Fate of the Blood Moon's Path

by Tiffany Potter

  With those words he was back at my side, pushing the other man away that was holding me. Akuma picked me up like a lover would in his arms and bent his head slowly down to my neck. The look in my father’s eyes were painful for me. He tried to speak, but the blow to his throat left him voiceless and gasping for air. He reached out as if to get me away from him, but it was too late.

  His teeth sank into my neck so deep. I wanted to scream out in pain, and run away from his ice cold touch. I wanted to cry and wake up from this nightmare. But this wasn’t a nightmare. This was reality.

  My vision started to slowly blur around my eyes. I was gasping for air and screaming out in pain. I couldn’t survive this. I couldn’t see anything now and all I could hear were the laughs that had come from the other men, and my father trying to speak.

  This was truly a nightmare now. I could see everything in my head. I could see the room we were in. And there, my family was alive. We were all laughing and playing games. Sitting around the fire. I thought that maybe for that minute, everything was a dream. But then my vision was cleared. It was all real.

  “I guess I will have to head to the village after this and get me some whore tonight after watching this!” The man that had held me laughed. So did the others.

  “AHHHH!” I dropped to the ground and Akuma cried out in pleasure. I could see the blood dripping from his mouth on to the floor. “Our kind is blessed…” He laughed, “Humans are cursed.”

  I only saw my father now. I saw him lay on the floor in defeat. Akuma walked over smiling, looking down at him with my blood still covering the lower half of his face.

  “People like you never learn Victor. There have been millions like you and there always will be.” He leaned closer bending forward, my blood dripping down into my father’s face. “Carry it to your grave…the death of your family will always be a burden on your soul. Always.” Akuma stood up reaching into his long coat and pulled out a pistol. A loud BANG and my father was gone.

  “Burn it.” Akuma said, walking out the door.

  I lay there with the smell of smoke in my lungs. The next thing I knew I was laying there in the wet grass dying, and not knowing how I got there. I was in front of my families home that was now burning down. This fire wouldn’t be seen by anyone else. We lived in the middle of nowhere.

  Part of me wonders how I got out of the burning house…

  **Angel**

  “Why did you do that?” Scarlet’s voice was so high pitched that it made the birds fly out of the tree’s. “I have spent the past five years trying to escape my past!” Tears were coming out of her eyes. “How could you do that? I didn’t want to remember it!”

  “If you weren’t going to tell me, then I was going to find out for myself. There are no secrets around me.” I stated, turning around and starting to walk back up the trail.

  “I didn’t want you see any of that. I didn’t want to relive it. I just didn’t want to see it again.” She started walking after me stomping her feet like a child would that hadn’t gotten it’s way.

  “I have seen enough death and blood to last me ten lifetimes. I wasn’t exactly brought into this world with clouds and rainbows like you were. At least you were brought up with some sort of happiness. At least you know what that feels like.” I turned fast and got in her face, “So don’t start with the tears and bullshit about how you had a terrible life.” I turned away again and started walking.

  “Angel…I am sorry ok…It’s just hard to relive the nightmare that haunts me every time I close my eyes.”

  “You should have died. That man is full of venom!” I said, “And now a part of him flows through your veins.”

  “You know who he is? What do you mean?” Scarlet asked me. I stopped in my tracks and looked up at the sky.

  “Yes. I do.” I didn’t want to say how I knew him. Akuma. His name not only haunted Scarlet, but it did haunt me as well.

  He is the one who killed my mother. Because she fell in love with a Werewolf and ended up with me. That is why his name haunts me.

  “Your family was marked.” I started to move forward again.

  “Yes…” She sighed following me. The sun was starting to set now, and we still had many miles to go until we reached our destination.

  “When your family betrays creatures like that, the end is always in slaughter. Your father knew that from the beginning. So don’t you forget that.”

  “Do you know more than you are letting on?” She asked me curiously.

  “I was the figure on the cliffs those years ago watching your brother kill those humans…” I added still walking not turning around.

  “You should have stayed. You should have followed Ethan, and my family would still be alive!” She grabbed my arm and I spun around so fast tearing my arm out of her grip and making her fall to the ground.

  “Don’t you dare touch me! And don’t you start accusing me for your family’s death. Even if I had stuck around, they wouldn’t have survived. Once marked, there is no way out. Don’t you get it? How could you not know that your family were Werewolves?” My voice was raised high.

  “I…I…I don’t know. There never was a reason given to suspect it.” She was shocked that I was yelling at her. Tears again were coming from the corners of her eyes. I’m such a jerk.

  “Don’t do that. I know no sympathy and pity no one. Consider yourself lucky that you are alive. I am the one who dragged you out of the burning house. I did follow your brother and watched it all happen.”

  “You watched it?” She screamed in shock.

  “I watched it all…I should’ve left you in that house to burn.”

