by Dima Zales
No one replied. I watched as a woman with bright-red eyes stalked toward him, knelt beside him and frowned at his pitiful appearance.
“What's the matter, doll?” she said with false interest.
“Nothin’ important,” he grumbled.
“I can take away all of your agony,” she offered, taking his chin in her hand. “Would that be ideal for you?”
He simply nodded his head. He regretted his response immediately when the woman bared her fangs and sank them into the flesh of his throat. His screams were unbearable; he thrashed around in agony as she meant to drain him completely.
“Please...” he whispered hoarsely. “Just let me die.”
The woman's eyes fell upon his pleading lips, and she laughed. “A beggar, are we?” I watched a trickle of blood run down her chin. As she went to take his life away, a sudden sound disrupted her, and she left him lying limply in the alley.
I was at the house again, staring in through the same window. My heart leapt at the sight of Salem; his appearance was the same as I knew it to be now. He was sitting on the floor with Hannah, playing with a small black cat. Daniel was beside me once more, his appearance different from that in the alley. His cheeks were no longer flushed. His skin was ashen, and his amber eyes had a ring of crimson around them. My gaze was averted as I heard an unfamiliar male's voice.
Arthur entered the room and requested that Salem and Hannah retreat to their bedrooms. His expression was calm, but I could see the hurt in his eyes. Once their children were out of the room, Margaret appeared behind him. She looked withdrawn, and her eyes showed evidence of recent tears.
“How could you do this to me, Maggie—to our family?!" Arthur's accent reminded me vaguely of his son's. “When? When did this happen?"
“I-I cannot remember exactly, Arthur,” Maggie sobbed. “It wasn't intentional—we were having trouble and…and things got out of hand. Please, you must forgive me!”
Her husband was raging; his fists clenched tightly beside him. “You betrayed me in the worst way!”
“I am sorry, Arthur!”
I wanted to look away, but I was forced to watch. Arthur's palm swiftly met Maggie's cheek. She cried in pain, recoiling from him.
“Arthur!” she screamed. “Please! Do not do this! The children will hear!”
Beside me, Daniel was obviously furious—and perhaps ashamed. I could sense his urgency to protect Maggie, to stop the inevitable brawl between husband and wife, but he couldn't. It would have only made the situation worse.
Arthur's hand met Maggie's cheek once more, and this time she fell to the floor. She curled up in a ball and started sobbing hysterically. Her husband deserted her, leaving through the front door.
The memory I least wanted to see came flooding through my mind. Arthur and Maggie were on better terms. They each slept in the same room, in separate beds. I walked out of their bedroom and down the hall. There was a small fire burning unnoticed in the kitchen. I desperately longed to put it out, to save Salem the grief of what had happened to his family—but it was impossible. My eyes stared in horror as the flames grew higher and higher. They licked at the walls, the furniture, and the beautiful rocking chair. I was standing in the middle of the fire, unharmed as the flames weaved their way down the hall.
I ran along the hallway, into Hannah's room where the fire was starting to crawl. Daniel was standing outside her window, looking in. I wondered if he had set the blaze, but the vision did not answer. Once he saw the orange hues illuminating the open doorway he slammed through the window and went to retrieve her.
“Daniel!” she shouted happily in a tired voice as he plucked her quickly from her bed. “I thought you would never come back!” She frowned and then seemed to notice the alarm in his eyes. “What is it, Daniel?”
Daniel hesitated and flinched at the sight of the girl's half-brother curled up on the floor beside her bed. “What is he doing in here, Hannah?” he said in a rushed voice.
“I had a nightmare after Mommy and Daddy fought last night.” Daniel cringed at the word 'daddy'; I was amazed by how much pain it caused him. “So Salem stayed with me.”
Salem muttered something to Hannah about going back to sleep, and then realized someone else was present. He screamed at the sight of the pale figure in his sister's room.
“Get out of our house!” Salem yelled, it was the same beautiful voice I had grown to love. Daniel paused abruptly, prepared to escape the house with Hannah, but Salem had distracted him.
