E D W A R D

Bad idea. Leaving Lisa behind with nothing to reach out to me was a bad idea. Now as I walked through the woods towards the village, I couldn’t help but be disturbed by wariness. My mind was crammed with the worse possibilities that could occur in my absence.

The urge to return back to her and just ensure her safety for once was getting out of hand. I reminded myself from time to time that she was in my parent’s house and no one without my consent was able to step inside the threshold.

My mother had a powerful witch as her best friend and she’d helped my family in more than one way, starting with guarding this house with a magical barrier such that any supernatural being would need the company of an Albrecht to enter any of our estates. It was one of the reasons why we’re still so wealthy—though mother and I never took advantage of that, we kept on living with our normal lives to avoid attention coming towards our side.

But even this precaution wasn’t enough to steady my jumping heart. It was ready to pop out in my hand any second and I’d hate to present myself in front of them looking like this. Right now I couldn’t even comprehend the need to attend this meeting, I had no idea how I was going to face them and keep my claws to myself. I would feel obliged to rip them apart without a sense of regret and would do so if only I wasn’t here for Malcolm’s request.

I tore the crowd apart and made a way for myself in the centre where the meeting was held. Usually the villagers weren’t a necessary element but for some reason we couldn’t keep them away from this meeting and Malcolm and Rory saw no point in doing so. Apparently Lisa had captured a place in the heart of every one of the fellow vampires.

I couldn’t be more proud of her.

As I got closer to the committee, my senses rose and every part of me came to life. The hair at my nape started to jiggle in her air as I felt goose-bumps all over my skin. My breathing stopped, my heart steadied and my pupils thinned and with every moment I could feel the hot rage erupting in me ferociously than before. My cornea must’ve switched from its natural brown to a frightening scarlet red like that of two headlights. I was cold-skinned but at that moment I was burning with my inner rage like that of a candle’s flame.

And all that trouble, anguish and anger because of those few familiar faces. I’d called them my acquaintances, companions and whatnot once, when everything was simple and we had had our share of problems. Nevertheless now that I was looking at them, fury filled every nerve, every vein in my body and my vision became red. They weren’t my acquaintances or enemies or allies, they were murderers, Jenna’s murderers.

Joseph and Marcus instantly stood up on their feet as they got familiarized with my presence. However I knew it didn’t have anything to do with my inherited title but rather with my murderous aura that was leaving me at the moment and making them all gaze at me in awe. I wasn’t sure if any of them had seen me this angry before.

My unwavering gaze was making it hard for Joseph to keep a firm face; he was budging his eyes from one place to another to avoid a much longer eye contact. All the while I didn’t even move my lashes and enjoyed every bit of his nervousness.

Clearly the tension between us was getting over the top and the effects were visible in the environment as every vampire began to struggle with a mix of different powerful auras. It was starting to give them rashes on their skin and they itched uncomfortably. This was what compelled Malcolm to interrupt in the matter.

He cleared his throat, “Why don’t we solve this like ordinary civilized vampires?” He turned towards me and gestured me to take a seat beside him.

“There’s no point of creating a scene in front of everyone.” Marcus complained taking in notice that the meeting was going to be held in front of the villagers.

“They know as much as we do. They deserve to know whether they’re safe or not.” Rory dismissed taking the seat next to our capo Malcolm.

Our glances fixated on each other, every gaze disputing over the fact to be the first one to write the beginning of this nearing end. This was why I didn’t tell Lisa what matter had summoned me to the village neither did I mention anything about Joseph because I knew it’d tear her apart. She looked so blissful this morning and I’d hate to ruin her smile.

“What brings you here?” I asked my tone void of any emotion.

“Don’t act like you don’t know already.” Joseph argued leaning back in his chair. He looked more comfortable than he used have had and it bothered me.

“And I’ve already told you it’s not going to happen.” I retorted keeping my voice firm enough for his to tremble in defeat.

“I take no interest in your musings but my life depends on this stupid task.” I didn’t get the reaction I was hoping but the duress on his life furnished me a great relief.

“Then just walk away, just like we did.” I didn’t expect Malcolm to say something like that. How could he trust Joseph after all that he’d done to us?

I gave Malcolm a disturbing glare, not able to catch up with his scheme. He ignored my every reprimand on the topic that I tossed at him with my eyes.

“It’s not that easy anymore.” Joseph struggled for words as a realization of something hit him hard on the face like a snowball. “Something is rising in the dark and it’s not a flame. It holds power over all of us, over Mason and if it didn’t get what it wants, it’ll unleash hell on earth.”

