Page 1 of My Master
1
Sunset was always fascinating to him. The way the last rays shone against his caramel tan skin, casting orange shadows, warm yet oddly familiar. But Antonio knew this was a dream because, being a vampire, the sunlight, even as slight as the sunset, would burn his skin and he would turn into ashes. Ashes and dust. This was a dream; he knew that and repeated it to himself as he watched the sky bleed red downwards, watching a sunset he could never see.
He held his arms out, enjoying the feel of the heat, relishing it for he knew that when he woke up, it would be forgotten. He wouldn’t be able to step outside when the sun was highest in the sky. He would be asleep during that time, much like he was now, forever dreaming of what he could never see for himself.
He tried pushing such thoughts away from his mind for the moment and only stared at the beauty set before his eyes. There was something about standing on a rooftop that was sort of liberating for him. He often sat on rooftops; it was the best way to think; the closest he could ever be to the sky.
That is, if he didn’t count Esmeralda. But she was more than just the sky. She was everything. The stars, the heavens, the planets, everything mysterious and phenomenal in the world and she was the dearest thing held in his life.
“Hello, brother.” The voice that spoke startled him out of his thoughts, it was a voice not unlike his own; deep and rich and thickly accented. He turned around in surprise as he stared into his own face.
“Damien,” Antonio reached his hand out to his twin brother but let it drop. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his brother. Had it been a year ago? Five months? A few weeks? He couldn’t be exactly sure, but he knew it must have been a long time. The shock of seeing him squeezed at his chest, making it contract in a painful manner.
It was like looking into a mirror at himself, the shock and familiarity of seeing him was almost enough to make him want to drop to his knees.
Damien smiled a smile that reminded Antonio of their differences. Antonio took a good look at his brother. His hair was slicked back with gel and he was wearing one of those Armani suits that he seemed to like so much.
His smile was forced.
“How are you, brother?” Antonio managed to choke out. It had been so long—too long—since he had seen his brother. He missed him even though they hadn’t gotten along since their mother had died.
Damien shrugged, the movement was almost mechanical in a way. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m dead, remember?” And in one swift, slow motion he pulled out a long thin dagger that seemed so familiar to Antonio, and he used it to slit his own throat. The blade cut across his flesh easily and in that instant, memories came flooding back to Antonio; him, Damien, the knife that didn’t just slit his throat, but actually severed head from body.
He’d dreamt this dream before. The settings were always different; an empty kitchen, a crowded street, Santiago Enterprises, and now, the rooftop. But the dream was just most of the same. Damien, gripping the knife until his knuckles whitened and using it to slit his own throat.
But it wasn’t just a dream. It wasn’t the sort of dream he could wake up from, laugh off. Because this, this had truly happened.
Damien was dead.
“No!” Antonio dropped to his knees and tried to tell himself it was just a dream and watched as Damien’s blood rolled red down his neck, watching the brother he would never again see.
* * *
Antonio shotup in bed and fought back the urge to scream.Not again,he pleaded.Not this dream again.He ran a hand over his face then looked at the spot on the bed next to him. Esmeralda stirred restlessly in her sleep, probably picking up his bad vibes. He knew she couldn’t be having nightmares. Her nightmares had long since faded. He fought to control his emotions but found it hard to do. Lately he had been dreaming more and more about the events that had happened two years ago and they had started to torture him.
Esmeralda had begun to notice.I mean,he thought,how couldn’t she? We’re Soul Mates for Christ’s sake.He was becoming better at masking his emotions but Ezzy knew him too well, and she always knew what was wrong with him. He looked at her now. Her hair was a mixture of dark red, brown, and gold, silk-like strands sprawled across the pillows. She looked thinner and there were dark circles under her eyes. She was worn out, more than usual, and he couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault. Actually, itwashis fault.
Feeling like complete and utter shit, he got out of bed as quietly as he could, careful not to wake Ezzy, and walked out of the room that they shared, closing the door behind him.
The room used to be Ignacio’s and Katheryn’s, Ezzy’s parents and his best friends. They had died years ago, attacked by Rogue vampires for creating the cure for the Blood Drug addiction.
It wasn’t until two years ago that they had found out that Damien Santiago, Antonio’s twin brother, had been behind the Rogue attacks. He had tried to change Esmeralda and kill Antonio but Antonio killed him before he had gotten the chance.
Antonio instinctively reached for the thick scar around his neck. It was jagged and angry, as was the intention behind it. Damien had almost attempted to slice his head off, twice. Luckily, he had failed the first time. The second time he had almost died. Antonio had an ‘Otherworld’ experience, where he had met with the ghost of his deceased mother who had told him to help both Ezzy and Damien.
Luckily, he had made it to them just in time because Damien was just about to turn Ezzy into a vampire. Antonio had felt no greater threat in his life than he had felt at that moment. He had no choice but to kill his own brother.
The memory still haunted him.
Sluggishly, he made his way down the hall, stairs, and into the living room, where he threw himself down on the couch. It was practically light outside; he knew this without having to move aside the thick curtains from the windows. Being a Natural Born Vampire, he knew when the sun was out, it’s exact position sometimes, if he concentrated hard enough he could guess the exact hour. And being a vampire, he should have been dead asleep. The sun had that effect on him and so, his being awake at that time was rare. Then again, everything about him was rare.
Starting with the thick white scar encircling his neck.
It was thicker than it had been before, and he had his brother to thank for that. Sometimes, the scar would pulse and glow and sting even though it had long since been healed. The feeling only made him crave more blood than usual. Ever since his “accident” he’d had to drink three times more blood than the average vampire and that still couldn’t satisfy his need.
Ezzy had offered, more than once, her blood to him. She knew that fresh human blood, taken directly from the neck of your Soul Mate was the greatest pleasure for a vampire. But, he couldn’t. He feared if he started, he would continue and never be able to stop. For now, he stuck to his synthetic pills. They would suffice.
Antonio rubbed a hand along his scar and winced.
