x
Author's Note - Hey everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. A small mention, the beginning conversation is in Turkic language. It will be in this font style. I hope the chapter is a good read. Enjoy! Leave all your thoughts in the comment section. Have a good one. :-) XOXO!
Vlad's POV
One of the men from the Order asks me straight forward in Turkish language. 'Was this your doing, Dracula?'
"No. It was Marishka, the Blood Countess."
"You never gave her the command to do these killings?"
"I never did. I did not know she was alive or around until I saw her in the woods and discovering the bodies. She will claim she did it all for me but I never commanded her." I respond to him in Turkish.
The man in the suit looks at me, nodding yes in agreement with me. Then I see a couple of vans from the News driving in to report what has happened. The Order must have called them so I can make a television statement, not just to the humans but to the entire Supernatural world that none of this happened under my command or doing of any kind. It is a way to keep my name cleared of these killings.
I tell the workers of the Order to give me a few minutes. They allow it. I go over to Mina and the others and tell them, "Go back to my house. I will be back as soon as possible. And Draven, behave yourself."
"I always do." Draven responds to me in a playful manner. And right now is no time for any kind of playing.
"I'll keep him in line, Vlad." Lucy tells me then elbows Draven in his rib cage. Draven leans forward, groaning from the hit.
I walk over to Mina with fear digging its way into me but most of all, Mina. She has sadness and fear of the events happening. I can hear her heart racing when I stand in front of her. I take her hands in hopes that it will help calm her heart down a bit. "Who could do such a thing in killing those people, Vlad?"
"A sick person that needs to be captured and put away before that sick person can hurt anyone else. For now, go to my house. I will be back as soon as possible. Matthew and Claire will go with you too. Everything will be alright, Mina." I tell her.
I give her a kiss on the forehead then walk Mina to Claire's car. Matthew and Claire get into the car. They start the car and drive away. I give Mina a small air kiss as they drive away from the barn. I move to face Lucy and Draven. They have a look of fear on their faces.
"What can we do?" Lucy asks me.
"We need to make sure she is not going to come after us if the Hunter did not get to her first. She may try something again now that it is night time. Are you both willing to patrol for the next few days?"
"A hunter truly is after her?" Draven does his best not to raise his voice at the mention of a hunter.
"Not now, Draven. Patrol the next few days and nights?" I growl to him in frustration.
Lucy and Draven look to one another then shake their heads yes. I thank them both in gratitude for doing this. Lucy said she is willing to bring any number of my barn workers to her second home just outside of the city. She has plenty of room for them there. Draven is willing to guard the barn for the horses. I will make sure Luke stays with me for a while.
"Meet me back at the house in a while. We will discuss everything further." I tell them then they get back in Lucy's car and drive off to my house.
I turn around to see the Order has the news reporters ready for my statement. I press my lips together knowing this will help to further clear my name of these killings. I step forward ready to tell the whole world the truth.
Mina's POV
I walk into Vlad's house in confusion in what happened and sadness for the innocent people killed. I sit down on the couch while Matthew and Claire sit across from me, not saying a word either. We remain in silence for what feels like hours until the three of us jump up in fear when someone knocks on the door.
"Mina, it's ok. It's Lucy. Come let me in please." Lucy's voice comes from behind the front door.
I sigh in great relief that it is her. I go to the door and open it. I find Lucy and a tall dark man in a dark silver suit behind her. I have never seen this man before however I let them in and lock the door once inside. Lucy sees how I look and she hugs me. I do my best not to cry in her hug. Then I look at the dark haired man stare at me like he wants to take away anything that scares me.
Lucy breaks from the hug and sees how the man is looking at me. "Forgive his manners, Mina. He is an old acquaintance of me and Vlad's."
"Old acquaintance? You wound me, Lucy." He says like he truly was wounded in her words. He takes my hand and kisses the top of it in a completely different manner than the way Vlad does. "I am Draven, my lady; a pleasure to finally meet you. Vlad and Lucy have said many wonderful things about you."
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well. I do wish it was under different circumstances though. They never spoke about you, Draven." I tell him as our hands come apart.
"That is how I like it. If you will pardon me, where is the bathroom?" Draven politely asks me.
"Upstairs, straight down the hall into the bedroom and on the right." I tell Mina.
