AUTHORS NOTE: Sorry for the sort of late update but I got really into this amazing vampire book called "Evermore" :) Check it out if you will because so far, it's really, really good! Anyways, I'm pleased at all of you who are still following the story and I thank all those who have reviewed and favorited Midnight Tryst. NOTE THIS IS YET ANOTHER CHAPTER WITH A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW. It's GRACE this time though, so I hope you enjoy getting into her head and learning more about herself and Lester as well at their other coven member. So without further babbling from myself, here is chapter seven. Enjoy and review!
Peace,
-RIP.
PLAYLIST:
One Last Breath
by
- Creed -
Chapter Seven – One Last Breath
Grace POV
(NOTE: YET ANOTHER NEW POINT OF VIEW. HOPE YOU ENJOY)
We had made it to the campsite just in time—well almost. Vicente and his coven had already attacked and were drinking the poor children's blood. I had to quickly use my shield powers to create a small blue force field bubble around each of the children, Lester and myself for protection.
Regrettably we had been too late for one of the children. Lester said her name was Brie. One vampire in Vicente's coven had drained her dry and there was nothing we could do to save her. Because she had been bitten by a vampire, her body was still filled with the venom so Lester had to rip her body to shreds and then burn it. Even though her body was completely drained, and she was dead, it would be extremely dangerous if he didn't get rid of her corpse for many reasons, but I won't get into that at the moment. I had to watch in sorrow as he did this horrible task, sobbing out tears of blood in the process. I felt so bad for all the children who had lost their friend, but there had been nothing we could do for the poor girl.
"If only we had been able to detect them sooner!" I cried out in frustration to Lester as we raced back to the house with the remaining five children in our inhumanly strong arms.
"We had no idea they were here Grace, they came earlier than normal this year. We couldn't sense Vicente's coven either and for that I have no idea why. We should have known when we smelled the faint vampire scent when we were hunting last week. These other children who survived will have to finish the change. At least Brie doesn't have to go through that torture of vampirism. She can be in heaven where she will be happy." Lester said from behind me.
I turned as I ran and looked behind me. I could tell he was mentally kicking himself about not noticing it earlier. I was too. If we had just arrived a few minutes sooner we could have stopped them from this horrible torture they were currently enduring and maybe stopped the girl from dying. For the others who had survived, they weren't anymore lucky. They were being changed into the living dead—a vampire. From experience, I know that being changed into a vampire is one of the most painful things anyone can ever experience. The venom from the vampire has to make it throughout your whole body, stopping your blood flow slowly and then it makes it attack on your organs stopping them all before it finally makes its way to your heart. Once your heart finally stops then the transformation is complete. All the while the venom makes it way through your body your skin hardens and perfects itself while your bones before stronger than steel and your senses heighten to great lengths and your body becomes inhumanly gorgeous and seductively alluring.
I shuttered as I remembered going through my awful change. It was my most horrible experience and after I had been innocently attack by a vampire and changed into one myself I had promised that I would never again kill an innocent human or change a human myself. Lucky for me soon after my change I ran into Lester who showed me that there was another way to survive other than drinking humans. After that I had forced myself to stay away from human blood and drink only animal's blood which was why my eyes were a violet color. And so far I had kept my promise. I had never once tasted human blood and I never planned on ever tasting it. That is why I was mentally cursing myself for not saving these humans in time. Just like myself, they were attacked and changed against their will. If they blamed Lester or myself for what they were going through I would understand. It is mostly our fault; we should have paid better attention.
"Grace Aricia Harper!" Lester said suddenly.
"What?" I called out quietly. He knew that I had been thinking, he has known me long enough that even though he isn't a mind reader he can still know what I'm thinking—especially when I have on a certain face.
"It is not our fault so don't blame yourself. There was nothing we could do. She will be in heaven now and can be happy while not doomed to being immortal and being a vampire for the rest of her existence like her friends will be. Please stop blaming yourself. It was better for her. As for the other children they will not blame us, if anything we saved them from their death. And besides, if it is anyone's fault it is mine. I should have gone with them instead of going further north for hunting. I knew they were going camping but I didn't think that Vicente knew that." He said in a softer voice.
I sighed, "That's not true—" I started but then cut off as my voice trailed to a whisper.
