Tainted Crimson (7 page)

One minute I’m sitting on the couch dealing with all my thoughts and the next I’m pinned against a wall and D is in my face. “Don’t you dare say a word about this to Jacob. A
word.
You’ll tell him that the boy woke up and I told him to leave. No mention of his being a vampire. Nothing,” he says, his eyes drilling into mine. I gasp and nod automatically not sure why it’s a big deal. Is it because Jacob has a problem with vampires and D not so much?

He sets me down and then returns to his spot on the couch like nothing happened.

There’s a rustle at the front door and then Jacob is reentering the house.

“That kid was sure off in a hurry. What’d you do to him?” he asks D with a smirk. Jacob must not be able to sense darkness. He must be weaker than D.

“Oh nothing, just told him to get lost.” D shrugs and eyes me wearily.

I decide to keep my word and not say anything but I’d better be getting some explaining from him.

“That was our father, Ariella. He’s already awake and he’s on his way.” Jacob smiles at me. “He wants us to be ready to leave,” he continues while looking at D.

“Did you tell him I’m here for a visit?” D asks.

“Yes, speaking of which,
why
are you here?”

“Well, I thought it was time that I paid a visit. It’s been nearly fifteen years you know.” D laughs. “No, in all actuality, Theenis called me last night while I was in Canada skiing, having quite the time with some immortal buddies I met up there and told me I needed to be in Denver as soon as possible. I couldn’t figure out why because last time I checked in, last year, he said he was living in Germany with you. Anyhow, I pop up at the address Theenis gave me and I’m in a god damned school that’s on fire. I find him and then I see Marco tossing around humans like they’re candy at a parade. Theenis was already burnt and unconscious on the ground when I got there. I healed him enough so that he could tell me what was happening but not enough that I’d drain my energy. He said that Marco was here for Ariella and that I needed to find her. I didn’t know who this
Ariella
was but could only guess that she was one of the humans that was in the burning school. So I got as many humans out as I could and then I rampaged through the school’s files and found an Ariella that was coincidentally living at Theenis’ old address. So I was pretty suspicious, I didn’t know what was going down. I was wondering where the hell you were, Jacob. I called you a million times.”

“I was putting out the fire. I’m a firefighter.” Jacob smirks.

D scoffs. “Anyhow, Marco then caught up to me inside the school and asked me where Ariella was and I asked him who she was and he threw me against a wall and knocked me out. Angry fella, he is. When I woke up I was sure happy that I wasn’t burnt to a crisp. I healed myself and crawled out of the burnt building. Thankfully, I was in a part that didn’t burn too badly. Any ways, I went to Theenis’ old address and here I am. The end.” D clasps his hands together in front of him.

“Marco was
here
and you never god damn said that from the beginning?” Jacob hollers.

D shrugs. “I was sidetracked by finding out that Theenis has had a daughter for eighteen years and never told me. Then finding out that it was with a god damn vampire.”

Then the front door bursts open and my father enters wearing nothing but a pair of board shorts. I can’t help but wonder what Mindy would say if she were here.

“Ariella! Oh thank god!” He cries and without even bothering to close the door, rushes over to me and grasps me in a big bear hug.

After a few seconds he lets go of me and looks to Jacob. “I hate to do this right now but we have to go. All of us. There’s no time to explain.”

“I’m sorry, Ariella, but I have no time to explain any of this to you so just sit there and try and refrain from asking questions for a few minutes while I explain what’s going on to Jacob and this guy, this is Daymon, if you haven’t already met him,” my dad says in a rush as we climb into his truck and pull out of the yard.

“We could just pop us somewhere,” D suggests.

“We can’t because I have never seen the place we’re going to before. I’ve never been there,” My father corrects and then looks at me with apologetic eyes. I’m so thankful that he’s okay that I can’t even think of anything else right now. I’m so happy I could cry. "And we would just be followed anyway."

