Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We were silent on our walk, reaching the rusted chain link fence surrounding the factory faster than what I would've liked. It was easy to want this when I was lip locked with Leon. Now that I had my wits back, I wasn't so sure.

Maybe if I had another lip lock session with Leon…. I slammed the door on that thought quickly, locking it up and throwing the key away in the water next to us. I needed my sane wits about me, not hormone induced feelings. Nerves of a different kind battled it out with the nerves of my impending death. At least I wasn't just thinking about dying now. I could add lust to that list.

Leon squeezed my hand. "You okay? You look a bit tense."

I was sure he knew what I'd been thinking, which was confirmed when I looked at him and saw the smirk plastered to his face. Looking at him definitely made not kissing him a lot harder than it was supposed to be.

I forced out a laugh and gave him a pointed stare before looking away. He nodded his head in understanding, the smirk falling from his face. It was replaced with the most serious expression I'd ever seen on Leon's face. It almost made me miss the smirk. Almost.

Aiming to turn the focus of attention back to why we were here, I looked around for the point where we'd gain access to the factory instead of replying. Even though the place was abandoned and unused, except by the clan, police still patrolled the area to keep the docks safe since they were still being used by the fishermen. I guess the cops weren't aware that there weren't any more drug dealers around here, only vampires. Because of that, the hole had to remain invisible to prevent the cops from becoming suspicious. It made finding the hole a challenge if you didn't know where to look exactly. It wouldn't be too obvious to bystanders, or cops patrolling the area, but we found it easily enough. The clan probably made the hole anyways.

I wondered if the people who found their way here were given a choice to join the clan or die like I had. I was sure they'd found their way into at least one meeting the vampires had here. With how slimy and evil Theo had been, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd had a claw in the drug trafficking pie when he'd been alive. It made me wonder if Leon had shut that down or if he'd continued it on in memory of his graceless leader before him. I hoped not. Leon would definitely lose some brownie points with me if I had to come back as some sort of side bitch for a drug cartel leader of the night.

Leon parted the fence for me, and through my stress and fear I giggled as I passed through. I couldn't help it. The thought of Leon being some sort of drug mafia king was making me giddy. Or it could've been the fact that I was feeling the need to jump him again as my body brushed against his.

"What?" He asked, his eyebrow raising in question.

I tried to salvage my embarrassment. "I was just thinking, this used to be a good meeting place for drug traffickers, wasn't it?"

Leon nodded his head. "Well yes, until Theo found it."

"I was wondering if Theo had a hand in it all, once he found out that they were here."

Leon chuckled. "Well no, he didn't. The drug clients became part of the clan, but Theo was never smart enough to utilize that illegal indenture."

I was relieved. That meant the illogical part of my brain didn't have to worry about becoming some sort of drug hussy. I nodded my head to Leon in understanding, noticing his smirk was back. He leaned towards me, his voice dropping into a seductive whisper. "Want to try again and tell me what's really on your mind?"

That sentence shouldn't have had my heart racing, but it did. Even though I was sure he could hear it, I tried not to let him notice how much his voice affected me. My heart may want to be his, in any way that it could, but that didn't mean my mind did. I scoffed. "Let's just stay focused here please."

Leon shrugged, though his smirk remained. "I thought I'd get your mind off of this as much as I could. You've been shaking since we started walking to the factory."

I made an indignant choking sound. "I was shaking because it's cold. I'm not scared."

His face fell, and I turned away. "It's ok to be scared Sky."

I chose not to look at him. I could hear the pity back in his voice, and I didn't want to risk the look to match. I wasn't completely sure I wouldn't break down and cry. Life was unfair, and I had to accept that it wouldn't always go the way I wanted it to. No need to be a baby about the whole thing. I was losing my soul tonight, not my mind. Instead of answering him, I turned my attention back to walking. The outside of the factory hadn't changed much since the last time I'd been here. Although it was dark and hard to see now and then, so I could've been wrong.

The ground beneath me had gone from grassy hill to broken asphalt, and weeds fought their way through the cracks. They reached to the sky, trying to get to the sunlight and away from the dark of the pavement underneath. The pavement itself was faded, the once black asphalt now a dull gray. The once white lines that guided the trucks were now splotched and cracked like the rest of the ground.

