aniel woke up feeling sore throughout his body. He looked at Anna wrapped in a sheet, sitting at the foot of the bed grinning at him. “You’re in better shape than I am,” he said, groaning and rising slowly out of bed. He looked around at the room in disarray. Tables overturned, pillows shredded, sheets, and blankets cast on
about every bit of furniture in this room, not counting the walls, of course,” Anna smiled. “You have a lot of stamina,” he said. “It’s been awhile,” she said clearing her throat. “We haven’t left this room since the day before yesterday,” Daniel said. “I’m sure
blood. “Yes,” he said taking it and drinking heartily in gulps. “I feel refreshed. So what’s on the agenda for today?” he asked.“I’m ready to go back to the States,” Anna replied. “I have this feeling in my gut that’s been troubling me. Sage needs us,” she said. “I felt it too,” Daniel said.
Randi watched Rafael as he slept on the sofa. Trying not to wake him, she went to fix a cup of coffee. “Can’t sleep either,” he said startling her. “Just a little,” she said. “It’s a lot to take in…what I told you,” he said, “vampires and such.” “Actually, this isn’t my first time hearing about vampires,” she said. Rafael sat up, intrigued. “How so?” he asked. “I have a friend who is a biochemist,” she started. “Well, we used to date,” she smiled shyly. “He believed strongly in vampires.” “He actually concocted a formula that he says can cure a vampire of vampirism. It’s an experimental drug and takes multiple injections, but he says it works.”
“Really?” Rafael said. “I thought that vampires can’t be cured of it unless the top vampire dies.” “How does he know this formula will work?” he asked. “Because he used it on himself,” she said. Rafael gasped. “He told me that he was bitten by a vampire, and he used the formula on himself before the vampire symptoms took hold, and he’s still human.” Rafael cocked his head in contemplation.
Sage flew in a mad dash to Central Park crazily splashing water on her face from the pond to remove the blood. “Nothing will ever remove this stain,” she said wiping harder. “Sage, what happened?” Cristian asked, standing behind her, aggravated. She whipped around. “I killed someone,” she said. “I drank their blood.” “Tell me,” Cristian said. “I needed air,” she said. “I was headed back to your loft and I was grabbed. It was a mugger. Before I knew what was happening, I was drinking his blood until I could feel their life leaving his body.”
“Why are you feeling sad for defending yourself?” he said. “What other choice did you have?”
Sage was stunned by his seemingly indifference. “Cristian, I took a life,” she yelled as thunder began to rumble. “This is getting tired, Sage,” he said, exasperated. “You’re a vampire. You drink blood.” “I didn’t want to be a vampire, Cristian,” she shouted, a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning breaking in the sky. Cristian looked up at the sky realizing that the weather corresponded to Sage’s mood. “Sage, you need to stop resisting what you are,” he said. “Even if you didn’t want this life, you are a vampire. I’ve watched you for days moping, and I can sense your regret for turning me. I’ve tried to compromise. I even tried to drink the animal blood, even though I’d rather drink human blood,” he said. Sage dropped her head, dejected.
“You need to snap out of this and stop resisting your nature,” he said. “If this continues,” he sighed, “I don’t know if I want to spend eternity with the constant mood swings.” He vanished as a torrent of rain began to fall, leaving Sage standing in the heavy downpour.
Rafael looked out the window at the sudden downpour and wrinkled his brow. “That’s odd,” Randi said. “This sudden downpour may not be the work of mother nature,” Rafael said. “Vampires can control the weather?’ she asked in disbelief. “Powerful vampires like this vampire can command the elements and wield them as they please.” “Wow!” Randi said, impressed. “I hope you’re not starting to admire vampires,” he said. “No,” she said quickly.
“I just didn’t know that vampires are so powerful.” “All vampires aren’t as powerful. But the vampire queen is the most powerful of them all,” he said. She clicked on the television and the regular programming was interrupted by breaking news. “Just as the mystery surrounded the disappearance of the masterpiece, a new mystery surrounds its sudden reappearance,” the newscaster said. “The portrait, Beauty Mysterium, depicting a mysterious woman, resurfaced tonight at the gallery. There is no explanation for its sudden reappearance.”
“She’s back,” Rafael smiled. “The vampire has returned.” His cell phone began to ring. He answered it quickly.
“Hello,” he said tentatively. “Who’s this? I see. I can do that. Okay good-bye.” “What was that all about?” Randi said. “That was Cristian West’s mother calling me. She wants me to help her son. Things are falling into place” he grinned.
Lisa, John, and Cody waited at the bus station, sitting quietly. It took all her strength to pull Cody away from the burning shell of the house and talk him into leaving before the fire trucks arrived. She knew he wanted to run inside and sacrifice himself, but she couldn’t let him do it. Weary with sadness, Lisa felt great relief at the thought of returning to New York and to Sage and the others. She felt as though they all got their strength from being together. They were the coven seven, and ever since they split for a short time, she’d felt the separation keenly.
She was sure the others felt it as well. They needed to be together again. She grabbed Cody’s hand as they boarded the bus. John opted to sit behind them. Cody leaned and rested his head on Lisa’s shoulders. She was glad to be able to comfort him, but she felt bad that John seemed isolated. Here his father rejected him, and yet Cody was able to find forgiveness and love from his father and be with him during his last moments on earth. She noted that both men mourned the losses of their fathers. She looked back at John who was staring out the window crying softly.
“Wake up, Billy, we must haste now,” Samuel said, shaking him. Billy sat up groggily. “We need to get going,” Samuel said. “It’s Queen V,” Billy said suddenly alert. “You felt it too.” “Yes, and we need to get going, for I fear she’s in danger.” “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Billy said getting up and flying into the bathroom to shower. “I felt it strong last night,” Samuel said. “She’s in trouble. I know the others felt it as well.” He looked at the early morning newspaper that headlined the return of the portrait at the gallery. “This is not what she wanted,” he said. “Cristian had to know that. I’m beginning to think perhaps Pedro was onto something after all.”
An ominous figure stood over the broken fragments of the shattered bottle. A piece seemed to float in the air by itself as the figure held it up. “It pained me to see you in so much turmoil,” the figure said.
“Not too much longer. I’ll be whole again. Now maybe she’s realizing that she made a mistake not listening to me.”