DARK SECRET

Run, Daniel!

A pack of wolves were chasing me. The scent of wet dog hung in the air. Their jaws were salivating. Their growls and barks close behind me. Their hot breath raised goosebumps on my skin. The suitcase I’d had with me had been thrown aside to escape them.

Faster! Why didn’t Jeeves teach me this stuff?

Jeeves had visited shortly after my twin sister’s funeral. Not dead, though. She was a Vampire Hybrid like me and at Moonlight Castle. I was to head there as my Initiation.

But why didn’t he train me? And shouldn’t I be doing the chasing?

Before he had left, I had asked, “How do I to access my vampiric abilities?” Shouldn’t I just be able to access them?

“You must unlock them after denying your vampiric self for so long. Trust your instincts.”

A flash of lightening to my left struck a tree. Orange flames grew and licked at the bark. It weakened it until the tree fell over and blocked my path. Fuck! I skidde to a stop couple of feet in front of the red and orange flames. Something rose in my throat and a sound escaped. Am I hissing?

The growls and the stench of wet dog grew closer. They were gaining on me. My heart was in my throat, racing. However, something was also starting to boil inside me. An internal war raged within me.

Are you gonna run like a mortal again? Or are you gonna fight this time? A feminine voice sounded in my head. It sounded eerily familiar.

No time to figure out the voice in my head. Lupines were descending upon me. It was time to decide whether I would run or fight…

I ran to the right, hoping it was the right way. I hadn’t had a chance to look at the map Jeeves gave me since I had disturbed the growling canines. Something told me I was still going in the right direction.

The boiling inside me grew. Are you really gonna lead wolves to your sister? Aren’t you supposed to protect her as her older brother? A voice inside me said scornfully. This one sounded more like me, but…. darker. He was right, however.

I finally stopped running as the boiling grew to a raging storm. I turn around as the the biggest one reaches me first. The leader? Something inside me snaps. I let out a loud growl. I move and clumps of fur go flying. Whimpers from the wolves. The thick scent of blood in the air. I don’t think. I just clamp my jaws around the open wound and suck.

Blood spilled into my mouth. At first, I thought it would be disgusting, but it was not. It was the most delicious thing I had ever consumed. Why did I ever deny myself this? …. Oh right. I did not know I was half Vampire.

When I finished, I looked around. The rest had scattered. Three of their pack mates lay still on the forest floor. Their mouths still set in a snarl, eyes fierce and drained of blood. I looked down. There were rips through my shirt. Blood stained the front of my clothes, and my hands were drenched in blood. My face was probably no cleaner. Great. And my suitcase was lost ages ago. The map was unreadable; blood splattered it, and claws had sliced it to ribbons. Her letter was no better.

That was intense.

Slow clapping caught my attention. I turned around. There, at the mouth of the creepiest castle I had ever seen, stood two people. One wore an impeccable suit and had black hair and gray eyes. Jeeves.

The other clothed in black pants, a green and purple shirt with a black leather jacket. Her curly bronze hair and green eyes full of mirth. Ana.

“You passed your Initiation, Daniel. Congratulations,” Jeeves said.

A red haze came over me. “Were you guys watching the entire time?” I growled.

“Yes,” Ana said bluntly.

“Why didn’t you come to help? I nearly got reduced to ashes by a tree and mauled by wolves!” I shouted.

“We could not intervene. If we had done so, you would have failed,” Jeeves said.

I understood, but I was still angry. “Why was our heritage kept from us? Having access to my instincts already would have been useful,” I grumble.

“Your mother is a witch, so she grew up in the mortal world before meeting your father. Your father turned her to avoid losing her. When you two were born, your mother wanted to live as mortal as possible to give you two a normal life before your vampire sides took over. It was then, we all decided that this would be your Initiations.”

“So, Ana had to go through this too?”

“I did, but my ‘death’ triggered my vampire side. So, the forest was easy for me to handle.”

I made a face. How unfair. “Where do you fit into this?” I looked at Jeeves as I asked this.

“I am your uncle.”

Of course you are. Why wouldn’t you be? “You could not have led with that when you visited me?”

“Where is the fun in that?” He smirked.

Fun? I rolled my eyes. “Right.”

“Come. Your parents are inside waiting.”

Ana smiled and wrapped her arms around me, bloody clothes, and all. This instantly made the red haze go away. I had missed her so much and never thought I would be able to hug or see my twin again. This was a blessing, and I returned her hug, eyes closed. Her scent of vanilla and honey surrounded me. My racing heart rate slowed as I let her healing hug fill the hole of my missing twin.

I also realized something. The feminine voice I heard… was her. She had been looking out for me. It made me smile.

“Welcome home, brother.”

And I was home.

Ashley Whaling is a student at Full Sail University working towards a bachelor’s degree in creative writing. She has two kids, 8 and 4, and has been married to her husband for 5 years.