Chapter Nineteen (Nicholas)
"What the fuck was that?"
I snapped my head to glare at Newt, who stepped into the house with a light, bouncy step that was almost unlike his real personality. The devious little brat that hid beneath the child-like exterior. His real personality made me want to punch him, but his face was too childish for me to hit. So I settled for giving him a death glare as he shut the door behind him, passing me a careless glance before looking at Jasper, who snorted an obnoxious laugh from the sofa.
"Watch it, Newt. You're pissing off the noob." He commented with a snicker, making Rhita elbow him as she sipped at her warm cup of O positive. It felt strange being able to smell just what type was bubbling in her black mug that read "I love cats". I frowned, then glanced back at Newt, who folded his arms over his chest, leaning his back against the door before glancing behind him thoughtfully.
"I wasn't doing it to upset you, Nicholas, but I suppose that was the bonus of my little visit. I'm so disappointed," He added with a frown, pushing off the door, "It would seem Alexander doesn't remember me. Have I changed in the past few years?" He reached up, touching his cheeks and giving them a little push as if trying to check for wrinkles. I scowled and Jasper grinned while Rhita rolled her eyes, her deep red hair falling in waves over the shoulder of her black and pink Happy Bunny silk pajamas.
"There are plenty if little children in the world with black hair and blue eyes. Besides, it's not as if you had a proper conversation with him anyway." She added drolly, staring at the fire tiredly. Newt paused, lowering his hands before shrugging.
"Not a proper conversation. Merely an introduction, but it was enough to stay in my memory. I feel insulted." He added flatly, brushing his fingers through his hair to keep it out of his face. I glared at him.
"I'm pretty sure Kristophe told you the only reason I'm here is to get Alex back. And by that, I mean all for myself." I told him bluntly. I wasn't shy around these guys anymore. They were shy around me anyway, so what did it matter if I was honest with them? Newt looked at me and smiled faintly.
"Yes. And I suppose Kristophe neglected to tell you my reason for being here." He replied, then without another word, walked off to the stairs, ignoring Jasper's taunting about being a little pervert. I didn't argue with Jasper's accusations, and neither did Rhita. I sighed, frustrated, walking over and plopping down in one of the velvet Victorian seats in front of the burning fire place.
We were silent for a while, Jasper just humming the tune to AFI's Fainting Spells as he studied the flames. The fire made Rhita's hair look like it was flaming, the way it made the red shine. I frowned, glancing at them, then back at the fire.
"So. I have a reason to be here. Newt does too. What about you two?" I asked calmly, putting my elbow on the arm rest, leaning my cheek against my knuckles. Rhita peered at me past the rim of her mug, taking a huge gulp of warm blood that made my mouth dry the instant I smelled it. She seemed less willing to respond, though, as Jasper smirked, flashing his fangs at me as he slumped against the back of the sofa, throwing his arms across it and making Rhita look at him in disgust.
"I'm here because I love playing with people and I'm smart about it too," He added with a wink, then glanced back at the fire with a nostalgic smile, "Of course, I have plenty reason to hate Vladimir and his stupid little cult. You probably wouldn't know, being a newborn halfblood. You don't know about Vladimir's conquest for power. You don't know that he wiped out as many people as possible so as to make the Gothica Clan the most powerful of the Court of Seven. He wants to turn this aristocracy into a monarchy. He didn't just wipe out the head and heirs of each clan, oh no. He killed anyone remotely close to them, including the cousins and the halfbloods." I blinked, frowning at him now.
"Kristophe just said they wanted to kill the heirs." I pointed out. Jasper snorted, glancing in my direction with a smirk that told me Kristophe neglected to give me the full details. So I leaned on the armrest of the seat as Jasper lowered his arms, folding his hands in front of him, resting his arms on his knees as he leaned forward.
