CHAPTER 11: THE BLOOD FEED BEGINS
She opened her eyes slowly, her mind slowly drifting from her slumber land. She sat up slowly and stretched herself, trying to rub the sleep away from her eyes. Another day has gone by and she could feel herself going hungry. She looked around and saw her usual bread and water on the table. She took it and stared at it before hesitantly stuffing it into her mouth.
Suddenly, the bread and water tasted awful to her, like eating a piece of dead flesh and drinking ditch water. She spat it out and threw it away, sending the cup crashing onto the wall. It wasn’t the first time she found out that her taste buds were beginning to reject real food. She couldn’t remember when it started though, but she knew that one day she ate her usual bread and water and it started to taste awful, like a rotten egg or an overripe fruit. At first she was able to stomach a few mouthfuls but as the days went by, she couldn’t stand the taste of it anymore. Just like tonight, nothing tasted better.
Except blood.
Yes, the sweet taste of blood. The feeling of having a taste of life going into her mouth and slipping down her throat, filling the cavity of hunger inside her stomach. The feeling of sucking someone else’s life force and satisfying the fire and the cravings deep inside her. It felt so good…like tasting the purest of wine and the sweetest of sweets…
She slapped herself for ever having that thought. How could she think of such things? Didn’t she promise herself that she would never hurt anyone? Didn’t she make a vow that she would not ever comply with Demona’s wishes? How could she even have a thought about such ugly things? Maybe because she was stuck in this room for so long without being able to see the outside world except through a barred window in her room.
Or maybe…Just maybe…
There is no other way at all to fight it.
It has been about 4 days since Suki disappeared. The gargoyles searched for her everywhere. They tried every home that could be Demona’s lair—abandoned building sites, homes that have been empty for a long time, rundown houses or old buildings, anywhere they could think of, but they just couldn’t find her. Elisa tried her luck in the morning to look for Demona but she also had no luck. It was as if Demona was able to camouflage her and her home so that no one would be able to look for her. Another problem would be that they just simply couldn’t find out what Demona’s human name is. Certainly no one has ever heard of anyone by the name ‘Demona’ and there hasn’t been a sighting of Demona whether in human form or in gargoyle form in days. As far as they could see she could’ve practically disappeared from the face of the earth itself.
They even tried asking Talon and his clan to help look for Suki. They were overwhelmed by the story of Suki turning herself into a gargoyle and the monstrous side-effects to her experiment and were only too willing to help. Talon, Fang, Claw and Maggie flew alongside with the gargoyles to search for Suki and they have spared some of their mornings to help Elisa search for her through air, but they, too, were fruitless. The gargoyles were getting quite restless.
“We can’t find her anywhere!” Broadway said as he sat down tiredly on the floor of the clock tower. “We’ve tried every place we could think of but there is no one that fits Demona’s description and we just don’t know where she could be!”
“Same situation here,” Elisa said apologetically. “I couldn’t find her anywhere in the morning and I don’t see her walking around the humans. There are plenty of redheads like her and I didn’t want to risk catching the wrong redhead. She was so good at concealing herself. If she were a criminal, she would definitely make it to the top on the Top Ten Most Wanted List.”
“I’ve also sneaked into quite a lot of business buildings and check out all the database of any sales or transactions made within these few months and I’ve discovered nothing out of the ordinary,” Lexington replied. “I even hacked through many big corporations and checked their transactions and still I found nothing. There is no way she can survive in the human world without a decent job to feed her and judging by her cunning ways, I bet she could be a big businesswoman by now.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised even if she owned Xanatos’ biggest factory,” Brooklyn commented darkly. “I tried locating Suki’s scent and find her but no luck. It has been days since she disappeared and her scent might have gone cold by now. Wherever she’s hiding Suki, she’s good. That treacherous devil…!”
“Keep calm, lad. Being rash is not the gargoyle way,” Hudson said as he laid a hand on his shoulder. “So, lass, what do you suggest we do now? We can’t find the lass anywhere and we’ve tried everywhere. What now?”
“I’m just as stumped as you are,” Elisa admitted. “Even with Derek’s and his friends’ help, we couldn’t locate where Suki is. Manhattan is a large town and to look for someone out of the ordinary is still a hard thing. Suki is a very timid person and would never go anywhere without Brooklyn or some else by her side, and Demona is too smart to be flying around the city with her without fearing that she might be discovered. She might even have an idea of you guys looking for her.”
“Then I guess we have only one last resort, and I fear we have no choice,” Goliath finally spoke.
“I don’t think I like the sound of that,” Angela commented.
“Yes,” Goliath hesitated before saying, “We need Xanatos’ help.”
“What a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect to have guests coming to my humble home.”
The gargoyle clan and Elisa were ascending on the castle towers and Xanatos and his wife Fox were sitting there enjoying a nice cup of tea and playing chess together. Owen who was standing beside them ready to refill their tea also didn’t look as surprised as Xanatos sarcastically put it. He was used to their sudden visits.
