FRIDAY. TWO WEEKS LATER
My mind had been frantic throughout out the night. I had done something unforgivable not to mention killing a vampire in the process. Wasn't I supposed to not be able to feel love or to care? Wasn't I supposed to be unfeeling, unnerving?
But all that had changed in the face of Dawn. I wasn't an unfeeling, cold demon when I was with her. In fact, I only felt alive when I was around her.
I could still seer her cowering in fear under his grip. She had looked at me like I was a red horned demon from hell.
The heavy weights of guilt, sadness and fear had been thrown over me. I was careful to burn the clothes I wore in an alley before returning home. I was oozing of Dawn.
For the first time I didn't sleep through the night. Leya could see the fear that leaked from my skin. She tried talking me to tell her about it but I knew better than to trust anyone. Whatever happened yesterday stays in yesterday.
The rest of us were soon to be return. Leya had opened the door when I knocked, I reasoned that if the rest had actually returned it would be best I walked through the main door unsuspiciously than to jump through the window of my attic.
I could still feel the heat from her body, her delicate lips inbetween my own. But all those warm thoughts were dissolved by the thrilling sight of the vampire as he disintegrated into the air. Before yesterday I wouldn't have thought I could kill, and with such ease it only took about a second to do it. But I did I for Dawn. I couldn't let her slip away from me under the arms of that delusional vampire. I heaved out a heavy breath, trying to calm my mind. I had to at least look at ease if I didn't want Jhan to look into my mind.
But one question still troubled my me, it was like an ache in my head that wouldn't go away no matter how hard I tried not to think about it; would she love me if she knew what I was, a demon, a monster, a vampire?
I had to put Dawn in the dust. If I kept what we had up only God knew how long it will be before the others found out. And killed her along with me.
Two whole weeks had passed and I hadn't for once left the house. I hadn't seen Dawn jog by or even the red of her car. I stayed in my room thinking about what I had done that night. I needed to clear my head and nothing worked better than a good old walk down the block—that, I was sure I wasn't ever going to do again. The only problem was how to shake off Tia. She wouldn't let me out of her sight for up to five minutes. Leya had returned from school rather late yesterday. The others didn't seem to care, she was stronger than a fully grown man—and I was sure stronger than seven put together—so we had nothing to worry about. She could take care of herself.
The little angel had kept her mouth shut about my late return, even going as far as confirming my lie that I had stayed indoors all day.
I glanced at the window. It was getting brighter with the grey light of morning. Jhan hadn't returned home since yesterday and whenever Jhan wasn't at home, mostly, Jereum wouldn’t be at home either so I could be a bit freer. I hadn't eaten since, I had no appetite and normal food tasted and smelt like mud and spice, something I had actually eaten to compare. I went down to the parlour and sat beside Tia. Her attention seemed to be swallowed up by the book she held in front of her face but I could see her glance at me from the corner of her eye. The main door opened and Jereum stepped in. He wore identical silver boots to the ones the adjudicator was wearing, and I could see smears of blood on his jacket.
"Tyrants?" Tia asked.
"Yeah, one of them almost got away though, good thing Jhan was there to take 'em out," He said, "they had an unauthorized clan hunt two weeks days ago, say one of their members even went missing,"—a knot tied in my stomach and I knew if I had something in my stomach I would have vomited it all out—"but we rounded the rest up."
"Where is Jhan?" I asked, taking heat off the missing vampire topic.
"None of your business," He snapped.
"You have to stop Jereum,' Tia said, "it's not fair the way you treat him."
She probably felt guilty for the way she had treated me the day before yesterday.
"Yeah, he'll get used to it." And he tramped up the stairs without another word.
So there was an illegal clan hunt, that's was probably the reason why the vampire boy was in that forest. He was probably looking for some lone human campers to get his fangs into. I felt a slight relief at that but the images of the burning skeleton of that vampire crept into my mind and it froze me on the spot for just a moment.
"Is Leya back from school?" Jereum shouted over the distance, snapping me out from my reminiscence.
"No, not yet," Tia said, we could hear each other talk without needing to shout, Jereum was just a loud person.
Silence fell in the room and the only sound that could be heard was the clocking of the vintage grandfather clock that stood at the corner of the room.
After a few minutes. "You didn't need to that Tia," I said.
"I just... He shouldn't treat you like that. It's not fair to you," She said, looking at me amorously and she leaned in closer.