The building blocked out most of the moonlight, but I could still see some of the graffiti decorating the nearby pavement and walls from here. A door for the factory workers and truck drivers to walk through stood against the wall, which was where we were headed. Reaching the door, I could see holes on the surface where it'd been eaten up by rust. Leon grabbed its handle, and giving me a smile and a wink, he twisted it harshly to the left. I could hear the lock snap, and handle all but disintegrated in his hand.

Why it was locked, I had no clue. It wasn't like a simple lock could keep a vampire out like Leon just demonstrated. It was probably there just so Leon could show off his metal bending skills. The thought had me resisting a huge eye roll. So much for not being noticed. I was sure the patrols would notice that when they made their rounds. I hoped Leon didn't kill them to keep them quiet while I changed.

It seemed like a waste, to me, to keep things locked with a bunch of overpowered supernatural beasts running around anyways, but what do I know? I was probably the only human that knew they existed and lived to tell about it. Probably wouldn't even know what hit them if they caught themselves in the same situation, Emma had.

Leon pushed, and the door groaned and buckled against the friction the lock and handle made after being snapped like a toothpick. I was scared it would fall off its hinges then and there, causing unwanted attention to the two of us. Instead, the door swung open, making an eerie squeal as it did so, and it clattered against the wall behind it. Louder than snapping the lock had been. Somehow the rusted door hitting the wall didn't cause it to clatter to the ground. It stayed intact on its hinges, despite the harsh thud that echoed through the dark.

"Could you be any louder?" I snapped, gesturing to the door.

He grinned. "I could've done that quieter, but where's the fun in that. Besides, you look like you could use another distraction to keep your mind occupied."

"Being chased off the property by cops and hauled off to jail hardly counts as a good distraction." I huffed.

Instead of sharing in my worry though, he chuckled and touched my arm, once again igniting desire in my chest. I suddenly went from wanting to run from here, to wanting to run to Leon's arms instead. This was worse than puberty hormones.

"You ready?" Leon asked, still grinning.

"How can you be smiling right now?" I blinked up at him in shock. The feeling of need transforming to a feeling of surprise. I tried to step away from him, but his touch on my arm followed me.

His smile turned into a look of confusion, and his hand tightened slightly before he let go. He must've thought I was rejecting his touch, which was semi true at the moment.

I understood some part of him couldn't understand my fears. He didn't understand why I wanted to run off in another direction. He was a vampire already and all. Hell, he just bent metal like it was nothing more than a twig. How easily he dismissed what we were about to do shouldn't be such a big thing to me, but it was. His humanity only stretched so far. It wasn't an excuse either. It was just a fact. I knew that, but at the same time, I'd expected more understanding from him. If I wasn't about to lose my soul to this vampire, I would've forgotten that he wasn't human. It was hard to remember he'd gone through this just as I was now. Maybe even more brutally than me.

I pointed between us. "This isn't some casual, ghost hunting date in a creepy-ass factory. You're going to kill me soon."

His sigh was heavy in the night air. "I'm aware of that. But seeing as how we can't really get out of it at this point, I don't see the point in being so dark and depressed."

I nodded, grudgingly admitting he had a fair point. Gathering my nerves up before I ran off into the night, I walked through the door.

It was pitch black inside, and I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. The smell of fish took over my senses, and I struggled not to gag as I covered my nose. It smelled worse than a Long John Silver's in here. The smell was so much stronger in the factory then it'd been outside. I guess the last time I was here I was a little more preoccupied with Emma's death to notice the stench, but that wasn't a problem now.

I knew from memory that the place was huge and mostly empty. All that was left were a few steel gutting tables scattered along the inside. Old, rotted away boxes were thrown about. The place had probably been gutted, no pun intended, in a hurry. The few remaining items were left abandoned to the weather and slow demise of the place. None of the candles were lit, and I briefly wondered if they were all still there.

There were rafters above us, with stairs providing entrances to them from the side of the factory. I knew without seeing that there were a few rusted chains hanging from the ceiling as well. These had been used to hang up the bigger fish once they'd been caught. I remembered the giant hooks attached to them were deadly looking, some of them looked more like shark hooks then for just tuna.

Like the asphalt outside, the floor in here was cracked with grass poking out, and a dusty layer of dirt and crushed cement seemed to cake the entire floor. I kicked it up with my shoes as I walked, and I had to resist the urge to cough and sneeze.

