Madrid, Spain, Apartamento de Meijia
Year 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
Somewhere in a Moroccan RegionAmanda, at age 10“Mum,” Amanda softly called, tugging at her mother’s coat to catch her attention. Her mother looked down at her and smiled, the coldness of the air around them was visible through their breaths. “You let me come with you in this old cemetery to visit a tomb, yet it has been so many years now and you still haven’t told me who is lying in it.”A lush forest of green surrounded them, but they weren’t lost. On their way was a stone path going to an abandoned cemetery styled in the Victorian Age. Statues of angels and cherubs stood sentry on each tombstone, but there was one that didn’t have any. The one that both of them were going.Her mother, Eloisa, pursed her lip and sighed. “Hmm, such a curious daughter you are.” Her eyes glinted with mirth unde
“Sire, everyone is gathering in the throne hall,” the Head Majordomo announced the moment he was given permission by Cord to enter in his bed chamber. His head was bent low; eyes cast downward giving his Master and Mistress some privacy.Cord retracted his hand from Amanda’s flushed cheek. She was but sleeping soundly, too tired and spent because of the energy she consumed while on rampage, and because of this, he was able to study her, from her smooth face down to the curve of her lashes. He kept a mental picture of her, the colorful one, before his time for blindness returns.“I will go there now, Jerome,” he sighed and then stood up, but not before planting a kiss on her forehead. “Have Arissa and Noman stay by Amanda’s side until I return.”“Yes, Sire.” Jerome nodded. “They are just waiting in the receiving room. They will come inside once you leave.&r
The moist soil dirtied the man’s boots as he continued to trek down the path to an abandoned graveyard. Dark was the sky and it almost looked like it was going to rain soon. That fact didn’t bother him though. He’d be out in a jiffy once he finished the job enough to keep him dry.Around him was a forest with slender trees and overgrown shrubbery. Some distance ahead, at the end of the pathway, the gate to the cemetery lay open, its hinges almost falling off the support column and its bars, rusty and chapped.For a mage like him and one that had walked the earth for quite some time, he had been to different kinds of places, enjoyed his time while there and met some lively people who had no clue as to who he was.But this one, however, was a different story.He had never been in this cemetery before, or any cemetery for that matter. He hated such places, but he had to tolerate it for
“Ms. O’Malley will see you now, ” the Head Majordomo announced just as he stepped inside the drawing room.The visitor, Chief Irisha Moretti of the Spa Police Department, stood up and nodded.“Alright, ” she said.“Come with me please.” Jerome turned heels towards the door.The Chief followed silently as they went up the second floor of the Vitalis Castle. Once there, they turned in one hallway and then stopped in front of the door to the music room.Jerome knocked twice, announcing their presence, and then he called out, “Sire, Chief Moretti is here.”“Come in, ” a muffled voice sounded.When they entered, it was Chief Moretti who blinked several times. It wasn’t because she was surprised to see the Master of the Vitalis Castle present with his signature blindfold on
She was done with looking at him with the blindfold so she pulled it out of his head once she was but inches away. The black panther sensing the two’s heightened emotions ran out of the room to the open balcony.“You have a subtle way of persuading me, Mr. Vitalis, ” Amanda said whilst they looked at each other eye to eye.“And you have a subtle way of showing me that you don’t want to leave, my witch, ” he pointed back, easing his hands now on her waist. He stood up, cupped her chin and whispered on her ear, “Where were we, Amanda?”Amanda acted clueless, giggling deep inside.“Ahh, yes, I was about to strip you naked before the Chief arrived, ” he added.Amanda angled her head to the side when Cord’s tongue darted on the plane of her neck. Goosebumps immediately erupted all throughout her body.
“Good luck with the race, ” Noman stated just as he handed Amanda her race car helmet. They were just waiting for the final announcement, standing near the entrance of the track separated by thick fences that were waist-high. NASCAR staff and racing groups passed them from time to time. This was a usual occurrence Amanda had been accustomed to ever since she started joining races two years back.Amanda reached for the helmet with a smile, but then Noman gripped it tighter whilst giving her a pout.“But wait, ” he added, “I don’t think you’re going to need it. You’re practically the winner already.”She rolled her eyes heavenward. “Shhh, don’t jinx me, Dom, ” she replied and then grabbed her helmet out of his hold. “Plus, there are a lot of skillful drivers in the race. It’s anyone’s game now.”“I agr
Amanda was just turning up into the fifth lap all focused and eyes glued on the track when out-of-the-blue, she saw a black mist shaped like a human standing on her way.Startled, she turned the wheel sharply to the right in an attempt to avoid it. When she did, she returned to her track on the left, all focused but there was an unusual itch at the back of her head that the occurrence was far than normal.She returned to the race, trying to keep her head clear and her hands steady. But then, when she reached the eighth lap, a vision formed on the road of a woman that looked exactly like her mother, kneeling, wailing and reaching out her hand to her.Amanda gasped at the sight of it. She didn’t have time to avoid it so she drove through the apparition with her heart almost leaping out of her chest.Although it was unwise, she turned around to see if the woman was still on the road. She wasn&rsqu
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