Fledgling (The Vampire Manifesto, Book Two) (14 page)

I sprinted forward, quicker than Oneiroi realized I could, pressing the Blade of Osiris across its throat to the point that a single drop of glittery golden blood slid down its neck. “You speak of this weapon as if you have knowledge of it. It is rumored that this Blade can slay anything. I am willing to wager that means a Celestial as well.”

“Hardly.” Oneiroi stated. “To be Celestial is to be beyond death.”

“Are you willing to put that assumption to the test?” I challenged.

The catalysts in its eyes flared up even brighter.

The body of Oneiroi began to grow, larger and larger, to the point that I fell backward to the bleakness of the earth. Oneiroi continued to grow, higher and higher, beyond that of the loftiest skyscraper and it was at this point that I myself seemed to grow or maybe it was creation that appeared to shrink, though which I know not.

Taller and taller I became, until my head was as high as the stratosphere and yet I was still not as enormous as Oneiroi who continued to escalate in magnitude. Soon I was beyond the size of the earth and I had grown into the very cosmos itself, the universe detectible to me by eye alone, the planets in revolution around our sun appearing as nuggets within the inky blackness of the solar system. So immense did I grow that the earth was but a stepping-stone underneath my foot and I fought to maintain my balance on it for fear of falling off and being lost to space itself.

Yet I did not stop increasing or was it the universe that had grown too small? I couldn’t see the world beneath my feet, but to my side, not far away was the moon and I reached for it, catching the moon in my palm. I hauled myself up to the asteroid belt beyond it, clinging to the rocks, pulling myself among them, slowly repositioning the asteroids, moving each one this way and that, until I was able to sit upon them, all of the asteroids arranged in such a fashion that they could support my weight.

I gazed out upon the solar system, seeing it from within the solar system and was in reverence, yet as I turned towards the sun I saw Oneiroi resting upon it as if it were a chair, his feet propped up on the planet Mercury, the universe nothing but a cosmic living room to him.

“I have a message for you.” Oneiroi proclaimed. The sun flared and boiled about him, yet its burning heat was but water to Oneiroi’s body.

“A message from who?” I probed. Underneath me I could feel the asteroid’s shift and move, as if I were sitting on an air blown ball in a pool, yet they still sustained my mass.

“Thanatos.” It answered.

I knew exactly whom Oneiroi meant. “The White Wolf.” I said.

“The death Celestial.” It corrected.

Not far off from me, the illuminations of universe seem to grow dim, the planets bordering its blackness drawn into its epicenter, crushed into nonexistence. A black hole was take shape, attracting everything into it and even from where I sat; I could perceive the tug of its gravity well.

“What did she say?” I asked. The periphery of asteroid belt I was resting on was being pulled into the ever-increasing black hole. I struggled to stand and yet found that I couldn’t, the gravity so great that I found myself being pulled towards it instead.

“They know who you are.” Oneiroi said.

I was being wrenched backward now, along with the moon and the earth. Jupiter had fragmented; continent sized sections being sucked into the black hole, crushed into oblivion.

“They know where you are.” It continued.

I couldn’t struggle anymore, the gravity around me so intense, so substantial about everything around me that I felt my bones snap and crack, the atoms in my body being ripped apart along with the universe around me as I was dragged into the black holes event horizon.

“And they are coming for you.” It declared.

Chapter 6

It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday…

I awoke screaming, clutching my chest, gasping for air. Connor was there in an instant, analyzing the room for interlopers and when unearthing none, drawing close to my bedside.

“Are you okay?” He seemed so scared for me. My bedroom door flung wide open and Dakota rushed in followed by Abigail.

I couldn’t stop trembling and before I realized it, Dakota was close, her arms swathed around me, stroking my hair. “It’s okay baby.” She was whispering, her voice having a cooling effect on my vapid temperament as I began to calm almost at the sound of it. “It was just a dream.”

Connor left the room.

“What time is it?” I asked. I was content to just lay there, my head against Dakota’s chest, the cadence of her heart playing a concerto that only I could hear.

“Little bit after six.” Abigail said.

I looked up. “In the morning?”

“P.M.” Abby corrected. “You slept all day. Connor figured after the night you had, it was best that you got all the rest you could.”

I got up. “I need to go.” I was searching my room for clean clothes, pulling off my sweats and putting on some jeans that were crumpled up in the corner. “Where are Aiden and Girard?”

“At the supermarket.” Abigail said.

I stopped what I was doing. “The supermarket? By themselves?” I pulled off my tank top and rummaged in my dresser. I found shirt with a picture of a Super Nintendo on the front of it and put it on.

“We were running low on food.” Abigail explained. “You were asleep and Connor wasn’t here so I made a judgment call.”

“Where was Connor?” I put on some deodorant and laced up my Timberlands.

Abigail shrugged. “I don’t know. You’d have to ask him.”

“Where are you going?” Dakota asked.

I was brushing my hair, looking at my reflection in the dresser mirror. “To say goodbye to my parents.”

“I’m coming with you.” Abigail announced.

I spun around. “No, it’s too dangerous to be seen with me. Its better if you stay here.”

Abigail closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. She paused then exhaled slowly, opening her eyes. “If I have to spend one more minute in this house with Connor, I’m going to stab him in the chest.”

“You know I can hear you right?” Connor was leaned up against the doorframe to my bedroom.

“I’m leaving in five then.” I said. “Connor, I need to talk to you.”

He began to snap his fingers as he walked in. “You hear that kiddies, grown folks business going on in here, get the hell out.”

Abigail stormed passed him. “I’ll be ready in two.” Dakota waved goodbye then followed after her.

