Blood lust

Chapter 3

Months ago, Elijah is determined to kill the baby. It is better to kill a child rather than raise 'it'—this is what he said to himself, but with a crying newborn in his arms, it is obvious that he changed his mind.

How pathetic.

Does he really think that a vampire like him can raise a human child?

"This is foolish!" Elijah groans, his sudden realization that he's actually doing this made him wince.

The baby is just a few months old and yet, he feels like he's been taking care of the child for more than a century already. In short, raising a kid is exhausting. Elijah even compelled a random mother to give him breast milk so he can feed this baby.

This is one of the supernatural abilities of vampires. They can compel human beings just by saying what they want those people to give, to do or not to do. There's something so captivating in the voice of the vampires that it can control the mind of the people. All they have to do is slightly change the tone of their voice and humans will be on their knees, ready to do what the vampires please.

"I'm so f*****g fucked." His grip on the bottle of milk tightens when the baby throws up. Damn it. Why can't this child act like a normal person and just drink milk? Elijah doesn't know what to do anymore! Should he just compel another human to raise this kid for him?

"Elijah, an old vampire, is holding a bottle of milk instead of a blood bag?"

Elijah drops the bottle in his hand when he hears someone spoke behind his back. He then tilts his head to the side to see who dared to break into his house.

It’s a vampire. God, Is he too focused on feeding the child that he didn't notice someone trespassed?

Or maybe the real reason why he didn't see how the trespasser barge in is because his supernatural abilities are almost completely gone. Well, out of all of the vampires in Lacuna Valley, Elijah is the only one who did not become a phantasm since he only drinks animal blood.

Elijah used to drink human blood before though. But he was never a rogue vampire. The witches only cast the phantasm spell on the rogues. Luckily, Elijah has a great sense of control.

Luckily.

Can he really consider himself lucky? Sure, he did not become a phantasm, but he is left alone in this world. The vampires who are close to him are gone now.

Or at least that’s what he thought…

"Long time no see, brother." The trespasser flashes a devilish grin that causes Elijah to shield the baby away from any possible danger. He is clued up that the intruder is nothing but trouble.

"S-Sage..." Elijah holds the baby in his arms firmly even though he isn't sure if the vampire beside him is the same man who attacks children, and the one he's longing to see since the last century.

Luck. Is this Elijah's true luck now? One hundred years. He waited a century to be reunited with his vampire friends and now, one of them is really here!

"The one and only." The intruder confirms by wiggling his brow while attempting to get a good look at the baby's face.

Elijah turns his back on Sage again. He is not the father of this kid. That is absurd. Vampires cannot bear a child, but s*x is still good and addicting for them nonetheless. With this fact, Elijah scowls. Why is he so protective with this child when they're not even related?

"You're turning your back on me now?" Sage taunts as he grits his teeth together.

Elijah blinks, still unable to utter a single word. What is he supposed to do? Welcome Sage with open arms?

What if Sage fades away again when Elijah touches him? Worst, what if he's just dreaming about this and Sage is not actually here?

Though the small voice inside Elijah's head calls him  bullshit.  He's not worried about those things. In fact, Elijah doesn't give a f**k about Sage anymore—at least not when he's a threat to the life of the baby. Besides, Elijah waited for him for one hundred years. That's one whole century. If Elijah actually cares for Sage, why is that  fear  is the only emotion Elijah feels now? He's not even happy to see the former phantasm.

Elijah's just scared, but not for himself. Vampires like him are immortal and therefore, whatever hazard Sage brings cannot take him down. However, he is still frightened. Again, not for his eternal life but for this baby's life.

"Don't tell me greeting your friend is not a thing in..." Sage pauses, his eyes roam around the whole place until he spots a calendar plastered on the wall. "December of 2009. Is this what you've learned in the past century, Elijah? To disrespect your brother?"

Sage and Elijah have been friends for many centuries already. They are considered as the Untouchables or the pure ones, meaning, they came into this world as vampires and not humans.

