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Shelby hadn't felt her heart beat for weeks now. But if it still could, it would be. So hard that it felt like it would shatter her ribs.
Was this a betrayal?
No.
Sure, they were weaving in and out of the grey, midnight clouds so they wouldn't be seen, both by the townsfolk and Scott and Owen. But Scott would understand. She'd been turned against her will. Even if she'd forgiven them for doing it that didn't mean that she'd made peace with being a vampire. Not that she hated it, though. The small, fuzzy bat that she'd shrunk into to fly to town was one of her favourite parts. The feeling of the air beneath your wings, of soft fur keeping out the cold better than any jumper she'd ever worn back when she was human, the knowledge that you'd transformed into something adorable.
She just wanted to make the choice for herself, whichever choice that was. Pyro, currently a slightly larger bat flying beside her, had started to trail behind her. It had taken a bit of practice to make a bat's mouth speak, but not much. "It'll be okay," they said, their voice squeakier than normal in this form. "But what if Sire sees us?"
"Scott will understand, and Owen didn't even mentioned it himself yesterday. They won't hurt us just for investigating,"
"You, maybe,"
"Both of us," Shelby sighed. "I'll vouch for you when we get back,"
"But what if they're waiting in town invisible? What if Cleo or Apo-"
"You really think they'd listen to them over us?" Shelby turned and folded her wings like arms midair. She squealed as she started to fall, the rushing air sending fear into her heart as fast as a bolt of lightning, flapping wildly until she regained balance. "If they see us, we tell them why we were there, but we won't turn our backs on them. You weren't planning on abandoning us, were you?"
"Of course not," Pyro muttered so quietly that she barely heard him over the wind. Shelby frowned, but continued to fly. He'd talk when he was ready. And he had been through the same thing she had, even if he'd done it to her. He deserved sympathy, too.
The two bats, both so dark a brown that they were practically black, dove down from the blanket of grey. And before them sprawled out Oakhurst. Maybe sprawled was a bit generous, it was hardly any bigger or less dilapidated than when they'd first arrived. Back when she was still human. When she was still alive.
The humans below needed torches and lanterns hung around town to see this late at night, but she and Pyro wouldn't have even known it was dark out if they couldn't feel the sun's absence on their pale skin. She wondered if she'd see a post where one had been torn out. Where Martin had found the weapon he'd used to kill her. The memory of the holy flames devouring her skin made her shiver even now.
She touched down behind circle of wood walls that only really kept Oakhurst safe from basic zombies and skeletons. With a thought, her body expanded as she transformed back to her true form. Their flowing hair, once bright red, was now bone white. Instead of their old glasses perched up on their head, they now wore a black tiara with a single ruby glittering at the centre. The outfit they'd dug out of Scott's crypts was equally new. Instead of their old green jumper, comfortable but with a few holes in some places that could generously have been called well loved, their new clothes were fit for nobility. Were they nobility now? Maybe? Scott was, but he always had been, and Shelby wasn't sure if it passed down. But that was a question for when she got back. If she decided to. No. She would, even if Scott didn't want to be her roommate anymore, she couldn't just abandon them, even if she chose not be a vampire. If they threw her out, then she'd just deal with it.
She now wore a white shirt and a red waistcoat, with a flowy black skirt and black fabric like a miniature cape covering one of her sleeves. She held a pair of skulls in hed hands, the lower jaws removed so they could be worn. Her discomfort with wearing them had faded pretty much instantly, even before she'd been turned, but she couldn't help but feel a little hesitant before pulling it over her head.
"Why even bother with that?" Pyro asked, his voice returning to normal as he floated down in his true form like a leaf on the wind. "They all know what we are,"
"I just don't wanna freak them out," she held out the second skull to him. "No, thanks. They've all already seen me like this, there's nothing to hide," his marble white face fell into a frown. His mouth was so pale that you could hardly even tell. "Well, they haven't seen me yet,"
"They'll know straight away,"
"At least it won't put them on edge as much. Now are we going in or what?"
"Could've just flown in. Would've had a lot more presence to it," Pyro held up his palms as if he was surrendering as he pushed open the gates. After taking a small breath to centre themself, Shelby followed.
A familiar crowd was waiting for them inside. Three people stood at the front. Avid, in his green waistcoat and silver armour, held an oddly shaped bottle filled with water in a shaking hand, the other resting just above one of the sharp stakes of pale wood that hung from his belt on the other side to his undrawn blade. She heard Pyro fail to hold back a hiss as his eyes locked in the bottle in Avid's hand. Holy water.
