6 d..、，.. #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT d..、，..6
Happen 55
#Phase 1
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: Vivian
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I was so exhausted that I dozed off almost immediately upon getting in the car despite my interest in where we were going. Rebekah said it would take us all night to get there, but as long as we were moving, I was happy. Raziel had packed a stack of dusty old books for us to ‘study on the road for more clues’, and before we left the house I even contacted my parents.
Apparently they hadn’t heard that I had left the pack, and I wanted it to stay that way, so I gritted my teeth and lied through the whole encounter. Lying went completely against my nature but it had to done. They didn’t deserve to worry.
I did, however, make sure to tell them just how much I loved them. For all I knew, Cain could be conducting the Ritual tonight. I didn’t want to leave
anything unsaid.
The dreams I had during most of my fitful sleeping did not leave me feeling as rested as I would’ve hoped, but after a while, I was able to achieve a
dreamless slumber. I could’ve sworn that the car stopped at one point for a good amount of time, too long to just have been just a gas stop. However, I was too exhausted to care, and I figured I could ask Raziel and Rebekah
later. They would wake me up if it was important.
When I grew tired of the disturbing dreams and blearily blinked my sleepy eyes open, sunlight filtered in through the windows of the luxury SUV and it looked to be early afternoon. Raziel and Rebekah were both wide awake;
again, I considered the possibility that Angels didn’t really need sleep.
“Where are we?” I mumbled almost incoherently. Rebekah glanced over her shoulder at me and gave a half-hearted smile.
“Almost to Chicago,” was her reply. I looked out of the window, curious, as I’d never been in this region before.
“Where does your friend live?”
“Right by Lake Michigan,” Rebekah said calmly, but I detected something in her tone that confused me. I returned to my staring, eyeing the big city fast approaching. There was definitely something she wasn’t telling me, but I
figured I’d have my answer soon. Something was bothering me, though. Every now and again I got a whiff of some musty scent. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck pricking and I glanced around the car, trying to place it.
“What is that smell?” I finally asked as we entered the bustling downtown
area, Raziel attempting to navigate the crowded roadways. “It almost smells like…” I didn’t even want to say it.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Raziel answered calmly when Rebekah didn’t reply.
The city was huge, and it took us a lot longer than expected to get to our destination, but I actually enjoyed taking in the massive skyscrapers
towering nearby. Rebekah had a map on her lap and was muttering
something, directing Raziel every now and again. After another fifteen
minutes, she pointed out a narrow street and the Angel strategically
maneuvered the vehicle to fit between the nearby buildings. We drove
down a few more narrow streets, and I tried not to let the scenery get to
me. The last time I’d been around warehouses was when the vampires had kidnapped me. It did not take me long to notice that we were in a pretty seedy area, the buildings growing increasingly decrepit as we continued. “Okay, we can get out here. It’s only a couple blocks now,” Rebekah said
quietly and we obliged.
Some of the buildings around us were abandoned, and I had the creepy feeling that someone was watching me as we weaved our way between
warehouses. “This doesn’t seem like a nice place to live,” I remarked, my voice a bit higher than usual.
“It’s not her choice.”
I cocked an eyebrow but let the reply slide. Beside me, Raziel had a
backpack slung around his shoulders. I watched him from the corner of my eye, and it only took me a few seconds to determine that the backpack was the source of the smell. I felt a wave of queasiness and I looked away. If I
was right about the backpack’s contents, this was a more dangerous trip than I’d anticipated.
After a few more turns down increasingly narrow alleys, we came to a small
shack, for lack of better word. It could’ve been a home or small business
once, I wasn’t sure, because it was so run-down. Boards covered the
windows and there was a massive pile of rubbish nearby. The whole thing stank of decay and I wrinkled my nose. For some reason, the fence around the property was completely intact, and there was a padlocked gate. The front door of the property was adorned with a lock as well.
I wondered if they were keeping people out or locking someone in. The thought sent a chill up my spine.
“Trust me, Skylar,” Rebekah said quietly. She didn’t look unnerved at all by our dilapidated, unusually quiet surroundings. The pavement had grass
growing through the tracks and I wondered the last time someone had even been here. The tall buildings nearby likely hid the shack from view.
With one fluid motion Rebekah jerked the padlock so the locking
mechanism broke, before opening the gate. It creaked ominously and I chastised myself for acting like a child.
“Normally I would pick the lock but we don’t have time,” she commented. I tried to picture Rebekah picking at a lock like some kind of common
criminal and failed miserably. Gabriel’s mother had a lot up her sleeve.
