She bursted through the door, her body quivering. Her eyes told me everything I needed to know. Without uttering a word to each other, I made my way to the living room with Kasey trailing behind me; the sound of the tv blasting at the highest volume. The image on screen was of a news anchor. Her bleach blonde tresses bobbing to the movement of her head. Her eyes showed no emotion. 848Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1og0o8J9mX
“We go, now, live to Peter Holland, who is standing out front of The Pharaoh where the discovery of a body occurred. Peter?” The screen shifts to a middle-aged man, hair balding in certain places on his head, his face stern from presumingly witnessing the scene behind him.
“Thank you, Diane. I am at the scene of a ferocious crime, that occurred a while back. This is something unusual. We learned that the victim had been deceased for quite awhile and was just now recently discovered. Now, Diane, get this. The victim was attacked by an animal. Yes, all injuries were consistent with a ferocious animal attack. Possibly a huge one.” The screen split in half, showing the shock and horror from ‘Diane’ in the newsroom. She said nothing, which prompted Peter to continue. The screen split again, but this time I stood paralyzed by the image before me. The face of the man appeared, the man Kasey feed on in the club weeks ago. But only he was smiling and laughing, his family stood promptly around him, their faces were blurred out. The man’s name was etched on the bottom of the screen. Steven McCormick, age Twenty-Six.
“The body of Steven was finally found this afternoon. After many long years in the entertainment industry, The Pharaoh will be closing its doors. The last night being tonight. The club owner, Shin Nakamura, has stated to JLK Midnight News Network, that what has happened is a tragedy. He then goes on to say that, ‘We send our condolences to the victim’s family and friends and we deeply regret paying more attention to the activities in our own club. We take full responsibility for what has happened. We must stick together as a community to catch the murderer of this heinous crime.’ Such inspiring words from Mr. Nakamura himself. There are no more information being released at this time. Now, back to you, Diane.” The screen switched back to the newsroom, on Diane and more unworthy news.
“Gregory, I’ve heard that name before. It was spoken within the Borgia and Nathaniel clans.Isn’t Nakamura…”
“One of us. A leader of another clan.” I finished for her. The shock on Nelle’s face chilled my body, my heart. I didn’t tell her about the club nor about the owner that night. I tried to steady my beating heart. I didn’t tell him of the events dealing with Kasey. A foolish mistake on my part. “We have to leave. Now. They’ll come after us.”
As the screen turned black, my chest started to burn. The sensation was small; it was the pain that I had felt for the past few weeks. But something wasn’t right. Voices were going in and out. My vision was becoming blurry the more I stood. My body trembled, my very limbs were becoming numb before crashing under my own weight. But after that, my memory is a blur. I could hear my name being called; Oh the panic in this voice made me worried. But only worry. I wasn’t fearful. No, it felt as if I was finally sleeping.
Even to this day, images come and go. I remember seeing both Nelle and Kasey hovering over me, dread paralyzing them. It was prevalent in their faces, especially in their eyes. Those black eyes staring at me, within me and into my soul. Our eyes connected, Nelle and I, before the darkness coveted them.
“Gregory.” It was a whisper. A soft whisper in my ear now. It comforted me; giving me a sense of belonging, of love. I recognized that voice of my beloved, Nelle. “You will be safe now. We will take care of you.”
My body was weightless. That’s the next thing I could remember; I could see. Kasey on my left, and Nelle on my right but there was another presence with us all. He smelled familiar. There was a husky smell of alcohol with hints of strong spices. He always smelled like this. No, it can’t be. But before I could even conjure the name in the vast darkness of my mind, I slipped away into a deep slumber.
There was pain; sheer terrifyingly agonizing pain. I can hear my own scream through the rapid beating of my heart. It felt endless and that frightened me more than anything. I could feel cold hands grabbing my searing hot body. My vision was filled with red, blood covering my eyes. They were trying to hold me down. They were trying to shut me up. When will this pain ever end? Blackness.
I let out a startling gasped as I jolted awake. Sweat covered my body like a blanket. My breath was quick.I could feel a presence in the room with me. The air was thick with a husky scent of spice. I felt like I was choking.
“It’s been a long time, Gregory. With the exception of last Wednesday.” His voice was smooth like milk, with hints of stern. His accent was unnoticeable. I turned toward the voice, sitting in the dark corner of the room with his feet perched up on an ottoman, hands placed firmly on the sides of the armchair. His eyes were closed. It was as if he was resting.
“You still have the nightmares I see. My child, you are forgiven for your sins. May you rest in peace.” He let out a disheartening laughter. His head leaned back with the effort. I could feel my own hands balling up into fists. This is what it always came to thus why we never met again. His facial expressions changed at the hint of cracking knuckles.
“Put away your anger. We would have none of that here. Not while the girls are awake that is.” His smile was sinister. Within those deep ocean blue eyes lied something dark, a new personality I’ve never seen in him before. What had he become after all these years? What finally extinguished that innocent and vibrant young man who only dreamed of the good, who only wished for equality? The longer he looked at me the more the smile diminished.
My body ached, the muscles strained and cracked as I tried to get up. I let out a loud groan before flopping back down on the bed. I closed my eyes, letting the dancing lights behind my eyelids and the pain subside. My throat burned. I could barely produce saliva none the less formulate my words, my thoughts. I could feel the energy, that anger, seeping out of me.
“You need to drink. You need blood. You almost died, you know.” I could hear him shuffling around the room. His voice was like cold water on a warm summer day. I remember him pouring something into a glass before I dozed off again, only to be awoken by the cold liquid slipping down my throat. My senses were spurred. My mind was becoming more focused and the blood settled inside me.
