Blood Sacrifice

There were two things that Lara was absolutely sure of. The first thing was that stealing what she needed and getting out of the Towers was going to be nearly impossible. She had been all over the grounds- the gardens, in particular- to examine ways off of the properties, memorizing the layout and structure. Which was extremely hard, being that trying to keep the numerous gardens in order and remembering which ends there were exits pushed the limits of her mind.

The second thing that Lara was absolutely sure of was that she was completely in over her head. Growing up in the Tombstone, she clearly had a skewed version of what a bloodship entailed. She thought it was a few simple steps: go the embassy run by humans, put in an application for a bloodship, go to an interview, be a blood bank.

Lara had never been so wrong.

There were things she had to know and practices that she had to commit to. Thinking about them made her head swim. She even had a certain type of dress. A plain white dress that hung loose on her narrow frame, permitting easy access to her neck. Her hair was also to be tied up at all times, also allowing easy access to her neck. Shoes were not permitted. They were a waste of supplies and apparently the foot had a nice vein that some- Lara didn’t know which- vampires were into.

There was also an allotted grace period for humans to accept a bloodship fully. Each grace period was different, since every person and vampire was different. Sometimes either party needed time adjusting, or one was not completely committed yet. Either way, a grace period could last a week or a month. Lenore informed them that normally after a month if terms weren’t accepted, the human would return wherever home was.

Statistically speaking, at least one of the three girls would chose to go home, or be chosen to be sent home. One in two humans were always dropped whether by personal decision or vampire’s decision. Lara knew which of the three of them would be dropping as soon as she figured out how to steal supplies and run.

For a long time, Lara had fantasized about leaving the city and finding somewhere to live on her own. There had to be humans somewhere else in the world not under the thumb of vampires. And even if there weren’t people out somewhere in the world, Lara would live on her own. She knew how to take care of herself and she could live in the woods and hunt.

It was getting out that was the problem. She needed enough supplies to get her to the woods or somewhere away from Manus Dei. The only place she would ever get what she needed was the Towers. She needed weapons, clothes, food, and the technology they had there. A GPS would help too, as well as a couple of different medical shots that could cure infection on injection.

Passing by a group of vampires, Lara kept her eyes down. She was not allowed to look any of them in the eye. Because she was in a grace period, a stern warning was all she was allowed to have offered. If she had been marked with a vampire’s personal sigil, she could be physically punished for looking them in the eye. It was a sign of respect and submission.

A group of humans walked by. They showed all the signs of consistent feeding: bruised necks, pale skin, sharp cheek bones and shining sigils on the backs of their right shoulders. The black was always startling to the eye, Lara completely unfamiliar with most tattoos. Only one or two humans had ever had them out in the Tombstone, and they were often scraggly or scarred with a past infection from trying to pen in the ink.

Out of the sight of vampires or humans, Lara lifted her head. In moments like these, she held her chin higher than she ever dared. It made her feel better to walk with purpose in her step and to curl her lip defiantly when she was alone. It reminded her that she was not below any of these people, that she was simply a wolf in sheep’s clothing. When she smiled, they didn’t see her teeth, but they were there. Oh were they there.

Hurrying alone, Lara passed a group of Draks. She had to learn how to identify them, as they were not allowed to take harems of girls. They were only allowed to go out an hunt- which was technically illegal- and they were allowed to drink from bags or cup.

Lenore explained that Draks were called ‘Draks’ because of an old story about a vampire named Dracula. Apparently humans had twisted a story from a real vampire into a children’s version, a simple monster to make sure that children behaved at night and never went outside. Dracula was a mockery, a stab at the real vampire world, just as Draks were a joke. They consisted of vampires who turned when they survived Red Fever, and vampires who had been turned as a joke, for a soldier count, or as someone who was left to die a feeding but survived.

Stats didn’t hate Draks, but they weren’t always nice to them. Stats were apparently named after the famous Prince Lestat, one of the most famed among their kind. He was grace and the personification of what a vampire should be. These vampires hailed from royal families of ages ago, or rich families when Red Fang and Red Fever became a pandemic. Some of these families paid millions to be turned to the undead just to escape the rapidly spreading disease.