We approached the front door, the handle of which was also chained and locked. Rebekah made quick work of the barriers before turning to face us. “Trust me, she won’t hurt you.”
I nodded, trying not to let me apprehension show. Raziel indicated that we keep moving, and I noticed he was unusually quiet. I assumed he knew why
we were here and I was beginning to regret not asking more prying questions.
The blackness inside the building was thick and near-impenetrable.
Rebekah shut the door behind us and it took my werewolf vision a couple
seconds to adjust, as the only light came through tiny cracks in the boarded windows. We walked in a single-file line through the entry hallway and into a large room with heaps of smashed furniture. The air stank of dust and
grime, but I thought I detected a different smell underneath. I stopped,
tilting my head up and inhaling deeply. Instantly, I froze. “Blood!” I hissed, my lip curling up in an automatic snarl. The scent was very stale, but it was almost overpowering. It hovered in the air like some sort of plague, and I spun around to face Raziel. “The blood smell . . . the backpack . . . ”
I felt a reassuring hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Rebekah’s resigned face.
“I know, Skylar. It’ll all make sense in a second.”
If it were anyone else, I’d be worried that I would betaken into a back room and murdered, but these were extenuating circumstances. I was willing to
do anything for Gabriel, so I squared my shoulders and attempted to ignore the overpowering stench. Rebekah led us down another narrow hallway,
which had numerous holes in the walls. I didn’t even want to think about what kind of vermin lived in them. Ahead was a door that had dents and
chipped paint across the entire surface. I bit my lip, wondering if this place could possibly get any creepier. If Will and Maria could see me now,
skulking through a shack with not a shred of dignity left . . .
Rebekah paused in front of the door, reaching out to grasp the knob. “She’s still here,” she remarked quietly. I was prepared to scent the air again but
before I could, she thrust the door open and we stepped inside the dingy room.
There was a partially boarded-up skylight that allowed small beams of
sunshine to stream into the room, further accentuating the decaying state
of the building. My eyes flickered from wall to wall, and it was then that I noticed three things.
One, there was a small huddled figure in the corner.
Two, it was a woman, with matted dark hair falling down to her waist.
Three, she had chains around every limb that were bolted to the wall.
“Vivian,” Rebekah murmured. Despite the woman’s current position, her head snapped up unnaturally quickly, and I saw her face for the first time. Vivian’s face was thin and pale, her white lips parted slightly with surprise. What caught my attention, though, were her eyes: there were a deep
reddish brown, and I had no doubt that in pristine condition, her orbs would shine a brilliant red.
*
Hall Of Supernatural Stories
*
She was a vampire. My Wolf and I knew that immediately. A tortured, weak, and severely underfed vampire. Her clothes were mere rags, putting her
bony frame on display. I could tell that she would once have been beautiful, with lustrous hair, high cheekbones, and full lips. A seductress. I’d never
seen a female vampire before, but I could tell all of this from a quick glance. Whoever had left her here, though, was assuring she would suffer. The
woman was completely emaciated and there was a hunted look in her eyes. The stench of dried blood permeated the room, but it was obvious she
hadn’t fed recently.
“Rebekah?” The woman, Vivian, rasped, the words nearly catching in her throat. She tilted her head and took the three of us in, her eyes focusing surprisingly well given her present condition.
“Who are they?” Vivian jerked her head at Raziel and me.
“Friends. We’re in desperate need of your help.”
“This is your source?” I exclaimed before I could help myself. “But who . . . how . . . ?”
“I took me a long time to find her, but yes. Vivian told me a lot of information about the Ritual. I, in return, helped her.”
“How?” I exclaimed incredulously. It didn’t look like Vivian had received much help in a long time.
As if on cue, Raziel cleared his throat and set the backpack on the ground, unzipping it to reveal a brown bag. Instantly, the smell of blood
strengthened. I gasped despite myself. There were blood bags in the
backpack. That stop along the road, while I’d been asleep . . . we must’ve
visited a blood bank or hospital. I squirmed uncomfortably as Raziel pulled out three bags of donated blood, each one a different type.
I had no clue how to feel, and my Wolf was equally befuddled. We despised vampires, and would never have thought of giving blood to one, yet here
we were. The compassionate side of me pitied Vivian, but then I
remembered everything the vampires had done to us. I didn’t know what to make of the situation.
