Broken Soul

It was a quiet evening at the hotel. The hours were passing slowly as Dannie sat on her bed with the TV on, staring at her phone that was lying on the table instead of the screen. She went through this almost every night. Sleep was hard to achieve since all she wanted to do was see if Evan would call her back.

A knock at her door made her gasped and turned her head toward it. She hesitated, wondering who it could be this late at night. Then she slid out of the bed, turned the TV off and the approached the door, her bare feet creeping across the white, carpeted floor. Dannie opened the door and saw someone she hadn’t seen in months. “You…” she uttered in confusion. “What are you-...How did you find me?” Those eerie blue eyes were all too familiar to her.

“I can explain everything,” the woman promised. “May I come inside?”

Dannie let her in and closed the door shut. “What did you do to Evan?” she nearly shouted at her angrily. “You turned him into a vampire! Why did you do that? We had to leave him behind because of you!”

“I know,” the woman replied with remorse. “It was the only way I could save him.”

“Bull shit, I know you vampires have healing powers! Why didn’t you just heal him?”

“His injury was too strong,” she explained. “He was dying. When someone is too close to death, there’s no way we can reverse it. Turning him was the last thing I wanted to do. But I did it for you.”

“Who are you?” Dannie asked.

“My name is Ravyn. I’m an elder vampire. Dusk, another elder, is my maker. He has been exterminating vampires that are not part of our clan. And he knows about Evan. And you.”

“So, are you saying this guy is coming after me?”

Ravyn nodded. “Yes. He knows of your knowledge about us. He wants you dead.”

“Oh, god, are you going to kill me?-”

“No!” Ravyn swore. “I came to help you. I am Evan’s maker so he is like one of my children.”

“How many people have you turned?” Dannie asked.

“Not very. Evan is one of the few.”

“So… How are you going to help me?”

“I know where Evan is.”

Dannie’s heartbeat almost doubled up on hearing those words. “What?? Where is he? Is he alive?”

“Calm down,” Ravyn suggested. “Yes, he is alive. He’s in Rome.”

“Why hasn’t he contacted me? I’ve been trying to reach him for months! Have you talked to him? Is he mad at us? Where is he exactly? I’m going to try to find him.”

“Dannie,” Ravyn began sadly, “you can’t just contact him.”

She felt her heart shatter. “Why not?”

Ravyn didn’t want to tell her but she had to. “He doesn’t remember who you are or any of his life prior to leaving you. If you saw him, he wouldn’t know you. That’s why he never contacted you.”

Dannie remembered how he left his phone behind and realized he probably had forgotten where he lived and never went home. He hadn’t heard any of her messages or contacted any of his family or friends. Because he had no idea who they were. “I don’t understand,” Dannie said sadly. “How could he just forget us?”

"Did he trade a memory with you?" Ravyn wondered.

"I don't know..." Dannie tried to remember. "All I know is I dream in his point of view every single night. And it's always so real."

"You two must have traded memories," Ravyn said. "And once you separated, it took full effect.
You're dreaming his memories. And he's probably dreaming the one he took from you."

"How come I can remember him but he can't remember me?"

Ravyn began to explain. “There is a reason why I remain close to Dusk even though I despise his decisions and cruel actions. It’s because we are connected. When you gave me a verbal permission to change Evan, you took an oath of responsibility. Because he was moments from death, only a piece of his soul remained inside of him. Your oath connected you together. Both of you are sharing a soul. Since you possess the majority, almost everything stays with you. You are the only thing keeping him alive. And the further apart you are, the more empty you both feel inside. Have you noticed how sad you’ve felt lately?”

Dannie nodded solemnly. “I thought it would just fade away but it’s just growing worse every day.”

“It’s because you both need the other,” Ravyn said. “He needs you to survive.”

“Why didn’t you tell me all this before?” Dannie asked. “It would have been nice to know this before the rest of my band voted to leave him stranded on the side of the road.”

“I had to save him and didn’t have time,” Ravyn answered. “I couldn’t let your friends see me and I had to get back to Dusk before he would find any of you. This is the first time I’ve been able to get away long enough to see you.”

“Did you tell him about us? Is that why he’s after us?”

“No,” she assured her. “Another vampire discovered Evan in Rome. I was able to locate him and keep Dusk from him until now. He wants to return and kill him.”

“How can you kill a vampire?” Dannie inquired. “The whole stake through the heart routine? Holy water and cross? Or fire or the sun or something?”

“It depends on the vampire,” Ravyn replied. “And how powerful they are.”

“OK,” Dannie sighed with dread, “to be more specific, what would kill Evan?”

“If he’s weak, the slightest stab or rays from the sun could gravely harm him,” Ravyn said. “But he’s far from weak now. Probably the only effective way to kill him would be…to kill you.”

Fear grew inside of Dannie’s eyes. Her throat was clogged with so many words, she didn’t know what to say.

“I am going to make sure Dusk does not hurt you or Evan,” Ravyn promised.

“Wouldn’t he hurt you if you help us?” Dannie inquired.

