Chapter 12

“You drank from Eric” The unfamiliar voice startled me from my sleep, and immediately I was on alert. I pulled out my pistol from underneath my pillow and I fired a warning shot. I suppose I was still shaken up a little from my incident with Bill the other day. After my warning shot, my eyes fell upon a little girl, she looked to be no more than ten from my perspective. Her eyes were blue, and her  blond hair the color of wheat. She should have been afraid of that shot, it could have hit her, I could have killed her. But she stood there, staring at me with a smile on her face.

 

“Who are you?” I asked her, she looked so familiar. I know I had seen her before. “Are you Eric’s relative?” The little girl giggled and gave me a fangy smile. It sent shivers down my spine. A child with fangs, she must be a pureblooded vampire then. Maybe she was related to Eric, maybe a distant cousin or something, but still I felt like I knew this girl from somewhere. She looked so familiar, just who was she?

 

“You smell like him.” The little girl approached me, her blue eyes staring back into my own. “Just a tiny drop of the ancient blood, and it still smells so good.” She sounded so  innocent, yet it was a little bone chilling to hear a child talk about blood in such away. But then again, she wasn’t just a child was she? No, she was a predator. Small, but still a predator no less. She probably wasn’t as strong as Eric or Godric but she was stronger than your typical newly made vampire.

 

 

 

“Smell like whom? And who’s blood?”

 

“You don’t know?” She giggled. “Silly silly Susannah. Being human messed you up real bad. But that’s okay. I’ll tell you then.” She smiled brightly at me. “You smell like Eric, my Eric. You tasted his blood, it must have been yummy.”

 

This little girl made me feel uncomfortable. How did she know me? I have never seen her before. “First of all, how do you know my name? I don’t even know yours.”

 

“I’ve been watching you Susannah that’s how I know you. And you shouldn’t worry about my name, you’ll figure it out soon. Well, that is if you don’t go real crazy. That would be bad, really bad. They always kill the crazy ones…and it would be a shame if you died.”

 

I woke up covered in sweat. It was morning, and the sun’s rays were shining through my bedroom window. I looked around and there was no sign of that little girl. Her words terrified me a little. The way she smiled and laughed when she talked about dying and blood, it sent chills down my spine. I knew the supernatural world was terrifying, but I’m sure that shifters and the rest of the two natured children didn’t speak such bone chilling words. That was all on the vampires. I knew the vampire world was on a level of its own. I’ve never met a pureblooded vampire child before. They were rare among their own kind, and if one was conceived, it was something to be celebrated, the child was treated like the toddler Prince of the UK.

 

I shouldn’t dwell on that dream anymore. It was probably a result from the last few stressful days, which I blame on Bill Compton entirely. But still, I can’t help but feel a sort of familiarity with that little girl. I know I’ve seen her somewhere.

 

 

Vampire children, there are currently none in the world, at least not that I know of. But then I remembered her words, she mentioned Eric and blood. Was this little girl someone from Eric’s past?

 

The first thing I needed to do was call Eric. He was a Vampire and he was a thousand years old, maybe he knew why his blood was giving me a weird reaction.

 

Or maybe Gran was right and I was actually allergic to Vampire blood? That seemed to confirm her words. Gran wasn’t a liar, and she didn’t want me consuming vampire blood, and I actually thought it was because she didn’t want me to become addicted to it like most humans have.

 

Well it certainly did cause some weird effects. Instead of going to Gran, I was definitely going to talk to Eric. Telling Gran about the whole vampire thing would be a bad idea. She’d never let me hear the end of it—ah and Godric told me something similar. But what he doesn’t know won’t kill him. He doesn’t need to know either. I can’t handle both him and Gran lecture me about how bad Vampire blood is for humans.

 

Anyways, they couldn’t get mad at me for something I had no control over. It was Bill Compton’s fault, and I was going to get back at him somehow, maybe not by plunging a stake into his heart but I was going to do something painful, eventually.

