Carnivorous
Legacy Name: Carnivorous

Lifting my head with a slight groan, I look at my chest to find an arrow sticking right out of it. I can feel the edges of the head scratching next to my heart and I breathed slowly, not sitting up as I fear it could shift the arrow and kill me. The pain from the wood is enough to feel like I’ve been stabbed by a red hot poker, so it takes me a moment to reach up with my right arm and slowly pull the arrow from my chest. I cry out in pain as the wood shaft burns against me and the arrowhead cuts into me on its way out. As the arrow finally pulls free of my flesh, I gasp at the instant relief and toss the offending weapon away from me, taking in a few deeper breaths, feeling my flesh knitting back together again, though a little slowly as I’d been weakened by the wood.

Slowly I sit up again, growling a little at the pounding in my head as my gaze scans the area before fixing on a figure about ten feet from where I lay, the pure white snow stained in crimson red. For a moment I figure it must’ve been some prey I’d been hunting, but it doesn’t take me long to see that there’s a bow laying a foot away from the hunter’s arm- though I immediately realize that his arm is also about a foot away from the body. The fresh blood isn’t any good to me anymore, my lip turns a little as I recall what happened, remembering this hunter finding me and chasing me, intent on killing me.

We had fought, I had tossed him into a tree in fact- but he recovered quickly and an arrow had been launched, grazing my arm which was now healed. I’d turned to locate him for my next attack when the arrow landed into my chest. I don’t recall what happened after that. I look at my hands and see they are free of blood. I did not kill the hunter. The hair on my neck stands on end and I spin on the spot, wondering who it is that is following me.

“You are strong, young one… I have been watching you for some time now....” a low toned voice speaks out suddenly and I stop, not seeing anyone around, but my gaze searches the trees, seeing nothing. Whoever it is, is strong and powerful to be able to hide from me. It meant he was old.

“Who are you?” I ask, waiting to see if he would show himself.

“I am Cyrus.” he says simply and my eyes widen a little, my stomach dropping. Cyrus. I didn’t know him, but I knew of him- most vampires did. He is either here to kill me, or have me join his coven. I truly hope it is the latter. I say nothing, simply straightening as I know that I had little choice in that moment, running was a worse death sentence.

“Come, my brother…” he suddenly appears from the shadows, having simply blended with them as though a shadow himself. I stare up at him in awe, unable to believe I am gazing upon the one and only Cyrus and he is not here to destroy me. His pelt and long hair are black as night, but his eyes, are a brilliant blue- striking and mesmerizing, even to me.

“Let us go feed and we will talk. You are clever and strong- you will be an excellent addition to my ranks.”

With a slow smile, I nod and follow and we run through the woods in search of a new victim to feed upon while he invites me into his coven, a rather exclusive invitation, one of which I am grateful to have and I would do everything to uphold the honor given me to be by his side.

“No. I’m sure if he wants you to join too, he will come find you. It’s not my call, so you’ll just have to be patient. Prove yourself worthy of joining him and if not, steer clear of his wrath.” I tell her, but she doesn’t really need reminding. We both know the stories of Cyrus and what he could be and do to our kind. In truth, I don’t really want her to be in the coven with me. Part of it is because I feel important there and for once, separate from her- part of me feeling she needed to grow up without me for a while.

“Fine, be selfish. I’m sure he’ll see reason and come find me soon.” she says confidently, resuming her ritualistic hair brushing.

That day never came.

But there is something about this girl that strikes me as different. She has the bloodlust, but she doesn’t seem to truly have the desire- I don’t see it in her eyes- her eyes of pale lilac. When she looks at me, my lips part in surprise, feeling a pull towards her but I don’t go to her. No, she belongs to Cyrus and he is not a forgiving man. I just watch as he shows her around our coven lair, surely soon showing her to his chambers where certainly he would seduce her further.

With a sigh, I turn and leave the room, going back out into the night as the hunger rumbles in my stomach. Once I’ve fed, I plan to see my sister- it has been far too long….

With a sigh, I lean back and look at Jade again, lifting a hand and brushing it over her head. “He won’t find us… we are being perfectly careful…” I reassure her, pressing my mouth to hers slowly, bringing her back to the moment, wanting to wipe away her fears. Cyrus caused her enough pain, all I wish to do is take them from her and show her what it means to be cared for and cherished. I have never felt for anyone as I feel for her… surely that will never change....

