Chapter three
He felt his throat tighten as he tried to get away from the acrid stench of blood but his legs buckled beneath him and he fell onto the concrete, tears of pain dripping from his long lashes. All he could feel was the pounding in his head and chest and the painful twisting of his insides. Rose ambled over to him, placing a cold hand on his shoulder, he shuddered under her touch.
“Shh. Seth it’s okay. I know it’s the first stirrings but it should be less violent soon. Just hold out for a moment.” She whispered gently into his ear. She scooped him into her arms, his lithe frame easy to carry and she returned to her previous spot. Seth whimpered and thrashed like a wounded animal, but he was held down by the firm arms of his sister.
“No… Get away… Please, I don’t want to be one of you.” he moaned desperately. She felt her throat constrict and she stroked his hair tenderly.
“Seth… None of us want to be what we are. It’s not our choice though.” She said, smiling sadly. He shuddered, choking on the saliva that had backed up in his throat. This was not how it was supposed to happen. He was supposed to grow up like a normal person. Have a normal high school life and graduate. Become a meteorologist like he’d wanted and eventually get married to Karen and have children.
‘Karen.’ He thought sadly, as his body convulsed. He looked at her but her head was in her hands, her legs shaking fiercely from her spot on the ground.
‘She’ll never like me now. I’m a vampire… The same type of monster that killed her father.’ He mused, morbidly pleased by his own fate. After a moment the tremors subsided and he let Rose place him down on the floor. He stood up shakily, like a new-born giraffe and he groaned. His stomach burned with intense desire for blood but he held it back. Ryan stared at him amused, his cruelty getting the better of him. He took one of the syringes from Xinri’s bag and crushed it in his hand. Carolyn’s blood dripped from between his fingers but he was no longer hungry, as he’d taken his fill from Xinri. He sauntered over to Seth’s spot and grinned as the blue eyed boy stared into his green ones hesitantly. He squatted down near him and smeared the blood on his lips and on the floor. Seth groaned as he tried to resist but the metallic taste had entered his mouth and he couldn’t hold it in anymore. He took Ryan’s hand angrily and licked it clean and he lapped the remainder of the blood off his face. He groaned in satisfaction. Ryan’s grin grew larger as Seth lowered his head to the concrete to retrieve the blood there as well. Seth didn’t know what he was doing. All he saw was his body ferociously lick blood off of the floor and Karen’s disgusted expression. He wanted to cry, to be woken up from this horrible nightmare. It was just so bizarre… as if he was viewing his body from the outside. He felt his head scream as his insides lurched and the blood slipped down his throat.
“Seth….” He heard Karen mutter. He felt as if his mind was now a separate being.
“Do you like that Seth? Do you want more?” he heard Ryan sneer. Xinri gripped his shoulder tightly and shook her head in protest.
“Ryan stop it! You know how you get after you’ve had blood. You’re being cruel!” she growled. Seth gave a small whimper, his eyes still blank with hunger. Ryan pointed at Karen.
“There’s an entire meal. Go for it.” He smirked. Xinri glared at him, restraining Seth and smiling sadly ay Karen.
“I’m sorry. If you want you can go. You don’t need to see him like this.” She said apathetically. Karen’s eyes filled with tears as she stared at her ravenous friend in horror. She gripped the locket around her neck tightly and sobbed.
“I won’t leave him to deal with this alone. I promised I’d always be there for him. I plan to keep that promise.” She whispered, running a hand over Seth’s face. Xinri sighed and struggled to keep Seth calm.
“You’re a good friend to him. I hope he always remembers that.” She smiled warmly.
“I didn’t catch your name, by the way.” Karen said to Xinri, wiping a cold hand on Seth’s brow. Xinri grimaced as he tried to bite down on her arm.
“The name’s Xinri. And yours?” she asked. The girl swept a loose strand of hair from her eyes and smiled through tears.
“Karen.” She said simply. Xinri smiled at her but was startled when she felt a pair of fangs sink into her arm. She tried to pull her arm away from him but she was still weak from the blood drained by Ryan. She grimaced and felt as if the life was slowly being drained out of her. She vaguely heard Karen trying move him but she couldn’t stand up to his strength. She listened to Ryan growl deeply and felt Seth being dragged away as she crumpled to the ground.