He bows his head to me in gratitude then heads up stairs. Lucy tells me to sit down while she has to make a few phone calls. She goes toward the dining room while I sit down to see Matthew turn on the TV to the news channel. We all see the police combing through the river for the bodies of people killed. I place my hand over my mouth in the shock of how many covered bodies are on the scene.
There are over twenty people so far and more are being pulled from the river. The news host discuss that this was no ordinary killing, a brazen killing unlike anything that has been seen in decades. Then it cuts to Vlad giving an interview about his ride on the trail then describing how he came across the bodies in the river.
I cannot imagine how he must be taking all of this especially in discovering the dead men and women. I know I would throw up at the sight of them if I saw all of this in person and the way he describes it in his interview. I deeply exhale in sadness for the friends and families who lost their loved ones to whatever shell of a monster killed them. Claire moves over to sit next to me and takes my hand in hers as we continue to watch the news.
Vlad's POV
I wait at the forest line just before the line of my backyard. My eyes go down to see Roxy laying next to me. I can still feel Roxy's fear of being hunted. I lean my hand down, petting her head for a few moments. I will not Roxy being harmed by anyone. Roxy lets out a sigh of relief until she turns her head to someone approaching us. Roxy stands to her feet, wagging her tail side to side.
My eyes move in the direction Roxy is looking when I see Draven and Lucy walking to me. I want us to discuss things out here and away from the others. Lucy and Draven stand across from me. I run my hands through my hair in terror of what is going to happen to all of us now. Draven and Lucy wait for me to speak first in what has happened.
"Marishka is here and she did those killings. I do not know how long she has been in town." I tell them until I see Lucy and Draven look to one another with a certain look on their faces.
My eyes bounce between the two of them when I realize that they knew she was in town! I do my best not to raise my voice at them. "You knew she was here the whole time?"
Lucy steps forward saying, "Not at first. I got word she was being hunted. I didn't believe she was alive until recent reports of hikers, campers and homeless people disappearing. I knew it had to be her. I told Draven earlier so he can try to find her at Carfax Abbey but there was no sign of her. We were going to Broken Tooth Mountain until Luke called us to come to the barn."
I get into Lucy's face in anger saying, "Why didn't you tell me Marishka was here when you learned it?! Marishka meet Mina! Marishka will kill her if she gets within sniffing distance of her again!"
Lucy pushes me back snarling, "If Marishka discovered that you knew of her return from day one and never came after her, she would've unleashed her wrath on everyone. It was safer for everyone that you didn't know until she showed herself."
"That certainly did not help because she killed over fifty people so far. They are still getting people out further down the river, Lucy." I angrily say to Lucy.
Draven gets between us saying, "Never mind that now. None of us can be blamed for those deaths, Dracula. And the Order cannot put this on you since you did not know. It was safer this way."
Draven says these words in the hope it will bring some kind of comfort but it does not help at all. Nothing will comfort me in those killings. I lean my backside against the closest tree, fearing many weeks for Mina and the others.
"What happened after you saw her?" Draven asks me.
"She wanted my help in the new world but I refused. She kept on trying with her usual tricks. Marishka is psycho." I run my fingers through my hair again in the hopes she is caught and locked away or put to the stake right now.
"Dracula, she has always been psycho long before you meet her. We all are a little psycho in one way shape or form." Draven says to me like it is nothing new with Marishka.
"Leave me out of the psycho category." Lucy says, shaking her head no.
"How about this?! Not psycho; I meant nut-bag! Wackadoo! Head-case! She truly believes I commanded her to kill those people." I say in anger of how they are acting like children with this whole situation. This is serious beyond belief.
Draven lowers his head in my shouting while Lucy looks at me, not reacting to my shouting. "What happened next with Mental Marishka?
"I turned her down all the same. I even Released her..."
Lucy and Draven glare at me in horror of what I just spoke out in the air. They are aware of the stories to the few vampires who ever Released those they turned. Draven takes one step to be face to face with me with anger in his eyes. "Released? You have no idea what you have done in doing this. Any control over her is no longer there."
"I thought it was the best action to take for Marishka to learn that nothing will ever be the same between any of us." I tell him the honest truth to why I released her.
"What happened when you released her?"
"It was almost like something violently crawled into her skin, infecting the vampire connection between me as her maker and her as my once vampire bride. I saw her veins become black all over her body. I have never seen anything like that in my time. It was almost like an Exorcist was performed to her. Then it stopped and she laid there like she was just an empty shell. I have it all on the prototype riding camera." I say to them reliving how it happened to her.