Along with the dust I kicked up, I scattered some broken glass across the dark silence of the place. It was probably from a broken beer bottle that'd been left behind at some point in time. No doubt from some sort of party, like rowdy teenagers daring each other to conquer the haunted looking factory. It echoed as it crashed somewhere on the other side of the empty space. I continued to walk through the rest of the broken pieces, and the glass made an awfully loud crunch under my foot. My eyes eventually adjusted to the little bit of light the holes in the ceiling provided. I still couldn't see very well without the full brightness of the moon, but I wasn't completely blind now. I turned to the outline of Leon next to me.

"Now what?" I asked expectantly.

I felt Leon's hand on my arm once more as he guided me in the dark. The touch was electric and seemed to sizzle straight down to my soul. Once again I fought the urge to tackle him and begin another steamy kiss. If ever I needed to forget my fears, now seemed like as good an opportunity as any.

Suddenly, he grabbed me and pulled me to his chest. I slammed into his abs with a surprised grunt. I put my hands against his chest and was about to push him away until I heard a metallic screech, much like the sound of a car crash, make contact with the ground where I was standing only moments before. It took everything I had not to flinch into Leon's chest as the loud noise echoed around us.

We stood like that for a moment. My heart was racing in fear, and both of our breathing picked up with adrenaline. Both of us were too afraid to move and be squashed by whatever the hell that crash had been. Well I was afraid to move, I doubted whatever that had been would've been able to kill a vampire.

"Are you okay?" Leon asked. His voice sounded rough to my ears, and he still held me against his chest.

I had to shake off a surge of lust from the thoughts his voice brought to me. So not the time. "I'm fine, what was that?"

"Part of the ceiling. Maybe I should've brought some light in here for you." I resisted the urge to give him a sarcastic retort. I was starting to think the lack of lighting had been on purpose. Of course I hadn't brought one either, but I hadn't thought about it. I hadn't been in the right state of mind to think about trivial stuff like that, and who could blame me?

Leon seemed to have purposely not thought about it.

We stayed pressed together, and after a few minutes, now that we hadn't been squashed, our closeness started to cause those feelings other than fear to surface once more. Or at least it did for me. But if the hardness I could feel growing against my stomach was any indication, it was causing similar feelings for Leon, too. At least it's not just me, I thought with a long sigh.

I should've pushed him away like I was originally going to. But after almost dying before I was supposed to, it'd made me want to stay right where I was. Against his hard and very comfortable chest. It seemed to be the more logical choice since he could probably see in the dark.

Keep telling yourself that. I snorted to myself.

Leon continued walking, pulling me along with him. I felt his mouth by my ear as he whispered, "Don't worry I'll protect you."

Deciding that I'd much rather risk the ceiling's collapse on my head after all, I pushed away from him and crossed my arms over my chest. In fact, I was hoping it would happen. Just so I didn't have to deal with his bullshit, or my embarrassment at how horny I was acting. I was already trying very hard not to swoon. Damn prick. He knew very well what he did to me.

"I don't need your protection. I'm fine thanks." I tried to be snippy, but damn it if my voice didn't come out breathy. I could tell even in the dark that he rolled his eyes at that, but that smirk was still infuriatingly intact.

"Yes, that's why you almost just died. Nasty way to go by the way."

"You're the one who brought me here remember. It's yo..."

My protests and logical argument were cut off as I was lifted from the floor and laid on a hard metal table. I squealed like the little girl I was, convinced my time had finally come with the sudden movement, and gripped onto Leon's shoulders like my life depended on it.

Trying to hide his laughter, Leon spoke in my ear. "This will do, lay here."

The smell of fish hit my senses like a Mack truck. The smell was so strong, it made my stomach flip flop in my body. The hairs in my nose singed as well. "You put me on a gutting table! Leon really?" I sat up and tried to climb off the table, but Leon grabbed my shoulders.

His frustrated sigh echoed in the darkness. "Stop complaining, Skylar. This has to be done, so please just work with me."

He was right of course; I didn't have a choice. Even though a better spot could've been chosen for the occasion. The table beneath me was cold, hard, and smelly. Not to mention the place gave me the creeps. I didn't know what was worse, the smell or the situation I was in. Leon pulled away, chuckling. "So, this has a sort of ceremony to it, you ready?"