“She already knows the gist of everything. Not the situation but you know what I mean. Whether or not she believes it is another thing,” Jacob says quickly.

My father seems to relax a bit. “Sorry you had to do that. You shouldn’t have had to do that,” he apologizes to Jacob, my
brother
. I’m still having a hard time getting that through my head. Out of all the things that my mind has to process right now
that
is the most challenging?

“As suspected, Marco came for Ariella. She turned eighteen yesterday. I’ve come to the conclusion that her mother was after all working with Marco. I was in fact set up. I assume Marco killed Ariella’s mother in the park that day to throw me off and make me think that he didn’t know who she was or who Ariella was. When he’s really just a heartless bastard. He planned for Ariella to exist. But he hasn’t won yet. Like you tried to tell me a million times before, Jacob, he came for her the day she became an adult. We should’ve left Denver years ago when I told Daymon we did. I just wanted to raise my daughter to be normal. Ariella, you must understand, I chose Denver because it was the safest place. There are crystal in the mountains here that confuse supernatural beings. It makes them unable to sense when another supernatural being is around. Everyone here appears to be only human. Only the most powerful witches like Daymon can sense any trace at all of a supernatural presence. I was trying to keep you safe I didn’t mean to put you in danger,” he pleads apologetically. I’m still too shocked to say much so I just nod. Wow, this is the quietest I think I’ve ever been in my entire life.

“Why didn’t you switch houses or move to the other side of town you idiot?” D asks.

“I-I couldn’t. It was the only thing I had of her mother,” my father whispers. I see D roll his eyes beside me. Jacob seems to flinch. Each time my father mentions my mother my heart seems to drop into my stomach. He’s mentioned her more in the last five minutes than he has since the day she died.

“She was a vampire. One that pretended to love you and Ariella so she could hand Ariella over to Marco when she turned eighteen. Snap out of it. Seriously. You’re stronger than this,” Jacob scolds and shakes his head.

“I know. I see that now. I do. But you must understand, she gave me Ariella. Without her, we wouldn’t have her,” my dad justifies and then he pulls the all too familiar mask over his face and his expression is hard once again.

“Why didn’t Marco come for Ariella at the house? Why the school? How’d he even know she’d be there?” D asks in a rush.

“This was planned. He’s been watching us-
her
I’m sure,” Dad answers.

“Why didn’t he go to the house after he never found her at the school?” D questions again.

“I think he needed to refuel. There were many lives he took yesterday but he also exerted more power than I think he could handle while trying to get me unconscious. I got a phone call earlier that night from a blocked number telling me that Marco was going to the school to get Ariella. I wasn’t sure if it was a trap or what was going on but I went immediately. When I got there I saw the flames and the smoke. I found Ariella outside safe and sound and popped the truck in a few blocks away so she could get home. I knew it was Marco when I entered the building and saw him staring at me with surprise. I took advantage of that surprise and caused a small explosion where he stood giving me enough time to call D for back up. I think he caused the fire because he wanted to see if Ariella would use her power to put it out and save her friends. I think he was testing her. Anyway he got the best of me with a big fire explosion and I ended up in the morgue. I wonder who called and warned me about Marco but I have a feeling that I’ll never know,” Dad grunts.

“Well, where are we going?” Jacob asks, changing the subject when he notices my wide eyes.

“We’re off to Canada,” my father replies seriously.

D chuckles. “I was just there yesterday, guys. Seriously? Please don’t tell me the rocky mountains, because that would be one heck of a coincidence.”

“What the hell were you doing in Canada?” my dad asks still gruff but with a bit of humor in his voice.

“You know me, I was getting babes,” D says with his usual smirk.