"Vladimir Gothica is as low as a human, no offense," He added when I cocked a brow at him, "Humans are naturally power hungry. Once they have a lick of it, they want another lick. Then a bite. Then another bite before they're eating themselves to death. It's like cake. It's so delicious, but it's so bad for you and you know it, but you keep eating it, telling yourself that you'll exercise to make it go away, but it won't work. You won't feel like exercising afterwards because you're so full. Point is, Vladimir is too human. He let himself fall headfirst into a big ass cake of power. Vladimir is as fat as Henry VIII before he keeled over. He killed one clan and moved onto another, moving up in the ranks as well as making himself feared. Sure, there are plenty of smaller clans."
"See, in our world, the Court of Seven are the most powerful and more pure of all. Most of them are direct descendents of the Firsts. The Druids. Of course, there are the smaller clans that may be very distantly related to them, but not enough so that they're blood is pure. They mingled with humans and become halfbloods. So they're clans are small and not as powerful. They usually fall behind one of the Seven. However, Vladimir wanted to make his army bigger. He had at least seventy clans behind him, waiting to do whatever he asked. Even if it meant taking down another clan. Vladimir accidentally killed one of the other leaders of Court of Seven. In doing so, Vladimir became excited."
"Wouldn't you? You just moved up a point. Vladimir wanted more money, more power, more influence. And the only way to do that was to kill. Keep killing and that's what led Vladimir to destroy my clan, the Onyx. We were small and part of the Drakons. We branched off distantly and my ancestors were known to mingle with humans. Pretty pathetic if you ask me, but oh well. Done and over with. Of course, Vladimir hated the Drakons. Why wouldn't he? They were powerful and they were hiding something extremely important."
"The human pureblood." I stated instantly. Jasper smirked, leaning back again as Rhita frowned, holding her mug to her lips, but not taking a sip as she stared into the flames. I couldn't tell if she was listening or not. Her facial expressions were scarce.
"Yes. The head of the Drakon Clan. Prescott and Lillian Zi Drakon had produced a creature known to be only a myth created by a drunken fool. The creature known to be half-human, half-vampire. Running through his veins was the powerful blood of the pureblood vampire, directly descended from one of the original Druids. However, he had no fangs, no craving for blood. He was simply a human with vampire blood, but no vampire abilities. Vladimir immediately heard about it and went to attack them, believing them to be dead. It wasn't until a few years later when he saw a newspaper clipping with Lillian's face. She went by the name Lily, her husband going by the name Scott. They changed their last names to Capulet, but no amount of running could get them away from Vladimir."
"Vlad killed Mark's parents." I filled in. Jasper paused, studying my face.
"And there lies more secrets, better left for someone more dramatic. Your question was why I joined Zephyra. I joined Zephyra to kill what my masters had left behind. I want Markus Amadeus Drakon killed. It's his fault that everything went to hell. It's only fair that he get the Divine punishment from his parents in the other world, so he'll never be reincarnated and find his way back to create more chaos." He finished, smirking as he folded his arms over his chest. I frowned, slumping back in my seat, staring at the fire.
Everyone hated Mark so much, but it made no sense. It wasn't his fault he was born. His parents didn't know what they were in for. Mark didn't ask to be what he was, and judging from the way Alex and the others were acting, even Mark had no idea who he was and why we were hunting him.
But that wasn't my problem.
Mark could battle Zephyra all he wanted and vice versa.
Because in the end, my ultimate goal was to have Alexander. He would be mine forever, and this time, forever didn't mean eighty or a hundred years.
It literally meant forever.
I averted my eyes before they landed on Rhita. I frowned and opened my mouth to ask her when a voice rang in from the kitchen. It sounded like Kelsey and she sounded excited.
"You guys, you guys! Get in here, quick! The brats are on TV!" She yelled, her voice echoing through the house. At first, I had no idea what I was supposed to do in response, until I saw Rhita and Jasper's eyes widen. Rhita dropped her mug, bolting for the kitchen and looking less like a vampire assassin in her PJs. Jasper leapt to his feet and raced after her, so I followed their lead until we were in the kitchen with Kelsey, her black hair tied in a loose bun as she stood there in her lavender silk nightgown.
Not far behind, Seth was coming in, wearing only checkered boxers and a black tank top. Behind him came Newt in his overalls and turtleneck. It only took a few more seconds before Kristophe came in, wearing a business suit, but it was sloppily put on with the tie loose around the collar and his blazer flying open. We all stood there, like one bizarre family as we watche the television with wide eyes.
