Dark Love

by Olivia M. Howe

  I still hear noises all around me. I look up to see Gavin throwing Andrew across the barn and into the wall. I see Andrew struggling to fight back. I have to help him, but I'm definitely no match for Gavin. He'll tear me apart in a matter of seconds. I need to think of a way to save Andrew, and promptly.

  Ideas are bouncing in and out of my brain. Didn't Andrew tell me the way you kill a vampire is by sunlight or putting a wooden steak through their heart? I consider doing it. I have to think about the outcome though. If I were to even try to steak Gavin, he would be too fast for me to even get that close to him.

  The thought hit me. The light bulb is shining above my head, well should be. Andrew's fast enough to steak Gavin. I can be the distraction to help him. It's perfect and a death wish. I have to try something. It's now or never. "Ignore the pain and get up, Nina," I whisper to myself again.

  I force myself up onto my feet. The pressure on my leg is hurting more than ever. I ignore it. I pick up the wooden piece that went through my leg and sneak up behind Gavin. I more like limp my way over. Just as I'm about to steak him from behind, he turns around and grabs my arm. Crap. Oh crap. This was such a bad idea. "What do you think you're doing." Gavin laughs. My eyes get huge. His face is pale and his eyes are dark, like all vampires. He has a really big nose and teeth that stick out of his mouth. He's hideous. Don't let it fool you though, he's one scary vampire.

  "What do you think I'm doing? I'm going to kill you!" I yell in his face. "And you call yourself a vampire?" I mock his laughing. Bad idea.

  He takes me by my throat and holds me up in the air. "You think that's funny, you little healer girl?"

  "Yes," I choke out. I'm struggling to breathe.

  I hear Gavin start to make gagging sounds. Like he's struggling to breathe as well. He begins to make these strange faces and his hands release my neck. I drop to the ground, trying to catch my breath. Why does every vampire have to try to choke the life out of me?

  I look over at Gavin and he's now laying on the ground. I look up at Andrew and he's holding a bloody wooden steak in his hand. Just as I look at him he drops the piece of wood on the ground and runs over to me. "Are you OK?"

  "I'm fine. Is he dying?" I ask as I stare into Gavin's eyes, watching the life leave his immortal body. His body starts to turn a shade of grey. I can see the veins in his body pop out. He's still holding on, still trying to struggle to stay alive. Then, all of the sudden, poof, his body is gone and turned into ash. His ashes are flying through the air. My eyes cannot leave the spot where Gavin's body was. I have never in my life seen anything like this before, not even in movies. His body just turned into ashes in minutes. There is nothing left of him except little flakes of grey ash that are now gone in the wind, lost in the world, forever.

  "It had to be done," Andrew confirms.

  "Caroline," I whisper. Andrew picks me up off of the ground and brings me over to her lifeless body. "Is she alive? Andrew, please tell me she's alive!" I begin to cry and beg for his answer.

  Andrew looks at me with a soft and helpless look. "It's starting."

  "What's starting? What are you talking about?" I ask.

  Andrew looks down at her body in bleakness. "The changing process."

  My hand hit my mouth as it drops. My eyes begin to fill with uncontrollable tears. "She's turning into a vampire," I say as the tears start falling down my face.

  CHAPTER 25

  Changing Process

  Dear Diary,

  I'm sitting near my sister's dead corpse. Andrew says she's still alive inside, but her body is making a big transformation. As I stare at her lifeless body, I think how things could have been different if she would have known or if I would have granted her more protection. She should have been my first priority. I feel like I let my sister down. She will never be the same again. I put her life in my hands and gambled with it. I tried to protect her, but I failed.

  What if my blood can't cure her? Everyone isn't even sure what my blood is capable of. Caroline had such a great future ahead of her. She was so good in school and at cheerleading. She would have gone off to college and found a career that she loved. Then, pursued her career, married a wealthy man, and have a bunch of little Carolines running around everywhere in her huge house. Now, all of that was taken away in a blink of an eye. She has no future to look forward to if my blood can't heal her. I don't even know if vampires can have kids. She's a vampire and that might be her permanent future.

