Page 43 of Vayn

Fake Tia shook her head and began removing her gloves. “I just needed an excuse to keep you and others from wanting to spend time with me. I didn’t want you to catch on to the truth of who I was. I also needed an excuse to leave campus more. As you see...” Fake Tia gestured around the room. “I’m a busy female.”

A year ago was when I’d thought Tia met her boyfriend. It was when she became distant and started leaving campus more to spend time with her boyfriend. It was also when she’d begun flirting with me. But that hadn’t been my bestie. The truth was, she’d been killed. My best friend had died, and I hadn’t known.

I hadn’t been there for her. I hadn’t even mourned her loss. Tears sprang to my eyes. I was always fearing someone would leave me. But I hadn’t even known Tia needed me. Just like I hadn’t known my bestie from Texas, Phoenix, had needed me. Guilt drummed through me as I stared at Fake-Tia.

“Don’t cry, cursed one,” Fake Tia said. “You’ll see her again in the afterlife. Death isn’t the end. For some, it’s the beginning. You cursed ones end up in the Village of the Dead in purgatory after you die. You get your memories erased and are able to start a new life as immortal souls. Unfortunately, once you enter the Village of the Dead, you can never leave. Still, it’s better than what we do when we die,” she continued, voice turning menacing. “We either end up in Paradise or Hell. There are so many rules to enter Paradise. You have to be good. You have to be kind to others. You can’t kill for personal gain. No one can live up to those kinds of expectations. So, most of us Changelings go to Hell, where we’re punished for eternity. That’s not fair now, is it?”

Actually, being good and kind wasn’t asking for much. They went to Hell because they kidnapped others and experimented on them. In what world was that okay? And they called us the monsters. They were the monsters. You didn’t see us tying motherfuckers up and experimenting on them. We just wanted to be left alone. In turn, we’d leave others alone also.

“No more chatting, bestie,” Fake Tia said. “It’s time to get you on a bed. No, that’s too basic, right? You deserve your own room. You know, with us being besties and all.”

“Wrong.” I flexed my claws and snarled, showing my fangs. “You’re not my bestie. And I don’t want one of your little sterile rooms. Trust me, I’m not going down without a fight, bitch. And if I do go down, I’m taking Tia’s killer with me.”

Fake Tia laughed. “Look at your little fangs and claws. How cute! The little cursed one has finally matured into a full-fledged vampire. Good thing I’m a vampire hunter. I’ll be happy to add your fangs to my collection.”

“Try it, bitch.”

“Oh, you want me to fight you?”

“Bring it. Unless you’re scared.”

I’d been training with my shadows. I was confident in my ability to hold her off until Vayn came. Please, come, Vayn.

Fake Tia shook her head. “I won’t be fighting you, friend. I don’t want to damage my specimen. I have a simpler means to get you to obey.”

“Just say you’re scared,” I started.

My mouth snapped shut when a piercing screech filled the air. My hands went to my ears, which were now aching and bleeding. I tried to speak but couldn’t open my mouth. I tasted blood and felt it dripping from my nose.

“That’s called the banshee’s cry,” Fake Tia drawled, approaching me as I dropped to my knees in pain.

When she got closer to me, I worked up the energy to swipe at her leg, a pitiful attempt to harm her. I ended up losing my balance and falling to the floor as blood poured from my ears.

“Don’t fret.” Fake Tia squatted in front of me.

My vision was starting to blur, so I could barely see her.

“Once you’re out, I’ll have you cleaned up and put to bed. There, you’ll rest until we’re done with you. You might feel pain. But you’ll be unconscious, so I won’t have to listen to your screams. Good night, Destiny Porter. It was my pleasure to be your friend.”

I heard the door at the end of the hall opening. Someone else was approaching. I couldn’t let them take me. I had to do something. But the more I bled, the more of my energy that was drained. I gathered up the little energy I had left. With a roar, I lunged for her, fangs bared. Her eyes widened as she tried to move away from me.

I landed on top of her, forcing her back onto the floor. My fangs sank into her neck. I didn’t want to drink from her. I wanted her dead. I ripped a huge chunk of flesh from her neck. Her screams would’ve been music to my ears if I could’ve heard them. Unfortunately, all I heard was my own screams as someone tasered me.

“Get the fuck off her,” the newcomer yelled at me, tasering me again.

I fell onto the floor, my body jerking as pain radiated over me. I stared up at the lights overhead as alarms blared and someone yelled over a speaker to get a medic. Then I heard Fake Tia’s voice saying she was okay, that she’d heal. I’d wanted to kill the bitch. But I hadn’t. Regret threaded through my veins, seeping into my heart.

“I want you dead,” I thought at Fake Tia, pouring all my hatred and anger into that thought, knowing she’d never hear it, but still needing to think it. “I want you to suffer for what you’ve done to my friend.”

“Do you hear that?” Fake Tia asked the newcomer.

“I don’t hear anything. Oh, no, Aita, your ears have started bleeding.”

“It’s her.” Fake Tia, who I now knew as Aita, laughed. “Not only can she dream travel, but she’s a mentalist.”

“You mean that descendant can use her mind to speak to others and move things?”

“Possibly more than that. We can’t underestimate her. She’s tougher and more powerful than I’d thought,” Fake Tia drawled. “I won’t let her be dissected by the students. We’ll leave her to the scientists. I’m glad I lucked up and found her. Then again, my brother and father probably already suspected she was capable of this. That’s why they ordered me to become her best friend and find out if she was really a dud. Her abilities are going to be a breakthrough for us. She may end up being just as highly prized by our kind as our tribrid is. My father is going to be happy with me.”