Raziel handed the bags to Rebekah, who in turn slowly approached the
shackled vampire. I wanted to rush forward, to stop her from approaching that despicable creature, but forced my feet to remain still. I had to trust Gabriel’s mother. Working with a vampire went against my nature, but if it would lead to Gabriel, it was indubitably worth it.
As soon as Rebekah extended her arms Vivian reached forward in a
lightning-fast move and snagged the bags, dropping two of them on the
ground and tearing into the first. I looked away, squeamish as the smell of fresher blood invaded my nose. Vivian let out a low, feral growl, and the
slurping noise of her dining was repulsive. I managed to sneak a look at her to see her mouth coated in blood, eyes bright with a vicious hunger. As the vampire sucked the bag dry, Rebekah turned to face me.
“I know this seems strange to you. Believe me, I know. But Vivian told me all the things about the Ritual I never would’ve known otherwise.”
“Does she know where and when it’s going to take place?”
“She does. I was coming to retrieve the information from her when the vampires found me.”
“How does she know all of that?” I queried, still looking fixatedly on
Rebekah. Vivian was devouring the second bag of blood, her chains glinting as she shifted position.
A grim smile settled on Rebekah’s features. “I think she should tell you that herself.”
“How did you find her, Rebekah?” Raziel interrupted, his strangely blue eyes watching the vampire as she fed. “I can deduce somethings, but you need to fill in the rest.”
Rebekah turned the rest of the way to face us, her back to Vivian. “I spent
years tracking all of the vampires I could. Eventually, one of them led me
here. As soon as I found Vivian, I saw an opportunity. For someone to go to these lengths to make her suffer, she had to be important.” Her eyes flicked to the blood-sucking creature then back to us. “I was right. Vivian said that if I would bring her blood, she would tell me everything she knew. I made
several trips. She told me a new piece of information for each bag of blood I brought. Her caretakers barely feed her, you see. They keep her hovering on the brink of starvation. Vampires cannot die from lack of food, but
eventually they fall into a comatose state. They feed her enough so she’s
close to falling into a coma without actually doing so. It’s very torturous for a vampire to suffer through that sort of hunger.”
Another feral snarl erupted from the corner and I assumed Vivian was beginning the third bag of blood. She must’ve been starving indeed, to drain the bags so quickly.
“I couldn’t bring her too much blood at once. Her captors check on her
every couple of nights and if she looked too healthy, they would’ve
suspected something. There are always vampires nearby so I’ve had to be cautious in the past. The locks on this place may keep humans out, but
vampires are suspicious creatures. Now, of course, I don’t care. We’re running out of time.”
“Why didn’t she tell you the Ritual’s location if she knows it?” I asked,
puzzled. We could’ve avoided a lot of worry if Rebekah would’ve asked the question sooner.
Rebekah shook her head. “I tried, but she wouldn’t tell me for a bag of blood. She had a higher price.”
“Why would she tell us now?” Raziel asked, speaking as quietly as possible. “I did what she asked. I’m hoping she wants Cain dead badly enough that she’ll tell us.”
My suspicions had been confirmed. “So it is
Cain who locked her down here, then.”
Rebekah nodded. “That’s why I had to be so careful. From time to time he’d check on her. The last time I visited, she told me to go retrieve something
for her, and in return she’d tell me the Ritual’s location. I followed her instructions and retrieved the object, a silver locket.”
I gasped in surprise. “The gem-studded locket?” I whispered.
“The very same.”
I shook my head in disbelief. The pieces were slowly coming together now, and it explained why she’d been in possession of a silver item.
“She wanted to keep it away from Cain. It’s very important to her. Either way, I was too careless. I called my father, telling him I had important
information. It was foolish of me to think everything would work out so
well, that I’d learn the Ritual’s location without any problems. It was too
good to be true. When I returned to see Vivian one last time, locket in
hand, I realized the vampires were expecting me, they’d realized I was
secretly visiting their prisoner. They had set up a trap. I ran, but they were hot on my trail. I knew they were going to catch up to me.”
Raziel was staring off into the distance, jaw clenched. He knew the rest of the story.
“I’m sure my father already told you, but I was working with a human
geneticist. We had a formula prepared as a last resort. I sent him to warn
my father, and as soon as the vampires caught up I . . . well, you know the
rest.” A sad expression flickered briefly across her countenance. “I’d thought
the vampires stole the locket back until now. I guess they hadn’t realized I had it.”
