Angels of Night (Full Version)

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_Depression -> Angels of Night (10/18/2008 20:29:56)

Chapter One][Night Light


"I am an angel of the night. One of many, but one of only a few. I am a devil in the moonlight, one who will kill, one who will save. I am as beautiful as I am ugly, and as powerful as I am weak."

I must have used that paragraph in a hundred interviews, essays, and books. All of them referring to who I am. Me, Rina Celeste. Me, a vampire.

It is a beautiful thing, to see as clearly in darkness as in light. To be graced with more strength than any man. To be blessed with the ability to seduce whomever I want, with no more effort than a smile and a stare. It is a beautiful thing, but a dangerous thing all the same; a deadly combination of power and control.

Vampires like me live, hiding in plain sight. We go to school with the normal children, we play with the normal children. We know our fellow vampires by face, and we know the brothers and sisters in our tribes by name.

We cannot reveal our secret to anyone - lest they be enemies of our tribe - and yet, we would tell anyone who asked. Or, I would. I love who I am, and I love anyone who can accept me for that.

Granted, I could make people accept me, if I wanted. I have the power. But then, what would those people be? Empty shells, their souls attached to strings that I could pull whenever it pleased me.

And I have two puppets, like most members of my tribe do, but I want to be able to call some people friends. Friends to let me cry on their shoulder with tears of blood, friends to help me fight through life as a human, and friends who can trust me, even if I am a devil.

My tribe's law encourages us to assimilate with the humans. We are almost begged to grow close to normal people, to become as much a part of society as anyone else. But to be so close, we sacrifice our connection to the other tribes.

The other tribes ... the ones that want to kill off as many humans as they can. Those tribes are the devils, and we are the angels; we are saviors, while other tribes choose to be destroyers. My wings may be black, and my fangs may drip with human blood, but the halo above my head shines.

An angel of night, I pass away,
~ Knowing I can never be ~
One of your kind, even by day.

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_Depression -> RE: Angels of Night (10/18/2008 22:01:56)

Chapter Two][Birth, Rebirth

"Dear Ms. Celeste," the letter began, it's small typeface causing Rina to groan inwardly. She knew that, like so many other pieces of fan mail she read, this letter would be fairly lengthy. Bracing herself for either fifteen minutes of sickly-sweet praise, or fifteen minutes of harsh criticism, Rina looked down to the first paragraph of the letter's body and began to read. "I understand you get many pieces of fan mail daily, and that it must be a pain to read each thoroughly..."

Rina let herself read the letter passively, her sprightly, blue-green eyes taking in the bulk of the writing without comprehension. With a sigh, she read the conclusion and dropped the letter to her right side, in a small, blue plastic bin labeled, "Praise." She rubbed her temples slowly, closing her tired eyes as she tried to take a moment's reprieve before reaching into the small sack of fan letters she went through on a weekly basis.

She pulled a small, thick envelope from the bag next, and slit the seal with a well-manicured fingernail. Inside the simple white envelope was a pile of different papers, and as Rina laid them before her, she found her eyes drawn to a folded-over photograph. Her eyes grew wide as she unfolded and took in the image - a middle-aged man standing, with his arms outstretched and his teeth bared like a stereotypical Dracula, over a group of scared junior-high students.

Without taking her eyes off of the photograph, Rina reached her hand out to the envelope and flipped it over to the front. Finally tearing her eyes from the image, she saw that the front of the envelope was completely bare. No one had mailed the letter to her P.O. Box, they had dropped it into the mailbag themselves; they knew where she lived, and they knew her past.

Her normally calm, soft hands trembled as they reached out for the first of four neatly folded papers, nightmares from her past rising in her mind as she opened the document. Her breath caught as she scanned over a copy of her medical records from her last hospital visit - an examination of small stab wounds on the base of her neck - when she had been twelve years old. Slowly, she reached a hand to the spot where she had been bitten, feeling the healed skin and shuddering as she remembered the gruesome hour of pain from her attack.

The next paper Rina opened held a hand-written note to her parents, informing them that she was running away. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she read her words, in her handwriting, signed with her old name - her human name. She exhaled shakily as she thought, 'How could anyone know all this about me? I haven't used that name in seven years. I haven't been home in even longer...'

