Chapter 9: Chapter 9 – Memories of the Night

Sweat dotted Raphael's brows.

Travelling for two days through the forest, the skirmishes with the vampires and lack of sleep for several days was already taking a considerable toll on his body. On top of his shoulder injury that was hopefully just sprained, it didn't take a doctor to figure out that he was past the point of exhaustion.

He recognized burn-out as this wasn't his first rodeo. He was on a time limit. If he didn't wrap this up soon, his body would force his mind to shut down.

"Are you alright, sir?" The vampire asked. Her frail-looking hands hovered over his body. Her forehead creased with worry. She 'looked' genuinely worried.

If she weren't a vampire, he would've believed her.

He almost wanted to joke that she should become an actor if being a vampire didn't suit her lifestyle.

He stopped his train of thought. The delusion was settling in. Crap. He was running out of time.

He blinked away the sweat stinging his eyes.

"A vampire queen is also known to be the mother of all vampires. She can control all living beings with just a look. Her strength is unparalleled and can destroy cities in a blink of an eye. But, stabbing her heart with a stake isn't enough." Raphael said. He repeated the passage from a book he read over a hundred times.

His breath came out shallow. His vision of the vampire doubled. Shaking his head, he squinted his eyes to focus on her. He couldn't miss the chance to gather information. If this vampire reacted to this information, there was a good chance that she may have heard of the whereabouts of the vampire queen.

The woman tilted her head and furrowed her brows. "Your description sounds a lot like Lady Gwenyth. Though I don't think she can control all living beings" She looked up and hummed lightly. "I did witness her being able to order the vampires around regardless of their rank and power."

"Lady Gwenyth?"

The woman shrunk under his questioning stare. "E-everyone calls her Lady Gwenyth as she should've been master's mate."

Raphael cringed. Were they back to talking about her sex life?

"Sir, you're looking pale. Are you sure you're alright?"

He pushed her shoulder against the wall. He leaned in and forced the woman to look into her eyes. Their nose brushed together.

"Tell me everything you know about this Gwenyth vampire." He said, forcing his voice to sound domineering. But to his dismay, his voice sounded hoarse and weak.

"A-Ah...Uhm..."

His hand on her shoulder slowly drifted lower. She was cool to touch. He was tempted to rest his burning forehead against her skin.

"S-Sir?"

Her voice sounded pleasant. It brought back memories of the hot summer days when the wind chime would tinkle softly in the breeze.

Raphael forced his head back up and concentrated on the power of the truth-seeking blessing on the vampire. Pressure behind his eyes built, and his head felt like it was going to explode. The blood in his body buzzed, sending a wave of pain and numbness.

"Hurry up and tell me more about this vampire." His head dropped, and his forehead rested between the crook of her neck and shoulder.

Had he been in his right mind, he would've been shocked and disgusted by his action.

But right now, her cool skin brought relief to his pounding headache.

"Sir? Sir…"

"Ah...shit." He muttered.

Time was up.

His vision plunged into darkness. He couldn't see or hear the woman any longer.

No, not a woman; she was a vampire.

Right?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Raphael was outside his childhood home.

It was quiet.

The axe that would usually be next to the wood chopping block was gone.

A young boy with messy blonde locks ran up to the door.

"Stop!" Raphael reached out to grab the boy, but his hands phased through him. He collapsed to his knees as he helplessly watched the boy open the door and scream.

How many times had he watched this memory?

He hated the night.

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He dreaded the moment the sun disappeared.

The night brought out the loathsome creatures to prey on the weak.

But, more than that, the night shackled his mind to witness the memory of the night one lone vampire slaughtered his entire village.

"Sir?" A young female voice called out from behind him.

Slowly, he turned his head.

It was a young lady wearing nothing but a silver satin nightgown that barely reached the middle of her thigh. Her hair was as dark as the despicable night and framed her artificial face, a cruel imitation of humans. Her eyes were wide and doe-like, bastardizing the word 'innocence.'

She stepped closer and went down on her knees. Her arms snaked around his neck, and she rested her forehead against his.

"Sir?" She whispered, her breath fanned against his moist lips.

He hated red, and yet, her eyes, as red as it was, sparkled like rubies that adorned the noble ladies he often saw strolling about in the main town.

Raphael's gaze trailed down and rested on her plump rosy lips. It looked soft, and the way she smiled invited him to inch a bit closer.

"Why?" A voice asked. The voice was a mash-up of a frail young boy and a hardened soldier.

Raphael stopped his descent towards the woman's lips. He looked past her, and it was his younger self with his eyes plucked out, and his neck slit opened.

"She's a monster. She killed our family. She killed our friends." The young boy said, baring his teeth. "Kill her. Kill her! Kill the vampire! KILL ALL OF THEM!"

He looked back at the woman who clung to his neck.

"Sir?" She smiled slowly. Blood dribbled out as she opened her lips, coating her chin and chest.

His heart clogged his throat. He shoved the monster off of him.

She fell to the ground like a ragdoll.

Chains appeared around her neck, wrists, and ankles.

Straddling her waist, he brought his fingers and clasped them around her neck above her collar. "Die..." He squeezed. "Die. Die. Die. Die. DIE. DIE. DIE!"

Her lips opened and revealed her fangs as she gasped for air.

The blood that stained her chin and chest dissipated.

Her left eyes swelled until they shut. Purple and black eroded her once clear skin. Tears formed in her eyes, yet she kept that blasted smile.

"DIE!" He screamed again. This was for his soldiers. The villagers. His family. His friends.

She gently placed her cool hand on his cheek. She wiped away the tears rolling down his cheeks.

Wait. Tears?

Why was he crying?

He loosened his grasp around her slender neck. His childhood home melted away, and he was back in the hole surrounded by jagged rocks.

He heard coughing below him.

Raphael's eyes widened. He was straddling the vampire with his hands around her throat. He quickly got off her. A sharp pain shot up from his injured shoulder.

"Ugh, crap." He cursed as he grunted from the pain. He can't move his left fingers. His arm radiated sharp pain and numbness in intervals.

The coughing subsided, and the vampire gingerly soothed where he choked her. The collar loosely sat above her collarbone, and it looked like she had another collar imprinted on her skin.

Guilt plagued his mind and warred against his logic that she was just a monster.

The birds' chirping snapped him out of the dizzying state of his emotions and pain.

It was already morning.

He broke out into cold sweat, and his hands grew clammy.

All his emotions swirled down the drain, and only horror remained.

He slept with the monster all night.

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