Awoken in Blood

The sky was lit with bright, blue with white, brightly glowing stars but, oddly, no moon was in view. The stars had never been that bright before. My Human eyes had been weak to the world around me. I sighed and looked down at my phone, opening the camera to look at my face again. She was unbelievably pale and breathtakingly beautiful, this face of a stranger. The face I now seemed to own. A face that wasn’t mine, but looked like me. I didn’t recognize this stranger.

My hair had been dry and brittle. Hers was soft, conditioned, I no longer had any split ends, pimples, stray hairs or uneven eyebrows.

My skin was pale and milk-like. Like someone had turned on a pale light under my skin, making me glow from within. My eyes, once pale and mundane looking compared to the sapphire blue eyes, rimmed by thick, black eyelashes that now looked back at me. I blinked, waiting for my reflection to turn back to the mundane, blank and dull face to return.

It didn’t.

I had never thought of myself as a beautiful person. I was a short, black haired girl, my long, silky locks reaching past my waist. Another thing that I noticed that had changed about me when I had awoken to find Cain Yansa. The Vampire who had found me when I had been reborn into this world by fighting my way from my grave. My body had changed and I didn’t recognize it. When Cain asked me where my Maker was, I couldn’t answer the question. For one, I didn’t understand what he was talking about.

Maker?

When Cain then explained how he saw my Maker, or someone who he supposed was my Maker, bury me in the cemetery where he’d found me, leave the area and he hadn’t returned. Being blunt and straight to the point, Cain had told me I was a Vampire now, doomed to a life of darkness and blood.

I had become violently ill, having thrown up what little was in my stomach. Cain had waited, arms folded behind his back. Once I had finished he had offered me the blood packet.

I shuddered, still having trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that I had become the one thing I hated most.

I didn’t mention the fact that I was a Hunter. No one knew and I had somehow lost all of my weapons.

Cain waited with me as long as he could, insisting that no new Vampire should awaken alone and not understand what was going on. When I crawled from my grave just minutes before Sunrise, Cain was there waiting for me. He offered me the promise of protection and answers. He told me it was odd that my Maker would just leave me to be born alone. Cain had asked me a few questions but I just shook my head. I didn’t have any answers for him. I was as in the dark as I was. And I didn’t want to slip up. If he knew I had been a Hunter, he would try and kill me for sure.

“I don’t know,” or “I can’t remember,” were the only answers I could give him. And it had remained that way for the last few days. I didn’t remember a single detail of what had happened before I had awoken, underground, roots and dirt in my face. I couldn’t recall what had happened right before my life had ended and Cain seemed disappointed in that.

That had been three days ago. Since we could only move during the night, time was limited. Having learned that the sun burned my skin to the point it blistered had been a hard and bitter pill to swallow. Cain insisted I would grow used to having to stay out of the sun. Besides, I would be resting, sleeping during the day until my body grew accustomed to the Change.

We were headed to upstate New York. To the High Temple of the Goddess, Two people sleeping in a small trunk was painful and cramped. The only thing I was looking forward to was a soft bed.

Hecate. The Maiden, Moon and Crone. The three faces of the Goddess. Birth. Life. Death. Obviously vampires would be obsessed with Death. Hecate was the Maiden of Darkness and the Moon. It was only befitting that they worship her.

I looked sideways at the dark and handsome man beside me as the car sped down a gravel path covered in leaves. He was absurdly attractive. His hair was a mousy brown with natural blond highlights and his eyes were blue. They were the most blue I had ever seen. It was odd. My eyesight seemed to have drastically improved as well. I could see every detail on his face. He was really hot. Pity he was such a potato. He lacked conversation and didn’t seem to have any real redeeming qualities.

He hadn’t answered any of my questions. None. When I asked who had changed me and why, he didn’t answer. When I asked how it was done, he left the room. He wouldn’t answer my questions? Fine. It’s not like I wouldn’t be able to find another Vamp out thanks to my enhanced senses.

I turned away from him back to the window before he could catch me staring. He was abnormally gorgeous. I closed my eyes, trying to focus. I found that extremely difficult nowadays with my attention being pulled in a million different directions at the same time. I could smell the fresh autumn air as if I had my head outside the window, even though the windows were closed. I could smell everything now.

The smell of the wet pavement, covered in fresh rain of the wet, rain soaked sidewalk just outside my window. I closed my eyes and inhaled deep again.