My dad chuckles and then an awkward silence settles and I notice everyone taking glances at me now and then. Probably wondering if I’m about to crack. I finally can’t take the stares any longer and I close my eyes. I wait for the flurry of emotions to hit me but it doesn’t. Am I in shock? I heave a deep sigh and bang my head back against the seat as if trying to knock my feelings loose. Why am I not feeling anything? Shouldn’t I be hyperventilating or something? I mean I did just find out that my mother was a vampire, I might not even be human, I have a brother, my father is immortal, my prom date was a vampire, there’s an evil witch out there looking for me, and god knows what else.

“Are you okay, Ariella?” my dad finally asks.

“Fine,” I answer. “It’s just a lot.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” he amends.

“Do you have any questions?” Jacob asks sounding bored.

I think about it for a moment. Of course I do. Millions.

“What is an
immortal
?” It’s hard for me to muster the words because it feels like something out of a fantasy novel. The words seem awkward coming out of my mouth. “I mean, what makes them different from humans?”

It’s D who clears his throat. “They live forever. They don’t age. They can’t be killed. At least, I’ve never heard of one being killed. They’re faster than humans, stronger, more agile, and smarter. That’s about it. Vampires are basically the exact same thing except they live off of other people’s life sources. They need blood to live because the life force in those people is what gives them life. They will go crazy and lose
complete
control if they don’t get it and will be out of control until they get it. They can even dry out into a nasty old corpse if they don’t get it. It won’t kill them but they will remain that way until or if they get blood. White witches and warlocks, Arianna’s line, can live forever if they’re given the opportunity, but they can also be killed fairly easily. They don’t have the immortal qualities that immortals and vampires have. Basically anything that could kill a human, could kill a witch. I mean most of the time we can stop it from happening. You know, if a car is racing towards us, we can stop it. If a plane is crashing, we can have it land safely. Basically the more powerful a witch is, the more ‘unkillable’ they are. Black witches and warlocks, Marco’s line, are the same only they must suck their power from humans, animals, other witches, and use it to power themselves. That’s why it took the god damn holocaust for Marco to be able to create the existence of the vampire but took Arianna only a vast amount of her strength to create the immortals. Usually when a White Witch becomes low on power, it takes them a while to refuel. Some witches, can suck power in from nature on their own regard. I haven’t yet mastered this but I haven’t ever really needed to so I haven’t spent a lot of time practicing. Black witches have to kill to get their strength back,” he explains and then looks at me to see if I’m following.

“So they drink blood too? Like vampires?” I ask disgusted.

“No, they just kill. The blood thing is just the vampires. That’s how Marco created them. The legend of the vampire came before real vampires. My guess is that Marco intended his vampires to be a replica of the legends,” D corrects.

“Oh,” Is all I say. Then I close my eyes again and wait for another question to enter my mind.

“Why does he want me? That guy? Marco?” I ask.

Dad answers, “well, dark supposedly always blackens light. You can take a perfectly good-hearted human and turn them into a vampire and they will become as cold-hearted as the devil. Whereas if you’re human and a terrible person, a serial killer for example, and you get turned into an immortal, you’re still going to have darkness in your heart. Darkness is like a disease. You were born part vampire, part immortal, part witch, part human. Part dark, part light. I’m sure he’s hoping that your darkness will take over and you’ll also possess the ability to not have to suck power from others. That would make you a very valuable asset. Also, your mother was human when she was turned into a vampire obviously. I wasn’t human when I was turned into an immortal, I was a white witch. So you’re also part witch and part human. So you could be able to wield power like a witch. This also means you could possibly be killable, able to get sick, and even able to age.”

“But I can’t do anything,” I say. “I can’t even run fast. I got 345th in the track meet long distance run,” I admit sheepishly.

D chuckles and I feel like smacking him.

“Jacob and I think it’s because you’re part witch. Witches aren’t able to use the majority of their power until they are fully grown which is hard to say when that is in your case because witches grow up much faster. My guess and probably Marco’s as well is that it’s around the human age of eighteen. I wasn’t sure what to expect when you were born. I thought you’d grow up fast like a witch but you didn’t. That could mean that the human part of you is in charge of your aging, again this would be evidence that you may be able to age past full growth. Full growth to a witch of course, again, is probably around the age of eighteen to a human,” Dad tells me while making a left and exiting the city.

