Chapter 4:

Kieran's head throbbed painfully and he crouched down, trying to keep away from the pain. Lawrence! What the hell is happening to us?! All Kieran could hear was Lawrence's thoughts. He was sobbing mentally. What did you see, Lawrence? Kieran tried to make his voice soothing, but instead it came out as strained and worried. He grunted. The pain flood into his mind, battering him and attacking him like a violent storm. It was Aleria's scream. But it was from the past. Many, years ago when she was young. They couldn't quite tell what was happening, but Kieran had a feeling that Lawrence had seen something horrific happen to her. Kieran felt like it would invade her privacy if they saw it. Accidently or not. Kieran struggled to pull Lawrence out from the subconscious and back to the conscious of their mind. Lawrence, whatever you do, don't look! YOU IDIOT, DON'T-But it was too late. Lawrence had saw it. He had saw the murder. He had saw the rape. He had saw Aleria in the middle of it all.

Kieran's eyes widened, as tears escaped them. They were tears for Aleria. Tears that had never been shed for himself, and tears for Lawrence. "Aleria..." he whispered. Aleria... He called. He was trying to grasp the telepathic link to her. The link she, herself, had tried to sever. She rejected it, repeatedly. Violently. Kieran's head throbbed and he began to go into a sort of daze. Flashes of it all spread from Lawrence to him. He didn't want to see. He truly didn't. He didn't want to see Aleria upset if he couldn't comfort her, and love her. He didn't want her tainted. He felt such an anger at the thought.

How could someone do something so brutal to someone so fragile and kind? Rape her? At that moment, Kieran vowed to rid the world of the man who did that to her. To even touch the woman he loved... All of a sudden, it changed. There was an odd sort of calm. What had happened?

-

I watched in horror as the man touched my mother. Killed her. Father, too. There was a sickly realization. He had stabbed them with a stake. Over... and over... and over again. I sat there, and watched in the basement. He had put us in some sort of shield. We were helpless. Father and mother were dead. They weren't coming back. He was a vampire slayer. But an evil one. He was evil, and I hated him. I was a weak child, I couldn't do anything for myself, though I wasn't human. Nothing. I was useless. So he took advantage of me. It hurt so much. As he pounded into me and banged my head on the table, I wouldn't let tears fall. He wouldn't see them. I wouldn't let him. Then I killed him. Why not? He was a horrible man. He made me sick, thinking about him. He deserved to die. But... I felt like he didn't. But I killed him anyway. At that moment, everything inside me had awakened.

-

I walked in circles around my bedroom, trying to ignore what they were seeing as it was transferred to me. But I couldn't take it anymore. I ran and in a few seconds I was at the mansion, Lawrence lived in. I was watching Kieran sitting on the ground from behind him. "It's been years since I've been in here, Kieran." I murmured, looking around. In reality, I was terrified. I shielded that from them, though. "Don't fake it, Aleria." I gave an innocent smile, and a slight blink. "What are you talking about?" I asked, simply, my gaze turning hard and accusing. Kieran growled and pushed me up against the wall. "Don't play games with me, Aleria." I gave a small laugh. "Aleria." I smiled, "What?" He stared at me for a few moments. "I love you." My jaw clenched. "I don't love you." I smiled. He smiled back. "Then explain this." he said, looking her straight in the eye as my heartbeat raced. It was doubling every minute.

"Hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Your heartbeat."
"Yes."
"That's my fault."