There are actually different kinds of vampires in this world. The most common type is the preporod vampires: these are humans who were bitten by a vampire.

Yes. Humans turn into a vampire once they are bitten, it does not matter even if the bite mark is small. It can also be in any part of the body. Normal humans turn into a bloodsucker an hour after they are bitten. If the person has strong immune system, the transition can last up to two hours. Despite this, the number of vampires in this world is pretty small since as mentioned, many vampires do not have the ability to control their strong lust for blood. Most often than not, the vampires suck human's blood dry, causing them to die even before they turn into a preporod.

The untouchables, on the other hand, are the least kind of vampire. It is common knowledge that for the world to continue to exist, it must maintain some sort of balance.

This means that there should be both good and evil. Untouchables balance the world by being the evil.

Sage can still remember the very first time he opened his eyes. He is lying on the cold ground of Lacuna Forest; he doesn't even have any clothes on.

He also doesn't understand anything. The only thing he is sure of is probably the lust he feels: the lust for blood.

The moment his eyes flicker open, he has this urge drink blood. Actually, it is still unknown to Sage and to any other untouchables how and why they came into existence. Untouchables are the ones who gave meaning to their so-called life.

Every untouchable Sage knows tells him that all of them share the same situation. The moment the untouchables open their eyes for the very first time, they will find themselves lying on the ground, completely naked. Their only intention is to just suck blood.

It is horrible. Imagine waking up for the very first time in this world without anyone by your side. Humans are lucky, they are born as a baby first and even though newborns do not have the ability to live on his own, at least adults are there to aid for their needs.

But as for the untouchables, they just wake up with no clue as to why they exist and why they want blood so much. Sage first came into this world looking like a man in his late twenties. His appearance never changed.

As for Elijah, he came into this planet looking like a man in his early thirties. Elijah also found himself lying on the dusty ground of Lacuna Forest many centuries ago.

Truthfully, Elijah exists at least two centuries before Sage. If it wasn't for Elijah and Margaret, Sage will probably be confused for a long time as to what he is and why he is here in this world.

Sage remembers how Elijah and Margaret helped him survive, how can he forget? But right now, he doesn't want reminisce it. Sage just wants to know why his dearest friend is carrying a f*****g baby.

"Well?" Sage continues to press. He crosses his arms and raises his brow, waiting for Elijah to react.

The owner of the house still kept his mouth shut, silently wishing for the baby not to cry because it will surely attract Sage's attention more.

"You don't seem please to see me, brother. I wonder why." Using his super speed ability, Sage instantly snatches the baby in Elijah's arms, as if the kid is just a piece of cloth.

Elijah gasps.

"Sage, please, don't hurt the baby..."

Sage laughs in disbelief upon seeing the desperate look of his friend. What the hell? Does Elijah really care about the life of this mortal? That's a f*****g shame.

"Why shouldn't I? I am vampire, Elijah. You are  a vampire. We are  supposed   to kill humans, remember?"

Elijah squares his shoulders, ready to fight Sage, but the former changed his mind. This situation might be too overwhelming for Elijah; however, he realized that violence is never the answer. So with a calm  façade, Elijah then speaks.

"I know it was you who's been freed by that witch in Lacuna Forest months ago, Sage."

Sage frowns; he clearly didn't expect to hear this from his friend.

"So you know?" he even scoffs. "You are aware and you still didn't do anything?"

Sage felt betrayed. If Elijah knows about it, then why didn't he try to look for him?

But Elijah states otherwise.

"I did! I immediately went to Lacuna Forest to find you, but you aren't there anymore!" Elijah clenched his fist.

Sage lets out a mocking sigh.

"So you just decided to father this human baby instead of making an effort to look for me!?"

Elijah panics when Sage's black eyes turn red. s**t. This is not good. Sage's eyes turn red whenever he is hungry or angry, and in either way, the result will still be the same. Sage will end up killing the baby.

"This has nothing to do with the kid, Sage. Leave him alone."