I let a few seconds pass by.
"Thank you," I said, and she nodded. I looked at the open window. It was getting darker now. A frequent chill had been tearing down my spine the longest I stayed indoors. It reminded me about how much I enjoyed the walking in the open. With Dawn.
"I want to go out Tia," I said, still looking at the window.
"Okay, where to?" She asked.
"Let's just take a walk, maybe just down the street," I said.
She looked skeptic, but I knew I wasn't asking for too much.
"Okay, just down the streets alright." She said.
"Deal," I agreed.
We left the house and got to the roads. A few people walked pass us, probably heading to the other parts of town was actually mostly a ghost town. Empty houses and Every clan that lived here were spaced out greatly to different blocks to avoid conflicts. It was like we owned an entire street.
We walked slowly, and I used the time to take in the view of the environment. It was a peaceful area, although I knew that was because of the vampires that secretly dominated this town. Vampires lived in perfect peace, we didn't need to rob or kill each other for money or food. The vampires that served under the higher court were paid in excess, money that they barely used because our food didn't need to be bought.
We walked down the streets. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Tia nervously glancing at me.
"So... About the higher court," I said, "they said something about a squad of elites."
"Oh, yes, about that... It's like a team of vampires, Supreme, ordinary and Abnormals that have exceptional battle skills and training. Supreme vampires are easily adopted into their team because of their increased strength, speed, agility, tolerance to wood and all those other abilities you have. Same goes for vampires who possess the mind’s-eyes—"
"So is Jhan amongst them?" I asked her.
"Yes. Jhan, Jereum and I are all elites."
We were turning a corner and I didn't even notice until I had bumped into someone. I was startled, put on high alert. Everything around slowed down, this was my dialled up speed in action, just like the time I fought the tyrants. I looked at who I had hit, it was a girl. She looked to be about Tia's age. She was falling backwards, slowly.
I spotted the mp3 music player she had plugged in her ears, falling between us. She must have dropped it when we hit. Not wasting any more time, I grabbed her mp3 player and then grabbed her by the waist. But a long chill serrated its way down my back as I locked eyes with Dawn.
It had already been two whole weeks since I saw her but to me it felt like yesterday. I could see the fear seep from me into her as we looked into each other's eyes. The knowing fear of what had happened that cold night when we kissed under the bright moon.
Everything returned back to normal and Dawn wore a mixed expression of shock and surprise on her face. The fear that had enveloped her was almost totally gone.
"Are you okay?" I asked her. She didn't answer me, just looked at me straight in the eyes. Her hands were around my neck; she must have flung them out in a vague attempt to balance herself and caught hold of me.
Her breathing was heavy and I could hear her quickened pulse. She straightened herself, I noticed she had a grey turtle neck sweater on this time, probably to hide the bruises on her neck.
Like Tia, her blue eyes were bright, almost sparkling in the early light of morning.
I looked into her eyes, those same eyes that had been heavy and laden with fear and dread two weeks ago now looked at me with perplexity.
Her blonde hair was packed to a point tail that fell to her shoulder length. Above all, she looked nervous and disoriented, like as if she had just survived a hundred meter fall.
"Here's your…err…device." I handed the mp3 to her; she still held eye contact and seemed to be heavily dazed. With a shaky hand, she took the mp3 from me and muttered, "thank you."
Her scent filled the air around me, a nice smell
"Oh, err...sorry about that. I wasn't watching." I was surprised at the amount of control I had over my voice. Who knew I would bump into Dawn the very day I finally decided to leave the house.
She walked past me without a word and I watched her walk a distance away before she glanced back over her shoulders, looking at where I stood beside a dumbfounded Tia.
Once she was a safe distance away I took my gaze off her back and to Tia.
She heaved out a breath of relief as she looked at me “Finally decided to take my advice did you?”
I remembered that she had caught me the day I went to Dawn's house.
I remembered the way I felt the night I was with Dawn surrounded by those thick trees. The heavy pull of something inside me to break free, something that changed me in such ways I couldn't even recognize myself.
“Tia, you won’t tell Jhan will you?” I asked her.
“No, nothing bad happened anyway. It will be our little secret,” she said.
