Blooded

by Jessie Rose Case

  It was dark. Pitch black and someone was screaming. The shock of finding herself there had her sitting up with a start. Where the hell was she. The floor unforgiving under her. She ached. Moving cost her. Feeling out she touched her clothes. She was dressed at least. Grimacing her legs hurt like she had slept on the floor for a long time. The cold seeping into her bones. Stretching out on both sides she felt the walls and realised she was in a corner. Scurrying back, she leaned against the walls. Looking around, her eyes adjusted, she could barely see but realised it was a room of some kind. Old. Dirty. Damp. A cellar probably. Some light came in through storm doors to the left of her. It was day light then or the sun was up. Getting to her feet slowly, her legs in severe pain and she moved gingerly, slowly round looking for anything to help her. Using the walls to support her. Shuffling along, the must have caught something with her foot and a bowl she’d kicked skidded across the room. It was noisy. Anyone outside the door would have heard that.

  Guessing it must had had water in it as she heard it splosh about with its movement across the room. She stopped. This was useless. She couldn’t see enough. Couldn’t move enough. More screaming started, she could hear fighting. The clashing of swords and firing of guns. Picking up the pace she moved to the storm doors and tried to see out but it was getting darker. The sun was going down quickly. Looking down at her hands she concentrated and called on her energy. It sparked and died out. Shit. She needed a charge. Some energy of some kind. The screaming stopped and more fighting started up. It was getting closer. Feeling she had no option, she pushed out her senses. Death. It was all around her, loads of it. Hunger. Madness. More death. And it was getting closer to her.

  It felt like time was running out. Out of time and out of options. She pulled on the energy around her. She didn’t want to do it. The results were never good when she used this kind of energy. It burned and she held her breath. She hated taking strength from others emotions. But felt it coming to her. Such raw damaged emotions. Fragmented. Dark. Lethal and dangerous. No logic. No reason. So much of it. Turning everything light into dark. Filling her up. And still the screaming and fighting got closer. Regin merged herself with the pull. It was strong. More than she had ever felt before. She started to shake with it. It was too much. Too fast. Too powerful. Regin tried to turn it off but it kept coming. Regin struggled to retain control. The darkness was riding her. Tempting her to take more. She felt more alive than she had ever before. It was intoxicating. Addictive. Suddenly the door to her room burst open in pieces. Three Vamps stormed in. “Kill her.” The first one said.

  Regin lifted her hands. “I don’t think so.” She whispered. Barely recognising her own voice. Lightning shot from her hands into all three figures. They were now the one’s screaming and dropped burnt, turning to ash. Shocked at what she’d done, she stood and watched them ash. It was time to go she told herself. Walking over the ash and pushing the broken pieces of the door out of her way. Two more Vamps came at her running down the hallway covered in blood. Regin’s anger burst forth. Raising her hands she struck them head on, the same as the others. They ashed in front of her as she walked through them, the energy rolling through her. Regin started to shake. The darkness trying to take control. Turn her. Kill them all it whispered to her. Regin bent double under the pressure of it. Breathing hard she pulled on her link to Arturo. Relieved to feel him close by and managed to fight it off. He needed her. She could feel his strength, his love for her. So bright in the darkness. Standing she turned towards the sounds of a battle. The noise of swords, guns, battle cries and fighting filtered to her in the chaos of battle surrounding her beyond the doors in front of her. It grew louder. Was she even in the 21st Century? Were these her dreams or someone’s memories?

  She had to get through those doors. She blasting the open, and moved towards the battle and stepped into a Vamp war zone. It was a courtyard of some kind. Buildings with torches and electric light showed all round her and in the middle a war zone. It was a compound. A big one. She didn’t recognise it from anything she had seen before. She spotted James fighting for his life with 3 Vamps. Not today thought Regin raising her hands she sparked and killed two with lightning. He turned to her and gave her a wave before turning back and killing the third. She smiled. He didn’t seem surprised by her new abilities. Turning she spotted John and Pierre fighting back to back. She couldn’t see everyone but Valentina was fighting another female Vamp and kicking ass. She smiled. Go girl Val was impressive. She looked like the warrior queen she’d once been. Regin looked for Arturo he was here somewhere and found him. Their link pulled her towards him. This was new. In the real world she did not have this link with him. She’d felt him before, now she could feel the flow and ebb of his life force. His love for her. It was complete. Without reservation. It was strong and vital. He was bloodied and cut, fighting off several large Vamps. They had surrounded him and were taking pot shots. Trying to pick him off. Regin got angry. Very angry. They were using trickery and numbers to beat him. They had no honour.

