It didn’t take long, just two days. There was a sudden spike in violent deaths in the nearby towns. They were too random in sex, age, and type of person for authorities to declare the existence of a serial killer – or killers. The only connection between all the deaths was the mass amounts of blood loss. Edie knew exactly what was going on. It was the work of six others like her – the remaining members of the clan she belonged to. Including Warrick. We’re here, was the message.
Joel and Ruthie were close to sticking their heads in the sand. Damn cowards. Just because they left with her didn’t mean Warrick was going to do anything dire. Not unless he suspected they were going to turn on him. At least Nikolai wasn’t quivering. He had always been her favorite.
“He wants to see you.”
“Of course he does. He probably missed me.”
“This isn’t funny, Edie!” Nikolai’s grey eyes flashed with anger. The black leather he wore made his stark white face look as though it were floating in the darkness. “You know you have to.”
She didn’t like his tone. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”
They both tensed suddenly. It was instinct. They could feel his presence before they could even see or hear him. Warrick was there, in their temporary home among the homeless population.
“Ah, there you are.”
His polite, proper voice made Edie’s teeth grind together. She turned slowly to meet his smug countenance. Instead, she locked on Ruthie’s decapitated head in his left hand. Edie tried not to look shocked. He smiled widely.
“I found her trying to flee. From me. Now why would she do that?”
Edie dug her fingernails into her palms. Ruthie’s eyes were squeezed closed and her lips were curled up in a silent shriek. Her wild chestnut hair shot out like a lion’s mane. “I don’t know. Did you ask her?”
Warrick looked down at the frozen face. “Must have forgotten to. I didn’t stake her, so maybe I’ll give her head back.”
She looked away from his grey eyes and smooth face. Ruthie’s head rolled toward her feet. She felt Nikolai’s tight grip on her shoulder.
“You knew, didn’t you?” she asked.
“That she was dying? Of course I did.”
That didn’t surprise her, but hearing him admit it made the boiling start up again.
“You didn’t think that the one thread that still connected you to your past, the main source for your hatred, would just be ignored, did you?”
She tilted her head back and laughed. “You’ve thought of everything.”
He was a fool if he thought she would give into him just because her human sister was dead.
“Maybe not everything.” He started toward her. “What will it take, Edie, to make you happy?”
Happy? What did that even mean for someone who was dead – an endless supply of blood, power, followers? She didn’t think anything could make her happy. Not even mortality.
Landon’s image tried to fight its way into her thoughts. She forced it back down. Allowing those feelings to surface was unacceptable. She would be no better than Warrick if she gave into them. And she nearly had. When she fed on him, she had every intention of turning him. Then she realized what she was doing. It had been such an impulsive act. And then she nearly killed him. For a brief moment she wanted Landon dead, just to be done with him and the strange feelings he stirred in her frozen gut. Instead, she revived him with her blood.
“Nothing you could give me,” she said at last.
“Are you sure about that?”
She didn’t respond. He laid his hand against the side of her face. She hated it when he did that. Though she wanted to rip out his stone heart and feed it to a pack of rabid mutts, there was still a part of her that wanted his closeness. She hated his stupid I’m your creator power. She could usually restrain it. Most of the time.
She was too hungry to fight him off. He seemed to detect this immediately.
“Why do you torture yourself? I don’t see you for months, and when I finally find you, I see you’ve starved yourself and are instead feeding off self-made grief.”
“Self-made?”
Nikolai finally spoke. “Perhaps now would be a good time for dinner.”
Warrick looked over at him. “Ah, excellent idea.”
He locked on Edie again and offered his arm as though he were escorting her to a ball. She held back the urge to roll her eyes and took it. It was covered in white leather. Of course he wore white – because everyone else wore black.
“I have just the meal in mind.”
That caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes on his alabaster face. Dark hair hung past his shoulders in perfect waves. His eyes were light with amusement. He most definitely had corrupt intentions brewing.
