CHAPTER TEN
"You might have one child…" Bethany told Dracula. "Of course, it's only from gossip that I have heard. Rumor has it that one of your children has survived and is here in Vaseria, right now."
"Do you know if it is a boy or girl?" Aleera asked. She seemed to be thrilled at the prospect of being a mother. If Aleera was actually some poor child's mother…Beth pitied the child.
"I do not know." Beth lied as she slowly backed up. Now that she had what she needed, she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Also, the last thing she wanted Dracula to realize was that she was not who she said she was. At the moment, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Who did you hear this from?" Dracula asked her.
"Loud voices echo loudly in empty stone halls." Beth replied.
Suddenly, the breeze became stronger and Beth turned to see that Verona had arrived. She quickly changed from her demon form to her human form before she landed. The second the bride's feet hit the ground, she was running toward her master.
"Master, Bethany is not in the manor. She is outside, here in the forest." Verona told Dracula.
Beth immediately became tense at her situation. Would Dracula figure out that she was not who she said she was? She prayed he wouldn't. Then not only would she die, but Mori as well. Beth was the only person who knew about Mori's…condition. If she couldn't help Mori, no one could.
Dracula turned to Beth before he spoke once again.
"I believe our questioning will have to be cut short. I have some things I need to see too." he told her.
"I understand." Beth replied and in a flash, the three vampires were gone. The leaves blew around Beth from the wind created by their great wings flapping for them to raise into the air. Beth watched them go…in search of her.
When they were gone from sight, Beth lowered her hood and her dark brown locks fell around her face once again.
"I love irony." she told herself and then headed back toward the manor, her violet cloak billowing out behind her.
A little later that night, Beth was rather pleased with herself. In her right hand she carried a wine bottle full of pig's blood that she could give to Mori. Her violet cloak had been long discarded. At the moment, it was lying on Beth's bed up in her room. Once the teen had returned to the manor, she threw the cloak on her bed and then came out to the barn to get the blood that Mori needed to survive.
Now she was walking back toward the manor, blood in hand. Once she got some of this, Mori would be fine. Beth was in high spirits after knowing everything would be alright, that was until she felt the breeze suddenly pick up. She didn't even need to look around to know that evil had arrived. She could sense it in her bones.
The teen took off running for the door to the manor. With a little luck, she might be able to make it. The cool night air blew Beth's hair back as she ran, her heart pounding madly in her chest. The adrenaline coursing through her veins added to her speed, helping her to fly faster toward the manor.
Suddenly, Beth felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and her feet left the leaf covered ground. The teen looked up to see that Aleera was carrying her through the sky.
"Hello Bethany. My master wishes to speak to you." Aleera told her, half laughing. Apparently, Aleera thought something was amusing that Beth didn't get.
"I bet he would." Beth replied before she pulled her dagger out of her boot.
She flicked the blade out and then stabbed the dagger into the bride's ankle. Aleera screamed in pain as she accidentally let go of Beth. The teen felt herself falling and saw the ground rushing toward her. Beth landed squarely on her rear end on the hard frozen earth. She groaned in pain before realizing that the bottle of blood was flying through the air. If the bottle hit the ground and shattered, then Mori might not make it. Beth lunged out for the container in a desperate attempt to prevent it from breaking. Thankfully, she caught the neck of the bottle before it hit the ground.
Beth immediately jumped up and saw she was only about a yard away from the door to the manor. The teen sprinted to the door, Aleera on her heels. Beth flung open the door and stepped inside before closing the door. A sickening thud came from the outside not even half a second later. Apparently, Aleera had run into the door.
Beth smirked slightly, ignoring the throbbing sensation in her shoulder. She assumed it happened when the bride had picked her up into the air. But Beth would tend to that later. Right now, she had to get the 'wine' to Mori. The girl poured the crimson liquid into a wine glass and then hid the bottle in the back of one of the cabinets to assure that no one would find it.
Beth practically ran to Mori's room, the glass of nourishment in her hand. When she got there, she didn't even bother to knock on the door before entering her friend's room. It was dark, as usual. Only a single candle illuminated the room, and it rested on the nightstand beside Mori's bed. The room was decorated in nothing but black and dark, deep, rich reds that Beth knew Mori had grown to love. Of course, the colors only added to the gothic feel of the room. However, Beth wasn't there to survey the scenery.
