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(Diana's POV)

"Stay low," I shouted, trying to bend the huge figure of Samuel. It was a challenge. He stood like a rock, and my attempts to hit him at the back were futile. In the end, he got the message and bent his knees just to fall ungracefully on his butt when he lost his footing. "Shit!" he cursed.

"Ssh," I warned him. We were indeed in front of the Mansion. A few vampires were gathered around the front door. They were chatting in low tones, their postures relaxed. Still, I could hear them which made me believe they would hear us. We were quite far away, yet both my vision and hearing seemed perfect. I could detect the sharp lines featuring their faces, even the expression of calmness which relaxed the lines around their eyes, and then the brotherly banter which extended their lips in a smile. How was that possible?

I looked at Samuel. The frown on his face could kill, his eyebrows had furrowed, his lips thinned. He was exhaling fast short breaths. His fists were punched.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked. I wanted to tell him, I really did but I was afraid of being heard, detected. I squeezed his arm in support. There was a barely perceptible change in his frigid lines, a moment of acceptance. Trust. But, it all disappeared as fast as it had shown its face. He didn't say anything but his tautened body spoke volumes in its stead.

The Mansion looked beautiful with a bed of shrubs lined up on each side of the manicured lawn. The perfume of the flowers permeated the air, I held my head high to savor the scent. How ironic that I was enjoying the perks of my sharp vision despite all that was happening. I was starved for sight. I was insatiable. I couldn't help but look at the vampires, knowing full well they were shadows, at the beautifully manicured garden, at the light blues of the sky which stretched seamlessly above me, at the clouds which painted it with white swirls. Everything held my interest. The petals of the flowers, smooth like silk, were spread wide like they were newly awakened. Their transient beauty, the golds, yellows, and reds were stood salute, making a last stand before the rain and the winds wiped them away in a few weeks. The winter was almost upon us. I had no regrets, I was hungry for all seasons.

I had been here in very unfortunate circumstances, I'd always been angry, defiant at Samuel. Pity, I had missed all this beauty. In normal circumstances, I could gaze at this place forever but what I was seeing was nothing but a facade, I reminded myself. A facade that harbored the evil shadows underneath its ethereal beauty.

Laughter erupted from one of the vampires. I couldn't exactly say who they were as I'd seen vampires as nothing but colors. And, now I couldn't see the colors, I couldn't identify them. What a joke!

"What's happening?" asked Samuel. "Where are we?"

"Ssh, we are back at the Mansion!"

"What? Why?" Samuel snapped.

A million dollar question. I had no answers. He was acting as if I'd gotten lost and took us back to the Mansion. That was not possible. On foot, it wasn't.

He seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion. "The Gods are at war with us."

He was angry. He was hurt. I didn't know how to help him.

We had to get out of here. "Let's crawl back," I whispered in his ear. He nodded. We retreated enough to be out of their sight. When it was enough. I stood up. So, did he. I grabbed his hand, the feel of wetness on my palm alerted me to it before the scent did. The euphoria grabbed me. Blood. Fresh. I'd been too focused on getting away. I hadn't noticed what the jagged ground and the fast pace of crawling had done to his palms. The skin was cut in zigzagged lines, the small rocks, thorns, twigs had pushed through the cracks in his palms, and blood had glued the earth to his wounds like a cap. But, the scent of blood was alive beneath all that dirt.

I inhaled sharply. He had hurt himself and all I could think about was how to lick it all away like a delicious ice cream. I hated myself. He wasn't aware of my dilemma. How easily he had forgotten the thirst, the craving.

"Let's go," I said, a bit more harshly then I'd intended. I stamped down on my desire. I was a newbie vampire, but I was not an animal. I was not going to jump at him. Not when he was hurt, not when we were running away. I bit my lip with the need to conquer the desire. But, conquer it, I did. I was proud of myself even if he was oblivious to my inner struggle.

We walked the other way around, setting a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow. We glided back into the thicket of trees. I didn't want him falling down so I held onto him. Samuel didn't utter a word, his face was etched in concentration.

After hours of walking, I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was tired. I couldn't imagine what he was going through. How was he faring with his human body? With his blindness?

"We should stop in a bit," I said. It was almost night. I had lost the joy of walking, neither the sounds of woodpeckers hunting for insects, the serenity of the forest, nor the changes in the sky, a wash of the light colors replaced with a new palette of greys held my interest.

"We need to continue," he insisted.

"No need," I said, my voice came as a whistle cutting the air like a sharp blade.

We were doomed.

The darkening sky had not meddled with my eyesight. What stood some feet away from us was the same Mansion we had spent hours running away from. I looked at it like an impossible jigsaw puzzle.

"What?" he barked.

"We are back."

He didn't say anything else.

"What are we going to do?" I said. I had no energy left. We were drawing meaningless circles in the forest. I just wanted to lie down and close my eyes.

"Nothing," he said angrily. He kicked the earth. He punched the tree. I inhaled the scent of newly drawn blood. Why did he have to do that?

The sound behind us alerted us to the fact that we were no longer alone. "Man, what are you doing here Samuel? I was beginning to worry!"

Samuel turned around, taking the stand of a warrior. I turned around, thinking this was it. The end of everything.

"Alessandro," Samuel said. So, this tall well-built guy with blonde hair and beautiful eyes holding a strange glimmer in their midst was Alessandro. His eyes were so light blue, they were almost transparent. No specks marred its smooth vastness. He pushed away one angry curl from his forehead, it fell right back to where it had originally been. He needed a haircut. Did dark shadows need one?

"Are you having a tryst?" Alessandro asked. Was he kidding?

This was a strange conversation. Samuel, too, was aware. He didn't say a thing. He tried to find my location. I helped him by closing the distance between us. He pushed me behind him.

"C'mon, man we've been looking all over for you," Alessandro said, curling his arm over Samuel's shoulder. I detected Samuel's flinch. Alessandro did, too but he didn't comment. Instead, he looked puzzled.

We were being taken to the Mansion to be turned into dark shadows.

I saw the moment of determination in Samuel. He was going to fight. He mouthed the words, "Run." Yet, again. Why did he think I should be running away all the time?

I wouldn't have run. But, I never found out whether I would or not. Alessandro's shout made any attempt at escape impossible.

"Samuel is here. I found him!"

There was a loud commotion. Soon, others joined us. Other dark shadows. And, it was over. 

As always, thanks for reading

Alena

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