All of it made Lara’s head spin. She hadn’t the slightest idea how vast this world could have possibly been. There were social orders, constructs and rules and everyone had their part to play. There was no part to play out in the Tombstones, only survival. That was what Lara was good at.

Looking around, Lara found herself in a corridor she was unfamiliar with. She turned and looked at the three way split. She could keep walking straight, or she could walk to the left, or she could turn around. She was suddenly unsure of how she had gotten where she was. She had been attempting to return to her room that she shared with several other girls, but now she was standing in an empty hall.

Making a last minute decision, she walked to the left. She was sure that she had seen a particularly candle holder before with the crooked arm, though it may have been a trick in the light. It was still hard for her to see at night and in the dark. Adjusting her sleeping schedule often caused her to dose off in corners if she could manage, or made her prone to yawning throughout the night.

Now however, she was perfectly awake. There was no one around which didn’t bother her much. The biggest problem was she couldn’t ask how to get back to her rooms. She had been in the gardens in the West and come in through the green house door. Her room was located on the third floor somewhere in the west wing, but she wasn’t sure if she was in the back or the front of the west wing.

Slowing down at a door, Lara looked up. There were letters hanging over the door, naming it. She glanced around and blue out air before turning around and pressing her head against the wall. She was lost and she knew it. Lara was a self-aware person and could admit to herself when she hadn’t the slightest idea of her location.

“Is the wall quite comforting?” Lara spun around wildly, not expecting the voice. Her back was pressed against the wall as she looked at Nikolai’s son standing in front of her. He was dressed in his usual dress pants and clean shirt, rolled up at the elbows. Lara had seen him only twice since her arrival, one of those times being bloodied and beaten by the beautiful girl. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“You didn’t,” she snapped, not wanting him to believe her intimidated, despite how afraid she was. Lara realized when he frowned at her what she had done. She instantly threw her gaze down to the floor, knowing she had already messed that up. She also added, “I was just taken by surprise, your highness.”

“I prefer not to be called that.” She saw him shrug lightly. He seemed very casual, unlike the other times she had seen him. Well, the second time he had been dripping wet with silk pants clinging to ever contour of his body. It was enough to send Lara into restless sleep. “It makes me feel odd.”

“Doesn’t everyone call you that? Um, sir.”

“Only the annoying people.” He offered a smile but she continued not to meet his eyes. She wanted to, just to make sure that they were brown like she originally thought. She imagined they were warm and kind, whereas the other girl’s- the one holding hands with him- probably had scary, black ones. “Are you lost?”

“A little bit- sir.” Lara licked her dry lips. He had linked his hands behind his back, listening intently to her. It was hard to focus with him standing there. He was both beautiful and terrifying, but she found that she wasn’t terribly afraid of him like she was the rest of them. “I was trying to find my room and I came in from the garden in the west.”

“Through the green house?” She nodded. He gestured for her to walk back the way that she had come. She slowly did, careful not to step near him. “I’ll show you where your room is. I know it can get confusing. You could have followed the signs, you know?” Lara glanced up at him and met his eyes on accident before shooting her gaze back down, gritting her teeth. “We have them there for that purpose, small reminders of where you are.”

“I hadn’t noticed them at all, actually.” Watching him, she saw a flicker of something pass his face, but it was gone quickly. He walked slow at her pace, which must have been excruciating for him. She had seen how quickly vampires moved, often blind to her. “Silly me.”

He hummed in agreement. His hands were still clasped behind his back as he walked, looking straight in front of them. There was still no one else in the hall. Lara absently wondered where his bloody lover was. She looked at his hand that had been linked with hers, covered in probably human blood. Or not, since Malcolm implied it was vampire blood. How had that happened? Were they enthralled in blood sharing?

“Are you enjoying your time here?” The question hung in the air, Lara unsure of how to answer it. He didn’t seemed disturbed by the silence, but prompted her further. “I hope everything is accommodated well.”

“Anything is better than the Tombstones.”

That much was true. Anything was better than being out there- for a time. She was sure that she would feel worse and worse as the days went by in the Towers. The bleeding had not started, something that wouldn’t happen until the end of her grace period. She would only ever experience one feeding, and that hadn’t come yet. Yet.

