I'll Justify My Reasons With Your Blood

My body felt like it was exploding from the inside out. A layer of cool sweat quickly developed on my flesh. I couldn’t fight the convulsions or waves of nausea plaguing my body. They occurred simultaneously at an unbearable rate.

My throat constricted as a thick chunk of vomit crept upward. I refused to swallow it, so it spilled out of my mouth and onto one of the victim’s bodies. My fingers gripped the pavement, as I hoped that that weak amount of contact would some how spare me.

This just did not make any sense. If I drank a vampire’s blood, then I could understand these kinds of repercussions. But why would a vampire get sick from consuming what is supposedly meant for them to live on?

“We need to do something,” Lillian said.

“We don’t even know what’s wrong with her,” Jared replied.

By now I had seen the effects of human blood on my brother. And I can assuredly say that he was much more of a dick than Shadows, himself. I wanted to defend myself, or at the very least tell him off, but I could barely breathe, let alone speak.

Lillian’s face turned grim. I wasn’t sure if it was in distaste due to Jared’s tone, or if a horrible thought just crossed her mind. As it turned out, it happened to be the latter.

“This might sound crazy, but what if this is happening because she spent most of her life as a human and was forced into being a vampire? What if human blood is toxic to someone like her?”

The idea seemed plausible to me. I cringed as another chunk of vomit slipped past my lips. It dribbled down my chin and collected in loose strands of hair. I drew in a breath and attempted to crawl toward them.

“I…I…I don’t care what’s wrong with m-me. Just m-make it stop. Please.”

*Oli’s POV*

While I didn’t expect Shadows to show any sign of concern after hearing my words, I did immensely enjoy watching his pathetic troops fret. It wasn’t a bluff, so they did have every reason to feel that way.

Shadows crossed his arms over his chest and stared up at me with stone cold, unreadable eyes. “Why don’t you come down here and cast your spells?” he challenged.

I wasn’t residing up here out of fear; rather it was more to hold a position of power, authority.

“Matthew, do you really think that’s a wise request?”

He smirked. “You know that my speed is greater than your pathetic witchcraft.”

I’ve known Shadows for many, many years now. I knew that he thrived on control. A brilliant plan unfolded in my mind within seconds. Sure, I’ll let him think he’s in control. His defeat will be that much more satisfying when he doesn’t suspect a thing.

I leaped down multiple stories, casting a spell to land perfectly unharmed on the ground. “Shall we test your hypothesis?” I asked, though not intending to wait for an answer.

I glanced at him wearing a devious grin before welcoming his approaching troops. Though they were speeding at me with unreadable speed, my trained eyes could see them. My arms were extended in opposite directions, palms wide open. The moment I saw their fangs, I sent them flying backwards, intentionally, into trees with nice, sharp branches sticking out.

Screams of pain and discomfort began filling the night air. And yet, the fools kept coming at me. I kept dishing out defeat, fully knowing that Shadows had sped behind me.

His fangs sank into the backside of my neck, just above the shoulder plates. A small grunt of pain rumbled in my chest as I felt the sharpened teeth penetrate my flesh.

“Game over,” he grumbled, fangs still attached.

After taking a few bitter sips, he retracted and allowed his guards to take me to their dungeon, I would presume. Enjoy it while you can, Matthew.

Enjoy it while you can.

*Mai’s POV*

With all the commotion going on outside with those damned vampires, it was hard to believe how deathly silent it was inside the castle. Since I wasn’t a clan member, or a vampire for that matter, I guess that man witch’s spell didn’t work on me.

The castle was fairly impressive, but I couldn’t quite appreciate its cold interior without feeling a twinge of sadness. I hadn’t seen Alex or Shannon since we migrated over here. And something told me that wasn’t too good.

I took a sharp turn down what appeared to be an endless corridor. The candlelit torches flickered as I walked past them, sending wavy strains of light upon the floor and walls. In one of the flickers, I noticed that there were parts of the floor that were an odd color. Most of this castle took on a dark, grey/black pallet. So, a bright crimson flare was highly unexpected and unlikely.

I knelt down to get a closer look. It was definitely blood. I squinted further into the dim light and discovered that it was actually a trail. Maybe it would lead me to my missing persons.

The blood started off in a puddle but soon began thinning out into occasional droplets. Now I heard footsteps echoing nearby. I turned into the next hallway and saw a figure walking ahead of me. He stopped shortly after I had turned, his supernatural hearing giving away my feeble attempts at sneaking around.

After a moment or two, he turned around and walked toward me. It was Alex. His body was almost entirely blood-soaked.

“Holy shit, Alex. What happened?”

“Well…I was monitoring the uh basement. I banged myself up pretty badly when I was exploring the old torture chambers. Slipped into an opened iron maiden.”

My eyes narrowed as I stared at him skeptically. His voice wasn’t as strong as it usually was. And even though I’ve known him for a very brief time, I could decipher his lies. I didn’t understand why he felt the need to lie to me. What was he hiding?

I sighed quietly and pulled him into a hug, ignoring the feeling of his clothes sticking to me. “You don’t have to lie to me, Alex. We’re closer than that. I’m here for you.”

