• Rising Blood
    Chapter 1: Child Master


    Laden wanted to rip himself to shreds. Sylph’s mouth was open in a silent scream of pain as her blood trickled into his mouth. It tasted sweet on his lips and it took all of his strength to pull himself away. Sylph fell limply into his arms. The pain had been too much for her to stay conscious for. Laden looked up as he wiped the blood from his mouth with his jacket sleeve. Chloe, the girl Sylph had been wandering around with was running away beside some boy that must’ve opened the gate to this place. …He’d have to get them later.

    Picking up Sylph, he headed back into the dark abyss of the warehouse. With ease, he passed through the debris and wreckage of the decaying building. He wondered how much longer the building would hold until it finally collapsed. With soft, sad eyes, he took a glance at the girl in his arms. Just hours ago, he had been joking around with her. They were best friends in every day life… But now he was sure she would hate him once she woke up. Now… She was like him. She would also be able to see in this pure darkness. She would lose all human limitations on her body, and be forced to live out the rest of her life long past the years of her family and friends… It would tear her apart on the inside… Just as it did him the first few decades.

    When he reached the inner most part of the decrepit building, he laid Sylph gently on the ground. He shrugged off the dark jacket that he wore and covered her with it to protect her from the cold. It was the only comfort he could really offer her here. A thought crossed his mind, and he scowled before he stalked off to another room. There, he moved to one of the many objects covered by a tarp. An angry gleam crossed Laden’s eyes before he pulled the tarp from over the object violently. What lay beneath was completely out of place in its surroundings. It was a capsule that seemed to have leapt straight out of a sci-fi movie. It glowed with power and carried liquid of some sort on the inside. Within that liquid, a boy that appeared to be about 11 or 12 years of age floated. The boy’s skin was pale enough to make the moon envious. His hair was long enough to brush his chin, and was a chocolate brown color.

    Laden stepped closer to the capsule and bared his fangs. They shone slightly red, still stained with Sylph’s blood, in the light emanating from the capsule. After a moment, the boy’s eyes slid open, revealing green eyes that rivaled the purest forest leaves in color. The boy blinked at Laden in for a moment before his voice was heard.

    “Did you get the girl…?” The boy asked lightly. Laden crossed his arms and glared at the boy, not bothering to answer the question. The little one laughed, letting out bubbles into the liquid surrounding him. “I guess you have. Good work.” Laden snarled at the boy and slammed his fist into the glass that separated the two of them. Surprising, it didn’t even crack under the force of the hit.

    “Dammit, Irel!” The older yelled. “You never told me it would be her! You never told me you wanted Sylph! I would never have let her come around here if I had known this would happen!” Irel smirked from inside his capsule, making Laden want to break the barrier between them. He wanted to rip this “boy” to pieces!

    “You know you can’t hurt me!” Irel teased. “You do and I will not hesitate to kill you!” The voice was childish. The tones were teasing. The threat, however, was real, and Laden knew that. The older bit his lip, not caring that his fangs could have brought blood. This was something Irel had held over his head for as long as he had known him… Since he first became a vampire. Many thoughts crossed his mind before he finally came to a decision. He raised his hand and smirked at Irel.

    “Then let me die trying.” He said. Laden’s fist fell with a speed that must’ve been a blur. It was normal in both their eyes however. Irel stayed calm until the last moment where he smirk and murmured something just loud enough for Laden to hear.

    “You hurt me…” Irel said. “And I’ll kill the girl.” Laden froze instantly, his fist just centimeters above the glass. The little boy smiled sweetly before he pointed towards the entranceway to the room they were in. Following to where the boy pointed, Laden’s eyes widened. Sylph stood in the door, eyes darting between Irel and Laden. Laden sucked in a sharp breath when he realized what color her eyes were now. Ruby red. Her eyes had once been a dark brown that almost looked black, but now… The change was already starting to take place.

    “Sylph…” Laden murmured as he took a step toward her. That was enough, her knees gave out and she fell to the ground. Before she could hit the ground, she was in Laden’s arms. She looked at him in shock and in fear. It damn near broke his heart. Setting her straight, he stepped back. “Are you… Okay?” Irel snorted from within his capsule.

    “That’s a stupid question to ask, Laden…” He said, causing another glare to be aimed in his direction. The boy just smirked and crossed his arms. “Well, don’t blame me for your blunders. I’m just stating the facts.”

    Laden let out a snarl as he barely restrained the urge to smash the capsule into pieces. Sylph jumped at the sound, not having ever heard it come from the usually silent person before. Laden realized his mistake when he took another look at Sylph. The girl was shaking like a leaf. He bit his lip, not caring that his fangs broke skin this time. A small trickle of blood flowed down his chin and dripped to the ground. Unbeknownst, to Laden however, Irel watched as the blood fell. His green eyes gained a dark hunger that made him lick his lips. A thought crossed his mind, and an evil smirk grew upon his lips.

    “I’m sorry…” Laden said. His voice was soft as he spoke, back to the volume that the girl was used to. “If you hate me… For what I’ve done to you… I won’t blame you.” Sylph’s was silent for a moment. All fear drained from within her. She couldn’t be mad at Laden. Not when he looked as hurt and sad as he did now. After all, they had been the best of friends… They still are. She opened her mouth to say something but then her body froze. Her vision began to dull and then her body went limp. Laden took in a gasp before a low growl erupted from deep within his throat. He whipped around to face Irel again, his eyes burning with rage and hate. Irel wore his sweet smile, ignoring the waves of dark emotions rolling off of Laden.

    “I am in need of blood, Laden.” He said, smile still intact. “From your expression, I believe you can guess who I want it from…”

    “How can you feed from her?!” Laden snarled out. “She’s already turned! The change is already starting to take place in her!” Irel’s shifted into a smirk and Laden began to feel his body slipping from his control. With a final curse, he became locked away in his own mind.

    “That may be Laden…” Irel’s voice echoed in Laden’s head. It was no longer the childish tones that Sylph and Laden heard in real life. It was matured. This was the voice of the true Irel, and Laden wanted to silence it forever. “But sweet blood is such a delicacy… It can’t be wasted.” Laden’s body turned back to Sylph, who still stood silently in her spot. It moved closer, and leaned down. Its mouth opened, and placed its fangs just outside Sylph’s skin.

    Laden hated almost everything now. He hated Irel for being able to control him like he was now. He hated that girl, Chloe, for convincing Sylph to come to this wretched place. He hated the guy that had opened the gate for them. Most of all though, he hated himself for having this awful fate. For the second time that night, he tasted Sylph’s sweet blood. This time though, he could hear her screaming.