A Nightly Howl

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  I lifted myself up taking a long sharp breath. My neck was throbbing with pain, but he wasn't going to get to me without a fight. I was ready to scratch his eyes out and rip his fangs from his mouth.

  "You never planned to release me, did you?"

  "I did, but that was before I tasted you. You see, me and Nathaniel, well, we always had similar taste in women," McGregor said, approaching me.

  "Fuck you,” I spat. He was on top of me before I could even blink. My body crumbled but I started scuffling and screaming at the top of my lungs. He was pressed against my thighs, and his hand began touching my breasts.

  "I like naughty girls; you’re only turning me on by resisting," he snarled, ripping my dress apart. His pupils dilated, and I screamed, trying to push him off of me. I’d lost a lot of blood and he was stronger. His hardness was pressed against my stomach. He slapped me across the face and I stopped moving, accepting whatever he was about to do to me. Then his dirty mouth was on my nipples; I clenched my teeth and kept lying there motionless. I gave up, then he moved his hand down between my legs. For this long horrible moment, I thought about my grandmother. Deep down she was right. I was going to end up like my cousin.

  Dead and drained.

  Chapter 31

  Death scare.

  Caleb McGregor was going to rape me. His didn't take his eyes off of me and it didn't matter because I had already accepted the pain and humiliation. I lay underneath him, not making any sound, my dress was in pieces, my breasts were out, pressed closely to his chest while he was drinking my precious blood. He was rough, sucking at my skin, taking away the last of my energy. Then I heard my own internal voice telling me to fight. No one in my family gave up, every one of them were warriors. I couldn't just accept death like that even if I was ready to die.

  Gathering force, I pushed him, screaming with desperation, but that only made him harder, more eager to carry on. He sucked my sweet blood not letting me move.

  "I love feisty women," he said, struggling with his trousers. Tears were running down my cheeks as he crawled over me, breathing hard. "Fucking you will give me so much pleasure."

  “It's time to die," someone whispered, moving in the darkness behind McGregor. I screamed seeing a shadow of a man. He whisked McGregor away from me, and before I knew what was coming, the stranger sliced the knife across his throat. Blood sprayed my face as his body fell on the floor next to me. I couldn't stop screaming. The deadly vampire was on the ground, choking, pressing his hands to his throat. I felt as if I was having a seizure, shivering. It was like the air wasn't getting to my lungs quickly enough. Panic blinded me for a second or two.

  "Julia, please calm down. It’s me; it’s only me," the man said, cuddling me to his chest. I recognised his voice.

  "Jasper?" I choked.

  "I saved you, darling. It’s over now."

  My heart skipped a beat then started racing away. "What are you doing here?"

  Jasper dropped the knife on the floor. My heart was beating fiercely in my chest. My mind was blank. Caleb was losing so much blood, fast, and he wasn't healing himself like he should.

  "What have you done to him?" I whispered.

  Jasper smiled, and his eyes hardened on the vampire. "I charmed the knife, so he won’t heal. He’s dying."

  Caleb growled, trying to reach for me, but I scuttled away, somehow glad that he would bleed out. I wanted him to suffer and experience the pain that he put me through. We both watched as he stopped moving, seeing his eyes fill with his own death. Soon his limbs were still, and he stopped jerking. Vampires didn't die like humans, their bodies turned into dirt and ash. I waited for something to happen, but he was still lying there, now dead.

  "Why is nothing happening? His body should be going through the transformation," I said, pressing my hands together.

  "He’s dead. Let’s get out of here," Jasper yelled, pulling me towards the door.

  "Why is his body not changing?" I continued to glance back at Caleb’s still form.

  “Don't know and don’t care. We have to get the fuck out of here before anyone realises what we’ve done."

  "Jasper, let go of me," I said, trying to gather my thoughts. "How did you even know I was here?"

  I was shivering and weak, but not stupid. Jasper couldn't know that I had been taken.

  "Julia, I’ll explain later. Come on!"

