Chapter 4 – The Eternal Shadows

Zayden was not surprised, he was waiting patiently to see how long she could hold her thirst,  and it was long. Whatever powers she possessed it was clear she was powerful. Normally  newborns are supposed to be restless, always trying to feed from the time of their awakening.  But in Amelia’s case he was shocked that she managed to hold her thirst this long. It had been  at least a few hours from the time she was transformed, even if she was an original vampire  born with the vampirism in her blood like himself it was unlikely to hold the thirst this long. He  knew how it felt when the feeling took over you, there is nothing you can do to stop. But another  strange thing was that he, who was usually a mind reader and given how he was a very powerful  one as well, could not reach her. He felt her mind alright, it was like a ruby shimmering in  between a million other stones. Her mind stood out from the rest, powerful but unreachable.  Part of him was worried he knew she was his mate, however to be this powerful was unlikely.  The pleasure ran through him, as she fed from him. Part of him was embarrassed of his own  eagerness to keep her close to him, but he felt her feet give away beneath her. She was passing  out, the time she stayed without drinking was too long. “Amelia!”he gathered her in his arms  and looked worried at his father, “she’s waited too long, she needs to feed otherwise she will  die.” 
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His father acted fast, opening the door to Amelia’s room and running to his lab to get a few blood transfusions. Zayden, laid her beneath the soft sheets, she looked peaceful, pale complexion equal to him and read lips parted with her breath. Her dark hair was tumbling down reaching her hips. And beautiful marks that spread through her body, and he watched as the blood seeped into her body much faster than normal, she was recovering back to health. “Don’t worry, she will be fine” his mother whispered gently, taking his hand to lead him outside, “you should rest too, we’ve all had a hard day.”

In his own room, he felt reckless. Who was Amelia really? What type of creature was she, yes from the looks of it she was an ordinary vampire but judging by her strength and actions so far something seemed very off about her? Initially he had no partner chosen for him but he clearly saw how Amelia had his mark, a sharp cut of an eclipse moon in her left shoulder. It symbolized that he was the heir of dawn and dusk, but if she had that mark who was she? A million questions bubble in his mind; he couldn’t get his head straight, after so many years of peace that on earth was challenging his existence.
He knew that it was not possible when he was created into life the elders made sure he would not develop feelings for no one, so that he would not have any weak points for their enemies, the shadow clan to see. But the circle of light, which was a group of most powerful warriors chosen to ride beside him to win the battle against darkness, was incomplete. Was the missing warrior Amelia? His head hurt, eventually exhaustion clouded his mind and he too fell into deep slumber to recreate the energy he lost.

****

The weight above him struck him down keeping him beneath it, unable to breath he struggled sharp pain ran through him. He felt helpless; he tried summoning his powers but nothing appeared before him. No one was around him to help him, it was cold and darkness surrounded him, taking away his vision.Then suddenly he heard a voice, his vision tunneled into a green room, he could not see anything but he could hear, “now, I can finally create my ultimate weapon against the circle of light and when time comes, we can destroy them.” The scene shifted to a small figure lying broken in the ground then darkness returned leaving him with a million questions in his mind. So, the dark lord has created a weapon against him. He had to find this weapon fast and destroy it before it’s too late.

He knew he had ignored the warnings far too many times, he had to warn his parents about what forthcoming towards them. And he had to get the other heirs of the circle prepared for any battle they might come across. With that thought he fell into deep slumber once more. For the rest of the night it was peaceful, no more disturbances, no more nightmares.

“Rise and shine sleepy head!”, a cheerful, familiar voice chirped. Before he could respond the curtains to his window were open letting the bright rays of sunlight seep into his room. He rolled over ignoring his mother who stood waiting for him to rise, “don’t you want to check if Amelia is awake?” she demanded, knowing his concern for her. That’s when last night’s dreams rushed into him, reminding him of his tasks. He shot up so fast that his head was spinning from the movement. His mother left the room chuckling, “was his eagerness that obvious?” but after last night he wondered what the dark lord meant, what is this weapon, he had to find out fast. And he had to get the other heirs prepared for any sort of attack.

He knew he had no time to waste, so he got up and cleaned himself. After a few minutes he was dressed in his black jeans, black shirt and leather jacket. With boots each holding two swift blades and his guns, sword strapped in his waist, his half ran downstairs.

***

The birds chirped and sunlight bathed her, waking her up for a new day. Amelia woke up wishing to see her familiar bedroom, but everything around her was unfamiliar. She knew she wasn’t at home, even though she didn’t know what her home looked like, the feeling of fear was something she could not get rid of. She looked around the room, she laid on a four poster bed with a soft cotton cover over her and the curtains kept her in a private space.