Martin, also armoured, had bound his sleeves since the last time Shelby had seen him. Probably so he could swing the lantern he held from a short chain in his off hand all the easier, and to use the sword in the other. She saw a shield on his back, too, and another stake on his belt. Seems he'd taken to hunting them well. He pointed his sword at them both as they approached, almost unconsciously flicking the lantern in his other hand in a lazy circle. Shelby saw that he wasn't the only one in the crowd with lanterns in their hands. A voice in the back of her mind screamed at her to run. But she'd already ran before she could learn about the cure once. And she was stronger this time.
In the front of the crowd was Cleo. She wore silver armour over her green, once shoulder less dress, with cured leather straps keeping the armour there on. And away from her skin. Shelby could smell the lack of life on her. Could see how the hand that rested on the hilt of her sword ready to draw it was trembling. Shelby couldn't say if it was from suppressed hunger around a veritable feast, or from how close it was to the metal of her blade. She could barely see the fangs peek through her mouth as she spoke. "Are you two alone?"
"Would you believe us if we said we were?" Pyro smirked.
"Now's not the time for games," Martin took a hesitant step forward. He hadn't had a limp the last time she'd seen him. Although Scott had said that he'd flung him off a bridge after she ran flaming into the woods. Shelby pursed her lips behind her skull mask. Pyro deflated a little. "Yes, we're alone," his eyes shot to Cleo.
"We just have to take their word for it," a new voice came as someone new stepped out. It belonged to a tall, broad shouldered man with close cut hair, a monocle over one eye and a faint scar cutting through the other in a white doctors robe whose sleeves tightly traced the muscles of his arms. "And could you please put the sword away?" Dr Legs turned to Martin.
"They could start scratching at a moment's notice," Martin hissed back, barely above a whisper, but Shelby heard his voice as clearly as if it was her ear he was speaking in. "And if they do, there are twelve of us," Legs said. "The least we can do for them is not remind them of that constantly. They're taking a risk here, too." Martin frowned, but sheathed his sword. "And the lantern," Shelby said, forcing her voice not to crack in fear. "Seriously?" Martin's blonde eyebrows shot so far up they almost touched his hairline. "Seriously," Cleo shot him a glare.
Dr Legs put his hand on his arm. "It's only fair," he murmured. Something Shelby almost called guilt flashed over Martin's face as he reluctantly looped the lantern's chain around his belt, too. The sound of chains wrapping resounded out from two other points in the crowd as well. "You two better not be lying to us,"
"We're really not," Pyro said. "Besides, we're not the ones who made the offer. Doctor?"
"Yes. Perhaps for safety's sake, this is a conversation best had inside?" He gestured to the tower that the beacon lay in. The holy orange glow seeping from the lower windows. "We can't go in there," Shelby said.
"Can't you?" Cleo raised an eyebrow. Of course she wasn't strong enough to know. "We'll invite you in,"
"It's not that. We'll be powerless if we go in there,"
"Then wouldn't that prove you won't hurt us?" Avid took a step forwards, having placed his bottle of holy water in a small pouch. "I want to trust you, Avid," she muttered. "But we can't right now. And I'm not walking in there just so you can stake me,"
"That's- fair," his voice lost its power halfway through as he looked down at the floor.
"Perhaps I can provide an alternative," the familiar, unique accent of Ren filled the air. The slightly older but still powerfully built man said. The eyes of the crowd turned to him. "My shack just outside town's big enough for us all to squeeze into, don'tcha know?"
"I don't mind the sound of that," Pyro said.
"Sure,"
"Are you sure about that, Specs?" Martin said. "It is a sacrifice I am willing to make,"
"I do have an invitation, too,"
"You do?" Shelby whirled to face Pyro.
"If I'm not mistaken, that was for the one in town," Ren's brows furrowed behind his round glasses. "You didn't specify, actually,"
"Ah. Then perhaps we should be gettin' inside,"
"Then let's go," Dr Legs nodded.
"Alright," Shelby said. They trudged out of the shabby town gates, the pair of open vampires staying slightly ahead of the crowd of mostly humans, keeping an eye on their backs to make sure they weren't taking out their swords and stakes. They never did, but many of their hands never left their sheaths.
"Please, make yourself at home, Shelby," Ren called as Shelby and Pyro got to the door of his wooden shack before him. "You first," she held open the door.
"Gladly," Ren said, walking inside fearlessly. No tripwires or pressure plates clicked, and after the rest of the town had filed inside, they followed, each standing at one side of the still open door.
"Y-your hair's new," Avid said.
"I've drank a bit more since last time," she muttered. "Well, doc? Are you gonna tell us now?" She crossed her arms as Pyro forced himself to like casual as he leaned against the wall. "We've found new holy books," Legs began, taking a pair of glowing purple tomes out of the folds of his robes. Shelby felt bile- or maybe blood- crawl up her stomach just at the sight of them. She saw Pyro put a hand over his mouth, too. Cleo and Apo shivered as the leather bound covers met the air. "That detail how to cure your condition,"
"So what is it?" Pyro scowled.
"We don't know yet. There are three books, and each one only holds a third of what we need. There's still one left we need to find,"
"The first step's holy water," Avid said, taking out the bottle he'd been holding before. "Just a splash'll do, it'll suppress the vampirism,"
"I'm familiar," Pyro grumbled. "Will it hurt as much as last time?"
"Sometimes medicine has to sacrifice pleasantness for effectiveness, I'm afraid," Legs put the books back in his robes. That didn't sound too bad.
"What's the second part, then?"
"You might not like it," Apo said, refusing to meet Shelby's eyes. They seemed less comfortable in their armour than they had been before, even more than after they'd been turned. "What is it?" Shelby glared at her. "There's a certain connection between vampires," Legs said. "Specifically between a vampire and the one who turned them. That connection has to be... severed before treatment can begin,"
"And what do you mean by severed?" Shelby felt the familiar rush of fear through her cold veins. "Just hear us out-" Avid started. "What do you mean by severed?"
"I believe that curing the vampire who turned the others would suffice,"
"What does the book say, Legs?"
"That's not an option I'm eager to pursue," Shelby clenched her fist, her claws digging into her skin. It was too tough to bleed, but pain still bit into her palm.
"I'm not going to let you kill them!" Her voice tore from her throat. "We're not saying that, we just need to cure all of you if we're going to cure any of you," Cleo said, raising her hands as if to try and calm her down. Of you. Like she wasn't one, too. Shelby's fingers fell. Cleo and Apo had to have talked about the cure before this. And they hadn't ran to tell anyone else about this part of the cure. Were they fine with the possibility of killing her friends?
"You're sire's Scott, right, Pyro?" Martin asked. "Because it's sure as hell not me,"
"I don't think he'll take a cure," he mumbled. Shelby's eyes widened even further. Why was he entertaining this? "But could we?"
"His sire's had over a thousand years to die, and didn't seem the most secretive from what he said of him. It could work,"
"Then all we need to do is splash him when he doesn't expect it," Martin said.
"As much as I hate the idea of working on someone who doesn't want it, it's the better alternative," Legs said.
"And what if his sire's still alive?" Shelby growled, tearing the skull mask off her head. The room drew a sharp intake of breath as they saw the transformation they all knew had occurred. "Then we do what must be done, dontcha know,"
"Sometimes you need to cut off the leg to save the rest," Cleo said, their voice harsh and cold.
"I can't let you do that!" Shelby cried. "Shelby, calm down," Avid said.
"I told you to leave us alone!"
"We have to do it to save you!"
"Don't tell me you want to stay like this forever," Cleo said. "I can't imagine it's a good life,"
"I told you what I'd do if you didn't," her wide eyes settled into a glare. "Please don't do this," Avid said.
"You're not giving me a choice right now,"
"And what exactly are you gonna do?" Martin's hand settled on the chain of his lantern. "Put that down,"
"Tell us!"
"I'm really holding myself back right now. It's really, really hard. Put it down,"
"Shelby, please-" Pyro glanced towards her.
"Don't tell me you're gonna do it, too!"
"I mean, I need some time to think about-"
"He'll never let them cure him!" Shelby flexed her claws as she yelled. The townsfolk reached for their weapons. "He doesn't want to go back to being human-"
"So you're gonna let him live his best life even if it means everyone else suffers?" Cleo roared.
"It's not suffering! We can live together, if you all just let us talk for once without trying to kill us! Just because you can't deal with it doesn't mean it's awful,"
"No, it's evil! Feeding on people is evil, it's dangerous, it's not stupid to want to defend ourselves,"
"What do you mean, 'can't deal with it'?" Avid didn't seem sure wether to point his stake at Shelby or Cleo. "Are you really doing this?" She scowled.
"You're saying you're gonna go and kill my best friend, and you want me to be nice?"
"Shelby, please," Legs said. "If it turns out he can't be cured, then we won't make that choice casually,"
"You can't talk about killing someone like that!"
"Please, believe me, I'm not taking this lightly,"
"Then why is it even an option?"
"Because there are more lives at stake here than just his. All of our lives are,"
"Are you defending the man who killed you?" Martin's lantern span in the air, flames licking through the glass door.
"Martin, put that down right now!"
"Can we all just calm down for a moment?" Apo shouted, but her voice was lost in the noise.
"You can't seriously think I'd let you kill him just because of what he is!"
"Not what, but who," Legs said.
"He wasn't even the one who turned me, Pyro was! Because he was so hungry he couldn't control himself, even though I have for weeks!"
"All diseases have symptoms-"
"We're not diseased!"
"And Scott seems to have an unhealthy level of influence on Pyro, possibly on you, too-"
"He's not manipulating me! He accepted me!"
"For what he did to you?" A hint of Cleo's silver blade was pulled from its scabbard. "You can't pretend to be the good guys when you're talking about murder like this!" Shelby yelled, her claws rending Ren's door from its hinges. Pyro yelped as he dodged out of the way of the falling wood. The room fell silent as Shelby's blood red eyes met all of theirs.
"This is what's gonna happen," Shelby spat at the village, at Pyro, at all of them. "I'm gonna leave. Pyro, if you follow me, and I hear you say the word 'cure' one more time, I'll drag you to the others myself," he gulped. "If I see any of you come near the castle, or any of us with stakes in your hands, I'll kill you. And if I don't drink your blood, I'm sure the others will appreciate it,"
"So you're off to be a monster, are you?" Cleo drew their sword, pointing it at Shelby's throat.
"I wanted to trust you, and you tried to convince me that killing my best friend was a good price to pay to get rid of something I wasn't even sure I wanted gone. So there's no more trust, not anymore,"
"And what if your friends decide to feed on us?" Martin stepped beside Cleo, his sword drawn as well. "Then I guess you guys should be careful when you leave town," she stalked out of the door. Pyro didn't move. "Are you coming or not?"
"I just want to be free. Of this. Of him. He's not as good to me as he is to you,"
"Fine," Shelby said. "I really wanted to get along. But you only have yourselves to blame for this,"
"Don't just let her get away!" Martin yelled.
Pyro slunk into a corner as Martyn and Cleo led the charge after her. Shelby bared her fangs, leaping forward and sinking her claws into the soft skin of Martyn's cheek, bowling him over and pinning him to the floor. She pressed her knee into his lantern hand's wrist, stopping the flames he was about to conjure before they could begin. "Shelby, please!" Cleo cried as Shelby's claws stopped her swing. White smoke began to form around Martyn's lips. Shelby recognised the spell he was about to cast. She leapt off him, scrambling to the treeline. The smoke bit at her heels. She was barely fast enough to escape it from sinking into her skin. To freeze her in place.
Shelby focused her will around herself, and disappeared into the shadows. She dodged around the trees as silver swords soared in the air around her. Her skin almost started to burn just by being so close to so much, but she managed to escape up into the branches. She shut her eyes and pressed her forehead against the tree as she thought of the castle.
She smelt smoke. Normal smoke. She forced her eyes to stay shut as she felt heat crawling up the tree she was crouched in. She thought of the castle even harder. She felt her body unmoor itself from where she was. And then she disappeared.
The smoke was gone, the voices were gone, but the fear still there. "Shelby!" She heard Scott's voice call out. "I just found these really nice paintings in the crypt, I think- Shelby? Are you alright?"
"Owen was right," she said. She forced her eyes to open, showing Scott and Owen in their red and black finery in the main hall of their rebuilt castle, poring over some paintings and tapestries that had been laid down on the large table. "So the cure was a disappointment, I take it?" Owen said.
"They wanted to kill Scott,"
"Well, that's rude," Scott approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. "No need to look so worried, this isn't my first peasant uprising. Would they really only give you the cure if you did that?"
"Killing you was the cure. Part of it,"
"Oh," Scott put a hand to his chin in thought. "That's less good,"
"So it's war, then?"
"I told them to be careful whenever they left town. I said I'd kill them if they ever came back here,"
"Good threats," Owen grinned. "We'll need to tell Pyro once he comes back,"
"He was there, too,"
"Really?" Scott flexed his claws as he looked back at the scarlet beacon. "And is he fighting them off? Giving you a chance to escape,"
"He said he didn't want to be one of us anymore. That he was willing to kill you to do it,"
"Again, very rude. Wow,"
Shelby choked back tears as she gazed at them both. "Do you two still want to commit a massacre?"
"If they're submitting to the worst instincts of humanity, then yes," Owen nodded.
"And I can't just let that kind of disrespect stand. A lesson of some kind has to be taught. Do you want to?"
"I get a say?"
"Of course you do," Scott smiled at her. "You're one of us now. And I'm more attached to you two than the other vampires I've met over the centuries."
Shelby took a shuddering breath and drew herself up to her full height. "Not right now. But if they do anything against us, we kill them. Only the ones who deserve it. But if they all do, then they all die."