Immortal Suffering

by Shana J Caldwell

  “You’re done love! What do you think?” She beams, proud of her work. The female touches it and smiles.

  “I love it; you always do an incredible job.” She rises from the chair, her black dress swirling around her. She passes the hairdresser a small vial of blue liquid before disappearing out onto the street.

  She tucks it into her back pocket and beckons me into the chair. I sit hesitantly and stare at my reflection. I cringe inwardly, my round ruby eyes look out of place on my narrow face. Long gone are my soft plump cheeks I had worked hard for in my time at the camp. She runs her fingers through my hair.

  “I’m Aliya, how would you feel about a cut and some colour to really bring those eyes out? Gorgeous eyes by the way.” She hums to herself as she waits patiently for my reply.

  “I’m Allison. And yes okay, surprise me,” I say softly, not wanting to accept the compliment. She shrugs her thin shoulders and pulls my hair back, grabbing a bronze pair of scissors from her tray.

  “Wait, can we cover the mirror?” I truly want it to be a surprise. She smiles and slips a black towel over it.

  “Wait, I don’t have any money.” I say quickly. She pulls my hair back and sprays it with rose water.

  “We don’t use money here sweetheart, we accept gifts or debts. All kinds of gifts, no matter what they may be.” I relax in the chair and close my eyes as the scissors make their first cut.

  I drift away as she transforms me, not paying any attention to the process. Only slightly scrunching my nose at the bleach she uses, and the other chemical smells I couldn’t place.

  In a matter of hours, or longer, she claps her hands together.

  “Are you ready? Oh my gosh. I’m so happy with it.” She squeals; I open my eyes as she pulls the towel away. My eyes bulge as I take in my new hair. She was truly an artist.

  My hair now only grazes my breasts; the silver roots melt down half way blending with velvet red tips.

  I barely recognise myself. I run my fingers through the curled hair.

  “What do you think?” She asks, admiring it through the mirror.

  “I love it.” I say softly, this was exactly what I needed.

  A new me deserved a new appearance.

  “It’s everything I’ve ever wanted,” I say, my voice raw with emotion. She rests her small hands on my shoulders.

  “This is why I love my job, I’m so happy you enjoy it. Oh do please come back again.” I nod in the mirror; it really does bring out my ruby eyes.

  “Own them girl, they’re beautiful on you.” She whispers before dropping her hands.

  I stand and turn to her.

  “I don’t have a gift, will you accept a debt?” I ask, clasping my hands together. She nods and smiles.

  “Of course sweetie. I’ll call for you when the time is right. Now go, explore what the city has to offer you.” I turn away and walk onto the street, somehow feeling lighter than ever before.

  Chapter 9

  Allison

  The deeper I venture into the city, the less civilised the vampires become and the more vampire drunk humans I see. I cringe as I pass them, their necks covered in bite marks. I try to walk straight, but I find myself veering down different streets. There are no signs here to tell me where I am; I have to hope someone will point me in the right direction of Kal’s castle.

  The street I’m currently in is much darker than the other streets I had ventured down, a handful of vampires lean against the building to my right; hiding in the shadows.

  I continue walking, hoping for an exit down a brighter street. No tuk-tuk taxi would be able to fit down here; the buildings were too close together and only seem to grow closer the deeper I go down the street. The buildings tower over me, blocking out most of the light from the other streets. My stomach churns, my skin crawls.

  I need to leave this street. I stop and turn, my skirt flying around me with the sudden movement. Something is wrong. I take a step forward and freeze, the group of vampires I’d walked past had lined themselves up; blocking my escape. I gulp.

  The six of them are all dressed in black; the paleness of their face is the only exposed skin. I take a step back, clenching my shaking fists.

  “You look a little lost, dumpling,” one of the males calls. They all grin, fangs flashing from the distance. Oh god, oh god, oh god.

  “Cat got your tongue?” a female purrs; one of the males chuckles as they take a step forward. I don’t take my eyes off of them. I could try and out run them; I could try and run through them. I had to do something.

