Fate's Path

I was flipping through my book that has no title when I heard an all too familiar voice from behind me say, “Hey Gale, did Kiera tell you the good news?” If you want to know what Julian’s voice sounds like, talk to a snake.

In a moment I was on my feet, my body pressed against his, and my forearm pinning against his neck. There was a silenced crash as his back hit the bookshelf. “If you dare hurt her, so help me god I’ll-”

Knowing it would anger me more, he interrupted me. “You’ll what?”

“I’ll kill you. Suck you dry.” I emphasized every word, and he growled. His vibrant green eyes clashed with my bright red ones. He curled his top lip at me then kneed me in the ribs and pushed me away into the other shelf. “Dammit,” I grumbled.

“You can try, but you wouldn’t because I am the one who saved your life. You still owe me,” Julian fired back, and I hissed. “Piper, I’m here because Kiera asked me to help with the blood thing. Okay? You seem to forget that I study stuff like this, so follow me. You aren’t helping yourself over here in the darkest areas of the library.” He beckoned for me to follow him across the rows of bookshelves to go somewhere else. My jaw dropped. The almighty Julian White? Helping me? A lowly, yet awesome vampire? I never thought I would see the day this would happen. I had a strong urge to take a selfie with him and scrapbook about the day Julian White helped me with something. It would make for the perfect blackmail. Then again, there was that time a year ago when he rescued me but I’ll get more into that later.

“Where are we going?” No answer. “Julian!” I said in a raised whisper and he stopped. Rather than turn around, Julian slipped down a row of bookshelves and ran his hand over the spines of the books. The colors were dull, and the books had gold bordering that helped to make the books look not as old. It was clear he had taken me to a section with the oldest books in the whole library. Not a single person even stopped to look down the aisle we were in.

He paused and I nearly tumbled into him. “Aha. Found it.” He pulled a book down and dropped it in my hands, on top of my already heavy book. The book was huge with a rusty red color, a golden bookmark, and words that were carved and painted gold on the cover. I couldn’t read the words then again, I didn’t really try. I gave him a quizzical look and he sighed. “As much as I don’t like you, I do like Kiera. She asked me to help. I listened. This is a book about ancient vampire lore, otherwise known as legends or some random stories involving vampires. I may not know exactly what happened to you and we may not have a good history, but that doesn’t mean I want you dead.”

I scoffed. “You mean, more dead? And I didn’t think you were capable of liking someone other than your own reflection.”

Julian glared and hovered over me closely. “Can’t you just accept help this one time? Can’t you actually allow people to help you! Your friends are all worried and leaving them behind to wonder if you are still fine is not a good thing, Piper. You make yourself out to be some kind hero but you are nothing more than a blood sucking vampire.”

I fell silent. He was right. I am a horrible friend, I ditched the people I care about most to run off and be independent. Like I had been used to. “Look, you’re right, okay? I know, but Connor was being clingy, and they were all looking at me as if I should know what was happening!” My gaze dropped to the floor.

“He’s Connor. Of course he was being clingy. He cares about you. Man, girls are so oblivious.”

I opened my mouth to say something more. Maybe a snappy comeback? But Alexis Rosetta walked over to us. “Can you two keep it down?” She hissed in a poisonous ‘sweet’ tone. I hate seers. Their eyes turn almost white and their voices sound like angels singing, yet can be deadly. Alexis is a student helper in the library. She’s the stereotypical ‘good girl’ that tries to act better than she really is. Alexis’ pale skin gleamed and her rainbow colored hair glowed in the dim lights, matching her bright knee-length dress.

“Of course, Alexis, pardon us,” Julian cooed in his ‘I’m-so-innocent’ voice. I knew it so well from all of the times he got me in trouble after one of our infamous fights.

Alexis looked between the two of us, then turned and drifted away in a princess-y manner. I watched and waited until she had disappeared before I spoke again. “God, she is so annoying.”

“I know, right? She is like an annoying bug that just won’t leave,” He groaned, and I laughed. That, at least, is the one thing we can agree on.

“Well, thanks for showing me the book Julian. I should probably get back to my friends.” I waved to him and darted to the front desk. He may have just helped me but I would never give up competition with him. Perfect example; being the last to say goodbye. We really do compete over everything.

I checked out the book and started for the automatic doors of the library. I got passed the various little kid books and training manuals that were strewn across the floor. A doll with wild brown hair that had highlights of light blue and red was leaned against a wall. I paused and crouched down, taking the doll into my hands. She was small, and her skin was tan almost golden with a pale scar running down her right eye as if an animal had attacked her. Her eyes were green beads and thread was stitched to form a smile. I smiled at the doll and tucked it into a plastic bag. No kids were allowed in here at this hour so I knew it didn’t belong to anyone, plus there was no name on it. I started for the doors again and stiffened when I saw Alexis staring at me. It always seemed as though she was staring straight into your soul. I shivered and shuffled out of the door quickly. I slid my book into the bag and opened the new book. I flipped the pages tenderly before I landed on a page about halfway through in ‘section 7’ of the book, and began to read.

