Spiral Down

Marked by Doubt

The rest of the week went well for Chrysius. He stayed focus in class. He had his tryout with Elijah the same week and they were recruited to the basketball team. Turned out Elijah was too good at shooting, he could shoot from anywhere in the court while Chrysius was an all-around player, he could do everything: shoot, dribble, dunk and so on.

He had a problem though, he almost wore his nerves out watching out for the person who shot the needle into his neck.

He was on his toes for the whole week but Violet came around a couple of times to dissolve his paranoia. "The person won't be around anymore. Even if he, she or they are, they won't want to attack you again," she said, trying to calm him down.

"How do you know that?” Chris asked, frowning.

"You survived the first attack, which sunk pretty deep into your neck. They'd be shocked and scared that you're unto them,” She replied. "Only weak vampire hunters or werewolves use that method against vampires."

"Vampire hunters? Who are those?” He asked with confusion etched on his face.

"Just come and meet me on Saturday," She stood up. "We'll talk better."

Meanwhile, across town, Giovanni paced the room, seething with frustration.

"Why didn't you report to me first before you attacked him?” Giovanni growled at his son.

"He reeked of a vampire's blood. I had to kill him," Laurent replied.

"What reason did you have to kill him?! Have you forgotten there's a peace treaty between both the Werewolves and the vampires?!” Giovanni yelled.

Giovanni was a beta werewolf in the Sangue Selvaggio clan. One of the nine clans of the werewolves that were in the peace treaty with the vampires. He only left the squabbles because he fell in love with a human lady and had a son with her. The son's name was Laurent.

Another reason was because of the political squabbles. He was the first born and as such was supposed to rule as an Alpha by birthright. That was if everything went well, but did it? No. He in fact almost lost his life. That was when he ran away from Venice in Italy.

He was around three hundred and seven years old but he only looked like he was in his forties. He kept his beard thick and well-groomed and loved his coffee hot and steaming. He had a bit of an accent.

"Yes, but Uncle Matteo always told me that vampires are our enemies and the only family we had were the werewolves’ clan." Laurent replied.

"Would you keep quiet?!” Giovanni yelled. He sighed and continued, "I've always told you that the only people you defend yourself from are those that attack you. You don't have to go around causing problems for yourself. Having too many enemies will only get you killed.

After a few moments of silence, he asked "well, did you kill the boy?"

"No, he's not dead," Laurent replied. "I don't understand why, I shot him in the neck and it penetrated deep--"

"Keep your mouth shut" Giovanni snarled in anger and the atmosphere changed to one colored with fear. He was a force to reckon with even in his old age.

"You will do nothing to the boy. It is either you apologize to the boy or just maintain your distance and keep your mouth shut," He snarled as he said those words, he had already partially transformed and there were tufts of fur on his forehead.

"Yes, sir," Laurent stammered, trembling under his father’s gaze.

"Do I make myself clear?" Giovanni snarled.

"Yes sir!” Laurent shouted, nearly in tears.

"Good. Now get inside," Giovanni ordered.

Laurent packed up his things and slinked off.

"You know you shouldn't be so hard on our son, honey," Laura said softly.

"So you were listening after all," Giovanni asked, arching a brow.

She advanced into the room, sat on the sofa where Giovanni was and laid on his lap with her face up, giving her a view of his chin.

"You really should take it easy on him, he's only a young boy. How wise were you when you were his age," she said, worry written all over her face.

He held her hands and sighed. "I know, but I don't want him to become a murderer. Once he goes down that path, there'll be no redemption for him. He'll drown in the bloodlust of the Moonborn and I already regretted it once. Who knows what he'll do at the end of his journey."

"I understand, I'll talk to him too," Laura said as she tugged gently at his beard.

He leaned down, brought her face up to his chest and then kissed her forehead. "You do that. Grazie, amore mio," he murmured

Saturday morning was peaceful as always. The scent of the morning sweetness permeated the air. Birds chirped and sang in the distance. It was a very bright morning.

Chris woke up early in the morning, went for a jog. He also did the laundry, trimmed the garden with his father and also washed his father's minivan.

