Awaken

Chapter Eight

 "Do you know the story of our origin, Krista?" Viktor asked, his eyes never leaving my face. I hated the way he stared at me, as if I were a prize of some sort to him.

"Liam explained it as we all evolved from one original family." I answered honestly. There was no reason to lie to him, especially if he was going to let us hide out in his shop. Or, I assumed it was his shop since the woman took us to him.

"Well, that is true, but did Liam explain to you how it was that this family gained these magical powers? How one sibling suddenly needed human blood to survive, how one sibling was forced to turn into a wolf every time she was angry, how one sibling was able to suddenly perform unimaginable tricks and, and how one sibling was blessed with grace and beauty that exceeded all?" He asked as he began to wonder around the room. A fire place had appeared from nowhere, and was beginning to heat the room.

"No, he didn't." I kept my eyes in my lap, unsure of where to look. I didn't want to follow him around the room because I wasn't sure what he would do if he caught me looking at him.

"The original family was made of four sisters, who had been orphaned by a rival village. The eldest, Lilith, was only fourteen when their parents died and she began to care for her younger sisters. Lilith wanted revenge for her parents death, so she sought out the help from the gods. The thing about Lilith and her sisters was they were very beautiful, even in their young age. So, when Lilith sought revenge the gods wanted to comply to the young beauty, but they felt it was unfair to simply strike down the village that had attacked Lilith's." Viktor stopped next to his desk and I dared to look at him. He looked different, not nearly as intimidating. "So, they decided to strike a deal with the girls. They would get their revenge, but they had wait until the youngest, Reva, turned fifteen before they could get their revenge. If they were patient, and did not attempt to seek revenge before them, they would be rewarded with unimaginable power. Bit, if they did act out, they would still receive the power, but at a cost. Two of the sisters obeyed the gods, and two of the sisters disobeyed. Lilith and the second youngest sister, Manya, disobeyed the gods. They cursed Lilith with having to devour human blood to survive, since she was so hungry to spill the blood of her enemy, and she would live for all eternity, watching her loved ones die. Manya, a very angry child, was cursed to fall victim to her animalistic behavior and she was made to turn into a wolf. The gods also decided that because their betrayal the two would each only have one soulmate that they were forced to spend their entire lives searching for, hence the cause of mates and bloodmates." Viktor concluded.

"And the two sisters who obeyed the gods?"

"Reva, the youngest, and Aneta, the second oldest were blessed with powers and beauty. Aneta is the mother to all Elves, and Reva is the mother to all witches. Aneta's bloodline always stayed in favor of the gods, but Reva's decided that they were more powerful than the gods, which is what lead to the witch hunts that took place while the humans ruled."

"Why tell me this?" I asked, even though I was incredibly fascinated. It was amazing to hear about our ancestors, and that even they made mistakes. It made me feel less horrible for the choices I had made.

"The beast inside you is stirring, isn't it?" He asked, suddenly moving too close to me. I shrink in my chair.

"How did you know?" I asked him, knowing that I wouldn't be able to deny it to him.

"As you have noticed, I have magical powers, similar to a witch. Duscha, the women that walked you in, she is a witch. I am a descendent of Reva, the original witch. I was turned over four thousand years ago, when the bloodline was much richer, so I was able to keep my powers. That is why your beast calls out to me, it is recognizing my blood as its own." He said, not moving from his spot. He was so close, too close to me.

"What do you mean? Are you trying to say that I am the descendent of the original werewolf, Manya?" Liam had said something like that, about Greyson being one of the descendants of the original wolf.

"I'm not saying only that, because think, is it only the wolf in your that stirs?" He asked, moving his face so that it was only inches from mine. I thought about what he said. I could feel the beast, the wolf, clawing inside, but I could also feel something else, something just as dark but not as anger. It was more collected and much more sinister.

"The vampire? Lilith?" I asked, looking at him.

"Yes, you are a combination of both Lilith's and Manya's blood. Both of the siblings that acted against the gods. Why do you think you are so full of misfortune? You are practically the spitting image of Lilith, except your eyes. They belong to Manya."

"I don't understand, everyone told me that hybrids never survived, so how am I able to survive, especially since I have the bloodlines of two of the originals?" I asked.

"That is how you survive, because of your bloodlines. You are many souls, in one body." Viktor said, confirming Liam's theory. "What I don't understand is why wait until know, why was the bloodline dormant for all of these years?" Viktor asked, finally giving me my space. Why did it wait until now? Why me? "I will let the both of you stay tonight, and I will give you plenty of blood, but I will only do it so long as you allow me to continue with you to Prisca."

"But why would we need to? We have all that we need, the confirmation that I am a descendant of the original bloodline." I said, I didn't really want to meet the old vampire anyways, something about the whole situation made me feel weary.

"Because, Prisca can help you with your current situation. She can help you so that you are no longer on the run. Liam is not a dumb vampire, he had multiple reason for taking you to Prisca. There are more than three ancient libraries in the world."

"So, he lied to me?" I asked, the betrayal hitting my heart. Liam was the one that I trusted not to lie to me, to always be there for me.

"Don't blame the vampire, he is only trying to help you in whatever way he can. He meant you no harm. So, what do you say?" He asked, his blue eyes sparkling with interest.

"If you promise to behave, and not hinder our progress." I said, not knowing what else to say. I wanted to ask Liam about it, but I was mad at him for lying to me. If he had told me his real goals for going to Prisca I would have agreed to go regardless, but he decided to keep it from me.

"I promise." He said, a smile lighting up his face and for some reason he seemed less sinister than the man I had met only a few minutes before.

"Can I ask you something? Why do you seem much more friendly now?" I asked, not able to stop myself.

"It's a facade." He admitted. "Most vampire know of my ability, and they believe that I am a vampire born, rather than a witch turned to a vampire. Many of them want to use my power as their weapon, but if I come across as cold and uncaring, I am usually able to win and prevent myself from being used. You should try it sometime, you seem to be a very fragile being, which for someone in your situation can be very dangerous." He warned.

"It keeps me sane." I admitted. "If I changed, if I became darker, I would be giving in to the monsters inside me...they thirst for blood." I said, looking away from him.

"Look at me Krista." Viktor demanded and I met his eyes, unable to deny him.

"They thirst for blood because you keep them shut up, and locked away from you. They act so violent when you release them because they do not know the next time they will be free. You need to work with them, and start treating them how they are meant to be, as a part of you rather than separate entities."

Treat them as part of myself? Wasn't that what I was doing? I thought about it, and I realized he was right. I was treating them as if they were another person, and not part of myself. Maybe he was right, maybe that was what I needed to do to prevent disaster.  

Please comment with how you feel about the chapter, the book, the characters, anything! I feel as if I haven't been getting a lot of feedback these last few chapters and I would really love for you guys to say something about it.