In My Blood

We arrive at a strange building that looks like it has been abandoned in the past. I look around. No one else is around. There isn’t another building around for miles. It is located somewhere a few minutes outside of Shreveport. The grass is a vibrant green with trees dotted here and there.

“This place is abandoned, isn’t it?” I ask to the guys.

Jett throws his arm across my shoulders and laughs, “That is what it is supposed to look like on the outside, hun. It makes humans stay away from the place. It looks amazing on the inside. It is really beautiful.”

Jett is right. The inside is white with gold at certain places. I looked at the high ceiling. The stairs are made of some sort of dark wood. Everything in the place is white, dark wood, or gold. It is bright and full of life. The dark wood double doors open to a small girl with her black hair pulled back in a tight bun.

“Finally, you guys are here,” she says quickly. “We need to get things going. The Council doesn’t have all day. Come on.”

We follow her in to the large room. People that I never met sit in the chairs. The woman brings us to a row of chairs near the front. Four men and a woman sit in the front of everyone facing us. They must be the Council.

Alex and Cain are sitting on either side of me. Cain has put his arm on the back of my chair. I look at the Council who has turned their attention to a small boy standing front of them.

“Now, that we can start. Who are you?” the brown-haired man asks. He looks almost disapproving.

“I am Samuel Livingston. I am a new member of The Brightness Clan. They turned me last week,” Samuel says.

“So you come to us now without your clan and queen?” the woman asks.

“We are here,” a blonde girl says, standing up on the other side of the room. She is tall with a small waist and long blonde hair. She radiated light from her body which just makes me want to hate her. She seems so confident in herself. She seems almost too perfect. Like the spoiled rich kid that can do no wrong in her parents eyes, but always is the one that is the most known for being a troublemaker and a slut.

“Well, you-all should be standing up from your seats, and you, the queen, should be up here with him to introduce him,” the red-headed man says.

“Simon, he wanted to do it alone. Isn’t that right, Samuel?” she calls out to him.

Sam nods, looking from his queen to the Council. He looks up at the five people before him with courage.

“Very well,” the first man says.

“Kevin, don’t say that,” the woman says.

“Kaleen, why not?” Kevin asks. Simon looks between the two.

“You will come up here, Helen,” Kaleen says determinedly.

Helen stands up and appears beside Samuel. She looks annoyed to have been forced to be in the front. She looks around and notices Alex. She smiles over at him. He turns from her. I grab his arm gently.

“Now, Samuel, what can you do?” a blonde man asks. He appears to be writing something down.

“I can turn anything into ice, Robert,” the dark-haired boy says.

“Your animal?” the fourth man asks loudly.

“Why I am a seal, Jason!” Sam exclaims. He looks like he is putting on a show.

“Prove it,” Kaleen demands. “Prove your gift before us.”

Samuel takes off his jacket and focuses on it for a little bit. Then ice appears on the jacket where his hands are holding it. The ice grows across the material until the whole jacket is ice.

“Now, can you reverse it?” Jason asks. He wants to challenge the boy. He wants the boy to fail.

The ice slowly turns back into the jacket. Sam smiles at the Council before being dismissed with a wave of the hand. More people come up saying they are new members of different clans, but none of them are a queen. They eventually call me up to the front.

Cain stands and holds out a hand. “Do you think that I am going to let you go up there alone?” he asks with a smile.

I grab his hand and let him pull me to the front. I stand before the Council with a sense of confidence that I never even thought I had. I feel powerful and strong.

“Who are you?” Kevin asks. He looks at me questioningly.

“I am Nichole Jakov,” I answer. I am proud that I am Russian for some strange reason.

“You are Russian?” Kaleen asks. “Well, you do look like it.”

“Yes, I am,” I say with a sense of pride.

“So what can you do?” Simon asks. He seems impatient.

“She is gifted in the Darkness,” Cain says. He looks almost angry at the Council.

“You should not answer for her,” Robert says. “You know that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” the woman says. “Let us see. Show us what it is that you can do.”

I calm down and look directly at Cain. I focus on him and him alone. I see the lights go out and the little light that is in the cocoon shines dimly on Cain’s face. He smiles causing more shadows to go across his face. I eventually look away, and the darkness disappears. I look at the Council.

“You are truly a master of the Darkness.” Simon looks taken aback. “What is your animal?”

“I’m a leopard,” I answer quickly.

“You are the queen of the Darkness Clan,” the Council’s queen announces in front of everyone.

They dismiss the meeting shortly after that and go into a different room, leaving everyone. People start to get up and leave or linger and talk amongst other clans. My clan comes up to me. They smile at me.

“Damn! I didn’t think that you were that strong,” Dillon says laughingly. He softly nudges my arm with his fist.

“What do you mean?” Cain asks. He opens his arms and lets me walk into them. He holds me against him. He seems to like touching and holding me which I don't mind right now.

“The lights flickered,” Dillon says. “And you don’t ever let me hold you, Nichole. I’m jealous.”

I look at him, but I don’t make any sort of move to leave Cain’s arms. I stay leaning into Cain. “Sorry, he is just more comforting.”

Alex laughs, “She isn’t going to move away from him for long. She drank his blood last night. She has his blood running in her system which is a good thing. She doesn’t need your personality in her. It’s bad enough with just you being a little too arrogant.”

“So you are an official clan now, Alex,” Helen says appearing out of nowhere. “You can still join me. The offer will always stand for you.”

“Helen, I want nothing to do with your clan. And, actually, I can’t,” Alex smiles politely at her. “I can’t just leave my clan queen.”

“Join us before she leaves you,” a guy says. “We will be able to take care of you. She will only cause trouble for each and every one of you guys.”

“William, I know that you are trying to protect me. But here is the thing, I can’t leave. I helped turn her. I know what she tastes like and how she feels in my arms. I know she wants to be here with us because she was given a choice,” Alex explains. “Did you do that with the Broken Queen?”

“You are more attached than I thought you would be to your queen,” Will says. “Her gift is darkness. She will leave you.”

“I will not leave. I want to be here with this clan. I am happy here. I will not be talked about as if I am not here,” I say. “You are cruel and judgmental. You just assume since I have the same ability as your old queen that I will do what she will, but I won’t.”

“Hard-headed for a new queen, isn’t she?” Helen laughs. “Respect your elders, girl. You don’t know what is coming. Sure you’re power is Darkness, but I am the opposite and stronger.”

I glared at her. Without realizing it, I let her get swallowed in shadows dark enough to wash out any light. I could hear her struggling inside the wall of darkness. I eventually stop.

“How could you?” Helen asks. “You are cruel. You could have killed me.”

“But she didn’t. And obviously she is stronger. So respect the more powerful,” Cain points out. “You’re light couldn’t even escape it. Or shine for that matter.”