by Ben Alderson
The darkness within me bubbles with glee. It seems to share the rush of relief that follows knowing she will finally come home. I feel her pull me toward her, and I know, somehow, this is the darkness’s doing.
I stumble back, losing my balance as Chad physically reacts to something. He raises his head, eyes on the dark sky, nostrils flaring.
“Do you…” I am at loss for words, because it’s hard to believe this is happening. Savi is finally coming home.
“Savi,” Chad breathes, and then he grabs my hand with an abrupt force.
Before I can register what’s happening, we are running. I know Chad can move faster than me, but he is holding back, allowing me to keep my own natural pace.
It is impossible to ignore his panic. He smelled her scent just as I felt her presence. But something seems different. I expected excitement the moment he is finally reunited with her, but excitement isn’t what’s etched on his face. No, this is different. He’s panicked. Something about her scent must be fueling his frantic reaction. Maybe he can sense someone with her?
I stumble over my own feet, unable to act as my mind numbs to the coiling power inside. Its hysterical movements make me sick.
I fall, tripping over my own feet. Before I tumble into the gravel, I am swept off my feet and into Chad’s arms.
I blink, and the world around me blurs as Chad runs, full speed, toward Savi. No longer hindered by my inability to match his speeds, I rest against him, letting him take control.
We are running toward his home—the Danvers’ manor. And the closer we get, the more my stomach spasms increase. I silently chastise the erratic behavior of my darkness within. It feels as if it is real, like a physical entity moving inside me. Twisting and turning, it moves my innards with it.
Ahead, I spot the point of the manor’s roof, but suddenly, we stop. Chad drops me to my feet and steps forward, gaze pinned on the dark street beyond the house.
Savi.
Standing in the middle of the street, she is there.
The moment I acknowledge her presence, the darkness halts moving and calms.
“Oh, goddess!” I scream, elated. I run for her, but the closer I get, the more I see what caused Chad to panic.
Blood covers every part of Savi’s small frame, much of it exposed. If her skin is not red from gore, it is blue and black from the map of bruises across her neck, arms, and face.
“Savi?” I raise my hands for her. I want to pull her into my arms, stop her shaking. She looks at me, chest rising slightly with shallow breaths. She takes small steps like a young child and stumbles beneath her own weight. Just as her skull is about to make impact with the cement, Chad is there, keeping her upright.
I slap a hand over my mouth to stifle my cry. Puncture marks leak fresh blood that pools in a puddle at her feet. Dried blood tears stain the dark circles beneath her eyes. Her boots are covered in dirt and grime, and her jeans are as shredded as her shirt. It isn’t until Chad wraps an arm around her and guides her to the manor that I notice her back.
It’s completely exposed.
My stomach lurches, a gag bursting past my lips. I’m breathless as I lean over and retch nothing but air and water onto the ground.
Her back is a mess of rips and tears. Her skin is completely mutilated in every possible way. Vampires are creatures gifted with the ability to heal quickly, so to have this degree of markings means she has experienced endless torture and starvation.
Again, I retch, and more bile spreads across the street, creating my own puddle of sloppy mess beside my feet.
I can’t—no, I shouldn’t—look at her anymore. Every time I do, I see more evidence that she has spent the last several days in literal hell. But no matter how many times I repeat that in my mind, I cannot take my eyes away from her.
Savi, my Savi, is home. After days of searching, she’s finally found her way back to us.
And we will do everything in our power to keep her safe from whatever beast—or beasts—that did this to her.
With his baby sister in his arms, Chad leads Savi to the front door of their house, kicking it open with a single blast of his foot. Inside, they both disappear down the dark hallway, leaving me to catch my breath alone in the night air.
Savi, what has happened to you?
The dark snake jolts within me, saying, Go and see… Go and see.
My desire to be by her side is strong, but I cannot. I remember the pain she is caused when I am close, and by the look of it, she’s experiencing all she can handle right now. I have to give her space and time to heal—no matter how strong the urge to race inside and hold her is.
