Chapter 2
We
are the lucky ones
We shine like a thousand suns
When all of
the color runs together
I'll
keep you company
In one glorious harmony
Waltzing with destiny
forever
My mother used to sing me that song. It's the only thing I remember for her. It calms me down but right now not even the memory of that song can calm me down.
When you snap, you snap. There was a part of me that died the day that I found Milan with Raul. I guess literally I had only died just 30 minutes earlier but that death was nothing compared to how it felt seeing my best friend sleeping with the love of my life. You snap when something like that happens. You don't hear whatever stupid ass excuse is offered. You see red. Literally.
I'm not sure what happened.
I just remember Raul in a pool of blood. He's just laying there. Milan is on the floor. He's gasping for air. I'm not sure how it happened. I'm not sure if Milan put up much of a fight. All I remember is him gasping for air and Raul...well he's not breathing at all. He's just laying there in his own fucking blood and I wonder if he's dead.
Milan's voice is a
low whisper when he says very softly, “Santos. You
weren't...you weren't supposed to be awake yet.
It's no use.
A part of me wants to snap his neck but I wonder what is the point.
I don't feel bad. You would think I'd feel something. There is
nothing that I feel except emptiness after I see that I've attacked
them. I just feel empty.
The door opens and I walk out into the hallway. The strange hooded men are in the house.
Raul's adopted father comes out of his room.
“What's going
on here---”
Before he can finish what he's saying one of
the hooded men is on him. Fangs come out of his mouth and he jumps
at Raul's adopted father pulling him into a room. I can see the
blood coming out of his neck as it happens. It's really sickening
but for some reason I'm not scared. For some reason I realize that
I'm one of these people now. For some reason I have this strong
desire to join him and help him drain the blood of the human.
“What's happened?” the other hooded man states.
“Killed my
bestfriend,” I tell him, “My boyfriend might be dead too.
Might consider him my ex boyfriend now.”
Emotion.
Where was it? Right now I could feel none. Right now I was a cold
bitch from hell. Was this part of becoming a vampire or was this
something deeper? Had I really lost more of my humanity than I
intended to tonight? I wasn't sure. The visitor questioning me
keeps his eyes on me and motions to the other visitor. The other
visitor walks into Raul's room. When he does I lean up against the
wall. I look at the visitor who questioned me. He's handsome. He's
no older than 21.
“You're cute. Like boys?” I ask
him.
He ignores my question probably not amused by it. Truthfully I don't know where it came from. The Santos I was before would have been terrified by these strange men entering the house. Instead here I was trying my best to flirt with this guy. I had good reason too.
He's a brown skinned
boy. I think he may be mixed but he does seem to have some latino in
him but he's of the darker breed. I wonder if he's maybe Dominican
or something like that. His hair is curly coming out of his hair
like a curly afro. His lips are pink. I have to admit this guy is
beautiful but hell I'm used to vampires being beautiful. The other
guy who attacked Raul's father returns first. He's not as handsome
as the one asking me the questions. He is mouth is covered in blood
and I seeing the blood gives me an appetites.
I'm staring at
the blood and the curly haired Dominican seems to notice.
“You don't
know much about vampires do you?” he asks me, “Who sired
you?”
“Who did what?”
“Who
turned you. Into one of us?”
I point to the room.
Just at that moment the other visitor walks out of the room. He looks at me with a strange look.
“There is a
vampire in there...with a human. Looks like they were in the middle
of something,” the man states correctly, “Looks like they
were interrupted. Aggressively.”
“Alive?”
“Barely.”
The Dominican gives me a stare.
His eyes are looking hard at me, “Was there another vampire
here? Who helped you attack your sire?”
I shrug, “I
don't know what a sire is but only vampire here is that lying
motherfucker in the room coughing up blood.”
“That's
impossible,” the other man says looking at the Dominican, “He
just turned we were just notified.”
The three of them
stand together. They keep going on and when they notice me listening
they start speaking another language. At first I think it's Spanish
but then I realize I'm wrong. It's something different. It's a dead
language. It's something much older. These people are speaking
Latin. It has to be Latin. All the ums at the end of their
sentences definitely seem to give it away. I'm watching curiously as
these men are looking at me.
