The Blood Rite

Chapter Ten

Ruby saw that Katrina and Jeremy were pretending not to listen. Ignoring them, she leaned close to Halle and said softly, "You don't have to. I'm not going to force you, but," she paused, licking her lips as her eyes continued catching on the red liquid. It seemed to glitter in the glow of the fake gas lamps on the walls. She wondered how it would feel rushing through her mouth, down her throat, into her stomach and - she shook her head. Focus. Forcing herself to look away from the bottle and meet Halle's gaze, she went on, "but are you sure you want to die?"

"I don't know," Halle said. She slumped, defeated. All the pain, the anger, that Ruby felt was projected on Halle's face.

What was it like to wake up and realize you'd been turned into a monster without your permission? She had to feel violated. Furious.

Ruby sighed, "Look. I'm not sure about any of this either. All I know is that I don't want to die. And," she gestured to the bottles, "we don't have to hurt anyone to live."

Halle's eyes slid to the bottle, her pink lips parting slightly as hunger crossed her gaze. For a moment Ruby thought the girl was going to lunge for her bottle. Then, Halle looked at her once more. "If you do it. So will I. I just don't want to be alone."

"You won't. I promise."

"Okay," she nodded. Then, she grabbed her bottle and twisted off the lid.

Immediately, the scent hit them. A growl rumbled through Ruby. Such a rich, heady scent. It drew her forward but as if feeling Ruby, Halle quickly snatched the bottle away in a fierce, predatory movement, and tipped it over her mouth. Ruby froze. She watched the thick, glittering liquid fall over the girl's lips and into her mouth, heard the pleasurable sound Halle made and the ecstasy on her face.

Ruby didn't hesitate. She didn't stop to consider the consequences or her own fear. She only acted. Twisting off her own lid she tipped the bottle back. It was only short seconds before it touched her tongue. Then, she was lost in it. She disconnected from herself, her surroundings. All there was, was the blood.

Her body thrummed, her skin tingled. Her mind spun. She had imagined it would be coppery, like a penny. That when she tasted it all she would think about was the metal from the car digging into her gut, of the blood soaked pavement and dead bodies. She'd been wrong. The blood was the sound of her grandmother's laughter, Lexi's off key singing, Talon's goofy smiles. It was sitting beside him at Crier's Creek on a summer day when the sunlight streamed through the brilliant green to shimmer and dance on the water. It was warmth and happiness eternal. It was Mary pulling her crying form into her arms and saying, "Mija, it will all work out I promise."

She felt it's warmth flooding her stomach, electrifying her nerves and crackling through her veins. She was on fire.

Before she knew it the bottle was empty. She licked her mouth, a humming noise rising through her chest. The air shimmered and wavered, going in and out of focus. Laughter rose around her. She saw Katrina and Jeremy grinning at her. Halle was smiling too, a contented drunken smile. Her pale lips now blood red.

Ruby lifted her hand, feeling entirely disconnected from it. She was so tingly, so numb. If she slept now, it would surely be the best sleep she'd ever had.

Another sound began rising above the rest. A steady thump, thump, thump.

Halle started giggling, causing Ruby to start giggling too. She didn't know why they were laughing, didn't care. Even as Halle's eyes rolled back and she sagged to the floor, Ruby was laughing. One of their guards lifted the girl and carried her off. The golden lamps sent sparklers shooting across Ruby's vision like little sunbursts. She was still laughing when she, too, fell and was lifted. Thump. Thump.

Her head lolled. She watched through her increasingly dark vision as skylights passed above her. Thump. The noise was slowing and the more it slowed, the more apart from her body she felt. Ruby released another giggle.

With one final thump, all went dark.

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Jeez, what was in that blood?

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