Virginie T. - Fangs To My Blood

He is taking up a calmer tone, which in no way removes the virulence of his remarks.

– I wouldn’t die because of the vampire king. We will capture him and make him reveal to us the secrets of our existence even if I have to make him suffer for hours for it. And then I’d kill him after I tortured him to the height of his black soul.

I realize at this moment that he's scared. Afraid of death. A death that he can do nothing against. Our leader is strong. One does not remain at the service of a tyrant for two centuries without hardening himself. He always wanted to control everything related to the punishments inflicted by the vampires on the leadership of the pack. However, he can do nothing against the time that passes and that steals his life. He can’t fight time himself.

– Will you support me?

– As always. But I want to talk about the trap again. I do really understand your thirst to live but it won’t be to the detriment of our brothers' lives.

He nods slowly, realizing that he is crossing the line.

– Will you be my safeguard if madness awaits me?

– I can put you in your place if necessary, but I'm sure you won't give me any reason to do so.

– Who knows? The approach to death changes everything. I wish you never see this torment. I'll make sure that it never happens to you.

Finally, my discussion with Dumitru leaves me sad and depressed. These words run around my head on my way to Anton. I have to meet him at the foot of the castle so he can feed himself and I can finish the poor bastard who served him food before he was reborn as a vampire. Our leader is determined in his quest, but his personal reasons take precedence over the common good. He thinks collateral damage is acceptable. I do strongly disagree with that. His health conditions must not make the death of any of us acceptable. Furthermore, attacking Zoran head on is a sheer madness. It’s a death sentence for the wolf that will be captured, and the same thing for the whole pack. If we do not succeed, nothing can stop the vampire king from killing us until the last one. All he has to do is recreate younger, more obedient werewolves, like Ivan. Undoubtedly, I am certain that Zoran will have eaten before leaving his home and his strength is much greater than ours. It is also faster and more devious. The only occasion we will be left with is to capture him just before sunrise, where he will be most vulnerable. The sun is the vampires’ biggest enemy, before us and our desire for freedom. UV rays are fatal to them. In his search for shelter to spend the day, the vampire king may be less attentive to his surroundings. This would allow us to capture him alive. Because the difficulty is there. It would be so easy to attack him numerously and tear his throat without waiting or hesitating. But that’s not our goal, because if he dies, we won’t get the answers we need to survive.

Lost in the midst of all these ideas and battle plans, I realize that I arrived at the meeting point by guessing on the ground the gigantic shadow of the place guardian. The silhouette of the three-headed stone dragon is really enormous. There is a legend that talks about it. By the way, Russia is full of legends, some concerning me. Myths about werewolves and vampires are passed down from one generation to another. But I like most that one of the dragons. It’s about the dragon Zmeï Gorynytch, guardian of the Kalinov Bridge, the only access to Zoran Castle and which marks the border between life and death, was defeated by a brave knight with a pure heart who came to free a princess held prisoner. Legend says it that the horrible fire-breathing dragon will come back to life when a princess needs him and a soul of such extraordinary blood as his murderer comes before him to ask for his assistance. Actually, I prefer this story to that one about werewolves in the surrounding villages. We are described as soul devourers, cannibals and monsters of the underworld. certainly, there is not that soul pure enough to awaken the legendary dragon and make it appear. I don’t know what the blind windows of the castle are hiding in the background of the statue, but nothing good can remain with the vampire king, the greatest murderer of the Middle Ages.

My mind is boiling, I prepare myself unconvincingly. I am thinking about a war. My father said that a war was going to be raging on our doorstep. Werewolves call for their independence. I have had the displeasure to propose to negotiate with their leader. I rub my cheek, which is still sensitive after the huge slap this idea brought on me.

« We do not negotiate with dogs. They are nothing more than garbage. They swallow our garbage and stand guard. That is the only purpose of their existence. They have no leader. Their only master is me, and it is time to remind them of that. I’m already giving them too much freedom. I’m going to fix it. Instead of thanking me, they want to overthrow me. I will crush their desire to revolt and everything will come back to normal. »

No wonder they want to break free from their chain because of the little consideration that the king gives them. After the life he had that led him to his death, one would think that he would have learned from the mistakes of others. That is not true, when I was younger, I had a hard time accepting this life of confinement. I asked him why he kept me locked up at the castle. He then told me about his own birth to supposedly open my eyes to the darkness of the world.

«Listen to me, Tatjana. I was born at a time of the jungle law, when the strongest reigned. I was at the service of Lord Vladimir, a rich man, very high placed with the tsar. He reigned over all our land with an iron hand, and woe to him who dared to stand up to him. I was one of his servants, or rather, his slave. I had to collect tithes in the surrounding villages. The villagers hated me. Every time I made my rounds, they slammed the door in my face, spat at me, or threw their trash in my face. I was synonymous with suffering for them, hard work for a miserable salary. They had nothing and I took everything from them in the name of Vladimir. One day, I came back to the castle with less money than expected because the locals had no more. Nevertheless, instead of attacking his subjects, Vladimir cut off my ear as punishment, because I should have found a solution to make the wretched pay their debts in one way or another. Then I had to remove all women of childbearing age in payment of their debt. Suffice to say that they hated me all the more. I destroyed their family. I was taking the poor women to the castle for Vladimir's pleasure. I didn't do it out of choice or cruelty, but it didn't make any difference to them. »

I was horrified by Zoran's actions. I thought then that he should have resisted. He should have helped those poor people. Of course, he guessed my fear.

« Don't look at me that way, Tatjana. You don't know what sacrifice we're willing to make to survive. Every time I tried to protect those who did not hesitate to strike me with their contempt, I paid the price. »

He then showed me his tongue pierced in the center and his hands with missing phalanxes. I went through hard times to realize that the Middle Ages was totally different time in everything. While I was living sheltered from the world, in total self-sufficiency. Yet, I was not at the end of the horrific tale of his rebirth.

« Then, there was no more woman or money to recover. I could not take the men to him as they had to work in the fields and I was reluctant to take the children to Vladimir. I still had a bit of a conscience. So, I tried to reason the Lord and make him see my reason. That was my last mistake, the fatal one to me, indeed. »

My father never shows pain or compassion, but the suffering that had transversed in his voice was the first time. These are my father's reflexes of the weak unlike Zoran who is not weak. I brought him trouble.