Chapter 22 - A Glimpse of the Monster

Chapter 22 - A Glimpse of the Monster
As expected, the door to Cord’s suite was locked, but Amanda wasn’t concerned. She rummaged through her sling clutch bag and looked for the card key, silently thanking herself she didn’t leave it on the table earlier. She found it seconds later, the extra one she took after they checked in the other day. She held it against the automatic lock and after a beep, the door opened.

What greeted her when she entered the room was Cord, on his knees, his elbows and forehead touching the foot of the bed. If anything, it looked like he was praying, but Amanda knew better. He was in pain and possibly even in the middle of fighting his dark side from emerging.

She heard him grunt and groan, saw him heave and clench his fists to the point that his knuckles turned white. His profile was a picture of agony and torture, and her heart sank for him.

Why didn’t he tell her he was suffering all this time? Here she was, trying to disregard his warnings and rules and even so far as to deliberately play a seductress in front of him when all the while he was truly in pain. She knew he was in pain, but to this extent? The thought of it made her guilty.

But she trusted him and his strength. She had great faith he’d overcome this problem of his. Was she wrong to think then?

“Cord, let me help you, ” Amanda spoke up, inching closer to him.

“No! Stay away!” Cord shouted, his voice like a growl of a wounded lion. He kept his eyes shut, his forehead still pressed against the mattress, trying to stabilize his control. If it would break, then it’s game over.

The seizures attacking him now were different than the usual. It was more pronounced, more audacious. Could it be because he hadn’t taken Amanda’s blood for quite some time? Or was there some other reason behind it?

Amanda, despite his warning, still pressed on. She said she wanted to help, and probably by heeding his words and leaving him alone, would actually be the right thing to do, but Heaven knew she couldn’t do so. If he was suffering, then she’d gladly suffer with him.

“Cord, drink from me. Do it. If it would help you control whatever it is that’s happening to you, do it. I give you my consent, ” she stated, gathering up all her courage.

Cord shook his head and hissed. “No. You know I won’t, Amanda.” He was unyielding.

Amanda clenched her fists and knotted her brows. She understood his side. She saw what he was trying to do, but unfortunately, the situation now was different. They were in a hotel, in a public place where he could be easily seen as unnatural. More than that, lots of people would be in danger should his dark side emerge. She couldn’t have that.

“Your fortitude and willpower is admirable, Cord, but you know you have to. Not only for me but for the people in this hotel. We are not in the mansion anymore where Jerome or Pamela or Calvin could help you, ” she reasoned, clenching her fists.

Silence punctuated the air around them and this bitterly dragged on for quite some time.

When Amanda couldn’t stand waiting for his reply, she took a few steps towards him and placed a hand on his tense shoulder.

“Please, Cord...” she begged.

When still he didn’t reply, she knelt next to him and readied her neck, clearing it from any strands of hair.

“Cor—” she spoke but a gasp quickly replaced it when his head snapped to her.

Eyes of the brightest red stared maliciously at her. Then, a sardonic smile followed. It was the first time she had seen him like this before; all dripping with nothing but darkness. The chilly hand of fear gripped her insides then, but luckily, her impulse got her to sprint up and away from his reach.

“What was it you said again?” Cord’s voice had a ring of echo. It was a timbre lower than his usual and definitely absent of any tone of compassion.

He stood up, his movements fluid, all the while holding Amanda in a locking gaze.

“I don’t need your consent, woman. I take what I want and I want your blood.”

“Cord...” Amanda’s hands trembled, fearing for her safety, but she knew she needed to harden her spine all for the safety of the guests inside the building. “If I give you my blood, would you promise me to spare the people in this hotel?”

Cord chuckled lightly and shook his head. The lights of his eyes flare with untold death. Amanda caught sight of it and it made her shudder.

“Who said you could make bargains with me? You? A human? My meal? I can take you right here, right now and you would be helpless, woman.”

Gone was the tenderness in his voice. Gone was the admiring gaze she used to see when he looks at her. Amanda hated to admit it, but the Cord she knew was nowhere to be found. There was not a single crack on his mask that would tell her he was there, waiting to be saved.

“Then, I dare you to do it, ” she lifted her chin up and straightened her shoulders. If he would attack her, she wouldn’t think twice using her powers.

“Hm, such a feisty woman you are.” Cord clucked his tongue and exposed his row of pearly white teeth.

“What’s wrong with you, Cord? Have you forgotten about me? About us?” Amanda tried her last chance to reach out to him. Maybe with all the memories they shared, it would be enough to bring his old self back.

Unfortunately, the look on his face told her she needed to try harder.

“There is no ‘us’, woman. It is only me and your blood inside me, ” he said and in a split-second, he vanished and reappeared on her spot, mere inches away from seizing her throat.

Amanda’s hands pushed him instinctively. The microscopic crystals on her fingers enlarged and as it contacted his chest, it created a beginning crystallization on the cloth. It wasn’t enough to fully petrify him, but it was enough to catch his attention.

