Chapter 29

For a brief moment, Tamsin thought, and sincerely hoped with every bit of her soul, that this was nothing but a nightmare in which she was practically incapacipated, and Bo was...gone. A nightmare that, although frightening, she'd wake up from at some point, and then she'd see Bo again. Not this "Bo" who was cruel and had no soul, but the one who was warm and loving.

She stared into those eyes of "Bo"'s - they were wide open, bright, electric blue.

Those eyes...They reminded her of reptiles, insects, corpses… They reminded her of anything and everything that would not be able to feel, to empathize, to love.

"Who...who are you?! You are not Bo. What did you do to her?" Tamsin bit out as she struggled to get up.

"Bo" tilted her head a little and pulled her pale lips into a smile. It chilled Tamsin's spine.

"You smell..." the brunette uttered as she leaned in and took a whiff, "...delicious."

Fear paralyzed Tamsin. Bo has said the same thing to her before, multiple times, but none of those times felt like this. None of those was a merciless predator to a defenseless prey.

"Bo" clutched Tamsin's forearm hungrily and licked her bleeding wound slowly.

Tamsin struggled furiously but she couldn't free herself.

"Bo" chuckled, baring her fangs. Then, she yanked Tamsin near and sank her teeth into her neck.

With her eyes shot wide open, Bo flitched at the blinding sunlight.

How long was I out? She asked herself as she squinted her eyes. What happened?

She vaguely remembered that she had tried to kill that little girl in white gown, but she had failed. The little girl, instead, had attacked her.

Bo remembered that the little girl fed off her. It was as if she had sucked her soul out. She remembered that hopeless feeling of believing that it had been the very end of her life. She had not expected that she'd wake up again.

But, she did. And everything suddenly seemed a little…different.

She was in front of that old white mansion again, but the surroundings were no longer gloomy. Instead of feeling doomed, she somehow believed that the dreadful feelings - along with the lead gray clouds and the freezing breeze - would soon pass.

Bo frowned a little as she took a deep breath. Strangely, she felt rejuvenated.

She was familiar with that feeling. She had felt the exact same way, whenever she had fed off Tamsin….

Tamsin! Bo gasped. How long has it been since she had been trapped in this reality? Where is Tamsin? Is she safe?

As she thought of the blonde, she inevitably pictured her in her mind with every detail. It couldn't have been too long since she had seen her last time, but she missed her. She missed her with all her heart. She missed her cocky smirk, her messy blonde hair, her light blue eyes, her curves, her lips, her warmth….

Bo flinched when Tamsin appeared in front of her out of nowhere. She was exactly how Bo had pictured.

Bo closed her eyes and shook her head. She opened them immediately and then closed them again.

"Tamsin…?" She murmured as she wondered if this was another endless loop of some kind, something she had created out of her mind because she wanted to see Tamsin so damn much.

Tamsin grinned. A stray hair lock of hers quivered in the breeze. Crested by the bright sunlight, it was as if her hair was glowing.

It was as if her entire body was glowing.

Bo hesitantly cupped Tamsin's face. It's warm, heated, and radiating.

"Are you...real?" Bo asked.

Tamsin chuckled and took Bo into her arms."I've got you," she whispered as she held Bo tightly to her chest.

Bo hugged her back. Real or not, she didn't care anymore.

Then, she noticed something. In her arms, Tamsin started to glow brighter. It was as if rays of light were born inside her and they were bursting out.

With a smirk, Tamsin burst into a ball of light. She burst into the gentle breeze, the warm sunlight, and the fragrant air. She burst into the wild flowers, the whispering creek, and the dancing bees. She burst into the rustling oak trees, the distant contour of the mountains and the floating clouds….

She burst into each and every thing that was around Bo.

Bo opened her arms. Tamsin's heat was still lingering. Her skin started to burn from it, like it would burn under the bright sunlight in daytime.

That burning sensation quickly subsided. In her right hand, a dagger appeared. It was the same dagger she had pulled out from the Vampire Queen's corpse. The blood rune on it shone brighter than the sun.

