✧ 59 ✧
The scent in the snowy air got stronger; that scent Beast had associated with the boy's purple blood. Beast raised his nuzzle and sniffed his way to that big church in the middle of the town.
He entered and looked around for the source of the smell. He sniffed here and there until his nose led him to tall curtains.
He lowered his head and with sharp eyes he said, "There."
Beast barged into the basement with a roar. The place was quiet except for the occasional sucking sounds. He stopped as the scene in front of him terrified him; a beast of seven feet long was rattled when he saw the black liquid surrounding the vampire statues.
No. Not statues. They looked too real, too familiar to be statues of rock.
"What in the world happened here?" he quietly said to himself.
He looked closer and almost jumped when he realized those were real people made of dust and bone.
"Revenant Thomas?" he said in shock. "Sister Anne?"
He let his guards down, steadily transforming back into his human form, into his Billy—a little shorter, less hairy, and more composed rather than berserk.
A coughing sound caught his attention.
He peered behind the statues. There she was, behind that ancient table, Maggie in the worst state possible. She was barely holding onto life.
Her once cherry lips have turned blue, as if she had run out of blood, if that even was possible for the bloodthirsty creature.
"Maggie," Billy shouted, rushing towards her.
"Hey, freak." She greeted him with a tired smile.
The sucking sound became louder.
Billy recoiled when he saw his boy draining the life out of Maggie.
Ilya's mouth was still attached to Maggie's wrist, sucking on it like a thirsty animal. His eyes went completely purple and wild. He was almost unrecognizable with all the blood staining his once innocent face.
Billy quickly removed the boy from Maggie.
"What did you do?" Billy shouted, shaking the boy's shoulders.
But Ilya barely registered a single word. His eyes were heavy, half-lidded with drowsiness. His body swayed loosely under Billy's shaking. Crimson blood dripped from his chin. He was drunk on it—lost in the rush of blood.
"Aw," Maggie said, then coughed. "I didn't know you still cared about me. I thought I was just another leech."
Billy was about to tell her that he was back, that Beast was replaced by him now. However, Maggie's coughs intensified until she was gasping for air.
"Listen, freak," she addressed Billy with a serious face. "I don't care what happens to me, as long as you keep this human safe. Do you understand?"
But Billy didn't understand. His bushy brows clasped together. Why would the boy's life be more important than hers?
Billy's brown eyes twinkled under the candlelight, on the verge of tears. He was a grown-up, but some things didn't change, like feeling sad when losing a childhood friend. It hurt. It stung his heart almost as it did when he lost Ned—a feeling he never wished it to be clinging to him ever again.
He was ten when he first met Maggie. She was the new girl on the block.
He still remembered her white smile when he arrived at the playground after a school day.
The swings were taken. She willingly left her swing and invited Billy to take turns with her.
That innocent memory was etched into his mind forever.
Then the incident that cursed this village happened. And everything changed. Friends turned to foes. Innocents died. And the town turned to ruin.
"Promise me."
Maggie took her last breath. Her still blue gaze bore into Billy's brown eyes.
Billy shed silent tears. He didn't even know that vampires could die of blood loss. He quickly wiped those salty tears. He was a man—No; a beast. He shouldn't cry. He should honor Maggie's last wish.
"I promise."
All of a sudden, Billy heard the sounds of someone crying. He looked at that little human between his arms.
Ilya was a sobbing mess. He felt dizzy and... strange. Like he wasn't himself. He attempted to talk, but his speech was slurred as if he had downed a full bottle of champagne.
"I killed... her. I killed... Maggie."
His eyes returned to their normal color without that violet hue; to their alluring blend of green and gold.
"I killed Maggie!" Ilya choked on his tears. "I didn't mean to hurt her. I swear. I'm sorry."
Billy pulled him in fast, wrapping him in a tight hug and letting him cry into his chest, the sobs muffled against his fur.
He rubbed his back in slow steady motions, like soothing a fragile crying child, until the sobs finally began to fade.
Even then, Billy didn't let go. Back in his six-foot-tall bare form, he kept the small human pressed against his chest.
Ilya was small compared to Billy's size. He was so helpless and innocent that Billy immediately believed him. His cries were real. He genuinely didn't mean to hurt anybody, especially not Maggie.
Both boys saw Maggie's pure heart. Both befriended her and never wished harm upon her. Ilya was in emotional pain, just as much as Billy, for losing a friend like her.
"I know," Billy said. "I know you didn't mean it. She knows too."
Then Ilya said one phrase that broke Billy's heart.
"I'm scared."
Billy froze.
Ilya added, "What's happening to me?"
Unfortunately, Billy didn't have an answer to that question. He merely stared at the dead vampire elders in a pond of black-purplish goo, and said:
"I don't know, but I'll keep you safe... I promise."