Blood and Beasts (3 page)

           
She tore her eyes away from Pearl
’
s cut, suddenly noticing Pearce.
What was she going to do? What was she doing?! This was not good. It definitely
was not good. Slowly, she glanced down at the fallen Nate. Blood was still slowly
trickling out of his neck wound, and he was unconscious. His heart was beating
but slowly, very, very slowly. Bending down, she licked the side of his neck,
over the puncture marks she had left behind. The wound instantly sealed itself
and stopped bleeding, coagulating that quickly. She licked the excess blood
away before looking back up at her two siblings. She had been so distracted by
the blood again. Her sister
’
s scream slowly petered out to
nothing.

           
Twin looks of disgust were on the twins
’
faces.
They looked so horrified with her, so disgusted, but what she had done? It had
felt right. It had felt natural, and it had felt good. Nate hadn
’
t been complaining. Now he was not
doing much of anything. Would he live? Calming herself down a little as she
realized that she was on the brink of hysteria, she listened to his heartbeat
with her attuned ears again. It was slow but steady. It wasn
’
t erratic. That was a good sign. She
was relatively certain that he would survive, but he needed to get to a
hospital and fast.

           
Why would they not stop staring?! She was still their sister! She was something
weird and unnatural at the moment, but she was still their sister! She finally
could not take their stares anymore. Rising up at lightning speed, she sprang
past them, pushing the two apart. They both fell brutally to the side, and she
bolted down the stairs. She wanted out of there. She had to leave. She could
not bear to dwell upon the disgusted looks on her siblings
’
faces anymore.

           
She vaguely recalled shooting past Dean and Bobby on the stairs, mirroring
images of shock and concern emblazoning their faces. She heard shouting, and
Bill came out of the kitchen, furious at “all that racket”. He froze when he saw
Seph and no doubt the blood bedecking her face. At first, he would believe it
to be her own blood. Then he would notice how it particularly centered around
her mouth, and he would soon come to the conclusion of what she really was and
what she had done. Vampires, werewolves, and witches were uncommon but not
unheard of nowadays. There was also an awful stigma associated with them. Was
that what she was? One of those freaks? One of those freaks who were shipped
off to Monster Academy and never heard from again? What was she becoming? Bill
should be noticing right about…

           
“Dear God,” he crossed himself, and she swore under her breath.

           
That was a bit melodramatic. She looked over to see Lawrence glance up from his
perch on the couch, watching some nondescript TV channel. He was never that
interested in much of anything. The poor boy was very depressed. However, when
he saw her face and then looked away, he immediately did a double take. His
eyes became riveted to her face, to her mouth. She ignored the look and the
answering twist in her heart as she saw the horror in his eyes.

           
She had made it to the entryway of the kitchen. She could see Terrence in the
kitchen, fork midway to his mouth. He was just gaping at her, as was everyone,
it would seem. Immediately, when Manny saw her face as he was petting their
huge Great Dane, Gargantor, he burst into tears, terrified. Was he terrified of
her or of what may have happened to her? The question ripped her heart. Manny
was adorable, and when he cried those tears, you just wanted to hold him to
your chest and comfort him. Considering the circumstances, she knew that was a
bad idea. She just looked at him solemnly. She looked at everybody solemnly.

           
Lastly, there was Janette. The water was still running in the sink as she held
one now cleaned dish in the air, waiting to be dried. Maybe she was trying a
new air-dry method. Seph felt truly hurt. She was still Seph. Sure, she was a
bloody Seph, but Seph all the same.

           
Flashes of Nate
’
s staring face ran through her mind.
It hurt her to think about him, to think about how she had hurt him. He had
liked it though… until he was knocked unconscious. What had she really done to
him? She had really drank his blood? She had kind of realized that reality the
whole time, but she didn
’
t want to admit it. She had drank
his blood. He might die. She might have killed him…
Her best friend
…

           
Suddenly, a dish flew over her shoulder, narrowly missing her head. She ducked
instinctively and hissed in the direction of her foster mother. She hissed?
Everything was glazing over with a red tint. She was angry. She was hungry. She
was furious. She was ravenous.
These people have no idea what they
’
re dealing with
, a feral part of her mind thought
viciously. She could kill every last member of her unconventional family and be
ready for more. She glowered up at Janette and could only imagine what her
narrow slits of eyes must look like to these normal people.

