A Study of Poisons

THIRTY FOUR

My feet ran under me as I jolted up the stairs of the manor, the lights were completely out as I tried to get the door to open. It was completely locked. My body leaned back as I tried to break the bolt, but it didn't budge. Quickly, I gave up on the door and moved over to the window. Picking up a large rock from the ground I threw it through the glass. It shattered into a million pieces as I put my hand on the ledge and helped myself up.

Cutting my hand, the blood fell down my fingers. Hell. Rain poured down on my back as it drug my body down. Heavy against the weight of my clothing, I took off my uniform jacket. Throwing it down, I unsheathed my blade. Twisting it between my hand as I walked through the house. Before the front door was Clarice's lifeless body. I should be shocked but instead I looked down to her body and moved on.

Her body was covered in fang wounds. I worried that one of those might be Alex, but I moved on. If I have to kill a house of Vampires then I will do it.

With the shadow attached to the back of my feet, I knew exactly where they were hiding. Thankfully for one of my best ideas, that tracking spell on Alex's necklace. In the dining room where we all met when the night rose from the dawn.

The silence was uncanny as I walked but the smell of death filled the air. Finally, I found the room where it all started and soon where it would all end. The door was locked but I didn't have the time to break anything down. Stepping back, I pointed my palm to the door. "Aperti ianuam." The door flew open, the lock cracking as I marched in.

A voice betraying the air,"I knew you'd figure it out soon or later, you're so smart Delia." Natalia's voice slithered around the corner of her mouth. Right now it was like looking at a completely different person.

Her posture straighter as her eyes a glowing blood red. Her lips curled a smile. Sitting at the end of the dining table, I saw Holstein unconscious on the ground. There too was Alex next to him, his body looked almost completely drained. She drank from the both of them.

"Nat, what did you do?" I whispered to her, her lashes flipped at she widened her eyes at me.

Tapping her nail on the wood of the table she started to conduct the room. "Same thing the Royal family did to mine." Her hatred spewed from every part of her words. If I were anyone else, she would terrify me. However, right now I knew the face she would soon have. Twisted from death she would be. "The royal family destroy us from the inside out." She cursed from her tongue yelling at me as both of her hands slammed down on either side of the chair. "Did you know Alexandur's father was the man who infiltrated my grandmother's court and ruined our lives? They're the reason I am a Vampire in the first place." A chill drew up my spine.

I looked to the near dead Vampire and my mouth went dry. "Alex didn't do anything, neither did Nelo or Holstein." I said but then recognized that Nelo was missing. So he was truly apart of this after all.

The monster rose to her feet and walked down to me. "They're just martyrs in a bigger game, the Queen and you Keepers won't bring change. So I'll force it down their throats." I agreed to some degree, that change needed to happen. However, Natalia's plan was destruction and it would only lead to death. "But you see Delia, you're different from them. You listen to me. You understand me. You like the darkness just like I do." With that, black shadows curled around her fingers.

It was clear she was new to the whole magic ordeal as she clutched onto her power. Her fingers trembled as she reached out for it. Soon it would devour her entirely.

"Natalia no." I shook my head.

She came up to me, usually we were the same height but I see now that she was wearing heels. Then she told me something that nearly caused me to melt. "I'll give you a chance to choose sides. With me, I can turn you- you can be the most powerful Vampire Witch alive." Her fangs shown through her smile, "Of if you want to keep your human life, I'll be fine with the witch side of you." I swallowed my fear.