Forbidden Blood

Chapter 27: Clara

We wake up tonight and I feel completely refreshed. Yesterday was a long night for us, especially since we had to get up early. Zoë arouses first, yawning and stretching. Agatha is still sleeping heavily.

"Hana and the others must have a plan by now, don't you think?" Zoë gets up and shakes her hair out of a long ponytail. She's really pretty, and that's something I haven't noticed before.

"Yeah. We should go talk to them."

"We have to wake Agatha up first." she laughs. "But first I want to ask you something."

"Sure."

"What's the deal with you and Vincent?" I freeze. She will definitely not approve of our relationship, and I'm not sure if I should tell her about us.

"We... um..."

"Look, I know you guys have a thing for each other. I can tell when you guys are together. You've grown really close since you came to stay with us. And Vincent seems... happy."

"I know it's wrong! I know we can't be together and I hate that, but--"

"I'm not telling you that you can't be together, Clara. I'm telling you that people are going to disapprove of it. This kind of thing makes people cringe when they hear about it. They'll give you weird stares and talk about you behind your backs. I just want you to be prepared for that to happen."

"I can handle it."

"Can you?" she raises her eyebrow. "You have feelings for him that can't be suppressed. And once you give in to those feelings, you can't go back."

"What do you mean?"

"How do you think vampires are created, Clara?"

I shrug, "I don't know."

"It happened when Zarro and Adriana got together. Adriana is part vampire now, whether she realizes it or not."

"There's no way she's a vampire. She doesn't have fangs or a thirst for blood."

"Right, but the reason she's gone crazy is because the vampire part of her and the witch part of her are battling. She hasn't let either one of them win."

"How does she become a full on vampire?"

"She has to drink Zarro's blood."

"Does she know that?"

"No."

"So... every vampire..."

"Not every vampire. Some vampires were born from two full-blooded vampires. But others... yes. Including myself."

"Oh," I stand there awkwardly, waiting for her to say more.

"I became a vampire when I was 27 years old. I fell in love with a guy, got too close and drank his blood. I made a mistake."

"What about me?"

"That all depends on your choices, Clara." she looks me in the eyes. "Your fate rests on your hands, no one else's." Suddenly, Agatha stirs in her bed, pushing the covers away from her face.

"Oh, you guys. I had the best sleep!" she yawns.

"I'm glad. You'll need some energy for today." I say.

"Yeah. It's time to talk to the others." Zoë crosses her arms.

"Okay," she sighs and stands up to stretch. "Let's go."

The three of us walk outside and down the hallway. I keep thinking about what Zoë said. She doesn't make anything seem awkward between us, and I'm thankful for that. Otherwise, Agatha would probably pick up on the tension.

When we reach the middle of the cave, I see Jak, Martha, and Hana talking to Vincent, Johnson, and Zarro. They seem deeply engaged in their conversation. Vincent looks up when he hears us coming. I give him a half-hearted smile as I walk to stand next to Hana.

"Good. You're all here." Zarro says.

"We have an idea of how to get rid of Adriana and Tarynn," Johnson glances at Zarro, "We want to exile them."

Agatha gasps, "What? Why do you want to exile them?"

"They're causing so much trouble to both of our kind. It's the only way that will work."

"And there is something we need to ask you two." Zarro directs the question to us. "How does exiling work with the witches?"

"Well, you would have to meet with the elders. If all of them agree, then they can be exiled." I say.

"So what are we going to do about them contacting the western witches?" Zoë asks.

"I guess we can try and reach them before they get there. Where are they now?" Hana asks. I check the map book and it shows them almost at the village.

"They're almost there. If you want to get them, you're going to have to hurry."

"Alright, Jak and I can find them and bring them back." Martha mumbles. "What should we do if they try to hurt us?"

"I'll bet they're pretty weak right now from walking all that way. I don't think they'll try anything." I say.

"But all the same, be careful." Hana adds.

"What do we do once they get back?" Vincent asks.

"I guess we'd take them back to our witch community and ask the elders to form a council for their case."

"Alright, then. You guys should go ahead and start heading back to your village. We'll meet you there and bring Adriana and Tarynn."

"Sounds good." I say. Everyone begins to split up and get ready to leave. I look at Vincent and he looks at me.

"This will all be over, soon." he says.

"Yeah, I hope so."