Page 21 of Losing The Vampire King

A strange warmth immediately takes hold of my entire body. I lose control of my limbs first, then the rest of my body. My mind is the last thing to go. I can still see her, as she leans over me, her wicked eyes staring into mine, promising something horrific to come.

“Sleep, now,” she tells me, as her voice echoes in my mind, her eyes digging into mine ominously. “Because when you wake up, you will need to make the decision of a lifetime.”

I lose the image of her face in fog and then, I am plunged into darkness.

Chapter Twelve

Edmund

When I open my eyes, I’m not sure if all of that was a dream or if it really happened. I look around, realizing that I’m back in the cabin, in the bed I’ve slept in for the past three months, as I’ve been told.

I sigh heavily, burying my face in my hands, trying to make sense of it all. I was by the lake last night, wasn’t I? And that girl was there as well. She knew me. She spoke to me as if she knew me well, as if we were once close. But who is she?

I get up, determined to get some answers. I can’t stay here like this anymore, doing nothing and just waiting for my memory to come back to me. I have to do something about it. I have to make it come back.

I rush out of my cabin and head straight for Gala’s. I barge in through the door, looking for her. Luckily, she’s there, standing by the stove. As soon as she notices me, she switches it off and turns to me.

“I didn’t know you were up already,” she smiles.

“You need to tell me what the hell is going on, and you need to tell me now,” I demand, walking over to her and standing right in front of her. “Don’t even try to tell me that what happened last night was just a dream, because I know it wasn’t. Tell me who is that woman.”

She sighs heavily, looking concerned. I’m not sure if I should take it as a good sign or as a bad sign. Still, I’m glad to hear that she is not denying me the truth. She is not trying to convince me that I dreamt it all, because I know better than to believe that. I know that I left my cabin. I distinctly remember what happened last night. I just can’t figure out the identity of that woman.

At the same time, I want to understand why I felt this need to both attack her and protect her at the same time. I shouldn’t feel both things. If she is my enemy, then I would understand the desire to hurt her in some way. But it didn’t seem that we were enemies. At least, she didn’t act like that towards me, and this is what is making everything even more confusing.

“Why don’t you sit down?” she suggests. “I’ll finish making us some tea, and I promise I will answer all your questions. You must be so confused by what happened last night.” Her voice is calming, almost eerily so. But she manages to comfort me with it.

I go to the sofa and take a seat. I’m feeling impatient, watching her finish brewing the same tea that she’s been making me all this time. When she finally brings it to me, I shake my head at it.

“I don’t want any right now,” I tell her. I can see she wants to insist, but the expression on my face tells her not to insist now. At least, not until we’ve had this important conversation and she’s clarified some things.

“You don’t think I’m doing something to you by giving you the tea?” she asks, sounding offended. She takes her own cup and brings it to her lips. “See? I’m drinking the same thing. I wouldn’t serve you poison, unless I were to poison myself as well.” She takes a sip and swallows it. Then, she places the cup down on a small coffee table.

“I didn’t say anything,” I remind her. “I’m just saying that I don’t want anything to drink right now. I just want answers.”

“You sound angry,” she points out. “With me.”

“I’m not angry,” I try to clarify without insulting her, but the truth is, I’m on the edge. When you don’t know what’s going on, you tend to see everyone as the potential culprit of whatever crime has happened around you. “I’m just trying to make sense of the world around me, and with it, of my own memories.”

“I was hoping that you would remember by now,” she sighs. “It’s been three months already.”

“That’s what you’ve told me,” I nod. “Although it doesn’t feel like that. I mean, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. I feel it’s only been a few days of this mess.”

She nods. “That’s just your mind, playing tricks on you.

“Tell me about the woman,” I demand.

She hesitates for a moment, as if she doesn’t know exactly how to start this story. This makes me even more impatient, but I allow her to take her time. I watch her, unable to take my eyes off of her. She looks away, then our eyes lock once again.

“Did she tell you something?” she wonders, tilting her head as she’s looking at me. “I have to know, so I can address everything, so that there isn’t a single thing left to confuse you.”

“She didn’t tell me anything,” I reply. “She called out my name several times. She told me I needed to remember her, that my own memories brought me there to that lake.”

“That part is true,” Gala nods.

“Which one?”

“That your own memories brought you there,” she repeats. “That lake is a special place for you. I mean, for both of us.”

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