The Black Aura

Broken Oath- Part 3

I pulled open the warehouse door and peered inside. I could only see a few feet of concrete floor, then everything was lost in the shadows.

I wanted to step inside and look around, make sure my suspicions of this place were correct, and it was indeed the day-layer of a vampire hive. But, even though I knew I would find the predators in a deep slumber that wouldn't break until night fall, the feeling stopped me from moving any further.

The Feeling: the human response to turn and run, because a ferocious monster was only feet away. The feeling told me that my suspicions were correct.

I shut the door and left the alleyway, starting the long walk towards my apartment, fighting back the urge to run about, shouting with joy.

At last, after weeks of searching the city for a day-layer, I had actually found one.

My plan was one step further to being completed.

Beautiful.

I was seated on the rooftop of the building across from her apartment, watching her through the French doors that exposed her living room.

"God," I said, breathlessly. "She is beautiful.

She was stretched out on the sofa, one leg dangling over the edge. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she focused on the novel in her hands.

There was one difference about her, and it saddened me to look at it. All the pain she had been through-the pain I had put her through-had left a thin aura of darkness clinging to the outline of her body. It was something I could see, though it was beyond the sight of humans. But I knew it signaled a deep wound, still open and hurting, within her spirit.

I laughed softly to myself. What had I expected?

Going to her, revealing that I was back from the dead, was only going to stir up that anger. This wasn't going to be a happy reunion. Not in the least.

Keep that in mind, I told myself. Be prepared for a fight.

Lowering myself into a crouch, I shot into the air, soaring with the precision and delicacy of a well-made paper airplane. I touched down soundlessly onto the balcony before the French doors, and stood completely still. Only my black hair, tossed by the wind, moved. I waited for her to notice me.

At first she stayed lost into her book. Then the subtle movement caught her eye. She glanced in my direction, then, catching sight of an intruder, sat up, ridged. Her eyes widened in terror. Then she realized who I was, and they became angry slits.

She pursed her lips and rose from the couch.

Walking to the doors only took a few seconds, yet it seemed like eternity I watched her moving-the way her legs shifted, her thrown back shoulders revealing a sign of self-assurance. God, how I loved her.

She only looked more beautiful when she hated me.

Pausing at the doors, she looked at me for a moment through the glass. Her glare softened, and her eyes traveled over my body as if she were studying me. Probably trying to decide if I was real or she was just crazy.

Slowly, her hand reached for the doorknob. I almost cried when she clicked the lock and opened the door.

Nothing was between us.

Everything was between us.

She took a step towards me...then slapped me so hard it turned my face. I could taste blood on my lip. I put it in my mouth and sucked it dry, then faced her once more.

"Hello to you too," I smiled.

"How the hell? Explain..." The last word was almost a growl.

"I died," I said. "And went to the afterlife."

"I hope it was a hellish experience."

"Very much so," I said. "You weren't there."

She laughed and moved away from me, taking a seat on the bench in the corner of the balcony, and wrapping her arms around herself to block the winter wind. She stared at me for a moment before speaking.

"So you found a way to come back. Why?"

"I thought that would be obvious," I said. "I love you, Lily. You are my heart. You are my life, and nothing can separate me from you. Not even death. I came back to be with you."

"You're a cheating liar, and I put you in your grave-so to speak- for a reason." She tilted her head and said in a mock sweet voice, "If you loved me, you'd stay there."

That hurt much worse that the slap. The sorrow had changed her. She was far more bitter than I had every known her to be.

"I understand how you'd come to feel that way, Lilly. But believe me, I a sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry about Abigail. Vampiric senses are so sensitive, and sometimes-"

"Save it," she snapped. "I don't care if ‘I'm your heart' and the rest of that cheesy romance novel crap. I don't love you anymore, Damien. I want you to leave and never speak to me again."

I felt as if I was dieing again, but this time the bliss of destruction wouldn't save me. As I stood before her, I was also falling deeper and deeper into a vast abyss. My very self was slipping away from me.