And with her words came the closure I needed. Everything might just play out how I want it. Dawn will be safe and I could live happily with the thought that in mind. That's if I could hold back the urge to be with beside her
SATURDAYDawn’s house was just a block away from ours. Easy for me to get there and back without anyone noticing. Our part of town was directly connected to the other human populated areas. Seeing her again yesterday had triggered the need I had for her. The need for her warmth and nice scent. The same scent that turned me to an animal.I had been perched by the window since we returned home. Waiting to see if she'd pass by again but I was sure she knew better than to do so. Jhan came home late yesterday but left early for a patrol this morning, and Jereum had walked Leya to school—something he started doing after she helped him with the wounds he sustained from the tyrants, he and Leya were actually beginning to get along quite often.Leya's cover up was enough to deceive Tia to thinking I was fully over my likeness for Dawn. I couldn't thank the little vampire girl enough for what she has done for me, she had even once told me that I
CONTINUATION…I had jumped onto the shaded threshold just in time. All the skin on my neck was gone and I gasped with great effort, trying to draw in breath that I didn't even need.I felt blood flow down the back of my neck and soak my jacket before the open artery quickly healed. I looked at my arms, no skin, just red meat. I watched as the skin slowly started to grow back and I felt feeling return to my nape. It took more time for the skin on my hands to grow back completely, leaving not even a scar behind and another even longer for the skin on my neck to grow back as well.I started to breathe again. I opened the door and staggered into the house. I was drained up of almost all of my energy and I plodded up the stairs and to my attic-room.There was no sign of anybody at home and I was grateful for that. I got into my room and pulled off my clothes, they were stained with my blood, and I threw them onto the gr
ONE WEEK LATER. SATURDAYA week had passed since I saw Dawn—since I got to be with her. I left the same way I had come in, through the window. I had to keep things on a low between us if I didn't want the others to find out. Leya's tip had paid off greatly; I came back just before ten o'clock and the others returned just thirty minutes after me.My weeks were mostly filled with sleeping and small conversations with Tia. Jhan had told me that I would be entered into service of the higher court once I was five years old as a vampire. He boasted of how much an honour it would be to be in service of the higher court and of how much respect I would be bringing to the clan. I felt rather indifferent about the whole idea of wearing silky red robes and receiving orders from thousand year old vampires. I was even rather uninterested but I didn’t tell that to Jhan, he had sounded so proud already when he talked about it I didn’t want to off his fl
MONDAYTwo days had passed since we frolicked in the forest. I drank blood from the flask in the kitchen and spent most of the time reminiscing about the events of two days before now.I missed Dawn more than anything else. We weren’t exactly together but then I wondered why I felt guilty for kissing Tia, no, I actually felt guilty for enjoying it. I loved Dawn’s company no more than I enjoyed the tasted of blood.She somehow made me feel more alive than I actually was and it made me wonder if I ever even loved her or if I actually loved the way she made me feel. Either one it was, I enjoyed being around her all the while.I stared up at the zinc above my head. This attic-room was an old, mould smelling, dusty living space, but it was mine and I liked that fact about it. Today was a cloudy day; it made the possibility of meeting Dawn more of a reality than a thought.I could leave once the others go out but from the look o
CONTINUATION…After a few more pages of thrilling and interesting takes about the humans that could transform into powerful wolves, Sir Nich retired back to his work and I was left with the book in hand. He had read to me some more pages of the book and I had learnt that the Lobos or Lupine human, bread with ordinary humans and increased their numbers in mass. They had extended life spans of about two hundred years and aged rather slowly.Although Sir Nich told me time over time that the tales of the Lupine humans were myths and were made up millennia ago as folk tales, I still thought that they could be a truth to it. I looked at more and more pictures of the creatures and Sir Nich had told me that they draw their energy from the moon light. He had also told me that a Lupine human would be able to transform into a Lobo at day time but will revert back to its human form when the power it had drawn from the moon runs out.If what these legend
