Vea

There was an uneasiness that had settled over Raven. The uncomfortable feeling someone was watching her triggered goosebumps to raise along her exposed skin. Despite the streetlights that illuminated the area around her, she felt no safer. She was all too aware of what could lurk in the shadows.

Summer had ended months ago, but the night felt remarkably warm. The air was excessively humid, wrapping around Raven like a thick wet blanket; her body was drenched in sweat, her clothes clinging to her like a second skin. It was suffocating.

As if to reaffirm that, her chest grew tight, constricting around her lungs and causing her to struggle to breathe. She clutched at her throat in panic, as if trying to claw it open, gasping for oxygen as numbness crept into her hands and blackness shrouded the edges of her vision. There was a scream somewhere in the distance, the sound muted in her ears from the blood rushing in her head. She writhed in silent agony, her nightmares gripping onto her consciousness even as the fire raged around her.

It had been weeks without an incident. Weeks of being able to wake herself from her nightmares before the fire spread out of control. Before the quiet neighborhood was turned into a chaotic crowd of onlookers as their house was engulfed in bright orange flames. Her mother was trying desperately to minimize the damage, but every time she extinguished one room, it seemed it only came back with a vengeance. It spread too quickly to contain, even for a witch, using everything in its path as fuel to continue on its path. It was a miracle the house hadn’t collapsed in on itself yet.

The overwhelming amount of smoke is what alerted Raven to reality. She coughed, hacking and sputtering as she pried her eyes open. Tears stung as they gathered and spilled over the edges of her eyelids as she blinked in an attempt to clear her vision. She instinctively lifted her arm to cover her nose and mouth, stumbling out of bed. “Mom!” She screamed, almost hysterical as she realized what was happening. “Where are you?!” She didn’t wait to hear anything back before she was across the room, her heart thundering against her ribcage as she barreled through the door, the heat barely registering in the height of her adrenaline.

“vita pereat aquae vita erroris ignis”

Suddenly, the fire disappeared, only the powerful scent of charred wood and tendrils of steam that curled up from the ground indicative of what had just occurred. Outside of Raven’s awareness, shocked gasps rung out from the people who stood in front of their own houses watching with a mixture of horror and twisted fascination. Sirens blared in the background, racing towards the tragedy.

The sight of her mother’s still form was almost like a continuation of her nightmares. Terrifying. Distant. Unreal. She stood frozen in the doorway, staring at the mangled flesh on the side of her mother’s once beautiful profile, as if in a trance.

“Mama?” She whispered, her voice trembling. She was shaking so hard, it was surprising she was able to take an unsteady step forward. Then another. She put one foot in front of the other until she collapsed next to her mother’s lifeless vessel. “Please, wake up.” She sobbed, reaching out to push at her arm as if this was all just an elaborate practical joke on her and she was going to sit up any minute. “Please.” She begged. “I can’t do this without you. Please!” She shook her harder, trying to convince her soul to come back with enough force. “I’m sorry! Mama, please! Wake up!”

Finally, the outside world shattered the bubble Raven had found herself in as the firefighters arrived, along with an entourage of other emergency response teams. The news crews would follow soon after, and Raven knew the support they would usually preach for victims of such a disaster would change to outright contempt for her once the details came out. There was no way anyone would believe this was an accident. They’d think she’d killed her mother. She had killed her mother. What was the last thing she’d even said to her? She couldn’t remember, but she didn’t think it was nice.

She gripped the pendant that hung around her mother’s neck, clenching her jaw as she yanked sharply to break the chain. Her mother’s magic swirled inside, a lovely shade of indigo accented by sapphire. Then, before anyone could stop her, she ran. She ignored the shouting from behind her. She didn’t know where she was running, and she didn’t know how long it might take to get there. But she knew she couldn’t stop. Because as soon as she stopped, the memories would catch up.

And the only thing worse than being caught by the authorities was being caught by her grief.

The weather was brutal. Freezing rain pelted against Valeria’s skin, and even her light wasn’t enough to keep her entirely warm. Every time she attempted to take a step forward, she was pushed back again by the sheer force of the wind. Spreading her wings to fly was impossible unless she wanted to fall out of the sky from how heavy they would be to hold up drenched in water. She would think the rain would be energizing to her, and it was, but it was also a deterrence to her current goal.

