Light's Shadows - On Hold

Chapter 4 - Reflection

Arianna's POV

Idiot. You absolute bloody idiot! 

Don't eat for two entire days. Run for hours on end till your feet feel like they're bleeding. Anger the most feared vampire clan in the world. Risk your life.

All for what? To warn the Lanchesters. To warn the humans.

Go through all that trouble. All that heartache. All that pain. Betray one whom you loved for decades. And then threaten the beings whom you need to trust you. Genius.

I face palm myself and ran a hand roughly through my hair whilst pacing up and down my dingy hotel room. It was easy enough aquiring one in the worse part of town without being recognized. The human at the counter was more than willing to accomodate once I flashed him a bright smile. Men.

How in the world would I be able to get the Lanchesters to trust me enough to resist snapping my throat and listen to what I have to say if I bloody hell tried to feed off one of their own!

This was a really badly thought out plan. Scratch that. This plan was not thought out at all. There was no plan. I was angry and hurt. Xavier had hurt me. And when I heard their God forsaken scheme all I wanted was to hurt him too. That was all he cared about; his conniving, monstrous plans. Messing them up would hurt him more than anything.

I flopped down despondantly onto the screeching bed, trying to think of a way around this little misdemeanor without getting myself killed.

On my way to London, once I'd managed to calm down a little more, I realized that despite my initial reasons for setting out on this little adventure, warning the humans really was the right thing to do. For years I've lived with a man knowing deep down that he only meant harm on the world; that his soul was blackened by power, greed and blood lust.

I stood by his side, a mere shell of myself - a trophy - never wanting to stand up against him. Afraid that I would lose him if I did. For years I've lived in guilt, ashamed of my lack of action. I was a coward. A fool. Too blinded by the love I felt to realize that by standing by this man I had ceased to be the woman I once was.I had become weak and afraid. I no longer stood for what I believed in. There was always that glimmer of hope that fate would be on my side and Xavier would one day atone for his sins. But now his spell had broken and I refuse to stand aside and let  havoc reign.

I thought I would only feel worse once I had left Xavier but it seems that just as I had once faded away, so had my love for him. I was in love with the man I knew decades ago. Not the man I know now. I had long ago mourned the loss of the charming guy I had first fell in love with, I just hadn't realized it. It was only that strand of hope which still attached me to him, but now that even that thread had snapped, I could finally see what I had failed to see before. Yes, I knew he had become a tyrant but now I knew with every cell, every fibre, every molecule in my body that there was no hope for him. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be saved...

With these thoughts running through my head, I made a vow to myself. Never again would I succumb to the wiles of Xavier Fibonacci. Never again would I lose myself. And I vowed that I would find that young man whom I had tried to feed off in the park, and I would do everything in my power to save his family. 

I was dragged out of my turmulous thoughts by a knock at my door and a thin voice announcing, "Room Service."

I stood at once and opened the door, smiling sweetly at the man from the checkout counter. His face was round and ruddy with greasy, unattractively pink skin, and a beer belly fell well over his belt. I didn't have to smell him to know he would not taste good. But I was starved and this was my way of life. If there were any other way to sustain myself I would, but there wasn't.

The man seemed to turn even redder before me as he hungrily appraised my body with no shame. The plastered smile on my face began to hurt as I fought the urge to grimace. He coughed slightly and, adjusting his belt said, "Here's your towels miss. Can I get you anything else?" He winked at me flirtatiously and handed them to me.

I shook my head blankly, his increased pulse grabbing half of my attention, the other half already regretting what I was about to do. As he turned to leave I grabbed his thick set flabby arms and pulled him towards me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in his ear before I sunk my fangs into his sweaty, beefy neck.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry....

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James POV

It was not the first time that a blood sucker had attempted to feed on me before realizing who I was. Heck, some idiot vampires who were so blood thirsty didn't even realize it  until I was kicking their arse down Oxford Street with their venom running through my veins.

But this one was different. This leech didn't feed on me for reasons other than the fact that I would’ve ripped out her heart. I had seen it in her pale, green eyes. I saw regret and reproach. And no matter how much I would love to forget, I was curious to know why it hadn't fed on me. 

I would fuel my curiosity later though. Now I had more important things to worry about. Revenge was sweet and if everything went according to plan, I would be tasting her sweetness on my lips soon. Once the Fibonacci found their beloved family scribes dead and severed it wouldn't take them long to assume that a neighboring vampire rival clan, the Degraci family, was responsible. It's this assumption which I depend on and this assumption which will start World War 4. Although I'd love to kill these leeches, it's easier to get them to kill themselves. Then, we'll strike. The humans will rally and assail these sewer rats when they're weak. I'm not above killing a vampire when it's down. They deserve what I'm going to dish to them and much more. An added bonus is that during their war they won't even hurt the humans. We sustain them. By killing us, they inadvertently kill themselves.

So now, all we have to do is wait and watch.

My family has multiple sprawling estates which are divided between the seven heads of the family or the Elders as they are usually referred to. My father being the head of the Elders hosts their weekly meetings. My cousins and I choose the nights of their meetings to go vampire hunting so that we know exactly where they are and don't have to be worried about getting caught by them.

I nod to the guard at the gate of our estate and drive up the gravel driveway to the 19th century mansion. That's odd. The Elder members are still here. They're usually done with their meeting by 10pm. I look at the clock on my dashboard; it's now 11:47pm. They must have some pressing matter to discuss.

I park my car and head in to the house already thinking about my comfortable bed upstairs. Vampire hunting is exhausting. Sleep sounds delicious right now.

As I open the door, I see before me the seven Elders standing in the foyer. As I enter, each head turns to me and by the fire in their eyes I know that I'm in deep shit.

The furious voice of my father carries through the silent night, "James!"

Oh hell.