Blood on Fire

Chapter12

I don’t know why I feel so weak today. Maybe it’s the ropes. Perhaps it’s the truth crashing down on me all at once. Or maybe it’s the sharp edge of hopelessness digging into my chest. I keep thinking, I don’t want to die like this. Not after everything I’ve done. All the risks I’ve taken. All the nights spent hunting, bleeding, surviving, and still without finding the vampires who murdered my parents and brother. Was all my sacrifice… for nothing?

Now, here I was, sitting in front of vampires. Listening. Not because I trusted them, but because I needed information. Every word they said could help me. I needed to stay calm, gather strength, and plan what to do next. Veronica sat across from me, legs crossed, holding her wine glass like she had all the time in the world. Her voice was calm, almost cold.

“We were once human, too,” she began. “Our father had an old friend. One day, that so-called friend came to our home.”

She paused, took a sip of her wine, and stared into the glass like it held memories.

“Our little sister opened the door for him. She was always kind… always trusting.” Veronica let out a bitter laugh. But it was fake empty. Her eyes were lifeless, hiding something deep.

“What happened next?” I asked, my voice quiet, curious.

Stephen answered instead, his voice tight. “She let him in. He said he was a friend of our father. But it was a lie. My father noticed something was off, but it was too late. That man—no, that thing—attacked.” He looked down, hands clenched.

“He drained our little sister’s blood like she was nothing but food.” I could hear the pain in his voice, raw and buried.

Veronica stood and walked to the cabinet again, refilling her wine like this was just another evening. She sat on the edge of the table, her movements graceful but guarded. I couldn't read her. There was something mysterious about her… something hidden. Our eyes met briefly. I looked away quickly and turned to Stephen.

“We didn’t turn right away,” he continued. “When we woke up, everything had changed. I thought it was a nightmare. But then I saw my father, crying… holding a wooden stake. There were ashes on the floor.” Stephen’s voice trembled slightly.

“He had killed that vampire. But the price was heavy. I heard Veronica screaming from outside. I ran to the door, opened it, and saw her burning in the sunlight.” I gasped slightly, imagining the horror.

“I grabbed a blanket and ran to her. But before I could move, my father stopped me. He gripped my wrist and whispered, ‘Stay, son.’ Then he rushed out to her.” Stephen paused, blinking back at the memory.

“He was strong. He wrapped the blanket around Veronica, pushed her back inside… and stayed out there. Burning.”

My chest tightened.

“I tried to go to him, but the sunlight burned my hand. I screamed. And he just smiled at me through the flames. He whispered, ‘Sorry.’ And then…” Stephen swallowed hard.

“Veronica cried and tried to run out after him, but I held her back. We both watched him turn to ash.” Silence fell over the room.

Veronica was still sitting on the table, eyes distant. But I could see it now, beneath her coldness, the pain was still there.

I didn’t know what to say. For years, I believed vampires were nothing but monsters. Killers. Soulless. But this… this was a story of loss. Of pain. Of family.

And yet, that didn’t erase the blood on their hands. I still didn’t know if I could trust them. But now, I understood just a little more about who they really were. And maybe, just maybe, understanding was the first step toward the truth.

“How?” I asked, staring at Stephen. “You said sunlight burns you, but you go to class with me in broad daylight. You never catch fire.”

Veronica let out a low laugh. “Too many vampire movies, human.” She tugged a pendant from under her jacket, a half moon with symbols. Stephen lifted a plain iron cross from beneath his shirt.

“Someone gave these to us,” she said. “A boy found us one night while we were searching for food. He looked so young, but he wasn’t afraid. He said if we wanted revenge, we’d need protection, and he handed us two rings that let us walk in the sun without burning.” She paused to sip her wine, a small smirk tugging at her lips.

“He even gave us two live chickens, and he said he figured we were starving. Then, with a crooked smile, he warned me not to drink his blood because it ‘tastes bad anyway.’ And just like that, he disappeared.”

Veronica lifted the pendant around her neck, letting it catch the light.

“After a few years, we had the rings reforged into necklaces. Easier to hide. Easier to forget what they really are.”

“But you still drink human blood,” I snapped.

Veronica set her glass down with a sharp tap. “Stop acting like we slaughter towns, human.”

Stephen spoke before she could. “Selene, I don’t kill people, but I hunt animals. And then they buy blood from the hospital."

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Saint Stephen.”

"I saw Iris drinking a man's blood in the alley," I snapped, my voice sharp with anger and disbelief.

Veronica’s smile vanished. “That man beat women and r***d a little girl. Iris left him alive, just weak and terrified. Tell me, human, does a monster like that deserve mercy?”

Her words hung in the air, heavy and cold.

“So you kill people with crimes on their record?” I asked.

“Only the ones the courts can’t stop,” she answered, steady as stone. “We balance the scales.”