"This is a ceremony?" What were we marrying each other? I knew as my creator we'd share some sort of bond, but damn.

"Well yeah. What did you think I did, just sucked your blood then snapped your neck?"

I cringed at the casual way he said that, but the truth was that's exactly what I thought would happen. "Well I mean, yea sort of."

Leon chuckled. "I'm not going to snap your neck, Sky."

I'd be lying if his words didn't make some tension I wasn't aware that I had leave. "Well that's a relief. What'll you be doing then?"

"To put it bluntly, I'll be drinking your blood. Then I'll give you some of my blood."

"Well if you're not going to snap my neck, how will I be dying?"

Leon sighed impatiently, and I expected him to snap at me, but his words were soft as he explained. "The amount of blood I need to take to make you change is going to be enough that the blood loss will kill you. My blood is going to be what changes you."

"Sounds just as bad as snapping my neck. How does that make this a ceremony?" I asked confused.

"Because this was the place the promise was made, Sky. That's why it has to be here. That's what brings out the magic in this and creates a ceremony. Didn't you wonder why we couldn't do this at home in your bed? This is a more complicated situation than when I was changed."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I couldn't help it, I had to know.

Leon just chuckled. "Yes, I know what I'm doing. I haven't changed anyone before, but that doesn't mean I don't know how. Relax. This will be over before you know it. And I'll see you when you wake up."

Before I could lay down though, a thought struck me, and I paused. Mistaking my hesitation for trying to get out of this once more, Leon sighed heavily. "Sky, will you please just lay back? I know your scared, but the faster we get started, the less time you'll have to be scared."

I placed my hand on his arm to stop any more sarcasm from spewing from his mouth. I gave him a serious look that I was sure he could see just fine in the darkness. "Leon, if I wake up and go crazy, you have to promise to kill me."

The silence that met me after I spoke was heavy in the dark. I felt him stiffen under my hand and I wished I could see his face.

He spoke softly. "Why would you ask that of me? I'm not going to let you kill anyone."

I shook my head vigorously. "I made a promise to my sister, Leon. I won't live my life as a killing machine. You have to kill me if that's what I become, please. I trust you on this."

The tension left his body and he sighed again. "Fine, Sky, but only as a last resort. I won't let you become a monster, okay? I promise if it comes to that, I will end you myself."

"Thank you. I don't want to be anything other than myself."

We were both silent for a moment. Satisfied with his answer, I finally laid back on the table. Once I got settled, I waited for the pain of dying to start. I waited for the last bit of calm to take a hike as well, but it never did. In fact, I almost felt peaceful as I lay there. It was unexpected, but I would take it over the overwhelming fear I'd felt walking into this place.

I lay in the dark for what felt like forever. My breathing was calm, and I prepared for the sharp sting of teeth when Leon finally decided to take a bite. When the silence stretched on for what I was sure was longer than five minutes I sighed in exasperation.

"Leon are you trying to kill me by making me so nervous I have a heart attack or something?"

His hand found my lips and he covered my mouth with his palm. He leaned down, and I felt the air from his breath brush my ear as he whispered. "Shh Sky, this takes mental preparation."

Leon's usual cheerfulness had transformed. He almost sounded nervous as he continued to breath against my ear and neck. I would've made an awkward nervous joke right then, but his hand was still wrapped around my mouth. He knew me too well.

Instead, I sat there, in silence.

After another tense moment, Leon's lips touched my collar bone and began to travel up my neck towards my ear. A feather light caress against the veins that ran through my neck. It felt so good that it stopped me from jumping from the sudden movement. He removed his hand from my mouth as his mouth reached my ear. I guessed the "ceremony" had begun. His touch was feather light as his fingers danced across my flesh, and it felt good on my skin. Everywhere he touched came alive like a current of electricity. It took a lot of self-control not to moan with pleasure. I squirmed slightly, resisting the urge to pull him closer. Leon growled softly, the sound vibrating through my already pulsing skin. "Stay still."

I immediately stilled. His words weren't harsh, but they sounded strained. I trusted Leon not to hurt me, but that didn't mean I wouldn't awaken some kind of natural hunting instinct in him. This was bound to be hard enough on him as it was. It was going against his nature to sucks me dry and leave my corpse behind.