Chad is with her. She’s in the best care and with the best person right now. I know he will keep her safe, help her heal.
A mighty roar explodes from inside the Danvers’ manor.
Chad.
He is shouting something.
Certain I am not going to gag again, I run for the open doorway and enter, slamming the door closed behind me before eavesdroppers can listen in.
I hear more shouting and slamming doors coming from the kitchen. I run for the room, not caring about my own safety.
Savi is lying on the floor, eyes open and chest heaving. Chad is kneeling beside her, his torso and limbs covered in her blood.
He looks up at me and shouts, “Blood bag. Bring me them!”
Having spent many days lounging about this manor, I know where the Danvers keep their supply. Throwing open the fridge door, I am greeted by rows upon rows of bags filled with ruby-colored liquid.
“Quickly, she is not healing!” Chad’s words fill me with dread. “She needs to feed, or we’ll lose her.”
I stick my hands into the bottom shelf and scoop up as many bags as I can in one swipe. Making sure I don’t get too close to Savi, I drop the bags at Chad’s side and step back, covering my mouth with my hands. My entire body is tense with worry for her.
My own mouth tastes vile, but I cannot focus on that—not as Chad rips into the lid of one bag with his teeth and leans toward Savi’s face. He lifts her head from the floor and begs her to open her mouth.
As if she senses the blood close to her cracked lips, she opens her mouth. Her fangs lengthen ever so slightly in response. Chad puts the open lid into her lips, and she drinks. Her throat bobs as the blood bag is drained in seconds. Once that bag is empty, Chad offers her another. He repeats this over and over again.
“I will kill whoever did this,” Chad promises. No longer frantic, he speaks slowly, calmly. The more Savi drinks, the more relaxed he sounds, his anger dissipating into sadness. “This is all my doing. I should never have left you.”
He speaks to Savi, but her mouth is full. She is in the fringes of pleasure as she drains the blood bags. Some escapes the corners of her colorless mouth and dribbles down the side of her lips, mixing with her own drying blood that covers her chest.
“More!” Chad barks at me.
I follow his order, not wasting a second. As if it’s not enough, Savi drains the offerings effortlessly, until each is no more than a scrunched-up sleeve of semi-see-through plastic with only mere smears of blood left in them.
Chad rocks back from his feet and slumps onto the ground beside Savi. His hand holds hers as she closes her eyes.
“Savi, tell me who did this to you,” he says. Red tears swell in his eyes, and his entire body seems to shake with anger.
I can’t move, not as I watch the puncture marks across Savi’s body slowly knit together. The blood bags are working. She is healing. Her skin becomes flushed with color, and her lips retain their usual pinkness. Even so, she does not open her eyes.
We can help her… at a cost. The voice fills my head. It’s so loud my ears ring.
I know what it wants me to do. Using the dark magic, I could heal her.
What cost? I ask it.
Let me inside of her.
My blood freezes like the surface of a lake in the middle of harsh winter. No. I cannot help her if that is the
cost. No matter how much the darkness wants me to—with its singsong, alluring tone—I cannot listen. I cannot subject her to this evil.
“Say something,” Chad reacts to my silence, putting his head in his hands.
“I—I am sorry. Savi is going to be okay. Let her heal and rest, and then she can tell us what happened. We cannot do anything until she wakes up.”
Chad leans against Savi, resting his forehead on her stomach. “My only job as her brother is to protect her, and I’ve failed. Do you think she’ll ever forgive me? I did the one thing I promised her I’d never do: leave her. If I didn’t leave her in that clearing, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Her mouth opens as if she is going to respond, but she doesn’t speak. All she offers is a raspy breath.
“George, promise me we will find whoever did this to her and make them pay.”
I nod. “Yes, of course, but for now, just breathe. We have her back. That’s what’s most important right now.”
“I need to get her to bed. She cannot stay on the floor.”