I shook my head lightly and then he left me alone to my thoughts. He knew I wasn't ready to talk about it just yet. We were quiet the rest of the run and the whole time I was having an inward battle with myself on whether it was my fault these kids were changing against their will or not. Somewhere in my heart I knew it was not my fault but my mind didn't want to agree with my heart. My mind said that everything was my fault and these kids were suffering because of me.
I tried pushing the thoughts away and tried thinking about something else. Soon I was thinking about which kids would go into which bedrooms. Soon I was giddy with the chance of getting to decorate the children's new rooms. I think Lester notice my mood change because as soon as he saw the smile on my face he started shaking his head and laughing slightly. He knew what that face meant, redecorating the house!
Before I knew it we had reached our house. When our small three vampire coven had first moved to Shiloh five years ago, Lester, Jeremy and myself had went into the woods to hunt and after we had fed and were starting on our way back to town to look around for some type of shelter that we could later turn into a small house, we stumbled across a beautiful Victorian three story house in the woods. It looked like it was designed sometime during the 1830's or 40's.
By the smell of things the last human had been in it roughly around five to ten years before we had came across it. Everything in it was covered with white bed sheets and covered with dust. I couldn't understand why someone would just up and leave their beautiful house but as we explored I started to pay closer attentions to the smells in the house, they didn't smell human but yet they weren't a vampire's smell either. I knew exactly what had been here before us—I wasn't sure what shapeshifters would have been doing in our area but I wasn't sure I wanted to find out either.
Most of the furniture and supplies that weren't made of something durable, like steel, were falling apart or broken. It made me wonder what had went on in this house before we arrived. The house was three stories tall with a basement, much too big for our three vampire coven but I fell in love with the house instantly. Jeremy and Lester just didn't have it in them to tell me no.
The house was located on the side of one of the gorgeous mountains in Tennessee. It had a beautiful view of the forest and the mountains surrounding it. Luckily for us, some of the best hunting spots were located in the woods surrounding the house. There were plenty of deer, grizzlies, mountain lions, black bears, fox, lynxes, wild boars, wolves and plenty of other animals that we could feed off of.
The house had seven bedrooms with four bathrooms not that we needed the bathroom for anything other than taking a shower after hunting. There was a spacious living room on bottom floor that had a wide-screened TV and a fireplace. The downstairs had a dining room, Lester's privet study, a fully equipped kitchen with granite counter tops (even though we didn't have any use for it), and of course the living room. The second floor had four bedrooms, with only one occupied at the moment and that was Jeremy's, only one of the bedrooms had its own bathroom and that was the biggest one that was currently empty, there was a separate bathroom, as well as balcony that led off of one of the bedrooms. The third floor had three bedrooms, a media room and a small bathroom.
In the house, we really didn't need to have bathrooms. Since vampires couldn't digest human food our bodies didn't need to get rid of wastes like humans did, which made most bathrooms pointless. We were unable to sweat either and our hair and bodies were always in perfect condition, so the only time that we had to shower was if we got dirty while hunting.
The exterior of the house was just as beautiful. The outside of the house was painted a brown color on the first floor while the two upper levels were painted white. The porch was painted the same brown color as the first floor with some white painted designs on it. The roof was made of brown shingles.
It was obvious that whoever had built the house had planned on staying there for a long time but somehow had a change of plans or something. There was no way someone would build a house like that just to live in it a couple years and then move away.
I had fallen in love with it the moment I saw it. It was secluded in the middle of the woods so that is why no one even knew it existed. I had begged Lester and the third member of our coven, Jeremy Harper, until they finally told me when could keep the house. I was ecstatic about decorating it. After we had taken over the house we used the basement as a storage room for all the old furniture in the house. I had decorated the whole house in a traditional or Victorian style like the design of the house.
I had even taken the liberty of decorating the extra five bedrooms in the house although we didn't need them. Now, I am thankful that I did.
"We're home." Lester announced, bringing me from my thoughts, as we stepped onto the small driveway that led to the house.
I looked up to see Jeremy coming out of the house. Jeremy was only sixteen when we found him. He had been in a horrible car accident and had no chance of surviving it. He asked us to change him after he found out what we were and Lester agreed to change him, not having it in him to let the boy die. After Jeremy's change finished he became part of our vegetarian coven. When we moved to new towns he posed as Lester and mine's adopted son and normally went to school but this time when we moved to Shiloh he had not gone to school at all. He had something about wanting to take a break from school for a while and Lester agreed and said he could stay home instead of going to school.
