Feed the Flames

-celine’s pov-

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times gradually, lifting my head up expecting to see some sunlight, perhaps. When they met with the greys walls again, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could still see color at all. With a heavy yawn, I sat up carefully, a headache pulsing against my skull. My stomach grumbled and I cringed, letting out a sigh.

It had been…fuck. How many days had it been? I felt like I’d been here at least three days, probably more, at this point. My mind felt so wrecked I hardly believed my judgement. The fear had begun to seep into these tiny little cracks in my mind. These tiny little cracks that the man with the mismatched eyes had made in my psyche. His name, it was Mason.

Bob had told me. I hadn’t seen Bob again after that day. He frightened me too now. He was working against the guys, obviously. I didn’t think much about him. Frank would find me, and in the process probably find him. I didn’t know what would happen then, but I hoped it would happen soon. Then again, there was that nagging fear in the back of my mind. What if they don’t find me? What if this was set up by them?

Mason kept coming around, though. Whenever I was conscious, he’d show up within an hour or two, sometimes he’d stay for ten minutes, just…sit and talk. It was strange. He asked about my life; where I was from, if I had any family, if I had any friends outside the school. I didn’t answer any of them at first. At first I just watched him. He’d make a chair appear, and sit there asking me these questions like we’d known one another for years. I didn’t answer them at first.

Yesterday I gave in. I was tired. I was…I was weak. Drowsy mind, empty stomach, half-numb limbs from being tied to that damn chair… My writing was sloppy and slow. He moved his chair next to me, his knee against mine as he leaned towards me slightly, reading my writing upside down. I wrote an entire page before I realized what I was doing. I hadn’t been putting thought into my words, just letting my hand write them. When I snapped out of the daze and looked at the page, it was full of words. From my workaholic parents to my brother to Frank, it was there, written in my handwriting. Fuck, I didn’t want to answer him.

I’m almost glad I did, though. He…almost sympathized with me. Before I could even rip the page off and crumple it up, he began speaking.

Mason told me of how he grew up on The Seine in the middle of the 3rd century BC. I didn’t believe him at first, even when he began describing the Celts and the Parisii and the rise of Paris. I could feel myself slipping then. I must’ve sat there for hours listening to him talk. So much history crammed inside of one person…so much life experience and so many tales… He was exhausting just to listen to. I didn’t even notice when my restraints disappeared.

Then he began talking about his current life. Traveling, searching out vampires, and inevitably killing them through one way or another. When he talked about killing normal vampires, he talked about it like it was just that- normal. Almost like it was a job. Like the way someone would go into an office every day and trudge through paperwork, he was going to work every day traveling and exterminating lesser beings.

I learned that he was currently traveling in a group of three. It was only himself, Toby, who could cloak with invisibility, and a woman who I wasn’t sure if I had met yet or not. Her name was Rhys. She was Toby’s lover and she could wipe portions of someone’s memory with just a touch. Mason was very…open about everything, and that also kind of scared me. Why tell me these things? Why tell me about the other vampires he was with? Why tell me his life story? Why tell me about all these things? Why?

I wasn’t sure, but I felt closer to him knowing these details.

“Sleep well?” Speak of the devil. I looked over to my right as Mason strolled through the wall. I stood up from the bed, which promptly vanished as I got to my feet. I looked down at where the twin bed had been, not used to seeing things disappear. “Hey,” Bringing my attention back to Mason, he was standing in front of me now, staring at me with those mismatched eyes. “Name somewhere you wanna go.” It was an order, and I was slightly taken aback. “C’mon, anywhere in the world, I’ll take you there.”

“Mason, they’re coming.” I looked over quickly at the voice, seeing Bob step into the room through the wall.

Mason didn’t acknowledge him. “Please Celine, wherever you want to go, I can take you there right now.” He held out his hand, and I looked down at it, though before I could take it Bob spoke up quickly.

