Scarlet Soul

Chapter 8: Farewell

Chapter 8

"Kayla," a soft whisper accompanied the fingers running through her hair gently, "my girl, you will be okay. Uncle Temeon is here, he can help you. Hang on, love." These words confused her- why was her mother comforting her? She was feeling just fine! Was something wrong, did anything bad happen?

She remembered lying in her bed in the several days leading to this unfortunate event but she no longer felt ill or unhealthy. She felt like she could get up and run across the vast fields behind her isolated home the way she used to when her father was still alive. Why was it that her limbs refused to move, then? Why was she unable to even part her lips and force out the words "I'm okay"?

The longer she lied there, immobile, the more aware of her surroundings she became- her mother was no longer the only person in the room and the atmosphere was growing heavier. Once again the human girl found herself wishing that her eyes could function properly and that she would not have to rely on her other senses to try locating other people. Kayla did not possess dragonblood, sadly, so she was not capable of sensing her surroundings by radiating waves of essence and searching for obstacles.

All she could rely on at the moment were her ears and her nose.

Never before had she known the fear of being unable to move her hand to feel the soft skin of her mother's face and seek comfort in it. She wished that the people in the room would talk more, killing the unpleasant silence, but she had no way of communicating with them.

Is that how Edrich felt?

Her breath hitched. Edrich? Who was Edrich? She could not recall meeting anyone that went by that name... No, she could. Edrich, the boy carrying the burdens of a man, the person she decided to stick to in the journey to the safe haven she was after. Her companion. Her friend.

'This is a dream,' it was too late to realize that now, was it? There's no way she can force herself awake before the worst part of this dream, the nightmare haunting her since the day she lost her human heart, will be played once again. She did not want to go through this experience, especially not with Edrich in her mind.

"My dearest, Kayla, it will all be over soon." The woman could barely hide her sobbing and the girl only realized that her mother had been gripping her hand when she let go. The teeth of the vampire her mother called upon, Temeon, sunk deeper into her flesh than they should have if he was aiming to turn her. It hurt, it was so ridiculously painful that her nerves could not react to it accordingly, yet not nearly as painful as what was to come, she knew.

Next, a vial containing his blood was pushed through her lips and she was forced to swallow the bitter liquid. 'It's coming', she knew, 'the pain is coming.'

But it never did. There was no pain, no suffering. She could not feel the poison injected into her in the most brutal way there is, nor could she trace it as it spread through her veins and approached her heart in a frightening pace. She did not remember trying to fight off the effect, attempting to make it disappear.

All she could remember was the warmth of Edrich's long fingers when they caressed her bony shoulder.

***

Kayla did not enjoy the next morning- not in the slightest, really. Edrich was forced to wake up early for more training and the awkwardness between them was so intense that the normally expressionless boy actually showed his lack of comfort. He wasn't used to not hearing her voice wising him a good morning first thing when he rose.