The Dark Gifts Birthright Read Free Page B

settled over the forest. Liz
entered into a world she’d never seen before. Each tree, leaf, and
blade of grass seemed to take on a life of its own. Her eyes
focused on a tree several feet away. Amazed, she watched as lines
of tiny ants scurried up and down the trunk. A barely audible
squawk pulled her eyes in its direction. In the distance, she could
see a small brown owl perched on a tree limb. She smelled soil and
leaves rotting, mixed with the overwhelming scent of pine. But,
lingering in the forest scents was a different odor. Whispering to
her, it pulled her forward. She identified the luring bouquet.
Food. Her mouth watered as it enticed her further into the
woods.
    Coming closer to the delicious aroma's
source, she was less able to focus. Desire drove her, forcing her
forward. Beside a tree, not fifty yards away, a doe watched. The
smell emanated from it. Poised to move, it lifted its muzzle. A
light snarl escaped her lips as the burning thirst consumed her.
The doe blurred as it turned and ran.
    Instinct took over and Liz followed. Throwing
her body through the air, she barely felt the impact. Seconds
later, the deer lay on the ground and she was perched on top
sucking blood out of a gash in its neck.
    The burn was gone! She felt exhilarated. It
was like being high without drugs and drunk without liquor.
Somewhere in her head, Liz knew she should be disgusted by her
actions, but she wasn‘t. She wanted more.
    A new hunt began. Sniffing and listening, in
search of new prey, she ran through the woods as silent as death.
Almost giddy with the anticipation of the next kill, she lost
herself in the thrill. Liz drained two small does and a huge buck
before her mind started to process what had happened.
    Power coursed through her veins as the hot
blood filled her with unearthly warmth. Charged with this new
vitality, she stretched and reveled in the power bursting within
her. Mind and body filled with this new raw emotion, and
overwhelmed by the woodland scents, she wiped the congealed blood
from her chin with her sleeve.
    Her sleeve caught on something sharp. She
tugged, ripping the fabric as she pulled her arm away. Her lips
felt smooth and supple as they parted allowing her index finger to
venture inside. Four sharp objects protruded from her teeth.
    One word slithered through her
mind… Vampire. Her mind reeled against the possibility of the
existence of such a creature. Last night. It was all real.
Everything she knew had to have been some sort of drug induced
delusion was real. Logical or not, there was no alternative answer
for what was happening. Her mind raged at the injustice of it. I
can't. This can't -- Her scream of rage broke the silence of the
forest sending birds and small animals flying for cover.
    Liz dropped to her knees and again reached up
to touch her newly found fangs. Her eyes sought the starry sky as
she yelled, “How could you let this happen? I’m not evil! Do you
hear me? I’ll never be evil!” Where she had once found peace and
solace in prayer, now she felt nothing. No sense of well being. No
sense of comfort. Just the cold loneliness of the damned. A labored
sob escaped her chest. Chest heaving, her shoulders shook. She
lifted her sleeve to wipe away the tears, but her cheeks remained
dry. Where are the tears? Why don't I have tears?
    Just under the terror another feeling
asserted itself. A feeling of desolation and emptiness. And nestled
within, anger and hate. Darkness. The darkness ate at the terror
consuming and filling, until the horror was gone. Within seconds,
all other emotions silent, the only feeling left oozed from the
emptiness and the wicked power of the darkness. “No!” she screamed.
Then closing her eyes, she whispered, “I am not evil,” over and
over until the feeling receded.
    Dejected, she sat on the hard ground trying
to figure out what to do. A rustle to the left caused her to turn.
A tiny rabbit wiggled its nose as it watched her from under a fern
frond. The