Behind Blue Eyes: The Good The Bad & The Blood

by D. M. Wolfenden

  “Well, I lied,” Vasile said nonchalantly. “She’s the one I want and now she really is all mine. You’re too late. Go away, little boy, and find your own human to play with.”

  Mia heard their words through a haze. Strangely enough the pain of her slashed and violated flesh was fading and her breathing was somehow easier. Yet her mind was still in agony. Why can’t I die?

  “I’ll kill you,” Alexander said tensely as he advanced toward Vasile.

  “Better vampires than you have tried and failed,” Vasile said derisively.

  “But you will fail against the both of us.”

  Cain advanced toward them. The sudden fear in Vasile was tangible.

  Vasile backed away, trying to disappear into the darkness of the thick woods, but Alexander and Cain kept pace with him. The three vampires circled each other, each looking for an opening. Vasile made a sudden dash for freedom but Alexander, who was nearest to him, grabbed a branch from the ground and cracked it over his head. Vasile stumbled and that small delay was enough for Cain to leap forward onto his back and get an arm lock around his neck. Vasile wrenched free with an almighty effort, grabbed Cain’s arm and with all the strength he could muster, he threw him high and far. Cain twisted in the air and landed down on his feet.

  Alexander still had hold of the branch and launched it at Vasile like a javelin. Vasile felt an excruciating pain shoot through his chest. He fell backward. He looked down in stunned amazement to see the protruding branch. Having trouble getting his breath, he’d never felt anything like this before.

  Cain grabbed Vasile by the neck; his fangs elongated and he lunged at his throat, tearing the flesh away. Vasile tried to fight back, but the pain was too intense. He could not think fast enough, or summon enough strength. He needed to play for time, to get his thoughts together.

  As he lay on the ground with blood pouring from both wounds, he stared up at Cain.

  “Why have you turned against your own kind for humans?”

  “You are not my kind. You are a monster, and I am what I am because of you.”

  “Because of me? I did not do this to you.”

  “Correct, my mother did. Elizabeth Sutton.”

  “Ah, yes, I remember her.” Vasile’s face contorted in agony. “You are the son she was always so concerned about. I had forgotten about you.”

  “I have never forgotten about you,” Cain said disdainfully.

  “She was beautiful, strong willed. Where is she now?” he asked through a grimace of pain.

  The moon appeared from behind a cloud and shone down into the clearing. Cain’s disgust for Vasile was plain to see. “She’s dead. Just like you.”

  Vasile briefly reflected on his mortal life. “I am ready to die.”

  “Not yet. I want you to suffer a while longer, the way my mother suffered.” Cain was rigid with anger. The creature lay there smiling at him, not caring that his mother was dead after what he had done to her, not caring what he had done to Mia.

  He picked Vasile up and threw him as hard as he could. Vasile screamed in pain as his broken body slammed against the ground. Cain walked over to him, grabbed Vasile’s arm and began to snap it in numerous places.

  “Just kill me! Get it over with!” Vasile screamed.

  “You will get no mercy from me! When have you ever shown mercy toward another?”

  Cain grabbed hold of the branch that was protruding from Vasile’s chest, remembering the pain he suffered when he was staked. He slowly pulled on the branch; he could not help but smile at Vasile’s horrific bellows.

  Vasile glanced sideways at Mia’s limp body. Cain followed Vasile’s eyes and growled. He stuck his fingers in both of Vasile’s eye sockets.

  Then he put his foot on Vasile’s chest and grabbed hold of Vasile’s left hand. “This is for Helena.” He pulled with all his strength. Vasile shrieked as his arm was wrenched from his shoulder.

  “Stop it, Cain!” Alexander begged. “We’re not the same as him. I can’t watch this any more.”

  “This demon cannot be allowed to live.”

  Alexander looked at Mia. “And what about her? What would Mia want?”

  Cain felt mortified that in his fury he had forgotten the dire straits Mia was in. He grabbed Vasile by the head and twisted. As he stood there looking at Mia, his heart was broken.

  Alexander walked in front of him, and then began to make his way out through the forest.

  ***

  Cain drove for hours until he reached the log cabin he owned high up in the mountains. It was his refuge whenever he needed to be alone. Now he needed it more than ever. Mia needed to be away from people when she awoke. Alexander sat beside him, saying nothing.

  “Why did you come back?” he asked Alexander

  “For her. She needs me. She needs us both. We can help her come to terms with what’s happened.” He did not see Cain stiffen in his seat.

  Cain put Mia on the bed and he and Alexander spent the next two days and nights watching her, waiting for her to wake up. He would not leave her side, despite Alexander’s protestations that he would watch her just as carefully as Cain would, that he would call Cain the moment she woke.

  Alexander told Cain how angry he’d been when his attempts at befriending them in Vegas were spurned, how Vasile had used that anger to further his own plans to get to Cain.

  Vasile had made a bargain with Alexander: do everything he said and he would leave Mia alone. Alexander had been deeply touched by Mia’s gestures of friendship, given spontaneously even when she knew what he was. She gave him the way in to finding strength to carry on and make the best he could of the life he was forced to live.

  “All I wanted was for Mia to be my friend, to be part of my life.”

  Cain looked suspiciously at Alexander. “She will choose if she wants you as part of her life.” Cain’s eyes narrowed as he watched Alexander slowly stroke Mia’s arm before nervously clasping his hands together.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t fast enough to save her. Do you think she will hate us?” Alexander stared at her unmoving form.