My heart skipped a beat at the sight of Alexander's face on the screen. I recognized it instantly as his school photo. His beautiful blonde hair falling in straight locks around a perfect, angelic face and eyes like blue skies. However, despite the faint smile grazing those lovely pink lips, those beautiful blue eyes of his were totally sad. Not a glimmer of hope resided in those sapphire eyes.
"The investigation continues in search for the mysterious kidnappers of Alexander Lee Grey and friend, Mark Capulet." The reporter announced as they added the school photo of Mark beside Alex's. It was a shocking difference. Not just between Mark and Alex there, but the Mark that was walking around as a full on pureblood vampire.
The Mark in the school photo definitely looked how I remembered him. Practically dying. Dark circles ran under piercing blue eyes that were hooded and almost hidden by deep, raven black hair, plastered to his head by a navy beanie that read AFI. His snake bite piercings glittered in the camera lights as did the stud in his nose. The tattoo of a teardrop under his eye perfectly displaying what probably went on in his head.
"Police are combing the area and it's been reported that a car crash occured late yesterday afternoon, just minutes after the kidnapping in Wolf Creek. The car crash, witnesses say, happened just on the highway between Wolf Creek and Red Field where two Silverados collided and caused a Jeep to skid off the road and disappear into a pond. Police are saying that the crash was linked to the disappearance of these two high schoolers. Police are asking for any sort of information. If you see these two, please call police immediately. Do not engage the kidnappers. They are said to be armed and dangerous."
"Armed and dangerous is right." Jasper snorted, making Newt elbow him out of the way to get to the front. I frowned, watching as Newt had to stand on his toes to peer onto the counter for a better view of the television. He stared hard at the television as another photo of Alex came up. It was one of his senior photos of him leaning against a tree that was decorated in a blanket of colorful bright red, orange, and yellow leaves that fluttered around him. He was still smiling, resting his head against his knee as he gazed at the camera.
But I knew him all too well to know that the smile was as fake as plaster.
I felt a pang of jealousy and irritation as Newt smiled faintly at the photo, his cheeks turning a little pink as if he was certainly enjoying what he thought.
"You know, I looked up hypopituitarism," I said aloud, making everyone glance at me, except Newt, who stared at the television screen, "It says one of the symptoms is lack of sexual arousal. So why is it that you're pretty much humping the cupboards by just looking at him?" I knew my statement was bold and even offensive. I was making fun of him. It was stupid, but I couldn't help it.
He needed to know what the terms of my contract were.
I stared at Newt as he stared at the screen until the news cast shut off. Newt lowered himself onto his flat feet before turning to face me, tilting his head up to look at me so our eyes locked.
"You're a nosy little halfblood, aren't you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, then brushed past me and departed from the room. I watched him, eyes narrowed in irritation before Jasper snickered, making me glance at him.
"Don't be stupid," He replied cheerfully, picking up a cookie from a plate on the counter, "Teasing Newt will only gain you negative favor." I frowned.
"I don't really care what he wants or does, so long as he stays away from the only thing that's keeping me connected to you people. If anyone does something to hurt Alex, then my deal's off." I snapped. Jasper's eyes glowed and he smirked. Kristophe cleared his throat loudly, making us turn to him as he folded his arms over his chest, eyes locked with mine.
"We are a family here. We protect one another. We do not bar each other from our goals. Newt is only teasing you as he tends to do that with people he likes. Jasper, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut. Everyone, get ready. It's time we took Nicholas out for a little hunting." He added, then left the kitchen. One by one, everyone filed out, except Kelsey and I.
"What's he mean by hunting?" I asked, turning to Kelsey as she wrapped the cookies in plastic wrap, pausing to glance at me with a flirtatious smile that I swiftly ignored.
"You'll see. Go upstairs and dress in something decent. If I were you, I'd go with black. It's the best camo out there." She responded, then easily spun on her heel, vanishing out of the kitchen. My eyes followed her before I turned back to the television, staring at the blank screen, but seeing Alex's face in my mind's eye.