Raziel cleared his throat. “They didn’t have time to. When I showed up they were dragging the human away and coming back for you. They were going
to take your body, too. I couldn’t let them, so I . . . convinced them to go back to Cain, to tell him they’d burned your body.”
*
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
*
I felt my mouth open in surprise. Raziel hadn’t included that detail the first time he told the story. “I thought you didn’t have any abilities left? Besides, you know, the..er….charm.”
“I don’t anymore. They fade from year to year. This was ten years ago, when I could bend others’ minds to my will. Even vampires. I haven’t been able to use that ability again since that night, I guess I drained the last of it.”
Raziel’s eyes were sorrowful, and I thought I saw regret on Rebekah’s face. I supposed she felt guilty that her birth had caused the onset of Raziel’s loss of powers, but it wasn’t her fault.
A new voice cut into our conversation, much less raspy than before. “So . . . you did obtain the locket.” We all spun to face Vivian, who was sitting
amidst the empty blood bags. Her lips were now bloodred, her eyes shined with new vigor, and she sat up straight. It was incredible to see the
difference the blood had made. She looked like she’d been in here for only a few weeks instead of over a decade.
“Yes,” Rebekah answered honestly. Vivian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Describe it to me. I never told you what it looked like, just where it was.
Prove that you’ve actually seen it.” There was some sort of authority in her words that made me curious.
“Silver, heart-shaped, and studded with assorted gems. It opens, but there’s not picture inside.”
Vivian nodded. ⅡTrueI but how do l know you actually hid it for me?Ⅱ
Ⅱl didn,tI my father did. Unknowingly or notI he sent it awayI and it,s safe now.Ⅱ
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#Tobecontinued….
Phase 2 dropped already.
Refresh page to read.
*****
Very short though.
But should be more enjoyable than this one.
_ _-Agboola-_ _
6d..、，.. #MY_BLACK_KNIGHT d..、，..6
Happen 55
#Phase 2
As Produced By Sheriff Squinty
Theme: Vivian (2)
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The vampire still looked skeptical. She cocked her head, her reddish eyes studying Raziel for a moment before falling on me. ⅡNot sure l trust you werewolves.Ⅱ
ⅡDo you have a choice?Ⅱ Rebekah asked softlyI keeping her tone even. The vampires mouth twisted in awry grimace and she didn,t respond.
ⅡWho are you? Why would Cain lock you up?Ⅱ l asked her before l could think twice about it. My eyes scanned her shackles, the squalid conditions she was being kept in. She had to have done something terrible to Cain. There was no telling how long she,d been here.
Vivian’s head swiveled around so she could completely focus on me. “This is how he treats his ex-lovers,” she hissed bitterly. A scowl formed on her thin
face, and I realized she wasn’tjoking.
“Wait . . . he . . . ”
“More than a lover, actually. He was my partner, mate, husband, whatever you want to call it.”
The room had gone deathly silent. I was trying to comprehend exactly what her words entailed. The thought of Cain romantically attached to anyone
was near-impossible to imagine.
“It wasn’t my choice, of course. Three hundred years ago I met him, he
thought I was beautiful, and he desired to have me as his. As you know,
what Cain desires, he obtains one way or another. He killed my family and
Turned me. When he realized all I felt for him was bitterness, even after
decades of being by his side, he locked me up. Eventually, after almost two hundred years as his captive in his massive estate, I escaped. I took some of his valuables with me, too. I fled here, to America.” A sly smile tugged at her lips. It was fitting on her seductive, cat-like features.
“Cain was furious, naturally. Not because he loved me, but because I was his. It took him decades to find me, but find me he did. I’d replaced him with another vampire.”
I saw where this was going, but I remained focused on Vivian, enraptured by her story.
“You may not think vampires can love, and truly, the love we feel is
something very dark and twisted, but I loved the vampire I was with in the only way I’ll ever be able to . When Cain found us, he slaughtered my
companion, and in a jealous fit of rage, he doomed me to suffer for
eternity. I’ve been here for twenty years . . . or maybe thirty, or forty. I truly don’t remember anymore.”
*
Hall Of Supernatural Stories
*
I was speechless, and for the first time in my life, I actually felt the urge to
help this vampire. I actually felt something other than complete loathing for
a bloodsucker. It completely took me off-guard. I would never have
anticipated feeling empathy for one of these lifeless creatures. Perhaps it was because I knew she hated Cain as much as I did.
