Authors: Jessica Burnett
“What the hell, man? Let her go!” Derek roared as he headed towards us.
Stars were crossing my eyes. Damien released me just as Derek lunged at him. I lost consciousness.
My last thought?... Why do I keep getting knocked out?
“Natasha! Will you hurry up already? We need to get you home.” Damien states irritably.
I am currently speaking with one of the suitors I had been prancing around with earlier. He’s burly, but not in the disgusting way. He has exquisite features I have never seen before; blue eyes, dark brown hair, a strong jaw, stubble along his chin. I imagine if he didn’t have a beard he would look quite boyish, but with it he was ruggedly handsome.
I feel a strong pull towards this man and due to that feeling I am paying absolutely no mind to my brother pestering me to hurry on. Damien is the jealous type. If it were up to him I would never marry. No one is good enough for his baby sister.
“Natasha!” Damien spat as he grabbed hold of my arm. “We must go. Say your farewells.”
My young suitor, Erik, seems quite annoyed by my brother’s aggressiveness. I can understand why.
“Why don’t I walk with you? I live nearby anyway.” Erik asks, pausing for a second to assess Damien’s reaction. “This way I will get the chance to know young Natasha a little better while also being under your watch.”
Damien couldn’t argue with this. Especially with me giving him my best puppy dog eyes and begging please, please, please.
He allowed it, ruefully. But, he walked between us the entire way.
My suitor went on to talk about himself a bit more. His name was Erik Black; he came from a group of nomads who were hoping to settle down somewhere near. He wondered if I would be willing to relocate if need be. With that idea he got a sharp glare from my brother. Honestly though, I didn’t mind the thought of leaving this town. Especially with someone as handsome as he.
Derek was hovering over me when I opened my eyes. My head hurt, but my arms hurt more. I was breathing heavily, trying to catch my breath and recollect my thoughts. This dream put everything into place so quick it made my head spin.
“Are you okay?” Derek asked, brushing my face lightly with his fingertips.
I hardly noticed he had even said anything, let alone touched me. My head was still reeling from the dream I just had. Anger rocked my body as I began to realize what was happening and why Damien was so afraid of me knowing.
I shot straight up from the floor in search of Damien. It wasn’t the best idea due to the circumstances, especially when I wobbled and almost fell again. Derek caught my arm to stable me but released me when he sensed the aggression rolling off my body and where it was directed. He stepped out of my way with a slight smile on his face. Damien was now in full view.
I lurched at him, wheeling my arm up for a good strike. I threw my arm with full force and launched it into the left side of Damien’s face. Fist to cheek, Damien went stumbling, exclaiming expletives as I cursed when I realized what I had done. Punching a vampire probably wasn’t one of my brightest ideas and I had a feeling my bones in my hand were lodged in places they shouldn’t be.
Lachlan and Derek burst out laughing as Damien yelled, “What the hell?!” with eyes fiery red.
“You were my brother!” I screech as I throw the toaster at him. “And you knew, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” No answer from the shaken Damien, only a hung-open mouth as he realized what I had learned.
Derek and Lachlan were exchanging bewildered glances.
“I was Natasha, right? Your sister that died.” I pause waiting for a reply. All he could do was nod slightly. “I can’t believe you! You kissed me! Knowing I was your sister reincarnated. You flirted with me! Knowing I was your sister reincarnated. And you fought over me! KNOWING I was your SISTER reincarnated!!!” I scream.
Derek and Lachlan’s eyes have grown threefold, their mouths now touching the floor. Utter shock and disbelief crossing their features and Damien tried to squirm away. I grabbed hold of Damien’s shirt and with full force threw him to the ground. He stayed there, never bothering to move.
“I remember, Damien. I remember going to a party with you, dancing around with all of my many suitors and then having one of them, Erik Black, walk with us as we went home. I remember being her. The problem is… why on earth would you want me in this way when you knew me as your baby sister?” I halt my words, confusion setting in all of us.
“Wait. Erik Black?” Derek asks, bewildered. “My great, great, great grandfather, Erik Black?”
I turn to face Derek as I say, “Yes, Derek. Your past life as Erik Black. You were my suitor then too. And I took quite a liking to you I believe. But, that is for another time. Right now I want to know what the hell was going through this idiot’s head!” I exclaim as I spin back around to find Damien has left the house.
“I walk around and all I see is sadness
What happened to cause this madness?
Addicts, desperation, silent cries
The world around us looks as if it might die
Then I see the children
The happy, smiling faces as they’re playing
Not a care in the world
No great burden to hold
How do we go from innocence… Into darkness
How do we go from smiles… Into failure and lies
Is it all a state of mind?
Or is this what we’ve truly become?
I cry for the lost, the hurt, and the poor
Who can no longer see the light at the end with a door
You should never give up hope
There’s always a silver lining in the clouds
You shouldn’t have to cope
Your happiness should be found
Look within
If you can’t live for yourself, Live for them
The people who surround you in good health
Life’s a burden worth holding
As long as you recognize what you’re growing.”
Tenth Chapter: Damien’s Story
The name’s Damien, Damien Loch. I was born and raised in West Virginia. 1828 was the year of my birth. I can’t quite recall the month. I should, it was the same month I was turned. But, for some reason I can’t grasp that memory. Human memories begin to fade after a while. I only have one that has really stuck out over the decades; my last.