I began to relax, despite my nerves and irritation, when I felt his teeth scrape across my skin. It was a gentle scrape at first, testing my reaction to the feeling. I didn't dare move, and I was pretty sure I'd stopped breathing already. I was aware of the pulse in my throat as my heart began to pick up speed. Right before I thought I'd pass out from the suspense, his fangs pierced my throat, right on the pulse. Pain seared my veins, and I clamped down on the scream that tried to escape my mouth. I was surprised at the sudden violence and pain. Painless my ass. If I wasn't struggling against pushing him away or screaming, I'd tell him where to shove it.

The pain quickly turned from severe to a dull ache though, and I could feel the blood being pulled out of my body. The awkward numbness was unexpected. My veins were now a straw emptying into Leon's mouth. I knew that if the roar in my ears wasn't so loud, I could probably hear Leon gulping down my life's energy. It was almost like getting my blood drawn at the doctor, if the doctor weren't trying to kill me.

The feeling of pain was suddenly overrun with feelings of happiness, love, peace, and acceptance. Suddenly, dying didn't seem so scary. It felt like a surreal way to go. It felt right, leaving this world by Leon's mouth. I didn't think I'd ever make it to the next life, but with his mouth pressed to my skin, I was okay with that. I didn't know whose feelings they were. They could've been mine, or they could've been Leon's through this bond that was forming. I didn't know what was going to happen once he turned me. For all I knew, this could've been the magic celebrating its victory over keeping the promise at last. Either way, I felt like I was soaring. It had to be due to lack of blood, but I was past caring at this point. I was ready for death.

Out of instinct, Leon clutched me tighter to him and sucked harder. A possessive growl escaped his lips, and the sound reminded me of a lion growling protectively over their kill. Because I was his, in every way possible now. Goosebumps erupted on my skin. Even though my mind knew Leon wouldn't do anything to hurt me, my body thought otherwise. The heavenly feeling disappeared as fast as it'd come as I realized I was dying. I fought once more not to scream as the pain snapped back through me like a rubber band. It was coating my neck and right side of my skull like someone was pouring bleach on my brain. It took all I had to fight the instincts to buck Leon off me and try to run. I doubted I was strong enough to make it very far anyways.

I ignored all those feelings, and instead concentrated on not becoming a monster.

I was proud of my rational thought through the pain, I figured once I came back, I'd kick his ass for telling me it wouldn't hurt. It was like him telling me that he was going to take the band aid off at the count of three, and then ripping it off on two. I didn't know how long I laid in a haze of pain, but eventually it dulled enough that I became numb to it once again.

It was a weird sensation though, feeling my body growing weaker. I could feel different parts of my body dying as my blood was pulled from my veins. It started from my feet and slowly made its way up my body. The feeling wasn't unpleasant since the pain had died off by now, and at this point it just felt foreign. I closed my eyes as even the roar in my ears settled down to a dull ringing. I was starting to float on the brink of darkness and the thoughts of heaven were returning when I heard a pair of footsteps in the silence surrounding us.

They weren't normal footsteps from what I could tell. It sounded like something was running toward us on all fours. The echo from the empty space made it loud enough for me to hear even in my weakened state. Combined with the ringing in my ears it sounded like a herd of horses galloping through the empty factory.

Leon didn't move, even though I was sure he could hear them too. Instinct had driven him to continue drinking from me, and the only thing he did was growl louder and pull me even closer. I wasn't sure if he was trying to protect me as his meal or just in general. I tried to yell a warning to him, but my mouth was too weak to form the words fast enough.

Suddenly, Leon's mouth was ripped away as the attacker grabbed him from behind. His sharp teeth, which were still embedded in my skin, tore my throat down to my collar bone. The tear made a huge hole in the side of my neck. I couldn't help but scream in agony as blood gushed from the gash. Though my scream only came out as a loud gasp of pain.

As I gathered what little strength I had left to bring my hand up and staunch the bleeding, I had a moment to wonder how I still had this much blood left in me. I knew it probably wouldn't do me any good since I was half dead, but I had to try to stop myself from bleeding out. I couldn't die before Leon had a chance to get his blood back in me.

I heard the rush of air as the attacker flung Leon away from me, and his shadow disappeared into the blackness. A loud crash told me he'd been flung to the other side of the factory and into something metal. Probably another gutting table. He grunted in pain and was silent.