I’m not sure if he sought more meaning behind my words than what I intended, but suddenly he seemed rather happy and willing to admit to his faults.

“I…I wasn’t sure how you’d take the truth. But if you really want to know, I can’t deny you. I really was in the basement, though this blood isn’t mine. It’s Shannon’s. Him and I got into a bit of a squabble.”

If Alex was covered in this much of Shannon’s blood, I could only imagine the horrible condition that Shannon must be in. Before I could consider why this happened or realize Alex’s feelings, my ultimate concern for Shannon spilled out. “What did you do to him?”

Alex wasn’t expecting that to be my reaction. He was so stunned by confusion with a potential addition of disappointment that he was unable to quickly respond.

In all honesty, I was probably just as confused as he was. Surely I didn’t care enough about him and Shannon to feel this way. They’re both immoral, for their own respective reasons. I couldn’t have feelings for them…I couldn’t.

I won’t.

“So that’s how it is, huh?” he spat. “You, the esteemed vampire hunter, wants to fuck a vampire. Oh the irony!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, so shut the hell up.”

“You…you’re unbelievable. How could you? How could you lead me along like that?”

Frustration was reaching its boiling point. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, deeply exhaling. “Where are you keeping him?”

“Where he belongs. In the dungeon.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, turning my back to him and making my way back toward the staircase down the other hallway.

I could hear Alex growling. He wasn’t going to transform, but I was almost positive he intended to attack. I subtly reached into my hidden pocket on the inside of my jeans. His angered footsteps bounced off the walls with a matching rage.

I stood in place, keeping my back still facing him. I remained poised until the perfect moment arose. When he was within range, I spun around and slammed the silver knife into his abdomen.

Gurgling noises rumbled in his throat as he fell down to his knees, staring in disbelief at the apparently harmful object. “Why?” he breathed.

“I did some research on werewolves. It was necessary, Alex. I have to protect myself.”

I started off strong, intending to sound powerful, but as my words registered in his mind, his face contorted in an even greater amount of pain than when he was stabbed. Maybe what hurt me even more was the fact that it was a lie. I had thought that silver was a myth. It was a lucky save.

Tears lined the edges of my eyes. I quickly blinked them away before running off. I couldn’t bear to see any more devastation on his face.

Of course being that this was Shadows’ castle, there were countless cells in the dungeon. It was practically a small prison, with a special additional chamber to torture. I stood on tiptoes, glancing through the metal bars in each cell. It didn’t take as long as I expected to find Shannon. The moment I saw his throat, I couldn’t stop myself.

I scrambled to unlock the door and ran inside, collapsing at his side. “Oh God,” I cried. “You still haven’t healed.”

Based on what Alex said, I figured that it had been some time since his attack. And that only made this worse because that meant that the damage was severe. His throat was ripped to shreds. I wasn’t even sure how his body would heal that. So many pieces were disconnected.

His throat constricted and then expanded as he struggled to speak. “M-Mai,” he whispered, his voice so faint I could hardly hear.

The tears finally fell as I cradled his head in my lap. “I’m here for you, Shannon. What can I do to help?”

It was kind of a stupid question to ask, considering he couldn’t exactly respond. So instead of forcing him to speak, my mind began racing with options. I just kept drawing a blank.

Unfortunately, I was running out of time.

Shannon tried to prop himself up, but ended up falling back into me. “Someone’s coming,” he wheezed.

My eyes widened as I glanced around the cell. I’d never make it out into the hall in time. I dragged his body over to a wall so that his back would have support. Then, I hid myself in the darkest corner of the room, keeping a hand wrapped firmly around my mouth to silence my erratic breathing.

It felt damn near impossible to stay calm when all I could see was Shannon’s blood.

*Normal POV*

Lillian’s concern was evident from the start. Up until I pleaded for help, Jared had been incredibly indifferent. But now something clicked. I’m not quite sure what it was, but there was something different in his eyes. Well, better late than never, I suppose.

“Do you have any ideas?” he asked Lillian.

She paused for a moment to think, but ended up just sadly shaking her head. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

My throat burned as I felt something more crawling up. This time it was blood. When blood comes out of a human’s throat that was fairly bad. What the hell did it mean if it came from a vampire?

“Shit, she’s getting worse,” Jared groaned. He began pacing back and forth, his fingers running through his hair. “Shit, shit, shit!” He spun around suddenly, looking as though his mind just unlocked all of the world’s mysteries. “I can fix her,” he whispered.

Lillian gave him an uncertain look, following behind him as he approached me. “I think I know what my power is.” He bent down and pulled me close to him, closing his eyes.

Out of the corners of my vision, I saw a bright, light purple aura forming beneath his grip. Piece by piece, I could feel the symptoms vanishing. It felt as if a fresh breath was just blown into my lungs.

“Y-you did it!” I cheered, wrapping my arms around him without bothering to recall that he was the monster responsible for this in the first place.

Yes, I can confirm that Jared how the ability to heal, but something in the back of my mind was nagging me. Both him and the others from Shadows’ clan had issues with their new powers. Did his have a consequence too?

“I…I can’t believe all that just happened,” he said lowly. “I’m…I’m sorry, Nikki. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to.”