  “No, it doesn’t,” I call, my voice shaking slightly. In a blur they surround me, blocking me in. I turn in a violent circle, the taste of copper in my mouth. My heart beats wildly as my skin becomes clammy. Deep down my power stirs, feeling the threat.

  “You look absolutely delicious. When we heard the king had brought you into the city, I had to see for myself.” one of the males to my left says, to my right someone tugs on my hair. I stay still.

  “But, then we noticed the king wasn’t with you. So of course we had to keep an eye on you. There are some nasty vampires in this city that would do anything to have a taste of you.” I wish I had just listened to Kal, oh god I was going to die here.

  “You don’t belong to anyone, so it’s free for the taking.” a female says in front of me. In the dark they all look the same; pale skin, black eyes with hoods covering their other features.

  “I’m nothing special,” I mumble; I loosen my hands beside me. My power flickers and comes to my silent calling. I feel its pressure building in the palm of my hands beneath the skin, waiting for the order.

  “Oh but you’re very special. No wonder the king wouldn’t let you leave his side. Greedy of him to keep you to himself.” I have to stop the bubble of laughter from slipping through my lips. Ha, if only they knew what Kal and my relationship was really like.

  “I’m not his,” I growl, unable to help myself and my stupid ego. I was no one’s. A vampire to my right steps forward, running a gloved hand down my cheek. They watch me with wide, fascinated eyes. I sniff, old blood coats their glove. I bite down the inside of my cheek.

  “I’m going to taste you.” He grabs my arm, I try and yank it from them; the other vampires came forward and grab at me, holding me in place. I struggle and cry out as he brings my arm closer to his exposed fangs. This couldn’t happen. No. No. God please if you’re there save me.

  Save me.

  He licks his lips and runs his tongue over my forearm; I cringe and scrunch my face up. My breath comes in short gasps as they graze their fangs over my skin. My vision sways slightly.

  Once he starts, I know he won’t stop.

  “Make sure you save some for us,” a voice to my left growls. The hands holding me begin to squeeze, as if they’re ready to rip me away if this vampire decides to become greedy. Oh god, I’m an open buffet. How ironic. I could almost laugh.

  “I’m part vampire.” I say, in the hope that would deter them.

  “You think we don’t know that?” One growls; pulling at my skirt.

  “Wouldn’t that make you sick?” I ask, frowning. The vampire had taken his mouth away from my arm. My distraction is working.

  “You’re mostly human sweetie,” a female says.

  “But… my eyes? I’m mostly vampire?” I say, confused. Why would my eyes be almost all red if I was still mainly human?

  One of the vampires snorts while the others snicker.

  “You really don’t know much do you? Well, I will enlighten you. They’re going to change to all red regardless of whether you stay human or vampire, the Queen’s blood is a part of you. They always would have turned red; the vampire’s blood you drank just helped speed up the process.” I couldn’t tell if they were lying or not but I felt so much relief I could have cried out in joy. I was still mostly human.

  One sniffs my skin, frowning.

  “What else runs through your blood?” It asks, confused. I raise my eyebrows.

&nb
sp; “Nothing,” I say, not wanting to remember the camp. The things I had to go through, I couldn’t think of that. Not now.

  “I smell it too, what is that?” one asks, pulling away.

  “Grobbler blood,” the vampire that was originally going to bite me says. Dread fills me head to toe. I thought by now whatever Luke pumped into me would be gone, cleaned out. I was mistaken.

  “How did you get grobbler blood in you?” One asks, pulling my hair back to expose my throat. I could feel my pulse beating wildly.

  “It was injected, I didn’t want it.” I say quietly. I shut my eyes and bite my lip.

  “Why on earth would anyone do that?” They stay silent, trying to figure it out.

  “So you’re part human, vampire and Grobbler. What are they trying to turn you into in that castle?” The girl vampire asks.

  “It wasn’t at the castle. It was a human,” I say. I don’t know why I was letting them know so much. I figure if these are my last words they may as well be true words.

