My Beloved

  Wendy saw her mirror dimming and before it completely blacked out, she heard Serryfine say, “I will get you all.”

  It was completely dark then. Like she was in a large box.

  “Oh why, this is pleasant.”

  Wendy whipped around and saw flames engulf the ceiling while a tall red headed woman stood there looking at her with a sneer. Seeing the resemblance of Serryline, Wendy knew who she was. Squaring her shoulder, Wendy stood up, ignoring the heat that threatened to weaken her more.

  “Serryfine,” she hissed.

  The witch smirked. “Wendy,” she said in turn.

  It was quiet for a moment before Wendy charged at her with an angry yell. Serryfine began to run as well, both intending to hurt the other.

  Chapter 28

  Wendy

  Wendy’s hand flew up and settled with a satisfying smack across Serryfine’s face. The witch fell to the ground as the fire began to grow. She was going to kick the evil woman’s face but was flung back and hit her shoulder painfully on the wall behind her. Flames licked at Wendy’s skin, making her hiss and lunge back at Serryfine.

  “Give. Me. My. Body. Back!” She paused at every punch that connected with the witch’s face. Spitting out blood, Serryfine kicked Wendy’s legs out from under her, causing her to fall. Wendy coughed when Serryfine’s foot pressed on her throat. It seemed as though Wendy was significantly weaker than normal, thanks to being stuck in her head for this long.

  “I don’t think so!” Serryfine growled out and pressed harder.

  Wendy’s thoughts began to dim from lack of air as she tried to think of a way out. Having an epiphany, she brought her hands up and used her power. Serryfine was flung backward so hard you could hear the crack of the wall behind her. If Wendy could use her full power, she would’ve been able to blast her to pieces but because her energy is quickly depleting, it only knocked her back.

  “You’re going to pay for that!” Serryfine shrieked and ran at Wendy who was still on the ground trying to regain her breathing. She felt as though she hadn’t slept in weeks and she just ran a marathon. Everything in her was fading. The heat was too much, and it made her realize that they were both going to die if one didn't leave. Her body wasn't made for two souls even if Serryfine's was blackened.

  Barely able to side-roll out of the way before the witch stomped on her, she got up on shaky legs. “You need to leave now! We're both going to die if you don't!”

  Serryfine's labored breathing was proof of that but the evil red head cackled like a crazed woman. She looked more terrifying with the flames behind her.

  “I know. At least I can take you with me!” She screamed before kicking Wendy in the stomach.

  Wendy struggled to breathe as the wind was knocked out of her. Concentrating on the blurry figure in front of her, she used her power again. This time was even weaker but still managed to knock Serryfine off her feet and next to the dancing flames. Wendy coughed and hobbled over away from the witch to regain some sort of energy. The fire had yet to touch the wall with the mirror as she held herself up with it, trying to breathe. Her mind felt dizzy as if she drank far too much while her skin felt overheated and she knew she didn't have much longer. Her thoughts shifted to Vincent and her loved ones. No. She couldn't give up, not without a fight.

  “That was cute, but I'm stronger!” Serryfine cackled hatefully and then charged at Wendy once more.

  Wendy was prepared for that however and sidestepped the witch before grabbing her shirt and slamming Serryfine against the mirror, making it break into shards. Seeing an opportunity, Wendy bent down as quickly as she could and grabbed a large jagged piece before holding it up to Serryfine's neck. Breathing hard as blood trickled from her lip, she bared her fangs at her. “I warned you,” she hissed and sliced the witch's neck open.

  Serryfine tried to gasp but only could cough up blood. Stepping back, Wendy threw the shard to the side and wiped her mouth with her hand. She watched as the life drained out of Serryfine's eyes.

  She cried out when she felt burned on her arms. Looking around, she saw the only place not engulfed in flames was in front of her where Serryfine laid. Her eyes drifted upward and saw the ceiling was completely on fire.