His voice cracked as he hung his head low. I was almost positive that he was crying, but when he pulled out of the embrace, his eyes were relatively dry.

I knew he was feeling guilty, as he should. But I wanted him to get better. And to do that, he couldn’t dwell on this. “I forgive you, Jared. I know you lost control.”

“Here,” Lillian said, extending a hand toward him. “Why don’t you come with me and we can work on control?” Her tone sounded slightly seductive, which made me want to gag.

“Get a room,” I teased.

“We’re just going to practice,” Jared insisted.

“And maybe if he succeeds, he’ll get a little reward,” Lillian added, winking at him.

“LEAVE!” I shouted, pointing at the strip mall.

“Are you going to be okay on your own?” Jared asked.

“I’ll be fine. I just need a breather.”

He hesitated for a moment before finally linking hands with Lillian and leaving the lot.

I waited until they were gone before sighing deeply. I was on the brink of death. I had to have been. Vampires don’t get diseases like that. Then again they also shouldn’t have that reaction to blood.

I noticed a pack of cigarettes sticking out of one of the dead girl’s pockets. I shrugged to myself, justifying the action by pointing out that she couldn’t exactly use them anymore. The container was half full with a hot pink lighter occupying the other half of the space.

Tired of standing, but not willing to be near the bodies, I walked over to the back of the strip mall and sat down on a milk carton. I held the cigarette to my lips and inhaled. Smoke clouded my vision and drifted up to the sky.

It was the perfect time of night – the very last hours when the sky blends its purplish black with a pinkish orange. Might as well enjoy the show.

“Do you have a light?” a groggy male voice asked.

I was slightly surprised, having not expected anyone to be around here at this time. “Sure,” I said, digging the hot pink lighter out of the carton and handing it to him. He lit his cig and blew a thick cloud of smoke into my face before returning the lighter.

I didn’t even look at the guy. Just because he was here didn’t mean I had to acknowledge him. I really, truly just wanted alone time. I found myself having flashbacks of having to wake up at this time everyday to go to work. The daycare center.

Did they realize I was missing? At this point they’ve probably found a replacement…presuming me to be dead. I’d do the same.

The man’s excessive hacking interrupted my thoughts. It was gross. I decided that if he wanted this spot so damn bad, he could have it. I threw the rest of my cig on the ground and stomped on it. Jared and Lillian were probably up front in one of the stores. Guess that would be my best bet.

My movements were suddenly halted when the man’s fingers wrapped around my arm. I bit back a laugh. This guy had no idea who he was dealing with. “I really don’t think you want to do that,” I threatened.

“Oh, I think I do,” he replied, spinning me around and bringing me face-to-face with Synyster Gates. My eyes widened as reality crashed into me, almost making me feel ill all over again. “Miss me?” he smirked, shoving me roughly down onto the ground.

“What do you think you’re doing? You realize Jared is right around the corner?”

“Are you suggesting that I should be afraid of that coward, or the traitor with him for that matter?” he sneered.

I struggled beneath him, not caring for this positioning. “What the hell do you want?”

He tilted his head to the side and wore a thoughtful expression. “Eventually, of course, I’ll have to take you back to the castle with me. But for now I have something else in mind. You see, I’m a little angry and I think now’s the perfect time to see if my blood bonds to you have gotten any stronger.”

“If I could fight you off before, I’m sure I could do it again,” I growled.

“Let’s find out.”

He held my body close to him, his fingers bruising the flesh on my back. He stared directly into my eyes, never once blinking. I tried multiple times to look away, but his stare was drawing me in. It was like nothing else in the world existed, like the only thing I could see was him.

And then just like that he dropped me back to the ground. I attempted to sit up and soothe my aching back, but found that I was frozen in place. He hadn’t said any commands…did that mean he was mentally controlling me? Oh that couldn’t be good.

“You know what? I bet my control over you would be ten times stronger if I fed from you again.” Those few simple words sent shivers down my spine.

While my body couldn’t physically move, my mind was spiraling into hell. If he drank my blood again, then he’d turn into that freak. And if I can’t move, then he would surely kill me, or come pretty damn close to doing so.

He noticed the pure terror in my eyes and smirked, enjoying every bit of it. He opened his mouth to show me a full-toothed grin, fangs included. I needed help. Despite the potential consequences, I shouted out Jared’s name, my voice desperately pleading for his assistance.

Synyster sent out another mental command, this one preventing me from speaking. It was such an odd feeling, to open my mouth and know what I wanted to say, yet hearing nothing coming out.

“I’m gonna make this hurt twice as much now because of that.”

I closed my eyes, trying to brace myself for the feeling of pain returning all too quickly. His fangs ripped into my flesh. He was purposely gnawing at the skin, instead of making a couple of clean, circular incisions. Tears pricked my eyes as the pain seemed to increase with each drop of blood he stole.

I expected him to drag this out. That’s why I was so surprised when his fangs suddenly ripped out of my flesh and an excruciating scream clawed out of his throat. My eyes shot open to find flames lining his body. Though I was confused, I wanted to laugh, to celebrate.

But I couldn’t. My own body caught on fire shortly after.