*Soleil*
"So what do you think of the Grotto ?" Davina asks, as we are sitting on her bed, clearing off our makeup. "You were really brave, talking to people and you seemed to have fun".
"It was kind of crazy and I think I got a bit drunk at some point". I answer.
"Nah it wasn't bad, I kept an eye on you". She giggles. "Poor Casper, he tried so hard getting you fired up to him. Actually a couple of guys did and even one girl I think".
"Wow, really.. I didn't even notice". I scrunch up my forehead. "I remember seeing that Lefu guy and..". I cut myself of, unable to explain.
Davina smiles teasingly. "Oh Lefu, he went right to Your knickers didn't he ?"
"What are you talking about ?"
"Because you are the colour of a tomato right now". My hands fly to my burning cheeks. "Don't worry, everyone goes through that in the beginning".
I swallow. "I have no idea what 'that' is. Could it be the red wine ?"
"Two glasses of red wine and one shot during a whole evening, that won't get even a newbie like you drunk, a tiny bit tipsy at most. Didn't you even notice that we switched to sodas ?" Davina says with a laugh.
"No I actually didn't". I mumble.
Davina looks at me. "Hmm I think you are having Your first crush, you are so hooked on Lefu". A smile spread on her lips. "Oh my little girl is growing up and I get to see it". She says very seriously, Breaking down in giggles as I throw a pillow in her face.
"Don't tease me". I mutter. "I don't know what happened when he looked at me. I never felt like that before inside.. and out in the coat check. He has the bluest eyes I ever saw".
"Wait what, he looked at you ?" Davina's mouth is hanging open. She looks at me for a moment, then nods. "Well you did look totally hot, but wow it is something special if Lefu himself checked you out". She looks proud, removing the last mascara from my eyes. "You just have to come again then, imagine if you got invited to the balcony ?"
"Like that would ever happen. But you might be able to talk me into going again. Your friends were really nice". I say laughing and crawl down under the sheets.
Honestly I need to go again; how could I stay away now ? I need to see him, Lefu, again. Just like I enjoy torturing myself by studying Luca at school, I now feel hungry for another glimpse of Lefu. I once again feel that heat spread inside me. My thoughts going to the raw, hungry gaze his azure blue eyes had sent me, but a pair of warm hazel eyes keeps budding in, and finally I drift off.
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The dream has me back in the forest, on the small hill inside the stone circle. Again I feel the connection, while I sing and move with the trees. It is getting dark faster this time and the colors are disappearing with the sunshine. A new voice mixed with the trees. It comes from the Stones in the circle and as if they were made from vax, they kind of start melting, writing into humanoid shapes. They are whispering to me, unbearable words as they change into living statues. Maybe it should scare me, but it doesn't, I feel calm and happy. I feel that the weird beings are friendly.
Curiously I walk closer to them, straining to understand what they are saying. I Can understand that they are an important part of this place but I can't understand their whispering words. They slowly pull away and turn back into stone.
The wood is now completely dark and there isn't a sound to be heard. I suddenly get a feeling of something dangerous moving towards me in the darkness. The energy is so hateful that I feel nauseated and when it split into two distinct beings, coming at me from two sides I feel petrified with fear. Whatever this is, it is out to get me.
Everything goes quiet and the feeling disappears.
The wind starts pulling at the tree tops and then two blurry beings step out, one from each side of the woods. I am prepared for this to be the end, but the beings stay outside the stone circle; they didn't seem to be able to step into the protective ring. One of them roared as it paced back and forth, looking for a hole in the barrier. The other one squatted down, hissing as it tried scratching its way into me with claw like nails.
I was pulled from the dream by Davina shaking me and her worried voice. "What is happening Sol, I almost couldn't wake you".
"It was just a nightmare, a bad one. What time is it ?" I sit up, trying to shake off the dream.
"Almost noon".
"I better get going then. My mom is probably worried that I didn't write to her when we got back from the club". I find my phone checking it. But I only have one message from her, from this morning. 'Morning sweetie, I am leaving for work now, Call me when you wake up. Hugs and kisses mom'.
