Chapter 32

Death scare.

Caleb McGregor was going to rape me. His didn't take his eyes off of me and it didn't matter because I had already accepted the pain and humiliation. I lay underneath him, not making any sound, my dress was in pieces, my breasts were out, pressed closely to his chest while he was drinking my precious blood. He was rough, sucking at my skin, taking away the last of my energy. Then I heard my own internal voice telling me to fight. No one in my family gave up, every one of them were warriors. I couldn't just accept death like that even if I was ready to die.
Gathering force, I pushed him, screaming with desperation, but that only made him harder, more eager to carry on. He sucked my sweet blood not letting me move.
"I love feisty women," he growled, struggling with his trousers. Tears were running down my cheeks as he crawled over me, breathing hard. "Fucking you will give me so much pleasure."
“It's time to die," someone whispered, moving in the darkness behind McGregor. I screamed seeing a shadow of a man. He whisked McGregor away from me, and before I knew what was coming, the stranger sliced the knife across his throat. Blood sprayed my face as his body fell on the floor next to me. I couldn't stop screaming. The deadly vampire was on the ground, choking, pressing his hands to his throat. I felt as if I was having a seizure, shivering. It was like the air wasn't getting to my lungs quickly enough. Panic blinded me for a second or two.
"Julia, please calm down. It’s me; it’s only me," the man said, cuddling me to his chest. I recognised his voice.
"Jasper?" I choked.
"I saved you, darling. It’s over now," he said.
My heart skipped a beat then started racing away. "What are you doing here?"
Jasper dropped the knife on the floor. My heart had been beating fiercely in my chest. My mind was blank. Caleb was losing so much blood, fast, and he wasn't healing himself like he should.
"What have you done to him?" I whispered.
Jasper smiled, and his eyes hardened on the vampire. "I charmed the knife, so he won’t heal. He’s dying."
Caleb growled, trying to reach for me, but I scuttled away, somehow glad that he would bleed out. I wanted him to suffer and experience the pain that he put me through. We both watched as he stopped moving, seeing his eyes fill with his own death. Soon his limbs were still, and he stopped jerking. Vampires didn't die like humans, their bodies turned into dirt and ash. I waited for something to happen, but he was still lying there, now dead.
"Why is nothing happening? His body should be going through the transformation," I said, pressing my hands together.
"He’s dead. Let’s get out of here," Jasper yelled, pulling me towards the door.
"Why is his body not changing?" I continued to glance back at Caleb’s still form.
“Don't know and don’t care. We have to get the fuck out of here before anyone realises what we’ve done."
"Jasper, let go of me," I said, trying to gather my thoughts. "How did you even know that I was here?"
I was shivering, and I was weak, but not stupid. Jasper couldn't know that I had been taken.
"Julia, I’ll explain later. Come on!"
"I can’t leave. Rufus and Nathaniel are upstairs. They will die if we leave them there," I explained, brushing my hair away from my bloody face.
Jasper looked startled, breathing heavily. "Fuck them, if it wasn't for me you would be dead," he roared, looking at me like I’d lost my mind. "I'm not letting you out there to risk your life for a bloodsucker."
"Take it or leave it, Jasper. I won’t let them die," I snapped, pulling myself off the floor, trying to cover my body with what was left from my ripped pieces of clothing. It didn't matter that I was weakened by that bastard or that I could barely stand up. There was no way I was going to leave them here and let them die. Jasper was behind me, cursing under his breath. He pushed the door open and we were out of the basement. He let me know to be quiet, hearing voices in the other part of the house. I closed my eyes and felt my magic rise within me again, rocking through my body, entitling my soul. Everything came alive at once. I looked at my bloody fingers as the sparks danced all over them.
Jasper gave me a sign to move along. We still had time; I could feel that Nathaniel and Rufus were alive. We both crept through the immaculate corridor. The smell of furniture polish coursed through the air, but I was concentrating on my own power, gathering the strength to kill.
"On my sign," Jasper whispered, holding his magic wand in his hand.
"Fuck the sign," I said, then rushed towards the room where I heard voices. My chest heaved as my light blasted out the door: the wind swept everything around us. Things started flying. My power was like a breath of fresh air. I didn't feel anything. My magic took over, demolishing the light all over the room. Paranormals were hurrying away, someone screamed, but they had no chance of getting away.