Bo tightened her fingers around the hilt and squeezed.

The dagger had a pulse, a heartbeat. It was breathing. It connected with her. It resonated with her.

It was alive. It slowly dissolved into her skin, into her flesh, into her blood. It became her.

She became the blade. She glowed, red like the blood rune, brighter than the sun.

That hum inside her. It was thirsty for revenge, for survival, for desperation, for love….

She gasped as a sudden, piercing pain appeared in her chest. She pulled the hem of her dress down and saw her left chest burning, glowing and heaving, as if there was a beating heart underneath and it was red hot.

A vague image appeared. Wings. Red, glowing wings, like Tamsin's blood rune. It gave her life.

Bo turned around, and there was that little girl again. As she leaped at Bo, Bo thrust her arm at her like a sword.

It went through the little girl's chest like a sword, too.

The little girl froze there. She screeched. She tried to strangle Bo but she was too weak to do so. Her skin around where Bo's arm had pierced a hole in her chest started to turn gray. The contagious gray ate her body inside and out.

As Bo pulled her arm out, the little girl's body collapsed into a pile of dust.

And then the breeze took it all away.

Bo looked down at her own chest again. The glow was too bright and it started to hurt her.

That pain seemed to have become a torrent. It was inside her. It was around her. She was tossed up and down. She was pulled, pushed and punched.

The pain was unbearable. She screamed.

Tamsin woke up again. She was shivering, sweaty and her sight was slightly darkened - all signs of heavy blood loss.

Barely conscious, it took her a while to recognize the face in front of her. It was Bo.

She flinched and scrambled back as she remembered the coldness in those brown eyes, but now they seemed...warm and concerned.

"Bo…?" She let that name slip out.

She tried to grasp something before she would pass out again. Was this really Bo? Who was that person behind her? Was that Naomi? Did she have a mace in her hand? Was she swinging it at Bo? No! No, stop! Run, Bo, run! Don't hurt her. Don't hurt Bo….

She tried to do something, or at least sound the alarm. Unfortunately, darkness took her before that.

With a sharp gasp and a painful jolt, Tamsin suddenly woke up.

She was in a moving vehicle. The moonlight was bright and comforting. The night outside was crisp and calming.

"Look who's back…" Bo's voice came to her. She was driving the car, and she was right beside her, smiling.

Tamsin swallowed hard as she wondered if this was a dream.

If this was indeed a dream, it was a damn sweet one. It was so quiet and peaceful. Bo was so real and so beautiful.

"Bo…" Tamsin murmured as she looked into Bo's eyes. They were warm and loving, but they also had something new there. They seemed to be brighter than usual.

Or, should she say, there seemed to be something new in Bo.

Bo leaned in and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Tamsin melted in that gentle touch from Bo's cold lips. She let out a moan.

For a moment, she just stayed quiet as she stared at the brunette.

"What happened?" She asked. "I thought...we were at the castle and...where the hell is everyone?"

She paused before she added, "I thought I saw Naomi attacking you."

"She did, and I killed her." Bo relied.

"You did?" Tamsin frowned.

"Well technically, your dog ate her," Bo explained, "We were fighting, and I was winning. She got smacked down, really hurting and your dog came in and...and…"

"Changed into a huge shadow?"

"Yeah, and then he swallowed her."

"Right, she was a Vampire and of course she can be eaten now."

She heard a snort from Sugarmuffin, who was resting in the back seat. The dog didn't seem to be impressed by Naomi at all.

"So...he really eats Vampires." Bo murmured. She had remembered that Tamsin had made a comment about it but never really believed it until the moment she had seen Sugarmuffin swallowing a weak, defeated Naomi in the castle.

"Only the weak ones." Tamsin smiled.

The dog let out a loud puff, disagreeing with Tamsin.

"What about the other Huntresses?" Tamsin asked as she recalled seeing them being unconscious and injured at the castle.

"Some ran away, I think. Some died, and I...I think I might have killed them." Bo paused for a little, before she added,"I mean...that was what I thought had happened."