I looked at him in disbelief. He wasn’t lying. Every bit of his words glistened with truth, a truth I had come in contact with before. The way he spoke made me recall a time, a person and his words,

“You don’t know what’s coming next my Lord. If you had you wouldn’t be here but since you are that means it’s nearing us.” Anil’s words rang in my ears, the soft one of the crazy twins.

Now that I thought about it, there was a terrifying similarity between the tones they spoke in, a cautioning truth. Anil had warned me all those days ago and it was only now that I began to realize what he was talking about. The possession, Julie and Lisa, it was all falling in place. Mason was working for someone more powerful than him, someone who could possess other vampires, someone centuries old and just as cruel. He needed Lisa before the Blood Moon, the night when the smallest vein in our body became active.

“You’re scared of Mason?” Malcolm asked as his brows quirked in confusion.

Joseph chuckled at his question and soon after regained his serious composure, “I don’t care what he does to me.” His chuckling completely stopped and he looked rather too serious for himself, scared even, “It’s his shadow that I fear.”

We all looked at him as if he was talking nonsense and at some point he was.

“Vampires don’t have shadows; you out of all people should know that.” Malcolm argued.

“Not his shadow, it’s just a shadow that follows him around everywhere he goes.” His words put all of us in a great misery. As they tried to figure out what all of this meant and tried to figure out some sort of sense from his argument, something drew my attention.

A wave of familiar scent brushed through my face and I was met with a sense of relief among this light skirmish going on in the background. As soon as the relief came it vanished as I realized what was nearing me or rather who was. I’d asked her to stay in the room—I should’ve known she was going to disobey me, no wonder she was convinced so easily.

My mind traveled a distance in order to find her as my eyes went on a restless search for her soul. She wasn’t safe here, not emotionally and I didn’t want her to feel overwhelmed by meeting a tragic piece of her past. So I kept on searching and my eyes lead me to a pair of petrifying black ones. The girl walked through the crowd holding dominance over each and every vampire and the way she paced closer to us, it was clear she wasn’t Lisa and just possessed her scent.

In fact, I was far more than familiar with the girl; she was Julie, my friend who was now looking like the bad guy in this scene. She paced towards us and stopped on her tracks just when she was a few steps away from my approach. And that was when I noticed, we all did. Beneath her foot an unwavering black silhouette was following her everywhere she went just like a tail.

She was possessed.

Malcolm stood my ground and so did everyone else when the smirk became apparent on her face. We’d been keeping a close check on her because we couldn’t predict when things would go out of hand and we wanted her to be out of danger under any circumstances. She deserved better than what this shadow was giving her.

“So you finally came. I was beginning to lose hope in you.” Her voice as it escaped her throat, sounded like a man’s and not just an ordinary man’s voice; it could be contrasted with an animal’s growl that reverberated around the barks of the tall trees in the area.

“Who are you?” Malcolm asked dragging me out of her sight and putting his torso in my front.

She gazed Malcolm up and down as if he was stupid and chuckled darkly at him utterly ignoring his question. She chuckled for a while until her eyes grew a darker shade of red, more sparkling and orange than mine, as if two small flames were burning in them. “Let’s make a deal.” She straightened her back and spoke in the stiffest tone I might’ve ever heard, “You give me the girl and I’ll be on my way.”

I literally snarled at him, baring my fangs. Under no circumstance would I allow Lisa to be held as his captive! My body turned and adjusted in a position so that I was ready to attack whenever was necessary—though none of my actions affected him as much as they affected Malcolm and others.

“I have no problem slaughtering each and every one of you and taking her by force.” She admitted ever so calmly I’d actually thought she meant something good by this.

“You could try.” I threatened.

Her smirk only got encouraged and spread all over her face, “I won’t have to.”

Just as she finished her sentence I didn’t even have the time to put together my theories before the sound of drums echoed in every part of the village. I knew that sound too well and shared a look with Joseph who was now looking at me apologetically.

And then it hit me.

It had been there plan all this time. Separating me with Lisa, Joseph was a source of distraction so Julie could gather the forces from outside our village, she gathered our enemies to distract us while she would easily sweep Lisa away from under our noses.

Just when I thought Joseph could be trusted!

I didn’t have time for all of this. Malcolm and others should be able to get over with this peril this shadow had brought upon us and I had to go after her, I needed to protect Lisa.

I looked at Malcolm trying to make him accustomed to the situation we’re in, “Mal—”

“I know. Go Edward, we got this.” He said patting my shoulders and no other word escaped my lips.

I gave her a one last glance as she stood in all her malevolence, unharmed by anything around her—not for long though, once I was ensured about Lisa’s safety, Julie or not I was getting rid of this wretched shadow.

A riot holding bows and arrows and stakes sprung from behind her, without a warning or compassion their wooden weapons landed on everything containing flesh and blood regardless of the type, cursed or pure, and just like that a war was begun.