The Last Of The Rings (2 page)

They were in Los Angeles at that time and Nessa knew there were more of their kind but they’d never crossed paths with any since they left their home over three hundred years back. They’d always managed to survive by drinking deer blood which they hunted at night. They also ate human meals as a disguise so as not to draw any attention even though it had no effect in quenching their thirst.

With this, Trina owned a diner where she managed to store their blood supply.

“Calm down Trina, I don’t understand what you mean, take deep breaths and slowly tell me what happened” Nessa answered as she pulled the sheets and covered her nakedness.

“Last night as I was coming from the diner Maxwell offered to wait around for me. As I closed shop, we were about to leave when these three odd looking guys came in before we could close the doors. I tried telling them we were closed but they said they were hungry and needed a treat” Trina narrated between sobs.

“Calm down honey” Nessa comforted her and prodded her to continue.

“They just jumped on us and before I knew it, they were all over Maxwell biting and sucking his blood, I managed to get away and ran out through the back. One of them followed me, but I lost him and hid beneath the dock” Trina continued.

“I left him Nessa, I left him to die without lifting a hand to help him, I killed him Nessa” she continued before she burst out crying.

“Where are you right now” Nessa asked grimly.

“I’m still at the dock” answered a shaken Trina.

“ok, stay put, I’m coming to get you” Nessa said then hurriedly put the receiver back on the cradle.

Somehow, her worst nightmare was coming to life. She knew that someday she’d encounter the collision with other vampires, and from Trina’s explanation, they sounded like the new Reign. These were ruthless vampires who killed mortals including humans to quench their thirst without having a care of exposure.

“Is everything ok Nessa, who was on the phone?” Thomas asked with concern as he caressed her back.

“I have to leave Thomas, that was Trina, but there’s nothing to worry about, I’ll take care of it” she said as she rose and rushed to her closet pulling out the closest pair of jeans and slipping them on.

“Wait a minute Nessa, what happened to Trina, you can’t just up and leave me like this without telling me anything. Ok, am coming with you”.

“No, you cannot come with me, this is something I’ve got to take care of myself, I’ll call you when I get back” Nessa stated raucously as she pulled a drawer and took out her ring then headed down the stairs through the kitchen and out of the compound.

For a second there, Thomas wondered where she’d disappeared to. She was in his sight for a minute then out of sight in another. He couldn’t make out where or how she had disappeared. He went back to her bedroom and got dressed.

It was almost eight in the morning and he still had to get back to work. He worked as a lawyer in one of the most established law firms in the district.

Nessa got to the dock and found Trina hiding behind a boat. She looked so pale and shaken. Nessa more than anything hated having Trina experience any harm. She’d promised their parents to always take care of her sister, and that day, she felt like she’d failed them somehow.

“Did you get a look at the people who attacked you Trina” she asked as she hugged and comforted her shaken sister.

“Yes Nessa, I did. I thought you told me we were the only ones in Los Angeles” Trina answered with a confused expression on her face.

“How do you mean Trish?” Nessa asked.

“They had fangs Nessa, they were vampires, just like us and they looked ruthless. I thought our kind wasn’t supposed to kill humans, where did they come from” Trina spoke with so much fright in her voice.

“I’ll explain everything Trish, c’mon lets go to the diner, we don’t want to attract any attention to ourselves” Nessa said as she held her sister by the shoulders and proceeded to the diner.

“I can’t go in there” Trina said as they got to the diner.

“Ok, wait here, I’ll check it out first” Nessa offered.

The door was ajar and Nessa pushed it open. She used her powers to see if she could detect any movement or any unusual sense of smell, she couldn’t make out anything. When she got into the diner, she touched the counter and images flashed through her mind.

She saw everything that had happened the previous night. Her vision was suddenly interrupted by Trina’s voice.

“Where is his body?” she asked.

“They took him Trish”

“Took him, where, did they kill him?” Trina asked as she broke into a sob.

“I don’t think anyone can survive such an attack”

“What do you mean Nessa, you mean you saw what actually happened here, how?” Trina asked with a shocked expression on her face.

“I think it’s time you knew the truth Trish”

“Truth, what do you mean Nessa?”

“Before mum and dad died, they entitled you and the family’s secret to me. Mum and dad didn’t die in an accident as you’ve known all these years. They were killed Trish, they were killed with a group called the Reign. These are ruthless vampires who believe they have the right to rule and dictate our existence. They can only do so when they have possession of all the rings, the kind of rings that you and I own” Nessa explained.

“You mean these vampires have been after us all these years and want to take our rings, but how will we survive daylight Nessa?” Trina wondered.