“As much as we resent it, we are here to ask for your help,” Goliath replied in his deep rumbling voice with a grudge in his tone.
“I see. Well, whatever it is, it sure is quite an urgent thing, judging by the desperate look on your faces,” Xanatos replied as he got out of his chair. “What can I do for you and your friends, Goliath?”
As they moved inside Xanatos’ personal office, the gargoyles explained again the story of Suki and her bizarre experiment and also their suspicion of Demona being human by day and taking Suki as her hostage and her tool of misdeeds. Xanatos listened to everything with interest and when they finished, he was truly amazed indeed, although his face didn’t show it.
“Amazing,” Xanatos said in bated breath. “I have heard of Yusuki Hamasaki. I’m amazed. She actually succeeded in making a real live gargoyle. She is even better than Sevarius. I admire that. I should’ve asked her to be my genetic scientist instead.”
Brooklyn growled as his eyes glowed angrily at Xanatos, “If you ever dare think of using Suki as your pawn in your deeds, I’m gonna…”
Xanatos held up his hands in surrender, “Hey, I was only joking. It is a shame if Demona ever tries to use her for her bidding. It would look bad for both her and all mankind. You know, I have been aware of a certain newbie in the business traits and she has been quite successful. If I’d give it a thought, I would definitely give her a piece of my mind for trying to monopolize the business without my permission. Maybe she might be your missing link.”
He signaled Owen. Owen nodded and went over to the computer and clicked a few keyboards. The computer screen soon showed a list showing her bio-data and her limited background and a picture of a woman dressed in red. The face and the red hair immediately caught Elisa’s attention. She walked quickly towards the computer screen and pointed at the picture.
“That’s Demona! That’s her! That’s how she looks like in human form!”
“Demona? That Dominique Destin, the newbie in the business trait and one of my tight opponents, is actually Demona in the flesh? Now I’m really impressed.” Xanatos said with a leveled tone of surprise.
“Will you help us or not? Because we do not have much time and she could be using Suki right now for her diabolical plans,” Goliath said, putting a hand on Brooklyn’s shoulder that tensed when he mentioned the phrase that Suki could be Demona’s pawn.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Xanatos replied as he gestured Owen to get ready. “It’s been a while since I had any actions in my life anyway. Don’t worry, my main target is to eliminate the competition. Whatever you want to do with Yusuki Hamasaki, that’s your business.”
“You bet it is,” Brooklyn muttered under his breath.
“Look, Suki, there they are. It’s your chance.”
Suki was hiding with Demona in a secluded alley and they were looking at people passing by without noticing or even paying attention to them. Suki looked at all the people one by one, her face quite and hesitant and afraid.
“I know you are hungry,” Demona whispered to her ear. “And I know you want to taste it. Go on. Have a bite. It wouldn’t hurt to satisfy your hunger. It is all for the cause.”
“No,” Suki shook her head as she backed away. “Suki no want to bite people. Suki no want to hurt them. Suki no want…”
“You promised me, vampire, and you said you would do as I tell you to do!” Demona hissed as her red eyes glowed menacingly at her. She grabbed her wrist and shoved her in front of her towards the passing humans and demanded, “Go on, vampire. I know you want it! Grab someone and satisfy your hunger before you die of it!”
Suki’s eyes fell upon the people’s necks and could see their jugulars throbbing temptingly at her. Her mouth began to water and her stomach began to growl. Her head began to go woozy. She recognized that feeling—she had it when she was hungry and was lost in the middle of the road trying to find Brooklyn. She winced and looked away, closing her eyes tight, not wanting to give into temptation. She had vowed not to hurt anyone. She knew there is only one way for her to go but she was trying not to go to that road.
Demona was getting impatient. She growled and let her go harshly. She waited quietly for an unsuspecting passer-by and, as quick as a flash, she grabbed his collar and pulled him into the alley, making sure no one saw her do that. Holding the petrified man, she pulled Suki close to him and snarled with a vengeance.
“Do it! I know you want it!”
“No! Suki no want! Suki no hurt…”
“If you don’t do as I say,” Demona narrowed her eyes dangerously, “you know exactly what would happen to your precious Brooklyn and his clan. Understand?”
Suki stared guiltily at the whimpering man. Tentatively, she reached her hands out to the man and put them on his shoulders, feeling them wince as she brought him closer to her. She removed the collar of his shirt and stared at the jugular. Her eyes shifted towards Demona who, in turn, glared back at her warningly. She stared back at the man before shutting her eyes tight and sank her fangs onto his jugular, sucking the life out of him. The more she sucked, the more she wanted of his blood. Her hunger soon took over her and as Demona brought in more unsuspecting victims into her grasp, she reluctantly did her bidding, sucking their blood dry and leaving their shriveled body in a careless heap beside the dumpster.
As she claimed her last victim for the night, tears began trickling out of her dark purple eyes.
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