Diary of a Vampeen (40 page)

"That's what your little friend said.
After I left your house, she followed me and spilled you and
Kellan's secret. Now, if you don't want to cooperate with me I'll
call her right now and hand you over to her. Of course, I'd rather
not do that. You really are very sexy now. I would like to touch
you a few more times before you're destroyed," he smirked running
his hands up and down my arms, repeating the motion with his eyes
on my body.

I pulled back. "Mike, you have no
proof of this obscenity. You've lost it. You're crazy."

"Then explain this!" he
yelled holding up a photo. I scanned it quickly. It was a picture
of Kellan, obviously taken from afar, perched over a man –
gulp!
- teeth barred and
inches from the man's neck.

“That could easily be faked with a
photo editing software. No one will believe it’s real,” I argued. I
was proud for thinking so quickly on my feet. It was true though. I
didn’t believe people would take it at face value.

"I don't take threats quite as mild as
your ex-girlfriend."

My head flew up to see Kellan and his
father standing twenty feet down the deserted corridor.

"Ha! You can't touch me!" Mike whipped
out his necklace - a silver cross. Kellan, his father, and I burst
into unified laughter. This angered him. "What's so funny blood
suckers?!" he yelled.

"Those are myths. Vampires can enter
churches, say God's name, and even wear crosses," Al stated
displaying his own gold cross around his neck.

Mike stood flabbergasted, unexpectant
of the response he received. "I'm still going to tell everyone. You
can't stop me," he announced with a satanic edge in his voice.
"Isn't that right Keira?"

"I already prepared the announcement
to post to their networking sites which were quite easy to hack I
must say," the girl beamed, startling me in her surprise presence
from around the back corner. Where the heck was my supersonic
hearing when I needed it?!

Caught between Mike and Keira, I made
a quick bolt towards Kellan but was apprehended before I could
escape. Keira's cold hand clenched my upper arm.

"What a pity it would be to die the
night you announce your true self to the world," she teased in
sarcastic pity. My fury having been initiated by Mike now boiled
with Keira.

"You either release her or I will be
forced to take her. Either way you've broken the law in telling a
human. You will be punished by death," Al insisted.

"You have to catch me first," she
laughed an evil cackle that sent chills down my spine. Her grip
tightened around my arm; had I still been human, it would have
snapped in half by now.

"You better let go of me," I hissed.
"You better start running."

"Or what? I'm not afraid of you or
your so-called friends. In fact, Kellan and I share a past, don't
we sweetie? He wouldn't lay a finger on me."

My rage overflowed with her remarks. I
hit my breaking point. Everything drew to my surface. My past
embarrassment and torment over my size and affiliations faced as
the beginning to my overflow. The animosity I felt towards the
popular crowd mingling within my party now spiced it up. My
internal battle over my life being ripped from me to be a vampeen
produced relentless resentment within me. The agitation I felt with
my parents for holding out on my fate scratched deeper into the
surfaces. Losing my remaining childhood bridged to the forefront of
my mind, but losing Gran to a vampire just like Keira filled me
with a hatred only the devil himself could hold. Being forced to
consume human blood for survival produced a slight animosity within
me. Mike's stunts from earlier, his random threats and disrespect
of me all infuriated me, pushed me towards the edge little by
little.

Keira's insult smeared in
by Mike’s egotistical presence was what demolished my apprehension.
It all flowed together, meshed, pushed, pressed into me over time,
yet her snide remark was what propelled me over the edge. I knew
only bits of who Kellan was before because I saw it in his mind,
but I loved who he was now. Just as my past didn't matter, his
didn't reflect in my feelings towards him. "I don't care if
you
HAD
something! We
HAVE
something and I'll be damned if you're going to
mess it up! I'm tired of your crap and his crap and AHH!" I yelled
breaking free and attacking Keira at a speed I could barely keep up
with.

We tossed and turned at the speed of
light; no human eye would have been able to keep up with our
commotion. I didn’t let up though. I was relentless in my pursuit
of her. She was the culmination of all the things I disliked and
sought to destroy.

Her long nails scratched at me,
clawing my dress as she attempted to launch me, but failed with my
final, powerful pin. She hissed, growling with barred teeth below
me. I can't explain what came over me; a rush of harsh adrenaline
curdled in my blood. I punched her repeatedly, was crushing her
bones with quick knee jabs, and had bit her wrist when she flung
her hands with the purpose of shredding me.

Al was at my side in seconds with a
steel blade engraved with symbols. With one swift move Keira's
throat was cut, blood pouring onto the floor. Though she still
fought me, she weakened slightly with the acknowledgement of
defeat. She could never win against both Al and me.

He rested his hand on my shoulder as
Keira began to silence below me. "Lexi. That's enough. I'll take it
from here."

I froze staring down. She was still
jolting, though I felt no flinch of resistance. After a moment of
hesitation, I gracefully dismounted myself. I stood backing myself
into Kellan who had moved beside his father as backup. Looking
around, I realized the hotel was empty of activity in this area
because we were in the housekeeping section of the
hotel.

Kellan placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Lexi, are you okay?" he asked cautiously.

I watched silently as Al dragged Keira
out the back exit like the criminal she was. A wave of emotions
overwhelmed me, shock setting in. I didn't know what came over me.
I felt like I erupted into a monster all of a sudden. Now I know
why people snap; they can only take so much. But I almost killed
someone. I tried to kill someone. How could I ever bring peace like
this?

Granted Keira was evil. She murdered
many of my kind, but I will encounter many more replicas of her in
the vampire world; they’re filled with the same hatred. If I
attacked them all as I did her, I would be no better than them.
Worse. I would be one of them.