  Cain looked tormented. “No, I don’t think she will.” Full of sorrow and regret, he looked down at Mia.

  “She will hate me,” Alexander said. “She never wanted this, to become one of us, and now because of me….”

  Cain cut him off. “Your actions have kept Vasile from her door for many months but no one could keep him away for ever. Besides, you helped take care of him.” Cain ran his fingers through his hair. “If anyone failed her, it is me.”

  On the third evening Alexander was outside when Mia opened her eyes. Cain was standing over her for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was no more than a few minutes. He looked different. She could not pinpoint why, he just looked more alive, more human. “Hi,” she whispered.

  “Hi.” He smiled at her. “Do you know who I am?”

  Her brow knitted together as she looked askance at him. “Of course I know who you are, Cain. Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “What is the last thing you remember?”

  Mia thought for a moment. “Vasile was here. There was a sharp pain running through my arm. I heard the bone break when he grabbed me.” She looked at her arm and she moved it about. There was no pain, no bruising or swelling.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t in time to stop him,” Cain said, his voice anguished.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Mia said. “He was devious and you weren’t to know.”

  Cain paused, and then he asked, “Do you remember anything else?”

  She thought back, her eyes inward-looking as she tried to remember. “He bit me.” Her eyes were bright with unshed tears as she looked up at Cain. “I remember everything started to go in slow motion and then it was like someone was dimming the light, and he was raping me….” Mia stopped, and hugged herself. She started rocking. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God,” she moaned over and over.

  Cain held her close. “Hush, now. Hush, Mia. It’s goin
g to be all right. You’re safe now. Alexander and I took care of Vasile. He will never hurt anyone again.”

  “He turned me into one of your kind, didn’t he?” Mia said, not needing Cain to answer. She could feel the difference in herself.

  “Yes,” Cain admitted sadly.

  “Alexander?” She looked puzzled. Then panic set in as she remembered Peter lying on the floor. “Peter? Where’s Peter?”

  “I am sorry. Vasile killed him. He did not deserve to die like that.”

  “No! Cain, please tell me it’s not true. Why did he kill him?” She made several attempts to speak again, but no audible words came. She shook her head. “Why didn’t you turn Peter?”

  “I was too late.” Cain held Mia’s face, forced her to look at him. “You will need to feed soon.”

  “This is too much.” Her breathing was fast and ragged. “I just want Peter. I don’t want to hunt. I’m not ready.”

  Cain picked her up in his arms and held her. She was still his Mia, the sweet girl who cared so much. She had not lost her true self in becoming a vampire. “You must feed. I will be back soon.” He then placed her gently back on the bed and pulled a rug over her.

  Cain stalked the small deer slowly, keeping his body as low to the ground as possible. He pounced. As his hands landed around the animal’s back and neck he froze. A blade was frantically slashing away at her, her pitiful moans pounded in his head. He released the animal and ran.

  He heard Mia say, “I don’t feel that way about you. Please, stop.”

  He heard Alexander shouting, “But we have a connection. I saved you. We are meant for each other.”

  As he neared the cabin the smell of blood permeated the air. He burst through the door and saw Alexander holding Mia’s hoodie. Blood dripped from the slashes in the fabric, and traces of her hair were wrapped around his fingers.

  Cain stumbled to his knees. “What have you done? Oh, what have you done?”

  “You promised her,” Alexander said. “You said you would not let her become one of us.” Alexander stared at Cain. “Now she hates me.” Then Alexander backed up, dropping the hoodie. “Did you really think she would want you if she was one of us?”

  Cain took in the splatters of blood that lay on the floor where Alexander dropped the hoodie, and he noticed the glint of steel from a hunting knife sticking out from under the bed. He felt Mia, and then he heard a noise. He lowered his head to the floor. She was curled up in a ball under the bed in a sea of blood. Alexander’s feet now appeared up close, right in front of Cain’s face. Alexander reached down for the knife.

  Cain grabbed Alexander’s arm, and looked up at him. He snarled, “You should have kept walking.” He lunged at Alexander, grabbing his head, jumping and twisting his arms. He then stared at the lifeless eyes looking back at him before letting the head drop to the floor.

  Mia slowly dragged herself out from under the bed. She held in a sob as she pushed Alexander’s head away.

  “Mia.” Cain looked nervously at her. He could not take his eyes away from her multiple injuries. Blood seeped from the dozens of slashes on her hands, arms and neck. Her hand looked the worst as some of the fingers were almost completely severed. “You will need to feed soon.”

  Mia never heard his words, her mind and every cell in her body were focused on the blood oozing out of the dead vampire. She dropped to her knees and bit into what was left of Alexander’s neck.

  Eventually the hunger began to subside and Mia realized what she was doing. She pushed herself away from the body. “Oh, God, what am I doing? I’m a monster.”

  “You did what was natural to you now. You needed to feed.” He smiled at her. “We can feed on each other. You are starting to heal already.”

  Mia looked at the wounds, they no longer bled. Even her fingers were starting to heal, and she felt no pain. Apprehensively she looked at Cain. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I’m terrified I will do something bad.”

  Cain smiled and reached for her. “You won’t hurt anyone, that I am sure of.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “You are a good person, and if you did happen to lose control, I would not allow you to do anything that would cause harm. I promise.” His eyes were full of tenderness, when he said quietly, “I love you too much to allow you to do anything you don’t want to do, Mia. I have always loved you. I always will.”

  And their worlds were changed forever.