Fire & Pain - A Vampire's Tragedy

Sophia

The next morning, I stumbled down the stairs, still tired from the night. I didn’t get a lot of sleep, with nightmares startling me awake every hour. The empty eyes of my mother haunted me and her voice was ringing in my ears as she taunted me for being such a lost cause. This must be the aftermath of everything Carlos had thrown at my head yesterday.

I slandered into the kitchen, bumping into Pascal, who wore an entirely black suit compared to his usual gray or green ones. He fumbled with a black tie around his neck, trying to make it sit in the right spot.

“Are you going somewhere?”

He glanced up at me with a frown, tucking on the tie and making the knot fall apart again. That would explain why he usually wore bow ties then. “Yes, a funeral.”

It was as if someone poured ice-cold water down my back. “A funeral? For whom?”

Pascal sighed, finally meeting my eyes. “Well, who do you think? The only people who had died recently were the members of the Jones family.”

I wasn’t sure if I understood him correctly, because he would have told me when my family would get buried, right? He shook his head and started another attempt to tie the tie properly.

“Are you joking right now?” I asked.

“Why should I be joking about such a thing? Of course not. Today, at 11 AM, your parents and siblings are going to be buried in the council’s tomb. Dammit, this tie is driving me insane.”

My ears pounded, and my chest felt impossibly tight, almost too tight to even take a breath. “When did you plan to tell me about the funeral?”

My voice remained surprisingly calm while I felt fury raging inside me. Pascal didn’t seem to realize I was upset at all, as he shrugged like he forgot to tell me that a package got delivered the other day.

“After the last stunt you pulled during the council meeting, it wasn’t planned that you were going to be involved in your family matters for some time.”

It was as if my body took over. My hands reached forward, grabbing him by the collar, and pulling him down to my level with a strength I didn’t know I possessed. Pascal’s eyes widened in surprise, before they turned into slits, as he tried to bring space between us again. But I held him tight in my shaking hands, glaring into his eyes.

“You might be my guardian and Samuel, that traitor, might be in charge of the Jones’ assets, but the death of my family is my business, more so than it’s yours or his or even the council’s. You’ve no right to keep the burial of my family from me, regardless of your agenda. It would do you good to remember that I’m still a member of the Jones family, as much as you hate it. I’m going to the funeral, and if you step into my way, I’m setting this house on fire, and you’re lucky when you can escape before the flames reach you.”

My voice sounded unfamiliar to my ears, foreign even, like it was not my own. But I knew the words were coming from me, feeling them with all my soul. Pascal’s face paled as a pearl of sweat ran down the side of his face. He again tried to get out of my grip, but I only held him closer.

“I hope you understand, old man, that I’m playing by your rules for the time being, but I’m not a puppet. You can lock me inside the house, but it won’t stop me from bidding my last farewell. Do you understand that?”

He pressed his lips into a thin line as I pulled him even close to my face, his breath hot on my skin.

“I asked if you understand?”

It took another moment before he finally nodded, and I released my hold on his collar and pushed him away, watching him stumble backward and crash against the kitchen island.

“I will get ready now,” I said, turning to leave, only to stop in the door frame, and look behind me again, seeing him staring at me with an open mouth. “Also, you probably should stick to those clip-on bow ties, considering you can’t handle that one.”

Without waiting for a response, I hurried through the hallway and up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. My chest still felt tight, and I took small quick breaths, making me dizzy. I shut the door behind me and fell face-first on my bed, my head spinning.

I made a mistake back there. I shouldn’t have threatened him. But I had every right to be mad, right? He wanted to keep my family’s funeral a secret from me. That’s not right!

I sat up and took a few deep breaths, pushing against the restraint around my lungs. The more breaths I took, the deeper they got, and eventually, I felt free again. Reacting the way I did might have consequences for me later, but that’s something future-me had to deal with. I stood up and walked into my wardrobe, scanning the black dresses I own. If I had known the funeral would be so soon, I would have bought something new. My mother would lose her mind if she knew I planned to wear a dress I had worn to a different event already, funeral or not. I smiled. Imagining my mother nagging me made this easier to deal with somehow. After this, they would truly be gone. Buried next to the few other vampires who had died in this community.

I sighed and pulled a black, knee-length dress from its hanger. I had worn it to the council celebration a few years back, the one night my mother complimented me for looking beautiful. Probably because she had bought the dress for me.

It had a tulle skirt, which was a little puffy but still very elegant, and a high neck top with short sleeves covering the shoulders. I searched for the pumps with the black straps around the ankle, finding them tucked behind my favorite orange high heels I loved to wear in dance clubs.

I quickly changed into the outfit, put my hair into an updo, and added a hint of make-up before going back downstairs, seeing Pascal already waiting for me in the hallway, wearing the tie he had wrestled with earlier. It was crooked, but I didn’t tell him, instead I acted like I hadn’t seen it and stopped on the last step, staring at him.

“Took you long enough,” he mumbled and opened the door, stepping outside before me. I bit my tongue and remained silent. I shouldn’t cause another scene shortly after the other one, and I’m sure he could stop me from going to my family’s funeral somehow. It wasn’t worth the risk.

We entered his car, his guard in the driver’s seat, as we exited the driveway in silence. After we had left the forest behind us, I glanced at Pascal, who stared out of the window, but I could still see the frown on his face mirrored in the glass.

“Why is there a funeral so suddenly? Are they finished with the investigation?” I asked.

He sighed, his breath fogging the window. “Yes, and before you ask further, the investigation ended without a result. They don’t need the bodies anymore.”

My breath hitched in my throat. That sounded way too suspicious. How could the investigation come up with no result? They were drugged, just like everyone else in the house. Shouldn’t that be obvious in their bloodstream? Everything inside me screamed Samuel had something to do with it, but how was I supposed to prove that?

“I see,” I answered to fill the air, while there was a storm brewing inside me, plenty of words on the tip of my tongue I wanted to say, but didn’t.

When we reached the graveyard, and the guard left the car, Pascal turned to me and grabbed my arm, his fingers pressing into my skin painfully.

“Listen to me. You’ll behave. I won’t tolerate any more embarrassment from your side. And keep your mouth shut,” he said, nostrils flaring.

I glared at him, pulling my arm out of his grip. “Thanks for the warning.”

His eyes bore into mine, neither of us dropping our gaze until the guard opened Pascal’s door.

“It’s time,” the guard said, and Pascal nodded, leaving the car. I swallowed hard, while cold sweat broke out all over my body as I took a staggering breath and exited the car as well.