*The vampire*The party is going strong. People are starting to get drunk from the alcohol and the monotone rhythm of the music.Hunting or fishing ?Slowly I move around the Grotto along the walls, keeping in the shadows, were I can study people without them noticing. I enjoy the scent of every one of them. I stop several times, seeing if I can spark a desire, but none of them catches my attention.At the bar I spot two beautiful girls. I recognise one of them, but honestly I have never really looked closer before. She is wearing a long tight dress glaring out at the bottom, it hugs her sexy figure perfectly. Her ample breasts are caressed by soft blondes and to midnight black hair framed a classically beautiful face. The red lips invites to be nippled at.I smile and remember her scent. This is a
*Soleil*The whole weekend I have been kind of in my own World. Somehow having convinced myself that I must be something special, having been blessed by Lefu's magnetic gaze. Somehow I have magic abilities, and they have turned me into this dark creature of seduction that not even the King of goth can resist.What if it is all real, if I am really a witch ? How crazy would it be if I could make things happen, just like it was described on the wiccan pages. I just can't wait to get to school and show them the new me. This is the start of a new life for me.When I am about to enter the school through the big main door, a group of elites comes walking down the path. They apparently know nothing about my big change, because the head right for the doors, not even seeing me. I have to step aside at the last moment so as not to be trampled.T
*Soleil*Luca is leaning against the wall, looking at his phone when I step out of the school. Unfortunately there is no way I can get past him, without him seeing me. And being as tall as he is, towering over everyone else, he would never believe that I couldn't find him. So the only thing I can do is walk over to him. He looks up, flashing me a smile that makes me forget why I wanted to run."Hi, is your house far away ? Because I didn't bring my bike today". He pushes off the wall and pockets his phone."No it's not far, just down past the church and across the road, I live in a house down there". I say."Nice, Let's go then". Luca says and starts to walk. I hurry up to keep up with his long legs.For a while we just walk in silence down the church path. It annoys me that I find the silence awkwa
*Soleil*"I just don't get it, a week ago my life was easy, uncomplicated. Now there are guys everywhere and I have started fantasising about.. you know stuff". I slump down on Davina's bed with a sigh."Sex ?" Davina says with twinkling eyes."I don't fucking know". I pull a pillow over my head. "I haven't really dealt with guys since I married little James in kindergarten".Davina laughs. "Just tell me how you feel, doll. I've been there myself, maybe I can help you figure things out"."Luca is so sweet. I can be myself when I am with him and it was like.. I don't know. There was this moment when I thought he..". I poke out from behind the pillow. "No it's stupid, of course he wasn't going to do that.. but there was this moment just before my mom showed up and again before he left".
*Soleil*"You never told me Your life story". Luca says, looking at me, as we are taking a break from the books."Not much to tell honestly". I say, taking a bite of an apple."You said yesterday that you were born here, so did you always live in this house ?" He looks at me curiously.I chew slowly, swallowing the bite before answering. "We used to live out in the other end of town, the more expensive part. But when my father died my mom couldn't afford to keep the house and we moved here"."Oh.. it wasn't my intention to snoop or you know dig up bad things. I am sorry also for Your loss". He says, he looks like he feels bad about asking."It's okay, it's kind of a long time ago now". I brush it off, I mean he did nothing wrong in asking. But talking about my fa
*Soleil* The doorbell makes me jump slightly. On the way out to open I check myself in the mirror one last time. "Hi come on in". Luca flashes me a smile and walks inside. "I think we might even finish this up today". He says and goes to sit at the dining table. "Yeah we only have a few things left. But it is math, so this is you teaching me". I say taking a sip from my glass. "It's not that bad, Sol. It is just about following the formula". He says softly. "I was afraid you would say that. Is everything a damn formula ?" I ask with a sigh. He suppresses a laugh. "Nope there is exponentiation too". "Can't I bring you with me to the exam and you can hold up a card with helpful notes". I groan, looking pleadingly at him. "Well we could get you a wireless headset and then I can sit outfit, whispering in Your ear what to say". He says, sounding very enthusiastic. "Can we ?" "No". He shakes his head laughing softly, then he holds up his calculator. "Sinus, cosine or tangent ?"
