Bernard felt sick as he looked at what he’d done. His dad was in front of him, ripped to pieces. And the one who’d done it was him. He’d felt a sick glee when he’d done it. He was disgusted with himself but every time he tried to kill himself, the wound just healed.
Every so often, his captor and Sire, something she was quick to remind him she was, came down into the basement to taunt him. Sometimes to eat a part of his dad in front of him. At first, he’d still felt that everything would be fine. His father was a hunter, he’d hunted down far more dangerous creatures than a simple wendigo. He hadn’t even considered that the creature he was hunting could be a ghoul, the wounds had been too feral for that. But as his father was out hunting, Bernard had been at home, memorizing the words to the prayers effective against the monsters that roamed the earth.
Their home was warded by some of the most skilled wizards this side of the Atlantic. It hadn’t even crossed Bernard’s father’s mind that certain creatures could enter his home. But when dealing with a creature as old as the one who’d turned Bernard, anything was possible. His family had found out the hard way.
Eve came down once more. Her face was filled with a seriousness that he had not yet seen from her. “Grab your stuff, you’re going to school.”
Bernard couldn’t believe his ears, she was letting him go just like that? “Oh please, don’t look at me like that. Do you really think I turned you for no reason? The son of one of the most decorated Hunters? Don’t kid yourself Bernard, I always have a plan. And if you would like your mother and sister to live past this day then you will listen very closely when I tell you what to do. I might even help you control your,” she couldn’t help but grin as she said the next part, “cravings. Wouldn’t want to eat your precious family, now would you?”
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Had Eve not sworn off teenagers during the nineties, she would have most definitely tried to snatch one of the kids going to Churgitt High. The place smelled very appetizing, she’d probably have gone for one of the fatter teens, nice and juicy, so … Eve shook her head.
There was a reason she didn’t eat children anymore, they were like cigarettes or alcohol. Once you got addicted it was hard to stop and easy to start again.
She took a deep breath as she sneaked up on one of the most terrifying Magi in existence. As he turned to face her, a grin crept up on her face. “Hello, old friend.” The shock on his face was priceless, short-lived though it was.
Uther regained his composure faster than a jet plane. “Hello Eve, what in the names of all the unholy creatures from the 7 worlds we’ve named Hell are you doing here?”
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Eve could feel multiple failsafe spells being primed. Uther was cautious as ever. “No need to worry, little Uthy, I’ve come here with a proposal, not to threaten the precious life you seem to be building here.” Uther’s shoulders became a little less tense and one of his failsafe spells deactivated.
“I’ve recently discovered that this town is home to something special, a creature that cannot be allowed to grow into full power. Of course, I have already made arrangements to hunt the little thing down, but I would like to give you the courtesy of a warning. Do not interfere, do not attempt to take in the girl. Have I made myself clear, Uthy? We wouldn’t want that already terrible reputation to be completely ruined now would we?” Eve expected the Magus to start trembling in fear. Instead, he started laughing uncontrollably.
“Eve, you always have the best jokes. Threatening me to stay away from the only reason I’ve not petitioned the council to move me? And you sounded so serious! An Oscar-worthy performance.” Uther started organizing his desk, preparing for class.
Eve shook her head, humans were always so annoyingly stubborn. “Uther, I am serious if you pursue this creature then I will …” Before she could finish the sentence, the air in the room changed.
The countless spells protecting the room vanished, the countless spells that had been protecting her. “You will do what, Eve?” Uther’s voice was filled with an otherworldly quality, his eyes burned with a power she’d only seen in one other.
She fell to the ground, a whisper the only thing able to escape her mouth, “Impossible. How long …” She stopped herself from finishing the question.
“Leave Eve, and don’t ever think of threatening me again.” After blinking, she found herself a few miles outside of Churgitt, unable to remember how she’d gotten there. She turned and never looked back.
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Eve ran, her primal flight response kicking into overdrive. She tried to scream but nothing seemed to leave her mouth. Every time she looked behind her, the guy was closer. Her lungs burned from the exercise, her head was swimming.
The fear was suffocating, but the stronger it got, the angrier part of her felt. She was running away from this? She was running away from a LESSER CREATURE? She felt something inside of her push against a wall she’d never noticed was there. A dam that needed to be broken. That rage needed it to be broken, needed it to burst. It pushed against the blockage to no avail.
The feeling distracted her and the boy jumped her. She was thrown against the ground with the speed of someone being thrown off a bike. She skidded across the pavement, her arms started bleeding which only seemed to agitate the guy more.
As Melody looked at the kid approaching her, she took in his appearance. He was tall, about 6’1”, black curly hair framed a face that looked pained. She only noticed that he was crying now that he was close enough. And although it was clear from looking at him that he didn’t want to hurt her, that didn’t stop his advance.