“She's escaped!" a deep voice roared, but my light hurt him before he could reach me. His face tensed first, then his limbs fell; he was dead before he even reached me.
Others charged toward me. Jasper was throwing spells, fighting with the wizard who’d uncharmed Nathaniel. There was no more fear left in my body, instead I was filled with the need for death. The world around me went black as I spread the pain. No one stood a chance of making it when my friends suffered. The magic lifted me above the ground, all the voices around me faded. New power drenched my veins. The energy was raw, killing everyone who stood in my way. The red rippling light burst out of me. Once there was nothing else left inside me I crashed to the ground; it hurt to even breathe. My body locked up for a few minutes once I inhaled and Jasper approached me. The wizard that he fought with was now dead; we were surrounded by bodies and blood. I’d killed people, lost control and became one of them. I felt nothing.
"Are you all right, Julia?" Jasper asked, touching my face. I blinked slowly and wiped the sweat and blood off my face, searching for Nathaniel.
"I'm fine, call my father," I said. I moved my body, but the pain nearly shut me down. Panic whipped through me when I saw Rufus. He was lying by the wall, his eyes partly open.
"Rufus, oh, my God, Rufus!"
"I'm fine, Julie. I’ll survive," he breathed out, closing his eyes. My hands were shaking when I touched him. He was alive. Jasper was gone. I searched for Nathaniel and found him lying next to the fireplace. I rushed towards him, kneeling next to him.
I touched his wounded face and panic erupted, trapping me with fear. He wasn't gone yet, and I refused to accept that he was dead. I looked at Jasper who stood beside me, his eyes wide and lost.
"Your father is on his way," he whispered.
"Thanks." Holding Nathaniel’s body, I couldn't stop the tears. I touched his neck and found a pulse. It was faint, but he was still with me. Alive.
"Why do you love him? What does he have that I don’t?"
I darted my eyes to Jasper. He stood watching me as pain coursed over his face. Then I finally understood why he was here. I was blind for so long, but now I realised that he’d been planning to save me all this time, expecting that I would forgive him.
"Oh, my God," I whispered, not taking my eyes off him. “It's been you all along; you were the wizard who McGregor was talking about!"
Regret and remorse flickered in his eyes. Then he dropped his head and clenched his muscles. For a long moment he didn't say anything, staring at the motionless body of the only man that I ever loved. I didn't need or want his explanation, he sickened me.
"I'm sorry, Julia," he whispered, and his eyes filled with tears. I looked away, shaking my head.
"Why Jasper, why did you have to help him?" I asked. "You betrayed me pretending to love me."
"He promised to spare you," he said, falling down to his knees in front of me. "He was supposed to kill La Caz for me, then you and I could have been happy together."
"I can’t believe that you would be stupid enough to believe him. You pretended to save my life in that old warehouse, but all this time you’ve been working for him."
"No, I did save your life. I killed his men for you."
"Bullshit!" I roared. "You’re just like him, a dirty scum. I hate you."
"I love you."
"Don’t you dare say that," I yelled, slapping him hard. "You don’t understand those words."
“It's the truth, I do love you."
"I will never choose you!"
Jasper laughed, shaking his head. "We’re destined to be together."
I didn't want to respond. It was easy to put two and two together. My father set up a very strong protection charm around my apartment. No one could get in, no one apart from a very skilled wizard. Jasper must have known about the charms when he came to my apartment that night.
We heard the sirens in the background. Jasper paced around the room, muttering to himself. I didn't even want to look at him; his presence disgusted me. He vanished before I could even stop him. He was a coward, refusing to answer for his crimes. I wished that I had the strength to scream, but I felt hollow. An hour later, I was in the ambulance going to the hospital. My father had gone grey in a matter of hours. I didn't remember much of what had happened after the Paranormal Squad entered the house. People were talking, and my father was screaming, telling me that everything would be all right. I kept seeing death everywhere. I killed those people with uncontrolled rage. I asked the medic to give me something, so I could sleep and forget. I had corrupted memories and I would be haunted for what I had done for the rest of my life.