Taking this into account now, could
Dr. Zhan have been wrong? A vengeant vampeen paired with an
impatient, withdrawn vampire did not equal tranquility amongst
hostility. The opposite would transpire in our actions - amplified
war.

"Lexi?" Kellan spoke again
softly.

He gently tugged me back towards him.
I spun around. Looking into his usual bright green eyes, I saw a
flare of surprise, of weariness in them. Staring at his expression
of guarded concern, I realized he was leery of me, almost
frightened. It slammed the realization into my mind: I really did
transform into a monster.

"Are you okay?" he pushed
again.

"I'm sorry," I gasped clutching my
arms around him, officially ruining his outfit with blood as tears
welled in my eyes.

"It's ok Lexi. You didn't do anything
wrong," he reasoned.

"But I attacked her."

"You defended yourself. She attacked
you first," he argued.

"I… I don't know what came over me. I…
I just lost control..." I did my best to retain the water
threatening to overflow.

"Listen to me Lexi," Kellan stated
firmly pressing my shoulders back so he could look into my eyes.
"My heart stopped when you pounced her. I was scared for you. But
you took down a two-hundred year old vampire in one blow. She
couldn't even defend herself. I’ve never seen a vampeen overpower a
vampire like that. I need to train you more in fighting, but you
did a damn good job without me. I'm impressed. You should be proud
of yourself. I know I am."

"Really?" I blubbered losing the fight
to hold back the waterworks.

"Yes, really," he kissed my forehead
wiping my tears away simultaneously. The salty tears burned along
my cheeks as he swept them away from the new wounds Keira inflicted
on my face with her nails.

"Thanks," I muttered. I looked down to
see my arms scratched and bloody but beginning to scab and heal
already. My dress on the other hand was ruined.

"Oh no. My aunt is going to kill me,"
I whined stepping back to peer down at the ripped lace and frayed
bow. There was a long gash across the entire front of the dress
baring my thigh below.

“You still look gorgeous. I had to
keep myself from pouncing you when I saw you. No one has looked
more beautiful than you tonight.”

“Thanks, but she’s still going to kill
me.”

“Your shoes are fine,” he
smiled.

I still heard blaring music behind the
closed doors down the hall; buzz still hummed loudly in the
background. Looking around the halls, I realized Mike wasn’t
there.

“Where’s Mike?”

“He ran off.”

“And you let him?” I pressed
baffled.

“I saw his face. He was scared
shitless when you attacked Keira. He threw the picture at me and
took off. Coward,” Kellan scoffed with amused disgust.

“I guess I did look pretty scary. I
even shocked myself,” I acknowledged.

“Scary? No. Sexy? Absolutely,” he
grinned, displaying his dimple and melting my heart in unison.
Something about his trademark was irresistible.

“Lexi?” my mother called stepping out
into the hall searching for me. “Lexi! What happened?!” she yelled
at my side in half a second despite me being a minimum ten yards
away.

“I’m fine, Mom. Keira showed up with
Mike. I sort of attacked her and Mike ran off,” I
explained.

“Attacked her? Lexi, you could have
been killed!” she freaked.

“No, Sharon, I don’t believe she would
have been,” Al stated strolling casually in the same door he
exited.

“What do you mean?” she
pressed.

“Sharon is everything okay?” my aunt
called rushing over with Beth and my dad when they caught sight of
me.

“Lexi, what happened?!” my dad
exclaimed. He got down on his knees and began examining me as he
did when I got hurt as a child.

“Lexi attacked and single-handedly
took down the vampire radical,” Al announced.

I grew nervous with the new awed,
wide-eyed glares I received from everyone in unison. I began
fidgeting with my hands.

“Um, Lexi, why don’t I take you to
clean up a bit so your parents can talk to Al,” Aunt Claire
prompted.

I nodded in agreement. Kellan kissed
my forehead, “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

I smiled slightly and followed my aunt
back to the lobby where the elevators stood. She pushed the button
as the front desk attendants stared on in horror, no doubt
attempting to guess my shaken fate. I didn’t even want to guess the
terrors sprawled out in their minds.

Once inside the elevator, Aunt Claire
pulled me in and squeezed me with all her might. She didn’t say
anything probably realizing that I needed comfort, reassurance
without words in this moment. And I was grateful for that
moment.

Chapter 25

“Well, we can’t salvage the dress, but
I do have a backup I bought just in case of a blood shed
emergency,” she smiled encouragingly.

Inside the closet of her suite, Aunt
Claire retrieved a red mini-dress. It was a strapless dress that
fell mid-thigh on me. The bust was overlaid with matching red lace
and ended empire with a coordinating red ribbon lining it, below
the ribbon, a layered chiffon type material merely grazed my skin
to my hips where it fell into the perfect A-line design.

Luckily Ryan had made an appearance at
the party and fixed my hair and make-up. Oddly he didn’t ask a
single question regarding the event that lead to my disheveled mess
of cuts, tears and dress destruction.

Once I was all cleaned up, my wounds
healed, revamped to return to the party, I was finally able to
return the smile my aunt lovingly projected.

Mike was gone, I’d killed Keira and Al
dispensed of her, Jason’s jaw dropped over me, Jenny turned green
with envy, Mel still loved me as her best friend, my dad was
beginning to accept the new me, I was learning to love my
previously absent aunt and, best of all, I had a boy – no, scratch
that – a man named Kellan whom, though he lied about Keira, clearly
cared about me in a way no one ever had, and I was anxious to
return to him now all tidied up.

“Let’s go Miss Fierce,” Ryan called.
“You look like a sexy cougar in this dress. I’m loving it, and I’m
guessing everyone else will too.”

As I re-entered the party, Mel ran up
to me exclaiming, “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for
you! You had me scared to death that something happened to
you!”