“Is that where you hail to us from?” Lara nodded as an answer. They trailed past a group of Draks that all bowed their heads as they walked by. Lara’s eyes were on her own bare feet, dirt still clinging to them. She missed her boots. All her blisters had been healed with one of the amazing medical shots in the clinic. She would rather not relive her doctor’s visit where the examined a lot more than her feet.

“How far out?”

“Ward Four.”

He whistled, impressed. “Ward Four. I haven’t been out there in a while. Though, Ari is out there right now. She’s probably enjoying that, a whole week out there.” He rolled his eyes then. “Thankfully for you, you probably won’t ever see that one in the heat of a fight.”

Lara couldn’t help the question as it came to her lips. She tried to swallow it but heard herself asking, “You talk about her quite fondly.”

“Ari? Absolutely. Sure, she is a pain in my ass and she runs around here cackling and flashing her fangs, but she means well. Despite her tendencies, I love her more than anything.”

“Romantic.”

Jonathan stopped full on then, turning to her. Terror leapt inside of Lara as she realized that what she said could have been taken as sarcasm. She swallowed and took a step back from him, her fingers balling into fists in the hem of her soft dress. She internally scolded herself, knowing she would have not allowed herself to speak so casually to let her tone slip through.

“Are you talking about Ari?”

“I didn’t… mean to offend, Your Highness.”

“Asked you not to call me that.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“You think my love for Ari is romantic?” Lara didn’t trust her voice so she nodded her head sharply.

Then, he did the strangest thing. Jonathan burst out laughing, a loud laugh that startled several of the humans walking by. Some looked at him like he was the very sun on the earth. The others hurried away quickly as he continued laughing, making Lara uncomfortable. “Oh, I haven’t laughed like that in a while.”

“I’m not quite in on the joke, sir.”

Jonathan coughed into his hand, trying to hide the rest of his laughter as he composed himself. He looked beautiful when he laughed. Lara had stolen several glances when he tipped his head up to fill himself with it. “Ariadne is not my lover, she’s my sister.”

Red burned in Lara’s face. She saw how that worked now. Holding hands wasn’t something restricted only to lovers, and when she thought about it, they did look strangely alike. It also explained why both times she had seen the two previously, they were always together. In fact, when she remembered the two of them side by side, she realized that they were almost identical. Of course Jonathan loved her more than anything in the world. She was his biological sister.

“I’m afraid I just sounded quite stupid.”

“Not stupid, just misinformed. No one told you?”

Lara shrugged. “No, I just figured when Lenore called you prince and princess that you were… you know.”

“Married,” he supplied.

“Yes.”

With his hand he gestured for them to continue walking. So she did, following him easily down a few halls. “No, Ari is certainly my twin sister. I hope one day you see the similarity between us. We’re two sides of the same coin, really. Biological family aren’t always typical among vampires, but some of us have our fair share of luck.”

“And you consider luck with your father?”

“For lack of a better term. He’s the only father figure we’ve had for quite a long time.” Jonathan stopped then. Lara looked at where they were and recognized her door instantly. She glanced up at the sign above the door and tried to commit it to memory. Jonathan was watching her with extreme attention, eyes narrowed slightly. “Well here we are. I hope you can find your way the longer you’re here.”

Remembering her manners, Lara bowed her head. “Thank you for walking me here. I know it’s annoying to just walk around the human kid all day because she’s lost and confused.”

He shrugged and made a face. “I feel as though it’s the least I could do. You have so much to offer.” Lara made a face, realizing he meant blood. It made her scratch her neck absently, as though he were about to sink his fangs in now. “Have a good rest of your night, Lara.” He was half way down the hall when he added, “You often forget the term ‘sir’ by the way.”

Jonathan was completely gone when she realized that he had used her name and she when never even told him.

Confused and slightly dazzled, Lara opened the door and walked directly into a nightmare. There were girls crying on their beds as Lenore was moving around the room quickly, handing out small cups of waters and a tiny red pill. When Lenore saw her, she ordered her to take the pill and wash it down with water. Lara had never been demanded to do anything by Lenore in such a manner so she did so instantly.

