So Sacrifice Yourself, and Let Me Have What's Left

I wasn’t so sure of what to make of the place that Zacky had taken me to. It was small, but it was filled up to the roof with books, maps, paintings, everything a mansion would usually contain. It looked sort of like a headquarters for something, and I had a feeling that this place was close to it. There were people walking around, and they would all greet Zacky as they passed him, and stare at me in confusion as they passed me. I would give Zacky worried looks, and he would smile, telling me I had nothing to worry about, and that I had to trust him. I started to believe that I was going to have to trust everything Zacky said, despite the fact if it was the truth or not.

“Wait here.” Zacky whispered as we stopped in a huge room filled with books. I nodded, and Zacky smiled. “Don’t be nervous. Everyone here is going to protect you, including me.” he said. I felt my heart jump at the feel of his plush lips press against my forehead before he left me to walk down a hallway.

I stared at the room. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be in a place like this. I wasn’t so sure of what to make of this place from the outside, considering everything looked larger as Zacky led me further into it. I scanned the room, looking at various book spines, reading their titles, when one in particular caught my eye. Curious, I began to walk over to a certain bookshelf and pull out a certain book with the title ‘The Legend of the Hybrids’. The name itself made me drawn to it for some reason, and I really couldn’t help myself. I flipped through a few pages, skimming various words, until I came to one page that was titled ‘The Forbidden One’.

Sons of Obyri’s,
Daughters of Lycans,
Must these two meet, should they begin their sentence?
Forbidden children, brought up in normal homes,
To never know what their souls hold.
Born me a child that has danger in her blood,
Take from thy birth mother, pry from thy father,
Kill her if you must, but it is a foolish price to pay,
A true Vanderkay, as she is seen,
For she has taken the name of another, but her true self intervenes,
Foolish is the man, who tries to slay this creature,
She is the Butcher, the Danger, the Killer,
Cross her once, you will burn,
Cross her twice, you will die,
Fear I must, my dear Forbidden One,
For you are the one I must hail in order to survive,
The Lycan gene runs in her veins, giving her all strength,
Daughter of Dracula she must live,
Hail Candace, Queen of Hell.

The book made a large thumping noise as it hit the ground from the height that I was holding it. My hands stayed in the position as if I was still holding the book, but that couldn’t be true. I was facing straight forward, my mouth agape, and my eyes as wide as they could ever be. The words ran through my head over and over again. This couldn’t be talking about me. I could never be the Butcher, the Danger, or the Killer. I didn’t have that in me. The last part of that page ran through my head the most. ‘Daughter of Dracula…Candace, Queen of Hell’ was what I heard the most often. There was no way that this story could be true. I didn’t even know what they were talking about, could they really expect me to believe that I knew what ‘The Forbidden One’ meant? Candace was a common name, perhaps it wasn’t me. Perhaps it’s another girl who has to go through that. I looked down at the fallen book, and my eyes locked with the picture of what The Forbidden One was supposed to look like. She had the same hair and eye color as me, I’ll give her that, but the blood running down her lips and chin made me think twice as she held a headless body in her hand with blood spewing from that poor soul’s former neck. I gulped at the sight of the very same symbol on her right wrist that was on mine.

“Shit, you didn’t read it, did you?” I jumped at Zacky’s voice that knocked me out of my thoughts. I watched as he quickly picked up the fallen book and placed it back into its proper bookshelf. He looked back at me, looking at my hands that were still frozen in the state of holding an invisible book, and sighed. “I shouldn’t have left you in here.” He looked up at me, and smiled slightly at my frozen facial expression that was pure shock. “Are you alright?” he asked, waving his hand in my face, causing me to look at him.

I wasn’t sure if I could say anything, but that didn’t stop me from trying. I made some type of noise and pointed at the book that was recently on the floor. “Wh…” was all I could come up with at the time.

Zacky took my hands, making both of my arms turn to jelly, and his smile widened. “Maria will explain everything.” He said sweetly, and began to lead me down the very same hallway that I had last seen him head toward.

“Who’s Maria?” I finally managed to ask. The story ran through my head over and over again. I would hear random whispers from the lines that were on that page, and I kept seeing the picture of The Forbidden One in the back of my head as I heard the words ‘Daughter of Dracula’.

“She’s the one who made up this whole alliance. She’s kinda like our guide.” Zacky shrugged, keeping a tight grip on both of my hands as we continued to walk down the long hallway. “She’ll be much better at explaining this whole thing than I would be.”

I kept my mouth shut. I knew that Zacky was telling the truth, but I couldn’t help but wonder what this all meant. What was going on with me? Was I turning into some type of monster? Why didn’t any of this bother Zacky? Could it be, in some sick and twisted way that Zacky and I were connected through this whole predicament?

“In here.” Zacky whispered, pulling me closer to him as he opened a door into an unfamiliar room. He gently snaked his arm around my waist as we both walked into the room.

