Darker Blood

Chapter forty-eight

Inori pov~

I open my eyes slowly, staring at the dimly lit ceiling of Jungkook's room I'd become so accustomed to staying in.
What time is it? Why did I lie down?
Gasping at the memory I shoot up in my bed, my hands furiously touching my front exactly where I could only remember pain and blood leaking from. I frowned to myself. Nothing, not one damn mark.
But where is Jungkook?
I jump out of his bed, initially dizzy from the fast move. I stumble but I push further, dashing out of his room that feels empty without him in it with me. I practically slide down the hallway and freeze when I see everyone gathered in the kitchen. There Jungkook is, looking down at the table with wide scared eyes. Sitting either side of him is Jimin and Taehyung, hands clasped together. Jin and Hoseok are towards the other side of the room, leaning against the fridge and some kitchen cupboards facing Jungkook. And there, behind where my boyfriend sits, is a girl, a woman that I've never seen before.
"You're awake?" Hoseok stepped quickly towards me, holding his hands out. I nodded silently, letting him pull me into a hug while my gaze remained glued on Jungkook and the way he looked up at me, only to seem more daunted. Others around the room shifted their eyes away from me and I knew it wasn't just because I was a sleepy mess; something's not right here.
The girl stood up fully and straight, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she started walking towards me. Hoseok finally let go and I pretended I couldn't see the remorseful and almost worried expression on his face.
"Who are you?"
She grinned, every single one of her teeth sharp, blood red staining her lips and her eyes. I squinted, stepping back out of mistrust. Yet, she did not speak. I tried again.
"Are you a vampire?"
She laughed, letting her arms fall by her sides, now face to face with me. I gulped; she was taller than me. "You've gotten so big!" She exclaimed, patting her hand over the top of my head like some adult mocking a child's height. I frowned and pulled away from her burning hand as she continued grinning. I couldn't look anywhere but at those teeth.
"You like them?" She gestured to her teeth with a single pointer, opening her mouth and biting down hard on her finger for no reason. I squealed and jumped back at the sight of clotting brown blood seeping out.
"Demons are a disease." Taehyung mumbled, looking down at the table while no one else dared move.
She's a demon? I thought there was only one left?
The girl turned around in a flash, her hand instinctively rushing to her hips held in perfect curves by the black corset she was strapped in. By the mere sound of her voice, I could tell she was pouting. "Taehyung-ah," she whined, no longer standing up fully straight, "Demons are not a disease. You can be so mean sometimes."
He scowled and stole a glance from the side at her. "You're the reason Jin's father became –"
"That's enough." She spoke sternly, holding up a finger to quiet him. "That was Xierro, not me."
"You know each other?"
"I know of her."
This time, Jimin spoke up. "Demons are fundamentally evil. Why should we trust you?"
She faced me again, grinning wilder than before. "Because I saved you."
I looked over at Jungkook for help but his eyes had shifted back to the table, seemingly staring at nothing at all and a giant wave of frustration ran through me. "What is your name?"
"Umai." Jin answered the question for me, and I only gave him a confused glance. Why does the name sound so similar?
"There's been a little.. accident.." Hoseok starts, gently grabbing my hand to walk me over to sit beside Taehyung, my gaze glued to a still blank Jungkook. Umai strolls back over to the table, her shoes tapping loudly on the tiled flooring of the kitchen. She stands, bent over so her elbows are on the table, holding her chin up with her hands and I supress a shiver at the sight of her grin.
"Accident?"
"You remember yesterday?"
I nod once as Hoseok sat down as quietly as possible.
"Well..," he starts, too ashamed or nervous to bring his eyes back to mine.
"Well what?" My voice rises a little as I get frustrated at the lack of answers.
"Well yesterday not only did I save your ass, but I finally saw you for the first time in nearly fifteen years."
I shot a glare at Umai. "I don't understand."
She laughed, a horrible menacing sound. "Oh Nini, you can be so stubborn sometimes."
"Nini?" I repeated her nickname for me with a frown.
She shrugged. "That's what I used to call you." Her grin faded as she stood up straight again. "You see, they didn't just choose one child to entrust an entire season to. Oh no, that's too risky. What if you grew up to be a total bitch and used the powers they gave you against them? The Guardians wouldn't risk anything of the sort." Her gaze turned darker and I gulped.
"I still don't understand."
"They needed another, to tie out the balance. It just happened to be a coincidence that I'm older than you."
My fists clenched. "So.. we're long lost friends?"
Umai tutted. "Not quite. They turned me first, to make sure it was possible. And when it worked, they were delighted, could hardly wait to turn another. They didn't just put a really cold needle into us then it was done, we were like a hard drive of the seasons. They had to bond us and separate us."
I could only gulp again, scared I knew where this was going.
"So, you see," she continued, looking deeply into my panicked eyes with her dark dangerous ones, "They couldn't find a way to tie us to the seasons and keep it that way, it couldn't be done. Once the next season ticked over, we went back to being normal again. So they had to bond us with the extreme supernatural beings of that season. In other words, they half turned me into a demon, the representation of extreme heat, and you, they half turned into a vampire, the representation of extreme cold. We both were still technically human."
"I'm half vampire?" My voice rose again, this time in utter panic.
"They gave us the better half. You didn't crave blood or have a reaction to sunlight, yet you inherited their healing powers and later you will receive their strength."
"I don't want their strength."
"You might not have a choice." Her voice was colder than the ice I was trapped under for those few weeks.
"Once your birthday ticks over, you get their strength but nothing will make you a fully fledged vampire. Same worked with me. I got stronger, yes, but I remained half, I stayed human."
"But you're fully a demon now?"
Umai nodded. "I had a little.. accident.. and emerged a full demon. I can't turn back now."
I looked around the table in shock at everyone's silence, every single person except Umai looking down in shame. "That's horrible."
"It's not so bad." She shrugged again, her eyes finally returning to normal. "Before they moved us apart, we were close, but you were too little to remember any of that now."
"So..," I started, trying to get a better grasp of the situation, "although we technically aren't related, we're bound by the seasons we're tied to?"
"Pretty much." Now she looked down. "Someone stole you from the Guardians to save you from pain. But no one came for me." She looked at Taehyung now, speaking bitterly. "You can think demons are a curse all you like, but I didn't ask for this. I felt my sister in pain and I saved her. I don't expect your eternal trust but I expect at least one word of thanks."
"We are thankful.." Jungkook mumbled, his eyes still wide open, not having blinked once. "Please just leave now.."
What is wrong with him? Why is he being like this?
Umai pouted once again. "You should all be happy. You're together and you're safe right now."
"You being here has put us all in more danger." Jin started, glaring at her. "We have enough problems, we don't need any more."
"Ah right," she counted on her fingers for a split second. "There used to be seven of you, yes? The Guardians lashed out to get her back?"
When no one answered with anything but bitter silence, she gave a light chuckle. "If anything you should be rejoicing. I'm stronger than most of you. I can keep you safe, for now."