“Careful,” I say as he sweeps his arms under her back and lifts her from the tiled floor.
“Bring me more blood,” Chad instructs as he exits the kitchen. “She is going to need her fill when she wakes.”
I don’t argue. Instead, I move for the next shelf in the fridge and follow after Chad with full arms. When I reach her room, I stay in the hallway just outside her door. I try to stay far enough that I don’t seem to cause her pain but still close enough that I can see her.
Pain.
I can’t imagine what she has experienced. I remember the marks that cluttered her back. What did that? Why was it done to her? How long did she suffer? Like Chad, I want answers. I wish she would wake and tell us what happened. I want to know who to cast my vengeance upon. The anger that fills me bubbles deep inside of me, but I don’t tell Chad. I need to be his source of strength and comfort. If it were up to him, we’d be burning down the town in search of answers. We have to be patient, and I need to think clearly so I can remind him of that.
She looks peaceful in her bed, dark hair haloed around her head as she rests. Her hands are clasped over her stomach in a peaceful manner. Even her breathing has evened.
Chad drags the chair from her makeup table across the floor and sits beside her bed. His back is to me, but I don’t need to see his face to know he is crying. His shoulders shake violently as he stares at his nearly dead sister.
“She will be all right,” I say from the door. I speak aloud for myself more than for him, but I know he needs to hear it too.
Chad sobs. “This is my fear. Seeing my baby sister and only remaining family in such torment...”
“Stop punishing yourself,” I order. “We both left her that night. It is my fault as much as yours, so stop.”
“The wolves must have done this,” he says, sounding utterly defeated.
I shake my head. “No, this can’t be them. It doesn’t have their usual mark. They are vicious beasts. If it were them, she wouldn’t have survived.”
Chad rests a hand on her leg and takes a slow breath. “Tenfold. I will make them repay this tenfold.”
Savi moans, stopping my response to Chad’s threat.
“What is it?” Chad leans over her. “Say it again, Savi.”
He sounds like a child, riddled with panic. Again Savi opens her mouth, and this time, her words are clearer, louder, bolder. They cut through the room and silence us both.
“They’ll come for us…” she whispers again.
“Who, Savi? Who will come for us.” Chad knocks over the chair as he stands abruptly. “Tell me who they are. Please!”
But she doesn’t. Not another word slips past her lips. Instead, she rests. The wrinkles around her eyes soften, and the tension in her body diminishes. Finally, sleep claims her.
“Come, Chad. Let her rest.” I raise a hand for him, trying to urge him to follow me out of the room.
“No, I will not leave her,” he snaps. “I will never leave her again.”
Savi
Everything hurts. It’s a pain I can only compare to dying, which, sadly, I have experienced.
Twice.
My eyelids are heavy, and I struggle to open them. When I do, the world is too bright. My vision blurs as my eyes sting. Tears form, making the situation so much worse than it has to be.
I try to wipe my eyes, but my arms are heavy. I feel as though I’ve been asleep for weeks. I’m sure that’s not true. Hours, maybe, but not weeks. At least, I certainly hope weeks haven’t passed.
I blink away the tears, and slowly, my vision returns. The cloudiness dissipates, and I’m left staring at my bedroom ceiling. A rush of warmth overtakes me as the giddiness sets in.
I’m home.
I’m lying atop my blanket and pillows, struggling to sit up, and only when I fail repeatedly do I realize I’m not alone. My neck throbs as I jerk my head to the side. In my doorway, I see Chad and George. I stare at them, smiling.
Until Chad wraps his arm around George’s waist and pulls him into a passionate embrace. I gasp, but the subtle sound that escapes my lips isn’t enough to break their trance. They are much too consumed with each other.
“Chad?” I whisper, voice hoarse.
Only then do the two pull apart.
I blink, and Chad is at my side. George remains in the doorway. I wonder if his fear-stricken reaction mimics my own confusion.
“Savi,” Chad whispers as he sits on the bed beside me.