CHAPTER 13 — FOR LOVE.TUESDAYWaking up was the easy part of sleeping. It was like you blinked and all the hours had passed by in a mere second. We got home yesterday and I went off to sleep. I had woken up quite early today, sleeping just wasn’t as interesting as I knew it was supposed to be, sleeping was becoming more of a chore than a necessity now. I could sleep whole days without a single dreams, not even a flash . I did not know if the fact I could not dream in my sleep came with the fact I was a vampire now, or if I had been like this even before I got impurified. It was like a living, breathing part of me had been brutally torn away.I remembered details of yesterday, all what I had read about the Lupine humans and my great aspiration to figure out the myth.The old curator at the library had told me just enough about his past. From what I had understood he was an obsessed researcher who wanted to figure out as much as he could about
WEDNESDAYJhan came back home in the evening looking rather tired. He spoke little with Jereum before making is way up the stairs. Jhan was busy most of the time. He was no adjudicator but he still had an in important role to play.His job as a survey elite also included training younger amateur vampires which was s daily task.I passed the night wide awake and as soon as it was seven in the morning is saw Jhan and Jereum already in the parlour."Is everything alright Jhan?" I asked him, after he had a brief word over with Jereum, who was now frowning."Err... Yes Kaldar, just a little issues with our patrols," he said, and I believed him. If it was something serious he would tell me... Right?They left the house shortly after that, both wearing silver boots and their brown jackets."Soon be back love," Tia said, and she planted a kiss on my cheek before she followed after them.It was a cloudy day, or
THURSDAYLEYA'S P.O.V.I never slept with my eyes closed; it wasn't actually sleep kind of like a temporary shutdown of my body but not my mind so I woke up with my eyes open. Breathing in the fresh fumes from the plants that occupied my room. The light from the sky outside was still grey. I faked a yawn before hopping down from my bed. The grey watering can on the shelf was still full of water. I picked it up and titled it over the plants in my room. One by one until I was done with them all.Next I popped into my bathroom and took a warm water shower, humming a nursery rhyme as I did so. Once I was done I picked out any random little dress from my wardrobe. I never wore a dress twice and Jhan kept on bringing home newer dressed for me. The ones I had worn I'll keep in an open box beside my bed. Jhan would carry them out at the end of the month and give them to the girls at the orphanages.The dress I picked was blue, with little yellow flo
I didn’t think much of it before I leaped for her windowsill. This town had mostly human occupants, I had to be careful. I caught hold and hoisted myself in, it was just like old times. When we were still madly in love. Her warm scent coated the room like a paint, it reminded me of the warmth she brought to me. I waited for her to walk in, for her to close the door behind her before I stepped out of the shadowy part I was camouflaged in.She gasped at my cold touch but she did not scream. I had expected her to at least put up a small fight but she didn’t resist when I pulled her closer to me. She stiffened for a little while, allowing me to wrack my brain in thought that it might not have worked, before she slowly whispered my name. Jhan had kept his word, she remembered me, the feeling of walking into her room to meet her vampire lover must have been all it took.The familiar warmth from her body seeped through my jacket, warming me up. She hugged me back
ONE WEEK LATER. FRIDAYWhen I wake up it is to the soft touch of someone's skin against my regrown arm. My eyelids flutter slower as dim lighters through my lashes. I saw several blurry figures looming above me. I couldn't make out any faces or sounds except for the darker skin of Jhan... Or Nicha.After a few more minutes of indistinct chatter and blurry vision, I finally made out Leya's face. She looked down at me, a concerned frown on her face."Le-Leya?" I muttered. "What happened?""Shush. He’s waking, he's waking..." I couldn't recognize to whom this voice belonged to but it sounded feminine."Where I'm I?" I tried raising my head but the blow from a strong migraine sent me back down."We won Kaldar, you helped defeat Hardaj..."“Tia? Who is Hardaj?""Oh, for hells sake. Cut us the slack Kaldar! You were only out one week." Jereum said in an irritated complaining manner.I tried recollecting how I had g
CONTINUATION…I heaved painfully with a croaked grunt as I killed the last one in the higher court. I had used the same move Jereum had used to get behind me to kill the second wolf. As it had bit at me, I jumped, planting a foot firmly to the walls and pushing myself forward. Driving the sharp silver blade into the back of the creature’s neck, dragging the blade along its spine and severing just about any vitals in its back.All the adjudicators lay in pieces on the floors. Their bodies slowly vapourizing away. I went through a door at the back of the large assembly hall, that's where the refuges were held. On walking down the stairs and getting to a lower floor I was roughly hit and then pinned down by something.The wolf snapped at my head repeatedly and I dodged to either side while still lying under it. It went straight to me this time and placed a hand on its snout and pushed back on it as it tried forcing its head down. It was winning, its op
