Samuel disposed of the heart, dropping it to the floor with little consideration. Wiping his hand with his handkerchief, he focused on removing every spec of blood visible. He rolled his bloodied sleeves up to his elbows. His shirt had seen better days. "Let's go and wake the devil."

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the smoking corpse at my feet. The vampire had his heart brutally torn, leaving a ragged hole within his chest cavity.

"It gets easier," Samuel called, ramming his fist into another vampire's chest and yanking it out with one pull.

"What does?" I asked, jogging to keep up with Samuel's long strides.

"Killing. The more you kill, the less remorse you feel," he said, discarding the organ.

I scoffed, "Ironic, coming from a vampire."

Samuel's careless demeanour changed as he grabbed my shirt, pulling me behind him.

A female glided through the evaporating vapour as Ethan and Johnathan came into view. "Why are you protecting them, Samuel?"

She moved with grace in restricting leather trousers and a feathered crop top, showing off her tattooed abdomen. Inclining her head to peer behind Samuel, she grinned, showing off her pearly white fangs against her dark purple lipstick. "I see you still have a thing for blondes."

Does she know about Edwina?

Her comment had hit a nerve as his jugular vein bulged from clenching his jaw. "Shut up, Radella. Better yet, why don't you disappear and take the others with you before I kill them all myself."

"Since you killed Santiago and Kragen, it's only fair to kill one of yours." Radella pointed her long black nail towards Ethan and Johnathan, standing on the sidelines, poised with their weapons at the advancing vampires. "Fair is fair. What do you say, Samuel?"

Samuel said, "Go ahead. Kill Johno over there, the one with the pistol."

"No," I protested, trying to stand between Radella and Johnathan. Samuel wasn't fazed that he opted his friend for the slaughter. "You're not killing anybody."

Raising her voice, she narrowed her kohl-lined eyes, talking down to me. "Quiet, human." She turned her attention to Samuel, dismissing any living, breathing human. "How long is this going to go on for? Going rogue and killing us, all to protect humans. You need to choose a side, Samuel."

"I'd rather be on my own than be one of Nadine's lapdogs," Samuel said. "A vampire should be free, not chained up with rules and restrictions."

Something about what my dad had said about studying their hierarchy and vampiric system led me to think that there was more to it than power.

There was a gleam in Radella's feline eyes, radiating admiration. "She protects us and trains us to be better, stronger. She helps us become the vampires we're meant to be."

Bullshit.

We knew the real reason why Nadine was creating vampires and saving them from death. She had given them a purpose for her protection, using them for her own will against the thing that could destroy them all.

Samuel suppressed a snigger. "I can see how resilient Santiago and Kragen were before I ripped out their hearts."

She showed Samuel the same triangular symbol on her wrist, one of her many tattoos that grabbed my attention. "Join us. It's never too late. Nada will be pleasantly surprised after all these years."

"I'd rather eat my own eyeballs." Samuel locked eyes with Ethan, guiding us to the cemetery's wrought-iron gates. "Now, if you don't mind, we have more important matters to attend to."

Radella snarled, giving the two-fingered salute for the other vampires to take charge. A mixture of blurred movements crossed my vision as Samuel went head-to-head with Radella. Her coral-orange hair wasn't hard to miss within the murky sky.

Johnathan stepped in front, shielding me from one side. "I'm going to kill that bastard myself."

It didn't take a genius to know he was talking about Samuel throwing him under the bus, figuratively speaking.

One vampire swooped in, dodging Johnathan's bullets and tackled him to the ground. An arrow landed between the vampire's shoulder blades, limiting movement in its arms. Looking up, Ethan had gained a crowd. It only took one to overpower him with its strength and agility before overthrowing him completely.

Caught like a deer in headlights, I wavered, rubbing the white grains against my fingertips as a reminder. There was a fine line between killing because you have to and choosing to kill.

How far can I go before I lose myself along the way?