I am one of a few that has been in the coven the longest and I with the other “Elders” were all told to stay and wait for his return and instructions that night. When he has us all go within the great hall to have a feast of triumph, I have an uneasy feeling, but soon it is evident when Cyrus began to speak. When he speaks of Val’s great power,  I am just confused- but then the order is given for all those that had seen it to be disposed of and that’s when I and the others are ordered to kill them all.

That night changed everything. I didn’t blame her, it wasn’t her fault, not really. I didn’t really know what she was, just assuming she was the same as all of us, exactly the same- apparently I am alone in this thought, as the others, the ones that had been with Cyrus even longer than I,  seem to understand and don’t even attempt to question their great leader. But I am not like them- they would die for him, I am not quite as loyal to that degree, though I had never given Cyrus a reason to doubt my devotion.

Not wishing to be counted among the slaughtered, I am swift in my execution as I do as I am instructed and watch, helpless, as Val is dragged off from the room, clearly confused, her screams echoing away as she is secured in another location of the lair to which I don’t attempt to go locate her. Instead, I decide to go find Jade....

~

“What is that smell… in the blood…?” Jade’s voice is worried as she sees the blood staining my face and hands. It isn’t just the fresh blood of the kill from the hunt that had come from my victims, it was their blood, the vampire hunting party, that stained my white pelt as well. Her eyes widen and she steps back from me, a look of fear on her face I’d never seen her give me before.

“I had no choice…” I explain, reaching out for her, grabbing her quickly before she can run. I can’t let her perish as well. She is close to Val, surely she knew something about her. “Please… there’s no time. Cyrus had us kill them- the hunting party with Val… to hide her, to keep her secret… you must go. She’s been taken away… you can’t save her- you have to save yourself. Cyrus- surely he knows of your connection with Val… you need to go before he comes for you… please- Jade… go.” I plead with her and I can see the fear growing in her eyes. I don’t know how much she knows, but all I know is that Cyrus- power hungry and vengeful- he won’t hesitate to rip his once prize’s head from her shoulders to secure his throne.

Our lips meet and press hard together, a swift devouring need that ends far too soon and in a blink of an eye, my arms are empty and Jade is gone. I fear I will never see her again....

“I should kill you right here…” Cyrus growls again, his hand closing around my throat and all I can is wait for him to break my neck  and rip it clean from my body. At least it would be swift... “But no… I have a worse fate for you, dear Lucas… my brother.” his voice rumbles dangerously in my ear and my eyes open again, my already shallow breath nearly disappearing as I already know my fate… surely he will feed me to Val. After hearing the screams of the others since the slaughter, it didn’t take long before the rest of us knew she was a weapon and though we didn’t fully understand her powers- we knew she was Cyrus’ tool and he used her to keep us all in line. And it worked- mostly.

Dragging me down to her cell, I don’t even fight, I wasn’t going to be weak in front of him, I never had and I won’t start now.  Coming down a hallway I hadn’t ventured down in some time, it doesn’t take me long to realize where it is he is taking me. No one had seen Val in weeks, but that didn’t mean we didn’t all still hear the screaming. I wish I could die right then and there, just take my own life and yet I know it won’t be satisfactory to Cyrus. He wants my punishment to be drawn out- the torture to be long and suffering. I had betrayed him, after I had been loyal for as long as I had. I’d seen generations of people come and go and now I was about to join them. Perhaps she would be merciful and not let my screams ring through the halls and end it quickly.

The door is opened and Cyrus shoves me inside before slamming the heavy metal door shut again, latching it. The door is laced with vervain to keep either of us from being able to break the door down and escape, the whole room was protected with magic to keep Val inside and any of her victims. Turning, I look into the room but see nothing, not at first. It’s dimly lit, though the darkness doesn’t bother me that much, it’s what lies within the darkness that unnerves me.

“V-Val…?” I don’t mean to have a shaky voice, but I’m suddenly more nervous than I realize and it just comes out that way. I wait near the door, hoping perhaps she’ll just be swift and not give me a chance to do anything more than take a breath and then it’ll all be over. But that moment doesn’t come. It isn’t coming. Is she even in the room…?

