Chapter 71 - Do vampires have souls?

Ethan was standing there, with something in his hand, staring at James.

"What's yours, freak? Were you a badly turned vampire?". James laughed, approaching slowly, but he was still far away. James' voice echoed in Ethan's mind.

Ethan remained still, with a fearful expression.

"A shame to end up like this...you had potential! Unfortunately, you won't be able to protect Alice anymore!". James said, laughing, becoming more visible to Ethan.

Ethan then revealed what he was holding. It was a small, pointed shard of glass. A small sadistic smile began to form on Ethan's face.

"Huh? You think that's going to defend you?" James said, giggling.

Ethan slowly took the shard of glass and passed it on his arm, creating a small, deep cut. Ethan's red-hot blood began to trickle down his arm, causing drops of blood to drip onto the floor.

The moment the shard of glass hit Ethan's warm skin, he felt his body heat up again. His hands began to shake and tingle, and something began to make Ethan's heart beat more slowly. He felt as if he was being overcome by something. His eyes turned bright red within seconds, you could tell they were almost emitting light.

James' eyes got bigger, it was as if his hunting instinct had been turned on.

James ran at Ethan. Ethan didn't move a muscle, still with a smile on his face, he focused his energy on the shadow flames.

He spun his arms quickly towards the ground, causing the flames to spread across the ground and turn into a dark, dense mist, surrounding the place.

James kept running, undeterred by what Ethan was doing. It was as if he had been blinded by the smell of blood, just as Ethan normally was with shadow magic.

With each second, James got closer to Ethan and the fog got bigger and thicker, hugging James' body tighter and tighter.

A few inches from touching Ethan's hands, Ethan stared deeply into James' eyes and he stopped. James stopped running, but not of his own accord. He forced his body forward, trying to get loose, but the dense, dark fog hugged his body tightly, as if it was creating a barrier so that James couldn't catch up to Ethan.

James began to struggle to get free, but to no avail. The mist seemed to be completely stuck to his body, as if a strong gale was pushing him backward, and he was just an ordinary human.

At this moment Victoria and Laurent, together with the other vampires, came close. They saw James static in the middle of a very dark mist in front of Ethan. It wasn't high enough that they couldn't see what was around them, but high enough to trap James' arms.

Ethan began to laugh, as he slowly approached James. He seemed to be completely out of his mind, as if something much bigger was taking over his head.

Ethan stood a few inches from James' face, who couldn't do anything but try to move.

"You know, James, I always wondered about a vampire having a soul. You had potential! Unfortunately..." Ethan said, moving closer to James' ear. "...I'm better." He whispered.

James felt his own body shiver in fear for the first time.

Ethan reached out, holding James' head and smiling at him. Ethan's blood dripped, dripping onto James's face, but before he could taste the deliciousness of the blood, James began to feel absurd, screaming in desperation.

Ethan began to suck James' soul out while still alive. James screamed. The pain felt terrible, but this was delicious to Ethan. The screams of fear made Ethan smile more and more, as if he were possessed.

Ethan's eyes showed nothing but cruelty.

"JAMES! NO, PLEASE!" Victoria screamed in desperation and tried to run toward Ethan, but the haze of shadows prevented her from getting close to the two.

The other vampires were panicking. Ethan was consuming that vampire's body without any remorse.

A few black veins began to appear on James' body, which seemed to be starting to rot while he was still alive.

Ethan did not feel the same sensation that he felt sucking the other souls. It was different. It didn't feel like a soul; it was just strong, bad energy that mimicked a soul, but it didn't taste as good. It tasted bad, but it still felt strong, like medicine.

"GOD, PLEASE HELP ME! HAVE MERCY!". He cried out for mercy to God, but no one seemed to hear his prayers.

"Ethan..." Edward said, trying to get his attention. Edward was frightened. Jasper held Edward's arm, informing him that he should let go.

Ethan was deaf, only listening to James' screams, which sounded like a melody.

"No... James... No...!". Victoria began to cry in despair, watching the love of her life melt away in front of her eyes.

Then, James took his last breath and his body evaporated, into the mist.

Ethan stood for a few seconds, looking at those bones sprawled on the ground. He was serious, with no expression on his face. The only thing going through his mind was how he was going to hide those bones now.

Ethan's sanity began to return, and he began to be able to hear the noises that were around him, but he still seemed emotionless.

He heard Victoria crying and looked directly at her, expressionless.

"Come on!" Laurent felt his body shiver and pulled Victoria by the arm, running with her away.

The fog began to thin and Ethan's arm was completely bloody.

Edward, Jasper, and Emmett looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Carlisle slowly walked over to Ethan, his arms raised, indicating that he was going peacefully.

"Ethan?" He asked slowly, approaching.

Ethan looked at him. Ethan's eyes were piercing, but they seemed lifeless. He stretched out his arm to Carlisle, showing the deep cut.

Carlisle took off his blouse and wrapped it around Ethan's arm, trying to staunch the wound. Ethan could feel Carlisle's hands shaking a little, as if he felt fear, but was still concerned for Ethan's health.

Ethan looked at Carlisle, expressionless. Maybe his sanity was still too low, to the point where he couldn't feel any emotion or think about anything.

As Carlisle tended to Ethan's wound, he regained his sanity. It was as if 'actions of humanity' brought his sanity back, like 'empathy', 'care' or 'love'.

Ethan regained consciousness and felt his body becoming weak as all the blood had gone out, causing him to start to feel dizzy and stagger.

Carlisle held Ethan up, keeping him from falling.

Ethan's vision began to blur, and his hearing began to become weak.

"Emmett!" Carlisle yelled, urging Emmett to hold Ethan.

Emmett held Ethan's arm, trying to get him to stand.

"He's lost a lot of blood, we need to get him to the hospital!". Those were the last words Ethan could hear, before he blacked out in the middle of the forest.

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