No one asks to be a vampire. It’s not a choice that’s given. It’s not like anyone asked me how I felt about it first. But, still. It may have been the best thing that ever happened to me; aside from the fact that my little sister died that same fateful day. I have been through a lot since being turned and I regret most of it. But, I don’t know if I would go back and change it if I had the chance. I have done a lot of good in the past sixty years that I wouldn’t want erased.
Alfonzo Liberachi was the vampire who turned me. He likes to think himself king of everything; master of his own domain. He also happens to be the man that killed my fifteen year old sister, Natasha. She was the epiphany of beauty; long curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a baby doll face, with a petite stature. Her personality was that of the sun; bright and shiny.
The year was 1854. I had just celebrated my 26
th
birthday and I was taking my sister out for a night on the town. It was uncommon we’d get to do much together; I was always too busy with work, school, or my travels. I was studying to be a doctor and was working part time at the local hospital and part time traveling to areas of need. When I was home, I was with my family. I had a wife, Drusilla, and two children, Leslie and Rebecca.
I made a promise when I left home that every year on my sister’s birthday and mine I would spend the day with her and her alone. I loved my sister more than anything in this god forsaken world; probably more than I should have. People thought our relationship strange… but it was nothing grotesque or weird. We simply preferred each other’s company over most. Our parent’s died when Natasha was barely three months old. Mother had cancer and when she passed my father took his own life. I wound up raising my sister on my own and for that we had a connection that couldn’t be explained; a connection that would last lifetimes.
It was on my birthday that Natasha and I ran into Alfonzo. We had spent the night dancing and I introduced Natasha to all the new friends I had made from my travels. She had a blast, I could tell. She was dancing and singing all night long. She had met a wealthy suitor, Erik Black, that night that she attached to immediately. There had been stories of a new family that had just come to town. This particular young fellow was the Black’s eldest child at age nineteen. He told me he was ready to settle down and thought my sister was the one for him. I wasn’t too keen on him. Something about his presence was off… but I couldn’t explain it then.
He walked back with us that night. We dropped him off at his house first. It was about two blocks down that we were confronted. I always blamed him for that. If it weren’t for taking Erik home first we never would have been on that road in the first place.
We were blocked by several men in long coats. I thought they were robbers so I threw money at them, holding my sister close to my side. I begged them to at least let her go; they didn’t.
Alfonzo grabbed her first. I tried to grab her back but was restrained. I fought hard; I screamed, I shouted, I kicked, bit, but to no avail. I was simply a human then, with human-sized strength and human-sized courage. Before I knew it he had completely drained her of her blood. He let go of her and she slumped to the ground. I was finally released then, when it was too late to save her. I sat there staring at Natasha’s lifeless body before I crawled over and drug her onto my lap. I sobbed uncontrollably into her long blonde locks. My little sister was gone and it was my entire fault!
I was furious! I grabbed the first thing I found, which happened to be a broken wood chair, and knocked him over the head with it. He simply laughed at me as he grabbed hold of my arm and bit my neck. That’s the last thing I remember. My last human thought was simple and unforgettable, “Natasha, forgive me.”
I don’t remember my transformation, which was odd. Most vampires say that it was brutal to a point of no return. I have heard that it is the most excruciating pain anyone would feel, far worse than child birth. Somehow though, I surpassed that part.
For one-hundred years I shut off my humanity, silenced my soul and my conscience; I did unthinkable things, tortured innumerable people, and slept with too many women to count. I regret it all; every second of it. I was an awful person. I have blood on my hands that can never be washed off. Being a vampire was nothing like I would have expected. I didn’t burn in the sun, I slept at night, I still ate regular foods and only needed to drink blood once or twice a week depending on whom I ate; the healthier the better. I became weaker over the years. I was told that this was because I had lost all of my natural blood; someone else’s blood is not nearly as strong as having my own.
It was sixty years ago that I met the Elven King. He saw through my tough-guy demeanor and forced my humanity back on. I ran across him by chance while tracking down Alfonzo. My humanity may have been off but I still experienced anger and Alfonzo never left me alone. He was constantly popping up in my life. This time, I thought I’d switch it up a bit. I almost had him too. Unfortunately, that was when the Elven King trapped me.
The king stuck me in some contraption; something he called the life preserver. I wasn’t too keen on the situation at the moment it was happening. I fought with all my might to get away, but they drugged me with an herb called vervain; a poison for vampires, similar to how wolf’s bane works on werewolves. I thank him every day for doing that to me. The machine switched my humanity back on.
The Elven King trained me to resist blood from humans and elves alike, to only drink from animals. I have never drank from an elf before but I was told that draining one elf could sustain a vampire for an entire month, but it was addicting; once you drank one, you would never want a human or animal ever again. So, I steered clear. It’s been difficult, but I got through.
I am forever grateful to this man who gave me back my life; which is why when he asked me to watch over his daughter I agreed to do so whole-heartedly.
I had met Ember once when she was three years old. She was the cutest thing in the world and I felt an undeniable connection with her even then. So, when he asked me to go find her I was actually excited to do so; less so when I realized I had to bring Lachlan and Derek with me. I wasn’t sure of the reason then.
The second I saw her again it was like lightning struck through me. I knew it was her before her name was even spoken. Standing in that office room, watching that man berate her, was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do; I wanted desperately to bash his head in but knew I couldn’t cause a scene.