“So you see, I’m more than willing to make sure Cain dies. And after
spending centuries with him, I know everything there is to know. Before I escaped, when I was his prisoner, he confided in me. I know all of the
bastard’s deepest, darkest secrets, more than even Antonio knows. Cain never thought I’d have the means to turn against him.” I caught the
gleaming white of exposed fangs before she sheathed them again and
continued. “But I’m a vampire, after all, and I won’t tell his secrets for free.” Vivian sneered slightly, red eyes glinting in the dim light.
“I did what you asked. The locket is safe,” Rebekah replied calmly. Vivian studied her, and I got the impression that the vampire was very good at reading people. She’d have to be after living for so long.
“Why can’t you just have someone break you out of here?” I couldn’t resist asking. I thought I saw a hint of surprise in Vivian’s expression.
“Good luck. Cain took his time making these chains. He wanted to make sure that no creature, living or dead, could break me out of here without the one key.”
She jingled the cuffs around her wrists. Squinting, I saw a small slot in one of them.
“One of the materials he used is silver, so I wouldn’t advise trying. And he
crafted them to be far too strong for even a werewolf’s strength to
overcome, assuming you were immune to silver. Believe me, he thought of everything. Cain always thinks of everything.” Vivian looked away, matted hair briefly obscuring her paleface. “Even if I’d found away to break my
chains, vampires always patrol this place at night. I’m not match for Cain’s guards in this condition.”
“Anyway, I don’t plan on ever getting out of here. My life as a vampire has been nothing but suffering. Truthfully, I just want the suffering to end. I
would’ve had one of you werewolves do the honors, but . . .” She shifted
position again, revealing her glinting eyes once more. They burned with a
fiery determination. “Before I die, I want to make sure Cain is dead, too.”
I shouldn’t have felt the pang of sorrow that assaulted me when Vivian
spoke carelessly about her own death, but my compassionate nature kicked in. My Wolf might have been mostly unsympathetic, but I tried to imagine being locked up and starved in this building for forty years and it was
horrifying. For Vivian to still go on after everything was an indicator of her strength. I admired that, vampire or not.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think since I last saw you, Rebekah, and I realize
that you really are my only hope. Who else is going to help me plot against him?”
I felt a small rush of hope and saw the same feeling reflected in Rebekah’s brown eyes. Raziel was watching the huddled vampire appraisingly, and I could only hope she chose to help us. I got the impression that Vivian had once been very proud, but was now about ready to give in.
“Tell us . . . where is he going to conduct the Ritual? And when is it? Do we
have enough time?” Rebekah breathed. My heart rate picked up in anticipation.
“That depends. What’s today’s date?”
“Tuesday, September tenth,” Raziel replied automatically. I blinked, realizing my 20th birthday was only two days away. I hadn’t been keeping track of
time. Hopefully I wouldn’t be spending it without Gabriel.
“Well, that’s good,” Vivian replied softly, lost in thought. “Whether you still have time depends on if Cain knows you’re around or not. He can’t conduct it without your blood, right? And he thinks you’re dead!” Another smirk
flitted across her face. Vivian seemingly enjoyed the fact that Cain was in the dark on this one.
“He has my son,” Rebekah said shortly. This time, Vivian’s eyes noticeably
widened. Apparently Rebekah had neglected to mention that she had a son
before. She had truly protected Gabriel’s identity as much as she could. “Gabriel went after him.”
The vampire’s face hardened into an unreadable mask. “Well, then you
don’t have much time at all. You see, this Ritual means a lot to Cain. He’s
going to pick a symbolic night for it, I’m sure of it. This month will be ideal for it, too. Your son rushing after him will play perfectly into his hands. Cain being avampire and all . . . ”
“Just say it, Vivian, we are wasting time!” Rebekah demanded, hands clenched in tight fists.
Vivian looked up solemnly. “You’d better catch the next flight out. The
Ritual takes place in Israel, at Mount Tabor. And Cain’s going to have it on Friday the thirteenth.” I felt my heart rate increase tenfold as the implication hit me.
The Ritual would betaking place across the world, in some place I’d never heard of, and worse: we only had three days.
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TO BE CONTINUED…..
***********
Apologies for the late update though.
I wasn’t in the best of moods throughout today.
*******
I understand a lot are mad at the invincibility of Gabriel’s Pov. But cool down ehn?
Even Gab is nowhere to be found at the moment.
The patient dog eats the fat fattest bone…..
*******
To action lovers
Your time is coming…..
Infact it’s close…..
***********
_ _-Agboola-_ _