Castle Vitalis Garden Pond
Five days ago
A crack of lightning appeared some distance away from where Amanda stood. It was so strong and loud, but it didn’t divert her focus on the man that continued to close in on her.
Steady were his footsteps, simply bidding his time, just like some sick old lion stalking its prey. But to Amanda it was an advantage. It gave her an enough time to plan her escape. It gave her the time to evoke the witch blood within her.
Her mother always told her that their kind had natural abilities. Powers that they can use even though they haven’t reached their twenty-fifth birthdays yet. Unfortunately, her mother didn’t get the chance to teach her how to summon it. A sure disadvantage indeed.
Though Amanda still doubted she had an ability, it was her best choice to fight off the man who certainly eyed her l
Amanda’s fingers weaved their way into Cord’s thick locks. She accepted him with no hesitation, making herself available for his ministrations.Guilt may have poked her again, but she didn’t let that deter her. Surrendering to her need of him was more important than her apprehension or any other matter.Had she trusted him more because he poured himself to her?Yes. Because he looked sincere enough while mentioning he had atoned for his sins.Aside from immortality, with the wealth, social status, and power vampires held, no one would actually want to become human again. But Cord was willing to, just so that his suffering would end.And hearing him share that, truly changed Amanda’s perspective of him. She was no longer afraid and Cord knew that to his joy. He of course didn’t want the woman he cared about fear him for what he had become. For what he
Minutes earlier...The moment Amanda was out of sight, Cord bobbed his head towards where Calvin stood aware that he was listening on their conversation earlier.“Go,” was his only command and with a short nod, the latter disappeared into the darkness in a blink.Cord, in the same spot he stood, then closed his eyes and summoned the shadows around him. Right before he took this ability in a particular witch three decades back, he had a difficult time controlling them. But now, he had perfected this ability and it proved to be easy after he became their Master.He always thought this ability useful in any situation.Like now. Using it as a GPS to locate Garett.It took his shadows awhile, combing the crevices of his estate, until he finally declared that his rogue vampire was indeed gone. He then adjusted the coverage over a hundred mile radius, go
“This must stop! It has been almost twenty-four hours! We are not guinea pigs here!” a man whose hands were curled tightly and face flushed in anger, yelled right in front of Calvin.He was a tall man, as tall as the one getting the complaints but his bearing and the way he dressed in regal, fluffy clothes showed he was behind his years. He was a well-respected vampire and a gentleman during his time; a politician when still human and a close friend of the Vitalis Family, so he was the one who stepped up to what he thought was an unfair treatment.Calvin, despite his noisiness, just leaned against the throne hall double door with his eyes closed, arms crossed and head cast down.“I am done with waiting for his order! Master Vitalis owes us a carefree life! Locking us up in the mansion and making us starve is the opposite of it!” the man continued. He stepped forward and began to shove Calvin out o
A lie.Yes, it was but at least it would guard Matteo’s pride.Amanda looked anywhere but him. She didn’t want to see how he would react. He had already passed first base, and to suddenly cut him off was a sure blow.“I see...” he sighed, but there was a tinge of annoyance mixed there. He stood up and sported a very hard erection clearly visible under his loose pants.Amanda, not expecting this to greet her, blinked thrice, unable to take the view.“I am your soon-to-be-husband Cait. You should be more willing next time. I certainly don’t wish to ra*pe you.”His eyes were cold, lifeless, and because of this, Amanda shuddered. She tried to muster up a reply, but failed, feeling her throat truly dry. It left her a feeling of dread.Seriously? He wasn’t considering that right? They were just st
Swirls of purple and red coated Amanda’s irises. Her teeth were like a wolf’s in an attacking mode. Some strands of her hair floated, seemingly alive on their own. And her face was devoid of any other emotion except for hatred. Pure one.Those were what Cord could detail out amidst seeing just whites and grays in his perspective. But he expected this. He expected this right after noticing the damn amulet around her neck.Maybe, he could have acted cautious when he materialized in her apartment, but after he sensed her while still in the throne room, his control snapped and his shadows immediately transported him to where she was.The strength of her grip on his neck could never be denied though. It was truly suffocating him despite not needing oxygen to breath. He gnashed his teeth and in reflex, held her elbows to stop her.His back hit the wall in the end. It was so hard that a landscap