           
“Get out of my house, vampire!” Janette shrieked, hurling another dish at Seph.

She avoided it by simply catching it
and holding it up in speculation. She had some fast reflexes, inhuman reflexes.
She dropped it, allowing the thick shards to shatter on the floor. They rattled
across the cheap hardwood. She glared up at her foster mother but decided
against her baser nature. She did not attack her but turned her back to her instead.
Another dish flew her way, and she caught that one as well. She couldn
’
t help but keep marveling at the
speed and agility of her arms as well as the acuity of her hearing. She had
literally heard the dish whistling through the air before her arm had snapped
up to catch it.

           
Then a shot rang out, and everybody jumped. There were several screams. The
dish fell from her hand as though it were falling in slow motion, and then it
shattered just like the first one. Seph reacted after a pause and clutched her
injured arm. She glowered up at Bill ferociously as he nervously cocked the gun
again. He had shot her like an animal! Like she was a danger! Like she was a
monster… Before another shot rang out, she was out the door, disappearing into
the darkness of the night and leaving a trail of blood behind her.

She lost herself in the surrounding
woods. She didn
’
t dare look back for fear of
pursuit. He had shot her! Actually shot her! They had lived there at least a
couple of years now, and she had thought they had a relatively good
relationship! Not a relationship that warranted in shooting her! Her foster
mother too! She had thrown dishes at her! Dishes! She could have really hurt
her! If any of them had hit her… She had some pretty sharp reflexes. Too sharp.
She would never have normally been able to catch a flying dish aimed at her
head. Dodge it, yes, but catch it? That was a bit much…

She clenched her arm a little
harder, hoping to deaden the pain by cutting off the blood flow. She was
leaving a trail of blood behind her. Any decent tracker would be able to follow
her, and Bill did love to hunt. Even an indecent tracker would be able to
follow her at this rate. Maybe he wouldn
’
t
follow her. If not for the fact that she had almost been like a daughter to
him, maybe for the fact that she was scary right now. She felt scary. She felt
like a monster… No time to reflect on that. She fervently hoped that Nate would
survive, but somehow, she knew that if the ambulance was a good one and got him
to the hospital in time, he would be all right. She could hear the ambulance
arriving just two miles away. They were loading Nate up now. She hadn
’
t taken enough to kill him though.
How did she know that?!

The wind threw her hair all about
as a storm picked up. There was no rain yet, but as she looked up at the
roiling clouds, she knew it was coming. Seph paused a moment, still clutching
her arm although she was fairly certain it wasn
’
t bleeding anymore. She could no longer feel that hot
warm trickle over her fingers. What was she supposed to do with a gunshot
wound?! She never thought she would need that knowledge! Studying her arm, she
watched in awe as the bullet hole began to sizzle. The bullet slowly wheedled
itself out, plopping to the earth. It glinted in the light of the full moon.
Then the wound sealed itself up, and her skin was as smooth as ever. What… Was
she really becoming a… She could not complete that thought.

She should go back to the house.
She wasn
’
t about to enter that house, but she
needed to see what they were going to do, who they were going to call, if they
were going to come after her. Within five minutes, she had covered the two
miles back to the house and was now lurking in a tree not far from her previous
home. She could see into the kitchen amazingly well. Bill and Janette were
pacing back and forth, back and forth. Janette was hysterical and screaming so
loud. Bill was silently gripping his gun with crazy eyes. None of the kids were
in sight. Glancing upwards, she noticed lights on and shadows moving in the
upstairs rooms, curtains drawn. They must have sent them all to bed. No doubt
they were all severely traumatized with the sight of their foster brother being
taken away, bleeding, all because of their crazy foster sister who had taken
off running into the woods after snacking on him like he was a candy bar or
something. They had to be even more confused than she was (she doubted that).

