The Truth in Lies: A TALE OF MANN

by Amelia Wilson

  “What? Shocked to know that the two of you belong to completely different worlds?” Richmond taunted. He probably itched to drop that bomb onto them and now he enjoyed seeing their surprised faces.

  “I told you Madison. You should have found someone fit for you.”

  Easton ignored Richmond’s rambling. He would not give him the satisfaction of being riled up with his words. He thought of fleeing again but it would be futile. Richmond knew where to find them and their tracks were hard to cover, with his scent that a vampire hunter could easily identify.

  If Gavin was here, he would know what to do.

  He swallowed a lump in his throat. Gavin was not there and they had no choice but to face the three of them.

  They were clearly outnumbered and he would need an infinite amount of luck to down the trio. Considering how he struggled with Richmond alone, it seemed like a monumental task that was impossible to achieve. However, he was willing to try for Madison’s safety.

  The two men sneered at them and one pounced at Easton. Madison backed away to the wall and searched for any weapon she could use. There was a wooden stick by the corner but it would do no damage against their large bodies.

  While she was distracted, Richmond encased her in his arms, her back against his chest and a hand on her neck while the other was on her waist. It rendered her motionless and she struggled in his hold while he grasped her tighter until Madison was sure that his grip would leave marks.

  Easton tussled with the men. One was holding him back while the other was landing punches on his stomach. Easton gained leverage and swung his foot back before lunging it forcefully towards the man in front of him, who stumbled back at the sudden attack. He elbowed the one who was holding him, who caved and knelt while he gasped for breath.

  Easton’s eyes were sore and bruises decorated his handsome face. Madison felt useless. She might have a vampire blood but she was weak lest she change fully. Tears ran down her eyes though she fought them back. Easton needed her and she needed to stay strong for him.

  The man who fell on the floor recovered and aimed a kick on Easton’s face. He yelped in pain and Madison could only watch. It created a large welt on his cheek and Madison forced her eyes shut, not wanting to see him hurt anymore. She did not last for long for when he shouted again, she opened her eyes and saw how the two men shifted in hitting him and stepping on his hands, which made him scream in agony.

  When they paused to catch their breath, Easton took his chance and kicked their feet so they would fall down. There would be no other opportunity to kill them. Easton, despite his lacking strength, reached for one of the man’s neck and twisted it. The sound of the bones cracking was deafening and Madison was stunned and she stood there gaping at the man who lay lifeless on the floor and blooding pooling around him.

  Easton did not waste any more time and grabbed the other man, who began to thrash in his hold in panic. But Easton was fuming. He remembered how his brother was treated the same way, how he was not given a chance to fight, how he was killed mercilessly. And at that thought, he ended the life of the man in his hands.

  “Fucker.” Richmond drew something from his back. Madison eyed it, terrified upon seeing the horrendous thing again. It was a stake and Richmond obviously intended for it to be through Easton’s body by the end of the day.

  Richmond released her and pushed her down. Her knees felt weak and wobbly. Glancing at Easton, he was completely drained and if Richmond challenged him, he was sure to lose.

  She braced her hands on her knees and forced herself to stand up. Richmond strode towards Easton’s back and raised the stake, ready to lunge it through the vampire’s body.

  Her eyes darkened and she felt adrenaline rushing through her body. Her vision got clearer, her hearing got better and she could feel energy coursing through her.

  She jumped at Richmond and held him back with a hand on his neck. He looked at her, terrified and suddenly reminiscent of her attack before.

  There was a sudden urge and Madison wanted to fulfill it. Not having control with her actions anymore, she aimed for his neck and bit him. The rusty taste of blood should have been awful but she craved more of it, feasting on Richmond’s blood like she had not eaten for months.

  It went on for minutes and she kept her lips attached to his neck, conflicted whether she was doing the right thing or not.

  The red liquid flowed down her throat and she could not stop herself. She ignored Easton’s calls of her name. Her eyes were dilated and she continued to quench her thirst until there was nothing left.

  She pulled back and brushed a hand on her mouth. When she saw the blood, that was when it dawned on her what she had done.

  Chapter-10

  It wasn’t Supposed to be You or Me

  She helped Easton stand up and rested his hand around her shoulders for support. She spat on the ground, terrified of the red color mixed with her saliva.

  The ground was soft from the recent drizzle but they trudged on until they reached the area where they kept Easton’s car hidden. She helped him in and fished the keys from his pockets and sped away with no destination in mind.

  She never looked back at the house, determined to not remember how she left it.