  She raised both hands to the sky she called on her lightning. “Come to me.” She whispered. Lightning sparked and arched across the sky, getting stronger and stronger piercing the night sky and raging around her and to her hands in a whirl of electric death. It brought the wind with it and it surrounded her killing several Vamps that had moved towards her. Regin smiled and pulled on it. She felt herself lifted into the sky. It wiped the last of the darkness away. The lightning shattering the night all around her in every direction. She heard her name called through the night and turned towards it. Sitting on a hill surrounded by others stood a male. Marcus. She knew it was him even though she had never seen him before. He stood on seeing her in the air. His madness and desire screaming at her. “You belong to me.” He called to her. “Take your rightful place by my side and rule with me goddess. We will bring a new world order. They will bow before us and we will be their gods.”

  Regin snarled at him. “You dare. I belong to me and who I choose. You have nothing to offer me. You are nothing and no one. I am the daughter of a Goddess and you are dead.” She shouted back. She was a sight to behold. Lightning shot out from all around her. It radiated from her. Surrounding her and firing in every direction. Any Vamp stupid enough to take flight and get in her way fried. She dropped in front of Arturo between him and his adversaries. Her lightning encompassing him. But she spoke to Marcus. “No one fucks with what’s mine and lives.” She told them in a deadly tone. She clapped her hands together and thunder roared across the heavens. She spread her arms wide. Lightning arced out all around her taking down from one to the other of Marcus’ men till they were all alight. She fried them all. Every last one of Marcus’s soldiers dropped and ashed. She felt the arms surround her from behind and through the mist of death she felt his clean pure energy and latched on pulling it into her. Wiping some of the death from her. “I came to save you my love.” He told her holding her tighter resting his chin on her head. Her lightning had no effect on him but protected him as it did her. She smiled. “Then my love, we saved each other ‘bondi’.”

  Regin woke. It was still dark. She knew she’d been dreaming. She lay awake remembering the dream. Bondi meant husband in Norse. There was no mistaking that. And in her dream she had called Arturo her husband. She was more in the dream. She had no pain, and had never been able to call the energy of others or the lightning to her. Or discharge it quite like that. And using it to fly? Never. Was this her mind telling her what she would be if she joined with Arturo? What she would become? What they would face? What they would have to fight? Regin was honest with herself. She would not have survived if that dream had been real without the extra powers. Even with her man-made fire power. It would not have been enough. And if she hadn’t been more, James and Arturo might have died. Valentina too possibly and the others. That revelation scared her. They’d come to rescue her. They had put their lives at risk for her. And the many others that had stood with Arturo. Regin was more confuse
d now than ever. Frustration appeared to be her companion. Slipping her robe on, she headed to the kitchen in search of coffee. Arturo was sitting at the island with his back to her. Regin was suddenly overcome with the emotion of loss and extreme love for this male. What would it have felt like if she had lost him? The grief that hit her was unbearable.

  Walking to him she wrapped her arms around him placing her head on his shoulders. And hugged him to her. “It took me a while but I understand now.” She told him. “If I don’t. There’s a war coming and we’re all dead anyway.” Arturo sighed and grasped her hands. “Whatever you choose, I will protect you.” She felt his sincerity and knew he would die trying if things stayed the same. She didn’t understand the dream. Didn’t know if it was her mind playing tricks or her subconscious making a scenario that make sense or if she was influenced by Arturo in her own mind. It didn’t matter, she knew it felt real. She knew the truth. A Vampire battle like that, as she was, she would never have survived. And if Arturo came for her, like he said he would, bringing his people with him, then even he would be killed. “I know.” She told him.

