I can only hope and pray that Constantine is lurking here, somewhere, looking for me without his express knowledge of actually looking for me.
“Please,” I pant as I run. “Please, please.”
I look back as I enter the square, hoping that Radulf isn’t on my tail. I can’t see in the darkness. My human eyes are useless.
“Oof!”
“Ah!” I cry out as I have run into someone solid.
He grabs my upper arms tightly as I turn my face towards him, already knowing it is a Vampire.
“Cons...” I gasp but stop short as another nightmare comes to pass. “Gregor...” I breathe out in fear.
I had forgotten that he was also here.
“You know me?” he inquires, peering at me with his pale blue eyes. He relinquishes his grip on me as he takes a step back in disgust at my appearance. I’d be offended, but, hey, who am I kidding? I am living it. I know how gross I am. What did Constantine ever see in me?
“No,” I say quickly, looking back around. “Let me go... I...”
His hands have returned to my arms, causing me to wriggle in his grasp like a worm on a hook.
“Pretty,” he says decisively. “Or at least you will be once you’ve been cleaned up. I’ll take you.”
“No!” I cry out in horror as he flashes his fangs at me. Bitten and turned by Gregor? No, this isn’t how this is supposed to go! What is happening? Remiel, bring me back! I try to get away from him, but I am like a bug compared to his strength. His grip tightens further, and I cry out in pain as I feel my bones break.
“You will heal,” he says, with a creepy smile. “So fragile,” he adds and kicks my feet out from underneath me.
Once again, I feel myself fall to the floor, only this time, Gregor is following me down, pinning me underneath him. His claws are digging into me, paralyzing me now that I am human.
“Help,” I croak out, as his hand goes around my neck. He turns my head and lowers his mouth to my neck. I scream as I feel his fangs pierce my skin and then...nothing.
“Aefre?” Remiel is shaking me. “Aefre? Are you okay?”
I come to writhing on the floor, screaming my head off.
“No! Gregor, no!”
My eyes find Remiel’s and for a second, I have no idea where I am. “Wh...?”
“You passed out,” he informs me.
“No,” I say pushing him away in absolute fear. “You sent me back to the past.”
He gives me a curious look but lets me go. “What do you mean?”
“I-I...” I lick my lips and look around. I am definitely back to where I started. I am definitely a Vampire. I can feel the strength in my body. Radulf is nowhere to be seen and neither is Gregor. Only Remiel.
“Get away from me,” I snarl at him, rubbing my arms where Gregor had broken them. They are perfect, of course, but it doesn’t stop the feeling that I just lived through it. It wasn’t just a nightmare. It was real…
“Aefre.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Whatever you just cursed me with, it was...just stay away from me.”
“Cursed?” His frown deepens.
“How did you do that?” I ask, steadying my breathing. I need a drink. A large one. After a shower where I need to scrub every inch of my body, and especially my head, until I bleed.
He watches me as I scratch, his eyes narrowed. “What happened?” he asks eventually.