Rina unfolded the third document with a slight hesitation, and felt her heart drop as she viewed a scan of the newspaper obituaries from six years ago, with the names of her friends and classmates circled in red ink. Not only did the mysterious sender know her, the survivor of her horrific attack, but he knew the names of each of the other girls that had been killed that same day. 'Who sent this? And what does he want?'

Images of the dark figure that had jumped from the bushes and engulfed her in his worn coat, shrill screams from her friends as he killed them - sucked the blood and souls from their bodies - and loud sobs from her own lips as she felt the vampire sink his fangs into her skin, filled her mind as she dropped the third paper to the desk she sat at. Her heart pounding, Rina forced herself to unfold the final sheet of paper and read the contents of the letter.

Rina Celeste,
Or, should I call you Mary? Either way, you are my child. The very essence of your being came from me. From my hands, my breath, my blood, my touch. My child, I made you who you are. And I demand that you show me the reward I deserve, the prize for giving you your new life.

I am calling for you to come to me, as my child. To do what I need done. What I cannot do myself. I need you, the flower of my creations, the only bloom in my barren fields. Find me, and come to me. Give me what I require, what I demand.

You cannot refuse my will. I have many others under my control, who will bring you to me by force. I have the power to destroy your life, to kill your friends as I have done once before. Refuse me, and the world of darkness will never be safe for you again.

Rina held the letter loosely in her hands and her eyes lost focus. Frightened, horrified, she collapsed inward, withdrawing into her very core as the message she read sank in. Her mind went silent, her lips fell silent. All that kept her alive was her chest, rising and falling unconsciously as she breathed, and the near immortality of the vampire blood in her veins.

A sudden gust blew through the open window behind her, and she jumped from her seat and whirled around, staring at the dimly lit, empty room as her black hair fell across her face and covered her eyes. Slowly, she felt herself calm, and with shaking hands she brushed her hair aside. Twilight grew outside and the shadows in the room deepened, hiding Rina in darkness.

Her eyes flashed silver in the fading light and her vision grew clear, the shadows seeming to disappear for Rina as she returned to her seat. Carefully, she folded each paper and replaced them in their envelope as thoughts raced through her, threating to overwhelm her. 'Whoever he is,' she thought finally, dropping her tired head into her hands, 'and whatever he wants, I will not give in. I am not his child. He poisoned me with his touch, blackened my wings with his fangs.' Sighing deeply, she stood and walked from the small office, closing the door behind her as she turned down the long hallway of her tribe's work quarters. 'I can stand up to him now. I can hurt him for hurting me. I can kill him. I will kill him.'




_Depression -> RE: Angels of Night (10/20/2008 19:39:54)

Chapter 3][World in Moonlight


Rina sat in a chair by her bedroom window, watching the park outside grow active as the clock neared midnight. She adjusted the tight, pink tube top she wore over a plain, white tee shirt and flipped her hair away from her face, sighing as she waited for a knock on her door. 'He's late again,' she thought, not surprised.

She glanced at her watch - almost twelve-fifteen. Again she stared out her window, watching other members of her tribe meet on the park grounds and head off to their destinations. Suddenly, a loud knock on her door caused her to jump. "Rina?" a voice called through the painted oak door. "Are you in there?"

Rina stood and strode quickly across her thick carpet floor, unlocking the door and crossing her arms as the boy outside her room pulled the door open. "You're late, Blaise," she said simply, staring at him as he stepped into her room. "What's your excuse this time?"

"For someone who's never going to die, you're really grumpy when something takes too long," Blaine said jokingly, smiling and pulling a small flashlight from his pocket. He glanced over his shoulder quickly before flicking on his pocket flashlight and illuminating the room. "I'm never going to get used to having to walk down that pitch-black hallway, you know."

Rina grinned, baring her fangs at the boy as she reached out a hand to him. As he took the outstretched hand, she said, "One day, I may just bite you to stop you from always complaining." She pulled Blaise close and hugged him. "At least you came."

"I always come. Every Saturday. What, did you think that argument last week would stop me from seeing you?"

