Burning Souls (F.T Sequel)

Thirty-Six

"Are you sure that you're ready for this?" Jay inquires softly, his presence beside me oddly comforting now, in this time of great sadness. 

"I have to be," I whisper back, listening with complete detachment as my voice carries out and flows through the trees. 

"The Elite has warned us of Gabriel's calling soon."

"I know, Dominic said so."

"It's all going to happen soon, Emma," Jay presses, coming to stand in front of me. His cold hands cup my face and he tilts my face up. I lift my eyes and add a cold tenor to them. 

"I know," I reply strongly. I let my insides fill with hollowness. It makes it all easier that way. "How will I know how to control the Shadow?" I ask, keeping my eyes trained on the tent in front of us, the latest addition to the camp. There's a pause, and then Jay's hand settles onto my shoulder. When I look up into his eyes, they're filled with pure pity. It makes my stomach tie into a painful knot. 

"The Shadow will control you. You'll just have to-" his eyes scrunch together as he searches for the words, "-be. You'll just have to be. That's all." 

"Will it be painful?" I breathe. His hand squeezes my shoulder and I close my eyes tight, praying for the hollowness to get moving and fill me up completely. My lids flutter open again as I take a deep breath, "Of course it will. Nothing's ever easy, is it." We stand like that for a whole minute longer, listening to the rising birds' sweet songs and the soft breeze fluttering the leaves of the tall trees. Ironically, everything seems so peaceful. But a hurricane is rising underneath all of Nature's beautiful glamour, threatening to spin us all into an inescapable abyss of darkness. And it's happening soon. Jay pushes me forwards gently. 

"Let's check on her," he whispers closely to my ear. I nod and reach out towards the tent's flap, pushing it aside hesitantly. When I step inside, Jay following closely behind me, my eyes have to adjust for a split second to the darkness. Only patches of the ground are illuminated by the morning light, and the rest is swallowed by a dull, empty colour. Hunter lifts his eyes to meet mine and his lips set tightly. When his fists clench I walk over towards him, encasing them in mine. I stand up on the toes of my feet and kiss him tenderly, immediately feeling his mouth relax against mine. 

"I can't bear the thought that this might be the last time I see you," he whispers. I gaze into his dark eyes and am taken aback by the swarming emotions inside of them. I place a trembling hand over his still heart, and then I lift one of his hands so that his fingers brush over the Mark on my collarbone. A shiver courses all the way through me and sets a flame where his icy skin brushes against mine. 

"You'll always be engraved into my soul," I whisper back, running a finger down his cheekbone. He leans into my touch and closes his eyes. "The Shadow could never get rid of you, Hunter, never." 

The clearing of a throat snaps us out of the moment, and for a moment Hunter's eyes flash red as he debates whether or not the interruption is worth his time. Then, his fangs retract and the crimson irises return to their usual, dark colour. Jay speaks up slowly, "Are you ready?" I nod once and disentangle myself from Hunter, giving him one last, lingering look. When Hunter nods back at me, a glint in his eyes, I swallow and turn my back to him. In front of us, raised on an upwards, wooden plank, is the murderous mother's Turning body, cuffed and chained to the wood. Her arms are raised high above her head and the latter hangs limply on her right shoulder. She should be waking up soon. God, I wish we didn't have to do this-

No. It's Alice or her. And this woman has killed someone. She was going to kill her own daughter. Then why do I have an imposing feeling that, unless the Shadow sucks away every single emotion that I've ever had, this Turning will remain a heavy guilt on my conscience? "Do we have the blood?" My voice cuts through the air, as sharp and cold as a blade, ridding me of my second-guessing thoughts. Jay nods. He looks at me knowingly and his face has lost some of its already lacking colours as if he was thinking the exact same thing. Hunter, however, doesn't have the slightest bit of remorse present. But then again, not all of us have the blood-filled, horrifying and haunting past of a Torturer. Suddenly the tent's flap is roughly discarded to the side and Dominic strolls in, as calm and present as ever. But I can sense the boiling fury underneath that composed facade, and by the tensing of the two males behind me, so can they. It seems as if all of the warmth in the air has been sucked out dry, leaving only iciness and tension in its place. 

"Well isn't this one whole, happy family reunion," he declares cheerfully, a beaming grin on his lips. Flaming terror dances in the pupils of his haunted eyes. In his fisted hand, a phone cord hangs out limply. He uncoils his fingers and the little device crumbles to the ground, a mass of jumbled disorder. His head tilts to the side and his fangs protrude in a menacing, swift move. "Dear Gabriel called. He's getting impatient. And he still has Julia. So as far as we're concerned, impatience is not ideal." He turns his cold stare to mine and our eyes clash and lock. Understanding passes between us. He'd gladly sacrifice me and everyone in this camp for her. Even Hunter. But those words remain unspoken as a pained groan suddenly fills the heavy silence. We all turn around as the woman's head lifts. Blood-red vampire eyes stare back at us. There is no human emotion, just raw, primal carnage waiting to be unleashed. Without a word, Jay steps in front of her and uncaps the bottle of blood, tilting it towards her. Her eyes squeeze tight as she breathes in the smell of sweet blood, and a growl rips its way from her throat. Her fangs immediately show themselves as she begins to battle against the cuffs, screams and growls echoing all around us. Dominic begins to clap in a slow, taunting way. 

"Ah," he says happily, "It seems as if at least one thing went right." I ignore his sarcastic tone and direct his attention to me. 

"Does Gabriel know of the change in the sacrifice?"

"He thinks that he is getting a vampire, and he will. It just won't be the dramatic version where it was supposed to be Alice. The sacrifice will still work, however."

"Good," I reply stiffly, "Because if Alice is threatened in any way, I won't go willingly." He nods once, something passing like a veil before his eyes. I turn away from him and try my best to focus on the newly Turned vampire as she strains and battles agonisingly hard against her restraints. Jay looks to me as I speak, "What about the human sacrifice?" 

"I have an inside source who volunteered," he replies stiffly. I tilt my head, confusion growing at his sudden detachment. As if sensing my emotion, he offers a tight smile. "Don't worry, everything will go as planned." 

Somehow, I have a feeling it won't. 

I shove the nagging feeling aside, blaming it on jittery nerves. I'm about to offer up my soul to a life-sucking monster for God's sake. A loud ringing suddenly fills the tent and Jay fishes out a phone from his pocket. "They obviously tried to call you first," he tells Dominic grimly. Dominic merely shrugs and smiles wickedly. 

"Oops," he answers, gazing at the disemboweled phone lying by his feet. Jay narrows his eyes at him briefly before answering. 

"Yes." His eyes momentarily glaze over and apprehention swarms my rational thinking. This is it, this is it- He ends the call and slides the phone back into his pocket, running a suddenly shaking hand through his tousled hair. He looks directly at me. "That was his last warning," he says slowly, voice filled with dread. "It's time."