Between Shadow & Ruin (Fangs & Fae Saga Book 2)

forty-three.

While Val slept, I sat on the chair in our room, struggling with my hunger and nausea. Val turned over in bed and I watched her sleep, her hair had fallen out of its bun and draped along the back of the pillow. I remembered staying up with her as she cried after she'd lost Liam and how sympathetic I felt, never imagining I would feel the same pain. I wiped a tear as I headed downstairs. I went into the refrigerator, wishing I could have a beer. I pushed past it and grabbed the bottle of blood that Zane had prepared for me. I opened it, taking in the smell and took a sip.

"What the hell?" I said to out loud to myself. "I thought Zane filled it..." I held it over my mouth and shook it, but it was empty. I placed the bottle in the sink and grabbed a glass of water, trying to satisfy my hunger, but it was getting worse.

I heard a shuffle from the basement of the school and headed over. I opened the hatch to the basement, closing it behind me and turned on the light. The darkness inside the cage was the spitting image of Odie but surrounded in a black cloud. I felt like I couldn't breathe and the want for blood increased. I placed my hand against the wall, in an attempt to steady myself as the nausea increased and I threw up the blood and water I'd consumed.

I thought I heard the darkness chuckle quietly as I wiped my mouth. I sat down on the stairs and looked towards the cage. I took a few deep breaths, trying to get the nausea to subside. I placed my hand on my stomach and grabbed the railing to help myself up and walked towards the cage. I stood in front of it and peered through the bars. It looked up at me and smiled. Its hands wrapped around the bars.

"Mom's not here to save you this time..." it said. It sounded exactly like Odie. "You guys aren't going to win this fight..."

"What?" I asked, confused at what I was hearing.

"You heard me... This time you're here alone..." I started to walk away, realizing how stupid it was for me to be that close to the darkness. "How's the bloodlust?" it asked. "I bet after losing my sister... it must be pretty bad, huh?"

"What are you talking about? Why am I even talking to you?" I shook my head and continued towards the stairs.

"She's upset with you. She's upset you couldn't hold her. Kind of like how I was upset that Mom couldn't hold me."

"This is fucked... This must be some pregnancy hormone thing..."

"Don't ignore me! You know what's coming!" The voice got deeper and darker. I reached the top of the stairs and closed the hatch behind me. I got back inside, closing the door into the kitchen quietly. Val was standing in the kitchen; she looked worried.

"Where were you?" she said, throwing her arms around me.

"I – I was in the basement with the darkness..."

"Again!? Liz! Why!?"

"I don't know." She turned to the sink and gripped the edge. I knew she was biting her tongue on scolding me. She grabbed the bottle in the sink and shook it.

"Did you drink this by yourself?" she said, holding it up.

"Yeah, I was hungry. I threw everything up, remember? Shit, I threw up in the basement and forgot to clean it..."

"Liz! That was supposed to last the whole day tomorrow! And you drank it in, what? A minute? Are you okay?" I was silent as I thought about when I drank the bottle. I'd thought it was empty. I only remembered taking a sip.

"Val..." I said very solemnly. I took a step away from her. "I – I don't think you should give me any blood for a while."

"What?"

"You heard me. You should starve me."

"That's ridiculous! Why would I do that?"

"Because... because I'm about to go on a Ripper binge. I don't remember drinking that entire bottle. I took a sip, and it was empty. I thought maybe Zane only partially filled it."