I'll Justify My Reasons With Your Blood

Of course it would rain on my first day in California. Bitterly, I lit a cigarette between my lips and watched the movers carry what was left of my furniture into my new shore-side apartment. Based on the darkness of the clouds, I’d suggest that they hurry up. I’m not paying for wet furniture.

“Ms. Davis, you look exhausted. Why don’t you go downtown and see the sights?” the bellboy, Anthony I think, said.

“Think I can get a little shopping in before the storm rolls in?” I inquired, jumping down off the retaining wall.

He observed the sky before saying, “I’d say you have about an hour.”

“Perfect,” I grinned, pulling my blonde hair back into a ponytail, enjoying the sound of my leather boots clicking on the pavement.

A large cathedral appeared on my right. Normally, I’d just keep walking…then again, normally you don’t see a body falling from the roof of a church. Raindrops began violently pouring from the sky. I couldn’t help but continue walking closer. Blood was spilling down the stone stairs like one of those decorative water fountains in gardens. Horrible shrieks of agony were playing inside the walls of the church like an awful musical.

A tall, skinny man with black hair and tattoos was standing in the doorway. The moment we locked eyes, I felt a chill crawl down my spine. Blood was dripping out of his mouth. He smiled, revealing blood-coated teeth and a set of fangs. You’ve gotta be kidding me. I had originally left my hometown of Chicago to escape the vampires. Now I have to deal with them again?

In a flash of light he was standing before me, still wearing that same smile – the kind of smile that says, “you look good enough to eat.” He lunged forward, wrapping an arm around my torso, resting just under my breasts. Without further delay, he leaned down and pierced my skin. I would’ve cried out in pain, in fear…but I just couldn’t. After the Vampire Rebellion back home, I’d been bitten so many times…I honestly lost track.

My knees buckled a little as I depended on his grasp for support. The blood mixed with rain, running down along my collarbone. This vampire was different than the ones back home, though. I was almost positive he was doing this to kill, not feed. His fangs were deep, much more so than was typically required.

Just before I began to feel incredibly light headed, his fangs were ripped out of my skin and his body was thrown over into the bushes. “Are…are you ok?” the man asked, trying to keep his eyes off the sight of blood. Clearly, he was one of them.

I nodded, wrapping my fingers around the wound like a poor makeshift bandage. “I’ll be fine.”

“You need to come with us. It’s not safe here,” he said urgently, helping me up to my feet and leading me over to the bushes opposite the cathedral.

“I’m Shannon,” he said extending his hand.

“Mai,” I said shaking it, “thanks for the save.”

*Lillian’s POV*

As soon as Jared landed safely on the ground, I ran over to his side and helped Nikki get him up to his feet. “We need to get back over in the bushes,” I said, nodding across the sidewalk.

A human approached the steps of the cathedral nearby. My brother came out of nowhere and attacked her. I could tell that he was intending to kill. As horrible as it may sound, I’d much rather it be her than me.

Nikki and I each took one of Jared’s arms and led him over to the bushes. We leaned him up against the tree trunk, making sure he was comfortable. His wounds looked pretty bad, and he was having hard time healing. Shadows must’ve gotten him with the Roulette.

Shannon had left the hiding to spot to go and save that girl. Why, I really couldn’t tell you. Now that Shadows stole the crown, there was no point in caring anymore. The human race was fucked. Shannon had knocked Jimmy back into the brick wall of the cathedral, and I could sense that he was far from pleased, understandably.

“Jared,” I mumbled, suddenly feeling the urge to spill my guts. “I know my brother is going to come after me. And in case he gets to me before we make it to safety, I just wanted to apologize for tricking you. At first it was all just a part of the plan…but once I met you in person everything changed. Normally I don’t feel things like compassion or guilt, but it was different with you. I think…I think I really do love you, and I just wanted you to know.”

Jared stared at me intently with unreadable eyes. I was prepared for the worst, I always was. I would understand if he said he wanted me dead, or threw me over to the wolves. What I wasn’t prepared for was what he ended up doing. Even in his weakened state, he leaned forward, gently holding onto my hand. He didn’t need any words to convey his response, yet he still used his lips.

Our lips met softly at first, like a couple of lovers’ first kiss on a steamy summer evening. Then he reached forward and cradled the back of my head in his palm before intensifying the kiss. Our tongues entangled between mouths, and it was beyond comforting. I felt like a heavy boulder was lifted off my shoulder thus allowing me to finally stand up. The kiss carried on for a couple more seconds before we broke apart, mostly out of respect for Nikki’s presence.