Rina sat on her bed and dropped her eyes to her feet. "I hurt you. I-"

Blaise shushed the girl, gently lifting her face so she could see his smile. "It'll take a lot more than that to get me mad." He waited to see Rina smile back at him before winking and helping her stand. "C'mon," he said, flipping off his flashlight, "we're going to miss the movie if we don't leave soon."

With a light grin, Rina helped Blaise walk through the dark hallway. "Don't you just love that painting?" she asked jokingly, knowing the boy would never be able to see it. She giggled and draped her arm across his back, leading him to the door as he gave a fake laugh.

"Ri!" a voice called out from the far end of the hallway. The sound of light footfalls and a swishing coat accompanied a light figure as she flew down the hall. With a happy shout, she jumped on Rina's back and tackled her to the ground, leaving Blaise to stand alone, blind. "Where ya going?"

Rina laughed and hugged the girl straddling her. "I'm taking my friend to a movie, Kat."

"Ooh, is that the human boy you keep telling me about?" Kat asked, hopping to her feet and hop-skipping to look at Blaise from the front. "Why isn't he moving?"

"He can't see anything in here," Rina said, standing and fixing her shirt before stepping back to Blaise's side. His hand crept around her back as the darkness became claustrophobic. "He uses a flashlight to see me in my room, but he has to hide it everywhere else."

"Oh, right," Kat said. "Humans aren't supposed to be on our property."

Blaise nodded and frowned. "Doesn't that go against your laws though? I thought you were supposed to be as close as possible with humans."

"With obvious exceptions," Rina said.

Kat clasped her hands behind her back, watching the two as a grin grew on her face. "Can I go out with you guys tonight?" she asked, trying her best to look cute, or adorable, or whatever else that would get Rina to let her tag along. "I have nothing to do around here, and I promise I won't try to feed on someone tonight."

Blaise blinked in the darkness. "Was that serious? You'll 'try' not to feed on anyone?" He leaned over to where he guessed Rina's head was and, faking a whisper, asked, "Is it even safe for her to be around humans?"

"Not really," Rina said, grinning. "Last time we brought her out to a concert, and she had already seduced three other kids."

Blaise gave a small 'huh,' and shook his head. "Well, I dunno. How old is she, anyway?"

"Fourteen," Kat said. "Not like it matters. I could seduce anyone, any age."

Rina laughed. "And she's not kidding, either."

Blaise sighed and shifted his weight to his right foot. "Can we go outside before we keep talking?" he asked. "It's really uncomfortable in here."

Kat grinned, sensing an opportunity. "You know, if you don't let me come, I'll spread the word that a human comes on the property every week." The young vampire grinned wider, her fangs showing, as she saw Rina's face fault. "You know what that means, right Rina?"

"You wouldn't," Rina said, trying to seem calm while anger and fear rose within her. "They wouldn't even believe you."

Kat laughed darkly and took a step backward, toward the doors. "Do you really think so?" Another step. "So if I went to Natalie right now, she wouldn't believe me?"

Rina lunged forward and grabbed Kat's shoulder as the young vampire took a third step toward the door. "Okay, fine," she said, sighing in resignation. "We'll bring you along. But you have to promise not to do anything inhuman, okay?"

Smiling innocently, Kat shook Rina's hand off of her shoulder and nodded. She brushed a few stray strands of her long, jet black hair from her face and turned around, calling over her shoulder, "I can't promise I won't be tempted. But I'll try real hard, Ri."

Rina felt Blaise's muscles loosen as she touched him, remembering that the boy was anxious to leave the oppressing darkness and silence of the hallway. "Come on," she said, pulling him along slowly, forced to keep a slow pace with his clumsy, blind footsteps. "We can still make the movie, right?"

I realize now, that in the dark,
~ My halo lights the way, ~
For all who need it, for all who stray.

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_Depression -> RE: Angels of Night (10/23/2008 21:36:50)

Chapter 4][Alone in the Crowd


Rina led the group as they walked up to the ticket window of the local, twenty-four-hour movie theater. The young lady behind the glass looked up, bored, and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Sure," Rina said, looking up at the movie time sheet. "Two adults and one child for the one-o'-clock."

The ticket attendant gave a half-laugh and pretended to check her computer. She gestured with well-manicured fingers to a piece of paper taped to the glass. "We're sold out," she said. "You want to see a different movie?"

