Black Rose

11. Demons to Conquer

“Your brother.. you mean that guy named Stellan?” I interrupted.

“Yes, back then, it was just the two of us. Several covens have asked us to join them but we never accepted any offer. We were one of the most powerful vampires that ever existed. Maybe because our father is an Ancient Vampire that’s why even without drinking the blood of a chosen one we’re still one of the strongest. But despite this fact. We are still greedy of powers.  On our search for the chosen one, sometimes we parted ways.

One time, I was hunting when a slayer stabbed me with a knife dipped in a dead man’s blood. I had killed him but I was already poisoned.”

I might have looked confused with the thought of a dead man’s blood weakening a very powerful vampire that’s why he explained.

“Vampires do drink blood but we never drink a dead man’s blood. It’s a poison for us.”

“Can it kill you?.”

“We will be weak and excruciating in pain for weeks but we’ll recover. We just have to have a good night’s sleep only that it’ll take weeks for us to be revived.”

“Oh…” that’s all I can utter. “ I’m sorry if I keep on interrupting you. It’s just that I also know everything about your kind.”

“ It’s all right. I’m willing to tell you everything you need to know.”

“Well, I guess you’ve recovered. ‘Cos you wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t.”  He smiled. “Yeah, indeed I recovered. Thanks to Nathalie. She shared her blood  to me.”

“Did you… bite her?.”

Oh Kara what a stupid question! Arrrr!!!

“No. As what I’ve said, she shared her blood to me. I woke up in her house, still feeling weak after two weeks of falling asleep. She has taken care of me during those days that I was unconscious.”

“Does she know?” he already know what I’m talking about.

“Yes, in fact, she’s just like you Kara.” He said. “She was the special one 319 years ago. But, though she knew that I was hunting her, she still saved my life. She’s never afraid of having me around. She attended to my wounds as if I was not going to kill her when I recovered my full strength. That’s why for the first time in my existence, I felt that thing called  LOVE.

Since then, I sworn to myself that I’d protect her from harm. I hid Nathalie and brought her from one place to another just to save her from my kind. Not even my brother knew that I already found her. We had lived like that for years and I also manage to control my blood lust. I learnt how to drink from animals.

But Stellan found us. He thought I betrayed him. That I only wanted the power for my own. I tried to explain what happened but he wouldn’t hear a thing. His mind was already clouded by rage.”  Kellan closed his eyes as if reminiscing what happened in the past. His eyes were still closed when he started to speak again.

“Stellan managed to get his hands on Nathalie. It’s so fast. One moment, I was banging my brother on a tree. The next, I was holding Nathalie’s limp body in my arms, trying to hold the blood oozing from her wound. But it didn’t save her anyway. She died, that day, in my arms.”

By the pale moonlight, I was able to see how his jaws clenched as he talks. He opened his eyes and looked at me.

“I’m sorry…” I managed to choke out.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s all right.”  “ But how about Stellan? What happened to him?”

“I could’ve killed him that very moment but I can’t. After all, he’s still my brother. So what I did is run away from him. I heard that he’s founded a coven and came looking for me since then but I made sure that our paths will never cross. I can’t stand to see his face.”

“For sure, he feels sorry for what he’d done. Won’t you reconcile with him?.” I said. I knew that I already stepped on the line. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

A moment of silence passed.

Then he finally spoke. “ It’s alright. I know you’re just concerned about me. Go back to sleep now, Kara. You need some rest. Don’t worry I’m just here.” He gave me another smile that never met his eyes.

I returned to bed. Sleeping on my side, my back to him. I pity Kellan. For such good vampire he doesn’t deserve to be miserable. Now I know why sadness never leaves his eyes.

He’s always taking care of me and I don’t even have an idea that he also have some demons to conquer.