I was getting a bad feeling about this, but it was too late to back out now. I couldn't back out anyway, otherwise, Alex and I would never be together. Storm was standing in our way and if Zephyra was telling the truth, I'd never be able to take on a pureblood alone. I'd do anything to get to Alex, if it meant killing Storm, so be it. If it meant getting other members of Zephyra killed, why should I care? I wasn't here to join their little rebellion. I wanted to take Alex and keep him safe, and the only way to do that was to win him away from Storm.
Just thinking about it made my blood boil in my veins. My fangs throbbed hungrily, but I still wasn't used to drinking blood and the metallic flavor of it settling on my tongue and honestly quenching all hunger and thirst.
I went upstairs to my new room, closing the door behind me. It wasn't a large room, nor a small room. It was wide with a simple 3/4 bed in the corner by the window that was hidden behind black curtains. A small door went to my tiny bathroom and another door led to my walk-in closet. A dresser sat nearby with clothes that Kristophe had picked out for me. I walked over to the bathroom, showering before dressing in a black V-neck and matching jeans.
I paused as I ran a hand through my damp hair, staring at my old clothes folded up on a chair in the corner by the dresser. My soccer uniform sat in wait, as if preparing for the next game and it actually made my gut clench to think that I wouldn't play soccer again... For... For weeks? Months? Years? Forever?
I sighed, rubbing my face and taking a deep breath before putting on my poker face as I stepped out of my room to see Rhita coming out of hers, wearing black leather pants and a black turtleneck as she dropped her daggers into the holsters hanging on her waist. She glanced at me, then looked away.
"To be quite frank," She said, making me frown, "You seem to be the only one with a good reason to join Zephyra. The rest of us want revenge. You just want your lover back." I blinked.
"You mean, you--"
"Vladimir killed someone very close to me," Rhita said sharply, "He's not going to get off scotfree. I'm going to do to him what he did to Robert... I'll rip his innards out and dance in his blood, just as he did to my Robert. Seems only fair. You'd do the same if Newt ever harmed Alexander, wouldn't you?" I stared at her, then found myself nodding, surprised.
I would do something like that and I was stunned at how bloodthirsty I felt hearing Rhita talk about it. It was making my heart race and suddenly felt evil for being excited at the thought of killing someone, be it Newt or Storm. I shuddered and brushed past Rhita quickly to get away from her, but she reached out and caught my wrist, pulling me to a stop and whipping me around to look at her.
"You better get used to that," Rhita murmured, her voice giving me goose bumps, "You'll love it sooner or later. Once you take a life, you want to take another. And another. And another. And another. Not all of us have control over the craving of blood and death. Not until we've reached a goal of satisfaction. And who knows when that'll be? You kill Storm, you kill Newt. Kristophe, Jasper, Seth, Kelsey, even myself. Sure, you'll still have Alexander, but you're not the only one who'll want him in time. Take him on a date to the mall and someone will look at Alexander and want him instantly. Your jealousy, the ease to kill will settle in your mind and just for looking at Alexander, you'll kill anyone."
"I'm not like you." I managed, trying to rip my wrist away from her, but she tightened her grip and pulled me closer, her lips brushing mine, making my skin crawl.
"I should hope not, Nicholas Ryan," Rhita said softly, her green eyes sad, "Because if you do, you'll become so obsessed with death that you might just kill yourself and your lover. Learn control, Nicholas. It'll save you in any situation. Control your anger, control your jealousy, control your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body." With that, she let go of my wrist and I stumbled back, whirling around and taking off down the hallway, heading down the stairs to get away from her.
She was insane.
That's it. If vampires could be born with diseases, like Newt, so could Rhita. She was probably just insane from losing her boyfriend or husband or whatever that man was to her. She was just nuts and had no idea what she was talking about.
Kill myself?
No!
Kill Alexander?
I'd kill myself before I killed him! I didn't want to think about Alexander dying. He was the whole reason I was risking myself in this whole silly battle of the vampire clans. Once I saved Alexander, nothing else mattered. I'd do whatever I could, spend every moment I could with him. I'd love Alexander every single day and do whatever he wanted me to do. I'd keep his parents away from him, his sister, his so-called fiance, even Mark.