I was in a small room that much I knew. The only light source came from the small brittle fire in the fireplace. It was ordinary, the room. My old room. A cross hung on over the bed where I laid. My rosary laid on the small wooden table. I held it in my hands, they felt heavy. The wood was heavily decorated, much more than usual. This was his doing.
“You are awake. That is good.” I slowly turned my head toward the voice. There was no smile on his face this time, no happiness, no mockery; only anger. Always anger. I turned away, not being able to face him anymore than I needed to.
“Where are the girls?” My voice came out in a whisper, the thirst still did not quite dissipate.
“The girls. Always about the girls. Is that all you can say? Is that all you care about?” His voice sounded hurt, broken. He let out a sigh. I could feel his gazing burning behind my back. Oh, what woes harbor in this young man’s mind I dare not know, I dare not understand. “They are fine. They are in the living room doing god knows what. But I am not here to tell you that. I am here to talk to you. A lecturing, if you’d let me have any words in. I know how you are.” His body shuffled in the petite armchair in the corner.
There was something in his left hand. It was enticing in both appearance and smell. I closed my eyes, wafting in the copper smell of blood. I opened them only to see a smirk emerging on Paris’s face, a taunting smirk.
“Voice your thoughts. I have no time for games.” I could hear the hoarseness in my voice. My gaze were still upon the deep depths of the blood in his hand. He looked down, a faux surprise etched upon his face. Such sheer mockery. He outstretched his arms.
“You must be starving, my son. Here, I brought you some more blood.” Paris leaned back into the armchair, the drink still in his hand. I gulped, no longer was I able to control myself. I reached out for the drink, snapping it from his claws, and gulped down the liquid. The effects of it immediately hit me like a train. I could feel it dripping down my throat, quenching both my hunger and my desire finally. It splattered my very soul with power. Slowly, but surely I was becoming my old self again, the thoughtful one, the sane one.
Paris looked down at the ground, as if inspecting something there. “We must talk. You were running away again. Something happened to make you afraid. Tell me so I can help.”
Help. that word stung my heart like a knife plunging into my cold body. It had been years since I’ve seen Paris and yet now after all these years he wants to help. Even after our falling out. It didn’t make sense to me.
I shook my head. “You can’t help us. You’re selfish. This is my family now and I must protect them by any means necessary.”
“Including almost dying from poisoned blood? Did you not teach me to never extract from junkies? Kasey suffered, but not as much. Her only affect was a high. She acted like a belligerent drunk, to say the lest.” He stood up from the chair his body shivered from his anger. I looked down, shame prevented me from facing what I had done. I almost killed her. But some part of me, some inhumane part did not care. It wanted to kill her. She posed too much of a threat to both our kind and this family. I could feel the smile on his face.
“You were always a sneak, dear Gregory. But let us be honest, you were never a saint.”
“I was only trying to help her. Build her immunity to all kinds of blood.” He shook his head at this. Ideas and conspiracies ran through me. “How did you find us? Why were you following us?” I started to feel sluggish again, my voice slurring with every single word. Paris was still smiling.
“I put poison in your blood juice. As a precaution and to calm you just a little bit. We need to talk.” He paused waiting for an answer he knew I couldn’t muster. I slumped down on the bed, exhaustion overcame all other feelings.
“We have known each other for a long time. Hell, I loved you. You were like a brother I never had. Now, I will answer every single question you have. But what I am going to say will rile you up. I know you.” He sat next to me on the bed, the scent of spice heavy. “As you know, the Borgia clan is absent of a leader since both Borgias are dead. There is a clash between two groups of the clan; One that sides with Sonja and one that sides with you. Gregory, you must lead the clan for both your family’s sake and the clan itself. Think of your family’s safety. If you take your place, they will be safe with us. You will not have to run away ever again.”
I was silent and still. My mind trying to process what he just said. I was to be a leader. To be something Carlos always wanted me to become. I stood up. It felt as if bugs were crawling on my legs. I shook my head. No, I wasn’t ready. Not yet. How is it possible? Paris stood up too. He stood before me, his eyes oozed with determination. He was rigid and cold.
“You must take your place as our leader. If you do not, then Sonja will do it. But we all know who is better equipped. She has no experience and she lets her emotions play a part in this politics but you, Gregory, you are much more. You know when to keep the emotions out, you know what to do that will benefit the coven. This is your destiny.” Paris stopped for a moment, his eyes growing wider as he stared at me. “But you are lost too. You let Kasey live after what she did. The hunters know we all exist in the city. They will hunt us down because of her and you know it. And she must be dealt with.” This was enough. This was what broke the camel’s back.
The anger overcame my every thought, my rational being. It was a monster. Something I could no longer control. Using both my hands, I lifted Paris up from the floor. His feet hovered in the air for a little moment before I slammed him into the desk. I was overtop him. My arm shoved deep into his throat. I let out a growl as I bared my sharp vampiric teeth at him. Paris showed his in return. Her screaming scared me, made me shudder. It snapped me out of my rage. I took in a deep breath as disgust and embarrassment compelled me to slowly get off of the boy. I looked up only to see Kasey sitting flat on the floor of the doorway, tears streaking down her face, fear deep within those green orbs. Nelle stood right behind her, her beautiful face contorted into loathing, those eyes looked accusingly at me. My heart pounded in my chest as I walked out of the room, climbing over a bawling Kasey. 848Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIJ3z0gVk4
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My body swayed. My tolerance dwindled to a mere slight. I did not comfort Kasey this time nor did I call for Nelle. I couldn’t explain my actions nor what stood within me, hidden in a cage waiting to get out. I couldn’t explain what was hidden within all of us. It was that exact monster that waited in the darkness, that terrorized locals and spawned us into legends. 848Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aUHsEL1Xu