SAME DAYEveryone who wore the red robed today we're considered the bravest and most loyal vampires and wolves. To fight in a battle so gruesome, death was assured to come to you, in the faith for the greater good.I had waited patiently, bearing the pulsating pain in my chest and hoping for the best for all of us. For the best that we would all survive and be together one last time as a clan before I set off on my own path to find out for myself the answers to my life. But the odds of that were slim and the chances of only one of us surviving was great.But I had hope. Hope on the fact that the adjudicators with the mind's-eye were to pair up with another fighter, either wolf or vampire. The one with mind manipulation would do their best to deceive the enemy into seeing mirages while the other defeats the opponent. But the wolves were no ordinary being, and the control they had over their minds was strong. It was left to a psychic battle between vampire and wol
FRIDAYI tried taking my mind off Dawn but it seemed impossible. I thought about her in everything that I did. She was pasted on my mind like before. Her beautiful face was all I could think about. I could only think about the times that we shared together. Those blessed moments that I would forever keep to myself. I removed the pendant and placed it inside a small box I got from Jhan. I couldn't let it damage on my neck.“It was for the best,” Tia told me.“She was getting more delicious with every passing day anyway,” Jereum said, giving me a consolatory pat to my shoulder. Leya had been silent ever since. The whole concept of the war and the possibilities of our deaths, she was not dealing well with.The arrow that struck night had gone through an artery in her body. She almost died but was now in an unconscious state in her village. Tia was still a bit sad about it. I had talked to her earlier when we were alone and she just br
THURSDAYNicha continued applying the medicine to my wound. It was the awkward quietness that came with it that was unbearable. She resorted to taking her time when she worked, doing it slowly and quickly apologizing anytime I winced or groaned in pain.My clan came to see how I was doing. I noticed glum expression but held back anything that had to do with her sister being a Lupine. I wasn’t sure she was ready to talk about it just yet. Jhan told me that the adjudicator was shortly knocked out by Jereum after she hit me down from the cliff. A dozen wolves had attacked the higher court, killing most of the adjudicators that were brave enough to fight. Alzaraq met with our higher court and cleared that the wolves were not from his clan.He had told them about Hardaj and his plans to dominate over the vampires. An official treaty was made that declared Lupine kind and vampire one and united but only to face the war ahead after which both species would go the
AFTER A WEEK AND TWO DAYS. WEDNESDAYIt was dim all around me. I was lying on a soft surface. My body was heavy, or I didn't have the strength to support my own weight. I groaned as I tried to sit up but that task was impossible. Great pain seemed to radiate out from my chest and spread throughout my body causing me to groan even louder."You shouldn't do that..." It was a female voice. I turned my head slowly and caught the stare of light brown eyes."Nicha? Are you dead also?" I asked."You're not dead, well, your kind are not really living so you are dead but not really—point is, you're awake.""But that stake went through my heart...""Nope, just badly grazed it."She was sitting beside me. We were alone in this hut."What you did there... When you saved our chief leader." She reached with the back of her hand placed it on my forehead."Don't touch me," I said firmly. A small frown appeared on her forehead.
The image of a dark skinned woman flashed through my mind but this time it didn't stop there. I was sitting at a table in a blue painted dining room. A littler girl sat beside me. She wore her hair in two large braids and ate the cereal in front of her happily.This place was familiar, this was my house. I was emaciated and felt weak all over. The bowl of cereal in front his me was in touched. The funny thing about cancer is it eats away on you but makes gives you loss of appetite. The perfect killer disease."Kaldar?" A woman called my name."Mum?" I replied."Your medical reports are in..."I was crestfallen. I knew I was going to die by I hadn't expected it so soon.I heaved my chest.The girl that was at my side was now suddenly in front of me now wore a disappointed face. My little sister never like it when she heard my mum talk about my medical reports."Hey Pam, don't worry, don't worry." I told her, wondering how she ha
CONTINUATION…I was totally lost in her Beauty. Her skin was a rich brown colour that seemed to be polished and had a shine to it. Her eyes were large and had a light brown colour. Her hair was coily and snowy white. The opposing colours of her skin and hair made her stand out from the others.She had been saying something but I had zoned her out. A small smile on my face as I assessed her. I saw the slight look of confusion on her face."—hello? Are you still there?"I snapped back to reality."Oh...err...yeah. Yeah, I'm still here."I looked at the others, Jereum was now narrating the story of how he single handedly took down Dallas to the other boys and Tia seemed to be having a lot of fun with Jabari."What's your name?" She asked.'No, I won't tell her. I'm gonna brush past her and walk away. I won't tell her my name, I won't tell her my name—’"It's Kaldar."'Hell!'"Nice to m