Chapter 80 : The Bloodstone

“How could you do this to me, Nikolas?” Tessa’s eyes glared with anger; its nerves were lively and reddened like fresh blood flowing through its veins very fast. But she knew that Nikolas was not bluffing in his defense of Rakiza. “Don’t you ever forget that I’m your mother, and a mother is always right?” As she released Rakiza from her grasp.
“We have to stop this selfishness and cruelty mother,” Nikolas pulled Rakiza away from his mother. “Run into the woods Rakiza. Run!”
Rakiza ran as fast as she could to the woods and stumbled many times. She wanted to live to know the truth about her and to keep her blood away from Tessa Augustus. The last chance that Nikolas had given her must not be wasted. She would never give in to Tessa’s wishes. She glanced back and saw Theo fought alone and was far from succeeding. But if she could enter the redwoods, Theo might think of his escape next.
Three meters, two meters and she’ll be inside the woods, but suddenly Ardoja blocked her way in and she jolted and fell to the ground.
“You can never enter that wood, Rakiza,” She said, “I won’t allow you to know the truth.”
“You killed my father,” Rakiza growled with anger. “I will kill you!”
“You have no power over me, Rakiza,” Ardoja said.
Rakiza slowly stood up and her eyes were brighter as the dusk covered the place. Something occurred to her, that was not there before. There’s some kind of strength that was supported by her anger after she saw her father killed by Ardoja. And she wished her dead. Ardoja stared back at her with her wicked eyes, but Rakiza wasn’t afraid of her anymore. Something is happening to her. “Get out of my way.”
Ardoja’s eyes glared more, “Your last drop of blood is mine.”
“My blood is no longer available for any of you or the vampires,” Rakiza hissed as she started to run and swift Ardoja away from her path. Ardoja flew like a rag and was slammed to the ground and stood to her feet to get hold of Rakiza, but Rakiza was not an ordinary human now. She started to change into something extraordinary.
She kept on running and Ardoja was following her. She ran like floating from the ground and started to feel the pain again. And she slammed unto the ground and rolled to stop in front of an old cabin’s door. She stood quickly to look around her. Ardoja was standing a few meters away from the cabin. She looked hesitant to come closer to the cabin. And it gave Rakiza the thought that the cabin had something she was afraid of.
“Now what?” Rakiza challenged her. “What are you afraid of? You killed my father and so I’ll kill you soon.”
The forest was getting darker but to Rakiza’s surprise, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, it has a night vision power that only a nocturnal animal mostly possessed. But then, Ardoja made an attack that slammed her on the cabin’s floor.
“I will suck all your blood,” Ardoja was pinning Rakiza on the floor as her canine started to grow.
But Rakiza was quicker than Ardoha when she spotted a sharpened stick on the floor and thrust it into Ardoja’s heart. And Ardoja screamed in pain and had flown away from Rakiza. She knew she hit her right in her heart and then Ardoja began to burst into fire and burnt to dust.
“That’s for my father,” Rakiza whispered as her tears raced. She quickly rose to her feet and kicked the cabin’s door open. The cabin’s interior was full of dust, and cobwebs all over the living room and the kitchen. The chairs were still on the floor. And some parts of the wall were destroyed in a fight. This is the place where her father referred her to discover her past. This is Dali and Zella’s cabin, she thought recalling the book of Zella. This is where it all started, her changes into a vampire and then the bloodthirsting and sun-avoiding.
Rakiza’s throat started to feel lump again. She was thirsty and was looking for something to drink. She was also hungry and had nothing to eat. She rummaged the cabin for something useful but found nothing until she spotted a small door and opened it. To her surprise, it was a hole going down to a dark pit. The ladder going down was made of wood. And the smell was fresh blood. How come she knew about the fresh blood smell? Her thirst started again and this time her blood craving was getting stronger. And she stepped down the wooden ladder to locate the source of the fresh blood. Something deep inside her was developing and must be stopped, but the thirst she was enduring was maddening. It’s cursed. And then she understood why Nikolas refused at first to get help from her. But it’s too late to regret what she had done to herself. Nikolas had already her blood and she had his curse. The tunnel was so long and deep that it stopped at the darkest dead end with only her night vision could help her to see in the dark. It’s one of the benefits of being a vampire, the unhindered power in the dark. Everything is getting sharp for Rakiza. But she saw nothing in the dead end. It was just an end of a hole. But the blood’s smell was getting stronger and sweeter in her nostrils. And it was just right in front of her. She sniffed and sniffed the rocky wall of the hole and stopped at one spot. A big fist-sized of rock caught her eyes. She pulled it off and saw something glittering behind it. Her heart pumped faster as her thirst got worst. She pulled out the glittering rock and was surprised to see it. It was a crystal rock with something red inside. It’s Dali’s blood in a crystal. It’s the bloodstone. Zella’s cure.
Rakiza’s hand was trembling as she held the bloodstone, nobody knew it was just hidden under the cabin. She ran back up to the cabin’s living room to have a clear view of the stone. And her thirst was maddening again. As she examined the stone, she found a small hole in it, and without any hesitation, she put the stone in her mouth and started to suck it as if she had done it before. And after a few sucks, she could taste the sweetest liquid ever in her life. And suddenly her thirst began to fade and unbelievably her hunger was gone. It’s magic. She knew by then that she had the bloodstone of Dali. And this is what Tessa Augustus had been dreaming to have for her ambition to conquer the world day and night. According to the book of Zella. The bloodstone can give more power to vampires to walk under the sun and never get hungry for human blood. It provides a good purpose but if falls into wrong hands it will destroy the human race and werewolves, and the world will be governed by a monstrous leader like, Tessa Augustus.
“Give that stone to me,” Tessa was standing at the door. Her eyes were glaringly red. She knew what was in Rakiza’s hands. Of course, Augustus was the keeper of The Book of Zella.
What happened to her son? Did she kill Nikolas? Rakiza stepped back and said firmly, “No.” In her mind was to keep the bloodstone away from the vampires no matter what happened. “This stone belonged to my origin and I am the keeper now.”
“Don’t let me kill you, Rakiza,” Tessa hissed.
Rakiza put the stone in her pocket safely and said, “Kill me to get it.”
Tessa ran and slashed Rakiza with her long nails. And she fell to the floor but jumped up quickly. Rakiza could feel even with Tessa Augustus as they fought. Every slammed something broke in the fight. They destroyed everything inside the cabin. Until the ground started to shake. An earthquake. In Rakiza’s mind were Theo and Nikolas. What happened to them? She must know. But first, she must finish her fight against the wicked Tessa Augustus. But one slap on her face coming from Tessa’s claws made Rakiza scream in pain. She was hurt badly. She was crawling now. It would be an easy fight if she was fighting with a human. But fighting against a vampire like Tessa was a gamble. Lucky me if I could kill her, she thought as she groaned.
“You’re not going to win against me, Rakiza, so give me the stone,” Tessa was approaching slowly. “I’ve been fighting for all my life. You should know that and be afraid of me.” She warned, “Now give me the stone.”
Rakiza knew that Tessa was telling the truth, she was no contest against her. She’s just a few hours turning vampire compared to her who was a hundred years old vampire. And she could feel her defeat.
“Give that stone to me!” Tessa screamed angrily and then started to run towards Rakiza.
Rakiza closed her eyes and waited for her death.