Colourless Skies

34. The Other Side

 "I am a half-breed; half vampire, half wizard, you've seen both sides I am certain."

"My mother was a human, but she got bitten in her early days and lived the rest of her life as a vampire."

He leaned back to study Leah's face and could spot a disconcerted look, mingled with some disbelief.

"My father... on the other hand."

He had a look on his face that resembled disdain.

"He was a necromancer, who specialised in dark magic and was known for his the terror he stirred amongst people. No one was safe from his wrath, not even the rulers and the  aristocrats."

"To sum up, he was what you would call infamous."

A long silence followed.

"He fell in love with my mother, who despite his cruelty and mercilessness, loved him back. And just like that, they stood against the world."

"And had me."

He breathed deeply, as if every next word pained him more than the last. His eyes remained blue and stoic as ever.

 "My blood is a little different from both of theirs, I don't possess dark magic and I cannot perform magic half as dangerous and brutal as my father did, and I don't possess all the vampiric powers my mother did.

Or at least, that's what they told me."

Leah was staring at him, wide eyed, but Alex wasn't looking at her anymore, he was gazing intensely at his now slightly trembling hands, as if he was struggling to unlock a mystery hidden within him, but he neither held the key to it, nor had the slightest clue where it was.

"I come from a world called The Other Side. It's like your world, but more of an alternate dimension where humans are not allowed. It's where all your fairytale characters live, vampires, wizards and witches, shapeshifters, and the outcasted Faes." 

As Leah opened her mouth to ask an irrelevant question, Alex intervened and cut her off immediately. 

"No, there are no such beings as werewolves and zombies, please do not ask me such a question."

Now Leah was absolutely 100 percent sure they didn't exist, and that Alex held the power to read minds.

Nonetheless, she let him continue.

"I should also probably tell you, I am forbidden from The Other Side's grounds. All half-breeds are considered extremely dangerous, even for the ruling powers of the clans. For their differences, they are shunned. And if found, killed."

Leah was speechless, not only did he not have his parents, but he was also without a home. 

He was just like her, abandoned, hunted, and forever on the run from the cruelty of the world.

"As far as I know, I am the only half-breed left, so I guess that's my burden to bear."  He laughed bitterly, ignoring the look Leah was shooting at him from his peripheral.

He cleared his throat, his mood becoming much more serious, his face a mask of brooding.

"Your world does not know about The Other Side, and I want it to stay that way."

He was warning her to keep her mouth shut, his strong emphasis and deadly gaze frightening her more than what he would do if she disobeyed. 

Leah looked away. He continued.

"I have lived a life of hiding, trying to protect myself from the wizards who can easily spot half-breeds, and who are also immune to deception."

"But with time, I made friends." He smiled slightly, and though it was for a split second, Leah still saw it.

"And allies. More importantly, the ingenuous ruler of the vampire clan, Aiden. I earned his trust enough."

"Enough that he somehow found about you, and sent me to kill you."

Leah's next breath comes in a harsh exhale, as she tries to find the strength to continue listening to him and making sense of his words. It's rare seeing Alex talk so much for so long, especially when it's about something related to her.

Now seated opposite her, Alex looked at his feet. He looked nervous, or maybe it was just her hallucinating.

 "Don't worry. He thinks you're dead. Because that is what I made him to believe."

He looked up to eye her.

"Who knew I would be having so much fun?"

The words slip easily from his mouth, bringing tears to Leah's eyes.

"W-why... why didn't you kill me?  Why?"  Her voice broke, so she sucked in a shaky breath to hide it.

"And why... why does he want m-me d-dead?" 

It took all her energy to blurt it out, but now that it was finally in the air, it sounded wrong, as if she had just said something she wasn't supposed to talk about.

The expressions on Alex's face twist into menace, as his eyes bloom red and narrow down at her weeping form.
"Stop, stop talking! Why are you so intent on making me angry?"

Leah flinched, she was confused by what he meant, but she wasn't taking any risk, as she steadily backed away.

By now, she was hiccuping from light headedness. Through her blurry eyes, she could see Alex's anger falter, but she could still make out the frustration and the uneasiness swarming his body. He walked away, which thankfully gave her time to breath properly and gather herself. She couldn't always be this vulnerable. It would be her doom.

"Anything else?" He muttered, seemingly more calmed and composed than before, but she couldn't see his eyes so she wasn't sure

"S-so, can you see... can you see in the d-dark, and run at the speed of l-light?"

In trying to distract the atmosphere and quickly thinking of a question which may have been related to her blood, she had exclaimed the first question that had come to her mind.

'Damn that book.'

It was more of a question to her than to Alex, who was facepalming and chuckling behind his hand.

"I can do both of those things as well as you can. I am a half-vamp, not a bat hybrid."

She looked down, her ears heating up in embarrassment, The sarcasm laced in his words pushed her to stop inquiring him more, but curiosity got the better of her, as it always did.  

"Do you...do you b-bite and kill a-anyone you see?"  

Alex smiled, Leah thought somewhat creepily, and moved towards her. He was a few inches away but he still kept walking, looking right at her. Leah's heart thudded in her chest loudly.

More closer, he didn't stop. Leah wished he would stop, her breath hastening once again.

Only when he was inches away from her frightened, tired eyes and her bruised, quivering lips, did his feet halt. But then he leaned in Leah's ears, and whispered his next words.

"No, normally no. But they can get addicted to a person's blood if they've had a taste."

He laughed softly, as his deep purple eyes now concentrated on pushing her hair back from her face, and tucking them gently behind her left ear.

"You should be careful around me."

I am so bad at writing mysteriously fun outros. Please-