BITE - a snowbaz fanfiction

8

She's here.

Mother's here.

Like, not-dead-and-escaped-from-the-Veil here. And the first thing, the very first thing that she's trying to do is kill me.

I'm outside, and I'm alone, and all I'm looking for is blood, when she comes back.

In full form.

Not ghastly, not faded, completely alive.

"Mum," I whisper urgently. "How are you here?"

She shakes her head and takes a step towards me. (I'm taller than her, but not by as much as I would have expected.) She places the back of her hand underneath my chin, a gesture I haven't felt in fifteen years, but one that I never forgot, never in all those years.

It's her eyes that are distressing me. So—cold and menacing, just like in my dream.

"My boy," she says with a mournful smile.

But then . . .

Then her smile's gone.

Her hand is no longer at my chin, no, it's at my neck, gripping me tightly. I flinch. "You killed my son," she snarls.

"N—no, I'm . . ." I swing my head back in forth in denial, as much as I can.

Her eyes are downcast—she won't even look at me.

"Mother?" I say quietly.

And then I see it. White fire, hovering in her free hand, drawn back.

"No, no," I say fearfully, writhing out of her grip.

"Must be cast out," she says, shaking her head.

Please don't do this, please.

She lets me go, because she knows I won't run (I don't) and weaves the flames between her calloused fingertips. "Flammable."

"No, Mother, don't!" I cry out desperately, keeled over on the ground.

My hands are shaking, and I can feel her fire near my body, near my oh-so-flammable body.

The only thing that kills vampires is fire.

I stand up.

I don't know why I do it, but I do.

I want to—at least—show her that I'm not scared, I'm not scared of her doing what she should have done all those years ago.

The flames are in both her hands now, burning high in the air, all around us.

And then, with a scream—

I ignite.

I am rolling on the ground in anguished torture. I feel Mother's fire surrounding and burning my entire body, and all I can do is scream out one name. "Simon, Simon!"

The flames are licking at my chin as I throw my arms down on the ground in surrender. I let the fire swallow me whole, and I finally collapse.

My voice is silenced.

"Baz! Basil, please wake up."

(I'm awake, I am.)

(How am I alive?)

"Please."

(I'll open my eyes soon. Just when I can make myself do it. I can't move yet.)