Blood of Eternity

Blood Is Thicker Than Water: Part 1

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb

Once again, I wake up to the darkness with fear from my dreams; killing, draining, slaughtering whole towns all without looking back. And once again Charles chastises me, Taran says nothing, and life carries on without me. Only Dmitri takes my dreams a different way.

"You know, dreams can have a deeper meaning," Dmitri tells me as we weave through the maze of hallways in the mansion. "You may not be terrified of killing. You may be terrified of losing control. Or most likely, becoming a monster."

I know he's right but I refuse to tell him that. He'll know from my thoughts anyway, I can't hide them.

"You are already a monster, Olivvia. You need to accept that." When he says that, I pick up my pace and leave him behind.

I've killed before but I'm not scared of that. I am constantly worried that it will happen again and I feel guilt for the nurse and woman I killed but I'm not scared of that. Drinking and killing will forever be part of my life. What I'm scared of is no longer feeling the guilt from killing, no longer worrying about losing control.

The vampires here kill without remorse, without pity, without regret, and have accepted it as a part of life. They've also become stuck in their ways so I pity them. They no longer see colors around them, or beauty, or even life, they only see prey and each other. What brought out this fear with a vengeance?

Marie.

"Are you sure, sir? The Council hasn't let me leave before. I don't trust them." Roman's voice stops me from opening the door to the hallway.

"To be a sufficient guardian, you must remain anonymous," echoes a warning in my head.

I could though. I could open this door and show myself. What could the Council possibly do to me?

A hand closes over mine just as I begin to turn the knob.

"Do you really want to know what they could do to you?" Dmitri hisses. I whimper as my hand bones begin to bend under his strength. "They wouldn't kill you, that would be too simple, too easy. They would starve you for weeks without blood. The torture would be never ending. If you slept or passed out, Charles could bring your worst nightmares to life. I could be forced to read your mind and tell them exactly how to break you and turn you to their side. And after it all, they could wipe your memory of your life and Roman and anything else remotely important to you. All you would have left would be the Council and that's exactly how they want it."

I stifle a scream when a line of bone snaps audibly in the quiet hallway. A moment of clarity comes with the pain and Dmitri's words hit home.

He said Marie was protected because her death would be a vengeance kill but I see it differently now. When she killed off his fledglings and this Ruth, she killed off his past which was an indirect favor to the Council because then they would have a mind reader as an asset. They must not have reined him in.

The floorboards outside the door creak quietly and Roman steps into the hallway. At once, my brain shoots on all cylinders and I stand completely still in the dark shadows of the hall. His gaze sweeps right over me and lands on my sire.

"Dmitri, I'm sorry. I thought I heard someone," Roman apologizes. "Have you come to observe the meetings?"

Dmitri snorts in response.

"Don't flatter yourself. I don't care what goes on in your Council meetings as long as it doesn't involve me."

"Sorry I asked," Roman says, closing the door behind him.