“I will not leave without her!” he yelled, cradling her in his arms. “You…you weren’t supposed to be in here.”
“Salem!” Hannah yelled. “Look!”
Salem turned toward where the girl pointed, and stepped back in horror as the fire swept across the wooden floorboards. He averted his eyes from the flames when he heard Hannah screaming, but to his dismay, she was already gone through the broken window along with Daniel. The fire grew around him, licking away the floor beneath him. His cries of agony filled my ears—I could barely withstand it. I watched as he forced himself through the burning flames and out through Hannah's window.
27
I thought another vision was coming when I heard Salem's voice, but I was mistaken. The weight upon me was lifted, and Raziel was nowhere to be seen.
“I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up.” Raziel laughed. I lifted my head in search of him. He was getting up from the ground, wiping the corner of his mouth. I realized in horror that my neck was moist...my fingers found the spot, and I gasped in horror. The visions had all just been a distraction. Salem was too late...I was dying; there was nothing he could do for me now.
My eyes found Salem, crouched behind a tombstone. He glanced at me briefly, his eyes full of despair, then focused on Raziel. “What have you done to her, Raziel?!” he demanded.
“I hadn't quite had the chance to finish...she was nearly mine!” he fumed. “For a raven she was quite easy to trick.” His laughter filled my ears.
“You didn't...” Salem's voice was cut off as Raziel leapt at him, shoving him against a tree. The blonde-haired fiend slid his icy fingers around Salem's throat and grinned.
“I thought you would be stronger than this, Salem.” He frowned. “What have you been up to all these years? I admit, I used to keep an eye on you after you left, but I could only stand seeing you suckle on rabbits so much. Such a pity. I wasted so much time on you.”
Salem shoved him away with little effort. “You underestimate me,” he growled and pinned him to the ground. “Tell me you didn't turn her!”
Raziel grinned up at him. “No, I didn’t get that far...but she won't live much longer, so it matters little now.”
“I'll save her.”
“Just like you saved your beloved sister.” Raziel smirked. With the love he had shown in those visions, how could he speak of her like that?
“How do you know any of that?”
“I was there.” Raziel laughed once more. “You don't remember, do you?”
“No...” Salem's voice trailed off as he stared transfixed into Raziel's eyes. I knew immediately what was happening—he was relaying a memory to Salem.
“Daniel...” His voice was distant; he was still trapped in the memory. Suddenly, he let out a blood-curdling scream.
The crunching, snapping, twisting sound came all at once. I was above them, a twirl of feathers spinning on the ground below me. My leg was still undoubtedly broken, but the rest of my body felt at ease now. My mouth fell open in a loud outburst. Salem collapsed off of Raziel's body, both of them covering their ears at the piercing sound. I soared downward and perched myself on Raziel's shoulders. My beak met his flesh, and he flung his hand at me. The poison didn't appear to be weakening him in the slightest; in fact, he appeared mildly amused.
I was soaring again, but this time it was not intentional. My avian body slammed into a nearby tree, and I crumbled to the ground. My body convulsed again, and I acknowledged that I was no longer a raven. When my
eyes were able to focus again, I screamed. Raziel had Salem pinned to the ground, a devious grin across his ashen lips.
“You could never imagine what I saw in her memories and future,” he said as he held Salem firmly still. “It is so unfortunate that you will never know what could become of her and of her abilities...and your future together.”
“She isn't going to die,” Salem snarled, fighting against Raziel's strength.
The older vampire shook his head in pity. “There is no sense in fighting, my child. You are weaker than I, and you always will be unless you start living like a real vampire. Animal blood might be able to sustain you, but it will never give you the strength, the power, which human blood can.”
“I'm not interested in power! You should have just left me to die rather than turn me into this monster!”
“You do not mean that.” As he spoke, I saw a glint of silver extracted from the pocket of the brown vest he wore. “I had my reasons to keep you as alive as possible. I had such high hopes for you, dearest Salem. You were young, clever, and had so much potential. I suffered much anguish after you deserted me, but it wasn't because of my own feelings.” He smirked. “There is so much you missed out on. If you had known the truth, you would be begging me to take you back, begging to go back in time to be reunited.”
