*** "There is a huge problem in town," Dylan told me. We were seated in the house of delusions. Not on the counter this time, but at a table behind a corner. He had called an emergency meeting with Solomon and me. Samantha was also present. "What is it?" Solomon asked. "Vampires are missing daily," Samantha replied. "A strange illness is eliminating some." "We thought it was the werewolves, but they said they weren't involved in any of these," Dylan added. I scratched my right jaw in thought. What would attack vampires and wipe them out like they were nothing? It was not the vampi
"Noah Richmond," he said, stretching his hand for a shake. I looked at his hand for a moment. I wasn't pleased he was here, though I had been expecting him. Javicia had told me about him. He was very dangerous, more dangerous than her, I supposed. And I felt he was here for the same issue. My baby. I clenched my jaws and took his hand, shaking it. He smiled at me broadly. Why did they act so friendly when they were so brutal? I couldn't blame them because that was how I acted when I was the bad guy. Maybe karma was returning the favor. I felt karma was feeling so much better, returning all the bad favors. I let go of his hand. "So, Desmond," he continued. "I heard my sister had a thing for you." I smil
Noah zoomed in and slammed his hand on my cheek. I flew and landed roughly on the ground. Solomon saw this and zoomed toward him. Noah flung his fist, but he dodged and plunged his fist into his stomach. Noah flew and smashed his back on a tree. He fell to his knees and grunted. Philomena stood beside me and watched all these happen. I didn't know if she was too weak to fight. I had never seen her fight before. We had better end this before it got out of hand. I stood up to my feet once more. Noah did the same, and he was angry. I could hear him grit his teeth. He zoomed towards Solomon and slammed his elbow on Solomon. Solomon groaned in pain and held the elbow. He immediately smashed his fist on Solomon's stomach. Then, he jumped on and side-kicked Solomon on his cheek. Solomon fell to the ground.
I sat on the porch with a bottle of 1886 in my hand. I had just finished taking a long gulp, and the burning sensation lingered in my throat. Sometimes, I wondered if the alcohol wounded my throat and if my super healing would kick in and ease the pain before I could find out. I didn't know, and I didn't care. All I knew was that it helped me when I needed it most. I took another gulp from the alcohol and stared at the night clouds. The stars were shining brightly, and so was the crescent moon. Sometimes, I wondered if Zack thought of ambushing me on a full moon and running off from town so that he couldn't give me the cure. I didn't know if this was paranoia, but I was sure he didn't like me. I was reminded of how he accused me of putting Hope through excruciating pain. I couldn't lie that I had messed up. Yes. But it wasn't par
Brother? I was seriously confused about her greetings. I tried to recall where I had seen her before. It was coming back to me slowly. The worst thing was she looked like my father, Joachim. That chin was noticeable. Even the way she smiled? How was this possible? She had silver eyes, and everybody in my family did, apart from my father. He had deep blue eyes, which were commanding and powerful. So where was she from? And why was she calling me her brother? We had no sister. We were only two kids, but I couldn't remember our lives before we became vampires. It was somehow filled with potholes. Then, it all came back to me. She was the girl that had given me that garment back in 1137. I could remember those silver eyes and black hair vividly. She was also there
I remembered. I recalled everything. That night had been one of the worst nights in our human existence. I had blamed myself for causing such torture on Florence. Father had given her deep cuts and bruises on her back from the whip. I winced each time I heard the whip land on her back. We went to the market square to look at people. We usually stayed alone, so we didn't see people that often. We had been secluded from the whole world. We couldn't blame ourselves for being that curious. We were kids. But, our curiosity led to Florence's demise. She had sacrificed so much for us when we were hungry, and I couldn't believe that I had forgotten about that so easily. Was it my fault? I was under the spell of Suzana for so many years and hadn't noticed. Even Jocelyn and Zion didn't.
I drove into the parking lot of the school and halted the vehicle. I killed the engine and got out of the car. I sighed and closed the door. Today was the first day I was going to school without Hope. Today was my first day in school, and Hope wouldn't. I was surprised when I realized this. I walked towards the hallway with my hands in the pockets of my denim jacket. The morning sun had completely bathed the parking lot. It was no more snowing, and the weather had returned to normal. It was no more humid. It was towards the end of February, and I was surprised at how quickly the weather had changed. I walked into the hallway. It was filled with chattering students who were definitely in high spirits. I didn't know why I couldn't be exuberant too. I was going to be a father soon. I had lived for more than a thousand years, and I w
I drove into the driveway of the mansion and halted the engine. Everybody got out of the vehicle, and I drove the car into the garage. I halted the Audi once more and killed the engine. I got out of the car and closed the door. I walked into the house. Hope was waiting patiently for me. She smiled and hugged me. She was looking better. It seemed like the blood was working. She had a plastic cup of blood in her hand. I felt my demons roar in my stomach, but I held them down successfully. I didn't want her to see how wild I was. I didn't want her to know that vampire side of me. "You seem to be in a good mood today," I pointed out. "The baby had stopped kicking," she announced excitedly. "That is good news," I
"Father!" Faith screamed.My eyes widened for some moments. I was breathing heavily. I looked at my chest, and I could see the hole in there. It was pathetic how I was dying. After everything that had happened, after everything I had been through, I wasn't going to get the happy ending. I didn't deserve it, to be honest. I was paying for my past sins. Karma had finally caught up with me.I looked up at the sky and noticed it was twilight. I smiled as I admired the beautiful view. It was probably the last thing I was going to see. Who would have known that it would have come to this? I had promised to keep everybody alive and had failed. Jocelyn was dying beside me."Father," Faith said, arriving in front of me.I lo
Solomon shook my hand firmly and smiled at me. I was surprised at this. We were back home, and I was about to pour myself a glass of alcohol. I would need it because we would match down to the woods until we could find Suzana. Today was the day. We had to defeat her, or there was no way we would stand a chance against her once again.I realized why Solomon was shaking me. It was because of the treaty I had made with the werewolves. This treaty had joined the two supernatural species in town together. It was a new beginning for the town. It was sad that Hope and I wouldn't be around to see each other for long. We didn't plan on telling people about it until the battle was over.Hope had gone to her mother's office to tell the police to announce a mandatory lockdown from six tonight till the following day. We didn't want any human bein
I woke up to a high-pitched sound ringing in my ears. I stood up slowly and looked around my surroundings. Everybody was still out. Suzana had blasted us before she left. I turned around and looked for Faith. She was the first person on my mind. I was scared because it seemed like the blast was a distraction from Suzana to pick up Faith and escape. Well, that seemed genuine because I couldn't find Faith on the lawn.Terrified, I zoomed into Hope's body and tapped on it roughly. Hope's eyes opened slowly as they stared at me. She sat up slowly and held her head. She was probably feeling the migraine too. My heart was pounding fast. How was I going to tell her that Faith had been abducted again? And this time, it was under our very noses."What happened?" Hope asked, wincing in pain.