  "I can’t leave. Rufus and Nathaniel are upstairs. They will die if we leave them there," I explained, brushing my hair away from my bloody face.

  Jasper looked startled, breathing heavily. "Fuck them, if it wasn't for me you would be dead," he roared, looking at me like I’d lost my mind. "I'm not letting you out there to risk your life for a bloodsucker."

  "Take it or leave it, Jasper. I won’t let them die," I snapped, pulling myself off the floor, trying to cover my body with what was left from my ripped pieces of clothing. It didn't matter that I was weakened by that bastard or that I could barely stand up. There was no way I was going to leave them here and let them die. Jasper was behind me, cursing under his breath. He pushed the door open and we were out of the basement. He let me know to be quiet, hearing voices in the other part of the house. I closed my eyes and felt my magic rise within me again, rocking through my body, entitling my soul. Everything came alive at once. I looked at my bloody fingers as sparks danced all over them.

  Jasper gave me a sign to move along. We still had time; I could feel that Nathaniel and Rufus were alive. We both crept through the immaculate corridor. The smell of furniture polish coursed through the air, but I was concentrating on my own power, gathering the strength to kill.

  "On my sign," Jasper whispered, holding his magic wand in his hand.

  "Fuck the sign," I said, then rushed towards the room where I heard voices. My chest heaved as my light blasted out the door; the wind swept everything around us. Things started flying. My power was like a breath of fresh air; I didn't feel anything. My magic took over, demolishing the light all over the room. Paranormals were hurrying away, someone screamed, but they had no chance of getting away.

  “She's escaped!" a deep voice roared, but my light crashed into him before he could reach me. His face tensed first, then his limbs fell; he was dead before he even reached me.

  Others charged toward me. Jasper was throwing spells, fighting with the wizard who’d uncharmed Nathaniel. There was no more fear left in my body, instead I was filled with the need for death. The world around me went black as I spread the pain. No one stood a chance of making it when my friends suffered. The magic lifted me above the ground, all the voices around me faded. New power drenched my veins. The energy was raw, killing everyone who stood in my way. The red rippling light burst out of me. Once there was nothing else left inside me, I crashed to the ground; it hurt to even breathe. My body locked up for a few minutes once I inhaled and Jasper approached me. The wizard that he’d fought was now dead; we were surrounded by bodies and blood. I’d killed people, lost control and became one of them. I felt nothing.

  "Are you all right, Julia?" Jasper asked, touching my face. I blinked slowly and wiped the sweat and blood from my face, searching for Nathaniel.

  "I'm fine, call my father," I said. I moved my body, but the pain nearly shut me down. Panic whipped through me when I saw Rufus. He was lying by the wall, his eyes partly open.

  "Rufus, oh, my God, Rufus!"

  "I'm fine, Julie. I’ll survive," he breathed out, closing his eyes. My hands were shaking when I touched him. He was alive and Jasper left to call my dad. I searched for Nathaniel, finding him lying next to the fireplace. I rushed towards him, kneeling next to him.

  I touched his wounded face and panic erupted, trapping me with fear. He wasn't gone yet, and I refused to accept that he was dead. I looked at Jasper who now stood beside me; his eyes wide and lost.

  "Your father is on his way," he whispered.

  "Thanks." Holding Nathaniel’s body, I couldn't stop the tears. I touched his neck and found a pulse. It was f
aint, but he was still with me. Alive.

  "Why do you love him? What does he have that I don’t?"

  I darted my eyes to Jasper. He stood watching me as pain coursed over his face. Then I finally understood why he was here. I was blind for so long, but now I realised that he’d been planning to save me all this time, expecting that I would forgive him.

  "Oh, my God," I whispered, not taking my eyes off him. “It's been you all along; you were the wizard who McGregor was talking about!"

  Regret and remorse flickered in his eyes. Then he dropped his head and clenched his muscles. For a long moment he didn't say anything, staring at the motionless body of the only man that I ever loved. I didn't need or want his explanation, he sickened me.

