Forbidden Blood

Chapter 12: Vincent

"What?! Clara, why do you want to become a vampire?" I ask, astonished. She seems different, as if something has changed her since the walk to her village.

"I need to get away from my old life, I need a big change. I don't want to be a part of my witch community anymore."

"Haven't you already been exiled? You aren't a part of your community anymore, as far as I'm concerned." Rina seems annoyed.

"But Clara, that's who you are... you can't just leave it all behind!"

"Did you not hear what she said?!" Clara growls, "The punishments that come with sleeping with a vampires are severe. I don't know what to do with myself now that I've nearly done it! What's going to happen to me?!"

"Wait, you two..." Rina's eyes open wide, "Oh... oh..." she seems embarrassed.

"No! We didn't!" I exclaim, "But we almost did."

"Yeah, I'm gonna... I'm gonna go..." Rina walks into the cave and leaves us in the darkness.

"Clara, calm down. You aren't yourself right now. Just take a deep breath and calm down."

"I can't calm down. I need you to turn me into a vampire. Now." She runs towards me and takes off her jacket. She exposes her neck, leaning into my face. I push her away.

"Clara, stop. You don't understand--"

"Oh, I understand. I understand that everyone lied to me for my whole life! I sure do understand that!" she scoffs, putting her head in her hands.

"Clara, they did it for your protection. And what we did wasn't wrong. I care about you. I promise I won't leave you, I won't put you through that."

"What if you change? How do I know you're not lying to me? Everyone's been lying to me. I could create a whole list of people who've lied to me--do I need to put your name on it, too?" she continues to rant.

"Clara, relax. You're just upset. Let's go inside and--"

"No! Just leave me alone!" she runs into the woods and she seems really mad. I can't let her go alone out there. I turn around and follow her into the woods. I'm able to quickly catch up to her and grab her shoulders, turning her around to face me.

"Clara! Get a grip!" I yell, shaking her, "Listen to me! You are in shock, and you are upset. What you need is a nice, relaxing night's sleep. Now get your act together and come inside!" I see her lip start to quiver and moisture build up in her eyes.

"I'm just really upset." she lets a tear roll down her cheek, "I acted in a moment of weakness. I made a mistake. And now I'm paying for it."

"Clara, we didn't actually do anything bad!" I reassure her, pulling her into my arms. I feel her sob a little into my shoulder. "You are still going to be okay. I know it feels different because we got so into the moment, but keep in mind that we didn't really do it."

She nods, and I lead her into the cave. As we enter, she tenses up. I think she's nervous about seeing the other vampires.

"Hey, remember what I told you last night? No one's going to think twice about it." She takes a big breath and walks away from me and towards the tunnels that lead to her room. She goes back into the room we slept in last night. I follow her and discover her sitting on the bed. She is staring off into the distance with a sad look on her face.

"Are you okay?" I ask. She puts her elbows on her knees and holds her head with her hands.

"Not really. It isn't about the other vampires anymore, Vincent, it's about me. I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?" she sighs.

"The witches still think I'm the one who put the spell on the vampires." she looks at me, "If I reveal that I'm not the one who did it, they won't believe me. And even if they do believe me, that means that I have to leave you. I won't be able to stay here if the vampires find out it wasn't really me. I would have to go back to my community."

"Do you even know who did it?"

"I'm not sure. I know Adriana thought it was Tarynn, but I don't know for sure if it was her or not."

"Well, I think you just found what you should do next." she furrows her brow.

"What?" I grin.

"Expose Tarynn."