The further they walked, the clearer it became. Warrick was leading her to the place where they had first met. She tensed. It was still just the three of them. Warrick’s minions were never far from him. Yet, they were nowhere to be found. She could not sense them in the distance. Something was going to happen when they got to the park. Edie just couldn’t be sure what it would be.
The park had a two-mile drive that wrapped around the wilderness. There were trails for jogging and wandering dispersed throughout the trees. When Edie was still human, teenagers used to go and park their cars along a less frequented hiking trail to fool around. Maybe teenagers still did. This was where Edie’s first date had taken her. This was where Warrick had stepped in and stopped Jack, Landon’s young grandfather, from taking advantage of her. Three days after that nightmarish incident, she was dead. And a week after that, she woke up.
“What the hell are we doing here?” Edie demanded.
Warrick smiled. “Well, I thought since we were back here in town, it’d be nice to reminisce. Don’t you agree? Fond memories.”
He sighed wholeheartedly, like he was remembering a wedding instead of the night he gave her an ultimatum – join him or watch her family die. She didn’t know at the time that she would have ended up watching them die either way. She had been so young and naive then. Her small, slender fingers curled into rocks.
“I had been watching you for weeks,” Warrick said.
He stood in front of her. Edie kept her eyes firmly on the trees above him.
“I knew the first time I saw you that I wanted you.” He ran the back of his fingers down the length of her cheek. “And I knew it was wrong.” He slowly turned away and folded his hands behind his back. “You’ve been making me pay for it ever since.”
This wasn’t going to work. She wasn’t going to feel sorry for him because she had always hated him instead of succumbing to his affections. She wasn’t going to feel sorry for him because almost all of his other creations were either dead or working for the Elders.
Living alongside Warrick her whole existence, her knowledge of the Elders was vague. She did know, though, that the Elders were the rule makers. Warrick had been a founding member. For one reason or another, he had left, and they had been trying to get their hands on him ever since. She was Warrick’s first creation in over 400 years, which automatically made her nearly as powerful as him. She didn’t care about any of it – the politics, the mystery, Warrick’s apparent suffering. None of it mattered.
Warrick turned back to her. His features had turned icy. She clenched her jaw and steadied herself. If he was going to lash out at her, she was going to be prepared.
“You try my patience.”
“I. Don’t. Care.”
His lip curled. “You should.”
The ice in his eyes ignited as his attention was directed to somewhere behind her. Edie sensed them before she heard the leaves rustle. They had Landon.
A moment later, Matthew emerged through the trees, shoving Landon through with him. When she saw the blood on his face and his swollen eye, she wanted to rush towards him and tear Matthew apart. Nikolai inched toward her. His subtle warning was felt. Warrick wanted her to react to Landon’s forced presence. She did not move, but her face must have deceived her.
“Edie, you’ve met Landon, haven’t you?”
“What the hell does he have to do with anything?” she snapped.
He laughed. “I’m sure more than you want me to know.”
Finally, she said, “We’ve met.”
Warrick laughed. “It’s come to my attention that the boy knows about you and is still . . . alive.”
He looked pitifully at Landon. Landon looked slowly from Warrick to Edie, perhaps putting the pieces of his unfortunate situation together.
This is it, she thought. Tonight is when it ends. She glared at Landon, silently demanding: Don’t you dare speak.
Warrick looked around like he suddenly realized something. “This seems vaguely familiar, doesn’t it? We’ve got you and me, the descendant of that boy, this place. Now, if I remember correctly, if we were going to properly reenact that night, a few other things would have to happen.” In an instant he was standing next to Landon. “You, Edith Mitchell, have another choice to make.”
He shoved Matthew aside and picked Landon up by the throat until he was dangling in the air. Landon squirmed, his feet flailing. His face turned bright red from lack of needed air. Edie started toward them, but Nikolai stopped her.
“Don’t do it,” he warned. “He’ll snap his neck.”
