The Fall From Grace

Chapter Twenty-Three

Arabella feels a cool sensation brushing along her body and a hard surface underneath her. She opens her eyes to see the night sky above her, looking around to see that she is completely alone. All of the homes around her were dark, no signs of life aside from the heartbeats that echo in her ears.

"Hello?" She whispers, noting that nobody answers her. She gets to her feet before noticing that off in the distance there is a light. She walks towards it, not willing her body to move but instead being drawn to it. As she comes to the source of the light she notices the concrete slab that had been smashed and dug up. The deep hole exposes an open casket. The vault had been pried open. The casket is empty but the feeling of danger continues to grow, her anxiety rising.

"We are glad you could make it little McCain." Her blood runs cold at the sound of the voice behind her. She turns slowly, immediately catching the red glimmer of the eyes of a monster. His pale face was glistening with fresh blood that had run from his mouth.

" L-Lannix..." she stutters but as she turns she notices the other figure standing next to him.
The man was built and yet looking at him she was reminded of Alexander and her mate. His dark hair had grown past his shoulders. His royal garb was outdated and had a massive hole in the chest of it.

"It has been quite some time since I've fed Lannix, I need fresh blood. Bring me the young blooded princess for my first meal." Maxim's mouth widened in a wicked grin and she stood frozen in shock at the sight of his incisors.

"Maxim, I am sure that the freshly beating heart in your chest will only grow stronger if you devour the blood of its own. After all, her own mother made the ultimate sacrifice to resurrect your majesty." The strong scent of blood suddenly strikes her and she looks down to see a red headed woman lying at her feet.

Her hair was dyed black at the ends from dried blood and the pale figure suddenly became clear to her. Her mothers lifeless corpse lay at her feet and she noticed that her hands were stained with blood. Her body was growing more and more parched as she took in her surroundings. She felt hands touch her cheeks but just as she was about to jerk herself away, everything was gone.

Her eyes spring open and she is lying on the cold hard ground. She sits up, noticing that there were now lights on and laughter and chatter in the alleyways. Her body ached with a long suppressed hunger. The heartbeats were growing stronger the longer she sat in that spot. She contemplated having a taste of the humans in the alleyway, thinking of their warm blood coursing through their veins.

She stands and dashes towards the alley opening, noticing the couple canoodling against the alley wall. She sneakily moves forward as the couple remains oblivious to the danger they were in.

Kill them.

She backs away at the sound of her own thoughts and turns despite her hunger. She looks around trying to figure out where she is, never having been outside of the mansion and in town.

Alaric?

She tries to reach out as she walks away but there is no answer.

Alaric...I'm scared. I'm going to hurt somebody if I'm out here by myself much longer.

Still radio silence greets her mind. She is about to walk even farther when she hears a gurgling noise behind her. The sweet scent hits her nose and before she has a chance to think she is standing in front of a young man. His throat was covered in blood but the marks had since healed.

"Help..please." He looks over at her with a pleading look, begging her to come closer. He had lost so much blood already and a wound to his torso was causing him to choke on the liquid gold.