Fate of the Vampire

by Gayla Twist

  I flinched as the broken limb flew past my head. It landed a few feet away from me. I wanted to leap up and grab it and help in the fight, but my arms and legs felt so heavy. I found it difficult to even turn my head.

  I knew I was dying. I had lost too much blood to live. But Daniel couldn’t win. I had to help. I had to find a way to at least save Jessie. Inch by inch, I dragged myself over to the broken branch as the two brothers fought and crashed through the woods around me. They were causing so much destruction to the trees, I couldn’t understand how they both weren’t already dead. It must have been their vampire reflexes.

  The wood was in my hand. I could see it there, if I couldn’t exactly feel it. I felt so disjointed from myself. It was truly frightening. My efforts had exhausted me, and I closed my eyes to rest a bit while Jessie and his brother fought all around me.

  They always say that when you’re dying, your life flashes in front of your eyes. I knew I must have been near death because I could remember everything. I could remember my whole life. Going barefoot on sweet summer days. Finding a silver dime while planting a pine tree in the side yard. The bright smell of freshly cut lumber. Blossom and me racing down the sidewalk on our bikes to try to catch the ice cream man.

  I remembered we were all out at Grandma’s farm when they announced the end of prohibition. The adults got all excited and Grandma broke out a bottle of her “medicinal” wine from the root cellar.

  I remembered when Mom found out that Dad was cheating on her with a girl who was almost still a teenager. And I remembered that girl calling my mom a bitch so I chucked a cup of butterscotch pudding at her head. That memory made me smile.

  I remembered everything so clearly, and it made me both happy and sad. I didn’t want my life to be over. But it made me understand things that had been bothering me ever since I could remember. Because it wasn’t just my life I was remembering. I was remembering everything from my previous life, too.

  I finally knew why I instantly felt about Jessie the way that I did. I finally understood the connection. When I first saw Jessie, it was like I had a metal string running through my body and someone had plucked it. The string had never stopped vibrating ever since that very first moment I laid eyes on him. And I finally understood that feeling. I finally realized the cause of all my crazy dreams and nightmares. They were all messages from my past life. They were memories from who I used to be.

  I was startled out of my reverie by a loud noise not far from my head. Jessie must have hurled his brother against another tree because there was the sound of wood cracking and then Daniel came crashing to the ground. “You can’t win, Jessie,” the vampire snarled as he leapt to his feet. “The longer we fight, the closer your darling draws toward death. And even if you do manage to stake me, mother would never forgive you.”

  “After your dealings with Grandfather, I think our mother has figured out that you’re a mad dog that needs to be put down,” Jessie told him, taking a swing but missing.

  “Our grandfather was a visionary,” Daniel all but shouted. “He knew how to truly be a vampire. He understood how things should be. No more cowering in the shadows. No more keeping our powers secret from the world.”

  I wanted to hear more, but trying to listen to them made me tired. My arms were dead weights, and I couldn’t feel anything below the middle of my back. I knew that couldn’t be a good sign. My great grandmother had been right. I was never going to see her again. With all her near misses in fortune telling, she’d finally seen the future clearly.

  An idea occurred to me. If Grandma Gibson did have some kind of supernatural gift, maybe I could reach out to her. Maybe if I concentrated, I could let her know how I died. I knew it wouldn’t make my disappearance and presumed death any easier, but at least she would have some idea of what happened.

  I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. “Grandma,” I shouted in my head. “Grandma Gibson. It’s me, Aurora. This is me. I’m here in the woods, and I’m dying.” I didn’t know if there was any chance she was picking up on my thoughts, but I kept going anyway. “You were right. I couldn’t stay away from the vampires, and now I’m dying. I’m never going to see you again.” I felt hot tears welling in my eyes. “It wasn’t Jessie, though, who killed me. And it wasn’t Jessie that killed Colette. It was his brother, Daniel. He’s the one that caused you so much suffering. He’s the one that killed us.” The tears started rolling down my cheeks, and I couldn’t even lift my hand to brush them away. “I love you, Grandma Gibson. I’m sorry I couldn’t listen. I just loved Jessie too much. Please tell Mom that I love her, too, and that I wanted to say goodbye.”