Rina smiled and stared at the attendant. The young lady would be completely vulnerable to her seduction, the older vampire knew, and with a single, silver flash from her eyes, the ticket attendant was under her control. "I'll take three tickets to the one-o'-clock," she said calmly, mentally pulling the strings she had attached to the young lady. She walked over to Kat and Blaise, who were waiting at the door, and handed them their tickets. "See? I told you we'd get in," she said happily to the boy.

"Wow," Blaise said, slightly stunned. "And you got them for free, too. Didn't you?"

Rina winked. "Amateur writing isn't the best way to make a living, Blaise. And besides, isn't the boy supposed to pay on the date?"

"It's still a date with Little Draculina here?" he asked, glancing at Kat, who glared up at him. He smiled as Rina giggled, and said to the younger vampire, "I'm not here for you, so you get to be the butt of my jokes."

"Say that after I've seduced and bitten you," Kat sniped, threateningly. She flicked her ticket and turned to the theater doors. "You're buying the snacks," she said as she opened the glass doors, letting the smell of popcorn and soda waft out into the night.

Blaise turned, curious, to Rina as he walked in at her side. "You still eat regular food? I thought you stuck to your protein."

"It depends," Rina said, shrugging. She had expected the question to come up eventually and had practiced her answer. "We can eat non-meats, like carrots and popcorns and bread, but it doesn't do as much for us. We don't need much to live beside the nutrients found in blood. We eat steak and that sort of stuff all the time, rare of course, because we want to fit in, and because it tastes amazing."

Blaise nodded. "You rehearse that one often?"

Rina laughed, nodding, and stopped next to Kat at the back of the relatively small snack line. "So what're you going to get?" she asked.

"Nachos and cheese," Kat said, nodding. "And a small Sprite."

Blaise checked his wallet and took out his thirty-four dollars. He muttered the prices to himself, doing the math under hiis breath. "Twenty-three left," he said.

Rina scanned the snack menu, her eyes eventually resting on the Churro, her favorite quasi-Mexican snack food. "I'll get a Churro," she said, pointing to it for Blaise, "and a small Sprite like Kat."

"Fourteen left for me then," Blaise replied, nodding and looking for a snack combination he liked. "Guess I'll get what Kitty's getting." Kat glared at him again. "Oh, what? Never been called Kitty before?"

"No, she has," Rina said calmly, patting Blaise on his shoulder. "But the last one who called her that ended up losing a pint and a half of blood." She smiled as she saw her boyfriend give Kat a wary glance. "And only half of that was from her bite."

"What was the other half from?"

"Cats are known to be vicious with their claws."

Kat winked at Blaise and stepped up to the counter, relating her order sweetly to the cashier. Rina noticed the younger vampire still gazing, passively, at the boy behind the register, and immediately raised a flag in her mind. She kicked the younger vampire's ankle and was rewarded with an icy glare from the girl's electric-blue eyes.

The group took their food and walked to their theater, where in the relative safety of their seats Kat confronted Rina. "What the hell was that for?" she hissed.

"I told you to keep it normal," the older vampire said, able to see Kat's steady glare clearly with her enhanced night vision.

"Oh, so you can seduce and I can't?"

Rina frowned and looked away from Kat for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "Look," she said, "if I hadn't, we wouldn't even be in here. So can it."

Kat kept her glare for a moment longer, but turned away as the preview began to roll for a thriller. The young vampire glanced over to Blaise, who was holding her food, and asked, "Can you pass me my nachos?"

Rina gave the girl her food and drink, and draped her arm across Blaise's shoulders. "I can't believe you took me out to a slasher movie," she whispered, giggling lightly. "You know it's only going to tempt me, don't you?"

"If it's going to tempt you," Blaise said, "what's it going to do to Kat?"

Rina glanced to Kat and shrugged. "But if you hear a loud slurping sound..."

Blaise shoved Rina playfully and chuckled. "Come on, be serious."

"What're you laughing about?" Kat asked, tapping Rina's shoulder.

Rina turned to the younger vampire and sighed impatiently. She had to remember to keep an eye on Kat, but she wanted to spend her time with her boyfriend. "Nothing, Kat. Listen, we're kind of on a date, so... can you let us have our fun in peace?"