Because wherever Mark was, danger followed and I didn't want anything remotely unsafe around Alexander. Once this was over, I'd protect him with my life.
And yes, that meant killing people, but I had control. I always had good control. I'd only kill those who posed a threat. And it was only natural to feel jealous, wasn't it? So I wasn't sinning or anything.
I arrived downstairs where everyone, but Rhita and Kristophe were waiting. Jasper sat on the back of the sofa, twirling a shuriken on one of his fingers with a grin. He was wearing what looked like ridiculously heavy boots. They went from his knees and the heels had to be at least a few inches longer. He wore a black and white striped long-sleeve shirt with a low cut collar and snug black jeans with jingling chains. Beside him, Seth stood in a pair of camo cargos and a black wifebeater with a black leather jacket over top, probably hiding weapons beneath.
Newt was also waiting, standing by the front door patiently. He'd changed into a pair of faded black overalls, a blue striped long-sleeve shirt under, and a navy newspaper boy's cap. He looked more like he was dressed for a day out with mommy and daddy than training vampires.
I just frowned at him and he smiled back quickly before letting it disappear. We looked up as Kristophe came down with Rhita. He wore a black Chinese shirt with long, billowy sleeves. It was lined in gold silk with a gold dragon sewn into the back, matching his black silk pants and black flat shoes.
"Rhita, Jasper, and Seth can take the Silverado. Nicholas, Newt, and I will take the Jeep. We're going to meet in the forests near Wolf Creek, but avoid the areas near the crash. The cops will be combing through the area to find any sort of clue." Kristophe announced. Everyone nodded and we departed through the back door, leaving Kelsey, who waved us off before getting to work at keeping the household up.
I got in the front seat of the Jeep, forcing Newt to sit in the back alone. He said nothing about it as Kristophe started the Jeep and pulled out of the driveway first, heading down the road and onto the highway with Rhita following close behind.
"We're not gonna just jump some innocent bystander, are we?" I spoke up at last. Kristophe lifted a thin regal brow, his eyes still locked on the road as he used one hand to fish around between the seats. Newt reached forward and handed him a packet of cigarettes, which Kristophe thanked him for as he flicked the top open, using his lips to pull a cigarette out.
"Humans are not innocent. True, they were at some point in time, but once the poison of knowledge struck a cord with them and opened the gates to power, all the innocence was destroyed. All humans are evil somewhere deep inside. Some are better at repressing it than others. Some..." His voice trailed as he dropped the packet between the seats, fumbling for the lighter, which I took from his groping hands and lit his cigarette for him. I grimaced as the smoke curled into the air of the car, watching Kristophe pluck it from between his lips, the smoke oozing past his lips.
"Since this is your first time hunting with us, we'll do things a little less grotesque, but don't get used to it." He told me with a nod. Newt scooted forward on the end of his seat, leaning forward between the seats.
"Think of humans when they eat a burger. That cow was born for the sole purpose of being consumed by a greater species. The cow is viciously fed until it can no longer move. Once the time comes when the meat is right, the farmer packs up the cows and sends it to the slaughter house where it is ripped apart, slowly and painfully. The meat is cleaned, processed, then packaged before being sent out to your local McDonalds. Humans are the same to us. They are born for the sole purpose of living their miserable little lives until they're blood is ripe. Then we devour them and move onto the next. We just don't get our food in packages." He explained with a careless shrug, making me wince as my stomach churned.
"It'd be rather useful, though." Kristophe pointed out as he took another drag on his cigarette before blowing the smoke out to fill the car with a steady haze. I waited for it to burn my lungs, but it never did. I blinked, mildly surprised.
"I'd love to receive my meals in ribbons." Newt agreed, his little pink tongue flicking over his lips as he flashed his fangs. I scowled, glancing back at him.
"Don't people your size need booster seats?"
"Don't children your age need to be intelligent?"
"I'm pretty sure when I was your age, I was spanked."
