Blood and Beasts (31 page)

She shook her head, ridding herself
of those thoughts. She was not a damned creature of the night. She was not a
monster. She could be a monster, but anybody could be a monster, be they human,
wizard, witch, werewolf, or vampire. Francesca had bored this into her that one
night, and she held onto it with all her strength. Suddenly, the door to the
Room burst open, and she flinched, nearly jumping a foot. Rodney strode in,
shedding raindrops left and right.

He was furious! Had she ever seen
him this furious before? He looked livid! What had happened? He looked…
monstrous. Every being had it in them, she supposed. Her heart thundered in her
chest, going about the same rate a normal human
’
s would.

Rodney was infuriated. He had never
felt this angry before. He wanted to be alone. To tear things to pieces like Silo
had! Someone was in here with him though… Who was in the Room?

“Rod?” Seph
’
s slightly dark eyes widened as she slowly saw the
expression on his face, his appearance. “Rod! What happened?!” Her concern just
aggravated him even more as he paced their little hideout aggressively.

“Not his son? Not his son?! I can
’
t help what I am! I can
’
t help that I
’
m not as controlled as he was!” He was babbling to
himself wildly now, muscles and bones rippling beneath his soaking wet shirt as
he kept himself from shifting, but just barely.

“Rod. Rod! What is going on?!” She
was demanding his attention now.

She had no idea what he had just
been through, and when he caught her eye, all he saw was sympathy and… pity? He
wanted no pity. Anger lurched its ugly head within him again.

“He called me a monster,
Persephone. A monster! He told me that I
’
m
no longer his son! I can
’
t help what I am! All because I lost
control! How could he say that?!” He was screaming at her now, but she stood
her ground resolutely.

They stared at each other a moment,
challengingly. Two monsters ready to fight, if need be. He looked away, shaking
his head of his violent thoughts.

“Maybe I am…
Maybe I am a monster
…” his mood was swinging up and down
from intense sadness to intense anger.

“Rod, you
’
re not a monster! He just doesn
’
t understand! You know what my-” he cut her off
viciously.

“Maybe I am a monster! Maybe you
’
re a monster too!” He was all but
spitting in her face now.

“I
’
m not a monster, Rodney!” She yelled at his back as he
walked towards the exit. “And neither are you!” He paused, and he sensed,
rather than saw, her tremble apprehensively.

He suddenly whirled around and
stalked towards her. She backed up quickly, noting the intense ferocity in his
glowing, gold eyes. She rammed her back against the wall, and he stopped in
front of her face. He grabbed the girl
’
s
throat and flexed his fingers temptingly, imagining ripping her esophagus out,
all that blood, crimson rain on his face.

“Are you so sure, Seph?” He
murmured, staring into her charcoal eyes, and she glared right back into his
golden ones.

His eyes slowly traveled down her
face to her mouth. His fingers relaxed a little. His eyes met hers again for
just a split second before he kissed her. He didn
’
t know why at this particular moment, but that was
exactly what he wanted to do, and he was tired of waiting. She kissed him back.
They paused in a moment of suspended silence. He knew what he wanted to do, and
he knew what he could do.

“Seph?” He said, a little
breathless.

“Ya?” She asked, just as
breathless.

“
Drink my blood,
” her brow furrowed with confusion,
but he saw her eyes darken just slightly, becoming an even stormier gray.

“
Your blood? Rod-
” With one sharp fingernail, he cut
the side of his neck, blood instantly beading along the slim line. “Rod…” Her
voice trembled as her eyes remained locked on his neck.

Suddenly, she was at his throat,
and the blood was flowing freely. It felt amazing, the gentle, seductive pull
on his neck. Did blood-drinking always feel this good? Well, Linda had never
complained… 

His blood was amazing! It was rich
and savory, like the finest, smoothest chocolate known to man… but better than
chocolate. It was the best taste in the world, and this drinking of blood was
making her want even more. She had no idea what he was thinking. She couldn
’
t concentrate, but she wanted to…

“Where
’
s the keypad? It
’
s
raining so hard out here. I can
’
t see a thing.”