Since Elijah isn't drinking human blood anymore, his body feels weak; howbeit it didn't stop him from exerting all his energy just to snatch back the baby away from his friend. Sage saw it coming, but he just allowed Elijah to get the baby back. After all, Sage really just wants to see the child's face.

"You're guilty." the ruthless vampire mocks again.

"Of what?" Elijah feigns innocence.

"Still playing the  I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about  game, huh? Come on, Elijah. It's obvious!" Sage licks his lower lip as he points at the baby. "You bit a pregnant lady and turned her unborn child into one of us."

By this, Elijah turns pale. Sage hits a damn nerve again.

"I-I didn't know she's pregnant!" The vampire tries to reason out, though his friend seems to forget how to listen.

"You're not denying it. What happened, brother? I thought you stopped drinking human blood?" Sage continues to taunt the guilty vampire. The only thing Elijah can do is look away as he confesses the truth.

"I-I was hungry. I lost control..."

There is another type of vampire and they are known to be the hybrids. The only ones who turn into hybrids are those babies who are not yet born. Basically, when a pregnant lady has been bitten by any vampire, her unborn child instantly turns into a hybrid.

A hybrid is not that different from vampires. The only distinctions are hybrids are mortal and they age like a normal human being.

"So you are a babysitter now?" This is all Sage can ask. As much as he enjoys teasing his friend, he understands that this is a sensitive topic for Elijah. The latter voiced out for so many times that he does not enjoy drinking human blood.

Sage admires Elijah for telling him the truth about losing control, so the least he can do is to not be an ass about it.

"Yeah, I think so..." The heartwarming smile of Elijah while looking at the baby didn't go unnoticed by Sage, but he kept his mouth shut about this particular observation.

"You should start letting that child drink human blood..." Sage comments when he sees the baby throws up.

Poor kid. Elijah keeps on forcing the baby to drink milk when it's clear that what he wants is blood.

"No. I promised his mom that I'm gonna train baby Jimin to only drink animal blood."

Elijah is still guilty after biting an innocent lady. He knows he should just kill her since it will be difficult for the mother and the baby to survive.

The thing is, a pregnant person also becomes a vampire when she is bitten, however, it doesn't mean that she's going to be immortal. Upon giving birth to the hybrid, the life of the bitten mother will instantly end.

But Elijah can't afford to kill two innocent people, so even if it's going to be difficult, he promised the mother that he will attend to all the needs of baby Jimin until the end of the hybrid's life.

Elijah met several hybrids before. Most of them stop breathing between ages 100 to 125 years old. The oldest hybrid Elijah knows died at the age of 124, this means that Elijah has to take care of Jimin for at most one more century. He'll be able to do that, right?

"Are you serious!? Elijah! Don't be an imbecile! That kid is a vampire! He's one of us now! Let him drink blood—"

Elijah cuts him off.

"He's a hybrid so that means he's also a human! I can't let him harm is own kind! Ssshhh…Jimin...sorry...."

Elijah looks ridiculous now. Just a few breaths ago, he's shouting and then now, he's swaying side by side because the baby is crying. Baby Jimin probably got so startled by the loud voices of the two vampires.

"That baby won't survive if you won't let him drink blood now. Bloody hell. You are so bad at this." Sage shakes his head in disbelief. Is he really stressing himself because of a mere hybrid?

"You aren't so good yourself either. You lost that kid, Sage. We're both bad at this." Elijah puts baby Jimin inside the crib. If he's having a conversation with Sage, Jimin's life will be at stake. Sage is ill-tempered and he lashes out on anyone he sees. Elijah can't risk it.

"What kid?" Sage furrows his brow as he follows Elijah who's now heading to the kitchen.

"The enchantress."

Elijah is pinned on the kitchen's wall in an instant.

"I don't want to play guessing game, Elijah. Complete your damn statement and tell me what an enchantress is!" Sage demands, his face is just a few inches away from Elijah's.

See? This is the problem. Sage easily loses his temper. Just because Elijah is being vague about his answer, Sage got mad; this made Elijah's face completely pale, howbeit he refuses to act like a scardy cat now.

