Black Hellebore Page 17

  “You will regret that!”

  A shock bolts through Vivienne’s body. Her throat closes and her skin goes ice cold. Darkness is spreading like a fog deep inside of her. Her body starts to shake uncontrollably. Mary looks up in fear and screams. It is only then that the others realise that something is not right. They look hesitantly towards Vivienne. Where her normally violet coloured eyes are, there is a sort of dark fog, slowly spreading until her eyes are nothing but pools of blackness. As she opens her mouth, she releases a deafening scream that is much deeper and stronger than Vivienne could ever have managed. It is a sound that makes everyone flinch. Moths force their way out of her throat and flutter around the room. Vampires come pouring into their fallen queen’s room from every direction. As the scream subsides, Vivienne stands straight as a board and stares blankly. The voice coming out of her mouth is not her own:

  “Welcome my children. The blood of the traitor has transformed me. I am the father of all vampires. I am the father of darkness. I am Cain.”

  With every word, the room temperature seems to drop slightly. The dark words falling from Vivienne’s mouth are the only sounds to be heard in the room.

  “The traitor’s blood has awoken HER. With her heart set on revenge, she is roaming the Earth with the singular goal of destroying us. Hear the war drums beating! They sound in all of us.”

  The sound of deep, but quiet drumming starts in the room. A distant swelling, a sound like the beating of a heart; a sound most of the vampires can’t remember fully. They all begin to shiver uncontrollably.

  “I am waiting for you; my blood will show you the way. My blood courses through every one of your veins.”

  Several voices suddenly start flowing from Vivienne’s mouth at the same time. Loud ones, deep ones, soft ones, quiet ones and strong ones. She continues:

  “The sun, she rises in the East, takes her course across the South, in the West she lays to rest; the North will stay forever dark.”

  The darkness suddenly lifts from Vivienne’s eyes and she collapses to the floor. When she comes to, she is gripped by a deep sadness. She feels isolated and completely alone, even though the room is full of vampires watching her. She remembers what happened, a foreign power entered her body and used her like a puppet. The darkness has left a mark inside her that feels like it’s eating her alive. All she wants is to cry and scream, for the gift that always seemed like a blessing to her, has now become a curse. Nobody dares to speak. Mary is trembling with fear but still she is the first one who finds the courage to speak.

  “What did he mean that the traitor’s blood awakened her? Who is she?”

  “Orlando is the traitor...” Victor hisses.

  “...and she is the girl.” Claudia adds. “He must have given her his blood, and through that poisoned Chasity. She was not chosen, so if Chasity dies, then it is his fault.” It seems a relief for her to finally find someone guilty, whom she can blame for everything that has happened. That way she doesn’t have to blame herself for not stopping Chasity. Mary warned them. Claudia should have done the deed for that very reason. She should have protected Chasity.

  “Find the girl’s body!” Victor orders, and some of the guards leave the room.

  “It’s too late for that,” Vivienne says, though she usually keeps out of these kinds of conversations. “Cain awaits.”

  “He has risen again.” Victor adds. “This is our chance to change everything. The time for hiding is over.”

  “It is the end of December. There is only one place on earth where right now the sun never shines...” Vivienne says quietly to herself. “Greenland.”

  - 21. Lia Green -

  “Finally you have awakened.

  My soul has been waiting for you for so long.

  Our time for revenge has come.

  The oppression and humiliation is over.

  Come back to me, my beloved daughter.

  I wait for you with open arms.

  Together we will be unstoppable.”

  The whispered words are as light as a feather. Long forgotten memories awaken in her. She feels soft waves of hair stroking her face, as well as the sweet smell of roses kissing her forehead. Her arms close around the child’s tiny body. Her voice is very quiet in Lia’s head, comforting her in the darkness and loneliness that remains after the bright light has disappeared. It is so cold that she feels her bones rattling.