  I opened my eyes again. At first, I thought the woods had become foggy, but then I realized it was just the world starting to fade. Daniel and Jessie were still fighting. I wondered how much time had passed. And how much time did I have left?

  Something deeper in the woods caught my eye. There was a strange glow. I tried to focus, but my eyes were growing quite bleary. It was moving. I couldn’t quite make it out. A person with a lantern, maybe. A vampire wouldn’t need a light. I wanted to call out to them, to warn them to stay away.

  A moment later, I saw a glowing figure standing between the trees. It moved, and I was able to see a little better. It was a woman. I could tell that much, but otherwise I couldn’t quite make her out. It was hard to discern if she was young or old. But she was definitely surrounded by an unearthly glow. “Aurora,” I heard her call. “You have to try.”

  “Grandma Gibson?” I whispered. Had she somehow heard me?

  “You have to hold on,” the woman told me. “You have to try.”

  “Colette?” I asked, confused.

  “Please, Aurora. If you can’t do it for yourself, then do it for him. You have to try,” she said. Either she was fading, or my vision was getting worse. “Please try.”

  “I will,” I whispered. “I promise.”

  My left hand felt a little warmer. I hadn’t been able to feel it at all just a moment earlier, and now there was some sensation. I shifted my eyes and saw that just inches away from my hand was the silver pendant Grandma Gibson had given me. It was glowing, just like the woman in the woods. And it was there, within my grasp.

  I reached for it; my hand was clumsy and awkward, but I was still able to pick up the pendant. I could feel the silver in my hand.

  Jessie was knocked to the ground a few feet away from me. I parted my lips and breathed out, “Jessie,” hoping he could hear me. I thought he glanced in my direction, and I moved my hand, trying to draw his attention to what I was tenuously clutching.

  The little clearing where we were had been devastated by their combat. Both brothers looked tattered. It was true that they started to heal as soon as they were struck, but that did nothing for their clothes. Jessie’s coat had been torn from his back. His shirt was in shreds. Daniel had fared no better. His face was smeared with dirt as if Jessie had literally tried to pound him into the ground.

  “You can’t fight me forever,” Daniel said, his breath ragged. “The longer you waste, the closer your little pet draws toward death.”

  “I’m going to kill you,” Jessie snarled, rage seething off of him. He punched his brother in the chin and sent him sprawling.

  Daniel was instantly on his feet. He released a loud laugh, but it didn’t sound very natural. Even in my weakened state, I could tell that it was filled with bravado. “You might as well say goodbye to your little pet,” he said. “You’re not going to kill me. You’re too soft. You don’t have the guts.” He took a wide swing, and much to my surprise, the blow connected, sending Jessie tumbling over to my side.

  Jessie snatched the pendant out of my hand, his face only reacting faintly to the searing pain it must have caused him to have silver in his palm. He got to his feet and turned to face his brother. “You’re right about one thing, Daniel. Aurora is dying, and I need to tend to her.” He lowered his fists. “But this isn’t over, Daniel.”

  His brot
her gave a disdainful laugh, also lowering his guard. “Typical,” he said. “I will never understand why you prioritize this human over your own kind.”

  “Because I love her,” Jessie shouted, simultaneously thrusting his open palm toward Daniel’s face.

  Daniel was not expecting the blow, and he definitely wasn’t expecting to be burned with silver. He let out a yelp of pain and clawed at his cheek as the silver seared his skin. Jessie grabbed him by the shoulders and flung him at a broken limb jutting out from a tree. Daniel had been completely distracted by the silver. He tried to contort his body to avoid the tree, but it was too late. The wood pierced his flesh, plunging deep into his chest.

  Daniel looked down, appearing more surprised than in pain, confused about the piece of tree protruding from his torso. “You can’t,” he exclaimed. “What will Mother say?” A look of fear crossed his face as the wood started to work for whatever reason wood ended the existence of the undead.