  I realized my words were a little harsh. I was trying so hard to conceal the truth from her. I only got into her head like that because I needed to see for myself what really happened. I didn’t recognize her at first when I saw her back in the alley way. Now after seeing everything inside of her memories, I realized who she was.

  She was still so innocent in so many ways. I couldn’t tell her everything. She was definitely in a fragile state of mind. Always has been ever since she woke up outside of her burning house.

  “Look,” I started, “I am sorry, that was harsh and I shouldn’t have said that.” I looked down at her. She was looking up at me with tear stained cheeks. “How did you ever survive these past five years?” I reached down and picked her up. She was standing before me. I looked into her eyes. I could feel all of the pain that she had ever gone through.

  “Barely.” Her voice let out a whisper for her answer.

  “And blood? Where do you get blood?” I asked, she looked up at me oddly.

  “I haven’t had any.” She responded.

  “You don’t thirst it?” I asked her.

  “No.”

  “You will.”

  “Why didn’t you leave me to burn?” She asked.

  “No human or creature deserves to die that way. No human was made to feel any sort of pain like that.”

  “But I’m not human.”

  “You were when that all happened. You felt every emotion like they did, you lived like them, and you were raised like them. You will always have a part of you that will be human.”

  “My family is Werewolves.” She stated.

  “And how do you know? In all Were families there are only a select few who receive the gene to be able to turn. Not all who are in the family of a Were will turn. Have you ever turned?”

  “No. How do you know all of this?”

  “I come from a very big family.”

  “You should have left me to die…” Her gaze wandered to the crows flying up in the sky cawing and making a ton of noise.

  “I can’t exactly go back in time and change everything now can I? If I could do that then I wouldn’t even be here.”

  She raised her eyebrow at me and then just let the thought go, “My family would have wanted me with them.”

  “No Scarlet. Your family
would have wanted you to live. To be happy and move on.”

  “Like this?” She gestured to herself.

  “Like that.” I started up the trail again.

  “Why didn’t the man at the door see you that night?”

  “He did.”

  “Then why didn’t he do anything about it?”

  “He couldn’t. And he wouldn‘t.” I was still keeping the truth from her. She wasn’t ready to know the truth. But then again, after all of these years she did deserve the truth. I would tell her eventually. The opportunity would present itself, but for now it is a need to know basis.

  “Come.” I turned around to her.

  I took her arm tight, holding her and ran as fast as I could through the forest and up the trail towards our destination. I could now smell the other Werewolves who were up there waiting for us. The wind had shifted and the smoke from their campfires were filling my lungs every time I breathed in. There was the smell of meat and mead in the air making my mouth water.

  I held tightly to her at my side as I flew by all the trees and rocks. Then we made it to the top. To their camp.

  “You made it!” Braeden said as we approached the camp. Scarlet was quiet. I assume that she has never traveled that way before, in a crazy fast speed.

  “You’ll get used to it.” I whispered to her. Braeden heard, and laughed.

  “I doubt it.” Scarlet replied. “Can’t I just travel the normal way, with my legs, and slow?”

  I laughed.

  “You found this place alright then?” Braeden asked smiling at us.

  “Yes.” I answered. Scarlet was still quiet and looking like she wanted to tip over.

  “Oh! I’m so glad you came!” Quinn yelled. I smiled in return. “Come, come! Have food, and drink! We shall talk!” He motioned for us towards a small fire that no one was around. They were all in the other areas feasting and having a grand time.

  “Thank you.” I said as I sat down in front of the fire. I took my jacket off and laid it by my feet.

  “Those are quite the swords you have there.” Quinn said seeing my weapons draping across my back in their sheaths.

  “I do hope that you are looking at my swords…”

  “Of course I am!” His laugh boomed loudly. “We should keep you around for good fun!” He laughed again taking a sip of mead and drooling all over himself.

  “So what is it you wanted to speak about?” I changed the subject.

  “Oh yes, the matter at hand that does not involve swords yet. Here eat, drink!” He said passing a platter around with some cooked meat.

  “So, the matter at hand?” I asked taking a mouthful. It was truly an amazing piece of venison.

  “Vampyres.” Quinn got serious. Braeden came and sat down next to me looking into the fire and then threw more wood into it.

  “Our natural born enemy.” He said.

  “Yes, but do we have a choice?” Quinn asked that question looking at Braeden. I sometimes wondered who was really in charge here.

  “Their numbers multiply faster than we can kill them.” Braeden was now looking at me. I could see Scarlet from the corner of my eye. She was staring into the flames watching them dance back and forth in the darkness.

  “And what does this have to do with us?” I asked.

  “Hybrids. You don’t get it?” Braeden asked.

  “I have dedicated a better part of my life to killing those bastards and you sit there and accuse me of not understanding?” I said in defense, and almost laughing while asking them that.

  “Ok, so you do understand; and you kill them. But why do you kill them?” Quinn asked.