"Where is the camera now?" Lucy asks.
"I gave it to Luke just before the cops came into the barn. I wanted him to make copies and give one to the Order as further solid proof that none of us involvement."
All three of us remain quiet for a few moments in this knowledge and relief that the footage is the way to keep our names clean of Marishka's crimes. But the quiet is also for Marishka being Released. My heightened senses go toward the barn when I see they blocked off the entire river area where the bodies were recovered.
They cleared the barn is not a part of the crime scene however most of my workers are still there giving statements about the day to cover all of the bases. I know Marishka threatened the life of everyone that holds a place in my heart. They all need to be guarded for the next few days and nights. I do hope the Order has Marishka in their custody so all of this hellish nightmare can be over.
"What happened after you Released her, Dracula?" Draven questions me.
"Before another word was spoken between us, a hunter showed up. I feared the hunter was there for me, maybe even the wolf I have seen haunting me. But it was not. This hunter was there for Marishka. He told me to leave. They began fighting viciously. I flew as fast as I could back to the barn."
"Lucy heard this is the very same Hunter that captured Jack the Ripper and many others over the last few centuries. If it is that Hunter, Marishka stands no chance against him."
"Sadly she did have a chance but never took it. She is a fool for not taking his offer." I say out of pity for Marishka.
"What kind of offer did the hunter give her?" Lucy asks in curiosity.
"It was an offer to be taught in the new ways of the world and recovery from possible side effects of the Bittersweet Death by the Order itself. She had a clean ticket for a new life but turned it down without a thought. It was a start for a new life and she threw it away like she did those men and women." I say to them when I turn to face the view of my house.
"This vampire hunter could have been lying to her. The Order is known for doing anything they can to hunt, capture and kill anyone that gets into the top five of The List." Draven says and he knows more than the three of us how the Order works in capturing any vampire that is a threat to the Supernatural world.
"Whoever this hunter is, his heart beat did not change a beat, no form of lying. It was nothing but honesty which means the offer was real." I tell him but I know Draven will never believe it since it is from the Order.
And I am not surprised at all that she made it onto the List right away when she resurfaced into the new century with all of the killings she has done. Then it dawned on me of something about Marishka. I recall she said she met Mina at the New Year's Eve party. That was almost two months ago and yet she still looked like she hardly had any blood in decades if not centuries.
"The hunter mentioned possible side effects. I did not think anything of it until now. She killed so many people however she still was not in her natural state. She should have been fully recovered, one hundred percent with all of the men and women she slaughtered."
"How is that possible? She should have had more than enough of her fill in killing ten people to return to normal." Draven questions this.
I recall something the Hunter said to her in the woods; the words of the hunter echo in my mind. 'And he never commanded you to kill them. A possible side effect from the Bittersweet Death; you are the first to nearly go through with it.'
"What if her body remains in hunger until she catches up on the centuries she did not feed?" I lean forward in the shock of how much feeding she will have to do in order to return to her normal vampire state.
"She would have to kill thousands of people for that to happen..." Lucy says in shock.
The three of us look at one another knowing she will kill that many people just to feed. I do not have to be a mind reader to know we are all thinking the same thing right now. We remain silent knowing the fate that Marishka will meet by the Order. And if not by the Order, we will do it ourselves if we have to. Marishka puts every vampire at risk.
"What is the next move?" Lucy asks the question none of us could utter out loud.
"Right now, we remain on patrol, high alert if the Hunter did not get to her first. The men and women from the Order looked like their hunter did not capture her before I left. She must have slipped his grasp."
Lucy and Draven agree with me. I thank them both in gratitude again. I tell them to go on ahead and to keep me posted if anything happens, no matter how small that something is off on their patrols. They go back to the house to say goodbye to the others.
I wait outside with Roxy by my side until Draven and Lucy leave. I send a group text to all of my workers who were giving their statements at the barn when I left. I text them to collect a bag to last them a few days and there is no work until the cops clear the river of the bodies. And Lucy would meet them there to do the next steps. I do not want to risk giving out any phone numbers or addresses if Marishka has learned anything of the 21st century technology. I hear them leave the house when I begin walking up to my house.
I circle around and go to the front door. I use my keys to enter into the house. My friends and Mina approach me in relief that I am ok. Mina hugs me the same way she did at the barn while my friends ask me if I am alright. I tell my friends that I am fine. We all go sit down on the couch and I turn off the tv, not wanting to hear the news of this terrible tragedy.