With no one else to vent her anger on, he stomped on the ground. “What do you want?” she said between clenched teeth. She could only watch Landon’s suffering.
“He is going to die, one way or another,” Warrick said. “But I will let you decide just how long he’ll stay that way – for good, or temporarily.”
“You . . . would turn him?”
He laughed. “Don’t be stupid, my dear. You were an exception, and I am not keen on making those very often.”
Edie suddenly realized Warrick’s intentions. Whether he killed Landon or had Nikolai or Matthew turn him at the last second, Warrick planned to be the one to drain the life out of him. He would feed on the blood Edie had already tainted with hers.
“But if he’s turned, I will make him my officer – you can keep Nikolai – and he will never be yours.”
He didn’t know. Warrick didn’t know. But how could he? Evidence of Edie’s attack was on Landon’s chest, not neck. It had only been four days. Blood like hers usually took fourteen days to filter out of humans.
Landon was on the verge of passing out. His flesh resembled a plum. Warrick frowned and dropped him. He gasped for air as his body curled into a ball.
“What will it be?” Warrick demanded.
“I could never condemn him to a life of following you.” She hoped her quick reply did not reek of suspicion.
Warrick studied her for a moment. “Very well.”
Things seemed to move in slow motion. Could it really be so simple? The rest of the clan was conveniently somewhere else – probably interrogating or torturing Joel and Ruthie. The odds were finally in her favor.
Warrick crouched in front of Landon. “Last chance.”
She could not speak, not even when Landon defied her and called out. She ignored him, too focused on the crushing hunger that demanded to be satisfied.
And then it happened. Warrick ripped into his neck. Landon cried out. It would take two and a half minutes to kill Landon. It would take just over a minute for the blood to take affect on Warrick.
Or longer. The seconds were rushing by and there were still no signs of any sort of affect on Warrick. Perhaps she had been wrong. The fight in Landon started to falter.
She nearly cried out for Warrick to stop. Before she could, he suddenly dropped Landon. His eyes scrunched into confusion. He looked up at Edie. She stood motionless, waiting for something to happen. When Warrick’s body finally convulsed, her muscles relaxed. She could not keep the grin from forming.
“Liquid fire, isn’t that what it’s supposed to feel like? Drinking blood already infected with an undead’s?”
“You,” he hissed. He tried to stand, but the affects were taking over. He crumpled to his knees instead.
Matthew already had his arms wrapped around her neck and waist. She laughed. His hold on her would not last. She wanted to watch Warrick wilt in pain. He would not die. His suffering would consume him for hours, or until he could feed again. Either way, it would be plenty of time to take action.
Edie pried Matthew’s right arm off from around her neck and snapped it in the wrong direction. He yelped at the temporary pain. Her elbow jabbed him hard in the ribs, and then she turned and threw him into a nearby tree. Next, she locked on Nikolai. His body was crouched, like he would lunge at any given moment. She didn’t want to hurt him, but if she had to get through him to get to Warrick, she would rip him apart.
From the corner of her eye, Edie could see Matthew back on his feet. He was getting ready to strike again. She backed up, trying to get a better view of both he and Nikolai. They weren’t going to catch her off guard.
Matthew lunged at her, and a split second later, so did Nikolai. As she braced herself, though, something unexpected happened. Nikolai had Matthew pinned to the ground. For a moment, all she could do was stare.
“What are you doing?” she finally asked.
The consequences for defying a clan master were harsh.
Matthew struggled beneath him. Nikolai dug his knee into his chest until it cracked.
“He said you could keep me, remember?”
Edie grinned. “Well, then, keep him on his back.”
“With pleasure.”
She turned back to Warrick and Landon. Warrick was still on his hands and knees, breathing deeply like that would help him. Landon was laying next to him, unconscious, but alive. Before she could even think about Landon or see how close to death he was, Warrick had to be dealt with. She slowly strode toward him. Every moment of this was going to be savored.
He looked up at her. She could see his whole body quivering against the poison.