  I guess I had never really thought about that. It was just how I was raised.

  “I live for the kill, for one. Second, they want me dead. I was raised this way. Why do you care if they live or die?” I took another sip of mead.

  “They don’t want you dead. They want you alive, On their side. But we can’t have that. A powerful weapon such as yourself…you’re practically indestructible.” Quinn pointed out. “I don’t care if they die, but we don’t want them to live either. They’re parasites. They are out there destroying the very life that sustains this world.”

  “How is it you know that they want me alive?”

  “Our capture a few months ago.” Braeden smiled.

  “You captured a Vampyre! Pray tell, how did you do that?” I asked Braeden with a grin.

  “Well, he was in out territory so we took him down, locked him up and tortured him for answers.”

  “Where is this Vampyre now?” I asked.

  “We killed him.” Quinn stated. We all sat quiet for a few minutes.

  “So after you got what you wanted from him you killed him?” I asked to just clarify.

  “Wouldn’t you have done the same?” Braeden asked.

  “Probably.”

  Quinn sighed, “The Black Thorn has to be terminated. If they are not, can you even possibly imagine what life will be like for the human kind?” He asked.

  “There won’t be any humans left. They never wanted the humans here in the first place. They will stop at nothing to kill all humans and Werewolves and have the Vampyres the main source of life.” Braeden said.

  “Didn’t Vampyres sprout from human kind?” I asked, taking a bite of meat, “Besides, if they kill off all of the humans they will wipe out their only source of food.” I added with my mouth full.

  “That is true.” Quinn said.

  “What is it that makes you care so much about the damn humans anyways?” I asked, but continued on. “How many years were the Werewolves, and the hybrids been in hiding because of them? We were the firsts in this world, and they come here and think…they take over and what choice do we have but to live among all of them? The Vampyres won’t survive with out their blood. Do you think that they will kill animals for sustenance? That won’t quench their hunger. It would make them weak. They’d die out and it would leave nothing on this planet…”

  “We couldn’t exactly have killed them all now could we?” Quinn said.

  “Why not?” Scarlet’s voice was in a low whisper.

  “Why not? Because we couldn’t. For one, there is too many of them. Our numbers keep dwindling down. Second, we have rules, we don’t kill humans unless it is in self defense. The Vampyres kill to just kill.” Braeden said. I could now see Duncan and Jarreth standing on the outskirts of the tree’s watching over and listening to us closely.

  “I have never killed a human. I have seen many die. Because of the Vampyres and the human diseases.” I added. “Now Vampyres on the other hand. I have killed many of them.”

  “Humans fascinate me.” Quinn chuckled, “They are quite amusing.”

  “Enough beating around the bush boys, why does all of this…” I was cut off.

  “Involve you?” Quinn asked.

  “Yes. Why does this involve me?” I paused, “I’m just simply traveling around and killing them as I come across them.”

  “Do you want to say it or should I?” Quinn asked me, looking straight into my eyes. I tried to avoid his glare. I saw Scarlet look up from the fire at me in curiosity as to what it was he talking about.

  “Your grandfather…ringing any bells Angel?” Quinn asked.

  “What about him?” I spat out, with my throat burning, my eyes flashing black.

  “He leads the Black Thorn, does he not?” Braeden asked calmly.

  “What is it you want me to do gentlemen? Go in the lions cage and have a nice little chat with him? Make some sort of a deal? An arrangement?” I was now being a smart ass.

  Scarlet stood up fast and glared down at me. The look in her eyes was accusing. As if she were accusing me of her families death. Again.

  Looking back now, Scarlet had to find her way in life by herself. Everything does happen for a reason. She had to find out who she was and overcome all of the obstacles ahead of her. She had to go through it all. Sh
e would have died that night had I not taken her out of that burning house.

  Yes. I left her there. I could not smell nor sense death on her then. I knew that she would survive through it. I could taste her vengeance, pain, and rage on her before she even knew she was still alive. Little did I know that she and I would ever cross paths again.

  That was that, I suppose. I felt the obligation to help her, because we did run into each other. Maybe it was fate. At the same time, her fight wasn’t my fight. So they killed my mother. My own supposed grandfather had his own daughter killed because of me.

  Yes. She was my mother, and she is now gone. There is no going back. No one can ever go back, only forward.

  She does accuse me. She does think that if I had intervened her family would still be alive. Not true Scarlet, I am sorry. They would’ve killed me as well if I had stepped in. Those who come from the Black Thorn, or are brought into it are taught to think “NO MERCY. KILL ALL. LEAVE NONE.” That is there motto. They stick to it. They are like a Vampyre Mafia if you will. They have a job to do, and when someone gets in the way-- they are not there for much longer. End of discussion.

  Scarlet, I am truly sorry. I am sorry that you were dragged into this mess. Even if I had helped, they would still be dead, and so would we.