"With all that has happened, they do not know who has done this which means that killer is at large. If it is ok with everyone here, you all can stay here for the next few days and nights to be safer than sorry."
Matthew and Claire are more than willing to do so and I have extra clothes they can use for tonight. Then tomorrow they can get more clothes for their remaining stay. I lead them into the guest bedroom and leave them for the night. Mina and I go upstairs to my bedroom while I still sense fear coming from Mina in waves. I know she is going to have a hard time sleeping tonight.
I go to Mina and kneel before her saying, "You are not the only one that is going to have a hard time sleeping, Mina. All we can do is give our sorrows and prayers to those who lost loved ones."
Mina shakes her head yes when I see tears in her eyes. She leans forward, wrapping her arms around me. I embrace her closer to my body when she asks me, "Who could have done this, Vlad?"
I answer in the only way I can to Mina, "A soulless monster..."
Lucy's POV
I get back to my apartment after ensuring the safety of the barn workers. I immediately go to the kitchen when I begin to smell Kiral just outside my door. I use my speed to go to the door and open it just before he could knock. He has his hand up about to knock on it. Kiral chuckles in how I knew he was already here.
I see that he is leaning more on his left leg than his right leg and the smell of fresh blood staining his pants. He must have been injured in the fight with Marishka. "Come in. Let me address your wound."
Kiral extends his hand out to me as he is limping terribly and I take his hand, helping him to my couch. He sits down while I tell him to get undressed. I go into my closest, dusting off my medical kit. It has been a while since I have used it but I make sure to keep it fully stocked if I ever need it for myself or anyone else in the supernatural world.
I see he is in his boxers while I see a massive gashing open wound that is all the way down to his bone on his lower right leg. I can see she attempted to take off his leg. Thankfully she did not. I quickly wash my hands then I begin to work on the terrible wound. "Did you capture her?"
"She managed to get away however I nearly took her arm off in the process. It is going to take much longer for her to heal compared to me." Kiral says as I finish cleaning his wound.
I start to stitch it up. Kiral struggles to contain his moans of the agony in stitching up his leg. I cannot help but smile in recalling my time of being a nurse during a war. I still remember how to do it like it was yesterday when I finish up his leg with a wrap for him to have on for the night. I go back to wash my hands then put up my medical bag and sit down next to him.
"Dracula told me that you gave her the offer but she turned it down immediately."
"Yes, she did. The immortal shelter you all once had with him will never be torn down to her." Kiral says while our hands come together. I see a look of sadness on his face like he has something more to tell me. However I already know what he is going to tell me.
"I already know. She is suffering major effects from the Bittersweet Death. She is a danger to everyone which means no offer. Marishka has to be hunted and captured now."
"I am sorry, Lucy." He softly tells me, looking down in disappoint like he failed me. He didn't fail me. He kept his word that he would try to help her with a new life. She turned it down and now what comes next is on Marishka alone. She cannot blame anyone else for her actions.
I place my hand on his right cheek as I lean my forehead against his whispering, "I am sorry is words you will never have to say to me, Kiral. You kept your word. All that matters is that you are safe and the people she butchered are being returned to their families to have their funerals."
Kiral lets out a deep exhale, lightly shaking his head in agreement in my words. I can tell he is worn down so I ask him, "Are you able to stay tonight?"
He gives a small smile telling me, "Can I stay for seven days, Lucy."
"Yes. Come on."
I help him to my bed so he can get some proper rest. I switch over to my black satin sleeping gown when he sees I have the gown he gifted me hanging over my mirror closest. He smiles in asking, "Is the gown to your liking?"
"Absolutely, Kiral. It truly is a gorgeous dress and it matches the same color red of my ring." I lift up my hand to show my ring to him.
I get into bed with him when he gently takes my hand to admire my ring. He brushes his fingers around the ring, studying it when he tells me, "I feel like I have seen this ring before. I cannot remember from where. What is the history of your ring?"
"After I was turned into a vampire, Dracula gifted it to me. He said it belonged to the women of my family and it was all he could find that was left of my family possessions. It is all I truly have of my once human life."
Kiral does not take his eyes off the ring like he is trying to remember where he has seen it before until his eyes lock with mine. "What do you remember about your life, your family?"