She stretched out her sleep, and got out of bed. Next to it was a large dresser, with a huge mirror which was decorated with fine carvings and rhinestones embedded on it. The dresser contained various items, lotions, perfumes, brushes and so many other accessories for hair and body. They were so shiny that her eyes ached from watching them. There was a small stool to sit on and a soft furry carpet that was laid across the floor. Her room is also composed of a fine work table and chair along with an arrangement with shelves of various books. The table also had a mac book along with a few iPhones all gold and silver, there was also a tab and a note pasted on it. “Come down for breakfast when you wake up, dear.” From the words it was clearly Esme, Zayden’s mom. she smiled, Esme seemed to be a generous person. The rest of the room also had a huge tv set, along with a kitchen and two sets of double doors.

She carefully walked towards it, she was still wearing the hospital gown, looks like they have given her privacy and not changed her. She was so glad for it. when she checked inside the doors she nearly choked to death, it wasn’t a door it was the bathroom. It was huge, with a separate shower, a hot tub and the sink was embodied with gems. Honestly the fanciness was getting on her nerves. She sank into the tub and ran the hot water; the steaming liquid calmed her nerves down. She was finally beginning to catch her breath. She stood up to reach for the towel when she slipped into the tub, her head knocking sharply against the tap. An unbearable pain rushed through her and her vision tunneled.

Something started to happen and she began to get her memories back. Her mother had chocolate brown hair and creamy brown eyes and her dad had a similar complexion to when they were out in the road her mother had been telling them something, she was in the back seat listening to. When something she did not know who or what it was, she only saw its dark shape crashing onto them from above. “I have finally found you!” it screamed. And then everything was blurred, she heard glass breaking followed by the horrified screams of her parents and sirens far ahead. They had been too late; the creature’s sharp claws made sure her parents never opened their eyes again. She felt her energy leave her, desperation got the better of her, she didn’t want to die, she couldn’t go back to the darkness. She needed help and fast. With no second thought she screamed as loud as she could but was soon muffled by the water that drowned her within them.

***

Zaiden arrived downstairs to see everyone was at breakfast. At first it looked very ordinary, but the presence of Clary only became an added reminder to the previous day along with his nightmares. He had to see Amelia but she was nowhere to be seen. He sat down looking at Clary, “morning, how’s your sister?” but before Clary could answer a shrill scream rang from upstairs, but was soon muffled. Everyone at the table froze, by the tone of it, the voice belonged to a girl and the only girl missing from the table was, “Amelia!” the younger girl got up so fast, that she knocked her glass of milk from the table. His mother looked alarmed, “she was asleep when I last checked on her.”

“maybe something happened!” his father got up and ran up the stairs, with no second thought he and the rest of his family followed him upstairs to her room. When Zaiden opened her room everything remained undisturbed, only Amelia was no were to be seen. “where is she?” Esme whispered. “look! the bathroom, door.” Clary said running and rattling the handle, it was obvious that the door was locked. Zaiden, knowing his physical strength as a vampire, gently touched the handle, “let me try ”, he said to the worried looking Clary. Who nodded and stepped aside. He gently tugged the handle, and with a click the lock broke open.

Zaiden was shocked, the bathroom was covered in steaming white smoke that made it difficult to see. He touched the wall searching for the switch to the air freshener installed in the bathroom. The fan immediately sucked away the white steaming fog, restoring their vision back to normal. That’s when he noticed the tub was overflowing with steaming hot water, but the most visible thing was the pale white hand that was gripping to the side of the tub unable to come out. “she’s drowning!” Jessica screamed horrified. His mind was lost in thought. How can someone drown in a tub? But the answer was clearly visible, by the angle her head was bent in she was unconscious.

He quickly reached under her chin to lift her face up, a vampire does not choke however, being unconscious might have harmed her. Her bareness beneath the bubbly form made him self conscious, again it was not possible, was he really falling for her? He didn’t have time to worry about that now. At the moment her life was the important thing. He reached for one of the towels in the rack beside the tub and gently lifted Amelia from the water and covered her body with the towel. Then he carried her to the bed, laying her down on the soft quilts and covering her with the soft sheets. “CPR?” Ender questioned, however Zaiden did not miss the mocking edge of his voice. Were his feelings that visible to them? Part of him questioned himself. “Not needed, she’s a vampire, they don’t have to breathe, however we might have to get the water out of her.” His father, bless him, came to his rescue. Zaiden pressed his hands against the center of her chest and pumped he could feel the pressure building up. Finally, she choked out the water and opened her eyes. Her crimson red eyes were filled with terror, she grabbed his hands with an iron grip. Which was natural because she obviously thought that he was trying to choke her. “Relax, you’re fine.” He reassured her, placing his hand gently on her shoulders and laying her back on the pillows.

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