They seem more and more interested.
The questions don't
seem to end. The Dominican looks over at me, “How long ago did
you turn?”
“Does it matter?” I ask.
“We ask the
questions here fledgling. How long ago did you turn?”
I
have no fucking idea what a fledgling is but it sounds condescending.
This Dominican boy definitely doesn't seem to be the nicest guy in
the world but I have to admit that he's cute as hell. I cross my
arms and look at the clock on the wall in the hallway..
“Exactly
35 minutes ago.”
The three men look at one another.
More Latin. Something has spooked them and I'm not really sure what
it is. I thought I should have been the one afraid. I'm the new one
in this situation. Clearly that isn't the case though. The one guy
who went into the room and saw Raul and Milan seems more afraid than
the other two.
“What's your name?” the Dominican
one asks me.
I think about giving
him my full name but instead I just shorten it, “San.”
“Ok
San. I'm going to need you to drink this...”
He hands me
something. It's a plastic bottle. It's red. Blood. He's giving me
blood. I look at it. I have this hunger for the stuff that I can't
really understand.
“Eden,”
I say, in between long sips, “Take me to
Eden...”
=========================================================================
“Where's the
third guy?”
One of the visitors is driving through
Harlem in an old Lincoln. I'm sitting in back with the sexy
Dominican boy. He looks over at me. His eyes are like the stars.
They run deep. I have to admit the fact that he keeps looking at me
in the way he is actually turns me on a lot. It's almost like he's
trying to figure me out.
“He's
cleaning up the mess you left behind,” he responds.
“What's he
going to do with Milan?” I ask.
“If he's alive? He will be brought back to Eden and punished for leaving as well as turning you into a vampire without permission.”
“Why can't he
leave Eden?” I ask, “You left didn't you?”
The
Dominican smiles, “That's because of who I am.”
“Just
who are you?”
“My name is Armando. I'm the head
of the King's guard. King's Guard are allowed to leave the
city.”
Armando. The name suits him. Armando with the
curly hair and the dark skin. Now that he has taken off his hood I
get a look at his body. He's covered in tattoos. He looks like a
real badass. I'll have to give it to him. He looks like the type of
motherfucker who'd fuck somebody's girlfriend and then beat their ass
if they say anything about it. He definitely didn't seem like he put
up with too much shit.
“You nervous
Armando? You keep looking out the window.”
“Looking
for Rogues.”
“What?”
Armando shakes
his head, “You really don't know anything do you. Your maker
is definitely going to have a lot to answer for. Rogues are
followers of the demon goddess Lilith.”
“That
doesn't sound good. Demon Goddess?”
He shakes his head,
“Lilith is a night mare. Humans call her work the Blood
Holocaust. Remember that?”
“That was because of a
vampire?”
“Yes. It was because of Lilith. Her
attempt to destroy humans. Luckily the King's Guard found a cure for
the disease just in time. Lilith went into hiding since then. Her
followers are still around though. They are dark vampires. The
types that humans know about. They don't care about rules. They
only live for the thirst. The ones who kill the humans after they
drink their blood.”
“I just saw your guy drink
someone's blood back at Raul's house.”
“It's
different.”
I sigh, “Sure it is.”
“We
don't kill. The King's Guard leave the city. We fight off Rogues.
We make sure there aren't any loose vampires around like you.”
He
looks over at me. The way he says it makes me think that I'm a
mistake or something. Maybe I am. Milan didn't have any permission
to make me. I don't get it. Why did Milan leave Eden? Why did he
come turn me into a vampire. Maybe I should have given him a reason
to explain? Truthfully I don't regret attacking him but I could have
at least waited a second longer.
“What happens to me? Back in Eden I mean?” I ask.
For some reason
I don't know if I'll like the answer to this.
“You'll be
tested.”
“Tested how?”
“It's
called the Tasting. It's done by the Old lady. She is one of the
oldest vampires we have in Eden. She's going to smell your blood for
potency. If it's potent you pass the test. She'll then taste it to
see what blood type you have so that we know what class you are
assigned to.”