It was the end of her fourth year in faerie training. So far, she had been doing quite well. At least that’s what she had been told. But this was her final test, which meant that if she didn’t succeed, it wouldn’t matter how well she had been doing. She would have to go through training again before she would be allowed to stay in the mortal realm. The task had seemed simple when it had been given to her. Save the human. Of course. That was their entire purpose. But she hadn’t expected to be rendered near blind, deaf, and entirely flightless. Not to mention, the amount of hazards any human could encounter here.

Horse drawn carriages flew by beside her, kicking up dirty puddles of water, and splashing her further. Any one of them could catch a slick patch of mud and skid, crashing into a nearby tree or even careening off the paved path into the depths of the water below. How was she supposed to know what to do? She didn’t even feel the familiar tugging that alerted her to the feeling of a nearby human in significant distress.

She pushed the hair that had been plastered to her face back, securing it best she could with a pin on top of her head. Perhaps it wasn’t about saving one specific human, but making sure no human needed saving. She refocused on the rain, letting the droplets soak into her being and give her enough power to do what she thought she was supposed to.

Sitting down on the side of the main path, she let the light inside her center in her hands as she placed them on the rough dirt. The light then cascaded across the surface, creating a sort of barrier between the rain and path that kept the wheels of the carriages dry. Despite this, accidents were still possible, even when the risk of slipping and sliding was eliminated. But one of the first things she’d been taught were faeries weren’t able to control the actions of humans, only the settings that surrounded those actions. So, short of literally ignoring everything she’d been taught thus far, there was no further way of really preventing a crash if that’s what she was waiting for to happen. However, that thought was effortlessly dismissed when she noticed what she was actually supposed to be noticing.

Across the way, just beyond the treeline, there was a shadowy figure. She couldn’t make out the details from this far, but she could tell a hood covered the features of their face. Typically, she could feel the life force from humans, but the life force that emanated from this figure was different. Not necessarily weaker, just different. Which alerted her to the possibility it wasn’t a human. She didn’t need to protect the humans from themselves. She had to protect them from whatever this creature was.

She took a tentative step forward, trying to plan the best route to cross over without her ability to fly and without causing the crash from a human she had just been so dedicated to preventing. The cloaked figure apparently sensed her in the same way she had just sensed them, and lifted its gaze to meet hers.

The immediate and intense fear that struck her was almost paralyzing. His eyes held no comfort, no kindness, only darkness. Valeria had always been one to search for the light in all aspects of life, including the darkness. It was one of the reasons why she enjoyed studying the stars. Little balls of fire that existed in a vast emptiness of space. But she found it harder than ever to trace any light back to his eyes. His cruel grin only reiterated the lack of light as it stretched across his face. She blinked rapidly to dispel the rain from obstructing her view. In the midst of doing so, he had disappeared. She spun around in a panic, trying to relocate him. Fortunately, the steps she had taken already were enough.

As the vampire sprinted towards the nearest carriage, desperate for a meal, he encountered her magic, which still settled over the dirt path. This essentially made it feel like the vampire was burning whenever he was in contact with it, and even though it didn’t outright kill him, it did make him hesitate before ultimately deciding against his hunt.

The scene faded as she felt herself being called back to her realm. A portal opened behind her and she stepped through quickly, finally taking note of her racing heartbeat that pounded against her ribcage.

“Congratulations, you have passed your last initiation.”

The praise came from multiple people, chanted in unison. She was surrounded by other fae, many of whom stood around her in various states of disarray. She assumed they had been given their own tasks, despite not knowing how similar to hers they may have been. The older faeries looked among them with expressions of pride. Valeria should have felt thrilled, but somehow she felt like she had cheated. The way she had stopped the vampire was an accident. Sure, it had worked, but what if it hadn’t? Matter of fact, what if she hadn’t even thought of such a thing to begin with? Was she really ready if she were to encounter that again? But anxiety kept her from voicing these concerns. Instead, she unfurled her wings, watching as the light blue feathers were draped in an amazing pattern of glittering silver. Proof that, regardless of her beliefs, she wasn’t a fraud.

Valeria didn’t need to be too concerned about meeting another creature anyway. Because, within the next few years would be the Great Awakening. After that, all manner of creatures would blend into the background. She wouldn’t meet another person who wasn’t human or fae for centuries. She didn’t know that at the time, of course. If she had, perhaps she would have mentioned her reservations about how she passed the test.

It might have been helpful in the future.

-Two Years Ago-

Isobel woke up in pain. No, pain was too minimal a term to be accurate. Her head was pounding, as if a thousand nuclear bombs were exploding inside her skull. Her body ached and, as soon as she pried her eyes open, she could guess why. She was lying facedown on the ground, amid broken branches and jagged rocks. Despite the fact that she was covered in blood, she seemed to be physically without injury.

