Chapter 11
The feel of fingers gently gliding down his arm, had Gabriel gasping and sitting up in bed with wide eyes. He was still half asleep as he looked around to see Ava sitting beside him, her eyes full of lust and slowly moved over his body as if she was looking at a delicious meal.
“What do you want Ava?” Gabriel groaned, annoyed that she had woken him and afraid of the hunger he still felt in his belly.
“I heard you weren’t feeling well and I thought I’d come and check on you” Ava answered, her voice low and sweet.
“What do you really want” he growled, knowing the answer.
“I hear you’re leaving again” she said, as she slipped her hands under his shirt and started running her finger along his smooth skin, with a low pleasurable moan. “I want to come with you.”
“No” he said, as he grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands free from under his shirt, even though he had to admit he was enjoying her touch. “You’re better off here.”
“Gabriel please, there is nothing for me here” she pleaded, something she knew he could relate to.
“Ava I can’t look after you” he told her, pitting her since he knew what it was like to have no one to love.
“I don’t need much you know” she said, as she climbed on top of him and straddled him as if he were a horse. “We could keep each other company.”
“And what about Kaiden?” he questioned, as he let her hands go.
“Maybe Lena could come too, she’s not happy with her match” she whispered, as she worked her hands under his shirt again.
“Not a chance” Gabriel said, allowing her to remove his shirt and start smoothing her hands across his bare chest, causing his body started to heating up.
“Then at least help me find somewhere else to live” Ava pleaded, leaning down to kiss his neck. “We could have some fun in the meantime.”
“I’ll think about it” he whispered, relaxing as she kissed her way down his chest. “We are leaving in the morning.”
“Then let me try and sway your decision” she breathed, lifting her head to look at him with a telling smile on her full lips. She then sat up and stared into his eyes as she slowly removed her dress, revealing her bare body to him.
“I believe you had more than my wellbeing in mind when you came here tonight” he told her , looking her over before grabbing her hips and flicking onto her on her back. “Now tell me, are you going to behave like this if I take you or are you going to be a good girl?”
"I’ll behave any way you want me to" she answered, looking up into his deep brown eyes as he used his body to pin her to the bed.
With a low laugh, Gabriel stared down at her for a moment, trying to make sense of what he was doing before claiming her body as if it were his to take. He knew she wanted more than he was willing to give but his mind was in too much of a mess to care and pleasure seemed to dull the hunger he was still feeling.
Ava laid beside Gabriel panting as he stared at the ceiling trying everything he could to ignore the smell of her sweat and hot body. He could hear her heart wildly beating in her chest and tried tuning it out but even the sound of her breaths was driving him crazy.
“Get dressed and leave” Gabriel grunted, as he sat up and looked down at his shaky hands.
“Why, what's wrong?” Ava questioned, sitting up and gently placing her hand on his back. “Are you worried about getting caught?”
“No, just leave Ava” he groaned, pulling his pants on.
"Come on Gabriel, can't I stay a little longer?” she whined, rising to her feet so she could start kissing his neck. It was obvious what she wanted and she was prepared to do anything to get it.
Gritting his teeth, Gabriel turned to look at her and as he looked over her hot, sweaty body, something in him switched on and instinct took over. He was no longer himself, he was something else, something not even he could recognize.
A low guttural growl gurgled it’s way up Gabriel's throat, as he twisted his body around and grabbed Ava’s arms before forcing her onto her back. While lust filled her eyes, his eyes were filled with something else, something she should have recognized as dangerous.
A pleasurable moan escaped Ava’s lips as Gabriel's tongue worked its way up her neck but moan was quickly replaced with a squeal of pain as Gabriel teeth sank into the soft flesh of her neck. He ignored her and pulled her body hard against his as he started consuming the blood that was now pouring into his mouth.
“Gabriel stop, you're hurting me” Ava pleaded, trying to push him away but he didn’t stop, instead he covered her mouth with his hand and continued. All he could hear was her muffled cries and not even that was enough to stop him, he wanted her blood and nothing was going to stop him, it far tasted too good.
The more he drank, the better he felt but his mind didn’t clear, not until she had no more to give and her bare, lifeless body dropped to the bed beneath him. Her eyes wet from the tears she had cried in those last moments of her life, a life that she had hoped to make better but now she was never going to get the chance.
Gabriel looked down at her with wide eyes and panic in his heart, he could hear her heart had stopped and couldn’t slow his mind to figure out what to do about it. He had never taken a person’s life, he didn’t think he had it in him because he thought he valued life more than that.