Chapter One - Obsidian Born

Zoe Hale (1561 - 1935) was born to Mr. James Gillian and Ms. Elize Hale on April 7 of the year 1561. She was an ordinary girl until the year of 1579. Hale was only 18 when she was bitten by a black eyed Vampyr and therefore turned into a creature of the night. She had a secret held within her.

I read briskly through the whole story, not even noticing when I had reached my dormitory and was leaning against the wall by the door. My eyes ran across the page. What I was reading was horrible and impossible and holy sh-

“Piper?” A small voice said beside me, and I jumped. My gaze fell to the little girl. “You must save her. You must succeed.” The girl’s light blue eyes were blank and her skin almost white. She spoke as though being controlled and her black hair floated just enough to not touch her shoulders. The girl, I realized with a jolt, also wasn’t touching the ground and her dress was bleached white, fading away into the air.

“Save who?”

“Frater et soror. Tenetur fato. Tenetur in sanguinem.”

Before I could question her more, she shook her head and her feet fell back to the ground. She stumbled as the color returned to her. Her dress was a hot pink, her eyes brightened, and her skin was tan. The girl’s hair fell upon her shoulders in messy brown curls, glasses rested upon the bridge of her nose. I was staring at her in shock. “What? Monica?” Seeing her color return, I suddenly recognized her. She was in the lower grade, an eleven year old. I had helped show her around a few months ago.

“Wh-What happened?” She stuttered pushing the glasses up even if they were already as high as they could go. Her voice had changed. Whoever was controlling her had used their own voice.

I opened my mouth but no words came out and she scurried away shyly. My eyes followed her before I turned and reached for the door knob of my dorm. Monica’s words rang through my ears. Frater et soror. Tenetur fato. Tenetur in sanguinem. Then the translation: Brother and Sister. Bound by Fate. Bound by Blood. I didn’t know where to begin on how weird this was, well this and the dream.

“Piper!” Chris’ voice was the first I heard the second I had stepped into the room. He sounded relieved, terrified, happy, and confused all at once. Because that totally helps the situation. “Oh, my god. We were so worried.” He stumbled towards me, and his arms engulfed me. I squeaked like a chipmunk, and my eyes traveled over his shoulder to Connor and Kiera. They were sitting on the floor surrounded by notebooks and a various amount of other books. They had pencils in hand and barely looked up at me. I found it curious that only one friend had gotten up, and that friend could end up being my brother.

“I’m sorry guys, but Julian found a book for me. I was reading it.” I pulled away from Chris slowly and went to join the others. “So, there is one other time in recorded history of this happening. A girl named Zoe Hale regularly had black blood, you cut her arm and that was the color you would see. I would say we should go talk to her but apparently she was burned at the steak a little under a hundred years ago.” I hesitated. Connor looked up at me, he could always tell when I was hiding something from him. I sighed. “Fine. She had royal blood in her.”

I sat down beside Connor, carefully setting the bag with the doll and my book off to the side. I checked to make sure the doll stayed inside.

I looked back in time to notice Chris pull his sleeve down to cover a scar right above his elbow, unfortunately for him he wasn’t fast enough and I saw a thin line of black barely visible to the naked eye. My gaze darted to his face and my eyes narrowed. Connor stared at me but Kiera followed my look. “What is it?” She asked.

Without offering an answer, I reached across the piles of scattered notebooks, knocking a few over as I latched onto his arm. Chris yelped and tried to pull away but I yanked his sleeve up and held his arm firm. I would probably leave a bruise but that didn’t even register as Chris gave up fighting me. I looked at his scar and squinted, “Kiera, hand me my knife.” I said sternly. She was about to protest but I shot her a look and she scrambled to grabbed the knife off my bedside table. She pressed the cold blade into my palm and I lowered it onto Chris’ skin. I was about to make a cut when Connor grabbed my wrist and snatched the knife from my hand.

My grip on Chris loosened and he jerked away from me. I glared at Connor. “And why the hell did you do that?” I hissed, making him flinch.

“Look, Pipes, I know you are conflicted right now but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to hurt any of the people who care about you,” He said softly, and my muscles relaxed. Connor always knew exactly what to say. He was the one who had stopped me from drinking human blood for so many years. I sat back and gave Chris an apologetic smile. Sweet, yet bitter beneath layers of needing to know.