Jeremy was tall, standing around five foot and ten inches with short blond hair and of course the strange violet eyes for our kind. He was lanky but still very strong.
As soon as he saw the children in our hands, he frowned. "What happened?" he asked as he looked at the three kids in my arms.
"Vicente attacked them." Lester said with a small hiss.
Jeremy looked livid, "He attacked five innocent children and then left them to turn into savages?!" he asked in outrage.
I nodded, "We got there in time to stop them before they killed all of them, but—" I cut off.
"But what?" Jeremy asked.
"One of them, her name was Brie, was already drained dry before we were able to stop them. We had to burry her. There was nothing we could do." Lester said sadly.
A low growl sounded from Jeremy's chest, "How could they do something so idiotic!" he exclaimed in anger.
"They are regular vampires, they don't know anything else and they are certainly not civilized like us, Jeremy. They wanted their blood." Lester told him calmly.
Jeremy rubbed him temple, "I know. At least the other five are okay. Do you need help Grace?" he asked me, I had three children in my arms and even though I had unbelievable strength I felt like holding the three of them was too much.
"Sure, can carry the blonde." I instructed since she would be the easiest for him to get to.
He walked over to me and I watched as his eyes grew wide as he looked at the blonde headed girl in my arms. He took her slowly from my arms and cradled her carefully. She almost relaxed to his touch. Almost. She was still in pain but in his arms we seemed to visibly relax. Jeremy watched her with a goofy smile on his face. "She's beautiful." Jeremy whispered. "What's her name Lester?"
Lester knew all of the children. He had befriended each and every one of them as well as their families in order to help protect them from Vicente and his coven of psychotic vampires.
"Her name is Sharayah Anderson but she prefers to be called Shay." Lester said.
"Shay…" Jeremy muttered as he brushed some of the hair from her face.
Lester and I exchanged a knowing glance, "I think someone is in love." I muttered jokingly but seriously at the same time. Jeremy had never looked at anyone that way.
Jeremy looked up at me with another silly grin, "I think I might be." He mumbled.
I giggled at his giddy state.
"What rooms should we put them in?" Jeremy asked without taking his eyes off of the girl cradled in his arms.
"I don't know. Why don't you let Grace choose?" Lester said with a knowing smirk in my direction.
I grinned. I already planned out which child would stay where in my head. From the seven bedrooms in the house Lester and I shared the master bedroom on the third floor. We were married so of course we shared a room. Jeremy had a room on the second floor but other than that, none of the other bedrooms were occupied although they were fully furnished.
"Jeremy you can take Shay up to the light mint-green bedroom on the second floor." I said with a smirk. The mint-green bedroom on the second floor was right next to his room and I knew it would make him happy that she had a room near his.
"Thank you Grace." He said with a small smile as he disappeared into the house.
"I'm going to take the black haired girl in my arms to the circular room on the second floor while the boy is going to have the brown room on the third floor. The light brown haired girl in your arms can have the green room on the third floor while the short dark haired girl can have the black room on the second floor." I told Lester.
He nodded, "Alright." And then we both took them inside.
After Lester, Jeremy and I had put them each in their respected rooms and made sure they were as comfortable as possible for the time being. We spent the remainder of the time going from room to room checking on the five children.
-x-x-x-
It was a two days later and I was on the second floor with the black haired girl's room—who I now knew was named Amber—when she started to wake up a bit. She wasn't unconscious anymore but I knew that the change wasn't over yet. Her heart was still beating and it had been two days since the change had started. Unfortunately for her she had one more day before her change would be completed and the last day was always the worst. She let out another scream and wriggled slightly in pain on the bed I had set her on two days ago.
The change was starting to take a physical effect on her now. I watched as her once tan skin hardened and became a deathly pale color. I also knew that beneath her closed eyelids, which were beginning to take on a pale lavender color, her once sparkling green eyes were slowly turning that vicious burgundy color of newborns.
"Poor thing…she never even had a choice." I said softly while smoothing the girls black hair back from her face.
"Most of us never do." Lester said from where he was standing behind me.
I turned to find my husband looking at me with sad eyes; he too had been changed against his will. He knew how I felt about humans being changed into vampires.
"How are the others?" I asked him, changing the subject.
"They are right on schedule, only one more day and then they should be woken up." He told me.
I sighed, "Two days of pure torture plus another one to go. They have been through so much and they don't even have a clue what is happening to them. Thank god we got there when we did." I said.