This was the time I had been waiting for. I couldn't hold it any longer. I had to go out with Hope and Faith. We needed a good time to clear the tension hovering over us. The fear of Suzana attacking us had gripped us so badly that sometimes the house would be quiet. Why? Because everybody was looking for a way we could destroy Suzana, but none was found. It had been frustrating, but we hadn't stopped looking. There was still hope. There had to be, or we would all die when Suzana decided to visit us.I had made a treaty finally with Zack. This was something that Solomon had been trying to do when we had first arrived at Winekove. But I had ended it telling him that the werewolves were supposed to live with us, and there had to be no two ways about it. We were at the top of the food chain at that time, and I had assumed that we were the most powerful creatures on Earth. That had been before Si
I was expecting Suzana anytime from now. Or was I just paranoid? This was the perfect moment to spend time with my family. I could take them out. It was even time I told Hope about my plan. If she said yes, we could leave in the next month or two. Probably after we defeated Suzana.I was growing confident that we could beat her. The tremendous amount of power that Jocelyn and Zion had shown me when they defeated Javicia gave me hope. Maybe we did stand a chance against Suzana? Or was I just being delusional? Suzana even had the power to raise the dead. She had raised my father and had used him against us. It wasn't friendly at all. I was used to it. My weakness had been exploited, and I had fallen for it too quickly.Could I blame myself? I loved my father, and the thought of spending eternity with him certainly intrigued me. Suzana
Everybody was in the living room. I, Hope, Solomon, Florence, Noah, mother, Jocelyn, and Zion. They had finally returned from the coven meeting. As leaders of their coven, I couldn't blame them for being absent throughout all that had happened. We eventually killed Silas again. The only thing remaining to make sure he stayed dead forever was to destroy his heart. I couldn't squash it with my hands, so I thought Jocelyn and Zion could use their magic to destroy it.Ever since they had gotten Raven and Theo's powers, they had leveled up tremendously. They were very powerful. I could even say they were as powerful as Javicia, and I hoped they could somehow match up with Suzana if the need for battle ever arose. Suzana was powerful, and I felt nobody could match up with her powers.We watched Jocelyn and Zion as they stood up from the co
It had been days since Silas had last attacked us, and I wondered what he and Javicia were planning. They knew the mansion's location, so it wasn't safe for Faith. They wanted her. Apparently, Suzana had asked them to fetch her. She was a greedy monster, and she needed to be put down.It wouldn't be easy, but there's always a way. Deep down, I knew that everybody had a weakness. It was just a matter of time before we discovered Susana's flaw. But if Suzana did have a weakness, wasn't it possible that somebody would have found it a long time ago? Suzana had been alive probably since the ice age. If there was a weakness, it should have been found by now.I was seated on the couch, trying to console my mother. Solomon was on the other side of her. Florence wasn't still back, and I wondered where she had gone. Noah was missing too, and I
I couldn't believe my eyes. I certainly was dreaming. How could this happen again? This was the second time it was happening before my eyes. My father was dying before my eyes for the second time. Was I cursed? Why did it always have to be me? Father was going, and there was nothing I could do about it.I stared at his eyes as he looked at me, smiling. He was leaving. I was crying because this time he wasn't coming back. He was going forever. Suzana confirmed my hypothesis. Someone had raised Father from the dead, and she had been the one. She had used her father to manipulate me and have her way. I couldn't believe I had fallen so quickly.Was it my fault? I prefer to think not. She knew my weakness; my father. She had used my father to have her way. I had told my father where I had buried Silas's heart. Suzana had fetched it
I was surprised to see her. How was she still alive? She should have died long ago. Well, that was a silly question because Suzana was immortal. If she could create such beings like us, how did her being alive become an issue? She had been alive for a long time, since when the first werewolves were made. That had been thousands of years ago. She seemed like a god to me. For her to manipulate a curse cast by a god, she deserved the title "god," too.My problem was that she was back in Winekove. What did she want? Because she was indeed looking for me and Solomon. It then hit me. The blast that had taken me out, she had been the one who had made it. No wonder the explosion had been so strong. It also reminded me that Suzana was strong, and we couldn't defeat her.I watched her as she walked up to us. Her black hair and crimson ey