  When she opens her eyes, they sting, while her head is humming like a beehive. The light is still bright, but it is not comforting, but blinding and harsh. A stormy wind is blowing sleet at her, which hits her bare skin like hailstones. Her body feels broken and cold. The leaves crunch beneath her as she tries to get to her feet. They are slimy and slippery, just like Lia herself. Her clothes and tattered rags, and her pale skin is covered with a layer of dirt and blood. The events of the previous night come rushing back to her. She grips her neck in a panic. The skin feels sensitive, but there is no big open wound to speak of. Is that possible? How long has she been lying here?

  Feeling completely lost Lia looks around her. There is no doubt that she is still in the forest, so she is not completely mistaken about what happened. Still, something is different. She feels different. Something inside her has changed. Nothing is the way it used to be. She knows there is no going back even though she doesn’t know how she knows that. She just does. It is an instinct coming from deep inside her.

  Her legs feel heavy and weak as she stands up. She can barely feel her toes, almost as if they are completely frozen, and a shiver makes its way through her entire body.

  “You must eat!” the voice in her head whispers to her. She is momentarily overwhelmed by hunger, but it is a different hunger to what she is used to. She doesn’t feel it in her stomach; it is coming from her core. There is no rumbling and cramping, but rather a deep longing that is taking control of her.

  “Listen to your instincts and let your body lead you. Do you feel the vibration?ˮ

  Lia closes her eyes. The wind howls in her ears, making it impossible for her to hear anything other than the storm, but then she can suddenly hear the quiet sound of something beating. Boom, boom, boom...

  The noise of a thousand heartbeats reverberates inside her, so strongly that it feels as though the ground is vibrating beneath her bare feet.

  “Never settle for the weak. Always choose strength. The stronger they are, the stronger you will become.”

  She blindly follows the voice in her head, gliding past the drumming heartbeat, following the loudest beat. When she opens her eyes she finds herself in an open area. The icy rain has stopped and the sun is coming out from behind the clouds, lighting the forest in an almost ethereal glow. She shields her eyes from the bright light with her hand. The sun’s rays reflect off the snow, covering everything in a strange, pale light.

  The source of the drumming is suddenly standing right in front of Lia. Between two trees, there is a white buck staring at her. Never before has she seen such a majestic creature. His fur shines like freshly fallen snow, and his breath is leaving little clouds in the cool December air. His eyes are glowing red like fire.

  “Lure him, you can do it.”

  Lia carefully stretches her trembling hand towards the animal. There are a few metres separating them, and never in a million years does she think he will come to her, but suddenly the buck steps tentitavely towards her, one foot after the other.

  “Don’t hesitate, make him feel safe. You are my daughter.”

  Lia stands up straight, tensing her shoulders, not showing any fear.

  “Come to me,” she whispers, surprised by the sound of her own voice. It is strong, but gentle at the same time; a trustworthy voice. But it is not her voice that is speaking; it is the voice in her head.

  The buck is now standing right in front of her and is watching her with trusting eyes. For a moment, all sound is gone and Lia is amazed by the magic in the air. As if on its own, she places her hand on the mighty creature’s forehead. H
is fur is wet but also warm from the blood circulating through his body. It feels like velvet to touch and the white buck lets her touch him without any reluctance. She feels safe and protected in this moment.

  “Drink,” the voice suddenly tells her. Something inside Lia is screaming, trying to fight, telling her this isn’t right, but she can feel an irresistible urge, an overpowering need for the beautiful creature’s life blood. Her teeth sink into the buck’s neck, blood running down her lips and onto his snow-white fur. Every doubt is forgotten. Hunger takes over. Lia greedily sucks the warmth into herself, encouraged by the sound of the wild drumming. Her teeth dig deeper and deeper into the animal’s soft flesh. As the drumming sound dies, Lia lets the animal go. Dead and drained, the white animal lays on the floor before her. A gaping wound mars the beauty of his powerful, sleek neck. The light in his eyes has dimmed, and they stare lifelessly up towards the sky, where the sun hides her face behind thick clouds. Blood drips from Lia’s chin onto her naked chest. She lets out an inhuman, tortured scream as she falls to her knees. It is the cry of an animal that is nearer to death than life.