“What are you talking about?” Salem asked, a hint of fear in his voice, but I couldn't perceive why.
“It is not my place to explain, and with how tonight's events are turning out, you might very well never know.”
“Wait!” Salem protested—against what I wasn't sure. “How did you know where to find Alexis?”
“A Sire has a direct connection to that of his offspring. I can look into your thoughts and memories as if I was inside your very mind,” he explained. “Not every Sire possesses this ability, or perhaps is not aware of how to access it...but that scarcely matters anymore. None of this information will matter in the next few seconds. It is such a pity, dearest Salem...” He sighed and spoke almost affectionately. “I will always remember you as being my first. But enough of that, I am going to enjoy carving out your pathetic heart.”
Salem's screams reached my ears immediately, and I struggled to stand until the sharp pain in my leg reminded me that I was helpless. With some relief, I felt myself becoming the raven once more, but I barely had enough strength left to hover even a few feet off of the ground. Raziel blocked Salem from my view, and while I didn't want to hurt him, my mouth fell open and the cemetery was filled with the loud, piercing sound of my caw once again. The source of the silver glint I had seen moments earlier was lying beside Salem—a short, curved dagger painted with vibrant red blood.
Raziel trembled at the sound, his ghastly hands cupping over his ears. My gaze fell upon Salem, and my heart sank. His head was to the side; his serene face masked in splatters of blood and grime, his eyes shut tightly. A deep gash ran across his chest, but I knew he wasn't dead. Somehow I knew that if he was, I would have felt it—or at least I had hoped. The caw filled the air again and Raziel faltered, and I watched Salem's eyes flicker open.
My strength was waning, and I felt myself crash to the ground once more. With what little energy I had left, I watched the scene before me as I felt my eyelids drooping. Salem, despite the wound in his chest and obvious agony he was in, gathered himself from the ground and tackled Raziel into the nearest gravestone. Fighting the urge to shut my eyes, I could see his fangs bared against his Sire's throat.
His voice played through my mind from a distant memory. “Raziel is more important to you alive. If you kill him, you kill me, and any other vampires he created.”
“No, Salem!” I cried, although I wasn't sure it was loud enough that he could hear me. “Don't!”
He ignored my ill-attempt to stop him, if he even heard it at all. I shut my eyes tightly and felt the moist tears trickle down my cheeks. Raziel's blood-chilling scream made me shudder, and I covered my ears awaiting the most painful sound I could imagine: the sound of Salem screaming as he too died. It never came.
“Clearly...” Raziel's voice broke through the screaming, “I did underestimate you...”
I was reluctant at first, but slowly I let the darkness swallow me.
“Alexis. Wake up, please...” Salem's voice begged from the shadows. I opened my eyes and smiled at his flawless face.
“I knew heaven would be beautiful,” I mumbled.
“Heaven?” Salem shook his head. “You're not in heaven, Alex.”
My brows furrowed. “What did I do to deserve to go to Hell?”
He shook his head again and lifted me into his arms. “You aren't dead.”
“I must be. Raziel killed me. You killed him, and that killed you.” I stated this as though it were a fact.
“No, Alex...” His expression grew worried. “You didn't die; you were close, but you definitely didn't die. And as it turns out, Raziel's tale of killing one's Sire must have been just another way to keep his 'offspring' at bay.”
“How am I not dead?”
“I intervened before he had the chance to kill you, remember?” he replied tenderly, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “It was almost too late...”
“You saved me.” I smiled weakly. “Oh, Salem...the things he showed me...”
“I know,” he whispered, pulling me against him. “Hannah didn't die in the fire. I had been so certain she had...the memory of her dying had been so vivid, almost as if a false memory had been planted in my mind.”
I would have thought he would have been pleased by that news, but from the look of disgust and pain on his face, I was unsure. “Why doesn't that comfort you?”