  “Help! Vincent! Please!” she screamed, trying to will him to hear her. 'C'mon wake up! Wake up!' she thought frantically and tried to see a way out. There was a boom before the walls started to crumble. Blinding white light peeped through the cracks. It scared her as a splitting headache began to form in her head, which she deduced to what was happening around her a large factor. Her nose began to bleed from the strain she was under. Wiping it away, she collapsed next to Serryfine, feeling like she was going to die any moment.

  The ground beneath her shook like an earthquake as the rest of the walls fell down. And the blinding light brought her darkness as she passed out.

  Vincent

  “Do something! She's burning up!” Vincent felt like he was losing his mind as he watched his Firefly literally fight for her life. He couldn't do anything to help her either. Darcy had told him she needed to do this herself otherwise she'd never get her body back.

  He turned around and punched through a wall as she cried out again. He could slowly feel his eyes going red as his rage took over. He felt so foolish to believe it was his Wendy for even a moment! His tortured eyes looked over to where she lay and had to grit his teeth when she took in a ragged breath. Flitting over to her, he took her hand and kissed her forehead. “You can do this. Please, you have to do this.” He begged her to keep fighting but had to flip over a side table when she whimpered.

  “I should’ve killed her when I had the chance!” He was going to storm out when Darcy asked him where he was going. “I’m taking my anger out on someone who I can hurt,” he spoke darkly and flitted to the holding room where Serryline was chained up and gagged.

  Anya looked up startled but then silently walked out, knowing he needed to do this. His eyes burned holes into hers. She glared at him defiantly but he ignored that as he stalked closer. Grabbing her chin, he made sure she was listening.

  “I’m going to make you wish you never messed with my Beloved.” His voice was a deadly calm as he turned around to see the table off to the side filled with various sharp devices. He had to restrain from snapping her neck when she laughed behind her gag. They placed it on her so she couldn’t say any spells. Picking up a knife that had sharp teeth on the edge, he turned around and brought it to her eye. “You won’t be laughing after this. You’re going to find out why I was so feared in my time.”

  *****

  Closing the door behind him, he saw Anya waiting outside. While wiping off the blood with a rag on his hands, they had a silent conversation where he told her not to go in there if she wanted to keep her lunch. “When this is all over, send Darcy in there to clean up. She should be dead by then if she isn’t already.”

  He was walking away when she asked him what he did. Her voice was curious but he could detect the slight tremor as though part of her didn’t want to know. Before opening Wendy’s room, he looked back at her. “I taught her what ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ really means.”

  Anya’s eyes widened but she stepped away from the door so she wouldn’t be tempted to look. Vincent walked in and flitted to Wendy’s side where she whimpering, still growing hotter. “Has there been any improvement?” he asked his friend desperately.

  Darcy shook his head sadly as he monitored her. “Her temperature keeps rising. Anymore and she just might combust. If she were still human, she would’ve died a while ago.”

  That news didn’t sit well with Vincent as he growled. “I can’t lose her.” His voice was quiet but anyone who heard him could hear the grief.

  “I know. I’m going to get some more ice,” Darcy said and grabbed the tub that was filled with ice but now was lukewarm water.

  When Darcy shut the door behind him, Vincent broke down. He could hear her brother pacing back and forth out in the li
ving room while Wendy’s breathing was raspy at best. Taking her fiery hand, he kissed the back of it. “Please,” he begged but the only response he got was a struggled breath. He took a blood bag and slowly fed her to give her strength but the help from it was minimal at best.

  He froze however when he saw her eyes flutter but then yelled out for Darcy when her heated skin reached an all-time high. He knew if she had a heartbeat, it would be skyrocketing.

  Suddenly her breathing stopped all together. Freezing, he stared down at her as his world crashed around him. “No. No, no, no, no, NO!!” he screamed as Darcy came in with a bucket of ice. He dropped it and flitted to Wendy’s side.

