A Feast For The Vampires

XLVII

Orpheus never ever thought that he—who had been the one to take away someone's life—would give life. But even if he had thought of giving life, it wouldn't be the right one. And that was the case for Kimi. Orpheus didn't know what he was doing when he accepted to do just that. One frightened bite after another, Orpheus sank his fangs into Kimi's flesh, battling the hunger that the claret forced onto him. But he tried and he succeeded—with encouragement from the others—after the fifteenth bite. Happiness filled his pale, sweaty face when he vividly heard Kimi inhale deeply, life returning to his body.

Silver's breath shuddered in gratitude when he saw Kimi's eyeballs roll under his eyelids. His hands flew to his mouth. "Thank goodness. He's alive."

Haruna shook her head, a pained expression on her face. "No, not really." She looked at her son and smiled sadly. "You did well... but the process is not complete. Do you... still have it in you to give blood?"

Orpheus nodded stiffly, his expression grim as he unhanded Kimi's wrist and bit his inner wrist. He gently parted Kimi's lips with his fingers and held his wrist to his mouth. They all watched as blood dripped into Kimi's mouth like a faulty tap. They kept on staring, observing as the more blood dropped into Kimi's mouth, the sharper he inhaled through his nostrils.

"Look. He's starting to resurface," Zee whispered, her hands on her knees as she leaned forward, nudging her head at his fingers that were twitching. "Incredible."

Haruna looked up at Zee. "You've called Lydia right?"

Zee nodded. "Yeah." She smiled lightly, her eyes trained on Kimi's twitching fingers. "Lord Caedis is awake."

Orpheus closed his eyes and exhaled gently. "Thank goodness. At least this time around he didn't sleep for a decade or—" He shut up, his eyes flying open as his hand was gripped tightly. He rested his gaze on his wrist, looking as Kimi unconsciously feasted on his blood.

Kimi's eyeballs rolled violently under his eyelids. His breathing became quicker. Soon, his fangs sank into Orpheus' flesh and the young cadaver grunted in pain.

Haruna pressed her hands to her chest. She stared at her son with a sad expression. "Soon..."

A good three minutes passed before Kimi tossed Orpheus' hand away. Orpheus stood and shuffled away, nursing his hurt hand. His mother flew to her feet and rushed to him, her palms immediately closing around his bleeding wrist.

Silver watched as his cousin threw his head from side to side, his top lip raised to reveal sharp fangs. Please let it work. Please, please, please.

Kimi's body trembled as he slowly got back a pinch of his life. When he stopped jerking and sluggishly opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was rage. It spun in his chest like a spiderweb, winding it's way around his heart. His eyes glowed silver, his nose flared. Silver reached out a hand, only for it to be gripped by Kimi. Kimi eyed his hand, snarling lightly. Zee backed away, her eyes going wide. Orpheus and Haruna looked at him, worry on their faces.

Silver licked his dry lip. He laughed wispily. "Kimi? It's alright... I—we're here." He tried to take back his hand but Kimi tugged it closer, dragging Silver along. He drove his strength into his hand as he threw Silver over his body and rolled onto his feet.

"It worked," Haruna whispered, fear in her eyes. "But..." She swallowed and looked at her son. Orpheus was sporting a small, worried frown, his forehead creased.

Silver groaned as he went on his hands and knees. He shook his head and squinted at his feral cousin. Kimi was staring from one person to another with the expression of an angry lion, snarling softly. Silver gently stood with the help of a desk and winced due to the pain that sharply raced up his spine. He groaned as he stepped towards Kimi. Haruna shook her head, her eyes telling him to stop. Despite the warning look in her eyes, he was relentless and went on. But he got his reward when Kimi hissed loudly and punched his stomach. Kimi kicked him off his feet, sending him tumbling into a roll of desks. Thuds filled the classroom, accompanied by Silver's shout of pain.