"You don't remember?"

Bo shook her head. "I was... possessed. Or...I don't know which word would better describe it. That guy who killed my family made me go though this ritual and then, I was trapped in my mind with...with this young girl and Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth? The Vamp Queen?"

Bo nodded. "It's like...their spirits entered my body or something. Anyway she told me that the girl was the spirit of the first Vampire, and if she takes over control, I will disappear forever."

"But she didn't. I mean, maybe for a short while but you are still...you, right?"

"I think so, but I do feel a bit different. After I killed her in...in my mind, I felt...empowered."

"Gee, you have killed quite a few today."

"Two days ago," Bo corrected her. "You have been in and out for two days."

"Oh...well anyway, you are in control of yourself now, right?"

"I think so."

"How did you manage to kill her in your mind? Shouldn't the first Vampire be freakishly strong or something?"

"You helped me." Bo said with a smile.

"I did? How?"

"I don't exactly know but somehow you appeared in my mind and...turned me into a Huntress weapon."

"Huh?" Tamsin was beyond confused.

"I started to glow like a sword with blood rune and then...my arm went through the spirit's chest and she turned into Vamp soot."

"Hmm…" Tamsin furrowed her brows. "I was in and out in the castle but I think for a while you changed into someone else, and that someone else fed off me."

"It must be when she had taken over control." Bo said as she glanced at the bite mark on Tamsin's neck. Feeling both terrified and aroused, she shivered.

"You know," she suddenly started. "When I was trapped there, Elizabeth said something to me."

"What did she say?"

"She said that blood is sacred to Vampires as well as to Huntresses. We need blood to survive and your power is in your blood. Maybe somehow...when I fed off you, your blood made me powerful or something? Remember I used to be able to hold your weapon without getting burnt?"

She reached for Tamsin's dagger and held it firmly in her hand. The blood rune glowed furiously but it didn't hurt at all.

"You think my blood makes you invincible to Huntress power?"

"No, not just that. I think your blood connects us. It gives me...strength." Bo explained. "It makes me...more powerful."

"Uhh huh." Tamsin drawled as she examined Bo's hand. "So you are a powerful little Vamp now?"

Then, she remembered something. "What happened to the guy who killed your family? I thought I saw him lying there."

"I killed him," Bo said.

Tamsin nodded and squeezed Bo's hand. "What about...that spirit and Elizabeth?"

"I think...they are gone." Bo replied. "I don't feel their presence anymore. I thought I saw Elizabeth's face briefly before I regained consciousness. I think she was saying farewell to me but...well anyway I think at least the evil one was gone for good."

"What about Mel?"

"She just...left. She was pretty pissed that I killed Naomi instead of leaving it to her."

Tamsin sighed as memories of Huntress sisterhood fleeted across her mind. "So...that guy is dead. Naomi is dead. Little bitch Mel is gone. You are yourself again. I am still breathing. The dog still stinks…. What now?"

Bo smiled. "I figure we'll just go back to my apartment and stay there for a while so you can recover."

"Yeah probably need to make sure that Naomi or that crazy murderer guy don't have any followers who want us dead too."

Bi nodded. "After that, how about that date you promised?"

Tamsin chuckled. "Sure, sweetheart. We will order takeout and make love all night long…"

She trailed off, closing her eyes. Pulling Bo's hand to her chest, she held those cold fingers tightly.

Quickly, she drifted into sleep. In her dream, there was a delicate crescent moon hanging slightly above the soft contours of the crowns of the trees. The night breeze was as gentle and cool as Bo's hand. The frosty stars were as bright as the sparkles in Bo's eyes.

And the wilderness, the darkness, the world unseen, it was as magnificent and beautiful as Bo.

[THE END]

A/N: I hope everyone likes the ending! Took me forever to write this chapter. I enjoyed writing this story, just thought I should have included more Huntress stuff probably.

I am in the process of writing another Valkubus fic. It's probably the weirdest, most OOC of all the fics I've written. I think I will post the first chapter very soon. Stay safe everyone!