“What if I don't pass?”
He
looks over at me, “Then you die.”
I'm blindfolded after a while. I can tell he doesn't trust me. For some reason the entrance to Eden is something that Milan didn't even trust me with so I don't expect any less from these strangers...not even if I am a vampire now.
I know that we are in Eden once I feel the warm breeze. I know we are in the town once I hear the bustling feet. Even then they keep the blindfold on me. Luckily for me Armando is a strong guy. He guides me through the city making sure that I stay by his side the entire time. Armando smells good. He has this strangely familiar and comfortable smell of incense that is attached to him. It is masculine. It's the only scent that comforts me as we go through this. I have to admit that I'm getting more and more terrified. I don't know what this test is for. I don't get it.
“What's the
point of the potency?”
“No questions
now...”
“Please Armando. I'm nervous as fuck.
I'm about to piss myself.”
“I guarantee that you
won't. Vampires don't piss nearly as much as humans. It's just
another thing that you'll need to learn,” Armando explains to
me, “If you pass the test you'll have enough time to learn it.”
“I'm
scared.”
He stops walking. I don't know why I admit
something like this to Armando. I don't know if I should care.
“Potency
measures the strength of the vampire,” he explains to me almost
as though taking sympathy, “After seeing what you did to your
sire...I'm sure potency isn't the problem.”
“You
say that as though there is a problem,” I remark noticing the
tone in his voice. We are walking again and I'm left with only
desperate pleas of saying, “Armando...Armando?”
Armando
doesn't answer me again. He keeps quiet.
Before long I find myself really scared. I am going to fail this test. I can feel it. Something isn't right with how nervous Armando is acting. I remember the concerned look of the King's Guard vampire back at Raul's house. He was worried about something. I was scared shitless. Something was very wrong and the way Armando wasn't answering let me know that something was very wrong.
I begin to hum my
mother's lullaby at that moment.
We are the lucky ones.
We shine like a thousand suns
And all of the colors run---together...
Immediately a wave of comfort comes over me. Just at that moment Armando stops again. He listens to the song and just stops walking.
“Where'd
you hear that?” he asks me.
“My mother used to sing it to me,” I explain it to him.
Armando grunts. I'm not sure what he means by the grunt but it's an odd thing for him to do. Regardless I realize that I am not being lead by Armando anymore. He takes off the blind fold and I look around. I'm in a building. The walls are hand carved and beautiful. Out of the window I can see the everlasting red sky. The building I'm in smells like pomegranate fruit. The hall is beautiful and big. There is no one there...at least I don't notice anyone at first.
Then from behind a huge chair in the middle of the room I see a little girl walk out. The girl had to be just 6 or 7. She is the cutest little thing honestly.
“I have a new vampire old lady,” Armando states.
“This is
the old lady?” I ask.
“Don't let
looks deceive you. She's older than you could imagine.”
The
little girl or old lady or whatever looks at me up and down. She
shakes her head at that moment and lets out an irrirated snort, “No
more new ones. Open enrollment is over.”
Armando shakes
his head, “What am I supposed to do with this one then?”
“Lock
him up until next year. He can enroll then.”
Armando
shakes his head, “What will the King say about this?
Enrollment is already down. Only 6 people in Class O. Only 20 in
Class B. We need as many as we can have.”
“I
don't give a shit about what the King says. Tell him I said so,”
the old lady responds, “Or do you think I'm like the rest of
these fools bowing to the King's every whim. I helped raise that
King goddam it.”
If I close my eyes I can imagine that
this is really an old lady talking but the voice is that of a child.
The look is even more like a child. She has that grumpiness to her
even as a child though. Her forehead wrinkles at that moment as she
looks onto me. I”m not sure what they are talking about but
I'm having the time of my life just hearing them say it.
“Just this last one,” Armando states.
The Old lady
seems interested, “What's it to you Armando? What's so
special about this one?”
Armando grunts, “I just
have a...feeling. Please Countess Roxy.”