Janette had called her a vampire. A
vampire? Vampires were real. Everybody knew that. Vampires and werewolves and
witches and wizards, they all did exist. They actually had a school for them,
nicknamed Monster Academy by the normals. Even the students attending the
school called it that apparently, or so rumor had it. What was the real name of
the school? Zephyr Hall? Yea, that was it…

Headlights flashed in the now
complete darkness, and she ducked down further in the boughs of the tree. It
was a sleek car, a Jaguar, jet-black. It pulled up smoothly in front of the
house, and several individuals stepped out of it. The first man to step out was
a little on the short side. He had long, salt-and-pepper hair and a jutting
chin. With a defined widow
’
s peak and incredibly deep eyes that
were a resilient green-gold in color, he looked very imperious. His brows
drooped over his eyes like his moustache drooped over his mouth. His nose was
long and craggy, possibly broken once or twice. He looked very dignified,
somehow, and wore a silver trench coat over his all black attire. He made his
way regally to the front door and knocked with a short rap.

Several other persons flanked him.
Two men stuck together, side by side. One was huge (the word
domineering
came to mind) with midnight-black
skin, but his hair was blond, and his almond eyes were silver. He was dressed
strangely as well, wearing a turquoise blazer that somehow fit his large frame,
as well as dark slacks and a white turtleneck. He looked just as strange and
out of place as the first man.

As for his companion, he was not
nearly as overbearing in appearance. He looked a little frightening in a black
muscle tee that embellished a very strong body coupled with baggy, black pants,
showing off a long, silver knife attached to his hip. His black hair was
closely shaven, and his hair matched his equally dark eyes, which looked
intensely predatorial. His fair skin nearly glowed in the moonlight. His facial
features were strong, Roman-like with his defined nose and cheekbones. He was
all angles and no soft spots. His dark eyes were piercing, obsidian pools that
could draw you in like a moth to the flame. That was when Seph noticed that he
was staring at her. He was staring right at her.

She quivered a moment, shaking the
tree branches infinitesimally. However, this slight movement seemed to catch
the eye of his much larger companion. He turned and stared directly at her as
well. How could they see her? She was hidden in the shadows nearly five hundred
yards away from them, but she knew with absolute certainty that they were
staring directly at her. Not in her general direction but at her.

She needed to move. They weren
’
t chasing her yet, but they would be
soon. Why else would they be there? They could be vampire hunters, for all she
knew, with their strange clothes and long knives. Slipping to the ground
silently, she whisked away into the darkness of the trees. Who were those
people? How could they see her? Then again, how could she see them? How did she
get back to the house in about five minutes when she had been two miles away
before that? She wasn
’
t that good of a runner. How had she
run two miles without noticing? No huffing and puffing? Maybe she was a
vampire… To be a vampire… that entailed drinking blood, like Nate
’
s blood. It had tasted so good.
Right and wrong all at the same time. Poor Nate though. How could she have done
that to him? He had liked it, but he probably was not going to like it when he
woke up. He was going to have a huge headache and twin fang marks in his neck
permanently. If he woke up the next day…

As a new vampire, she should go to
that school. Zephyr Hall… It was where you were supposed to go if you ever
suddenly started moving things with your mind, morphing into a wolf, or hey,
drinking blood. How was she supposed to get to Zephyr Hall though? She was not
even sure where it was. No one was certain of its whereabouts. You could only
get there if you wanted to be there and were something extraordinary. Well, she
wanted to find it, and she was definitely different, but also, what was that
last catch… Oh yea, you had to have already been there to find it; otherwise,
you needed an escort. Where did one obtain an escort to Monster Academy? Were
they in the yellow pages or something? She sincerely doubted that too.

Immersed in her own thoughts, she
stumbled into a clearing. She did not notice something else was in the clearing
with her until it was too late. She gasped, and the creature whirled around. It
was hideous and magnificent all at once. The creature was in fact a beautiful,
golden-haired, wolf-human thing. It was big, about six feet, but it had huge
arms and stood up on its wolfish hind legs. Its snout was pronounced, and its
humongous golden orbs for eyes reflected the pregnant moon eerily. A werewolf…
The woods were just chockfull of magical creatures tonight.

