Page 48 of Guardian

ChapterSixteen

ALEK SEPHTIS

Hunger and desire harbored a tenacious tug during feedings. With sharp adrenaline swelling through my veins, the combination of all three roused my true nature. I could sense the obsidian veins webbing beneath my scleras, expanding into the surrounding leaden skin as the human nurse motioned to me.

My fangs also extended below my lower lip, the tips nearly jabbing against the flesh.

Sweat ran across the nurses’ temples, the salty scent meddling with her bitter-sweet blood that quickened. She was swift to release Raphael and I from the IV lines and pure silver needles.

Doctors and nurses who led the blood banks inevitably bore the same knot on their expressions— fear consuming their eyes and worry trailing with each trembling gesture. The burden of our confidential visitations intensified each time.

Luckily for them, our visits would decrease as the Christmas Ball drew closer. Tomorrow marked November, and all preparations to follow, indicating the little time I had in my grasp.

Noah was quick to deliver a copy of the log, yet no leads surfaced. While I had no means to clinch onto the trifling strands of hope that swung faintly, they remained animated, persistent.

Raphael hovered over my shoulder. “The silver irritates my skin every time.”

Beneath the healed place where the needle had rested, a trivial itch blossomed.

“It’s what we have to endure until Christopher grants us permission to private feedings.” It wasn’t a custom amongst Regal Families; however, Christopher upheld it for an undisclosed reason only he knew.

“It’s almost noon. Do you think our brothers will notice if we stay longer? There are festivities going on in the entrance,” Raphael murmured, his eyes gleaming then suddenly dimming as I met them. He understood better than to celebrate alongside them. It was an act intolerable within our society, as humans were evident with their hatred toward our species.

“Raphael, although we seem to be dressed for the occasion, doesn’t mean we should partake in them.” Our nature fully engulfed our faces, and though humans exaggerated us into monsters with their costumes, there was a clear distinction that the naked eye could identify.

“I know. It’s just. . . Doesn’t hurt to try.” He gave me a half-smile, one that exposed the sadness that hollowed his dark eyes. “Are we leaving immediately then?”

“Yes, we just have to be navigated by Ms.—”

I analyzed the room. An eerie sensation hovered over my skin with the realization that she hadn’t returned.

A fiery red flare suddenly engulfed the space, loud rings booming from the speakers that hung from the ceiling.

“Is there a fire?” Raphael asked, frozen in place.

My chest tightened. “Go retrieve the driver, but be careful with the humans. Your strength is at its most potent now.”

“W-what? But I can’t leave you alone!”

“Yes, you can,” I assured him. “Once you meet the driver, request for Mr. Amelle’s presence and that he come alone.”

Raphael was one who never asked questions, yet his worry raged on his expression. Nevertheless, he was swift to follow orders.

Hysteria overwhelmed the adjoining hallways, humans squeezing past exits as the blare echoed every few seconds. I vanished from eye view, escaping through a hidden hallway before I could collide with a human. They were notorious for pointing fingers at those who could easily swallow the blame in acts of distress— especially when vampires were involved.

My feet dashed as I searched for a whiff of what could possibly be Ms. Eli’s scent. Sensing her ever-so-faint presence in the air. With each turn, I met voids of space until I blurred past barren hospital rooms and offices, reaching the construction at the hospital’s side entrance.

A dusky, deserted corridor vibrated beneath my stilling feet. I fixated on the adrenaline that pounded against my skull, steadying as much as I could. It didn’t waver my heart which craved to accomplish more; the newfound energy was vigorous. If I continued, it wouldn’t be long until all sense of logic and calculations were decimated.

While this type of nature was unlike the one that appeared when starved —the atrocious side of vampires— it was one that needed to be maintained before it enveloped our bodies.

When it finally calmed, I inched through clear doors and before an unexpected scene.

Ms. Eli pounded against a damaged wall but fleetly recuperated, meeting a figure concealed in black deep in the room. In the blink of an eye, she attacked, and the figure avoided each of Ms. Eli’s throws.

Her palms stretched and curved to scratch rather than punch. The shadow retreated a step at a time as if trying to escape her grasp, and Ms. Eli met them with ravenous aggression. The movements grew familiar the further they danced. The intruder was careful. Ms. Eli was chaos.

It was a nastier replica of the day of the scheme.

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