The fact that
he is calling her a Countess blows my mind. The old lady---young
girl Countess Roxy finally seems to be giving in though. She walks
over to me. I watch at as she takes a long finger nail and cuts me.
Armando and I watch closely as she sniffs the blood.
“His blood is
potent.”
Armando looks over at me. It's the first time
I see him smile. I let out a deep breath when I notice that this
much be good news.
“Does this
mean that I don't die.”
Armando laughs, “It means
that you don't die today.”
“Hell I'll take
that.”
“Shut up fledgling,” the young girl
spits out at that moment before grabbing my hand and bringing it
closer to her, “Let's have a taste and see which your blood
type is and what class you belong in.”
“What's the
point of class?” I ask, “What's the
difference.”
“Shh...” Armando nudges me.
I try to shut up as Countess Roxy tastes my blood. The moment she sucks in my blood I feel a sensation fill up all over my body. There's no way to describe it without using sexual terms and I try to fight the feeling being that it's a young girl who is actually sucking my blood. The sensation runs throughout my body as Countess Roxy continues to suck my blood. Her eyes go wide and I realize that she's still sucking my blood.
“Is this...is this normal?” I ask.
I am beginning
to feel pain at that moment. Countess Roxy's fangs are growing it
seems like. Her fangs are sinking deeper and deeper into me! My
heart is racing! Armando looks over at the Countess seeming
confused. I try to pull my hand by the young girl's strength is so
much. She keeps my hand there and sucks. No matter how hard I try
to pull away this little girl's force is fucking STRONG! She is
keeping me there!
I'm starting to panic as I am beginning to
lose feeling in my arm.
“Countess!” Armando states.
Armando tries to push the Countess off but that's when the Countess flings her arm into Armando's chest. Within barely any resistance Armando's body flies towards the other side of the room as though it was nothing. The old lady is still biting into me. She's still tasting my blood. Her pupils have gone completely black at this moment. There is darkness all inside of her! She keeps drinking! She won't let me go.
“Please!”
I'm begging her at that moment, “Please let me go.”
She
ignores me. I watch as Armando races back. He's running fast. The
countess seems so focused on me that she doesn't see Armando coming.
Armando tosses himself in the air with such an aggression that I
think he's going to take off into flight. Instead he tackles the
little girl to the floor. The countess Roxy hits the floor hard and
bounces up quickly. Her eyes are black for a moment. They are
staring at me. Her fangs are dripping with blood and she goes into
an aggressive stance.
“Countess Roxy...I need you to come back. Come back...” Armando is saying.
Just at that moment I see the Countess begin to calm down. Her pupils are returning to normal. She is breathing heavy. She seems to be snapping out of whatever trance she came out of.
When she returns to
normal she looks over at Armando. There is a slight concern in her
eyes. She is breathing heavy when she says, “There is a
problem.”
I'm so confused.
“What's
wrong with me? What kind of problem?”
“Bring him.
We have to take him to the King.”
“The king is
having a dinner to honor the new class.”
“Fuck the
dinner. His blood is AB!”
I don't know what that
means. I was pretty sure that my blood type was just A. I don't
know what the fuck she's talking about my blood type is AB. I'm
confused but the look in Armando's eyes when Countess Roxy tells him
that is ridiculous. Something is definitely wrong here. Something
is wrong and I know for sure now that I have a reason to be afraid.
I have a reason to be worried.
The room we go to is crowded with people. I'm not talking 10 or 20. There has to be may be 60 people dressed in hoods. I remember who they are from when Milan brought me here earlier. They were the new students at the Vampire High.
The way that Countess Roxy opens the door is beyond dramatic. The little girl is strong. These doors are about 20 feet fucking tall. They clash into the wall when she swings them open. Armando has me behind her. He still has his arm on my shoulder as though I'm going to take off running from fear. A part of me wonders if I should honestly. I'm a little terrified.
The 60 students aren't the only ones who are in the room. I notice other people. They are guards. They are dressed like Armando is dressed. They all have black leather bondage looking pieces on. I can tell by guards by how they are posted up. They don't attempt to stop Countess Roxy or Armando as they storm into the room disturbing the little dinner that is going on. I realize that Armando is the head of the Guard so the respect must be there. Countess Roxy is clearly the respected as well by the way she marches through the room.
