Fangs To My Blood. Virginie T.
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can stop the vampire king from killing us until the last one. All he has to do is recreate younger, more obedient werewolves, like Ivan. Undoubtedly, I am certain that Zoran will have eaten before leaving his home and his strength is much greater than ours. It is also faster and more devious. The only occasion we will be left with is to capture him just before sunrise, where he will be most vulnerable. The sun is the vampires’ biggest enemy, before us and our desire for freedom. UV rays are fatal to them. In his search for shelter to spend the day, the vampire king may be less attentive to his surroundings. This would allow us to capture him alive. Because the difficulty is there. It would be so easy to attack him numerously and tear his throat without waiting or hesitating. But that’s not our goal, because if he dies, we won’t get the answers we need to survive.
Lost in the midst of all these ideas and battle plans, I realize that I arrived at the meeting point by guessing on the ground the gigantic shadow of the place guardian. The silhouette of the three-headed stone dragon is really enormous. There is a legend that talks about it. By the way, Russia is full of legends, some concerning me. Myths about werewolves and vampires are passed down from one generation to another. But I like most that one of the dragons. It’s about the dragon Zmeï Gorynytch, guardian of the Kalinov Bridge, the only access to Zoran Castle and which marks the border between life and death, was defeated by a brave knight with a pure heart who came to free a princess held prisoner. Legend says it that the horrible fire-breathing dragon will come back to life when a princess needs him and a soul of such extraordinary blood as his murderer comes before him to ask for his assistance. Actually, I prefer this story to that one about werewolves in the surrounding villages. We are described as soul devourers, cannibals and monsters of the underworld. certainly, there is not that soul pure enough to awaken the legendary dragon and make it appear. I don’t know what the blind windows of the castle are hiding in the background of the statue, but nothing good can remain with the vampire king, the greatest murderer of the Middle Ages.
My mind is boiling, I prepare myself unconvincingly. I am thinking about a war. My father said that a war was going to be raging on our doorstep. Werewolves call for their independence. I have had the displeasure to propose to negotiate with their leader. I rub my cheek, which is still sensitive after the huge slap this idea brought on me.
« We do not negotiate with dogs. They are nothing more than garbage. They swallow our garbage and stand guard. That is the only purpose of their existence. They have no leader. Their only master is me, and it is time to remind them of that. I’m already giving them too much freedom. I’m going to fix it. Instead of thanking me, they want to overthrow me. I will crush their desire to revolt and everything will come back to normal. »
No wonder they want to break free from their chain because of the little consideration that the king gives them. After the life he had that led him to his death, one would think that he would have learned from the mistakes of others. That is not true, when I was younger, I had a hard time accepting this life of confinement. I asked him why he kept me locked up at the castle. He then told me about his own birth to supposedly open my eyes to the darkness of the world.
«Listen to me, Tatjana. I was born at a time of the jungle law, when the strongest reigned. I was at the service of Lord Vladimir, a rich man, very high placed with the tsar. He reigned over all our land with an iron hand, and woe to him who dared to stand up to him. I was one of his servants, or rather, his slave. I had to collect tithes in the surrounding villages. The villagers hated me. Every time I made my rounds, they slammed the door in my face, spat at me, or threw their trash in my face. I was synonymous with suffering for them, hard work for a miserable salary. They had nothing and I took everything from them in the name of Vladimir. One day, I came back to the castle with less money than expected because the locals had no more. Nevertheless, instead of attacking his subjects, Vladimir cut off my ear as punishment, because I should have found a solution to make the wretched pay their debts in one way or another. Then I had to remove all women of childbearing age in payment of their debt. Suffice to say that they hated me all the more. I destroyed their family. I was taking the poor women to the castle for Vladimir's pleasure. I didn't do it out of choice or cruelty, but it didn't make any difference to them. »
I was horrified by Zoran's actions. I thought then that he should have resisted. He should have helped those poor people. Of course, he guessed my fear.
« Don't look at me that way, Tatjana. You don't know what sacrifice we're willing to make to survive. Every time I tried to protect those who did not hesitate to strike me with their contempt, I paid the price. »
He then showed me his tongue pierced in the center and his hands with missing phalanxes. I went through hard times to realize that the Middle Ages was totally different time in everything. While I was living sheltered from the world, in total self-sufficiency. Yet, I was not at the end of the horrific tale of his rebirth.
« Then, there was no more woman or money to recover. I could not take the men to him as they had to work in the fields and I was reluctant to take the children to Vladimir. I still had a bit of a conscience. So, I tried to reason the Lord and make him see my reason. That was my last mistake, the fatal one to me, indeed. »
My father never shows pain or compassion, but the suffering that had transversed in his voice was the first time. These are my father's reflexes of the weak unlike Zoran who is not weak. I brought him trouble.
« Vladimir knew my greatest fear and he used it against me. In the Middle Ages, the woods were invaded by wild wolves that came out at nightfall looking for food. I couldn’t bear to hear them howl at death. Vladimir tied me up outside the compound and left me at their mercy. Those scavengers devoured me alive while I screamed with all might. »
Zoran had tensed his fingers on the armrests of his armchair, a terror mask on his face, reliving the worst moment of his human life. Then I had a gesture of compassion for him. I had put my hand on his arm as a sign of support and felt hollows and bumps through the fabric. Then, he escaped my touch suddenly.
« I woke up amidst the excrement of the castle's rich people. My remains had been thrown into the dung pit as if I were not worth more than that, without any respect to the person I had been. Can you just imagine what I felt when I woke up half-puffed, the pain and stench still sticking to my skin shreds? »
To be clear, I really couldn't imagine that. I lived in autarky, I had no memory of my human life and I did not know any kind of suffering. Loneliness and rejection are my daily portion. Even though Zoran has already inflicted physical abuse on me, I don't know what it's like to be betrayed by my own people or to be tortured to the point of wishing to die.
« I went to the nearest village to ask for help. When they saw me, they all scream out loud claiming that I was a monster from hell. There I was, half of my body, devoured and bloodied, by wolves, in front of them. Unfortunately, instead of giving me a helping hand, they threw me away again. »
He had smiled in a way as an icy shiver went up my spine and bristled with little hair on the back of my neck. Insanity had taken its place in the depths of his dead eyes.
« The thirst for blood overpowered me. I bit every one of them all. I felt delighted with every drop of blood I drained of them. I really enjoyed killing them all, even the children. I was a little disappointed when they finally got up a few hours later. I did not expect it. At that time, I did not know the power of the venom contained in my canines. Fortunately, the sunrise burned most of them and taught me that I should be wary of UV rays! »
Not only there was no intention of remorse in his voice, but on the contrary he was very satisfied.
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