My grandmother lifted her hand, but the stranger closed the distance easily and pushed her with so much strength that she hit the wall, falling down. The distinctive crack of something breaking filled my ears, and I knew she was hurt severely. The bricks she had hit her back on were chipped and I realized how the crack on our front wall came to be.
Running, I ignored Kristy’s warning that swirled inside my head. When I reached our gate, I stood and leaned in to hear the vampire speak.
“I’d like to stay, but I enjoy watching the pain I cause from a distance more. It’s so exhilarating!” Packing in his laughter, he walked away with the moonlight showering his form.
At that precise moment, I recognized who he was and gaped. In a vampire form, he was almost unrecognizable with his dirty, bloody teeth and nails while his pale face was the exact opposite from the suntanned visage I was used to seeing but there was no doubt that the vampire was no one other than Khalid. The vampire I suspected all along was indeed the one to blame. Studying him while anger boiled inside me, I noticed he didn’t have the red medallion, but the tattoo was still there. Maybe he had gotten the medallion recently otherwise why wouldn’t he be wearing it?
A groan shook me from my thoughts and I ran to my grandmother who was bleeding in the yard. Khalid’s laugh echoed through the night, sounding like an evil monster’s laughter from scary stories. Only this time, the monster was real and set on killing.
“Grandma!” I kneeled next to her and took her hands in mine. Her breaths were sharp and even though I knew she couldn’t see me, I said, “Hang in there, help will be here soon.” Tears ran down my face because I knew the truth.
“Violet,” my grandmother said, and I smiled, thinking she was talking to my younger self. She gripped my hand. “I can see you.”
“How? Are you the one who talked to me some moments ago?” I shook my head. “But you can’t!”
“I am not, but I can see you. My gift allows me to see beyond the veil and you don’t belong in this time.”
“I came to find out the truth,” I said breathlessly as I felt her pulse weakening under my fingers. “Hang in there!”
“I cannot and you must know it.” She opened her palm and her dreamcatcher appeared. “Little Violet will grow up as a normal human being, unaware of the monsters.”
“Please, reconsider. I grew up not knowing any of these and it was hard to defeat the darkness because I didn’t believe. It was barely enough.”
Taking a sharp breath, she said, “Barely enough is good for me. Violet will make it and if you are her, then things have taken the right path. It’s for the best.” The dreamcatcher radiated and spread its glow, blinding my sight momentarily.
“Hope!” I heard my mom’s cry as she ran toward us, but she only saw my grandmother.
“See you soon, Believer,” my grandmother said and mist covered my eyes.
When the smoke cleared, I was in the park, lying on the cold blanket, sweat running down my face. The dreamcatcher in my hand had stopped glowing as it had completed its mission.
“Violet?” Kristy said, crouching next to me. “Are you all right?”
With an empty look, I stared at her. “Am I?”
Chapter 9: The Glow
Rain. Falling. Washing away the snow. Snow is pure and now it is all gone. Why can’t the evil get washed away the same way? I wondered as I watched from the window while the teacher told us about the importance of preparing early and not waiting until the last minute.
I had told everyone about what happened on the trip, but vague details about my grandmother erasing my memories. I didn’t even mention my upcoming trip to the Moon Realm. Planning the trip had slipped my mind as did most of the things I learned, but I knew my plan for getting my revenge would soon be coming to an end but my grandmother was right. It wouldn’t offer me anything.
Khalid on the other hand, was quite unsuspecting that trouble was brewing on the horizon, he was being the kind person he always pretended to be and even went as far as to say we were dating.
Unfortunately, Jacques was there when he said it and his reaction placed another nail in my heart. I was so numb I couldn’t find the strength to run after him to apologize. I really wished I could tell him everything but that would jeopardize my whole mission. Waiting was the only solution, and I hoped when I told him the truth, Jacques would find it in his heart to forgive me.
I avoided the mirror every day because I hated seeing the despicable face of a person I had turned into. Khalid might want me to swing toward the dark side, but the things I’ve done couldn’t be considered good.
Wearing black, I walked like a freak among freaks and Khalid thought this new phase was representing the fact I was dark. Kristy tried to talk to me, but I couldn’t tell her what I knew and alienating myself was the only way so I couldn’t feel.
My family had, of course, noticed the changes but my mom kept insisting everything was all due to stress and my dad was worried too, but I assumed he hoped it was just a phase. Surprisingly, Diane was the most worried of all and with her own way, tried to cheer me up, bringing me flowers and sweets. I felt touched by her gestures and once again I wished I could tell her the truth.
When we were together, Khalid had the annoying habit to hold my hand in his cold one and I cringed at his touch. I hated his touch, his appearance, his darkness, and I only begged for the time to go faster. For the torture to come to an end. His dark thoughts disgusted me, but after weeks of handling his numerous insidious thoughts, I found a way to alter his speech on revenge and world domination. Every time, I moved my hand that contained the sticky stuff, his eyes caught the movement and he paused whatever he was doing. It was like he was under a freezing spell. I hated seeing the traces it left in my skin but for the sake of having him shut up, I used it plenty.