"I honestly do not remember much of my family. The little I do remember is that my mother was kind, beautiful but sad. I think I had a younger brother and sister, twin baby siblings. I recall a little game being played to choose their names." I smile at the thought of them. My memory of them is faded but enough to recall things we did together like picking fruit, collecting water, and playing in the freshly fallen snow of our home. Those were the good things I want to remember.
"What happened to them?" Kiral asks me, knowing this is a sensitive subject for me.
"All I know is that on the night Dracula found me, there was people running and shouting in fear of their lives. It was a dark night. I would have been dead myself until Dracula ripped out the spine of the man that was about to kill me. He picked me up in his arms when I saw that my family was killed with their bodies all across the ground. My mother died trying to get to me with her left hand extending out a few inches away from me. I was a little girl and he helped find a family to raise me."
"The family that raised me were good people but they never felt like family to me. When I was old enough, I went out searching for Dracula. He found me first. We spent a great deal of time together before he turned me into a vampire."
Kiral seems like he never heard my story until now as he gently moves his hand up and down my left arm. I cannot explain enough in how he listens to me. He listens like he is hanging onto each word I say, not wanting to miss a single one. I love how he gazes at me in the few times we have spoken.
"Lucy, how would you like it if I dig into your family history? The Order has records of all supernatural being in the world including their human life recorded."
"Really?" I let out in excitement to him.
"Say the word and I will, Lucy." He tells me in hearing my excitement.
"Please do, Kiral." I tell him without another thought.
I want to know everything I can about my family; maybe even see if there is any blood relation of my family left out in the world. Kiral gets his phone and takes a photo of my ring in the hopes it will help in the search of my family history. He sends the photo to his contact so the search can already start.
"I heard about the vast stores of history and knowledge the Order has on everyone. Do you truly think my family history will be in their records?"
"I have no doubt and yes, the Order has limitless resources, spared no expense. The only record I believe that is incomplete, hard to track or trace is the beginning of the Master Vampire. No one knows of his. His tale is untold." Kiral confirms the rumors about the endless information the Order has on the world.
I begin to see that Kiral is getting sleepy in how much he is struggling to keep his eye lids open that if we keep on talking, he will fall asleep on me. We cuddle closer together with the lower part of our legs curled together as I bring up my bed covers. Kiral lets out a yawn that sounds like the yawn of a wolf. I chuckle in how cute he is when he is tired.
"Get some rest. You are going to need it when facing Marishka again." I whisper to him then I kiss his forehead.
Kiral lightly shakes his head in agreement about Marishka when his breathing and heart beat becomes a little lower when he goes into a deep sleep. I gaze at Kiral then run my fingers alongside his face down to his jaw line. I cannot understand or explain how this one man has become so important to me so quickly but he is. I gently lean my forehead against his, falling asleep with his remarkable man.
Vlad's POV
I stare into the wood burning away in the fireplace of my mansion when my two vampire brides, Lucy and Marishka and my vampire son, Draven come into the bedroom chamber. I bite the bottom of my lip when I walk over to the pure wood carving of a dragon at the headboard of this large bed. I turn around and allow for Lucy and Marishka to come forward.
They smile in joy knowing what we are all about to do. Marishka undresses me while Lucy undresses Draven of his clothes. Our clothes fall to the stone floor as the light from the roaring fire lights up the room. I lay Marishka on the bed as I am on top of her. Marishka moans when I begin kissing her on her neck down to her stomach while Lucy and Draven fall onto the bed kissing one another next to us.
The four of us take turns with one another in our physical desires while I call Marishka a good girl in all she does to me. I moan when she finishes me off then it is Lucy's turn. I run my hand through her hair when I notice it is not her natural curly hair I am feeling. My eyes look to see that it is not Lucy on top of me now.
It is Mina. I smile even greater that it is Mina when our hands come together. Mina leans down kissing me as I moan in between the kissing. She feels so good and warm unlike any way I have felt in centuries. We keep on going until a hand wraps around Mina's throat, stopping us. My eyes go to Mina who is gasping for air and it is Marishka who is choking her.
Before I could stop her, I feel my hands chained in silver above my head, a silver chain across my waist and my ankles chained to the down to the floor at the end of the bed. I feel the agonizing sting of the silver sinking into my skin as terror fills up my body.
