The Moon's Daughter

Chapter 16 Elira

Charles bares his fangs at me, lunging towards me at an undetectable speed. If I were a human, I'd be dead by now, but fortunately I'm a Goddess. He swiped his sharp claws at me and hissed, eyes red and bloodshot as he kept on coming.

Aodin blasted a ball of air, thinking it might hit Charles but really, it threw the both of us back.

"I'm sorry", he linked me and I groaned. I pushed myself up and off the floor, groaning at how sore I already was. Charles laughed, as if the situation itself was hilarious.

"You know. I really liked you but I was surprised you didn't catch on to me", he said out of breath.

"I should've known", I grunted as I stood. "You never did your job and everyone always complied with your ridiculous demands. It should've been obvious to me when you told Nancy to shove a d**k in her mouth and ten minutes later she was caught sucking off a patient". I clapped the dirt off my hands and scrubs. "And she didn't get in trouble for it".

"Magic of compulsion", he bowed to me. "We could've been friends and all this s**t could've been avoided". His eyes glowed red and loud hissing could be heard from the hallway. The door to the ER busted open and Nancy and all the other nurses came rushing in on demand.

Their eyes bloodshot and blood dripped from their mouth. They smelt dead like the girl before which meant they were freshly turned and feasting on the patients down the hall.

"You turned them?" My brow twitched with disbelief. Charles smirked at me, shrugging his shoulders as he walked towards the front of his hoard.

"What can I say? I need my minions", he winked and they all came at me at once. Aodin ran past me, taking Adam down with him. He blasted fire down onto Adam and he shrieked as he was burnt to a crisp. I looked away, not able to watch someone I know died in that fashion.

The other vampires stopped moving as they hissed, afraid to come any closer. Aodin spread his arms and pushed them back into the hallway.

Just when I thought I was in the clear, Nancy came hurtling towards me. I pushed my powers into my palms and blasted her back against Kasey.

"Suck on this b***h!" Anna yelled at me. Her eyes were red but she didn't look dead like the others, telling me that she had survived the transition and is now bound to serve Charles as long as she lives. She screamed at me, running with a bloody speculum in her hands.

Oh hell no. I let my power loose, shaking the building. Her hand dropped the speculum and went to cover her ears immediately, screaming in pain.

I pushed into her mind, past her memories and scrambled it. I made her live horrors that no one should ever go through. I made her feel as if there was a pan searing inside her head.

A soft laugh escaped me as I watched her roll around on the floor with blood dripping out of her nose and eyes. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and I pushed more of that horrifying thought into her mind. Her brain swelled and I could hear Aodin fighting in the back. Something inside of me begged to join the fight.

Feeling a little eager, I focused on boiling out her brains. She bucked and screamed, desperate and in pain as her eyes popped out of its socket and blood foamed at her mouth. I turned to see Charles looking at me horrified but then smiled as if he's been waiting for a challenge this entire time.

"b***h, you didn't just kill Anna!" He made a sad face before smiling at me with all teeth.

"b***h, I did". Charles was always jovial and had a little too much energy for me to hang around. He was a good person before all of this and now I don't even know what to think. My life felt like a lie. When I think I know something, a new problem arises and troubles me.

I walked over towards him and my surroundings suddenly changed. I've heard of the gifts that vampires hold but I never know what they were. Seeing how I'm outside barefoot with a white baby doll dress-- hallucinations would be Charles's gift -- which doesn't surprise me.

"Did you like my little present in the shower?" His voice echoed at the scene. Trees emerged started to emerge from the ground, changing he flat grass field.

"A little stalker-ish don't you think? Following me to my house just to play a little mind trick on me". I walked around cautiously, always keeping an eye behind me in case Charles decided to pull something.

"I wanted to see what it was like in a wolf's den. Turns out it was more civilized than I'd imagine". His voice came from my right and I turned, ready to blast him, but there was nothing there but a lake. "Plus I was only doing what he told me".

"Who's he?" I had my suspicions but I wanted Charles to confirm it.

"The man who'll change the world", Charles materialized in front of me with his arms outstretched as he spun around in a circle.

"How?" I asked as my brows arched in question.

"By giving people like us the freedom we deserve". He stopped spinning to give me a deadpan stare. "Aren't you tired of living in hiding? Don't you just want to be able to shift when you want and use your gifts on anyone?"

"Shifting isn't something we like to do in front of others unless they're a pack member. My gifts? I don't even know what that entails but I can assure you, I don't want anyone to be at the other end of it".

Charles's face contorted, annoyed by my response. "Why do you want to ruin things for people like us!? It's time we take back the world and let the humans be at the bottom again. This was once ours". The view of the lake changed and I was in a meadow with a view of the mountains. The cold air hits my skin and I could smell the fresh air. "This was the world we live in".

A woman about the age of nineteen was seen strolling through the meadow in a dress from the 1800s. She had dark curls and tan skin. Her chocolate brown eyes looked at the world with wonder as her hand settled onto her swollen belly. She smiled when another figure materialize next to her, kissing her on the cheeks.

