⸻
"Where is this?" Cole asked cautiously, looking around.
"My home. This is my personal clinic," Emma replied proudly.
"Did you just kidnap us?" Cole asked, panic slipping into his voice.
"Calm down, Cole. I can send you back if you wish. I came to get my kind, and I got her," she said, glancing at the unconscious but stable Avelyn.
"My kind?" Cole asked, confused.
"I know what you're thinking, but I can sense you're not a bad person, so I'll explain everything to you," she said, pulling a chair and sitting down.
"I'm a witch. And even though she doesn't know it yet, she is too. A powerful one at that," she added.
"How did you know where she was? And who are you really?" Cole asked, his head spinning.
"I'm not meant to show my true form, but I hope I can trust you," she said softly.
In the next second, she transformed.
Standing there now was a breathtaking teenage boy with blond hair.
"You… you look…" Cole stuttered, completely dumbfounded.
"Like her?" the boy said, pointing at Avelyn.
"She's my twin sister," he replied.
"Twin?" Cole echoed, feeling like his brain was about to explode from all the information.
"This is meant to be a secret, but I don't mind sharing," he said with a small smile. "I'm Avalon."
"Many centuries ago, twins were extremely rare. In our time, Avelyn and I were the only twins, and we held more power than anyone could ever imagine. But we were young, and some people deceived her. They stole her power."
Cole listened, frozen.
"Their goal was immortality. Avelyn sensed their lies and passed the immortality power to me, but it was too late. I couldn't save her. She was killed without her powers."
Avalon's voice darkened.
"The people who stole her power didn't even realize immortality wasn't among what they took. They cast an immortality spell on themselves anyway. It went wrong and turned them into blood-sucking monsters."
Cole swallowed hard.
"I went back. I fought them. I reclaimed my sister's power," Avalon continued. "Then I returned to her body, called her soul, and made sure she would be reincarnated every lifetime."
Silence filled the room.
Cole felt sick.
This was the first time he had heard how vampires were created, and he couldn't help but feel disgust toward his own kind for what they had done.
"I can hear your thoughts, Cole," Avalon said jokingly.
"Really?" Cole asked, sweat visible on his forehead.
"No, dumbhead. I'm just messing with you," Avalon replied, and Cole sighed in relief.
"So… how long have you been living?" Cole asked, finally deciding to get a little comfortable.
"For over three centuries. Every time her soul is born, I feel this strong connection. It leads me to wherever she is," Avalon explained. "And no, I don't always look like this. I change my face to match whatever face she has in each lifetime. We've always been identical, and I didn't want that to stop."
"That means Avelyn and Avalon aren't your real names," Cole said.
Avalon nodded.
"We used to be Atlas and Astra."
"When will she wake up?" Cole asked, not wanting to pry deeper into their past.
"She's in an induced coma," Avalon said. "The one who bit her will be in pain. Excruciating pain. Avelyn's blood is poison to all vampires."
So that means Lilian is getting what she deserves, Cole thought.
"Haven't the vampires ever tried to kill you?" Cole asked. "Or do you just keep a low profile?"
"I don't usually keep a low profile," Avalon replied calmly. "They know they aren't a match for me, so they run when they see me. But now I'm hearing someone is forming an army against me."
He paused.
"That's why I need to grow stronger. And though I hate vampires, their hearts are very useful in making powerful potions for war."
Cole shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"You don't actually think I'll befriend the kind that killed my sister, do you?" Avalon said, a devious smirk spreading across his face.
"What— why can't I move?" Cole asked, struggling to stand from where he sat.
"I've cast a spell on you, Cole," Avalon replied calmly. "You seem nice, but I need your heart more."
Before Cole could react, Avalon raised his hand.
Pain ripped through Cole's body as magic tore him apart, his form scattering into nothingness until only one thing remained.
His heart.
Still beating.
"Finally," Avalon muttered, lifting it carefully. "One blood sucking monster with an actual beating heart."
What Avalon didn't know was that Cole was a vampire by blood, not fully turned yet. He hadn't completed his family rites over the summer.
And that was the only reason his heart was still human enough to beat.
…..Back at Versity High School...
Cole, the one who had changed Lilian and was still under transformation, was suddenly engulfed in excruciating pain. He crouched on the floor, clutching his chest.
"What's wrong with me?!" he yelled.
"Are you okay, son?" Ms Wilder asked, panic flickering across her face as she noticed the veins all over his body bulging like they were about to burst.
"I'm not," Zane groaned. "It's hot. It hurts."
"Arrghhh!"
A loud scream echoed through the building.
It wasn't Zane.
It came from the infirmary.
"Let me get you to the doctor and find out whose scream that was," Ms Wilder said, lifting Zane effortlessly onto her back. In seconds, she was moving at full speed toward the infirmary.
They arrived almost instantly.
"Emma, come take a look at Zane!" Ms Wilder called out to the real Dr Emma.
"What's wrong?" Dr Emma asked, kneeling beside him.
"I… I don't know," Zane said through clenched teeth. "The pain is everywhere."
"Okay, let's give you painkillers," she said, inserting an injection into his throbbing vein.
"ARRGHHHH!"
Another scream rang out, louder and closer this time.
"Who is that screaming?" Ms Wilder asked sharply.
"I'm not sure," Dr Emma replied. "The girls are still in their room. It might be one of them."
"Probably the one under transformation," Ms Wilder said coldly. "She needs blood."
She turned back to her son. "Are you feeling better now?"
"No, mum," Zane replied weakly. "But the pain has reduced. Go check on the girls."
Ms Wilder and Dr Emma left his room and headed toward the one Lilian and Avelyn were supposed to be in.
When they got there, Avelyn was nowhere to be found.
Lilian, however, was on the bed.
Blood tears streamed down her face. Her hair was disheveled, her body so thin she looked more like a skeleton than a human.
"What the hell happened here?!" Ms Wilder demanded.
Lilian couldn't answer. She was writhing in pain.
"I've never seen a transformation like this," Dr Emma muttered.
"Give her blood," Ms Wilder ordered. "There's still a bond between her and my son because the transformation isn't complete."
She needed that bond broken. Not because she cared about Lilian, but because her son was suffering.
Ms Wilder was cruel, yes. But she loved her son. Just not more than she loved herself. If it ever came down to choosing between her life and Zane's, she would let him die without hesitation.
Lilian was given blood.
For a moment, she went still.
Then another heart wrenching scream tore through the room.
"Is she a banshee?" Dr Emma asked, alarmed.
"No," Ms Wilder replied immediately. "We don't produce banshees in our lineage. And she doesn't smell like one."
"Give her something for the pain," she added before turning and walking out. She needed answers.
Dr Emma injected Lilian with anesthesia, putting her into an induced coma.
As Ms Wilder stepped into the hallway, she heard Zane's weak voice.
"Are the girls okay?"
"Yes," Dr Emma replied. "Lilian is in an induced coma."
"Avelyn?" Zane asked.
Dr Emma froze. "Avelyn wasn't in the room. Do you know where she might be?"
"She's probably with Cole," Zane said, pushing himself up despite the pain. "I'll go look for them."
And with that, he headed toward the girls' dorm.