Vlad The Impaler (VAMPIRE-ELF)

84. Secret Quests

Erinna woke up to Vlad gasping beside her, his hands clutching his throat and his body writhing and twisting on the bed like he was being attacked by an unseen force.

The moment her eyes opened and she was fully conscious, his arched body dropped back down to the bed and his agony seemed to cease. The dark vacuum in the ceiling that had been trying to suck him in also closed, their ceiling going back to its normal appearance.

Afraid of what was happening, Erinna looked around their bedroom for the source of his pain and that vortex but there was no one else with them. Her own body was burning up but she could hardly think of her own discomfit when Vlad looked like he had wrestled a demon and had not come out a winner out of that fight.

“Vlad,” she called, panicking. She kneeled next to him, her hand going to his face.

His body was having convulsions, like he was discharging and recovering after being hit by a lightning bolt. Erinna closed her eyes and send some soothing energy into him, only then did his body stop seizing.

“Vlad?” She called him fearfully. Whilst he no longer seemed to be in any pain, his eyes were yet to open.

His hand came up and touched the one on her face, holding it there. “I’m alright.”

His eyes finally opened and they were a vibrant red.

“Did someone attack you?”

“No, just a bad dream, angel.”
 
Vlad did not lie. Ever. So catching him when he was not being truthful was not difficult. 

“You’re lying. Why are you lying to me?”

Then realization slammed into her like a million bricks. A sick feeling began in her stomach, curdling what little food she had ate that day.

“Did I do this?” She asked with dread.

Vlad put his arm around her neck, pulling her down for a kiss but Erinna could not bring herself to participate in it. Not with this looming over her. Not to mention Vlad’s reluctance to answer was not lending her any confidence.

“You were sleeping; it’s nothing to worry about.”

Erinna sat back on her hunches, her hands falling from Vlad’s face.  How could she have done that to him without being aware of it?

“It’s the curse, isn’t it?” She asked quietly, guilt boiling inside her. What if she hadn’t woken up?

“You lost control whilst you were asleep, that’s hardly unheard of,” Vlad said, not even seeming concerned.

He talked as if it was an everyday occurrence. She knew that he did it to comfort her but his cavalier attitude grated on her nerves. How could he be that blasé when she had almost killed him?

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Surely then things would not have gone that far? And what had been that black vacuum that had tried to suck Vlad in? How could she have manifested it when she didn’t even know what it was?

Cold fear stole through Erinna and she sat on her hands to hide how hard they were trembling. The power inside her was still racing in her veins and it was much more than she had ever felt on a single occasion.

“Force-field. Couldn’t touch you.” He said with a cough, his throat sounding raw. Probably from you choking him.
Shame filled Erinna.

“I’m sorry, Vlad. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how I…” She shook her head, unable to finish. The apology seemed cheap in light of the crime.