Bloodlines of Shadows

The Hidden

"You know how fragile humans are. What if she dies?" Max asks, his baritone voice jarring me out of my blackout.

"She's not human," the lady replies, her voice and words sending shockwaves down my spine.

How can she be so sure? I question myself.

"We should perform the ritual. She's keeping me in suspense," I hear from the lady, still refusing to open my eyes.

"You know she must be awake for us to do it if we want to do it," Max replies, and I can already sense anger emitting from his voice.

"Then let's wake her up. Since when did you become fragile like them?" she asks.

"Fragile? How dare you? Have you forgotten your place?" Max's voice thunders in my ears. "I remain your prince and your master. You will respect me and do as I command," he continues, and I can feel the whole house shiver at the sound of his voice.

"Amelia was right. I should have been more careful. Max showed me signs, but I ignored them, not knowing what I was signing up for. Now this is what I get," I think, tears streaming down my face.

"She's awake," I hear Max whisper.

"Then let's get this over with," the lady replies with contempt.

"They can't do this to me. I can't let them do this to me. What about my family and friends? I should have followed Mom," I say to myself, regretting my actions.

The smell of blood gets stronger like someone is approaching me. The smell was different from what I smelled before when the lady approached me. If it's not her blood smell, then it must be Max's.

"He is coming. He is coming to perform whatever they call the ritual," races my mind.

"I can't die like a coward. I have to fight them off at least," I say to myself as Amelia's words race through my mind.

Swiftly standing up from where I lay, I point my hand at Max, widening my eyes. I can sense the shock in his eyes, but I can't let them treat me like a coward.

"You, son of a b***h. How dare you want to kill me? How dare you even think of it? I came here with you because you begged me to, and now you want to hurt me? So this is what you do to the other girls. No wonder the news is always talking about missing girls. I never knew that I would be one of them someday," I yell, tears dripping from my eyes.

Darting my eyes over to where the lady stares at me in shock, I point at her, causing her to hold her hand up to her chest.

"You too, you are a lady. No, I am wrong. You're all monsters because if you were a lady, you would know about feminism, which is simply supporting your fellow woman, but I guess monsters wouldn't know about that, would they??" I say with sarcasm, encouraging myself that I won't go down without a fight.

"Watch your tone, baby girl, before things get a bit rough. I must commend you, I thought you were timid, but you proved me wrong. That was quite an act," she replies, her tone dripping with mockery.

"It's okay, Kiara, let her be," Max says, still staring at me in shock.

"Can't you let me play a little game, please? She's cute," the lady says, pouting towards Max.

Max glares at her, and she turns serious immediately. He tries to say something, but she interrupts him.

"You know what, baby girl? We're not trying to hurt you. Instead, one of us will get hurt. We are just trying to do something that you humans do. I think you guys call it an experiment," she says, looking at me with a sly smile on her face.

The dimly lit room seems to close in on me. Shadows dance on the walls from the flickering candle flames, creating an eerie atmosphere that chills me to my core. The heavy scent of blood mingles with the musty air, making it hard to breathe. I feel trapped, cornered like prey.

As Kiara walks towards me, I point my hands firmly at her, a desperate attempt to keep her at bay. But she just walks past it, her presence overwhelming. Standing directly in front of me, she looms taller, her breath hot on my face. The smell of her blood is intoxicating, an inexplicable desire surging through me.

What's going on? I ask myself, unable to understand why her blood seems so alluring, so tempting. It's like nothing I've ever felt before, a primal hunger awakening inside me.

"Stay back," I command, my voice trembling but defiant.

Kiara laughs softly, a sinister sound that sends shivers down my spine. "Oh, baby girl, you have no idea what's happening to you, do you?" she whispers, her eyes glowing with an unnatural light.

The room grows colder, and I can hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears, my pulse quickening in anticipation. The walls seem to close in further, and I realize there's no escape, this might be where I belong.

"You see, this ritual isn't about us harming you. It's about knowing what you are and awakening it, if you are really what we think you are and if you are not, we apologize. And as a token of our apology, you can have Max, he's not taken." Kiara continues, her voice a blend of menace and allure.

"Knowing?, Awakening?" I echo, my mind racing.

Max steps closer, his gaze intense. "You're not human, and neither are we. But until now, you haven't realized your true nature," he explains.

"Then what are you? Who are you people?" I ask immediately.

"I want to help you out before it gets bad," he says, completely ignoring me.

Panic floods my veins as the reality of their words sinks in. "No, you're lying! I don't even know what you people are, I know I called you monsters but how can someone as fine as you be a monster" I scream, backing away, but there's nowhere to go.

"You'll see soon enough, don't be fooled by the face baby girl. We are what you know we are" Kiara says, her smile widening. "Let's begin, this would be fun."