Chapter 79 : The Truth Is Out

Rakiza knelt next to Nikolas. Theo's gaze had not affected her, and she had let Nikolas take some of her blood. She was determined to keep Nikolas alive.
"No, I can't do that, Rakiza," Nikolas said, his eyes welling up with tears. You have no idea what it's like to be a vampire. You will always be in the dark. And you are more than happy to welcome death, which was painful until our flesh burned like a melting candle. "
"But you have to live, Nikolas," Rakiza sobbed. "You can't die. Please take some of my blood. If it's true that my blood is the cure. You must take it right now! "
Rakiza exclaimed and pushed her wrist toward Nikolas' mouth, at which point Nikolas grabbed her arms and bore his fangs into her flesh. Rakiza felt as if something was being pulled from her veins, and hot flashes erupted all over her body. But after a few seconds, Theo yanked Rakiza's wrist from Nikolas' mouth, splattering her blood everywhere.
"Enough!" screamed Theo as he shoved Rakiza aside.
"No!" When Bartolomeo saw what Nikolas had done to Rakiza, he screamed in horror. And he lunged at Nikolas. "What did you do to her?" Bartolomeo became enraged and drew his improvised knife, strangling Nikolas's neck while pointing the knife's tip at his neck.
"Bartolomeo, let go of him!" Angela yelled at him, her eyes ablaze with madness. "You have no position to interfere with my decision. You're just our tour guide, and you're getting paid for it. That means you have no right to mediate any problems we may encounter! "
"Bartolomeo, let go of him!" Theo issued the command.
"You forget," Bartolomeo said, as he released Nikolas, and he ran away from them, not looking back. All the yelling from Theo and Rakiza seemed to bother him. Rakiza knelt on the ground due to exhaustion. Her vision was becoming foggy.
"What's the problem, Rakiza?" Theo held her in his arms as he sat on the ground with his legs crossed and Rakiza's head on his lap. "Rakiza?"
"I'm sorry, Rakiza," Nikolas said solemnly as he extended his hand to Rakiza.
Rakiza was motionless in Theo's arms. "What's going on?" Theo became agitated and shook Rakiza's immobile body. He continued to shake her body in an attempt to wake her up. Nikolas, on the other hand, moved closer to them. "She was dealing with her blood loss." "Let her sleep, and she'll recover faster." Nikolas was still a little weak, but he could walk straight without assistance. Theo was still enraged by Rakiza's decision. Her blood connection with Nikolas posed a significant risk to her.
In the future, she would transform into one of them.
Rakiza regained consciousness after a few minutes, only feeling the shallowness of her head and the emptiness of her heart. She felt as if something had been implanted in her brain to make her feel numb. And she did recall having shared her blood with Nikolas.
"Where has Nikolas gone?" Rakiza took a seat next to Theo. "We need to get into the redwoods as soon as possible, Theo."
They turned to Nikolas, but he wasn't on his spot. He vanished. Nobody had any idea where he was.
"What happened?" Rakiza was perplexed.
They looked around, but there was no sign of Nikolas.
The red forest was not friendly and foretold disaster. Rakiza was held in Theo's arms as he stood. She was still feeling sick. But she was well aware that she had just saved Nikolas' life. They began to walk towards the redwoods. "They must be in the middle of the red forest."
Rakiza felt tired after Nikolas had some of her blood, but she ignored it. But Theo is extremely sensitive to her.
"We need to take a break on that little hill," Theo said, spreading his shawl on the ground for Rakiza to sit on. "You appear thirsty," he said as he handed her the water bag he was carrying. Rakiza knew they couldn't just drink any free-flowing water from the swamp if they happened to come across one. She almost drank the entire contents of the bag.
"You might get a stomach ache from drinking so much water," Theo advised.
Rakiza stated solemnly, "I know, and... I don't think I'll be able to make it through the swamp to the redwoods because I'm too weak to move."
She then turned around to look for Nikolas and Bartolomeo, but they were nowhere to be found. As a result, they decided to walk before the darkness fell. However, Rakiza's strength had not yet recovered, making their progress slower than expected.
"All the trees were red," Theo said quietly. "It's a dense red forest there."