  They had stayed like that until Regin could stand no more. She moved to take a seat next to him. He reached out and took her hand in his. He loved the feel of her. The sparks of life she set off within him. “I’m sorry I don’t have time to court you.” He told her. “To do this right. To make you want me. Love me. Smother you in gems and trinkets. To give you time to realise that this is special between us. But time is not on our side Regin. I would wish to give you that. I’m a kind man. Generous. Wealthy. I could take you and see the world. Buy you all the things you could ever want. Show you how I see the world. Let you see my place in it and how this would be for you. But we don’t have the time. They are coming. The first scouts have already arrived and have brought their day walkers with them. You will have security now during the day for work. It is likely that they know of you and will come looking.” Regin squeezed his hand and looked into his very handsome face. “How would they know about me?” She asked him. “How does Jazel know you Regin?”

  Regin turned her head this was not a conversation she wanted to have. Taking a deep breath she prepared herself to tell him. “The first time I met Jazel was a few years ago. I came across him hunting. I was on holiday in New York. I had been fighting his kind for some time by then. I sensed him and went after him. By the time I reached him he wasn’t alone. He had a mother with a toddler in her arms. The woman was trying to protect her child and get away. I heard Jazel tell the mother that if she didn’t struggle he’d let the child live. It was a lie. I could sense it and I think the mother really knew this but she was desperate to save her child. He had already ripped into her throat when I got there. The woman was dying and still the mother reassured her child she would be ok. Jazel laughed Arturo. Laughed. It reminded me of so long ago. I got angry. He was so busy he didn’t hear me coming. I threw three globes at him. They weren’t as strong as they are now. Two hit him square on and he started to burn. He screamed and released the mother, then stepped away from her. The child was crying and clung to its mother. The burning increased and Jazel tried brushing it off as he moved away, but his hands caught fire. I stepped out of the dark and rushed to the woman. She was barely alive. I clamped down on the neck having already rang the emergency services. The mother passed me her child and asked me to protect her from him. I told her I had. Jazel laughingly begged me to help him. I ignored him. He asked me who I was and I was stupid and told him Reginleif. He must have breathed in then and caught my scent. I could see the change that came over him. He refocused on me. A new determination in his emotions even though he was on fire. I felt he was going to attack, coming for me head on. I shot him with a trank round.

  But it wasn’t as strong as what I use now either and he got within arms reach and swiped at my legs. Then dropped like a stone. The emergency services came then. Patched up the woman and took the child with her. They put me in a different ambulance and sent me to another hospital and in all the commotion and pain I forgot about Jazel. As they were closing the doors I remembered and looked over to where Jazel had dropped. He was gone and no one seemed to have noticed him. The second time was about 8 months later. I was in Boston. On business. I knew what he felt like and sensed him and a couple of others in a child’s play area. I was on my way back to my hotel. I went in the direction I could sense him. When I found him, he was toying with two children and their dog. The children had taken it for a walk and the Vamps found them. I’d learnt by then from my previous encounters with Vamps.

  I’d upped my arsenal and took out a Vamp, he’d been holding onto the girl with the lead and she was nearest to me. I beckoned her to run. But she wouldn’t without her brother. The dog was going nuts and drawing attention. Jazel hadn’t realised that I was there or that one of his people was ash, he told the other one to kill the dog it was making too much noise. I vranked him too and he went down, he burned. Jazel noticed that time and turned in my direction then. I told the kids to go home and not go out after dark again. Jazel thought it was funny seeing me on my mobility scooter. That he had ‘hobbled me’ and made me vulnerable. Easy prey.” Regin looked at Arturo. “I bet you thought that too seeing me the first time.” Arturo nodded not wanting to interrupt her. “That was his first mistake. I was so pissed I hit him with my lightning. Then I hit him with a powder blast. But he didn’t breath enough in. It burnt but not enough. He coughed and chocked but came at me then. And that was his second mistake. He went to reach out to me and got burnt. I’d already dosed myself in nitrate and silver. His hand disintegrated and he screamed. He stepped several paces back screaming blue murder about what I’d done to his hand. After several moments. He just stopped. No screaming. No movement. Stock still. He called me by my name. Then queried ‘lightning’. I heard him. I guess he was educated somewhere. Somehow he put two and two together and his face lit up, he knew. ‘Your mine.’ He screamed. The Police sirens were now close. ‘Not today.’ I told him lifting the vrank. He turned and left.

