Bloody Valentine

by Lucy Swing

  Jude took another step forward. Priscilla, the minion, did the same as she crouched with her hands out as if she were getting ready for a wrestling match.

  ―As you wish,‖ she said and she moved towards him with determination. They wrapped their arms around each other, and she kneed him in the face, throwing him backwards and onto the floor, where she pinned him down to the floor. I hated the way she was touching him, leaning so close to his face. I felt my cheeks burn with jealousy and I got up, determined to put her back in her place.

  A shadow moved on the other side of the tunnel, catching my attention. Before I could make a sound, Felicity threw me on the floor and crouched next to me with a sinister laugh. There was something in her hands, a box. The heart-shaped box. She picked one dainty chocolate out, it was round and covered in sweet smelling milk chocolate. There was soft white chocolate on the top with a pecan over it. She put it in front of my lips, moving it from side to side

  ―Open your god damned mouth now; I‘ve no time for this.‖ She barked. When I didn‘t, she pinched my nose tightly. I held my breath for as long as I could, but she wasn‘t letting go. I drew a breath, doing what she wanted, opening my mouth. She shoved it in, holding my jaw closed shut so I would swallow it.I fought it but I eventually couldn‘t do anything else but allow it to go down my throat. The big lump stuck to the back my throat, and I began to gag until it passed. It had tasted sweet, a little too sweet, but then, when it was gone a lingering rancid taste nauseated me.

  ―Well, you all finally proved yourselves worthy,‖ Chance knelt in front of me, taking my face into his hands and studying me. He smiled. ―The eyes are changing already, that is good and fast.‖ There was a loud hiss coming from the darkness. ―I know, my love; she will be ready soon, and we shall be together.‖ He smiled and faced me again.

  ―Why are you doing this?‖ My voice was weak between sobs. It was over.

  ―Because my wife needs a body, that is why!‖ He slapped me again. ―None of the other ones could survive the change, but then I found out about you. It will work. It has to.‖

  ―What powers are you talking about? If I had any, don‘t you think I would have used them by now?‖

  ―But you did. In the forest, you used it against your little boyfriend over there.‖ I looked at Jude who was still being pinned down by Priscilla. The light, I thought.

  ―Let him go; you don‘t need him.‖ He stood up and dismissed me with his hand. ―Please.‖ I begged.

  ―What is dark be filled with light, remove this spirit from my sight." I couldn‘t see her yet, but Maggie‘s voice was strong and unwavering. ―What is dark be filled with light, remove this spirit from my sight."

  There was a loud noise, a gunshot, that caused me to fall to the floor and close my eyes as liquid splashed all over me. I opened my mouth and licked my lips. The taste was bitter, yet absolutely delicious.

  A slight tingling sensation began at the extremities of my body. Gradually, I regained full feel of it and more. I opened my eyes, and Pricilla was looking towards the opening of the cave. At my feet lay Felicity‘s motionless body. There was a single gunshot wound that puddled blood on the front of her white dress.

  I looked outside again and saw two bodies moving behind the trees. Another shot; this time Priscilla fell backwards, blood splattering all over me. As much as I wanted to be disgusted by the sight, I found myself licking the blood that spilled over my hands and arms, my tongue slithering its way around.

  My body lurched itself over her, digging myself on her neck, where her pulse was still strong. My whole body was thrown into a frenzy. One by one my senses were awakened and magnified. When the pulse was gone I let go of the dead body. Only then noticing Maggie had been doing the same thing. She looked up and I saw her cat like irises.

  Jude and Chance were staring at us. I stood up and cleaned my mouth with the back of my hand. Jude‘s jaw was halfway to the floor.

  ―Now!‖ a distant female voice hissed around us. ―Do it now, Benjamin.‖ That must be Cassandra.

  Benjamin grabbed me by the back of my neck and pulled me towards the opening of the cave. Once we were outside under the reddening moon, he began his chant.

  ―Come, Loved One, come. Come to the beat of this heartbeat drum.‖ The hiss in the cave grew louder, and a mist of black shadows danced around us. Chance kept chanting. The shadow hovered in front of me, its red eyes staring deep into mine. My body began to weaken, and I fell to my knees. Maggie and Jude ran towards us only to meet an invisible wall. Their fists slammed against it, creating visible white purple rings of energy.