Mina is gasping for air, losing color to her face. Marishka gets on top of me right behind Mina, admiring her like she always did with someone she is about to drink until there is nothing left. Mina is struggling against Marishka, powerless. I fight against the chains but nothing is working to get me free. Marishka lets out a dark, sinster chuckle of what she is doing to Mina and me.
"What does she have that none of us have, my lord?" Marishka growls with her dark red vampire eyes glaring at me to my core.
"Let her go." I snarl to Marishka.
Marishka smiles her trickster smile to me when she forces Mina off of me and throws her to the floor. Mina screams in terror trying to run away but Marishka uses her speed to stop her. Then drags Mina by her long blonde hair, making her get to her feet. Then Marishka forces Mina to turn her head to keep her eyes on me as I am chained up and helpless to do anything.
"I will let her go after you make a decision; the same one you made for Draven, Lucy, Anastasia, me and so many other souls you damned to Hell." Marishka snarls to me.
Then she buries her face into Mina's neck, taking in her smell. Marishka lets out a moan of satisfaction in vanilla bean scent that is Mina. Mina cries out in what is happening with tears filling her beautiful eyes. Her eyes are becoming a river of tears down her face that I want to wipe away, taking away all of her fear in what is happening.
"Do what you want with me but let Mina go!" I scream to Marishka begging her.
Marishka moves her hands to Mina's neck, ready to drink from her but instead she brings her closer to me. Mina sobs a few times, trying to fight against her grip but Marishka grabs her hair, pulling her head back. Marishka admires Mina's neck as I growl at Marishka, trying to break out of these chains to stop what she is doing. But Marishka keeps on going like it is a game.
Marishka glares at me like she is showing her love to me in what she is doing to Mina. Marishka trails her fingers up and down Mina, prolonging whatever she plans to do with her. I cry out in the silver sheering through my skin while I am doing what I can to free myself.
"Leave her alone, Marishka. She has nothing to do with what happened between us. Please let her go." I beg Marishka in the hopes that she will but she has a look I am all too familiar with. Marishka tightens her arms around Mina like Marishka is a straight jacket for Mina unable to move from. Mina screams at the top of her lungs saying, "Let me go!"
Marishka grins with her vampire fangs against her bottom lip when suddenly we are all bathed in the firelight of Marishka ripping into Mina's neck with her teeth. Mina cries out in agony of Marishka drinking from her. Marishka drinks from her but stops to see Mina paler; not enough to die from blood loss. Marishka takes her right hand then rest her fingernails against her neck. I knew what was coming next.
"No!! Stop!!" I scream in horror.
Marishka takes her vampire claws, slashing open her throat. Mina is gagging on her blood gashing out of her throat, trailing down her body onto the floor. Mina's blood starts to fill up the entire chamber. Marishka keeps her arms around Mina's until Mina is no longer moving. Her eyes show enough that she is still alive when Marishka lets go of Mina. She falls on top of me while her blood continues to fill the room. All of the blood is now up to the level of the bed, covering everything. Mina is struggling to take her next breathe, staring at me like I am the last thing she will see before she dies.
Marishka climbs on the bed and sits next to me. I pay her no attention as Mina is slowly dying by the sound of her heart beating like the slow flap of wings flying. Marishka tells me to look at her but I refuse to do that because I do not want to look away from Mina. She is gagging with the blood building up over the bed of the room. Marishka realizes I will not look at her so she grips my chin, forcing me to look at her.
She leans into my ear whispering, "I drained her to the point of death. You can save her, Dracula. Say the words. She will no longer be in the light but remain young and beautiful as we are now with the dark gift you have given. Her blood will be added to the amount of innocent blood you have already taken as it fills up the room. Will you turn her as you did Draven, Lucy, Anastasia, Serena and me? Or will you let her die and her blood will still be on your hands since you chose to let her die?"
I sob in dread of the choice I am forced to make for Mina when this is something that should be up to Mina. And I swore to never turn anyone else into the monsters we are. But I cannot let Mina die like this. I'm about to shake my head yes to turn Mina into a vampire since Marishka truly leaves me no choice and Mina only has a few more minutes left before it is too late. Mina is dying right on my chest with more blood gashing out of her neck. I cannot let her die like this; I can't.
However I freeze when I notice Mina is shaking her head no to me while the room of blood starts to cover our bodies. I sob uncontrollably that Mina is letting me know that she does not want to be turned into a vampire while she lies here taking her last few breathes. Mina manages to place her left hand on my chest to let me know that it is ok. She would rather have me be the good man she believes and knows me to be. I am respecting her choice not to turn her and letting her go on her own terms.
