Fallen Tears: A Blood Crave Novella (Blood Crave Series) (9 page)

He wasn’t afraid to challenge her.

She never did tell them what had happened that night when they first met. They never asked and for that, she was grateful. It was quite ironic, learning how to become a vampire from a bunch of fallen angels, but they tried their best.

They didn’t shun her when she made mistakes—and Rowan made a lot of mistakes. Like when she slipped away from the house in search of blood after trying to go days without, because the thought of biting someone human still bothered her. She would eventually give up and leave home where they would frantically search for her in the city, hoping no other witch would find her. But it was Remy that would always find her. When he did, she would be crouched on the ground as blood dripped from her mouth with a dead body near her, tears streaming down her face in anguish.

And he would say nothing to her.

He wouldn’t tell her it was okay and that everything was fine because it wasn’t. All he would do was pick her up from the floor as he embraced her tightly, Rowan burying her face in the crook of his neck as she cried herself out before they headed back home. Then once she was cleaned up, they would lay together, her head resting on his chest as she heard his steady heartbeat, the sound always lulling her to sleep.

She didn’t want to become the demon vampire—this lamia—that she was. She finally understood why Kaji refused to let her into this life. Although the hunger was always a constant, she eventually learned to control it more. But it still caused a strain on her body and mind.

And on that one fateful day, her presence in this house changed the relationship she had with the lovely family of fallen angels forever.

CHAPTER 12

A light noise instantly woke Rowan from sleep. She opened her eyes as she stared up at the ceiling, body on high alert. She knew it was still day but she turned her head to the side to glance over at the clock to see that it was early afternoon. She frowned, wondering what had awakened her.

A scream suddenly erupted from the ceiling above and Rowan was immediately at the door at the top of the stairs. But she was stopped from the bright light that lit up the living room. She hissed in pain and drew back her arm swiftly as her hand accidentally made contact with the light, instantly burning her skin. Clutching her stinging hand, Rowan realized all the drapes in the foyer and living room had been drawn open. On the floor in the living room was Faith, motionless.

“Faith.” Rowan called out to her loudly, hoping she would hear and get up.

“Hello, little lamia.”

Rowan glanced up at the sound of the foreign voice to see a man standing directly in the light. He was a witch, she instantly knew, casually wearing a smile on his face as his red eyes glowed dangerously, a stark contrast to his dark blond hair and dark clothes. Rowan stared back at him with hatred, frustrated that she couldn’t move from the safety of the shadow.

“What did you do to her?” She hoped she sounded stronger than she currently felt right now, her gaze flicking back over to Faith.

He smiled harshly, answering with a shrug. “I’m just giving a message here to those who want to defy me.”

“Defy
you
?” she said, disgusted.

“Yes.” He looked over at Faith, who remained still. “You vermin deserve to burn as well as those who help them. That includes any of the lapsus that get in the way. Faith here never did learn to stay out of it.”

Rowan stood silently, wishing she could kill this man, but was trapped within the shadows. She thought back to the night when she had been stabbed, the red-headed witch eerily sounding like the one currently standing before her. And like then, she was helpless and couldn’t do anything. Even as a vampire.

The witch walked over to where Faith lay as he crouched down, his hands resting on her shoulders. She was alive, her hazel eyes open as her gaze suddenly locked onto Rowan’s. Faith seemed trapped within her own body, unable to move, but for some reason she didn’t seem panicked.

She looked almost like she was at peace.

“You think I wouldn’t find out there was a vampire lurking around? In Fallon, of all places?” The lapsus eyed Rowan once more incredulously. “Although you seem pretty fresh so I wonder who created
you
?” He regarded her calculatedly, as if he somehow had an inkling as to who it actually was.

“Don’t touch her!” Rowan screamed vehemently.

“Hmm?” he murmured, staring down at Faith. He caressed her skin from her cheekbones to her neck, shaking his head. “So beautiful. It’s such a waste, really. Well, not for me.” With that, he encircled her neck with his hand and almost without a thought, snapped it quickly as Faith collapsed limply in his arm.

Rowan literally felt the wind get knocked out of her—it was like everything happened in slow motion. Her legs gave way as she plummeted to her knees, clutching the doorframe with the edges of her fingernails. It was déjà vu all over again, being in the exact same spot as the year before when she first heard Kaji was leaving her.

And like then, she refused to believe it. 

This intruder wasn’t done with Faith, however. Rowan watched helplessly as he yanked her out of her shirt and roughly turned her over, exposing her naked back. To Rowan’s dismay, she saw two long scars ebbed into Faith’s skin—angry, jagged scars. The witch slowly brushed the pads of his fingers along the entire length of the scars as a glow of light erupted, transferring from Faith’s skin and into him.

Rowan knelt on the floor, confused and stunned at what she was seeing.

She’s dead.

Faith’s killer stood back up as he sauntered toward Rowan. She looked up into his glowing red eyes, hatred pouring out of her from every pore. “Why don’t you just kill me, too?” she whispered angrily.

He smirked, gazing lazily down at her. “You’ll have your use soon enough—when the time’s right.” With that, he slowly walked toward the door, the sun shining brightly as he sauntered away. He left the door wide open until his form disappeared completely.

She would never forget his face.

***

And so Rowan left Fallon. She did not want to be the cause of any more pain—Faith was dead because of her. She still remembered the expression of horror on Remy’s face and how distraught Sage had been when they stumbled upon Rowan, who was still crouched at the doorframe, limp. Faith’s own body lay on the floor in the other room. It was the first time she had seen them cry. Honestly, it was too much for her, especially since she was the cause of their pain.

But they didn’t even want her to leave. She always thought that was strange, how much these fallen angels wanted her to stay—especially Remy. She still remembered the look on his face when she walked away from him. She also remembered the exact conversation they had and his refusal to let her go. However, she didn’t listen. As soon as night had fallen, she was gone; another shadow in the night.

As time passed, Rowan sensed a change within herself. She had grown harder and felt a heaviness deep inside, something that wouldn’t go away. She now understood what Kaji must have been searching for all those years on earth, this feeling of humanity. Because as time went on, Rowan felt herself losing segments of her humanity bit by bit from her unrelenting hunger. She spent almost a year wandering by herself. She was alone, the one thing she never wanted to be.

And she was really getting tired of it all.

Memories from the past kept haunting her, but she no longer cried. It was as if she were physically unable to do so. With having no other form of release besides killing innocent people, she made the only choice she thought she could make.

She decided to sleep.

I will never forget his glowing red eyes.

Like fire from the pits of hell, he still haunted me in my dreams.

I hated him more than anyone, perhaps more than my own murderer.

I
will
find him one day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A dreamer, Christina Channelle holds two degrees in health sciences but has always had a passion for writing. You will find her reading other young adult novels, or typing up a new story on her computer. She resides in Ontario, Canada.

For more information, visit Christina’s Author Page at:

amazon.com/author/christinachannelle