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THE NIGHTMARE Chapter 40
Valerian raised my face to his by pinching my chin.His eyes were downturned, as if grinning, and glistened with sadness.I could see how I had harmed him over the years.He desired acceptance from me in the same way that I desired acceptance from society and my parents.I felt bad because, like the rest of the world, I consistently avoided him.Why did I treat him so harshly when I didn't want anyone else to feel that way?I could have attempted to be more cooperative.I honestly didn't know how to handle things in a more civil manner, but I could have tried.As a young child, I developed new skills, acquired a new self-image, and experienced emotions I didn't understand.Although it was not an excuse, it was the most plausible explanation I had aside from the obvious, which was that I detested him for initially "buying" me.I might have missed something else about the circumstance.Perhaps he saw a poor girl being abused and thought this would be the most effective strategy for rescuing her.I f
THE NIGHTMARE Chapter 41
I smiled and said, "Good evening, Dad." "You little dem-" he started, but stopped abruptly when Valerian started up the lawn behind me."May I please enter the house?"I pushed past him and entered our house for probably the last time, I said, before he could respond.I said, "Good evening, Mom," to her.Her nose continued to run, giving the impression that she had been crying.Her face was tightly pulled back, and she was dressed in a white T-shirt and Dad's gray sweatpants.What have you done to him, exactly?She inquired.I felt my father's scorching breath on the back of my neck as he looked down at Balrus after coming up from behind me."Is that blood I see running down the front of his shirt?" I ask.My mother gasped as soon as he asked.After entering the house, Valerian slammed the door a little louder than was necessary, took a seat, and did not attempt to interfere with the conversation.It appeared as though he was simultaneously acknowledging that this was a family affair and r
THE NIGHTMARE Chapter 42
“Witch?”As I stumbled a few steps back, I asked.Perhaps Valerian was merely attempting to ridicule her.Perhaps there was no supernatural significance to everything.I prayed that it was, at least, because if it wasn't, it would mean that Balrus and I were both witches.Did I have any human features?Or was I really the freak that my classmates said I was?Catelyn, "Yes.I am a witch and high priestess.She sat down at the kitchen table and her eyes narrowed in shame.Dragos and Valerian, the vampire king, carried out a raid on our coven.Before continuing with her story, she gave him a disgusted look.My mother was killed by Dragos by being tied to a wood cross and being set ablaze by his mind.He then took me for himself after he forced me to sit there and watch her burn to ashes."What was he up to with you?"Fearing that I already knew the answer, I questioned."So many terrible things"While slowly shedding tears, she choked on the lump in her throat.I would be verbally abused, beaten, and ra
THE NIGHTMARE Chapter 43
"How long ago did all of this occur?"She let out a sigh and started shaking her head."Catelyn, there is nothing to be gained from—" "I am the one that decides whether or not I will gain anything from your answers, Mom, not you," said the mother.My tone of voice was even audible to my ears.It made a growl-like sound.She said, "Hundreds of years ago."“How old are you now if this happened when you were twenty-five, hundreds of years ago?”From his seat at the dining table, Sirius said, "Now you are just being rude."As he always did, he was scowling at me.I did not completely rotate my chin in the direction of his voice.He was not ignored by me, but I was ignoring him.My mother responded, "I am 578 years old."We did not live past the age of 25, but neither were we immortals in my coven.Due to the fact that I have lost all of my powers, I look slightly older than that.I nodded."Would you ever tell me anything if I hadn't asked or shot flames from my palms today?"I didn't think you
THE NIGHTMARE Chapter 44
"This is nothing."As I continued to try to claw my way to his wound, he shoved me away once more.Get in the vehicle.We must move quickly.I obliged him and jumped into the front seat.Before I could even fasten my belt, he was behind the wheel thanks to his supersonic speed.His knuckles turned white as a result of the tight grip he had on the steering wheel.He tried to calm himself by taking deep breaths and glaring straight ahead.I wasn't sure if he was mad at me, in agony because of his wound, or hungry because of the smell of blood.He just sat there, depressed and ensnared in his own thoughts.I desired to speak with him or intervene to break the tense silence.The desire to ramble was growing on my trembling lips because I was anxious about leaving with him."You really ought to let me look at that injury," he said.To prevent word vomit, I quickly bit my lip."I promised you I would be fine,"I have frequently treated my wounds on my own.If you allow me, I can easily handle that.Even
THE NIGHTMARE Chapter 45
“Did you know that Eden’s family members moved out of the country only a few weeks after his death?” I turned to Valerian and began. He clenched his jaw and tried to ignore me. “His mother had been deceased for a few years now, but his father could barely go on after Eden’s body was found.”I was met with more silence and I didn’t care. I thought that if Valerian didn’t want some music then he could deal with me for the rest of the ride.“From what I heard, Eden’s father took to drinking, stopped eating, and began wandering the streets at night calling out for Eden. Kind of breaks your heart doesn’t it?”Then I muttered, “if you have one that is,” under my breath but loud enough for him to hear.Valerian took a deep breath, held it for a few moments, and exhaled it slowly. I smiled in the dark. My idea was working.“You know,” I went on, “there were several strange things that came up during the investigation after Eden’s body was fished out of that river. For instance, my interrogatio
THE NIGHTMARE Chapter 46
A rogue vampire snuck past Valerian and raced toward the vehicle as I was being sucked into a deep panic.She wore knee-high black boots, tight black leather pants, and a matching leather jacket.She was short, only five feet tall.Her high cheekbones were covered in what appeared to be war paint.She was a terrifying force.As she climbed onto the car's hood and growled at me from the other side of the windshield, I recoiled in my seat.When Valerian saw what was going on, he tried to rush to the scene but was tackled to the ground by another vampire who ran after him."You are going to be so delicious!"I was heckled by her.I was fighting the urge to faint from fear as all the blood rushed to my head.I closed my eyes in anticipation of the shards of glass hitting my face as she reeled her fist back to break the windshield.But there was never any effect.A group of vampires appeared from behind the iron gate when I opened my eyes, and they began to assist Valerian in defeating the rogues.
THE NIGHTMARE Chapter 47
He didn't respond immediately, but when he did, he said coldly, "I'm fine."After that, he got behind the wheel and started driving.He shut me out right away after putting on his mask once more.Again.I was almost moved to tears by it.What happened recently?This time, what did I do?How did he manage to do this so easily?Talk to me for one minute as if I were the center of his entire world, and then completely lose interest in me the next?Due to our connection, I was also experiencing his pain, and I felt his emotional withdrawal from me strongly.I could tell that the most recent attack had left him with more serious injuries.Before Ivan and the others arrived, Valerian had been losing to the rogue vampires who had snuck up on us and appeared to be stronger.The bone-deep cut under his left arm was bleeding profusely, and I could feel it.I felt his breathing as if it were my own and could feel the pain in his lower back.However, he had just excluded me.I turned around in my chair to face