He flinched away at the contact and moaned weakly, "Please don't... don't hurt me. Wh-What do you want?" Tears brimmed in his eyes and travelled down his dirty cheeks.Eira watched him with horror in her eyes. "Nate, it's me. Eira. Who did this?" She asked in a rushed whisper. With a gulp, she turned around to check if anyone was behind it. She spotted nobody.His eyes fluttered open and he lifted his neck with difficulty. When his eyes found hers, his face looked relieved. "Please..." He said and feebly raised his chained wrists. The chains were nailed into the brick wall behind, just like it had been in the dungeons, limiting their mobility.The skin covering his fingers appeared to have melted away, revealing the black bones concealed underneath.Eira looked around helplessly, struggling to find something to break the chains while her mind wondered with terror what or who preyed over the predators themselves.Werewolves. It couldn't be anyone else, She told herself.She stood abrupt
"Is he going to be okay?" Nate asked softly.The warlock had arrived at the warehouse right after Eira had knocked out John and he had brought with him a blood bag. Nate had then consumed a portion of it and that had helped instantly regenerate the skin over his fingers and provided him with enough strength to carry Damien all the way back to the mansion in the dead of the night.Hours after the incident, the four of them were in Josh's workroom, drowning in confusion and worry. Damien's corpse-like body was placed over one of the tables and Josh was operating on him with blades. He was yet to gain consciousness."He got shot with two wooden bullets, one in the head and one in his neck," Josh began as he wiped the sweat over his forehead with the back of his gloved hand. He turned the scalpel in his fumbling fingers and turned his neck to looked at Nate. The vampire waited for him to continue with bated breath.Finally, Josh sighed and said, "He should be okay once I get the bullets ou
Eira couldn't tell for how long she sat frozen on the couch after Nate left. Their proximity had made her feel something. The part of her cheeks where his fingers had slightly brushed felt warm. But since she couldn't place the feeling properly, she put it away for time being and focused on the cell-phone in hand.Surprisingly, there were no texts or calls from Arabella, however, she found 31 missed calls from Caleb. He had probably attempted to explain his actions but she didn't want to hear it any of it. There may have been a time when she would agree to everything he said but everything had changed—she trusted her own eyes more than him.She dialed Bella's number. Unlike Eira, her room-mate was a morning person. She would be up that early in the morning, probably exercising in her room.The phone rang twice before she picked it up."Eira?" She whispered.For a whole minute, Eira rejoiced in the sound of her voice. It had been three days since she'd seen her but it seemed more like a
A wolf howled in the distance.The night grew darker, and the forest thickened around her, threatening to swallow her whole. Eira dared not stop. She kept running, dodging thick roots growing out of the brown floor beneath and little twigs that could break her ankles. She ran and ran until her lungs couldn’t take it anymore and her legs gave up. Collapsing to the ground, she allowed herself a moment to breathe. Her eyes raked over her arms that were bruised from previous falls and caked with mud similar to her face. It seemed as though she had been running for ages.The sound of a howl echoed in the night again, and Eira struggled to her feet. I can’t stop. I have to keep moving, she told herself. Or he will kill me.The Centaurus forest stretched on endlessly. The trail was straight, even if she wanted to take turns, she couldn’t. She would have to squeeze herself through trees and the space wasn’t enough. This time as she ran, Eira spotted Bloodivy trees on one side. Their trunks ble
When her eyes opened again, she lay on a bed drenched in sweat. The same bed she had been sleeping in every night for over a week. The one in which she had dreamt the most incredible dreams.She had been dreaming the same dream for four nights—being chased by a werewolf with Caleb’s face and finally ending when she touched the concealed painted canvas. And every time, she would wake up sweaty with her ugly birthmark feeling like it was on fire. Like she felt that night and the three nights that had gone before. There was no meaning in it, at least none she could hope to find. What does it mean? Maybe Josh knows something.The night lamp was on, driving Her eyes darted from the old wooden clock, its hands displaying the time as 4 AM to the open window on her right. The pale curtains fluttered as wintry winds swept past it, hiding and showing the white moon against a dark field becoming whole slowly. A chill reverberated down her spine, but Eira couldn’t say whether it was because of the
He smiled at her, and for a moment his blue eyes sparkled and she felt lost in them. Hastily, she broke the eye contact. She darted her eyes away, trying to find something interesting to set them on, but there was nothing. Instead, Eira requested, “Let’s not talk about moms, okay?”He nodded and proceeded to tell her about the upcoming vampire council event. Eira listened, struggling to keep her eyes away from his face. Finally she picked up another fruit and cast a levitating spell on it. Her eyes watched it as it floated about in the air, but her eyes keenly listened to Nate’s words.“Damien wasn’t planning on attending the council event. I do always to stay updated on the supernatural activity but he hates the town vampires, especially Alex, the head. But now, considering what has happened, it’s kind of mandatory we do. We hope to investigate about John Williams and try to figure out who sent him,” Nate explained.That day after Dana had left, Eira had walked down to the dungeon cel
Alex greeted the audience, a charming smile displayed across his face. The smile made the wrinkles beneath his eyes more prominent. With a goatee on his chin and a grey moustache above his thin lips, Alexander Black appeared older than all of them, having transitioned into a vampire much later in life. Actually, Damien was seventy years older and could still pass as his son among the common folk. He resumed talking, “Its good to see all of you here.”Damien scoffed and a woman sitting beside stared at him with a frown, but he did not care.Alex signalled his hand to a table at one corner. “There’s a feast tonight. We have jugs of sweetened blood of all groups for you and pies stuffed with blood. Blood beers as well! Courtesy of Dr Lisa working at the Orilon Medical centre and Chef Jake. Be sure to thank them! I hope you have a good time tonight.” He finished with another of his charming, wicked smiles and took a seat in the audience.Nate felt sick and disgusted. He wanted to leave as
“Do you get it now? This is how it’s supposed to be done.”Dana pouted her lips and bobbed her head before saying, “I think so.” She grabbed the book from Eira’s arms and started solving the math sum. The witch sighed and laid her head against the couch’s headrest, silently praying that she wouldn’t need to explain the whole procedure all over again. She had never been interested in tutoring younger students.Outside the mansion, rain poured down gently over the grass. The night air smelled sweetly of mud. Eira inhaled it and smiled. She could feel the connection between her and nature. You and me, we are nature’s servants; Josh’s monotone voice rang in her ears.