Once it was half past one in the afternoon. He started jogging towards Grisly Park which was around thirty minutes away from his place.

When he got to the park, he found Violet waiting on one of the benches at the park. She was wearing a red blouse on a tight jeans, her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail and she wore a sunshade.

"Hey Violet," He hailed her.

"You came late. I said 2 PM, you're coming by 2:05," Violet said with a smirk.

"Cut me some slack, I ran as fast as I could,” Chris retorted, panting.

"Well, I don't think the person we're going to meet understands that". She stood and gestured for them to move. "Let's go."

They went deeper into the park and before a couple of minutes, they were descending a landslide on the other side of the park and entering the woods. About a minute later, she stopped abruptly.

"Why are we stopping?” Chris asked, glancing around.

"We're here, Uncle. I brought him," Violet called out.

They waited for the echo to stop and before she could yell again, a man appeared before them in a flash. They were both startled.

"Hi Niece," the man said with a grin.

"I've told you not to do that ". She said as her Uncle helped her get back up.

He chuckled, "I've always told you to stay on guard, haven't I?"

"Is there anyone that can keep up with your speed? It's a nightmare for anyone who's your enemy." She dusted herself off and pointed to Chris. “Uncle this is Chris, the boy I told you about ".

She then pointed to her Uncle "and this is Uncle Ethan. He's one of the twelve Blood Moon Chronicles. The leaders of the twelve clans of vampires that exist in this world."

Ethan was a middle aged man. He was dark in complexion, with origins unknown. Perhaps, only the older generations knew. He looked very clean and even though he was around four hundred years to five hundred years old, he only looked forty.

"Why are you guys late? You know how much I love to keep to time." Ethan said

"Sorry, it's my fault. I apologize for that". Violet replied, she then turned to look at Chris who has stepped forward.

"Nice to meet you, Sir ". Chris said and extended his hands to shake him.

"So this is him huh?”. Ethan said as looked Chris's hands. “He does smell like both a vampire and a werewolf. But the scent is too weak. How are you sure he's not just living with the two of them". He said and looked at Violet.

"I told you how a silver needle affected him and how he almost completely drained me of my restoration power". Violet replied bitterly.

"Hmmm. Well, boy, my girl seems to believe that you're a vampire who has made contact with a werewolf and you've been marked. Would you like to prove her right?” Ethan raised an eyebrow as he stepped closer to Chris.

"How?" Chris asked, feeling uneasy.

"I’ll come at you now, get into your stance and try to block me," Ethan replied.

"Sorry, I think you guys are mistaken here-" Chris responded, looking very confused.

"You should guard yourself. You don't have the luxury of talking back now, you know?” Ethan said as assumed his stance, the look on his face changed and his pupils seemed to dilate and glow at the same time.

"Are you serious now, Uncle Ethan?! You'd kill him". Violet yelled.

"Do I look like I'm joking around to you?” He released a wave of killing intent and the whole forest was painted with the throes of death and agony in an instant. The forest seemed to warp under pressure.

Chris could feel his neck being strangled. He couldn't breathe, his chest was heavy. It felt like his lungs were filled with magma. Every cell in his body was telling him to run.

Ethan then said "Oh, what do we have here. You can at least you can withstand my aura release. I must say, I’m impressed but I’m guessing that’s not all you are capable of. Well then, don’t let me down, boy. Here I come ".

Violet stepped in to stop her uncle from reaching Chris but before she could get in between, Ethan barreled into Chris.

Chris was sent sprawling and the force of impact sent him flying nearly 30 yards, crashing into a number of trees before finally coming to a halt. He passed out the moment his body touched the ground.

"Oops, looks like I overdid it. Well, I guess I should count on my sweet niece to help with fixing him up," Ethan muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"You this dumb old man, I won't forgive you if anything bad happens to him," Violet cried as she stormed off into the distance.

"Now, now. Little Vee, don’t be harsh to your Uncle," He said, still smiling and scratching the back of his head.

His playful demeanor changed as he turned his head to look at a tree top almost nine hundred meters away.

"Looks like we're being spied on," he said quietly, and then vanished into the shadows of the forest.