CHAPTER 5: HE COMPELLED A VAMPIRE

Amaya eyed Darius from the counter, he was getting along so well with those strangers, Colby was eavesdropping though he wasn't interested in their conversation. He didn't want him to tell any of those vampires about the mansion or how strong they were.

“Hey boy.” Amaya snapped her fingers and Colby regained himself.

“I'm so sorry.” He apologized knowing that he might have offended her.

“Sure. I need to take an order.” Amaya informed him. Colby searched for the blonde lady, but he couldn't find her anymore. It was her lucky day because he would have compelled her not to set foot in the grill until she died. He sipped from the empty soda can, attracting unwanted attention. His mind slowly drifted to his past life, the early two thousand, the moments he had with his brothers. How they killed people when they first turned. How they lost the people they cared about. It has been a ride for them. He hoped that things would be different for him with Amaya Grayson even though he had never fallen in love.

“We have been here for an hour and I haven't known your names.” Darius avowed. There were three of them, Darius made them four, he winked at the blonde female that was sitting opposite him while waiting for their response.

“We don't live around here.” The black-haired man mentioned.

“I see. I also noticed that you guys walk in the sun.” Darius confirmed while looking at their fingers. Each of them had a silver ring on their left middle finger, but it was nothing like the O'Connor's daylight rings.

“We are not day lighters, but this ring allows us to walk in the sun. I'm Esmeralda Ricardo,” She smiled. “Our King gives us these rings once you have achieved great things.”

“Great things like what?” Darius questioned.

“Recruiting more vampires to the clan, killing more humans, and doing as he pleases.” The black-haired man, Santiago, said.

“I see. Your king must be such a bitch not to explore Arcadia Falls and have some fun with humans.” Darius insulted grasping the bottle of beer in front of him.

“You will not call our king a bitch.” Vincenzo, the red-haired guy barked.

“Should I call him a son of a bitch.” Darius smirked, reaching for Vincenzo's plate and taking a chip from it. Vincenzo tried to attack him but Esmeralda raised her fist and he sat back. They heard the muffled cracking as he ate the chips.

“We tried to be friends, but you have decided to downgrade us. You're going to regret it.” Esmeralda squinted before slamming her hand on the round wooden table.

“Hey, keep it down.” Amaya bellowed from the counter. Santiago scoffed.

“Humans.” Santiago bluffed.

“I have lived more than three hundred years and I don't regret anything. I would love to take all of you down.” Darius concluded before leaving them.

“We came for one thing and we are not going to leave until we kill Marissa Hunter,” Esmeralda reminded them. “But since he has challenged our authority, we will take him down.” Colby overhead them.

“We need to make our king proud,” Vincenzo said. “And bring Darius's head on a platter of gold.”

“You are welcome.” Esmeralda tapped Vincenzo when she saw Colby and Darius who was leaving the grill. Vincenzo smirked before he stood up and waddled toward them.

Darius seized Colby's shirt pulling him into the woods that was beside the grill. He tried to evade his grip and Darius scowled. They noticed that one of those vampires from the grill was following them. As much as Colby asked why he was being forced into the woods, Darius hushed him until they entered the deepest part of the woods which was surrounded by Silver Birches. The sun was setting. Darius looked forward, and he couldn't see Vincenzo anymore. Colby saw a punch coming, and Darius heard footsteps scampering toward them, they bent down and Darius escaped Colby's grip shifting behind Vincenzo whose fist moved past their heads. Darius whacked him on his spine and he groaned, Colby slid him down before Darius sat on him, bashing his face until he started bleeding.

“I'm not your average vampire.” Darius snarled.

“It's enough, brother. We have had our fun and we need to leave.”

“I don't think we should. Let's play a little game, shall we?” Darius smirked before lifting Vincenzo and throwing him toward the trunk of a tree. Darius swiftly moved toward him, lifting and smashing him to the ground. He grasped his neck and shoved him to the bark of a tree, glaring at him.

“Vincenzo. I want you to go back to your Vampire king and call him a ‘dick’...” Darius said.

“I don't think that's a good idea. We don't know how old this Vampire King is.” Colby evaluated.

“One more thing, kill him and die trying. Run along.” Darius pushed him away. Vincenzo scurried away. True, the O'Connor family were vampires who could compel other vampires. They were peculiar.

After a long day's work, Amaya retired home, meeting his brother who had been studying in the library. She didn't know what he usually studied and she didn't care since most of the books in their library consisted of different languages. It was what he studied in college and she wasn't familiar with various tongues. She strolled toward the desk making sure that he didn't interrupt his reading or meditation.

“What is it, Amaya?” A black-haired man, Hadrian, who would be in his early twenties with blue eyes looked at her.

“Um, a friend of mine gave me a manuscript that has a language he doesn't understand. I think you could translate it.” Amaya explained before pulling out the note from her pocket. Hadrian knew that the note must have been written in the early or late 1900s because the paper was brown and stiff.