The girl slowly walked up to the side of Mori's bed and saw that she was still unconscious. Beth couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked when she was asleep. When she was awake, Mori was anything but peaceful, so this was quite a change for Beth to see. Mori's eyes were closed and she was still lying on top of the covers of the bed, seeing as it looked as if she hadn't moved since the last time Beth saw her. She just hoped she wasn't to late to save her.
Beth gently lifted Mori's head and opened her mouth. The teen placed the glass at the other girl's pale lips and slowly poured it's contents into Mori's mouth. For a moment, nothing happened and Beth feared the worst, but then Mori's mouth closed and she swallowed the crimson liquid. Beth sighed with relief. Everything was going to be fine.
After a few more mouthfuls of blood, Mori opened her eyes to see Beth hovering above her.
"Morning, Mori." Beth told her.
"You are in my room." Mori told her.
"Am I?" Beth asked sarcastically and looked around at her surroundings. "Oh, I am. You'll just have to forgive for that later."
"What happened?" Mori asked Beth, who had handed the girl the goblet still half filled with blood. The half-vampire immediately downed the second half of the glass in one large gulp. Mori wiped her mouth with her sleeve as she set the empty cup down on the nightstand.
"Better?" Beth asked her as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, much. Thanks." Mori told her.
"No problem." Beth replied.
"So, what happened to me in the library?" Mori asked Beth again, this time hoping to get an answer.
"You fainted from not getting your medicine." Beth replied motioning toward the empty glass.
"You're bleeding." Mori told Beth suddenly.
"What?"
"You're bleeding."
"How do you know?"
"I can smell it." Mori said, her face the picture of calm.
"I'll go then, right?"
"Yeah."
Beth nodded to Mori and left the room. The teen went to her own room and found that her shoulder was indeed bleeding. She bandaged it up and changed into a black three quarter length sleeved shirt and put her corset back on over it along with her coat. Beth then headed to the hidden library, where, to her delight, she found Mori along with all the others.
"Look who's back." Anna said smiling at Beth as came out from inside the shadows of the bookcases.
"I had something to do." Beth said and pulled a book off the shelf as she chanced a side glance at Mori. Was it Beth's imagination, or was she smiling slightly?
"Was it so important that you had to leave alone in the middle of the night?" Van Helsing asked her.
Beth paused a moment and blinked as few times, her emerald eyes staring blankly at him as if to say 'You didn't know already?'
"Yeah." Beth replied quickly. "Yeah, it was."
Carl shook his head and returned to his book. "I shall never understand teenage girls."
Mori, Beth and Jen all looked at each other for a long moment. Beth and Jen broke out in laughter where Mori only smiled slightly. In the three years that Beth had known Mori, she had only heard her laugh only maybe once. Carl looked up, not seeing what was so funny. This was clear by the look of confusion on his face.
"What?" he asked, which only made Beth and Jen laugh harder than before.
The laughter was suddenly broken by the sound of glass shattering from above them. Silence quickly fell around the room. It wasn't a normal silence. It was heavy. It almost seemed as if the air had become thicker and it was hard to draw a breath. Beth looked at Mori and saw that the girl was as stiff as a board. Something wasn't right.
Without thinking, Beth jumped out of her chair and bolted up the steps.
"Bethany!" Mori hissed and ran after her, Jen quickly following suit. Surprisingly, Jen rushed past Mori on the stairs and also Beth. Apparently, curiosity had gotten the better of her.
Beth and Mori emerged from the hidden library to see Aleera. She had Jen pinned against the wall by her neck.
"Jen!" Beth said and tried to move forward, but Mori placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
"You going forward would give her a better excuse to kill Jen. Stay put." Mori hissed in her friend's ear.
Beth fumed with anger, rooted to her spot by Mori's strong grip. She hated Aleera most out of all the brides. She didn't know why, but it she just annoyed Beth to no end. Maybe her subconscious was trying to tell her something.
"Hello my dear." Aleera hissed at Jen before glancing toward the other two girls, a smirk of conquest on her face.
"Let go of me!" Jen demanded.