I tried not to look at the woman and two others—even though I couldn’t see their faces—staring at me. I didn’t like it when people looked at me, so of course, being in a cramped room, I was about to have a heart attack. There were more books and maps and paintings just like the rest of this place, only they seemed to have more of a meaning in this room than anywhere else. Zacky let go of my waist, and I gave him a worried look as he made his way to the edge of the room, leaning against the wall. He wasn’t supposed to intervene with whatever this woman, who I’m guessing is Maria, has to tell me. I saw her sitting in a chair behind a desk full of papers and another empty chair in front of it. The dark haired, dark skinned, dark eyed woman gestured me to sit in the empty chair, and so I did. I looked at Zacky, and he mouthed the words ‘trust me’. I was starting to think that I was going to hear that a lot from him.

“Candace, please look at me.” Maria said kindly, and so I did. Our eyes met, and I saw that she had sympathy in them. I could tell that she wanted to help me and answer any question I may have. “Here, take my hands.” she said, extending her dark hands out to me. I placed my pale hands in hers, and I was a bit shocked at how cold she was. Maria turned my right wrist to where the symbol was shining brightly in the only light provided by the one lamp shining this entire room, and Maria nodded with a satisfied look on her face. “I can only imagine how confused you are.” I nodded, and Maria smiled. “Well, Candace, if there is any question that you may have, just ask.”

I took that as my permission, and I took a slightly tighter grip on Maria’s cold hands. “Uhm, where am I?” I asked wanting to get to the basic questions first and get them out of the way.

“You are in the only place that Hybrids are safe.” Maria said softly, her voice as smooth as velvet. Everything about her was intriguing. She had striking facial features, what with her dark skin and piercing blue eyes, and her black hair shined like a star, even though there was only one light on in this entire room. I may have not been able to see it, but something told me her body was so perfect even a Victoria’s Secret model would be put to shame. “Once the war started, Hybrids became in danger from the Kingdom and the Lycans. There are a few more places like this, but this is the most popular, meaning that the Kingdom and the Lycans are starting to get wind of it.”

I felt slightly dumb asking it, but I had to. “What war?”

Maria seemed shocked that I didn’t know about the war. Even the other two that were in the room were slightly surprised that I had asked that. Zacky didn’t seem to mind, though, I’m guessing he already knew. “The war that started over three hundred years ago, Candace,” Maria said. I could tell she was trying her best not to say it in a ‘duh’ tone. “Do you not know of the Lycans and the Kingdom?” I nodded. I knew that much, considering I lived with a werewolf and his family, it was bound to pop up some time. Maria seemed relieved that she wasn’t going to have to explain about the Kingdom and the Lycans and whatnot. Maria’s grip on my hands tightened a bit, and I had a feeling that she was going to tell me something bad. “The day you were born, a huge war broke out between the Kingdom and the Lycans. There is a prophecy about a child who is born a Hybrid, which isn’t uncommon, but this child is much, much different from the rest of us.” Maria started. I stared at her with wide eyes, thinking of The Forbidden One. “Yes, Candace, this child was born as daughter of Dracula, the King of vampyres, and Abigail, the single most powerful Lycan woman to be alive at the time of the sixteen hundreds. Normally, the Council and the Kingdom would kill the ones who committed such a crime, but there was nothing they could do when it came to Dracula and Abigail, for Dracula was the King and Abigail was the daughter of the Elder, leader of the Council. That is when the war began. Once the wind changed course, everyone felt the need to hunt this child down and burn her, which is the only way to kill a Hybrid. But no one could find her. This entire time innocent werewolves, vampyres and yes, even humans have been slaughtered to death in finding The Forbidden One. The ideas have changed, nonetheless, about what the Lycans or the vampyres should do once they find The Forbidden One. The vampyres want to use her to mate with other vampyres, so she can create more of her kind. The Lycans want her as a weapon, considering she is the most powerful Hybrid to ever exist.” Maria finished, leaving me with my mind filling with questions and my mouth gaped open until it hit the floor.

How did I not know of this war? It sounded like everyone was in on it, except for me. Could it be that I really am The Forbidden One? But, I couldn’t be. I was just Candace. But that was The Forbidden One’s name, as it said in the story. Maybe it was just a coincidence that we shared the same name and birthday, and hair color…and eye color. No, this couldn’t be true. I could never have the guts to kill someone, to take an innocent life, just for my satisfaction.

“Candace.” Maria said, gaining my attention back. She squeezed her hands into mine, and I knew it was coming. “You are the most powerful, most dangerous, most bloodthirsty living thing in this entire world and known universe. Everything about you brings people in so you can feed on their blood. You could make the strongest man fall to their knees by just the sight of you. How quiet you are, that is all apart of your act. You make them want to know you, so you bring them in, and go for the kill. You are the most valuable Hybrid to ever live. You can kill anything that crosses your path. You are seen as the ultimate weapon, and everyone wants you in every way possible. Candace, you are The Forbidden One, daughter of Dracula, feared by every man and woman who knows of your existence.”