  “So humans are trying to mutate themselves?” The original vampire asks, yanking my face towards him as he comes closer. His rancid breath forces me to hold in my gag.

  “I don’t know,” I say, holding my breath as much as I can.

  “Lies,” one hisses and they rip a few pieces of my hair out. I hiss. The male vampire still hasn’t moved his face away.

  “Could that be why?” He asks, his eyes flicker to my mouth; looking for signs of a lie.

  “Yes, but they never told me anything. I only fought once with a man that had it in his system; he matched my strength and I was half vampire at that time. If I refused the needles it wouldn’t end well so I just let them do what they wanted.” I am trying to calm myself down. He blinks slowly.

  “She’s telling the truth.” By now I’ve figured he’s the leader of their little group. If I could convince him I wasn’t worth it, they might let me go.

  “Well this is certainly valuable information. Have you told the king yet?” He asks.

  I stay silent. A small seed of guilt plants itself; if I wanted equality for both races I would have told Kal already, right?

  “Well aren’t you a naughty girl, hmm?” He purrs, pulling away from me. He brings my arm back to his mouth. I begin to panic again, his fangs press against my skin.

  “Let her go.” A familiar male voice growls from the entrance of the street, they all turn and snarl towards him. I try and look around the bodies, but can only see his shadow.

  “We found her first.” One of them snarls; the others join in.

  “She’s mine,” he snarls back, beginning to come towards us with ease. I try and place his voice, I know him. Relief fills me to the point I could almost cry.

  “She isn’t marked,” a female voice calls. Nails dig into the flesh of my left arm; nearly drawing blood. If they went deeper nothing would be able to stop them.

  “We were doing it today, I had foolishly left her to grab us refreshments and when I returned she’d wondered off. I’ve been looking for her this entire time. So I thank you for finding her, but get your hands the fuck off of her.” He steps into a sliver of light. Zeke. Zeke was here to save me. They hesitate. My power was nearly bursting from my hands; I’d forgotten it was there. If Zeke saw what I was capable of he’d never look at me the same, not that he does now anyway.

  “No.” That simple word makes the nails break the skin, my blood begins to trickle down my arm. In an instant all their heads snap towards it. With the second of vulnerability I unleash my power in an explosion. Blue light blinds me, before seeking out its threat.

  They scream as the blue tendrils begin to wrap around each of their throats. I don’t look at Zeke. All six of them are trying to claw at the tendrils, but their hands go straight through.

  The hunger begins to overtake, want and need to kill is building. Their life essence surrounds me, pulsing warmth deep inside of me.

  If I let it loose I won’t be able to rein it back in.

  Kill them. They were going to kill you.

  No, I can’t. I won’t be able to stop.

  The six of them begin to rise in the air as I hold my hands out. Zeke hasn’t moved. The tendrils tighten; their life forces begin to blink out. I take a deep breath, and look at Zeke.

  He stands there frozen, his eyes wide as he watches me. I make eye contact.

  “Thank you again, it means a lot. I don’t think I’d like to spend my last night here alone.” He nods in understanding, his hair falling over his face. As I go to step past him my bad ankle gives way. Before I hit the ground, strong arms catch me. I wiggle around in his arms to look at him. His face is barely centimetres from mine, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

  “Would you look at that, already saving your life?” I swat his chest softly and grin at him.

  “Get used to it, because I have a feeling you’ll have to do it a fair bit from now on.” He chuckles softly, his chest rumbling against mine.

  I gasp as the memory fades, my power snaps back into me as I choke. Tears swim in my eyes as I continue to stare at him.

  The vampires drop to the ground and cough and splutter, Zeke is by my side in an instant. He takes my cheeks in his hands and his eyes roam my face.

  “Are you okay?” He whispers. I nod once; holding back the well of emotions the memory has brought back. In a swift movement he’s cradling me in his arms and we’re strolling out of the dark street, leaving the vampires. I rest my head on his chest, his cold body bringing me back to earth.