The two of them froze, holding each
other, as the voices outside carried to them.

“Francesca, it
’
s right there.”

“I can see that, Linda. Don
’
t mess with me when it
’
s pouring rain, and my hair is
messed up. I feel like a wet dog.”

“Well, you sound like a wet bitch…”

“What did you just say?!”

“You heard me, Francesca! You
’
ve been a bitch all day! Just
because you
’
re PMSing or having a bad day, does
not mean the rest of us are!”

“You did not just say that to me,
you chinfladita. Voy a-”

“Oh, you can
’
t cuss at me in English? You gotta say it in Spanish?!
What if Abernathy and I did that every time one of you all pissed us off?
Started talking Vietnamese?!”

As the two girls continued to squabble
outside, in the rain, the couple hurriedly darted around the corner just as the
door opened. The girls continued their arguing inside. Rodney and Seph hid in
the corner quietly.

“
Tu eres una chismosita y-
”

Linda let out a flurry of words in
Vietnamese that neither Rodney nor Seph caught a word of as he swiftly
rearranged his rumpled shirt. Seph caught sight of the blood still trickling
freely from his neck. She had forgotten to seal it.

“Rod,” she whispered, and she stood
on her tiptoes.

She jerked down his collar and
sealed his wound on his neck. She licked her lips, lowering herself to her feet
again. She smiled up at him.

“You were still bleeding,” she
commented, and he smiled back.

He pulled her closer to him and
kissed her broadly. Of course, they started kissing all over again and would
have probably started the whole drinking blood thing again if not for Francesca
and Linda
’
s screaming voices. They both
snapped apart.

“I
’
m having a bad day! You could give me a break, Linda!”

“Well, I wasn
’
t having a bad day! And when you
’
re a bitch, I
’
m
gonna tell ya!”

They kept going, but Rodney pulled
away from Seph, setting her down more steadily on her feet.

“We should get out of here,” she
nodded, grabbing his hand and tugging him to the bathroom.

There was a small window that Rodney
looked at skeptically.

“The only way,” she commented,
looking him up and down unsurely before opening the old window slowly.

He nodded, and before she knew what
was going on, he had lifted her up easily and pushed her out of the window. She
was in the rain now, sitting in mud in the rose maze. She was staring at him
with no faith. He grinned at her.

“I gotta few tricks up my sleeve,”
and he began to lift his much too broad self through the open window.

She watched as before her eyes he
started to shift into his werewolf form. His bones and muscles became loose as
they changed shape, and in those few brief moments in time, he slipped out the
window before quickly morphing back into his full human form. She was staring
at him, amazed and a little grossed out.

“That was a little gross,” she said
bluntly, and he grinned at her in the rain, leaning forward and kissing her.

“You like it. At least I don
’
t turn into a bat,” he brushed away
some of the black eyeliner and mascara now smearing down her face. “You look
like a bat,” he joked, and she shoved at him playfully, shutting the window
quietly behind them so that their voices wouldn
’
t carry inside.

“Shut up. For at least I ain
’
t a dog,” she commented, standing up
and walking a few paces away, shoes squelching in the mud.

She let out a shriek as he suddenly
rushed her, and they both slammed into the mud. They wrestled for a moment,
both of equal strength and enjoying the challenge. They finally stopped,
breathing hard, and it was then that Seph noticed that Rodney was leaning over
her. The worst moment for that old gardener to amble by…

Rodney suddenly kissed her, and she
reacted as was dictated. She was a bit distracted though. It was muddy. Rain
was everywhere. She was thinking more clearly now too, without the whole blood
thing. Earlier, she had wanted a bit more, but now… What was Rodney thinking?
She didn
’
t dare pry. Finally, she pulled away
from him, rising to her feet unsteadily as he looked up, clearly disappointed.

