Lilith's Shadow Ch. 05

Odilia.

After getting out of the shower, I left the braids that were in my hair hanging and wrapped them in a towel. I went to the vanity I had and lotioned my body. Looking at my eyes, I noticed that there was a dark ring around my irises. My normally beautiful healthy skin seemed a bit dull.

I grabbed some lotion and poured it in my hands, hoping my skin would get some of its color back; but it stayed the dull shade of caramel brown. It was then I noticed my stomach was growling. Going downstairs to the kitchen, I went into the fridge and pulled out a steak. I felt my nostrils flare at the scent and my pulse began to pound harder.

Taking the meat, I placed it in a skillet on the burner. I cooked it on both sides for a good ten minutes and then pulled it off. Grabbing a fork and knife, I cut into it. Instead of the blood making me gag, it actually made my stomach rumble with more hunger. I cleared my throat and shoved the piece of meat into my mouth. Closing my eyes, I savored the taste of raw meat and it's juices as the blood ran down the inside of my throat.

My eyes flew open as I realized what I was doing. This wasn't normal. Most people didn't eat blood and rare steaks. Setting the fork down, I felt dread fill me. Oh my God! Something was happening to me. I felt sudden despair at the thought.

"It's ok Odilia." A voice stated. My head flew up and I looked around the kitchen, seeing no one there. That's when it hit me that I hadn't even bothered to cut on the light. I could actually see in the dark. Putting my fork down on the table, I yelled, "Stefan what in the hell did you do to me?" My heart was pounding in my cheast and my head began to hurt and I felt as though I could just die right there. I knew that my life would never be the same after this.

Stefan

I was sitting there on the couch thinking for at-least thirty minutes after my sister left, when I heard a voice yell, "Stefan, what the hell did you do to me?"

My eyes opened and again for the third time that night, I acted on instinct. I Imagined myself where ever she was and within a few minutes, I was there in her kitchen. I saw her laying against the east wall, her eyes closed. I went and felt for a pulse. It was faint. I wondered how long it had been since she had had anything to eat. Glancing over at the table, I noticed a steak laying on a plate. She'd been to weak to eat anything and had fallen out, I deduced.

Picking her up, I carried her through the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. Laying her flat on the bed, I grabbed her head, lifted it and placed it on my lap. Taking a finger, I took my nail and dug deeply into my skin until blood spilled. She moaned when I did that. I took my arm and held it toward her. She grasped my arm and pulled it the rest of the way.

Opening her mouth, she took it in her mouth and applied pressure to it. It hurt as she did this. She sucked really hard, her thirst evident in the huge gulps she took. Now I knew what it felt like to have another''s teeth stuck in my own skin and believe me, it it's not as peachy as they say it is in the movies. I waited for a good two minutes before I took my arm away from her, more like pried it out of her grasp, and then laid her head back on the pillow.

She whispered, "Thank you Stefan." I looked around and saw the flimsy curtain she had hanging in her window. Come morning that curtain would do no good to protect her.

Sighing, I got up and went to work, constructing a dark fortress for her. I also went to find any piece of wood I could because I knew without a shadow of a doubt, the day breakers would come. Those would be the vampires who were half human and could be out in the day time. She would be at her weakest during that time, and I wanted to make sure I could handle whom ever it was sent to do battle. I sent a message to my brothers and sister that they were needed. It was time to go to battle over a soul.

When I opened my eyes, I thought for a minute that it must have been a horrible dream, that by some stroke of luck, I hadn't met the most sexy and sweetest man. You can usually tell what a man is like when he makes love, at-least I can. Just by the way he holds, touches and how thorough he is with your body is how dedicated and loving and tender his heart is. I smiled softly and glanced around me. Surely it was a dream. There's no way I had mated, as Stefan calls it, only to end up married and going through the turning of becoming a vampire. I mean, my skin would be the beautiful natural healthy glow it always had and my eyes would have that same shade of rich chocolate that they always held.

I felt giddy just telling myself this. There was no way I could be a vampire because of the simple fact that they did not exist. I felt my body relax.