  “Where are you taking me?” I ask weakly. I look at my hands. They are a faint blue, cutting off just after my wrists. Why was my power changing my body in the process?

  “To my home, I think we need to talk.”

  Chapter 10

  Allison

  Zeke puts me down once we reach the main city street, from where I originally started. He stays close to me as we walk down the street, away from the direction of the forest. A few vampires give us glances before looking away.

  In the distance I see the platform that releases us to the human world; the sunlight is so close but so far from my grasp. I would do anything to feel its warmth on my skin again.

  As we walk along my legs begin to tire, the muscles burn with each step I take; my morning training session with Kal catching up with me.

  We reach a tall, dazzling building. Its glass walls reflect the light from the street, giving each room its privacy. Zeke opens the glass door for me, I step in and look around. The white tiles are spotless; no other vampire is in here. A few fake plants are spread around the room, a gold elevator awaits us. He follows me in, shutting the door behind him. It blocks out the noise from the street. I follow him into the elevator.

  He presses the glowing button for level thirty. The elevator kicks into gear and begins to take us up. I stay silent as I watch Zeke.

  His jaw is locked, the muscle twitches. He isn’t happy. He’s wearing his usual get up, black jeans, black tight shirt with black boots. His hair is pulled up in a messy bun, with loose strands flying around.

  He still smelt the same, smoke mixed with sandalwood. I look away and focus on the elevator doors; I still meant every word I had spoken to him at the castle. My being here wasn’t going to change that.

  The elevator dings as the doors open to a long, red carpeted hallway. Six dark oak doors line the walls on each side. I follow him to the last one on our right, he opens it and lets me in first. I walk down the short hallway, the white tiles sparkle underneath my feet.

  It opens to my left, revealing a small, black and gold kitchen. A black frame of metal roses and vines work as a wall to my right between the kitchen and what I assume is the lounge room. I run my hand along the black marble island bench then I turn to the right and into the lounge room. It was larger than the kitchen, to my left is another small hallway, exposing a large bed with messy sheets. I turn away, a small white leather couch sits facing the open glass wall with a small round glass coffee t
able in front of it, overlooking the city below.

  I walk over to the wall and look out; the city takes my breath away. Every vampire below is a small moving speck, as well as the tuk-tuk taxis. The building across from us is similar height, but has balconies you could walk out onto. I turn to see Zeke standing beside the metal roses, arms crossed over his chest.

  “I like your apartment.” I say softly. He raises his eyebrows, his jaw ticks. I sigh as my shoulders sag.

  “Thank you for saving my life.”

  “Does Kalabhiti know you’re in the city?” he asks; his voice neutral. I swallow hard, the last he’d seen I was all over Kal.

  “No,” I whisper. Zeke shakes his head and looks past me, out the window.

  “Why did you come here? What on earth were you thinking coming here without someone to look out for you? Are you out of your mind?” his voice is beginning to rise; he still doesn’t look back to me. I cross my arms over my chest.

  “I was going crazy in that castle, Kal won’t let me leave. I don’t like feeling trapped.” his eyes snap back to me.

  “He’s trying to protect you, because he knows not all vampires are going to be friendly with you and like you. Everything he’s done has been in your best interest,” he growls. I look away from him and stare at the white carpet; I should have taken my shoes off.

  “Yeah right. Best interest, I’m sure.” I sit on the couch and stare out. He moves and stands in front of me, looking out as well.

  “Do you understand how hard it is for him to have you here? He can’t let you roam free because these are his people as well; he needs to protect them from you as well.” his words sting, I suck on my lower lip.

  I hadn’t thought of it like that, I hadn’t seen myself as a threat to the vampires. I knew I was a monster, yes. But I hadn’t realised that I could be the biggest one in this city.

  Zeke turns to me and his eyes soften.

  “I know it isn’t easy Allison. I know what this city is like. I’m lucky I found you when I did.” I meet his eyes.