“I’ll be all right as long as he doesn’t find out my intentions,” Ravyn answered. “He can’t kill me anyway. Our souls are connected just like yours.”

Dannie looked at her with curiosity. She let Ravyn explain. “Dusk is an elder, one of the very first of vampires. His soul was whole when he was changed. He fell in love with me 500 years ago and decided to turn me after I was attacked by an unknown assailant who wanted revenge on him. Dusk gave me the majority of his soul. Unfortunately, over time, he grew more evil and selfish and drunk on his own power. Most vampires wanted us to rule the world. But he wants to wipe out all who aren’t part of our small clan. He believes our kind are superior to all others.”

“But if you turned Evan, shouldn’t he be safe?” Dannie wondered. “He is part of your kind if he’s your creation. Right?”

“Technically, yes,” Ravyn replied. “But, our clan is not allowed to turn a human without permission from all the elders. I was not supposed to turn him. Dusk would kill him even if I told him he was mine. And he would probably punish me and kill the rest of you.”

“Why Evan?” Dannie asked. “Why did you turn him? Did you know what would happen to him?”

“I thought he would be able to control the evil within him,” Ravyn replied. “I saw how unselfishly he saved your life and I could see how much he meant to you. I thought you’d want to keep him in your life even as one of us. And usually, good hearted humans who are turned remain good as vampires. I figured he would just feed and live in secret and no one would discover him. But somehow, it leaked.”

“He turned evil,” Dannie remembered, picturing the sight of Katie’s dead body on the bus floor. “He killed an innocent girl because he refused to eat. And who knows how bad he’s gotten now.”

Ravyn didn’t want to tell her that she had to. “He’s not the way he used to be. He’s...different.”

“How so?”

“He makes a living stealing money,” Ravyn confessed. “He keeps girls in his home to feed from them like prisoners. He tortures people for information. He’s manipulative and uses his powers for all the wrong reasons. He is not the sweet, adorable boy you used to know.”

“How am I supposed to help him if he doesn’t remember me?”

“He’s looking for a human donor,” Ravyn told her. “You should find him and apply.”

“All right,” Dannie understood. She grabbed her suitcase and started fumbling her belongings back inside of it. “Maybe if I tell him who I am and remind him of his past life, he’ll remember me and come back to us…”

“Dannie, no,” Ravyn protested and continued delivering bad news. Dannie stopped packing and looked her again. “I know you want to, but you cannot tell him you know him. He might think you’re lying since he has no memory of you. Evan is merciless now and may hurt you or try to kill you if he thinks you’re trying to fool him so you can do him wrong. Vampires do not trust easily. You have to let him figure it out on his own. Once he remembers you, he’ll protect you. And with you close to him, he’ll grow even stronger and can keep both of you alive.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. What if he doesn’t remember? I have to at least try.”

“You can’t,” Ravyn said. “You cannot greet him as you would an old friend. He is not your friend. He is dangerous and can hurt you.”

“Evan would never hurt me,” Dannie declared.

“The Evan you remember wouldn’t,” Ravyn agreed. “But this one wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you if you were a threat to his immortal existence. He has powers you haven’t seen yet. His eyes—they can see right through you. He can see lies in your eyes. He can hear your pulse speed up if you are afraid. He could smell the slightest drop of a nervous sweat drip from your skin. He can feel you breathing. His instincts can read deceit and vampires like him are not usually forgiving and understanding. The facing him is not going to be easy. You cannot give yourself away.”

“How do I get him to trust me then?”

“I’m going to have to help you.”

“Tell me how!” Dannie was frightened and impatient and just wanted to put an end to all of this.
Ravyn didn’t respond to her. Instead, her bright blue eyes locked onto hers. Dannie froze and couldn’t move or look away. It felt like some force was gripping on to her tightly. Ravyn said a few sentences in a language Dannie hadn’t heard before and then released her from her trance. Dannie sighed and blinked several times and felt the restraint leave her. “What did you just do?” Dannie inquired, wondering if she could still trust this strange vampress. “What happened to me?”

“Now you cannot tell him or anyone he’s from your past,” Ravyn replied. “He won’t suspect anything now. Here is the address where he resides. Tell his assistant you are applying as a donor. But you must not let him drink from you.” She handed Dannie a piece of paper with his address on it written in beautifully drawn cursive. Dannie laid it in her suitcase and had even more questions.

“Wait, how do I apply as a donor and expect him not to feed from me? It makes absolutely no sense. He’ll think I’m lying and might kill both of us.”

“He might, or he might not,” Ravyn said. “We can only hope he trusts you. The longer you’re with him, the deeper your souls will reconnect and his memories might return. Oh, and go easy on Erick.”

Dannie almost asked what he had to do with any of this but didn't. She picked up the paper with the address on it and asked, “How do I contact you if I need help?” She expected to hear a reply but heard nothing. Once she looked up to see Ravyn, she realized the room was empty and she was alone. She still felt lost and confused and no closer to getting Evan back, despite the fact she held his location in her hand. He seemed even more distant to her now.