The next few hours merged together and became nothing more than a blur. One thing did manage to lighten my spirits though... and it was nothing short of a miracle.
I had gone outside for some more training, Dante thought he should train me himself this time... just to make sure I was ready more than anything, I was a little more than shocked to find that any compassion he felt towards me had simply vanished at that point, instead what was left was a pure bred fighter who thrashed every ounce of aggression he held in him towards me. I somehow avoided every attack.. just about, jumped to the side and lunged at him so that I was now mounted on his back, arms wrapped around his neck I soon began to laugh and kissed his cheek.
“Vicki” he sighed
“What?” I asked him as I stifled a giggle
“You're supposed to be training” he tried to sound stern but what came out was something more of a cough crossed with laughter. I jumped off his back and he immediately turned around to snag my waist and pull me closer to him.
“I'm strong enough Dante, think all this just proved that”
“You're certainly fast my love” he leaned down and caressed his lips with mine, I raised my arms and looped them around his neck. At that moment something cold touched my arm, then again on my other arm. I broke my embrace with Dante and looked up at the sky, flakes of white began to fall from the sky and surround the pair of us. I looked at Dante who was now smiling boldly at me.
“What?”
“Nothing” he laughed “Just miracles seem to be happening a lot these days”
It was strange to see something so peaceful as snow fall from the sky at such a drastic time. With this war coming up, it really was a miracle to see something like this. I stepped away from Dante for a moment and walked along the stoned pathway that lead from the house before stopping just before the gates, I held my arms high up into the air, looked up and closed my eyes, allowing the snow to beautifully caress my skin. I felt arms wrap around my waist and a chin settle down on my shoulder, his touch always had this way of melting me inside, I truly loved him more than anything in this world... seems strange to love someone that much that you would lay your own life down in a second if given the chance.
“You look like you've never seen snow before” Dante chuckled
“Funny, it's more the fact that considering the circumstance that we're stuck in... something as peaceful as snow falls from the sky” I looked back over my shoulder to see him smiling at me with that cheeky school boy grin he wore so well. Turning in his arms so that I faced him, I looped my arms around his neck and drew him close so that our foreheads met “Dante” I muttered
“What is it Vicki?”
“I want you to stay here tomorrow” He pulled away from me and stared at me with such intensity that it took almost all of the strength in me to not squirm
“What?”
“I'm serious, I want you away from all of this”
“You're joking aren't you... Vicki I am one of the best fighters of this race! And I will not allow myself to just sit back and watch you go through this on your own, no it's out of the question”
“That may be so... but what about loosing someone who means more to me than I can even put into words? And like the twins said, someone who is dear must die for the saviour to rise... that cannot be a coincidence!” I run my hands through my hair and grunted with frustration, why was he being so stubborn about all of this? This was the best option if he were to survive, the twins were never wrong with anything that they said, it was a little more than spooky to tell the truth.
We walked around some more, arm in arm and in silence. The only sound I heard was the soft whisper that came from the wind as it brushed past my ears . Finally we stopped dead in our tracks and gazed upon each other, his jade eyes spearing through my heart and cascading shivers along my skin.. perfection.. that's all I ever saw him as, from the moment I saw him in that tiny little club in London. He reached out and brushed one finger along my lips, I closed my eyes and took a step toward him. There would never be another man like him... ever. He had my heart, mind, body and soul.. everything that I had, was now his. That alone, made me even more certain that he was not to join me tomorrow, I knew that I was going to loose someone close to my heart, someone that I knew I trusted completely. The only thing I didn't know.. was how on earth I was going to keep him away from that battlefield, keep him away from that danger, keep him away from permanent death, keep him away... from me. I held him close to me, took in his scent and the way his body fit mine like a lost piece of a jigsaw, before putting on a fake smile that I used to wear for my adopted family, grabbed his hand and led him toward the castle, I wanted to spend these last few moments with him, the only way I would keep him away from the battlefield would be if I were to chain him up, and I knew how to convince him how to wear them... sadly.
Once we were back in our room I reached up, looped my arms around his neck and kissed him softly at first, before pouring all of my emotion into it, his hands lopped around my waist and he pulled me close. His breathing became more ragged and I could feel the corners of his lips pull up into a sly little smile as I gasped at the sudden power in his pull. His iced fingers slowly made their way around the edges of my bottoms and he began to pull the lower, I shimmied side to side in hopes to help him out a little. Before long that, along with the rest of our clothes were mixed on the floor. He scooped me up and led me over the bed where he practically threw me down, which resulted in making me laugh like a hyena... a sound I haven't heard in... well, since I was a child really. He climbed on the bed and over the top of me, gently lowering himself down onto me to kiss my lips before adjusting his now very present manhood into my area, he drove into me with such passion and power that I could not help but gasp. With each thrust came another kiss until the last push to which he collapsed down upon me, gasping and panting like some animal.