"Really? When I was your age, I was stabbed in the stomach."
"Jesus Christ." I exclaimed as Newt gave me a hardly regretful or painful smile. In fact, he looked amused as he cocked his head to look up at me with big baby blue eyes that any other person would find adorable and innocent, but I could see into the depths of those blue eyes to the blackness inside.
"Aye," He responded with a nod, glancing out the windshield with glittering blue eyes, "My parents were strict. While human babies were being spanked or paddled, I was being stabbed and thrown into walls. It was the proper punishment for someone who is disfigured, someone who shames your family. Of course, I didn't let mommy and daddy get away with it. Once the rebellion started, I arrived with a pleasant surprise indeed."
Silence followed and I waited for Newt to go on, but he seemed to be waiting for me to ask, so I glanced at him to see that his smile had grown wider.
"What did you do to them?" I asked hesitantly. Newt glanced at me and his smile became his personality; sick and twisted.
"I ripped them open and dropped their entrails in the streets. Hannibal Lector was my inspiration." He added brightly, flopping back into his seat in the back as he kicked his feet up between the seats, almost hitting me in the face. I grimaced and sat back in my seat, shuddering in disgust as I glared out the windshield.
"Just so you know, I may have made the contract with you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy any of it. I'm not sick like the rest of you." I muttered dryly. Kristophe smiled calmly as he tapped his cigarette, the ash falling into the ashtray near the dashboard.
"I don't enjoy killing drones, but it must be done. Death is a natural part of life." He responded calmly.
"Think of us as the population control." Newt chirped, making Kristophe laugh before he put his cigarette back in his mouth, laughing again so a cloud of smoke escaped his lungs. I frowned, glancing out the window.
I didn't care what they said.
I may have to kill people, but I wouldn't enjoy it. The only solice I could seek was knowing that in the end, I would have Alex. Once we were together, everything would be okay...
Kristophe pulled into the woods out behind the less populated area of Wolf Creek, heading down a long, abandoned dirt trail to a crumbling old church with boarded up windows. He parked in the tall grass around the church and we got out, waiting only for a few minutes before the others showed up.
"I thought vampires weren't allowed on holy grounds." I said dryly, staring up at the old church as it loomed over us like a dark, foreboding shadow. Jasper laughed, looking up at the church fearlessly as he went up to one of the crumbling steps, lifting his foot and pushing it on the boards over the paint-peeling door.
"Hollywood has a funny way of explaining things, eh? The only thing scary about this place are the ghosties inside!" He smirked, then pushed harder on the ancient wood so it cracked under the weight of his boot.
"Quit desecrating the home of the souls," Kristophe scolded, waving for us to come join the circle they'd made in front of the church, "We have business to attend to. We're going to be quick about this. You must be swift and silent. We are the ultimate assassins of our world. We are cousins to the snakes. They move quickly and silently to obtain their meal and so we shall do the same. I will be leading this hunt with Newt at my side. The rest of you must stay back. Nicholas, you are to watch very closely because once we are finished, you too will perform your first kill."
The way he said that sent a chill up my spine and made my heart race. Could I really do this? Could I really kill someone? Another human being?
Oh. That's right. I'm not a human anymore. I was just like these people around me, more or less.
I took a deep breath and nodded. Kristophe seemed pleased with that, then gestured for us to follow, but keep a good five feet behind him. We obeyed and I kept close to Seth, watching the way he cautiously stepped over twigs and branches, avoiding holes and ducking leaves that were beginning to shrivel and fall to the ground, creating piles. I stepped around and over the leaves, stepping down very carefully.
I had seen my dad go hunting once and he moved very quietly, holding his rifle close to his shoulder. He used hand signals and prominent facial expressions to alert me when he'd seen the prey.
And Kristophe did the same thing.
He moved fluidly, like something out of a horror movie. However, I was more awed than terrified, watching Kristophe move like liquid through the trees and plants. It was amazing to watch him move so fluidly through the trees. I was even surprised that Newt could do the same thing. He moved much quicker than Kristophe, but his form wasn't nearly as beautiful.