It took her a moment to process what had happened. It was a blur, walking back from somewhere, having the distinct feeling that she was being followed. She’d been right, but… no, that couldn’t be right. It hadn’t been human, the thing that attacked her, but it hadn’t been an animal either. She didn’t know what it was, only that it had bitten her before she could blink.

The bite.

Her hand flew to her neck, searching for any signs of the assault, but finding none. She could remember it vividly though, her energy draining out of her as she tried to fight but was pinned by such incredible force that it was futile. She still felt the creeping itch that someone was with her, but after a thorough look around her, she shook it off as trauma induced paranoia.

She wondered if she should call the police, but she doubted they could do anything. She had been attacked before, robbed at gunpoint, but they’d said without a physical description and proof of the items that were stolen, there wasn’t much they could do.

She didn’t know how long she had been unconscious, though she guessed it couldn’t have been more than a few hours. Regardless, she was starving. Ravenous. Her stomach felt like it was gnawing at itself. She couldn’t think of a time she had ever felt as hungry. As she got up and began walking, she felt different. She didn’t know how, exactly. Just more balanced, maybe.

The town she had grown up in was relatively small compared to the ones that surrounded it. It was settled in the middle of quite a few tourist attractions, yet not many visitors from out of town came here. It could have been due to the ghost stories that surrounded it, but Isobel had never believed in the stories. Or ghosts for that matter. She didn’t really believe in anything other than what she’d been taught her to believe in.

As she passed by the local hospital, the bright red neon sign that glared in big bold letters EMERGENCY, only heightened her migraine. She vaguely thought she should go to the hospital, in case she had rabies. Didn’t rabies cause hallucinations? That would explain what she had thought she had seen. Something that was impossible. She was just entering when she smelled something amazing. Which was weird, because usually hospitals smelled like antiseptic. But the further she moved inside, the stronger it became. Nearly overpowering. Her mouth was watering. Her stomach clenched further, begging to consume whatever that delicious scent was.

Suddenly, a nurse walked into the waiting room with a smile. Before Isobel even comprehended what she was doing, she was across the room. The nurse screamed, right before Isobel sank her teeth into her neck. But they weren’t teeth. At least not hers. They were sharp and pointed, jutting out from her gums in place of her canines. She drank as if she’d been traveling through the desert without water for a week. It tasted like honey and chocolate and pineapple and everything sweet. And the pain in her stomach, her whole body, was subsiding.

Subsiding enough for her mind to clear. She gasped, yanking herself back as the nurses limp body slumped to the ground. “No!” She screamed, her hands shaking with adrenaline. “No! What did I do? What did I do? Hey!” Isobel screamed, crouching and shaking the nurse’s limp corpse.

She looked around in a panicked state and, before she could think logically, ran. Except she didn’t just run, she sprinted. She nearly flew. She didn’t know she could run this fast. She couldn’t run this fast.

What the hell was happening to her?

-Present Time-

Isobel had learned by now what was happening to her. At least in some regards. As far as she could tell, based on the incredible amount of documentation that humans considered lore, she was classified as a vampire. At least that was the simplest term. There was a lot written about vampires. As far as she could tell, most of it was highly inaccurate, but it was the closest thing she could find to even begin to comprehend the new world she had been born into.

Everything she had been taught to believed in, everything she had known, had been shattered in an instant. Isobel had thought she’d been hurt before, felt genuine pain, but there was nothing that even remotely came close to what it felt like to have your entire world ripped away from you. Your identity. She had believed in Heaven and Hell, but the Bible didn’t mention much about purgatory. She had thought that’s what this was. But the more she thought about it, the more the idea began to unravel.

As that idea unraveled, so did the next one. Again and again, over and over, until her mind felt like it was unspooling itself, leaking out of her ears and dripping onto her shoulders.

Sometimes it was too loud.

Before, she could drown out the noise of her thoughts with louder noise, but now she heard everything. From the humans heartbeat down the street to the cricket chirping in the grass across the park to the soft hum of electricity that travelled through the power lines. She couldn’t shut off the noise. She would scream if it wouldn’t just add to the cacophony of chaos.

She just wanted an escape.

Usually, that was sated by hunting. For instance, tonight. She already knew where to go. There was an underground gambling pub nearby here. The people that frequented it had an appetite for more than just cards most of the time. She made it quickly, surprised at how easily she was able to get in just because she was a pretty girl. Security barely glanced in her direction.

