Desire of the Soul (4 page)

I would have done anything she asked, I loved her so much, so when she said she liked animal blood better, I got her some.
 

It only took a couple days before I noticed how her temper was getting worse and worse, and the red would take over a lot more often. I did not know what was wrong with her at the time, I would only figure out until too late.
 

Then one night, she disappeared. I couldn’t find her, I only heard that people were turning up dead in our city. Three people the first day, then five, then almost twenty.
 

I knew it was Kallisto, I just didn’t want to believe it, and so I ignored the deaths. When there was no one left in our town, because they had either left in fear of the killer or were dead, Kallisto came back to me.
 

She walked into my house, her eyes a crimson red, and looked at me as though she was amused. She stayed with me for many days, and it was as though she had never left.

I was her source of food, giving her my blood whenever she was thirsty.
 

My world revolved around Kallisto, the beautiful goddess who was my love. Her bite, was my addiction.
 

When she left again, I stayed in my bed for weeks. I almost died from hunger, but I couldn’t do anything. Kallisto was not there to feast on me, to fill me with her love. I have never found her again, after all these centuries of searching. I don’t love her anymore, I have long since gotten over that, but I look for her so that I can let her soul free. I look for her so that I can get rid of the monster that was once my love. I look for her, so that I can kill her.”

Duke finished his story off by standing up from the soft couch we’d been sitting on, and walking away to another room. When he came back hours later, I did not bring up the subject. I could tell he would just leave again if I did.
 

And Duke angry, is a thing I have been trying to avoid for the last few days. I loved him as though our souls were created for one another, but I did not know if he felt the same way. Even if he said differently, his eyes showed his eternal love for Kallisto.

The Return

After almost two weeks of not being home, and having to pretend as though I had not fallen for Duke, I dropped the bomb.

“I’m going home,” I said, my voice soft as I looked down. I was afraid of what Duke would say, what he would do. He hasn’t gone red on me recently, and neither had I. Somehow I knew that he wouldn’t take this information with glee though, and I was most definitely right.

“You are what?” Duke asked back, his voice like thunder pounding in my ears.
 

I felt tears gather in my eyes, and took I deep breath. “I want to go home. I need to go home Duke. My family, my friends they’re still alive. And I miss them! I need to be with them again!” My tears fell slowly and I wiped them away, hating myself for showing a sign of weakness.
 

“When you made the decision to become an Amatores Sanguinis, you made the decision to leave your family and friends behind too. I’m sorry if you did not know that, but you do now.” Duke’s eyes burned a light red, and I felt mine do the same.

“That’s just it Duke! I didn’t make this choice! You chose this lifestyle for me! I want to go home, so just let me! Is that so hard? I’m not Kallisto!” I screamed, and his eyes filled with pain.
 

I sagged against the wall, sliding to the floor. “I’m sorry Duke. I-I didn’t mean that.”
 

Duke turned away from me, his movements slow. “One does not say things they do not mean. Goodbye Tammy,” he whispered, then left the room.
 

I sat on the floor crying for hours, feeling Dukes pain as though it was mine. Was I too cruel bringing Kallisto into this? Maybe, but it was true. Kallisto left him because she’s a cold bitch, but I’m doing so to save myself. He’s in love with another girl! I’m not going to sit here and be miserable, so I need to go home.

When I finally calmed down, I gathered my small amount of things and left Dukes house. He was nowhere in sight, but I felt him watching me as I walked out his front door.

---

As I walked into school, I felt everyone staring at me. The girls eyebrows raised, and the boys mouths dropped. I knew I looked different then from when I was human, but it couldn’t be that bad... could it?

“Hey Tam!” Luke said, wrapping his arm around me. I forced a smile and looked up at him, the memories of biting him clutching at my heart.
 

“Um, hi Luke,” I answered back, my fangs itching to slip out. When was the last time I’d eaten? Two days ago? Three? I looked away from him, swallowing away the burning in my throat. Maybe coming to school wasn’t the best idea.

“You okay Tammy? You look kind of sick,” Luke said, confusion written on his face as he reached for my hand. I could tell he didn’t remember that night, or he would have been afraid of me. Instead of being afraid though, he was holding me as though I was his and his only. That made a small tear in the seams that made up my heart, because I wasn’t his anymore. I could never be his anymore.

Duke had stolen it from the moment he walked into my house and turned me. And it took me until just now, to really and truly understand that he hadn’t given it back. It took me just now, to notice that I would never want him to give it back. I just wanted to be back with him, in his arms. My family, my friends, they meant nothing to me anymore. We were too different.
 

My heart raced as I pushed Luke off of me, and ran out of the school and into the sun. I kept on running and running, until I stopped right at his house. Duke was never awake during the day, so knocking on the door would be futile. My nose wrinkled as the scent of something dead wafted towards me, an animal must be rotting somewhere, nothing else.

I shook the scent away, crouching on the steps, and getting comfortable as I waited for night to fall and Duke to wake.

Just as my eyes were closing though, a figure stepped out from the shadows, and then there was blackness.

---

I awoke in a daze, my head pounding. My eyes were covered with a bandanna, the fibers itching at my nose. I sniffed a little then gagged, my eyes rolling to the back of my head.
 

The stench was terrible. It was the smell of the corpse from outside Dukes house, though multiplied by thousands. It was almost as though the corpse was rotting from the inside-out. I stopped breathing, knowing that if I continued that I would pass out again.
 

There was no noise around me, not even the sound of ants paving their way through the ground. It was completely silent. I could feel a cold cement wall behind me, and cement flooring. My hands were behind my back, and I tried to move them.
 

