Blood and Love - 9. Secrets, Lies, Doubts

Daniel’s Story III – Ruth Morris

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The Mysticus woods were a beautiful and sinister manifestation of nature. Trees from the ancient age of Yore still stood deep-rooted, strengthening and spreading their regime. The forest’s floor was flooded with ferns and creepers while the thick foliage restricted the sun rays to the tree tops, maintaining a constant darkness below. Day or night, the forest and its beings remained oblivious to the time change. Like the inhabitants of the town, the forest too had secrets buried deep into its heart.

As I walked on the forest’s ferny floor I remembered the events that had passed since Tara Smith’s death and funeral last week. Five more women had died and their bodies had been found in the same decapitated state. The Mayor Rochester had declared an emergency while the sheriff Bronte had strengthened security. Evan had been getting edgy and frustrated as I had continued to stop him from acting. Through him I had discovered that Sean was suspicious now. I knew the time was fast approaching when Evan would have to tell Sean the truth; which considering Sean’s present state, wouldn’t go down well with him. The truth would have to be hidden from him as long as possible. But, Aaron’s activities were threatening to blow everything up. He had been acting strange since the funeral. Not that, the guy wasn’t weird (I thought skeptically) but he had often sensed a sharp searching look in Aaron’s eyes whenever he and Evan were around.

But, all this could be stopped if he dealt with the person responsible for this. Had he not met him that night, all hell would have broken loose by now. I walked faster getting deeper into the woods. It was pitch dark with the moonlight creating small patches of light wherever it had succeeded in falling though the foliage. But, my vampire vision and strength made this journey a piece of cake. And then I saw it appear- the cabin my great grandfather had built a century ago.

I stopped at the door and tethered for a second before entering. The room had been lit with candles which dispelled the darkness a bit. I sniffed and a growl emanated from the bottom of my throat. The air was thick with the smell of blood. My eyes moved towards the centre of the room where I saw the corpse of a woman while a man had buried his face in her neck. On hearing my entry, the man stopped and looked up.

A man in his early twenties, blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes which now emitted a red aura while the pupils had contracted to form slits. He bared his fangs with blood dripping from his mouth. As he returned to his human form, the devilish features concealed themselves and a handsome man stood before me. However the murderous and ruthless look in his eyes was still evident. His lip curled as he gave me a sinister smile.

“Ah! Daniel, my man. What took you so long? I got bored so got a new friend.” He made a slight movement of the head towards the presumably dead girl and grinned devilishly.

I looked at him indifferently and said. “I need to talk to you.”

He smirked and moved towards the sofa where he had been dining. He bent down, picked up his black shirt and put it on. In spite of the situation, I couldn’t help feeling uneasy in my ‘region’. Apparently, he had sensed my feeling as well because he left the buttons undone and came to stand very close to me. He was taller than me. His looked into my eyes and spoke in a soft tone.

“What is it that you want to talk about?” He gave me a sly smile.

Remembering the reason of my presence I cast aside all straying thoughts and looked at him. “Listen, Ruth. You have to leave now. Your presence is endangering us and we don’t want anything abysmal to happen. You have to leave the town.”

He grabbed my collars and with his super vampire strength and speed pushed me hard against the cabin wall. His vampire form took over him as he threatened me in rage.

“No one orders Ruth Morris around. Don’t forget this. I shall leave when I wish to. And do not forget, I know about Sean Geller. One false move on your side and that kid is at their mercy! And you and your brother shall not be spared!”

Slowly, his vampire form disappeared and he softened his tone. He smiled cunningly and moved his tongue along my neck. I shivered and pushed him off. My vampire form had taken over me and I was seething in rage. I growled at him while he laughed and sat down on the sofa.

“Don’t think I am weak, Ruth! I’ve had enough of you. This is my last warning. You will have left by tomorrow and no one will ever know about Sean. If they do, I swear I will hunt you down and rip your heart out!”

He laughed again but soon started gasping. In a split second my rage had taken over and I had started throttling him. With a swift motion, I took a wooden stick fallen on the ground and thrust it in Ruth’s chest. He yelled in pain. I released him and stepped back. He fell on the floor and rolled over in pain. I bent down and took out the stick.

“I didn’t miss Ruth. Next time, the stake will be through your heart.”

With this I turned and left the cabin while he lay on the floor glaring at me.