“What’s going on?” I ask. My throat is dry, and my chest aches each time I speak.
“You’re home, Savi. You’re safe now.”
He pulls me toward him, hugging me, holding me, and I nuzzle against him, resting my head in the crevice of his neck. The absolute agony I feel in this position is muffled by the overwhelming joy I feel at being home.
I survived. As often as I feared I may not break free of that place, I didn’t succumb to the torment of being there.
And apparently, quite a lot has happened since I disappeared.
I push against Chad, but he doesn’t give way until I mumble something against his skin.
“You’re suffocating me,” I say when he finally pulls away to listen to my complaints.
“I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m just so happy you’re home, safe.”
“For now,” I whisper. Something flashes across Chad’s face. His features change. In an instant, he’s not the carefree, fun-loving brother I used to know. He’s angry, furious. I know he’s going to ask me what happened to me, but I don’t want to talk about it. I just want one minute of time that belongs to me, not them. “What’s going on with you two?”
George, still standing in the doorway to my bedroom, clears his throat, and Chad’s features soften. I arch a brow at the quite obvious effect George has on my brother. How had I never noticed this before? We used to be inseparable until, one day, something abruptly separated us. Ever since then, Chad has made it his mission to be an absolute jerk whenever George was around.
“Are you… together?” I ask. This time, I point my question to George. He opens his mouth to speak but quickly snaps it shut again.
“It’s complicated, Savi,” Chad says. He sits back, giving me the space I need. I lean against my bed’s headboard, grunting and groaning with each move I make to shimmy myself backward. “You’re still weak. You need to feed.”
My stomach grumbles at his words, but I’m too stubborn to admit that I am hungry. “How long has this been going on?”
“Savi…”
“How long have you both been lying to me? How long have you been hiding this? Did Mom know? Dad?”
Chad shakes his head. “Of course not. Can you imagine? A vampire and a witch? We never told anyone.”
“Not even me?” I whisper. “Do you think so little of me that you think I’d care, that this would bother me?”
“No, Savi,” George says, finally speaking. He leaves the safety of the ha
llway behind and enters my room. “We never wanted to hide it from you.”
“We just wanted to keep it a secret from everyone else. Never you,” Chad continues.
“But you didn’t tell me!” My body burns, and my pulse races. I can’t tell if it’s the hunger or my anger at being lied to for all these years.
“We just wanted to protect it. If word got out…” George says, closing the space between us.
He’s only feet from me now, and suddenly, I remember this pain. Ever since George used black magic to bring me back, I cannot be near him. After spending days apart, I almost forgot. I thought the pain would end the moment I escaped that place, but I was wrong.
“George,” I whisper, keeling over. As the fire burns within me, it bubbles over, erupting within, shredding everything in its wake. I release an earth-shattering scream that I’m sure our neighbors hear.
“Get out!” Chad shrieks, nearly pushing George out of my bedroom.
“I—I’m sorry,” George mumbles as he stumbles backward. He trips over his feet and falls to the ground just outside my bedroom. As Chad rises to help him, he says, “I’m fine! Stay with her.” But Chad doesn’t listen. He leaves my side to tend to George.
“Are you sure you’re okay? I didn’t mean to push you out like that. I just—”
George waves him off. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not made of glass, Chad. Besides, I should leave. She’s awake now, and my father’s book must have an answer to this… reaction.”
“You don’t have to leave, George,” I say. “You just can’t come that close anymore.” My voice is a whisper as I consider my words. What does this mean? I can never hug my best friend? I can’t sit in the same room as him? We can’t visit Crest Coffee or run away in the woods together? This can’t be my life now.
“I’m glad you’re safe, Savi,” George says. “I promise, I’m going to fix this. I’m going to end this pain.”
I smile and rest my head against my headboard. “I know you will.” I ache to touch him. I just want one hug, one more embrace, before I live a life without George. At least he has Chad now… they’ll never be alone.
