Reincarnation

Sire

Lana

It had been a while since I’ve had to deal with vampires. The scent of fresh blood in the air flared a slow burn in my throat. I had to force myself to swallow it back.

Her blood smelled rich and tantalized me, halting me in my tracks for a short moment.

“And what’s going on here, gentleman?” I announced calmly. Their heads whipped towards me. The one that held the small woman bared his teeth at me in a bloody grin. His eyes were black with thirst and I could tell he was eager to finish his meal. I glared at the tall dark one as he held a tight grasp on Libby’s hair. She looked immensely relieved to see me.

“This is why I didn’t want you to wander far… Elijah would literally kill me if I let anything happen to you.”

I eyed the girl with the dusty rose-pink hair. I could hear her pulse, it was quickening as a burst of adrenaline was racing through her veins. Her body was trying to defend itself and force itself to fight, but the lack of blood caused her to weakly flutter her long eyelashes.

“We can settle this maturely, right?” I offered idly, my gaze settling on the girl who had mesmerized into compliance on the alleyway ground. It would be tricky if handled improperly, but I had a feeling I could still overpower them if I was smart about it. Distract them. Lower their guard slightly.

“And what do I owe this pleasure?” The one who was feeding on the girl spoke up.

“Careful, Cade.” The brunette spoke up, releasing his hold on Libby.

He stared at me, silently calculating.

“You’re the hybrid, aren’t you, girl?”

I scoffed.

“I’m hardly a young girl anymore, now, am I?”

“So what if she’s the hybrid?” Cade spoke up. He looked down at the girl, who’s pulse was beginning to slow at a dangerous rate. There was too much blood loss, she would die soon. “Well s**t Damian, look, she’s already gone.”

The girl on the ground choked on a whimper, hearing him.

“Lana.” Libby urged me, her eyes wide in panic, staring at the dying girl.

“Alright, well as the situation has turned dire, I would suggest you back away.” I said, stepping forward. Damian stiffened.

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, but we have a job to do and you’re interfering.”

I cracked my neck. “You’ve made your choice.”

I partially shifted, feeling my nails elongate into claws, my fangs growing in my mouth. Neoma growled, bristling just beneath the surface, ready to burst from my skin.

The vampires hissed, jumping at me.

“STOP!” A deep commanding voice shouted behind me. His scent hit me. Eli…

“Lana, I told you not to interfere.”

“She’s dying.”

“We don’t have time for this.” Cade snarled, launching at me. His body slammed against mine, and I sank my claws into his shoulders, twisting them deep. Blood began to pool, congealing at a swift rate on contact with the air.

“HANDS OFF MY MATE!” Eli roared, grabbing him by his shoulders and shoving him against the brick wall behind him. “Retreat for now.”

Cade’s eyes darkened, his face contorting slightly in defiance. Eli grabbed him by his throat, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Yes… Master.” He spat at him. “Don’t forget your loyalties lie with The Master alone.”

Eli bared his fangs at him, a vein popping in his neck dangerously. “And don’t forget who sired you.” He dropped him.

“Retreat now until given further notice.”

He spared Libby a painful look, before his angry gaze settled on me.

“Eli…” Libby whispered, reaching up towards him.

“The girl is beyond saving, you already know this. Get out of here before you make a scene. This is my last warning. Next time you interfere, I have no choice but to kill you. Mate or not.” Eli told me, his voice gravelly. He turned his back and left us alone in the alleyway.

Libby ran over to the girl who was dangerously pale. Blood pooled underneath her and her body was convulsing slightly. Her eyes were blank, she had passed out.

“Libby…”

“Save her.”

“By the time we get her to a hospital…” I started, but she shook her head fervently.

“You have other ways, right?” She looked at me, her eyes desperate and red-rimmed. It took me a moment to realize what she was saying.

“What?”

“Please, I wouldn’t ask if… I’ll take full responsibility, please don’t let it happen like this… Please.”

The girl with the purple hair crawled towards the girl in Libby’s arms. Tears were pouring out of her eyes.

“Libby…”

“PLEASE! THERE’S NO TIME!” Libby shouted, causing me to flinch. Electricity began to cackle dangerously around her. I grit my teeth kneeling down. I sliced my palm, hesitating before holding it over her open mouth.

Lana… Neoma questioned me, but I silenced her. This was for Libby. I don’t know what’s happening, but this is what I needed to do. For Libby.

I watched sadly as my blood poured into her mouth and down her throat. I’ve only ever done this once before, and I still don’t know how that even went. I refused to think of his name.

“We need to be anywhere, but here,” I whispered.

“What did you do?” The other girl asked, her eyes wide in confusion. “What the hell is going on?”

“I’ll explain soon… But Lana’s right… We need to get away from here.”

“How are we going to do that without attracting attention?” I asked, frustrated. The girl was eerily still. Libby placed her palm on her eyes and closed them.

“She’s burning on the inside.” She whispered, unable to take her eyes off her.

“Then, it’s working fast.” I looked anxiously at the other girl. “She can’t be here.”

