Prince of Blood

5: Feast for Strength

My mind woke before my body so I wasn't aware of the throbbing right away. The first thing that became evident was that I was inside and lying on a rather soft bed. The scent that filled my nostrils was unfamiliar...but seemed to be similar to the smell of brown sugar somehow. After realizing this is when the throbbing hit. Sharp and cold. It wasn't like what you would feel after getting beat up or hit by a car. It was much deeper and spread through every inch of my being. Similar to growing pains but more piercing and painful. Once I forced my eyes open, the memories came back and I stared blankly at the ceiling. Even though I could remember in vivid detail what had happened in the alley; I felt nothing. No emotion rose to fill me with grief or guilt of murdering Jace. There was just emptiness. Not the emptiness that came with depression but just utter emptiness. I didn't care and that didn't even bother me. Drawing myself from the past, I allowed my gaze to travel around the room and pick out details.

First, it was rather dim but my eyes adjusted instantly, picking out the five different doors. Second, the large room was much more than just a bed room but held a couch, piano, bookshelf, and fountain. Third, I was obviously in a rich house because the furniture around the giant room was crafted with ornate detail and the midnight color scheme shown through every piece no matter how small or insignificant. And Fourth, I wasn't alone; there was a young man standing beside me. He was the very one from previously who had arrived with the other two vampires before I had blacked out. His little group must have brought me here. Despite the fact I had only heard his name a handful of times, it came easily from my memory: Jahal. His light red eyes watched me carefully as I studied him. The small thread of distaste was easy to pick out in his look.

"How do you feel?" He asked, his voice emotionless and silky.

I didn't doubt that all vampires had smooth entrancing voices. My answer came in a slight shrug. The throbbing had dulled somewhat but my throat seemed sealed and dry. Jahal made a small motion off to the side of the room and a person walked through. It was a woman, her greasy light brown hair covering her face and a boring brown dress adorning her form. She was a little plumper than average girls and her face wasn't all too pleasant to behold. The look in her eyes was dead and blank as if her mind and soul no longer inhabited her body. Jahal took up her wrist and with a quick swipe, slashed open the flesh of her palm.

"The change is complete but the process has left you weak and malnourished." Jahal spoke in the same voice and extended the woman's hand out to me. "Drink."

The smell of blood sent a jolt of hunger through my body and my throat burned in longing. Grasping the arm, I sunk my fangs into the soft flesh and relished the warm gush of liquid. My thirst grew and I yanked the woman towards me, biting viciously into her neck where the blood flowed more quickly. After a few minutes she was drained completely and I withdrew my fangs, breathing a little heavily. But I was still hungry. I needed more. Jahal pushed the corpse from the bed and snapped his fingers, sending in another person. Another woman who had traces of grey in her blond hair and winkles creasing her face. The same dead look was in her eyes and she walked without resistance to Jahal. This time I didn't wait for Jahal to offer her to me, I snatched her arm and sunk my teeth into her forearm. Somewhere in my mind, I made note of the variation in taste. The first woman had a strange bitter-sweet taste to it, and this one had a far more sugary flavor. Neither one was amazing tasting but they were enjoyable enough.

Again, the woman was drained and Jahal let the form drop to the floor. The deep hunger had lessened slightly but my body still craved more. Five bodies later and the desire was gone. My body had relaxed and the throbbing pain was gone. I felt fresh and satisfied. Jahal's gaze swept over the corpses on the carpet and I could tell he was counting them. There was seven total and I had drained each one dry. Sitting up now, I cleaned off the blood of my fangs while Jahal began talking.

"Now that you are filled, it is time for you to assign a new name to yourself. Your body and mind are new, therefore you deserve a new name." He said, watching me with a measuring look.

I stared at my hand for a while, noticing the pale shade of my skin and thin, slender look to it. As if guessing my request, Jahal presented me with a hand mirror from the side table. Reluctantly, I held it up and gazed at my reflection. The old me was definitely gone. My hair had darkened into lush black and my skin was ivory with just a hint of a flesh tone to it. My features had grown more slender and somehow held a now mysterious beauty. But the major and most noticeable change was my eyes. Originally a light gray-blue, they had transformed into a deep crimson with a sharp and gem-like appearance. It might be vain to think of myself as beautiful, but now it was a plain fact. I held the same enchanting but dangerous beauty that I had encounter that night in the alley that each of the figures had possessed.

The beauty of a vampire.