I waited until they were downstairs before I spoke. “You left?”

“Yup.” He was sipping a strawberry milkshake, using a twizzler as a straw.

“Where did you go?” I asked. “You need to lay low Connor, Hawking is looking for you.”

“Somebody is always looking for me. If I worried about that, I’d never leave the house.” He explained. “Here drink this.”

He handed me his milkshake. I sniffed it. “There’s blood in this.” I stated.

“Took a trip to local blood bank.” He said. “Made a little…withdrawal.”

“You risked running into Colonel Hawking just to break into a blood bank?” I questioned.

He raised one eyebrow. “Look who’s talking, Miss, I need to go break into the morgue to see my dead parents one last time.”

“Connor…” I said softly.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, that was a bit harsh.” He came closer. “Besides, it was either go out and steal some blood or have to deal with you potentially murdering everyone in the house while I watched TV.”

I took another whiff of the cup and then took a long sip through the twizzler straw. Almost at once, I pulled away in disgust. “Oh my God, this is horrible.”

“Hence the ice cream.” Connor replied. “And the twizzler.”

“I’m not drinking this.” I tried to give it back, but he refused to take it.

“Some nights you have enough money for lobster and some nights all you can afford is a bag of Ramen noodles.” He walked out of the bedroom. “Drink up.”

He was dead-on of course and I had to force myself to finish, my gag reflex kicking in more than once. The ice cream did make it taste better and yet it still made me sick to my stomach. I could hear Aiden and Girard now. They were coming inside, carrying groceries. At least they made it back safely and with food and booze. I could eat something that taste good after I came back, even if it offered me zero nutritional value.

Ethan was with them. I honestly didn’t think that he was going to come back, but he did. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do this. How I was going to manipulate Ethan, Dakota and Connor and not lose one of them in the process? I could always enthrall Ethan, same as I did Dakota, fix it so he would never leave, but a part of me didn’t want to do that. I wanted him to love me because that was the way that he felt, not because I implanted the thought in his head for him. Then again, I felt the same way with Dakota and I compelled her anyway and that was working out perfectly.

I don’t know what category of person I’m developing into. That Agent, the one I left alive at Dakota’s house, when he witnessed me enthrall Dakota, he called me a monster. Is that what I’m becoming? Is that what I am? The most horrific thing about it is that I’m finding myself not caring about things like that more and more. I do things that I would never have done in the past, horrible things and I do them like its second nature. I look at Connor, I see the monster that he is and deep down I’m terrified I’m going to wake up one night and realize that I’m just like him.

They were putting the groceries away when I came downstairs. Ethan caught sight of me and came over, giving me a hug and a kiss.

“You taste like strawberry twizzlers…” He said when he pulled away. “…and copper?”

“Who filled up the entire freezer with these things?” I looked towards the kitchen and saw Aiden holding up a bag full of blood.”

“That would be I.” Connor acknowledged, grabbing the bag from his hand, poking a straw inside of it and taking a sip. “Breakfast of fucking champions.”

“Well use the freezer in the garage.” Aiden said. “We need this one for food.”

Connor walked off. “You use the one in the garage, resurrection boy; those are fine just where they are.”

“Whatever. Dick.” Aiden starting pulling the blood bags out of the freezer. “I’ll do it myself.”

“Careful with those.” Connor cautioned. “Your sister needs them more than I do.” He waved at me. “I know how to exercise self-control.”

Abigail grabbed the keys. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”

Connor watched as she stormed passed him, slamming the front door. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Hey.” I caressed Ethan’s face. “I’m going to see my parents. Come with me?”

“You don’t need to ask.” Was his reply.

“I’ll be back.” I called out, heading towards the door.

Outside, Abigail was already in the driver’s seat, music blasting, waiting for us. When we got inside the car, I could sense she was troubled without her having to say anything. It wasn’t until we were on the road, pulling out of our neighborhood when she decided to turn the music down.

“You need to get as far away from Connor as soon as you can Madison.” Even though she was distressed, I could tell she wasn’t annoyed at me. “That guy is serious bad news.”

“I know.” I finally confessed.

“Then why do you keep him around?” She asked.

“Because I need him.” I answered. “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me.” Abigail demanded. “Because you’re right, I don’t understand.”

“I’m in trouble Abby.” I was staring out the window. “Like really, really, bad trouble.”

“And you think this Connor dude is the answer?” She questioned. “Look, I know he helped you out with that carjacking thing and you claim that he brought you back from the dead, but everything thing he’s telling you is a lie. Everything. There is nothing about him that’s genuine.”

“I trust him.” I said.

“Why? Explain to me why you trust him?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, I just do. It’s hard to explain.”

“You trust him because he told you to trust him.” Abigail slammed her hand on the wheel of the car for emphasis. “He made you trust him Madison. I don’t know how, but he did it and that’s why you’re blind to what’s going on.”

“He didn’t make me do anything.” I shot back. “I trust him because of the things that he’s done to prove he can be trusted.”

“He’s got you so wrapped around his little finger you can’t see which way is up or down can you?” Now she was starting to get angry with me.

“You just don’t like him because he’s a dick.” I refuted.

“No, Madison.” She was shaking her head furiously. “He's not a dick. He’s what little dickheads want to be when they grow up. His cocksuckery is infinite.”

“Wow.” Ethan decided to speak up. “Thanks for painting that picture so vividly.”

“And you!” Abigail looked up at him through the rearview mirror. “This dude is like, constantly trying to fuck your girlfriend on a minute to minute basis and you’re just okay with that?”

“I don’t fight over girls.” Ethan explained. “Either she’s going to be with me or she’s not.”