Void(8)

“I’m hungry, Mom,” I whispered, but my voice didn’t feel like mine. It seemed darker somehow. Aged and needy. I didn’t quite feel like myself.

“Devicka…”

Mom’s face began to pale, and her grip on my arms suddenly went limp. More and more black smoke surrounded her, filling up my entire room. She fell then, like a crumpled tissue tossed to the floor, and my eyes widened in horror.

“Mom? Mom!” I screamed while shaking her shoulders, smoke curling into my hair as I tried to wake her up.

She began convulsing as my smoke ate her up, wrapping around her like a snake. I couldn’t see. Couldn’t hear. The only thing I sensed was a glow within me, absorbing nourishment with a steady gulp as I fed my newfound hunger. A hunger I’d live with for the rest of my life.

Somehow, in my panicked, innocent mind, I’d put together enough thought to realize that I was the one hurting her. I ran away from her then, taking my smoke with me. By the time my bare feet pounded down the pavement of the street, and the moon’s watchful eye followed me, it was too late. I’d already drained her of her elemental power, and her love went with it.

“I’m thankful to be representing the community as a paragon,” Render suddenly said, drawing me out of my painful memories. I snapped my attention back to him, blinking away my dark thoughts. I told myself a long time ago not to revisit that night. There was nothing I could do to change the outcome now. Mom was powerless, and it was all my fault.

“Little Luca is getting big,” Render added. He was looking at the child with a softness that I didn’t expect. After how rude he’d been, I wondered if he had to force himself to be kind or if this was his norm, and his cruelty was only reserved for me. I was pretty sure it was the latter.

He went to ruffle the toddler’s hair, but the kid bit his finger, nipping Render’s skin on contact. Render and the mother both laughed like it was adorable for this fanged baby to draw blood.

When I grimaced at the sight, the mother’s eyes flicked over to me. “You brought a pet to our city, Render?”

Render chuckled. “No, ma’am. I don’t keep pets. Especially not her kind.” My face heated in embarrassment while the woman laughed. “We’re just here on council business.”

The woman wrinkled her nose. “I can’t place her scent. What is she?” she asked curiously, talking about me as if I weren’t standing right there.

“She’s late is what she is. We’d better go. It was good to see you, Ivy.”

“Of course. Tell your mother I’ll stop by and see her.”

“I will.”

They did those cheesy cheek kisses that I’d only seen in movies, before she went on her way, talking to her toddler as she headed to a blood bank shop that advertised exotic animal blood. The further we walked, the busier the streets became, and the more looks were cast my way. It was disconcerting, the way everyone looked at me.

“Isn’t there a less populated way to get there?” I asked through gritted teeth.

Render rolled his eyes. “No.”

It was clear that humans weren’t usually in the city unless inside a blood bank, and although I wasn’t a human, they knew I wasn’t one of them. The sneers and leers that I kept getting were enough to make me step closer to Render, although I had no idea why. It wasn’t like he’d do anything to protect me.

“Scared?” he asked with a smirk when I bounced against his arm.

Yes. “No.”

“Don’t worry, Void. We don’t eat on the streets like common rats.”

Everyone on the street came to a sudden, silent halt. Vampires everywhere turned to look at me.

Void. Void. Void.

The whispers spread out like shaking out a sheet, the air catching it and ripping it all the way down.

“Why did you do that?” I whispered frantically. This time when I sidled up to Render, I didn’t step away again even when our arms touched. I was on a darkened street with hundreds of vampires—predators of the fiercest, most ruthless variety, and now that they knew what I was, they looked at me like they were getting ready to grab the pitchforks and run me out of the city.

“What is the Void doing here?” one person called out, their voice high-pitched with worry.

“Oh gods, she’s going to steal our powers!”

Vampires started flashing away, too quick for my eyes to follow.

“Get her away!”

“My baby! Charles? Charles, get away from her!”

“Kill her before she can destroy us!”

Yeah. This is pretty much how it always went.

“Godsdammit,” Render muttered under his breath. “We should’ve hurried.”

He started moving us away from the wide-eyed crowd. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before someone made a move against me. Fear made people do violent things.

“You’re the one stopping to kiss babies and rub elbows,” I hissed. “You should’ve flashed ahead and let me get there on my own instead of calling me a Void in the middle of the damn street and freaking out a city full of lethal vampires!”

More were talking louder now, creeping closer to us despite me using Render as a full-body shield.

He jerked his head to look at me with a wide, menacing look on his face. “You want me to flash? Fine.”