Taste of Vengeance ✔

Chapter 8

He was trapped in a nightmare – that was the only explanation for this madness. Or maybe he had finally lost his mind, had he created another reality while he was actually still in his cell. Those theories at least helped him to look at the situation a bit more cynically, keeping the panic at bay. Being naked in a morgue was still better than being naked in a cell with a disgusting inmate, he reasoned.

"So... what am I now? A zombie?" He let out a sarcastic laugh. It sounded hollow – it felt like a lifetime ago that he had laughed. "Or wait..." His fingers touched his neck, remembering another weird dream. "I'm a fucking vampire now?"

"Well, not a fucking one yet," Scarlett answered with a grin. "Most people refer to us as vampires indeed, although we are much more. I'll explain everything to you, but in its own time. It will be a lot for you to take in. First we need to get out of this building."

She turned towards the door. Juice wasn't sure if he wanted to follow her, but this place was freaking him out anyway.

"You uh, you got clothes for me?"

"When we're home."

"Home?" he asked, his voice shaky. "You mean, we'll go to Abigail?"

Suddenly he no longer cared whether this was all in his head or not – holding her in his arms was the only thing he wanted right now.

"No, not yet. You have to control your powers before you can see her again."

"P-powers?" he repeated, cringing as he heard how stupid he sounded.

"Yes, powers," she said, without looking over her shoulder as she walked through the dark hallway. She went through another door, where after they entered the lobby. There she turned around and handed him a golden coin ring, with a red gem in the middle. "This is yours. It allows you to transport to our base – wherever you are. With your current abilities you can only return to the last place you've been, so you better don't chose places where your presence raises questions." She gave him a wink.

Juice just stared at her. Thousands of questions were racing through his mind, but not one slipped his lips. He was just completely overwhelmed. As if his hands were acting without his guidance, he shoved the ring around his left thumb.

"Press your other thumb against the gem," she ordered him.

He did as she told him.

A moment later it felt like lightening was hitting him. His whole body was jolting, the pain even reached the furthest corners; his fingertips, his toes – but before he could scream, he found himself on the ground, on his knees, heavily panting.

Almost lovingly, Scarlett's fingers stroked his scalp. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Juice clenched his teeth. He didn't want to get used to anything. He just wanted to wake up, wanted the ending that was promised him. Without all this crazy stuff.

"Come on. I'll take you to your room and there I will answer some of your questions."

Juice didn't say anything. He looked around; they were in a hallway made of stone – like that of a castle. Torches were hanging from the walls, but for some reason they spread no heat. He stood up from the cold cobblestone that was way too even to be a practical floor and followed Scarlett, afraid he would end up alone in this creepy castle otherwise.

Juice felt tired when she finally opened a door. It was a room that seemed to hail from the Victorian era; complete with a canopy bed, furniture with curved legs, lots of golden knick-knacks and an enormous chandelier.

Over a chair clothes were draped – weird ones, with a frock coat and trousers that were fashionable in the 19th century. He saw even a walking stick and a top hat.

"What is this? Some fucking Halloween party?"

Scarlett chuckled, laying a hand against his cheek. "From now on it's every day Halloween for you, baby."

Juice stared at the girl, who seemed to fit perfectly in this place. He had always found her a weird one, with her strange taste in clothing, old-fashioned hairstyle and her profession as assassin, but it slowly started to make sense now.

A bit clumsily he clothed himself in the costume, his limbs and fingers were still stiff. After that, he sat down at the table, looking expectantly at his girlfriend's best friend. His head felt heavy and there were sharp stabs in the back of it, making it hard to keep his thoughts straight.

"So... you bit me?" he stated after a long silence in which Scarlett had thoroughly studied his face. Although he still believed none of this took really place, he doubted he could convince the woman of that. "Why?"

"Later, Juice. How do you feel?"

"Tired. Stiff. But above all very confused."

She nodded slowly. "Your body needs time to recover. The human way takes very long and is painful, we have our own ways to keep our energy and powers up."

"Drinking blood?" he guessed. "Cause I really ain't gonna do that."

"Drinking blood or having sex with your mother."

Juice choked on his saliva and coughed. "Excuse me?!"

"Not your birth mother," she smirked. "Your spiritual one. Your creator."

"You mean you."

She shrugged innocently.

"No way. I'm not going to fuck you. Not anyone but Abigail."

"Don't expect to sleep with her ever again. You wouldn't be the first one accidentally killing his lover, and Abigail is way too precious."

"Does she know? What you are?"

Scarlett shook her head. "No. She has no idea what I am, she doesn't even know what creature she is herself."

Juice squeezed his eyes for a moment, all the information started to make him feel dizzy. "You mean she's not human either?"

"She is – but she's more. We call her a Moonchild. Her pure soul is keeping the balance between good and evil in this world."

"Right." Juice massaged his temples. All this started to sound like a poorly written movie script.

"We call ourselves Darklings. Hundreds of years ago our people split: one part chose the Darkness, the others – we – swore an oath to the Light. Embracing our sinister nature, we use our powers to protect the Moonchildren – people like Abigail."

Juice sighed, it was all too much to understand. "So why did you make me a vampire?"

"Because it was meant to be. Because you are her soulmate, her protector. If I hadn't bound your soul to mine, the Soulless would have used you after your death. You would have been her demise. The Soulless lack a soul to bind someone to them, so they needed to wait until you were dead before they could take control of you – and by then you were already mine."

"I'm not yours," he growled.

"Yes you are. I am your guide, you are my pupil. Abigail had already foreseen that in her dreams – if she hadn't shared her visions with me, I never could have saved you. The Soulless have recruited their own pupil. You should know that the Soulless can't harm Moonchildren, the moment they touch their skin they will catch fire, unless the person in question has no reason to fear the other. That's why they were waiting for your death: you would have been able to get close to her, you could have manipulated her in a way that she would sacrifice herself for the greater good."

"I would never had done that."

"You would have lost your soul. Your love for her would have died – all you would feel is an unstoppable blood lust – preferable the blood of a pure soul."

A shiver crept down his spine. That sounded even worse than his current condition. "And you say they have found someone like that? Someone she trusted... someone who... came back from the death and who's now... pure evil?"

Slowly, Scarlett nodded.

Juice's stomach cringed, suddenly he felt sick.

He knew about who she was talking; one of her best friends.

Opie.