“I forgive you, Lillian. I understand your position, and it’s ok. It wasn’t your fault,” he said with a small smile. For the first time in a hundred years, I felt butterflies in my stomach.

Nikki backed away from us suddenly as a shadow descended upon us. “Hello, sister,” Jimmy snarled, reaching down and digging his fingernails into my shoulder deeply, pulling me up to my feet by my skin. I struggled in his grip, ignoring the excruciating pain. Sure, I had a couple of powers, but my strength was nothing compared to his.

“We’ll be leaving now,” he said glaring at the Leto’s.

Once we made it past the bush, he threw me forward, flying all the way back into the cathedral. I groaned as my back collided with a ceramic column. “How dare you think of betraying your clan?” he spat, kicking me roughly in the chest.

“It was the right thing to do! I don’t give a fuck what you say, Shadows is going to destroy this world!” I replied, spitting blood at his feet.

“Your loyalty lies with your clan, not with your mother fucking morals,” he growled, “I ought to feed you to the werewolves for what you’ve done.”

I followed his glance over to one of Varkatzas’ wolves ripping the head off a vampire, sending a blast of blood spraying into the air, completely covering the corpses behind him in blood. I shuddered at the sight, once again something completely out of character. Since when couldn’t I handle such a brutal sight? I was raised in that setting.

Maybe I should play the sympathy card. “I’m sorry, Jimmy. It was all Jared’s fault! He played tricks with my mind and clouded my judgment,” I professed, staring at him with serious eyes.

Falsely betraying the love of my life seemed to be well worth it in order to live. After all, Jared and I couldn’t be together if I was…dead. He smirked as he knelt down next to me. “How much do you hate Jared Leto?”

I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat and narrowed my eyes. “I despise him with all my nonexistent heart.”

“Where do your loyalties lie?”

“With the Shadows Clan, and nothing else,” I replied, almost like a robot.

He grinned, buying into my act. “Good to have you back, sis,” he replied, before stabbing my shoulder with a wooden stake. My jaw dropped wide open as my body collapsed onto the stone cold floor. My body slowly grew numb as unconsciousness was creeping across my mind. I fell asleep to the previously blissful sound of screaming.

*Shadows’ POV*

Through the veil of rain, I glared down at Jared and Nikki. I hope they enjoy their reunion, because it was going to be very short-lived. After all, Nikki belonged to me and that wasn’t about to change just because I got what I wanted. Screams were still chorusing from downstairs, so I decided to return and watch the action.

Alex was leaning up against the altar watching the carnage with a satisfied smile. “Enjoying the view?” I asked as I stood next to him.

He nodded, “It’s fantastic. So, Shadows, what are your plans…now that you’re king?”

“I have horrible, horrible things planned my friend. My clan leaders are going to convene after the slaughter is complete here. You’re free to join us. Meet at my place at midnight.”

“I’d love to. We’ve been letting these humans live in peace for far too long. I’m more than ecstatic to introduce a little chaos.”

Synyster joined us atop the exalted altar. “Looking for something?” I asked with an amused smirk.

“Did you let that bitch get away?”

“She’s out front with Jared. Here’s how I think of it: we’ll let her get away for now, thinking she’s safe. Once we get the kingdom reorganized, you can go retrieve your little princess and then everything will be perfect.”

“She’s not my princess,” he muttered.

“I wouldn’t sound so down about it,” Alex laughed, “I’d fuck her.”

“Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time for that.”

*Normal POV*

I watched helplessly as Rev dragged Lillian off toward the church. Jared and I both wanted to save her, but we were far too weak. “Jared, is she going to be ok?”

“She’ll be fine. I won’t let them kill her,” he said distantly. I glanced over at him and saw that he was having a hard time holding on to consciousness.

Shannon joined us moments later with that human girl from earlier. “This is Mai,” he introduced. “Mai, these are my siblings, Jared and Nikki.”

She nodded, “Uh, nice to meet you.”

“Why didn’t you scream or react when he attacked you?” I asked, the question burning in my mind ever since I witnessed the event.

She glanced down at the grass, almost as if she was unsure whether or not she wanted to answer. “I just moved here from Chicago. I had to leave because a group of vampires came out of hiding and rebelled. One of them was my boyfriend. I’d been fed off of so many times, it just doesn’t bother me anymore,” she sighed.

Her story seemed realistic enough, but something told me that there was more to Mai’s story than what she was revealing. “Fair enough, but we still need a place to hide. Our house isn’t safe anymore,” Shannon pointed out.

“You…you guys can come back to my apartment with me. I just moved in today.”

We didn’t have much of a choice, due to Jared’s condition, but could we really trust her?