“Are you going to kill me now?” he scoffed.
His eyes were dark and narrow. He could look menacing all he wanted, but Edie was not going to back down.
“Hmm.” She looked up at the dark sky as she thought. “That seems too easy. Sure, I’d have the satisfaction of knowing I was the one to rip you apart, stake you, and burn the pieces. But somehow I feel that in the end, it wouldn’t be good enough.”
“Always so dramatic,” he wheezed.
She knelt down in front if him. “I was thinking about your past, Warrick. And you know it occurred to me, just how happy the Elders would be if they found you.”
His eyes turned black. In one swift movement he straightened and gripped her throat. She laughed. It was no use. His strength no longer outmatched her. Edie had never ripped a head off with her bare hands before, but she had seen Warrick do it on several occasions. She placed her hands on either side of his head.
“Isn’t it ironic, that all the things you taught me, I’m now using against you? My wit, my strength, my charming way of getting others to follow me.”
“This isn’t over,” he spat.
The time for words and threats was over. She snapped his neck with the efficiency of a trained assassin, and then twisted and twisted until his head and body were finally two separate pieces.
Somewhere behind her, Matthew cried out in astonishment. She sighed with pleasure – the first real pleasure she had felt in nearly fifty years. Edie kicked the body away and held up Warrick’s lifeless head.
“You know what this means, now, don’t you?” Nikolai asked. He stood, still clinging to Matthew. “You’re now Clan Master.”
“Great,” she mumbled. She looked over at Landon. He had regained consciousness and was staring at the scene before him with bewilderment. “I’ll tell you what. Matthew, you are my witness. I hereby appoint Nikolai Clan Master.”
“What?” Nikolai gasped. “Are you sure?”
“You were made to lead. I have no desire to do it.” She looked over at Landon again. Besides, she added to herself, I think there’s something else I need to do.
“What about Warrick?”
She grinned down at his frozen features. “Dispose of the body somewhere, here in the woods. Bury it. I think the Elders will be more than happy to see this.” She held up the head again. “I’ll see to it they receive it, and if they wish to dig up the body, they’ll know where to find it.”
Nikolai nodded once. “Good luck to you, Edie.”
“And you.”
There was a moment of hesitation. This was goodbye. Suddenly overwhelmed by the thought of never seeing him again, she rushed toward him. He shoved Matthew to the ground yet. They embraced quickly and awkwardly.
“Goodbye, Nikolai,” she whispered.
He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I will always welcome you back, you hear me?”
She smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”
She turned back towards Landon, and he toward Matthew. With that, they parted.
Edie didn’t know what was going to happen now. She didn’t know if the Elders were going to come after her. They could, but Edie had actually done them a service. After years of searching, they would finally have Warrick. Even though she should have never been created, had temporarily killed an ex Elder, and had a human who knew of her existence and was still alive, they might let her off the hook. But Edie couldn’t be sure. When it came right down to it, though, it didn’t matter. Edie didn’t care, and she wasn’t afraid.
Landon was a similar situation. She didn’t know what was going to happen with him. She didn’t know if she would turn him someday. Maybe they would grow apart somewhere down the line. Maybe he would change his mind about joining her life. He was still young and naive, just like she had been. Whatever happened, the choice would be his. Not hers.
She looked over at the bright moon and with it saw something entirely new. For the first time in a long, long time, Edie didn’t have one single, burning ambition. Revenge wasn’t the only thing that haunted her every thought and action. There was no plan. Nothing was certain, not even Landon. The past had finally let her go. It felt exhilarating – like nothing she had ever truly known before. Freedom was finally hers.
I know this movie is about vampire slayers, but I just love it so much. It's cheesy, campy, and hilariously bad. If you haven't seen it, and were a fan of the show, you'll hate the movie.
Favorite quote:
Amilyn (missing an arm): "We're immortal, Buffy. We can do anything."
Buffy: "Oh yeah? Clap."
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