"The humans won't find us here", he told her. "We could build a home for our babe! Maybe a farm? Oh, we could have horses like you always talked about!"

She laughed out loud, throwing her head back in amusement as she caught hold of his arms. I squinted to see who it was when it finally occurred to me that this is Charles's memory. He had long hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, which to my surprise, made him look approachable. The hair he carried now was short and unkempt, like as if he didn't have time to brush it in the morning. His face held a genuine smile and for once he looked happy. Not like when he's working here, pretending to be happy.

"Charles, one step at a time! You're too ambitious!" She gently brushed his cheek with the back of her fingers. He slowly leans in with her meeting him half way for a kiss. I smiled at seeing Charles this way because I've always thought he was an arrogant, flamboyant asshole. Anyone can tell that these two truly love each other despite their difference in species.

"There!! Get them!" Someone yelled and an arrow came out whizzing from my belly. Men in peasant clothing came running up the hill towards them but stopped, stunned by something. I turn my head to look back at Charles and he was now standing in front of the pregnant woman, protectively.

"Run! I can only hold them for so long!" He gritted through his teeth. His face strained from pushing an image into the minds of six men.

"But Charles--".

"Go my love! I'll find you!" His lover fled, running down the hill and I watched as he let out a war cry before those six men fell to the ground. Charles laughed in victory but before he could completely celebrate, an arrow came from the left, piercing through his lover's neck. I gasped out loud, shocked at what had just happened.

She stopped, gurgled something inaudibly before collapsing onto her side.

"No!" Charles screamed and more men came rushing up with pitch forks and bows and arrows. He couldn't even run towards his dead pregnant lover because these ruthless men had shot him down with a spear before mercilessly firing arrows at him. For once I felt sorry for him.

Two men from up the hill laughed as they approached his lover. "Too bad she's dead! She'd been a good f**k", a fat-bellied man bellowed out.

"She's pregnant with the monster's child!" The man with a mustache yelled at him.

"A p***y is a p***y", the fat man laughed and shrugged.

"Sick f**k", the man with the mustache insulted as he took a knife from the back of his pocket, unsheathing it.

"What are you doing?" The fat one asked.

"Killing the child", he said as he knelt to the the ground, stabbing the pregnant belly with force. Charles cried and screamed as he watched helplessly. Tears streamed down his face as they held him down and he couldn't do anything to save her body from being mutilated.

The sound of flesh being cut echoed out with the wind as he sawed the belly open. Blood spurts out and I couldn't help but look away as bile rose from the back of my throat. A soft sob escaped me as I held my own belly as if I'm losing my own child.

"Watch it! Watch what they did to my child!" Charles's voice rang inside my head and the scene had shifted in front of me.

The man ripped open her belly, forcefully pulling out the babe as it cried. "Please!" Charles begged. "Don't kill my child, I'm begging you!"

"This ain't no child!" He replied as he held the baby by its neck. "It's the devil's child and you're its daddy. Now watch as I bring the child back to hell!" He proclaimed and everyone cheered.

The babe cried until its face turned blue and the man lifted his blade to its neck, slicing it nice and slow for Charles to watch. I dropped to my knees as my hands covered my silent screams. Tears streamed endlessly down my face before the scene vanished and Charles appeared in front of me.

"Now do you see why I want to be free?" He said sadly. I looked up at him with sympathy, and sorrow.

"It doesn't have to be this way", I sobbed looking up at him.

"Yes it does, Elira! These humans are heartless creatures. They killed my child and you're saying it's alright?" He said as he loomed over me. His nostril flared as he fumed, misinterpreting what I had said.

I shook my head not wanting to agree with his statement. He may be right about humans being heartless but he was wrong about me agreeing with the death of a child.

"I never said it was alright. I'm sorry you had to go through that but taking over the world by turning one human at a time isn't the way to do it!"

"Yes it is!" He argued and my belly swelled. I could feel life moving and kicking inside of me and I cried with sincere happiness. Never would I have thought that I would become a mother but seeing how I was given the chance to experience it, the process of it was beautiful. But it was short lived. The next thing he showed me was the man with the mustache coming at me with a knife.

I raised my palms to do something, anything, but nothing came to mind. He kept running towards me with that knife and I quickly took a step back but fell, landing on my back before he pushed the cold metal deep into me.

"No!" I screamed and the vision faded to black. I could hear him cut my belly open but I couldn't move or speak. The pain worsened as I he pried my belly open with his fingers, reaching into me to pull the babe out. I wanted to scream as the pain from it all was slowly killing me.

"This is what my wife felt", Charles said angrily. "Those men ruined my life and I won't flinch trying to ruin them", he told me and I heard a baby cry.

Colors came back in a blur and I saw a child with dark hair and green eyes looking at me. "Mommy?" He called and I reached my hand out at him when an arrow pierced his neck and blood spurts out of it. I panicked as my hand to pull the arrow out immediately only tpo realize I had made it worse. The blood was warm and endless as I tried to stop it, only I couldn't.

"Is this the type of world you want your child to live in, Elira?" He asked me and I bit my tongue. I wanted to say yes after hearing the babe cry and seeing the little boy that looked like me calling me mommy. "Because it doesn't have to be like this".