I tried to sit up to escape, deciding it was time to try and run for it, but my body would no longer cooperate with my demands. Shit. The loss of blood had caused me to go numb, and I probably looked like a flopping fish. How comical, and ironic. My head started to swim, and I focused on fighting the darkness that tried to pull me into unconsciousness. I looked around for the attacker, hoping Leon would make it to me before the attacker did. I had to believe that one throw across the factory wouldn't be enough to take a vampire out.

I could still barely see, and I thought I saw the attacker crouched in the shadows, preparing to pounce. At least I thought it was the attacker. I'd have been pretty embarrassed if I was staring down a rotting box and this thing attacked me from the other side. Your delusions aren't helping you, I snapped to myself. Instead, I tried to focus on the unknown shadow, and only when the shadow moved did it confirm my suspicions.

My vision was hazy from blood loss, but I could hear him snarl at me as I watched the shadow lunge. He seemed to be aiming for my chest as he flew through the air. He landed right on the mark, and all the air in my lungs went out of me in a whoosh. I struggled to breathe. I couldn't even inhale, let alone try to scream again or move. I knew that if I were to pass out now, I wouldn't be coming back as a vampire. I wouldn't be coming back at all.

The attacker leaned in close, and I was able to see him better. He had all black eyes, and they looked crazed. I knew it was practically pitch black in here, but even I could see there was no white left, and no distinct pupils or irises. Just two small black holes. He looked like a demented demon coming to take my soul. I couldn't find any sense of humanity in their depths either. Even in the dark, his skin looked as bright and pale as the moon. It was like a waxy residue had been poured over him and coated his skin in a pale sheen. Almost like he'd been made in a wax factory. It was stretched thin across his bones, making him look like he hadn't eaten in ages.

He smelled of death and rotten flesh, and the stench surrounding him made me think of corpses and garbage. It was like roadkill that'd been left baking in the sun for too long. His black hair was wild and unkempt, matted to his head like a wild animal. I could see leaves and twigs sticking out of it. His clothes hung around him in tatters, it looked like it had once been a fancy three-piece suit, but now it looked like rags as it clung to the important parts of his body.

What alarmed me the most though was his chest. It had a gaping hole that was oozing some sort of putrescence. I didn't think it was blood either since it was completely black. It seemed to be the source of the smell that was seeping off of the creature. I had a feeling that I didn't want any of that touching my skin.

His mouth was open in a snarl, with rows of sharp teeth to filet with. It was like a human with the mouth of a shark. It was almost impossible for this thing to close his mouth. Saliva seeped from between his teeth and dripped in streams down his face. It was hot and acid like as it landed on my skin. This was obviously not another vampire.

As he started to lunge for my face, I grimaced and tried to move my head as far away from his teeth as possible. From the darkness I heard the sound of metal clinking. A chain whizzed through the air and wrapped around the creature's throat, cutting off his snarl. It turned into choking as he stopped, inches from tearing my face off.

Distracted by the chain, the attacker grabbed his throat to dislodge it. From the dark I heard a menacing roar that made my blood run cold. It was the sound of a truly pissed off vampire. Leon appeared from the depths of the factory, and I was surprised that despite my failing vision, I could suddenly see him clearly. He looked like he was glowing, like some form of fallen angel as he stalked closer to the flailing creature. The glowing could have been my senses hallucinating though.

His face was twisted in such rage, my skin erupted in goosebumps. He was staring directly at the creature still perched on my chest. The look he gave the thing promised pain, and I almost felt bad for the thing that tried to pry my face off. If he wasn't so angry, I could almost say I saw excitement cross his features. I might've imagined it, but Leon almost looked excited to kill this thing. With another roar of anger, Leon appeared before the attacker and grabbed the chain around his throat.

As he attacked, the glow disappeared, and I couldn't see anything but the outline of his body and his white hair. Despite that, I knew his eyes still shone emerald with uncontrolled anger as they bored into the creature. The threat of my life was making him fiercer than I'd ever seen. He growled and slashed at the attacker with a hand that now resembled a claw. The creature howled in pain and tried to lash out at him in return, the chain around his neck forgotten.

"Mine." Leon snarled into the face of the attacker.

