by Lillian Grey
“How did you...” I asked confused as to how fast he climbed up here.
“Please, just listen to me for a moment; you can choose to believe me or not, either way, when I’m done, I will take you home. Here, you can even hold the key to the car,” he said, handing me a small square crystal. "If you still think I’m crazy and want to go home alone, you can have the car and I will stay out of your life as much as possible." How he said that made me believe him completely, but I took the key all the same. There was a part of me that wanted to run, a large part. There was also a small part of me, a very powerful part, that wanted to just hear him speak.
“Alik, tell me straight. What is going on; little girls playing with big knives, people turning into dust and disappearing, and whatever the hell else you did to me,” I said walking over and leaning against the car, desire winning out over the fear.
“That was June, my sister. You might have seen her at Masteria; she is the DJ.”
“Where is she?” I suddenly became even more hostile. I’d like to blame the shock for that.
“She thought it would be better if she wasn’t here so you wouldn’t feel outnumbered and scared.”
"How do you think that’s working out," I said a little too hostilely and he looked hurt. "I'm sorry, go on."
"Well my sister and I aren’t human."
“Wait! I know what you’re going to tell me next,” he nodded and let me go on. “So we got people bursting into flames when exposed to a light... You are insanely fast, as you crossed that beach and climbed that hill without me noticing. I’ve only ever seen you out at night; I’m going to take a wild guess, blood is involved, as you've implied I’ve had some of yours…” I caught a glimpse of my palm and gave another shiver at the reflection of red. I then grabbed his face, pulling his lips apart and his white teeth sparkled in the moonlight. I placed a finger against one of his canines, forgetting that my hands were very dirty, and it pricked me. “ Ow..." I had to fight the urge to suck my finger. "You have fangs. Please don’t tell me you’re a fucking vampire.”
“What else do you want me to say?” he said with a little smile, and for some reason that set me off.
“Oh great!" I shouted and I began to pace a short distance. "Are you serious?! Is that the best you could come up with?” I said, getting louder by the second. “You being a blood drinker and raping me would make more sense.”
“I don’t love you for just your body!” he shouted and looked like he had said something he didn't want to and I allowed it to go unoticed. “This is serious,” he continued in a softer tone. “You don’t understand the position we are both in. I want to keep you alive, but there are forces that might say otherwise and I'd have to kill you if they forced my hand."
“Now you’re going to kill me, too? Well, that’s the first thing you have said that makes sense; I see why we are on a dark beach alone.” My mind was racing, he loved me... I didn’t act as if I had paid attention to what he had said.
“No, that’s not what I meant; that came out wrong. Ugh, I didn’t want this to happen,” he said, again more to himself than me.
“Well now that we have established you’re a vampire that wants to kill me, what else?”
“Okay, look. The girl with the curls, that was Alisa." His tone was the same, but the way he phrased that was strange. "She has been responsible for the whole Nightcap/Night Children thing in New York. I guess you can say I am a little responsible by recreating Masteria and giving her the stage to play her little game. She was creating new vampire who fed outside Masteria in other clubs in the open. Some kids saw, thought it would be cool, and mimicked it. Things spread fast and so you have the rise of the Night Children. Alisa spread the 'Night Children' name to the media as she created thirty-three new vampire in total. Most people no one would miss and some rich spoiled brats who liked to spend daddy’s money at night who are now on missing people’s list. Those two we killed tonight were the last of them. The nine deaths recently around the club scene were done by a few who couldn’t help themselves on their first feed and killed the human.”
“You missed one, I believe you let Alisa go.”
“Alisa is an ancient, over five thousand years old; this is her idea of a game. The Elders didn’t deem her a risk; she was only the creator. Young vampire rebel against their creators all the time like this; however even if Alisa didn’t try to stop them, it’s the same as a troublesome teen stealing cars. As vampire, we are potentially immortal and jail, which is just loss of some of your life, isn’t punishment. Destruction is how we solve these matters. It was up to me to kill her or not and she has never been a threat to anyone.”
“She seemed plenty dangerous to me,” I mumbled to myself.
“I should have said never been a threat to another vampire. We are all threats to humans.”
“Was that clarification supposed to make me feel better?”
“It was, but I guess that wasn’t the most tactful response, sorry. Although it serves its purpose in showing you that there is a difference between human and vampire, vampire are highly matriarchal and Alisa being an ancient as well made it so that I couldn't bring myself to kill her.”
“So you don't hit girls?"
"I would have killed Jessica myself for hurting you if I did not have your injuries to tend to," he nearly growled, and it shocked me to hear that sound come from him. “Ugh, are you going to keep stopping me?” I heard the first hint of annoyance in his voice.
“Go on.”
“The highest law within our society is to never lift the veil. That is to say no human may know about us, unless they are changed or chained to us."