“I’m really sorry guys. It’s just, I haven’t actually had anything to eat in I don’t even know how long. I’m starving.” I thought fast. My appetite had receded but at least that was something they would believe. I still wanted to keep the dream, and likely the truth from them. I know, I know, that’s usually how problems start for people in movies and in books, but this was different! Which, I realize is often said in movies and books too, but it really is. I was worried about them, while they were worried about me.

Connor released my wrist and they all nodded. “Right. You are about a day late for eating. We have to get something in your system. Then we might be able to work calmly.” I know I wanted to believe his words, but I would never let go of the fact that Chris could be my brother. Such a weird thought for reasons that will come up later.

I waited for someone else to do something, anything. As if sensing my thoughts, Kiera stood. “I could use something to eat as well. Come on. Piper and I will meet you guys down at the cafeteria.” She didn’t wait for a response before pulling me to my feet, and out the door again. She was speed walking, I could have caught up to her, but my brain was thinking too much to use the vampire ability.

“Kiera!” I complained, and she slowed. Her eyes darted around us and she swung around so fast I nearly knocked her off her feet. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. “What?” I jumped at the harshness in my own tone.

She didn’t seem to notice. “What aren’t you telling us, Piper?” I went to interrupt, but she put a finger lightly against my lips, silencing me. “Girl, Connor and you may be able to communicate silently, but I know you and your expressions. So, I swear to God, if the next word that comes out of your mouth is ‘Nothing’, I will hit you,” She said it in such a chipper way, that I felt as though we could have been discussing boys and not me hiding something from them.

My jaw worked at a good thing to say in response without any of the words being nothing. She wouldn’t hesitate before punching me if I lied to her, either, so I had to think of something that is the truth but not the full truth. “I had a weird dream while I was knocked out. Julian helped me. Alexis glared me down as I left the library-” I was rushing to get the words out as we walked down the halls to the office where my meal would be given to me.

“Dream? What was in the dream?” Well, shit. Of course that would be the only part she listened to out of what I said. I groaned. “Please, tell me?” It sounded more like she was demanding I tell her, not asking that I do so.

“Chris.” We both fell quiet and I could practically hear her thoughts.

“Why the hell would Chris be in your dream?” I heard Kiera’s voice.

“Well, I’m pretty sure he called me his sister.” I answered, and I stopped when she did. Her eyes looked me up and down curiously. Wait a second. She hadn’t said anything. Her lips hadn’t moved. Her voice wasn’t out loud. I had heard her thoughts. “Never mind.” I said quickly, but she wasn’t going to let this go.

“Did you just-”

“No.”

“But I think-”

“No.”

“Seriously, Piper-”

“Kiera, just drop it, okay?” I snapped, and, judging by the look on her face, my eyes held a large amount of anger. My eyebrows knitted together as I took a step back and rushed through the door into the office. Mrs. Talina’s kind smile greeted us.

“Piper! Kiera!” She practically sang. “I was so worried when you missed feeding time!” Her eyes were glued to me, and I bit my lip. “Nevertheless, you are here now.” The thing about Mrs. Talina is that she is a really happy person. I have never seen her frown, her short green hair is pulled into a messy bun, and her faded, gray principal uniform clashed with the bright color. She wore stockings that went to her mid thigh and dull, brown, one-inch heels. Despite her horrid fashion sense, she was always optimistic and had a I-don’t-have-a-care-in-the-world-look. My spirits lifted at the fact that at least someone was having a pleasant day.

“I am so sorry for worrying you,” I said sweetly, taking a moment to note how much Julian and I were alike. We may not be too fond of each other but we both have that innocence we use around teachers and adults. He is so irritating! Mrs. Talina reached towards her book shelf on the left side of the room. The bookshelf parted and she stepped into a freezer. I stayed where I was until she walked back out. Kiera had left the room, she hated watching me feed. Mrs. Talina handed me the cup of blood and gestured for me to sit. I smiled and sank into a seat. Relief flooded over me as I felt the warm blood rush passed my lips. My eyelids fluttered closed and I was glad to be sitting down. Of course, nothing lasts forever in my world. I feel like I say that a lot. A gut-wrenching scream filled my ears, but I knew this scream. In was Lucinda. I was back to my feet and out the door before Mrs. Talina could say anything. The smell of blood lead me to the girls’ locker rooms.

The first thing I saw was Lucinda, curled into a ball in the corner. A crowd surrounded her, some pointing to the far wall. Lucinda’s cheeks were streaked with tears and her eyes barely recognizable. She saw me through our fellow students and whimpered. I stepped further in and nearly jumped out of my skin. Another jerk at our school, Justin James, was hanging on the far wall, the lockers were almost bent out of the way. Justin is even worse than Julian. I would rather have to spend the rest of my life with ten Julians than spend two minutes with Justin. That’s how bad he is. Blood pooled on the floor, his eyes were gouged out, leaving hollowed holes in his head. His stomach was slashed. The thick skin was folded back with his insides hanging out, nearly touching the floor. I could see the dark red emptiness inside him, I had enough time to enjoy the utter irony. However, the smell was too painful as I made my way slowly to Lucinda pushing several students out of the way to drop down beside her, “Are you okay? Luc, what happened?”