Aleera's smile grew wider. Beth somehow knew that this wouldn't end well. By the look in Aleera's eyes, it was perfectly clear that the bride had a horrible idea.
"Gladly." the bride said and then flung Jen out the window.
"Jen!" Mori shouted trying to go after her, but was knocked back by the bride.
Beth used that opportunity to jump out the window herself. The girl felt herself falling, the wind blowing back her hair and flowing around her exposed face. She could see Jen below her. She was a good six to ten feet lower than Beth herself, which was not good. Beth snapped her arms at her sides and put her ankles together to make herself streamline. She began gaining on Jen, slowly but the gap was still dwindling nonetheless. Beth just hoped she could reach Jen before they hit the ground. Every second that passed, the closer they got to the ground.
Jen reached up and Beth quickly grabbed her hand. With her free right hand, Beth reached into her coat and pulled out the grappling gun she 'barrowed' from Van Helsing. She quickly fired up at the window and the hook went flying through the air. The only thing left that she could do was to close her eyes and pray.
Suddenly, the line went taunt and the two girls were left hanging in mid air. Beth let out the breath she had been holding. They were alive and unharmed. So far, it'd been a good night because of that. Beth looked down at Jen and smiled. The girl, who had a death grip on Beth's left hand, had her eyes squeezed tightly shut.
"Jen…" Beth said softly, smiling to herself. "Open your eyes."
"No." Jen said shaking her head. "We are to far up from the ground for my comfort."
"Open your eyes, princess." Beth told her, resisting the urge to laugh.
Jen opened her hazel eyes and blinked a few times to focus them. They were locked onto Beth's face. She was afraid to look down.
"Look down." Beth told her, a smile still on her face.
Jen looked down at her feet to see that they were only about two feet from the ground, maybe not even that. A look of realization came over Jen's face before she looked back up at Beth.
"I knew that." Jen said, causing Beth to laugh slightly.
"Just jump down. My arm is getting tired." Beth told her, her smile of amusement still plastered on her lips.
Jen obediently let go of Beth's hand and landed softly on the ground. Soon afterward, Beth also gently floated to the ground next to Jen.
"Next time we hear a crash, the one with the weapons goes first." Beth told Jen as the two walked in front of the large oak doors that led into the mansion.
"Alright. I'll remember that." Jen said nodding.
Beth smirked slightly as she opened the doors. Jen was clueless sometimes but you just had to like her. She was like a puppy. Jen was always running into trouble and she and Mori always had to get here out of it. Of course, they couldn't blame Jen for that. She couldn't help it that she was the last Valerious. Mori couldn't help it that Dracula was her father. Beth also couldn't help it that her father disappeared so long ago either. That's just how life worked.
Jen opened the door and walked into the front hall. Beth was about to follow her when she was suddenly pulled back and the door slammed shut.
"I do believe I caught a mouse."
Beth groaned inwardly at the sound of Verona's voice. It was a trap. They were expecting to catch Mori. Throwing Jen out the window, one of them going after the other, it was all a trap. They were going to get rid of the youngest Valerious and capture Mori in the process.
"Well done my love."
Beth also had to repress a shiver at Dracula's cold, hard voice. Why did he have to show up every time!
"Let go of me bat brain!" Beth said kicking and thrashing, trying to free herself from the vampire.
"Bat brain!" Verona cried, apparently insulted.
"Are you insulted? Good. That was the intention." Beth told her. The girl then realized what she said and moaned slightly and whispered to herself. "Dear lord, I'm turning into Mori."
"Shut up child. You can't escape anyway." Verona told her.
Just watch me. Beth thought to herself. The teen then quickly slipped out of her coat and bolted toward the door so fast that it left Verona standing still holding an empty coat with her mouth agape.
Unfortunately, Beth didn't even get halfway to the door when Dracula grabbed her wrist and yanked the girl toward him. He pulled Beth back with such force that she lost her footing and fell right into the vampire. Dracula quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and then twisted Beth's right arm around her back so much that she cried out in pain. Beth bit down hard on her lower lip to keep the tears that rimmed her eyes from falling. There was no way that she was going to show anymore weakness than she already had.
"You are the third most stubborn person I have ever met." Dracula whispered in her ear as Beth still struggled against him. "The only two beating you are Mori and Gabriel."