  “So what if you can see the darkest side of me

  No one will ever change this animal I have become”

  For the first time she truly understands the meaning behind the song “Animal I have become” by Three Days Grace. What has she done?

  “You are alive!”, the voice in her head whispers triumphantly. The voice no longer seems trustworthy and loving to Lia, but instills fear in her. It is making her do things she doesn’t want to do. What has happened to her? Has she become a vampire too?

  “No. We are the masters of those creatures.” The voice says.

  “I murdered that buck to drink his blood; there is no other way to look at it!” Lia shouts loudly, seeming momentarily insane to herself. She is sitting naked in the forest over the dead body of a rare white deer, speaking to herself. It is snowing, and freezing cold. She should have frozen to death by now. If someone saw her like this, they would probably commit her as fast as they could. That would probably be best at this point.

  “It wasn’t his blood that you took. You took his life force.”

  Lia doesn’t understand. These words are going in one ear and out the other. The buck is dead and it is her fault. But as much as she tries to fight it and wishes it were different, she must admit that she feels better for having done it. Her legs no longer feel rubbery and the pounding in her head has also stopped. She is finding it easier to think straight.

  What should she do now? It feels wrong to go home. It is no longer her home, because she is no longer the same person. Not even her friends can help her because no one would understand what she has just done. She stops. Noone? The image of a torn animal lying on a kitchen table pops into her mind. Tru... sadness grips her while she thinks of her friend. She judged and demeaned her, so it is probably right that she is now sitting in front of a dead animal. Why didn’t she just listen? Maybe she would understand more now, but could she go to her again? Would she help her now? But even greater than her wish to see Tru is the deep longing for someone else; Orlando. This whole mess that she is in is his fault, but still she is worried about what could have happened to him. Was he punished for being with her? Did he know that they would kill her? Did he try to stop them? Did it matter to him? Did she matter to him?

  - 22. Tru Wilson -

  It has been many years since Tru has taken anyone along on her vampire hunts, and she is not so sure that it was such a good idea. She didn’t have the time to brief Mike and Lindsay even in the slightest on what they needed to be prepared for. Vampires are no bloodthirsty zombies that can be outdone using a few little party tricks. They are in fact bloodthirsty, but with that they are often decades or even centuries old. Once they have spent that much time roaming the Earth, they learn many things and make it all the harder for vampire hunters like Tru to find ways to kill them, especially because in terms of physical strength, vampires are far superior to humans.

  At first, Tru objected to Lindsay and Mike even coming along, but they just wouldn’t take no for an answer, not just because of the honest concern they have for Lia’s safety, but also because of the lack of trust they have for Tru. She was surprised when they showed up on her doorstep. This many visitors in this short period of time is highly unusual, and to add to that, it is all around Christmas time. She has never had this many visitor in a whole year, let alone three within a week.

  After Lindsay told her what had happened, alarm bells went off in her head, and guilt momentarily set in. The night of the Christmas party was the only night she hadn’t followed Lia, and now she bitterly regrets that. She had been too hurt by Lia’s words and her dismissive, self-righteousness. Who did she think she was, thinking she could judge Tru without giving her a chance to explain? Of course the animal blood spilling on Lia must have frightened her, but everything is not always as it seems and she wanted to explain exactly that. Every butcher slaughters and skins their animals; it is the natural order of things. In any case, it is better for her to have dead and gutted rabbits and chickens on her kitchen table than human bodies.