Just like my hearing had, my sight and smell had drastically improved and always seemed best when I was full of blood. I shuddered, still not used to the idea.

“Are you cold?” Cain asked me.

I shook my head. “No,” I said curtly. I had begged him not to bring me here but he had insisted that in his duty as a Serpent, he was honor bound to report a newly turned Vampire to the High Priest immediately.

“Your body is still adjusting to the Turn,” Cain told me as he gave me an uneasy sideways glance. “Controlling your thirst will be your number one obstacle. A Serpent will be assigned to you when you arrive at the Temple to watch you.”

I frowned. “I am in no need of a babysitter,” I assured him. Cain laughed at me. “You were Turned and buried alive less than three days ago, with no one to help you- if I hadn’t come along, you would have been caught in the sun and burned to death,” he told me. “I saved your life. It’s Serpent code.”

Cain explained to me that Serpents were the watchers of Hecate. Scouts for the Temple for the Lady Goddess of Darkness, Lady of the Night, Keeper of Magic. Serpents, fully trained Vampires, often find a Vampire of their choosing and a deep bond formed between them. Most times, the bond is already there. The Goddess Hecate was the matchmaker there. Cain hadn’t shut up about her since I met him. When he had insisted on driving, I’d hoped for some radio, instead he went on and on about the Temple of Hecate and how relieved he was when he found me.

I hadn’t fought him. Cain seemed to always magically have blood bottles with him and I needed them. My stomach growled. It had been six hours since I last ate. “Is there any left?” I asked him.

Cain shook his head. “No, you will have to wait till dinner. ”

I groaned and looked back out the window. “When is that?” I demanded. “It’s two in the morning!”

Cain didn’t answer and pulled the car up to a well lit reception area and parked the car. “Get out.”

I blinked at him “I-”

Cain sighed “Go, on, go!” he said and revved his engine. I rolled my eyes at him and got out of the car. Spinning his tires out behind him, Cain vanished down the driveway and around the side of the building. I shook my head and looked up at the castle like Manor.

It was huge, looming up at night, towers extending to both the left and right of me, the building curving away from me in both directions. I sighed and shouldered my bag and headed up the stairs and into the building. I was immediately greeted by a tall female, blond Vampire who was dressed in a pair of skinny black leggings and an oversized poncho. Her hair, waist length and braided halfway down her back, was decorated with symbols of Hecate and stars. Her green eyes were almond shaped and heavy hooded, giving her a rather beautiful and natural look. It was a known fact that Vampires were beautiful.

“You must be ... Diana DeLuca, our newest resident.”

I raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer. I didn’t want to be here but Cain had made it clear that as a new Vampire I needed to be around my own. Vampires to teach me the ways of my new life. Otherwise I would die. Rather quickly. I hadn’t decided yet if that’s what I wanted. Perhaps death was better. The thought of drinking blood disgusted me.

“Unfortunately,” I replied dryly as my insides burned with hunger. I hadn’t eaten since two days ago. Thankfully I was able to still eat regular food. For now. From what Cain had told me, I would very soon leave Human food behind me all together. If I survived.

I sighed, trying to focus. I am easily distracted nowadays. Everything was so loud and vibrant.

“Welcome to the High Temple of Hecate. I will show you to your loft.”

I shook my head. “Loft?”

She nodded. “Each resident has their own Loft. We value privacy.” When I didn’t answer she flashed me a warm smile. “I am Zaynep by the way, but call me Zay. I’m one of you Counselors. I also lead the Sorority of the Goddess.”

I never would have thought that Vamps would have a sorority. Then again I knew little to nothing about them. I hadn’t ever fought one before. Fairies and Goblins, yes. Wolves and Demons, piece of cake. Vampires? All I knew was that my life as I had known it was over. Cole had already told me that I could not be permitted to return to my parents home, that I was now a Child of the Temple.

“How long do I have to stay here?” I asked Zay. She pursed her lips.

“That will be for the Headmaster to decide,” he said shortly and then waved for me to follow her. Reluctantly, I complied. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be a vampire. The thought of blood- the need for it almost made my skin crawl. My stomach burned and my throat was as dry as a desert.

The inside of the Temple was huge.

Fine, Drydalien woodwork rimmed the entryway of the Temple, high stain glass windows cast rainbow lights onto the walls and floors.

“Fluorite crystals illuminate the Temple. Also no unapproved electric devices work here so you might as well get rid of your phone now.”