"Fine," Kat said, falling back into her chair and crossing her arms. As the next preview began, her eyes strayed to her right, where a boy about her age sat staring at her. "What're you looking at?" The boy seemed to flinch, and turned away. Kat gave a soft 'hmph' and focused on the screen, but she was quickly bored by the preview and turned back to the boy on her right, who again was staring at her. "What are you staring at?"

"N-nothing," he said, his raspy voice sounding as skittish as he acted. "Sorry."

Kat shrugged and flipped her hair back. "If it's nothing, why are you still staring?"

"Sorry," he said again, almost without comprehending what came out of his mouth. His eyes passed over her face for the fourth time and continued downward until he stared at the floor.

With a discreet roll of her eyes, Kat leaned forward and waved her hand in the boy's line of sight, catching his attention. As he brought his eyes back to her face, she asked, "So, what's your name, anyway?"

"Ted," he said quickly, the edges of his lips twitching upward in a smile. "And you're... Katerina?"

Kat blinked, taken aback slightly. "How'd you know?"

"I- I overheard your friend talking to you, and she- she said your name was Kat, and I just figured..." His voice faded away as his face grew a deep scarlet, and he dropped his eyes again to his feet.

Kat tapped his shoulder and smiled as he met her eyes. "How much did you hear her say?"

"Well, I heard that she was on a date, and... something about slurping?" Ted's face grew an even more intense scarlet.

Kat saw the boy's face clearly and felt herself growing hungry, the color on Ted's face reminding her of blood. "Do you know what she meant, by slurping?" she asked, leaning toward him and smiling sweetly, seductively. The boy mumbled incoherently as she reached into his soul and worked to take control. "Shh," she cooed, trying to calm the boy as he fought against her power, much stronger than anyone else she had seduced, "don't fight it."

It took Kat longer than she had expected to seduce the boy completely. He had a stronger will than others - she had felt its full force as it worked to repel her - but he had caved in as countless others had to her power. Grinning and baring her fangs, she lowered her face to the base of his neck and bit in, catching a vein easily and relishing in the taste of human blood. She had been without human sustenance for nearly one month, and the smooth liquid's slightly bitter tang felt like the waters of life against the back of her throat.

Kat retreated from the boy after a few moments, hoping she had taken no more than a pint. She was intrigued by the boy's resistance, and wanted to learn more about him. For the most part, she knew that only humans who expected their seducer of being vampires could put up any sort of mediocre defense - and this Ted had fought with all his will. He still seemed to be fighting, and the young vampire slowly relinquished her hold on his soul, repeating in his mind over and over, 'Stay silent, and I will answer all your questions later.'

With a content sigh, Kat relaxed in her chair and brought her Sprite to her lips, sipping it to wash down the blood still in her mouth. The film started as she drank, and she watched happily, a small smile on her face. At her side, Ted spent most of the movie staring at Kat the vampire, stunned but excited. On her other side, Rina rested her head on Blaise's shoulder, clueless to what had taken place just moments ago. The older vampire hummed softly and glanced to her boyfriend, gazing at him in the darkness of the theater and forgetting for a moment the letter she had read earlier.

For Rina, for an hour and a half, the rest of the world melted into space; she lay on the shoulder of Blaise, feeling all the peace and serenity of a cool spring twilight. For that same time, Blaise fought with himself to admit that he loved his vampire girlfriend, despite his fear of vampires. Kat spent the movie thinking about Ted, and how he had resisted her for so long. And Ted, still staring at Kat, admired who he saw - a beautiful young lady to his eyes, and the answer to all his questions and all his doubts in his soul.

Night after night, and day after day,
~ Life continues, and never forgets ~
Love gained, love kept, love gone astray.

Comments



_Depression -> RE: Angels of Night (10/26/2008 19:40:08)

Chapter 5][Puppeteers with Invisible Strings


Rina and Blaise led the way out of the theater, but Kat slowed her pace to allow Ted to catch up to her in the theater's lobby. "Ri, I need to use the bathroom," she called to the older vampire, who waved a hand to acknowledge that she had heard the girl. Kat walked toward the girl's room, but instead of go inside she grabbed Ted by his shirt collar and pulled him around the corner, into the deserted hallway behind the lobby. "Okay, now we can talk."