The sight of the dying boy vanished and a new one where dragons, shifters and witches were out on a meadow together and laughing with their children. The little boy that had just died came running towards me with his arms outstretched, crashing into me with a hug.

"Mommy! Daddy said he wants you next to him", he exclaimed. My head immediately perked at the word ‘daddy’. Just who is the father of this child?

“Mommy?” Another child called, this time a girl with hair down to her waist. Her features reminded me of my younger self and I stood there pondering at what was going on. My mind was scrambled and confused. Everything felt like a dream. Is this a dream?

“Mommy?” The child called again and I got down to her level and tuck a strand of hair away from her face.

“Yes my dear?” I asked as I brushed my fingers through her straight hair.

“Do you love us? All of us?” She asked me while looking at her brother, shy.

“Of course! I love you both so much!” I replied as I pulled them both into a hug.

“Even my Daddy?” She asked and I pulled away to let myself look at her, confused.

“And mine?” The boy joined.

I was more than confused at this point.

Where was I again?

“If you love us, then join us”. Something tugged onto the back of my head, reaching for me but I couldn’t break it out. I reached my hand out towards the kids, letting them each grab one and smiled when they did. Standing up, I let them guide me to where they wanted me to be when a loud ringing deafened my ears. I stopped in my tracks, unable to move forward. My nose felt congested and my head stuffed. The more I tried to focus, the worse the pain became.

“Mommy, we’re almost there”, the girl tugged at my hand. The pain had spread down to my jaw and down my neck, making even the simplest thing as talking hurt.

“Come back to me, Elira”, a voice whispered in my head. “Come back”. I squeezed my eyes shut from the overwhelming ringing in my ear. I let out a small groan before screaming as Charles’s face flashed into my mind.

Charles.

Mind-games.

Everything was slowly coming back to me. I pulled onto that itch at the back of my mind and the pain began to lessen, slowly pulling me out of the dark abyss. It felt like I was playing a game of tug-a-war with something inside of my head. The more I pulled, the harder they pulled back but I wasn’t going to let them take over.

“You’re. Not. Real!” I grit out between my teeth. The pressure on my head and nose finally disappeared and I was brought back onto the emergency floor with Charles standing in front of me. “No more games, Charles!” I pushed him back with my power and he fell back, sliding all the way back to the wall as I moved forward.

His back hit the wall with a thud and he let out a loud groan. “You’ve seen what humans are capable of. Come with me and let’s turn this into a world where our kids can run free without the fear of being slaughtered”, he sadly smiled at me.

“Not the way you want to, Charles. I’m sorry”. He gave me a soft smile as he closed his eyes, knowing what was about to come next.

“I’m ready to see her again", his eyes full of tears as he looked up into the ceiling. "Sorry it took me so long, love”. I turned away as I set him ablaze, killing him. All of his other creations began to burn with him and I let out a heavy sigh full of exhaustion and relief.

'When a pure-blood vampire dies, the ones he sired will perish with him'. Was the text I had read in one of the books that were now in Zahruk's office. I let out a small dry laugh, realizing that Charles must’ve been alive for at least a thousand years. It seemed that getting others to hallucinate wasn’t his only gift but he also had the ability to turn the ones he bit into a monster.

Screeches and hisses filled the room as they all took their final breath and Aodin finally appeared, covered in soot. “What happened?” He asked me.

“He’s dead”, I pointed at Charles, still not wanting to look at him.

“I thought he wasn’t a pure-blood. How–”.

“He had the ability to control their transitions and who they become”, I cut him off as I sighed. “Let’s get out of here, I’m tired”. Aodin walked over to me and I flashed us back into my bedroom. Bile rose from the back of my throat again and I ran to the toilet, heaving everything I had out until there was nothing left.

Footsteps sounded from behind me before a loud sigh could be heard. I dropped my head into the toilet as I felt the world begin to spin and get nauseated all over again. A warm hand rubbed my back and I dry heaved into the water filled bowl below me.

“You okay?” He asked me, still rubbing circles on my back.

“Mmmhmm”, I replied as I heaved again. “Mmm-mm”, I shook my head when my stomach turned once more.

“Want to talk about it?” He scooted closer to me with his warmth embracing me. I shook my head again, not having the energy to reply. He rested his chin on my shoulder as he pulled me to lay in his chest as we say there on the bathroom floor by the toilet. “I’m here if you want to talk about it”, he reminded me.

“I know. Just… Just hold me for now. Please?” I asked him and he nodded. Images of the way Charles's wife and babe were slaughtered flashed through my mind and I couldn’t help but let out a small cry.

What if he was right? What if this isn't the world I want my children to live in or any child at all. Can I stop Brayan and changed the world at the same time?

Aodin’s arm wrapped tightly around me and I welcomed it. The warmth that radiated from his body was calming that my body completely relaxed. My lids felt heavy as they slowly closed. I felt myself being lifted and Aodin’s lips on my temple before something warm wrapped around my body.

I wanted to say something or move but I couldn't. Instead I was being welcomed by the darkness as my consciousness drifted into the dark.