Requiem for Blood (36 page)

Don't get yourself killed
.

When she slipped through the door, she noticed the lights were off and even with her vampire sight that could literally eat through the darkness, she still had to adjust. As she waited for her eyes to adjust, she caught the scent of something familiar and heard a soft whistle as something split the air and pinned her throat to the wall.

“Hello, Olivia.”

With the bolt stuck in her throat she couldn't speak but she knew very easily who had said her name.

Twenty Four

Olivia ripped the bolt out of her throat and sunk to the ground, coughing up blood as the wound closed itself. Bright light filled the hall like a rush of water crawling through a tunnel and scurrying up the sides as it encased her. She lifted her head and saw Felicity walking toward her with a crossbow in her hands.

“So nice of you to join us.”

“I am not here for you Felicity.”

Olivia had stood up and was shaking her head in warning at Felicity but the girl didn't stop her tortuously slow saunter. There was a glimmer of cruel delight in her eyes as she eyed Olivia and she even paused to yawn, tapping a palm to her lips before putting the crossbow in front of her again. Her pale skin wasn't nearly as flawless as it used to be and Olivia could see faint scars across her neck and collar bone.

“You certainly aren't afraid of a vampire.”

“Are you kidding me? I've been waiting to kick your ass and it would be a pleasure to do it myself but unfortunately that's not my job.”

Olivia's eyes widened and then she stumbled back at the sting of the bolts as Felicity shot one and loaded another. “That's for cheating in class—told you I'd find out.”

The bolts were pinned in her heart and she rolled onto her back to yank them out. When she sat up, she saw Felicity running down the hall. Olivia had been losing blood and was groaning as she staggered against the wall and used it to stand up. She heard a heavy metal door slam from where Felicity had run to and suddenly a wave of pattering hearts filled the hall and she saw about eight or so men walking toward her. They certainly weren't men she recognized and she noted that they couldn't be blood drinkers as their bodies were much bigger than the blood drinking men she knew. She wondered if these could be the hostages but there was something about the way they looked at her as if they knew what she was and weren't afraid. One man was dressed in a business suit, an eggplant dress shirt underneath and she half expected him to be carrying a briefcase but instead he had a machete. Another wore clothes resembling a mechanic and held tightly onto a wrench as he stalked toward her.

No matter what Erika said, she still couldn't believe that her mother had the power, as a human, to control the minds of others. Erika challenged with a thought, suggesting that she had been under her mother's control all along, unable to believe that she could do any wrong and Olivia was briefly toying with it now. She watched their every movement closely and finally decided to speak, the hilt of her weapon tight in her hand, “Who are you?”

They didn't answer. It was strange that she could cry real tears but she couldn't sweat but she imagined if she could, she might've been sweating quite a bit now. “I will not kill you if you let me pass.”

Those words were all they needed to lunge at her haphazardly. First, the guy with the wrench ran toward her and swung but she jumped back, avoiding him. When she had gotten far enough away from him, she announced, “The difference between me and whoever is ordering you to fight me is that I will kill you.”

The guy once again ran towards her but instead of swinging he held the wrench up, ready to stab her. She knocked it out of his hand and grabbed his throat, squeezing so tightly he began to choke on his saliva. She watched his eyes roll back and despite wanting to pull away she kept her hand there, relishing in the life she was draining him of. She had to admit it felt even better knowing she didn't have to be bogged down by her bloodlust as she watched him die in her hands but still she kept the sword in her grasp. All of the men stood there watching, almost entranced by the sight of her strength. She tossed him aside and turned to the others. Before any of them could react she was in front of the man dressed in the business suit, dropping the sword and snapping his neck. Each time she killed, she felt a greater sense of power watching them fall. The need to kill had been ingrained in her and it wouldn't let up as it grew stronger with each person she ravished with her own hands. The feeling was exhilarating.

With bodies sprawled out on the floor there was just one left, with no weapon in hand. He picked up the dropped
dao
and ran toward her but she sidestepped him and broke his neck when she got behind him. She picked up the weapon and started toward the doors that Felicity ran through. As she got closer she felt several more hearts beating and groaned and the thought of another fight. She tugged on the door and just as she opened it she felt her body get hot and her frozen heart thaw out. She felt the throbbing in her chest and knew that something was wrong. She turned back and ran through the halls and burst through the doors. Felicity was standing behind Troy, her body stepped out to the side and visible to Olivia, with a dagger was in his chest. She was bleeding and Olivia noted that Troy had given her quite a fight, striking her with several
chakram
and possibly the daggers before she had gotten a hold of them. She could see the depravity in the girl's eyes as she pulled the dagger out and limped away. She was pissed that she had fallen for such a cheap distraction and knew she should've expected that from her.

Olivia was at Troy's side and awaited his return to life. She would've waited there all night if Erika hadn't showed up and told her to go back inside.

“I'll look after him, I promise. Just go back inside and fight for him.”

When Olivia walked back inside, she was greeted with a sight she hadn't been prepared to see. A room full of newly turned vampires.

“Have fun trying to kill them,” said Felicity who ordered the bloodthirsty beings forward and once again left. She figured Felicity must have just rounded them up randomly and gave them human blood a couple of times and led them to be killed just to turn them. The idea of it all made Olivia sick.