Armando pulls me
close to him and whispers, “No matter what happens...don't
speak. You are about to meet the Elders and the King
himself.”
“Don't worry I didn't plan on saying
anything,” I respond to him.
That was the truth as well. I am beyond intimidated as we I see all the tables. We have just barged into a very formal dinner. It looks very Ceremonial. There are tables set up across the hall where the students are sitting. There is food there and I honestly assumed that vampires didn't eat. I do notice what they are drinking though. The red blood is topped off in almost every glass in this place. The chairs are all squeaking as students are turning to see what the hell is going on with me.
As we walk to the front of the room it's not hard to tell which one is the king. It's the guy sitting in the throne. He's handsome as you would expect a king to be. His skin tone was mahogany. He had very long curly, curly hair that fell into a ponytail and then there is a the crown on his head. He's surrounded by other important looking people who are sitting at a table right below him. These people look like they piss gold or something. I mean they look rich and fucking important. I can't help but to look at all their faces. They definitely aren't students. They must be who Armando referred to as the “elders”. Truth is not one of them looked a day over 35.
Countess Roxy
grabs me and throws me in front of the king. I literally feel my
body smash into the tile. Laughter rolls out from the students
around me. My face flushes with embarrassment as I look up from the
floor at the important looking vampires.
“Dramatic
aren't we?” a young looking man states from the pedestal table.
“Shut up
Ceasarian. We have an issue,” Roxy responds.
“Now?”
the boy asks, “We are having a ceremonial dinner.”
“I
just performed the Tasting on this boy,” Roxy explains, “I
couldn't stop myself.”
“Maybe you should watch
your diet,” a woman at the table laughs, “You do have the
body of a child Countess Roxy.”
Countess Roxy ignores
the woman before turning to the king, “King Arie. This boy's
blood is AB.”
Gasps fill the room. I don't know what
makes me turn around to look at everyone at that moment. The
students are staring at me. They are too nervous to even whisper
amongst themselves. They are staring at me almost like I had Ebola
or something. I'm not sure what the problem is.
That's when I see
the boy with the silver eyes. The boy that looked like he is every
single ethnicity mixed in one. He is staring at table not too far
with others in gold. It's the smallest table. He's the boy from
Class O. Our eyes connect at that moment and now I'm even more
embarrassed. The sexiest guy in the world is staring at me and
everyone is pretending something is desperately wrong with me. I'm
flushed with embarrassment.
“Caesarian. Have the
students clear the room please,” the King states.
Thank God for
small miracles. I don't know if I can deal with many more of those
stares. The room begins to clear right after the King orders it even
without the man Caesarian doing it for him. The tables file out in
single format. It doesn't take long before only guards, the elite
table and the king are in the room with Roxy, Armando and I.
Countess Roxy is
looking at the King with worried eyes, “Arie...King Arie. You
know what we've heard about the AB blood.”
Caesarian
returns. He crosses his arms, “I don't think it's necessary to
cause panic over a blood type. At least not yet.”
Another
voice interrupts, “When do we panic then? When the prophecy
happens.”
“We should kill him,” another one
of the Elders states.
They look at me.
Their eyes are judging me. I don't know what it is that they are
panicking about. What is it about my blood that is freaking them out
in the way that they are? Why are they acting like there is
something wrong with me.
King Arie maintains compusure, “I
don't make decisions based off of prophecies. Is his blood potent
enough to be in school Roxy?”
The Countess nods, “Yes.
It is...”
“Fine. What is the boy's
name?”
Armando answers, “San.”
“Santos,”
I correct him.
Armando raises an eyebrow at me of interest at
me. He's probably wondering why I lied to him about my name.
The king nods, “Put
Santos in a class.”
“Which one?” Armando
asks the king, “We don't have a class for AB blood type.”
King
Arie looks over at me, “Put him in the hardest class. I want
to see what an AB blood type is really capable of. Put him in Class
O.”
My heart stops. Class O. That's the class with the beautiful boy with the silver eyes.
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