The Rage

Last signs of animal bloodlust and rage were vanished from his face. His eyes were confused, sorrowful, and struck.

The agony in his eyes peaked as he gave her one more long look before giving up. He gave up the struggle entirely.

She could feel the resistance leaving his body as it happened. With pieces of oak leaves in his hair, he was lying on the freezing ground and gazing beyond her up into the dark, cloudy sky.

His exhausted voice urged her to "finish it."

Elizabeth momentarily paused. Something about their eyes cried out to me.

bring up memories for her. Sitting in an attic chamber, standing in the moonlight... But the recollections were too hazy. She struggled to comprehend them and felt nauseous and dizzy as a result.

And this Katherine with the green eyes had to pass away. Because the other man—the one Elizabeth was destined to be with—had been injured by him. Nobody could ever harm him and survive.

She bit hard, locking her fangs against his neck.

She immediately saw that she wasn't doing the task properly. She hadn't plowed into a vein or artery. She was irritated at her own lack of expertise and concerned in her throat. Even though there wasn't much blood flowing, it felt amazing to bite anything. He jerked in agony as she raised up and bit him once more out of frustration.

Much improved. This time, she had located a vein, but she hadn't penetrated it enough. That little scratch is unacceptable. She wanted to tear it open completely to let the hot, rich blood gush out.

As she labored to do this with her teeth raking and chewing, her prey trembled. When hands yanked at her and lifted her from behind, she was just beginning to feel the flesh give way.

Elizabeth gripped her neck tightly and growled. However, the hands persisted. Her waist was encircled by an arm with fingers entwined in her hair. She struggled, holding onto her victim with her jaws and claws.

Lose hold of him. Let him go!

The voice sounded stern and authoritative, like a gust of icy wind. When Elizabeth realized it, she stopped resisting the forces pulling her away. She thought of a name when they dropped her out on the ground and she glanced up to see him. Dominic. Dominic was his name. She gave him a sour-faced look while remaining docile despite feeling cheated out of her kill.

His neck was covered in blood, and Katherine was sitting up. His shirt was becoming wet from it. Elizabeth licked her lips as she experienced a pang of hunger that seemed to emanate from every pore of her body. She felt faint once again.

Dominic said, "I thought you said she was dead."

He was staring at Katherine, who, if it was possible, seemed more paler than before.

That blank expression was dripping with utter despondency. All he said was, "Look at her."

Elizabeth's chin was cupped by a hand, who also raised her face. Dominic's dark, squinted eyes met hers straight. Then, long, thin fingers probed between her lips with them. Elizabeth instinctively attempted to bite, but not very forcefully. Elizabeth bit down on the sharp curve of a canine teeth that Dominic's finger had discovered, giving it a kitten-like nip.

Dominic had an expressionless face and stony eyes. He said, "Are you aware of your location?"

Elizabeth cast her eyes around. Trees. She slyly replied, "In the woods," while turning to face him.

Who is that, exactly?

He pointed, and she followed. She said indifferently, "Katherine." Brother of yours "Who am I, then? Do you recognize me?" She looked up at him and grinned, exposing her sharp teeth. "I do, of course. I adore you because you're Dominic."

Katherine said in a low, cruel voice. "Wasn't that what you wanted, Dominic? You now own it. She had to come to respect us and you. Just killing her wasn't sufficient."

Dominic didn't give him another look. While still kneeling there and clutching Elizabeth's chin, he was fixedly gazing at her with those hooded eyes. He remarked gently, "You've said it three times now, and I'm starting to get a little bored of it. He was disheveled and still a little gassed, but he maintained his composure and sense of control. Why did I murder you, Elizabeth?

Elizabeth murmured, wrapping her fingers around those of his free hand, "Of course not." She was becoming irritable. What the heck were they talking about? No one had been murdered.

Dominic continued to speak with the same anger in his voice, saying to Katherine, "I never believed you were a liar. "Almost all other things, but not that Never before have I heard you make excuses for yourself."

Dominic warned, "I'm going to lose my cool in a minute."

What more are you going to do to me? Katherine came back. It would be a kindness to kill me.

Dominic replied loudly, "I ran out of compassion for you a century ago. Elizabeth's chin was finally released by him. He questioned her, "What do you recall about today?"

Elizabeth's speech sounded drained, like a kid giving a tedious lecture. "Founders Day was celebrated today." She stared up at Dominic as she flexed her fingers in his. She could only go so far on her own, but it wasn't enough. Disgruntled, she made an effort to recall another detail.

Someone named Caroline was in the café. She smiled and gave him the name. She planned to read my journal aloud to everyone, which was undesirable since... Elizabeth struggled to recall the information and failed. "I can't recall the reason. However, we misled her." She gave him a kind, sly grin.

Oh, we did that, didn't we?

"Yes. It was taken from her by you. You completed it for me." Her free hand's fingertips snuck beneath his jacket in quest of the little book's square-cornered hardness. She touched it and murmured, "Because you love me," delicately scratching at it. "Do you really love me? "

From the clearing's center, there came a little sound. Elizabeth turned to see Katherine's face was turned aside.

"Elizabeth. What took occurred next?" She answered the call from Dominic.

"Next? Aunt Judith then began debating with me." After giving it some thought, Elizabeth finally shrugged. "about... anything. I was enraged. Her mother is not mine. She is unable to advise me."

Dominic said in a dry tone. "That won't be an issue moving forward, in my opinion. Next, what?"

Dominic said in a dry tone. "That won't be an issue moving forward, in my opinion. Next, what?"

Where did you go in Matt's automobile, exactly?

Katherine turned back to them and said, "To Wickery Bridge." His gaze was gloomy.

Elizabeth corrected herself irritably, "No, to the boardinghouse. "to wait for, well, I can't remember. I waited there anyway. The storm eventually began. Rain, wind, and all that. I did not like it. I started the vehicle. However, something followed me."

Katherine turned to face Dominic and stated, "Someone came after you.

Elizabeth urged, "Something." He had interrupted her enough times. She knelt down and put her face near to Dominic's, saying, "Let's go away someplace, just us."

In a moment, he replied. "What kind of creature followed you?"

Exasperated, she reclined. "What kind? I have no idea! I had never seen anything like that. not like Katherine and you. It was..." She was filled with images. Along the ground, a mist was streaming. screaming of the wind. a huge, white object that seemed to be formed of mist itself. approaching her like a cloud blown by the wind.

She said, "Perhaps that was simply a part of the storm. "But I believed it intended to harm me. But I managed to escape." She grinned quietly as she fiddled with Dominic's leather jacket's zipper and peered up at him through her lashes.

Dominic's face started to reflect emotion for the first time. He grimaced as his lips curled. "You escaped,"

"Yes. I recalled what someone had said to me about rushing water. It prevents evil from passing. So I headed towards the bridge across Drowning Creek. After that..." She paused, frowned, searching through the fresh uncertainty for a firm recollection. Water. She could recall water. then there is scream. nothing else, however. And then, joyfully, she said, "I crossed it." "I must have, since I am in this position. That's all there is. When can we leave?"

Dominic did not respond to her.

Katherine reported, "The automobile is still in the water." He and Dominic were no longer at war with one other; instead, they were conversing over the unintelligent child's head like two adults. Elizabeth had a wave of irritation. She started to speak, but Katherine preempted her. "It was located by Bonnie, Meredith, and myself. I found her beneath water, but it was already too late."

Afterward, what? Eileen scowled.