  She knows very well what everyone says about her, even the newest rumour that she is a lesbian. But to be honest with herself, she doesn’t even know herself if that is true or not. She can’t say that she has ever been in love with a woman, but she has never loved a man either. There is just no room for love in her life. A person with as many secrets as she will find it hard to open up to someone else. There is always the fear of being misunderstood. It was different for a time with Lia, because she was a person with so many of her own problems and quirks, which made Tru believe that they would work together, that they would be able to trust and understand one another. On that fateful night she wanted to tell Lia the truth, to finally be able to share her secret with someone, but then everything escalated. Why did she have to show up so early? If she had arrived at the time they had agreed then there wouldn’t have been any dead animals lying around, and Tru could have been prepared for her. Lia’s demeaning words and accusatory look still hurt her as they swirl in her mind. She looked at her like she was a monster, and it had taken years for Tru to stop seeing herself as one. All her hopes and dreams were shattered in one foul swoop.

  The chances of finding Orlando tonight are slim. He is far too old and experienced to fall for this cheap little number. But that doesn’t matter. Others will be too hungry to worry about their actions. Lindsay paces nervously in her black platform boots. There is only a small plaster strip to remind her of her broken nose now. Her unmistakeable candy floss-like scent hangs in the air, while Mike and Tru are crouched down, hiding behind a large bin.

  “I have a bad feeling about this” Mike says for what seems like the tenth time. It is a mystery to her why he even came along in the first place, not least because, he is constantly objecting to everything, and is afraid of his own shadow it seems. It’s no wonder that Lia couldn’t fall in love with him. Tru wouldn’t be able to stand his constant complaining either. She sighs in frustration.

  “Don’t worry; this isn’t the first time I have gone hunting.”

  “That’s what has got me so worried. Who says that you are not in on it with the vampires and that you won’t just suck us dry too?!”

  “Noone!”

  “Exactly, so don’t tell me not to worry!”

  “But I can assure you that if I was after your blood, that I wouldn’t need any vampires to help me. I could handle two teenagers on my own.”

  Mike throws her a nervous, but also scathing look. He is just about to flare up again when Tru hears silent footsteps along with Lindsay’s nervous trampling. She places her index finger up to her lips, telling Mike to finally shut up, while she strains to hear what’s going on.

  The footsteps are coming closer. They are careful, but still deliberate and the typical vampiric smell of ashes, mothballs and coldness mixes into the smell of candy floss. As the vampire turns the corner,
Mike holds his breath in shock, while Tru analyses the situation. There is a light spring in his step. His reddish brown hair is gelled back and he has designer stubble on his face. When he smiles at Lindsay, he reveals a gold tooth.

  “Oh, well what are you doing here all by yourself?”

  “I think I am lost,” Lindsay squeaks, not as brave as usual.

  “Well then that makes two of us! Are you not from around here either?”

  Tru guesses that he was born in the 20s, and if his walk didn’t already lead her to that thought, then the charming way he speaks certainly does. So he is not a youngling, but he is also not so old that it would be impossible to finish him. It’s a shame about his pristine pinstripe suit. Vampire blood is even harder to remove from clothing than human blood, if not impossible. But when she is finished with him, he will be nothing but a pile of ash anyway.

  “No, I go to school here, but I have lost my friends somehow.”

  “What a shame! Maybe we should stick together. It’s easier to look in pairs than it is on your own.”

  Lindsay nods and steps forward. She reaches out her hand to him.

  “I’m Lindsay, and what’s your name?”

  That’s the signal. Tru grabs the crossbow loaded with hawthorn wrapped wooden steaks and aims at her target. The vampire’s hand comes closer as if in slow motion, but before he can even touch Lindsay’s skin, the steak drives through his hand and pins him to the wooden facade behind him. A tortured and perplexed cry escapes him before his eyes look vengefully from Lindsay towards Tru and Mike, who have come out from behind the bins. Lindsay quickly rushes back to Mike while Tru closes in on the vampire. The vampire poison covering the wood is spreading through his hand as he pulls the steak out. Black blood is running down the front of the house and dripping onto the ground.

  “Hunter!”, he hisses and looks scornfully towards Tru while he staggers. His sharp teeth are standing at attention like the fangs on a dangerous predator and his forehead is creased.