I sighed, remembering that I didn’t have a phone anymore. When I awoke three days ago, everything had changed. Everything was different. “I don’t own one,” I said in a low voice. Whoever had attacked and Turned me had let me wake alone. And they had taken my clothes and belongings with them. My purse, phone, keys, wallet.

No one would find me.

No one would know what happened to me. I had simply vanished. I’ve been considered missing for four days now. I wondered how my parents were?

I’d been attacked.

By a Vampire. How would they ever know? Vampires attacked me, drained me to the point of death, buried me alive and then left me for dead. Only, I didn’t stay dead and I didn’t understand why. I could put the pieces together, I couldn’t make them fit.

Zaynep smiled. “We will provide you with a new phone-”

I shook my head. “I don’t have my wallet and I can’t go to the bank during the day!” I reminded her.

Zaynep nodded. “Yes, Cole told me about your Rebirth,” she said. “We already have Trackers canvassing the area you were found, looking for your Maker. He will be brought to justice.”

I raised an eyebrow, an odd sense of loyalty to my mention of my Maker brewed within me. “What will happen to him?” I wanted to know.

But a thick, rolling accented voice spoke over Zay and we both turned to see an elderly looking Vampire dressed in blood red robes walking down the stairs toward us. He didn’t smile, or frown. His face remained perfectly impassive. Raising an eyebrow at me he sighed.

“So you are the girl from the cemetery ,” he mused. “It is not often Vampires ate Reborn in cemeteries. Raises too many questions. What to do with you?”

I shrugged. “You can let me go home!” I told him. The Vampire laughed and shook his head.

“You are home now, for the time being,” he said. “Diana DeLuca? What kind of name is that?”

I scowled at him. “What is your name?” I snapped at him.

The man smirked. “My name is Professor Knight,” he said in a drawling voice as he descended the stairs. “Diana DeLuca. Cole told me about you. The Vampire with no Maker.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say anyway. The Vampire with no Maker. I wasn’t going to live this one down any time soon.

Professor Knight waved for me to follow him. “I am also the High Priest in this region,” he said as we walked up the stairs. A boy dressed in a tail suit and white gloves hurried forward and grabbed up my suitcase from me.

“I know you have been asked this many times over the last few days but I must simply know for myself,” he mused as he turned to face me. I gazed up at the Priest as he stopped half way up the stairs.

“Where and who is your Maker?” he asked me in a low voice.

I sighed, my head pounding. “I was attacked-“

He shook his head. “You see, we simply don’t just attack Humans-“

I opened my mouth to speak, my stomach screaming at me not to.

“Yeah, well… wrong place, wrong time,” I said, hoping he would drop the subject of my Maker.

In truth, I had been a Hunter in training, out on my first assignment when a group of Dark Fey Vampires had happened across me. I hadn’t been able to finish them off. I didn’t know who had turned me. I couldn’t remember their faces…

“Here you will be exposed to the harshest of conditions so we can figure out your strengths,” he mused. “And a Serpent will be assigned to you at some point tomorrow.”

I shook my head. “A Serpent?” I echoed. “I don’t do snakes!” Professor Knight led me down a hallway and through a wooden door.

Inside was an office. The room was large and rounded office space, The windows were tines and lined with violet, floor length velvet drapes hung from the curtain rods.

There was a roaring fireplace to my right,a bookcase and a table with some flowers- black roses- that seemed to glow in the pale moonlight. The walls were draped in green and silver, plush sofas and armchairs lined the space before his marble desk.

“Serpents are our protectors, our secret keepers,each of them completely devoted to us,” he said and sat at his desk. “One will offer himself to you and if you accept, a Blood Trade will be made between you.”

“I’m sorry, Blood Trade?

He ignored my question. “Where is your Maker?” he asked me as he picked up his pen, ready to jot down notes.

“I don’t know,” I said in a low voice. That question was getting annoying. “I woke up alone.”

Knight wrinkled his nose. “When were you turned?” he asked me. “Who turned you?”

I shook my head again. “I don’t know,” I said and sighed. That Serpent guy Cain had grilled me for the last two days. I didn’t have any answers for anyone. Just questions.

“Do you know anything?” he demanded as he set his pen down. “You have no memory of anything…” He stopped, staring at me. “When was the last time you had blood, Diana?”

I shrugged. “Last night?” I said. “Cain said I would be given some blood when I arrived here.” I didn’t want to think about the reaction I’d had when I had tried to eat human food. Unable to swallow the burger I had bought at a Drive Through, I had choked and spit it out. The Coke that had come with the meal had tasted of acid. Cain had offered me the blood packet again.

