Black Blood

I screamed and attempted to run over to Claude, even though I knew I could do no good for him, but Edward's fingers closed around my arm. He yanked me backward, pulling me close. I reached helplessly out to Claude with my free arm.

"We'll be going, then," Edward said with a low laugh.

He wrapped both of his arms tightly around my torso then, squeezing me tighter to him. Large shadows filled the room, encasing the room in darkness. I looked up to see that dark, feathery wings had sprouted from Edward's back. My eyes widened just as he took to the air.

"No!" I yelled, looking back to Claude. I stretched my arms out further. "Claude! Adrian!"

I saw the blood fall away from Claude as Edward flew backward with me. The blood drew further away from him, and slowly moved through the air before returning to Edward. I felt bile rise in my throat as it passed me to him. Claude blinked, shook himself off, and then looked up to me.

"Chloe!" Claude screamed. He ran toward us, but as far as I knew he had no ability that allowed him to fly as well. "Chloe! Be strong! Please, you have to, for all of us! I'll find you somehow!"

I nodded, knowing he wouldn't dare speak of what I could do in front of Edward Blackblood. I felt the vibrations against my back as the man himself let a deeply amused laugh roll out of him.

"Fat chance of that," Edward said. "So long, little dog. Chloe and I have something much more important to attend to. Big things under way! Big things!" More laughter rolled from Edward, and Claude glared up at us. The look in his eyes told me to use whatever change opened up, before it was too late.

I cried silently as Edward flew. We lifted higher into the air, and though I knew he wouldn't drop me I clung onto him tightly. We flew for what felt like ages, though he had picked up speed.

Eventually Edward lifted even higher into the air. I wondered what he was doing, but as we continued to ascend I saw it: a crumbling palace in the sky. I had to blink several times to clear my eyes of tears and ensure that I wasn't imagining things.

"I'm dying," Edward said. The broken silence startled me and I almost screamed. He flew us over to the crumbling palace. "My powers are waning, and my home is crumbling to bits as proof. I am in no shape to take my revenge on the humans currently.

"That is where you come in!" he added. His voice changed from dreary to ecstatic. "I sensed it the moment you were born; the raw power in you. Of course they always changed you dears to vampires before I could get my hands on you.

"Too late for them to do it, now," Edward continued with a chuckle. "I can't fathom why, but they didn't change you and they didn't want to kill you. No complaints... But it was still an odd decision. And then your mother went to great lengths to hide you from me. Your real mother."

My eyes widened. I thought back to the woman I shared an apartment with, whom I had thought was my mother all this time. Who was she then?

"Perhaps that's why they didn't change you," he said. "You were left with the humans at a young age. It was too late to take you back; you were already theirs. And your mother used dark magic to hide you from me. As long as no vampire were to taste your blood, it would be as if you never existed. I did so enjoy killing your mother, even so."

Rage boiled through me unexpectedly at that. I had never even known my true mother, but I was picturing him tearing the woman I had come to know as my mother to bits. My nails dug into his skin.

We landed gently along the crumbling brick pathway that led into the palace. As soon as he had released me I stepped back and turned to face him. Angry tears stung my eyes as I ran at him. I raised my hands to hit him, and he caught my wrists. He grinned widely as his wings folded back into him and disappeared.

"Fiesty one, you are," he cooed. I snarled at him and leaned closer, fully intending to suck the life out of him right then and there, but he leaned away from me with a raised brown. "Come."

He released one of my wrists, but continued to hold tightly onto the other as he led me up the pathway. I struggled to yank my wrist out of his hold, but it was painfully tight and I ended up stumbling along after him anyway. I snarled at him again.

The walk was a bit long and I continued to stumble after him as his legs were much longer than mine, and I still continued to struggle against him. I missed Claude. He had seemed to be alright after the blood had freed him.

"If you're going to drain me, can't you just get it over with already?" I said. Edward chuckled again.

"Oh, no," Edward said. He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "No, no. There is a ritual to perform. I can't just drain you as I please; I won't be restored like that. We have a couple hours to pass, a ritual to start, and then..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but he didn't need to. It felt as if there were hundreds of insects crawling over my skin. I wanted to just pull him close and kill him already, but he was much stronger and faster than I was. He would figure out that I was up to something.

I had to be smart. For now I allowed him to drag me through his crumbling palace. I wondered how it was falling apart, but shook my head. It all had to be connected to his waning magic.