Leon tried to yank the thing off of me, but the creature was clinging to the metal table beneath me. Instead, Leon grabbed it by the throat, his claws digging into the creature's neck as he squeezed hard. Black liquid poured from the gash Leon's claws made. The creature howled again and tried to pry Leon's hands off of him.

He managed to push Leon back, and then lunged for him. The weight of the creature was lifted off my body at last, and if I could, I would've sighed in relief. I watched as their shadows collided in the air, and faster than my eyes could track, they were flying around the room in a deadly duel. Fucking supernatural creatures of the night.

All I could see were blurs as bodies clashed and slammed into each other. Each one trying to get the upper hand. Both of them seemed to be evenly matched though, and I wondered what the creature was that he wasn't even phased by Leon. I could hear the snarling and snapping through the buzzing in my ears as they tried to tear each other apart with their teeth. Then suddenly, I heard the snap of bone, a grunt of pain, and saw what I hoped was the creature sailing over me and into the darkness. It crashed into the wall across from us and disappeared into the night.

Leon was back beside me in an instant, and his sudden appearance would've made me scream if I had the energy. Blackness ate away at the edges of my vision, becoming permanent as they inched their way over my eyes. Honestly it was a miracle I was still alive. Although the fight couldn't have lasted more than a few minutes, it felt like it lasted for an hour. Leon was close enough that I could see the panic in his eyes as he looked over my injuries. The blood had slowed, probably because I lacked much more of it, and I was fading fast. I tried to let Leon know I was still with him, but I was too weak to move. All I could do was stare at him pitifully and blink. My heartbeat was slowing dangerously, and it was a miracle I was still conscious.

Leon touched my face gently, smearing the black blood of the creature across my cheek. His touch was a stark contrast to the beating he'd doled out moments before. All anger was gone, and in its place was fear.

"Leon." It came out barely above a whisper, the last of my strength going into mumbling his name. It was a miracle I was able to speak at all, but I needed him to know I was still with him.

"Skylar, oh thank god you're still alive," Leon said, panic and relief fighting for dominance in his voice. He lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit down hard, puncturing his skin. He hissed in pain, then brought his wrist to my lips. With his other arm cradling my head in the crease of his elbow, he whispered, "You have to drink my blood before the Racnal comes back."

I wondered dimly what he'd called the creature, but I was too weak to care. I couldn't feel my mouth, and I tried to concentrate on how I was supposed to drink instead. I knew there was blood dripping from the wound he'd opened, and I struggled to take in what he was offering me. Faintly, I could feel his blood sliding down my throat, and I coughed it up weakly, choking as it rushed down my throat without my permission.

"You have to drink baby come on." Leon said, panic lacing his words as he shook me gently. Instead of waiting for me to swallow, Leon brought his bleeding wrist up to his mouth. I almost thought he was going to bite himself again, but instead, he sucked in the blood from his wrist and gathered it in his mouth. Leaning down to me, he pressed his lips against mine and forced them apart. He forced his blood into my mouth and down my throat, rubbing my throat with his fingers to help me swallow it. When it was all gone, he brought his wrist back to my mouth for me to try on my own once more.

"Can you do this yourself, or do I need to do it for you again?"

I tried, not knowing if I was swallowing the life force or not. But eventually, my instincts kicked in, and I weakly latched onto his wrist. My body fought consciousness, and I tried to stay alive to replace the lost blood.

"There you go, keep drinking. You've lost so much blood already. This isn't how this was supposed to go."

I was in and out at this point, not knowing if I drank enough as the blackness in my vision wrapped around me. I was losing the battle of consciousness at last. I'd managed to stay strong for this long, but I was tired. I could only hope I took enough blood to bring me back to Leon.

My ears were roaring painfully, and the permanent black continued to grow. I'd lost all feeling to my body and I could no longer move at all. Even my mouth stopped moving. I knew there was fear in my eyes as I looked at Leon and my body still fought the war of dying. At this point I was just there, my last spark of life fading away right before Leon's eyes. At least I didn't hurt anymore.

"You're okay now. But I have to make sure you're safe, okay? I'll be right back. Don't quit fighting." I heard his voice echoing in my fading hearing. I wanted to make sure he didn't break his promise to me. I wanted to tell him I was tired and didn't want to fight, but I couldn't manage a sound. I couldn't see or hear Leon, but I was sure he would fight to protect me.

My vision went black for the final time, and death claimed my soul at last.