  Seeing her lifeless state, he looked sorrowful at his friend. “I’m so sorry-”

  Vincent cut him off as he looked at him with blood red eyes and shaking rage. “Get out!” he roared. Darcy knew not to mess with him and he quickly got out of there. A few moments later, anyone could hear the cry that came from her brother, but Vincent was too enraged to care. He tore up the bedroom until all that was left were cracked walls and the very bed Wendy was now still lying in.

  Sagging in defeat, he kneeled next to her and lay his head down on her stomach to cry. Something he hasn’t done in a very long while. ‘Why her?!’ he thought bitterly but staggered back when she suddenly inhaled loudly with a gasp and sat up. Her eyes were unfocused before she fell back with lack of energy. Vincent couldn’t believe it! Taking her hand, he grabbed her attention as she struggled to breathe properly.

  “V-Vincent?” she stuttered and he let out a breathy relieved laugh before kissing her soundly on the lips, but he suddenly pulled back.

  “This is you, right?” he asked and looked into her eyes. He saw nothing but pureness there that only belonged to Wendy. She coughed and nodded.

  “Yes, it’s me. I kicked her ass.”

  He laughed again, which made Darcy come in to question his sanity but he stopped short when he saw Wendy alive.

  “So glad you could rejoin us,” he joked but knew he needed to give these two some time together. He left to give Markus the good news but stopped short when Asher walked up, looking slightly dazed.

  “What the hell happened?” Looking into the room, he frowned at the broken state it was in and looked back at Vincent and Wendy. “Redecorating? Not a look I would go for, but then again, I’m not a vampire,” he joked groggily before patting his stomach. “Why does it feel like I haven’t eaten in forever? What the hell happened?”

  Darcy shook his head and steered him out of the room. “C’mon, let’s get you some food and we’ll explain just what you missed.”

  They left both of them alone, making Vincent look back at her.

  “How are you feeling? Do you need anything?” he asked with worry lacing his tone.

  She still looked pretty weak but stronger than she was. “I’m just incredibly tired. I thought I was going to die there for a second,” she uttered through barely parted lips.

  He shook his head and chuckled humorlessly. “You did there for a moment. God, I thought I lost you. Please, never do that to me again.”

  She raised her hand and placed it on the side of his face. “Believe me, I never want to go through it again. Where’s Jamie- I mean Serryline?” she asked with a frown.

  “Taken care of. There is no way those two can hurt you again, alright? I’m so sorry I didn’t realize sooner! I should’ve realized it wasn’t you.” The shame in his voice spoke volumes, making her shake her head.

  “It’s none of our faults except for them. They tricked and played us. I’m just glad it’s all over.”

  He kissed her again softly on the lips, causing her to sigh softly. “Lie with me for a while?” she asked weakly. He was helpless but to comply as he got into bed next to her and carefully situated her so she was half lying on his chest. He kissed the top of her head with a relieved smile on his face. It was funny to think all of the emotional toil he’s gone under in the last fifteen minutes alone, but nothing could compare to the bliss he was in now, knowing his Beloved was now safe.

  “I love you,” he spoke as he took her hand. Lifting it to his mouth, he kissed the inside of her wrist and let his fangs scrape gently against her skin, making her shiver.

  “I love you, too,” she said with a tired sigh and let a more peaceful sleep take her.

  The End

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  1: Some Bad News

  •Evelyn Jo •

  “Do you think he’s dead or unconscious?”

  I turned to look at Drake, who had his hand over his chin, skeptically looking at the motionless middle-aged man sprawled on the ground.

  We were on our way to go get some delicious food when we found this guy in an alleyway nearby. He was actually one of the guys that owed us money for giving him a few special things. He had a business suit on, but his tie – which used to be light blue – was now covered in dirt and what seemed to be dry blood. So obviously, this had caught our attention since something bad must’ve happened to him. I mean, there had to be a reason he was here, like this.

