Blood Rite Saga, Season One Box Set

by Dylan Keefer

  “Look at who can draw.” He showed Charlotte the drawing of her.

  “Is that me? That is really good, not a lot of people can draw from memory like that.” Charlotte whistled.

  “Can I show her the other one?” Milo asked. Prudence nodded. She realized she felt better when she got it out of her chest. So maybe if she told Charlotte too then both her and Milo would feel better. And they could find a clue she missed. When Prudence finished describing the visions, Charlotte started typing something.

  “Hon, I think you witnessed witch trials. I’ll research a bit, but they happened around the 1600s so you would still be awake.” Charlotte said after a while.

  “Huh, I can check that out at the bookstore tomorrow, I think we have books about that.” Prudence nodded.

  The conversation ended with Charlotte making them promise to be careful and them deciding to meet up at the end of the month, and Prudence emailing the photo of the man to Charlotte so that Rick could search for him in the database.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Prudence spent the rest of her day researching the symbol. Why wouldn’t she, a half vampire, be able to figure out if this was really the work of vampires. She ran through so many articles of attacks that her eyes stung in the end. There were no photos, so it went better than expected. She realized that all of the gang’s activity has been in Chinatown and the surrounding area. They spread in concentric circles from a few specific spots and attacking mostly businesses. She couldn’t figure out why they targeted the specific people, but something that Mr. Worth said made Prudence think. If the gang really was full of vampires and only vampires, then his daughter would be turned. Prudence wondered if a lack of memory was a symptom or was it that Tiffany just didn’t want to associate herself with her old life? Prudence couldn’t imagine why not. Mr. Worth was so nice.

  When the night came, Prudence moved to her room. This time she opened her phone and stared at the photo of the man. She wished she could remember his name, wondered what Rick would find. If they came up with a name and the man was still alive, could Prudence make herself go there and face him? If he was dead, would she have any other clue in regards to her origins? Was he her father, or a lover, or a friend? Or did he adopt her and raise her? Maybe if she met him, everything would fall into place, and she would never want to leave his side. She had been focusing on the image in front of her so much that her vision blurred. When she tried to blink it back to clarity, the dull pain returned.

  Prudence was back in the crowd. This time she didn’t opt to look toward the fire that would soon contain the young man but focused on the crowd around her. She wanted to know if she could see a familiar face. She needed to figure out where she was. As the crowd cheered for the young man’s screams, she noticed something odd. There was a man staring at her. He was portly, with a beard and an almost bald head. Prudence stared into his eyes and was surprised by the hate she found there.

  “Come on.” A soft voice came from behind her, and she turned around to see the dark-haired man. He bent over and hugged her close to him. His body was completely still, eerily so. It somehow comforted her. She buried her head in his chest and felt at home. He kissed her forehead. “I know you’re scared and want to help but you can’t. You’d die, and I need to keep you safe. You need to go home now,” he whispered, then pulled her away from the crowd. They headed towards a side street. Prudence clutched something hanging around her neck.

  Prudence opened her eyes. She had curled into a ball on the bed, her entire body clenched uncomfortably. Immediately, she tried to remember everything about the man. His face had been kind and soft, like his voice. He didn’t have much of a smell, aside from what Prudence assumed to have been vague traces of blood he’d had that only she would be able to smell, and his stillness elicited a sense of comfort and safety. Prudence thought of Milo. This man evoked a similar thing before, and that made her uncomfortable. She didn’t want to hurt Milo. He seemed much taller to her than she assumed him to be. Either all the other people in the photos he was in were also very tall, or she somehow had grown. Prudence recalled all of the people around her. They had also been taller than normal. Could this have been at a time where she was shorter? Charlotte gave her an arbitrary age, she didn’t guess. Maybe this was a few years before she had to hide. And maybe that meant she was in her teens back then. But then it could also be the dream.

