Dark Dreams

Chapter 24

He arrived at the place, they all snared at him like the traitor he was as he walked in the midst of his kind. He could feel their eyes piercing his soul, he could tell how disappointed and angry they all were. The hordes of vampires were huddled around the old house. It had been a mansion in its early days, but now it was a far stretch. When you can live for a long time, the reason for chores sort of became pointless. The vampires lined the walls of the building, clinging to walls, hanging from roofs, and creeping out from crevices.  And there at too the creaking stairs, Creighton stood. The vampires that loitered the steps cleared a path as he walked down, his dark cape followed behind him.

"You've grown soft!" a face from the roof sneered
"Traitor!" Another voice spoke.
He walked toward Creighton, their current leader, Vaughn managed to hold his head high as they both reached the centre of the room.
"Long time no see" Creighton's voice echoed.  Vaughn didn't speak a word, Creighton rose, as if growing taller, until Vaughn had to tilt his head to maintain eye contact
GBOOM! Just like he expected, a torturous punch hit his jaw before falling to the floor.  He the impact resonated through his teeth, he had bit his tongue. Pain surged through his nerves. Physical pain, he hadn't felt such in a long time.
"You turned against your family you fool!" Creighton roared. It was a mortifying moment for Vaughn, his brain was struggling to process the moment and he had not the slightest Idea of what he should do.

Apologize? It would only confirm your weakness.
Fight back?  Oh, Don't be stupid Vaughn.
Speak up? Say what exactly? That you fell inlove with a human?
The thoughts danced in his head as he slowly regained clarity.
Vaughn looked up at his brother as if asking him for help but Aidan just gave him a shrug that reeked of  'I told you so'

"Stand to your feet you weakling!" Creighton ordered and Vaughn obeyed.
"You know perfectly well why you were sent to the school, You completely failed!"
"I...I killed her father to show that I was willing to do anything, I just needed more time..."
"It's been a month and eleven days you idiot!" Creighton growled, pupils as red as ruby,  pratically shooting daggers at Vaughn already. He was furious and even Vaughn knew that if he made the wrong move or say the wrong words, he could be killed. He already turned his back on the clan. They wouldn't think twice before driving a stake through his heart.
"It wasn't as easy as it seemed" he mummured.
"Speak so that I can hear you!"
"It wasn't as easy as it seemed!!" Vaughn raised his voice but surprisingly Creighton didn't look challenged. Now he felt like he was talking to a man.
"Bring the female madis, how hard was that?"
"Harder than I thought, harder than any of you thought..."
"What a mistake, we thought we could trust you, no we did...you're the calm one, the one that goes weeks without human blood, I thought you were the best person but I was definitely wrong". He paused.
"You're such a weakling. You fell in love, didn't you?"
Vaughn's eyes widened.

What? You didn't think they'd know. Oh come on Vaughn...

"You're so stupid, you wasted our time! Three days! That's all we have left, if he isn't woken up by then, he'll never wake up again, no matter what we do and you know we need him Dammit!"
"And the only option you say is the heart of a female Madi-"
"Ah-ah-ah..." Creighton interrupted, holding his index finger high as if trying to prove a point.
"The heart of a Fragile Madis" He said.
"The boy's younger" Vaughn stated.
"The girl's weaker" Creighton said almost immediately.
"We know this Vaughn" Aidan added causing Vaughn to glare at him.

Vaughn couldn't kill Roenna, it was an impossible thing to ask of him, but they needed to awaken their leader. He meant a lot to the clan, he was the strongest, he was like a father to everyone. He was actually their father, the progenitor of their clan. He was after all, a son of the Dragon, son of the devil; The Draculain, a pure breed. They needed him back in the clan.
"Why don't you all accept that he's dead?!" Vaughn yelled referring to everyone in the coven.
"Give him a respectable funeral, don't kill innocent ones that had nothing to do with his death in his first place! Because we're not humans doesn't mean we're heartless! We've been leaving for years without the Draculain, What changed?!"

"You really are dumb aren't you? A Madis killed the Draculain!"
"And that Madis died years ago!" Vaughn shouted so the others could hear him.
"Why don't you let this go Creighton? We shouldn't always have to kill humans all the time, we-"
"Nonsense!" Creighton snarled. " You won't bring the girl? I will then. Her heart is all we need and He will be back to his feet again, we will be as strong as we were years ago..."
"It won't be easy, they know what they're dealing with" Vaughn spoke, where did all this courage come from?
"Watch me Vaughn, Watch me as I bring your little lover her and kill her before you." He snarled
Alright everyone!! Let's go kill ourselves a Madis!!!"
"Wait!!!" A feminine voice called from the back of the room.
Delilah. She had been like a last born to the Draculain when he walked.
They had history together, she and Vaughn.
He watched her walk up to him,  her eyes full of anger, regret, disappointment, betrayal, there he knew that he had betrayed his very own.
Delilah could've easily taken over the clan after the man's dimise, she had the support as everyone believed The Draculain confided secrets to her. But she like everyone else wanted the Draculain back and Creighton had been in a better position to hold the fort till he did return.
She didn't want to have to deal with the dissapointment if she had failed as a leader. Asides Delilah, Creighton was the closest person to The Draculain. Although there had been a mild fight on who to rule in the meantime while they waited to ressurect the Draculain, she had supported Creighton's claim.

"I need to talk to Vaughn" she said, even though she wasn't the leader, she had her stance in the clan, they respected her, even Creighton did, because she was supposedly knew things they didn't. Things only the Draculain had known. Knowledge was a thing of grand respect amongst them
"Make it quick...we don't have much time left" Creighton said before walking away.
"Come with me" Delilah said sternly as she walked outside. Door shut.
"Delilah I-"
"You failed! That's what you did, you failed...and I saw it coming but I stupidly trusted you! Vaughn. My father, our father was there for you when your parents were murdered by these same humans that you're defending! He was there anytime you called his name, anytime you needed him, this was why you wanted to go for this mission, this was why we all trusted you, I loved you!" She yelled painfully. She was hurt and Vaughn saw that.
"If not for anything, for the love of family! She's human, her kind killed your parents! Where did all the hatred go? Think about this, She'll die eventually...What did you think? That you would fall inlove, get married, have kids and live happily ever after?" She chuckled slightly.
"Wake up Vaughn, do the right thing. You'd rather lose your family and gain a....a girl, a mere human? Or at the rate things are going, lose everything? you already killed the one she loved the most, you already made her suffer and you think she'll welcome you with open arms when you tell her 'hey, I'm a vampire, I killed your father, I'm sorry, I love you'. That's stupid" she breathed, anger still in her voice
"Vaughn...I always thought you to be a very smart one but I'm not exactly convinced anymore, I would've said I trust you to make the right decision but..." Delilah shook her head in disappointment.

"I don't even know you anymore" she concluded walking away and leaving Vaughn in his train of thoughts.