I looked into her eyes, hoping to find some pity, but there was none. The aura of sorrow was clingingly to her tightly.

She rose to her feet. "Leave. Leave now."

Like a puppy, obeying the master it would give it's life for, I turned and rose into the air, flying off into the night.

I smiled to myself, and a tear fell down my cheek. What had I expected?

It took all I had to appear calm as I sent him away. I watched him as he flew off until he was a mere dot on the horizon, then nothing at all.

Then I allowed myself to fall to the ground, and release the sobs in my throat.

How could he? How could he break my heart, and then fight death, coming back only to say that he loved me? I felt as if the world was spinning uncontrollably around me.

Did he have any idea how much he had hurt me? How many nights I had spent crying, hating, screaming, until finally I could pull myself together again?

Of course he didn't. He was a stupid, pathetic bastard.

All the sorrow, the pain, and the hatred that I had fought so hard to control overpowered me. I curled up into a ball and wrapped my arms tightly around my knees. I wanted to stay on the balcony like that, just simply lay there until the bitter cold of winter and the lack of food and water took my life.

Then, another thought entered my mind.

My plan.

What about the plan I had been hatching for months, the one thing that had given my life purpose during those dark days. Was I about to just abandon it?

"No," I said, sitting up and wiping my eyes. Certainly not. If anything there was more reason to carry out the plan now than before. Not only would it bring me peace, it would teach Damien the lesson that I was serious about my hatred for him.

I imagined the sorrow in his eyes when I would find him and tell him what I had done.

Oh, that tasted so lovely.

All the pain inside me melted away, and was replaced by hatred.

I rose and walked back into my living room.

I had planned on doing this tomorrow night, but why wait? Why not bring the plan to completion tonight?

I picked up the phone and dialed. A few rings, then a voice on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Hey, girl," I said in my most cheerful voice. "You want to go out tonight?"

"Hell yeah!" Abigail squealed.

If there's one thing true about a broken heart, it's that alcohol is it's best friend.

I sat at the edge of the bar at the club-the same club, in fact, where Lily had killed me- sipping my drink slowly.

A regular, quiet bar would have been better suited, I suppose, since I was in no state to join the clubbers around me in there careless dancing. But I liked the energy and movement. It was distracting...to a certain degree. My main focus at the moment was still the relentless pit I felt in the center of my heart.

I took another drink, and it burned like fire in my throat.

I glanced at my watch, and was surprised at how late it was. Morning was almost approaching; I'd need to be heading out soon, since I still hadn't found a suitable day-layer(I was sure my old one would already be taken). When I had pictured this night, it always ended up with me sleeping in Lily's bed, the curtains firmly drawn over the windows.

So much for happy endings.

I drained the last of the drink and threw a tip on the bar. Standing up, I pushed my way through the crowd towards the door. I was about halfway there when I saw them on the other side of the club, sitting on a pair of couches in the corner, chatting like dear friends.

Lilly...and-

"Abigail?" I muttered. I froze in the middle of the ocean of dancing mortals, unable to take my eyes off this spectacle. None of this, absolutely none of it, made sense. Using my vampire hearing, I tuned out the music and noise of the crowd, honing in on there voices.

They giggled like school children.

"Oh, girl, you are so right," Abigail said to Lily. "We do need to do this more often."

"Work, and crap just keeps pulling us apart," Lily said. "Which is all the more reason to do it. Let's take the trip to Hawaii this spring. It will be a solid week of just us. Just best friend time."

Best friends. What. The. ****?

"Absolutely," Abigail squealed. "Tomorrow, I'll put in my time-off request from work. This is going to be great."

The two fell into silence for a moment, both absently sipping drinks. Lily's aura had gown, despite her calm demeanor. It looked like a vortex swirling around her. What was I to make of this?

After a moment, Abigail spoke. "Lily, don't you think this is weird?"

