Black Friday- retribution

Chapter twelve- Raw meat.

The sun had already began to set as Katelyn and Selena stepped outside of the house. An orange-red glow captivating them as they stood in awe of the natural beauty the earth had provided.
Being away from the distractions of a busy city, Katelyn began to appreciate moments like these once again. The trees, the forest full of secrets and the mesmerising sun had grounded her and she had begun to see things differently.
The small town with many tales had felt like a curse for so long, but now she was finally ready to listen.
"You remember when we were kids, and we used to play alchemy? One of us would be the potion maker and the other would be the customer." Selena reminisced.
Katelyn nodded, a slow smile formed before a little chuckle.
"We were so lame." She cringed, remembering the concoctions they had invented.
Wild flowers, crushed egg shells and their names carved into candles. They invented their own spells and rituals, having no idea what they were doing.
As teenagers they went a step further and added in a strand of their hair, a pinprick of their own blood and stirred it with the wishbone of a chicken carcass.
"We were gonna save the world." Selena muttered. Her tone now serious.
The women stood for a second in silence. They both had the same glazed expression on their faces.
They were in their thirties now, and Katelyn had only performed a protection spell three times since she left River Falls.
The first time was when she first moved to London, and the big city overwhelmed her so much that it gave her anxiety.
The second time was when she was working a case involving the smuggling of class A drugs, and it was in the first week of becoming a detective.
And the third was just before she walked into the vampire pit. The wolfsbane, also known as Monkshood was intended to weaken the vampires enough to stake them, but her plan had failed.
"I don't know what to do." Katelyn confessed.
"This time a six weeks ago I was a detective, arresting criminals and solving crimes. I was good at that."
"And you seem to have forgotten the person you used to be. When we were kids, and the world was magical, and we would play with the fairies and tell secrets to the trees... I can see, it's all coming back to you." Selena said, hopeful that her friend would embrace her pagan way of life again.
"After my mum came back from wherever she was, she bought back a darkness with her. That darkness has followed me around ever since." She confessed.
Selena sympathetically strokes Katelyn's arm and the pair headed towards the woods. Using the back lane behind the row of houses, the walk took approximately three minutes.
"You should probably try to sort things with your mother. Things aren't always what they seem." Selena said gently.
"C'mon. You know what she's like! She's got these crazy ideas, she obsessed over demons and all that stuff. She even got my dad to join in on her wild shit." Katelyn said.
The forest was almost dark now, the street light flickered on and the sun had very nearly set. The leaves on the trees began to gently breeze together, dancing in unison with the wind.
"You wanna know what I think?" Selena said quietly.
"Hmmm. I guess?"
"I think that when your mother left, for whatever reason... your mind created a scenario to help cope with her absence. I mean, yes her stories are a little... unorthodox."Selena explained.
"To say the least..."
"However, maybe it's time to hear her side." Selena finished.
"Yeah, maybe you're right." Katelyn thoughtfully bit her lip and looked behind her towards her house. Reluctantly she began to let her guard down, just enough to be able to be a bit open-minded.
"Of course I'm right! Just trust me. Holding onto anger only hurts yourself. It's time to move on. Don't you think?"
Swallowing her pride the pair headed back towards the street, night-time had fallen upon River Falls and Katelyn could see her family through the dining room window, laughing and joking together. They looked like a normal, regular family with not a worry in the world. She watched as her mother, spotting Katelyn in the street, turned and smiled and waved for her to come and join them.
Katelyn so desperately wanted to be a part of that.
"Go and be a family. Embrace it, because tomorrow it could all be gone." Selena warned.
"In the meantime I'm going to see what can be done about this vampire problem." She said, matter-of-factly. She headed towards her house.
"Ill see you tomorrow. And, thank you. For y'know... well everything." Katelyn said, hands cupped together and placed near her heart, in sincerity.
"Anytime... stranger." Selena winked, and headed into her house.
***
The smell of fresh bread filled the house, and a beef stew gently simmered on the cooker. Katelyn was starving, and nothing seemed to satisfy her rapidly growing bump.
I'm going to be a mum...she thought, as reality of her situation finally dropped.