  I closed my eyes and turned my face away when Daniel started screaming. I didn’t need to see another vampire wither and disintegrate from the stake. It was enough just to know that Colette’s killer was dead. My killer was dead.

  “Aurora?”

  I had heard Jessie say my name, but I didn’t open my eyes. I was so tired. So very, very tired.

  “Aurora,” he said again, his voice filled with despair as he gathered me up in his arms.

  I forced open my eyes. “Jessie,” I said, my voice sounding feeble, even to my own ears. “I remember everything.”

  “I know,” he said. “And I’m so sorry.”

  “No,” I whispered softly. “I mean I remember my life.” Jessie gave me a confused look, his beautiful gray eyes brimming with pain. I explained with, “I remember the day you proposed. I remember the suit that you wore. You had a red flower in your lapel.” I took in a long, shuddering breath. “I remember the first time you kissed me. It was under the apple tree in my parents’ backyard.”

  Jessie’s eyes went wide with wonder. “Colette?” he asked. “You’re saying you’re Colette?”

  “No,” I told him. “Not now. I’m Aurora. But I remember everything. I remember her whole life. I’m Aurora now, but I know I was Colette once, too.”

  “Jessie,” I heard a woman’s voice call. “What’s going on here? Where’s your brother?”

  “Leave us alone!” Jessie shouted, cradling me in his arms. “Daniel’s dead!”

  “What?” Mrs. Vanderlind exclaimed, hurrying forward. “What happened?”

  “He killed Colette,” Jessie growled, clutching me to his chest, “and now he’s killed Aurora.”

  “Aurora’s dead?” Mrs. Vanderlind asked, stepping even closer, her dark hair hanging loose, framing her beautiful face.

  “She’s dying,” was Jessie’s reply, his voice ragged.

  Mrs. Vanderlind frowned. “We have to do something. We have to take her to a hospital.”

  “No,” I protested, my voice only coming out as a faint rasp. “Too many questions. They would ask too many questions.” I shivered, unable to feel anything beyond halfway down my chest. “And besides, it’s too late now.”

  My peripheral vision began to narrow. Mrs. Vanderlind faded from my view. The only thing I was still able to see was Jessie’s beautiful face. “Please tell my mom,” I said, my breath catching in my lungs. “Please tell her so she doesn’t spend the rest of her life wondering.”

  “I will, my darling,” Jessie assured me, clutching me to him. “I am so sorry. Aurora, I’m just so sorry.”

  “No,” I told him. “It’s all right.” The world was getting smaller and smaller. I could barely see Jessie at all anymore. The only thing left that I could make out was his beautiful gray eyes. “It’s just …”

  “What is it my dear, sweet Aurora?” he asked.

  I parted my lips and focused very hard on making them speak. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “I’ll wait for you,” Jessie cried, tears rolling down his face. “No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait for you. Just promise you’ll come back to me.”

  I wanted to tell him I would try. I wanted to tell him that I loved him and that, more than anything in the world, I wanted him to be happy. But my words were gone. My vision was fading. My breath was frozen in my chest.

  “This is my curse,” Jessie sobbed. “This is my fate. To find true love and then always lose her.”

  The world became dark. My vision went black. All I could see was a small pinhole of light at the end of what looked like a very long tunnel.

  The last thing I felt was one of Jessie’s tears splashing on my cheek. The last thing I heard was him saying, “Goodbye, my darling. Sleep well.”

  Epilogue

  I was screaming. I couldn’t remember when I’d started screaming, and I didn’t feel like I could ever stop. It felt like every cell in my body had exploded.

  “Aurora. Drink this.” A voice penetrated through my shrieks of pain. A glass was pressed against my lips. I struggled against it, but the person was insistent, holding the back of my neck and forcing the glass to my mouth. “Drink! It’ll help.”

