Me and my Vampire

Crimson at Night

By the time we let go of each other, the castle was dark and cold. We went our separate ways, because our dorms were in the opposite direction and I could barely hold back the happy tears that I was holding. It was a relief that I will not forget anytime soon, like when a big weight has been released from your shoulders.

I was careful with my steps, as I got closer to the main corridor. I peeked out through the corners, trying to avoid detention from my teachers. I spotted two professors heading towards the main corridor, through the garden, which seemed unusually quiet. No crickets or bugs that I sometimes hear. No students were around and I was alone in that silence. I decided to take a longer, but safer path to the girl's quarters, so I turned around. I heard a branch crack from behind me. Now my wand was out and I turned back as quickly as I could. I saw nothing but fog that came from the garden of the courtyard. Calum often called me paranoid, but today I just proved him right. With a sigh of relief, I tucked my wand away, and I left for good.

I covered my body with my black cloak, just well enough, so I won't be spotted from a distance. Everything was going well, until my eyes caught something unusual. There was a faint light coming from the library, through the half-opened door. The library should be long locked at this hour. I peeked in, and a candle was lying on the floor, as if it had been knocked over. Then my eyes travelled to the horrid scene in front of me.

I saw a cloak drenched in a crimson liquid that was all around the floor, the tables, books and shelves. A cold wave passed over me, and an eerie silence ruled the library. How can somebody, once, filled with different emotions, dreams and hope, rest dead on the cold floor of the library so motionlessly? I didn't see his face, for which I'm grateful for, his hands told me everything that there was to know. A long dead person was in front of me, who couldn't survive such a massacre . A student around my age, and I was the first one to see it. A flood of emotions hit me, and a million questions were raised in my head. My mind struggled to comprehend what was happening and it was such an overwhelming feeling and experience that I will never forget as long as I live. I didn't see my own expression, but I'm certain that it looked like nothing, but a face filled with terror.

I started to back away, but I bumped into something. Something that was breathing heavily and shaking, which filled me with fear. I felt my back hitting a cold body and I felt my heart hit a very different rate than it used to. I slowly turned my head around, only to see Kage in front of me. He was different, his eyes glowed in the darkness, but they weren't brown, but vivid red. He wasn't looking at me, or the corpse, but at the floor, where the blood was. The crimson liquid was bewitching him and he seemed to obey and give in to the sensation of longing and hunger. Kage always told me that he had no problem with blood, but seeing his face covered with sweat convinced me otherwise.

-Kage...- I whispered - Don't do anything stupid.

He didn't answer, or even bothered to look at me. He didn't even look like somebody who was alive, he was just...there. I realised it was for the best to drag him away as far as possible. I grabbed his arm, only so he could pull it away with brute force. I didn't realise how strong he was compared to me, and I felt like a weak puppy next to him.

I cupped his face and I looked into his eyes, blocking his view from the scene. I started to search for some sense in his eyes, when he finally started blinking like a normal person. He looked confused for a bit.

-Kendra? What on...- he was interrupted by heavy footsteps rushing this way.

He grabbed my arm and without thinking we had no choice, but to flee. Who wanted to be discovered while standing next to a dead body in the middle of the night with a vampire whose eyes were glowing bright red? We went through the first door we saw, and locked it from the inside. It was the alchemy classroom.

-Who was that? - I asked.

-How should I know? - I got there right after you!

-But you saw the student too!

-It's not like I wanted to!

-What were you doing there anyway? You were heading the opposite direction.

-I smelled blood, so I decided to check out the source, because I was worried about you.

-That's sweet, but what are we going to do now? Should we tell somebody?

-It's likely that they already know. -he said it with some nervousness in his voice. -Did somebody see you?

-No, I don't think so.

-Here is what we are going to do. We will go to the dorms, stay silent and tell nobody. We pretend we never saw this and let's wait for more news tomorrow.

I couldn't disagree more with the fact that we should pretend that nothing happened. But he was right. We are regular students who couldn't do anything for that student anymore. The only thing we would achieve is to draw unnecessary suspicion.

Kage accompanied me all the way to the door. We didn't say anything, let alone "good night". I was never so wide awake at any night at any point that I was now. The sooner I fall asleep, the sooner the morning comes, but I wasn't sure if I wanted it to do so.

Doubts filled my mind. What if somebody saw us? Did Kage make it back in time? Did he get distracted by the blood? Worrying made nothing, but tired, which led me to fall asleep after what it seemed to be hours.

By the time I woke up, everybody else was wide awake and all dressed up. I looked at myself and I was behind by a mile. My hair was all tangled, my eyes were red and I also had faint circles around them.

-Why didn't you guys wake me up? - I looked at Elaina, Polly and Rita, who I shared a room with. They were sitting in a circle gossiping about something. I had a strong suspicion on what that was.

-We were told that the classes have been cancelled, and students must remain in the dorms. No exception.

The events from last night came flooding in, and I felt a lump in my throat.

-Do we know why? - I asked, faking innocence.

-No. - said Elaina while petting Fuffy, my tammer (winged rabbit).

I walked to my desk, and with the help of ink and a small piece of paper I decided to write a letter. I had to know something.

I tied it with a ribbon and gave it to Fuffy.

-Do you know who this goes to?