  Two gunshots met the same wall, and the shadow began to swirl around me, enveloping me with its coolness. From the corner of my eye I saw another figure approach the little bubble we had been trapped in. I turned my head and saw him.

  ―Daddy!‖ I screamed. Could he hear me through the bubble?

  I looked down at his hands. He was holding an oversized arch and bow. The shadow began to enter my body through my mouth.

  Dad looked at me in terror as his arm moved up and the one holding the arrow, backward. His gaze turned to Chance and he let go of the bow, which penetrated the bubble and hit Chance straight through the chest. The bubble of energy disappeared as he fell to the floor and the shadow hissed and moved back into the cave.

  Before I knew it I was on his body, eager to taste blood. When I finally did, I could only spit it out; it tasted like old milk, the same rotten taste the chocolate had.

  I stood up and sighed in relief, knowing there was no more fighting, no one that could come after me or anyone I loved. Yet everyone stared at me as if I was the threat to them. I looked at Chance‘s body and felt sick to my stomach as the realization of what had just happened dawned on me.

  ―I‘m sorry.‖ I turned to face my Dad and then stole a glimpse at Jude, who was holding a revolver my way, ―I don‘t know what happened.‖ I fell to my knees and sobbed into my fists, not knowing what they would do with me. I was one of them, a threat to the world and to myself, unaware of what I was or what I could do exactly.

  ―Stop it! Put your guns down. She is not like them.‖ Maggie said loudly. ―She obviously craves the blood but that is to be expected. I do, too.‖

  ―She fed off him.‖ Said Lt. Harris as he emerged from behind a tree, a .45 still clutched in his hand.

  ―You shot two girls, so who are you to talk? Bailey did what is in her nature, as did I. But she didn‘t kill anyone. She has been turned into a creature of the night, but she is still her mother‘s daughter. She still has the goodness of her powers in her.‖ She was now standing next to me, looking into my eyes. ―Richard,‖ she called out without looking away. ―Are you really going to just walk away from her? Let them kill her or even worse, experiment on her? Are you going to turn me in, too? She and I are the same now.‖ I looked over at Dad who in turn looked down at the ground and kicked the dirt.

  ―Daddy, what is going on?‖ I got up and tried to run to him, but Maggie‘s hands held me back.

  ―I am not walking away from my child, for my child is no longer here.‖

  It felt like a dagger straight to the heart. For a split moment I wished I had died. I would have gladly taken being shot to death than hearing my father say that.

  ―I-I am still here, Daddy.‖ The way my statement came out made me sound like a stubborn little girl. ―I don‘t know what I am but, the me from before, the me you know— I‘m still here. I still feel the same.‖

  He made his way to me, and his hand cupped the side of my face as his hazel eyes looked into mine. I wondered if he had any powers too and if he did what they may be. The way he stared into my eyes, could he see inside my head?

  He began to walk away, and anger rushed through my body uncontrollably. My fingernails dug deep into the palm of my hands as I made fists.

  He stopped and turned around. It only took him a few long strides to get back to my side. ―You will both need to stay away until we know what you are capab
le of. I will be back in a few hours with supplies.‖ He turned to face Maggie. ―Go with her to the cabin; I will meet you there.‖ He took another look at me, and I could see the pain it caused him to see me like this, not knowing the extent of the damage that had been caused. He took my face into his hands as he spoke, ―I love you honey. We will figure this out.‖ His hand dropped, he turned and walked away, the Lieutenant and the officer following him. With my hopes slightly renewed I turned to face Maggie and Jude.

  Maggie smiled at me in a motherly way I hadn‘t seen before and walked over to the edge of the clearing as Jude approached. He grabbed my hands and looked down at them.

  ―I am so sorry, Bailey. I never thought it would get to—‖ I put my finger to his lips, the tenderness of his flesh making my skin tingle. The fire inside me began to burn.