“What?” The girl spoke up. “What do you mean I can’t be here? She’s all I have.”

Libby sighed. “No, Brooke… She’s right… We need to get Ruth as far away from here as possible and away from you.”

“What did you guys do to her? Libby –” Brooke began to protest.

“Because she’s going to wake up, and the last thing we need is for you to die because a newborn vampire can’t control herself. You are human, and the smell of you will be too much for her.”

“What?” The girl looked like she was about to be overloaded with all this information. I felt a little sorry for her.

“We can’t take her to Crimson Moon, Elijah will have a b***h fit. So can we keep this a secret for now?” Libby asked.

“I can watch over her back home. That’s fine. You shouldn’t be around her either.”

“Silver Moon it is, then… Want to see what I’ve learned?” She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes. She closed them, holding her palm up.

A vortex appeared out of nowhere, cackling with blue energy. “Take her and hurry through, I can’t hold it for long.”

Brooke looked as if she would black out from shock.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.” I assured the girl and picked up the girl. She was lighter than expected.

Libby stood up with me, placing a palm on the girl’s forehead. “Be at peace, Ruth. We will come for you soon.”

I stepped with her through the portal, only to be greeted by Mrs. Leonida on the other side. We appeared to be in her living quarters. She helped me get the girl in bed.

“What do we have here?” She lit some incense and a white candle that stood on her nightstand.

“I had to… Sire her.” She froze.

“What on Earth?”

“I will make sure it’s okay. Don’t worry, I will take responsibility for her care.” I assured her, sitting on the side of the bed. She looked as if she wanted to question me, but kept it to herself. Examining Ruth, she tutted.

“The girl is in a lot of pain. Her yin energy is fighting against the yang energy that is threatening to overpower it. I can try to soothe her pain, and mend her chakras as she completes the transformation.”

“Whatever you could do to help, I’m sorry.” I looked down at Ruth’s deathly pale face. Chewing my bottom lip nervously. I got my phone out of my purse and dialed Libby.

Is she okay?

“Yes, your mom is helping her right now… You realize, I have no idea what’s going to happen when she wakes up again, right?”

She’s magic sensitive, Lana. I just found her. I can’t lose her. I’m taking care of Brooke right now, we’ve got a taxi, and I’m going to take her home before heading back to Crimson Moon.

“If it doesn’t work out, Libby…”

Let’s not be pessimistic, please… It’s going to work out. It has to.

Later, when I came back to check on them, Ruth was still unconscious. Mrs. Leonida was meditating silently next to her candlelight filled the room.

“I can see why my daughter wanted to save her… This girl has an incredible energy inside of her. She has a lot of strong potential for magic… Even now. Possibly even more so when she wakes up.” She looked down at her. “This is a difficult process, but I’m doing everything I can to keep her balanced. Her pain has lessened at least.”

“Can you tell when she will wake up at all?” I inquired.

“Soon.” Was all she said.

“Then, please finish up and get out of here as soon as you can, if you can.” I smiled gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for everything.”

She lowered her head, standing up. “Yes, I believe this is the most I can do for now.”

Before she left me alone, she paused at the doorway. “I’ll make you some food.”

“Thank you Mrs. Leonida, I appreciate you.” My smile faded when I turned back to face Ruth.

I sat in silence for a bit, resting my head on my arm. I curiously touched her bare arm. Her skin was cold to the touch, but not uncomfortable. Her scent was now completely changed at this point, as she took on that same familiar aroma. Hers was different, however, the sweetness was not repellant to me. In fact, the scent lured me in a strange way. I couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of protectiveness the longer I sat. I brushed my hand against her rosy locks and straightened them out.

“I don’t know if you can hear me…” I said, starting awkwardly. “But, please fight through this… It’s going to be hard at first, but stay strong. I heard Libby say your name is Ruth. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lana.” I felt silly talking to her corpse-like body, but in some way I hoped she could hear me. “I’ll be here waiting when you wake up… But, I hope you don’t mind if I sleep a little.”

I yawned and rested my head once again on my folded arms. Drifting off, Eli made a feature in my senseless dreams. Connecting with him after all this time threatened to rip open old wounds.

I felt a stirring next to me, and it pulled me back to reality. Ruth was tossing her head back and forth restlessly. Her eyes were still closed.

I sat up alert, firmly grasping her hand that gripped the sheets. She was covered in a cold sweat. Her body began to convulse.

“Come on, you can do this, fight through it.” I said, encouraging her the best I could. “There you go, that’s a good girl. Come on, you got this.”

At the worst possible time, the door swung open and Mrs. Leonida came in with a tray of piping hot food.

“Mrs. Leonida, get out of here.” I said, giving her a quick look. When I looked back at Ruth, her eyes shot open, the whites of them completely bloodshot, a stark contrast to the deep amber of her irises. Her eyes darted to Mrs. Leonida, then turned pitch black. Snarling, she jumped to her feet, her face twisted and wild.

“GET OUT OF HERE NOW!” I screamed, but Ruth pounced on her. The tray of food clattered to the ground, the contents exploding everywhere. “NO!”