"Soleil* I have gone for an evening walk, up the hill to the outdoor stage where they have viking plays every summer. The wind is playing with my hair, as I stand on the edge of the hill. Below me is the town sprayed out and in the distance I can see London. A new breeze makes me close my eyes, breathing in the fresh air, listening to the birds singing around me. Spring is turning slowly into early summer and this is when the year is reborn. I have read enough about wicca now. The web pages have taught me about connecting with nature to be one with everything. It is time for me to feel it with my own senses. With a sigh I turn to go sit on one of the little benches. I let my thoughts flow freely. It is weird, but it is like I still feel Luca, like his kiss left something lingering inside me. I haven't heard from him, but he might be in trouble with his mother, so I'll give him some space, certain he will call or text tomorrow at the latest. The last couple of days I have been thin
*Soleil*I am in a bad mood the next evening when I am riding my bike home to Davina. Actually I don't feel like going, but I won't let my mother win.There had been hell when I had announced that I wanted to go out with Davina again. I had to promise my mother that I wasn't about to dance naked in a field with hippies or start worshipping the devil, before she caved in and let me go."But you are coming home to sleep this time". She called after me, and pissed me even more off. I am turning eighteen in no time, but I have to come home and sleep.On the way I even contemplate bringing home some goth guy. Someone like Mark, with piercings and spiked hair, just to see how my mom would react. She would probably either throw me out or bar my windows till I was 30. The thought of how my mom's face would look makes me giggle and I am almost
*Soleil* "Oh! I never thought we would get away from Scotland”. I kick off my shoes and throw the backpack on the floor. "It was getting cramped up there”. "We're getting ok at it actually”. Luca closes the door to the small apartment and slams the lock. "We handed out some serious ass kicking” I huff. "Yes, we could win every time if you did not try to decide it all”. "You can just accept that I'm always right”. He grins. "I do when you realize that it's not about being right, but about what works !" I star defiantly up at him, but surrender as he pulls me into him. "I'm just happy you came back”. He bends down and kisses me. "So am I". The butterflies flutter joyfully inside me, and I pull him down in a deeper kiss. I twist my fingers into his tousled mocha brown hair and indulge in the feel of his lips and exploratory tongue. “Well, what do you say ? English or history ?” He withdraws and deftly avoids my aggrieved gaze. "Seriously ? You want us to read our hom
*Narrator* “Magnificent !” The lord of the wind's eyes shone with obvious joy. “I could not have done thatbetter myself”. "You were entrusted to bestow on this man your strength, and now this !" The lady of the earth thrust her arm out against a settlement, engulfed in flames. "We were just letting out a little smoke". The lord of the fire grumbled. "We just happened to realise that If humans do not gather as a people, then they will never overcome the brood and not at all the queen”. “It might very well be right. But this is not the solution”. She sighed heavily. “They were meant to live happily, not to be subjected to more tyranny”. A small lake began to trickle up from the ground beneath them and manifested itself in a figure like the other three. "It's over”. The lady of the water said. “There is no hope anymore. Tonight they will gather, and your kinship will be wiped out”. "Oh, I can not get air". The lord of the wind sobbed with laughter. "Very funny !" Snarled the fir
*Tjalfe* The villagers have never seen Hrazgouls so close before. Only a few, fleeting glimpses have been had. They always come after the Bakorshas have finished emptying their prey of blood, to eat the remains. In the morning, when the residents venture out into the daylight, there are only pieces of clothing, shattered bones and stinking piles of entrails left in rust-red stains on the ground. When one of them has tried to escape over the mountains, the remaining ones do not even get to see the Bakorshaer’s servants before the death cry of the fugitive resounds across the valley. Now they come in between the houses. One being more abominable than the next. Giant beasts with luminous, yellow eyes, whose long gaps flashes with large serrated rows of teeth. Their upright bodies were covered with dense coarse fur, while the broad shoulders and long, bulging arms end up in a paw-like hand so large that it could effortlessly crush the skull of a man. In between them comes smaller cre
*Tjalfe* Although darkness reigns behind the houses, it is easy to find the victim. The child’s screams drive Saren forward, and the fire blazes furiously in his hand. He finds the child just as life leaves the body. Like a breastfeeding infant it lays the arms of a Bakorsha, whose teeth sit deeply buried in the child’s thighs. With an insane scream, Saren sends a long beam of fire towards the monster. The heat is so high that it instantly sets both the Bakorsha and the child corpse on fire. When the last rays leave Sarens hand, both fall on the ground, charred and annihilated. The embers reveal the next victim and her assailants. It is the child's mother who lays helplessly on the firewood block while one of the dark ones brutally mates her and rips her flesh to blood with its dirty nails. Three others are biting into her arms and neck, where they greedily empties her of blood. Saren raises his hands to obliterate the creeps and free the woman from her afflictions, but nothing h
