POV: Jared – Vampire – Original Character (I Invented Him)

I stared in shock as Kathryn lunged for a fourth human. It had only been a short period of time, but she was darting around the room at an impossible, immortal speed, seizing and killing mortals one by one.

"Jared? Are you alright? You've been staring into space for a while now."

Heidi sounded concerned. Her voice dragged me back to the moment reminded me that I must not draw attention to Kathryn, or she and I would both be killed.

"I'm fine, Heidi," I lied, hoping that my countenance wouldn't give me away. "Completely fine, just… thirsty. You've done some impressive fishing."

"Thank you, Jared. I'll try to speed things up," Heidi agreed, turning to the crowd of oblivious humans and waving them along with her hand. "We're moving on," she explained. "There's much more to see."

I held my breath, desperately hoping that Heidi – who was now facing the other direction – wouldn't notice Kathryn. She abruptly dashed across my line of vision, but passed so quickly that Heidi thankfully didn't notice her.

I turned to Heidi and stammered, "Uh… I'll catch up with you in a moment."

"I thought that you were thirsty," she replied. Are you sure that you're alright?"

"Um… yes. I'm… uh… going to inform some of the other guards about your arrival with the tour group."

Heidi looked suspicious. "They don't already know?"

"Uh… well…" Now I was trapped. Frenetically, I searched for an explanation. "They might already know, but I just wanted to make sure… to go above and beyond what is expected of me. I'm… uh… sure that you lost faith in me since the last feeding, and I'm trying to prove myself."

"Your mistake was… disappointing," Heidi admitted. "Did you manage find the newborn yet?"

I immediately regretted dragging Kathryn into the conversation. "I haven't located it yet," I answered, "but I will. Soon."

"Hopefully," Heidi sighed. She waved her hand at the throng more urgently. "Everyone, please move along."

This time, the crowd was more obedient, and they hurriedly followed Heidi in the direction of the throne room, rounding the corner and disappearing from view. Abruptly, Kathryn realized that they were leaving, and she shot across the hall and towards another human. However, I was too fast. Leaping into the air, I seized Kathryn's arms, and she crashed to the marble floor.

"Get off me," she hissed. Her eyes were practically glowing, and they were blank, emotionless… as if she were being hypnotized. And her mouth was locked into an angry, violent grimace as the glowered at me with hatred. "Let me go!"

"Stop, Kathryn," I demanded, trying to stay clam, struggling to control her flailing limbs. "You'll get us both killed. Stop!"

"Let… me… feed," she growled, sounding like an insane animal. "Get off me!" she shrieked, struggling harder, and I frantically tried to restrain her.

"This isn't what you wanted," I whispered, hoping that Heidi wouldn't overhear Kathryn's tortured squeals. "This is murder… this is wrong. Stop. Fight the instinct."

"Let me go!" Kathryn wailed. Her hands locked into fists, and – with all of her newborn strength – she hurled me across the room with a guttural snarl. I crashed to the floor, landing on my face, and pain from the impact momentarily kept me locked in place. Determined, Kathryn tore past me and towards Heidi and the tour group.

Stumbling to my feet, I hurried after her, terrified of the possibility of her being discovered. She was about to pounce on yet another mortal, but I lunged and seized her by the arm. Immediately, before she could break free, I dashed back to my chamber, tossed her to the ground, and slammed the door. Hopefully, now that the humans were at a distance, I would be able to calm Kathryn and return her to her senses.

"Calm down," I consoled. "Stop. It's alright. Just stop."