~*~*Chapter six~*~*
"Why did Rabe act as if she couldn't lift a finger to save herself?" I asked Kaei as I sipped my drink in thought. "She could have at least given Fala a scar or two, at LEAST. And she acted as if she was a new born human. It is disgusting!" She arched a brow at me and said nothing. I knew that she had to be upset with me for talking about Rabe like that, and humans stick up for humans first before vampires.
"I don't know." Was her answer before leaving to clean a table. I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair; several paint flakes falling to the table. I had spent the whole night painting, but it was a completely new kind of painting. It was Rayne, sitting in a garden with her green hair and eyes wearing a green dress, with a black rose between her fingers. In the background there was Kaleo leaning against a tree with a trickle of blood down his chin; a dead girl at his feet. The painting was the first one that I had really ever used other colors besides black white, blue and burgundy.
"Something got you down in the dumps?" I didn't even want to glance over at her. She was one of the last vampires that I wanted to see. I only had spent like the whole night working on her.
"Leave me alone Rayne," I whispered before leaving the bar and going to my room. I realized that I could not stand Las Noches for much longer and I actually decided to go to a bash that I had been invited to. I was only going because I heard that Kendra might be there. After all, it was her circuit. I switched from my black outfit into a green turtleneck and a pair of jeans. My eyes also changed along to match the ensemble. I didn't really care if some vampires never change their eyes, I personally liked it. That way, no one could really know what I truly looked like in my past. As my hair went from ash to black, I thought that only Kendra and Kaleo really knew what I looked like.
A few seconds later I arrived at the house that the bash was at. I could sense many strong vampiric auras as I stepped up to the door and knocked. I wasn't really sure if I was supposed to knock but it didn't really matter I guess. "Hi there," the vampire who opened the door welcomed me as he looked me over. I instantly recognized him as Flare, one of Midnight's vampires. I guess vampires like us get bored from our cities and need time to just hang out and 'bash'.
"Hi Flare," I responded once I stepped into the house. I knew that Nikolas's houses were black and white, but this one was void of either of those colors. Like a kaleidoscope. It hurt my eyes for a moment or two and only after that was I able to pick out the people and vampires that were in the rooms. I turned to say something to Flare, but he must have gone. No, he was just mixed in with the fire red wall he was standing against. "Anyone interesting here?"
"Just a few minutes ago Kaleo caught a Arun here. She almost killed Nyck. I almost wanted to kill HER but Kaleo let her go."
"Maybe he fell in love with her," I muttered as I walked away. Flare laughed behind me. I guess Kaleo heard it because no sooner I said it I found myself pinned to a wall, with Kaleo's hand around my throat.
"Oh, Cairbre," he said as he pulled his hand away from my throat, which made me uncomfortable. "Didn't expect you to be here." The room hushed as my name echoed in the room and all the blood bonded humans turned to look at me. What was going on?
Slowly all the blood bonded humans stood up and begin to whisper something under their breath. After a split second I can hear what they are whispering and it sends shivers up and down my spine. One particular girl, one that I remember as Heather, spoke it louder than the others.
"By the night, by the day, I wander aimlessly, Lost my way. The brush in hand, the paint in mind, my canvas is as endless, as the midnight sky. Life has lost its fun, and so it is done. I slit my pale wrists, and let the crimson run." My eyes darted to Kaleo, who just simply smiled. I knew I had gone paler, but deep inside I was really terrified. Kendra had told them how I . . . .
"No tears follow the stream, I feel as if this is a dream," Heather continued, her voice picking up volume. "And in a way it is, for I have not met the shadowed world. But now as I watch my river flow, she comes to my side, placing her pale lips to my wound, she licks away and creates a dam with her tongue." I do not want to hear this, I turn to go but Heather yells the words at my back now.
"Eyes the color of death melt the ice of my gaze. A sensation builds in my chest. And as she pulls out a knife and cuts her neck, I feel the sensation increase as my eyes fall. Cold hands bring my lips to her neck. I taste the blood of the damned, and I cannot turn away." The rhyming had ended, but the words stuck me senseless nonetheless.
"Stop!" I screamed at her and pinned to the wall just as Kaleo had done to me only moments before. "Shut up!" My eyes had turned back to their ebony state and I was glaring at her. But this did not seem to bother her. The other humans had silenced themselves and so it was silent. It was silent until I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"As I am lost in blue light of death, I hear her whisper, her fingers sliding through my hair, 'This is it, what's done is done, you are no longer human, you are the Painted One.'" My body went ridged as I threw Heather down and turned to glare at the one who had finished the poem. The poem so clearly of my death. Or how I believe it had happened. As I had said, that part was still a bit vague."Welcome back, child." Kendra looked just as deadly as she had been 4 years ago. Of course, she probably didn't even notice it was 4 years. That was just a blink of an eye to her.