A sharp burning pain, as though acid was being poured on my wrists, filled me and I screamed. I tried to move my wrists in my rush to stop the pain, but it just got worse and I soon began to hear the sound of sizzling and bubbling. It came from my skin.
 

I kept on screaming and screaming, the pain too much to bear, until my voice was raspy.

“No one except for me is around. So that screaming you are doing, well it will do you no good,”
 
a girl’s voice said, and I whimpered.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice no louder than a mouse scampering through fields.
 

“Well, you tried to take my love. And so this is my revenge. Eternal pain.” The girls’ voice was sweet, and I felt my heart stop.
 

There was only one person this could be, unless Duke had other loves I did not know about.
 

“Kallisto.”

Her Pain

Kallisto laughed cruelly, and ripped the blindfold off my eyes. Immediately they adjusted to the light, or lack of light, and were drawn to Kallisto.
 

She had long and perfectly wavy brown hair, and light red highlights. She was tall, maybe 5’9, and skinny. Her skin was extremely white, as though she hadn’t seen sun in years, and her whole body had a sort of waxy look to it. She was wearing simple dark jeans, and a light pink shirt.
 

My eyes traveled to her eyes, and froze. They were a crimson red, as Duke had said, and there was not a hint of humanity in them. I shivered with fright, knowing that this girl would snap my neck in seconds and not feel even a sliver of guilt.

“Yes, it is me. The wonderful and beautiful Kallisto,” she said, her voice dripping sarcasm. “I see that my darling Duke has been talking about me. Oh Duke; his blood filled me with such power and warmth. That is why I have returned you see, I need more of him. And I can assure you that he needs more of me.
 

But, with you in the picture, he won’t need me. So, that is why I have taken you. My dear Duke, well you see I was supposed to be his last Amatores. He only turned those he felt deeply about. Obviously that is not true anymore though, because he turned you. And I have been watching you two since he first walked into your doorway.

What an idiot you were, allowing him in. Did your parents never tell you to keep away from strangers? I mean have some sense, girl! If you just hadn’t done that, we would not be in this terrible predicament. Oh well, it makes no difference to me anyway. You’re just another blood bag to me. Although from your looks, I doubt your blood will taste very good.”

Kallisto’s eyes lit up with excitement, and she looked at me evilly. “Ignore that, I just came up with a better idea. I would tell you it, but darling that would ruin the surprise!” she said, and disappeared from the room.
 

I let my tears fall again, too afraid to move in case I burned myself again. The pain was still terrible, gnawing at my wrists in burning agony. I pressed my lips together tightly, wanting to just rip the thing off of me. But if I even tried, I would probably end up with at least one less limb.

I closed my eyes, wanting this to be over. I’d never done anything truly bad in my life, I mean I’ve snuck out and drank but all kids do that! That is so not worthy of torture though!
 

‘Damn it Duke! Why did you have to turn me? Because of you I’m being tortured! I don’t deserve this, no one does. So why is this happening to me? What did I do that was so bad, that I have to get tortured for it? I feel, I feel like I’m paying for your mistake Duke. Your mistake to kill so many people, your mistake to turn Kallisto, your mistake to turn me. That’s the only thing that makes sense. And Duke, I love you, I really do. You stole me from the minute I woke up to your voice, and I need your help. I’m scared Duke... I really am. Kallisto’s planning something bad, I can tell. Just please, if you can hear me, save me Duke. Please save me.’
 

I sent my words out through the air, a trick Duke had taught me in case of emergencies, and imagined it entering Dukes mind. I really hoped that it worked, but I wouldn’t know until he sent me a message back. And who knew how long that would take.
 

A stench filled the air, the same one as before, and my eyes watered. I knew without a doubt in my mind, that the smell belonged to Kallisto. My heart sank as she appeared from the air, a smile of triumph on her face.
 

“I have brought you a delicious treat,” she announced, holding out a plastic bag. It was filled with something dark red, and my mouth watered, it was blood. My stomach grumbled, and my throat burned. I should have taken something from Luke, before running off like I did.

My thoughts started to feel darker, more tainted by the monster, side effects of the Hunger. I sniffed, focusing only on the blood because Kallisto’s scent was enough to kill me, and the smell wafted into my noise.
 

The blood smelled sweet and rich, but I could tell it was not human blood right away. I’d mastered the art of smelling the imprints of the life left within blood in the last week at Duke’s house, and so I could tell that this wasn’t human. This one had a strong imprint of a small and wild animal. Probably a rabbit. I wanted the bag so badly, but I knew that if I drank it I was giving in to Kallisto.
 

She looked at me as though she could see the battle raging through my mind, and set the baggie of blood next to me.
 

“Call out when you would like to have some of this, and I will come and let you drink.” Kallisto said, and then disappeared once again.
 

The blood. That was my minds first thought as I looked down. I wanted it, I needed it. But drinking it, it would mean giving in to the monster. Giving in to Kallisto. I could tell what her plan was, it was honestly quite simple. I would drink the blood, and be kept hostage here as she fed me more and more animal blood. Then, I would become like her. A true vampire. I would no longer be a part of the Amatores Sanguinis race. I would be a monster, killing with glee and without mercy. A part of me wanted to give in so badly, just let go of the misery I was feeling. I wanted to be a soul wandering the Earth. But, would it be worth it?

Would the pain of others, the killing, would it be worth my freedom? I didn’t like what I had been made to become. Everyone in the world was supposed to have a choice, but I didn’t.