“I
’
m thinking a little bit more clearly now, Rod, and we
should probably take it down a notch,” she knew she was flushing just a little,
but luckily, it was dark outside.

His night vision probably didn
’
t help her cause though.

“The whole blood thing complicates
things,” she stated, dignified despite the fact that she was covered in mud
from head to toe.

He stood up beside her, looking
more than a little disappointed. She laughed a little at his forlorn face, but
that didn
’
t seem to alleviate him at all. She
grabbed his hands and pulled him down to kiss him again. Slowly, she pulled
back, beaming up at him.

“What was that for?” He asked,
breathless.

“Just showing you that things are
different now,” she was a little out of breath herself.

His hand drifted down to push her
hair off her shoulder.

“Just what else can we do?” She
pushed him away laughingly.

“We can get outta the rain,” she
said, smiling.

The next day, at breakfast, the
others were not oblivious to Rodney and Seph
’
s change in actions towards each other. The pair had
always been very close but now… Obviously, there was something else there as
Seph playfully shoved Rod, and he caringly tucked a stray piece of hair out of
her face as she sipped her blood.

“You two know the Halloween dance
is coming up, right?” Linda asked, smiling at them coyly as she held hands with
Stefan, who was becoming a regular member of their little group.

“Ya,” Seph said, casually flitting
her eyes over the rim of her mug to meet Linda
’
s wide, slanted ones.

“You usually bring a date,” she
suggested, eyes wheedling.

“Oh,” Seph said indifferently,
giving nothing away.

Her eyes never turned to Rodney, but
Linda could see that they were vaguely touching. That meant that they were
talking to each other.

“I hate how you can do that,” the
girl remarked, and Seph
’
s eyes snapped up to hers again.

“What?” She asked coolly, and Linda
grimaced.

“Talk in your minds. It makes
eavesdropping really difficult,” she spoke honestly, and Seph snorted with
laughter, nearly spilling her blood.

“That
’
s why we
’
re friends, Linda. Your honesty is
just nifty,” Francesca admitted warmly, wrapping an arm over her friend
’
s shoulder.

Linda leaned against her happily.
They seemed to be friends again. When had they reconciled?

“Oh… You two are better now?” Seph
commented before wincing.

If she and Rodney were to claim that
they were never in the Room at that time, then she should never have mentioned
something that she wasn
’
t supposed to have heard. She looked
away quickly as both Francesca and Linda eyed her suspiciously. She stared into
the depths of her mug.

“How did you know?” Francesca
asked, eyes swiveling between her best friend and her cousin, who looked a
little guilty.

“Sometimes, I can
’
t help it,” Seph said, thinking
quickly and pointing at her head absently.

Good save
, Rodney commented,
and she let him sense her disapproval of his thought as he grinned.

“Right…” Francesca said, not
completely stupid to their internal chatter.

The bell rang, and they all looked
up.

“Time for class,” Tristan
announced, rising quickly and leaving.

His mind had been absent a lot of
late. They all looked at each other and shrugged.

“Who knows what he
’
s thinking… oh wait…” Francesca
looked over at Seph pointedly, and she shrugged again.

“I try to keep out of your minds,”
she commented, and the girl rolled her eyes, not believing the vampire for an
instant.

Everything went blissfully perfect
for the next week or so. They all fell into certain rhythms. Tristan would
constantly be caught whispering furtively with Dewdrop or drawing up maps or
reading strange books. He was acting very odd recently.

Rodney and Seph would go off on
their ‘walks
’
. The others weren
’
t stupid and realized the couple
’
s relationship had changed. However,
neither of them said anything about it, liking to keep the mystery hanging in
the air. They also seemed to enjoy keeping to themselves a lot also.

