In Love With a Vampire

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Sorokin could see the wall from where he was; he did not even need to use his heightened abilities. He turned the silver bracelet on his wrist, he had been doing that ever since Sebastian handed it to him. It was nightfall which meant he did not get to put the piece of jewelry into use but still, he could not stop himself from feeling strange. Throughout his life, Sorokin had known these jewelry pieces to belong to creatures from high society. These were the same creatures who had fed on human blood while the rest of the tribe hunted animals. These were the same creatures that went on to live while those from the lower castes died of hunger. This had always made Sorokin mad but for the first time in forever, the classes within their tribe seemed like a trivial matter.

Soon it would not matter who belonged to which caste. If Donna’s plan failed, humans would infiltrate the tribe and annihilate every vampire within the beast realm. Either that or the revolution would manage to break down the wall and enter the human realm only for them to meet their demise.

A thought had occurred to Sorokin while he was leaving Sebastian’s chambers. What if all this was a ruse? What if Sebastian had found out about him being a part of the rebellion and decided that the best way to cause its downfall is by taking him out of the equation altogether? Sorokin had to admit that this was a more comforting thought. He would rather that a small portion of vampires perish than the entire race. He would rather die believing that theirs was the superior species.

Sorokin stroked the leather jacket that was in his left hand. He knew it would make Donna smile and given how they left things…Sorokin sighed and played with the idea of seeing Donna once again. Up until that moment, he had not realized how much he had missed her. Every once in a while, the memory of them sharing a passionate kiss would surface and he would battle that feeling of raw desire until fatigue swept over his being. He had been in love with Donna for a long time and at some point, he had accepted that he would never have her. She was to be the vampire leader, the queen of the tribe. Surely Sebastian would never permit his daughter to get married to a commoner, a measly trainer.

But if there was a chance that they were all going to perish, wouldn’t he rather die knowing that he finally spoke his truth?

Sorokin sniffled. His heightened abilities made it hard for him not to picture Donna in his arms. The jacket smelled of her allowing him to conjure an image of her soft, slender body in his arms. Sorokin let put a humorless chuckle, surprised at himself. He had just learned that the vampire race could meet its end in the hands of humans and here he was caressing thoughts of seeing Donna again.

Was this love or pure madness?

Sorokin stared straight ahead and squinted. He was currently hidden in the shadows of the cramped lower caste streets. He knew Sebastian was awaiting news of his departure. After all, he had promised to leave straight away and when Sebastian had suggested that he be escorted by his finest guards, Sorokin had adamantly refused, claiming that he did not wish to bring attention to himself. The truth was, Sorokin could not leave the beast realm without warning the revolution. This was no time for vampires to fight against each other. If they had a chance of winning, any at all, it had to be because they stood together against the humans.

“Come on…”

Sorokin was getting impatient. Where the hell was Joseph? Had he gotten his message? Sorokin once again looked straight ahead and squinted. He was scouting for any of Sebastian’s guards or better put, spies. Soon word would be sent to the castle that he had not been seen leaving the realm. How was he to explain that?

“Damn it Joseph where the hell are you?"

Sorokin scanned his environment and when he was satisfied that he was not being followed, he made his way to Busty’s tavern. When he got close, he stopped in his tracks and furrowed his eyebrows. The tavern was quiet, too quiet. Something was wrong. Sorokin tied the leather jacket around his knuckles and stealthily made his way to the tavern. Once he was at the door, he pushed it open while assuming a combat stance. Right in the middle of the tavern was Busty, she was crying softly.

“We are closed tonight…go away.”

Sorokin thought about leaving unseen but swatted the thought away. He had never known how to respond to a female crying, often patting them on the head because he had no idea what to say or do in such instances. He entered the tavern and closed the door; Busty was an amazing friend who had let him drink from her veins even though she too was starving. Busty cared about the tribe. Like him, she had a strong desire of ensuring their survival, especially that of a lower caste.

“Busty?”

Busty slowly turned to face Sorokin. Her pale face was decorated with red patches. Her eyes were swollen from continuous crying. Sorokin also noticed something else, something that made his blood curl.

“Who did that?”

Busty tried to hide her arm but clearly, any motions brought her immense pain.

“I was just trying to help. I wanted to give him a little taste but but…”

Busty broke down crying causing Sorokin’s initial shock to morph into rage.

“Tell me who did this to you!”

Busty’s entire arm was draped with bite marks. Some were still oozing blood, others were dry. Sorokin ignored the desire in his stomach when he spotted the ones that were still bleeding.

“They will heal…”

“We both know that that could take a while given your diet…”

Busty let out a hefty sigh before rapidly shaking her head.

“I thought I could make a difference, however small. I mean I had been feeding my inner circle for a while now and they had been doing the same for me. While our blood is not exactly as powerful as the humans’…it’s definitely better than nothing. So earlier this evening, I went to the wall and and…”

“For fucksakes Busty what were you thinking? The vampires at the wall are there for a reason. It is their last option. It is where they go to die. Any vampire who goes there to try and scale the wall has given up on the idea of feeding. Did you honestly think that they would practice restraint just because you were doing them a favor?”

At some point, Busty had stopped crying and was now blankly staring at Sorokin. He could see tremors of anger in her puffy eyes.

“I did what I had to do for my tribe…You will not shame me for trying to help those that cannot help themselves.”

“Well look at where your good heart has gotten you…”

Busty stared murderously at Sorokin, Sorokin did not flinch.

“So what? You want me to be like you? A double agent? Tell me Sorokin, whose side are you really on here?”

“How did you know? Who else knows?”

“Relax, it’s only me. I followed you and Joseph the other night, Heard all about your plans to take down the nobles…For the record, it’s a dumb idea.”

Sorokin’s lips quirked upwards. Busty would make an incredible leader in whichever position she was placed in.

“I agree. That is why I need you to get a message to Joseph.”

Busty furrowed her eyebrows, curiosity etched on her face.

“Tell him not to attack the nobles. Tell him to instead start a unity campaign.”

“What? Why?”

“Because that wall is for us and not for them.”