Requiem for Blood (28 page)

“Olivia is a traitor and anyone who happens across that traitorous good for nothing girl is to kill her on sight.”

“No one’s going to kill anyone,” shouted Sam, defiantly.

Lately Sam had grown more irritated with Felicity despite her quiet nature. She had wondered what Felicity had done to make Sam so mad but then again, what hadn't Felicity done to make people mad? She had an innate talent for being cruel and even if Olivia never felt the sting of her cruelty she couldn't deny that that was just the way she was.

“I'm sorry, were you left in charge?” she asked, blinking. Felicity shook her head, “I didn't think so.”

“But the Matriarch would never...” a boy was trying to say but had a hard time getting the words out, “we can't kill Olivia.” He sounded on the verge of tears and Olivia was surprised to hear someone like that speak so passionately about her. The boy was Randy's twin brother Fin and while he hadn't been the closest thing to her he still didn't seem like one who would stand up for her survival, especially after she had killed his brother. She wondered what it would be like if she had one more sibling, how would they look at her after finding out what she had done or even if her mother knew the truth about Alexa's death. She couldn't believe Erika; she had to believe in herself and what she knew from growing up with her mother, that although she had the potential to be a monster, she just wasn't one.

There were twenty four heart’s pumping and excluding herself and Randy they were still short one. The lack of his rebuttal had clued her in from the beginning but now she was certain Noah had been absent. She noted that that had been the reason Allison had clung to Sam instead and started to think just where he was. Her thoughts had taken her away from the sight before her but something familiar had quickly brought her back.

“Not gonna happen.”

The group of students turned toward the voice and Olivia did as well. White hands were stuffed in jean pockets and faint red scars were scattered across the arm of the person who walked toward the children. “You're not gonna kill Olivia,” he said nonchalantly when he came to a halt. She recognized his voice but he looked different, more like her at least in color. Noah had grown pale since the last time she saw him and he must have finally taken scissors to his overgrown curls. There was also this air about him that she hadn't seen before. It was as cocky as ever but even more so, it was authoritative.

“Don't try to undermine me because you think you're something,” said Felicity, waving him away. Olivia could hear a small sigh from Noah and watched as he continued walking until he was on the same step that Felicity was on. For the first time, she saw his face. She knew she hadn't been away for years or even months but it had felt like an eternity since she had seen Noah. His eyes were cold as he stared out into the crowd, reminiscent of her mother's but he still looked like himself underneath that layer. He still looked playful, disobedient, young and sixteen. And then she remembered he had turned already turned seventeen.
Why
, she thought,
is he still here?
Had he changed his mind? Or did her mother really stop allowing seventeen years old to hunt by themselves? She watched as his eyes flicked from student to student as he spoke, words she hadn't been paying attention to. They gazed out over the crowd but in one swift movement they darted and he had been paralyzed by the sight of something. Olivia saw his eyes roll upward and meet hers as if it were all in slow motion. She saw his eyes widen and gloss over but was gone before they could linger any longer.

Before she went back to Troy's house she made a stop for blood near the hospital. She figured the weaker her target the easier it would be to feed and while it was, it still wasn't easy for her to erase their memory. She had started to believe that the one time with Felicity was a fluke as Erika had said. She wiped the blood from her mouth and gave the little girl a proper burial several miles away. There was something about burying this girl that made her feel sick beyond the fact that it was a human life she so selfishly took, she just reminded her of Allison who never failed to remind her of herself. Allison clung to her as she clung to Alexa and in some ways she used Allison as a tether to the relationship she once had, to the feelings she once held. She threw dirt over the little girl and gave a brief apology before heading to his house.

The lights had been off when she stepped inside and instead of turning them on, she just walked soundlessly through the house and up the stairs to the guest bathroom. She stripped herself of her sister's shirt and took a quick shower then put on another pair of jeans and a top as if she were gearing herself up for another night. There was still some night left but not enough to go anywhere even if she wanted to. Instead, she stared out her new room window and watched the stairs dance in the sky.

When the sun finally rose over the trees and lightened the pale pink and blue sky she drew the curtains down and turned to the bed David had bought for her. He was kind, certainly a lot kinder than his son but she couldn't figure out why. She had just laid back on the bed when she heard the doorknob twist under someone's grip. She watched as the door pushed inward and a shadow spilled in first, followed by a familiar figure. Troy had slipped in and shut the door behind him quickly and even when she sat back and asked him why he was in there, he said nothing. He sat on the edge of the bed, his arms propped behind him for support and his shoulder blades flexed inward. Her wandering eyes looked down at his spine hoping that he at least had pants on when he invaded her space which was technically his space. He flipped his head back and spoke softly, “I'm sorry I've been a huge jerk to you.” His fingers stretched out across the fabric and he balled some of the sheet up in his hand as he went on, “I had no reason to act like that even if you did kill my girlfriend, you know?”

He tilted his head to the side, his eyes now studying hers.

“I do not,” she said.

He flipped over onto all fours, just barely steadying himself to keep from tumbling off the side. With serious eyes he crawled toward her and when he was just inches from her face his eyes brightened. She thought she even saw a curl of his lips but she wasn't sure as she kept her eyes on his. He sat up on his legs and put a hand to her cheek, warm and smooth as they rubbed against her skin. He slowly pulled his palm up, leaving his fingertips on her cheek and let them travel to her ear to tuck some loose strands back. He leaned in so close she could feel his breath against her lips and when he parted his own she caught the smell of mint. He smirked but by then Olivia had already figured it out. She pushed him off of her and when he slammed into the closet door, he took the shape of Erika.

“You knew?”

“You forgot his markings.”

Erika looked down at her right arm, “Ah, how could I have forgotten?”