“Don’t fucking touch her.” Bob’s voice was almost a growl as he put himself between Mason and I, forcing me to take a couple steps back. “He teleports people, don’t touch him.” Bob said, glancing over his shoulder at me, and I just looked at Mason, who gritted his teeth. Suddenly, the grey walls around us disappeared, revealing our true location. We were in the forest, and I took a second to get my bearings, the change of setting disorienting. There were a couple camping tents set up, and across from the three of us a man and woman were quickly dismantling one. I recognized the man as Toby, and the woman must’ve been Rhys.

My attention returned to Mason after a moment. I…I wanted to go with him. I didn’t know why. He was just…full of history. Stories and tales, and truth or fiction, I didn’t quite care. Getting out of this damned school, running away from life…I wanted that.

Mason narrowed his eyes at Bob. “You know they’ll turn her if they get her back. It’s only a matter of time. She cares about that Frank kid and he cares about her too, I’m guessing. He’ll turn her so they can be together and-”

“Shut the fuck up, he won’t do that. You’re just trying to get her away, I know you.” Bob stared Mason down, hate in his eyes. “Once they’re dead, she goes free. No teleports, no turning, no surprises. She can go back to school, and live out her life. She goes free, my family stays safe, and you get to exterminate more normal vampires. That was our deal.”

This seemed to make Mason a bit anxious, and he looked back at Rhys and Toby for a moment before he looked back at Bob. “Okay, how about I let them live?” The sentence came out fast, like he was in a rush. “We’ll get out of here, I’ll keep an eye on your relatives and your little friends get to live, but in exchange, I take her with me.” I looked at Bob to see what his reaction was, and to my surprise, his anger seemed to dissipate. “Four lives, for one. You don’t even know her; you shouldn’t be concerned with her. I’ll let your friends live, and I’ll keep a couple guys in Chicago for a while. Just let me take her with me.”

Slowly, Bob stepped aside, looking at me. I stared up at the solid blue orbs in his head, and he seemed to ponder the weight of my life. I knew immediately that my life was nowhere near important to him now that the safety of his family had been locked in. He looked back to Mason after a second. “No one dies? My family stays safe, the guys live, and you just take her?” Mason nodded quickly in response. Bob stared off into the distance for a moment.

“They’re almost here, aren’t they?” Mason asked, and behind him, the man and woman were just finished packing up the last tent. Bob nodded shortly in response.

“You can take the girl, as long as my family stays safe.” Bob seemed resigned to this new plan, even if there was a hint of caution in his voice. “The guys…convert them or kill them, whichever you want.” He then turned to me, shrugging slightly, his tone soft. “I’m in this for family and that’s it. I’m sure you’ll be safe with Mason, bad guy or not.”

Mason grinned, and looked over his shoulder at Rhys and Mason. “Leave it all, we’re getting out of here now!” He called, and quickly the couple looked at one another before they stopped what they were doing and walked over.

“What do you mean?” Rhys asked, long blonde hair falling around her face.

Mason stepped over to them. “Wait for me; I’ll be there in a minute.” With his short words, Mason tapped Rhys’ shoulder and she disappeared. Toby didn’t get a word in before Mason tapped him on the arm once and he was gone as well.

“So teleportation’s your thing. Good to know.” I quickly looked over to my left, seeing Frank step out from the trees. There were two other guys with him, and…Ronan? What was Ronan doing here?

“Shit.” Bob’s voice was an angry hiss from next to me. I took it that the guys didn’t know Bob was probably double crossing them.

A smirk spread across Mason’s face. “Well, well, well, you’re just in time for goodbyes.” He clasped his hands together, but I could hear a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Unexpectedly one of the guys I didn’t recognize spoke up with malice in his voice. “What the fuck is Bob doing here?”

Bob opened his mouth to speak, but seemed at a loss for words. Before anyone else could say anything, Mason narrowed his eyes, the smirk disappearing off his face, and he quickly turned to me, his those mismatched eyes locking onto something behind me.

“No!” In a split second decision Bob lurched at Mason, and Mason threw a hard punch into Bob’s chest, making him crumple to the ground. I felt a hand grab my arm, but just as I turned to see a curly haired man behind me, Mason grabbed the guy’s wrist, and he disappeared.