"I will not make her into what we are. We are damned, drowning in innocent blood we have taken but she will not be one of us. I know I am in your head, your blood and I have damned our souls to Hell. I will not do the same to her soul, Marishka!" I cry knowing I made my choice to let Mina die as the beautiful woman with an endlessly love of a soul to carry her to the heavens where we will never go.
Marishka roars in anger and I unleash everything right back in Marishka's face when Marishka is no longer roaring in my face. It is the haunting wolf roaring in my face just before the blood of the lives I've taken over the centuries drowns us. The haunted wolf and I still roar at one another in the lake of blood we are under, sinking into the depths of Hell, feeling the eternal flames burn us away into the death we deserve.
I see nothing but red until I jerk up in the bed covered in sweat. I shake in terror of the nightmare and I search for Mina. I have to find her now! I am about to get up from the bed when I see Mina is safe and sound asleep next to me in bed. I see Mina managed to fall asleep, taking gentle sleeping breathes to know that she truly is alright.
I gasp in relief that Mina is safe and alive. I shudder in what I dreamed of and most especially Marishka invading my sleep after centuries of not seeing her. It felt so real like a past memory became a nightmare. I feel myself entirely drenched in sweat when I lean close to Mina sleeping peacefully like she is sleeping beauty herself.
I gently kiss her on the top of her golden sunlight hair; doing everything I can not to wake her. I am about to lay back down but my entire body is covered in blood. I cry out, getting up from the bed trying to get the blood off of my skin but nothing is working. I run to the shower in the hopes to wash it all away.
I get into the shower to wash away this awful blood and bad dream. I feel the blood slowly get off my body but instead it fills up the entire shower floor like it did in the nightmare. I cry out that I am unable to escape from my terrors and sins I have committed with my own hands. I bury my face in my hands forever stained in the dark red blood of the people I have killed.
"Ahhhhh!" I cry out when I feel someone wrap their arms around me.
I turn to see it is Mina in the shower with me and every ounce of blood staining my body vanished. I struggle to breathe as Mina gently cups my face with her hands. She is trying to calm me down but I cannot contain my overwhelming horror until I see that the blood is gone; everything is clean all around us with the water pouring above us, washing everything away. And Mina is the reason for it.
"I'm here, Vlad. It's alright. I got you." She tells me over and over again, trying to comfort and calm me down any way she can.
I finally feel like I can breathe again because of Mina being here for me. I rest my forehead against hers finally able to properly take a breath. Mina gently runs her fingers through my wet hair when she asks me, "What happened, Vlad?"
"A terrible nightmare that felt so real." I lightly sob to her then bury my face into her shoulder while her golden blonde hair becomes soaking in the water.
Mina takes me into her arms while the warm running water comes over us like a pure waterfall from Heaven itself. Mina does not ask me what the dream is about which means she wants me to tell her when I am ready but I need to let her know about some of it or I will drown into complete madness.
"It was about taking a choice away from you and drowning your soul into damnation. That is the last thing I ever want to do is make a life altering choice for you and your soul. I never want to damn you to Hell like I am, Mina."
I feel my body still shaking in the nightmare image of Mina dying on my chest. I see her at a funeral home, laid out on a death bed filled with red roses that have served so many innocent souls on their coffins.
Mina keeps her eyes on me when she takes my left hand, placing it over her heart. Then she takes my right hand to place it over my heart so I can feel the true reality of right now between us. Somehow the dread, sorrow and madness fades away bit by bit with each beat of our hearts under my hands. It helps me to recollect my breathing away the drowning of the blood on and around me. The water splashes onto us like it is the light of Heaven cleansing every inch of me away from sin.
"You won't, Vlad. You are not damned to Hell; you never could be. And if you believe you are damned, you can have redemption and forgiveness. You can restore yourself with God." Mina whispers to me while our eyes are locked with the water pouring over us.
Mina kisses me a few times on the forehead then lets me sink into her arms. The safeness I feel in her arms is unlike anything I have ever felt from another living or immortal person. I know it is the pureness of her love and soul. I am consumed into Mina as I softly cry in her arms, releasing myself of all the guilt, shame and horror I have committed in my life. And Mina never lets go of me the entire time being my salvation throughout the long night.
ns 18.68.41.177da2