Almost immediately, she heard a raspy voice, detailing graphically the things he planned on doing to the drugged and unsuspecting female chained in his basement. He was obviously far too intoxicated, because even the guys around him seemed wary to continue the conversation.

She waited patiently for him to leave and followed behind at a distance. Before he could get his keys in his front door lock, Isobel was behind him. She was much smaller than him, but that didn’t matter when she could snap his neck with a flick of her wrist.

“Excuse me.” She said, sickly sweetly. She watched him jump, as he spun around. She heard the skip of his heartbeat and the release of air from his lungs. She witnessed the blood rush to his face as he cleared his throat and straightened up.

“Yes, little lady?” He leered. “What can I do for you this evening?” He sounded sure of himself, which was almost laughable, if it wasn’t so sad.

“I was just wondering if you wouldn’t mind lending me some of your blood. See, I’m really thirsty, and it would be so much easier than killing you and having to bury the body.” Isobel said, as if she was asking to borrow a cup of sugar instead of having to go to the store.

The guys face was priceless. His astonishment seemed to wear off quickly, replaced by defensiveness. “I think you should leave before I call the cops.” He seethed, his eyes narrowing. But she detected the slight shake in his voice, giving away his fear.

“You should. I’m sure they’d love to know about the woman you’re planning on assaulting inside.” Isobel seethed.

“How…?”

Isobel didn’t let him finish his sentence before she swiftly grabbed his wrist, twisting it backward and pushing it up between his shoulder blades easily. His struggling against her grip barely registered to her, but dislocated his shoulder, causing him to scream out in pain before she bit him, cutting off his voice with a gurgling sound. She drank quickly, not relishing in the way it gave a bitterness that tainted the blood of those she chose. Even after draining him, she was still hungry.

Always hungry. Never satisfied.

Recently her thoughts of death became more frequent. At times, her emotions swirled in violent torrents, crashing against each other inside of her so viciously, it triggered nausea to claw its way up her throat. It left her gasping for oxygen in between harsh sobs that wracked her frame, despite no longer needing it to survive. Others, it was like her emotions were comprised of a candle that had been flickering inside of her and had finally been extinguished. She couldn’t even be inclined to care even if she would end up in Hell. Torture was better than this emptiness. An all consuming void that swallowed her into far greater abysses than the depths of endless misery that fire would be.

She felt guilty for wishing for something so macabre. She was fortunate enough to have what she did; she knew girls that would thrill at the idea of being what she was. But everything she was felt wrong. She didn’t think she could ever come back from that feeling. It was ingrained in her.

The night was still young, but instead of searching out another victim, or even saving the one inside the rundown house, she decided to take a walk to the city’s edge. Here, the well paved streets turned to hard rocky paths that were thick from where the dirt had turned to mud after the previous few nights of rain. The thunderstorms had been unexpected after quite a while of nice weather, but it meant there was less sunlight which worked in her favor.

Tonight, however, was clear. The stars sparkled brightly, like diamonds against the black sky. The clouds obscured the crescent shaped moon. To a human, the gentle wind would probably be cool against their feverish skin from an exhausting night out, but Isobel didn’t feel temperature. It could have been below freezing and she would have felt the exact same naked as she would under multiple layers of clothing.

She sat at the edge of the trees, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them in a pathetic attempt to gain any semblance of comfort over her predicament. It had been two years since she’d been changed. For nearly all of that time, she had been alone. One would think she would grow used to the isolation, but it only clung on tighter, permeating her bones and corrupting her soul. Not only had she not met another vampire, including the one who bit her, but she hadn’t met any other supernatural being. She was too worried about the repercussions of telling a human what she was. Mostly for humanity as a whole. That didn’t leave many options for any sort of genuine conversation or connection.

She glared at the horizon. She hadn’t seen the sun for longer than she could remember. Hadn’t seen much of anything other than the insides of nightclubs and bars or the heavy foliage around her currently. She had wanted to travel when she was human. But, now, with unlimited opportunity, she was more focused on finding her next meal. Perhaps, she’d just sit here on the damp grass until it peeked its light out, casting the sky in a brilliantly gorgeous array of oranges and pinks, and causing the birds to start chirping. Whatever birds remained that hadn’t yet flown away due to the cooling weather. She would just let it wash over her, alighting her in flames and turning her into a remainder of nothing more than ash.

A heavy breath steadily left her lungs as she felt an enormous imaginary weight lift off her, like her muscles could relax with that thought. Like she didn’t need to be coiled so tight, petrified of the next thing to jump out of the shadows. Ironic, she knew. But true all the same.