  ―I should apologize to you.‖

  He came closed and caressed my face with the back of his fingers. ―I only did the things I did because I love you. Since the moment I saw you. I knew.‖ I smiled at his words. ―I mean it. I just—I couldn‘t bring you into this world. If your powers were dormant you would have had a chance at a normal life. This is dangerous; I just wanted to keep you safe and… if you had to hate me to do so, then that‘s what I would do. I was so busy trying to stay away from you that I lead him straight to you.‖

  The urge was now unbearable, and my lips found his with eagerness. I had waited and dreamed about this moment for a very long time. His arms tightened around my waist, pulling me onto him, the closeness of our bodies making me burn with desire. The kiss deepened as our tongues danced in perfect unison.

  Maggie cleared her throat, breaking us from the trance we‘d fallen into. I stared into his eyes and attempted to catch my breath. I looked over at where she stood and raised an eyebrow.

  ―So what‘s next?‖ I asked her.

  ―Now we will need to learn to live as the night creatures we have been created to be.‖

  ―What are we exactly?‖

  ―Some king of hybrids.‖ Maggie responded. ―Part vampire, part witch.‖

  I looked into Jude‘s eyes. ―What are you?‖

  ―Warlock.‖ his hand tightened around mine.

  ―Really?‖ I asked him in surprise and he nodded. ―So witches really exist, huh?‖

  ―We are very much real.‖ Jude pulled me forward as we followed Maggie into the forest. ―It will take some time to get accustomed to it but you will be fine. We will all be fine.‖

  Part witch, part vampire, I thought to myself.

  Sure, my life had made a 360 degree turn. Everything I knew, the life I had had that very same morning, was a million miles away. I would never see the sun again; feel its rays warm up my skin, enjoy the way it lit up the world. I would never do normal teenage things like go to school, to a pool party… Yet I couldn‘t help but grin at the possibilities that lay in front of me. The things I will soon be able to do.

  I took one last look behind me and added as we got lost in the shadows casted by the trees, ―It has been one bloody Valentine.‖

  Jude squeezed my hand in a reassuring movement and pulled me toward him. Our sides collided and his bodily warmth seeped through my clothes and onto my skin. Who needs the sun when you have such a hot, amazing guy next to you?

  We walked in silence for a moment. The sound of our footsteps filled the air.

  ―So, what about these powers you were talking about, Maggie?‖

  They both chuckled as if I had said something amusing, and Maggie shook her head. ―Of course, that is all you want to know!‖

  She laughed, and Jude added, ―There are many things we can do. There is a simple ritual to unbind your powers. We will teach you the rest then. We will also figure all of your new powers soon.‖

  I stayed quiet, letting that sink in.

  ―So, after the ritual I will have all the same powers that you guys have?‖ I looked into his eyes, as if they held all the answers.

  ―We all have the basic same powers, spell casting and such. However, each one of us has their own, how can we say this? Kind of like a hereditary trait of powers. Mine tends to be involved with the element of air.‖ Jude said as he held his hand, palm up in front of me. A really small tornado appeared. I poked it with my finger and it made a suctioning noise as if I had just put my finger in a vacuum.

  Maggie slowed her pace, ―Mine is with the element of water.‖ She studied me as she bit her lip.

  I looked up at the sky, clouds closing in. ―I believe you. Please don‘t make it rain.‖

  She laughed. ―My guess is yours will have something to do with fire.‖

  ―How do you know?‖ I asked her.

  ―I don‘t, it‘s just a gut feeling, I guess.‖ She shrugged her shoulders and sped up. ―Come on you two, we need to hurry.‖ She looked back towards the cave where the bodies of two innocent girls lay. Two girls that had been transformed into vampires, who would had never made the full change and then, to make it worse, were deadly shot.

  I thought about Chance. Had he even been aware of what was happening? I dropped my gaze to the ground. I felt bad for them, none of this had been their fault and there they were nothing more than leftovers of lives gone too soon.

  ―Let‘s go to the cabin before the sun comes up and, at least we girls turn into dust.‖ She fell into a job, dodging low branches.

  ―Getting used to that may be a little hard,‖ Jude said as we walked deeper into the forest.

