Rebirth

Hidden Motives and Secrets

"What do you think about my offer?", he asked.

"W-What?", I asked. I zoned our for a while and was snapped back by his words.

"Will you join my army?"

"Are you insane? You strip me off my life and you want me to work for you? You definitely need some help", I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"You are right about one thing. I need help but for a whole new reason. Back to the topic. Why don't you just accept it?"

"Accept what?"

"That I made a right choice by changing you"

"Why would you think that?"

"Let's face it. Your life as a human was terrible. Pathetic actually. I carefully choose people I turn. Tell me you didn't consider killing yourself when you were a human"

His last words shocked me. How did he find out? It was years before I was turned and I was in a completely different city. How long had he been watching me? My heart kept racing like it would come out of my chest and I stared at him with a shocked face.

"Shocked? I know everything about you, sweetheart. Oops... Amaira", he said and left. I was glad he did. I needed some space and time to think.

Ketan stood infront of me. It's been only a few days since we first met but I felt like I could trust him. His presence calmed me. He stood there for a couple of minutes in silence and it was comfortable. "How are you holding up?", he asked in a soft voice like he was trying not to scare me.

I shrugged. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to reply. I could use some girl time but Nina went missing. Ketan knew something but he simply wasn't telling me. "Nina?", I asked.

He looked down. He opened his mouth to speak something but he was at a loss of words. Finally, he took a deep breath and started, "I don't know how you are going to react but.. that douche took her. He says she is dead but I don't believe that. It happened before and she came back safe. All we need to do is find a way to get her".

I simply nodded. What else could I say? I was at a loss of words. I didn't know how long I was sleeping. Basing on my hunger, it's atleast a few days. "Want to come outside?", I asked. He shot me a confused look. "How long had I been asleep?", I asked.

"A day and half. Why?"

"Because my hunger feels like it's been weeks. I could drain more than half a dozen rabbits easily now"

He smiled, "It's because your mind was working hard to revive all the memories"

Both of us went outside and the rabbits scattered at the sight of us. "Why exactly did I lose my memories?"

"Vampire transition has that effect. The transformation is often traumatizing. Human brain cannot handle it without the help of another person. Since that douche wasn't with you, your brain halted the process till you had him to help you"

"Why didn't I remember it when I had other vampires to help me?"

"It's because only the one who turned you can help you through it. It didn't affect you much because it's been nearly two decades since you turned"

I nodded tearing the skin of a rabbit with my teeth, "How long have you known him?"

"Yash?", He asked.

"Is that what his name is?"

He nodded, "For over a century. Remember when I said a friend of my sister owned the place? We met him on one of our visits. Our rivalry is old. You don't need to concern yourself with it"

That put an end to all the questions I had in mind. I decided to ask something different. "Does the smell of human blood make you lose control?", I asked throwing the dead rabbit away.

"No, not anymore. I paid my price for it long ago", He said as if he was trying to remember something.

"Fed on someone you loved?", I asked carefully assuming it might be a sensitive topic. Hurting someone you love can be devastating.

"Oh, no, no", He chuckled, "You will know what it is soon"

I shrugged, "Probably. I hate to be the person I hate but I end up being that person anyway"

"What do you mean?"

"I used to hate vampires who drink human blood. I hated Yash when I saw the blood bath. Now I am being tempted to taste a drop of it. I know it gives me or him no right to kill a person and we can't do it but-"

He interrupted me, "Actually he can but you can't. You will burn quickly"

"What do you mean?"

"It all comes down to food chain and your age. You are young and vulnerable to sunlight. Eating foods at base of food chain doesn't add to the burn. If you drink human blood, your skin will be on fire when sunlight hits you"

My jaw dropped down. He resumed before I could speak. "When you get old, you will get resistance to sunlight. When you walk the earth for a millennium, nothing you do can make the sun burn you", he concluded.

"I have been a vampire for what? Fifteen years? Basing on your theory, that leaves me with what? Insects and vermin?", I asked.

He chuckled, "You are doing fine with rabbits and fish. You don't need to change your diet. I assume you now know what the price was?"

"How bad did you get burnt?"

"It was my first year so you can't blame me. The one who turned me advised us against human blood or even worse, vampire blood. I just wanted to taste a few drops and things didn't go as planned. I managed to not kill her"

"That still doesn't answer my question"

"My skin was on fire, literally. It's safe to say that I haven't set foot outside the house for months", he chuckled.

The cool breeze of night was refreshing. "I am gonna go for a run. I don't know how you are going to feel about this but you can talk to me about anything. Even Nina. Even though I didn't know you guys for long, you were the first ones that didn't try to kill me, weponize me or were downright crazy"

"We think you as a friend too. Nina doesn't feel comfortable around anyone easily. She feels comfortable around you. As much as I would love to talk to you, this isn't your battle to fight. I don't want you get dragged into it and be collateral damage"

I think I said something that I shouldn't have. He used vamp speed and disappeared into the forest. I took off in the opposite direction to give him some space. The run gave me time to think about the events that unfolded.