Stefan:

Van sat there in his usual cold demeanor, which was now backed by a new hatred. When I'd called, he'd come and helped out begrudgingly. He'd then sat down in the darkened fortress, just staring out into the dark. He'd brought with him plenty of hunting knives. He liked to carve things, especially traitorous vampires. Some would be half human, others would be complete. He was absolutely brilliant in in Destreza because he was not only quick but he handled swords and knives like they were second nature. Either way, all vampires who sided with her had been given authority by Lilith during the shadowing to use any measures necessary to either kill or be killed during the first phase of Shadowing. Today was the last day of the first phase and I believe that the reason Odilia hadn't been attacked when she first arrived home is because it took a whole day for her body to begin the first phase.

As soon as she began, she became bait and fortunately, the first and only vampire attack had been done by Marcus and he'd been quickly disposed of.

My other brother Lance sat there gripping the Machete he held in his hands tightly. Lance and I looked alike in the hair and eyes. Where I was tall and thin, he was of medium height with a line backer's build. He was very solid. He always seemed to find humor in a situation but there were times like this when his nerves outdid his humor and he became focused and cautious. He was a great worrier. He had training in Kav Maga, which is an Israeli defense technique, and in Jiu Jitsu, a form of Brazilian martial arts. Although he'd been practicing for some twenty five years, he'd never gotten to use his skills and there for never really been able to put them to use. I only hoped that he proved to be a warrior.

Inhaling sharply, my gaze went to Reina our sister. She had her brown hair in a bob and was shaped similarly to Odilia, except where Odilia was tall, she was a five foot three inches, however, no one would underestimate her stature for her ability. She'd been a vampire the longest out of all of us. Where Lance, Van and I were no longer than seventy years totally, she was one hundred and thirty years old. She was highly skilled in Destreza a spanish style fencing, Lethwei, which is known as kickboxing today, and magic.

Me myself I chose to do Kav Maga and am an expert in that area. I'm also good at sword fighting.

"She's awake." My sister whispered.

I nodded, "Yes, but she is still not ready to face the truth."

Van smirked, "Well, it's not like she has a choice now does she? Today is the last day of phase one, it's not like she can wish it away."

I got up to go upstairs where Odilia was.

"Stefan, there is only one hour left till day light." Reina reminded me. Lance still didn't say anything to her words. He just continued to stare into space.

I took the stairs one at a time, trying to think of something, anything to explain what was going to happen to her and the process in between. Knocking on the door at the end of the hall, where her bed room was, I cleared my throat and waited for her to open the door.

Odilia

As soon as I heard the knock, my reality was brought crashing down around me. Before he even spoke, I knew it was him. Starring in the mirror, I noticed then that it was dark and I should have seen sooner that I hadn't had a dream. Only animals and vampires can see in the dark.

Going to the lamp by my bedside, I turned it on and then turned it down to a shade. Although I didn't need any light, I welcomed the simple normalcy of it.

Going to the door, I opened it. Stefan stood looking at me, his face ashen just as mine was. I couldn't understand why I hadn't noticed it before. He inhaled, "Can we talk?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "May as well. What else is there left to do?"

He came in and took a seat on the chair that went to my computer desk. I sat down on the bed. He glanced at the door and it closed softly. Instead of being fearful I rolled my eyes, show off, my mind spoke.

"It wasn't for show." He stated.

I glanced over at him, "Don't do that. I don't like it."

"Anything else your majesty?" His tone was harsh and full of sarcasm.

I glared at him, "What in the hell are you mad at me for? You're the one who changed my life, not the other way around."

"For that you should be grateful. At least now you don't have to worry about catching a disease or something."

I raised my tone of voice, "It's funny that you say that now, considering that wasn't even of concern three days ago, now was it? You had no issue fucking me then."

I watched as his eyes grew dark and cloudy. " I thought it was more than that."

"Really, is that why you had the sudden urge to do this to my neck?" I turned my head to the side and showed him the purple coloring that had developed around the bite mark.

He inhaled sharply and stood up, too irritated to sit down. "Oh believe me, I wish I'd never done it. How am I supposed to make a life with a woman who has problems throwing herself at other men? If anything you should be my sex slave, surely not a wife."