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Aaron’s Story IV – More questions and Answers

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I switched off the TV and throwing the remote aside stretched in the couch. Sixth death this week with the ‘Animal Attack’ tag quickly added to it. The tension in the town was paramount. No one felt safe. However, the mayor and sheriff’s continual assurances still worked wonders in avoiding any chaos. I guess in such helpless times, we can’t help but continue to put our faith in anyone in position. I closed my eyes thinking about whatever I had heard last week. Everything I had heard was so disconnected that I had no idea how to put all the pieces together. Having re-played the conversation in my head over and over again, I had decided to begin with the town’s folklore.

I had surfed the internet but there was a lot of crap that had nothing to do with the town’s ancient folklore. There were stupid blogs about vampires, werewolves, witches etc but no authentic archives. However, I had come across the Central Library link which told that the town’s library had archives of the town’s history and heritage. Probably, I could find the folklore in them.

I looked at the watch. It was 11 am. I could easily go and check out the archives. I got up, grabbed a coat, took the car keys and was ready to take off when Sean walked in. He grabbed an apple, turned and looked at with me in surprise.

“Ya are going anywhere, bro?” He asked.

I quickly thought and spoke. “Yeah. Sam wanted to meet me. I’ll be back late.”

“Cool. Say hi.” With this Sean went to his room.

I heaved a sigh of relief. This was not the time to tell Sean anything. Sean had already told me his fears about Evan. Though I had pacified him, I had doubts regarding Evan and Daniel. Ever since the murders had started they had been acting weird. If they had something to do with it then I needed proof to save Sean. And I was determined to get it.

*****

The librarian’s cute assistant took out the file, wiped the dust off it and handed it to me with a smile.

“Here you go, Aaron. The file has a couple of pages from a journal of Robert Stewart. This was all that was recovered from the fire that burnt down the historian’s house. It’s a pity. He has done an exhaustive research on the town’s history and culture. Guess, fate didn’t favor. Poor man, burnt in the fire.”

“Thanks, Steve. I’ll check up what information will be useful for my paper. You’re a life saver.” I smiled charismatically.

He blushed and murmured a “my pleasure” before walking away. The moment I saw him turning the corner I quickly headed to the table and sat down to explore. I removed the cover and opened the folder. There were a few torn pages burnt at the edges. I began reading whatever was comprehensible.

“…the legend of the creatures of the night has continued to be an issue that surfaced at several moments in the history of Mystical Domus. In 1692 when the witch burning trials were flaming in Salem, the townsmen of Mystical Domus were preparing themselves for their first attack on the most detested beings on earth. Churches had become the rallying point of the movement to cleanse God’s earth. The governance had initiated the process and the ancestors of the most notable families of the town had been the leaders of this crusade. These creatures of the night had been named the…..”

I swore as I reached the end of the page. That part had been burnt in the fire. Frustrated, I looked at another page from the journal.

“…were successful. The war waged against them forced them into hiding. The deaths in the town had stopped. No more was the fear of waking up in the morning to find their family dead and fed upon by the demons of the dark. No more feeling of despair and helplessness at the hands of the foul beings. No woman or child would be found ripped apart with the blood being sucked out of their bodies. But, the governing families of the town suddenly decided not to pass down the truth. They decided to bury the past. No one would ever talk about the crusade. None opposed but under their breaths they all talked of the pact that had been made with the Dark. The pact whose terms if not complied with would bring doom to the town. No one knew the pact. My recent discoveries have led to my present belief that the pact between the beings and the governing families involved a very sinister issue. The sacrifice of …..”

I reached the end and cursed yet again. Another abrupt end to the page. I looked through the rest of the pages but nothing talked about the folklore or anything about the creatures of the night. Why on earth had Robert Stewart used so many adjectives? Couldn’t he have used the name?

However, the certain thing was that whoever these beings were, they had returned. The manner of death had been exactly the same as described by the historian. Another fact that clicked was that the short conversation I had eavesdropped on now made sense to me. The governing families were the same who were in power positions today. This was so unbelievable.

But, how on earth were the Damiens connected with this? I thought hard and then it dawned on me. They had moved to town a month ago. And the attacks started last week. It was a small town and no new families had shifted. And the way Evan had reacted that disturbed Sean. What connection could they possibly have with these creatures?

A sense of urgency seized me. I had to warn Sean. I checked my watch. It was 7 pm. Shit! Sean was to go to the Halloween party tonight. I had to stop him. I quickly picked up my keys and turned to leave.

“Hello Aaron.” Daniel stood in front of me, smiling. “I see you’ve been reading.”

I hastily and unsuccessfully tried to regain my ease. “Project. Yeah. What do you want?”

“You.” In a split of a second he was next to me, his fingers hit my neck and everything blacked out.

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