Being close to her now, I could see she was shaking badly. Her jaw worked and her mouth opened but no noise came out. I glanced at Justin again, my nose wrinkled, and I wrapped an arm around Lucinda’s waist. I hoisted her up but she cried in pain. I sniffed then looked down, Lucinda clutched her side. My brows furrowed as I moved her hand away, and gasped. A stab wound. The knife still in her side. I saw the initials JJ engraved on the hilt of the knife, and anger erupted in me. We all knew he was a horrible soulless ‘person’ but I don’t think any of us ever imagined he would hurt anyone like this. Lucinda started to fall.

“Oh, my god, Lucinda!” I fell with her, then tucked one arm under her legs, the other behind her back. I carried her out, the students making a path for me. I hadn’t been around this much blood in years. The temptation was strong, to lap up the blood and savor the moment I had with so much food. I know it’s a messed up thought, but I’m a vampire. It’s literally what I do. Thankfully, I care about Lucinda enough that I was able to resist as I got to the hallway. She looked at me, and I felt an otherworldly connection to her. Lucinda smiled.

I lifted her shirt, the knife was still there. I looked around, the only one I saw that could help was Julian. He had his back to me.

“Julian!” I yelled, old feelings aside. I had to help Lucinda, and in order to do that, I needed him.

He turned and his eyes widened. Lucinda’s blood flowed over my fingertips and I had to hold my breath. My nose burned and wrinkled as I tried not to take in a breath.

Julian was beside me a second later, the crowd of kids gathered around us parted for him. “What the hell-?”

I looked up at him. “You have to help. Please, do your thing,” I whispered, and he gave me that look that said he would kill me later. I was the only one who knew about his secret ability, and I may not believe in Julian but I do believe in honor. I had sworn never to tell anyone but this was a special circumstance.

He made sure to glare at me before his eyes flashed. I watched closely. His eyes filled with the color green, then a darker green webbed to where his pupil would have been. He placed a hand on her wound. She cried in pain as the wound started to stitch itself up. Finally Julian slid the knife out and her wound fully healed, what he could do was truly extraordinary. He wasn’t a normal Lupin, his kind were called Sublimis. They very smart and fairly powerful, but also very very rare. Sublimi excel in healing magic, they were Lupins blessed by gods or higher beings. The only reason I know what he is, is because about a year ago I got badly injured and I wasn’t healing. It was really bad, but he managed to save me. I was there when the goddess of nature blessed him for saving me, and I still don’t know why everyone thinks I’m so special. Believe it or not, Julian has the same level of honor that I do, no matter what I say about him.

The small group of students that had gathered around us steadily grew. Their eyes were wide as they watched Julian, and guilt crept up my spine. I watched, mesmerized, as his eyes returned to normal, not a drop of her blood was still visible on her body, however, my hands were covered in blood. I met Julian’s gaze and frowned. “I’m sorry, I can make it up to you.” I reached out to him but he jerked away.

“How? You made a promise. Verbal promises are binding. Remember? That’s what you told me when you made the promise,” He hissed like a venomous snake. I reeled back, and my brain fired ideas at me before one caught my eyes that I knew would work.

“If you help me with my research I will make it seem to everyone as though they didn’t see that you are clearly a Sublimis.” The moment I saw him look down at Lucinda then everyone surrounding us, I knew I had won. He may be popular but for some reason having everyone know what he had always been something he didn’t want. I never understood why. I mean, he likes the spotlight and people knowing he was a Sublimis would surely make him more famous than he already was. But whatever, who was I to judge? It was his choice. Besides, it’s not like we are friends or he even gives a shit about what I think.

He lifted Lucinda up in his arms. “I only used my power because she is a member of my pack. Not because you asked me to,” He snarled and I put my hands up in defense. I hadn’t expected him to help because it was me. Why would I?

“Here goes nothing.” I lifted my right hand to them and they all turned to face me as I started to chant, “Thoughts. Beliefs. Ideas. Truths. Images. Julian’s secret. What I now mention you will forget.” I chanted the words three times. The moment I had said it, a light glowed on the palm of my hand. I saw the light reflect in their eyes and their memory vanish in a poof. Then I lowered my hand and the light was gone.

“What the hell was that?” Julian asked as our classmates started shuffling toward the locker room with confusion.

“Magic.” A simple answer. It hadn’t occurred to me at the time that no one outside of my circle knew about my ability. Of course, the look on Julian’s face reminded me and I hit myself on the forehead with the palm of my left hand. It’s not like I had strong magic it just made me self-conscious for some reason.