Chapter 15

As I began to regain consciousness, I could hear voices around me. One was close while two were farther away. I recognized the closest as Violet, I recognized her by the feel of her body, and the smell of her perfume. It was strong and pungent, filling my senses with awareness of her. I could not make out what she was saying, but I could tell she was upset about something. No doubt it was due to the state I was in, thanks to my confrontation with Brant. I struggled to hear what they were saying, but the words were just jumbles in my head. I could tell there was an argument between Violet and the others she was talking to. I could feel the fear in her voice. The yelling seemed to die down, whatever they were discussing, they had come to some sort of agreement. It was then that I drifted off into unconsciousness, hearing my beloved’s voice.

My dreams were filled with terrifying images of death and blood lust. Sights of terror against the village, but I saw them through the eyes of the attackers. My eyes could see everything so clearly; the colors were so vivid and bright. There were no shadows, no dark areas, simply different colors and shades. The smells were intoxicating, each odor giving off its own aura. Each smell seemed to have its own shade, which I could see. I could hear every single person, together and separately, I could even make out his or her heartbeats. I was stalking through the town, looking for my next kill. The blood moon was shining in the sky and calling to me to feed my hunger. I could hear people running to their homes; smell the fear that was emanating from them. I relished in the fear I caused, and the thrill of the hunt. I found a couple that had not barred their windows and, jumping through, I landed on a table in front of a family of four. The girls I would leave alive, claiming them when they were ripe. The parents would be my meal tonight; I would feast on them and satisfy my hunger.

I jumped from the table and stalked towards them, enjoying the sight of them cowering in terror. I pounced on the father first, using my powerful jaws to rip out his throat. The taste of his blood excited me, as I moved down and began to bite and slash his stomach open. I listened to the music of his screams as I began to feast on his entrails. He died slowly, screaming in pain, and quieting when I finally ate his heart. I could feel the terror from the women - it was intoxicating. I turned to them and saw the mother trying to shield her children. I quickly approached them, using my jaws to grab her arm, and violently tearing her from them. I applied all the pressure I could, and snapped the bone, before using my teeth to sever her arm. All she had left was a stump just below her right shoulder, blood was pouring onto the ground. I took my time tormenting my prey, severing her other arm and her legs, as her two daughters watched. Her screams died out as she lost consciousness, with my fun now over, I ate her heart. I gave the two girls a long glare, ensuring that they were filled with fear before I returned to my dwelling.

I awoke with a start, with sweat beading my forehead, as I sat up. Pain shot through my arm. Looking over, I could see bandages on my shoulder: they had slight traces of blood. They would need to be changed soon, but first I needed to get my bearings. That dream was too real; I could still hear the screams and taste the blood. It was too vivid, too horrifying, and the worst part was that, in the dream, I reveled in it. I became terrified at the idea that I could be capable of such barbarism.

I looked around to see where exactly I was, since I was sure that I was not in my own home. The first sign of this was the fact that I was in a bed, I had yet to purchase one for my home. The bed was barely long enough to fit me, with high posts, covered in intricate carvings. I could recognize this as Ruben’s handiwork; he had a talent for turning wood into art. A peculiar scent filled the air, one that I recognized, but my mind was still hazy. At that moment, the door to the room opened, revealing Violet holding a wooden tray of bandages. She let out a shriek of delight when she noticed that I was awake.

She dropped the tray, causing its contents to spill onto the floor, and ran to me. She gripped me in a strong hug, pain shot through my shoulder. I grimaced in pain, but I did not make a sound, it would only upset her. When she released me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a fierce kiss. I could feel the heat and need in her kiss, her tongue clashed with mine, switching from one mouth to the next. When we broke apart, we were both left gasping for air. As she moved back, her hand came up and slapped me across my face. It felt like she had shifted my jaw a little with that hit.

She considered my eyes, and said, “Davik, if you ever scare me like that again, you had better hope you do not survive! ëBecause if you do, I will kill you!”

I simply nodded and replied, “Yes ma’am.” She could not help but laugh at my reply. She hugged me again, before turning to pick up the tray contents from the floor.

As she was picking the items up, I asked, “How long have I been unconscious?”

Violet said nothing, only continued to collect the bandages and bowl of water. She did not look me in the eyes, but something told me this was for a reason other than the usual. She brought the supplies to the bed, and began to remove the bandage. Her actions and body language said she had something else to tell me, but that it was something she refused to tell me about. Perhaps with time, she would be willing to talk to me about whatever was on her mind.

I watched as she began to remove the bandage from my shoulder, waiting to see the horrific state that my shoulder looked like. What I saw shocked me, the extensive damage that Brant had done was mostly healed. I could see that there were still sections of scarred flesh where Brant and thrashed his head from side to side. There were areas that were still susceptible to bleeding, but would heal in a few more weeks. The astonishing thing was that there were no scars. Not on my arm and not the sections of my shoulder that had healed so far. As she changed my bandages, I continued to ask how long I had been unconscious, but Violet refused to answer my question. Once the new bandages had been applied, she kissed my forehead and left the room.

Something was seriously wrong; Violet had never before ignored a question I asked her. There was something she was hiding from me, and I would be damned if I was going to sit around and wait to find out what it was. I got out of the bed, realizing, now, that I was in Violet’s room. I was not surprised to have found myself naked, as they probably had to look to see if there were any other injuries. I looked around and after some searching, was able to find my pants. The rest of my clothes were nowhere to be found, so I put on my pants and left the room. I found it a little hard to walk, probably because I had not had much food since the attack. I slowly made my way down the stairs; I stumbled at the bottom of them, but was able to catch myself. The sound I made startled Ilane and Violet, causing them to shriek in surprise. Both turned to see where the sound came from, and when they saw that it was me, Violet looked angry, Ilane looked worried.

“What are you doing out of bed? You need to be resting,” she said, “go back up to bed, and I will bring you up some food.”

I shook my head and replied, “I would, Violet, but you did not answer my question. I want to know how long I have been here! NOW!”