~ Amanda ~Not caring for the aftertaste of blood in Cord’s mouth, we lip-locked as if it was a mandatory thing to do, which in our case was. It had been a long grueling two days. A painful time away that made our longing grow and mature. I felt empty during those days, never had Matteo made me complete, but being with Cord now meant that I am and more.I don’t even fucking care if Matteo was looking for me at this very moment.I wanted Cord to erase all the traces of that mage in my system and to start that of, Cord knew he must focus on my mouth first.Our tongues twisted and flicked, exploring each other as if it was our first time. I grabbed his head, threaded my fingers through his hair and pressed his face more against mine. Cord didn’t seem against it for he groaned deep within his throat, clearly satisfied.He felt for my breasts, but it
Madrid, Spain, Apartamento de MeijiaYear 1820“By blood they were cursed, and by blood it shall be undone,” a woman lying naked side by side with a man said. Her head rested on his shoulder while a contemplative look on her face showed. She was a beautiful woman, hair of curly brown with gold highlights on the tips, plump lips and a creamy skin.She straightened after a heavy sigh and elbowed herself up to see his handsome visage. “That’s what my mother said,” she continued.The man beside her twinkled hope in his eyes and smiled. “I see. Then, does that mean your blood will heal me? Turn me into a human again? We could finally spend time together without fear or reproach?”He cupped her face with both of his hands and thumbed her pinkish cheeks he admired so much. He waited for her to answer, expecting
“Amanda!” Cord’s voice resounded on a dimly lit spacious hall once he materialized in it. There was no one around except for the empty furniture sets and empty balconies above him. The chandelier lights were turned off, the lamps in the coffee tables were the same and the only thing that kept the place bright were the lightings that broke out from the sky from time to time passing through the uncovered floor-to-ceiling windows.“Where?” he muttered to himself as he took in the room he was dumped in.This room somehow was familiar. In fact, very familiar to him.The first clue was the foul stench of blood in every corner and every space. Second clue, was the blood red carpet his bare feet touched. Third was the gloomy darkness of the place, the same theme in all rooms of his castle. And last, were the sinister silhouettes lurking behind the shadows. He may not clearly see them due to his temp
PresentEverything happened in seconds.First, Eloise felt a strong arm around her torso before she felt a shooting ache and a pulling pressure on her head. Her extended hand ready to supposedly siphon Amanda of her life essence stopped mid air, just inches away from Amanda’s face. She winced at the pain and tossed a quick look at the person behind her. She couldn’t well see his face, but she knew from the aura the person was emitting, it was the Vitalis Master.Second, Amanda’s diamond-structured hand contacted with Eloise’s chest before she noticed Cord behind the psychotic witch. Taken aback, she gasped, was confused at first, but ultimately, felt lifted of her worry. She could see he was back to his normal self again. And not only that, he was ready to help her fight her aunt.Crystals immediately attached themselves into Eloise’s chest and while thi
“Courageous words for a newbie witch!” Eloise’s lashed out, snickering as if she wasn’t affected by Amanda’s threat. Using her shadows, she teleported out of the burning automobile and into a clear area some distance away from Amanda. Blood had dripped down her forehead, streaming along the bridge of her nose and into her upper lip. She just licked it clean, then wickedly grinned at Amanda again.Amanda took this as a challenge. The woman may look like she was unaffected by her lacerations and burn wounds, but clearly, she was at a disadvantage now.With her supercharged crystals, she launched again towards her aunt, gnashing her teeth all the time and giving her death glares.Eloise just stood appearing as if she was doing nothing, but in reality, she ordered her shadows to form into tendrils along Amanda’s path.Amanda saw this but was undaunted. She continued ru
“Don’t underestimate what I’m capable of. Come at me and you’ll see,” Amanda dared, gnashing her teeth as she said so. Beads of sweat gathered around her nape as she was immobilized by Eloise’s shadows. She tried to wriggle, at least to get a bit of inches free from the shadows, but they were unrelenting. The more she moved, the tighter the shadow’s twisted around her limbs.Some distance away, Matteo was still writhing in pain. She wanted to run to his side and help him, but knew she couldn’t. Even blinking and breathing was hard to do.“Wohoho, such fat words,” Eloise cackled, angling her chin up. “I know what abilities you have. Actually, it’s even enough to defeat me, but do you really think I didn’t come prepared?”Amanda frowned even more. This woman was really pushing her rage to the fore.“