 

Deciding not to dwell on the topic any further, I got dressed and headed out to the Hunter’s practice range. It was a domain that was spelled by witches that kept intruders out, and protected us inside. It was cloaked, to make it hard to find. In that sense we were similar to the supes, we liked our privacy.

 

There was a wide variety of things I could do here, I could practice using a crossbow, knives, there was a ring where we would practice hand to hand combat against each other and there was the shooting range as well, and we had good technology that allowed us to use simulations. Today, I decided I would practice with that. I needed it, after the ordeal I went through this week. I couldn’t allow another slip up.

 

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Eric POV

 

 

“Isn’t it boring to feed from one person exclusively?” I was no more than a young man of 18 winters when I had asked that question. By that time, I was of a good age to travel around and explore my sexuality, and my tastes in blood. The only people that never did such things was Aidan and Selene. Those two were exclusive to each other only. I was a witness to that.

 

“You are still young, Eirik. You see, it all comes down to what we are. We are vampires, we desire and crave blood to keep our thirst sated. But it is not boring when it’s someone you desire,” Aidan chuckled, and paused, staring straight ahead of me. “My beloved, “ He said his voice suddenly tender and full of love, I didn’t need to know who it was. Selene had walked in, and welcomed his beloved to his side. He then continued to speak.

 

“It is when you find someone who is worth more to you than your own life. The hunger you feel for them will be so intense that it will be so difficult to keep your beast at bay. Their blood will be an ambrosia to you, it will be the only one to sate your thirst, you will desire only their blood,” He was speaking to me, but as he was speaking to me, his eyes were on Selene, his beloved wife.

 

“Our desires are dark.” Selene said. “Sometimes you want to drink them dry, you hold their life in your hands. It is such a thrilling thing to hold their life in your hands, because basically, their life is yours.” She chuckled. “To the human eyes, and the rest of the supernatural world, this probably sounds horrific, but it is who we are. Beasts in sheep’s clothing.”

 

“And Eric,” Aidan continued after her. “You may not understand this feeling now, but when you find someone who makes you feel such a way, then you will understand our words to you.”

 

A part of me is glad to see that Susannah had left last night. It’s not that I don’t want her, but I can only have so much self control around her. The last time we were together at that party, I nearly lost all my control and drank her dry.

.

 

I sit here and realize that no matter how many others I drink from, I can never fully satiate my thirst until Aislin is with me once more. When I think about her, I think about how I only wish to devour her, and lose myself in her sweet ambrosia. I am a selfish man, and I wish to bring her back to the night, back into hell itself.

 

I finally understood Aidan and Selene’s relationship.

 

After Aidan’s death, I wonder how much Selene suffered. They say that once you’ve bonded, and your other half dies, the pain is agonizing, enough to make you want to die. Contrary to the myth, we vampires can be out in the daylight, though we are weakened. We are sluggish and not as strong. We are equivalent to bats, we are strongest at night. Therefore, there is no meeting the sun. If only death for us was that easier, at least for a pureblood.

 

Pureblood vampires are harder to kill, only specialized vampire weapons could kill us. On the other hand, vampires of lower blood status could be easily killed with a stake to the heart, or by severing their head.

 

That kind of immunity to death? It is why many Pureblooded vampires have gone to a deep slumber. Most wake up in a millennia, if not more. Supposedly the pain might lessen, but I’m sure that’s not completely true.

 

I realized that whatever Selene did to Aislin, was a win-win situation for her. She protected her daughter, and she went to a deep slumber, avoiding the reality that her husband was no longer. I used to view that as the coward’s way out, but once Aislin left my side, I finally understood that pain, and Aislin wasn’t dead, no at least not in the literal sense.

 

If Aislin had truly died, I probably would have found a way to die. I could not imagine the world without her, not even going to slumber and waking up in a thousand years, not having her with me, it would drive me insane.

 

 

“Master,” Pam bowed her head respectfully towards me. A gesture she only used when other purebloods were around. “He insisted.” I didn’t need our bond to know how she was feeling. Pam was pissed, and with good reason too. My eyes nearly widened in shock when I saw my Uncle coming in behind her.  Appius livius Ocella, was my Uncle and a powerful man in his own right. He is my mother’s older brother. He is not the kind of vampire you would want as an ally. Not even I am comfortable being around him.