  Suddenly, Drake kicked the guy without any hesitation. He kicked him hard, and right in the stomach, making the guy roll over to his side. We all stood in silence for a few seconds, as the other two guys from our group – Ian and Darrel – inched closer to hear the man, in case he made any human sound at all. The man then groaned after a couple of moments, and Drake gave an approving look with a slight nod.

  “Unconscious, all right. Still alive, but barely.” He then walked around the man, his hands linked together behind him, as he seemed to be deep in thought. I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but all I did was smile a little at how cute he was actually being right now. “What should we do with this guy then?”

  “I say we kill him,” Ian immediately said, not missing a single beat. He shrugged right afterwards, as if it was no big deal that we would be killing a guy that already seemed to be on his deathbed by now.

  “Psh, I say, we take out everything he has that is actually valuable, and then dump the helpless body in that Dumpster,” Darrel suggested, as if it were obvious that it was the best idea ever conceived. He also pointed to the huge, green Dumpster right in front of us.

  “Okay, Darrel’s idea it is.” Drake didn't even think twice about it. He motioned for Ian and Darrel to get to work, as he turned and stared right at me. I bit my lip and crossed my arms over my chest just as he came up to me to put his arm around my shoulders. “Cold?” he asked me.

  I shook my head, watching Ian grab the guy by the arms and pull him up in a sitting position, while Darrel checked all of his pockets – finding a watch, a wallet, and some tickets.

  “Wrestling tickets!?” Darrel yelled excitedly, as he and Ian high-fived each other. I couldn't help but laugh at the two idiots. Good thing there were actually four tickets, though. We all loved going to wrestling tournaments considering these guys wrestled too, and even took the time to show me a few moves, which was actually a lot of fun.

  Coincidence that there were enough tickets for all of us? I think not.

  “Scared?” I scoffed at Drake's question, just as he slid his hand to rest on my waist, pulling me closer so our stomachs could touch. He grabbed my face and gently pushed my wavy, brown hair away so that he could clearly see me.

  “I don't even think we should be doing this,” I honestly told him. “We just saw him here… I mean, sure he owes us money, but what if we get into trouble when we technically didn't do any damage to him?”

  “Oh, Eve,” Drake smirked, lightly pinching my chin as I moved my head away, raising one eyebrow at him. “You always make it sound so difficult. You've been in this group for quite a while now. You shouldn't question what we do with the people that
don’t understand the consequences. Like this guy, clearly.”

  I thought about it right then. What we did to people was way, way worse, sometimes, but I couldn't help but wonder who did this. Or if the guy actually did something to himself before we got to him.

  “I always wondered…” Ian then came up to us, eating some French fries from a white paper bag. I gave him a disgusted look. Where the hell did he find those? In the Dumpster? “How come we hardly called our ‘little group’ a gang?”

  “If you want to call it that, then fine, whatever. Doesn’t really matter.” Drake turned back to me, and then lightly kissed my forehead. I smiled as I felt his soft, warm lips on me. “Now, let’s bail.” He grabbed my hand, and then we all walked out of the alleyway together.

  I’ve been with this gang ever since I was in the 10th grade. Now, I was in my senior year, which means I've been with these guys for about two years now. I had reasons why I decided to join their criminal gang. But it was a very touchy subject for me, so I always kept it a secret. And Drake was the only one who really knew about my past. But hey, the past was in the past. It made us who we are today. And the bad stuff will continue to haunt us no matter what. But sometimes, we just had to forget it all – because now, the future is nearer, and it is actually more important.

  Anyway (sorry, sometimes I get all deep and shit), what we actually did was break a few laws here and there – do drugs, rob, and hurt people, if we thought it was necessary to do so. Basically, we did anything a good and innocent kid wouldn't dare do.

  Drake Lancaster was the eldest. He was 19, and out of high school, known as the leader of the gang. He was also my boyfriend ever since I started hanging out with him and the other two. He had dark eyes and short, dark hair. He was also the one who had saved me from my past misery, and showed me his rather interesting way of living.