Prince of Blood

4: Murder of a Friend

        My body was shaking uncontrollably and my nails dug into my arms as I sat there hugging myself. There was so much pain. I was starving but the vampire before me was already dead so I had no way to satisfy my thirst. Every vain in my body was burning and seemed to be changing somehow. Crumpling into a heap on the ground, I lay there whimpering softly. Never before had I felt a craving this strong before. I didn't just want blood; I needed it. Desperately. Pulling myself up and leaning against the wall, I looked around the alley, panting hoarsely. Then, I spotted Jace. He was still lying limply on the ground from where he had fallen when the vampire had somehow smashed him into the wall.

There was a small tickle of blood running out from his head and I felt a sharp lurch in my body as I saw it. Another realization suddenly came to me, and the small part that was still human gagged in disgust. I could...smell blood. The only thing I could compare the smell of Jace's blood to, was sweet honey. Briefly my gaze flickered over to the form of the vampire lying in front of me. There was not a drop of blood left in his body so I smelled nothing. The hunger returned and I dug my nails into my palm. No...I couldn't do it. I wouldn't. I was not going to drink my friend's blood.

It felt like there was a battle going on inside of my between my human half and the growing vampire half. My body was still shaking and slowly, the monster began taking over as I remembered what the vampire's blood had tasted like. My mouth watered slightly. It had been so delicious. Slowly, I dragged myself over to Jace. My entire body was aching and burning but my mind was only focused on the hunger pains. Shakily, I reached down and slide my arm under Jace's neck, pulling him up. The slick warm blood from the cut on his head tickled over my arm and I lost control. My fangs had sunk into Jace's neck before I could even think and my throat was coated with the warmth of his blood. I was completely a vampire just yet so my small human conscious prickled in the back of my head, screaming for me to stop. I was killing my own friend. But...I didn't stop.

The hunger slowly began to fade and soon I realized that the blood was not coming as easily. Realizing Jace, I looked down at his pale face. He was dead. There was no time to mourn as a shock wave of pain ripped through my body and I screamed, falling back onto the ground. Somehow, I could almost feel the human side of me dying. The pain absorbed my entire being and I found that I was unable to move. Footsteps sounded but my body wasn't responding so I just laid there. My eyes were open still so I could see the three figure approaching. Now knowing that they existed, I could easily distinguish that they were vampires. Either this was a good thing or a bad thing...I didn't know. Their expressions turned grave and one bent to examine the corpse of the vampire that had started this.
"Jahal...he's dead." The couched one said, looking up at the one that seemed to be in charge.
Jahal had short blond hair and the same blood red eyes but a few shades lighter than the dead vampire. He appeared only a few years older than me and strikingly handsome like all vampires were.
"As I suspected." He said softly, his eyes locked onto mine.

"The same is with that human." The other vampire said, still standing by Jahal.

"Burn the corpses and collect the new Pureblood. The queen is growing impatient." Jahal said, turning around and glancing at the moon.

The pain was still growing and soon it was too much to handle. My vision began to fade as I felt the two vampires pick me up. The last thing I saw, was Jace's dead body and a strong gilt tugged at my mind. How was anyone going to find out what happened? One of the vampires snapped his fingers and the two dead bodies suddenly burst into flames. My world went black but the two flames still danced in my mind.