Blood Rose (Vampire/Ballerina Book 1)

Chapter 21: BitterSweet

KOTA

I tap into my past memory. Which I didn't know I could do. I guess my rage has a strong will. I was able to revisit the campsite and apply my enhanced senses of sight. My human eyes were too low grade to peer beyond the darkness. The firelight glared brighter in my mortal phase. In my immortal phase, I see the blackness of the night clearly.    

The face of my enemy is just as I would have imagined. A snarled and vicious expression. A glint of joy in his smile. His pure red eyes burn as flames of hell would. The smirk of dominance. The complete disregard for human life. As if we were just packs of hot meat. I didn't choose to kill...this devilish man did.   

Kota stares at the drawing he produced. His pale eyes can't seem to draw focus away from the sketch on the paper. Now he has a face to place to his suffering. A face to target all of his wrath on. Since he cannot sleep as a vampire, he spends the night glaring at the drawing in his bedroom. There's no light on in the tiny room, only the source of the moon shines across it.  

Kayla must be able to give me a location on this beast. It'll be difficult to ask, since we're not allowed to be alone together. Father most likely still feels that it'll be too overwhelming for her. My dad sticks to his word...which is annoying. I have to speak with her...alone.  

The sound of digging breaks his attention. It's dawn. Kota realizes how long he's been evil eyeing the paper. Time got away from him. He stands from the edge of the bed and goes to the window. Odina is digging up dirt framed by a wooden divider. It doesn't take him long to understand why. 

The soil is dead. I hear the dry crumbling all the way from here. I hear the crackling particles. It has no nutrients. The dirt breaks apart in his mother's hands, which she uses as a shovel. Kota decides to go help his mom. His feet dash down to her in less than a second. 

"Oh, my!" Odina double takes when her son is suddenly at her side.

"Sorry...you guys aren't used to that yet." He apologetically clench his teeth.

"Maybe give me a signal first."

"I'll whistle next time." Kota simpers, then bends to help her dig out the ruined soil. "What are we planting here?"

"Vegetables and fruits. I almost puked when I tried the ones from the grocery. I can't believe your grandad is eating that poison. I taste every single chemical."

"Wow..."

"So, a garden is ideal. I could sell to the neighbors."

"Kind of like a fresh market?"

"Yes."

Kota is able to sink his palms deeper than his mother's, so he gains more progress than her. "That sounds fun...I'll help."

"Yes...it'll be a fun family project." Odina stops to take a breath and rest her hands on her lap. "The problem is finding pure dirt. I may have to purchase imported soil."

"Or I could sniff it out for you free of cost."

She raises her brows. "You can do that?"

Her son holds up the coarse dirt which platters loudly from his fingers to the ground. "I hear the damage...plus the smell is potent."

"What does it smell like?"

Kota sniffs the air, cyphering a gassy scent from the atmosphere. "Like nitrogen."

Odina tries to whiff the air to distinguish the scent as he does, but fails. "That's remarkable!"

"Yeah...there are cool perks to what I am." He brags.