  The next time was about a year after that. I was in Maine. Doing some research. I was on my way to dinner with a colleague. I felt him coming towards me. I told my colleague I felt ill and I was returning to the hotel. That they should eat without me. I moved as quickly as I could. Got to some open space and only had time to face him as he caught up with me. I spun some powder quickly over me. And charged a barrier. He wasn’t alone this time either. He’d brought a few friends with him. I don’t know if it was opportunist or that he had tracked me somehow. The banter on seeing me was what you’d expect. An easy meal. Strange thing was. Jazel knew I wasn’t an easy kill. Yet he gave them no caution. Allowed them to come at me unknowing. A bit like the other night really. Four of them came for me. They didn’t rush or run. Took their time approaching me, telling me all the things they were going to do, as if that would make it any more frightening. But Jazel stayed back. Before they knew what hit them. I had vranked two of them and they were gone. The other two pulled their game together real quick. They thought to tag team. As they came at me I held the globes in my hands. I hit them with it as they came within reach and hit them again with a vrank. They both went down. I looked up at Jazel and held his gaze. ‘I told him I don’t have all night. Make your move or fuck off.’ He hissed like the snake he is and disappeared.”

  Arturo struggled to say anything. “If you had missed …” Regin nodded. “I know but I couldn’t leave people in harm’s way.” “He’s been looking for you. Getting nearer. Now he knows you’re here, he’ll be back.” He told her. “Do you think he knows about your old adversary?” She asked him. Arturo turned to look at her. “I’d bet money he does. I think he was trying his luck the other night and it killed two birds with one stone finding us together.” Regin rubbed her forehead and sighed. “I need to get ready for work.” Releasing his hand she headed for her bedroom. Arturo made coffee. When she came back out, it was waiting for her. “You going up to sleep today?” S
he asked him. Arturo shook his head. “No. There are things I must see to.” Regin sensed the visitor before he knocked. “That will be your security. Don’t go anywhere during the day without him from now on ok.” Arturo went to get up. Regin put her hand on his arm. “You can’t its day light. Let me.” Arturo caressed her hand. “It is not quite day light yet love. I have a few moments. He came at this time so I could see him in and introduce you.” Regain watched Arturo walk towards the front door, knowing it could burn him and he did it anyway for her. Opening the door he moved to the side very quickly. Allowing the male on the doorstep in.

  The male walked in and missed nothing glancing around the hallway. He turned to Arturo and bowed. “My Lord. I hope I am not late.” Arturo smiled at the newcomer. “Charlee stand up. Let me introduce your charge. Regin this is Charlee. He’s one of my day walkers. One of the best.” Regin had only just got over the ‘my lord’ comment to hear ‘day walker’. Regin walked forward on auto pilot and extended her hand. Charlee caught a fragment of her scent then. He took a step forward and checked himself. Turing to Arturo. “Wow.” Arturo laughed and slapped him on the back. Regin had reached him by then and he took her hand shaking it. “It tingles.” Arturo put his arm around Regin’s shoulders. “You will protect her even if it costs you your life and mine. Arturo repeated the immoral phrase of bonded. “Her life before mine.”

  Charlee hadn’t heard that Arturo had bonded. “I did not realise. Joy to you both.” He told them. Regin frowned. They weren’t bonded yet and Arturo had some explaining to do. “Sorry but I need to go.” She told them both. “Charlee with follow you and stay close by. If you need him. Press this.” Arturo pulled out a device similar to her electric garage door key. “Press it and he will find you.” Regin nodded. Ok this was getting a bit much. “Right, See you later.” Regin turned and headed to the garage doorway. “Did I say something wrong My Lord?” Arturo sighed. “No Charlee. This is all new to Regin she is struggling with it. She will need some time.” Charlee looked in the direction Regin had gone. “I will keep her safe.” He told his boss. “Thank you Charlee.”