Bloodlust III: Extinguish of Blaze

Chapter IX

When I woke up, Altair was nowhere near me. He must have gone hunting for food just as it has usually been done. I had a nice hot breakfast on my nightstand when I woke up. I went to the mirror, wishing I could see how my baby bump looked. It was just a tad bigger. I placed my hand on my stomach and closed my eyes. I tried to focus on my baby's heartbeat but wasn't able to with all the ruckus going on in the dining room. So much talk filled the air I had to see for myself what was going on. Altair sat at the very end of the table as Despoina, Idris, Zaheda, and Grace sat at the sides of it. Jaxx and his clan were sitting at the table too. Everyone stood quiet, staring at me with their eyes as I came in. Tension filled the air. I sat down and when I did everyone began to chatter again. They sipped their glasses filled with blood, and then after hours of me observing, everyone left Altair and me alone at the table. 

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Altair asked me as I was about to get up and Leave. 

"I'm fine," I told him. I didn't want to look him in the eyes. I knew that if I had I would become weak under his gaze. Altair walked along the side of the table, finally reaching me. He turned my head to his gently, making my eyes connect with his. Tears filled up my eyes, hitting the rim. I knew that if I blinked, a tear would fall and roll off my cheek. I tried not to blink. I was at war with myself. "Go ahead, punish me," I told him. He then did the opposite of what I thought he was going to do. He lifted me up, placed me on the table, and gently kissed me. His lips tasted sweet. He smelled like musk and pine. The sensation grew deep in me to pull him closer to my body but he broke away from me before allowing me to do so.

"How is that for punishment?" He told me with a smirk. I smiled back when I realized what he was doing. He walked away from me, leaving me wanting, begging for more, but I didn't dare let him win. 

"Get dressed, Lia. We are going to find your mother." He told me. Jaxx must have brought him up to date with what we went through yesterday. 

When I arrived at the cell where Diggory was staying at everyone surrounded him. Idris, Despoina, Grace, Zaheda, Jaxx, and his clan made sure he didn't try anything stupid. We let him out without any shackles to keep him stable. 

"Where is Lia's mother," Altair demanded. "You will lead us in the direction,"  she pushed him to the front. Diggory did as Altair asked leading us down below the grounds of the castle. Once we were underground it was like a library of coffins. No one would have ever known that these catacombs were down here. water droplets hit the ground as bats chimed and flew past our heads. The deeper we walked into the catacombs, the darker it became. Zaheda bought a flashlight with her. Just because we were vampires didn't mean we lost all use of technology. It's kind of the same thing with humans. Just cause you have an ability doesn't mean you should use it. However, vampires could see at night. The night vision wasn't always as clear as it was for others. I held onto Altair's hand just like Zaheda did with Jaxx. We all watched Diggory try to figure out which coffin was my mother's.

As Diggory examined every casket, nervousness overcame me. The humans that I called parents lied to me my whole life. I wanted to erase them from my mind, but suddenly when Diggory mentioned that he found my biological mother's casket, I started to have second thoughts. Was I ready to meet the person you made me? My hands were trembling. I watched as Diggory pulled out the casket himself with the help of Jaxx and his Idris. Once it was on the ground, I saw what my mother's name was. It was happening. Just as Diggory was about to open the casket, I put my hand out to him. 

"Wait," I yelled out. I turned up to Altair for guidance. "Should I be doing this? What if all the stories are false, and she never actually wanted me, and now we are waking her up for this."

"I can't make this decision for you."

"I know, but I would like to know what you think," I told Altair, who took my hand in his and pushed me up against his torso. 

"I wouldn't have done it, but that is just me," Altair explained. I took a deep breath as everyone looked on at me. 

"But why wouldn't you have done it." I turned around to face Altair once more as everyone in the room sighed and rolled their eyes 

"We're dying here," Zaheda said and then giggled at her remark. 

"Good one," Idris told her.

"Well, I am content with the way things are," Altair told me, and then I made my final decision. All their eyes looked up at me with curiosity. 

"So... what's it going to be," Diggory asked. 

"I'm going to ...sleep on it." Everyone was disappointed with my answer. Diggory was about to walk off with the rest of the coven when Altair caught him in his tracks and forcefully pushed him back into his cell as soon as we all wet back upstairs. 

When the night came to an end I couldn't sleep, Aside from having my thoughts go back and forth to my unborn child, my mother was in my thoughts. I twisted and I turned so much so Altair had to wake me. 

"Lia? Are you okay?" He gently nudged me awake. My eyes were heavy when they met with his beautifully worried gaze. I placed my hand on his cheek and kissed his lips. 

"I'm fine now," I told him with a cheeky grin. He laid back in the bed, closed his eyes, and fell back into his sleep. I stood upright on the bed wondering what to do. I decided to go to meet my maker. As I got up I tried to be light as air wandering the halls. I wanted to meet her one-on-one and not with an audience. I crept down into the catacombs and saw her casket still laying where we last placed it. I removed the dust and grime off her casket and read her name. Amelia De Leon. I pushed open the casket and when I did there she was with silver chains wrapped around her. It didn't occur to me why they would have wrapped her up in silver chains as I broke the lock and tried to unwrap her body. I threw it to the side and then cut myself with a sharp nail poured some blood over her mouth. Her body that was once shriven up and skeleton-like was now forming into a human. I watched as her body regained muscle, skin, and strength with each gulp she took of my blood. Her face grew with color and her hair grew back with such vibrance and then finally her eyes opened with a vibrate purple color.