  5 NEW BEGINNINGS Life as a hybrid didn‘t turn up to be as easy as I hoped it would be.

  In the following months the awareness of what I was became all too real. Maggie was fine; she had had experience as a witch and was used to her powers already, so adding the vampire ones was easy. At least it seemed to be. As for me, I was an utter mess.

  I‘ll start with the vampire part.

  My senses were all over the place. The scent of blood drove me insane. It was uncontrollable. Whenever hikers were around, my body was thrown to a frenzy. I couldn‘t control the urges to run out into the sun and hunt. Unfortunately, every time I ran outside, the sun would burn me. Luckily, as a vampire, we heal at an extremely fast rate.

  The incredible speed, strength and sight were the best part of it. We had what we called our built-in night vision. It made hunting in the dark fun and easier. Unfortunately, deer, bears and large birds had learned not to get too close to where we were. Sometimes we would have to go days feeding on puny little rabbits. Not hunting humans wasn‘t as easy as movies make it seem to be. I had had my share of lives taken that I spent my waking hours regretting. As I said before, it is uncontrollable. Once you catch their scent, its game on. Your mind ceases to exist and all there is is the thirst for blood.

  Jude decided to test his luck the day he decided to move in with us. I had to admit, that not being able to see him constantly was a bummer. I didn‘t get those seven hours to gawk at him at school anymore. I only saw him a few once Maggie and I had fed. So our time together was limited. I fought him to the ground about moving in, but once he got something in his head, it was impossible to tell him otherwise.

  I still didn‘t get to see him much, since he had to sleep at night, but at least I was able to watch him sleep and cuddle next to him. Of course, after I had fed. Once our thirst has been satiated, then we can act like normal people.

  During the weekend, we ventured into town. We felt normal, acting like real teenagers; going to the movies, crashing house parties, the occasional bowling alley and sometimes, the pool hall. It wasn‘t the best scene for teenagers, but knowing none of the large men there could touch us, even if they dared, made it okay.

  Life had fallen into a new routine we all felt comfortable with. Since Maggie and I couldn‘t go out during the daylight, Dad had added about 10,000 square feet to the cabin: an indoor swimming pool, a beautiful indoor garden decked with a small Koi pond and waterfall. It was a way for us to be able to enjoy little things we would forever be forbidden.

  On
ce I had, somewhat, mastered my vampire skills, we were able to unbound my powers as a witch. Which turned out to be a huge mistake, if I am being totally honest. I couldn‘t control them. They were far stronger that I had anticipated.

  Maggie had been right, my affinity was with fire. If I ever happened to get upset at anything, something, without fail, would burst up into a million little pieces or catch on fire.

  Jude wanted to be my teacher, giving us some extra time together. I‘ll admit he did steal my concentration more often than not, but it welcomed. The immeasurable. There was nothing I couldn‘t do for him or with him. The need to have him constantly near could sometimes be overwhelming, but it was wonderful all the same. It had become us against the world. And we would see us through, no matter what the consequences were. was a distraction I truly enjoyed and feelings he awoke in me where

  ―Honey? I‘m here,‖ even though there was about a mile between us, I heard my Dad speak as if he was right next to me.

  It took me two seconds to get to him, literally. I hugged him hard, almost making him fall backwards. I missed spending time with him, too. For the most part he only came over around three in the morning, when he knew we would be fed and not a menace to anyone.

  I nestled against his chest, the sweet smell of his cologne, the one I had once loved, almost made me puke. I pulled away, blowing air out through my nose, ridding myself of the stench. ―Cool it down with the cologne, Dad. It stinks!‖

  ―It‘s your favorite,‖ he grabbed the shirt and pulled it up to his nose. ―It smells fine to me.‖

  ―Yeah, to you, key-word. My sense of smell is wacky; I can even smell your dirty socks… It‘d be nice if you changed them once in a while.‖ I playfully nudged him in the arm.

  ―Funny. Where‘s everybody?‖ He walked into the empty living room and looked through the glass walls out to the kitchen and game room.

  ―Maggie is probably in her room and Jude is sleeping.‖ Talking about him brought the longing back to my aching heart. Whenever he was away or asleep I missed him dearly. If it was up to me I would keep him awake all night. I sighed. ―What‘s up?‖