"Chained?"
"Our blood... has several properties that are beneficial to human life, one being its healing abilities. However, all it takes is a drop to leave you addicted."
"I’m a junkie now, too? This gets better and better," I laughed harshly.
"I will ignore that comment," he mumbled. "The Elders, the three oldest vampire in the world, they maintain the veil, or law. It is a vampire’s life of secrecy or death.”
"Okay, stop; the teens in your club, Underworld; I mean have you never heard of Twilight?! It’s not that big of a fucking secret."
"Did you believe any of that garbage? Night Children or as the news put it: ‘teens who took an appalling act too far’ are just a fad. Underworld and Twilight are just dark fiction and stupid fiction respectfully. We are hidden thanks to all of that. This is the age of science, not monsters and myth.” I opened my mouth to interject, but he went on and raised his voice. “Although the more pressing problem is that I’ve given you my blood to heal your injuries."
"So you saved my life and now I am to be your pet, bound to you by some addiction? Or you’re going to kill me out of regret,” I stated as if it were fact.
"You are a human being and no one's pet, and no matter what happens to me because of it, I will never regret saving your life!" he said loudly, turning and raising his hands in the air angrily.
"Then what’s the problem?!" I yelled, jumping from skepticism back to anger.
“I’m dead, goddamn it! You’re alive; we are opposing forces that have clashed for nearly as long as humankind has existed. To give a human vampire blood without taking their life fucks everything up. We are only supposed to take. Death and life cannot occupy the same space at the same time,” he said, pacing. It looked like his arms would blur because they moved so fast at times.
“You’re dead?" He stopped pacing and was in front of me. He took my hand and placed it to his chest holding it there as he took a deep breath. I felt nothing beat in his chest and, flinching away. "Okay, say I believe this, which I don’t by the way," I couldn’t hide the quiver in my voice, "why tell me any of this? Isn’t this breaking some secrecy or whatever?”
“I gave you my blood already, there is nothing worse than that,” he said, his voice returning to normal. “I’m sorry for yelling, I shouldn’t have done that. It’s just that I ne
ver wanted to do this, not in this way, at least.”
“Do what?”
“I didn’t want to see you again and it be us angry at each other,” he said, looking at me for the first time in a while. Our eyes met for a moment and then we looked away from each other. It was silent for a while, the city's noise in the background not intruding.
“Well, what now? Do you kill me tonight, or what?”
“What?” he asked, looking shocked.
“You said you would have to kill me, didn’t you?”
“If they were to order it… I don’t know.”
“Why not just kill me now and save yourself the trouble?”
“You still don’t get it, do you? The whole point of this was to keep you alive. I want…” He seemed to think better of what he was going to say.
“You want what?”
“No, I need you to come with me to see the Elders.” It felt like he was going to say something else, but I didn’t press the issue.
“Why do we need to meet these Elders?”
“They will have to know about you. There is no higher crime than this, apart from lifting the veil, which I have done as well, I guess.
“I’m sorry, but no.”
“No?”
“No, I’m not going.”
“What do you mean you’re not going?”
“To see your Elders; I have a life to live. Thank you for saving my life and watching out for Sam that night, but… I’m sorry, I’m not going.”
“You don’t get it; your mundane human life is over. The world is a much bigger and scarier place than you ever knew. That world could find you and if you want to live through it...” he said, appearing in front of me.
“If what you say is true, then the moment I go to see whoever this is, I am dead,” I cut him off.
“You don’t understand…”
“I won’t tell your secret. As you said, no one will believe me.” I turned to the car and reached out for the handle, but he beat me to it, opening the door as I stopped and looked at him.
“I have a promise to keep,” he said and he had the key out of my hand and shut my door once I was in.
He walked around and started up the car without another word; he sped through the streets and freeways with his lights off, weaving in and around the other cars on the road as if they weren’t there and ignoring stop signs and street lights. When we got to my street, he slowly pulled up and stopped the car; he leaned back in his seat, placing his hands on his face and took a deep breath letting it out in a sigh.
“I’m sorry, I really am,” I said as I reached for him, but stopped and grabbed for the handle.
“You know, I could turn you now and all of this would be over,” he said, almost as if I wasn’t supposed to hear it. “This isn’t over, you know?” he said louder.
“Have a good night; I’d like to say see you soon, but I rather not.” Physically he seemed to deflate at that.
“I know you wouldn’t, that’s why it will be harder the next time I see you. Good night, Vanessa.”
I got out and closed the door looking too the front door of my house where Eugene was running towards me.
“Oh my god Vanessa you are alright, I was so worried, I didn’t know what to do after those guys attacked.”
“Is everything ok Vanessa?” Alik asked stepping out of the car.