  Love, Nina

  * * * *

  After Andrew and I found Caroline we brought her back to the Madsen residence. Everyone else hasn't shown up here yet. I'm laying next to my sister's lifeless body. Her skin feels so cold and it's so pale. Tears are running down my face at the sight of her. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault," I whisper in her ear.

  "It's not your fault. It was out of your control," Andrew says from behind me. I ignore his words and keep my eyes on my sister. How could I let this happen to her? "You can cure her, Nina."

  "And what if I can't? What if she stays like this forever?" I shout. No one is fully sure if my blood even works on vampires. We've only seen it work on humans, unless the other's were successful with injecting blood into the rest of the Sulivic Brothers. For vampires it could possibly be completely different. If my blood doesn't work, my sister is going to be trapped in this body of a vampire forever.

  "Then, we will take care of her."

  I hear Andrew's footsteps coming closer and closer to me. I feel his gentle touch on my shoulder. "Love, you should let me clean and wrap your leg up and then you should get some rest." He's right. I'm emotionally and physically drained. The tears coming from my eyes feel permanent, like they're never going to stop.

  "OK," I say to him and he runs to his bathroom and is back in a flash. He puts a warm cloth on my skin and wipes away all of the blood. The warm water feels nice on my wound. "That feels better."

  "I hope so," Andrew says. "You're lucky that you're a healer or it would be worse right now."

  He gently finishes cleaning my wound and wraps my leg up with a soft cotton fabric. "Thank you," I say.

  "Anything for you, my love."

  I kiss Caroline on her cheek. "Don't take your eyes off Caroline, please," I demand.

  "I won't. I promise. Now, sleep my beautiful healer," Andrew says as he kisses my lips.

  I find myself wondering to Andrew's room to get some sleep like he told me to. I lay in his bed and my eyes start to get heavy. I feel myself drifting off into a dream land.

  * * * *

  I'm woken up by the noise of voices. My eyes flutter open. I lay here as I try to make out what the voices are saying and who they belong to. My body has no energy to get out of Andrew's bed, but I know I have to find the energy because it might be the others.

  I slowly make my way out of bed and into the living room. William, Lilah, Julian, Alex, Abel, Ella, and Andrew are standing around each other having a conversation. It's nice to know everyone is safe. All eyes focus on me when they hear me walk into the living room. "What's going on?" I ask as I rub my eyes to try to wake myself up more.

  "They just got here a few seconds ago, sweetheart," Andrew speaks.

  "What happened?" I ask as I look around at everyone.

  "Lucian, Flavior, and Doru got away," William announces. "We weren't successful with injecting them with your blood."

  "Gavin's dead," Andrew confirms. All eyes now focus on him.

  "You killed Gavin?" Julian asks. "Good work, man!"

  "You know what that means, right?" Lilah asks.

  Andrew shakes his head. "That means this isn't over. They'll come back to avenge the death of their brother."

  "We just declared war," Lilah protests. If I'm hearing everyone right, they're saying that this isn't over with. Tonight was just a taste of what's bound to come next. The Sulivic Brothers are going to want to retaliate for the loss of their brother. I thought that killing Gavin was a good thing, but now I'm having second thoughts. Maybe th
at was the worst possible thing we could have done without killing them all. This means war.

  "How's Caroline? Is she feeling all right?" William asks. Andrew and I look at each other. No one but us knows what's going on with Caroline. William doesn't even have a clue that she's in his bed in the changing process of becoming a vampire.

  "Brother," Andrew says and clears his voice. "Caroline was sired. I'm sorry. We did everything we could." William looks at Andrew and then at me. He's speechless. He looks absolutely oblivious to Andrew's words. I don't think he's comprehending it. Maybe he's in shock.

  "We found her in a barn in the forest. She was already going through the changing process when we got there. Gavin sired her and Andrew killed him." The words come out of my mouth and I wasn't expecting them too, but I know how he feels right now. The shock will soon wear off.