  "I'm sorry, Julia," he whispered, and his eyes filled with tears. I looked away, shaking my head.

  "Why Jasper, why did you have to help him?" I asked. "You betrayed me pretending to love me."

  "He promised to spare you," he said, falling down to his knees in front of me. "He was supposed to kill La Caz for me, then you and I could have been happy together."

  "I can’t believe that you would be stupid enough to believe him. You pretended to save my life in that old warehouse, but all this time you’ve been working for him."

  "No, I did save your life. I killed his men for you."

  "Bullshit!" I roared. "You’re just like him, a dirty scum. I hate you."

  "I love you."

  "Don’t you dare say that," I yelled, slapping him hard. "You don’t understand those words."

  “It's the truth, I do love you."

  "I will never choose you!"

  Jasper laughed, shaking his head. "We’re destined to be together."

  I didn't want to respond. It was easy to put two and two together. My father set up a very strong protection charm around my apartment. No one could get in, no one apart from a very skilled wizard. Jasper must have known about the charms when he came to my apartment that night.

  We heard the sirens in the background. Jasper paced around the room, muttering to himself. I didn't even want to look at him; his presence disgusted me. He vanished before I could even stop him. He was a coward, refusing to answer for his crimes. I wished that I had the strength to scream, but I felt hollow. An hour later, I was in the ambulance going to the hospital. My father had gone grey in a matter of hours. I didn't remember much of what had happened after the Paranormal Squad entered the house. People were talking, and my father was screaming, telling me that everything would be all right. I kept seeing death everywhere. I killed those people with uncontrolled rage. I asked the medic to give me something, so I could sleep and forget. I had corrupted memories and I would be haunted for what I had done for the rest of my life.

  Chapter 32

  Clarifications.

  I got used to the antiseptic smell in the hospital after a few days. I slept for hours trying to forget. When I woke up I felt emptier than I ever had before. The guilt hung on my chest like a heavy a handsaw. I kept telling myself that I was only protecting the people that I loved, but deep down, I was a killer. Dad looked like he was on the edge of nervous breakdown.

  “It's over. Come on, Dad, you don’t have to worry anymore," I said, hoping that after three days of collecting evidence, worrying about what could have happened to me and cleaning up the mess, he would finally let go.

  "You can’t trust anyone these days, absolutely anyone," he yelled. The nurse had reminded him three times already that he needed to be quiet. I couldn't take it anymore. He needed to calm down otherwise I would start screaming.

  "He was in McGregor’s pocket. You wouldn’t have known," I told him.

  “That's the point, I should have known!"

  He was stressed and tired of keeping me away from Mum. I sighed, ignoring the pain in my neck. I was slowly recovering. My shoulder was dislocated, my neck was nearly torn apart, and if not for Jasper, I would have been raped as well. I had to give that statement. There was a warrant issued for Jasper’s arrest. I owed him my life, but he needed mental help and he had to answer for his crimes. Police had been trying to track him down, but he vanished.

  "We need to move on from this mess. We all just need to get back to normal."

  Dad paced around the room, talking to himself. He had a lot on his mind; bodies had been piling up like bricks. His investigation was slowly moving forward, his neck was on the line.

  Nathaniel was on the intensive care floor. His injuries were severe: he had broken wrists, ribs, and a concussion. He had deep wounds all over his body and he’d lost large amounts of blood. He was in bad shape. For over a week, he wasn't allowed to have any visitors while the elves were trying to patch him up. I found out that McGregor sent his people for him. They nearly killed him. He was lucky that he survived that hell.

  Rufus was in a much better state than Nathaniel. He had been kept in isolation for several months, but apart from scratches and deep cuts, he was recovering quickly enough. He was back on his feet within days, but he wasn't allowed to leave the hospital. I couldn't stop myself from being overly emotional when I finally saw him.

  "Hey, boss, how are you feeling?" I asked, sitting in the chair next to his bed. His face was still swollen and bruised.

  "Fine. I had my first decent meal in months and my wife doesn’t want to divorce me."

