Angels of the Land

Chapter 1- Wrath

 Blood dripped down from his mouth into the toilet as he leaned over it, staring at the crimson as it stained the white porcelain and spread through the water like sickness. He cursed under his breath. This was the fourth time he'd thrown up this week. He hadn't been able to keep any blood down. He touched the tip of his tongue to one of his fangs and frowned. His mother, Alice, called out from the bottom of the stairs, "Ezra, are you okay up there?"

Ezra spat out the remaining blood from his mouth and sat up straight. "Yeah, I'm fine," he shouted back.

After rinsing his mouth out and cleaning the blood off his face, he made his way down the stairs, where Alice stood, concern shadowing her features. She placed a cool hand to his forehead to check his temperature. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been throwing up all week."

His stomach still hadn't settled, and he didn't feel like going over this again. "I told you, I'll be fine."

Alice sighed. "Fine. Maybe your father can help."

"Where is dad, anyway?"

Octavius, the man Ezra called his father, wasn't around very often. Sometimes Ezra wondered if he was avoiding them, or maybe he was just really busy. Whatever it was, he wished he could spend a bit more time with his dad. Alice pressed her lips into a thin line and was silent for a moment. "I'm never quite sure where that man is."

She shook her head and walked into the kitchen. Ezra followed her into the kitchen and frowned. The amount of times Octavius had stressed her out in some way was countless. He hated how absent he was, even with his own wife. No one ever had a clue where he was. Almost as if he was listening to their conversation, Octavius opened the front door and called out, "Alice, I'm home!"

Alice sighed and walked into the living room, pecking her husband on the cheek. "Welcome home, dear."

He smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two before Alice whispered something that Ezra couldn't quite make out. Octavius' eyes instantly darted to Ezra, sending a cold shiver down his spine. He frowned. "Harper. Is everything alright?"

Ezra winced slightly at his deadname. "Yes. I've just been a little nauseous, is all."

Octavius shook his head. "Whatever. It's not like you tell me anything else, anyway," he grumbled as he made his way to the kitchen.

Ezra frowned and dropped his gaze to the ground. Alice smiled sadly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's just had a long day."

Shaking her off, he turned around and started for the stairs. "Whatever."

As he stepped into his room and shut the door quietly, he sighed. This was getting ridiculous. Octavius was gone all day and then was rude to everyone when he got home. What was his deal? Ezra plopped down on his bed and grabbed his earbuds, plugging them into his phone and starting to play music. Putting in the earbuds, he laid down, shutting his eyes and focusing on the sound of the music in his head. Out of the corner of his eye, a shadow danced on the wall. His gaze shot to the wall, but when he looked, nothing was there. He really needed more sleep. Slowly, as the music drummed rhythmically in his ears, his eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted off to sleep.

A loud bang downstairs jolted Ezra from his sleep. His music had stopped at some point in the night, allowing him to hear the crash. He snapped upright and jumped out of bed, bolting down the stairs as fast as he could. On the last few steps, he tripped and fell to the ground, his shoulder taking most of the force. He groaned and stood, only to find Octavius standing over Alice, sneering. "Get up. Now!"

She whimpered beneath him, scrambling to her feet in terror. Ezra stood there in shock. He had always been cold, and he had smacked Ezra plenty, but he'd never laid a hand on his mom. Ezra still had bruises from him, trailing up his back and covering his jaw and forearms. He ran over and stood between the couple. "Don't touch her!"

Without hesitation, the older vampire grabbed Ezra by the shoulder and shoved him into a wall. "Don't interfere, Harper."

Ezra gritted his teeth and stood, shoving him back. "You can hurt me all you want, but don't touch mom!"

Octavius glowered at Ezra. They both stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, Ezra added, "I'll call the cops."

Octavius scoffed and shoved Ezra again, grabbing his jacket and walking out the door without another word. Alice stared in disbelief. "I can't believe that worked."

Ezra shook his head. "Neither can I..." He paused before quickly turning to her, "Are you okay?"

Alice frowned. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Ezra asked as he inspected a bruise on her cheek. "What happened?"

Eyes filling with tears, Alice stared down at the ground. "Go back to bed, Ezra."

"But—"

"Now."

After a moment of silence, he nodded. "Sorry. Goodnight."