  Tears start forming in William's eyes. He puts his head down as if he's processing all of this. Rage lets loose and he's destroying the living room. William throws the couch across the house and the coffee table in a different direction. He smashes all kinds of glass knick knacks that were placed on a shelf. Then, without saying a word, William runs outside."I'll go see if he's all right," Andrew suggests.

  "I think I should," I say. It's better if someone close to Caroline goes and talks to him. I think he would appreciate it more. Maybe I can even get him to calm down. He's taking this news just as badly as I did. He's more angry, and I'm more depressed.

  I take a deep breath in and let it out. It probably isn't best to approach an angry vampire. I can sense the fact that he needs me, though. I shall take my chances.

  I walk out of the back door and William's sitting down and staring off into the dark sky. The night sky is filled with bright and shining stars. I go and take a seat next to him and sit here silently. We both just stare up at the sky, thinking.

  "I'm sorry," William says.

  "For what?" I ask in confusion. He did everything he could to try to protect and save her.

  "When you found out what we were, you told me to stay away from Caroline if I couldn't protect her. I failed you both," William admits. He's right, I did say those words, but things always change.

  "You put your life on the line to protect her. That's all I asked for and you did it. No one has ever loved Caroline like you have."

  "Nina!" William yells as he throws the patio table. "I let her down. She's in the other room changing into a vampire. Do you not comprehend that? This is my fault!" William's mood suddenly goes from rage to sadness quickly. The tears start flowing out of his eyes like a waterfall. "I didn't want this life for her."

  "I know, William, but it happened. It's over with. She still has a chance. My blood can heal her."

  "What if it doesn't?" William asks. "It hasn't been proven that you can heal vampires, only humans!"

  "If I can't then you will have to stop living in the past and look toward the future."

  "She has no future," William says as he cries. "Vampires don't have futures."

  "She has a future with you. That's a start."

  "I'm no good for her. Look what she's becoming because of me."

  "She's going to need you more than ever now, William. She can be cured. We still have that to hope for and if it doesn't work then we all are going to have to stay strong for her. You, especially. She's going to look up to you for guidance to push her in the right direction. Show her how to be good. Show her she can live a normal, good life as a vampire like your family does." The words keep flowing out of my mouth without me even thinking first.

  William sits there, still staring at the stars in the night sky, crying. "You're right. I'm so sorry, Nina. I truly am and I hope you forgive me one day."

  "I forgive you now. Just please take care of Caroline because I can't. All I'm asking is for you to look after her and never leave her alone, at least until I can heal her."

  "I promise I won't let her down this time," William says with sincerity.

  "Thank you," I say. We both stare back up into the night sky and I start counting the stars above me.

  * * * *

  Sitting in the kitchen with Ella and Lilah, is entertaining, like always. One minute they're best friends, laughing hysterically with each other. The next minute they're arguing like sworn enemies. They can never make up their minds. If I lived with my sister as long as they've lived together then we would probably be the same way.

  Caroline. The thought of her name gives me goosebumps. When is she going to wake up? "How long does the changing process take?" I interrupt Ella and Lilah's argument.

  "Well, it depends," Lilah says and Ella interrupts her.

  "It can take hours or days. As long as her body wants to take. Right now everything inside of her is changing. She's changing from a mortal human to an immortal vampire."

  "Why do you always have to interrupt me?" Lilah asks Ella with a dirty look. "I hate when you do that!"

  "I don't always do that, Lilah. I thought you were finished talking!" Ella responds.

  "Anyways," Lilah says as she rolls her eyes at Ella and looks at me. "I want you to be emotionally ready for this. She isn't going to be the same person," Lilah says and Ella interrupts her once again.

  "The most important thing you need to do is keep your distance from her. Stay away from her unless one of us is with you. She's going to be very dangerous and blood thirsty."

  "You did it again, Ella!" Lilah yells.

  "I thought you were finished talking!" Ella yells back.