I closed my eyes at what Maria had told me. I shook my head side to side, my brunette hair shaking as I did so. “N-no…” was all I could manage to spit out in all of this mass hysteria that was going on in my head. I wasn’t going to believe what Maria had told me. I couldn’t be The Forbidden One. I wasn’t going to let myself believe it. I was just Candace Rae…well, whatever my real last name may be, that’s what I am. I’m just a normal teenage girl that only has to worry about pimples and boys, not about killing people and drinking their blood, and about making the whole world tremble under my power. I was too young for all of this, too inexperienced, too much of a coward to have all of this weight dropped upon my shoulders.

“Candace, I understand that this is a lot for you to think about, but it is nothing but truth.”
Maria said softly. “You are someone that could make every single one of us drop to our knees and hail you at this very moment. You are what started this three hundred year war. Everyday the Lycans and the Kingdom hunt for you, killing everyone and everything in their path. That is why you had to leave McKinley.”

That shook me up a bit. I looked up at Maria, and saw nothing but truth in her eyes. I gave her a slightly confused look. “What?” I asked, a bit surprised at how breathless I sounded from all the information that had been poured on me.

“The Lycans and Kingdom had gotten wind of your existence in McKinley, Illinois. Cynthia and Devin, not wanting their children to have to face war, knew that they had to move. Devin lied about getting a promotion. He only said that so Cynthia and his daughters would not catch on. He got a new job in California, where you live now, and thought that the Lycans and Kingdom would not come, for he still wasn’t aware that he was raising The Forbidden One, which is you, Candace. The Lycans and Kingdom has ripped the small town of McKinley to shreds looking for you. We’re not so sure of when they’re going to realize that you are in Huntington Beach, but when they do, we will be sure that you are taken out of there as soon as possible.”

Maria may have tried to sugar coat that sentence, but I knew what she meant by it. I was going to have to run for the rest of my life from an unknown power that I didn’t even know of what was capable of doing if they found me. But, if I was as powerful as Maria had told me, wouldn’t I be able to take on both armies? I was a Hybrid and The Forbidden One, isn’t that enough? I felt the weariness of sleep weigh down on my eyes, and I remembered I had school tomorrow. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but I knew I had to.

“You cannot go back to your old home.” Maria told me, causing me to give her a confused look. “Cynthia knows of your secret, and she will take you to the Council if you go back there. You may stay with us, where you will be protected from any type of Lycan or vampyre that may cross your path or, you may stay with Zachary.” She said, gesturing towards Zacky, who was still leaning against the wall. “He will protect you, that much I can tell from this nights earlier events.” I knew she was talking about Devin, and my heart sank at how he was dead. He didn’t really do anything wrong, he was doing what he was taught to do, kill me. “Which sounds best for you, Candace?” Maria asked, causing me to look at her, then back at Zacky.

I wanted to stay with Zacky, to be honest, because I wanted to say that the god had to protect me. I now understood why Zacky was here, because he was a Hybrid as well. I wasn’t seeing things when I thought I saw a symbol on his right wrist. It was really there. Zacky and I were the same, only I was more dangerous and diabolical. That’s why his parents fought over how much they hated Zacky, because they didn’t know how to handle him, and he was forbidden, meaning that his parents were both on a death sentence just waiting to happen if the Council and Kingdom got wind of it. I wasn’t sure how Gena would take it, though. If I stayed here, I would be protected completely. The ones behind Maria were pretty big, meaning they would do everything in their power to protect the most dangerous creature known to man, which sounded pretty good to me, considering this creature was me. But if I stayed here, I would have to leave everything behind, including my dreams to go to a good college and change the world somehow. I looked at Maria after I had made up my mind. “I want to stay with Zacky.”

Maria nodded, a slight smirk forming across her lips. I guess she already knew about mine and Zacky’s relationship, considering she pretty much knew everything else. “Alright, but you’ll have to live with Brian.” She said, causing my eyes to widen. “Cynthia plans on staying at your previous home, meaning you can’t stay with Zacky completely. Brian lives on his own, as you know, and he will gladly take you in. You both will have to come up with something on your own about how you’ll ask Brian about you staying with him. You’ll have to buy new clothes as well, Candace, because, at this very moment, Cynthia is burning all of your clothes and belongings. We will give you the money to buy a whole other wardrobe to your liking. Just say the word, and we’ll buy it.” Maria smiled, and I could tell she was telling the truth.

I nodded, telling her I understood, but then I couldn’t hold it in any longer, all of this information and all of this talk about me being the most dangerous Hybrid ever was making my eyes weigh down more from the exhaustion of sleep. I yawned, not bothering to cover my mouth, and Maria laughed under her breath.

“Perhaps you should get going.” Maria said, looking at Zacky, who understood what she was saying. I felt Zacky’s arm around my waist as he helped me up from my chair. Maria stood as well, and she and the other two that were behind her bowed to me once I was on my feet. “I wish nothing but good fortune for you, Forbidden One.” Maria smiled politely. “We will do everything in our power to make sure you are safe. You are now the Leader for the Hybrids. We will follow you wherever you may go.”
Talk about a load on my shoulders.