It all happened so quickly; my head was swimming under the weight of the screams and thrashing vampires all around me.
There was no warning, nothing coridual about it, they attacked us ruthlessly, two women and two men, hissing and kicking and screeching. One of the woman collided with Maria, taking her to the ground swiftly as Nettie and Lucy attacked the man and woman.
I had only a minute to process everything before one of the males were on top of me. An animal he was; red eyes, claws shooting at my face, fangs gleaming with venom in the light of the fire. I put my hands on his throat, literally terrified by his crazed expression.
What could provoke such hatred? Such animosity? These creatures didn't even know us and yet here they were going for blood, trying to tear us apart!
"Jasper fight"! Maria screamed at me, her hand wound deep in the girl's hair. "Fight him! Kill him before he kills you!" She kicked the woman back, watching her tumble across the grass.
I pushed the man away, his body soaring through the air and into the trunk of a tree. Six feet at least, that had to been how far I threw him, and without even trying. I jumped across the space between us, my hands closing around his neck, thudding his head on the ground. Something in me was awakening, I could feel it. Slowly it was flowing through my veins, finally reaching my brain and clouding any coherent thought.
Rage, unbridled rage filled me. I dug my nails deep into his eye sockets, watching the fragile orbs burst beneath my thumbs. He screamed loudly, his hands closing around the back of my head, pulling my face toward his neck.
I suddenly felt a piercing in my skin, his teeth tearing and ripping. The pain was unimaginable, just like when Maria had killed me. Fire erupted under my skin before I finally couldn't take anymore.
I placed both hands on the sides of his head, a growl tearing up my throat as I glared down at him. I pressed my hands into his temples, feeling the bones cracking beneath them. I screamed loudly, the air around me seeming to shatter as I did. I snapped his head between my hands, feeling the blood pool in my palms, and the thrashing stopped, the screaming as well. His skull lay in pieces in my hand, blood and hair matted together with the bone.
I dropped his lifeless corpse to the ground, turning to face the others.
I took up the woman attacking Maria, crushing her head just as easily as I did the man's. The other woman proved more of a challenge; biting my chest and wrist just before I smashed her face into the ground and launched her into the prye. The last man I killed quickly, his body folding in half as I threw him into the flames.
Maria, Lucy and Nettie were staring at me awestruck, their eyes wide and jaws slack.
I was panting like a beast, my shoulders quivering and my hands clenching. I looked sharply at Maria as she took a step toward me.
"Jasper. It's over. Calm down." She whispered as her eyes flickered over my face. "You've done well. I knew you would". She smiled darkly, taking several quick steps forward. Her arms wrapped tightly around my waist, her head sliding against my chest as she embraced me.
"Marvelous. Even as a new born, such promise". Lucy whispered, her eyes glimmering as she faced the man lying dead beneath the tree.
I turned my eyes there as well, gasping softly despite myself. Did I really do that? I suddenly felt extremely weak like I should collapse. But i did not as I knew I wouldn't. I leaned against Maria's shoulder, my hand weaving in her hair.
She looked up at me silently, her hand brushing across my neck.
"Let's go home". She muttered as Lucy and Nettie disposed of the male's body in the fire, making the flames leap high above my head. "Come on." She was tugging me to follow her as she turned away.
We started running, she and I, the light of the fire fading into the darkness behind us. I couldn't sense Lucy or Nettie anymore, they were miles behind us.
We jumped over the balcony, landing in our bedroom with a soft thud. Maria's hands were already pawing down my body; brushing across my hair and adjusting my clothes. She was acting like a mother, but that is just what she was. I was her proud son, a prodigy. She created me, made me a monster, and what I did made her proud.
But I couldn't bring myself to feel anything beyond shame. I was ashamed of myself, I was so crazed, I became just what he was. I didn't just kill him, I brutilized him, all of them.
"What's the matter"? Maria said strongly, her hand resting against my cheek.
I looked down at her silently, my fingers trailing through her hair.
"You did what you had to do." She muttered as her eyes locked with mine. "You killed your enemy, he would have done the same to you".
"Then why does it feel so wrong"? I said before I could stop myself.
"Come". She whispered looking over me briefly before gliding into the bathroom.
She lit the oil lamps gracefully, filling the room with a sensual glow. She ran the bath, filling the ivory tub with water as I stood in the doorway.
In a trance I was, not really seeing the room or her or myself.
Her hands were on her shoulders, drawing away her sleeves to reveal her pale skin. She glanced back at me over her shoulder, the shadows of the lamps dancing across her face. She dropped the dress to the ground, standing before me like a prestine dark angel, her skin bare and glimmering. A moment later she was in front of me, smirking up at me.
I watched her in silence as she quietly started to undress me.
She placed her hands on the buttons of my coat, gliding it off my shoulders. Her hands traced down my chest, pulling off my shirt and then my trousers. Her lips brushed across mine, her hands weaved into my hair and her fingers floated over my skin, awakening sensations that I would think should have died along with my human self.
I slid into the tub, Maria settling on my lap as her hands dropped onto my shoulders.
"Let me tell you this", She began as her nails grazed across my skin. "I know part of your human heart is still inside of you". She whispered touching her hand on my chest. "And I know that it will pain you to kill again," She looked into my eyes strongly, her gaze trying to convey some false understanding. She did not know my pain, how could she? How could Lucy or even Nettie know of it? "But this is our life. Violence is unavoidable as is death. We are the bringers of death not only to the humans but to our enemies. We have been blessed with speed and strength that humans can only dream of. And others will seek to destroy us because they fear us. But you must fight, you must persevere and live on. Feel no guilt and look at them as monsters, murders, whatever you must, but kill them before they kill you." Her hand touched against my neck and I felt a sudden jolt of pain.
I watched as she traced her fingers along the glimmering crescent shaped wound on my chest and the matching one on my arm. Truthfully they weren't the same, you could see the subtle differences in the shapes of the teeth in my skin. I ran my fingers over my arm, wincing slightly. It still burned, but gradually the pain was fading. I watched the wound dull into a pale scar just below my wrist.
"Who's to say that we deserve this right? To be angels of death? How could God allow such creatures to exist?"
Maria was watching me silently, her dark eyes glimmering beneath her lashes.
"Listen to me," She muttered drawing my gaze to her face. Her hair hung down her shoulders and chest, like black cloth it hung smooth and flawlessly. Her finger pressed into my lips. "This is God's will. Would you have preferred to die on a battle field? Bullet ridden and quivering as the enemies horses trample your body? Or will you accept this life that I have given you, the one God has given you?"
I looked up at her, my head leaning backward against the side of the tub. "As to whether I wanted to die in battle or live as a monster, it is too late to decide that now. You have already done that. You took the life I had and gave me this one. But if it is God's will then whom can deny it?"
She smirked darkly, her lips glimmering in the light. "Yes. Who are you to deny God"? She whispered leaning forward and kissing my lips lightly. "Look at it this way, you're doing God's will. You are exterminating the weaker humans, and the malicious vampires. You are good and just. And I will help you in losing your guilt and cure you of the ailments associated with your human heart." She kissed me again, her hands encircling around the back of my neck.
It suddenly became so intimate. Yet still it felt empty. There was that nagging feeling again. The one that told me that her words and her kisses were nothing but a means of keeping me bound to her. But either way I could not fight back. I accepted her justifications and bound myself to her.
Maybe she was right. Maybe in time I will not feel so strongly about killing, maybe I could find some strength. Somehow maybe I could make myself truly good, and worthily of a place on this earth.