Seventeen

Troy had managed to escape Erika's tortuous lessons for Vic's funeral. His wife orchestrated a small and succinct one with lots of his crew. After the funeral which was set at dawn, he went to beach and sat on the rocks as the water from the waves sprayed their mist on him. Even when the stars filled the sky, he continued to lie out, quietly taking the world in.

****

Olivia was thrown back after she tried to charge toward Erika for the seventh time. She flew through the air and collided with the ground, tumbling a few times as dirt and sticks encased her. She had been prepared for the impact and the following as she bit down hard and sat through her broken bones affixing themselves. When her bleeding skin stretched and pieced themselves back together, she jumped up and sped toward Erika again. Instead of attacking her straight on, she showed up at her side and tried to toss her as David had suggested and it would have worked if Erika hadn't overheard his tip. She grabbed Olivia's arms and flung her over and slammed her body into the ground. It hurt but she at least learned one thing, Erika had a weak spot and if she could get there she could finally beat her.

“Better, but you're never going to beat me like that. And if you can't beat me, you will never beat your mother.”

“You're mistaken,” she said, holding her arm out. Erika helped her up and she continued, “I will not kill my mother for you.”

“Why did you come back then?”

“I had to get away from someone.”

“And why are you still training with me?”

Because I killed a little girl
, she thought and then looked up at Erika. “Because I'm bound to my sire and he is bound to you.”

That had at least been half of the truth. She looked out onto to the still water and thought about how at peace it was. She briefly wondered if she could ever find the peace that the lake had. She wasn't familiar with the area but it reminded her of the edge of the forest behind Mr. Steven's house and when she thought back on the edge of the forest she realized the colony had never fully been closed in because of that. If anyone had wanted to, they could have snuck through the forest and made a daring swim across the flowing water and would have been gone. She figured the deathly currents of the water had probably been what had kept any sane colony member from leaving though. Noah may have not enjoyed living there but she knew he had at least enjoyed living.

They were encapsulated in thick trees, leaves painted dark yellow and red that reminded her it was autumn. Not too far from her was a pier that sat just above the water and a large tree where a rope hung from it's branches. It was like its own world between Troy's house and her home and she knew she recognized it from her dream. As she stood staring out at the water she heard the two rocks rubbing together and the sound of them cutting through the air as they headed toward her. She moved and just barely missed the flaming rocks that were now hissing and cooling off in the water.

“No more daydreaming. Back to training,” Erika yelled. “Now, try and attack me.”

She was already tired of meeting the ground every time she tried to attack and so desperately wanted to tell her she was done for the night but instead she tried to fight once more. She was in front of Erika quickly, as if she transported to her. She put her hand up to Erika's neck and was taken aback when she briefly felt the skin under her palm. Erika had let her grab her neck. She wanted to pull free, knowing that it was a trap but she felt compelled to hold on and relish in it as the first time she had ever gotten to her like that.

“Feels good, doesn't it?” asked Erika. “Having someone's life just a thread between your fingers?”

“It doesn't actually.”

“Don't be modest. I know how you feel about a human life.”

“But you aren't human.”

Erika shrugged. “Yeah, you're right, but that doesn't change your feelings towards someones life. That's just how you were made, how your mother made you and the only way to get any kind of humanity back is to steal it back in the form of her life. Now, kill me. Get a good idea of how great it will feel when you do.”

“I will not kill you.”

“Should I try to kill Troy again? He'll be here any minute.”

Olivia saw the cruel delight running rampant on Erika's face as she spoke but she didn't move. She knew the feeling of when he was in danger, her heart temporarily revving up as if she were alive again and beating fervently only to stop seconds later. That wasn't what she was feeling now. She was first and foremost annoyed and maybe a bit angry but she couldn't really tell. When Erika raised her left hand, Olivia tightened the grip around her neck but that didn't stop Erika's arm from stretching out at her side. It had been moving all too fast, even for Olivia who heard the rustle of bushes and footsteps as someone trudged toward them. A small flame shot from her hand just before Olivia snapped her neck and moved toward the boy. She extended her arm outward in a vain effort to block the flame but it had already burned a hole through his chest and he was on the ground. There lie two dead
kitsunes
, at least for a few minutes.

Erika was the first one up, massaging her neck. “You did it,” she said, wincing. “But that really hurt.”

Olivia's eyes were on Troy as the hole in his chest closed up and he rose to his feet, angry. “What the hell was that?”

“Part of the lesson plan.”

“You really get on my nerves,” he said with his focused on her. He briefly glanced at Olivia then walked away from them and sat on the pier. Olivia watched as he stalked off then she turned to Erika.

“You shot him in the heart. How could he have lived?”

“To kill a
kitsune
you have to cut off all its tails and since I'm rarely in true fox form and Troy doesn't even know how to shift it'll be pretty hard for anyone looking to kill one. I imagine he has about three now from all the times that I've killed him and given him one of mine. You could drain it of all it's blood but that would take forever. No matter what happens to our heart we'll always live but on the other hand, the vampires born from us will definitely die from having their heart ripped out or being burned by fire or sun, whatever they choose.

“You should have known that since the first time you tried to go out in it. You will forever be exiled to the night, but I'm done talking...”

She chased Olivia around, giving her barely any time to react to her quick blows. She was cautious not to use fire around her and instead relied on fighting hand to hand in an effort to bring up her speed and responsiveness. Sticks and leaves were intertwined in Olivia's hair from being thrown through the trees over and over again. She watched as blood seeped from wounds and closed up and felt every sting as her bones found their way back into place. Troy didn't watch as the two continued to fight but listened in as Erika talked down to Olivia and called her names to which she didn't respond. She had been too focused on evading Erika's attacks to concentrate on what was being said. While Erika was cutting down the small trees that surrounded her with her arm, Olivia stood outside in the open area panting.