Ted nodded slowly and fixed his shirt as he gathered his thoughts. "What- what are you? Some kind of-"

"Vampire," Kat said, finishing the boy's question. "Yeah. How were you fighting my control so well?"

Ted blinked, confused. "How did I do what?"

"You were fighting me for control of your body, remember? Back in the theater?"

"When you bit me?"

Kat nodded and tapped her foot anxiously, afraid Rina might come looking for her any moment. "Yes, then. You fought my control. How?"

"I- I don't know," Ted stuttered, his raspy voice beginning to get on Kat's nerves. He cracked his knuckles absently as he thought. "I don't remember fighting anything. I- I just couldn't move and you- you bit me."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Kat said, growing more antsy with every passing second. "Listen, I need to go."

"B- but I didn't get to ask any questions," Ted said quickly as Kat tried to walk around him. When she stopped and turned back to him, he took a deep breath and asked, "Did that bite turn me into a vampire?"

"No," Kat said, wondering what kind of idiot she had managed to feed off. "I just took a pint, and I don't even know how to make anyone a vampire." Shaking her head, she turned and began walking briskly toward the exit, the smell of popcorn radiating from the snack stand to her nose.

Ted followed the vampire as she walked away and called after her quickly moving figure, "Do you know anyone who can?"

Kat froze, unsure she had heard the boy correctly, and spun around. "What?" she asked, her voice more surprise than anything else.

"Uhh- do you know anyone who- who can make me a vamp-"

Kat shushed the boy, glancing around quickly to make sure no one had heard him. She looked to him and then to the doors, and back again as she considered her options, and found herself torn between simply leaving him and introducing him to Rina. She knew Rina would be angry with her, but this boy could tell others, could show Kat's teeth marks and tell the world who she was. 'I don't have much of a choice,' she told herself grimly, and motioned for Ted to follow her as she walked outside.

Rina saw Kat coming, and saw the boy following close behind. 'Crap,' she thought, 'Kat seduced another one.'

"Hey, Ri, this is Ted," Kat said simply, showing the older vampire through her expressive blue eyes that she was unsure of her decision.

Rina sighed with relief as she interpreted the younger vampire's facial expression, feeling that she might still have a chance to persuade Kat not to do anything stupid. "Hi," she said dully, sizing the teen boy up. She figured he was around Kat's age, and seemed rather nervous, yet excited. "What do you want?"

"Can you- uhh-" Ted resorted to his incoherent mumbling as his embarrassment grew, and as he dropped his eyes to his feet he brought a hand up to his bite marks and rubbed them unconsciously.

Rina caught sight of the bite and turned accusingly to Kat, who threw up her arms in a gesture of truce. "I can explain," she said quickly. "He was staring at me, and his face got really red, and it looked like blood, and-" She paused for a moment and sighed, dropping her hands. "I haven't had real blood in a month, and I was hungry."

Rolling her eyes, Rinna turned back to Ted, expecting to have to work some magic in the department of damage control. "You can't tell anyone-" she started.

"I won't," Ted answered, nodding.

"- you can't show anyone your-"

"I won't."

"- not even your parents."

"I know."

Rina raised an eyebrow. "So what are you still here for?"

Kat stepped forward and tapped Rina's elbow. Her face was red with embarrassment and she stumbled through her words as she said, "Well, see, Ted asked if I had turned him into a vampire and I said no, and he asked... he wanted to know who could."

Rina blinked. "What?" she asked, glancing between the two young teens. "You want what?"

"I want to be a vampire," Ted said confidently, despite his habitual stutter.

Rina was stunned, having never known a person to be so loving of her kind. "You want to become a vampire?"

Kat jumped in. "I was thinking, if you couldn't, maybe one of the older brothers or sisters could."

"Like who?" Rina asked, her mind working furiously to keep up.

Kat shrugged and looked down to her feet, which she gazed at fervently as she said, softly, "Maybe Cristal or Zack."

Rina laughed loudly, the younger vampire's suggestion almost too absurd to be considered. "Maybe you'd throw Natalie and Pat in there too, right? What're you, stupid?" She shook her head. "No, that would never work. First off, Zack and Pat would never suck blood from another boy. And Cristal? When was the last time she was in a good mood?"

