Black Blood

Novak

‘She has to stay alive.’ Irritated, I pull my razor-sharp fangs out of the lady’s skin. Her unconscious body hangs in my arms. Her heartbeat is slow, the little blood slips through her veins at a slow pace. I let her body sink down into the grass against the tree. Her accidental passing will be remembered for a long time, I can assure you. It may be some time before her body has produced enough cells to replace the blood that has been sucked out, something I do not see as my concern. If her body does not replenish it, she will die, also not my concern.

Irritated, I turn to the meatball who calls himself my brother. His perfectly combed blond hair, his deep blue eyes and his perfect white skin make him every woman’s dream. At least that’s what he thinks, unfortunately many women do too. He is full of himself and has the particularly irritating tendency to make that clear.

‘Shut up Myles.’ I don’t give the woman or my brother a single glance as I make my way towards the camp.

‘You know Nov.’ The sound of his shoes follow me like a fly past my ears, the irritating noise increasing rather than decreasing. Automatically I speed up my stride, hoping to fend off Myles.

The black trees make the forest as dark in this morning as it is in the night. The red leaves hang like a screen from the sun, barely letting light through. The forest is as dark as the creatures that live in it.

I am on my way to the camp, hoping that Myles will find a distraction there and leave me alone. I hadn’t even asked him to come with me, he follows me around like the annoying fly on the wall.

‘Father wants to make you my second right hand once I take his place. Do you think he will do that when you can barely control yourself?’ I raise my eyes, purely out of my growing irritation. I don’t bother to reply to this idiotic decision. My stride quickens, not seeming to shake Myles off as I had hoped.

‘I can teach you if you want.’ I sigh deeply through my nose, standing still in the grass. I set my molars together and turn to face my cocky brother. His blue eyes look amused, maybe even a little concerned. I know Myles well enough to know that this concern has nothing to do with me, it’s purely about his well-being. His hand slips through his blonde hair.

‘I don’t need your help, I don’t want to be your right-hand man and I don’t give a fuck what Dad has thought up for me. Get the fuck out of my way.’ I turn around again and continue towards the camp. My irritated and mocking words should have been enough to get rid of Myles, but nothing is further from the truth. I still hear his footsteps behind me, sliding through the grass. I curse the fact that I have gone too far from camp, the road is longer than I would like.

‘That you want to throw your life away is none of my business. Father wants the best for you, just like me.’ The irritation turns into anger, pure anger. I stand still, turn around and less than a second later Myles is pinned against the first tree. My hand is in a firm grip around his throat, pressing it slightly shut. This is the exact reason I don’t come here often. His blue eyes look startled, even a little amused. I feel my fangs pierce my lower lip, my eyes glow.

‘I’m not throwing my life away.’ I push the words between my lips, hissing.

‘No. Is your ideal image smoking, roaming and killing?’ My grip tightens around his throat. I drive my nails deep into the skin of his neck, digging into the flesh. He tries to hide the pain, but I see it clearly enough in his eyes.

‘I’ll tell you what my ideal is...’

‘Novak let him go.’ Sara’s voice echoes through the trees. Sara is the only good choice Myles has made in his life. The lady is far too sweet, gentle and kind for the idiot. I would almost like to admit that I am jealous. Sara is one of the many things Myles has taken away from me. Once she was my best friend, maybe more.

Her soft hand comes to rest on my arm, her warm skin beaming against mine. Her warm brown eyes look at me kindly, calming me slowly. I sigh deeply and let my hand slide down Myles’ neck. I turn my gaze into the forest, looking away from Myles.

‘You still have blood on your lips.’ Sara’s kind voice makes me wipe my mouth on my hand. She nods approvingly and then stands next to her friend.

I take the tin out of my pocket, open the black thing and take out a pre-turned cigarette. Finally, I take the box of matches from my other pocket, take out a match and light it. I put the cigarette in my mouth and light it with the match. I shake the match out in the air, throw it on the ground. My lips cover the filter and take a puff from the cigarette.

I feel the eyes of Myles and Sara piercing my sides, judging my habit. I am not interested in their opinion, nor in their judgment. For some inexplicable reason I don’t walk on, I stand still with the cigarette between my lips. I tap the first ash from the cigarette into the grass.

‘Novak, your father wants to see you.’ I sigh deeply after Sara’s words. It’s not that I hate my father, it’s just that I don’t share his vision of the future for me. His eternal attempts to give me a purpose have so far yielded nothing, nothing good at all.

With the cigarette between my lips, I continue walking towards the camp. I don’t give Sara or Myles a glance as I walk past the black trees.

I particularly hate others telling me what I should do with my life. To be honest, I have no idea what I want to do, but that doesn’t mean others have to think it up for me.