Victim of the Night (Night Trilogy Book 1) (4 page)

Chapter 10

I didn’t want to wake up this morning. I didn’t feel good. I think I over did myself in the kitchen yesterday. I also remembered that I didn’t get enough water, so that can be it too. I’ll be fine. I’ll work it off. The kitchen needs me.

I got myself ready and went to the kitchen. I started to work on whatever they needed help on.
Again, for another 12 hours, I worked. I felt great by the end of the day. I ate and drank. I think I was just tired from yesterday is all? I’m glad I worked it off.

Lord Obsidian came again to tell me that I’m done for the day. I went to bed, and slept for the night.

Chapter 11

“Starr? Are you feeling all right?” Lord Obsidian said,
shaking me awake.

“Oh! What time is it?” I asked him.

“It’s seven. You overslept,” he said, looking at his pocket watch.

“How did you get in here? Wait a second? I slept all night and all day?” I
asked, sadden that I missed work.

“I own this fortress. I have keys for every room. Yes, you did, but you’re awake now. Good,” he said, sighing with relief.

“Gosh, I feel hungry now,” I said, stomach rumbling.

“Go ahead and get ready. Tonight is a special night. My sister has your clothes ready as well. I brought them in when I came to check up on you.
I put them in your drawers. Try one on, and meet me in my room. I have things to discuss with you,” he said, leaving.

I got out of bed
, got myself ready, and looked in the drawers. All the outfits are gorgeous! I picked out a red dress that is decorated with black lace and red sequins. It came with red high heels, and a small mini top hat with the same fabrics. I put the whole outfit on, and tried my best on the top hat. There are no mirrors in here.

I walked out
, and went to Lord Obsidian’s room. I knocked on his door, and went in when he told me to. “You look beautiful,” Lord Obsidian said, bowing. He took my hand and kissed it while he sat me down at the edge of his bed.

“Thank you,” I said, blushing.

He smiled and said, “Tonight is a very important night. I must…confess something to you.”

“What is it?” I asked.

His smile faded. He looked down at the floor and said, “Do you feel different? Different than before?”

“Now that you mention it, yes. Yesterday I felt sick, but I got over it, and today I overslept. I promise you it won’t happen again. I don’t know what happened? Why you ask?” I answered him.

“That’s my doing. I apologize. When you drifted off to slumber, I’d go in your room,
and bite you. The first day I did that, I only fed on you for a bit. The next day, I completed the task. That is why you overslept today. You died in your sleep, and now you have risen. You are now a vampire,” he said, staring at me eye to eye.

“I…I thought you said you’d work something out?” I said, looking at my hands. They are a bit paler than usual, and I
have long, black finger nails. Why didn’t I notice this?

“I did. This was my idea. I did it for you. So you wouldn’t feel the pain. No one saw, just Lord Erebus. He must be present as a witness. Forgive me,” he said, bowing.
“Don’t be angered with me. I only did what had to be done.”

“I…I don’t even know what to say? I’m stunned!” I said, unable to move.

“I’m very sorry I had to do that. Don’t hate me, or anyone here. In fact, you remember all that food you had to prepare? It’s for your banquet tonight,” he said. “We must go. Everyone’s waiting for you. You are the star of the night.”

“Really? All of you are doing this for me?” I asked, surprised.

“Indeed. Oh, and I got these for you,” he said, going to his desk. He grabbed a bouquet of roses. “They’re from my garden. They are so red that they look black. The color of blood.”

He handed them to me. I took them. They are so beautiful. They smell pretty too.
“I love them. Thank you, Lord Obsidian,” I said, still gazing at their beauty.

“
You’re welcome. Call me Blaze,” he said, taking my hand again. He stood me up, and led me upstairs.

He and I stood by the throne. Lord Erebus saw us and said, “Good. Let’s begin.”

Lord Erebus looked out into the hundreds of vampires in the room. They are all sitting at the tables, staring at us. “I, Lord Erebus, present to you, Starr! She is our newest vampire. Please welcome her to the family,” Lord Erebus said.