“Yeah, its fine.” I said trying to move away from Eugene not saying a word to him.
“Hey Vanessa just talk to me for a second,” he pleaded grabbing my hand and throwing me off balance. Instantly Alik steadied me and broke Eugene’s grip on my hand, he then twisted Eugene’s hand back and placed a hand over his mouth to mute his shout of protest.
“You were right Vanessa its is ok, sleep well,” Alik said and I looked him in the eye, I felt I knew what Alik was capable of. If he wanted Eugene would have died that night and at that moment I didn’t care if he did or not. So I kept walking till I made it in the house and shut the door. I walked upstairs to the bathroom and washed my hands. I took my clothes off, placed them in a bag, threw them in the back of my closet, I showered for what felt like and eternity and got into bed. I then heard his car start and pull away. I lay awake a long time until sleep finally won out.
Alyon Alik
Chapter 07.0
I waited till I heard Vanessa make it up the stairs and the shower started, in this time Eugene tried twice to break my grip but I simply gave a small hard shake to silence him, once I was sure she wouldn’t hear us I let him go. He gasp as he caught himself on all fours and quickly stood to turn and look at me.
“What the fuck is your problem,” he shouted.
“Shut, up,” I said coldly and I strode up to him and his stance went from anger to fear. “Tonight you left Vanessa to die and save your own ass, I have killed for less, Vanessa as much gave me permission to do so, however in the morning she might feel differently. So if you live or die is still out for debate. Now run home, tell your parents you were carjacked on the way back from dropping Vanessa off at home and call the police and forget that I or Vanessa exist after that.” Quickly he was getting over his fear and getting angry, he balled his fist and I tensed to fight. “Or throw the punch I know you want too and pray I kill you quickly.” I hissed.
He fell backwards as I took a step closer and then scrambled to his feet running down the block, I watched him go a short ways before getting back into the car.
I sat outside her house and just listened to her moving about, listening for the first sign of tears or a break down. I imagined bursting in and wrapping my arms around her and soothing her, saying everything would be alright and we could go off together and be alone. Then I came back to reality and knew I was just listening for her to pick up a phone and try to tell someone or her parents what had happened. Then what would I do? Would I burst in and kill her parents, saying it was for the greater good and then steal her away, hope that stockholm syndrome would kick in and we live happily ever after like Beauty and the Beast? At that point I had to leave, damn the repercussions.
I drove fast, the lights and signals of the streets meant nothing to me as I unconsciously made my way home. I hadn’t expected the reception I met, but I wasn’t thinking.
“Alik”, said Ayara brightly as I walked in on her, my mother, and Ario.
“Yes, to what do we owe this pleasure?” asked Ario, more disgusted.
My mother’s eyes were on me, but she stayed silent as I spoke. I could feel Ario’s temper rising as I told my story, but it was my mother who I kept my eyes on; she was the danger in the room. Vampiric law had been broken and I was one of the laws’ keepers; my Masteria wasn’t helping my case either. Ario, third and lowest of the three elders, was expressly in charge of keeping Vampiric law, and instantly saw it as his duty to punish me. My punishment, of course, was destruction. Talking had allowed me to claim and become myself once again and fully see the room while keeping my eyes on my mother, who sat unmoving.
Ario saw it as a chance when I went on one knee to apologize for what I had done, and he attacked me, appearing next to me. He made a grab for my throat to rip it out, but I had no intention of dying. I blocked by grabbing his wrist and spun, holding onto his wrist to put his hand behind his back, tilting his arm up to force him to kneel. In the same movement, I pulled the dagger at his belt from its sheath and put it to his neck.
“Alik, what is it you are doing?” asked my mother so calmly that it scared me. “Ario is well within his rights to kill you for what you have done tonight.”
“He is not. Nothing I have done was done for lust or sexual joy. I did it to save a life. The law states that our blood shall not be shared with a human for those reasons. In the fear of creating banshees and succubi. However, it is conveniently overlooked when it is done to network with the businessmen and the higher classes of the world.”
“A technicality!” shouted Ario, still at my mercy.
“True nonetheless.” My mother’s smile gave noth
ing away as to her intentions. “Nonetheless, this is still a danger to us.”
“What does this girl bring to us?” asked Ayara.
“Nothing,” I admitted.
“Release Ario,” demanded my mother. I did as she commanded and moved back, keeping the dagger. Ario turned to attack me again. “Brother, stop it, you will just embarrass yourself again.”
“Do you intend to let him live then?” spat Ario, and just the look the two females gave him made him step back.
“I do, taking the law in the light he has cast it in... No law has been broken. We can bring this girl into the veil and all will be right. On the conditions that she be turned.”
“No,” I stated and my mother gave me a look that made Ario cringe further, but I held my ground.