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chapter 8

"You two better be out of here by nightfall." The witch told us.

"But of course." Gavriel complied.

"I don't want Stef to have to be around vampires more than what's necessary."

"As you wish." He waved his hand as this was no matter. I was beginning to feel immense pain of thirst. I could last a few more hours, but the only thing I had drank the last four days was the blood the little girl gave me. I refused to feed on the way here when we came to any towns. Foolish. Now I was very hungry. I could drink a whole town at this point.

Gavriel had fed one night while I slept, for he didn't want to have to deal with my protests. He told me after the ritual.

Dusk was approaching excruciatingly slow while my insides seemed to be eating themselves. "I need to feed. I feel weak." I admitted, approximately an hour and a half before sundown.

"We'll get you some blood soon."

I nodded to this and closed my eyes. Perhaps if I sleep away the time, I'll feel less hungry.

I was unable to fall into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness but instead, laid in perfect stillness without even breath. With my porcelain skin and lack of movement, I'm sure I looked like a corpse.

"The sun is down, I want you both out."

I opened my eyes and saw everything in a faded red. It wasn't like when I drank blood, but it was closer to a pink blush color. I felt ill.

"She doesn't look well." The witch observed.

"She looks like she's starving." Gavriel took a closer look at me.

"How long has it been since she's fed?"

"About 5 days, save the stuff your girl gave her."

"Then she probably is! How long have you ever gone without feeding?" The witch demanded.

"Never more than 2 days at a time." He answered reluctantly.

"Why haven't you given her anything?"

"She refused to drink blood! I tried to get her to, but she didn't want to hurt anyone."

"You should have made her eat something. She is fairly strong, I could tell from the ritual, but having not fed before or after, she is doubtlessly starving. You're probably going to have to carry her to a town. She won't be able to move easily."

"Okay, I will." He put on a resolute face.

"I want her out before Stef gets back. She's going to need a lot of blood especially after the whole process she went through."

"We'll leave now then." Gavriel walked over to the couch I was on and put one arm underneath my legs and the other underneath my back. I put my arm around his neck to support myself. The witch opened her front door for us and Gavriel carried me out into the dark lighting of the thick forest. He ran quickly and I could feel the power of the wind he created pressing me against his chest. With him running as fast as he was, we made it to the nearby town within a couple hours. At our walking speed traveling to the cottage, it took us an entire day. I imagine we were traveling at least triple that speed and he was carrying me this time. I must try this new speed when I have fed and am stronger.

Gavriel set me down, with me leaning against a tree.

"Uh, I'll get you something." He ran off somewhere and I just sat, hungry and motionless. A moment or so later, Gavriel returned with a mortal man and held him to me. I sank my fangs into his arm and drank the sweet, life giving liquid. After the man was dead and drained of blood, I was strong enough to stand up and move around easily. I ran to a house and swung open the door. I was seeing red and could hear the pulses of the five mortals in the home. Before even thinking, I had one pinned to the floor and the next moment, they were all lying on the ground. Bloodless. I heard screaming and Gavriel came from behind me. "We have to go."

"No." Is all I said. I ran fast to the next house and found only a pair of women in it. I killed them quickly. When I exited the house, there was a mob of angry townsfolk with torches and long, wooden sticks.

"Demons!"

They ran towards me, but I was much faster. Gavriel grabbed my arm to pull me away from this place, but I hissed at him and broke free from his grasp.

I came at them, ducking away from their pointed sticks and swept my leg beneath them, causing the front line of four men to tumble to the ground. I grabbed one of their spears and stabbed it into their own heart. They coughed up blood and I saw the light fade from their eyes. The other three men I hit in the head just hard enough to knock them unconscious.

A large man came to tackle me and I easily threw him aside.

A handsome man who looked about my age pointed a stake at me. He had blonde hair and was tall. His face looked so pure and untouched by the horrors of life.

"Shame something once so beautiful is now something so evil."  He looked at me, slightly in awe, and partially in fear and disgust.

"Isn't it?" Is all I said in reply. I ran to him and bit him in the neck. His blood was sweet and I closed my eyes in delight. I felt a sharp pain in my back and realized he stabbed me. I nearly snapped his neck but restrained myself. He held on to my arm as he could hardly stand up. I didn't kill him. I drank enough that he would simply go unconscious. His body hit the ground, illuminated by the burning buildings. The villagers pointed theirs spears and torches at me. They had surrounded me. Gavriel appeared behind one of the men closest to me and tore his throat out. Gavriel ripped the men apart. The air smelt of blood and smoke.

I felt a strange sort of attraction toward him as he killed. Behind me, a young woman with a shovel tried to hit me, but I gracefully dodged it and grabbed her arm. I twisted it behind her back and made her kneel before me. Her face held defiance with underlying fear while she refused to look at me. I dragged her to a fence post and picked up a metal tool. I broke off the wooden handle and bent the metal piece to a point. I stabbed it into her hand and the wood of the post. She screamed and tried to pull it out, but I was strong and had nailed it into the fence deep. I slid my nail down her cheek, causing it to bleed, and licked the small trail of blood away.

I walked away and drank another mortal.

"Is your thirst sated my love?" Gavriel asked me as he broke the neck of a villager.

"I believe it is. And yours?"

"As much as it ever will be. Let us leave this place." He threw the corpse to the ground and we walked peacefully out of town. There were few mortals left to stop us and they were the ones tending to the injured and trying to put out the fires that they had started. I felt the wound where the black haired boy had impaled me with a stake. He missed my heart by a mile but I still felt the pain. It began to stitch itself up immediately.