Rakiza remarked softly, "And what awaits us behind those thick trees could kill us."
"Perhaps we should go back to where we came from," Theos suggested. "Remember, Nikolas is the only reason we're here, but he left us, and there's no reason to pursue him into that red forest, Rakiza."
"We have no choice," Rakiza stated emphatically.
"But," Theo tried to explain.
"I could feel it, Theo," she said, staring at the forest, "something in that forest was calling at me." She could tell there was something in the forest that wanted to connect with her. She was listening to the silence of nature. Her heart rate increased to something she couldn't place. Then her skin tightened. "Oh no."
"What's wrong, Rakiza?"
"I'm still thirsty," said Rakiza.
"Perhaps you're starting to turn," Theo said solemnly. "You're correct; we must continue our search, this time for your benefit rather than Nikolas'."
The red forest's entrance was a few miles away. Rakiza, on the other hand, was deteriorating. And Theo knew it had something to do with Nikolas. "Let me see your bites," Theo inquired of Rakiza.
Rakiza's wrist had two punctured holes from the bite, and she felt tingling. Her veins were filled with pain as if live-electrifying energy was coursing through her veins. She trembled and fell to the ground as a result of the pain. And her thirst increased, driving her to seek water to satisfy her needs.
"You're turning, Rakiza," Theo said, concerned. "And you're correct; we should go inside that red forest. We must find a cure to prevent you from becoming a vampire."
"Come this way," Nikolas said abruptly, startling them both. "Rakiza, you have to believe me. They're on their way. "
"Who are they?" Rakiza and Theo inquired.
"My mother," Nikolas pleaded. "And we have to hurry because they'll be here in a few minutes if we don't go inside that forest."
"Look over here!" Bartolomeo called to them as he stood a few steps up the hill, near the edge of the red forest.
Nikolas, Rakiza, and Theo dashed towards Bartolomeo and arrived a few minutes later.
They were crossing the swamp towards the forest when they heard a scream. An angry scream. And something caught their attention. A crowd was approaching, running and screaming from a distance.
Nikolas yelled, "Let's go into the forest right now!"
And they all took off running. Rakiza was in Theo's arms as he ran as fast as he could. However, vampires had suddenly barricaded the forest's entrance. Tessa Augustus, decked out in full warrior armor, was the leader. Nikolas was taken aback when he saw his mother among the vampire fighters. Ardoja, the witch-vampire, then appeared.
"No one can beat us, Nikolas," Tessa said, smiling. "Night is approaching, and Rakiza must accompany us."
"No, mother! Let her live," Nikolas said for the first time.
But Nikolas's mother was adamant about killing Rakiza rather than letting her go. "I want all of her blood, Nikolas."
"I already have it, mother," Nikolas cut her off," she gave me some of her blood. That's why I'm alive now. So, let her go. And we all return to our homes. "
"No!" Tessa screamed, "We've come this far for her! And she must accompany us or her father will die. "
"My father?" Rakiza was taken aback by Tessa's words. "My father is here?"
Two of Tessa's soldiers were dragging Bartolomeo into the space between them. And Rakiza was even more surprised by what Ardoja said next.
"Nice to see you, Bartolomeo," Ardoja said as she approached him.
"What is this all about?"
"You must tell her the truth, Bartolomeo." Ardoja drew a dagger from her waist.
"Rakiza, you are the last of our bloodline. Dali and Zella are our ancestors, my daughter, and you must go into the forest to find the truth. Veronica is not your mother!"
"You're my father?" Tears streamed down Rakiza's cheeks.
"Yes, Rakiza," Bartolomeo said, pulling out a dagger and thrusting it into Ardoja's heart, but Ardoja quickly covered her heart with her hand and struck her claws into Bartolomeo's heart, pulling it out and slamming Bartolomeo to the ground, lifeless.
"No!" Rakiza shrieked grievously.
Nikolas had frozen in place where he stood while his mother smiled triumphantly.
Theo transformed into a werewolf and began fighting against the dozen vampire warriors. Tessa pulled Rakiza's hair up as she cried over the body of her unknown father. "Come with us!"
"No, mother," Nikolas said, aiming a spare at his mother. "Get your hands off her!"