling and snapping its jaws at him. I saw Brian try to reach for his gun only to drop it. Everything was blurry still. Joshua pulled out his own gun and shot at the wolf. It lied there, dead.
Another wolf jumped through the darkness at Joshua. He screamed. I tried to blink away the blurriness of my sight. I had to help them, I knew I had to do something.
I grabbed the gun that Brian had dropped, and rubbed my eyes. I shot the wolf on top of Joshua. It whimpered and fell to the ground. I swore I saw it start to change shape but once I knew it was dead, I didn’t have time to delay. I ran after Brian and shot the wolf that attacked him. The wolf went down.
Brian was slumped over. I hurried to his side. “Are you alright?”
He shook his head. “Not quite,” he moved his hand to reveal his arm covered in blood. “Can’t heal from their bite.”
“What?” I looked at the wolf again but here was no wolf, only a man lying on the ground dead, his dark hair crusted with blood. I dropped my gun and covered my mouth. “How?”
“The Indian tribe I pissed off was part of the Wolf clan. After turning me into what I am, I escaped and slaughtered many of them. Those who survive called upon the spirits of their ancestors and, well, the spirits answered. They taught them to turn into wolves and one bite from them,” he grimaced. “Can kill a hooh-strah-dooh. They’ve been after me for years. Looks as if they finally won, that is if you count this as a win for them.”
Kill a hooh-strah-dooh? No, that couldn’t be possible, I couldn’t let that happened. I rushed to his side. “What do we do? What can I do?”
He shook his head and placed his hand on my cheek. “There isn’t anything we can do, the only way to heal me is with the blood of another hooh-strah-dooh...” he collapsed and fainted.
Joshua limped to us. “What happened?”
“He got bit and said it’s going to kill him,” I started shaking. “He said only blood of another one of his kind can heal him. What do we do? How do we find another? Are there even other creatures out there?”
Joshua stared at me for a while. I didn’t know what was running through his mind but I knew it wasn’t good.
“What’s wrong?” I questioned, stepping back from him.
“He said the only way was the blood of a hooh-strah-dooh?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He raised his gun at me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, jumping back.
“I’m sorry, but he has to live,” with that, Joshua shot me.
And that was how I died.
I awoke a few hours later, with the worst headache in my life. My head was pounding, shooting pain throughout my body. If I didn’t know better, I swore I just had a hangover and everything had been a dream. But unfortunately that wasn’t the case. I glanced around to find myself back in the house. Everyone had left, leaving trash that I would have to clean up. But why did everyone leave? I couldn’t remember. Slowly, things started to come back to me. The image of a gun pointed at me came into my mind. I touched my head to find blood crusted in my hair.
“What the...” I began as I looked at my hand. It was covered in blood.
“About time you woke up, I was beginning to worry it wouldn’t work,” Joshua said. I turned to find him sitting across from me.
I thought back to the last thing I remembered. The wolves had attacked us, if they were wolves, and then I shot them. Bri
an was hurt. Then... “You shot me.”
“Killed you actually. With Brian’s blood in you. I recalled that’s how he was made into a hooh-strah-dooh.”
“A hooh-strah-dooh... You made me... No,” I shook my head. “No, that’s impossible.”
Joshua stood up. “It’s the only way to save him, I had to make you into the same creature. You had his blood in you, it was perfect. Luckily Brian told me all about the process when he was drunk one night. Looks like the information paid off.” He pulled out a knife and slashed his hand. “Now you just have to drink my blood for the change to be complete.”
I shook my head. “I can’t, I will not! Walter!”
“He’s not here, I sent him out to take care of hiding the bodies of those wolves. And what is your problem with taking my blood? You took his blood without hesitation. This is the only way to save him, I know that you love him.”
“But he doesn’t love me. He was with that girl,” the thought of what I had seen still made my heart ache. He had betrayed me.
“He didn’t do anything with that girl. I hired her to make it look that way so you would be mad at him. Honestly, Brian hasn’t touched a girl since you were brought here. I don’t know why, but he thinks he loves you.”
I stared at him. Everything, all of this heartache, was because of him. “Why would you...”
“Because he doesn’t need his priorities complicated! He is the greatest gangster there is and if he gets distracted something bad will happen, like tonight. It was your fault he was out there. He went after you, knowing that he would risk his life to do so. You owe it to him to complete this change and give him your blood.”
I frowned. Everything he said was true. I was the reason he was out there, I was the reason he could be dying. Although the reason I was out there was to get away from what Joshua had set up. Everything was a blur and my head was pounding.