Wake Up, Witch

Chapter 25

I didn't have time to know everything about vampires other than what I thought I knew before my two-century slumber. I didn't know about clean and bad bloods. Or poisoned ones.

Bloody Bishops and their little tricks.

Katz was telling me where he and Bellatrix were and all I could think about was nothing. I could hear him, know he was talking about soul-thirsty creatures from the underworld, but I could not entirely process it all. Floating. That's what it felt like. But I couldn't move, couldn't speak.

It took him a while to realize I was unresponsive. He paused, his eyes cleared of the fog he had earlier. And maybe at that moment, he finally remembered what I told him.

"You fed on Del and Rom."

I couldn't even blink.

"Damn it!" he cursed, walking closer toward me. He asked me something, but I couldn't remember because suddenly, there was nothing.

I drifted away from the dreaming realm. Fell into a dreamless void.

Apparently, my time was up.

***

I remembered coming back to my senses the same way I did when Katz rescued me from Akira's vampire trap. The only thing missing was the noise.

There were cracks and water stains on the ceiling. The only source of light was from the small window. With a tinge of fear, I tried to move. A sigh of relief escaped me when my hands lifted.

Rolling to my side, I realized I was on the floor. Someone had laid out a thick blanket for me, at least. With a grunt, I sat up and stayed still until the room stopped spinning.

I looked down to check if I was still intact. Same dress, but my shoes were missing. Looking around, I recognized where I was. The smell in the air was too distinct for me to not remember. It was the same building in Alistair's dream.

Standing, I walked closer to the small bed under the window. It was fairly clean. I jumped when soft footsteps came from outside. I turned, unsure if I should hide or stay. The footsteps were now joined by a soft, melodic humming. A woman.

I sat on the bed and hid my feet under the hem of my skirts. As I waited, I convinced myself that everything was fine. These people did not kill me, did they? Alistair got me from the hotel. They needed me to cross the border with the Omen. They wouldn't hurt me.

The doorknob turned and in came a woman. A majestic laundry-carrying one. She was iridescent. It could have been the silver hair and the milky skin, or the light grey eyes. It could be... Yes, I know. My mother said I used dramatic words. But this time, it was necessary. Just being in that same room with her felt like heaven.

Her singing stopped when she spotted me sitting on the bed. I didn't know she could glow more until the smile broke from her lips. It was as if she gathered all the light that came through the window and they melted out of her skin. She wasn't even wearing white. In fact, she was wearing a worn-out gray sweater.

"You're awake!" Good Lord, her voice sounded even more heavenly. "Klyne said you'll be up soon." She placed down the basket of laundry at the foot of the bed, her movement soft and gliding. When she straightened and faced me with her laughing eyes, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Who are you?" I asked instead.

"I'm Nalani." Then she rolled her eyes and murmured, "It means heaven."

"Suiting," I said, looking her up and down.

"My mother thought it was a good name for an Ember. I don't like it, though." She looked down at me, her smile too sweet. "You look beautiful. And young. But of course, you're a vampire. You should stay young. I'm thirty in human age, and Klyne believes I'm fifteen in stars age. How about you? How old were you when you turned?"