“Okay Seth the joke’s gone far enough.” Ryan said gruffly. He pulled him up by the hem of his shirt.
“If you ever do that again I will kill you.” He said grimly. The smaller boy wiggled in his grasp and stared longingly at the blood dripping down Xinri’s neck. Xinri groaned, her face flushed and her eyelids slightly closed.
“Damn that hurt. Ryan, give him some of the blood from Carolyn or he might go on a rampage. It’s his first time for feeding and if he doesn’t he’s going to go crazy.” She gasped out. Ryan tied Seth’s hands together with a series of spells and dropped near Xinri.
“But I can’t give him anymore or we won’t be able to get back in time. You know Morgana with her time policy!” he said. Karen hobbled over to Seth and closed her eyes tightly.
“I’ll donate.” she replied shakily, moving the hair from her neck and tying it back. Ryan smiled, satisfied with the answer but Xinri frowned.
“You don’t have to Karen. No one’s making you.” She said erratically. She sat up on one elbow and leaned on Ryan.
“If you can do it so can I. You seem pretty weak anyways.” She joked. Xinri glared at her and noticed Carolyn sneaking behind Karen.
“This isn’t a joke. It takes a lot out of you. I have sorceress blood in me so it doesn’t drain me so easily but you’re a human, I don’t know what effects it could have on you.” She said, turning her head to the side and adding “what are you doing Carolyn?”
The woman ceased her walking and sighed in obvious annoyance.
“I was trying to get Karen away. I won’t let her throw her life away for a filthy vampire. She’s not a normal human being.” She ground out. Karen stared at her in shock and narrowed her eyes.
“What exactly do you mean mom?” she asked accusingly. Her mother swallowed.
“You’re not a human exactly. You’re actually a nymph oracle.” She replied.
Karen’s eyes widened and she glared at her mother.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Here I thought I was going insane from my visions and here I am an oracle! And a nymph no less!” she shouted angrily. Her mother flinched in response but stood her ground.
“I only did what was best for you. You didn’t need to know until recently since you’ve finally reached the seeing age. Now come here and get away from those monsters so we can go home.” She said firmly, pulling a vile of holy water from a pocket. Karen’s frown grew deeper and she growled.
“Monsters? So you just want me to leave the only friend I’ve ever known because he’s a vampire? You took him in and gave him a home! He came to save you and me and you just want leave him because a vampire killed dad?” she muttered loudly. Her mother Glared and grabbed her arm hard.
“I told you, he’s an abomination! I always had this feeling about him and I never really liked him anyways. It’s a mother’s intuition! I know what I’m doing Karen so just come back with me and we can pretend he was never here.” She said, trying to pull her. She snatched her arm back and glowered.
“You say that about all my friends. You have a feeling about them and you judge them on that. All Seth ever did was treat you as his mother and you just want to let him go?” she whispered angrily. Her mother slapped her.
“I gave him a house and a home as I do you. We promised to give him back if his family came back so let’s go!” she ground out menacingly. Karen shook her head, gripping her red cheek.
“No. You said you’d give him back, I never agreed. I’m staying with him.” She said, sitting down next to him and hugging him as his fangs sunk into her neck greedily. Her mother’s eyes grew wide at the intense defiance and she glared at them both.
“If you stay here with those things then you are no longer my daughter.” She said desperately. Karen shook her head once more, tears dripping from her eyes onto the cobblestones.
“I love you but if that’s the way it is then I guess for now you are no longer my mother.” She choked out. Carolyn stared in utter defeat and cringed, muttering a quick goodbye and running off in annoyance. Karen grimaced as she felt Seth lick and nip at her neck and wiped angry tears from her eyes.
Ryan placed a hand on her shoulder, as did Xinri and Rose smiled sadly.
“Thank you for defending us. I guess you’re part of the family now, huh?” He said softly. His conduct had changed from the previous bloodlust. Karen sighed as her vision blurred and she smiled as Seth’s eyes slowly regained light.
“I didn’t do it for you. I did it for Seth.” She groaned. Then she blacked out.
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