  I realized that the voice belonged to Jessie. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I knew he was trying to help, so I took a sip. As the liquid washed over my tongue, it was like water quenching a fire. The searing pain that had been shooting through my body diminished. I took another large gulp, and the pain faded even more. I wrapped both hands around the glass and began sucking the contents down. It was ambrosia. It was the most delicious thing that I’d ever tasted.

  “Easy, easy,” Jessie said, trying to coax the glass from my hands so I would drink a little slower.

  “No,” I told him. “I need it.” It tasted so good, I felt like I needed the sweet elixir he was giving me in order to live. “What is it?”

  He was quiet for a moment and then said, “It’s blood.”

  “What?” I sputtered, swallowing a gulp down the wrong pipe and coughing hard. “What did you say?”

  “It’s blood,” he repeated, applying the glass to my lips again.

  I wanted to spit it out. My brain was repulsed, but my body craved more. “How can I …” I scanned my memory. I remembered Daniel grabbing me. I remembered the pain of him draining me. And I remembered the battle in the woods.

  For the first time, I was able to take in our surroundings. I was lying on a large bed with crisp, clean sheets. Jessie was sitting on a chair next to me. We were in a vast bedroom that was sumptuously furnished. I had to assume we were in the castle. “What happened?” I wanted to know. “How am I even alive?”

  He hung his head, unable to speak.

  “Jessie?” I asked, reaching out to him. I needed his reassurance.

  “It was my mother,” he said, taking my hand but not meeting my eye. “Daniel had drained so much of you that after you died she …” His words faded.

  “After I died?” I asked, feeling frightened. But that couldn’t be. I was alive. I was there in the room with him. It didn’t make sense.

  I tried to think. I remembered being in the woods with Jessie holding me. I remembered him saying goodbye. And then the world grew very black. “Does that mean …?” I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to ask.

  Jessie nodded, still looking down. “You’re one of us now,” he said quietly.

  I couldn’t take it in. Did he mean I was a vampire? That was the only explanation I could think of for how I was still alive and why a glass full of blood tasted like nectar. I frowned, not sure what to think. How could I be a vampire?

  Before I could ask another question, Jessie blurted, “Aurora, I’m so sorry.” He took my other hand and pressed them both to his face, covering his eyes. “I can’t believe I let this happen to you.”

  “It’s okay,” I said automatically. I wasn’t in pain anymore. I felt a lot better. The blood had cured me. I had gone from agony to feeling vital and strong. “Everything is going to be all right.” But I immediately began to
worry. If I was a vampire, what was I going to tell my mom?

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked, pulling my hands away from his face, his voice tentative, his eyes still not meeting mine.

  “My mom,” I admitted. “I don’t know what I’m going to tell her about all of this. I don’t want her to be upset.”

  Jessie lifted his eyes, looking into my face. “Oh, thank God,” he said, visibly relieved. Shifting over to the bed, he wrapped me in his arms, pressing his face into my hair. “Thank God,” he said again.

  “What?” I was confused.

  He pulled away slightly so we could talk. “If you’re worried about your mother then becoming a vampire hasn’t changed you. Not the real you,” Jessie said. “I’m sure I told you that … Sometimes when a person is transformed …” He paused. “Oh, never mind about that now. It’s enough to know that you’re still Aurora. You’re the same girl to whom I gave my heart.”

  “Jessie,” I whispered, moving closer again, desperately wanting to be near him.

  “Aurora,” he said, pressing his lips against mine. “I love you.”

  My body thrilled; there was still that same electricity between us. That hadn’t changed. After a moment’s hesitation, our kiss deepened.

  The knowledge that I was a vampire frightened me. But I was also grateful. It was the only way. I knew that every time I was reborn, I would fall in love with Jessie all over again. But mortals are too fragile to survive in the vampire world. It was my destiny to become a vampire. It was my fate. Now Jessie and I could be together forever.

  The End

  Thank you for reading Fate of the Vampire, the final book in the Vanderlind Castle series. If you are reading this book on a Kindle device, then when you turn to the last page you will be given the opportunity to express your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter. If you’ve enjoyed the story, would you please take a moment to click that button and let your friends know? I would very much appreciate it.