“He killed her,” he replied through clenched teeth.
“No!” I gasped, “No. He loved her.”
Salem frowned. “Daniel may have loved her, but Raziel did not. He showed me something, something I gather wasn't shared with you. He tried to live with her, tried to tend to her, but failed. The monster in him couldn't handle it. Daniel was dead long before he—Raziel—killed Hannah.”
“Why did he change his name to Raziel?” I wondered aloud.
“Possibly to help forget who he once was.” He shrugged. “Hannah demanded that he come back and save me...but I don't think she understood what he would have to do to 'save' me.”
“Yet, you never saw her at all?”
“Not that I can recall. He must have been keeping her somewhere else...” He shook the memories from his head for a moment and focused his gaze back to me.
“You were so willing...to die for me,” I said quietly, wincing as he examined my leg.
“Of course I was,” he replied gently then lowered me onto the muddied ground. He crumbled my gravestone into pieces with one swift kick. I stared at him in awe as he pushed Raziel's body into the pit that had been originally intended for me. Salem's eyes flashed purple and a mound of dirt appeared, filling the hole.
“Your wound...” I whispered hoarsely. “Is it healed?”
“Not yet, but that's not important. Let's get you to a doctor. You have lost a lot of blood, and need your leg checked out,” he said as he lifted me up once more.
28
I had thought the fracture in my leg was the worst of the damage, but I was mistaken. It was amazing how oblivious I was to the severe blood loss. The trip to the hospital was a mystery to me; Salem explained that I had passed out along the way and was unconscious for nearly three days. The doctor had given me a blood transfusion to recover some of the lost fluid – he assumed it was caused from the severe gashes in my leg and Salem, nor I bothered to tell him otherwise. He was, however, somewhat skeptical about the bizarre bite mark on my throat. I insisted I was bit by an animal during an afternoon hike and fallen down an embankment, but he seemed unconvinced. They ran a few tests to ensure I wasn't infected with any diseases from the bite, and all the results were clear. I was just grateful that they released me. I loathed hospitals almost as much as I hated gym class. When I exited
the hospital room, donning my new set of metal crutches, I was shocked to find Paul sitting in the waiting room. My instincts told me to retreat and walk in the other direction, but it was too late–he had seen me.
“Alex, please don't go!” He stood up from the plastic chair and rushed to my side. “I know we’ve been on rough terms lately, but I had to see you.”
“How did you even know I was here?” I grumbled, leaning my weight uncomfortably on the crutch the doctor had provided.
“Salem called me, actually...” He stared down at his feet. “This would be the second time he saved your life. I think I owe him an apology, Alex.”
“Well, I'm glad you finally got that through your thick skull.”
“I'm trying to be civil here. Could you at least try to hear me out?” He sighed with frustration.
“Whatever, Paul.” I didn't meet his eyes. “You’ll at least be glad to know Raziel is dead—also thanks to Salem.”
“He told me all about that, too.” He sighed. “This isn't going to be easy for me, Alex, but I think over time I can come to accept your relationship with him.”
My eyes finally met his. “Are you serious?”
He nodded his head slowly. “I think so, anyway. I never imagined a vampire could feel so strongly for a human, but I can see—and hear—the way he cares about you.”
“He’s more in touch with his human half than the vampire in him,” I said as Paul opened the hospital doors for me.
My face brightened when I saw Salem leaning against the side of the building, drenched in the pouring rain. The moisture plastered his ebony hair to his scalp, and beads of water trickled down his pale face. He looked relieved to see me, but a little anxious at Paul's presence. Surprisingly, to both of us, Paul offered my arm to Salem. My father took one of my crutches so that Salem could intertwine his cold arm with mine, and he led me to the Wrangler parked far off into the lot.
When we were in the car, Salem sat in the back with me, holding my hand tightly in his. Paul peeked back at us, a smug look on his face. I began to worry if he had sincerely meant he was going to try to accept our relationship. As we rode along the street, I leaned my head tiredly against Salem's cold, wet shoulder and shut my eyes.