Everyone stood up and clapped. The cheered my name with smiling faces. “Everyone! Enjoy the night, and the food!” Lord Erebus said, purring loudly.

Everyone got up and darted to a long table along one of the walls. The table is filled and stacked with all sorts of food. “Come, let us find a table,” Blaze said, leading me.

We found a table in the corner. “You stay here. I’ll get you something,” he said, leaving.

I waited for a while before Blaze came back with two plates, and two bottles of tan liquid. “Here,” he said, giving me my stuff. We ate and drank. The bottle of tan liquid is good. I think it’s a tea? It’s been chilled, and the taste is refreshing.

“Starr, now that you
’re one of us, I must tell you the good and bad things of being a vampire,” Blaze said, cutting his extra rare steak. “I shall start with the bad. You are a normal vampire. You must avoid the sunlight, crucifixes, garlic, wolfs bane, holy water, and silver at all costs. Avoid mirrors. You have no reflection, and if someone sees that, they will suspect you.”

“Right. What about salt, running water, and fire?” I asked. “Don’t they hurt vampires too?”

“They used to. Not anymore. We are ancient. We improvised, adapted, and overcame some things throughout time. Now for the good things. As a normal vampire, you have enhanced speed, strength, hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch. You also have the power of seduction. You can shape shift into a bat or a wolf. That’s a great trick for when escaping someone,” Blaze said, explaining everything to me.

“That all seems all right. Blaze, I was angered at you for doing that without me knowing, but I
quickly overcame it. The roses elated me, and everyone here is friendly to me. I feel accepted here. Thank you,” I said, hugging him.

Blaze hugged me back and said, “I knew you’d love the roses. They are like you. Rare and beautiful.”

“You think so?” I asked.

Blaze looked down into my eyes and said, “Yes. Don’t doubt yourself on that.”

“Thank you. I tend to do that since no one has ever said that before to me,” I said, feeling happy.

“Why? Was it because
of you being poor? If it was for that, everyone was blind. They did not see your true beauty. I see it, and I love it,” he said, caressing my face.

We gazed into each other’s eyes. T
hat is until Nyx showed up. “Hey! You want some cookies?” she asked, holding out a platter filled with a variety of cookies.

Blaze grabbed some for us. She left
us, but I felt shy now. I can’t believe that Blaze thinks I’m pretty! He’s pretty handsome himself. Goodness! I can’t look at him now! “Starr, why don’t we walk in my garden? The night must embrace the new you,” he said, standing up.

I put the cookies on a napkin and took them with me. Blaze and I shared them as we made our way
to the outside of the fortress, but inside the walls. There we walked through flowers, herbs, and plants. It’s like walking into an enchanted forest. “Are all these yours?” I asked.

“Yes. The ones here, and outside of the
fortress…” he said, trailing off. He looked around, and held a finger to signal me to stay quiet. “I heard something outside of the walls. Let’s check and see. Stay close to me.”

Blaze and I walked silently along the wall
s until we hit the gate. “Humans,” Blaze whispered to me.

I looked closely and saw two people standing at the gate. They are talking to the vampire guards.
“Stay here and out of sight,” Blaze said as he walked over to them.

I watched from a distant. “What seems to be the problem?” Blaze asked the men.

“We have been hired by a wealthy person of the name Ravine Katz. He sent us here because his daughter and her friends got shot by Lord Obsidian of this place,” one man said. “We came here to arrest the person.”

“Oh? I’m Lord Obsidian. Oh yes. I recall the incident. They
all got what they deserved,” Blaze said, eyeing them down.

“Then I ask you to come with us. You almost killed them,” the other man said.

“That’s too bad. I wanted them dead,” Blaze said, laughing.