They approached the old sidewalks of the street and the rest of us stopped in the woods, ducking low and keeping perfectly still. Kristophe also stayed in the woods, hugging close to a tree as Newt emerged from the woods. He scanned the trees quickly, then the street and the old houses that sat across from it.
And then he cried.
The tears immediately sprang to his eyes and streaked down his cheeks as he sobbed, reaching up to desperately wipe them away. He looked like any average human child, sobbing in fear. I actually felt the pain of it right down to my core, but I knew Newt wasn't scared. It didn't seem like the guy could even feel the emotion, but he could fake it perfectly.
He just sobbed hard and loud, sinking to his knees and wiping at his cheeks. It didn't take long for someone to notice. A woman was standing near her porch, hanging up her laundry from a wicker basket when she heard Newt sobbing. She was probably a woman in her thirties, but this side of town was known for its drug use, so she looked forty or fifty. Her frizzy brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, her hazel eyes widening as she heard the sound of a child crying. She patted her damp hands on her ruffled red dress, coming around her house to see Newt.
She looked both ways before crossing the street-- not that it would matter. She approached Newt carefully, rising on her tip toes.
"Sweetie? Baby, are you okay?" She asked cautiously. Newt sniffled and whimpered, even trembling for effect.
"I can't find my mommy," He sobbed painfully, coughing and sniffling a little more, "She's not here no more. She told me to wait here and she'd come back, but she didn't come back..." The woman's face fell into sympathy as she sank to her knees beside him, placing a hand on his back.
"Oh, darling, you're all right. You're okay. Here, let's get rid of those tears." She murmured gently, her voice soothing and hardly matcing her tired face as she took a bundle of her dress, using it to wipe Newt's tears. He sniffed, peering up at the woman as she dabbed at his eyes.
"I-I like your dress." He said softly. The woman smiled warmly, pausing as she dabbed at his eyes.
"Thank you, sweetheart." She answered sweetly, returning to wiping his tears. Newt sniffled a little, then put his hand over the woman's, making her look at him curiously as Newt closed his eyes for a second.
"Red is such a pretty color," He whispered, making the woman blink, "It's so warm."
As soon as he started speaking, Kristophe had emerged from the woods, moving silently behind the woman as she sat on her knees, looking at Newt in confusion as he opened his baby blue eyes to gaze up at her. Kristophe immediately fell upon her, his hand covering her mouth before she could even think to scream. His fangs sank into her throat and Newt smirked, still holding the woman's long, slender fingers in his hands.
"It reminds me of your blood." He told her before he brought her wrist to his mouth and bit down. Blood spurt into their mouths, covering their lips and running down their chins as they sucked desperately. It almost reminded me of babies with their mothers, suckling to get as much nutrients as possible.
Only babies didn't kill their mothers.
It was only a few seconds before the woman was dead, her eyes rolling up in her head and her skin instantly becoming white as a sheet. She slumped to the pavement, her skull cracking as Kristophe rose to his feet, wiping his mouth. Newt sniffed, using the back of his hand to wipe at his eyes as he came back to the woods. I frowned.
"She was actually concerned about you." I stated. Newt glanced at me drolly, licking droplets of blood off his fingers.
"Oh, yes, she was. And it was her concern that got her killed. Humans are so easily manipulated. They see a crying little child and rush to help me. Of course, that's only failed me once." He added under his breath, making Jasper snicker. I raised an eyebrow, glancing at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. Jasper laughed.
"Newt loves playing the lost kiddie card. He does it on every hunt. The best time was when he did it at the park and this guy said he'd get Newt some help and before Kristophe could come out and do his thing, the guy was trying to get Newt into his car. You could tell from the tent in his pants that he didn't want to help him." He snorted, smacking a tree and leaning on it for support. Newt stunned me as he blushed, glaring at Jasper.
"Humans are not only easily manipulated, but disgusting, revolting monsters that deserve to die. She probably would've tried to take me home as well, to test her meth lab or take her new antidepressants." He spat in disgust and flashed his fangs at Jasper as a warning to quit laughing or Jasper might end up as his next victim. Kristophe cleared his throat loudly, glaring at Jasper until he sobered, before he looked at me.
