The Scarlet Angel

New Discoveries

Staring out across the river I felt like I was being watched. I turn around and see it's Gideon he begins walking towards me his hands half raised palms out his body is tense every muscle visibly coiled. His face had a mixture of shock and something resembling fear.

“What's wrong did, someone attack you?” I asked looking around for any kind of danger. Gwydion was just staring at me not moving not speaking as if he were frozen, worried I take a step towards him heart racing with fear of the unknown. Gwydion jumps back as if being close to me physically burned him I take another step and get the same response.

“What is going on Gwydion, why are you acting this way?” I ask worried yet also angry for some reason. “WELL SPEAK!” I shout.

“Freya calm down, it's not you it's what you're doing with your hand,” he says pointing. I looked down and gasped, my hands were the color of lava and there was powerful energy radiating from them.

“What the hell is happening?” Rushing over to the riverbank, I submerge my hands up to my elbows in the icy water and watch as it begins to bubble and boil.

“Freya I need you to calm down and breathe deeply for me can you do that please.” Turning away from the water I see Gwydion is still standing in the same position as before his face though is not only held fear in it but now, he looked frantic.

“Yes, OK calm got it,” taking deep breath through my nose and excelling through my mouth I tried to slow my heart. I begin to focus on the sounds around me the river constant but not always calm. The wind blowing through the trees, I could feel the energy begins to waver then it completely dissipated, and my hands were back to normal.

“Feeling better,” Gwydion asks cautiously walking to my side.

“Yeah much better actually. I'm sorry about that, I just felt you were watching me and kind of flipped out for a second. As for my hands let's leave that for another day. I say looking up at him, begging him with my eyes not to push further on the subject. “OK one problem at a time,” he says giving me a crooked smile.

‘So, what did you find, anywhere dry it looks like it is going to rain again?”

“Actually yes, there's a cabin not too far from here. I didn't see anyone but it doesn't look abandoned so it might have whatever we would need.” He starts walking towards the tree line then turns back to look at me, “come on we need food and I don't think you want to keep looking at me in a n***d form,” as he speaks he holds a hand out towards me.

“I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you.” I say instinctually reaching my hand out to take his hesitating only for a second my thoughts flashing back to the way my hands pulsed with that energy then I pushed it out of my head grabbed hold of his warm hand that made me feel so safe inside that all my worries melt away.

Walking through the forest hand in hand I couldn't help watching Gwydion out of the corner of my eye of feeling of peace had washed throughout my body like nothing could hurt me as long as I was with him

“We're almost there,” he says quickening his pace from a lazy walk to something resembling a horse’s canter. We burst through a cluster of tall bushes an almost trampled two small children a little boy and a little girl they stared up at us with wide eyes and otherworldly pale faces Gwydion I share a surprised look then look back at the children.

“Hello little ones, are you lost?” They do not say a word just shake their heads then the boy steps forward and takes my hand pulling me in the direction that we were originally heading. His hand is as cold as the river for some reason, so cold it since a shiver down my spine and goosebumps across my skin. I squeeze Gwydion hand pulling him with us as we walk up a hill.

“Is this the way to your home?” I asked nervously, the boy looks back and nods. We reach the top of the hill where the view was spectacular, I could see for miles. The air was crisp and clean like in the mountains but better. At the bottom of the hill there was a cabin. Could it be the one that Gwydion said he saw? The boy point to the cabin then at himself as if it is his home.

I look at Gwydion and he nods. When I move to grab the boys’ hand again, he's gone. Spinning around looking frantically he is nowhere to be found and neither is his sister who just a second ago was holding Gwydion hand. Out of nowhere a woman scream cuts through the air, my gaze darts toward the cabin to see the children were at the bottom, watching as a woman whom I could only assume was their mother rushed towards something next to a pile of firewood.

Gwydion and I raced down to the children only to find them gone again. It was as if they were never even there, the woman continued to scream bloodcurdling screams. Not that she would notice me, but I sneak behind a tree to get a better look at what she was so upset about. There on the ground covered in his own blood a terrified look upon his face later man most likely her husband.

“Oh God Edmund,” the woman keeps screaming over and over. From the looks of Edmund, it appeared that a vampire was out and about hunting. The woman began to pray, while crying her heart out. I was about to turn away not wanting to intrude on her quiet moment of religious practice on behalf of her husband when he sat up and looked at her the woman quickly jumped back her face showing how shocked she was then her shock turned into fear as the realization hit. Edmund was now a vampire, with the speed of a viper Edmond grabbed his wife and sunk his teeth into her throat. She screamed and fought but to no avail after a few seconds her struggle got weaker and weaker still her screens became nothing more than gurgling squeaks until the light and panic faded from her eyes. While I was watching this bone chilling slaying of that woman all I wanted to do was help her in some way though it would not have been a long fight since vampires are exceedingly supreme compared to shape shifters.

I start to back up hoping that this newly turned vamp will be too obsessed with his first kill to notice me. For a moment, my retreat was just that unnoticed until the wind changed direction. The Vamps head snapped up once my scent came to him; he tosses the woman's dead corpse aside so hard her head practically shattered when it hit the tree trunk nearby. Our eyes connected for a split second and my heart dropped, his eyes were like 2 black holes. There was not one scrap of humanity left, just an endless hunger then he charged at me in full speed. I was frozen in place by the blackness of his eyes, he was just a few feet away from me when out of nowhere Gwydion blindsided him in the form of a bull to the ground. They both fell hard; the vamp was first to get up on both feet Gwydion didn't have time to move before the vampire was on top of him and then raised his clawed hand to deliver the deathblow.

In that moment all my fear drained away and it was replaced with the need to protect Gwydion. That power began rising again filling me to the point of overflowing. Before I could examine this power more, enough to influence this fight, Edmonds hand comes down like lightning's ripping Gwydion throat opens spraying blood everywhere. Edmond looked up from Gwydion gurgling form and made direct eye contact with me grinning and turning back to feed on my blood bound.

“STOP!” I scream as power explodes from my body and shoot straight for the vampire like a furious red wave it crashed over him. As soon as the power touched him the vamp began screaming and smacking at and around himself as if he were being attacked by thousands of bees. He began tearing at his face and throat making deep b****y gashes when suddenly Edmond froze, and I notice blood had started to pour from his ears nose and eyes. He turned back towards me and stared at me with those black holes of his Anne I could see he was terrified as Edmond stared at me crying tears of blood, his expression suddenly goes blank and then he digs his claws deep into his chest. Screaming he rips his heart out and holds it towards me before dropping to his knees and turning into ash.

I rush over to Gwydion and pressed my hands to his b****y throat, “Please, please I have to save him. I need him more than air.” I whispered to myself searching deep inside for that mystical energy for anything that would help but I could not feel anything. The light was beginning to fade from his eyes he desperately stared deep into mine. “No, you will not leave me! We are bound for life if you die then I die too you hear me!” I forced myself to dig deeper inside. I can feel my body begin to shake as this power that I have not even begun to understand radiates from my hands and into Gwydion. First my hands start to glow then the glow spreads up my arms further still until my whole body is glowing. I began to see black spots. I am growing weaker; I take everything I have and push it into Gwydion and then blackness consumes me.