  And that man. He hated her. Why, Prudence didn’t know. Was he the one that was after her? He didn’t seem like a vampire. But he elicited enough fear for Prudence to clutch something she was wearing. Prudence closed her eyes and tried remembering the contours of it. It didn’t take long to figure out what it was. Prudence dug through her things until she found the necklace Charlotte gave her when they first met. She wondered who gave it to her. She liked hanging on to it but didn’t feel like putting it on for some reason. Maybe it was something she didn’t remember.

  The night was quiet, so Prudence went into the living room and looked out of the window for a bit. Sometimes not needing much sleep gave her time to stop thinking about her problems.

  That was when a strange shadow caught her attention. Prudence focused on it, her fangs extending out of concentration. Her vision sharpened, and Prudence saw a quick flash of someone running. Someone running very fast. Prudence focused, even more, giving into her instincts. Her vision tunneled, and she could see a pale blond woman running through the street. Straight towards Mr. Worth’s house.

  Tiffany was all that rang out in Prudence’s head. She wanted to jump out of the window after her, but then remembered that one, she didn’t know if she could land well two when she looked directly down fear shot through her spine and three, that she should better tell Milo.

  She ran into his room and turned on the light. Milo groaned.

  “You need to listen to me. I need to go because I saw a blond woman that I think is Mr. Worth’s daughter whizzing around down there. That confirms she’s at least supernatural and I think that Mr. Worth is going to get attacked again.”

  “Call the cops," Milo said.

  “And send them to their death?” Prudence lifted her arms.

  “Call them after you get there. You will have a backup that way. And if he needs help.” Milo said.

  “Oh, okay that is a good idea.” Prudence put her shoes on and grabbed a pair of wooden spoons from the kitchen before running out.

  “Watch out for cameras!” Milo yelled while she ran out of the door.

  Prudence allowed her fangs and claws to extend as she ran. It was easier to access her speed that way. She ran into the alley she saw Tiffany in and took a deep breath. The previous vampire had smelled a certain way. Prudence assumed that this one would smell at least similar to it. The scent of death and coldness reached her nostrils. It ran down the street. Prudence started running. The ground blurred under her feet, and she could feel her eyes water in the wind that whipped her hair back.

  Prudence took Milo’s advice. It was easy since Tiffany was following the same path. And both were heading toward the bookstore.

  Prudence stopped in front of the bookstore, and a crash cut through the air. It came from above, from Mr. Worth’s apartment. Prudence ran up to the door and found it locked. It confused her for a second, but then she noticed the open window above. Prudence didn’t know if she was able to climb that. As she rammed the door open and ran up the stairs, she decided that she needed to try and see how far she could jump one of these days.

  Prudence kicked Mr. Worth’s entrance door down. The inside was pitch dark, but Prudence could see well enough to catch Tiffany hunched over a small body partly obscured by the couch. Tiffany lifted her head up, and her straw-like platinum blond hair fell across her face.

  “Who the hell are you?” Tiffany’s voice was a soft piece of silk covered in needles. Prudence noticed that there was blood dripping from her mouth. Tiffany’s fangs were out, grazing her chin.

  “What did you do?” It was all Prudence could th
ink. Mr. Worth was such a nice man and the thought that he was dead and even worse, that the last image he saw before his death was his daughter’s face distorted by the monster inside her, made something inside Prudence break.

  “I fed you, idiot.” Tiffany slid up. “He’s too small of a fish to keep around. The boss said so, weren’t you told?”

  “Is he dead?” Prudence asked, stepping a step closer. Since Tiffany assumed Prudence was a part of the gang, she figured there weren’t a lot of vampires around here. It made Prudence feel like she could press her luck. Tiffany gestured for Prudence to stop with one clawed finger.

  “Sadly no. But he will be soon.” Tiffany shrugged. Mr. Worth gurgled from behind his daughter. “Slightly tangy but will do.”

  Prudence couldn’t believe how nonchalant Tiffany was. She couldn’t stop herself from yelling. “You just fed off your own father, how could you? How can you even look at him and not feel even a twinge of guilt?”

  “He’s not my father.” Tiffany cut Prudence off.

  “Yes, he is. You’re Tiffany.” Prudence insisted. “I saw a photo.”