Linda and Abernathy started to
become thick as thieves again. They did this a lot. They would drift apart, and
Linda would flaunt all her attention on Stefan. Then they would drift back
together. It was one of their together times, which was actually not exactly
good. They tended to get into a lot of trouble together. Right now, they were
smoking up a storm in the bathroom. They were only doing it because as witches
they could get cigarettes, even if they didn
’
t particularly like them.

Stefan was not in the Room often,
now that Linda was paying more attention to Abernathy than to him. He was
probably off with Kenji somewhere or Capri. They were all pretty good friends.
He and Kenji were actually uncommonly close for two male vampires, considering
how territorial most male vampires were.

Francesca was left to her lonesome,
but she never stayed alone for too long. She was a notorious flirt and
beautiful at that. She flaunted what she had and was caught more than a few
times by that same caretaker, Mr. Grey, or one of the other three caretakers.
They were quadruplets named Mr. Grey, Mr. Yellow, because of the yellow tinge
to his skin from smoking, Mr. Brown, for his leathery, tan skin after gardening
out in the sun so often, and Mr. Blue, for his sightless blue eyes, blind from
who knew what.

One day during Vamp Class, all hell
broke loose, shattering the pleasant perfection of the last week. Seph was
paired with Alistair, learning mind domination, and they had never gotten along
well before they had been paired up. While the others practiced a few things
here and there, she and Alistair faced each other like two duelists.

Without warning, Seph felt her body
suddenly feel the intense urge to snap to the ground. She bowled over,
prostrating herself on the ground before Alistair. She heard him snicker.

“I enjoy being bowed to. Now get up
and try doing the same to me,” he instructed cruelly, releasing his hold on her
body.

She hopped to her feet without so
much as a push from her hands. She was furious! She glowered at him, a few
strands of hair askew, obscuring the front of her darkening eyes a bit.
Vampires became hungrier when they were angrier, and she was hopping mad. She
glared at him and willed him to prostrate himself on the ground before her. He
deserved it. He had embarrassed her and made her do that. His upper torso bent
ever so slightly, a sort of bow to her, but he soon shook himself, shaking that
off.

No, that
’
s not right.
Bow to me.
He ordered in a dominating voice,
and she fell to the ground once more. He laughed himself silly, and suddenly,
she felt an unearthly snarl rip through her throat. She jumped to her feet
again and launched herself at him.

Before anybody could react, she was
on top of him, slashing at him with her nails and raking them across his face.
He suddenly gained a burst of strength and shoved her away from him. She merely
skidded a few feet before jumping back on him again, pummeling him over and
over again with her small, hard fists. Arms snaked around her, prying her away
from the bleeding vampire as he failed to fend off her vicious attacks.

She snarled, spitting literally.
She wrenched a hand free and threw it at him, sending the vampire flying up
into the ceiling before smacking back down to the ground. He let out a groan,
rising to his feet with the help of Roberta as Seph realized on a subconscious
level that Sarabi and Phin were holding her back. She knew them. She knew their
strengths and weaknesses. She was thinking like a monster. Alistair was the
monster though. He made her feel menial, subordinate, something no vampire ever
wanted to feel or tolerated.

Without warning, she elbowed Sarabi
viciously in the gut before kicking her leg back to snap Phin
’
s out from under him. Both toppled
to the floor as she flew towards Alistair again. Her red-tinged eyes glanced to
the side, and she saw that the boys, Trey, Kenji, and Capri, were just watching
everything amusingly. Apparently, they had a few qualms with Alistair as well
and didn
’
t want to help him out. Masoko
looked terrified. She could only imagine what picture she painted for her.

The girl latched onto Alistair and
steeled herself to set her mouth on his neck. She pierced his skin viciously
with her fangs, knowing full well that she was now vulnerable, and the others
could easily pry her off and restrain her. She still got two good pulls in of
his blood, exceptionally painful drags to Alistair, before they wrenched her
off of him once again.

“
Seph!
” Phin was shouting in
her ears and in her mind.