As his mind finally registered what he had done, Gabriel pushed himself back and started frantically looking around his hut for anything that might help her but there simply wasn’t anything to bring back the dead. In his panicked state, he raced around the hut so fast that he didn’t see Kaiden enter and ran into him, knocking Kaiden hard against the wall.
Kaiden’s grunt filled the air, causing Gabriel to stop and look at his brother with fear in his eyes. He feared he might have killed Kaiden, especially since Kaiden hadn’t yet moved but the blood seeping from Kaiden’s head caused Gabriel’s mind to cloud over.
The metallic smell of blood filled the hut, overwhelming every other sense Gabriel had. He couldn’t think anymore, he just wanted more blood and nothing else seemed to matter.
Dropping down beside his brother, Gabriel wrapped his arm around Kaiden and pulled him close. Kaiden was no longer his brother, instead he was just a source of nourishment, in fact everything seemed to loose meaning in those moments. All self control was lost as he bit into Kaiden’s neck and started draining Kaiden of his life.
“Stop” an elderly woman's voice screeched, as she started hitting Gabriel over the head with a stick.
Jumping back, Gabriel gasped at the sight of Kaiden laying limp against the wall. He was his brother and as the realization of what he had been doing settled in, his whole body numbed with fear, leaving him with only the pain of what he had done.
With in unsteady breath, Gabriel looked up to see the seer glaring at him from the door, a stick firmly held in her hands as she readied herself to fight. As he stood there, struggling to maintain some form or control over himself, the scent of blood pulled at his mind. All he could do was remind himself that Kaiden was his brother and if he didn’t do something soon, he was going to loose him.
The sound of Kaiden's heart softly beating in his chest, was the only hope that Gabriel could cling to. He knew that he would give anything to keep his brother alive, even his own life and was prepared to do just that without hesitation.
Shocked, Gabriel started to crawl toward Kaiden but as he approached, the seer slammed her stick on the ground in front of him, stopping him. He knew he could easily push her aside but if she was able to help him, he wasn’t going to stop her, he was desperate.
“What have you done?” the seer growled, as she turned to look at Kaiden. “You’re a monster.”
“Help him please” Gabriel pleaded, as she looked Kaiden over. He didn’t care that she was angry with him, he could handle that but he couldn’t deal with his own brothers death and not just because of his guilt.
“He’s lost too much blood”
she said angrily, as she glared at Gabriel over her shoulder. “Unless you can give back what you have taken, there is nothing I can do.”
Gabriel stared at Kaiden for a moment, trying to figure out what to do before he grabbed a knife from his hunting gear and quickly kneeled down beside Kaiden. He then sliced his hand open and directed the flow of his blood over Kaiden’s mouth.
Slowly the blood slid down Kaiden’s throat and as Gabriel's wound closed up, Kaiden’s heart stopped.
Desperately slicing his hand open again, Gabriel tried to give Kaiden more, in hopes Kaiden would come around but as his hand closed again. Letting out a painful roar Gabriel grabbed his brothers body and pulled him close.
As he held Kaiden to his chest, Gabriel tried to regain control over his breathing. He couldn’t believe what he had done and more than anything wanted to fix it. His brother meant the world to him and deserved to live. Now all he had was his brothers blood on his hands and a village full of people he could potentially kill. He just prayed he could retain enough control to leave and never come back.
“It’s over Gabriel, let him go” the seer said, her voice full of pity and disgust. “You need to leave before you do anymore damage.”
“Why is this happening?” Gabriel croaked out, not willing to let go of Kaiden. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye and he wasn’t going to let an old woman who had caused him nothing but pain, tell him to let go.
“You’ve been cursed” she hissed, pulling Kaiden away from him, his fear of hurting someone else too strong for him to hang on. “Now leave.”
Still in a state of shock, Gabriel pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the bags he and Kaiden hadn’t unpacked. He then mindlessly headed to the door but just as he was about to leave, he heard a loud gasp and looked over his shoulder to see Kaiden looking around wildly.
“Kaiden” Gabriel gasped, dropping the bags and racing over to look at his brother. “You were dead.”
“Why are you yelling Gabriel?” Kaiden questioned, grabbing his head.
Pushing herself up, the seer looked at Kaiden with wide, fear filled eyes. She then looked over at Ava before quickly making her way to the door. She was now afraid that she would end up like Ava or worse, Kaiden and Kaiden would most likely be responsible, since Gabriel seemed to have had his fill.