A deep rumbling growl emerged from
its throat, covering the brief expanse of open meadow between them to roil all
around her, like smoke threatening fire. A drizzle slowly descended upon them,
two ethereal creatures caught off guard. Almost instinctively, Seph bent down
into a fighter
’
s crouch and hissed in response to
the challenge the werewolf had articulated with that growl. Was she hissing
again? Where did that come from? It seemed like the right thing to do, but
bothering to reflect upon it made it all the more strange. Innocent creatures
did not hiss. Fluffy bunnies? No hissing there. Slithering snakes? That was
where you found hissing. She shook her head once, red hair streaming in her
face. She needed to concentrate and debate her inner nature later.

She readied herself for a fight.
The werewolf took a threatening step towards her and then paused, blinking its
big eyes several times at her as though it had not really seen her clearly
until that very moment. What was it doing? It looked confused, if a wolf-thing
could look confused. She probably looked funny as well though, a vampire
looking confused.

Tentatively, the wolf padded
towards on her all fours, much like Gargantor would when he knew he had done
something wrong. This werewolf was getting way too close though! Werewolves
were part man, and therefore, they had thinking, human brains. It could be a
trap. She hissed at it again, warning it to stay back. It stopped and looked at
her solemnly with those huge, golden eyes. Slowly, it raised its left paw to
her, directing the top of it, the golden furry part, towards her. She glanced
at it, all the time watching the shoulder muscles of the werewolf for a coiling
motion that would announce a forthcoming spring into action, but then, she
realized she had missed something and did a quick double take of the paw. There
was something there, and if it was what she thought it was, that would be
really…
weird.

Cautiously, she took a step
forward, eyes never wavering from the werewolf. It did not move. It did not
shudder or flinch or shake. It just sat there resolutely, paw in the air, as if
it wanted to shake hands like some dogs are trained to do. It could have been
planted there for its immobility and statuesque appearance. She was directly in
front of the werewolf now, eyes locked with it. Without taking her eyes from
its eyes, she took up its left paw and then looked down at it to see if it was
what she thought.

There, imprinted on the back of its
left paw, was a black tattoo etched into its skin, a crescent moon tattoo.
Whereas Seph had a sun tattoo, her best friend, Francesca, who lived not too
far away from the foster home with her parents and six brothers and sisters,
had a tattoo of a crescent moon on the back of her left hand. They had gotten
the tattoos together on Francesca
’
s sixteenth birthday not two months
ago. Of course, it had been done by one of Francesca
’
s many cousins, in the back of a shady-looking garage,
but it had worked, despite the fits her parents and Seph
’
s foster parents had thrown afterwards.

Francesca… Francesca was a
werewolf? It was funny. It was exceptionally weird even… They were such close
friends, and both of them were these weird abnormalities…. She wondered what
that meant.

It has to mean something
,
Francesca commented, and Seph nodded.

Maybe we were always secretly
drawn to each other because our blood knew what we were to become,
Seph
suggested, and Francesca just grinned lopsidedly, her big wolf
’s tongue lolling out.

You
’
re a vampire, Seph. Everything
’
s gonna be about blood now, I
’
m guessing,
she said, a smile in her voice.

This time Seph rolled her eyes.

Yea, and you
’
re a werewolf, Francesca. Does that
mean that everything is now gonna pertain to doggie doors and Kibbles and Bits?
She asked in response, and the huge
werewolf just shook her golden head.

Point taken
, she admitted.

Suddenly, Seph gasped, dropping
Francesca
’
s paw. She was a werewolf, and
werewolves did not possess the capacity to speak. In fact, Seph had not been
even speaking aloud either. Everything she had just said had been in her mind.
Everything Francesca had just said had to have been in her mind too because she
could not speak out loud. Seph stared at Francesca, and Francesca stared at her
with equal astonishment, clearly realizing the same thing at the same time.
Seph tried to direct her thoughts at Francesca now, but nothing happened. They
could not talk with their minds to each other anymore. Seph wondered… She
grabbed Francesca
’
s paw again.

We haven
’
t been speaking out loud,
she thought prominently in her
mind, and Francesca winced.