When I heard him say that, I jumped up from where I sat and ran at him. Pushing him to the wall, my fangs bare, I growled, "I am not a whore. Men can go out and mess around when they get the inclination too but for a woman to do so she is seen as a whore? How ironic is that? To top it all off, now that I know what you think about me, what's the point? Why not let the other guys have me. At-least then you wouldn't have to worry about me."

I watched his adam's apple bob up and down in his throat, "Unfortunately, I can't. If you die, I die."

I laughed, "Serves you right, you jerk." I backed away. I felt tears well up in my eyes. I couldn't believe I was going to cry over someone like him. He wasn't even worth the little bit of consideration I gave him. I sank back down onto the bed.

He came to me. "Look, Odilia, putting our differences aside, we have to keep you alive during the day until night fall and then we will go back to my place."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"You can't stay here. The house is not protected the way mine is."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you." I lashed out. It hurt to know that he thought of me as a whore.

"Too bad because you're going. If you stay here you will die."

"Maybe that will be better than staying for ever with a man who will not grow to love me. Besides, what about my kids?" As soon as it slipped out, she put her hands in her head and groaned. She would never see her kids again.

"They can come stay with us. We can raise them."

"No! I don't want them around you. If you can't accept me, there's no telling how you will treat them. I will kill you over my babies." I stated, my throat raw. I was starting to get hungry again.

"Don't worry, he loves kids." I turned my head toward the door and saw a woman standing there. Her eyes were a light green color much like a cat's eyes. She held out her hand to me in a greeting, "I'm Reina, Stefan's sister, not biological but by blood swapping."

I made a disgusted face. "Blood swapping."

"He did the same thing with you."

"He did?" I asked, turning my gaze at Stefan.

He exhaled. "You were weak and you needed to feed."

I groaned again for the umpteenth time that night.

"Usually Stefan's head rule over his heart but lately he's been doing some stupid things." His sister stated, her tone soft and also seeming to take away some of the tension that was in the room. I looked over at her with a delicate smile. She came over to me and asked, "What is your name?"

"Odilia." I replied.

"That's beautiful, and it's German, meaning praise God, fortunate and prosperous in battle. It means you were destined to be a warrior Odilia."

Despite the situation, I gave a bright smile,

"Really?"

"Yes, it's original derivative is Odela from the Hebrew language."

"I can't believe he called me a whore. I'm not a whore." I stated to her. Reina smiled at me, "I can tell Odilia. Women sometimes do dumb things as well. Is there a reason why you went out and did the exact same thing to another that you'd done to my brother?"

Odilia didn't understand the open and easiness she felt talking to Reina. It was like she made her spirit fill calm instead of so heavy, the way Stefan did. "I just didn't want to get into a relationship because of my kids and school. I feel like I'm too busy for a relationship at the moment."

Reina smiled and rubbed my back, "I can understand that, but you know what, the truth is you can't go back and undo anything now. You guys are linked together for life. You may as well make the most of it."

I shrugged, "I don't know Reina. I really liked him and..." Now I felt emotional, tears began to well up in my eyes.

"It's ok, sister, I know. I understand. How about this..." Her tone was soothing, "Right now, you just concentrate on staying alive and getting through the battle. Worry about your relationship later."

I wiped my eyes. She asked in caring manner, "Are you hungry?"

I nodded. She got up and walked out of the room. I looked up at Stefan who was standing there with a different expression on his face. He looked sympathetic.

"I don't need your sympathy," I stated, my gaze directed at the floor. Now I felt weird. I didn't feel as confident as my usual self. I wasn't so used to being vulnerable around people I didn't know. Suddenly I felt alone. I felt as though no one could help me with this mess. I started to think of ways that maybe would help.

Turning to Stefan I asked, "So, how do I defend myself?"

He stood up and said, "We'll start with the basics. Two things you really need to know. A steak to the heart slows the vampire down while a metal blade suffice to give a quick decapitation or explosion to the heart, should the heart be punctured."

I nodded my head, "Ok, and then what?"

"Can you punch?" He asked me.

