Ellora/ Chapter 2

When I opened my eyes again, perhaps an hour later, I was in a soft bed. The moon glimmered brightly through the windows. Risk was sitting at the side of my bed as if he had been waiting there for a long time.

“It's about time you woke up.” he said with a smile. “Come.” he rose up and walked out the door and I followed him obediently.

“What happened to me?” I asked when I remembered drinking from the glass. He looked over his shoulder at me and winked.

“Don't worry, blacking out is perfectly normal.” He didn't really answer my question but I decided not to inquire any further. He took me back to the throne room where Ithicus was waiting.

“Ah, Ellora, I'm glad you're awake again.” He walked over to me and grinned as he took my hand and touched his lips to the inside of my wrist. His lip piercings felt icy on my skin and I shivered slightly. His lips lingered for a moment and I began to pull away. Suddenly pain shot through me as he sank his teeth down into my flesh. I gasped and fell to my knees in pain. Ithicus kept a firm grip on my arm. His cold luminous eyes stared back into mine as he drank in my warmth, my blood. I watched as my own blood dripped from his lips onto the smooth floor. My bottom lip trembled as Risk then bit into my neck from behind. My vision began to blur and my ears rang. Suddenly I lost control of myself. A fierce hunger encompassed me. I turned on Risk and bit into his shoulder. I drank his blood like a savage animal. Risk's laughing filled my ears and Ithicus grinned with delight. Ithicus then pulled me away from him. I felt like I was going to pass out again, but I managed to stay conscious. What was going on? Why did I do that? Why did they do that? Nothing made sense. My arms and legs shook so violently I feared I'd explode. My heart pounded like an automatic pistol as I watched the blood spill from Risk's shoulder and again, I finally fainted. I soon fell into a sleep much too deep even for dreams.