Meanwhile, her own mother was faffing about serving drinks and refilling the ice bucket with fresh ice.
"Your father is on his way home." She said, as Katelyn walked into the kitchen.
"Okay, cool." She replied. " is there anything I can do?"
Athena smiled "oh, maybe you could take the drinks in?"
Baby steps, Katelyn. Baby steps...
Katelyn agreed and grabbed the tray of varied drinks. Whisky on the rocks for the men, pink champagne for Audrey and Athena, and finally a tall iced, chocolate milkshake for little Kova-May.
Nothing for Katelyn.
She didn't say anything, presuming her mother had just simply miscounted in her flustered state of playing host.
Katelyn took the tray to the dining room and served them to her family, just as the front door shut and her father walked in.
He stood for a second and looked at Katelyn, and at her very large baby bump.
"Blimey! When your mum said you had some news I wasn't expecting that." He laughed.
Hi dad.." Katelyn smiled, she walked towards him and gave an awkward hug.
"How are you doin' love?" He asked. His voice deep and smooth, words fell out like liquid gold when he spoke.
Joel valentine, just under six foot and an average build for a man his age had just returned from the log company that he owned in the town. He was the sole provider of collecting wood from nationwide forests, chopping them to reasonably sized logs and delivering them to customers. For every tree cut down, another tree was planted.
Most of the houses in River Falls relied on the wood for heating and hot water, because of the age of the houses.
"I don't know anymore to be honest. I'm just..." she shrugged, in reply to her fathers concern.
"Winging it, as the kids say these days." Kyle chirped up, and Audrey gave him a playful nudge as she sipped her champagne.
Athena walked through to the dining room, armed full of fresh stew and served everyone individually.
"Let's eat!" Kova Said wriggling excitedly on her chair.
The food looked amazing. And Katelyn's stomach growled furiously.
"Here we all are, tuck in guys." She smiled. Katelyn, darling follow me."
Katelyn followed, back into the kitchen where the delicious stew bubbled away and the fresh bread cooled next to a block of locally produced organic butter.
"Are you not feeding me?" She asked, a little hurt.
Athena laughed. "Of course I am! What do you take me for?"
"I'm really hungry. And this all looks so good. I haven't had a home cooked meal for a long time." Katelyn smiled.
"Yes. Well you see, my dear you are pregnant with a Dhampir." Athena began.
"A what?"
"Half human and half vampire, it's a Dhampir. And they don't want bread and stew. It's not enough to satisfy them." Athena explained.
"But I want stew and bread.."
"Don't be spoilt now, Katelyn. Think of your baby." Athena walked towards the fridge and rummaged around.
"So what can I have then?" Katelyn said, in a huff.
"This.."
Athena placed a bowl onto the side and removed the tin foil to reveal a bloodied raw steak fillet followed by a pint glass of fresh blood.
"I'm fucking not eating THAT!" Katelyn said, disgusted.
The smell of blood hitting her nostrils and the baby squirming about so much that she was sure at any second it was going to rip from her womb and crawl to the plate of dead animal itself.
"If you don't feed on what the baby actually needs then you will become weak and will likely die during the birth." Athena said, gently.
Katelyn sat at the table in the kitchen, and cut up the meat in tiny pieces. She pushed it around on the plate for a while, before gingerly putting a bit into her mouth, followed by another and another.
Despite the toughness it wasn't so bad. And once she had finished it she reached for the glass of blood.
"This is so messed up." She muttered. Before downing the entire glass.
She felt satisfied. A little sick, but she felt more full than she had in days and the baby settled, the kicks becoming gentle flutters, almost like hiccups.
"That wasn't too bad was it." Athena chirped, as of it was just a thing of the norm.
"I need to lay down." Katelyn said and headed up to her old bedroom, where it had remained the same since she left.
Propped up onto the bed, she got into a comfortable position, trying to desperately keep the meal of raw meat and blood down.
The sooner this is over the better..she thought. Her eyes became heavy and she drifted in and out of sleep, blissfully unaware of the figure dangling from her rooftop, peering in through her bedroom window.
***

Ewww.... raw meat and a glass of blood for dinner...
and just who, or what is on the roof?
so Katelyn is beginning to soften towards her mother, but do you get the feeling that maybe Athena isn't as bad as Katelyn thinks she is?
Find out in chapter thirteen to see if they can repair their damaged relationship and also if Selena has a plan to protect the town from a vampire attack...

B xx