Dracula twisted Beth's arm some more and the girl suppressed a groan. White hot pain flowed through her arm and shoulder, causing her vision to blur slightly. The pain was so intense that she didn't notice that she had blood slowly oozing from the left side of her lower lip from biting to hard on it.
"Master! I have her!"
Beth looked up to see Aleera landing on the ground next to Verona. Flung over her shoulder was an unconscious Mori.
"Mori! Ahhh!" Beth tried to move toward her friend, only to have Dracula jerk her arm sharply, causing a throbbing sensation to move through her body.
As if on cue, Mori's eyes darted open when she heard Beth scream.
"Put me down you second class barmaid!" Mori roared.
A shocked Aleera immediately let go of Mori, causing the half-vampire to fall face first on the ground. The wind was knocked from her chest the second she hit the earth, causing Mori to gasp in pain. I hate that crazy redhead. If I ruled the world, she would be the second to die. Dear old dad is first! Mori thought to herself. Why was her family so messed up?
Mori was jerked up by Verona and held about three inches off the ground so she couldn't run away.
"Well, my day is just going great!" Mori hissed, sarcasm filling every syllable she uttered.
"Verona, my dear. Will you bite the half blood for me?" Dracula's order caused both Mori's icy eyes along with Beth's emerald ones to grow wide. If Verona bit Mori, she would loose all her humanity, or worse, get under Dracula influence.
Beth began to struggle like mad, as if she was the one who was going to be bitten and not Mori. Dracula twisted her arm once again. Beth screamed and immediately became still. She just wished the pain would end. It hurt so much that she suspected that if he twisted her arm anymore that it would break, if it wasn't already.
"Stop it!" Mori ordered him, her eyes now icier than ever before.
"Alright then," Dracula replied as he saw the hateful glare that Mori was giving him. "Verona, bite her now."
"Gladly." Verona replied.
The vampiress craned her neck back as her canines grew longer and longer. Mori just froze. For maybe only the third or fourth time in her life, she was too scared to move.
"Mori! Ahhh!" Beth tried moving again only to have her arm painfully twisted tighter around her back again. Dracula's grip on her wrist was now tighter than ever, and Beth also feared that it too was going to break.
Beth closed her eyes, a tear falling down her creamy cheek. Beth opened her eyes again, a tear falling out of her other eye. Maybe Mori was imagining it, but her emerald eyes seemed a lighter shade of green than usual. All of a sudden, a rock hit Verona in the back of the head.
"Who did that!" Verona demanded turning to see if anyone was there. The only answer she received was the soft blowing of the night wind.
"Who did it?" Dracula asked Beth, twisting her arm slightly tighter and strengthening the pressure on her wrist.
His only answer was Beth ragged breathing. A third and fourth tear rolled down her face as more blood spilled from her lower lip. Beth closed her eyes. Maybe if she couldn't see the situation all the pain (mental and physical) would go away.
She was becoming delusional. The pain had finally worked it's way to her brain, causing long forgotten painful memories to resurface. Was it that, or was her life flashing before her closed eyes? Was this how it was meant to end?
Mori was losing Bethany, she could tell. Bethany was slowly slipping into a state a madness to drown out the pain that had originated in her arm and worked it's way up to her mind. Mori could sense it. It was one of her many gifts. She respected Bethany's privacy, but now it was more important than ever to make sure Bethany survived this. Privacy really wasn't an issue at the moment.
"Bethany?" Mori asked her softly. Beth breathed something in reply that even Mori couldn't hear. Her breathing was to irregular for the half-vampire to hear it.
"What?" Mori asked. Then, Mori couldn't believe what she heard.
"Daddy…"
Suddenly, there was a blinding white light from nowhere and then screams. Beth didn't remember much, only the pain and energy surging through every fiber of her being. Mori fell to the ground and when the light vanished, she was alone…almost. Bethany was standing a few feet away from her. She seemed unsteady on her feet and soon collapsed to the ground. Beth couldn't remember anything after that. She had fainted.
A/N: Alright, now I must say something. SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET UP! I've been really busy with my school's play (which is now over), Thanksgiving and my school's musical (which I'm in and it started one week after the play closed). I've been a bit stretched, if you know what I mean. I promise I'll try to update more. Sorry again! ;-)