One of the men faced Blaze
, and punched him hard in the face. Blaze’s head turned slightly, but remained unharmed. Blaze’s face looked angered. He took the man that punched him by the neck, and lifted him up with one hand. “You pathetic human!” Blaze hissed. The man’s body fell limp in Blaze’s grasp as a strange dark aura surrounded him. The aura surrounded them both, but the man’s body began to decay until it was nothing but a skeleton. The other man tried running away, but the other vampires got him.

“What do we do with this one?” one of the guards asked.

“Whatever you want. Deal with any more people like that for me. Don’t let any escape,” Blaze said, commanding the vampire guards. They nodded and began feeding on the man until all of his blood was drained. Then, one of the vampire guards cut off the man’s head with one powerful strike of the hand. The nails of the vampire guards are deathly sharp and durable.

Are they really that sharp? I looked down at mine. They look normal to me, but who knows? I hope I don’t ever have to do that. I don’t think I can kill someone?
“Starr, let’s go back into the fortress. I’m still a bit hungry,” Blaze said. I nodded, and the both of us went back inside to the banquet.

Chapter 12

             
For the next two weeks, I kept up a schedule. I’d go to sleep before the sunrise, and I’d wake up once the sun went down. I’d work my hardest in the kitchen. I work for both the bakery, and for us. It’s quite fun, but now I have to slow down. School starts tonight.

             
“Remember, keep away from mirrors and garlic. I’ll come and pick you up when you get out,” Blaze said, dropping me off.

             
“Okay, but what of my fangs? Wont people see them?” I asked.

             
“Yes, but I doubt they’ll suspect anything. Look at me, I go to banks and to stores. Sure they see them, but the people tend to ignore what they saw. Just don’t speak up as much if you’re so worried,” Blaze said. “I’ll be here at the time you told me to come. Go. Learn new things, and perhaps, you can share them with the kitchen. We wouldn’t mind trying new foods.”

             
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks,” I said, getting out of the car with my backpack.

             
I walked inside the school and got into my class. The whole night was good, until three suspicious looking people came in. I couldn’t believe my eyes. They must be from the same wealthy man. Ravine Katz. I know Blaze have been telling me that the guards have been killing them, but now they want to pick on me? This is not good.

             
The men talked to the instructor. The instructor looked up at me and said, “Starr, these gentlemen want to ask you some questions. Go with them.” Oh great. I gathered my stuff and went to them. They led me to the outside of the school. That’s where we stopped, and under a tree at that.

             
“We finally found you, Starr. The girls reported you, but we saw no trace of you. Until now. The girls say you would attend school. We checked the day time, but you weren’t present. So, we tried the night. Here you are,” the first man said, boasting.

             
“Yeah, so what do you want?” I asked.

             
“The girls said that you were with Lord Obsidian. We want him to pay for what he did. You can tell us where to find him. We’ve lost so many men trying to locate him. Also, you need to come with us. You fought them, and are an accomplice of Lord Obsidian,” the second man said.

             
“They attacked me. Did they tell you that? I bet they didn’t! Or did they pay you to look the other way? They tried to kill me! Lord Obsidian defended me. I’ll never tell you where he’s at, and I’ll never go with you crooks!” I said, running away from them.

             
“Shoot her!” I heard one of them shout from behind me. Too late for that. I turned a corner of the school building, once there, I turned into a bat. I flew up and over the school. Blaze taught me how to use my vampire powers every night for two hours after my job at the kitchen. I’m so glad that I paid attention, and that I’m a fast learner.

             
I stayed up on the roof, watching them search for me. “We lost her,” the third man said to the others.

             
“Hurry. Let’s head on over to the Shady Thorn. Lord Obsidian owns the place. I’m sure she’s going over there. She can’t be that far,” the first man said.

             
The men hurried over to a car and drove off. Great, my first day of night school and its ruined. I’ve got to go, and fast! School is almost over, and Blaze is on his way to pick me up. No! They might drive by him and stop him. I have to warn Blaze! I took off into the night sky, and followed the men. I made sure I stayed out of sight. I flew above the car at a decent height.