“Vicki” he gasped as he rolled onto his back
“Yes, what is it?”
“Don't ever leave me” I turned onto my side and curled up next to him, placing my one hand on his chest, I didn't reply to him but instead I kissed him tenderly “Please” he pleaded to me, but I just smiled. Now the one thing they don't tell you in the horror stories is that Vampires do actually sleep, this was the only chance I actually had to get the things I needed, so I shifted away from Dante's grasp as softly as I could and ran downstairs to the training area.
I knew that my uncles had chains around somewhere, according to them, anything and everything could be used as a weapon and the sooner I learned how, the better. I ran over to the weapons cabinet and began to loot. I carried the chains as quietly as I could, holding them closer to me in hopes that it would quieten the noise it was making.. then I realised, Dante sleeps like he's in a coma or something... it doesn't matter how much noise I make during the night. It was like whenever I was with him, sneaking out in the middle of the night to get some... air was just so easy to do. Now, when I say air, I mean space... there's no room to think when I'm with him. I think about a lot of things, like would my life have been any different right now if I didn't wander into that club in London... but would it have been any different if I weren't a Dhampir... stuff like that really. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that, even if all of this was totally strange and well.. didn't make sense most of the time, well to be honest, I still wouldn't change any of it for the world. These people were my family... and I would do anything to protect them.
'Even loosing your life?' Tatiana said in my mind.
'Yes, even that... all of them, including you, mean so much to me' I replied to her. I don't think even she expected that answer, because as soon as I'd said it she went quiet.
Once in the bedroom, I tiptoed over to the bed and placed the chains quietly on it's silky sheets. I then walked over to Dante and gently grabbed him so that I could roll him onto his back. With a small tug he rolled over and let out a half snort, half gasp kind of noise. I stopped dead in my tracks and backed up a bit, thinking I had woken him up or something, but when he didn't move I knew I was in the all clear. It only took a minute or two to actually chain each side of him up. Thinking it was sturdy enough, I grabbed my workout clothes and headed downstairs to the Gym, I wanted to workout as much as I could before the sun rose... because to be honest, the more Stamina I could build, the safer I would be. I was still far from the strength of my family and Dante but I was faster than all of them put together, which would be my main advantage. Having a family full of elite hunters and a boyfriend who topped that... well let's just say I was never short of protection. It was nice to be protected an all... but getting any of them killed would actually be the end of me. I couldn't go on living, knowing someone I loved would die in my place... it was disgusting. The one great thing about this gym was that it was old fashioned and American styled, meaning there was a track around the outside, with all the apparatus in the middle. Any weapons however were stored in cupboards along the edges, all under lock and key. I walked over to the track and jogged on the spot for a moment or two, taking in deep, long breathes and closing my eyes. Any sound around me soon faded, all that my ear picked up was my breathing and the steady beat of my half-human heart.
Snapping my eyes open, I darted forward. Feeling the wind thrash my face like a thousand icy spears, my body tensed with each step, throbbing with a burst of adrenaline. I saw nothing, nothing but the track and where I was running, the world around me seemed to mould into a constant blur. The one thing I loved about being a Dhampir and drinking the blood... I never seemed to tire, not even in the slightest.
I was about to turn a corner for the hundredth time when I seen a black blur pass my left side, a frown spread across face and I pushed myself harder, this time aiming for the door, hoping I could sprint my way into the grounds and away from whatever was now in the room with me, I couldn't be sure if it was one of my family members or an enemy at this speed, so better be safe than sorry. The moment I was an inch from the door I felt an arm hit me in the gut and I flew back down to the floor. My head hit the floor with a crack and I winced from the pain. The room spun for a moment or two before two very smug eyes glared down at me... uncle Daniil..
“You shouldn't let your guard down”
“The.. the whole point of this.. is to pick up speed. It's my only advantage” I croaked back at him
“What on earth are you talking about?” he offered a hand out to me which I gratefully accepted. The blood rushed to my head as soon as I left the ground, making me feel a little more than sick.
“I'm saying that, I can never be as strong as anyone here... but I am faster than you all put together, yes I got a little cocky just then and let down my guard a bit, but my point stands. Plus this war... they are after me, the doppelgänger child, so I'll run.. lead them away from you all” he walked a few paces in front of me, then turned around so that he was now facing me, grabbing one shoulder, he tilted my chin up so that I was now looking directly at him
“Why do you think you need to protect us?” he asked me
“Because...”
“Because what?”
“You know what, I'm sure it's been spread around. The twins told me that someone I love is going to die so that I may become what I am meant to be, or some shit like that” I pulled away from him and turned away, now walking towards the door once more, I needed to get out of these clothes. He didn't bother to come after me, but when I looked back, he had a dulled, expressionless face... like if words I had just spoken were as sharp as a blade.