“Ray!” There was a scream from one of Frank’s friends, and I took a step back from where the curly haired guy had disappeared, my back fell against Mason’s chest. Abruptly he wrapped an arm around me, twisting me around in the process so that we were facing the guys.

Mason’s voice was a whisper in my ear, and I could see the glint of a knife appear in his hand. “I’m sorry.” I felt a piece of cold metal press against my neck then, and my heart raced in my chest, my eyes going to Frank. Mason raised his voice, no longer speaking just to me. “Don’t think I’m afraid to kill her, I’m not. You can’t do shit to me anyhow and you all know it.”

Out of nowhere the skinny guy next to Frank spoke up, but his words sounded like the response to something unsaid. “Dammit Gerard, we’re not rushing him!” He growled at the black haired guy next to him.

“Just hand her over and we can leave this all behind us.” Ronan spoke up then, and I was almost shocked to hear her speak. Slowly, Frank took a cautious step forward.

To my confusion, Mason brought his arm from me and the knife away from my throat before the dragged the blade across the palm of his left hand, and Frank stopped trying to inch closer, the action freezing him in his spot. “That’s right, take another step and I’ll cut her too.” What was he doing?

Frank gritted his teeth again, his words almost illegible. “I’ll skin you, I swear it. Touch her with that knife and I’ll fucking skin you.”

I remained silent, listening to my heart beat faster and faster in my ears, and I could see a smirk make its way back onto Mason’s face out of the corner of my eye. “You would hate it, wouldn’t you? If I were to turn her instead of you. Some fuck from Paris, some rogue stranger… It’d be pretty hard for you to not have that connection with her, wouldn’t it?” The grin on his face was unsettling, and Frank’s expression went from angry to pleading.

“You took Ray, put him god-knows-where, and you’ve got Bob on your side, isn’t that enough?” Frank’s voice was lower now, quieter, but more legible. More frightened, it seemed.

“I’m not…on his-” Bob’s weak voice was cut off.

“Shut up!” Mason hissed, and threw a swift, hard kick into the left side of Bob’s ribcage, and bones crunched at the contact. At the distraction Frank took off, running at me and Mason.

Immediately, I felt it; the blade dragging hard across my throat, digging deep into my skin. There was a warm rush of blood, and I was filled with terror in what felt like a panicked movement, I felt Mason’s bloody, cut hand clasp onto my throat.

“NO!” Frank’s scream barely registered in my ears, the word just hardly making it past the sound of my heartbeat speeding up more and more.

Mason pressed his hand harder against my throat, and I could feel the blood. Likes vines, I could feel it slithering through me, the liquid thick but fast, ripping through every vein in my body. What was this? My vision pulsed white, pain racking my body. I felt two arms go around me, wrenching me away from Mason, and I fell to the ground with who I could only barely make out to be Frank. He hovered over me, eyes wide with alarm, his hands going to my throat, words coming from his mouth; words I couldn’t hear over the sound of my heart.

Suddenly, there was a voice amidst the chaos in my head. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you.’ It was Mason’s voice, as clear as if he was standing right in front of me speaking. What was happening? ‘Try to take deep breaths. It’ll make it easier when it stops.’ Despite my horror, I did what he told me. I didn’t focus on Frank, I focused on breathing. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale…

The beating in my ears got louder and louder, and as I breathed out one last time I didn’t feel the need to inhale. Though the white pulses of light I could feel Frank’s hands on my face; see his face still above mine, eyes pleading, lips moving with words I was deaf to. Abruptly, the white brightness took over my vision completely, and then snapped to black.
______

‘Hey, wake up, sweetheart.’ A voice brought me from my slumber, the words bouncing around my head for a moment. I sat up, disoriented, seeing I was in my room. Books stacked against the walls, the window open, a breeze blowing in. I took a deep breath, the cool air feeling nice in my lungs. When I let that breath out, I didn’t feel the need to take another one of those deep breaths, and reality seemed to crash down upon me. I could hear a loud argument outside of my room. It was the guy’s voices, with Ronan’s mixed in here and there. I didn’t care enough to listen to their words as I stood from my bed. As soon as I got to my feet I found myself leaning on my dresser.

