Awakened (Bloodline, #1)

Chapter 7

07: We Traveled to Kariota

I swear these two would kill me first before any other creature could.

Napaluhod ako nang makarating kami sa camp site na ginawa namin kanina habang hinahabol ang hininga. Irus' shadow step, that was what he called it a while ago, was more nauseating and awful than Kei's night travel. I could see everything in flashing lines and it felt like I would fall off if I relaxed even for a second. The wind was cutting through my skin, too, like thousand needles prickling every pore on my body.

Halos pagapang na akong lumapit sa kanila dahil nahihilo pa rin ako. Irus lay Kei's unconscious body near the fire. There were still small blotches on his arms and neck, but he looked better compared earlier. I drew a shaky breath as I leaned against the trunk of a fallen tree.

"He'll be okay," Irus assured in a muffled tone.

Napatingin ako sa dibdib niya. I grimaced when I saw the hole made by the Katteri earlier. However, unlike normal people, the blood gushing out had already clotted and the droplets around his wound were as thick as sap.

"I'm okay, too," sabi niya at kumunot agad ang noo ko.

"Okay?" I intoned. "You have a freaking hole in your chest. How are you okay?"

"It will heal after a few days," he replied as if it was just a mere scratch and not a fatal injury. "See? It's slowly closing off. Don't worry too much, lady."

Muli kong tinitigan ang dibdib niya at napaawang ang bibig ko nang makita ko ang sinasabi niya. The skin and flesh around the wound were slowly regenerating, though they looked gross since they were moving and wiggling.

Inilabas ko naman ang vials at isa na lang ro'n ang may laman. We used the rest for Kei's blotches. Ang hirap pa naman kapag mayroong emergencies tulad na lang ng nangyari. Ngayon ko lang na-realize kung gaano iyon kahalaga lalo na't mahaba-haba pa ang lalakbayin namin.

Saglit na nabalot ng katahimikan ang temporary camp namin. Besides the occasional crackles of the huge fire in front of us, the night was eerily calm and quiet, which made it easy for my thoughts to deluge me.

Several questions lingered in my head after that confrontation with the Katteri. I remembered how it almost became crazy upon smelling my blood. Was that my effect to every undead? But why were my retainers unaffected?

Agad akong napalingon kay Irus.  "So, Katteris can drink higher clan's blood. How about you?" I asked, breaking the silence.

His gray eyes looked aflame, reflecting the embers burning in front of us. "We can't."

I knew it. They could have my blood when they needed it but they didn't. Kinailangan pa nilang maghanap ng human blood as a source of food. Katteris seemed to be okay with both human blood and mine, so why couldn't they drink mine? Was there any reason for that?

Irus and Kei had been telling me about the higher vampire clans and I seemed to be one of them, though they wouldn't tell me any details.

"So, you can only drink human blood?" dagdag ko at tumango siya. "Pati si Kei—I mean, Khmer?"

Muli siyang tumango. "Trackers, assassins, and mages can only drink human blood. Other vampire subspecies can either drink human or higher clan blood."

"Why?"

Agad akong napaatras dahil naging seryoso ang tingin niya. I also felt the temperature dropped several degrees to the point that the fire suddenly didn't feel hot anymore. For a second, I thought he'd kill me for asking such question.