He shoved her up against the wall,
slamming her head hard enough to make everything spin. It brought her back to
reality. She suddenly took in the revolving room, noticing that all the
vampires were staring at her. She sighed and took several deep breaths. She
needed to calm herself down. Her eyes flitted over to Alistair. Roberta was
helping him up again, putting her body between him and Seph. Was she hoping to
thwart any more attacks by placing herself between them? Doubtful… If she
really wanted to attack him again, she could, but he was pretty much defeated.
She grinned inside herself.

That was very foolish, Seph. You
do not anger other vampires like that. You do not disrespect them like that!
Phin
was shouting in her mind again, and she winced. He was right, but then again,
Alistair had disrespected her.

“Alistair, you know very well that
I am going to speak rather harshly to Seph, but you too had no right to
instigate anything like that. You know you were deliberately starting a fight
with basic, primal, vampire instincts,” he said firmly, and Alistair looked as
though he was embarrassed, if he could be anymore.

“What about her?” He grumbled,
realizing his little plan had been noticed after all.

“I
’
m getting to that,” Phin turned to Seph, both knowing
that he had to give her dressing down aloud as well. “You need to learn to
control you temper, Persephone, and your thirst. How many times have you
attacked a fellow student now? Three? Trey, that wizard, and Alistair? I
’
m not even including any times that
you have ever attacked me or Sarabi,” he nodded at the scowling Sarabi beside
her, who was still holding her stomach.

“Sorry about that, Sarabi. I just
knew it would hurt and processed it…” she gave her a sheepish look, and Sarabi
scowled even more harshly.

“Serves us right for still not
having trained such a strong and smart vampire like her,” Sarabi remarked
bitterly, hobbling out of the classroom.

She was most likely heading for the
infirmary.

“We
’
re working on that,” Phin muttered just as the ending
bell rang.

Everybody began to collect their
things, bustling out. Alistair was one of the last to go, sending Seph a glare
that could have frozen lava. She sent it right back. He had no right to make
her bow to him. She hoped he hurt a lot. It seemed she had made yet another
enemy at Zephyr Hall, a powerful, mind-controlling vampire at that.

“Um… Phin?” She said quietly, still
hanging in the air, feet dangling.

“Ya, Seph?” He wasn
’
t even thinking about her.

He was brooding about how powerful
she was and how dangerous.

“Wanna set me down? If my throat
could bruise, it would,” she commented, and he suddenly realized that he was
still pinning her to the wall by the throat.

He promptly dropped her.

“Sorry about that,” he muttered,
hand playing with his ear before he promptly left.

He was thinking… confused thoughts
and trying very hard to block her out. She really wanted to follow him now.
What was he trying to hide from her? She took a step toward the door, and then
she stopped herself. What was wrong with her? She was thinking more and more
like a predator every day! It was unnerving, to say the least. She liked the
other Seph, the normal, fun-loving one. She didn
’
t like this new one, this one that analyzed everything,
absorbed it within seconds, and then proceeded to use it for her own benefit.
She was becoming… a monster? No. But animalistic, that was certain. How
discouraging…

These thoughts dampened her
spirits, and she was harassed with them the rest of the night, even during
dinner, when she got more blood to fill her belly. Rodney noticed. Francesca
noticed. Everybody noticed, but they let her be with her thoughts. She didn
’
t see Phin in the Main Hall. She
still wanted to know what he was thinking. That was that animal part of her
again, hoping to know every thought of all possible threats, in case she needed
to use it to help herself out, in the end.

She was also bothered about
something else. It was another animalistic thing and had to do with her and
Rodney. Whenever they did anything, she always ended up drinking his blood. It
was good, but was that the reason she was with him? He was a constant source of
blood, good-tasting blood at that. B and werewolf, a very good mix. However,
maybe she was just with him for the source. Did she think of him as a source?
An animal would. An animal would keep a constant food source open, just in
case. Why was she thinking like this? She never thought like this before! She
never had fangs before either, she noted grudgingly.