Page 24 of Losing The Vampire King

I keep repeating Eddie’s name inside my mind again, like a chant. I don’t even notice that my body starts to sway slowly at first, then faster, as if it is following a rhythm that can’t be heard outside of my own body. I keep all my efforts focused on this endeavor, because I know that I can only try it once. If I lose the power and the flow of my energy, it will be very difficult, almost impossible to try and do it in the next couple of days.

“That is why contacting Mother Nature should only be done if you don’t have any other option left at your disposal,” I still hear my mother’s voice, almost as if it has come here to guide me.

I smile through my chanting and the motions. I need all the help I can get.

I need to keep this going for as along as possible. I know there is no way of knowing whether Eddie will even hear me, if the flow of my energy will eventually find its way to him. However, that doesn’t matter. This is the only thing I can do right now, and I will keep doing it for as long as I can.

I keep imagining him with the eye of my mind. I keep remembering all the things I love about him, of which there are so many. It is hard to pick just one. So, I allow my mind to get flooded by all the things that made me fall in love with him.

Suddenly, a strange warmth emanates from the palms of my hands. I don’t feel the cold ground any longer. All I feel is a pleasant warmth, which seems to envelop my entire body.

I’m not sure if I should keep my eyes closed or not. My mother wasn’t all that specific on how you should go about this. She didn’t even tell me whether I should be seated or not. I decided that on my own. Led by this instinct, I open my eyes and look down by the sides of my body. I notice that there is a faint light coming out of my hands and piercing through the very ground underneath.

I can’t help but smile. Is it possible that this is working?

I can’t stop. I have to remain focused on what I’m doing.

Fearing that looking at the light might distract me, I close my eyes and remain focused on Eddie’s face inside my mind. I banish all thoughts of what happened in the previous couple of days, choosing instead to remember only the good times, reminding myself that there are still more good times to come in the future. We just need to survive this, together.

My body feels electrified, filled with a strange power I’ve never felt before. I fear that it might become difficult to control, but I decide to trust my inner feeling. I am strong enough to be able to do this. My love is strong enough to beckon him to come to me and recognize me.

Suddenly, something grips at my insides, and for a moment, I feel like I can’t breathe. Then, just a brief moment later, that grip loosens. The light disappears, as if all of it has somehow flowed out of me and into the ground underneath. Darkness envelops me and all is silent once more.

I look around, breathing heavily, as if I’ve just ran a marathon. There is no sign of what I’ve just done. The world around me has not changed, and yet, I feel like I’ve done it. He will come to me. I’m sure of it.

I just have to be patient.

With those thoughts in mind, I keep staring at the light oozing into the cave, counting the minutes.

Chapter Fourteen

Edmund

She needs to die. What else did you think was going to happen to her?

Gala’s words keep coming back to me. I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen. Maybe I was simply pretending that I didn’t know. I can’t tell any longer. Everything inside my mind is a tangled mess of thorns, and I can’t make any sense of it.

To make things even worse, I have no idea what is going to happen now. I am no smarter than I was days ago, or weeks ago. My memory is still as blurry as it was then, and because of it, I feel completely lost. I don’t know who to run to. If I try to run to myself, I fear that I am as much my own enemy as everyone else is.

Even though my memory is gone, somehow the basic rules of life have stuck with me. One never turns one’s back on one’s clan. Never. And an enemy is always the enemy. No matter what.

I tried asking her about this woman again, but I can tell that Gala isn’t all that keen on discussing it in more detail. She told me what she feels I need to know and that’s enough. Only, I don’t agree. It isn’t enough, because my own mind is telling me that something isn’t right.

The following night something very strange happens. My body starts to feel strange, as if something is happening to it, but I can’t quite figure out what. I hear my name being called out, but at the same time, I don’t know who is doing the calling.

The animal inside of me instantly becomes restless, almost furious that all of this is happening, and I don’t know how to react. What is the right reaction when you feel like someone has stolen your past and with it, your present and any possible future you might have had?

I hear my name being called out again. Maybe if I just let go and stop thinking. I’ve been wracking my brain all this time, trying to remember. Maybe I should have simply let it all go. Like shadows. You can never catch them, they always keep running away from you, but if you turn your back on them and walk in the opposite direction, they will follow you until the end of the world. Maybe I should have just stopped trying so damn hard.

Suddenly, an unexpected bout of nausea catches up to me. Something from the very pits of my stomach rushes back upward and I immediately jump up from the bed, lowering my head down to the ground, expecting something to come back out. Breathing heavily, I realize it’s a false alarm. Spit accumulates in my mouth, but I swallow it up.

I still feel disoriented and nauseous. I try to get up. I feel like a caged animal, pacing about between the bars, inside its confinement, unable to find a way out. Then, I realize something. I look at the door. I need to go out. I can’t stay inside any longer.

I head to the door, driven by some inner guide. I go outside, into the night. I expect Gala to step in front of me and order me to go back inside. I wouldn’t do it. Fortunately, she is nowhere to be seen. I am alone. I start walking, although I have no idea where I’m headed. I am listening to that inner voice and the way it’s calling out my name, beckoning me to come. I have managed to put all my conscious thoughts to sleep. They haven’t managed to help me all this time. All I can do now is listen to something that is inside of me, yet it seems to come from outside, from someone else, someone who has been looking for me all this time.

I keep walking straight, into the woods. At first, I think that I am being led back to the lake. It seems that is where all this has started, and it would be only suitable that it all ends there. But I notice I’m not going in that direction. I am nearing a cave.

I stop in front of the entrance, lingering there. Suddenly, it all becomes clear. The woman is being held a prisoner here. The woman by the lake. The woman who attacked me there, almost killed me and fed me poison.

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