I was shocked that the burning in my mouth and throat all but vanished, leaving a light sear in my throat. I watched as Knight turned and reached into the icebox beside him and handed me a blood pack. “Hunger is the one thing we prioritized over anything else,” he warned me. “You will learn control and discipline here. Break the rules and there will be dire, dire consequences.”

“I understand,” I assured him.

Professor Knight raised an eyebrow at me. I didn’t flinch when his hand suddenly shot out and threw a dagger at me and I wasn’t surprised when my hand shot up in response to catch the blade aimed at my face. Then Professor Knight smirked.

“I thought I knew you from somewhere,” he mused. “You are the daughter of and Callie DeLuca, head of Dark Fey Hunters of New York.”

“My dad passed away years ago,” I explained.

My no longer beating heart sank to my stomach. If I could blush I would. But the feeling of dread now bubbled in my belly. “I am,” I said. “My parents are probably looking for me me now-“

Professor Knight nodded and pulled out a file and slipped it on his desk. “You live on West Cherry Lane Grove, in upstate New York, you are seventeen years old. Your parent’s are… William and Daphne DeLuca of the Ashmore estate. You have two brothers, Jonathan and Samuel DeLuca, twins, both twenty-one-“

I scoffed at him, cutting him off. “What did you do- cyber stalk me?” I demanded. Professor Knight grinned at me, his sharp teeth gleaming in the dim candle light. Professor Knight leaned back in his chair, folding his hands before him.

“We like to know all we can about our recruits before we send them out into the wold to do the Goddess’s will-“

I laughed. “I am not interested in staying here,” I said as if to remind him. “I need to get back to my family-“

Professor Knight stood to his feet and turned to the cabinet on his left. “Classes begin next week,” he said as if I had never spoken. “Defense Classes are mandatory along with specializing- you will expected to choose a weapon-“

I rolled my eyes. “Twin daggers and longbow,” I said and watched as Knight set down a notebook and a few pencils.

“You are permitted to leave the Campus only on the weekends and your Serpent must be with you.”

I looked back at him. “When do I get a Serpent?”

Professor Knight shrugged. “When one becomes interested in a bond with you, you will know. The Vampire must offer his or her services and their blood to you in order to make the Bond.”

It was disgusting, sharing my blood with someone else. As a Hunter, I had been trained all my life to despise and kill the very thing I had become. Professor Knight laughed and I glanced up at him. “The act itself is simpler than it sounds,” he assured me.

“I won’t be here that long,” I assured him.

Professor Knight looked truly concerned now. “You plan on going back?” he asked me.

“The first chance I get,” I assured him. I needed to get back to my family. They would take me back. I knew they would. They had to. My brothers would help me. I was their baby sister…

“I cant stop you, of course, however, for the time being, I must ask that you remain here, inside the temple until we find your Maker or at least until you take a Serpent as protection,” he said and then raised his hand when i opened my mouth to argue “You are new to your immortal life and do not know how to control yourself… your emotions are unstable and your power is at its highest… so we ask that you stay inside until you find a suitable companion.”

I sighed and nodded, looking down at the pad of paper. “I’m not supposed to be here,” I said.

My life has been taken from me and I want to know who did it. “We will find your Maker-“

“I want them dead!” I insisted.

Professor Knight went still, “You should know we have laws, Miss DeLuca,” he said in a deadly voice. “Harming your Maker in any way will result in your death.”

My still heart contracted painfully as I realized what that meant. “Why did they do this to me?”

I watched as the Professor’s face turned soft. “I know you have questions,” he assured me. “I already have a group of well trained Serpents on the job. They should report back in a few days. In the meantime…” he shoved the stack of books that was sitting on the edge of his desk toward me. “You are free to explore your surroundings though keep in mind not to leave the Temple grounds until you have a Serpent with you.”

Before I could answer, the doors behind me opened and the girl from before appeared behind me. “Counselor Zaynep will show you to your Loft and introduce you to who you will be rooming with.”

I didn’t answer as I turned away from Knight, my nose and chest tickling with the sensation of needing to cry but I couldn’t make the tears spill down my cheeks. This couldn’t be it… this was my life now? I was just supposed to accept the fact that I was doomed to a life of blood and darkness?

No.

My Maker would die for taking my life from me.