Scanning the room, Lara located Carmen and made a beeline for her. She was sitting on her bed, watching everything dejectedly. Carmen still hadn’t quite adjusted to being in a room filled with girls and boys alike, all marked with insignias belonging to Nikolai. All of the Dimitrikova markings were similar. They were geometric mandalas, only a few line or designs off.

Sitting down on the bed next to Carmen, Lara felt just as alienated. She didn’t understand the crying or sobbing in the room, or why the red pill was making her feel lethargic. “What happened?” she asked tiredly, glancing in Carmen’s direction. The white dress stood out against her tan skin. Her hair was let down, something allowed only in that room. “Why are they crying?”

“Kalani,” Carmen responded slowly. “Kalani died.” Carmen raised a hand and pointed to the bed that once belonged to Kalani, a butterscotch-skinned girl with caramel hair and bright green eyes. “Kalani died right there on that bed. Watched it happen. She was complaining about a headache this morning and then she just… started bleeding from everywhere.”

Lara suddenly felt sick, staring at the bed. There was no blood there now, but she could imagine it, Kalani laying there with her beautiful face, blood beginning to drip from every orifice as she remained unmoving, too tired and sick to get up. That’s how it happened in the quickest stage.

“Red Fever,” Lara whispered. Her eyelids were heavy and she absently began to lean her shoulder on Carmen, who was beginning to dose off. Some of the crying in the room had come to a pause, girls sniffing as a calm came over the room. “She was around us… with red fever.”

Carmen was asleep and never answered. Lara fell asleep shortly afterwards.

It was night out. Lara knew that it was cold, but she could not feel it. She wondered why she felt no freeze in the air or change in temperature. Her tongue licked her lips and she could feel them. Her fangs were right there, canines elongated, startling her. Vampire. She was a vampire.

Looking down, Laura frowned. There were leather grieves on her arms and she had on black sleeves. Her pants were made of solid but comfortable material, black just like her shirt, and tucked into her boots. The handle of a gun was in her thigh holster, silver and shinning in the full moon.

Feeling weight on her back,, Lara raised her hand and touched the handle of a blade. There was another one on the other side, the two weapons criss-crossing over her back in sheaths. Her fingers burned when she touched them, but the excited kind of burn where she itched to remove them. She had a sense of familiarity with them.

Turning to her right side, she saw Jonathan. He wasn’t looking at her, but straight. He was dressed similar to her, in black clothes that looked fit for a war. Once again, Lara thought of a fallen angel, something her mother had told her about, but she couldn’t remember the name. His hair was dark and styled out of his face, eyes clear and soft.

When Jonathan turned to look at her, Lara was hit in the chest with a sense of ease. She felt like she had just walked into a warm house and closed the door, kicking off her shoes. The moment he looked at her, Lara suddenly felt like she was home. At least, she thought so. The dream felt airy and light, and Lara had never known what it was like to feel like she had a home.

Jonathan said something, but Lara couldn’t hear him. In fact, she couldn’t hear anything. It made her shake her head at him, not understanding. He said it again, his lips moving and his eyes begging her to hear what he was saying, but try as she might, Lara could not understand what it was he was trying to get across, though she felt it was important.

In the final moment of the dream, Lara felt herself blink. It was no longer Jonathan looking at her. It was Logan, his blue eyes searching and his dark blond hair stained with blood. Lara felt her heart seize in her chest as he looked at her with a knowing gaze, making Lara feel small.

He looked just like Lara remembered. Sharp jaw, smooth features, fire in his eyes. But he was looking at her in a way that she did not understand. He looked angry, hurt, and accusing. Lara wanted to throw up, shaking her head at him to dispel whatever thoughts he had in his head.

Feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up, Lara turned around. Someone was behind her, the face nameless and empty. It was blank, no eyes, no nose, and no mouth. Just skin, terror creeping into Lara’s heart. She was aware that whoever this person was meant her harm, and she tried to get away but her feet were glued to the ground.

Lara screamed but no sound came out. She felt her mouth open and form the words- the name. She knew exactly what she was trying to scream, despite the fact that she was still frozen and unable to scream. She was trying to scream for both Jonathan and Logan, for one of them to help her.
Lara was screaming for him when they were right there. But they never answered.