Like a bee to honey, the vampire shall be caught when the time is right, I shall be free, I chanted this rhyme every day, which kept me alive and hoping for my freedom to come a day sooner.
Ever since he discovered I was dark, Khalid walked me to my street whether I was with Kristy or not but she refrained from coming with us and I sensed her distaste in the way she looked at him. The path from the Blessed Realm to my street seemed endless and I wished every time to evade it but he was glued to my side like a leech. I might not have experience in dealing with relationships, but that couldn’t be normal.
Not bothering to greet me, Khalid said when we left the Blessed Realm, “How was your night?”
“As usual,” I said, not bothering going into details.
“Did you dream?” he persisted, and I raised my eyebrows. I had never shared with him I had dreams, let alone about a dark creature. “Our Lady will be calling us soon,” he said, showing me his teeth.
Trying to keep the memory of him attacking my grandmother at bay, I pretended to be oblivious. “Calling? Our Lady?”
“Of course. These dreams let you peek into her plans and she tests you to see if you are ready for her gift.” He touched his medallion, and I knew. The Evilship had given it to him and my memory flew back to the first dreams I ever had of her and her black stone room.
“You’ll have the honor to meet the Believer,” the woman’s voice said, and the man grinned, revealing his pointy teeth. “After all, you’re the only one who can charm your way out of any creature.”
“My pleasure Your Evilship.” The man bowed and turned to leave, but the woman’s charming voice called, “She’s not to be touched or I’ll burn you to tiny pieces and feed them to my dogs. Understood?”
The man turned and bowed. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Your Evilship.”
The knowledge of what that meant tore into my heart and my mind. Anger boiled inside of me for the dreams had warned me, but not knowing any better, I ignored them and now I had fallen right into the trap. But maybe there was still enough time to salvage things and bring the light back to the realm. Even if I didn’t take part in the conversations, Kristy had told me that the r
esidents living on the north side of the Blessed Realm showed alarming signs. Like a shadow, the darkness was spreading and the unsuspected residents suffered. The worst cases were the shapeshifters more than the others. They succumbed into their animal side of them and couldn’t turn back into humans.
To stop them from harming others, Madelena had locked the affected residents in magic cages away from sight, but each day, the cases multiplied. Soon, everyone would be in a magical cage unless I defeated the ever-growing darkness. The Blessed Realm, much like before, gradually changed, bit by bit The houses were turning onyx, resembling the Evilship’s cave with each passing moment and the abundance of flowers surrounding the Blessed Realm withered. This time, the darkness was thicker and every day, I watched in terror as pieces of land disappeared, lost to chaos.
Every day, I chanted the Lady of Fate’s warning, hoping to decipher it with not much luck and just like that the fateful day came without me realizing anything.
“Good morning, Violet!” Diane said happily while she poured milk into our glasses.
“Morning,” I said while I inhaled my breakfast quickly.
“What’s are you doing tonight?”
“Studying as usual.”
“Wanna go shopping after you get back from the library?” She looked at me with those puppy eyes as she said, “Please? It’s been ages since we went out together.”
I didn’t know if she did it on purpose, but I felt guilt pounding in my chest. She was right. It had been a long time since we hung out. Even though I could barely keep up with my studies, the training and Khalid, who wanted to go out every night, I said yes.
“Hooray!” Diane cheered, making a happy dance around the table and I smiled at her joy. At least, there was a person I brought joy to and not sadness with my actions.
After class, I hurried to the woods. “Wait, Violet! Don’t run so fast! Why are you in such a hurry?” Kristy yelled as she was rushing to keep up with me. She was fast in flight, but not so much on the ground.
“I promised Diane I would go shopping with her so I want to get on with my training fast and then, I can study my lessons so I have enough time to go shopping with her,” I rushed out and Kristy gaped at me.
“You need to take things slow or you will crumble under the weight of the teast,” she said, looking at me seriously. “What about Khalid?” She rolled her eyes, and I knew she didn’t like him much, but for my sake, she didn’t say anything.
Waving my hand dismissively, I tried not to look excited about escaping the night’s date. “Oh, he can wait for one night!”
“Then, let’s hurry up!” she said and ran, leaving me to keep up.
◆◆◆
“What do you mean you can’t come tonight?” Khalid said sharply. I had chosen a moment when we were close to my house and I could easily escape.
“I mean what I mean.”
His teeth elongated and his eyes turned to slits, hiding the miraculous eyes, he showed everyone, making him similar to the vampire I saw in the past memory. “Why?”
“Because I have to be with my human family. They’re starting to notice,” I said and looked at him sternly. “Stop being mad, your teeth are showing.”
He growled, but I took my bag and marched to our gate, not looking behind me, but I was sure, he would have been red-faced if he were human.
Running up the stairs, I studied my lessons and then grabbed a snack and headed out. I met Diane outside her favorite shop and she gave me a glowing smile.
“Jeez, Violet! You didn’t have to run. I’m not going to punish you for being late.”
Taking sharp breaths, I held my sides and managed to get out, “The shops won’t stay open for long and you will complain all week.”
She grinned. “There’s that, too. Come on!” Pulling me inside the shop, she dragged me to all the floors, racks, and up and down all the stairs. I wondered where she found all the energy for shopping but I suppose if you had a normal life, a shopping trip was exciting.
