Chapter Seven
After
a while, the group left the house and had their plan in motion to get to
Licentia and back without being attacked.
Luna, much to
“Are
you ready?”
“I
can do this. I just have to entice
him, shoot him with a vegetable sipper, and then run for my life. I’m a fairly good runner, and I
can boost his ego before he even gets a chance to start baring his fangs.
They
left after that,
“What
did you call me?” He asked,
pulse pounding and vein popping from his forehead. Luna absolutely loved his reaction and
was very happy to be causing him grief.
This was almost like a game, and she had the potential to be a winner.
“You
heard me. You’ve ruined my
time here with my friends, and that’s slightly
appealing…” Luna stated
as she looked at him. Contrary to
popular belief, Luna had a plan that involved the bitter opposite of a
relationship.
As
he came closer, Luna started to mess with the small, stainless-steel needle
that she had tucked into the crease in her hand. Being only a nervous habit, Luna’s
hand still stayed steady as she fingered the plunger on the solution made
partly from leftover bits of carrots, the least deadly vegetable for them, and
small tracking cells that would go unnoticed in the bloodstream until it lodged
on an organ or a bone.
As
he paced up in a slow move, Luna moved up next to him, and before he could
think otherwise: she had the needle and the solution in his arm, quite a
painful jab in her opinion, and sent the mixture rushing through his veins with
the press of her fingers.
He
almost-immediately fainted, and as an after-thought, Luna moved him to the side
of the clearing so he would escape most harm from other predators; she felt bad
for leaving the person that she was fighting alone, but kept running full speed
toward the house and safety.
Once
inside of the house, Luna dead-bolted the door, though now she knew that
vampires couldn’t enter without her permission, and collapsed on the
thick leather couch in the living room.
Once
the rush from the job had worn off, Luna realized that it had been a while
since the others had left and started to get worried. She tried to convince herself that they
were just taking a while getting their stuff and supplies and that they would
be back soon, but it didn’t work.
After
an hour or so of waiting for them, Luna felt her eyelids lower and the sleep
that she had fought from inaction overtook her…
* * * * *
“You think the house will protect you? Without that traitor you are helpless
against my cause!”
“Why do you even care? What did I do to you?”
“You EXIST!
Now be a dear and walk outside so I can meet you personally.”
Luna laughed in her dream as she figured out what
Eleni was trying to do.
“I’m afraid that you don’t
comprehend me. I said to go, and I
meant it!”
With that, Luna felt her physical body, which seemed
to be separate from her mind at this time, clumsily get up and move across the
room to the door.
“What- How did you do that?”
“Do you think that as a dedicated minion I have
no powers at all? You humans have
pitiful wills to begin with, and when you sleep, you’re mine for whatever
I want you to do.”
Luna then felt herself pull open the door and
hesitate. Eleni may have had
control over her body, but Luna still had control over her mind and common
sense.
“Come on now, you’re almost there. Don’t you want to take a brisk
walk with me outside? Get to know
me?”
Luna was starting to realize that her will was going
to give out and endanger the whole house before a familiar voice interrupted,
“Leave her alone Eleni!
You’ve ruined my life enough, you can’t take hers
away.”
After those words had been spoken,
The voice around them cackled, making Luna’s
ears start to ache. All at once,
the sound stopped and Eleni spoke again, “So the rumor is true- you have
found a vita cruor at last; but she is not of our blood.”
“She is mine,”
“By the right of the council I must take her
back with me to be destroyed,” the voice stated again. There was a note of cold humor in
Eleni’s voice that sent shivers racing down Luna’s spine.
“I know the laws, perhaps better than you
do. I am willing to protect what is
mine,” he stated in return.
Luna could feel a raw sense of power radiating off of him in response to
the unspoken challenge.
The voice cackled again, but this time it was in an
earthshaking vibration that pierced the air. Luna clasped her hands to her ears, but
the sound rocked her bones inside and out.
Soon after, her knees gave out and
Slowly he sank to his knees and cuddled her shuddering
form to his chest. He gently
covered her head with a strong hand, blocking her hearing as they were both
colored with a faint blue aura.
“Luna, it’s okay. Come back to me- it’s time to
awaken…” He quietly
spoke into her ear. Around Luna the
vivid dream began to fade…
* * * * *
In
real life Luna opened her eyes and tried to take note of her surroundings; a
task that was proving difficult. As
in her dream,
Across
the room and against the wall,
“I-
I’m fine thanks to you…
Where are Karine and
“I
left them there. I felt that you
were in danger, so I came to help out.”
“You
what?”
“No
offense, but that’s a bit creepy… Why?” She asked as she sat up on the couch.
“You
won’t like my answer-”
“Try
me!”
“It
is simply because our destinies are- entwined,” he stated to the
floor.
“Why?” Luna asked with a puzzled expression.
“I
don’t know.”
A
silence dropped over them as Luna stared at him in a puzzled way and
At
this point, Luna pulled herself from the couch and hesitantly walked toward the
wall. Reaching a spot near
Carefully,
Luna brushed his hair aside and gently lifted his chin. She caught sight of his face and
realized that his reason for silence was simply because he had fallen
asleep. Smiling slightly, Luna
shifted
Now
fighting the urge to sleep herself, Luna quietly walked up the stairs to
explore the only remaining room- the combat training room. Peering into the room before entering,
Luna went over to the ancient television.
After
reading a few titles, laughing a bit after each one, she slid a fragile disk
into the player. As it loaded, Luna
stretched out like she had when she was taking Yoga courses and tied her hair
back with a band from her wrist.
She clicked the play button and zoned all of her attention to the
high-paced exercise video.
About
an hour later, there was movement downstairs.
“She
was asking questions, I answered only one, she kept talking, and I- I stayed
against the wall,” he reasoned out, “but I don’t know how I
got from the wall to now…”
Subconsciously
he had grabbed the pillow and started messing with it. Swiftly he balled it up and tossed it
across the room in anger, “I hate sleeping! It makes me so vulnerable!”
He
sighed and pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness, and went
to retrieve the pillow and blanket from opposite corners of the room.
By
the time he had finished, Luna was downstairs mopping her face with a towel
after her workout. She peeked into
the room to check on
He
looked over at her and dropped onto one of the couches, “I don’t
sleep.”
“Why
not?” Luna asked as she
crossed the room; she took a seat across from him, “Is it just you, or is
it everyone of your… kind?”
“Let’s
just say anyone with sense doesn’t.
It makes one vulnerable.”
“What
do you mean?”
“People
like Eleni don’t need to sleep because they feed after they use their
powers. I chose long ago to give up
my power so I don’t become more of a monster. I… refuse to take human blood
because I want to live a cushy lifestyle…”
“Why?” Luna asked trying to get him to
speak. Realizing that he
wasn’t going to continue, Luna added more, “You used your power to
save me, so I owe you. Are you
still in need of energy- you look paler than normal…”
“Why
do you want to help me?”
“Why
do you care?”
A
dead silence fell.
“Silly
“Thanks,”
he mumbled and closed his eyes. A
second later, his body slacked into sleep; Luna followed him soon after.
* * * * *