Cord’s throat rumbled, partly amazed and partly disgusted.

“You’re one of ‘them.’ You’re a witch, ” he snarled, spitting out the word with disdain.

Amanda was taken aback. It appeared that his transformation had erased his memory of her being a witch.

Was it an advantage or a disadvantage? She would find out soon enough.

“Exactly, ” she stated, her chest swelling with pride, “and I can use my powers on you without hesitation.”

“Hm, a challenge, ” he crooned. “I accept, bitch.”

Cord lunged forward towards her. Amanda readied a defensive stance. But as soon as he was halfway, he disappeared. Her eyelids fluttered, confused as to where he had gone. She soon felt a presence behind her and this caused her to turn around with a start.

Cord wrapped his arms around her, caging her in place and hindering her use of her upper limbs. He lowered his head and buried his nose in her hair, enjoying the smell of lavender and lemon shampoo she used this morning.

Amanda tried to wiggle herself free. He tightened his hold in response.

He continued his assault by darting his tongue out and licking the skin of her neck, lingering where the jugular protruded.

Goosebumps erupted on Amanda’s arms. Normally, this would have been a welcomed sensation. Now, it was met with revulsion.

Amanda didn’t wait for his fangs to stick out. She summoned the power within her and touched whatever part of his body within her reach. It was his thighs. Crystal formed slowly on that body part, but it wasn’t enough.

Cord still continued his attack. His chest rumbled again in satisfaction as the scent of her blood and fear passed through his nostrils.

“I am going to enjoy draining you, witch, ” he drawled.

With only milliseconds left, Amanda decided to use Noman’s famous self-defense. It would be painful on Cord’s part, but it would be effective on fighting him away. He may have the strength of a vampire, but he still has the sensitivity of a man with damn balls.

Amanda bucked just as she kicked his genitals with her stiletto. Cord groaned, feeling the stung of the hit in more ways than one.

She used this momentary distraction to twist herself so that she would be facing him.

With palms wide open, she pressed her hands against his chest and blasted energy into it. The force of the blast had Cord flying over the bed and smashing into the wall just above the headboard. He fell straight into the mattress unconscious and with chips of the cement wall falling onto his back.

Amanda readied her fighting stance again just in case that energy blast didn’t put him out cold. When she saw that he wasn’t moving, she relaxed and released a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry, Cord... I didn’t have a choice, ” she stated, walking towards the bed.

She examined the length of her powers on him. The back of his hands, nape and face seemed to have a translucent glow coming from the crystals she had released during the blast. For sure, his arms, legs and chest had met the same fate, but luckily, to her comfort, it wasn’t bad enough to petrify him to the bone. Maybe if he were lucky, he’d be able to recover two days after without any adverse effects.

Joining him in bed, Amanda picked the debris of the impact out of his back and dusted his gray suit until it was clean. She used this time to ponder on the earlier events. Cord was truly out of himself, but then again, this was a glimpse of what he looked like in his past life. He was this cruel, this hostile and unmerciful to his victims. All she could see in him was darkness: potent and destructive.

How could a curse so old could make a monster like him?

She thought of the possibilities despite disliking it. What would have happened if she wasn’t able to disable him? Surely, he wouldn’t stop with her blood on his veins. He’d likely find more and more, and that wouldn’t be good.

Amanda noticed her eyes welling up with tears. She wasn’t supposed to cry, but her emotions turned traitors. It got a hold of her without her approval. In haste, she wiped them dry with the back of her hand and then continued her attention on Cord.

Slowly, she turned him over so that he’d lie supine and face her. The look of his serene face immediately stabbed her heart. Cord was no monster, she reasoned. He was a victim and he was lost. He needed a ray of hope and she was determined to become that ray of hope.

“I swear, I’m going to find a way to break your curse, Cord. Believe me. I will.”

The ringing inside her clutch captured her attention and it made her look up. With a sigh, she left the bed, picked up the clutch from the floor and pulled her cellphone out.

‘Are we still eating lunch today?’ her father’s voice emerged from the speaker.

Amanda bit her lip and glanced at her unconscious patient. ‘Uhm, I’m really sorry, Dad, but we can’t. Some...something came up. I’ll see you later in the office instead?’

There was a long pause on the other side of the line before Amanda heard a long sigh. ‘Okay, Caitlin. See you in the office,’ he finally said. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t judge. If it’s a lover’s quarrel, just make sure you both fix it before anything else.’

Amanda pressed her lips together and nodded. 'Thank you, Dad, for understanding.'

Once the call was done, Amanda dialed Noman’s number and waited with bated breath while his phone rang.

‘Yo, Sweetcheeks, what’s up?’ Noman replied enthusiastically after a few seconds.

‘Dom, ’ Amanda breathed out, ‘I need you badly. Can you come to the Wellington Best Point Hotel right now? Room number 312.’

‘Hmm, sounds like its grave, Cait. Sure, I’m on my way, ’ he answered without hesitation.

Amanda’s shoulders relaxed. ‘Thank you, Dom. Really.’