“Hmm. I will see what I can do. Come for it tomorrow morning.” Hadrian told her.

“Thank you.” Amaya said as she headed toward the door.

“When did you start making new friends?” Hadrian asked.

“Since Heidi left,” Amaya huffed before she reached for the handle and exited the library. “I will make dinner.” She bellowed.

“I already did,” Hadrian shouted. “Let's see what we have here.” He reached for his eyeglass case, pulling his spectacle out, he wiped it with a plain white piece of cloth before sliding it into his face. He looked at the note again, he had figured out the language. It was Spanish.

“You shouldn't have come back here, Darius! You always ruin our family no matter how hard I try to make it better.” Aiden barked at him, and Colby told him that he had used his compulsion on a vampire. They would have a whole vampire clan coming after them when the leader of the clan learns about them. The O'Connors might be powerful and unique, but Aiden loved keeping a low profile, unlike Darius. He didn't want any harm to come to them or Lynette, but his ripper brother won't see it. He always destroyed everything he planned even if he had a backup strategy.

“I couldn't let a newbie vampire insult me and get away with it.” Darius fired.

“I shouldn't have said this.” Colby mumbled as he leaned on the wall.

“Shut up.” Darius and Aiden roared simultaneously.

“We have a Vampire Huntress to catch and you go around making friends with people you don't know.” He continued.

“What is the point of living without a friend or a family? You know how hard it is for me to control my urge for blood, but you keep pushing me to the edge,” Darius retorted.

“How do I push you to the edge? By telling you the truth and trying to change you? Is that it?” Aiden's fangs dropped and his face changed, eyes having cracks of dark red veins.

“Maybe I should kill Lynette or compel her to kill you.” Darius threatened.

“You wouldn't do it.”

“What makes you so sure?” Darius questioned.

“Because I saw the way you looked at her.” Aiden scorned as he scampered toward him, breaking his neck before he could make a move. He glared at Colby before he exited the house. Elijah and Beckham ran in.

“What's happening here?” Elijah asked.

“Darius created a bigger problem.” Colby sighed.

“I think we should stab him and lock him up before he wakes up.” Beckham suggested.

“I have to find Aiden before he kills somebody.” Colby said as he rushed out of the mansion.

It was time for hunting, Marissa was heading down the streets with her blade, daggers, and guns placed in the right position. She scanned through the streets for vampires, killing anyone in sight. She wouldn't hesitate to exterminate them no matter who it was this time, she couldn't afford to lose her secret again. She had to keep hunting until Arcadia Falls was cleansed of Vampires, then she would move to the next town until the world was void of bloodsucking creatures. Just as she thought, she saw a man stepping toward her, she heard footsteps coming opposite from where she stood, she turned and pulled out her blade ready to attack the two vampires. She was not coming for them, instead, they were approaching her. The two Vampires were Esmeralda and Santiago. Both sped toward her, but Marissa dodged their punch one after the other. Becoming a slayer had helped advance her fighting skills and speed. Esmeralda hit her on the nose, she was sent flying through the air, her blade fell on the ground and she stumbled down. Marissa coughed out blood.

“Today will be your last.” Santiago declared, stepping toward her with his arms wide open.

“I don't think so.” Marissa smirked swiftly pulling out her guns, she shot at him and the wooden bullets pierced through his chest and he burst into flames. Esmeralda screeched watching her fellow vampire burn, she wanted to attack, but Marissa shot her in her legs and she managed to escape with the affliction.

“Another night of hunting.” Marissa sighed as she stood up, she reached for her blade, pulled out a white handkerchief, and wiped off the blood trails on it, she covered her face with a black hood and headed into the forest. She had this feeling that she was going to make a great kill tonight.

“Aiden!” Colby bellowed as he trudged into the woods, he hoped that he would find him sooner. He looked at his wristwatch, it was half past eight and before he could tell it would be midnight. He searched and searched walking deeper into the woods, but he couldn't find him. He stood arms akimbo taking quick short breaths, he knew how bad Aiden's past was, and he knew that all he wanted was peace and happiness. Darius wasn't helping, he was the reason their family fell apart, but Colby promised himself that he wouldn't let anything happen to Aiden or Lynette. His elder brother had been looking after him for centuries. It was time to take care of him. He turned to leave and was startled by Marissa.

“I knew today was my lucky day.” Marissa said before striking him on the chest with a steak instead of bursting into flames Colby's skin turned gray until he was lifeless. Marissa was expecting something else, she had to take him back to the warlock so they would examine the type of bloodsucker he was since Elijah said they weren't common vampires.

Beckham stabbed Darius with a stake and his skin turned gray before he froze at the spot. Elijah pulled him into the dungeon before locking him inside. They hoped that when he woke up, he would be too weak to break out of there. Darius was no good, he had ruined their lives several times, he was a ripper and he had committed different atrocities and he had never given a thought of changing for good. It was his time to pay for all the bad deeds he had done. It was his day of reckoning.