  ***

  Easton drifted in and out of consciousness and he was shaken with the large rocks that they were driving along.

  They were going fast and the car bounced against the rough road. Madison kept her focus on driving, trying to whisk away the image of Richmond, deathly pale, eyes wide open, and lips parted in shock. It was a moment that would haunt her forever.

  She had always opposed violence, opting to talk things out instead of lashing at the other. Violence could only cause unnecessary hurting but now, she just killed a man she knew. She could not imagine how horrified her aunt would be if she knew that her niece killed Richmond.

  She would probably disclaim her and treat her as a stranger.

  The blood in her tongue was still there. She rolled down the window and tried spitting it all but the tang clung to the roof of her mouth. It was making her stomach churn.

  Her main priority right now would be to nurse Easton back into full health. She fought down the sobs racking her but they still came out, revealing her anguish at herself for what she had done.

  It was a mistake she never knew she could commit.

  Easton, on the other hand, was losing his grasp on reality. He wanted to comfort Madison but even he was shocked at how the events unfolded.

  What also boggled his mind was everything they have learned that day, which surely helped piece all information together.

  Now he knew why Atticus died and why Courtney was adamant to break them up. Everything made sense and he berated himself for not figuring it early on.

  Easton was a vampire and Madison, apparently, did not just possess vampire blood. She also came from the families of vampire hunters, and relationships between a vampire and a hunter was not just forbidden, it was cursed.

  He recalled Atticus breaking things in their home, crying out for a name with longing in his voice. He remembered him warning them to never get close to a vampire hunter, no matter how much they promised no harm.

  He remembered him narrating about an urban legend among their kind: that a vampire who tries to turn a hunter into one of his kind will face a gradual, painful death.

  Cogs were turning and he could hear her sniffle beside him. He could not move his arm and he could only listen as she cried in anguish.

  It was no wonder everyone was against them. Madison’s grandmother was the cause of Atticus’ death. They probably took the risk and dismissed the legend as false. They probably wanted to take the chance to be together for as long as possible. What they were not ready for was when it happened to be true and slowly, Atticus was poisoned and got weaker by the day until he faced his death.

  Easton recalled what Madison said last night. That she wanted to be turned because she wanted to be with him. It should not be
a problem because Easton wanted the same. He wanted to hold her in his arms forever and take care of her for as long as she would permit.

  He felt so strongly for Madison more than he could explain and he wished to spend his future with her. Madison, more than anyone else, knew that.

  But such a selfish wish will slap them with the truth -- that him turning her would mean his own death.

  *****

  THE END

  BONUS 2

  Wicked Vampire 1:

  A Chosen Fate

  -------

  Amelia Wilson

  Contents:

  Copyright

  Description

  Chapter-1

  Chapter-2

  Chapter-3

  Chapter-4

  Chapter-5

  Chapter-6

  Chapter-7

  Chapter-8

  Chapter-9

  Chapter-10

  Copyright  2016 by Amelia Wilson

  All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited, and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  Description

  Black and beady eyes stared right back at Madison Blake.

  It was not what she expected when she opened her eyes in the middle of the night, waking up at the telltale sensation of something hovering over her. She thought it was her imagination playing with her or the ghost that was in the movie she had last seen. But it was not.

  The mattress dipped at the pressure while the bed gave a soft squeak at a weight she knew was not Phoebe, her Russian Blue kitten.

  Madison remained unmoving, her body splayed on her bed. Her hands were rested on her sides while her legs were slightly apart, feeling heavy and numb.

  She looked right ahead, the pair of orbs dark and rounded. She laid there unblinking, drowning in the pool of blackness presented.

  The eyes went lower, and she could barely register the dark brown brow and long lashes as she tried to follow it. When it reached her neck, she gave up tailing it and looked back to her plain pale yellow ceiling.

  She felt heady. Breathing in, she took in her room, mind fleeting. It was a state of being trapped between a deep slumber and reality.

  Cold air puffed against her neck, and then down her collarbone and up again, the sensation leaving goose flesh on its wake. It stopped at the junction between her shoulder and neck, and she shivered when a chilling wetness traced a line down her throat.

  A sniff, and then a deep breath, as if savoring a scent that was so longed for.

  “You smell different,” a man’s voice hissed. It sounded guttural yet breathy, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

  “Different but delectable.”

  Another wet stripe was left against her skin, tracing the same area. Madison was still immobile and indifferent; a strange reaction for someone who woke up with a man licking down her neck repeatedly.

