Chapter 10:
Mallory paced around our dorm room as the rest of us sat down.
"So you're telling me that the fledgling initiation that you had seen had been tainted and so, the fledgling is now having bloodlust and he was the one who killed Samantha and the person responsible for this whole mess is Gloria and that she had planned for this to happen?!" She came up in front of me and stared at me with piercing eyes. "You had better not be joking, Arisa."
I stared up at her determinedly. "I know what I saw, Mallory. I know what I heard, too. I have no reason for not being honest. But if you don't believe me then you can just leave. In fact," I turned to face everyone. "Anyone who doesn't believe me can leave right now."
For a minute the room was quiet. I was breathing heavily, watching tensely to see what would happen. These were people I considered my best friends. Today was the day that our friendships would be put to the test.
Josh cleared his throat, "Arisa, none of us has known you very well. We don't know much about what has happened to you or anything." I felt my shoulders slump. "But…I want you to know that I believe you." I looked up into his soft, brown eyes.
Negin came over and held my hand, "We'll support you and do whatever we can to help you." I looked at her and everyone else and saw their encouraging smiles. I looked back at Mallory. I couldn't read the expression on her face. Finally, she opened her mouth. "But what could be her ulterior motive behind all of this?"
I shrugged. "All I know is that she wants to kill a lot of people but not the future high vampire priestess...yet"
Kate gasped, "But then doesn't that mean that…I mean, isn't it.." Jackson interrupted, "What she's trying to say is, aren't YOU the future high vampire priestess?" As this fact dawned on me, I felt a cold shudder pas through my body. Gloria intended to kill…me?
"We'll have to keep you safe. Protecting you from Gloria is our number one priority." Stacey stated. "We'll walk you in between classes and keep guard at night at the dorm and maybe get an escort for when you go to work and…"
"I'm really touched by your concern but you know as well as I do that the only way to stop this is by stopping Gloria, not by hiding from her." I interrupted. Everyone fell silent. "What I really need is some information about vampires that I could use – possibly something to do with rituals and maybe undoing some. Also…" here I hesitated, "also, I want to find out any ways to defeat Gloria. This madness can't go on any longer and I have to ensure that this stops right now."
The others jus stared at me. Mallory slowly grinned at me. "Arisa, for once, I can tell that you really are our vampire high priestess!"
I blushed but was filled with confidence. I wasn't alone on this struggle. I had people supporting me.
Negin spoke up. "It's getting late, everyone. And, no offense, Arisa, but we need our blood. We had best get back. Let's all try and get the information Arisa needs. Until then, maybe you should get some rest. It's been a long day for you." She smiled apologetically. "I'm really sorry that we have to leave you alone."
"No, no, it's fine." I assured them. "Rest seems like a good idea. Don't worry about a thing, ok?"
They shuffled out slowly, voicing out their goodbyes and promises to do whatever they could. I shut the door behind me and lay down on my bed, closing my eyes. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, they did.
You're strong, Arisa. You can do this. I told myself firmly.
Yawning, I pulled my blanket up to my chin and fell fast asleep.