*Tjalfe* Malicious laughter and agitated voices intrudes in the dark, first from the west, but gradually the sounds spread until they surround the whole village. Bringing promises of carnage and death. The people flee back out of their houses, and all search for the relative safety of the fire. Quickly they get their torches lit and turn front towards the enemy, who is still hiding in the shelter of the darkness. Only now do they become aware thatthat their medicine man stands among them without a torch. The fear of Bakorsha had for a moment made them forget the new danger that had manifested itself in their midst, but then the burning house begin to give in to the ravaging of the flames, and it seems to dawn on them what they had witnessed as they scouted out the windows. Those closest to the medicine man hurried awayfrom him. This is a mistake and part of me wants to warn them, but it is too late anyway, and a shadow flies past and grabs one of the men. His howl is drowned
*Tjalfe* I am watching from my spot inside the storm, watching as things unfold below me. The people look up at the storm, which suddenly hangs over their heads. Panic and confusion arises in the village. Everyone let go of what they have in their hands and run into the middle of the square to seek shelter around the bonfire. Humans are no longer one, they have been divided by fear, and everyone care only to keep himself and his offspring alive. Everyone pushes and hustles to get closest to the fireplace andfarthest from the edge of the circle, for now that the sun's rays are hidden behind the heavy slate-gray clouds the Bakorshas will arrive prematurely. In the middle of the village a large bonfire is burning, and torches have been laid nearby, so they can be quickly ignited. The people has learned that the Bakorshas are not enthusiastic about fire, and that it sometimes happen that the sharp-toothed monsters will abandon the attack and instead throw themselves at another vict
*Tjalfe* The valley is a beautiful, small oasis between the high mountains, which in its time had attracted the inhabitants. They had lived in peace and perfect harmony. The mountains had shielded them from the worst winds, so the crops were diverse and the people of the city had never experienced distress. The only entrance to the village is an opening to the west where the surrounding mountains remain broken by a narrow passage. The view over the pass makes it possible to detect travelers coming from distant parts of the continent in good time, and show them hospitality. No one knew of anything but tolerance and no one dreamed that travelers could come up with anything but peace. It ended when the dark ones came. From then on, the valley became a prison for the people. During the day they were trapped, and at night they were harvested like grapes on stalks. There was no way out off there, all passable roads were blocked by Hrazgouls, the servants. Many had tried to flee, but eac
*Lefu* A tear rolls down my cheek. "Goodbye, Katje". I whisper softly. "I swear your death will be avenged”. "Now you see what they are capable of”. Strano puts his hands in the pockets of his night-black Armani jacket. "It is only the beginning”. I hiss angrily at him. "How can you choose them over your own ?" "You still do not understand, do you ?" Strano rolls his eyes. “They would not be here if it were not for you. Remember that”. “You knew it all from the start, right ? That there were several dogs and that I knew about them. That's why you did not kill me right away when you came up here and picked me up. That’s the truth right ?" I can’t help but seek assurance that I am right. He gives a small sigh. “I saw an opportunity and I took it. When the girls sacrificed Elisabeth, I could not prove that they were involved. I bet you would throw in the dogs as bait if you got the chance, and that Lyndsey would bite”. "What about her ?" I nodded down toward the figure with the
*Luca* My gaze is fixed as I step forward towards Harry. The dark blonde ulfhedin might be the pack leader, but this is my prey, and I do not shy away from the warning snarl of the alpha. Harry must have come to the same conclusion, for he goes silent and withdraws. I stop in front of the charred statue. My nails slide down the rough surface. Although the texture feels like charred wood, the shell is massive. I withdraw my arm and fire. The charred crust cracks, and I have to strike through once more to penetrate into the goal. When the shell breaks, a rain of coagulated blood sprays over me. I stick my paw into the evil bitch, find what I am looking for, and pull hard. The heart is still pumping weakly as I hold it up in front of the statue. I growl triumphantly and squeezeit in my powerful fist. The heart stops beating, and the red flesh-filled tissue gives way and explodes in a cloud of dust. It is over. "What do we do now ?" Soleil's cousin stands in front of the grotesqu