  The sensation rattled her, and she tried to clench her hands into fists to no avail. The attempt to curl her toes also proved futile, and she could only bask at the feeling of being tasted. There were no signs that she was tied down, yet her limbs were heavy that even sluggish movements could not be done.

  The man stopped with his ministrations, and the eyes reappeared in her vision. The black seemed to be swirling, the irises rendering her defenseless, and she gazed at it, mesmerized and captivated.

  From her periphery, she could see the man grinning maniacally, and a perfect row of teeth gleamed as the moonlight filtered through her window. Her knees jerked when she saw something amiss: a faint outline of sharp canines.

  She parted her mouth in a silent scream as the situation registered in her mind. The mouth disappeared from her sight, and she internally panicked and let out a soft whimper, which was only a soundless vibration in her throat in reality.

  Two sharp canines rested near her throat. Her lips had gone dry, and her breaths became short. A cold drop of sweat fell down her temple despite the blasting cold air from the air conditioner.

  She felt the ghost of a smile, the feeling of soft, cold flesh stretched against her skin before something pierced through her neck. Madison let out a small yelp and the man stopped, pulled himself back and studied her face, looking at her quizzically with his brooding eyes.

  Warm and sticky liquid pooled on her neck but Madison was once again captivated with the eyes staring down at her. She blinked and the male gasped loudly and scrambled off the bed in an instant.

  She could not see him, but she could feel his presence. His shadow was casted on her, and she knew he must be near her window.

  “How did you…” It was merely a whisper, but the dead silence in her room echoed the words.

  “You weren’t supposed to…” He cut off what he meant to say again. Madison struggled internally, commanding her brain to thrash wildly and kick the man who had bitten her neck. Instead, she laid on her bed peacefully, eyes wide in alarm but body still unmoving, as if she was still in a peaceful slumber.

  She could hear the faint sound of footsteps going farther and farther until it stopped.

  “We’ll meet again.” He threatened with a deep voice.

  The feeling of air was back again, and her head felt light. She blinked repeatedly and heaved deep and long breaths until the hammering of her heart calmed.

  She sat up and looked at her window, which was closed just as how she left it before going to bed. Her door was also shut. There were no signs of the man nor a hint that he had just been there.

  For a while, she was tempted to stand and inspect her room, but the trembling of her knees begged to differ.

  Lying down, it did not take long before she was back to dreamland, mind and body fatigued to even deal with what just happened.

  The next morning, Madison surveyed her room immediately, looking for those pair of orbs that haunted her dreams. Everything was in place, and there was no strange man in sight.

  It was just a dream.

  A shiver run down her body when she scratched her neck.

  She gasped.

  There were two small punctures and dried blood.

  She looked at her fingers and saw the bits of red. Madison gaped in terror.

  It wasn’t a dream at all.

  Chapter-1

  Madison evaded the throng of students coming her way and slung her bag on her shoulders, holding the handle tightly.

  Scanning the room numbers, she breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the right room. It had been a year since she had been at this side of the campus since she focused on her majors last year. The hallways looked familiar, but she still had to find her way through them.

  The room was large, fitting for at least a hundred people. At the front, there was a white board and a projector, while a small table designated for the professor was at the side.

  A few people were already seated, scattered across the rows and were engrossed with their phones. Madison took a seat by the middle, near enough to hear the professor clearly but far enough not to stand out.

  History 1 was a large class, considering it’s a mandatory course for most students to graduate. Madison, who was in her last year in university studying Marketing, was also required to take it, but she held it off as much as she could. Now it was her penultimate semester, and she knew that there was no way out.

  People streamed in as the minutes ticked by and soon enough, the TA arrived, a brunette with a stern face and bored-looking, droopy-lidded eyes. She immediately distributed the class syllabus and introduced herself as Lilia, a graduate student.

  Madison sat straight in attention though she knew that the girl would not say anything that was not already written in the paper. Judging by how monotonous she sounded, she was n
ot the overzealous type to go about various subjects and narrate snippets about her personal life.

  The TA launched on to explain the requirements to complete the course -- four exams and four papers --, ignoring the groans that erupted, and was about to start with the class rules when the doors opened, revealing a man who immediately caught everyone’s attention, including Madison’s.

  The man walked towards the TA and gave a sheepish smile. Madison could faintly hear swooning giggles behind her. If it was any other day, she would have scoffed at the reaction but the male, who was now seated at the farthest row behind, was impossible to ignore with his looks.