  “I am not that person anymore.” Tiffany came closer. “The creature inside me freed me, just like yours did. We’re not what we were before.” Tiffany tried to grab Prudence’s hand.

  “You will leave right now.” Prudence almost growled. She couldn't believe that someone thought this monster Prudence hated was a thing that set them free.

  “Why?” Tiffany asked.

  “Because I’m taking him to the hospital.” Prudence reached over to Mr. Worth as Tiffany swiped a clawed hand towards Prudence’s face. Prudence predicted it and moved away.

  “You’re not taking my food.” Tiffany planted herself in front of Prudence. “When I kill him I’ll finally have nothing holding me back.”

  Prudence frowned. “He didn’t hold you back, he cared for you.”

  Tiffany didn’t say another word, she attacked again. Prudence found herself using all of her power and concentration on blocking the speedy hits. She cursed the monster that had done this to the girl, turned her into a beast and perverted her thoughts.

  Tiffany slashed Prudence on the arm. Prudence returned the favor by colliding both her hands with Tiffany’s ears and then tackling her to the ground. Prudence pinned Tiffany down. She was still Mr. Worth’s daughter. Prudence couldn't kill her.

  “Stop struggling. I know it has been hard to adjust after this. You didn’t want this, but you need to return to your life! Not everything is lost.” Prudence said, her voice strained by the effort of holding Tiffany down. She was very strong but didn’t fight as skillfully as the vampire that attacked Milo and Charlotte.

  “You’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” Tiffany stopped struggling. “I asked for this. I chased him down until he gave me freedom and then I joined his ranks.” Prudence released her grip on Tiffany. The sentence ‘I asked for this’ reverberated in her skull.

  Tiffany took the chance to hurl Prudence across the room using her foot. Prudence didn’t have time to get ready. The force of Tiffany’s foot ramming in Prudence’s stomach made her lose her breath. Prudence’s body crashed into the wall and her bones impacted on each other, groaning. Her mind was mush, and she couldn’t see for a few seconds. By the time Prudence could see and was able to get up, Tiffany was gone. Prudence assumed she used the window again.

  But now, what was most important was Mr. Worth. Prudence ran up to him. He was lying flat on his back, on top of the glass shards from the broken window. Prudence knelt down and cupped her hand over the wound on his neck, trying to stop the bleeding. The blood gushed regardless. Prudence urged her fangs and claws to retract since she didn’t want to either scare Mr. Worth or hurt him even further. The fact there was a large pool of blood in front of her didn’t matter, her worry trumped her hunger. His heart was beating steadily so far.

  “Mr. Worth are you okay? Mr. Worth?” She listened to him breathing. His breath hitched and gurgled. Mr. Worth opened his eyes. His hand lifted up from the floor and touched Prudence’s face, smearing blood on her cheek. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a soft hitch. His heartbeat was slowing down more and more.

  “Mr. Worth? Mr. Worth!” Prudence strained to hear Mt Worth’s heartbeat. She couldn’t. Frantically trying to think of something, she started chest compressions. A crack alerted her that she broke his ribs. It made her stop and get up.

  She didn't know what to do. She suddenly was out of breath. She put her hands on her knees and leaned on them. She needed help. She needed Milo. Prudence reached over to grab her bag and realized that it wasn’t hanging on her shoulder. Prudence turned around and found it in the corner. Prudence dug through the bag with bloody hands and dialed Milo’s phone number.

  “Prudence? What happened?” Milo’s voice showed his panic.

  “Mr. Worth… He’s dead.” Prudence tried to calm her voice down but failed, and her voice cracked. “Tiffany killed him, and I don’t know what to do. I tried to stop her, but I couldn’t. I was weak.”

  “Okay, okay, relax.” Milo hurried. “You can’t clean the scene so just make sure you don’t look like you’ve been in a fight and then call the police. Tell them there was a robbery and you found him dead. Then get out of there. Tell them you were talking to me when you came in, so that will explain why you called me just now.”