"There's still Natalie..."

"Oh, sure, go right to the top. Because she'll totally let you get off scotch-free for breaking about four rules. And me! Just bringing you to the movie was one rule broken. Blaise is another two, at least."

Kat sniffled, the resurgence of human blood in her system making her overly sensitive emotionally. She looked up to Rina as tears pooled in her eyes. "I can't think of anything else, Ri! I made a mistake, and I'm dead if anyone finds out, and I'm scared, and..."

Rina stood, taken aback by the younger vampire's emotional outburst, and watched in shock as Kat began to sob. Coming to her senses, she stepped forward and put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "Sorry I yelled," she said softly, trying to soothe Kat. "I'm just as scared as you are."

Sniffling again, Kat glanced at Ted and gave the boy a double-take as an idea formed in her head. "Ri, what's the tribe law about punishing humans that trespass on our property?"

"We either make them a puppet, use them as food supplies, or turn them into... Kat, you're a genius!" Rina exclaimed, realizing what the younger vampire was hinting toward. "Can you remember who the last person to be transformed was?"

Kat thought for a moment, but shook her head and sighed. "No," she said. "I know it was a boy, and he was a little older than you, but other than that..."

Blaise stepped into the conversation, waving his hands to get the vampires' attention. "Whoa, hold up. What's this about punishing humans?"

Rina blushed lightly, somewhat embarrassed. She had never told Blaise what would happen if he were caught. "It's really almost impossible to get caught," she said, trying to calm her boyfriend. "The only time it really happened, the kid was practically suicidal."

Blaise felt his fear of vampires surge through him. "You told me that coming to you was safe."

"I know, Blaise, I just-"

"You told me that your tribe doesn't hurt humans like the other tribes do." Blaise's voice grew into an angry shout as he confronted Rina.

Rina reached her hands out to Blaise, her eyes beginning to water. "It's true, Blaise-"

"You lied to me!" Blaise yelled, knocking Rina's hands away in his fear-fueled rage. "I could have been caught! They could have killed me!"

"We don't kill," she cried, pleading with all her heart. "Please, Blaise-"

"All you vampires do is take advantage of humans! We're your slaves, your food source, your toys. You can do whatever you want with us!"

"Blaise, I would never-"

Blaise silenced Rina with a look, his anger countinuing to grow as he shouted. "Last week, when you said that all you loved about me was my taste..." He paused for a moment, glaring at Rina as she flinched back from his words. "It was true, wasn't it?"

"No, Blaise, it wasn't!"

"It was true! For all I know, I'm under your control half of the time we're together! For all I know, I'm a puppet just like those kids! Do you even remember what their names were before you seduced them, Rina?"

Rina froze, shocked and unable to answer Blaise's question. His words hurt her, and stung even more because they were all true. "I- I don't..."

"Christine and Jake," Blaise said, his voice restrained. "The two nine-year-old kids you seduced and made your slaves. Nine years old, Rina! And neither one of them has a name, or a voice, or a thought that you don't control." He shook his head solemnly. "They might as well be dead."

Rina let her tears fall down her face and to the ground below, and stood quietly as Blaise ripped apart her heart. When he turned and walked away without another word, she staggered forward after him and fell, sobbing, to her knees. 'Don't go,' she wanted to say. 'I love you.'

Kat knelt at Rina's side, laying a comforting hand on the older vampire's shoulder and watching her cry. She glanced over her shoulder and swore to herself, as she saw Blaise's figure disappear over the crest of a hill, that he would not get away with hurting Rina. She turned to Ted, then, and was surprised to see him standing, stoically, watching her. "You're still here after all that?"

Ted nodded. "I don't care," he said simply. "If he hates vampires, why would either of you want him here?"

"Because I love him," Rina said, her eyes red from crying. "No matter how much he hurts me, I love him."

Kat stood and walked over to Ted. "I'll take you to my tribe, but you need to stay quiet, okay?" When the boy nodded, Kat helped Rina to her feet and led the way across the park grounds to the tribe's property.

Let not my beautiful heart be torn
~ By the memories of loved ones past, ~
Or the loved ones never to be born.

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