I've always done palates which makes me a little more flexible than some. I also took a couple of self defense classes, so I know how to block and punch, as well as kick to the stomach or groin. He held his arms out, palms facing me. "Punch."

I got in a stance and used my right hand to punch, turning my arm inward as I did it. He steadied himself as the punch connected with his palm. "That's a good one. How about a left punch. Can you do that?" I did. He came at me, I twisted to the side and lifted my left leg up to connect with his stomach and brought my elbow down on his back hard. He fell. He turned over and gave me a big warm smile, "You are going to do well when I train you."

I smiled back, "Thank you."

He laid there on the ground staring up at me. This time a different look crossed his features. There was so much warmth and compassion in them, I felt it hit me from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. He reached out, signaling for me to grab his hand. I did. He pulled me down to where he was effortlessly and then rolled over on top of me.

"Second Odilia, don't ever help your enemy up. Don't fall for the I'm a nice guy routine, want to know why?"

I bit down on my lip. "Why?"

He pulled a piece of wood from off one of the end tables a lamp stood on, held it up high and brought it down. I flinched when it landed next to me. "Because if you do, you are dead."

I was filled with dread. He leaned in close. "I would never hurt you."

I felt a tug of heart strings and gave a small smile, "Do you always forgive this easily?"

He smiled, "I understand now. It can be impossible to hold a grudge when you understand reasoning."

"What's the reasoning?"

"You are just a scared woman on the inside. You act brave, but you are very emotional and open. You often times fight yourself to do what you want and what you need."

I licked my lips. He smiled, "But sometimes, what you want and what you need can come in one package if you allow it too."

I know it was meant to be words of encouragement but they only made me want to kiss him. His grin widened and I suspected he knew what I was thinking. He said, "So, do you forgive me?"

"I wasn't aware that you were apologizing."

"Odilia, I am sorry for what I said earlier. Will you forgive me?"

I sighed, feeling my heart melt. "Sure, I will forgive you."

He leaned in and was about to give me that kiss, when we heard something on the roof. He immediately got up and pulled me up to. He handed me a substitute wooden stake. Cutting off the light, He grabbed two legs from the side tables and pulled. He handed me one and then pulled the other out. He left the bedroom with me behind him. He jumped from the top of the stairs to the bottom. I was going to jump but instead I paused. Could I really make it down there?

"Odilia, come on, we don't have much time."

Just then a loud crash came through the ceiling and I turned around to face a female vampire. She unveiled her fangs, the light accentuating their sharpness. I stood there for a second wrapped in fear until she reached out to grab me and then I did what my instinct told me to do. I grabbed her and pulled with all my might, flipping her over the banister, but she didn't hit the floor like I thought she would, she landed on the floor, feet firmly planted. Just as she did, Reina pushed the stake into her chest, catching her off guard and took off her head with a sword. The woman was immediately turned to dust.

I just stood there, not really doing much but in shock.

"Fight Odilia, behind you." A voice whispered in my mind. Turning around, I met the guy coming toward me with a hard kick to his stomach. He stumbled but didn't fall. He came forward and I brought my knee up to his stomach and when he doubled over, I thrust the piece of wood I had into his back, on the side where I knew his heart was. He let out a howl and that's when I noticed a machete come down on his neck.

I looked up at the guy. He gave a wide grin, "Man that felt good. I'm Lance, by the way."

I nodded. He said, "Sweety, if you want to live you can't just stand there in shock, get over it and get to moving. You'll be seeing a lot more in the coming days."

I turned around and made my way down the stairs. That's when I heard another contact with skin. I could tell by the sound that Lance had sliced another vampire. Probably decapitating. Something urged me to hurry up and get down the stairs, When I did, another guy came through the roof. Immediately, Lance did away with him. I grabbed the door and was about to pull it open when a hand stopped me. "You're going to kill all of us if you do that." I turned and standing in front of me was a guy taller than Stefan. His blue eyes hard looking. He was a really big dude and I noticed he had a lot of weapons on him. He pulled out two daggers. Handing them to me, he said, "this is where we fight."

I grabbed a hold of the daggers. There was something engraved on them.

"How are we going to get out of here if you guys can't go anywhere in the day light?"