"What?"

"Just...us. Our friendship. I mean, a few weeks ago, you caught me with your boyfriend-at this club, actually-and were freaking pissed. When you showed up at my house the next day, I knew for certain that you were going to kill me, too. But you just wanted to talk, to know what had happened those last few months. That lead to us becoming friends. Best friends, actually." she cast her eyes skyward as if it overwhelmed her. It just such a strange story."

Lily smiled. Yet her aura pulsated viciously. "It is a strange story, I guess. And I assume most girls would want to kick the ass of their boyfriends ho," She raised an eyebrow at Abigail, then smiled. Abigail giggled in return. "But any guy that could treat a woman like that-especially a woman he said he loved-doesn't deserve any feelings to be expended on him."

Her eyes shifted downward, and she took a drink from her glass.

"Anyways," she said. "He was a vampire. What can you expect from there kind?"

Abigail snorted. "Girl, you said it there."

The two laughed whole heartedly. Then Lily took Abigail's hand and held it tightly. "But I am glad we're friends." she said.

"Me too," Abigail replied, then yawned.

"I think your officially running on empty," Lilly said. What do you say we call it a night. Want me to walk you home?"

"Sure." Abigail drained the last of her drink. Lily sat hers, still half full, on the table, and the two made their way out of the club.

I followed, of course, making sure to stay in the shadows.

Thank God!

All this time spent pretending to be this bitch's friend was about to pay off.

Once we had left the club and made our way down the silent nighttime streets, the alcohol had begun to take real effect on Abigail. God, how that woman could drink. She stopped talking completely, and I could see real concentration in her eyes as she fought to put one step successfully in front of the other. I laughed and put my arm around her. "Here, girl, let me help you."

"Thanks," she slurred, and leaned into me, allowing me to be her crutch.

Without a doubt, her biggest mistake.

She didn't even realize that we had turned and weren't going in the direction towards her apartment anymore. Instead, we were headed towards a somewhat neglected part of town...where an abandoned warehouse stood.

Abigail wined beneath my arm. "Are we almost there yet?"

"Soon," I replied, pulling her closer to me. "Real soon."

I glanced at my watch: almost sunrise. I was fairly certain that at least one vampire would have already returned to his layer, preparing for slumber. Hopefully, he would want a snack before bed.

We arrived at the warehouse, and I stopped at the door. It looked the same it had before, only a window beside the door had been knocked out. No glass lay on the ground, which meant it had been broken from the outside. I only hoped that was a sign that this was a rowdy bunch of blood suckers.

My heart was racing with pure excitement. I pulled Abigail out of my arm and stood her up, holding her head in my hands so she couldn't help but face me.

My heart was beating rapidly. This was it.

"Abby. Abby, can you hear me? I need to tell you something."

"What?" she moaned.

"You're a stupid *****, and I hope you burn in hell."

I threw opened the door, pushing her into the darkness.

Abigail screamed as she went flying backwards. The terrified look on her face was the last thing I saw before I shut the door.

A faint russling sound came from within the building. Then suddenly Abigail's piercing screams tore through the night. Moments later they stopped, and the silence took over once more.

Was it really happening? It felt like a dream. After all these months of searching for day-layers, and trying to keep up the appearance of being this bitch's friend, I had actually lead her to the most poetic of deaths. My plan was complete.

Like a true evil villain, I stood there, laughing.

I was still laughing when the door swung open, and Damien stepped out.

He looked like he had been in a fight; his body was covered in cuts and burses, though they were closing up and healing as he stood there. In his hands, shacking uncontrollably, was Abigail-completely unharmed.

Never had I hated him more than in that moment.

"What the **** are you doing?" Lily screamed at me. The aura was practically a tornado spinning around her.

I ignored her and sat Abigail gently on the ground. When I made to stand up, she whimpered and grasped at my arms like a little child begging to be picked up.

