Jerome knocked on one of the double doors of the study, signifying his arrival along with a female vampire his Master wished to see. It was early in the afternoon that same day. The sun was high in the sky and the air was hot and humid. Not a sign of rain was threatening to pour down.
Although Cord knew most of his subjects were inside their dark rooms welcoming a deathlike sleep, he ordered his butler to fetch one that could help him with his...dilemma.
Amanda was with Arissa in her old bedroom, busily preparing her luggage for their departure five days from now to New Zealand—to a place where it wasn’t Cord’s comfort zone; to one of the countries where he had once been rampaging and killed more than a dozen witches.
Knowing this, he needed treatment asap, or at least to learn more about what was happening with his body, or more like his shadows. He couldn’t forgive himself for the ghastly behavi
The bright morning light filtered through the white curtain inside the Master’s chamber as soon as Arissa opened the casement windows.Amanda, able to get a straight, uninterrupted sleep the entire night, cracked an eye open. She expected that Cord would be next to her, or at least already on his favorite chair delicately observing her like he usually does, but he wasn’t.She cringed, finding it weird. Never had he missed a night since they started their odd relationship. He even ordered her to sleep inside his master chamber instead of her own room so that they’d grow closer. He hadn’t skipped a chance on watching her sleep the whole night through too and for this, it left her asking, why? His absence was indeed an unusual thing.“Good morning, Miss Cait. You’re breakfast is ready, ” informed the maid cheerily, unbeknownst of the pile of confusion inside Amanda’s head.
And pierce her skin he did.Cord’s fangs hit the soft flesh of Amanda’s neck. Blood instantly oozed, but he pressed his mouth and sucked the crimson liquid into his system.Amanda, feeling the piercing pain, woke up gasping and with her eyes almost popping out of its sockets. She felt the heavy weight on top her, she felt the restraining hands on her wrists, and she felt Cord’s warm mouth on her skin. Alarm immediately flooded through her.“Cord!”She tried to push him back, but was met with a tighter grip on her wrists.She had trusted him. Trusted his full capacity to control whatever was changing him. He had returned to his formal dark self -- that much she could deduce. Otherwise, if he was in his right mind, he wouldn’t have placed her in this danger the second time.“Cord!”But the cur
Minutes earlier...Under the Master’s order, Jerome fetched the Vitalis doctor again from her laboratory. Mera immediately knew why. The odd couple were going to New Zealand by tomorrow and most likely, her Master was getting impatient with the cure of his so-called attacks.Truth be told, she was working like crazy to find it, but it wasn’t just that easy. She needed both Science and Medicine to come up with an answer, and even that not-so-common Metaphysics too. They were vampires after all. Everything was out-of-the-ordinary for them.If she were to be honest with herself, she’d say Cord had given her another absurd task along with one other previously requested. It was to find a cure for their curse without requiring Amanda’s blood sacrifice. She hadn’t gone far into her research with that one. It was a challenge and one that she was willing to take. After all
Amanda and Cord’s plane landed twenty-five hours after at the Wellington International Airport. It was an arduous flight, one that he definitely disliked but being at the Premium Class of the plane at least lessened the stress of flying.The last time Cord was in New Zealand, it was over seven hundred years ago via a galleon ship. He was on a rampage then. He stepped out of the ship with all the crew and passengers sucked of blood. Mera, Calvin and Pamela were with him to handle the damage.It was the one story he disliked to share when Amanda asked, wanting to kill time during their flight.Once they arrived, they headed straight to Heather’s pre-booked hotel, the Wellington Best Point Hotel. It was the one nearest to Amanda’s house, at least a thirty-five minute walk.After check-in, Amanda met Noman at a cafe near her house some time past ten in the morning with her luggage in to
“What?” Amanda’s step-father unconsciously stood up from the table with his mouth agape. He glanced at Noman who bobbed his head confirming the news and then he looked back at Amanda, his brows knotting.A moment of silence filled the dining room. Amanda waited for her step-father to speak, to finish processing the life-changing news that she had ever so gently bombarded. She already knew he’d support whatever decision she chose. It was just a matter of soaking it all in.“You should tell your mother about your decision, Caitlin. I bet she’ll feel lonely when you leave,” was her step-father’s calm words, breaking the silence.She watched him claim his seat again and drink the ready glass of water near his plate.“She’ll always be in my heart, Dad,” she stated, touching his free hand, “and also, I can always come visit anytime if
Cord grabbed a nearby chair and steadied himself as his muscles undulated painfully under his skin. Despite burying them deeply inside his mind, visions of his transformation into a dark one and his rampage in the past started appearing along with the seizures.It started off as a single memory of when he was once human. He was sleeping soundly, in the realm of dreams when midnight hit the clock. In his thirtieth birthday the curse would begin, that was what the witch, Eloise, said and indeed, it happened.First, Cord’s mesmerizing bluish-green eyes had changed into obsidian. He groaned, clawing his naked chest as he felt his insides tearing him up apart. His skin, already a pale complexion, turned even paler, all manner of color drained from its pigments.Second, his human heart stopped beating. He could feel the fibers shrinking, tightening until it lay dead like a stone.In int
Under the moonlit night, Cord watched over Amanda as she slept. The door to the bedroom was open, but he didn’t enter. Instead, he decided to stay on the balcony, observing a reasonable distance away from her.He had cooled down the heat in his body in a mountain some kilometers of distance away from the O’Malley house. He had punched a lot of trees, kicked a number of boulders into pieces, and even resorted to using his hands, beating his erection to the point where all his pent-up sexual tension was released.Once done, he was back to having a clearer mind, but he knew he couldn’t fool himself. He still wanted her and that want was ever a burning flame.Until he’d find a solution to his problem, he’ll have to continue drawing a line between the two of them. Amanda’s safety was his top priority after all.When morning came, he waited for her to wake up before he e
As expected, the door to Cord’s suite was locked, but Amanda wasn’t concerned. She rummaged through her sling clutch bag and looked for the card key, silently thanking herself she didn’t leave it on the table earlier. She found it seconds later, the extra one she took after they checked in the other day. She held it against the automatic lock and after a beep, the door opened.What greeted her when she entered the room was Cord, on his knees, his elbows and forehead touching the foot of the bed. If anything, it looked like he was praying, but Amanda knew better. He was in pain and possibly even in the middle of fighting his dark side from emerging.She heard him grunt and groan, saw him heave and clench his fists to the point that his knuckles turned white. His profile was a picture of agony and torture, and her heart sank for him.Why didn’t he tell her he was suffering all this time? Here she wa
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