I tossed the powder at the oncoming vampire, unable to stay and watch the torment on its face. The echoing shrieks were enough.

Radella was a step ahead. Seizing her opportunity, she kicked Samuel where it hurt and headbutted him, catapulting him through the air. The vampires took turns toying with Ethan and removed his weapons, leaving him bare. Snatching him from the others, Radella burrowed her fangs into his neck.

A wave of anger thrummed through my veins at how helpless I was. Samuel roared as they forced him to watch while she licked the blood off her lips in satisfaction.

"You violated the rules, Samuel. You brought trespasses on our land and killed two of our kind. Self-defence doesn't cut it." Tugging on Ethan's golden waves, she exposed his bloodied neck. "You may have saved your grandson from his mistakes, but you will pay for yours."

She paused. "What would Fiona say if I turned her son into one of us?" Drawing her fingernail across her palm, she sliced her skin, making sure she had blood on her fingertip. "She wouldn't talk to you for another century, maybe two if we're lucky." Grasping his jaw within her hand, she thrust her bloodied finger into his mouth. "My venom is now roaming through his bloodstream, and if he dies with my blood in his system, things will get ugly pretty fast."

Samuel barred his fangs like a rottweiler. Rage had consumed him as black protruding veins slithered around his carmine irises. "You dare, and I'll rip your tongue out before—"

"What he's trying to say is that we need to work together, not against each other." I ignored Samuel's penetrating stare. "We think Akrsna is alive."

Radella had an unreadable expression. "You're bluffing."

I twisted the butterfly ring around my finger, centring myself. The motion in itself was calming and a good distraction from what laid in front of us. "Why do you think we're outside a cemetery?"

Her nostrils flared, showing off her septum piercing. "The boy stays with me until I see for myself." She signalled for the vampires to stand down, all but the two holding Samuel. Moving towards Johnathan, she extended her palm. "Hand over your weapons. Don't be cocky, for his sake."

Ethan's life was in the balance. A bargaining chip for good behaviour.

"Show us the way." She pushed Johnathan in front, nudging him forward. He glanced behind, only to have Radella shove him in the right direction. "Quit stalling."

He opened the gates, letting several of the vampires go first. The main path was steep and uneven as my feet stumbled from the rough terrain in the ill-lit night.

We reached the stretch of land covered in various graves and headstones. Some were sunken into the soil, misshapen and chipped with age.

"I can't see," Johnathan whispered, tripping over a mount.

A vampire called out, standing beside an archaic headstone, fenced with rusting iron that had collapsed over time. The tombstone tilted forwards with various cracks running through the middle. It was hard to read the inscription due to the lichen and growing moss.

"I think we found it," Radella said, handing out the shovels that we had packed in the car.

She switched on the torch, handing me a shovel. "Dig."

Johnathan started digging at one end, and I was at the other. The vampires had spread out, holding Samuel and Ethan captive as they watched from afar.

Beads of sweat trickled down my back from the repetitive movement of bending and lifting. Strands of hair fell from my ponytail, adding warmth to my cheeks and neck. Wiping the moisture from my forehead, I stopped for a breather.

I studied Johnathan as he huffed with each plough of the shovel, breathing rapidly. Sweat marks were evident under his armpits and neckline. His shovel thumped against something hollow sounding. Dropping his shovel, he got on his hands and knees, clawing at the soil. "Erika, help me."

Joining him, I scraped the dirt out of the way until we found the solid object. I tried to pry the lid open, but it wouldn't budge.

"You won't find him in there." The softly spoken voice captured our attention as she stepped through the mist. She had her hair pinned behind, hidden by her cloak. "I assume you're wondering how on earth I know that. I'm Alani. I'm the witch that created the spell, trapping Akrsna inside."

A/N

Word Count: 1,498

What are your thoughts about Radella?

Ethan could be in danger now that he has vampire venom in his system.

Will Erika be able to save him in time?

Have a fantastic day!

(㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ)