I'm Not A Savior

That night after school, I got Tess and Matt out to the woods. I gave Tay a lift there so she knew where the three of us vampires liked to meet up to hunt. I hadn’t eaten in a while and I needed to badly. I also had a feeling Matt needed it too since newborn vamps need to feed more frequently than older ones like Tess and myself.

“Alright now that we’re all here,” I started once Matt and Tess arrived, “This is Tay. She’ll by our new witch in our merry band of misfits.”

“Hey Tay,” Tess greeted her with a hug, “I’ve seen you in class before. I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on your witchy vibes sooner.”

“Don’t mind Tessa,” Matt reassured Tay as he shook her hand, “She’s too bubbly at times around new people. Why Alex kept her around is beyond me.”

“Hey,” Tess punched him in the shoulder, “Don’t be an ass, Matt. I turned you and I can easily change that when I take your heart out.”

“Okay whoa,” Tay put her hands up, “No killing each other before I know what trouble Alex is in.”

“Fill her in bro,” Matt insisted.

“Alright the first thing is the vamp that sired me is in town,” I told Tay, starting to catch up to speed.

“And you can’t maintain your free will around her,” Tay filled in, “And before you ask how I know, I was told all the lore and fact on all kinds of supernatural beings. But please continue.”

“And with her in town,” I carried on, “This makes my…situation with Kenzie more risky than it already is.”

“So you’re saying is that will you falling in love with Kenzie,” Tay theorized, “You’re afraid that Carmina will find out using the sire bond to poke inside your head and then use what you feel for Kenzie against you?”

“That’s exactly it,” I told her.

“Awe Alex,” Tess hugged me tightly, “I knew there was something about her. You’re falling in love.”

“It’s the first time for me, Tess,” I struggled to breathe she was holding me so tight, “But can you let me go now?”

“Oh yeah,” she released and I took a deep breathe, “Sorry. I forgot I’m way stronger than you.”

“Please tell me you have a plan though, Tay,” Matt asked, “We need to help Alex protect an innocent and that is something I don’t have experience with.”

“You’ll end up being muscle, Matt,” Tay told him, “Newborns have difficulty controlling their thirst. So once Alex and Kenzie start getting really close, you should start being a guard for her. Maybe even start now by being close to her house to keep an eye on her.”

“We can do it in shifts Matt,” Tess laced her fingers with her mate’s, “And the first few nights I’ll be with you to help you train yourself not to go after her yourself.”

“And I’ll be her guard after school before my curfew,” Tay added, “Tess, Alex, and I can guard her during the day at school.”

“Sounds good,” I agreed, “Now I need to hunt and so does Matt.”

“Have at it,” Tay replied.

“I’ll get Tay home while you boys hunt,” Tess added, “You’ll need to be protected from Carmina too. She likes to take our witches away.”

“She’s that ruthless isn’t she,” Tay asked her.

“It’s why I haven’t openly recruited witches in decades,” I told her, “I was good friends with the last one that wanted to help me.”

“I won’t let that happen to me,” Tay insisted, “We’ll rip her heart out one way or another.”
--- It’s the week before Halloween, and things have been work out well so far. Tay and Kenzie have been hard at work on the semester project I assigned to keep them close. I’ve noticed that Tay and Kenzie have become good friends, which will make it easier for Tay to keep her safe.
There still hasn’t been any rumblings of Carmina and I’m worried she’s plotting something big to get at me. I won’t let her make her puppet again. She’s make me strip away my humanity that I’ve clung to all these years.

“Hey Alex,” Tay whispered as she walked into my classroom during my free period.

“Yeah Tay,” I replied, “What’s up?”

“I came to show something I charmed for Kenzie,” she went into her bag and pulled out an antique garnet amulet.

“What’s it for,” I asked her.

“It’s called a blood trace charm,” she explained, “There is a vial behind the garnet that I can fill with your blood. This will make it so you can know right where Kenzie is. It might also make your dreams connect.”

“Is that a side effect to the trace,” I asked.

“It is,” she replied, “This kind of thing is really only done between witches. It should work still when it’s between a vampire and a human. Almost like a familiar bond without you having to drink her blood and he doing the same with yours.”

“Alright hand me it,” Tay gave me the amulet and I nicked my finger and let the blood drip into the vial.

“Alright,” Tay took it back from me, “I’m also giving her vervain. It’ll keep her safe from Carmina’s compulsion.”
­ ••• I know was going against what my grandmother had told me. I’m not supposed to help vampires, but he was so different. He had compassion and he had been hurt in his past by his creator. I felt pity for him. He probably didn’t ask for this life. And his sired vampire companion Tessa and her boyfriend Matt are close to him. They too are like him, more human than vampire. If only more vampires were like them, then I wouldn’t have to hide the secret my family holds.

My family is pretty messed up. My parents were witches like. But that was before what happened when I was four. I had watched a vampire storm into our home. My mom and dad did what they could to hide me and my brother and sisters. I watched with horror as the vampire turned my mom. I then was forced to watch my mom finish her transition on my dad, draining him dry. She was sorry for what she was about to do to him, and he let her take his life.
That’s why I want to help Alex. He is willing to do everything it takes to keep Kenzie safe. He would sacrifice himself to this Carmina woman, just to keep Kenzie safe. He echoes my father and what he did to protect us.

“About time you got home,” my older sister, Sam, greeted me as I walked in late.

“I had to study with friend,” I told her, “We were really into our project for Music Theory and lost track of time.”

“Grams about lost her mind,” Sam replied, “Text me the next time you’re about to run late.”

“I’ll try to,” I told her.

“Good,” she sighed, “Now go see her. She’s been waiting for you.”

I went down into the basement and opened up the big heavy door. Inside the dark room was my mother. She was shackled to the floor, unable to escape. Our grandmother bound her here so she wouldn’t hurt us or anyone else. But she also kept her here so she wouldn’t kill herself out of grief for Dad.

“Hi Mom,” I greeted her as I handed her the nightly blood bag she was allowed.

“Taylor,” Mom looked up at me, “I smell an old vampire on you. Are you going against your grandmother’s wishes.”

“I am,” I told her, “He needs help to be free from his creator. He also loves a student in my class.”

“What’s his name,” she asked.

“Alex Gaskarth,” I told her, “He’s my Music Theory teacher.”

“You have to stop him from going after your friend,” she warned, “It will get him locked in jail and discovered.”

“Mom,” I looked her in the eye, “He knows that. He’s planning to quit when he’s ready to make her his priority.”

“Do you know the name of his creator,” she asked.

“Yeah,” I told her, “It’s Carmina.”

“No,” my mom recoiled into a dark corner of her room, “Anyone but her.”

“Why,” I asked.

“She’s the one that made me,” she explained, “She’s the one I’m sired to. You have to end it, Taylor.”

“No,” I stood up and glared at her, “I have a chance now to get revenge on what she took from you and from all of us.”

Notes

Now Tay has a real motive to help Alex.