“The rings don’t only protect us from sunlight, they entail other powers that boost our original powers. I have the gift to see the future and past events as they happened with just a touch of an item that was present when it happened” Nessa explained.

“You want to tell me I also have other powers?”

“Yes Trish, and I’m sure in time you’ll get to find out what they are” Nessa explained.

‘How could you keep this from me Nessa, all these years you didn’t tell me that mum and dad were killed, and that there was an army after us to kill us, I thought we were close Nessa, how could you do this to me. Maxwell is now dead and if I had a heads-up, I probably would have been on the look-out and maybe this wouldn’t have happened. I might as well have just killed him myself” Trina argued as she sat down on a chair near her.

She knew how much Trina cared for Maxwell, even though she never liked him as much as Maxwell did. He’d wanted them to be a couple but Trina wanted to take things slow.

“I was trying to protect you Trish, mum and dad told me to take care of you and we’ve been avoiding the Reign’s trail all these years. If I’d known they’d found us, I would have told you” Nessa explained.

“So you were actually waiting for me to get attacked before you got the audacity to tell me that there are people trying to kill us? Very smart Nessa” Trina chided.

“I wish I could undo what happened last night little sister, but it’s in the past and now you know. We have to leave town Trish” Nessa stated.

Silence filled the air as Trina took in everything that Nessa had just told her. Before she could utter a word, she felt a sharp pain on her back. It was the most painful experience she’d ever experienced and in no time, she felt her entire body go numb as she fell on the floor, her vision becoming blurry.

Nessa sprung up in the air using her vampire prowess and landed on the window pane, she pulled the folds open and sunlight filled the room. The vampire that attacked her sister yelled out in pain as the sun’s ray turned him to dust.

Nessa rushed to her sister’s side and turned her to face the floor as she pulled off the silver knife from her back. She took off her Trina’s coat and pulled up her top to have a clear view of the blades penetration. The blade had gone so deep inside her and she knew Trina wouldn’t heal with their regenerative powers.

She rubbed her ring around the wound and suddenly, the cut begun to patch up. In no time, Trina opened her eyes and coughed hard. Nessa embraced her and told her everything would be ok.

Trina couldn’t believe the turn of events within the past couple of hours.

“We have to leave now Trish, these vampires can still sense our presence. We have to get as far away as possible” Nessa stated.

When each of them had packed enough of what they’d need for their next town, Nessa turned on the ignition of their car and drove off.

“Have you told Thomas that we’re leaving?” Trina asked as she looked over at Nessa.

“I think it’s better this way, I’m sure he’d have caused a fuss over this and if I stay close to him then I’d only be endangering his life” Nessa stated as she fought to hide the hurt burning up in her heart to her eyes.

“You know he loves you right, and I think you at least owed him a goodbye” Trina stated.

Nessa knew too well that Thomas would have prodded to know why they were leaving, and there was no way she’d let him find out of her dark secret. Staying with him would only have made things worse because she wouldn’t forgive herself if anything happened to him, just the thought was too grim to contemplate. Leaving was the only way to keep him safe even though it hurt her like hell.

As they pulled up to a petrol station in Los Banos on the outskirts of Los Angeles, Trina got out of the car and stretched her muscles. Nessa headed to book a room where they’d spend the night and Trina went into the station’s store to get some snacks and drinks.

As she went through the shelves looking for what to buy, she noticed a lad eyeing her. He was on the opposite end of the shelf she was going through and he didn’t budge even when he noticed that she’d noticed him eyeing her. He smiled at her to reveal snow-white perfected teeth. His eyebrows were a thick brown like his hair which was a contrast to his deep blue eyes.

His mouth twitched with another smile playing at the corner of his mouth with curves on one side of his mouth. He was gorgeous. She smiled back and broke their stare as she walked on to the register with some snacks.

As she reached into her pockets to get the money, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

“You’re new here right?”

“Just passing through” she answered.

“I figured, since I’ve never seen you here before, I’m Jack” he said as he stretched out his hand for a shake.

“Trina, nice to meet you” she answered as she shook his hand and turned to pay for her snacks.

When she got her change back, she moved forward, out the stores door with one glance back at Jack when she reached the door. He was such a sight and she could look at him for an eternity if given a chance.

When she was out of the store, she saw Nessa talking on the telephone. Her expression portrayed that something wasn’t right. Her ear twitched and she felt a sharp pain in her head. Suddenly, she could hear Nessa’s conversation. Nessa was talking to someone she didn’t know. His voice sounded gruff and disturbed.