  "I'm so sorry, Rufus." I started sobbing.

  "Hey, what are you sorry for?" he asked, laughing. “I've never seen you cry. Come on, stop it; it’s disturbing."

  “It's all my fault that you were kidnapped," I howled. He embraced me with his large arms.

  “Don’t be silly," he said. "They would have taken me anyway. I should have known it was a trap."

  "If it wasn't for me, this wouldn’t have happened."

  "I will fire you if you don’t stop talking nonsense," he said, raising his voice. I wiped my tears away, looking at his bruised face.

  "I'm sorry," I repeated, blowing my nose. "Tell me what happened? Why didn't you go to the police?"

  "I couldn't; they were watching me. I had to act quickly, so I sent my kids and Elena abroad to keep them safe. I was planning to talk to La Caz, but then Fiorillo called me asking me to meet him and I only went for old time sake. I should have known that they would bug his phone."

  "They were waiting for you?"

  "Yeah, Fiorillo was nowhere to be seen and then I was surrounded. I didn't stand a chance, but I think I killed one of them."

  I dropped my head feeling sick.

  "They took you away trying to gain information," I said. "I guess they were violent about it?"

  "Don’t worry about it. It’s all in the past. They needed me, so they had to keep me alive."

  Rufus explained what kind of information McGregor was trying to get out of him, but he was reluctant to tell me about the torture he was subjected to. Rufus never showed any weakness, but I couldn't even imagine what he had to go through while he was isolated for over three months.

  "I wanted to live for Elena and for the kids, so I played tough. They were getting restless with me."

  I wanted to ask more questions, but Elena arrived with Tommy and Jessica, so I took my leave.

  Ella arrived later on. She stood in the entrance to my room, looking lost and unsure if she should enter. We both stared at each other in silence. Ella hated hospitals, but she was here for me and I was so glad to have her.

  "Julia, I hope that you don’t mind that I came over?" she asked shyly, finally letting go of her fear. She looked much more like the Ella that I used to know. Her red hair was worn straight, her fake tan was back along with long nails and eyelashes.

  “Don't be ridiculous, of course you can come over. You’re my best friend. How did you know I was in the hospital?"

  "I called your dad and he mentioned that you were going through a rough time."

  She handed me a box of chocolate and sat in the chair next to me. An uncomfortable silence settled between us. I was so glad to see her; aft
er this hellish week, I needed to feel normal.

  "What happened to your face?" she asked.

  “It's a very long story." I sighed.

  "I want to hear it," she demanded.

  "Are you sure? It’s all over now. It’s better to forget and just move on," I said, massaging the nape of my sore neck. Ella was making progress and I didn't want to scare her off.

  "No, I'm fine, you can tell me. I won’t freak out.”

  "Oh, Ella, I don’t know."

  "Shut up and start from the beginning."

  I swallowed the giant lump in my throat. Maybe she was ready to hear about McGregor and his master plan. She was part of the chain, witnessing the murder during the networking event. I didn't have to lie to her anymore. I took a deep breath and went through everything that happened after Ludwig Spencer was murdered. I told her about Rufus, Nathaniel, and the damp basement. It was hard to go through the part where I was nearly raped. Once I finished, she hugged me tightly.

  "He saved you, after all that, he showed up?" she repeated. I knew how she felt about my ex-boyfriend. Now she probably hated him even more.

  I nodded.

  "I'm sorry that I’ve been such a bitch to you."

  “It's not your fault. I lied to you."

  "When you told me about who you were," she began, playing with her fingers, "I was afraid, I didn't want to go out. I had nightmares about that night."

  "I should be the one apologising,” I said. “I had no idea that you would be immune to a memory spell. It all went wrong from there."

  "I still don’t know what happened during that night. I feel sick when I try to remember."

  Dad’s investigation hadn't revealed anything new. He had a couple of suspects but no one that he could charge with murder. Ella was the only witness; she was aware of bits and pieces, but we needed a description.