Chapter 4: Bloodlust

The scene before me transforms into a surreal nightmare. The elegant guests morph into a hungry, predatory crowd, resembling a pack of wolves. Their eyes gleam with an eerie hunger that sends shivers through me. Panic tightens its grip on my chest, my heart racing.

What the hell is going on? Why are they staring at me like that?

I struggle to comprehend as I pinch my bleeding nose, but my efforts prove futile. Blood continues to flow.

Tatiana advances with a trance-like grace. Aleksandr’s voice cuts the air, commanding and low, warning her to stay back. She pays no heed, her gaze locked on me. Fear tightens my chest, and I scramble to my feet, wary of turning my back. Instinctively, I step away, stumbling on the uneven ground.

“Back off, Tatiana,” Aleksandr’s voice carries an iron edge, his tone authoritative. Yet Tatiana remains unfazed, her movements unsteady, her eyes vacant.

A collective hiss from the crowd signals their slow approach. Some strange, hypnotic madness propels them toward me. The world blurs, guests advancing with unsettling determination. Panic threatens to consume me as their predatory gazes sharpen, movements precise, akin to a pack of wolves encircling prey, cautious not to startle it into fleeing.

“Everyone, practise some self control, for fuck’s sake!” Aleksandr’s voice demands, followed by an array of foreign words I can’t decipher – likely his native Romanian. His words fall on deaf ears. The crowd presses closer, their strange, entranced movements undeterred.

Among them, I recognize puzzled faces – guests from my mom’s side, like my aunt Janice and uncle Tim. They watch, baffled, trying to comprehend the fixation and weird behaviour of the others.

“Oh, Arianna!” Aunt Janice’s voice rings out when she finally spots me. Concern fills her wide eyes. “Your nose is bleeding!”

She pushes through the crowd, but they close ranks, thwarting her.

“What the hell?” Aunt Janice’s voice rises, and frustration colours her tone. “Why is no one helping her? What’s going on? Let me through!”

“Europeans, always so charming,” Uncle Tim mutters sarcastically, his attempt to make way met with resistance from the crowd.

“Sandra?” Aunt Janice calls, searching for my mom. As the crowd creeps closer, her voice resonates with unease. “Where is she, Tim?”

Mom! Where is she?

I scan the crowd desperately for my mother, along with Konstantin and Anya, but they’re nowhere to be found.

“This is your final warning, stay back,” Aleksandr growls at the encroaching crowd, positioning himself in front of me.“It’s been centuries since I smelled anything so sweet,” Tatiana murmurs, just loud enough for me to hear. “So special. So incredibly rare. I’ll only take a bit, I promise…”

She licks her lips again, and I notice that her canines have become strangely sharp, glinting beneath the fairy lights.

One of the other entranced guests, a tall dark-skinned man in a smart suit and black tie, edges up behind her, his eyes boring into mine, feverish with bloodlust.

“Aleksandr, old friend, you must be reasonable,” he says, his voice thick with hunger. “It’s hardly polite to dish up such an exceptional delicacy before your guests, and then expect us not to partake. We won’t entirely drain her, just a few drops, that’s all…”

“Yes, a few drops, just a few…” I hear the encroaching crowd murmur in agreement.

“Get back!” Aleksandr hisses, as Tatiana takes another step in my direction.

Everything happens very quickly after that. Tatiana’s lips part, and in an instant, she lunges toward me with supernatural speed, while the rest of the crowd surges.

Amid this chaotic nightmare, strong arms envelop me, pulling me from the encroaching horde. The sudden motion leaves me breathless, my heartbeat escalating. The scenery whirls in a dizzying blur. The ground vanishes beneath me, a rush of air stealing my breath.

Stars spin above like a vortex of light, the night sky alive with swirling constellations. I clutch the powerful arms that support me, my fingers gripping the fabric of a black suit jacket draping a broad muscular chest. Night air sweeps past, tousling my hair, icy winds caressing my skin as if we’re soaring.

I risk a glance downward, and my breath hitches.

The world below has become a shimmering expanse of golden lights. The party fades to a distant glimmer, receding beneath us. Fairy lights twinkle like stars, diminishing as we ascend.

No… this can’t be happening.

Flying.

No, no, no! This is impossible.

Overwhelmed, my senses blur, wind’s rhythm and the scent of night air blending into a hypnotic lullaby. Reality swirls into muted colours, sensations melding. Wind’s rhythmic melody lulls my thoughts, edges of my vision dimming.

Then, darkness takes hold, and consciousness slips away like grains of sand. I remember the cold air, the rush of wind, the sensation of strong arms embracing me.

And then, the world goes black, and awareness fades as if melting through my fingers. Cold night air, the rush of wind, and the embrace of protective arms – these are the last things I feel before succumbing to unconsciousness.