  “…Okay.” Prudence took a deep breath. Then she did as Milo asked. The man that answered said that she needed to stay there, so she winds up sitting on the stairs hugging herself. While sitting there, she thought about what she would tell the cops. She thought about telling them about the vampires, but what would cops do against people like that? It was sending food directly to the vampires’ door. And she couldn’t tell them there were vampires. They would think her crazy or lock her up when she showed them what she was. Why wouldn’t they think she was the one that killed Mr. Worth?

  Two cops and an emergency vehicle arrived in a few minutes, while Prudence’s thoughts were filled with violence. The cop that reached Prudence first was nice and spoke softly. He was an older man with a white head of hair. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “I was walking past, and I saw the door was broken. I was worried about Mr. Worth since he’s old, and, frail.” Prudence held back her tears and her fangs. She kept thinking that she should have stopped them. She should have been faster, more ruthless. These monsters were killing people, and terrorizing them before hand. If she protected her friends, she should have protected them too. “So I came inside and saw him lying there. I tried to save him, but it didn’t work.”

  “Did you see anyone?” The cop asked her.

  Prudence shook her head. “There was no one inside, just Mr. Worth.” She looked up at the cop with her eyes filled with tears. “Can I go home now? My cousin is worried, I was talking to him when I noticed the door was broken.”

  The cop looked to his partner and asked her if it was okay. The thin woman nodded. “Of course, you can go home. I will need you to come to the station tomorrow for some more questions, okay?”

  Prudence smiled automatically and walked slowly down the street. She couldn’t bear to see them investigate the scene. Tiffany’s face was ingrained in Prudence’s mind. She needed to do something. That girl willingly welcomed the monster in her. Prudence looked at the clock on her phone. The sun would rise soon. Tiffany needed to go somewhere close. Prudence could follow her. She didn’t know what she’d do when she did, but it was better than leaving Tiffany alone.

  As soon as she was away from the cops, Prudence started running after the scent. Her fangs extended and her claws elongated. Everything around her melted into a blur as she ran down side alleys. She reached to a dead end. Tiffany’s scent ran up the fire escape. Prudence figured this was the right time to try and leap up to it.

  Her first jump didn’t bring her that far up, but it was far enough for her to grab the last step of the fire escape. After that, it was easy for he
r to climb up the stairs using her hands until she was far enough to use her feet. After that, she ran across the roof. Dropping down was harder because Prudence needed to suppress her instinct. In the end, she climbed down the pipes, using her claws to make sure she didn’t fall. When she turned around, she realized she was in a completely different part of town.

  The street Prudence was on was covered in garbage. It was filled with dilapidated houses and dark windows. Prudence’s senses were assaulted with the various scents of blood and body smells. She closed her eyes and leaned on the wall in the shadow, picking apart everything until she found Tiffany’s smell. Then she followed it down to a basement.

  Prudence opened the door very slowly. She allowed her eyes a moment to adjust. Before she could look around, she heard something barrel through the air. Prudence dodged the ashtray aimed at her head and managed to stay on her feet. She faced her attacker and saw Tiffany.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Tiffany hissed.

  “You killed Mr. Worth," Prudence said.

  “So? What do you care?” Tiffany came closer.

  “He was just a nice old man who was missing his daughter. He took care of me, even when his life was in danger.” Prudence’s voice rose. “You just hunted him down like a snack, even though he was worried about you and wanted to keep you safe.”

  Tiffany growled and ran at Prudence. While Tiffany was very strong, Prudence was now too focused for the vampire to make a hit. She was only a few years old, and Prudence could feel her own experience flowing through her veins. Soon, Prudence managed to grab Tiffany’s wrist and break it. Tiffany yelled, and Prudence could tackle her on the floor.

  As Tiffany growled and tried to bite at Prudence, or get her nonbroken arm from under her own body, Prudence was wondering what to do. Tiffany wasn’t the only creature here. There were too many other monsters killing people, even more experienced ones. Nothing would be solved if Prudence just killed Tiffany. So Prudence let all her anger show on her face.