"It's your turn, Nicholas. We'll move to a location just a street down. Same general area so they make the assumption that it was an animal attack." He explained calmly, then started through the woods silently again. I stood there for a moment, watching them move ahead of me before I turned my head to look at the woman on the pavement.
The smell of death clung to the air and it should have made me sick. The whole scene should have disgusted me as it took place, but I was disturbed to find that it hadn't. In fact, I was fascinated by it and it only increased the hunger pains in my stomach, the dryness of my throat and mouth.
I hurried after the others as we made our way through the woods, walking around to the next street that was almost as worse as the last one with old, crumbled sidewalks. Houses that had once been nice and fancy, now falling apart and ruined, turned into boarding houses. I frowned. I recognized the neighborhood, but it was so hard to pinpoint it.
By the time we'd reached our destination, the sun was dipping low behind the trees, so it was almost impossible to see the guy that was coming out of his house, standing with his back to the trees as he smoked a cigarette.
"Newt will help you by drawing the man in. But don't get used to it. You must learn to do it on your own after this." Kristophe murmured under his breath. I glanced at Newt, who licked his lips and got out ahead of us as we hung back in the trees. Newt immediately put on his waterworks, sobbing the moment he stepped out of the trees. The man whipped around, dropping his cigarette in surprise and quickly stomping it out as he approached the sobbing boy.
"Oh, hey, uhm, how did you get here, kid? Are you all right?" Why did that voice sound so familiar? I frowned, stepping closer as Newt sniffled, looking up at the man in the darkness.
"I can't find my babysitter. We was goin' to the park and he went off to talk to someone and left me alone." He sobbed, making the man wince and kneel down to get closer to the boy, using his thumb to wipe away the bubbling tears that streamed down Newt's face. I felt Kristophe's hand on my back and I stepped out of the trees, cautiously moving around to get behind the man.
I approached him and that's when I saw it.
The back of the man's football jersey that read MONSTER OSCAR, number 8 on the back. My eyes widened and I immediately looked at Newt, who shifted his eyes to look at me in confusion. The man stood up instantly and whirled around to see me. The same chocolate skin, gold eyes, and dark buzzcut.
"Nick?" Oscar asked, surprised. I gaped at him stupidly. I didn't know what to say. I was dumbfounded. I was about to kill my best friend. The shock of it hit me so hard that I had no idea what to say, so I stood there with my mouth hanging open. Oscar scowled suddenly.
"You didn't tell me you were babysitting again. Nice job, asshole. This kid here's been trying to find you." He scolded, gesturing to Newt, who winced, then quickly hid it with a little whimper. I snapped out of my stupor, but only managed stutters as Oscar put a hand on Newt's back to lead him to me.
Newt faked a happy smile and leapt at my arm, holding onto it and digging his nails as a warning, but I ignored it as I looked at Oscar with a weak smile.
"Ahh, yea... I... forgot... to mention it. Needed extra cash." I lied. Oscar shrugged, glancing around in the dark, shivering a little before glancing at me with a cocked brow.
"Where've you been, man? You left a note tellin' your parents you were gonna chill at your grandparents, but this whole thing is just a huge mess. Doesn't help that your boyfriend's been on the news. You ain't gone to go find them kidnappers, have you?" He added, sounding irritated. My smile wavered a little as Newt sank his nails into my arm, making me bite my tongue to keep from crying out.
I shifted my hand so I was wrapping my arm around Newt's shoulders, jerking him against my side as I squeezed his shoulder as hard as I could, watching his eyes flicker in pain.
"Uhm, no... I mean, not really. I've been looking into it." I mumbled. Oscar studied me for a moment, then sighed, shaking his head.
"Man, you're crazy. Look, why don't you come inside and tell me about it? Ain't no one home. Tonya went to visit her parents and my ma is out with her new boyfriend." He answered. I just nodded and took Newt by the shoulder, leading him into the house with me. He just gave me this baffled stare that asked what the hell are you doing.
And honestly, I was wondering the same thing.
What the hell are you doing, Nicholas Ryan?