Shadows of the Feast

"You would have known if you killed him, trust me on that. Come, let's check on him."

Maria stood up and helped Rachel to her feet and together they silently observed Ethan's body.

"Well, he's still alive, that much is obvious. But..." Maria said after she checked his pulse, breathing and body temperature.

"But what?"

"To be honest I don't know if he'll make it. You... well, we drank way too much. I'm no doctor and we definitely can't take him to one, so we'll just have to wait and see," Maria responded with worry and a tinge of accusation in her voice. She covered unconscious Ethan with a blanket and placed a pillow under his head. He was as white as a sheet and his breathing was rapid and shallow, but he didn't look like he was about to die the next moment. But in an hour or two? Hard to tell...

"Couldn't we turn him then?" Rachel proposed, her face ridden with guilt.

"No," Maria shut down her idea immediately and continued with a tone that offered no negotiating ground. "I thought about that option before and it's way too risky. Who knows how he would respond? For all we know he might go berserk and burn the entire house down. Remember, he's still a hunter at his core so he'd definitely hate us for it, of that I'm certain, and we surely need no new enemies. We're left with no other option than to sit and hope he survives."

"I fucked up. I wasn't thinking at all, in that instant I wanted to drink everything and..." Rachel whimpered but Maria interjected, mainly to prevent her from falling further into self-loathing.

"Hey, hey, it was my fault as well, I went stupid when he fucked me. I should have noticed you lost control sooner. You really don't have to apologize to me, Rachel, it's not like I did any better when I turned and...ugh" her voice trailed off and she turned away, the memory of her first kill welling up tears in her eyes.

Rachel frowned, puzzled by her sudden emotional outburst but she put the two and two together. She placed a hand on her shoulder and asked tentatively. "Is this what happened to you and... Steve?"

Despite the obvious sobbing Maria tried to compose herself and responded clearly. "No... I mean yes, but it was different... that motherfucker Nikolai even encouraged me to drain him. And I did. Sure, you could say that he manipulated me, that it was my first time, yada yada, but that's not an excuse for killing your own boyfriend, is it? And you know what's the worst part? I felt almost no remorse afterwards. Just a vague remnant of guilt that passed away like a fart in the wind."

Rachel hugged her supportingly and sighed, "oh, Maria...that's just... terrible. Fuck. I see why you hate Nikolai so much. But how come you regained your sense of morality? What happened to you?"

Maria turned around and faced her with a weak but warm smile. She gently touched her face and confessed, "you happened. You see, after that night I was slowly turning into a heartless killer and I fully embraced it. I looked forward to fucking and draining my victims, and when I did exactly that with that Danish couple I lost all remaining restraints. I wanted even more, I wanted to make someone good and pure succumb to this devilry and that's why I chose you. You were always so virtuous and caring, bordering on righteousness. A perfect target. I haven't been honest with you, Rachel. My initial intention was to corrupt you and drain you, I didn't care at all about your well being. But as we continued hanging out together you gradually woke up the forgotten sense of good and wrong in me. You've brought love back to my existence. I wasn't aware of that at first, even when my plan for you subliminally switched from draining to turning you. And when I saw you happily falling in love with Ethan I entirely abandoned my stupid scheme. It was only then I figured out what I truly felt about you and I decided to let go and leave you to be happy in the life you chose to lead. But, as it turned out, Ethan had different motives and here we are now."

Dejected and taken aback by Maria's confession Rachel took a few steps back and collapsed in an armchair. The vacant look on her face spoke of the troubles her mind faced processing what she heard.

"This is so fucked up. No offence but it seems you were really turning into a monster, Maria," Rachel shot her a somewhat judgemental look.

"None taken," Maria said, accepting her assessment. She crouched in front of her, took her hand and looked her straight in the eye. "And thanks to you, I steered away from that course and I will do my best to prevent you from taking it. That's the main reason I pulled you away from Ethan; I didn't want to see you spiraling down the same path I did."

Rachel just sat there and contemplated her words. She was well aware what Maria feared - she felt the ever present allure of giving in to darkness, of letting go of all the remaining restraints. Eventually, she admitted her concerns. "I don't know if I have the power in me to control myself as well as you do. His blood was becoming irresistible and this crazy urge to drink him up, to take everything from him, completely overwhelmed me. You had to drag me away like a damn rabid dog. I enjoyed all this... very much, and I can't wait to do it again, but at the same time I fear what might become of me..."

"We'll just have to be careful and vigilant in the future, won't we?" Maria stood up and spoke with optimism in her voice. She glanced at Ethan and noticed his breathing becoming steadier and deeper, which was probably a good sign. "Now, it's been quite a night and let's finish it on a brighter note. We can't do much for Ethan at the moment, but he's a strong man and I think he'll be ok in the end. Come, let him rest."

She took Rachel's hand and guided her out of the room. "So, how did you like your first night as a vampiress? Besides this last part, of course."

"Uhm, I don't know, it's difficult to put into words. Everything was so... surreal, I never thought I could experience such mind-blowing pleasure. The unique sensation of blood flowing down my throat and the sexual energy it gave me... damn, it makes me horny just thinking about it. I guess I'm...hungry for more."

With a smirk on her face, Maria led her to her bedroom. "Who says we can't have a little more fun before bedtime?" she cooed as she laid invitingly on the bed. Rachel joined her enthusiastically and their bodies joined in a passionate embrace. All thoughts and worries about Ethan, Nikolai and the world outside vanished as they let their lust and desire guide them to the blissful end of the night.

As her consciousness transcended into a vampiric slumber, Maria located Ethan's drifting mind, confused and alone in the void. Her essence reached out, enveloping him in a perverse maternal embrace. Despite the malevolent darkness exuding from her ethereal presence, Ethan felt an unexpected sense of security in her arms, a weird comfort. Deep within her, a glimmer of light still lingered, and this same light kindled a flicker of hope within Ethan. Hope that his soul hadn't been lost in the abyss of darkness and despair. This tiny spark of light imbued his fleeting existence with purpose, something to strive for—an emergent vitality to confront the obsidian sea of depravity engulfing him.

Simultaneously, it also cast an illuminating radiance on his surroundings, revealing that battling this darkness might be unnecessary. He could touch it, even savor it, without any consequences. He was no longer drowning in the blackness; instead, he found himself swimming within it. The situation called to mind the yin-yang symbol, with Maria obviously representing the dark aspect, but with a glimmer of light nestled within it. In this newfound understanding, guided by Maria's presence, Ethan realized that indulging in a measured amount of darkness could be both enjoyable and uplifting. This knowledge gave him a much needed push to his psyche and a new desire for life with it.

On the following evening, Maria opened her amber eyes with a new glow of hope and achievement in them. She had used her powers for something good for the first time and a warm feeling inside her signalled success of her efforts - Ethan was no longer in mortal danger and that fact alone filled her once-lifeless heart with joy for some reason.

Curious, maybe there's still hope for me...