 

David Beckham as Appius

My uncle’s arrival could only bring bad things. He was not the head of my family, yet I had to show him some respect, and his arrival did not bode well for me.

 

“Uncle, “ I gestured for him to sit. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

 

“Can a man not visit his only nephew?” No you can’t.  Is what I thought. I could not stand him, he was an unbearable person to be around.

 

“I meant nothing by it, Uncle. It has been a while since I’ve last seen you. I believe we last met at Julianne Martell’s Christmas Soiree. That was 5 years ago. Have you been well, Uncle?”

 

His smile unnerved me, he was here for something. He didn’t just go around visiting me because he missed me. He wanted something, no he was here to get something from me, and I was pretty sure he would obtain what he wanted.

 

“I have been feeling absolutely divine, nephew. Yes, Lady Julianne did throw quite the party. Last I heard, she was wed to Alan Elswood…” And he smiled as he spoke the words. It wasn’t a smile that told me he was happy for the new married couple. It was different, he definitely had something up his sleeve.

 

“And speaking of marriages,“ He said. “Will you not marry? You are the last living member of your clan. Surely you would want to continue your bloodline by finding a suitable woman. Lady Freyda tells me you were with a hunter? Come now Eric, I understand that playing around with humans is one thing, but a hunter? You know well enough that our kind do not mix well.”

 

“It is not a crime, Uncle.” I said, knowing where this conversation was going to go. I held myself together, of course Freyda had to open her big mouth to my Uncle.

 

“It is beneath you. You are a powerful creature in your own right, and you would dare disrespect lady Freyda—a pureblood like you, for a human? Come now Eric. It is laughable, and I would not have my nephew be made a laughing stock. It would be a humiliation to my sister’s memory. I will not have it.”

 

I wanted to yell at him. I hated when he used my own mother against me. But I could not argue with him. He loved my mother, she was his only family.

 

“You will marry Freyda.”

 

“I will not.” I said gritting my teeth, my fangs nearly descended.

 

“You will, do not defy me, Northman. “He growled. “I am your elder, and as the child of my younger sister, it is my duty to watch over you, no matter how old you are. It is my duty to ensure that you continue your bloodline. Stop mingling with those Hunters, they’re the reason that the Brigant Clan was nearly wiped out. My sister and your father—and the rest of your clansmen suffered for being too friendly with those who were beneath us, those who hunted us.”

 

I knew that story all too well. Hunters were involved in my parent’s deaths. Or at least that was the story that was fabricated among our kind. I sure as hell didn’t believe that though.

 

“You are not a human, you are a pureblooded vampire and it is your duty to start thinking about the future of your bloodline. If you do not choose to marry Freyda, then you will not like the consequences.”

 

“You cannot treat me like a child, Uncle. I am the head of the Northman clan, my mother’s job was to support my father. I appreciate the concern Uncle, but it should be my own choice to pick a suitable wife. After all, it has been three thousand years, and you have yet to marry.”

 

I knew he would probably follow through with his threat. My uncle was not fond of humans, they were only playthings for him. The man was a bonafide Sanguinista. He believed in the purity of the blood, he thought we were the superior race, and he was the type of man that thought humans should be used as blood slaves, that is—if he had his way.

 

“It is as you said, my dearest Nephew.” He said as he stood up. “ I have yet to find a suitable wife, but that is fine for myself. I have other plans in motion for the future, after all. As for you, you do have a choice. Marry Freyda, or face the consequences. If  I were you, I’d choose the easier option.” He said as he was making his way to the door.

 

“You do not want me angry, nephew.” Were his parting words to me as he closed the door behind him. I rubbed my forehead in exasperation. My uncle would make Susannah’s death seem like an accident. I could not fight him because he had the support of many vampires behind him.

 

I needed to play my cards right. I could accept this marriage proposal, and prolong a wedding date, until Aislin was back to normal.  I believe that was probably for the best.