"Kendra..." I wasn't sure how I felt. I didn't hate this life she had given me, but this life I had not chosen, it was forced upon me. And they all knew that I had chosen a life of suffering, like Kristopher. But now they saw that I had lost control of the blood lust, and that I was as strong as many of them now that I had killed.
"Welcome to the bash." She whispered simply before she left to another room. Moments later everyone continued on what they were doing.
"Why did all the blood bonds say that when I came in?" I asked Flare, who I found pulling away from a dead human. She had been alive a few moments before, but obviously wasn't now.
"Most of the line says that when they blood bond a human to themselves. I even say it, after I figured out the whole concept of why everyone else says it." I sat down next to him, pushing the body off the couch. What he said unnerved me. Was I a gimmick? What was this poem to everyone? I rarely know of a small ritual like poem being said throughout almost a whole line. What made my death so special?
"What exactly is the concept?"
"Well, when you bond a human, they stay human, right?" I nodded slowly, wondering where he was going with this. "They stay human, but they change just so much that they aren't completely human. They don't age like vampires, but they eat food like humans."
"What are you getting at?" I push impatiently. I wanted to know and I had no extra time for this.
"When you mix two paints together, with just a little of one color into a whole bunch of another color, you still have the same color but there is just a tint of the other color."
"I don't understand what you're trying to say." I wanted to get more detail. It was me it was about after all.
"Black and white paint. Good and evil blood. When you mix just a bit of black paint, the damned blood, into the large amount of white paint, the human blood, you still have the white paint, but it is no longer completely white. It's grey. When you bond a human they are still human but they are no longer completely human, they have vampire blood in them." My blank stare must have gotten him a bit angry because he looked away out the window. "You are the grey paint. You are a vampire but you hold onto your humanity as if it's the only thing you have left. And if you put just a bit of black paint into the grey, it turns darker. But no matter how much white paint you put into the grey, it will never be white again."
"You are damned. You cannot change that. No matter how many humans you don't kill, you won't ever be human again. Give it up, Cairbre. You just make yourself weak with envy." I turned and backhanded Kendra without much thought before standing up and walking out of the room. As I left the house, I heard Kendra screaming incoherent words at my back, but I did not turn back.
I am the grey paint. I do not argue. I bring myself to my room and lay down on the bed. Without another word, I fall asleep. The poem echoes in my ears.
By the night,
By the day,
I wander aimlessly,
Lost my way.
And after thirty seven years, I am as lost as ever.
"Why did Rabe act as if she couldn't lift a finger to save herself?" I asked Kaei as I sipped my drink in thought. "She could have at least given Fala a scar or two, at LEAST. And she acted as if she was a new born human. It is disgusting!" She arched a brow at me and said nothing. I knew that she had to be upset with me for talking about Rabe like that, and humans stick up for humans first before vampires.
"I don't know." Was her answer before leaving to clean a table. I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair; several paint flakes falling to the table. I had spent the whole night painting, but it was a completely new kind of painting. It was Rayne, sitting in a garden with her green hair and eyes wearing a green dress, with a black rose between her fingers. In the background there was Kaleo leaning against a tree with a trickle of blood down his chin; a dead girl at his feet. The painting was the first one that I had really ever used other colors besides black white, blue and burgundy.
"Something got you down in the dumps?" I didn't even want to glance over at her. She was one of the last vampires that I wanted to see. I only had spent like the whole night working on her.
"Leave me alone Rayne," I whispered before leaving the bar and going to my room. I realized that I could not stand Las Noches for much longer and I actually decided to go to a bash that I had been invited to. I was only going because I heard that Kendra might be there. After all, it was her circuit. I switched from my black outfit into a green turtleneck and a pair of jeans. My eyes also changed along to match the ensemble. I didn't really care if some vampires never change their eyes, I personally liked it. That way, no one could really know what I truly looked like in my past. As my hair went from ash to black, I thought that only Kendra and Kaleo really knew what I looked like.
A few seconds later I arrived at the house that the bash was at. I could sense many strong vampiric auras as I stepped up to the door and knocked. I wasn't really sure if I was supposed to knock but it didn't really matter I guess. "Hi there," the vampire who opened the door welcomed me as he looked me over. I instantly recognized him as Flare, one of Midnight's vampires. I guess vampires like us get bored from our cities and need time to just hang out and 'bash'.
"Hi Flare," I responded once I stepped into the house. I knew that Nikolas's houses were black and white, but this one was void of either of those colors. Like a kaleidoscope. It hurt my eyes for a moment or two and only after that was I able to pick out the people and vampires that were in the rooms. I turned to say something to Flare, but he must have gone. No, he was just mixed in with the fire red wall he was standing against. "Anyone interesting here?"
"Just a few minutes ago Kaleo caught a Arun here. She almost killed Nyck. I almost wanted to kill HER but Kaleo let her go."