“What is she doing here?” Kaiden asked, frowning at the seer.
“Kaiden, how do you feel?” Gabriel asked, trying to take his attention from the seer.
“I feel so strong” Kaiden answered, looking down at his hands. “Why does the hut smell like blood?”
Freezing in place, Gabriel stared at Kaiden for a moment, realizing that Kaiden might be like him. If this was true, then Gabriel knew he had to get Kaiden out of the village and fast but just as he was about to grab him, Kaiden leaped up and jumped on the seer.
As the seer let out a frightened squeal, Kaiden quickly sunk his teeth into her neck and started drinking her blood as quickly as he could. He was thirsty and the smell of blood overwhelmed him, turning him into the monster Gabriel had been only moments earlier.
“Kaiden, no” Gabriel shouted, as he rushed over and pulled Kaiden from the seer.
The seer’s body dropped to the ground, too weak and frail to continue to stand any longer. She then raised her head slightly to look at Gabriel and gasped as he grabbed his knife.
“No, I don’t want your help” she croaked, knowing that she would prefer to die than become a monster. “Just leave.”
Kaiden looked down at the seer with wide eyes before looking at Gabriel for guidance. Neither of them had killed anyone before and neither of them knew how to deal with the horror of it.
“Help her” Kaiden breathed, shocked by what he had done.
“No, we need to get out of here” Gabriel said, knowing that the seer would not want to be like them, killers. “Grab the bags and wait outside.”
The moment Kaiden left, Gabriel started a fire and spread it around the hut using the staff to both intensify the flames and move them throughout the small space. Kaiden had taken too much from the seer and unless Gabriel helped her, she wasn’t going to make it and he wasn’t prepared to do that to her, especially when she didn’t want that.
“Come on” Gabriel said, grabbing his bag from Kaiden and leading him toward the forest, not stopping to even glance at his flaming hut. “There’s nothing we can do and we don’t want to cause more trouble.”
“The hut’s on fire” Kaiden pointed out but didn’t stop.
“I know” Gabriel sighed, as they disappeared into the darkness of the trees.
Behind them, they could hear the villagers rushing over to their hut to stop the fire but Gabriel knew that by now everything would be well and truly consumed. He wished he could have given the two women a proper burial but they didn’t have the time and he couldn’t handle the smell of the blood without wanting more. They had both been through enough and he couldn’t bare to cause them more pain then he already had.
“What now?” Kaiden asked, noticing he was able to see everything as if the sun were out.
“Now we figure out what we can and can’t do” Gabriel answered, hoping it would take his mind off what had just happened. “We should also head for the mountains, there is a cave I want to check out again.”
“What’s in the cave?” Kaiden questioned, still not able to register what had happened in the hut.
“Answers, I hope” Gabriel sighed.
“What happened back there?” Kaiden finally asked the question that he had been wanting to ask.
“I figured out why food wasn’t satisfying my hunger” Gabriel answered, hating the thought. “And two innocent woman paid the ultimate price for that, I just hope your price for my actions is not too high.”
“I think if we stick together, we’ll get through anything” Kaiden said, smiling at Gabriel as he tried to ease the pain he could see in his brothers eyes. “Besides if the seer would have given us names, we would have never gone south, therefore I believe she is responsible for her own fate. Now I’m not sure why Ava was in your hut but I’m sure you didn’t intend on hurting her either.”
“Thanks for understand Kaiden but I think it would be wise for us both to work on taking control of our hunger, I don’t want anyone else to pay for my lack of control” Gabriel said, wondering if Sabiha was laughing at him. “We will also have to stay away from people in general until we can control ourselves, so that means we are going to have hope that animals can sustain us.”
“Okay but what if the animals can’t sustain us?” Kaiden asked, afraid of the answer.
“We will cross that bridge if we have to” Gabriel answered, not sure what to do if the animals don’t work. “Are you tired?”
“No, why?” Kaiden questioned, feeling better than he ever had.
“Do you want to see if you’re fast?” Gabriel asked, hoping that if they could concentrate on something else, it would take his mind off Ava and the seer.
“Absolutely” Kaiden answered, with a wide grin.
Signalling for Kaiden to start running, Gabriel followed him and had to admit to himself that he was surprised that Kaiden could run faster than humanly possible but was thankful he now had someone to share his experiences with. Just like Gabriel, Kaiden also had difficulties at first and with Gabriel’s help, by dawn, Kaiden was running around as if it were second nature.