Chapter 10: Chapter Ten

Blood weaving.” Tobias said as his fingers moved through the lines of a tome he had dredged up in the castle's library. Briar had never been to this part of the castle before and she was impressed with the size of the library and the sheer amount of books it had. The walls were crammed with books that reached high up to the ceiling, vampires in different nooks and crannies reading silently. Who would've guessed?

“Sorry, what?” She asked.

“The ability to manipulate the blood of oneself and others at will. What you did to Alaric was just that. You somehow manipulated his blood and halted his movements.” Said Tobias.

Briar looked at the faces of everyone gathered at the table–Alaric, Azriel, Brook,Kieran–none of them looked happy.

“And I'm guessing this is a bad thing?” She asked.

Kieran rolled his eyes. “Of course it's a bad thing. Blood weaving is extremely dangerous and rare. The last vampire to have been known to have it existed…Tobias when did the last vampire to have it exist?”

“Seven hundred years ago.” Tobias chimed in.

“Seven hundred years ago!”Kieran exclaimed.

Briar pursed her lips, folding her arms. “It's not my fault. Last time I checked, I didn't even want this.”

“How come Briar even has this ability?”Azriel asked. “I thought Blood weaving only ran in a particular family.”

“Yes and it's recessive too. Hardly ever shows up.” Tobias said absentmindedly, still looking through the tome.

Alaric hadn't said a word since they got to the library. He just stared at her, a furrow between his brows. Not like she could blame him. Anyone would be rattled if they lost their ability to move for a few seconds.

Tobias shut the tome and stood. “I'm not certain as to why Briar obtained this new power but there's hardly anything we can do about it. There's no point keeping it a secret either. The Von Heller family should be informed. Maybe they'll have more insight on this. And you Briar, you should be careful with this. So you don't hurt anyone–or yourself.”

After that Briar went outside the castle for some alone time. She sat on one of the steps leading to the castle entrance staring at the city beyond. Although Kaelindor was a city of the undead, it was bustling with life. Vampires walked leisurely, some holding hands, others jostling each other, some even flew overhead. The castle was slightly elevated from the rest of the city. Coupled with her new vampire sight, she could see the city below, the streetlights twinkling although Briar didn't know what they needed streetlights for.

It looked, she realized with a sickening jolt, a lot like the human world in many ways than one. Thoughts of the human world made her feel sick. The thought of never being able to experience the sunrise again…

“You okay?” Said a voice. She startled and saw that it was Brooke.

“You shouldn't let anyone sneak up on you like that. You're a vampire now.” Brooke said, sitting down beside her.

“Oh my I must have forgotten.” Briar said dryly.

Brooke reached and wiped a tear off the side of Briar's cheek. She didn't even know she had been crying.

“I'm really sorry Briar. I know this isn't what you wanted…”

“Where were you?” Briar interrupted turning to face her fully letting all the anger she was feeling show on her face.

“What?” Brooke asked.

“All those years. I searched for you for seven years, Brooke. Where. Were. You.”

They hadn't really had time to talk since she got here. Now was as good a time as any.

“I…I couldn't stay after mother died…”

“Before that then?” Brooke snapped. “When you would leave for days on end without so much as a word or an explanation.”

Brooke sighed .“I had a boyfriend. He was a leader in one of the gangs in the city. I used to stay in his house then. I didn't tell you and mom because I knew you wouldn't approve. When mom died, I felt there was nothing left for me so I didn't return.”

Briar tried to ignore the way her heart twisted at the last sentence.

“But one day there was a gang fight and I died.”

Her eyes had a faraway look when she spoke. “I was shot. In the stomach. Didn't die instantly of course but Malcolm wasn't anywhere near. Everyone was deep in the fight and I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. So I bled out.”

“I don't remember much after that but when I woke up it was in Azriel's arms. They were still searching for a redheaded girl at that time but they found me and I was already dead.”

“Luckily you had a sister.” Briar said bitterly.

“I'm sorry Briar. I don't expect you to forgive me now. We have our whole immortal lives ahead of us. I'll wait. But I'll do what I didn't do as a human–I’ll be there for you.”

It was silent between them for a long while Briar watched the city. Then: “Do you fly?”

Brooke laughed. “No. Only born vampires can fly. Although considering your new…ability, you might just be different. Oh my God Briar I have a lot of things to teach you!”

“Blood weaving. Sounds nasty.”

“It is. I cannot even begin to imagine the things you could do with it.”

Briar thought about that. If she was the only vampire in Kaelindor who could do it then she was sure they were sure to want to exploit it. They used her before and look where that got her. She wasn't going to let them use her again.

Suddenly, a horn sounded, jarring her from her thoughts. With her heightened vampire senses,it was obnoxiously loud.

“The fuck is that?” She asked covering her sore ears. But Brooke's eyes were somewhere else. Briar followed her line of sight.

A vampire flying towards the castle. At first it seemed normal but the way it moved was sideways and uncoordinated. Like it was injured.

“I would have said that vampire is drunk but vampires don't get drunk.” Brooke said, squinting.

Briar's brows shot up. “Really?”

Brooke didn't have the time to answer though before the vampire came crashing down into the courtyard shaking the entire castle slightly. Briar,Brooke and other vampires around rushed to the huge dent the vampire made in the floor peering.

“Everyone step back!” Said one of the guards.

He moved in and carried the unconscious female out. One of her wings was torn and bloody, her face full of scratches. He carried her towards the castle presumably to a physician–if they had those around here. Whispers followed and everyone slowly dispersed.

“What do you think that was?” Briar asked.

Brooke was chewing on her lip and scowling–a telltale sign that she was trying to decipher something. “I'm not sure,”she said. “That woman looked like she was coming from far. And injured? It has to be for something important.”

Before Briar could say anything, Brooke was already dragging her towards the castle. “Let's go find out.”