Life Of A Vampire (Book 3)

Chapter Nineteen

They're coming for me. I sat back in the uncomfortable pew situated next to a stained glass window. The church was empty, abandoned. The perfect stage for an unforgettable battle. A podium was still situated at the alter, a bible gathering dust laying upon it. A smile crossed my lips as I stood and walked down the aisle, past the podium, and stopped in front of a replica of Jesus nailed to the cross.

"I thought evil beings weren't allowed in the church but here I stand." I stared up at his frozen face. "Seems I'm not the only liar in here." I turned to the window. "Ironic that you shall bear witness to either the greatest victory or the hardest downfall mankind has ever seen." Turning fully away I let my nails run along the wood, the blood red color even darker in the evening light.

"You were always one for dramatics weren't you, Vivian." I recognized that voice. The disgust and snarl all wrapped up into one vicious man. I looked up and gave a smile that hurt my face and bared my teeth. He looked positively broken. It made my heart swell. I took my hand from the wall and let it rest on my hip.

"And you were always one for suffering weren't you, Alexander?"

***

Light filled the room, brighter and brighter until I was blinded but I was not afraid. I was overjoyed. Gone was the pain, the grief the suffering. I was free.

And then it was gone.

Something flowed through my veins, something powerful. Something deadly. I was suddenly rushing back.

And back.

And back.

I couldn't stop. My heart began to pound until it felt like it would burst from my chest. Something wrapped around it, making it beat faster, harder, until it stopped all together and I was plunged back into darkness.

Back into the pain.

Back into the grief

Back into the suffering.

***

"What brings you back here, Alexander?" She purred. As if she didn't know the answer. Vivian gasped. "Why, Alexander, did that human pet of yours finally die?" I grit my teeth as a laugh escaped her, a wretched sound that echoed throughout the church. "I wish I could have been there to see the light fade from those pretty little eyes and the life leave her body. Wish I could have been there to witness the exact moment your perfect world cracked in half." She looked down at her nails and gave a serpentine smile. "Maybe you'll see here when I finally kill you. She certainly would have ended up in hell, associating with vampires and such."

"Or maybe she'll kill you all over again once I send you back to where you came from you slimy bitch." Ashley stepped into the moonlight. She demanded we wait for her to get there.

"Oh you naïve, silly little human. You think you can actually kill me? Wherever you're concerned I am equal to a god. You can't kill me." A crack of lighting echoed her words. A threat. A promise.

"You're nothing but a pest wherever I'm concerned." Ashley growled.

"So this is the brigade sent to avenge sweet little Rozalina? I'm disappointed." She frowned.

"Let me fix that for you then, Vivian." Bram stalked from the shadows behind Vivian. His brown eyes were alight with a need to kill. Vivian whirled around to face my brother. All he gave in return was a growl that shook me to my bones.

"Yes. We wouldn't want to disappoint the wannabe queen now would we?" Freya stepped up next to Bram, her red hair pulled back, revealing the scars she's acquired over the years.

"I believe you're right darling. Wouldn't want her to throw another fit and break another one of Alexander's toys." Stella looked absolutely ferocious as she stepped up on the other side of Bram.

"You're surrounded Vivian. Nowhere for you to run. Nowhere for you to hide." I stepped up, closer to this monster I might have loved once. "It's time for you to attest and answer for your crimes." I bared my teeth, my fangs elongating and sharpening. Aching to rip and tear through her rotting flesh.

"I guess there's no more dancing around this then." She stepped forward, into a pool of colored light. The window whose light shone down on Vivian was cracked, threatening to shatter at any moment. "So be it." She hissed. Her fangs sharpened and her nails now resembled claws.

I knew that I might die but I didn't care anymore.

***

I felt alive. More alive then I've ever felt in my entire life. My skin no longer stretched over bone, but muscle and sinew and power. And so I ran. Ran faster than I ever had. And this time I didn't tire or fight for breath. I just got faster.

I slammed the doors open the the empty shell I used to call dungeon. And then called home. The scents smelled stale. No one had been here for a while. I was looking for something, someone specific. But they weren't here.

So I left.

And I ran.

***

"It didn't have to come to this you know. If only you could have loved me!" She screamed and threw another piece of the newly broken pew. "But no, instead you chose to love that human. She can't love you like I could."

"You're not even capable of love." I hissed and ducked, barely dodging the piece of wood. My comrades stayed back like I asked, poised and ready in case they were needed. What started as a battle of strength now evolved into a battle of will. Abandoning the broken pieces of wood she lunged, taking me to the ground. Her nails dug into my skin as she tore through my shirt. I could smell the blood. As she lifted her hand, surely aiming for my throat she let out a growl so animal it shook me to my core.

Suddenly the church doors swung open and everyone's head turn. I heard the gasps. I probably gasped as well.

"Impossible!" Vivian screeched.

There, in a pool of pure silver moonlight stood the most beautiful creature in the world. She wasn't a vampire, but she certainly was no longer human. I whispered her name over and over again, as if to hold onto the hope that she was real.

"Rozalina."