"Yes, if you hadn't set up that force field they would have all been dead." Lester said.
I heard the girl moan and then she slipped back into unconsciousness. I wonder if she had heard our conversation. I turned back to my husband.
"We would have lost a lot more than just one if we hadn't got there in time." I said. "Where is Jeremy?" I asked.
Lester nodded, "In with the Shay again." He said with a smile.
Of course, I should have known. He hasn't left her side since we had put her in her room while Lester and I took turns helping the other four children whom I now knew as Amber, Roxie, Matt and Olivia.
"We should check on the others." He said.
I agreed and got up from where I had been sitting on the edge of the bed. I pushed Amber's slightly sweaty hair from her face, "I'm sorry." I murmured to her.
I got up from the bed and went to the hallway where Lester stood watching me. He pulled me into a reassuring hug and kissed me on the forehead, "Everything will turn out okay." He said. "I promise."
I pulled away from his embrace and then we spilt up, Lester taking the third floor again while I went to check on Roxie, whose room was also on the second floor, dry sobbing as I went.
-x-x-x-
Hours later I found myself once again with Amber and I quickly noted that she was almost finished with her change. Her heartbeat was weakening to where it was hardly even beating at all. I knew that the change was almost finished for this girl.
Amber was twisting and turning around in the bed, most likely trying to get away from the awful pain of everything but the twisting and turning was just going to make the pain worse for her but she had no idea about that. And she was in too much pain to even think about being reasonable. This was the worst part of the change. It would be over soon though and she would be waking.
Only Shay, the blonde headed girl that Jeremy was so infatuated with, had woken up so far and Amber would be the second to awake. Then we would have to patiently wait while the other three finished their change. When Shay had woken up she had no idea what had happened the last day or so of her 'life', everything was very much disoriented for her. She could remember going to the campsite but after that everything else was a blur. She was now with Lester, and of course Jeremy who refused to leave her side. She had already taken a liking to him and I could tell that Jeremy was falling in love with her just by the way he was looking at her. Shay had dry sobbed on Jeremy when Lester told her about what happened to Brie. It was saddening because I would have to go through four more reactions like that when we told the others about what happened to Brie.
I was brought from my thoughts from another bloodcurdling scream of pain from the girl in front of me. I listened as her heartbeat got fainter and fainter until it stopped all together. The change was complete. She was now a newborn vampire. Her screams ceased and she fell into an uneasy silence.
After I waited for about ten crucial minutes, the newborn vampire moaned softly and slowly she opened her eyes and I saw the beautiful but terrifying ruby red eyes of a newborn vampire. When vampires are first born their eyes are red because of the blood they have in their bodies from being human. After a year or so, if they do not drink human blood and drink animal blood instead, their eyes will become diluted and turn purple instead of red. And then of course after their first year was up they could let their eyes change back to their natural color when they were not in their predator mode, but not many vampires actually used that feature that we all had. Lester was one of the only vampires I knew who used it on a regular basis. When he was around the children before their change he used to always disguise his eyes, making it look like he had his human grey eyes back.
Hopefully these children would choose our way of life instead that of the vampires that killed them.
I watched as Amber slowly looked around the room in confusion and take in the room around her. I hoped that she liked the way that I had decorated her room, if not we could always change it. Her eyes moved around the room and then looked town at her blood splattered clothes that she had worn before she had been changed. I could tell by the look on her face that they were uncomfortable. She had a new body now and all her clothes she had had previously would not fit as they did before. She looked up from her clothes and her eyes finally settled on me. Her eyes widened with recognition and she offered me a small smile.
"Hello." She said shyly in a harmonious voice.
"Hello darling." I told her in a pleasant voice while giving her a soft smile.
"What am I doing here? How did I get here? Oh my god! What happened to my friends!?" she screamed in fear.
I laughed at her expression; it was one of fear for her friends. I smiled and then went on to tell her about our life.
That's all for now folks, please review :) Don't be Shy now! What do you think of THESE type of vampires now? You'll be learning more about them in other chapters. It sucks having to take Brie out, I hate character death, but her death will play a MAJOR role in this story though. But who knows, maybe you will see more of her in the future...-GASP- Also their was a SMALL, TINY hint of something else that will play an even BIGGER role in this story in this chapter, did anyone catch it? Review and tell me what YOU think.