Elijah pushes Sage away. The latter didn't expect the abrupt move of his friend that's why he almost falls on the floor.

"You are in my house so be respectful. One hundred years, Sage. You were a prisoner for a damn century. Didn't you even learn a single thing?" Elijah's voice is low but controlled. He swallows before speaking again.

"You wanna know what happened, right?"

Sage can only nod. Sure, he's ruthless and he acts as if he is tough, but he's nothing compared to an angry Elijah.

"February 12, 2009: a kid found dead in Lacuna Forest because of an animal attack. That's what the news said. Huh..." Elijah smirks. "How dumb do you think I am to believe that it's the fault of an animal? Of course it has to be a vampire. I didn't even have to think. I know it's you. It has to be you. Our friends might be rogue but they never harm children, Sage. It's only you."

This time, it is Sage who looks away. Elijah is right. It's only him. Sage can't explain why he loves drinking child's blood. His mindset is kind of f****d up for believing that the blood of a kid is fresher. It's not. Or maybe it is. He doesn't really know, but one thing is real: all bloods taste the same.

Perhaps what Sage really likes is their  innocence.  It is so satisfying for him to deceive someone who is gullible. It is painfully annoying. Just...how can a person be so trusting? Sage hates it.

This world...is full of lies and bad people. Everyone will take advantage of you if you are weak.

Weak. Trusting. Innocent. These words are messing with Sage's head and suddenly, he is reminded of that kid in the forest.

The little girl who freed him from being a phantasm months ago...

"That little girl is the enchantress I am talking about. You lost her, Sage." Elijah voices out slowly after reading Sage's mind.

Every vampire has a rare gift aside from the common abilities such as: mind compulsion, super speed, immortality and many more. Elijah's gift is mind reading. He can read the mind of any vampire if he wants to. This power of him never fades away even if he already stopped drinking human blood.

Elijah felt like if he doesn't continue telling what he knows about that little girl, Sage will lose it again.

"Not all witches can lift the phantasm spell, Sage..."

Sage's lips trembled.  Of course.  He  knows  that.

"There are only two kinds of witches who can free the rogues from being an illusion..."

Sage's hands start to shake too. Again, he  knows  that.

"First, the very witch who cast the spell."

No.

Sage shakes his head. The first one won't be possible anymore. Aurora is one of the few witches who cursed him and the rogue vampires. Sage is clueless as to what happened in this world because he is stuck in Lacuna Forest for a whole century, but it doesn't take a genius to realize that Aurora and the others are dead by now. The life span of a witch is similar to that of a normal person.

"The other one is an enchantress. A special kind of witch who can break any spell if she wants to. They said only one enchantress is born every century, but of course, that is still a hoax. I haven't met any enchantress in my immortal life, Sage. But you did. You just lost her."

Sage clenches his fist as he breathes in heavily to stop the tears that are threatening to fall. He never was a crybaby; however, this news from Elijah f****d him up so bad.

He lost the enchantress.

He lost the only one who can help him see Margaret again.

He lost her because he is a selfish fool...

For almost a year, Sage did nothing but have fun. When he became free, the only thing he has in mind is to hurt and kill humans. That's his definition of fun. It didn't even cross his mind that the rogue vampires who became phantasms might still be around. They can’t be seen, but that doesn’t mean they’re not around, right?

Sage is selfish. He gave up on the rogues upon gaining his liberty. Just because no one, not even him, can see those phantasms, he just gave up. Regret is slowly consuming him now. What if the other phantasms are also still in that forest? What if he really had the chance to save them? To free Margaret?

"I will find her."

This promise is what kept Sage from moving. For ten years, the ruthless vampire tries so hard just to find the enchantress, and now that he finally saw her again, Sage doesn't have any intention to let her go this time.

Who would have thought that the little girl he once fooled is now driving a car? But nothing changed.

Her innocent eyes and her trembling lips...are all so familiar.

Sage smiles as he mouths  "Hello, little girl."

Oh, he will be having so much fun and now, it's going to be with the enchantress wrapped around his dirty fingers.