“Lucas?” a voice speaks from the shadows, but it’s weak, the sound familiar as I’ve heard in the past in times when finding food was scarce and my sister was near starvation; though as vampires, we don’t die if we don’t feed, we simple slip into a sort of coma- though the process can take months to fully take effect- I realize, Cyrus isn’t keeping Val well fed, but keeping her fed just enough to keep her under control, weakening her until she is too starved to do anything else but attack her next victim- regardless if they be mortal or vampire.

Against my better instinct and judgment, I step closer to the shadows where I heard Val’s voice emanate and try to see her form, it’s only then that I realize the curves I think are rock are actually Val herself and she suddenly moves, shifting to stand and moving slowly towards me. Instinctively, I move back away from her, not sure what she’s about to do.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, her voice parched, her feet stop just at the edge of the light, as though considering coming out into the open beam would be more painful than not feeding. In her weakened state, she might be right. “What did you do…?” she wonders. It’s not a hidden fact that I am one of Cyrus’ most loyal followers, so it’s not surprising she is questioning the reason of my delivery to her to be sacrificed.  “Wh-where’s Jade?” she asks, though she seems confused and yet worried. Jade was… is her only true bonded friend, so of course she would ask.

“I… I warned her. I told her about what I did… what we did, what happened in the hall after the hunt- she got out… and Cyrus- he found out. He probed everyone when Jade went missing- he found what I’d done… and- I’m here to be punished…” I tell her, I have nothing else I can say. I want to tell her that I have accepted my fate, that I will let her destroy me- but no more words come out and for a moment, she and I are just left standing there, one in the light, one in the dark, staring.

She then steps forward with a quicker gait than I thought she had strength for and for a wild moment I think she is about to reach over and snap my neck when her arms instead wrap around my shoulders and she embraces me. Stunned, I stand there, not knowing what to do or say as I allow her to give me a heartfelt, albeit weakened, hug.

“Thank you… thank you.” she says with a softer voice, but not weak this time, just full of gratitude that she now knew her truest friend- at least for now- was safe.

I finally return her embrace and smile, sure that in a moment, she would use her powers and fulfill the punishment that Cyrus wanted her to, but that moment, never came.

I don’t think he’ll let Val starve forever, just enough to make a point before he finally concedes and gives her something to eat. Me on the other hand? He’ll probably let me starve and then in my weakened state, he’ll shove a stake through my heart. I wouldn’t doubt it anyhow. Still, it hasn’t been so bad with Val, despite how much I thirst and the need to feed becoming greater all the time. Unfortunately, in this state, with how far gone Val is, we can’t feed off each other to regain strength- and she assured me that if she fed off me, I would die- so that’s a no go and I wasn’t about to attempt to feed off her in the off chance- I'd die. Though she’s told me she doesn’t know if a vampire feeding from her would have the same effect, I’m not quite willing to take that chance. I’m selfish like that.

But we’ve had time to talk and get to know each other more. I told her about my sister and she told me she hates Cyrus- which I can’t quite understand- he’s such an upstanding guy. At least talking and laughing helps to pass the time. Sleeping helps too, but waking is painful considering the growing thirst, so I try to sleep as little as possible.

“At least you’re not turning into a skeleton…” Val says to me, her humor still there even though she’s basically collapsed from hunger. She’s keeping her distance from me she says just in case her instinct kicks in. I figure it’s better safe than sorry, so I don’t argue the point.

“I’ll have to take your word for that, considering you won’t let me see…” I tell her. Since I arrived, the only time I saw her out of the shadow was when she hugged me, since then, she’s remained in the darkest areas of the room and all I can see is hints of her, but she remains hidden enough even I can’t see.

“Trust me, you don’t want to. It's horrifying.” she says, her voice still weak, perhaps even more so. Soon she won’t be able to talk at all. Still, I’d have to take her word for it.

How long has it been? I lost count after four weeks. I can move more than Val, but she’s gone silent and so all I have is my own thoughts haunting me. So to pass the time, I think back on times with my sister, before coming here to the coven with Cyrus. And then I think of Jade and that seems to get me through the darkness that will soon envelop me. Another month and I will be silenced too and only another can wake us....