"Shhh. It's alright," I cooed. "Just sit still. Your safe."

I had instructed the vampires within the warehouse to stay inside. Since I had just nearly killed the all moments before in the fight, I knew they'd listen.

Slowly, Abigail relaxed and let go of my arms. She curled herself into a ball and rocked gently on the sidewalk, whimpering.

I turned to face Lily.

There was nothing but fury in her eyes as she stared at me. Her tiny hands were balled into fist. I walked over to her slowly, and she raised a hand to slap me with, but I caught it.

"Let me go," she said, jerking away. But I held my grip.

"No, Lily. No more fits and outburst. You've crossed a line tonight."

She spat in my face. "You have no right to tell me what to do."

I ignored her. "If you are pissed at me, Lily, that's one thing. But when you start putting other mortals in danger, that's another. You have let yourself be so consumed by hatred that it has overtaken you. You've given birth to a monster."

"Anything evil I've done has been your fault," she said. "It's all your fault."

"I know," I said, taking a deep sigh. "and I plan to correct that fault."

I pulled her off her feet and wrapped my arms tenderly around her, trapping her in my embrace. "I love you, Lily," I whispered. "And I'm not letting you go. Not until you release your hate and begin to love me in return."

"Bastard," she screamed, and pounded her tiny fist against my face, while kicking my shins. But I held her tighter, knowing all I had to do was let the tantrum pass.

But I was wrong. Suddenly the aura that surrounded her began to change. It hardened and took on more shape. My heart quickened; I'd never encountered this before. Without knowing it, Lily was conjuring her hate, and using it as a weapon.

I had to hold onto her, that was all that mattered.

The structure of the aura began to change. It was like a hundred whips cutting into my skin. Though it left no visible mark it dug deep into me. The pain was close to unbearable, but I still held on to her.

At last the whirlwind began to slow, and the pains subsided.

"Put me down," her voice was beginning to turn from screams to sobs. I could tell it wouldn't be long now.

And then, something happened that erased all my hope.

The aura turned on her.

My only guess was that it was angry for not being able to defeat me, and, therefore, was going to eliminate the object of my desire.

The black shadow began to cling to her skin, forming an air tight shield. I felt her squirm in my grasp, and gasp for breath.

"Damien, please. I can't breath."

My undead heart was beating rapidly. I had to do something or she would die. Still holding her tightly, I rose into the air, sailing upward, past buildings and skyscrapers until we were just under the clouds. I could feel Lily shivering, and knew she was weakening from the cold and lack of air. Soon, she would begin to drift out of consciousness. Which meant her guard would be down, and her true feelings would come true.

"Lily, please..." I said, desperately.

She tilted her head up to face mine, and I saw that her eyes were heavy. She opened her mouth, and, with the last bit of strength, said three words.

"I love you."

The aura released her instantly and floated away. It dissolved like smoke being taken by the wind.

Lily's head fell back. She took a big gulp of air, and drifted into sleep.

I woke up in my own bed.

The clock said it was midday, but the curtains pulled tightly across the windows created the impression of night time.

Beside me, Damien rolled over and wrapped his arm around me.

Just like old times.

The shame I felt was near unbearable. I knew there would be repercussions for what I did, and that I was far from the end of this nightmare.

But, right now, laying next to Damien, devoid of all my hatred and simply loving him, which came natural for me, I was happy.

Nestling in closer to my vampire, I drifted back to sleep.

Keyword: The Black Aura-A Sequel to 'Heart of the Vampire'

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Comments (2)

Posted by whendarknessrises 2008-08-20 17:09:01 .... nice :) vampires! i saw vampires and i was like woah! lol but it was a pretty good story in general. i enjoyed it. it kind of confused me going back and fourth from people. but that might just be me. + Report this comment
Posted by Terry Collett 2008-08-21 11:25:39 .... Not usually my favourite genre of stories, but this was interesting and held my attention, not an easy task. Enjoyed the read. + Report this comment

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