She pulled her jacket off, throwing it to the ground in a huff and then pointed her sword forward boldly despite being wholly outnumbered. The fight was unfair but when had Felicity ever fought fair? That was the only thing she thought about as she slashed through the first man. His wound healed quickly and he ran toward her again, fangs bared and his eyes dark. This time she did not hold back as she sliced her blade through the air and took his head off. Another man had sunk his fangs into her neck when he came up behind her and she reached back and yanked him off of her, throwing him against the wall. He jumped up, nearly unscathed though the same could not be said for the wall that was chalked up with a huge dent in it. He, along with the rest of them, ran toward her. She could only fend off a couple at a time and only managed shallow cuts as she slashed at them but couldn't dismember them. One had gotten his hands on her arm and was biting down on her, allowing her to stab him in the back, right through his heart. It hadn't been enough to kill him, but the pain distracted him enough for him to stumble back and allow her wound to heal.

The man with the purple dress shirt had appeared in front of her so quickly she almost didn't know what to do but had enough sense to thrust her hand in his chest and rip his heart out. He dropped to the ground and she watched him with wide eyes, almost confused at what she had done. She didn't have enough time to dwell as she turned around and swung at another man. He was entranced by his own blood as it seeped out of his chest and then she sliced his head off as well. It wasn't what she wanted to do, she didn't want to kill people like this but when it came to her life over theirs, she knew she had to be the one to survive, especially since her sire told her to do so.

Another one tossed her and she slammed into the metal doors. When she had gotten back up they were like bursts of color tussling on each wall, fast and sporadic movements as they drifted from corner to corner. She had dropped the
dao
as the man ripped her arm backwards and broke it at the shoulder. With her right arm out of commission for a while, she jumped back briskly as he ineptly swung it at her. He took a few swipes at her neck and she winced between the screams that had been coming out of her mouth before. She felt her arm come back to life as she now stood in a corner with all the men running toward her. She narrowed her eyes, annoyed that the weapon was being swung around by a complete amateur though she knew she wasn't much better.
Still
, she thought as she grabbed his throat and felt the veins pulsate under the pressure,
I don't like people using my weapons.
The blood from the man spurted all over her and hypnotized the others, giving her enough time to throw his body at them.

The men had recovered from their spellbound state and she noticed that she was still outnumbered, five to one. After retrieving her weapon, she was slammed against the wall, the
dao
once again dropping onto the floor with a loud clang. She began to lose consciousness from the blood loss but retained enough cognizance to force a hand into his throat, blood now shooting out of it. He had her high up on the wall and when he let go and fell back, she slid down and collided with the floor so forcefully that her bones shattered. She let out a scream as they slowly repaired themselves, so slowly that she couldn't move as the remaining vampires encircled her. One had been so driven by his bloodlust that he had become a mindless creature running toward her before the rest of them. He stabbed his teeth into her neck and then he pulled back as shrills came out of his mouth. Olivia turned her head slowly and saw that he was now engulfed in flames and that they were spreading toward the other vampires. Erika was at the door with a now recovered Troy and had done her the favor of burning them to a crisp, the remains now a heap of ash around Olivia.

Troy didn't know what he was saying when the words came out, all he knew was that he was bent down, leaning toward her. He urged her to drink and when she finally brought her lips to his neck, she did as she was told. She had gotten most her strength back when she pulled her mouth away from him and saw the bite marks disappear. Erika told her to go on and she did, but not before thanking Troy.

When she ran through the doors, she positioned the blade in her hand ready for another fight but there was more than a silence in there. There were heartbeats. She ran through, counting until she reached twenty three and knew immediately who was in there. She followed the sound and when she stepped into the room that held mats, she saw Sam ahead of everyone.

“Olivia!” she said when her eyes fell on her. The outburst surprised everyone despite the circumstances.

Olivia noticed the children had been tied in chains and when she asked who did it to them, she was given an answer she pretty much expected.

“Felicity.”

She couldn't understand what she had been fighting for since nothing but a series of nightmares had led her to her mother. The rest had all seemed like it was Felicity's doing. She broke the chains and the students rejoiced briefly but were now wondering what to do. She explained to Sam that she couldn't stay and was headed to the door when Sam held her back.

“Turn me.”

“I haven't been very successful in the past,” she said and thought of her 2:1 ratio.

“I'd rather have a chance at immortality than to not have one at all,” said Sam, her green eyes near pleading with Olivia. She knew that wasn't what the girl meant and her true words played in her head,
I'd rather have a chance to kill Felicity than to not have one at all.
She then began the turning process.

She expected the girl to be burdened by a deep bloodlust when she had awakened, but she had been completely devoid of one as she sought out Felicity. She thanked Olivia and as if she had been a vampire for years, sped quickly and quietly through the halls. Olivia asked the other kids to be silent and wait for her return and then she went in search of her mother.

After racing through the halls, she knew her mother hadn't been there and neither had any of the adults. She left the recreation center through a side door so not to be caught by Troy. She could smell for miles and had caught the faintest scent of peppermint then took off in that direction. The rain poured down on her as she whizzed past the autumn trees and the town center, its multiple brick buildings blending into one as she blew through. If she hadn't been going so fast, she probably would've noticed the familiarity of it before she had gotten there.

“Home?” she asked herself as she went through the open gates. When she stepped into the house, her mother's steady heartbeat welcomed her.

Twenty Five

Troy and Erika listened to the sounds of bolts being shot from a crossbow. Felicity was shooting it at Sam, but missing every time. They heard their every movement as it reverberated through the recreation center despite being faint to human ears. With sounds so strong in their ears, it was like they had been watching the fight. Felicity pulled out a whip after tossing the crossbow down and Sam avoided the strikes as the whip lashed out in her direction. Felicity couldn't keep up but didn't give in as she obstinately whipped again and again. The tips had still been adorned with spikes and when they finally caught Sam's skin, blood was shed and Felicity smirked.