~

Sweet nectar touches my tongue and slowly my lips part. More of the dark crimson liquid drips over my lips and into my mouth and I swallow with great effort but it revives me, even if only a little. I can now feel a hand along the back of my head and something being tipped against my mouth. My ice blue eyes slowly open as I try to make out the figure before me: unfocused and fuzzy. The first thing that catches my eye is the dark tresses hanging down over the face and for a moment I believe that the face I’m looking at is only cast in shadow… is it Jade? I am unable to speak yet, but as I lean up a little, lifting my head to the blood pooling against my lips my vision clears and I quickly realize it is not Jade- but another face I once admired: Cyrus.

“...What are... you... doing?” I ask weakly, unsure why Cyrus would restore my strength only to kill me anyway.

“Ah, my son… I need you back in my service… your loyalty has no bounds… you convinced my reaper not to destroy you- I cannot ignore that.” he says to me, tipping more of the sweet blood into my mouth which as I began to drink down more greedily- but surely it isn’t enough. I feel Cyrus’ hand stroke my head, but I don’t even react, I’m too hungry to flinch away from his seemingly tender touch.

“You will never again betray me… for you have learned your lesson, yes, my son?” his voice is laced with a strong threat and I know that if I ever do anything again to show my disloyalty, he will end my life with his own hand. So I nod.

When I finally feel myself more awake again, I sit up and look up at my master and even though I am weak, I know he can see my contrition and commitment to him remain. “Very good…” I hear him say and he stands again, heading to the door. I fear for a moment he intends to leave me there still, but then he returns a moment after with another figure in his clutches. It’s a young mortal girl, surely not even twenty years of age. She is calm, which means Cyrus’ powers worked on her to keep her calm and compliant.

“Feed… get your strength back and join me once again…” Cyrus says and tells the girl to kneel before me so I can feed upon her and I know I will certainly drain her I am so thirsty. But for a moment, I don’t do anything but watch as Cyrus then goes to Val and works to restore her strength as well,  just enough to get her to awaken and listen; he speaks so softly that in my weakened state I can’t hear and then he takes her hand and guides her over to the same spot where the girl is kneeling, having her kneel beside her as well. “Feed my pet…” he tells her and she weakly looks on at the girl before looking at me.

Our eyes meet a moment and I give her a soft nod before I lean in and suddenly my face changes to something more deadly, my fangs dropping down longer as I latch onto the girl’s neck, piercing her skin and letting the dark fluid within her body flow into my mouth. After a moment I lean back and look at Val who hasn’t started to feed yet. I glance around and see that Cyrus is still watching, his expression dangerous as though silently saying he would do more to Val if she didn’t show her allegiance to him by partaking of his “gift”.

Looking to Val again, I reach over and gently take her hand, directing her gaze to me again and give her a small encouraging nod before pulling her in towards the girl who is sitting silent and compliant as she’s been ordered to do. I reach up and tilt the victim’s head, exposing her neck more for Val, the blood already leaking down the opposite side is far too intoxicating for Val to ignore. Surely she’s ravenous, but surprisingly she doesn’t attack the girl like I thought she might. Again, I give her another encouraging nod and she leans in and like me, she pierces the girl’s flesh and begins to feed. In a moment, I return to the other side of her neck and the two of us drain the girl- but still it’s not enough for her… and Val soon takes more of what she needs before the girl is completely gone and rips her soul from her, devouring that with relish which restores her to her full strength. I watch on in fascination, and slight horror.

“Thank you…” Val says to me and I only nod, slowly standing again. I can’t speak of how grateful I am that she didn’t do that to me, that she spared me; after that day, another bond was formed between the two of us and I knew that my life had taken another shift. Where it will lead is entirely up to me. I leave with Cyrus and soon venture out of the lair to find more to feed upon to restore myself completely.

Ever since then, I have visited Val in her cell, though I am unable to go inside, at least we can talk. I wish I could help her, do more for her than keep her company- at least seeing as it’s no threat to her or to Cyrus’ control and rule, he does nothing to stop me from speaking with her, even daily- and I have remained true to my word of loyalty....

Of course, I haven’t found a way to free Val yet- but I’m working on it....

Profile, story and OC art by owner: odduckOasis.
Background letter found here.
Border brushes found here.
Kings Things and Dark Theater fonts from dafont.
Writhen & Voluptuous are owned by Celestial. Chars linked through mutual agreement.

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