Cassian Legacy: The Vampire Prince

Once it was done, I let Ms. Ingram fall lifeless, upon the rooftop. She was dead and completely devoid of blood. A few drops were left on my hands from where my nails pierced the skin on her arm while I held her. I licked my fingers, relishing in the taste of her sugary blood before I turned my attention towards Finn and his friends. Now that the threat was gone, I could focus on them.

His eyes caught mine instantly, but his expression wasn’t one that I anticipated. I expected fear and revulsion, knowing that he wouldn’t understand what I was doing here, protecting him, when I had just killed four vampires, including a rather powerful one with warlock blood in her. It didn’t matter that the creature was our science teacher, or that it was a rather powerful vampire. Most of his confusion would stem from the fact that I had drained the blood of a vampire in front of him.

I swallowed the rest of the gooey mess, making sure there wasn’t any more blood on me, and looked down at the ground. He didn’t flinch or move with my reactions like I expected him to. He just stared right at me. Emery and Thalia weren’t getting up anytime soon mostly because their wounds were severe. I tried forgetting the fact that Finn stared at me as I moved over to Thalia first and felt for a pulse. It was there, and she was breathing. I rolled the bodies off of her that had fallen during the commotion. I pulled her up, and propped her against the wall of a chimney. I moved to Emery next, and twisted his neck back into place while feeling for a pulse. He was alive still, which was a good thing - the damage wasn’t extensive.

“Abelia,” Finn whispered, suddenly standing quite close to me.

I jumped away from him, and met his worried face. All trace of shock was gone - he had finally recovered.

“Abelia,” he whispered again, practically feeling concerned for my health.

“Get away from me,” I warned him and took a step back for good measure.

He shook his head. “You won’t hurt me.”

This time when my eyes watered, I felt the tears fall. “Yes I will. You don’t know anything about me. What I am…” I whispered.

He didn’t look frightened, though he should. “I know who you are.”

I froze. He didn’t phrase that right or maybe it was the manner in which he phrased it, but however he said it, it didn’t belong or pertain to this situation.

“But please Abelia, what exactly are you?” he asked me sounding more curious than afraid.

I didn’t want to answer him, but I knew I must. He had seen too much to not be curious. “Not here. We need to get them to safety. I need to get you to safety.” Just because the immediate threat was gone didn’t mean that this part of town was a haven for him. The nest was still several blocks away and by the time Ms. Ingram’s creator found out about her death, which would be soon, he would send out his soldiers against me and the Tierney’s.

He walked over to me, closing the gap I had put between us until we stood less than a foot apart. “Alright. Safely home it is.”

He agreed with me. I expected him to make a phone call or something, but he didn’t move at all, and I wasn’t going anywhere until I knew that this area was secure. His hand reached up suddenly and he caressed my cheeks. I flinched under his touch. If he only knew…

“Go home, Abelia. I’ll handle this.”

I shook my head. This area was not secure and there would be others coming for Ms. Ingram eventually. I couldn’t leave him knowing that there were more threats in the vicinity. “Not until you’re safe. I can’t leave.”

He pulled his phone from the pocket of his jeans. “My family’s coming, and they can’t see you like this.”

Like this? Like what? Did I have blood drooling from my mouth?

My eyes drifted over to the screen that he held up for me. He had sent a distress call from his phone ten minutes ago, before I had even arrived. I turned my head, already hearing the sound of approaching cars including two huge trucks. They were headed straight for us, but still several blocks away.

“Abelia,” Finn pleaded again. “You need to go, now.”

I nodded and turned, half in shock from the situation. He should be afraid of me, and not afraid for my safety. Suddenly, I felt like I was the one who was in danger though I didn’t understand why. My instincts churned anew and I ran from the roof and flew off into the night.

When I returned home, I spent an hour or two staring at myself in the floor length mirror. I wasn’t used to this, looking at myself like this. Tonight’s struggle had taken its toll, not only on my health and my alliance with Finn, but also on my physical appearance.

I stared at the things protruding from my back. I had never seen anything like it before. It didn’t make any sense as to why they were attached. But as I remembered the tingling from my back, the sudden rush of power from the blood I drank, and the burning sensation I had when I fought with Ms. Ingram, the wings made it clear to me what had happened. I had evolved again into something that resembled an angel from pictures.

The feathers were long and black, trailing the floor with their beauty. They looked like the wings of a dove despite the color, rather than the wings of an angel. I wasn’t anything like an angel. I was a vampire, well not technically. But this new transformation didn’t make any sense to me. Where had they come from? And why had they only now appeared?

I heard his approach before he said anything. “Abelia.”

I watched his reflection in the mirror. Tears streaked down my face, marking my skin with a milky whiteness like the stars of constellations. But he didn’t seem to notice my tears at all. He gazed at me with wonder and pure curiousness. I moved my gaze back to my figure in the mirror, not clearly understanding why he didn’t run away from me. I know he saw me drain Ms. Ingram’s blood. I know he must think of me as something bad, a monster, and he should.

I did.

But he did the unthinkable. His hand reached out, and he touched them. He actually touched the feathers on my wings. The shock of his touch filled me with a sensation I had never felt before. I couldn’t describe this happy emotion, because it was happiness, peace, and joy all rolled into one. As if on cue my wings ruffled with an involuntary sigh that escaped my lips. I faced him, without resorting to the mirror.

“What are you really?” he asked me again, his eyes locked onto mine.

I smiled, no longer feeling scared, but powerful. And when I spoke, my fangs descended of their own accord. “I’m a Krusnik.”