‘Careful, you’ve been asleep a long time.’ There was his damned voice again. I started making my way to the bathroom, ignoring Mason the best I could. ‘C’mon, talk to me. It’s lonely down here. They’ve got me in some maintenance room under that football field.

I walked to the bathroom, turning on the light before I went to the sink. Putting my hands on the porcelain, I turned on the water, cupping my hands under it, then splashing the liquid onto my face. I rested my hands against the counter and stared at the bloody water as it dripped off of me and into the sink. Avoiding the mirror, I reached over and grabbed the towel, running it under the water before I brought it up to my face, leaned my head back to wash my face and neck. When I went to bring my eyes back to the water, I caught a glimpse at the mirror, and immediately my attention was drawn.

‘I won’t apologize for what I did to you.’ There was a dark black bruise across my neck, though it was thin, it began in the middle of my neck and ran around to the left side. I remembered the feeling of a knife being dragged across my neck. I remembered the feeling of his blood crawling into me. ‘I will apologize for slitting your throat. Could’ve gutted you but I’d need more blood to give and cutting your throat gave me the most direct line to your heart. Convenience, that’s all.’

I felt like I was losing my mind.

Maybe I was.

Or maybe it was already gone.

Dropping the towel to the sink, I turned the water off, and noted only then that the voices outside of my room had hushed.

I felt something in my peripheral, and I furrowed my brows, staring at the sink. What was that feeling? Some substance. I could feel it, like maple syrup that was thawing from being frozen, it was palpable. I closed my eyes, shaking my head, trying to rid myself of the odd sensation. ‘Are you…feeling his blood?’ Mason’s voice attempted to help me figure out my own thoughts, and I wasn’t sure what was the most strange at the moment. ‘What does that mean? I mean, that’s what you’re feeling no doubt with that description. Vampire’s blood is thick and heavy like syrup. You can feel blood? That’s… I admit I thought you were going to be able to do something more. It’s not uncommon for traits to pass through the turner onto the newborn.’

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter then, locking my jaw as I tried to block out his damn voice to no avail. ‘You should speak with Frank. He nearly killed me twice when they were tying me up down here. I told them I wasn’t going to fight, that I surrendered. I had a moment to steal you away, and we could’ve been gone but I froze. Your body was pulling blood from me and I was caught off-guard by it. I won’t leave without you, however. I don’t want to, for some reason.’

“Hey,” I already knew he was standing there, but at his voice, I opened my eyes and looked over to him. “You feeling okay?” Frank’s tone was soft, and I slowly nodded, reaching over and turning off the light, plunging myself into darkness as he walked over to me. “You sure?” Frank asked, and for the moment, Mason was silent as I nodded again. It was so nice to hear his voice normal again, not yelling or attempting to negotiate my life. As he stopped in front of me I reached out, grabbing the sides of his shirt as I stepped up to him and leaned against him, closing my eyes as I wrapped my arms tightly around him. A wave of peacefulness washed over me and I relaxed in his arms. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to you sooner. I’m so sorry this happened to you. You should’ve never been this way.”

Mustering a voice, I felt like I could hardly speak properly, my tone hoarse and grainy. “I’m okay.”

‘I accidentally severed your vocal chords. My blood repaired them, but your voice might be rough for a bit.’ I squeezed my eyes shut again, trying to block out his voice, but as much as I hated to admit it, his voice was almost comforting.

Frank rested his head against mine, and I buried my face in his shoulder. “We’ve got him out in the tunnels in one of the old maintenance rooms. He…surrendered to us, whatever that means at this point. I never wanted this for you. Goddamn him for doing it, too.” As Frank’s words flitted through my head, I knew Mason heard them. I didn’t blame him for what happened, but I knew Frank would, and he would never be forgiven for it.

‘Sweetheart, god damned me a long time ago.’

Notes