Beacon of blood

As I laid down to sleep, I could think of nothing more but what the mage had said before leaving the house.

"Don't thank me yet until your daughter has been cured," said the mage. "If her condition worsens, I'll have no choice but to put her down."

I was being treated like a dog about to go rabid. I had only a week before I was completely wiped of sane mind, before I would be... a vampire.

A light rain had begun to fall as I sat down facing the window. A vampire was a creature of legend stated to be so deadly it was equivalent to a hundred Xaj's. I had only heard stories of it from the elders in the monastery and the scrolls in my father's library.

They were said to be blood sucking demons capable of draining a human body void of blood within seconds. They were strong enough to lift heavy boulders with the speed of a falling star, being faster than the eye could see leaving nothing but a blur and a trail of blood in their wake. In all the scrolls I had read, they could heal from any injury, had immortality and they had the ability to hypnotize humans.

They were really powerful creatures yet not impossible to defeat. A lot could kill a vampire, from the Vladian swords with enchantments to magical rune stakes to the heart, the list went on and on. Blessed water from the streams of Tallily had been shown to be effective against such night creatures as well as exposure to sunlight, silver coins and Obidiah fruit seeds.

It didn't make any sense to have so much pros regarding strength and speed yet so many silly cons with it. I loved the sunlight, if I became a vampire I would never walk under it again. I would never touch my favorite flower, Obidiah and I would never hold silver. The dark lonely night would be my solace with the blood of innocents on my head.

The wind howled outside as the moon shone brighter under the rainy night. Snores from my sisters made me smile in the darkness. In a week I would be out of their lives for good. How would I be killed, I thought. In most stories being told, vampires caught for murders were burnt alive while bound to a stake with rune bands created by the towns mage. That was not a great way to go. There had to be something I could do while I still had the chance to do them.

My hearing had improved massively with the heartbeats of everyone in the house humming in scattered rhythms. My throat burned with thirst and my stomach hunger. Standing to my feet, I made my way to the kitchen grabbing the first fruit I could see there.

A tear ran down my cheek as I bit through the fruit only to find it taste like sand. I was really hungry and I had to eat something.

"Rey..." called Founder as he walked into the kitchen, rod in hand. "Almost thought you were a thief."

I could only look at him with hungry eyes. For some unknown reason the blood pumping in his body drew me to him. Had I turned already?

"Rey are you okay?" his face showed signs of terror leading me to drop the fruit on the floor as I made my way to the boy.

"Rey, you're scaring me?" he said, backing away slowly which got me more agitated than I already was.

"Rey..." he whispered while I cornered him into a wall. I could hear myself snarl, my eyes heading for his throat. I could feel the blood moving within and I wanted a drop of it. The warmth, the taste, I yearned for it...

What are you doing Reya, I pulled myself mentally shaking the strange feeling off of me. This was Founder, my brother, I could kill him if I wasn't careful as vampires did not have self control if they were to go into a feeding frenzy. I had to stop the strange feeling welling up inside of me somehow, the only viable option left to me was to leave the family.

"I'm sorry," I whispered heading for the back door before running into the rainy night far from my family and the only place I had ever called home. Their safety was my concern, I had to leave before I would turn into a mindless monster.

"Reya come back!" I heard him call, but that only pushed me to increase my pace. He soon caught up with me stopping me with his strong arms as I looked into his sad face.

"Reya, I know what you are and we can help you get through this," reassured the boy, however, I was having none of his talks tonight. I was beyond saving and every minute I spent with him made me even more dangerous than the last.

"Founder, It's not safe with me..."

"I know," he interrupted holding my hands in his.

"I could kill everyone if I lost control..."

"We'll help you control it."

"You can't control a night creature Founder," my voice broke down. "I am a monster."

"You are not a monster," he opposed dragging me to him. "You are my sister."

As we hugged under the moonlit night, the pumping of blood in his neck drove me wild causing me to push him off me in terror.

"No!" I snarled backing away from him. My gum started to hurt with my canines growing out of their fixed positions as everything in my line of sight became clearer with a deep red.

"Reya, let me help you," offered the boy, but I was not the one who would need help if I lost control. I needed him safe, not dead.

"Stay away from me!" a monstrous voice escaped my throat causing the boy to hold his breath in horror. He fell to the ground staring at me like he had seen a monster and for good measures because I was not his little Reya anymore, I was a night creature.

"Founder get away from her!" Mary ran out from the house screaming under the now pouring rain.

"Rey..." he said in shock weakening a part of me which had been dead for minutes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered before zipping down the road with a speed I had not known was possible. The wind and rain blew past my face as the houses and fields became a blur. I was no longer human with the way I moved, I was different now.

Reaching the edge of the cliff which would have taken me ten minutes to get to as a human in seconds, I came to a halt.

The rain intensified, thunder and lightning raging in the skies without mercy in dramatic fashion. My body started to soak up the rain but surprisingly I didn't feel cold or shiver with the cold drops on my skin. I guessed it to be one of the pros of being a night creature.

The trees below held something mysterious, something which called me, which my soul yearned for. I didn't know what it was, or why it called, but I wanted to go there.

Looking over the edge of the cliff, I found the bottom to be farther down than I had expected, however that did not bother me. I was a night creature, I could not get hurt no matter how hard I tried. Jumping over the cliff, I landed onto the ground with my toes first, picking up speed as I blurred through the dark vegetation, to that beacon which spoke to me.