In Love With a Vampire

Chapter Twenty Four

Donna



She could not be still, not for long at least. We were in her room, her lying on the bed me hovering above her. I had spent the last few minutes fussing about the room. Thrusting the window open for fresh air, turning on lamps, arranging Maria’s strewn clothes into a neat pile; I could not be still either. Lory had accompanied us, whispering words of comfort, telling us that everything was going to be okay. She had left us alone a while ago, making sure to leave the door ajar so that both Maria and I were sure that we were not alone. Pete had not said much. In fact, he had not spoken at all. At some point, he had vanished from the kitchen. I had gulped then, fearing that he was returning to his vehicle. The vehicle whose door I had managed to unhinge.

“You do not have to do all that Mistress…”

“Now what did we say about calling me Mistress, Maria?”

She was trembling again. I placed my hand over her arm, she titled her head to face me, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. My eyes flitted towards Maria’s upper arm. There was a large s***h across it, a gaping wound that had not begun to heal. I gritted my teeth when I spotted the compound lodged in the wound. It had an eerie hue, green, blue, yellow. The color did not matter though. It was the effects I was worried about. I glanced at Maria’s ghastly features. Despite the shower, change of clothes, and the glass of water, Maria still looked pale, frail, and distraught.

“You need to feed…”

“I can barely move Mis- I mean Donna…I cannot hunt for rats or birds…”

“I am not talking about animal blood Maria…You need human blood.”

Maria averted her gaze and turned her head away from me.

“Listen to me…I too have been attacked by this horrible weapon…The only reason I am not writhing in my bed is that I drink human blood. If you want to fight back…If you want to protect your family, your loved ones…If you want to serve your queen…You will drink human blood.”

Maria sniveled and attempted to shift her entire body but she could not. She was too weak and she knew it.

“Alright…I shall do it but only until I regain my strength. I do not intend to fail as a Hand again…”

I opened my mouth to reassure her that she had not failed me but I refrained from doing so knowing full well she would not hear a single word I would say. I was yet to ask her where she was, what had happened to her, if she had seen the faces of her attackers, if she had seen Diana. I bobbed my head even though she could not see me and walked toward my room. Once I was inside, I leaned against the door and released a quivering breath. I had to feed too, it was the only way I could replenish my strength. Images of earlier events flashed in my head in quick succession.

You could have died tonight Donna.

I know.

Then go home where it is safe.

I did not launch an argument with my subconscious because I knew she was right. I was biting off more than I could chew. I was up against an army whose faces I did not know. I had no formidable allies and the ones I could trust seemed to have their own problems, problems that made them reliable. The weapons made Maria and I powerless against the humans so we could not fight them alone, or without understanding exactly what these weapons were and how we were meant to defend ourselves. I peeled myself from the door and walked towards the freezer at the corner of the room. I yanked it open and sighed once I confirmed my suspicion; there were only two blood bags left. Protocol dictates that I preserve them for myself until I get a new batch. If my father were here he would have thrown me in the dungeon, punishment for disobeying the sacred hierarchy.

I banged the freezer and returned to Maria’s room. She had curled herself into a humanoid ball. Shivering and whispering. It took me a moment to realize that she was utterly delirious.

“I will hurt you…get away…get away…I said get away!”

In one fluid motion, Maria had jumped out of bed and was charging towards me. I flung the blood bag to a table beside the bed and prepared myself for a tackle. The impact was heavy, as it turns out, delirious Maria is freakishly strong.

“Damn it Maria it’s me! It’s Donna!”

“Get away, get away from me!”

Maria held out her hand and swung it towards me at full strength. I ducked causing her to tumble forward. Using my vampire strength, I shoved her towards her bed. She stopped at the edge and sunk to the floor. A few seconds later, the room were filled with whimpers and sniffles. I made my way to the table and retrieved the blood bag then walked towards her.

“It’s alright Maria, here drink this, it will make you feel better…”

I handed her the casing of blood and watched her peek at it from behind her hair which had fallen over her head like a curtain. She gently held the blood bag causing my nerves to settle. Soon she would be well fed. She would then heal and finally, she would be able to relay her tale. Perhaps afterwards I could share mine.

“Get this s**t away from me!”

It happened so fast. One second Maria was carefully opening the casing and the next she had flung it across the room spilling blood everywhere.

“What have you done?”

I whizzed towards the blood bag in order to salvage its content. I was too late, the casing was empty. Aggravated, I picked up the empty, blood-draped casing and threw it across the air. I watched, teary-eyed as it landed on the wall and slipped to the floor.

“Do you realize what you have done Maria?”

My words came out as a croaky whisper as I ran my eyes across the floor. I lifted my gaze to regard Maria, she was still sitting against her bed, trembling and mumbling incoherently. Applying my heightened senses, I dashed towards her, yanked her from the floor, and brought her to where human blood now lay scattered, wasted.

“Do you know what your family would have done to get their hands on this? Do you know that the tribe members would kill for this? On your knees!”

I pushed Maria to the floor and then crouched beside her.

“Drink…”

Maria peeked at me through her hair and returned her gaze to the floor. She then lowered herself to the floor with her tongue stuck out. Unable to watch, I stood and left the room, my heartbeat accelerated, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. I blindly made my way to the kitchen, careful not to wake Pete and Lory. When I finally reached the kitchen, I found Pete seated at the table, taking swigs from a large glass. I assumed he was drinking rum.

“We do not know where that girl has been or what she was sent back here to do…”

“Maria is my Hand, she would never betray me.”

“Correct me if I am wrong but aren’t Hands supposed to be with their masters at all times? Did I not find you by yourself at your school? Where was she?”

“She was finishing her lunch…She is not a slave you know.”

“Yet she is bound to you for life…”

Pete’s eyes flickered towards my hands. They had bloodstains.

“You gave her human blood?”

“She threw it across the room…Whatever is on those weapons is making her delirious…I think it’s worse for her because she is not strong enough…she has not drunk human blood for a long time.”

I slumped myself on a seat and banged my head against the table.

“Did you question her? Has she told you where she was? How come she is here unscathed?”

I quickly lifted my head, my temper rising.

“You call that unscathed? Maria cannot stop shaking! She is in pain, so much pain she is losing her mind and I made her…I made her…”

Pete held my gaze for a long time before he stretched his arm to console me. Before he could place it on me, however, there was a loud knock on the door.

“Upstairs, now.”

I wanted to argue with him. Tell him that I could fight my own battles but recent events had clearly humbled me. I nodded and whizzed from the kitchen. Once I made it to the stairs landing, I c****d my ears and waited.