Three Months AgoMatteo’s Beach HouseSpa, BelgiumA portal opened out-of-the-blue in the middle of the living room and then Matteo and the witch he resurrected materialized, toppling over the vase filled with tulips when their feet grazed the edge of the coffee table.The witch, in her weak state, reached for the headboard of a sofa to steady herself. She hadn’t experienced teleportation magic before when she was still alive, so experiencing one now was both exhilarating and nauseating.She groaned and looked up at Matteo who was already staring down at her.“This house is just your temporary shelter. Stay here while your senses return,” he said.“Now I remember you,” the witch stated after hauling a breath. She straightened and battled t
Six days ago...O’Malley Residence“So she’s protected by a mage...” Cord muttered to himself when he sensed the mage’s power in the residual heat it emitted when Amanda disappeared. He scrunched up his nose then, disgusted of the word. He had a distaste for such beings in the past and that hadn’t changed one bit in the present. He hated them as much as he hated the witches.Mages — they tend to be cynical and arrogant. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. They hold too many secrets for their personal gain. They protect witches from vampires in an act of good faith, but in truth, they only do it for the many advantages they could get from the witches. Cord had killed a dozen of them over the centuries and one thing remained the same — their blood taste bitter and unpalatable. Not his interest at all.With a scoff, he turned towards a gr
Cord’s hands sought her breasts and roughly squeezed them. Amanda winced and gritted her teeth. She hated how he did it, but she wasn’t going to be emotional. She wasn’t going to cry just because of his rough manhandling. Instead, she flashed him a sharp glare.Unfortunately, it was the only thing she could do. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t fight him off. Aside from the shadows restraining her, she still saw him as the same man she loved. No matter what side he was showing, she still saw him as one person.Ignoring her glare, Cord dove down to capture her lips. His kiss was bruising and aggressive. Amanda felt it different and uncomfortable, but at the same time, disturbingly a turn-on.His hands moved down to reposition her legs. He rearranged himself in between as her thighs spread wide. Then, pulling himself out of their kiss, he stuck his tongue out and with one swoop tasted her flesh ra
For the first time since Cord and Amanda arrived in Wellington, their stay had finally felt like a vacation. Spending time together never had been great. Four nights had passed since Cord’s return of sight and so far, they hadn’t faced any problems or consequences with it. No Matteo to be cautious about. No unknown enemy to think of.They took this opportunity to travel around New Zealand, commuting through trains and buses, and even rented a car to fulfill Amanda’s wish to drive through the hills and countryside. By nightfall, they would either rent a hotel room or camp outside the field under the moon’s mystical light and the wondrous sea of stars.Cord took this chance to get to know Amanda’s home country better. The last time he visited here was to sate his hunger only. Now, he wanted to see what the land offered. He found the mountains of Auckland rich and teeming with vegetation and wildlife
Cord reached Racetech in no time, materializing on the roof of the building as fluidly as usual. Without delay, he closed his eyes and felt for the unique heartbeat and scent of Amanda. He couldn’t sense either of the two and that made him groan in displeasure.He was confident he’d find her here, but as it seems, he had come too late. If he remembered correctly, the meeting with Matteo was in the afternoon and it was already late in the evening now. She could be anywhere with him by now if she was bold enough to accept whatever proposal he offered.He didn’t trust Matteo. That opportunistic mage would likely use his charms and lies the moment he gets a chance and Cord not accompanying Amanda was that chance.Using his unrestrained eyes, he scanned the whole area within the three-mile radius. He couldn’t sense her heartbeat still and that pissed him off. Honing his sights on an eighty-storey tower
“Where am I?” Blinking a few times, Amanda took in every detail of the room: the light fixtures, the color of the walls, the furniture and the carpet. Indeed, she wasn’t in Cord’s hotel room or even in her own bedroom and this brought her pulse working double time.She sat up straight, frowning, immediately knowing what this exactly meant.“Oh no, ” she said, clenching her teeth. “Matteo just wasted what little trust I have for him.”Luckily, he had the sense to leave her clutch bag on a bedside table. She rushed to take it and pulled out her cell phone from the secret chamber.“No signal, great, ” she huffed after unlocking her phone screen. Calling Noman now would have been a good idea. Not like he could save her from being imprisoned inside a house again, but calling him about the status of the Vitalis Master would have been vital. The ti