  "Zip your mouth shut. I will tell you when I'm finished talking," Lilah says as she shakes her head at Ella. "She's going to have this thirst for blood and even though she can't smell your blood, she will attack anyone with a heart beat that is in her path," Lilah warns me.

  "Caroline is going to be vulnerable when she wakes. Her emotions and cravings will be out of her hands and out of her control. She will be able to kill you within seconds. You won't even have time to blink your eyes," Ella adds.

  "You don't listen, Ella. That's your problem. I was just about to say that then you, once again, interrupted me!" Lilah yells.

  "Stop being such a baby, Lilah," Ella says.

  "I can heal her, right?" I ask.

  Lilah looks at Ella. "You have nothing to say?" She says wisely. Ella just shakes her head left and right. "Every healer is different. We haven't tested your blood on vampires yet, but your father had the power to heal both humans and vampires. You have his blood in you."

  "But, since you truly have the power to heal humans and if you end up not being able to heal vampires, there is always another way," Ella slips out. Lilah looks at Ella and shakes her head.

  "Another way?" I ask.

  "Excuse my sister, she's an idiot. There's no other way!" Lilah says.

  "Don't call me names, Lilah!" Ella defends herself.

  "What happened to your leg, Nina?" Lilah asks.

  "Gavin threw me and a piece of wood went through my leg."

  "Well, luckily you're OK. Your body will heal itself very soon. You have," Lilah begins to say and Ella interrupts her on purpose.

  "Very special blood, Nina."

  "Now, you're trying to aggravate me, Ella!" Lilah yells.

  As they continue to argue, I think it's better for me to remove myself from their precense.

  I decide to go to William's room to check on Caroline. I'm not planning on getting closer than the door, unless someone else is in there.

  I walk to the door of William's room and I see him sitting next to Lynns' side. He's emotionally broken and he thinks this is all his fault. It's safe to say that we all had our part to play in this situation. I guess it's all of our faults in a different way.

  As I'm standing there watching William and thinking, I blink my eyes and I'm on the ground with a body on top of me. Caroline is awake and she sure the hell is blood thirsty. "It's me Lynns, your sister!" I yell. I look into her eyes and all I see is red. She doesn't look like my sister. She isn't the same person I k
new.

  William yanks her off of me and pins her onto the bed. "Nina, you need to leave!" William screams as he's holding Caroline down. She's struggling her hardest to get away from him, but the control of William's strong grip around her forces her to stay down.

  "Get the hell off of me, you bastard!" Caroline yells with pure evil. This definitely isn't the same sweet and innocent girl I knew. Lynns is a completely different person. I should have expected it because she was in the process of turning into a vampire, not a fairy or some nice mythical creature, a blood thirsty vampire.

  Andrew is immediately at my side. "Are you OK?" he asks in concern.

  "I'm fine," I lie. I feel my whole body trembling.

  "I'll take you home." Andrew picks me up and carries me to the car. I don't think I even had a choice in the matter.

  I sit in the passenger seat and stare out the window with no expression on my face. I just saw my sister changed into an evil looking vampire. I don't have any words at the moment.

  * * * *

  The stress is absorbing into my brain. I don't think my brain can take any more pressure. My head is beginning to pound. I feel like it's going to explode. Stress is really starting to take a toll on my body.

  Andrew and I don't speak the whole way to my house. There are no words to be spoken at this moment. He knows what is running through my head.

  I enjoy car rides. Staring into the darkness as the outdoor passes by, it's actually peaceful. It's more peaceful than being in Andrew's arms while he runs, fast. That just makes me sick.

  We arrive at my house and it's more of an awkward silence now. His car is in park and we're both staring out the front wind shield. This reminds me of the night that Andrew took me home from the beach after we ran into Lucian's messenger. Andrew was hiding a secret from me and I wanted answers, answers that he refused to tell me that night. I miss those days, the days when I was completely clueless about the mysterious creatures around me. When I wasn't a healer and Andrew wasn't a vampire. When I thought we were both humans falling in love. That's the kind of love story I wanted, but I love Andrew and I love him exactly the way he is. That will never change. No matter what. Always and forever.