“What do you think?” she said when she made her way out of the fitting room for the millionth time.
“I think what I thought of the other thousand dresses you tried before. They are all great, and they suit you since you’re blonde and dark colors match your eyes. I’m not so sure about the red one though. It’s too conspicuous.”
Diane laughed. “All right.” She went to change and seeing her with the green dress on her arm, I hoped this was the last dress. “Your turn.”
I cast her a disbelieving look. “Me? No thanks!”
Sighing, she clasped my hand, swerved and then we found ourselves back into the dress department.
“A dress? No, thank you! I don’t wear dresses and even if I did, these are for special occasions.”
“I don’t care. We’ll find something and no objections,” Diane said in a decisive tone.
I knew it was in vain, but I still protested, “Why are you so worked up about this?”
“Because we hadn’t been out together for ages! I want to celebrate. Now, come on!” She showed me a long violet dress with a split leg. “Try this.”
“Noo. That’s too open and where will I wear this?” I said, holding my palms up.
“We’ll go to a party, it’s Christmas and just because you’re all caught up in this dark mood doesn’t mean you should be a Scrooge about the season. Try it, make a change,” Diane said, and I sighed.
Inside the fitting room, I quickly put it on and felt the silk fabric flowing down my skin like water. Walking out, I embraced my shoulders since the dress was sleeveless and made me feel entirely too underdressed.
“There. See? It suits you,” Diane said, giving me an approving look and placing a black cardigan for me to wear.
I pulled it on and instantly felt warmer. Diane showed me a mirror and standing in front of it, I gazed at a girl I didn’t recognize. Flowing black hair and wearing shimmering purple make-up, the girl looked like me, but she was way too beautiful to be me. Smiling with her painted red lips, she nodded in approval and then disappeared, leaving my regular self to stare back at me. Shaking my head, I wondered what on earth that was.
“So? What do you think?” Diane’s voice sounded above my reverie.
“It’s nice,” I said, passing my fingers through the cool fabric and indeed it was. I walked around with the dress and it fit nicely, but wearing it, I felt a strange connection with it. Like I must take it no matter what. Being in the supernatural world for long enough, I had learned not to question my instincts, even if I didn’t understand them. Turning to Diane, I said, “I’ll take it.”
“Awesome!” Glowing, she hopped and clapped her hands excitedly. “I’ll pay.”
“What?”
“You always pay for my stuff and it’s the first time we have been out together in quite a while,” she justified and I sighed.
Having heard it at least three times, I wondered how many times she would hold this out to me. “But I’m your big sister. You should save your allowance for important things.”
“This is important,” she said and took the dresses to the cashier.
When did the time fly by? I wondered as I watched her making the exchange like a grownup. Where’s the silly giddy girl? Where have I been? Training and losing time while others continued their lives without me. What a sad thought.
“Got them!” Diane said when she reached me with a huge smile on her face. She was really enjoying our time together or rather she was living for every moment. Walking out, we put gloves and beanies on as the cold was no joke. I’ve been living in this little town for as long as I could remember and never have I experienced such bitter cold in my life. I tried to push the thought away but the possibility of it being a sign of the Darkness that approached in alarming rate was hard to deny. “We should hurry home. It’s chilly tonight.”
Nodding, we headed home with our feet squishing in the snow. Seeing the immense beauty of whiteness and the glow of the houses, I smiled for the firs
t time in a long time. I needed that walk to feel alive again—it was a break from all the pressure and the darkness. I knew I would have to eventually come back to it, but for the time being, I embraced every moment.
“What is that?” Diane said, and I followed her outstretched finger above us.
The sky had darkened, but the strange thing was that purple lightning lit up the sky, tearing it. Using my powers, I saw that it was tearing to the supernatural world and the fact that it was showing up in the human world as well was alarming. Time was growing thin. I had to hurry. “A lightning bolt,” I said and Diane tilted her head.
“I can see it’s lightning, duh! But why is it purple?”
“Who knows why nature does what it does sometimes, global warming perhaps?” I said with my eyes fixed on the purple lightning bolts.
“Oh! Imagine if there’s a witch in the city and one of her spells backfired!” She laughed, but I rolled my eyes.
“A witch. It’s not even Halloween,” I said even though she was very close to the truth. Diane might have grown up, but some things still stayed with her. A witch…a demon was more likely or rather an Evilship.
Stepping inside our house gave me relief from the cold, but mainly because Diane kept talking about the witch’s lightning bolt, making me uncomfortable and the weight of my mission weighted my shoulders once again.
“Mom? Dad?” I called. “We’re home!” When I got no response, I looked in the kitchen where a yellow paper stood out on the table, informing us they were going to be late.
“Let’s put the dresses on,” Diane exclaimed, and I shot her a look.
“Diane, it’s late and we have already tried it on. Where would we wear them, anyway?”
“In the house or in the yard,” Diane said, raising her shoulders. “It will be fun! We can pretend there’s music and people and we’re at a big party in Vegas or France or Italy!” Her glowing eyes told me I wasn’t getting out of this easily so I sighed.
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