“That being said you should be ready for when this may happen. If your fingers start to tingle or you feel lightheaded and dizzy. Let us know,” D says while fiddling with a button on his coat.

“So wait, you’re part witch and immortal so you can like move stuff like D can? So witches can't be turned into vampires but witches can be turned into immortals?” I ask my father.

“Yes,
I
can. Jacob was only half-witch before he was turned immortal so he wasn’t very strong when he turned. His capability of wielding power was depleted when he turned immortal. And yes, I can
move
stuff. Daymon and I have been best friends since before we could walk. Our parents were best friends as well.  As far as I know, witches can’t be turned into vampires, during the turning process they seem to just die no one is sure why. I’m sure Marco could create a hybrid himself but it would take a lot of power. Power that he doesn’t have. That’s why you are special. You’re a little bit of everything,” my father says. “By the way, Jacob calls Daymon D because when he was little he couldn’t say his name. He had a terrible speech impediment until he was thirteen.”

Jacob rolls his eyes. “It stuck.”

“I was involuntarily turned into an immortal by Arianna when I was 23. She chose me to be the first of her new race of soldiers. It was shortly after Marilyn and I had Jacob. When Jacob turned 21 I turned him too. There was a bad flu going around and I didn’t want him to catch it. Witches can’t become ill, but his mother was human making him only half witch and so there was a chance that he could get sick. immortals can’t become sick so that’s why I did what I did. His mother died from the flu shortly before I turned him. I wanted to turn her before the flu took her but she wished not to be damned to a life that couldn’t be ended. I didn’t blame her, though her decision to die rather than live and stay with me and our son, did break my heart.”

“How do you make an immortal?” I ask.

Jacob answers, “the person being turned must have immortal blood mixed with theirs. Usually it’s a mutual slice across the palm or something. In dire situations, if someone is dying and needs to be turned quickly, injecting the blood works the fastest. After the blood enters their system, they will soon become unconscious and when they wake up, they’re immortal.”

I take a moment to digest this. How disgusting. I can’t even look at my own blood no way would I be able to intentionally cut open my hand and then hold it against someone elses bloody hand. I blanch. D sees me and smirks.

“If you think that’s bad, wait til you hear how vampires are turned,” he murmurs.

“You’ll give her nightmares, don’t,” Jacob warns, raising a hand as if he’s going to slap him.

“What? She’s going to learn sooner or later!” D tries again.

Jacob and my father sigh at the same time.

“Tell me,” I say and swallow hard.

“Well, it’s a lot like how immortals are turned in the sense that their blood needs to mix,” D starts. No one tries to stop him. “But since vampires are unable to control themselves when they see blood, they can’t just slice palms and exchange it because they’ll end up killing the person they’re trying to turn. So they feed the other their blood so they don’t kill the turnee if that’s what you want to call them. Which is also fairly fast, like injecting it, but much more revolting. Then, in order to gain strength and complete the process they have to drink blood from a witch, immortal, or human. Witch blood is the most potent and enjoyable to them, but they also drink human and immortal blood. They don’t drink each other’s blood because they can’t. For some reason they get sick if they do and anyways it’s very unappealing to them. I should also mention that an immortal can't turn a witch only Arianna, Marco, and some of their kin who can wield enough power can turn a witch. An immortal is still needed present for this because they still need to exchange blood, but since a witch is unable to get sick, this also stops them from being able to contract disease. A strong witch is needed to suppress the power of the witch who is being turned, long enough for the disease to turn them. It’s possible for some witches to lose their ability to wield power after turning because the disease can somehow eliminate the person’s power if their power wasn’t strong before being turned. Jacob is one of these. He no longer has power because he was weak when he was turned. He was only half witch.”