Blood on Roses [COMPLETED]

Spilled Blood - Grant

Exactly what happened the second time Hazel relived the same day? What drove him to murder the girl he used to love? What were his plans?

~ ~ ~

I sat against the wall of the room. I wanted to appear relaxed like always, but I couldn't ignore the churning in my stomach at the possibility of seeing Hailee tonight. The last time I saw her, she was giggling, blissfully unaware that I was about to defect from The Ones.

I strained my ears for any noise outside. As part of the elaborate trap for The Ones, I was stationed in a tunnel room to ambush infiltrating vampires.

"Hi."

I glanced to the right. My night vision saw the person's face clearly. I stood up and nodded my head down in greeting. "Specialist Lowell."

"Grant," she returned, not bothering to address me by rank. "You seem nervous. Is everything alright?"

I'd rather not mess with Rena Lowell. Smiling, I said, "Really? I don't feel nervous."

"Could it be because you're facing your former comrades?" she asked, then let out a fake laugh. "Just kidding! Don't glare at me. I'll be in the next room over."

I watched her back until her outline disappeared, then exhaled. She was spouting nonsense. I hadn't even seen anyone in The Ones for years.

I leaned back against the wall and waited. To maintain my sanity, I reminded myself of my plans. I joined the vampire hunters to find out what the humans were doing. I joined because I knew that not all vampires were murderous killers. I joined to find out if there was any research on reverting the turning process. Humans were frightening creatures. Perhaps some mad scientist was inventing a way to turn vampires into humans right now.

Yes, I wasn't fit for the vampire life. But more importantly, some vampires weren't fit for the vampire life.

My ears picked up the faintest noise near the entrance of the room. It was swift, and it spotted me. I raised my index finger. As the figure neared my left, I sent a jet of compressed air in its direction. It missed.

Huh.

The figure crept around near the wall of the dark room. It hid in all the correct blind spots. I had to say I was impressed, but it was useless against me. In a few seconds, I generated air currents strong enough to engulf the entire room. Blasts of wind on the soles of my feet gave me a boost, and I zoomed toward the figure.

Even as I threw several air blades at the speed of wind, it somehow dodged all of my attacks. The blades hit the walls, crumbling them. At the same time, I gradually narrowed the surrounding air currents, enclosing the intruder in the center.

The vampire crashed into the speeding currents but was slammed back with twice the amount of force. As the figure got slammed down, their long hair fell out of their hood and danced along the wind.

My arm grew rigid, and I instantly ceased all attacks. I squinted at the vampire scrambling to get to their feet. It was a she. I swallowed, hard. The amount of physical skill that she had demonstrated was on par with an Elite, perhaps even a Pureblood.

I found myself unable to move. Why didn't she say anything? Was she so disgusted by my presence that she didn't even want to waste her telepathy? How come I didn't pick up on her scent? Did I hurt her?

I dispersed the winds around us, opened my mouth slowly, and asked, "Hailee?"

The figure jolted as if confused. Her head lowered slightly, then turned to me. Her beautiful long curls, though paler than I remembered, curtained her face. I stepped forward and squatted down, trying to see if she was injured. Before I could move another muscle, she lunged at me, claws sharp.