"Maybe he fell in love with her," I muttered as I walked away. Flare laughed behind me. I guess Kaleo heard it because no sooner I said it I found myself pinned to a wall, with Kaleo's hand around my throat.
"Oh, Cairbre," he said as he pulled his hand away from my throat, which made me uncomfortable. "Didn't expect you to be here." The room hushed as my name echoed in the room and all the blood bonded humans turned to look at me. What was going on?
Slowly all the blood bonded humans stood up and begin to whisper something under their breath. After a split second I can hear what they are whispering and it sends shivers up and down my spine. One particular girl, one that I remember as Heather, spoke it louder than the others.
"By the night, by the day, I wander aimlessly, Lost my way. The brush in hand, the paint in mind, my canvas is as endless, as the midnight sky. Life has lost its fun, and so it is done. I slit my pale wrists, and let the crimson run." My eyes darted to Kaleo, who just simply smiled. I knew I had gone paler, but deep inside I was really terrified. Kendra had told them how I . . . .
"No tears follow the stream, I feel as if this is a dream," Heather continued, her voice picking up volume. "And in a way it is, for I have not met the shadowed world. But now as I watch my river flow, she comes to my side, placing her pale lips to my wound, she licks away and creates a dam with her tongue." I do not want to hear this, I turn to go but Heather yells the words at my back now.
"Eyes the color of death melt the ice of my gaze. A sensation builds in my chest. And as she pulls out a knife and cuts her neck, I feel the sensation increase as my eyes fall. Cold hands bring my lips to her neck. I taste the blood of the damned, and I cannot turn away." The rhyming had ended, but the words stuck me senseless nonetheless.
"Stop!" I screamed at her and pinned to the wall just as Kaleo had done to me only moments before. "Shut up!" My eyes had turned back to their ebony state and I was glaring at her. But this did not seem to bother her. The other humans had silenced themselves and so it was silent. It was silent until I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"As I am lost in blue light of death, I hear her whisper, her fingers sliding through my hair, 'This is it, what's done is done, you are no longer human, you are the Painted One.'" My body went ridged as I threw Heather down and turned to glare at the one who had finished the poem. The poem so clearly of my death. Or how I believe it had happened. As I had said, that part was still a bit vague."Welcome back, child." Kendra looked just as deadly as she had been 4 years ago. Of course, she probably didn't even notice it was 4 years. That was just a blink of an eye to her.
"Kendra..." I wasn't sure how I felt. I didn't hate this life she had given me, but this life I had not chosen, it was forced upon me. And they all knew that I had chosen a life of suffering, like Kristopher. But now they saw that I had lost control of the blood lust, and that I was as strong as many of them now that I had killed.
"Welcome to the bash." She whispered simply before she left to another room. Moments later everyone continued on what they were doing.
"Why did all the blood bonds say that when I came in?" I asked Flare, who I found pulling away from a dead human. She had been alive a few moments before, but obviously wasn't now.
"Most of the line says that when they blood bond a human to themselves. I even say it, after I figured out the whole concept of why everyone else says it." I sat down next to him, pushing the body off the couch. What he said unnerved me. Was I a gimmick? What was this poem to everyone? I rarely know of a small ritual like poem being said throughout almost a whole line. What made my death so special?
"What exactly is the concept?"
"Well, when you bond a human, they stay human, right?" I nodded slowly, wondering where he was going with this. "They stay human, but they change just so much that they aren't completely human. They don't age like vampires, but they eat food like humans."
"What are you getting at?" I push impatiently. I wanted to know and I had no extra time for this.
"When you mix two paints together, with just a little of one color into a whole bunch of another color, you still have the same color but there is just a tint of the other color."
"I don't understand what you're trying to say." I wanted to get more detail. It was me it was about after all.
"Black and white paint. Good and evil blood. When you mix just a bit of black paint, the damned blood, into the large amount of white paint, the human blood, you still have the white paint, but it is no longer completely white. It's grey. When you bond a human they are still human but they are no longer completely human, they have vampire blood in them." My blank stare must have gotten him a bit angry because he looked away out the window. "You are the grey paint. You are a vampire but you hold onto your humanity as if it's the only thing you have left. And if you put just a bit of black paint into the grey, it turns darker. But no matter how much white paint you put into the grey, it will never be white again."
"You are damned. You cannot change that. No matter how many humans you don't kill, you won't ever be human again. Give it up, Cairbre. You just make yourself weak with envy." I turned and backhanded Kendra without much thought before standing up and walking out of the room. As I left the house, I heard Kendra screaming incoherent words at my back, but I did not turn back.
I am the grey paint. I do not argue. I bring myself to my room and lay down on the bed. Without another word, I fall asleep. The poem echoes in my ears.
By the night,
By the day,
I wander aimlessly,
Lost my way.
And after thirty seven years, I am as lost as ever.