Part 20 (1/2)

”It's natural, whatever you want the power to do, it will do. If you want it to come out of your hands, it will come out of your hands. If you want it to come out of your entire body, it will come out of every pore in your body.”

I scoffed.

”Don't believe me? Try it.”

I opened my eyes. My hands were resting in my lap. I thought about the sun and its warmth. Then, I imagined it coming out of my hands. My palms became illumined with a hot light and I stared at it curiously.

”Shoot it.”

I extended my hand in front of me and tensed my muscles. Sure enough, the light shot out from my palm.

”Wow.” I examined my hands slowly. It was like I was in an entirely different body. My wondrous thoughts were interrupted as I was shoved over. Immediately I sprang to my feet and poised in an attack stance. Eli was doing the same thing beside me. Mithras's palms began glowing.

”You think you can just come in here and take from me?”

”What are you talking about?”

”Go find your own vampires!” he shouted.

”He's crazy, remember?” Eli muttered under his breath.

Mithras had a crazy gleam in his eye. He was willing to kill his own daughter if it meant he got to keep the vampire bites to himself.

”I don't want your stupid bites,” I snapped.

He screamed. I couldn't tell if it was anger or pain, but his whole body glowed.

”He's going to explode. We need to get out of here!” Eli yelled. We couldn't get past him; he was blocking our only exit back into the gardens.

”Get behind the wall,” I yelled at Eli.

We turned and sprinted away from Mithras. My hands grasped the top of the wall and somehow, despite my fatigue, I managed to heave myself over the wall as a ball of sun collided with it.

Please let him explode before he manages to climb the wall.

Eli wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. My head was on his chest and I could hear his heartbeat. We waited for a few more seconds and nothing happened.

Eli gestured to me silently that he was going to peer over the wall.

”It's okay,” he said, taking me by my hand. ”Your friend took care of him.”

I peered over the edge of the wall and Anna was standing over Mithras, checking his vital signs.

”He'll be okay,” she said.

”Oh, goody,” I replied sarcastically.

”We should get him back to his room. We don't want Lucian to find out about this. If Mithras dies, I'd hate to see what that means for you two ...”

”Why are you helping us?” Eli asked suspiciously.

”Because I need a favor.”

”No,” he replied dryly.

”Wait, hear her out.”

”If you ever get the chance to get out of this place, take me with you.”

”I don't think so.”

”Please, don't leave me here., I need to get out of here. Please?” she begged.

I shot Eli a sympathetic glance but his face stayed hard and tense.

”How do I know we can trust you?”

”Take my hand.” She extended her hand to me. ”I'll show you.”

I took a few steps toward her but Eli grasped my wrist. ”I trust her.” I pulled my arm free from Eli's gentle but firm grasp and placed my hand into Anna's.

As soon as our skin connected I was transported to another world. It was night time and I was walking home from the shops. In my left hand I had a bottle of milk and in my right was a warm loaf of bread. Someone else was in control of the scene. The road was empty and the earthy scent of fresh rain hit my nostrils. My heartbeat increased as I turned down an alleyway. The moonlight cast a murky glow upon everything, making the shadows darker and more menacing. It smelled strongly of stale urine and trash.

Where am I going?

”You're about to see how I came to live with Lucian,” Anna's voice echoed in my mind. Her memories seemed so real to me, the smells, the details, even the feeling of the hard ground under my shoes.

I sighed a breath of relief when the alleyway was well and truly behind me. I climbed a set of stairs and fumbled in my purse for a set of keys. My hands were shaking, I was still on edge. I hated walking alone at night time, especially now with all the strange disappearances and murders that have occurred. I could hear some of Anna's thoughts from that night.

The door creaked loudly as it swung itself open.

Strange. My parents wouldn't go to bed after sending me out for milk and bread.

”h.e.l.lo?” Anna's voice, my voice called.

I ran my hand along the rough wall until I found the light switch.

Click. It remained dark. Click. Click. Still nothing.

I forced one leg in front of the other slowly. The floorboards creaked under my feet, forcing my heartbeat to quicken. I approached the living room door; a faint light glowed through the cracks.

I stretched my hand out in front of me.

”I didn't want to turn the k.n.o.b; I didn't want to see whatever is waiting on the other side ... but I did,” Anna said.

The door opened and another creak sounded through the otherwise silent house. I tried to squeeze my eyes shut but I couldn't. I had to see what Anna saw.

A high pitched scream rang through the house as I saw two bodies ripped apart and strewn all over the room. I had no idea where the scream was coming from. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of myself - of Anna - in the mirror. She was the one screaming. I could feel my heart shatter and my chest squeeze. My knees. .h.i.t the floor and I wrapped my arms around myself, curling into a ball to try to ease the ache within my chest. A cool hand brushed over my hair and I recoiled, crawling rapidly over to my parents.

A loud chuckle filled the room.