My Personal Beast

Chapter 16

“What’s going on here?” I asked, my voice shaking just a little bit.

“He’s no human, I can tell you that,” Sophie hissed.

“Well…then…w-what are you?” I swallowed.

“A vampire?” Klaus said with an enormous grin.

“A va-vamp-pire?” I stuttered.

“What is that?” Elijah asked. He had been silent this entire time.

“A blood thirsty monster who feeds off of others energy. A demon in human form, eternally walking the earth in a damned state, forced to kill to stay alive,” I whispered.

“Well done, Aria. Quoted directly from your grandmothers grimware, I believe.” Klaus smiled at me. I shuddered at the sight of him.

“How do you know about the grimware’s?” I asked.

“My demon is a little more…resourceful than most,” He chuckled.

“How can you stand there having a casual conversation when he killed my entire pack?” Sophie shouted at me.

“You think having a conversation about demons is casual?” I asked blankly.

“You, I, you know what I mean,” She said looking at the ground.

“So…now what?” Elijah asked.

“I…I don’t know,” I muttered.

“You can try and kill me,” Klaus offered.

“Does she know how?” Mr. Grigori asked.

“Yeah, I do,” I muttered.

“Then please, Aria, I’m begging you to please kill me.” He said with a pleading look.

“What?” I asked in shock.

“Klaus turned me into this horrible beast against my own wishes. I killed this village on impulse. I don’t want that to happen to my family,” Mr. Grigori choked out.

“Klaus…was the first vampire?” I asked in shock.

“Yes I was. And I prefer to be called The Original, if you don’t mind,” Klaus said.

“So you, brother, were the one seeking this…demonic power?” Elijah clarified.

“Yes.” Klaus replied.

“Kill him, Aria.” Sophie ordered me.

“Please Aria,” Mr. Grigori pleaded again. He was in front of me within a second, on his knees begging at my feet.

“Elijah, I need you to get me bark from the ash wood tree,” I murmured.

“What?” Elijah asked in confusion.

“Bark from the ash wood tree planted in my garden is the only thing that can kill a vampire,” I explained.

“You’re really going to kill him?” Klaus asked seriously.

“He’s asked me to. I can’t ignore his plea. It’s my duty as a witch to maintain balance.” I said blankly.

“What about your duty to me? This man is a monster. He’s made my life miserable. I’ve finally found a suitable punishment for him and he’s gone and turned it against me. Taking our his fury on my father’s pack. And you’re going to grant him his freedom?” Klaus was in front of me. He had kicked his father aside and was currently glaring down at me.

“He poses a threat to the mortals here. And I cannot let that pass. And I have no duty to you.” I said looking Klaus straight in the eye. My words had struck him, that much was plain to see.

“You’re choosing him over me?” Klaus growled.

“I’m choosing my duty as protector, over you, Klaus.” I said pushing passed him. I walked over to Sophie.

“Come back with me to our castle. My mother can prepare a healing remedy for your wounds.” I told her.

“Alright.” She said, trying to stand up.

“Elijah, carry Sophie.” I ordered him. Elijah nodded, striding over to us in a zombie-like manner.

“Mr. Grigori, you need to come with us. The only thing that will kill you now is the ash wood bark from a tree my grandmother planted.” I told him. He nodded and silently followed us back to the boats.

“What about me? Are you going to kill me too?” Klaus demanded. I ignored him, walking straight to the boats. Once on the boats, an eerie silence crept over us.

“So why is it your grandmothers tree is the only thing that can kill us?” Mr. Grigori asked, probably trying to make conversation.

“My grandmother was the wife of Merlin, the wizard.” I muttered.

“I thought that was a fairy tale,” He said.

“Well, King Arthur is. Merlin isn’t. He was the most powerful wizard in his day. The first wizard of our time.” I said.

“He was?” Mr. Grigori asked.

“He died when my mother was born. At the age of eight hundred and sixty five.” I muttered.

“That’s a long time to live,” Mr. Grigori sighed.

“Witches, and warlocks now, live an extended period of time.” I explained.

“How, do you think, your grandfather had these powers?” Mr. Grigori asked.

“No one really knows how he had gotten his powers,” I murmured. My mind was still wrapped around the fact that Klaus was now a…vampire. I had never seen this side of him before. This couldn’t be Klaus. Klaus wasn’t a blood thirsty monster. Was he?

As we arrived at my castle, Mr. Grigori took off into our garden. My family knew I was coming, thanks to our physic abilities. No one said a word as we cut down a stake from the tree.

“Don’t you want to say goodbye to your family?” I asked Mr. Grigori blankly. He shook his head.

“I don’t want them seeing me as this monster,” He explained. I nodded, knowing exactly how he felt. Then, without so much as wincing, I drove the stake through his heart. Klaus’s father fell to the floor, his pale skin turning a blackish-grey color. Then I started a fire and burned his body. Watching the flames lick up to the sky, I tried to stop thinking. Thinking would only make the aching in my chest worse. I had come to the realization that Klaus was a monster. I just couldn’t see past his façade.

“Aria…” His voice rang out into the garden, cold and harsh. I bit back a wave of tears as I turned to face Klaus.

“I-” He broke off in a choked whisper. I swallowed the lump rising in my throat as I faced him.

“Are you going to kill him or not?” Sophie snapped.

“Leave us alone, Sophie?” Klaus snapped. She stared at us for a moment and stomped away.

“We need to talk,” Klaus whispered walking over to me.